Re Don M> I never understood why the Army didn't give their soldiers, esp. in Nam and Iraq, a sidearm, personal choice, personal weapon or military issue. I know that my son was not allowed to bring his own gun to Iraq (he had an M249 plus and over/under M16, but if you run out of ammo on the big toys, then a sidearm is a nice backup to have. Also, it is good for close-in fighting, has lots of rounds, and can easily be reloaded.

As a non-combat journalist, I didn't carry a weapon in Vietnam (except once to keep an AR15 from blowing my foot off in Cambodia since my friend was driving like a maniac), and my escorts only had snub-nosed 38's or 32's, but I would think that any soldier would want a backup piece just in-case.

Michael Yon is by far the best war journalist that I've read since Vietnam (where I was a MACV-accredited journalist). he is smart, brave, honest, and humping the ground. Whatever pissed off McChrystal must have had some truth in it or Yon would still be in Afghanistan.

We need journalists who are with the troops and who tell the truth. The Manat fiasco should never have happened. Too many American soldiers are being killed by stupid ROE and command idiocy.

And where the hell is napalm to clear mountain and valley slopes of Taliban ambushes?

I had a dog in this show as my son was one of the first American soldiers to cross into Iraq in the early morning of 3/20/03. Other kids (now men) from our neighborhood served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Let them do their jobs and do them right, or retreat.