You can't go home again

Mortenson was on his third tour -- his third pump, in Marine jargon -- in Iraq. He had spent his 20th, 21st and 22nd birthdays in Iraq. Before he left on his last tour, he told a friend in California: "It's like three strikes, you're out. I have a feeling I'm not going to come home."

Support the troops- Write your Congressional Representative and express your outrage about third tours. This is ludicrous. In Vietnam, you did your 13 months and went home for good. Why should our troops be punished for signing up to serve? This War is going to deplete our forces for a long time to come. Who wants to be treated like this?