So, You Say Your Boy Signed Up, Eh?
by James Glaser
June 17, 2011

I know you have seen it, the bumper sticker that says "My Son (or Daughter) is a Marine, Sailor, Soldier, or Airman." They also sell tee shirts and sweat shirts that say the same.

I have met so many parents over the years who were so proud that their offspring joined the military. I have also met parents who say, "He was never the same after he came home."

The reports now say that more veterans commit suicide than die in Combat. This from McClatchy News:

Suicides among active-duty troops are also a cause of concern: In April, 25 soldiers killed themselves, equal to about half the deaths in Afghanistan during the month.

This on top of the 18 veterans who take their own life every day of the year. Then you have to think about the hundreds of thousands, yes, I wrote Hundreds of Thousands of veterans who suffer with Post Traumatic Stress. Here is how USA Today reported it back in 2007:

WASHINGTON — The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder from the Department of Veterans Affairs jumped by nearly 20,000 — almost 70% — in the 12 months ending June 30, VA records show.

More than 100,000 combat veterans sought help for mental illness since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, about one in seven of those who have left active duty since then, according to VA records collected through June. Almost half of those were PTSD cases.

Add to those numbers the veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the First Gulf War, and all the other wars in-between that need help for their life-long battle with combat stress.

So, just think about what you are doing to your child when you wave that flag in front of them and start telling them how proud you would be to see them in uniform. You might just get what you asked for, and you might find you really don't like it.

I know it is hard to see what I am saying, but so many parents have lost their child to the military. I am not talking about those troops who were killed or suffered a debilitating life-long wound, but rather those who came home and were no longer that son or daughter who left.

So many veterans have a life-changing experience during their enlistment, and they never do get back to being able to fit back into society and enjoy life like their friends who never signed up. Yes, I have heard the stories about how the army made a man out of some guy's son, but is that a risk you are willing to take with your child's life?

If it is, then I hope you at least have thought of the down side of enlistment before you push your child in that direction. Parents might not always believe it, but they can influence their child's decision, and many children would love for their parent to explain things to them. You have to know that military recruiters are salesmen and saleswomen hawking a product. That product is your child's life for a number of years, and if you want to be honest with your child, you should give them the downside of enlistment, because the recruiter sure isn't going to.

I also have to tell you that if the Unites States were ever attacked, I would not hesitate to send my child to fight, and I would go, too. However, I do not believe all the wars we have been in almost continuously since WWII protect our country or our way of life.

In fact, in the last half century America's way of life has become, war. We have been in scores of conflicts during those 50 years, and if you doubt that do a bit of research. Just ask at any Veterans of Foreign Wars Post what wars qualify you for membership. When they give you the list you will be amazed how many there are and how many you never heard of. I know ten years ago there were over 60.

Also, take a minute and think about all the countries that fought in World War II, and think about how many wars they have been in since then. They somehow learned that a war economy is not the way to go, but the United States never figured that out.

We start wars and kill people to make money. I know that sounds sick, and it is. Also, it doesn't work. America is the largest debtor nation by a long shot. War only makes money for a small powerful group of Americans in the defense industry, and it sucks cash from the rest of the country.

The 4^th of July can be a blast if you have a bunch of fireworks, but after you shoot them off, you have nothing left except for the package wrappings, the mess made from the exploded rockets and fire crackers, and of course an empty wallet. The same is true about America's wars. After we drop all the bombs, shoot all the artillery rounds, and fire all the bullets, what do we have left? I guess that would be the empty wallet and a mess. But the mess in a real war for us is our disabled veterans, and the life they have to live with their loved ones.

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