military guys...unzipped

Get your mind out of the gutter.

For this week's nightlife column, I sent dozens of MySpace messages to Fort Benning guys, asking if they face stereotypes on the local nightlife scene...and if those stereotypes are justified. Surprisingly, I received nearly 30 responses in just about two days. You can read the majority of my findings in the column, available here.

I was happy with the volume of comments, and surprised at how articulate all respondents were. In fact, I even had to omit some of the best responses from my column. Thank God I have a blog. So here, for your dating consideration, are some candid thoughts from military guys.

*"I think the bartenders (in Columbus) see us as a good source of cash, everyone else just sees us as a nuisance."

*"I think we are a little more aggressive in the pursuit of women. This may be because we are trained to be aggressive and the shortage of women around us on post."

*"Let me tell you, sister, I'm the no shit sweetest guy on this base but all these girls have ruined things by stereotyping so every single weekend I LEAVE town. I have not spent a weekend in columbus in 4 months. The girls don't hate you in other towns. "

*Asked a fail-safe strategy for picking up local women, one guy responded, "GET OUT OF TOWN, GO TO AUBURN, ATLANTA, PC, DESTIN, ANYWHERE BUT HERE THERE IS ONLY MISERY FOR US HERE.... was that dramatic enough??"

*"The only place I go out to is the Catwalk and I rarely get laid or even meet women."

*"I don't really know how to interact. Therefore it makes it extremely hard for me to meet a girl."

*"I have not had a girlfriend for over 2 and a half years that I've been living here. It's kind of depressing, but I guess that I have not met the right one yet."

*"I don't go places with other military members. I prefer to do things with civilians, because military members have such big...egos. Someone always has to 'prove' they are better at something, at least that is what I have seen occur before."

*"In Fort Benning we are a rapid deployment unit gone 2 times to Iraq on third. Now there's not enough time to build a strong relationship. And if you say there is if you try, well then look at this: Soldiers get married daily to women they know for years and women they've known for days. Some marry for money, some for love. Now when we deploy we are gone for 12-15 months at a time and a good chunk of these woman are cheating on their husbands or spending all their hard-earned cash on not just household bills but drugs and other crap."