Veteran's Day 2015

Happy Veteran's Day, everyone!

Here's what I've been ranting about this week.  'Support the troops' was a fancy political slogan last decade, but it's time for us to start showing we really care.  Here are my suggestions:

First, my four point plan which can be instituted today.  1) By law, all soldiers and veterans can receive medical care, including mental health care, at ANY medical facility in the country.  The care will be provided to the troops for free, with laws preventing the medical organizations from gouging the tax payers.  2) All soldiers and veterans will receive free tuition at any public college or university in the country.  This wouldn't include room and board, but the military benefits they've already earned should be a able to help with those costs.  3) All soldiers and veterans are entitled to free job training and job placement after they return from their tour of duty.  4) All benefits promised to veterans, especially to those who were wounded in combat, or the family members who lost a loved one while serving, will not be hindered in any way.  They've earned those benefits; give them what they've earned.

These four initiatives would go a long way to fighting homelessness and suicides in the ranks of the veterans.  Please call your politicians, both Republican and Democrat, and demand these four laws get passed immediately.

I have two other requests which are very unlikely to ever get enforced.  First, a Constitutional Amendment which demands all post-combat veteran costs are accounted for, and set aside, PRIOR to any individual troops being sent into a foreign land for combat.  In the cases where we're surprise attacked, I'm sure we'd authorize those monies with little delay, so that isn't a good argument against a constitutional amendment.  We have way too much bravado prior to the conflict, and very little concern afterwards.

The other request would be for any politician, who votes or orders troops into harms way, to have a family member enlisted as a non-commissioned officer, in the infantry.  It's really easy to send other people's kids to a foreign land to die.  Many politicians need to understand the dynamics of what they're committing the troops, and their families, too.  Sacrifice begins at home.

I know the 2nd request will never get passed, but why not?  We need to add a level of reverence to these decisions.  It doesn't mean we won't ever go into combat again; it just means we're going to have people who make these decisions understand the sacrifice they so easily ask others to make.

When someone insists, "we have to send troops into _____!", give them the phone number of a military recruiter ( I always give them the number for the Army, 1-888-550-ARMY [2769]).  Tell them, "here you go!  Which one of your family members are YOU going to send to fight the war YOU think is so necessary?"

Please remember that Veteran's Day should be every day.  If you see an older person with a military logo on, ask if they served, and if they say yes, or if they say my spouse did, tell them 'thank you very much.'  It really is the very least we can do.

Now, let's work on doing better.