I hear a lot of people who say they support our troops, and I believe them. You see lots of yellow ribbons on cars everywhere you go. My church, like a lot of churches, holds our veterans in high esteem, and constantly remembers those currently serving in our prayers. On Facebook, there’s a constant stream of pro-military videos and posts. I have no doubt in my mind that Americans overwhelmingly support our troops.
The feeling is reciprocated by the troops. They love our country. They are willing to submit to hardships and dangers that can really only be understood by someone who has served. Many face danger and death daily, not only in combat zones, but in hazardous training missions designed to prepare them for combat.
In 1998, 12 members of the 66th Rescue Squadron were killed in a training accident. The 2 helicopters they were in collided, killing everyone on board. Like everyone else in the squadron, I was devastated. The accident investigation found that a primary cause of the accident was basically stress and exhaustion caused by constant combat deployments. I was extremely angry at the time, and am still angry. I do have to say that I don’t believe any of the guys who were killed would be. They worked hard, and they flew hard. They all loved their jobs, and recognized and accepted the risks they were asked to take. The Rescue motto is “That Others May Live”, and they believed in that. They died doing something they loved, for a country they loved. They were some of the best and bravest men I’ve ever had the privilege to know.
That said, however, it was then, as it is now, my belief that their deaths were unnecessary, and imminently avoidable. The strongest men and the best pilot will make mistakes when pushed too hard and too far, and now, as then, we as a country push too hard and ask too much. We have been at war constantly for 13 years now. Our troops have been used and abused in 2 concurrent wars that were ill-conceived, if not just plain stupid. I don’t know what other options we had, but I feel sure there had to be better options than this. Our troops deserve better than to just be thrown at problems because our leaders lack the imagination or intelligence to find other solutions. They deserve better than to be battered, beaten, and broken in the service of our country at the whim of politicians and lobbyists who benefit from our troops’ sacrifices at no risk to themselves.
The men and women in our armed forces are willing to die for us. I think that if we really, truly support them, then the least we can do is to try to make sure that when they do, that it’s worth it. We have the best military in the world, manned by the best men and women this country has to offer. We owe it to them to use them properly, respecting them enough to not ask them to make those sacrifices unnecessarily, and making sure that when they come home, they get the support they deserve, not just platitudes and lip service.
Supporting our troops has to be more than just putting a sticker on a car, or praying for them. We do that much for a high school football team. We’ve got to let those in leadership know how we expect them to lead. We’ve got to get over the “Kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out” mindset that we’ve adopted over the last 50 years or so. The cost of war is high. We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure that those who pay that cost don’t do it in vain.
