So Ray's in the Hurt Locker. I hope B.D. eventually takes him over to the Vet Center to meet Elias.

Oh Ray, get thee to a Vet Center! It's so nice to see B.D. being there for him though. First Mel, now Ray -- he's really developing, sans helmet and leg.

It is great to see B.D. being there for Ray. GBT has succeeded here the way Norman Lear and Carroll O'Connor succeeded with Archie Bunker -- and beyond. I'm totally progressive, but I love B.D.

Love the series on Ray and his "addiction." Trust GBT to deal with a real issue that we all try to ignore. These warriors go and put themselves in a high-stress violent situation year after year and we're surprised that they can't just plug right back in to civilian life? We owe them big time, including help on this.

It seems Ray's five tours of duty have taken their emotional toll on him and he's not adapting well to being back. He needs some readjustment help, as with so many real soldiers who have seen too much conflict and spent too many tense moments feeling targeted.

A guy going back for his sixth tour attacks a guy who squinted at him. This isn't going to be fun.

I've read every single posting to The Sandbox since its inception in October 2006 (thanks for this invaluable education!) and that is the only reason I understand B.D.'s willingness to leave Boopsie in the middle of ...the night, just to grab a beer with Ray. There's nothing like Doonesbury to give you a perspective on other lives.

I'm worried for Ray. My first thought wasn't that the other guy must have deserved it, I thought it was time to get Ray some help because he's been on too many tours. Thank goodness B.D. is there for him. Watching B.D. get Ray to see he has a mental health problem that cannot be ignored would resonate with so many families...

Today's strip is hilarious. That is so like the compartmentalized brain of a guy. Thanks!

Saved by his own hubris? A guy as cool, calm and collected as Ray would only lose it in a bar because of one thing -- a brash, mouthy contractor-type, someone whose braggadocio would extend to putting down regular grunts like Ray's brothers-in-arms. Someone just like Jeff!! Perhaps this is how the Red Rascal will be saved from a fate worse than death in Berzerkistan.

I grew up next to Fort Drum, back when it was Camp Drum, and remember well when the Tenth Mountain Division was permanently stationed there. My favorite conversation with the guys went like this: Me: "Where are you from?" Him: "Texas." (or South Carolina, or Missouri...) Me: "So how do you like the snow?" (This in November) Him: "I love it!" Me, smiling: "We'll talk again in March." That region averages ten feet of snow a year. I'll also note that the locals love the folks from Drum. It's a good fit. And I wish Ray luck getting up there this time of year. The snow belt is an evil stretch between Watertown and Syracuse, and you couldn't pay me to fly there in the winter.

Thank you for pointing out the not-so-subliminal self-promotion of network news in general, and NBC in particular. I took a stop watch and a DVR and calculated the actual information time in a typical Nightly News broadcast. Out of 21 minutes of programming, 10 conveyed actual, new information.

Bless you for doing a number on Brian Williams' cliche addiction. Doesn't the Betty Ford Clinic have a wing for that sort of thing? I came close to emailing him in December to suggest a New Year's resolution to abstain from "our very own" for a year.

Today's cartoon about anchor syrupiness was the most courageous one yet. If you ask visiting Europeans about our newscasts, they say, "Strange, they hardly seem to want to get to the point." We are embarrassing ourselves internationally.

Today's strip was so great. You had NBC perfectly. I've never found anyone else who was bothered by their style, till now.

Have read the script for thirty years, smiled every time I did, but laughed right out loud yesterday and today! Funny, funny, funny. Gosh, I hope the boys live through this.

Looks like Duke's got a competitor. Note the following in today's New York Times: "[King Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain's] government is also working with a public relations agency based in Britain, the Bell Pottinger Group, which says on its Web site 'We understand how to create, build and protect reputations in the modern age.'"

Are we sure that Earl and Jeff weren't switched at birth? The Red Rascal seems to be shaping up as the natural heir to the 53rd Hostage and Maximum Proconsul.

Imagine Overkill as Larry. Now here come Curly and Moe...