Flag Etiquette and how it relates to U.S Veterans.

With Memorial Day Tomorrow, I figured I would post the differences in the Holidays for those that don't know. 

I ran across this article and shamelessly clipped it.  It is full of good information about flag etiquette and how it relates to Veterans.

by John Hages as it appeared in the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154 - Boo Coo News, January, 2018.

U.S. military salutes are steeped in tradition, some dating back hundreds of years. However, there are misconceptions about military salutes — understandable, considering the number of salutes that exist for various occasions. Some have even changed over the years, sometimes through acts of Congress. All of them, however, are intended to demonstrate great honor to those for whom they are conducted. This includes fallen members of the military, presidents, heads of state and even the nation.

VVA Chapter 154 Color Guard rendering 3 volleys on Veterans Day, 2017

Three-Volley Salute Calling the shots fired at a military funeral a 21-gun salute is incorrect. Even if there are seven soldiers firing three rounds each, this is not considered a 21-gun salute. The shots fired during a military funeral are called the firing of three volleys in honor of the fallen.
The firing of three volleys dates back to the custom of ceasing hostilities to remove the dead from the battlefield. Once finished, both sides would fire three volleys to signal that they were ready to resume the battle.

During the firing of three volleys, the rifles are fired three times simultaneously by the honor guard. Any service member who died on active duty, as well as honorably discharged veterans and military retirees, can receive a military funeral, which includes the three volleys, the sounding of “"Taps,” along with a United States flag presented to the next of kin. Three spent cases are usually inserted into the folded flag, one representing each volley fired.

The 21-Gun Salute hails from naval tradition where a warship would fire its cannons, rendering them unloaded, to signify its lack of hostile intentions. Ships would typically fire seven shots. Whether this is because that was the traditional number of guns on a British warship or because it is of biblical significance is unknown. Forts, having more ammunition, would fire three shots for every shot by a ship. Of course, this wasn't set in stone, and the number of shots fired differed greatly depending on the country.

Today, the 21-Gun Salute is fired by artillery batteries in honor of the U.S. President, former presidents, the President-elect and heads of foreign states upon their arrival and departure of a military installation. "Hail to the Chief" or the national anthem of the visiting dignitary is also played. The salute is also fired at noon on the day of a funeral of the President, former presidents and the President-elect, as well as Memorial Day in honor of America's fallen, and on Washington's Birthday.

Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif. (June 9, 2004) - U.S. Marine Corps Ceremonial Guard Company render a 21-Gun Salute in honor of former President Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, before his body is flown to Washington, D.C. where it will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. A state funeral will be conducted late Friday morning at the Washington National Cathedral, where President Bush will give the eulogy. On Friday, June 11, President Reagan's body will return to Calif., for a private burial service. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Jon D. Gesch (RELEASED)

In addition, a 19-Gun Salute is fired in honor of other dignitaries such as the vice president, the speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, chief justice of the United States, state governors, chiefs of staff and 5-Star generals. There is a ranking system for salutes to lower-ranking generals and other dignitaries consisting of dropping two guns for each flag rank junior to a 5-Star general.

Salute to the Nation The practice of firing one shot for each state was officially established in 1810, which at the time was only 17 guns. This tradition continued until 1841 when it was established as 21 guns. Current tradition has the Salute to the Nation as 50 shots by capable military bases, one for each state in the union, fired at noon on Independence Day, with naval vessels firing a 21-gun salute.

Copy of VA annual Veterans Day poster for 2017

Veterans Day While there isn't a gun salute dedicated to veterans, November 11 is a day when the U.S. and many World War I allied countries commemorate the sacrifices made by the men and women who served in the armed forces. Veterans Day is often confused with Memorial Day, or thought to be the same in their intent. Memorial Day is when we honor those who have fallen in service of our country. Veterans Day celebrates all living military service members.

Veterans Day was first created as Armistice Day by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 to mark the end of World War I. In 1938, Congress made November 11 a national holiday. Then, on June 1, 1954, President Eisenhower signed legislation that changed the name to Veterans Day to celebrate all military veterans. The exact day of celebration changed a couple more times over the years before being permanently established as November 11 due to popular sentiment.

Have you ever noticed that the honor guard pays meticulous attention to correctly folding the United States of America Flag 13 times? You probably thought it was to symbolize the original 13 colonies, but we learn something new every day! The 1st fold of the flag is a symbol of life. The 2nd fold is a symbol of the belief in eternal life.

The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing the ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of the country to attain peace throughout the world.

The 4th fold represents the weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.

The 5th fold is a tribute to the country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, 'Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong.'

The 6th fold is for where people's hearts lie. It is with their heart that they pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America , and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

The 7th fold is a tribute to its Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that they protect their country and their flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of their republic..

The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.

The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.

The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of their country since they were first born.

The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding them of their Nations motto, 'In God We Trust.'

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for them the rights, privileges and freedoms they enjoy today.

There are some traditions and ways of doing things that have deep meaning. In the future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know why.

