A new Generation of the American Veteran is born

There is a re-occurring phenomenon happening across the United States. Recently it happen after World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and now it is happening again after September 11th, 2001. Have you really considered what that means for this generation and the next? Well sit tight because here is some Honest Talk:

I skipped over the first Gulf War on purpose. I have nothing but respect for those that served in the original version of the Gulf War, but our current experience in the Middle East is much different. Like the first, there are people experiencing combat. Unlike the first, those that are in harms way are far more numerous now. More lives are at risk and it doesn’t matter if a soldier is on what the media considers the front lines or the rear, they are still in harms way.

What the US is creating for itself is a new generation of the war shocked, men and women that understand that you can survive without what their communities consider the basic necessities. These people know what it is like to expect to commit what may be a brutal but required act of taking another’s life. Worse, many will have taken that step.

These are people that will watch others carefully, like in combat but now at their local grocery store. Some will count the number of people that they pass, like they did when they were on patrol. Many will have dreams of rifles and mortars, bombs and apprehension. They will have dreams of strangers with missing limbs showing up in wheel barrels. They will have memories of the same.

These people will fade into the backdrop of society and disappear. Some questions will be asked regarding the mental peace of these people, but when the soldiers don’t know what trauma they will face, they won’t be able to convey this to those in power.

As a new generation of veterans is created they must be cared for. People that have been to the current wars should be the ones that prepare for the return of the veterans. These people need to know what the US service members have been through, what it is like for them after ten months in the desert.

Homemade explosive v. Improvised Explosive Device (IED)

There was a report this morning of the deaths of two soldiers in Afghanistan. These soldiers were the victims of a "homemade explosive." Sorry folks, but the very term "homemade explosive" belittles their sacrifice.

When your average American hears the term "homemade" they normally think of something that is cheap, small, and not as powerful as the factory model. Don't you believe it. Here is some Honest Talk on the subject:

Explosive devices that are used in Iraq and Afghanistan should not be considered homemade anything. The people that use them do not have the budgets of a whole nation behind them. What they have are munitions, be they grenades, rockets, or mines that are over a decade old. Iraq's are from the 70's and 80's, where as the Afghanistans old stock piles (caches) are left over from when the Russians tried to take over the region, and countries like the US helped the so called Freedom Fighters by providing supplies and training. The Russians may have failed, but a lot of the ammunition was left behind.

These people have been making a lot with a little for many years. Organized cells/groups of people systematically collect and disassemble munitions. Once disassembled these munitions are put back together in such a way to make bombs of varying degrees of complexity and power. Sure, there are explosives where there is someone just waiting with their finger on the trigger. There are also IEDs on timers, hooked up to pressure plates, radio controlled. Hey, can you say, "Cell phone?" Well so can they, and they do.

Use the term IED. Use the term high explosive. Just don't say, "Homemade." Let's not sugarcoat what these brave servicemembers face, because it is easier to say during an election year. Their job is harsh and brutal, not easy and light. Let us think of brother and sisters, husbands and wives within the reality in which they find themselves living.

Bush's political use of Afghanistan's Presidential election masks real struggle

President Bush would have you believe that the recent presidential election in Afghanistan is an example of his great leadership as commander and chief of the the US Army. Senator Kerry keeps going on about missing Bin Laden about three years ago. Here's some honest talk for you:

Bush has screwed the pooch on the real war on terrorism. Don't ever think that there isn't a real fight going on in Iraq. Here's a not too well kept but often ignored secret for you - The fight is real because we INVADED the country. The actual war on terrorism lead us to Afghanistan. Al Qaida? Beat 'em. Taliban? Stomped them. But now the real job begins. It is easy to beat up a country that already self destructed. Now we have to put together a country that can run itself. Big deal, they had a presidential election. What about the warlords that control 99% of the country. Can anyone say war on drugs? Yeah, that thing that started in the 1980s in the US, but will be continued in Afghanistan, the world leader in opium production. How about corruption? Everything that moves in Afghanistan has been through the greased palms of everyone from A to Z.

How long will the war in Afghanistan take? Don't forget the aftermath of World War II. Here it is about 60 years later and we are still in Germany and Japan. South Korea doesn't really matter, we have only been there for a bit over 50 years. We were attacked, we responded. Does anyone really think that we are going to leave Afghanistan in any condition where another terrorist organization can rise? No. There is no way that we will be able to create a new, sustainable, lasting country within the next 20 years. To create a nation that will last, the US will have to be there for a long time to come. It won't be the UN or NATO. Even if it was, who do you think would be providing the majority of the forces? Believe it folks, we are going to be there for a long, long time.

Honest Talk for the first time

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