After 9 years of war, even the highest levels of politicians have begun to realize that there is a wide divide between the average Citizen and Our Troops that protect Our Nation. That shouldn't surprise them; many of them helped create the divide. The Chief Politician publically called in question those Citizens that displayed their Support of Our Troops on their cars during the 2010 campaign. A Constitutional Lawyer in Texas has even blogged that she respects Our Troops no more than she does the mailman.
A bumper sticker neither ensures true support, nor indicates a lack of it. Ask the owner how (s)he Supports Our Troops and you'll likely hear a long list of meaningful ways.
The low point in Civilian-Troop relations, of this war, occurred between 2004 and 2007, when Candidate Kerry stated that Military Service was the result of poor academics, when protests against the war had the largest numbers, when a political party saw its future power in retreat and defeat of Our Troops in Iraq. In hopes of turning greater numbers against the war, the now convicted Representative Rangel, called for a return to the draft.
The disconnect and the public backlash towards Our Troops was directly responsible for the rise of "milblogs," as Troops realized that the MSM was painting a false picture and that there just weren't enough Citizen-Troop relationships to overcome it. The first to step up in defense of the Honor of Our Troops were the Veterans who had been most abused by the Civilians of this Nation: Viet Nam Veterans. Viet Nam Veterans took to the streets in counter protests of the "anti-war" crowd, finally able to strike back at those that had hurt them most, in order to defend GWOT Veterans from the same injuries.
Military life means a move away from his hometown. It means regular moves for his time in the military, every two to four years, in almost all cases. Throw in a combat tour and even his wife can feel distanced.
While the Military is a set of cultures of its own, unique to the USMC, 82nd Airborne, and Support Commands, a Marine has more in common with a Paratrooper than he does with a Berkeley student, and is probably more intelligent and educated as well. A Paratrooper has more street sense and is more traveled than the Professor or urban gangster.
Combat presents its own disconnects. It is not easily describable to those that haven't experienced it, though words are often not needed for those that have. Combat Veterans often don't wish to attempt description to civilians, not just because it is difficult enough to describe to those trained and waiting to go to combat, but because they experienced it to prevent Citizens from having to. World War Two wives have stated they're still in the dark on what their husbands did. Many Combat Veterans volunteer for multiple tours with the phrase, "If I don't, someone else will have to." Embedded within that is "and they may not the experience I do."
There have been few descriptions of combat endorsed as "authentic" by Combat Veterans, but for an unexperienced reader, do the same elements strike the same emotions, the same feelings? Probably not. Those that have not experienced something would likely come away with a different event than those that have. Perhaps the best description of war is:
"Long periods of boredom pierced by moments of extreme intensity."
But wars are described in many different ways at many different levels. Even when Generals amassed large Armies and directed them with horns and semifores, his experience was vastly different than that of the Private in the fray. And the historians that literally sat on the sidelines saw things differently than the wives that followed in tow. Today's Generals are unlikely to feel the trajectory of a bullet and the worst wounded Infantryman is more likely to survive than were the slightly wounded of the Civil War.
In Desert Storm, accidents, friendly fire, and a single SCUD missile each competed for almost the same number of US fatalities. That resulted in a backlash towards identifying friendly forces and accident prevention, without recognition that there were few fatalities at all. But in today's wars, few Troops fall to "friendly" fire, even though in the earliest days of the War In Afghanistan, errant bombs killed more than did the enemy.
John Keegan, in The Face of Battle, attempted to frame a new historical record of battles that included the point of view of the Private, the General, and the Statitician. Richard Lowry, in New Dawn: The Battles of Fallujah, captured that style in the first book I've seen of modern combat of its kind. It is perhaps the best historical account of any battle in the War in Iraq. For Afghanistan, the best record written to date is still Robin Moore's The Hunt for Bin Laden. But today's war there is much different than was the invasion.
But how do we re-connect America with her protectors? As a Veteran, I find it a bit uncomfortable when a Citizen thanks me but at the same time I want those Citizens to demonstrate their gratitude to my Brothers in Uniform. I've seen Troops inundated with care packages to the point that it becomes expected and routine, but also those that were short even letters from parents.
During one conversation amongst those that do Support Our Troops, a woman was looking for ways to increase her actionable support. We were exploring ways to help in her endeavor, when the high level member of the organization privately asked that I move in a different direction. She didn't want the physical things which the supporter could make. She wanted cash contributions to the organization itself.
To put some perspective on it, the supporter had time but little money. She had a skill but little in the bank. She ardently wanted to actively Support Our Troops in a meaningful and personal way. The non-profit manager had a warehouse full of such support and wanted a bank account to be more nimble in material support. How does one balance the sincere desire to help with an agency that didn't want that particular kind of help?
The supporter was providing what she could, with sincerity. It provided her with a sense of doing something and helped to connect her with Our Troops. I broke ties with the organization, not because it didn't have a necessary purpose, nor because it didn't have great volunteers. It does. I broke ties because it has poor leadership and poor accounting. It takes its wonderful volunteers for granted, while its "leadership" act like celebrities with what appears to be the same motivations. Though I've advocated for consolidation in Troop Support Non-Profits, it provides a poor example of it.
To re-connect Our Citizens to Our Troops, it will take reaching out from both sides. Milblogs are one way the Troops are reaching out. Care Packages are one way that Citizens are reaching out. Some Citizens have formed more specialized Non-Profits in line with their own hobbies, such as one in Florida that takes Veterans SCUBA diving or others that take Troops hunting or fishing. These are great programs and great ways to re-connect by common interests.
But it is my opinion that Our Citizens need to know why they need to reach out. Most that read this are already Supporters of Our Troops. They read the daily news from Iraq and Afghanistan. And that is an important part of knowing why they do. The average citizen gets more news about Lindsay Lohan, the NFL, and Dancing with the Stars than they do about Our Troops in Afghanistan or Iraq. The MSM simply isn't reporting it.
The average Citizen is currently more concerned with unemployment and the economy than the War in Afghanistan. For those readers that would like more Citizens Supporting Our Troops, I would ask that you forward the news to those you know. Whether it is the news from this site or from similiar sites that provide similiar news in a different way, subscribe to the newsletter or email links to your friends and family, and particularly to your politicians. Link to the best stories of the best sites you find in the Milblog world.
Though there is a partisan divide, there is no need to make it a party line. There are Independents, Democrats, and Republicans in the Military and that Support Our Troops. If you think the other party isn't doing what it should to Support Our Troops, show the members of that party the truth. Ask them to pressure their own party to change its ways. But to do that, they have to know the ground truth. They need to know what the Troops are really doing, not just the latest number of friendly fatalities the MSM is reporting.
And if you're looking for the best way that you can Support Our Troops, look to those things you like doing or those things you are good at doing. Then look for organizations that do those things. There's a dizzying array of Non-Profits out there and probably one in your niche. You may need to start a new chapter in your area or you may find its already there. And if you come up with a brand new idea, perhaps you need to start your own. If you find an old idea with poor leadership, you may need to get involved and turn it around or you may need to start one with better leadership, but do it for the right reasons.
Stumble It!
