Support Our Troops - Meaningfully

Paul Rieckhoff is a great American patriot. He understands that "supporting our troops" is important but also much more complex than displaying a yellow ribbon.

He served in combat in the Iraq war, and since he has been home, has been a tireless advocate for the veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a meaningful political policy to support them. He leads a group formerly known as "Operation Truth" and now renamed Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). On this past Memorial Day, he wrote, "every American should find a way to become part of the conversation about how we've gotten to this point in Iraq, what must come next, and how best to care for this newest generation of veterans."

He has a new book out called Chasing Ghosts, and you may catch him on one of the news shows out there promoting it.

I wish everyone in this country could have read his message, posted recently, as a way to observe Memorial Day. Here is an excerpt:

As of this writing, 2,458 American men and women had died in Iraq, and 291 had died in Afghanistan. More than 18,000 have been wounded, and untold thousands suffer the psychological trauma that is one of war's most devastating consequences.

How close are you to these costs of war? Chances are, you're not close at all. Only one-third of one-percent of the American population has served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Compare that with previous wars. In Vietnam, more than four percent served. More than 16 million Americans served in World War II - 12 percent of the population. Today, with no draft and a professional military, the American public is dangerously disconnected from the extraordinary sacrifices made by this nation's military families. There are 130,000 Troops still stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan whose loved ones back home are consumed by the constant fear that a uniformed officer will come to the door, bearing the worst news. For nearly 3,000 families, that fear has already been realized.

But according to the headlines, the greatest fears facing non-military families are the drain at the gas pump or the dismissal of the latest American Idol contestant. When I got home after a year leading an infantry platoon in Baghdad, the number-one story in this country was Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. This did not look like a country at war, and two years later, as American casualties in Iraq continue unabated, it still does not.

Read more of his May 30th post titled "Remembering the Costs of War" at his blog, "Chasing Ghosts", or at military.com.