Veterans Day at my Job

My employer believes in hiring Veterans and they are very accommodating to employees that get called to active duty and we at work do the "send care packages" to our troops in Afghanistan.
    Several years ago one of my friends started a "Veterans Day Celebration" and it has gotten bigger and bigger each year.  They ask us veterans to bring our shadowboxes and assorted souvenirs of our travels.

They had a cake cutting ceremony and the Oldest Veterans and the youngest veteran cut the cake, the symbolism from the oldest to the youngest and the bridge between all veterans.  The oldest guy is 58 and the youngest guy is 24.

The employer named one of their airplanes for the Veterans, the plane a Boeing 757 was repainted in October 4 years early and we have our own paint department and had the new graphics added for the ceremony.

And speaking of airplanes we had several Military planes make an appearance,
 

I figured Old NFO would be excited since this type of airplane is his war chariot.

Different View

The Plane number, I surmise that the plane is based out of Pensacola 
Jacksonville Naval Station

.The A10 Tank Killer, we Army guys love the A10, it would have been our edge against the wave of Soviet Armor as they flowed out of the Fulda Gap if WWIII had started, but the A10 romped amongst Saddam's Armor formation in Desert Storm and made quite an impression amongst the survivors.  It is one of the few planes that to my knowledge is NEVER offered for foreign sales but the Airforce keeps trying to kill the plane because they don't like ground support.missions.

The KC-135, a plane based on the "Dash 80", the prototype that was the inspiration for this plane and the Boeing 707.   They are similar but not the same airplane. 

The Tail of the KC135.  The Alabama ANG supplied the F16's from last year.

We also had this huge American flag that my employer uses for special occasions.

Another View

Also there there were several vehicles present.

The M1009 "CUCV"

A couple of funny stories from my first unit.  We had the colonels driver, this guy was an arrogant prick btw, he took the colonels CUCV romping on the tank trails at Honenfels and he figured he would splash one of the puddles on the tank trail....well he did more than that....he sank the vehicle in the tank trail...all you could see was the antenna's sticking out of the water...We called him the U-boat commander after that.  But that wasn't the end...what did it for him was that USAREUR has an oil analysis lab that analyzed the oil in all the vehicles to try to gauge the health of the vehicles.  Well  the test was done every 6 months and for 2 checks, they found metal shavings in the oil samples of the colonel's vehicle..Well they started investigating because the CUCV was new when issued and they found out that the driver was racing on the autobahns with the vehicle, by far exceeding the mandated speed limit set.  Well he got bumped.   We laughed our butts off....couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

The M38A1

The successor of the WWII "Jeep" and before my M151A1 jeep that I drove at my first Duty station

Baggage Cart..

My Employer has a specialized team that greets Soldiers that have died on America's battlefields and they have equipment dedicated for this use only and nothing else, they are painted a certain color and when they are not being used, they are parked under a concourse out of the weather.  

This is a video of the event.

The carts hold the challenge coins and various memorabilia since this got started several years ago.

The guy that started this was a mechanic on the line and he never served but his sons did and he wanted to do something that honored their sacrifice and it took off. This brings great credit on him, and the employer.

One of the tables of various stuff that we brought in to add to the festivities.

Some of my stuff, from my Soviet and East German Stuff to my 

Beer steins.  I could have brought more stuff but I still feel weird showing my 

stuff to other people.

Prayers to Chattanooga...

I was going to do a post about my experience with the new Airbus A350XWB that I got to experience...

   But My prayers go out to the families of the people killed in Chattanooga by an Muslim
 immigrant CBS News quoted two law enforcement officials as saying the suspect was Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.     I would make some snarky comments about our president if he follows past practice will classify this as "Workplace violence."  But I will instead hold off and my prayers will go out to the families and friends of the fallen Marines.

  I am sad and angry at the same time There is no honor in this. This is no way for Marines to die...at a recruiting station...unarmed  ..........dammit.

Local Airline Dedicates B757 to Veterans

Veterans Day is an important holiday, it is a unique holiday and it is a bit exclusive.  You have to be willing to put your country above your self interest and not all are capable of such an act.   I am proud to be a Veteran and associate with Veterans, as a rule we tend to be a better class of people.  We are patriotic, loyal, well informed and bound by a sense of duty that is mostly missing in the civilian world.

 Work and Cub scouts have had me very busy so the posting has been light.

I saw this on the local news outlet.

    As a Veteran I like seeing this stuff.  It helps to keep us in the public mind, so the veterans now don't go through what the Vietnam Veterans went through.


