Let me start by congratulating [the writer of] "Stop the complaining" (letter, Nov. 10) on misinterpreting the underlying thesis of the numerous replies to his fellow Air Force comrades’ complaining about their "combat stress" while stateside.

It is not that the Army has not figured out how to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance from thousands of miles away, but that we are in Iraq doing it without complaining. Having intelligence synchronized with maneuver elements at the tactical level, not from Nevada, wins wars.

The point of the numerous replies to "The War Room" (article, Oct. 27) was to voice how the Air Force is doing the same job from home and finding a way to complain about it.

By joining the Air Force, a certain standard is expected (living conditions, quality of life, etc.). The majority of soldiers in the Army who joined after Sept. 11, 2001, knew they would be deploying in harm’s way. They still took the oath. Meanwhile, the letter writer’s comrades are complaining about "combat stress" in a situation in which there is minimal stress to be felt. They are at home (U.S.), completely desensitized to the reality of the situation. They do not even suffer or endure the remote possibility of a mortar or rocket falling on them on their walk or drive to work, and yet the issue becomes "combat stress."

Instead of attacking the Army’s morale, the writer might want to look within his own ranks. Obviously the airmen’s morale is not all that high if they are complaining about "combat stress" from home.

The writer’s fellow airmen have managed to complain about a situation that any soldier would love to be in.

Sgt. Leonardo PaccioneCamp Taji, Iraq

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