How stupid do you have to be to be in Afghanistan in the first place, if you're non-military?
@dfwgator Pretty freaking stupid if you are not ex-military or you don't have a damn good reason to be there.
The second group includes retired special operations people,who really don't have any civilian job skills,but can get paid mega-bucks for doing what they have done their whole lives.
Think about it for a minute. Here you are,a highly-skilled special operations soldier in your early 40's who due to your specialized skills and background doesn't even fit in the regular army,and you are suddenly out on the street in civilian world,with nothing to do and no hope of finding a real job. You are also a bit (to be charitable) aggressive for civilian standards,and maybe have a run in or two with civilians who don't understand you REALLY shouldn't start screaming "I will kill you,motherblah!" at people you don't know.
So,you see these job offers for spec ops vets that approach 6 figure salaries when you include benefits if you will go back to Shitstainistan,and since that is basically the only type of place you are comfortable working in anyhow,going back not only seems like the best thing to do,it seems like the ONLY thing to do.
In this respect,the Muddle East vets have it easier than the VN vets. At least they have somewhere to go where they and their skill sets are appreciated.
Of course,the downside is ALL good things must end,and one day they WILL have to come back to the US and try to fit into the world of Steve and Susie Sixpack,and chances are it is going to be worse then than it was when they first got discharged.
The biggest challenge *I* faced as a newly discharged career soldier was learning that unlike in the army,you can't trust ANYBODY in "civilian world" to keep their promises to you. I still have problems understanding that to this very day.