Delta dedicates Boeing 757 as 'Spirit of Freedom' to honor veterans

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November 9, 2012

Photo: More than 600 employees and invited guests gathered Friday for the unveiling of the ‘Spirit of Freedom’ Boeing 757-200 aircraft in Atlanta.
Delta Friday unveiled a Boeing 757 as the “Spirit of Freedom” in honor of the men and women – including more than 10,000 Delta people – who have served and continue to serve in the United States Armed Forces.
Richard was joined by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, Maj. Gen. Jim Butterworth, who serves as adjutant general for the Georgia National Guard and is also a Delta pilot, and Ronald Young, executive director for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. They joined more than 600 Delta people, elected officials and representatives from military organizations and Atlanta-based charities to commemorate the dedication at the TOC in Atlanta.
The Delta Honor Guard opened the program. This employee-led initiative administers honor guards –complete with flag ceremonies and patriot-themed ground equipment –when transporting fallen heroes home at more than a dozen U.S. airports.
During the event, attendees were encouraged to write letters to active-duty servicemen and servicewomen in Afghanistan. These letters will accompany care packages through the coordination of Delta’s Veterans Employee Network and its partnerships with the Coca-Cola Co. and the USO.
“At Delta, we have an obligation to support our employee servicemen and servicewomen, our veterans and the millions of others on active duty who fly with us each year,” Richard said in remarks at the ceremony. “In honor of their brave acts of service, selflessness and sacrifice, we are proud to dedicate this aircraft as the ‘Spirit of Freedom.’ “
Delta will continue to honor veterans with a gate celebration at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., Nov. 12-13. During the celebrationthe Delta Air Lines Foundation will donate $350,000 to the Fisher House Foundation to support veterans and families receiving treatment at military medical centers.
Anthony Smith, a 12-year veteran of Delta’s aircraft paint shop went into action Thursday morning to get the Boeing 757-200 prepped and painted for Friday’s event. The job took 10 hours but Anthony says it’s something he feels honored to do.
“It’s such a joy to work on special projects like this for Delta and to work for an airline that honors its employees,” he said. “There is a great deal of pride that goes into painting a plane dedicated to the employees who serve.”
“From employee volunteer efforts to military-friendly hiring practices and company policies, Delta is a leading example of outstanding support provided to men and women who serve our great nation,” said Gov. Deal at the ceremony.
In July, Delta accepted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for exceptional support of Guard and Reserve employees. Delta is the first airline to receive the honor in a decade and was nominated by its own employee.

Former Navy Seal forms PAC to Assist Rommney

I remember when Bush reported to the nation that we had captured Saddam Hussein.  The prevalent word in his speed was "we".  When Obungler reported the death of OBL, the word used mostly was "I".

Ryan Zinke in his Navy days. (Photo: IraqVetsForCongress.com)

Today, Ryan Zinke, an ex-Navy SEAL and Montana State Senator, announced the launch of Special Operations for America, a political action committee dedicated to “the election of Mitt Romney and like-minded candidates.” “Navy SEAL’s, Special Operations Personnel and Veteran’s across America have been outraged since Barack Obama conveniently took credit for killing Osama Bin Laden for political gain,” a statement announcing the launch of SOFA said. “The active duty military has no voice as they are forbidden to publicly engage in the political campaign process and it is career suicide for senior military leaders to speak out against the President.”
Mr. Zinke, who has frequently slammed the president’s handling of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, reiterated his criticisms of the operation.
“The President has failed and he is jeopardizing the safety of our troops, their families and our National security for political gain. Obama has exposed the identity of special operations units, leaked classified information, and limited the rules of engagement of forces on the ground,” said Mr. Zinke. “For those who have taken an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, it is a call of duty to take back America from a Commander-in-Chief that is incapable of understanding the sacrifices that have been made for the values that have made America great.”
Mr. Zinke has served in the Montana State Senate since 2009. According to Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans for Congress, a political action committee dedicated to electing Republican vets, Mr. Zinke was a member of SEAL Team Six, the elite unit that killed Bin Laden, from 1990 until 1993 and from 1996 until 1999. He held several titles including Task Force Commander. In 2004, In 2004, was named “Deputy and acting Commander, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM” in that capacity he “led a force of over 3500 Special Operations personnel in Iraq in the conduct of 360 combat patrols, 48 Direct Action missions, and hundreds of sensitive operations” and “was responsible for killing or capturing 72 known enemy insurgents and terrorists.”

I am at a bit of a quandry... I have service related ailments from my time in the Army 20+ years ago, I have skin problems, bowel problems( montazuma revenge) 1 screwed up knee and ankle and the ever popular PTSD plus hearing loss.  I was in the first Gulf War.  I have not filed for disability and part of me wants to so I can get covered under VA in the event that I lose my regular insurance.  The other part of me is " NO"  Compared to the Vets that have lost limbs, severe burns, ete,ete, my stuff is piddly.  Also I have bitched about the entitlement mentality and we need to cut the entitlements if we are to save the nation.  How can I bitch on principal if I too am getting money from the government?   Any of y'all have any ideas or suggestions?

