Two Sides To Every Military...

When someone says the word "soldier", Marine", "sailor", or "pilot", the first thing that probably comes to mind are the brave men and women placing themselves in harm's way in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other number of places on the planet. And considering that's most of what we have seen for the past several years, that's understandable.

But it's not all about fighting, shooting, bombing, or sinking an enemy.

There are the other sides to our military that few see. There are the poignant, yet powerfully emotional changing of the guard ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are the evening Marine band concerts they used to have on the steps of the Capitol (wonder if they even still do those?) in D.C. There are the remarkably beautiful graduation ceremonies at West Point & Annapolis (both great places to visit should you ever get the chance). Then there are all the proud parents that can't help but feel their emotions well up seeing their son or daughter in uniform.

And as many personnel as we have in theater, fighting for freedom, we have almost 3-4 times as many "behind the scenes" across the globe, doing the common jobs, the dirty jobs, and the mundane jobs. The G.I. Joes and Janes around the world who change tires, fuel aircraft, swab decks, and otherwise make it possible for our fighting forces to represent the USA are in many cases the unsung heroes of our armed forces. They may never lift a rile in combat, but they make it possible for those men and women that DO.

As a nation, we OWE every one of them...big time.

I would be one of the first to tell you that being in ANY military service organization is NOT, I repeat NOT for everyone. It's not ALL "guts and glory". In our "all volunteer" armed services, many already know they're not "military material", and don't bother. Many who "thought" one thing about military life soon realize they might have had a brain-fart, and are either summarily discharged or wash out in any number of ways. And there are even some that, although they were hesitant at first about joining up, find it better than they could imagine, while others feel that signing up is "just the right thing to do".

Now I said all that to say this:

When our troops start coming home (as they most assuredly will soon enough), should we entertain the notion of some type of "national service" for our young adults? With growing violent youth crime, dysfunctional families out the wazoo, educational testing scores hovering between several levels of mediocrity, would it not be prudent to avail our young adults of some "structure" to their lives, before the streets take whatever shred of civility they still might have away from them? In countries that already have some sort of national service in place, young adults are becoming a lot less prone to violence and have the attributes to make a sizable contribution to their societies.

Would it hurt them (in America) to be taught some integrity, honor, pride, and ethics in a stricter setting than they currently have at their disposal? And would we all not benefit from this as as Americans?

I'd like to think it's a "win-win" all around.

Let's face it...neither the educational system, nor the police, nor any civil social agency can do everything that is needed to get a lot of these kids "back on track" in life, when they're gone astray. Hell, it's hard enough to try and undo in 8 hours (in school) what they are taught the rest of the time (ask ANY teacher).
When their own families fail them, we turn to the schools to become a surrogate parent, and that dog just won't hunt. And our police are there primarily to ENFORCE the laws, and arrest law-breakers. They cannot become adjudicators or ombudsmen for every little squabble that arises with a family already in turmoil. I'd wager that many people would love to see these kids never get the chance to "do the wrong thing" in the first place.

I'm not saying that every single young adult that enters any national service program HAS to become an uncompromising military machine - that's a whole other ballgame, and only for a select chosen few that can pass the muster. But giving the youth of today some guidance, some structure, some ability to become so much more than could ever hope to be on our streets (dealing drugs and getting into God knows what else) by learning a trade and acquiring the skills to compete in today's world should be the hope of every parent out there.

And with the rising cost of college, it makes it more difficult for the "everyman" to get their children through the ivy-covered walls without some severe financial hardships.You always want better for your kids, and when the methods that we employ just don't seem to work as well as in generations past (if at all), where can we turn to ensure our progeny a decent life, a better life?

We ALL have a vested interest in making it possible for all our young people to have the means to achieve. And if we can make better PEOPLE out of them along the way by imbuing them with a sense of price and integrity, should we at least explore the possibilities?

Like I'm fond of saying, it's not just THEIR future at stake...it's EVERYONE'S.