PrintJanuary 1, 2007
Re: Breaking Private Ryan
As a career soldier for over thirty years, I can tell you that the most important factor of any scenario that portends to describe the breaking of the US Army or Marine Corps is that of losing the support of the American people. So long as the US military enjoys the support of the majority of Americans, it can weather the storm of the current challenge of fighting Islamic terrorism. All wars stress militaries. But, this stress can be endured if those fighting enjoy the support and love of those they serve.
Readiness mandates that worn out equipment and supplies be replaced, that money be made available for training, and that money be ensured that will bring in new recruits. All of these are important, but all of them are meaningless if the American people no longer trust or support its military. The tragedy of Vietnam was that the American people turned on it military members and confused those who wore the uniform with those who determined policy. I was a private in 1971 and I recall that most American treated me as though I was some sort of killer--even though I had never set foot in Vietnam.
What I fear now is that the leadership of the Democrat Party, who are the same people who did not support our troops during the Vietnam war, will revive this tactic. My fear is that they will resurrect the hatred our citizens for its warriors as they did during Vietnam war and let this loose on our troops today. Once that occurs the military will collapse, or become so ineffective that we will be forced to withdraw not only from Iraq but from Afghanistan and any where else where terrorist enjoys safety.
I fear that they liberals in power now will do just as they did from 1974 to 1983: they will make us incapable and unwilling to defend ourselves. In 1983 this trend ended. It came when Ronald Reagan announced the the US would invade and liberate a tiny island in the Caribbean, the island of Grenada. He drew the line and sent a message to the Soviet leadership that America's retreat was over. From then until the victory in the Gulf War, America rebuilt its military--both physically and morally. It became the best military in the world.
No matter how tough the mission, the US military can endure the strains of war so long as they enjoy the genuine support of its citizens. We must not allow Nancy Pelosi or Senator Reid to use the military as the means to achieve the Democratic party's domestic agenda. We citizens must not allow the main street media to portray our military as killers or those not worthy of our support and respect. How do we do this? We do it by letting those who produce these programs know that we will not buy their stories, nor will we buy the products from those who sponsor the programs. We will not watch their false reporting or read the false stories. When their bottom line is affected, the MSM will stop its biased reporting or they will go out of business just as did the left wing talk radio show.
Paul Moody
Gainesville Virginia
Gainesville Virginia