Almost Half of New Vets Seek Disability

May 28, 2012

Associated Press| by Marilynn Marchione

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A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told The Associated Press.
What's more, these new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and Korea, just two.
It's unclear how much worse off these new veterans are than their predecessors. Many factors are driving the dramatic increase in claims - the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds, and more awareness of problems such as concussions and PTSD. Almost one-third have been granted disability so far.
Government officials and some veterans' advocates say that veterans who might have been able to work with certain disabilities may be more inclined to seek benefits now because they lost jobs or can't find any. Aggressive outreach and advocacy efforts also have brought more veterans into the system, which must evaluate each claim to see if it is war-related. Payments range from $127 a month for a 10 percent disability to $2,769 for a full one.
As the nation commemorates the more than 6,400 troops who died in post-9/11 wars, the problems of those who survived also draw attention. These new veterans are seeking a level of help the government did not anticipate, and for which there is no special fund set aside to pay.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is mired in backlogged claims, but "our mission is to take care of whatever the population is," said Allison Hickey, the VA's undersecretary for benefits. "We want them to have what their entitlement is."
The 21 percent who filed claims in previous wars is Hickey's estimate of an average for Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. The VA has details only on the current disability claims being paid to veterans of each war.
The AP spent three months reviewing records and talking with doctors, government officials and former troops to take stock of the new veterans. They are different in many ways from those who fought before them.
More are from the Reserves and National Guard - 28 percent of those filing disability claims - rather than career military. Reserves and National Guard made up a greater percentage of troops in these wars than they did in previous ones. About 31 percent of Guard/Reserve new veterans have filed claims compared to 56 percent of career military ones.

More of the new veterans are women, accounting for 12 percent of those who have sought care through the VA. Women also served in greater numbers in these wars than in the past. Some female veterans are claiming PTSD due to military sexual trauma - a new challenge from a disability rating standpoint, Hickey said.
The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did. That's partly because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal.
"They're being kept alive at unprecedented rates," said Dr. David Cifu, the VA's medical rehabilitation chief. More than 95 percent of troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have survived.
Larry Bailey II is an example. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan last June, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him.
"I pretty much knew that my legs were gone. My left hand, from what I remember I still had three fingers on it," although they didn't seem right, Bailey said. "I looked a few times but then they told me to stop looking." Bailey, who is from Zion, Ill., north of Chicago, ended up a triple amputee and expects to get a hand transplant this summer.
He is still transitioning from active duty and is not yet a veteran. Just over half of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans eligible for VA care have used it so far.
Of those who have sought VA care:
-More than 1,600 of them lost a limb; many others lost fingers or toes.
-At least 156 are blind, and thousands of others have impaired vision.
-More than 177,000 have hearing loss, and more than 350,000 report tinnitus - noise or ringing in the ears.
-Thousands are disfigured, as many as 200 of them so badly that they may need face transplants. One-quarter of battlefield injuries requiring evacuation included wounds to the face or jaw, one study found.
"The numbers are pretty staggering," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who has done four face transplants on non-military patients and expects to start doing them soon on veterans.
Others have invisible wounds. More than 400,000 of these new veterans have been treated by the VA for a mental health problem, most commonly, PTSD.
Tens of thousands of veterans suffered traumatic brain injury, or TBI - mostly mild concussions from bomb blasts - and doctors don't know what's in store for them long-term. Cifu, of the VA, said that roughly 20 percent of active duty troops suffered concussions, but only one-third of them have symptoms lasting beyond a few months.
That's still a big number, and "it's very rare that someone has just a single concussion," said David Hovda, director of the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. Suffering multiple concussions, or one soon after another, raises the risk of long-term problems. A brain injury also makes the brain more susceptible to PTSD, he said.
On a more mundane level, many new veterans have back, shoulder and knee problems, aggravated by carrying heavy packs and wearing the body armor that helped keep them alive. One recent study found that 19 percent required orthopedic surgery consultations and 4 percent needed surgery after returning from combat.
All of this adds up to more disability claims, which for years have been coming in faster than the government can handle them. The average wait to get a new one processed grows longer each month and is now about eight months - time that a frustrated, injured veteran might spend with no income.
More than 560,000 veterans from all wars currently have claims that are backlogged - older than 125 days.
The VA's benefits chief, Hickey, gave these reasons:
-Sheer volume. Disability claims from all veterans soared from 888,000 in 2008 to 1.3 million in 2011. Last year's included more than 230,000 new claims from Vietnam veterans and their survivors because of a change in what conditions can be considered related to Agent Orange exposure. Those complex, 50-year-old cases took more than a third of available staff, she said.
-High number of ailments per claim. When a veteran claims 11 to 14 problems, each one requires "due diligence" - a medical evaluation and proof that it is service-related, Hickey said.
-A new mandate to handle the oldest cases first. Because these tend to be the most complex, they have monopolized staff and pushed up average processing time on new claims, she said.
-Outmoded systems. The VA is streamlining and going to electronic records, but for now, "We have 4.4 million case files sitting around 56 regional offices that we have to work with; that slows us down significantly," Hickey said.
Barry Jesinoski, executive director of Disabled American Veterans, called Hickey's efforts "commendable," but said: "The VA has a long way to go" to meet veterans' needs. Even before the surge in Agent Orange cases, VA officials "were already at a place that was unacceptable" on backlogged claims, he said.
He and VA officials agree that the economy is motivating some claims. His group helps veterans file them, and he said that sometimes when veterans come in, "We'll say, `Is your back worse?' and they'll say, `No, I just lost my job.'"
Jesinoski does believe these veterans have more mental problems, especially from multiple deployments.
"You just can't keep sending people into war five, six or seven times and expect that they're going to come home just fine," he said.
For taxpayers, the ordeal is just beginning. With any war, the cost of caring for veterans rises for several decades and peaks 30 to 40 years later, when diseases of aging are more common, said Harvard economist Linda Bilmes. She estimates the health care and disability costs of the recent wars at $600 billion to $900 billion.
"This is a huge number and there's no money set aside," she said. "Unless we take steps now into some kind of fund that will grow over time, it's very plausible many people will feel we can't afford these benefits we overpromised."
How would that play to these veterans, who all volunteered and now expect the government to keep its end of the bargain?
"The deal was, if you get wounded, we're going to supply this level of support," Bilmes said. Right now, "there's a lot of sympathy and a lot of people want to help. But memories are short and times change."

