I am sitting in a quite house, my family is still asleep and I have been trying to plan out my day. Within the hour, my kids will be up, and I want them to be bathed and dressed for the parade in my town. Later, we will go to the beach and enjoy some family time.
My concern is that my daughter is now old enough to understand what a memorial service is. She will be asking me alot of quesitons this year, as she does about everything now. The problem I have not quite figured out is how to handle the issue of one of my closest friends who I will call, for privacy's skae, Uncle B.
When my father and grandfather served in the military, you could not even volunteer for active duty above a certain age, I believe it was 36 (although it may have been younger). When Uncle B signed up in college (the only way he could pay for it) you had a minmium commitment to the reserves and then you could retire. Once you satisfied your committment, you were done. No more. Thanks to GWB's policy of endless war, Uncle B has no realistic way of getting out. Because of his background, training, and prior active duty experience ( he served in Desert Storm) if he decides to retire, he becomes unattached to any unit. That means, any active duty unit with the need for a soldier with his experience can claim him. The odds of this happening are about 100%.
You see, Uncle B is a 40-something school teacher who I have known since I was her age. Despite living in different states, our families still get together and she knows him and his family very well. Uncle B paid for college by making a commitment to joining the Army Reserves (what used to be commenly called - a weekend warrior). In an earlier era, he would have trained, served out his commitment and would now be focused on teaching his students and his own kids. Not now, now his commitment is effectively permanent. stop loss programs may no longer make headlines, but the results of military policy are still the same. Uncle B is, for the forseeable future, a soldier at the whim of our political leaders.
Uncle B is no shirker. He was proud of his service in Desert Storm. Proud of the way it was handled, how he performed, how his unit performed. Uncle B, however, is not happy witht he conduct of this war. He is also fifteen years older, has small children, a teaching career, and is way past the age he ever contemplated being asked to continue to serve in a war zone. He has already been to Iraq in this conflict and, unless we elect Barack Obama as president this fall, will certainly be required to go back.,
Make no mistake,Uncle B is proud of his service, and for those who serve under him and has a deep love for his country. He is also a father and husband and deeply loves his family - like so many of those who have fallen in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, Germany, France, Italy Gettsyburg, Lexington and Concord. I will have to try and explain to my daughter that Uncle B serves to protect all of us. but that g-d has kept him safe. Next year, it might be harder, even if he stays safe, the questions will change, from what does this mean, to why do we have war?
This diary might be a bit of a ramble, and now that my son is awake, I am going to end it with asking those of you who are so inclined, to say a short prayer for peace, and remember those who served and did not come home, those who were left behind, and those who are still being asked to serve.