While you and I are sitting at home, enjoying all the creature comforts, American fighting men and women are in distant lands, including Afghanistan and Iraq, sweating their butts off, literally, while going on patrols, doing raids, and other duties, and their performance – or responses – could be the difference between life-and-death.
As for Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate who is doing a tour of specific areas in Afghanistan and Iraq, supposedly getting a first-hand look at the situation on the ground, things are much different. His environment will be hot, sandy, dirty, but secure, for the most part. Because Obama, like McCain and others during past trips, are members of Congress, the military will provide a shroud around the "dignitaries" – ensuring, to the best of their ability, the survival of the elected officials, even at the expense of service men and women.
In preparation for his trip this weekend, Obama sought advice from at least two fellow senators in advance of his trip this weekend. They are Sen. Jack Reid, of Rhode Island, and Sen. Chuck Hagel , of Nebraska.
It’s a wise move on Obama’s part to seek out advice before heading into a combat zone, as well, what he calls his wife, a civilian. Barack Obama feels he will make a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, listen to some firsthand accounts from America’s fighting men and women stationed in the war zones, and understand what’s really going on.
As for Obama turning to Reed and Hagel for sage advice, that’s wise. Hagel is a combat veteran, having served with the United States Army in Vietnam in 1968 with his brother, Tom, as an infantry squad leader in the 9th Infantry Division. Hagel earned many military decorations and honors during his enlistment, including two Purple Hearts.
Reed, on the other hand, earned him an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971. After graduating from West Point, received his Second Lieutenant (butter bar) commission in the United States Army, where he became airborne qualified (paratrooper), and later successfully graduated Ranger school. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division as an infantry platoon leader, a company commander, and a battalion staff officer. Reed resigned from the Army as a Captain in 1979 when he enrolled at Harvard Law School.
Listening to Reed and Hagel is a good start. Visiting Iraq and Afghanistan and listening to the troops – hopefully, firsthand, off-the-record, and without a security detail taking notes and names – he may learn a little more about the realities of day-to-day life for the troops, from the troops’ perspective.
To get a real understanding of the situation in Iraq, though, and to be an effective Commander-In-Chief, Barack Obama ought enlist in the U.S. Army or the U.S. Marine Corps, serve in the Infantry, and go to Iraq for a tour or two. After humping a rucksack, his LBE (load-bearing equipment), his weapon and ammo, his water, and his body armor, as well as fending for his life, not to mention being the eye-and-ears for his team, Barack Obama will learn, firsthand, what combat is like, but, more importantly, what the real situation in Iraq is like.
If Barack Obama wants to take the "short course," dump him in desert fatigues, give him a day of training, a day of weapons qualification, and let him spend a few weeks in Iraq or Afghanistan – his choice – and really go out on patrols. Let him see what it’s like to come under fire, as well as return fire. Let him learn, firsthand, what it’s like to take sight on an insurgent, shoot, and watch the insurgent’s body fall. Yeah, that would give him a better understand of what it’s all about.
Just think, Barack Obama could follow in the steps of some of our great presidents, including George Washington and John F. Kennedy, among others, by serving in the military, during an armed conflict; he could earn his G.I. Bill benefits; possibly pick up a Purple Heart along the way; and, if he survives, he can run for president as "the candidate with real understanding of the situation in Iraq."
Short of that, Barack Obama’s trip to Afghanistan and Iraq is little more than publicity stunt and photo opportunity for his campaign, which, sadly enough, will exploit the trip and photos, most likely, as much as possible between now and the November election.
On that now, do you know what America needs today? Heroes. Real heroes, not these crap-trash heroes we supposedly have in sports and entertainment. We need real men and women – people with ethics, pride, and commitment – for today’s children and teens to look up to as a hero. You – and Barack Obama and John McCain – can get a better understanding of what I am talking about by visiting this real heroes page on a site I found today. Let me know your thoughts afterward.
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