May. 27, 2005 - Thoughts from the Homefront

      I know a guy who is fighting overseas. His name is Russ, and his position is especially important, because he’s with a key logistics outfit of this operation – COSCOM, where “nothing happens anywhere unless we okay it.” Russ is a major and he works at a headquarters in Iraq, which is all I’m allowed to tell you. He’s not a journalist, but he has something to tell the American people, and what he has to say counts. He knows what’s going on because it’s his job to deal with it every day – and that’s more than a lot of journalists can say.

    Russ gets the blood-and-guts reality of war pushed in his face all the time, and he doesn’t have much patience for people who have a problem with his job. In his opinion, protestors should “get a life” and “[Americans] always want results, but are unwilling to pay the price.” He doesn’t like the loss of life any more than we do, but he’s frustrated because - while many Christians offer support - others seem indifferent and even disdainful toward soldiers.

    “We need armor for our Hummers. We don't have it. We need dogs. We don't have them. We need a lot of things,” he says. “[It’s bad] to ride in a car or a Hummer with a full-length M16 between your legs… you’ll likely be dead before you can get it up to use it. You think that's an easy job? You think that's an enjoyable job? We're not just people who do this to have fun shooting.”

    True, what Russ and his fellow soldiers do in Iraq isn’t pretty. While he may survive his job in relative safety, others will come home physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred. You won’t hear about them – at least, not for a few decades – until they’re too old and they realize what the war did to their lives, when it’s too late and no one cares. All soldiers, from Vietnam vets to the people overseas today, pay far more than many American citizens are willing to give.

    "It costs to be an American," Russ says. "Everybody has to pay – everybody has to lose a loved one, or make a financial sacrifice, or endure a hardship. [In the service] we don’t pay with money, we pay with lives. That's the way it is. We use [our] lives in the pursuit of righteousness and freedom and a lot of other genuinely noble and truly worthwhile causes.”

     Yes, there are problems with the American military system in Iraq. There are always problems. But if America’s sons and daughters are willing to place their lives on the line for our safety, who are we to withhold the moral support that they need? Why complain about military strategy, duration, or politics, when your letter of encouragement may keep a soldier going through one of the roughest times he'll ever face?

    Memorial day is right around the corner. Why not adopt a soldier as a homeschool project and a tribute to those who have given their lives for the price of freedom? Information is available at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil regarding safe, successful ways to support our troops. Let them know, in the words of our President, that "[We are praying] for the safety and strength of our troops, for God's blessing on them and their families, and for those who have lost loved ones."   

    The conflict may not seem as violent as it did during the first few days of the operation, but the bullets are still just as dangerous. Our soldiers need Godly, heartfelt encouragement. The battlefield is not a good place to be without Christian support. Russ ought to know. He’s there.

"Greater love hath no man than this - that he lay down his life for his friends." ~ John 15:13