Precision Drill Team for us older Veterans

Saw this on an e-mail link I had gotten from some of the places I used to be stationed at.

       I thought it was hilarious...but that is me.

    

Veterans internal Monologue

I was checking out other sites on my blogroll and Capt Tightpants had an awesome video.  As a veteran I have wanted to say a lot of this stuff.  It is definitely NSFW .

  Thanks Capt

Falling Star, If this nation don't connect with its military, it will lose more than our wars.

I have commented more than once that there seems to be a disconnect between our military and our citizens.  We have the average person on the street that has no idea what it means to serve and what the average person in the service does, except what some TV show or a video game.   There is no rush to serve, the average person is content to let "somebody else do it."  Many years ago, to serve was considered a rite of manhood for our society.  What is the rite of passage now?  I don't know what the new generation considered its rite of accepting the mantle of adulthood and the responsibility thereof?   I also fear that with fewer people serving there will be fewer that really understand what it means to serve.  Now when people find out that I have served and that I have been in combat, they look crosswise at me like they are expecting me to "go postal" or something.  I find more camaraderie with fellow vets, we seem to understand each other but the society at large we find mystifying.  What motivates them and their thought process we cannot fathom.
   
      What prompted this was this article I read
it is long, but a very good read.

By Paul R. Huard

Sometime in February, I will quietly remove a small pennant that has been a fixture in my classroom for more than six years. It is a Blue Star service flag, the symbol of a son or daughter on active duty in the U.S. military and a tradition dating back to 1942 when the banner allowed mothers to show publicly a child was fighting as a soldier, Marine, sailor or airman. Each star represented one child, and many families had flags with multiple stars. Entire neighborhoods often had these flags in their windows during World War II, and people were proud to display them. No one wanted a Gold Star banner; that indicated that your child was killed in action. Whatever the color of the star, it was a symbol of a nation connected to its military when everyone knew someone who was in uniform or at least possessed a personal understanding of warfare's human element and the soldier's role in American society.

My blue star is my son, U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew Wellington, 62nd Medical Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; his unit's nickname is "America's Medics." He will leave a military that may seem as if it is coming home, but it is still tasked with global responsibilities while facing manpower cuts leaving fewer Americans in uniform than at any time in the last 40 years. Matthew was a combat medic who spent 14 months in Iraq, first in Baghdad at the Green Zone's FOB (forward operating base) Prosperity, then in Diyala Province at FOB Warhorse. He is leaving the Army after nearly seven years and two enlistments in the service. During his 2007-2008 tour of duty he treated many casualties, often under fire from the enemy. He also went on countless patrols with his fellow soldiers, engaging in tasks ranging from finding and destroying weapons and munitions meant to kill Americans to handing out candy to Iraqi children. He earned the Combat Medical Badge and a commendation for his service. In 2009 while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, he treated 12 casualties who were among 42 victims shot by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist and radical Islamic terrorist responsible for the worst shooting ever to take place at a U.S. military base. Tragically, 13 people were murdered by Hasan, but Matt takes comfort in the fact that all the victims who came into the clinic where he was working that day left there alive. I know of at least three times that he was almost killed in the line duty while in Iraq. For his mother's sake, he speaks very little of those events.

I am a high school social studies teacher who was trained as a historian. In addition, before full-time teaching I was a journalist who covered government and politics including military matters. As a historian and educator, I owe my students the best perspective I can on this nation's past and its current responsibilities. Therefore, experience and education have shown me that for better or for worse the American soldier and America's wars are things that educated people need to understand for the sake of understanding and keeping American democracy. We are now in the longest sustained time of war in the nation's history. Even with the end of combat operations in Iraq, some 84,000 soldiers and Marines are in Afghanistan at least through 2014. The U.S. maintains sizable forces abroad at the invitation of foreign allies because of commitments such as NATO or the protection of South Korea. We even have about 1,300 soldiers in Kosovo as part of the United Nations multi-national taskforce keeping the peace there since the end of the 1999 war. We are a nation that protects the world. Some kind of informed connection to the military and its role is vital to knowing how to assess the president's job as commander-in-chief, whether the U.S. is achieving its war goals, and how the country treats its veterans.

