Support Our Troops

All,

I am a twenty year veteran of the U.S. Army. You all know that. I have been in Washington recently as the scandal over Walter Reed Army Medical Center has come out. As a citizen, soldier and public intellectual I am disgusted.

How can we, Americans, allow for such disgrace. How can we believe anything that our President says about supporting our troops. That word support does not just mean sending candy bars to Iraq and other places. Most of us can get along without those things when deployed, what we want by way of support is to know that if we get blown up, parts of us gone forever, that there will be a place that we can go to be medically treated and respected for the service and sacrifice that we have displayed in difficult places.

John Kerry was made to look like a fool by George Bush during his presidential campaign over a vote for some money. Yet no one is on the full scale attack on Pres. Bush for having these kinds of conditions exist on his watch. How can you start a war and not estimate casualties? How can you start a war and not expect to have your aftercare in place? How can you start a war and not plan for extended medical care? How can you start a war and plan to close down the hospital that will receive the wounded and severely crippled? And he wants to urge us to support our troops, this is the pinnacle of lunancy.

Support the troops, send your representatives letters, phone calls and emails. Do not let my brothers and sisters returning from battle have to live like this. Not again. Give those who are willing to go and do the job the respect they deserve.

Many of you will ask, "Doc, if you see this stuff will you still go back in if they ask you to?". Yeah, I might. Funny thing about being a soldier, your pride for duty, honor, country may be greater than your personal sense of equity. For my Army I would do much and have done much. I wonder if the civilian leadership would do the same...from where I sit right now, it dosen't look like it.