"A Great Time For Being A Soldier"

http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20050...90528-8396r.htm

I found this letter at the Washington Times. (Don't ask me why I went there. Morbid curosity..) It was written by a Member of the US Army who says he is proud to be a soldier because of the war on terror and the "missions" in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I have a few problems with some of his premises.

He says:
I'm surrounded by soldiers who are re-enlisting and volunteering to go to units that are deploying.

I find that highly unlikely given the militaries own concerns about numbers of operatives ready to be called into action. I will also point out that he is writing from Virginia and is at present in absolute safety. It is possible that members of his unit could be reenlisting but I believe he refuses to acknowledge those who leave.

Yes, recruitment is lower, but the caliber of those who are signing up and the rates of re-enlistment are both extremely high.

That's such a deceptive comment. Many of the reservists and active duty military have been forced by the government to extend their tour whether they want to or not. THAT'S how the numbers remain stable, by the government's refusal to allow men and women to come home when their committment to service is done.

All 10 of our major combat divisions are ahead of expectations for retention of soldiers. In my unit, there are soldiers who specifically went active duty from the reserves because they want to go to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Again, the writer ignores that many of these soldiers had no option.

Before September 11, a lot of soldiers were happy to just enjoy the benefits. Since that day, those soldiers have left.Such soldiers were never the types to want to go on long deployments and face combat. Yes, they were heroes for signing up and being in a job that could go that direction, but they had other priorities that made their service contingent on enjoying the benefits rather than serving in war.

THIS is a CROCK. How dare he suggest that anyone who finished their service and chose not to reenlist was just in it for the benefits. How dare he suggest that anyone who doesn't agree with this war is anything less than honorable. He disrespects those who fought and returned home.


I don't know why the media insists on trumpeting the idea that all of us are tired and worn out and just want to stop fighting.

Has anyone seen ANY news report that suggests that ALL our soldiers are tired and against the war? This is hyperbole. An attempt to make the media look bad and negate the negative impact of this war.

The fact is that we are not experiencing casualty rates anywhere near past conflicts, nor for that matter as bad as during peacetime. There were weeks in Vietnam when 350-400 Americans died, and in other wars thousands would die in single battles. Nothing like that is happening now.

So we shouldn't be concerned until more lives are lost. Okay, yeah, that makes loads of sense. Rolling my eyes now...His premise completely ignores that Iraq did nothing to us. They were not a threat and we attacked on false information.

We lost around 3,000 innocent people on September 11, and with four years of war and the toppling of two regimes, we haven't lost that many in combat.

Hello! Again, Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9-11.

My wife is in the National Guard. Theirs is an interesting experience right now in that there have been more casualties by accidents and reckless behavior off-duty than in Iraq and Afghanistan

Is he SERIOUSLY suggesting that more than 1800 national guardsmen have died in the past three years by off duty personnel?

Contrary to all the bad news, I see everyday that our soldiers are motivated and eager to contribute and participate in our nation's military missions. This is a very proud and important time to be serving. this is a wonderful time to be a soldier in the U.S. Army.

Yes, Sgt Joe, if you're sitting at your desk at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and away from the Iraqi front.

While part of me feels bad for taking issue with a solider's comments, there are many talking points contained in his words and I feel much minimization of the reality of this war.