Memorial Day Thoughts....

My favorite blog on counterinsurgency tactics, Abu Muqawama, has an author who goes by the alias Kip. From what I've read, I believe he served in the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. While on break today during class, I read a good personal article he wrote about Memorial Day. This is the passage that stuck with me.

War for most Americans, although not for Iraqis and Afghans, remains a spectator sport to which they can feel little emotional attachment. Fewer than one half of one percent of Americans have seen service in Afghanistan and Iraq, and even if we include the broadest reckoning of their friends and loved ones in the equation, 95% or more of all Americans remain profoundly untouched by these wars--even as their long-term security and way of life remains intimately tied to the outcomes.

For most Americans I am growing increasingly to believe, service is defined through the prism of recent reports on PTSD and the failures to provide adequate health care to our wounded warriors at Walter Reed and elsewhere. In a society that has not served, veterans have become a class of victims--a yellow ribbon magnet on your car reminds of the perils of service just as a pink ribbon reminds of the peril of breast cancer and a red ribbon of AIDS.

Of course, service is a choice, not a disease, a choice increasingly required of a citizenry separated by a wall of indifference from the real threat posed by the international takfiri movement.

This Memorial Day, in addition to remembering fallen comrades, I'll hope for a time when the nation again believes its security worth fighting for, its wars worth winning, and its warriors brave.

The part about service not being a disease is personal to me. My parents had to deal with the "oh, why would he do that?" question when I first enlisted at the end of 1996. Before 9/11 it was almost like if one joined the military the stigma was that person couldn't cut it in the real world. When I reenlisted last year, I got a lot of questions asking "why would you do that, aren't you worried about being sent to Iraq?" It was almost like some people wondered if I was stupid and wasn't aware we had a situation overseas. I doubt that's what people really thought, but it came across that way pretty often.


I don't think Kip is right about his 95% of Americans being untouched by the war. People may not be aware of the day-to-day events in Iraq, but they know we have soldiers there. The past few years, I've seen many Memorial Day stories on soldiers who have died in the war. I've also seen soldiers introduced at sporting events and other public events. Many people are aware, but many are personally untouched. I know when I made the decision to reenlist last year, I thrust my family into the category of Americans touched by the war. So far, it's only been a three-month tour in Maryland, but it'll be more soon. I am pretty lucky to have a wife that talks to me about her reservations and seems to understand my thought process. We talked about my reenlistment for several months before I took the oath. She's getting a crash course in Army life and seems to be taking it pretty well. The in-laws are a big help too. My folks seem to get it too.

I have to believe in something bigger than myself. Part of me believes I have to set aside personal gain so that I can contribute to that thing I've bought into. One of the things I can do to contribute is be a good smart soldier the Army needs, especially in the reserves. God has me in the Army for a reason. I hope one day I'll know the reason ;)


Coverage on the events in Iraq and Afghanastan may have decreased, but it doesn't mean stories can't be found. You can go to my Westsouthwest Blogroll on the right or look at my google reader shared page. I have the good and the bad on there. I read Abu Muqawama and the Intel Dump religiously. The rest I read when I have time.


I had a great time in the Motherland. I wish it could have lasted longer.


CSM: U.S., Iran leaning towards talks
CSM: U.S. Army to Baghdadis: Do you really live here?
Abu Muqawama: A Test for Army Recruiting
SWJ: Memorial Day Declaration
Kaboom: The Happiest Dog in Iraq