The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms, the Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
Concerns here are much less about WWII and before. Much more about the US Dept. of Defense era.
The US Dept. of Defense was created in the late 1940s.
DOD has a long history with undeclared wars.
Decades after the lessons of Vietnam, it feels like the people who run the Pentagon specialize in undeclared/unwon wars. The DOD brand has been wrecked.
Democracy Nonsense
If we live in a democracy (many people say so), when do we vote on decades of undeclared/unwon DOD wars?
The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.
Look for newspeople and school teachers to ask zero questions in these areas.
Don’t lie to people and maybe they would be more patriotic.
Department of War/DOD & Armistice Day
Each November, school teachers across America host Veterans Day assemblies– and promote the idea to children that The Troops are in distant lands-fighting for American rights and freedoms-as if the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization.
In Washington State, these assemblies are mandatory.
The VA tells teachers that The Troops are Defending Liberty and Freedom.
In the 60s & 70s I never attended a Veterans Day assembly at school.
There were none.
Probably enough veterans around to remove most of the mystique, or maybe those veterans thought it was all just an average thing and did not want to be seen as a separate part of American society, or get head of the line parking spots over at the grocery store. Maybe the concept of Armistice Day had not gone completely extinct.
Growing up in the 60s & 70s- veterans were all around- church, school, Boy Scout leaders, family, the neighborhood, etc. It was all just an average thing. These folks weren’t seen as a separate part of American society.
People weren’t stepping over to say “Thanks for your service” to my Dad- who did time in the Navy in the 50s- but looked just like anyone else out in public.
These guys weren’t lining up for free dinner promotions marketed by major restaurant chains.
Decades after the lessons of Vietnam, the Pentagon seems to specialize in undeclared/unwon wars.
Both major parties are OK with federal prohibition of alcohol and tobacco for adults age 18-20.
No such thing the day I graduated from high school.
That was before decades of military operations for your freedoms.
Both major political parties are now OK with treating 18-20 year old adults as second-class citizens.
Why do elected officials and high level DOD civilians speak of the US Armed Forces as if they function as some sort of giant civil rights organization?
Any elected official or retired elected official who tells us The Troops were sent to protect American rights and freedoms needs to explain how those rights and freedoms are any different today because US troops were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Macho Swagger
Watch Secretary of War Pete Hegseth takes thrilling fighter jet ride with ‘Top-Gun’ pilots:
Since 1986 Top Gun:
The US Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911.
We haven’t won a war since.
Related:
Most And Least Meaningful Federal Holidays
The people of Alaska need services in the Middle East
National Military Appreciation Month
The Department of Defense was established in 1949. What part of DOD history involved US troops sent to locations where the constitution was threatened?
Take An Oath To The Constitution
No one who has done time in an average military unit would be comfortable with everyone present being called a hero. Some units would be the exception, but for most people who have done time over the years, calling everyone a hero would have no connection to reality.
Reality, and an honest understanding of why we send The Troops to far away places isn’t what we’re about though.
Fantasy: Honor the troops in honest, respectful and proper ways.
It feels like a society where honest and meaningful ideas stand up to questioning and discussion, but the questioning and discussion rarely takes place.
US Troops were sent into life and death situations in the aftermath of 911.
For this reason it is important to ask questions and develop a feel for what is real and what is honest.