I think this letter ought to be read by our young people so they understand the reasons for maintaining a well trained and well equipped military. July 28, 2014 All, One trip around the sun ago today, I returned from Afghanistan. My son and parents met me at Dulles International Airport (suburban Washington DC) as I landed back on our soil, it was a memorable event, my Mom snapped this picture of my son, Dad and I. In retrospection, my lessons and memories from this deployment which remain with me are pretty straightforward and at least to me, unambiguous: 1. America imperfectly succeeded in doing for Afghans what no other singular country couldve done, had the resources to do or actually DID - We provided the Afghan people the BEST military in the world (in fact the best military the world has EVER seen), trillions of dollars and the lives and blood of our heroes for TWELVE years so they might have the time and space get their act together and join the 21st Century. Time has proven they are unable to advance themselves, so its now time to leave; I will never subscribe to the Blame America First / Latte-Biscotti Crowd - its been a tough lesson for us Americans to learn and eventually swallow - we could stay another 30 years and it wont make any difference. Nonetheless, our nations victories over there, borne on the backs of our troops, were epic, countless and largely unheralded, while our foreign policy shortcomings and failures were trumpeted across most of our headlines. Oh, and one point about America’s foreign policies: when they are criticized by our media, what are they being compared to? What other nation’s foreign policy is better? Perhaps we should follow the lead of Russia, perhaps Iran?, maybe Saudi Arabia? Certainly north Korea must be able to offer something of value to our flailing Department of State. Perhaps the media is referring to the superior foreign policy from France, or was it Germany? I guess there are just so many other nations out there with foreign policies that are superior to America’s that I’m just confused. Hey, here’s one for you: How well is the Afghan government’s policies working for Afghanistan? I rest my case. 2. American media: Got it wrong MOST of the time with regard to the conduct of the war and the purpose of our involvement. They often reported without any substantive context, largely void of perspective and almost always written from the “Blame America First” pack’s warped and often ill-informed viewpoint. The Taliban love America’s media and rely heavily on them! 3. Islam is FULLY incompatible with the Western values of freedom, liberty and equality, (so say the vast majority of Muslims), yet most Americans refuse to believe this, instead defaulting to what they WANT to believe. Case in point; the bumper stickers across America of “Coexist” and “Celebrate Diversity” smack of religious ignorance and intolerance to the world’s one billion+ Muslims who detest coexisting with anyone other than fellow Muslims and who do NOT “Celebrate” any such religious diversity. “Convert or Die” are their bumper stickers. Wake up America! Strangely enough, Afghanistan is full of benevolent, loving and respectful people; unfortunately the worst of their society and religion who act in accordance with “extreme” interpretations of the Koran dictate for the masses the hate, suffering, violence and constant conflict they endure. 4. The world is more perilous today than it was even several years ago. Our next war involving US boots on the ground is not a matter of if, but rather only a matter of when and where. We need to be ready, but with an ever decreasing defense budget crippled further by a staggering economy and too many spineless leaders, our military is much weaker today than it should be. The PRIMARY purpose of our military is to DETER war, it is only our secondary mission to win land wars and hold terrain ONLY if and when our nation fails to satisfy our primary mission. Our weakening military and political will encourages others to act in ways incompatible with US interests and other societys pursuit of freedom. Without American leadership, political will and an unquestioned lethal military capacity, the world is growing more dangerous by the day as are the negative consequences of us being weak. 5. Tears and laughter occurred in comparable amounts, “Human Nature 101”. The continuous laughter we embraced was emotionally required to offset the palpable grief we felt for our comrades wounded and killed in the line of duty. 6. The morale of our troops is highest in a combat zone. Although this fact does not appear intuitive, it is true nonetheless and speaks to the old adage that war is a great filter for bullshit. Everyone knew their job, worked together and relied heavily upon one another. Taking care of your battle buddy on your left and right dictated their actions and kept their morale at unimaginably high levels. 7. Our imperfect country remains the best place on earth to live, there is still no emigration to speak of from our homeland to other lands. Droves of people from around the world still yearn for what America offers and they aspire to reach our shores and cross our borders. Humankind still vote with their feet. How many Americans yearn to live in Afghanistan? vs. how many Afghans yearn to live in America? .... nuf said, .... 8. Each Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine is a hero and a national treasure, our debt to them can never be repaid, we should always remember, thank them for their service and sacrifices and most importantly now care for them and the physical and emotional wounds they received in service to our country. One of the first laws passed in our country by the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony, written into our law books 378 years ago in 1636, serves as an appropriate reminder: “If any man shallbee set forth as a souldier and shall be returned maimed, he shalbee maintained competently by the Collonie during his life”. 9. Our troops remain our first, last and only line of defense for all that we cherish and hold dear. Having spent a year embedded with two different Infantry battalions, I hearken back to one of my favorite quotes from a WWII American Journalist, Ernie Pyle, who also lived amongst the Infantry in combat, and said appropriately, I love the infantry because they are the underdogs. They are the mud-rain-frost-and-wind boys. They have no comforts, and they even learn to live without the necessities. And in the end they are the guys that wars cant be won without. In the end I will always remember the Soldiers I had the privilege to serve alongside, young Americans, the best that American had to offer, who sacrificed so much and acted their best when our country relied on them the most. Bill
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:55:28 +0000
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