MIDDLETOWN – Army Pvt. Steven E. Hays has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

Hays, a 2003 graduate of Middletown High School, is the son of John Hays of Cobb.

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smurf - MIA: intelligent parents Registered | 09-07-2007 10:01:46 any kid who enlists in the army or marines these days has been let down by their parents, who should have done a better job of explaining how the world works. These kids are being used as cannon fodder by Bush, who will trade their lives for his pride, all under the bogus banner of protecting America. Real patriots ask why, the rest are just feeding this disaster with their own blood. Hopefully Hays Jr. won't have to get his name on a memorial somewhere, but why take the chance to help a fool lead America down the drain?

lcsage - smurf is a freaking communist Registered | 09-07-2007 11:15:12 With a sixties mentality to match. I dare you to go to one of the local Veteran's group meetings and say that. Someone would move your big nose to the other side of your face.

Donna Christopher - Congratulations Author | 09-07-2007 11:18:26 Private Hays! I did boot camp at Ft. Jackson in the summer about 25 years ago. Can you still saddle up the cockroaches? Please ignore Smurf, he seems to not realize that your sacrifice and those of many others have allowed the freedom for him to post his blogs. Hate the war in Iraq, hate Bush, honor the warrior. Good Job Soldier, stay safe and come home to Lake County.

smurf - pay attention! IP:66.81.72.xxx | 09-07-2007 23:54:28 Facts anyone? Hays joined-up of his own free will, because of his misguided sense of patriotism. He is ill-informed I'm sure, that's the only reason to enlist in the army or marines today, unless you just like the idea of killing people for the heck of it. The war is wrong on many levels and helping to keep it going with your military service is morally wrong-period. If Jesus wouldn't do it you probably shouldn't either-can't really picture JC hopping out of a humvee toting a M-16 and covered in body armor,can you? I haven't ripped on anyone who joined-up until the last couple of years, by late 2005 even the dimmest wit could see that this whole Iraq sham is destined to be yet another disater in American foreign policy. If you served in WW II, you have my deep appreciation for protecting my liberties. If you served in the Korean war you deserve the appreciation of the South Koreans who's liberties you protected, and also from Americans for doing our nation's share to help them. If you served in Vietnam you have my sympathies, your country betrayed you on the battlefield and here at home, If you joined before 9-11 I'm sorry you got drug into the easily avoidable messes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Only the ignorant and insane join today, and I blame Hays' parents for that shortcoming-I'm assuming it's the former. Communist? WTF? Guess if you can't agrue on merit there's always that! If this country ever is truly in need of protection I'll be plenty willing to go stop a bullet for it somewhere, until then I'll do what I can to stop it from meddling where it doesn't belong-like in Iraq! This is what any loyal, well-informed patriot would do, instead of mindlessly accepting what their government tells them.

lcsage - smurf still a commie pinko fag Registered | 09-08-2007 14:38:39 that enjoys all the freedoms courtesy of all who have fallen and served. I repeat my challenge to you to repeat your anti American and anti Military statements at one of the local Veteran's gatherings. one who served proudly and still loves our country regardless of the hemorrhoids like smurf.

smurf - icage=caveman mentality Registered | 09-08-2007 15:14:43 yeah, I'll go anywhere and tell peopel whio think this war is justified that they are wrong, and that the people who join up now are doing the morally indefensable. It's dopes like icage who got us into this mess, and who will continue to waste the blood of the young and naive like hays because they are too lazy to do their homework and learn what the hell is actually going on in the world. You are an ignorant man who like a bunch of other clueless reactionaries is doing this country great harm because of your ignorance, you aren't a patriot you are a sheep, a blind follower of the criminals running this country. Read enough books to be able to make three accute statements about the political dynamics in Iraq in the pre-gulf war II days and maybe you can be taken seriously, until then just keep on going "baa-baa", watching FOX news, and sucking your thumb.

lcsage - intoxilator smurf Registered | 09-08-2007 18:14:14 From all the typos and grammar errors in your posts, I can only think that you are into your pain meds and hooch. Maybe it's just the low IQ and lack of education. The Veteran's meetings of their various clubs are posted for all to see. Please attend and bring your own first aid kit. You disgust all decent Americans because you ride on the coat tails of all who served and died to protect your lousy existence and freedom to criticise this great country. If maggots like you had their way, we would be speaking a foreign language at this point, Mr. Chimpo. Look it up - It means if you were to be circumcised, one would have to cut around your neck.

