Every Day is Veteran's Day

Monday, October 4, 2010
I was listening to my NPR Podcasts yesterday. Inspired by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' speech at Duke University on the state of our all-volunteer force, one of the Tell Me More discussions was surrounding the state of our Armed Forces and who serves.

In his speech, Secretary Gates was attempting to convey the idea that having an extremely small all-volunteer force where the burden of two wars is carried by such a small percentage of the population results in a disconnect between those who serve and those they protect. He tried to encourage the students to consider a term of service in the military, while at the same time being completely honest about the stress and strain associated with multiple deployments on both service members and their families.

This is not news to me, and I didn't find anything in Secretary Gates' speech that I hadn't heard (or thought of) before. But the Tell Me More discussion made me think, especially these comments:
I looked at it [military service] as something kind of honorable. But more and more, its something now that even when I was coming up and now especially, it's looked as something that's like, say it's not honorable necessarily anymore. It's something, it's the last resort. It's like your last entry into middle class life.
"...it's not honorable necessarily anymore."

This made my blood run cold.

There have always been members of the Armed Forces who don't behave in an honorable fashion. Given the enormous stress of military service, it's surprising it doesn't happen more often. But such incidents are not indicative of our military culture as a whole, and do not imply that agreeing to a term of service is a "last resort." My parents had the means and the will to support me if I had decided on a college education straight out of high school. I had the means and the will to support the Smart Boy if he had chosen that path. Yet neither of us did so - instead, like millions before us, we chose to enlist and provide a term of service to our country. It wasn't a last resort. And it offends me that not only would someone consider my choice in that light, but also that they might consider the profession of arms to be a dishonorable profession because of a few bad apples or because the civilian leadership chooses to deploy our Armed Forces in an unpopular conflict.

There are many professions that people may choose not to pursue because they're not interested, or the work offends them, or they're not temperamentally suited to the vocation. You would never find me working in an abattoir, for example. But that doesn't mean that I don't see the value in that work, or that I have some moral objection to the people who perform it. I eat meat, which, as the saying goes, puts me on the same moral footing as the butcher.

And Americans who pay their taxes and elect their public officials are on the same moral footing as the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardsmen who protect them. To claim otherwise is to assume that somehow your enjoyment of the liberties and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution will never be threatened. Because human beings are so very live and let live, and non-aggressive, I guess.

The Armed Forces have many missions in today's world - peacekeeping, counter-insurgency, protecting the sea lanes, intelligence. But at its core, military service involves destroying property and killing people, or supporting those that do - using physical force to change the behavior of those who oppose you. It seems to me that there are a lot of people who consider this mission to be something they cannot do, and as a result, choose not to serve. That's okay - it doesn't make you a bad person, any more than my refusal to kill my own meat makes me one. But those who perform these tasks on your behalf do not deserve your disdain, and they don't deserve to have their profession labeled "dishonorable" because you haven't taken the time to work through the moral ramifications of what it means to be part of self-governing Republic with a standing Army under civilian control. These men and women deserve your respect. Your respect, not your lip service. And that includes making the Armed Forces a viable career option for your children, not a last resort.

I've written before about the dangers of an Armed Forces being isolated from the citizenry they protect, and the conversation on NPR reinforced my belief. It honestly never occurred to me that someone would be so morally immature as to assume that service in the U.S. Armed Forces wasn't an honorable endeavor while at the same time enjoying the benefits of living here. Members of the Armed Forces can behave in a dishonorable way, certainly, and sometimes their civilian masters deploy them dishonorably. But the profession isn't dishonorable. Because if it is, then our entire country is dishonorable.

Every day is Veteran's Day around here. I wish that was the case in more places.

9 comments:

Megan said...

Thank you for writing this.

Carol Elaine said...

I'll admit that, if I had children, I might hope that they not enter the service, but only because I would be worried about their well-being (and I am a bit of a peace-nik, so the thought of my children potentially shooting at others would give me pause, as well as being morally opposed to the recent wars the US has been involved in). But I would never consider it a step down or a dishonorable choice.

Is that because I was born and raised in the Navy and I have numerous friends who are vets? Most likely. But I would also hope that I would feel the same if my background and friends were different. And if my hypothetical children insisted that they wanted to serve our country, I would respect their decision.

Serving our country by participating in the military is one of the most honorable life choices an American can make. The thought that a large contingent of my fellow citizens might think otherwise hurts my heart.

Juan Federico said...

I think that you took what the guy was trying to say too literally, I have heard variations of that phrase my entire life. The point that person was attempting to convey probably, was not that 'the service' is dishonorable, but, that the hype surrounding being in the service should be over by now. Better still, there are better ways to make a living than spending your life through a term of military service. There have always been people who believe that military or any government service that doesn't have an immediate use (garbagemen, firemen and cops being the exceptions)is not needed. Try listening again and do it from a move on dot org frame of mind. It's not as bad as you think. ;)

Janiece said...

Better still, there are better ways to make a living than spending your life through a term of military service.

This example perfectly personifies by I find this attitude so damn offensive. Because I come from a family with a tradition of military service, I don't think there is a better way to spend your life. And the belittling of someone else's service because they themselves didn't make the same choice is just pure hypocrisy.

Karl said...

...there are better ways to make a living than spending your life through a term of military service...

If your definition of a life is just making a living, sure.

But some here consider making the protection and preservation of the ideals of this country their personal responsibility. To me, that's a life.

Thanks, Janiece.

Janiece said...

To be clear, y'all, Juan was giving an example. I know for a fact he doesn't feel that way hisownself, being a vet himself, of the Marine persuasion.

In case that wasn't clear.

Anne C. said...

"Serving our country by participating in the military is one of the most honorable life choices an American can make."

I totally agree, which is why it makes me nearly apoplectic with rage when a politician doesn't support citizenship through military service. How much MORE patriotic can you get? There are a ton of fat-ass 'muricans who do not value all the awesome things they get from citizenship, including their right to vote because they've never had to earn it. (Grrrr!)

Janiece said...

Anne, I hate those politicians with the heat of a thousand burning suns. Apoplectic, indeed.

Or as the Smart Man notes, these folks are just CLASSY: "Yeah, thanks for putting your life on the line to protect our country and our way of life. Now fuck off and go home. The benefits of your labor is for the white people. You know - REAL Americans."

ARGH!

Carol Elaine said...

Anne and Janiece, totally with you there. As a matter of fact, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and punch some of those politicians in the throat.

(And don't even get me started on DADT.)