"The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
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- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
OK, I am kind of biased in that my brother is in the Marine Reserves currently in Al Kut, Iraq. I want him home ASAP and I know his morale is low. Apparently, so is the morale of many of our troops. Over at Drudge's site many have vented on this subject and Drudge posts links to various articles on the subject.
I know compared to WWII vets, my generation is a bunch of pansies but then again, every generation is a pansy compared to the one before it. :-)
Anyway, are our boys and girls in uniform justified in their complaints or should they suck it up and deal with what they have to do? Thoughts?
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Comments on "Our Military: Justified Complaints?":
2. jen
- 07/16/2003 4:56 pm CDT
Oh, for a second, I thought I was going to have to chastise Jared. 
Actually, I do a little bit. Yes, Jared, there's free speech for all Americans under the 1st Amendment, but those who wear the uniform are bound by the Military Code, which says that they NEVER speak disrespectfully of or to a senior officer and that includes the Secretary of Defense and the President. So those soldiers who complained to ABC were wrong on many levels. It's unfortunate, but they know those rules and they'll have to suffer the consequences. More than the DOD rescinding their home orders, their complaints to a news outlet harms morale for all of the troops. And it makes our position there politically precarious as the perception could be spread that we're waffling, whining, losing focus, giving up.
Daniel, I can sympathize with you wanting your brother home, safe, ASAP. My additional comments come from my perspective as a Navy brat. My father was career Navy - he flew bombers. So...
They need to suck it up. This is what happens in war. It happened to the soldiers in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Kosovo, and now Afghanistan and Iraq. And it will happen to troops in future wars we may be involved in. War isn't pretty, it isn't predictable. Neither is the peace in the immediate aftermath of war. And so our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines need to suck it up (even if they're reservists). This is their job. They signed up for it, they took the oath. And that means with no complaints.
On a personal note, and I may have mentioned this here already (and I plan to tomorrow when I post my thoughts at my own blog), my father was on deployment to the Indian Ocean during the Iran hostage crisis in '79-'80. He was on the USS Kitty Hawk, part of the Pacific fleet, which at that time had 9 month "cruises" as standard deployments (they're now 6 months, as are the Atlantic fleet). The KH was headed home when President Carter sent them back to the IO. So my Dad (and a lot of other dads) were gone for just about one full year - a year of missed birthdays, his wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter, etc. But it was part of the job he signed on for when he took that oath. Did he like it? No. Did we? No. Did the families of the men who lost their lives that year (there were several fatal accidents on that ship in that year)? No.
And I know that's true today - those troops just want to come home. Their families want them home. So do Rumsfeld and Bush. But we need them to stay there for a little while longer. So it will take some patience and prayer to get them, their families, and us through these months/years while we (the US) try to get Iraq stabilized.
3. Daniel
- 07/16/2003 5:02 pm CDT
Jen, I agree. My brother's unit's morale is low but at the same time I think, 'you know what, some of you signed up for the Reserves after 9/11 knowing that the world was unstable' be patient and do what you signed up to do. On the other hand, the military has a long history of jerking people around. I am a big military supporter but they lie and do just about anything they can to get people in. They often make false or misleading promises when people are deployed as well. I can't see that that is right either.
I agree, however, that those guys who complained to ABC should be reprimanded. If morale is low, you don't air it to the world like that. Just my opinion though.
4. Jared
- 07/16/2003 5:56 pm CDT
Well, I wasn't really considering the complaints about Rumsfeld or whatever. I had actually heard of that, but didn't really even think of that in my response (and I didn't visit Daniel's Drudge link to refresh my memory either). So yeah, they should be reprimanded.
But what I was really talking about was just our soldiers having a voice. In a way, the military has given our soldiers the opportunity to "screw up" by allowing embedded reporters and other media such close access. The media has been with these troops since the beginning and record their every word, action, and expression. How can we expect them to guard their feelings 24/7 when seeing their comrades dying every day or facing imminent death themselves 24/7?
Just a thought.
5. Jared
- 07/16/2003 5:58 pm CDT
Jen, I'm glad you felt the need to chastise me based on one sentence while I agreed with you in my other nine. 
6. jen
- 07/17/2003 4:47 am CDT
Daniel, the military is like any employer. They all lie to (or mislead) their employees at some point. I'm not excusing it, just stating fact. So while it seems more egregious for the troops, it's not. Here's why:
We're at war. While the major combat operations are over, the war is not over. It's still a really unstable country with no solid infrastructure in place. And as long as there's still fighting, we need our troops to stay. That's the sad fact.
