Interesting article I just read, written by retired Marine lieutenant general Bernard E. Trainor. In the article LTG (R) Trainor discusses his memories of World War II veterans coming home as well as his own thoughts coming home from both the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Some quotes that jump out at me:
"When we went to Korea, all ties with home were cut except for mail, which we usually received weeks after it had been posted. We lacked...the Internet, Skype or telephone contact with loved ones."
"...there was nothing to distract us from the job at hand. What happened at home was history by the time we learned of it."
"Most troops of the Greatest Generation and Korea came home by ship. The long voyage home allowed all hands to talk with one another and decompress."
"Today’s all-volunteer soldier is alone; very few of his peers have served in the military, much less gone to war. He is largely isolated, with only his iPhone as a comrade."
The veteran of today's wars is unlike the veteran of previous wars. He has deployed often and frequently. He knows exactly what he is missing thanks to the internet. He has been forced to put his life on pause while everyone he knows continues on with theirs, and he gets to watch it in real time, stuck in a sort of suspended animation purgatory. Then when he comes home he has to pretend that everything is normal.
He yearns to go back.
Hat tip to Tom Ricks.
No comments:
Post a Comment