Supporting the Troops
Dr. Michael Ford
22 August 2005

	There has been something bothering me for a long
time, and I have decided to get it off my chest. For
years I have been fed up with those yahoos who say
that while they do not support the war they support
our troops. I’ve got news for you. It is not possible
to completely separate the wars and the warriors. 
The first reason is the obvious. Each war is somehow
characterized and defined by the men that fight it.
Each generation’s suffering and sacrifice is unique to
them. Their experiences, and their family’s stories
have a nobility of its own. People who say they are
for the troops but not the war have no commitment to
an outcome that honors that noble service to the
Nation performed by them.
The second reason has to do with the character of how
armies are constructed in our country. We are not a
nation that hires mercenaries to fight its battles. We
are a people who send its sons to defend the homeland
so that it will still exist for their unborn sons and
daughters. Even those of us who become the so-called
professionals are citizen soldiers, dedicated to the
defense of America because behind us are our wives and
children upon whom our skill in waging war depends.
The third reason has to do with who decides how our
wars will be fought. The plans come from the citizen
soldiers who have dedicated their lives to studying
war in order to make sure this land will not fall
under foreign domination. They too are sons, whose own
families saw them go off to defend freedom. For them
the disciplined study of past battles, the walking of
ancient battlefields, the study of the past
philosophers and generals of war do not come from some
bloodthirsty fascination with murder and mayhem. The
wargaming of potential battlefields and scenarios does
not occur because there is an eagerness for the
killing to start. It happens so that when war does
come they will be able to function as efficiently as
possible, fully defeat the enemy, and bring home alive
as many of our own as we may. It is not uncommon for
the dedicated patriots who plan the battles to see
their own sons at the front risking all for God and
country. They are the troops too!