When an opponent extends their hand, do you shake it? It would be considered poor sportsmanship on the playing field to refuse, but what if the person were an "ally" who had caused greater injury than any enemy on the battlefield? What if it were an enemy who fought with Honor but all the same had tried to kill you and your friends? What if it were neither enemy nor friend but a combatant in battles not your own who had murdered thousands and yet key to future peace?
I've probably shaken hands with every one of those men. And the least likely for me to extend a hand is he who claims to fight for the same side while betraying the underlying values. I hold in greater contempt he who betrays us, who undermines our efforts, than he who openly opposes us.
In today's political world, it is suicide to openly undermine Our Troops. Not even Senator Jim Webb could get away with opposing a pay raise for Our Troops. And he is (otherwise) relatively supportive of the military. But other politicians in "secure" districts are less secretive about their agenda. Barney Frank openly calls for cuts to the military and to personnel, as if there isn't a war going on and as if Our Troops weren't on constant rotations to Combat.
Still, the most effective cuts are transparently hidden and wrapped in a cold embrace hiding the dagger intended for the military back. The arguments are hedged in emotion and false "logic."
In all of these questions, there is a cost. In the world outside of Washington fantasy, one must be able to pay for expense by means of income. Even in the beltway, one must trade one expense for another. So, when one wishes to increase construction at Ft Carson, Ft Bragg, and Parris Island, the money is not available for buying something else, say F-22 fighters. And money spent on new uniforms is not available for something else, say new cargo planes.
Add to this equation that time is also finite. Few would suggest that suicide is a good thing, though a few more would say that it is an individual's right to make that choice. Many have expressed concern that Military Suicides have steadily climbed in recent years and few have come up with a realistic plan to reverse the trend which has finally approached the numbers seen in the civilian world. But every hour spent in suicide prevention classes is an hour lost from combat training. Any Soldier wanting out of the combat zone need only utter a phrase indicating he's considering suicide as an option. But today's Troops are bombarded with suicide prevention classes and the DoD pays for bus billboards to run in the metropolis, far from their "intended audience."
Recently, the Administration has removed a Veteran's burden to prove a causal effect of PTSD. On the surface, this would seem to be a good thing. But there are a limited number of mental health providers and a limited amount of money to pay them or the disability checks to those with it. And even with a requirement to provide proof that there was a traumatic event, there were frauds that taxed the system. Now, anyone wanting a free check for life need only claim PTSD, taking the Post-Traumatic out of Syndrome Disorder.
Those that have truly been in combat and suffered the mental scars that sometimes need outside help are to compete with those that suffered from actual combat veterans rebuffing their demands to put on a reflective belt over their camoflauge uniform in huge FOB's where CABs are awarded for looking over the wall when a rocket flies near. The same groups that have been pushing for cuts to the Military or downplaying the heroism of those fighting for Our Freedoms have also been pushing for an expanded view of the affliction of PTSD.
Once again, I must re-iterate, PTSD is real and those that suffer it deserve treatment, but being aware of one's surroundings is not a negative. A Combat Veteran needs to learn how to tailor that vigilance to a stateside environment, but he does not need to suppress his desire to know what is going on around him. Treatment must not be limited to pills designed to dull the mind either.
But neither is it true that hundreds of thousands of veterans of the War On Terror are afflicted with uncontrolable nightmares. No person is immune from stress, nor unaffected by the combat experience, but this does make them prone to murderous sprees against the very citizens they risked their lives to protect. The safest place to be in America continues to be beside Our Veterans. The companies that dare risk going against the fears perpetuated by the MSM, are richly rewarded with the most efficient of employees.
And that is a dagger hidden in the cold embrace of those that wish to see the numbers of veterans treated for PTSD rise, that have shifted DoD budgets from warfighting to green energy construction, that argue that Our Troops do not need a payraise to maintain the decreased authorized end strength, that argue that the F-22 is not needed to deter a future conventional war threat. By shifting the DoD budget from Defense to Environment, from Warfighting to Health, from Retirement to Disability, they "increase" the overall budget, while decreasing our ability to fight the war they call a contingency.
Stumble It!