Now, I'm thinking that Bush & Co never expected for the war to go so quickly. They probably thought they would have time to work on the post-war plans while the war was taking place. So their a little behind the 8-ball on that one. It's a problem. It's a fluid situation, and while I know the folks have been over there for a while, they have to roll with what comes their way.
I think back to what I've read about the WWII guys - some of whom were "over there" for the entire time - 4 or 5 years. So I stick with my statement that they need to suck it up.
Jared, I only chastised you a little. :wink: And the fact that the media invited the troops to speak their minds did not mean that they were given permission to do so. Those soldiers knew it was wrong to speak out like that and they did it anyway.
7. Jared
- 07/17/2003 5:38 am CDT
Yes, I just think the weariness and constant wakefulness of war can blur the judgment more than comfortable folks like myself sometimes realize.
I'm not saying it wasn't wrong. I'm just saying it is perhaps understandable.
8. Daniel
- 07/17/2003 6:18 am CDT
I just wonder, at what point is it over? Are we going to set up bases over there like we have in Germany, etc.? I just get super-aggrivated when we went over there and freed a nation and many of them seem ungrateful for what we did. I know I'm just aggrivated right now and venting really but why is the US always the bad guy in the world no matter what we do. we could've let Saddam go on and then faced possible consequences. When those consequences occured, people would've said 'why didn't you do anything about it?' It's just never-ending with tthe anti-american crowd (both abroad and here - in the Democratic camp especially.)
Sorry to ramble and rant. I did get a call from my brother this morning at about 6 a.m. They had been out in a 'show of force' b/c of the Baath Party anniversary thing. He says he's in 'the armpit of the world.'
I just want to see him again. I know, I know, I'm spoiled, as most Americans are, in my comfortable life and I should shut up and quit whining about it.
9. Quaid
- 07/17/2003 7:25 am CDT
Although this may be straying from the main topic, and although you probably have already had blog wars on this subject in the past, I think that Daniel brings up an interesting subject regarding the world and its general distaste for America.
I think that a lot of the world's dislike comes from pure jealousy. Given our powers economically, militarily, and otherwise, we simply have more than everyone else.
I also think, however, that this line of reasoning goes only so far. America does a lot of stuff in the name of hospitality and ends up creating a bad name for itself.
So did we go to Iraq to free a people or to save ourselves from iminent danger[WMDs]? As a supporter of the war, I have to conclude that the answer is both. If it is merely to rid ourselves of danger, then have we not done the bulk of the work by unseating Saddam? What is the need for our continued large-scale presence? If it is to free a people, where do we get off being the world's mommy? It is not our place to go everywhere, breaking up fights, and putting leaders in time-out (which is the only place you could conclude that Bin Laden and Hussein are in, right now).
Additionally, we offer countries billions of dollars in aid, and then throw in catches and mandates. We give you billions of dollars if you give us this. Basically, we attatch strings to all of our goodness. Similar to the gangs of NY, we are protecting those countries for a modest fee. We'll send them money and food, and they have to support our plans in the arena of world policy and otherwise. Seldom does this method of influence bring long-term gratefulness.
So what is the solution?
I assume we'll hatch out the answer to all of our problems in the coming comments . . .
10. Jared
- 07/17/2003 8:23 am CDT
This is where Bill would swoop in and offer some great geopolitical wisdom that answers all our questions.
But he is at camp probably getting a wedgie about now.
11. Quaid
- 07/17/2003 8:55 am CDT
Actually, they just got back from camp, so he is probably at home removing the wedgie while trying to stay awake and hypothesizing how to remove the "junior high boys dorm" scent from all of his clothing.
Their complaints are morally justifiable, in my opinion, because they are being honest and the Constitution protects free speech for everyone, including our brave soldiers.
But I also think they should, to use your words, "suck it up and deal with what they have to do." I realize many people go into the military as an "out" in a sense, to pay for college or to have a good career, etc. But all of our servicemen and -women are in the military by choice, which presupposes their acceptance of the chain of command, the obeying of orders, and their willingness to protect our nation when called up.
I hate it that they feel jerked around (particularly the ones who have been promised a return trip home only for it to be postponed, in some cases more than once). But you don't go into the military because you want to avoid conflict or violence. It is part of the job. It's only been, what, 3-4 months?
Let a Vietnam vet who re-upped more than once sit down and have a talk with these guys. Or maybe a WWII vet who didn't get to come home until the whole war was over.