Donna Christopher - Freedom IP:12.210.242.xxx | 09-09-2007 14:34:57 Its what all veterans offered up all to protect. Smurf has the right to his opinion. Dumping it on a young man wishing to serve his country tells me smurf is a, and I will be polite here, meow. Guess what Smurf, not everyone goes to Iraq. Remember the horrible tsunami a couple summers ago? Our Marines from Okinawa and all over that area hot footed it there to help with rescue/recovery and tending to those unfortunate folks. Navy medical ships showed up also. You think they weren't on spot in Peru after their recent earthquake? If so, think again. Iraq is a fools mission. Afghanistan, I'd re-enlist in a heartbeat if they would take me. But serving your country is not ala carte -you go where your ordered. My sons, and many other sons and daughters, will continue to protect your right to be the southern end of a northbound horse. Remember this smurf, if nothing else: "A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' Than is Honor and there are too many people in this country who no longer understand it." Author unknown. Cowards - readily apparent around here.

smurf - pay attention part II Registered | 09-10-2007 00:09:34 I owe NOTHING to anyone currently serving, they have protected me from NOTHING. Iraq never threatened me or this country, and the Taliban would have been plenty happy to get rid of Bin laden after he became a bigger liability than asset to them-but they were never given the chance. But we had to have a war so we could all feel like something was getting done about all those crazy Moslem bastards running around blowing things up, so we rolled into Afghanistan and then Iraq. The recent recruits may not wind up in a war zone but their service enables someone else to, therefore they are feeding the senseless and counterproductive bloodletting that was accurately and publicly predicted by ME-what's your track record on the war's direction? I stand by my first post: Hays made the wrong decision to join and I blame his parents for not making sure he had an adequate understanding of the world. This war is a mistake and the people who support in any way are ignorant and immoral-it's that simple.

lcsage - smurf the weasel Registered | 09-10-2007 10:20:03 Accurately described as a coward and communist. Please move to another country you ungrateful slug.

smurf - the facts Registered | 09-10-2007 11:09:10 history has proven me correct and icage wrong, and will continue to do so. This county's worst liability is people like icage who are unable or unwilling to think for themselves and who confuse patriotism with blind loyalty. The people who founded this country were free-thinking individuals, not sheep, and they would cringe if they saw the way people like icage ignore truth and logic while lending support to murderous thugs like bush. Bush is a failure, the wars are failures, and people like icage have failed their country too-by not seeking out the truth.

Donna Christopher - Interesting thought process Author | 09-10-2007 11:29:27 These "free-thinking individuals, not sheep" that founded our country thought that free thinking was only for white folks. You do recall slavery don't you smurf? And we must also thank them for the Electoral College, that went well in 2000 now didn't it. It was just their way in their time to say the average farmer, someone like you, was to ill informed or educated to actually vote for leaders. Perhaps they were spot on in that regard.

smurf - more good than bad Registered | 09-10-2007 23:58:38 you are corect in stating that our system has had and still does have it's flaws, as I am correct in stating that this war is wrong and it is wrong to support it. It is a sign of health when people challenge their government, when they don't the nation is surely lost. The founding fathers did an outstanding job considering the times, and they knew that the people needed to be informed in order to self govern, without that info they would be driving blind. Our news media let us down and as a nation we have made some terrible mistakes that have cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents in recent years, we need to look honestly at why that happened and find ways to keep from repeating those types of tragic errors. That won't happen if we take icage's line of thought, which confuses critisims of ones leaders as subversive and unpatriotic.

Donna Christopher - We do agree Author | 09-11-2007 11:37:08 on some things smurf. Most MSM poorly reports on the war. While it may end up being misplaced, I have placed what I gather from the war into a basket served up from a BBC reporter Michael Ware. That guy shows no fear in the places he is willing to go to get the truth out. What he sees on the ground vs what the guided tours of our alleged leaders come up with are 180 degrees apart. Stick with the grunts on the ground not the wonks in Washington.

lcsage - I Agree Registered | 09-12-2007 23:33:31 smurf is a pinhead rat bastid.

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