Supporting our Troops For Real

I intended to post this on Monday but did not in fact do so. I consider it well worth considering as Mr. Deitrick makes a number of really good points.

Supporting Our Troops for Real
by Conrad Deitrick

There’s much talk these days of Supporting Our Troops. It’s a buzzword (buzzphrase?), like Saying No to Drugs used to be in the 1980’s or Tolerance in the 1990’s. In the reality that is now, if you support the troops you’re patriotic and a true American with values, but if you don’t support the troops, you’re unpatriotic, loathsome and maybe even a terrorist sympathizer. Not Supporting Our Troops in the 2000’s is like being secretly a Communist in the 1950’s. Political suicide at the least. Accusations of treason.

So everyone has to say they support the troops, vocally and publicly. You see it on bumper stickers, on t-shirts, on buttons. Politicians bandy it about; it’s the preemptive defense that you have to erect, especially if you’re a Democrat, lest someone point the finger and yell j’accuse and you’re hauled off to meet Mme Guillotine. The accusation alone is proof of guilt.

The problem is that really, it’s a bunch of rhetoric. I see a bumper sticker that says “Support Our Troops,” and I wonder what that person really is doing to support the troops. I’d wager nothing at all. Sure, they may write letters to some soldier in the family who they love and are proud of and hope makes it home safely, but that’s not Supporting the Troops. It’s supporting a troop.

The bumper stickers and rhetoric amount to little more than cheerleading, but even less effective. At a football game, the cheerleaders are right there on the sidelines. This “Support Our Troops” stuff is on the other side of the world from most of our troops in combat. Does it bolster their morale? Maybe a little. Knowing that people back home are proud of you does help a little, but when things are really bad and you’re cold, wet, hot, scared, and feeling pretty puny, cheerleading is pretty low on the list of what raises morale. It almost feels like a slap in the face sometimes. It’s hard to explain, but getting one warm shower and something to eat and a good night’s sleep will do more for your morale than all the bumper stickers and t-shirts in the world. And you know what would really help? Going home.

So it’s a little irritating because Support Our Troops is an ever-present droning mantra here in the states, but it’s almost worthless. An empty gesture. Even worse, sometimes it seems like a slap in the face: America pats them on the back and tells them they’re in its prayers and then places them in harm’s way and asks them to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the burden over and over again. “We love you and we’re proud of you, but guess what? You don’t get to go home to your wife and the daughter you’ve never seen because we’re involuntarily extending your enlistment and keeping you out here.”

So, here’s my point: If you want to Support the Troops for real, here are some things you can do.

1. Support measures that increase the military’s manpower, especially active duty manpower. Write to your congressmen. Yes, the generals say there are enough troops on the ground, but how long do they have to stay there? And how many times do the same troops have to come back? Given the current situation, the military is stretched pretty thin. Multiple deployments, even back-to-back, are becoming the rule instead of the exception. Deployments are getting longer. Especially for the reservists and Guardsmen who make up roughly half of our military strength, this is a terrible trial. If the need were dire, we’d suck it up and do our duty- out duty is what we signed up to do. But the need isn’t dire. The USA has a population of nearly 300 million, and our current military strength is tiny in comparison. Increasing the size of the military is simply a matter of spending the money to make it happen. With more manpower, there would be no need for back-to-back deployments. After soldiers, especially Guardsmen and reservists, have done their duty they would be able to go home, secure in the knowledge that they have done their duty and served with honor but now it’s someone else’s turn.

2. Encourage young men and women to enlist. How many military-aged men and women are hanging out on college campuses, living it up on mom and dad’s credit card and getting drunk every night while the same reservists and Guardsmen have to leave their wives and families over and over again? If you are the right age and medically capable, enlist. Yeah, you’ve got plans for your life, you’ve got places you want to go and things you want to accomplish, but so do all of those soldiers whose dreams and plans are being put on hold while they do their duty. Are your dreams better or more worthy than theirs? I doubt it.

3. Find out what things soldiers need, and send them packages. It doesn’t have to be just your son or daughter or brother or aunt. That relative you have in the military probably has battle buddies that might not get care packages- it would be incredible for a whole squad to find that one of their mothers had sent them all things like baby wipes, cheap but durable sunglasses, DVDs to kill the boredom, books, etcetera.

4. When the troops come home, cut them some slack! They’ve been living a life that is fundamentally different from what they’re coming home to. There’s going to be an adjustment period- it might involve a short temper, and there might be all kinds of trouble. Don’t be a fair-weather friend and turn their back on them when they don’t fit in right or when they lose their temper easily. Don’t nail them to the wall the first time they tell a tasteless joke. Please realize that this young man or woman has just had their entire world shaken up in a way you can’t even imagine and they’re doing the best they can to adjust. They’re transitioning from a world where a whole different set of norms and expectations are in place. If they don’t fit the socially acceptable mold you think they should, give them some time. Give them some leeway. Be patient. Be understanding.

5. Support expanded financial and other benefits for soldiers. Again, the Guardsmen and reservists are making a big sacrifice; many times they’re leaving a good job with a high salary to serve and make a whole lot less money. Things like pay raises, increased separation pay, increased combat pay, and other non-money benefits like Tricare are a way the Troops can really be supported. What can you do about it? Write to your congressman.

6. Support political candidates who seek to strengthen America’s alliances in the world. The more the US tries to go it alone, the more our Troops have to carry the burden. Weighing Down Our Troops and Spreading Our Troops Too Thin are definitely not the same thing as Supporting Our Troops.

7. Find out what businesses deal fairly with their reservist and Guardsmen employees, and make sure you patronize them. At the same time, find out what businesses give their reservist and Guardsmen employees a raw deal and boycott- and let them know why you’re boycotting them.

There are probably more ways than that, and in fact, there should be a number 8: look for ways you can Support Our Troops for real. Toss the t-shirt and the bumper sticker and let your actions speak for you- actions are so much louder than words.