However, that awareness is becoming harder and harder to find in a nation where few choose to serve. About 1 percent of the nation's population is currently in uniform as either active duty or reserve such as the National Guard, and that number will dwindle as factors such as budget cuts and the inevitable drawdown because of the end of the Iraq War take effect. During World War II, about 12 percent of the population was in uniform. True, it was a different time and a different war. But, an entire generation comprising millions of citizens had some personal experience with the duties, sacrifices, opportunities and pride that came with military service. That shaped citizens' outlook on everything from how they voted to what they considered the proper role of the United States in the world. This gap is particularly large among young people. In November, a Pew Charitable Trust poll indicated that while more than two-thirds of Americans over 50 have a family member who served in uniform, only one in three under 30 has. My own experience as a teacher bears this out in even more drastic terms: Out of the more 190 high school students I currently teach, only five have family members in the military. Perhaps a dozen have parents who are veterans.

Polling data consistently shows that the military is one of the most respected institutions in the United States. In a 2011 Gallup poll, 78 percent of Americans expressed "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the armed forces. (Congress, on the other hand, earns the lowest esteem, polling at just 12 percent.) Yet, it seems that today's respect for the military is often born out of pity or charity or guilt rather than any personal connection. Because of the hatred expressed by the counterculture during the'60s toward returning Vietnam vets or because society today lives like a nearly nine-year war had no impact on the lives of a majority of Americans, we owe the military a free lunch at every Applebee's from coast to coast. Most of the young people I know in the military just wish the average American understood what the military does and why it does it. They are grateful for the meal, but they want their fellow citizens to understand what the military does, how it gets the job done, and what the military should (or should not) be asked to do.

However, I am not writing a recruitment pitch. There is no doubt that despite the risks and hardships, military service is honorable, vital, and often personally fulfilling service. When I placed the banner on the wall behind my desk, I had no hidden agenda to convince my students to enlist – in fact, in the interests of scrupulous objectivity I have never had a military recruiter visit my classroom. (I have, however, when requested talked with students who were considering military service, offering them my perspective and encouragement as the parent of an active duty soldier, and I have written letters of recommendation for students enlisting in the armed forces or entering ROTC while attending college.) First and foremost, I wanted to help my students understand that for what often amounts to at least half of their lives an army of people, American people, people not much older than they, are at war. People fight wars – not a virtual reality game that is the Department of Defense's answer to Angry Birds, not storybook characters, not computer images in Call of Duty. People. Fight. Wars. My students' take on the politics, the necessity, or the futility of the Iraq War is their opinion and I do my best to spur discussion from all sides. But there is one message I give them that is non-negotiable. It is their fellow citizens who fight, and fighting means wounding and being wounded, killing and dying. Unlike their X-box, there are no infinite lives or immunity from the physical and mental toll of warfare on a battlefield.

We are a nation built on many principles, and one of them includes the idea of the citizen-soldier and his or her value. Yet, we see still another cycle of Congress and an administration deciding that more super-technology and fewer soldiers can save us. It's not the first time this has happened. (Remember: Hi-tech "shock and awe" was supposed to secure rapid U.S. victory during the first few weeks of fighting at the beginning of the Iraq War and then we would be greeted as liberators.) John C. McManus, whose brilliant study Grunts: Inside The American Infantry Combat Experience, points out that every time the United States turns to magic-bullet technology as a replacement for the never-ending need for young people with rifles fighting to protect the rest of us, we are heading for trouble because we are ignoring history. Whether youth choose the military remains their choice, but in a nation that frequently believes technology will save us we are on our way to what McManus calls a series of "an unhappy reality checks." If most of us have complaints about our cell phone service, why should we as a people believe that Pentagon super-science will be all it takes to stop, say, a nuclear-armed Iran? Victory through stealthy drones, Hellfire missiles, or death rays is the war we want to fight. It's clean, usually bloodless (for our side), and building all that hardware pumps billions of dollars into lawmakers' states and congressional districts. However, the wars that the United States has been forced to fight or chooses to fight have "been fought on the ground, usually by small groups of fighters, who require considerable logistical, firepower, and popular support." Nothing will change that reality, and we doom our military to additional hardship and death if we let our lawmakers think otherwise.

