05 April 2007: The "Feel-good" of Saying "Support Our Troops"

Before you read on let me explain something. I'm not entering the political diatribe here. America is the greatest country in the world not because of military power, but rather because of the freedom we all enjoy. Every one of you has the right to feel however you'd like, voice your own opinion, and change the political process with your vote. I realize that the war in Iraq is very divisive. I know that many of you are completely against the war. That's cool too. What I'm about to discuss is not a "my side, your side" rant. I'm not even going to mention a political party because it doesn't matter. However, a lot of men and women in uniform (including myself) are fed up with being used as a smoke screen. Whether you like it or not, our mission is to fight this war, to succeed in this war, to WIN this war. This war is the direction we've been given by our duly elected political representatives (regardless of party) and we intend to accomplish this mission. If you don't support the direction of the war then vote for change. The only way you can truly support us is to stand behind our mission. To say "I support our troops - I just don't support the war" is the same as saying "I support our troops - I just don't support their mission." That's a complete contradiction because the troops and their mission go hand in hand. It would be better to just say "I don't support the war" and leave the troops out. Right now I'm very angry at comments made by the top senator in the land. I'm not the only one feeling this way. I've just decided to speak my mind.

The proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" was dropped by none other than Senator Harry Reid. Under the guise of "support our troops" he has called the war in Iraq a "failure". In his exact words, "The war has been a failure. We have to bring our troops home." And then to justify everything he made sure to include the smoke screen that justifies it all, that he supports our troops and that we deserve public support. Senator Reid, have you ever read the Soldier's Creed? Do you know the four pillars of the Warrior Ethos? For that matter, did you ever ask our troops what they thought of your comments? Don't worry I'll spell them out for you. However, I will say up front - it is a contradiction to say "I support our troops, I just don't support this war." Quite frankly, it is a contradiction that is getting abused a lot these days. If there is one statement that demoralizes the men and women of our armed forces it would be that.

It is very much like using "global warming" to justify a comment about the environment (ex. "Because of global warming this will be a particularly destructive hurricane season") When did scientific theory become scientific fact? It hasn't. For every theory justifying global warming there's another that refutes. Yet it is very vogue these days to justify dire warnings about everything simply by saying "because of global warming." In much the same way it has become vogue to say "support our troops" as a justification for everything that follows negative about the war (ex. "because I support our troops we need to end the war and bring them home") Goddammit! Just say you don't support the war. I'm cool with that. Perhaps if you read the Soldier's Creed you'll understand what I just said.

The Soldier's Creed (Warrior Ethos in italics):
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.I am an expert and I am a professional.I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

The Warrior Ethos represents the heart and soul of today's soldier. Let me address each pillar as it relates to this subject.

I will always place mission first. What is our mission? To win this war. Have there been mistakes made? Hell yes. (I could go on and on - shouldn't have dissolved the Iraqi Army in 2003, should have had more troops available for the immediate post-invasion, etc. etc.) The Army is amazingly adaptive at learning from mistakes and implementing lessons learned. That's because mission accomplishment is our goal, focus, and top priority. We do things a lot differently now than we did just two years ago because we are learning and adapting. Every time we step back and apply a lesson learned it gets us closer to a successful conclusion.

I will never accept defeat. Accepting defeat is what Senator Reid is now espousing. He's the best propaganda minister the insurgents could ever hope for. The first objective of fighting a successful counter-insurgency is winning the hearts and minds of the local population. Conversely, the insurgency objective is to prevent that from happening and erode support for the war. Early on we didn't do a good job in the "hearts and minds" part but we are getting a lot better - much to the detriment of the insurgents. But here comes Senator Reid making his "failure" comment. What a surge of confidence you just put into the hearts and minds of every insurgent. Thanks Senator.

I will never quit. Nothing is ever accomplished by quitters. Americans love winners. Guess what? Winners never quit. Senator Reid you must have been the kid who always took his ball and went home when you didn't get to play quarterback. You want to guarantee failure in Iraq? Let's just quit. That's what you want to do isn't it? The only way we can truly fail there is to quit. It's too late to debate the events that led us to this point. Why don't you offer something constructive that could adjust our mission towards swifter success? Quitting is not an option for a soldier.

I will never leave a fallen comrade. And we won't. SSG Matt Maupin has been MIA since 2004. SSG Maupin we will not leave you behind.

Some of you may be thinking that I'm blasting Senator Harry "The Quitter" Reid because of his political party. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm writing this because of what he said. If my own mother had said what the senator said I would be debating her. I personally hate to stray into political discussion or even anything that hints at the subject of politics. But words mean things Senator and when you speak them it gives them power. You can't take those words back. You've made your message clear - your only solution to Iraq is to quit. The mission of our troops, according to you, is forlorn.

With that in mind I send out this personal challenge to Senator Reid - provide a clear, concise, constructive solution that will bring swift success for Iraq. Quitting is not an option. I invite you to contact me and explain how my mission can be completed successfully. Prove to all of us that you truly do support our troops by fighting for our ability to succeed. Success for us means that we have met the principals of the Warrior Ethos. Your present plan is a slap in the face to all of us who wear the uniform because it violates all four pillars that form the foundation of our creed. Stop saying you support us when, in fact, your words and actions say otherwise. So I'm waiting to hear from you Senator Reid. I'm looking forward to hearing your plan.

Friends and readers of my blog - please pass this message on. I am sincere in saying that I want Senator Reid to see this. I want him to respond - either publicly or privately. I doubt if he will. However, Senator if you do read this and want to respond submit a comment to this blog with your contact information. Although I am in Iraq I will get in touch with you if you make that a possibility.

For the rest of you? I'll stick to my normal subject matter from now on - I promise.