Veterans Welcome News That Troops Are Coming Home

Curtis Cowden, a 41-year-old veteran of the Gulf War, was pleased by President Barack Obama's announcement earlier today that the U.S. is bringing home troops stationed in Iraq by the end of the year.

"I think he's doing a great thing, taking all our troops out of Iraq," said Cowden, a former member of the Navy, about the President's announcement. "We've served our purpose over there and accomplished our goals and I think it's time for all our fellow soldiers to come back home and be reunited with their families and take care of business here. America has a lot of business to take care of here as well."

In his remarks, which lasted roughly six and a half minutes, Obama concluded with a call to action for veterans to help.

"This includes enlisting our veterans in the greatest challenge we face as a nation - creating opportunity and jobs in this country," Obama said.

Melvin Winters, age 55, who served in the Army in the Vietnam War, agreed that it is time to bring the troops home.

"We don't really have a purpose over there right now, so those guys need to come up out of there," Winters said. "All I be hearing about is some bomb going off and killing off some guys who really out there just trying to be the peace keepers. They don't need our people there. So they don't need to be over there subjecting themselves to all that violence." 

"We've done the job over there, it's time to move on," said Bobby Lloyd Weatherspoon, a 60-year-old Army veteran of the Vietnam War. "It's just a waste of manpower. I'm a Vietnam combat veteran and it took me 35 years just to adjust back to life, so I can imagine what those poor kids are going through. They should come home, every one of them."

John Bischoff, who fought in the Korean War as a member of the Army, wasn't entirely certain that U.S. Troops should have been in Iraq in the first place.

"I don't think we should be there fighting for some other country," said the 81-year-old. "I just feel that they should fight their own battles and we should stay out of it because we lose too many men and spend too much money when it really isn't our business, I don't think."

Obama also said that the draw-down of troops in Iraq will also be partnered with a removal of troops from Afghanistan, noting that there are already half as many troops there now as when he began his administration.

"It will continue to go down," Obama said. "And as we welcome home our newest veterans, we'll never stop working to give them and their families the care, the benefits and the opportunities that they have earned."