TO AFGHANISTAN, WITH LOVE
 
A letter arrived to my desktop last week detailing the experience of an eight-year Marine. Although much of what was endured was traumatic and seemed unnecessary hardship imposed by poor leadership, this Marine was not complaining about that treatment – or lack of it. Rather, the thing that most bothered this Marine was that following eight years honorable service, that eight years service was forgotten by our government and our people. The wife of a 13-year Marine spoke with me last week. She said the thing that most bothers her veteran husband is that after so many years of honorable service, he cannot even drive onto a military base – he has no benefits of service, other than education benefits he might have, the small burial financial assistance meted out upon his death, the issuance of a white grave marker and a piece of ground in a national cemetery that he can call home. Another story that came my way this week is that of a young warrior who served his time in Iraq, during which he was injured and left with a hole in his leg that a grenade could pass through. Upon discharge, he received very little help, his leg turned gangrenous, and the immense amount of necessary paperwork to get help from the VA impeded his treatment attempts. What reward is there for 4 or 6 or 13 years service? Do you travel to Afghanistan, trudge through the sand for 6 months times two or three or seven, return to the States, receive your walking papers and then turn to dust? The Proud, The Brave, The Forgotten? The Marine who served 13 years – you might be thinking, Why didn’t he just stay until retirement? He was a victim of the two decades of force drawdowns that followed the Cold War ending. He had the misfortune of being in an occupational specialty that was eliminated during the drawdown period. He wasn’t given a choice of staying or going – he was told his service was no longer needed. And after 13 years of honorable service, of keeping his nose clean and doing his job, he left the service without a single benefit, not even eligible for a base sticker so that he can drive on base. But why should he be allowed to drive on base – what business has he there? There is certainly nothing he can do on base, because when he received his walking papers, the gates closed behind and he was denied access to exchange and commissary privileges, to base library privileges, to night courses, to Marine Corps Community Services programs, to legal assistance, etx. As my friend’s Marine husband said – “They put me out like wet newspaper.” I think it’s about time our military discharge policies were reviewed. Is it fair that someone risking his or life in Afghanistan or Iraq at this very moment will be forgotten by the government as soon as his or her enlistment ends? Wouldn’t it be so very easy to allow anyone who has served honorably to use the exchange and commissary? Wouldn’t it be good business, providing more customers in a competitive corporate world? Wouldn’t it be nice if every person who has served honorably in uniform were granted an ID Card that allowed for various levels of base privileges based on time in service? And even more than nice, wouldn’t it be the honorable thing for our government to do? Wouldn’t this be the RIGHT thing for our government to do? I bring this issue up because force drawdowns have already begun. Plans are already being laid for reducing forces to pre-conflict numbers once Gulf War II (the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq) ends. I know, and every retired veteran out there knows, when your war ends your benefits gradually diminish in the same way that brand new car loses value the minute it’s driven off the lot. I think most Americans would agree – We don’t want to see this happen to our new generation of veterans who are giving their all to achieve Victory in the Middle East. What will make a difference during the next ten years is the voice of the citizens of the United States. If you as a citizen decide you are tired of paying taxes for a military that seems to have outgrown its mission, your congress hears you and takes action. This action always involves a slashing of military benefits for veterans and for active duty military members and their families. Remember the lack of armor when the war in Iraq began? The questions? The Whys? The answer is simple – without funding in peacetime, something has to go – usually equipment nonessential to peacetime training. When the shit hits the fan, the gear ain’t there. Watch Clint Eastwood’s film Hamburger Hill. What I am saying will be made perfectly clear. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the battle goes on. Young men trudge through the sand carrying a hundred-plus pounds on their backs and the weight of their country’s freedom in their hearts. They have my love, each and every one of them. Have you seen the film with Robert Redford, Jeremiah Johnson? In it a crazy old trapper on a mule rides into Johnson’s camp. They’re old friends, but see each other only a few times in their lives. It is the old trapper who tells Johnson’s story. As he rides through Indian Territory, the old trapper shouts with all his strength, rattling off stories and prayers, talking to God, keeping the Indians at bay through their belief he is touched. Well, I’ve taken to that practice myself. When I walk through the woods each day, I shout prayers for the safety and victory of our warriors , loud and clear – Keep them safe, Lord, give them strength and the vision to shoot straight. On and on I shout as I walk through South Carolina black water swamp and woods behind my home, hoping that with each word of love I send to you in Afghanistan and Iraq, wherever you might be in the battle for goodness in this world, risking your all, I pray that each word I say changes the path of a bullet or bomb sent your way, that in praying for you, I am protecting you. Are you alone in your nest in the sand? No – you are in my heart and my heart is filled with love for you. As long as there is breath in my body, you are not alone; you are never alone. For every breath I take, I exhale praise for you and prayers for your strength. I pray for your victory and your homecoming. Don’t worry about what’s going on back here or how you might be screwed out of your benefits – I’m covering your six, along with many other veterans, family and friends. My heart is filled with love for you and with prayers for your Victory and the peace that will surely follow. To me, you are The Proud, The Brave, The Never Forgotten. You are in my heart and there you will stay, safe until you are home in the arms of those you love. I will fight for you with the last breath in my body. And should you fear what the next moment might bring, should you feel alone in that moment, you need only say, or scream from the top of your lungs with all the breath in your body, the same words I say when I’m talking to God about you and asking him to give you his strength, his hope, his love: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…. BE STRONG, BE PROUD, KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED! Settle for nothing less than Victory and Peace in the Middle East and in your life!

AP Photo Courtesy of Cryptome

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday July 8, 2009. AP