But, what if you don't want your son or daughter to join the military? Or, what if you decide that the military is not what you want to do? You have my blessing. All I ask is that you ask yourself why you are willing to let someone else's sons or daughters fight and die to protect you, your nation and the nation's interests. When Matt enlisted, a few friends and acquaintances asked me how I felt about sacrificing my son. I replied by stating that I was not sacrificing my son, but that I was supporting his informed decision, a decision that he made as an adult. He had other options in life. He received excellent advice from two veterans: a grandfather who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and a grandfather who served in the U.S. Army during the Cold War. He knew exactly what he was doing. I will not deny the tragedy faced by the families of the more than 4,500 Americans who have died during the Iraq War. But let me be frank: According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2009 (the latest statistics I could find) nearly 11,000 people in the U.S. died from alcohol-related accidents while driving. Nobody ever asks me about sacrificing my son when I loan him the keys to my truck. Americans need to get a better perspective on military service. Somebody else will always make the choice to serve, and in a nation that has no draft I can confidently say that the vast majority of the men and women who do serve are there because of their loyalty to one another and their love of the United States. One of the most admirable and selfless acts I know of us is when my son re-enlisted while in Iraq during a war when a motivated enemy held a dedicated interest in killing him. "I deployed because if I didn't someone else would have to," Matthew once succinctly told me. You see, there is more at stake than losing our wars. Our military is part of us as a vibrant nation that cares enough to defend what it represents. We are part of them, and it takes more than an easily uttered "Thank you for your service" to maintain that connection. That is why the phrase is called "popular support." We cannot continue this disconnect between the small percentage of Americans who wear the uniform and the overwhelming majority who have an adoring cluelessness about those who serve. If we do, we will lose even more of what unifies us as a people and a nation.

The blue star in my classroom is not enough. Nor are free lunches. Like a wish upon a falling star, as I take down that flag I will pray that the people of the United States will reconnect with their fighting men and women. George Washington, a man rightfully called The Father of Our Country, was a soldier most of his life. In his farewell to the nation at the end of his presidency, he called on the American people – a people who still possessed living memories of those who had gone to war so the United States could exist – to remember, "You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes." Through either service in uniform or education that teaches why the armed forces matter, we as a nation must be part of our military as vigorously as they are part of us, fully aware or fully experiencing the joint dangers, sufferings, and successes of a real call to duty. That is the only way real way to thank a soldier for his or her service.


Paul R. Huard teaches American Studies, Advanced Placement United States History, Economics, and Politics and Literature at Ashland High School, Ashland, Ore. His (step)son Matthew plans to major in engineering at Pacific Lutheran University after military service, and his daughter-in-law Lauren (also a veteran of the U.S. Army) is a microbiology major. Huard, who won numerous journalism awards for his work, covered politics and government for daily newspapers in California and Oregon before becoming a teacher.

.045%

I have noticed that there is a disconnect between the populace and the military, this is a dangerous position.  In the past the Military would draw their support from the populace, the military would draw their sons and daughters from this group.  But it has changed, we have a populace that is insulated from the decisions that are made by the politicians regarding the military.  We have people that don't know what it is like to serve and they were raised to be self centered and it is all about them( the OWS crowd).  To serve used to be a badge of honor from those that have done their time and got out.  Now we have people that look at us like we are something that they stepped on with their shoes.  I am seeing now what happened to the post 9-11 military as the same as what happened to the military after Vietnam.  The veterans are despised and insulted.   We are creating a new generation of people that have no positive feelings for the Military and the Veterans that have served.  Once a military loses the connection with the American people, the danger of tyranny is possible.  In the past to have the military go up against the American people was remote at best.  Now we are having a military that is developing a "bunker mentality" or the "US vs Them".  It will be easier for the military to turn on its civilian leadership or worse the American People.  This is what the founding fathers feared about having a large standing Military.  With this new defence act signed by Obungler, giving the United States Military rights to operate on American soil against the same citizens that we in the Military swore an oath to protect will cause great problems for the military and the society at large.
     I still espouse the "Starship Trooper" theory from Robert Heinlein, that only a citizen can vote, and only way to be a citizen is to have served.  If a person is willing to put the safety of his/her country before him/herself, that person will do what is in the best interest of the country, not in the best interest of themselves.

    A Veteran is a person that wrote a blank check to the United States for payment including life if necessary.
         There is Honor in that. 

From a General:

Thank you to the 0.45%
I remember the day I found out I got into West Point.

My mom actually showed up in the hallway of my high school and waited for me to get out of class. She was bawling her eyes out and apologizing that she had opened up my admission letter. She wasn't crying because it had been her dream for me to go there. She was crying because she knew how hard I'd worked to get in, how much I wanted to attend, and how much I wanted to be an infantry officer. I was going to get that opportunity.

That same day two of my teachers took me aside and essentially told me the following: Nick, you're a smart guy. You don't have to join the military. You should go to college, instead.

I could easily write a tome defending West Point and the military as I did that day, explaining that USMA is an elite institution, that separate from that it is actually statistically much harder to enlist in the military than it is to get admitted to college, that serving the nation is a challenge that all able-bodied men should at least consider for a host of reasons, but I won't.

What I will say is that when a 16 year-old kid is being told that attending West Point is going to be bad for his future then there is a dangerous disconnect in America, and entirely too many Americans have no idea what kind of burdens our military is bearing.

In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years.

In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years.

Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror.

These are unbelievable statistics.

