[SMARTY]

Something very interesting in my e mail.

[rlmorel]

"...recalls being home from a combat tour and being told by his wife, as they were headed out to a family dinner, please don't talk about the Army or the war..."

Grrrrr. Now THAT makes me angry. That soldier can come eat with my family and friends anytime, and talk about whatever he damn well pleases, because he has earned it.

[rlmorel]

"...At a remote outpost in Afghanistan, I listened one evening to a 37-year-old enlisted soldier on guard duty. He talked softly about a misspent youth, about finding his true "family'' in the Army. He said he was proud to have learned to survive and excel in this environment. He said he would without hesitation take a bullet to save a buddy and that any of them would do the same for him. He said "love'' was not too strong a word to use to describe the responsibility and gratitude he felt in this relationship to his squad and platoon..."

Something that most of those of us who have never served in that capacity have a hard time understanding. I get it, but I will bet there are many out there who don't, the vast majority of them liberals.

[dfwgator]

But the all-volunteer Army has performed so well that civilian manpower has become superfluous. Today, demands for a return to the draft are taken seriously only by a few. Among them is the New York Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, who is making his fifth attempt to restore the military draft. The reason, he said this summer, is America's "total indifference to the suffering and loss of life'' of soldiers. "So few families have a stake in the war,'' he said, "which is being fought by other people's children.'' Previous attempts failed in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.

That's why now the next plan is to allow gays to openly serve, enlistments will drop like a rock then.

[rahbert]

I hope we haven’t created a Praetorian Guard.

[AnAmericanMother]

That's not a very supportive wife!

Let him talk, for pete's sake, and listen! And let the other folks in the family listen too. He's there for you, be there for him.

[calex59]

leaving civilian America behind, reduced to the role of a well-wishing but impatient spectator.

Only the ones too cowardly to join, or otherwise unable to join.

[2banana]

Add in many National Guard Units with multiply deployments and no army base to come home to...

[CORedneck]

Interesting article. In the back of my mind, I wonder if we are repeating Vietnam with the disconnect between the military and civilians ?

[panthermom]

From personal experience within my own family and circle of friends.....it is LIBERALISM!!! It is the constant whining they hear. It is what they see and read while over there from news over here, they do have internet and t.v...even in Afghanistan. Everyone is an armchair general! It is the weakness, lack of values, lack of sacrifice.

Yesterday while talking to my brother you could hear the mortars hitting...a lot more frequent lately, in the Green Zone. He was saying how horrible he felt because of all the fanfare that combat is over and yet he watches our young guys STILL putting it all on the line every minute of everyday, still in danger. What nobody over here really comprehends is the absolute ruthlessness of what really goes on there and the diplomacy that our government wants to engage in is delusional.

[mj81]

“I am proud to be in the profession of arms.... It speaks for us, it’s the standard we live by, what binds us as brothers and sisters in arms that you just can’t get anywhere else.’’

Warriors, indeed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbepFzDH0mk

[Fiji Hill]

The U.S. Army now begins its 10th continuous year in combat, the first time in its history the United States has excused the vast majority of its citizens from service and engaged in a major, decade-long conflict instead with an Army manned entirely by professional warriors.

Actually, the Moro War, in which the US fought Islamic extremists in the Philippines from 1902 to 1917 was fought entirely by professional soldiers. For some reason, that war seems to have been completely forgotten.

[MediaMole]

The real disconnect is between the people who join the military — small town, blue collar Americans — and the political and economic elites in big cities. Living in a small town, I know dozens of people who have served and are serving. One of my neighbors lost a son in Iraq and her other son recently enlisted in the Army.

The heavy use of National Guard and Reserve troops means that there are tens of thousands of combat veterans who are regular members of society. They serve regular tours, then return to their civilian lives, much the same as conscripts would.

The idea of a brotherhood among those who have seen combat is certainly nothing new. I only have to think about my grandfather, who fought in WWI and even suffered burns from mustard gas, yet wanted to remain in the Army after the war. Even though he was in his 40s, he offered to enlist during WWII.

[FreedomPoster]

Ping. A week+ old, but something I’d be curious to see your thoughts on, given your vantage point.