I have to say bravo to the writer of the Aug. 16 letter “Not ‘life during wartime.’ ” After reading the letter, I want to find a way to give back the entire extra “combat pay” I received while sitting on a forward operating base in Iraq for both of my tours. In fact, I will talk to the people with whom I was deployed and let them know that we did not deserve such extra pay and that we should return it all.

I might even go as far as to contact the families of those servicemembers who were killed by indirect fire and see if their families will give that money back. Obviously, their servicemembers never left the FOB, so they don’t deserve that money. They never worked for it; they had food in their stomach when they died; maybe they’d even just left their warm bed before it happened.

They shouldn’t get that combat pay because they never experienced combat like the letter writer does. He’s completely right in saying that they don’t know war; they never met their enemy close up. They were killed by a faceless enemy by a rocket or mortar fired from a distance while they enjoyed all those fun things on the FOB.

So, again, I would like to say bravo and thank you to the letter writer. He has lowered my opinion of people as a whole. We don’t face the same dangers as he does, and I applaud him for what he does, but we face dangers just as well.

Spc. Jonathan Sedillo

Camp Buckner, Okinawa

Mature just code for indecent

Does anyone else find it amusing that American Forces Network is defending its new television program additions (“AFN lineup to include uncensored HBO series,” article, July 25) as mature, necessary for variety, and nonintrusive (you just don’t have to watch them)?

Let’s be clear about the “mature” part. This does not mean that one must be intellectually sophisticated to appreciate the shows; it is a warning that the subject matter, language and images pass over the line of decency and will be disturbing and unsettling to some viewers. So, to all the disturbed and unsettled — you’ve got new programming coming.

But then again, there has always been plenty of “mature” fare on AFN — having more doesn’t mean we are getting variety, and having it on late at night doesn’t mean we do not have to be exposed to it. Just this morning while I was watching the news, I had to sit through several programming ads. One in particular showed an adult woman catching her mother in a lesbian kiss, confronting her and then finding out the affair had been going on for 20 years. Do I need to watch? There is plenty of promiscuity, gratuitous violence, unwanted language and bizarre behavior in the ads now. When our new programming ads hit the air, I’ll just have to get my news from the Internet and my “programming” from Netflix.

I have a suggestion: Why doesn’t AFN add “I Love Lucy” reruns to its programming. Sometimes on that show they make historical or literary allusions that even the most “mature” viewers may need to Google to understand. There is certainly nothing else like it on AFN, no one has to watch it, and it wouldn’t bother me a bit to have their commercials on during the news.

Jeneen Nance

Vilseck, Germany

Access to more shows is good

American Forces Network has made a great move that will improve the quality of life and TV of servicemembers and families overseas. The writer of the Aug. 4 letter “Keep explicit shows off AFN” has all the right in the world to voice his opinion, but if he does not want to watch a program, he can always turn to another channel.

I am amazed that the letter writer calls “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Big Love” offensive shows. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have not seen a single scene of nudity in “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and maybe one such scene after three seasons of “Big Love” that I have watched (on DVD).

I do not know how it works out in Japan but, on German channels after 2300 hours it does get really offensive (lots of nudity and European pornography). But my children by that time are in bed and my wife and I do not watch those local channels; instead, we stick with AFN or DVDs. Maybe the letter writer should do the same.

Sgt. 1st Class Andres E. Carvajal

Hohenfels, Germany

Migrated