Over time, fewer and fewer people have shouldered more and more of the burden and it is only getting worse. Our troops were sent to war in Iraq by a Congress consisting of 10% veterans with only one person having a child in the military.

Taxes did not increase to pay for the war. War bonds were not sold. Gas was not regulated. In fact, the average citizen was asked to sacrifice nothing, and has sacrificed nothing unless they have chosen to out of the goodness of their hearts.

The only people who have sacrificed are the veterans and their families. The volunteers. The people who swore an oath to defend this nation. You.

You stand there, deployment after deployment and fight on. You've lost relationships, spent years of your lives in extreme conditions, years apart from kids you'll never get back, and beaten your body in a way that even professional athletes don't understand.

Then you come home to a nation that doesn't understand.
They don't understand suffering.
They don't understand sacrifice.
They don't understand that bad people exist.

They look at you like you're a machine – like something is wrong with you. *
*You are the misguided one – not them.

When you get out, you sit in the college classrooms with political science teachers that discount your opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan because YOU WERE THERE and can't understand the macro issues they gathered from books, with your bias.

You watch TV shows where every vet has PTSD and the violent strain at that. Your Congress is debating your benefits, your retirement, and your pay, while they ask you to do more.

But the amazing thing about you is that you all know this. You know your country will never pay back what you've given up.

You know that the populace at large will never truly understand or appreciate what you have done for them.

Hell, you know that in some circles, you will be thought as less than normal for having worn the uniform. But you do it anyway. You do what the greatest men and women of this country have done since 1775 – YOU SERVED. Just that decision alone makes you part of an elite group.

Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.*

*AMEN!*

I shamelessly borrowed this from Daddy Bearhttp://daddybearden.blogspot.com/   A great site and a good blogger.  To expound on the article, I noticed that people who have served, usually served because of love of Country inspired by a family member.   I joined as my dad before me.  My brother still serves persuading helicopters to fly violating all the natural laws.  And if I am lucky my son will also serve.  I believe that we who enjoy the benefits of citizens of the republic must pay in service because the freedom isn't free and somebody must walk in the dark places to protect us.

Tam, mistress of kewlness on the InterWebs, has a good post up about how the Roman military was eventually made into a hereditary service.  The soldier watching the Rhein border region was sitting in forts built and maintained by his father and grandfather, and would train his son to take his place.  Eventually these armies lost their connection to the empire they were sworn to defend.  This was brought on by this article, which is by the way the best written thing I've seen written about soldiers and their families in a long time.


There are still a lot of people joining up whose family hasn't produced a soldier or sailor in generations, but there is a significant minority of people whose "daddy, granddaddy, and his daddy before him" joined up.  My family has been in the military since my mother's Irish ancestor* got off the boat in New York and joined up, at least twice, for the bounty.  I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of my kids ended up in the military, and I'm trying to raise them to go in with their eyes open and with at least a few skills to ease their transition to life in the barracks.

The civilian population is, for the most part, disconnected from the military in general, and those who are or have been deployed to combat in particular.  To them, the military is either something they see in a movie or a video game, or a half-remembered uncle who went to Vietnam or a grandfather who fought in France.  A couple of times a year, they donate a quarter to the VFW guys in front of Kroger, maybe fly the flag on the 4th of July, and have a barbecue on Memorial Day.  If they have time, they'll watch "Saving Private Ryan" on cable and cry at the end.

When the vast majority of the country has absolutely no connection to the military, and the military becomes an almost hereditary silo apart from the people they defend, bad things start to happen.  Military leaders start to look at the politicians who give them their marching orders as unworthy to lead, and the rank and file stop identifying with the country and start identifying with their commanders.  Remember, the best sheep dogs are raised with the sheep, and identify with them.

On the flip side, the civilians start to look at the military as either a money pit to be starved, as happened to the U.S. military in the 1920's and 1930's, or to be used as an international "feel good" force used to react to the crisis of the moment, as happened in the 1990's.  In this case, the sheep stop feeding the dog, or get him barking at all the little noises in the pasture until he is too exhausted to fight the wolves when they invariably come over for dinner.

Again, I see this as a big city/little town issue.  Louisville may have ceremonies at Cave Hill and Zachary Taylor Cemeteries for Memorial Day, but Bardstown had a chunk taken out of it a generation ago, and still remembers her sons every day.  Kids may go to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox every so often on a field trip, but a school that has 20 or 30 fathers, mothers, and teachers deployed with the National Guard is reminded of the war every morning.  I'll bet that the recruiters in the small towns and cities around the United States have an easier time getting recruits than those in San Jose or Chicago. 

One good off shoot of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is that there is now a good leavening of veterans entering the work force and politics.  Even if they are still a small minority of society, they can influence the rest of us to remember those who protect us.  The large use of National Guard and Reserve forces, while disruptive, will force communities to recognize that their peace and stability is bought at the cost of the lives and sweat of their fellow citizens.  Even though there will always be the "my daddy, and his daddy, and his daddy before him" soldiers, hopefully there will always be a majority of young people who join just because they think it's a good idea.