I hope I don't set the wrong tone on this, our newest,forum. I spent three tours in Viet Nam, one on the ground and two as a gunship/ scout helicopter pilot.I know many of my compadres that won't or don't talk about their experiences for as many reasons as there are people but,I have found ,for me, talking it out helps better than tuning out or diving into a bottle.Beside lightening your emotional load, the info passed forward helps new folks going into harms way.We can train them but we can't teach judgement. We can demonstrate judgement. We can't give them experience, but we can relate our experiences to young soldiers to give them a foundation.If this all sounds strange please remember I have just finished 23 years of Active Duty and 24 years of training Army helicopter pilots. Many former students of mine have come back and told me,"Sir, you were so right about..." or"I remembered what you said about .... and it saved my life". Please, vets pass on your experience to our young Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen, you never know what small piece of your experience can make a big difference to our troops today.[don't forget, some of the young men and women you interact with in civilian life may be in uniform with in a year]I don't advocate enhancing "war stories" for personal glory but I'm not ashamed of my record either.Please share your experiences. Just My... not so... Humble Opinion. Nick