The Long Way Home; Obama’s Decision to bring Iraq Troops Home

As a former U.S. Marine, I was very excited to hear that finally all of the Iraq troops were coming home and this president had just delivered on yet another campaign promise.  I was a little dismayed by some of the talk I heard from pundits, reporters, commentators and experts who spoke from many different points of view and many negative.  I felt much better when I realized that they were all speaking from a position of little to no real knowledge of the interior workings that Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines in the past and present have to deal with.  That is the taking of a life.  It’s nothing like the taking of a life in the Civilian World because here you have a chose and there you don’t. 

Some reported the view from the White House as one of political means while others saw it as an economic decision.  I see it as a Commander-in-Chief who has been informed and has come to the conclusion that keeping hard-charging individuals cooped up in a mission where they were not doing what they are trained to do was not worth the treasure.  I saw it as a politician who kept his word and gave us something and someone to believe in again.

In my opinion and based on my experience, military personnel are designed to go in, take care of business and get out.  They are not designed to occupy and maintain much of anything.  There are those much better suited for that line of work and there are those specifically trained to do that kind of job.  Fighters are not those types of people.  Fighters are designed for a specific mission with no specific time frame but a clear goal to accomplish.  Once that mission is accomplished, they are designed to withdraw, debrief, wind down and begin again.  We are the sword in the hands of the American people to be used to defend and protect those who cannot defend or protect themselves.  Any sword that is constantly used will eventually becomes dull and full of Knicks.  It needs to be re-honed and sharpened again for the next encounter.

What should be the focus of all politicians hired to work on behalf of the country is what we are prepared to do to welcome all those heroes home.  Are we prepared to make sure that they can support their families with jobs and a place to live or are we satisfied that there are plenty of bridges that they can live under?  Are we prepared to insure that they can go back to school and get that education they want or are we satisfied that just talking about what we should do is plenty?  For me, I am prepared to make their coming home better than mine was and to help them transition from military life to civilian existence.  Ask yourself what are you prepared to do.