I follow an account on Twitter @RemembertheFallen. It is worth a follow. The focus of the account is to remember all those who died in Viet-Nam and on each day, they post pictures and stories of all those who died on that day in history throughout the Viet-Nam War. It is a humbling experience, and it makes you think, and it should make you think about why we got to war.
Through World War II, American soldiers were deployed for the duration of the war. In my father’s case, that was September 1942 through June 1945. His leave was suspended in December of 1941 and told then he would be in the Army until the war was over. It took from January 1942 until September to get ready to be deployed which included transitioning from being on horseback to driving Jeeps.
By deploying troops for the duration, leadership up to and including the President, had an incentive to define victory and what it took to get there. Since WWII, our soldiers have been deployed for 1-to-2-year cycles and war has morphed into multiple one year cycles with no end instead of a commitment to goals and defining victory.
We need to have this discussion and we need real leadership. And, if you are on social media, follow @RemembertheFallen and make sure you understand the cost of war.
