FIRING SOLDIERS

Downsizing the military is really called "firing." It happens after every conflict. As a country we are so stupid. With the present SecDef, Chuck Hegel, I had hoped for more. He is acting like an Alice in Wonderland character who just woke up in a new world. Hegel has been in the Army and should "get it" more. 

I saw it after Vietnam, we threw soldiers out of the Army who had given their life's blood for their country with barely an Elvis "thank you very much." Promises that were made were discarded. And worse still were those like Mel Laird who let economist Mort Friedman lead him down the prime rose path of ending the military draft. Suddenly youngsters in America didn't have to confront choices like serving their country. 

We've had a good military since the AVF (All Volunteer Force) but they've come from a socioeconomic pool, not representative of our country. A smaller military resulted in repetitive tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, handicapping soldiers both physically and emotionally--something we will be dealing with for years, PTSD/TBI. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/Traumatic Brain Injury)

And, then there are "base closings." By the time Military Installations are turned over to civilians, the cost savings are negligible. Worse still is the "loss of presence" to the civilian community. The San Francisco Bay Area is a good example. Relatively speaking, they have seen all military go. The Presidio, Oakland Army base; others too numerous to mention. This is a great loss to our culture. The civilian community loses the sense that the military belongs to them. 

And, it isn't good for the military. They become cloistered, a subculture. They go to war and have an experience that defines them while less than one percent of Americans have any idea of who they are. And, they will go to war. After Vietnam, we thought, "lesson learned," we will never be this stupid again. Guess what? We were: Iraq/Afghanistan. And, we will be that stupid again.