Having served in Viet Nam for two tours (12 month deployments) I fully appreciate the feelings many of our Soldiers and families have today, as they experience multiple combat deployments. In short, it's tough, especially on those we leave back home. It's understandable that frustrations will increase, and that some decide to get out of the Army. Morale may dip a bit too, and equipment gets worn out and difficult to replace.
On top of that, the challenges we now face in Iraq and Afghanistan are a far cry from what I thought we'd be seeing by now. In that regard, I'm sick and tired of listening to "experts" on TV who care only about second guessing decisions made, rather than seeking to unite everyone toward a reasonable objective. I'm not smart enough to come anywhere close to being able to say what we ought to do: it's bad if we stay too long, and bad if we leave too early. Have we already been there "too long"? Can the Iraqis and Afghans hold their own if (when) we come home? Will there be civil war? Is there already a civil war ongoing? What effect does this all have on our ability to protect the homeland? Too many questions in my mind, which is too shallow to swallow it all and make me feel (generally) comfortable.
Still, my time with the Army taught me that we put military people in charge who know what they are doing. More importantly, it's those on the ground doing the hard work that count, not the opinions of those on the sidelines doing all the second guessing.
