Who do they serve?

These are the concluding paragraphs of a letter from a military officer that was posted at Hugh Hewitt :

The era of young convicted felons being offered the choice of jail or the services has been over for 30 years. In 1982, the then Chief of Naval Operations instituted the “Not in MY Navy” Campaign of drug testing that has all but eliminated drug use in the navy. Similar programs now exist not only in all of the armed forces but in the private sector as well. Ask any American parent whose son or daughter has dropped out of high school and who thought the military a viable option. They will tell you it is nearly impossible to gain entry without a high school diploma and many fields require some college. I know such parents and they now know the armed services are not a dumping ground for Americas juvenile delinquents and high school dropouts. Born of military necessity and the respect engendered in the 1980s, the armed forces raised their standards because they had to and because they could. This selectiveness may be discarded if the all-volunteer force decides service is no longer worth the sacrifice.

Republican Senators such as Chuck Hagel, John Warner and Olympia Snowe have publicly stated that the president’s planned strategy adjustment will not work and that they will not support it. I challenge each of these august public servants to go over to Bethesda Naval Hospital TODAY, find a seriously wounded Marine and say to him, “Son your sacrifice was in vain.” GO TODAY Senator. Stand up and be counted. If your vote for the war was wrong, say so today and do what any decent officer would do, resign. Resign immediately. What we are witnessing is a replay of the Vietnam War NOT on the battlefield where we continue to have successes albeit slowly, but in the gelatinous spines of our public servants and political masters. Remember Senator we serve but we are not YOUR servants. We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the survival of America, not your political career which far too many of you associate with defending America. We serve because we believe in America, its founding principles and we believed our leaders, mostly Republicans but some Democrats, would support us and use our capabilities well. Now Republicans risk shredding the trust that fully 66% of servicemen and women have given them since 1968. They risk the future of their party but far more importantly they risk the all-volunteer force and with it America’s security future.

Read the whole thing. I contacted my representatives and a couple of others as well. I realize the resolution these gutless wonders are talking about passing is nonbinding and therefor worthless, but it is a slap in the face not only to Bush, but to our military as well. As if they gave a damn. All we heard for two years was that there were not enough troops, now they move up some troop rotations to put more people in Baghdad and one would think we were doubling our troop force. We still have less people in Iraq than we went in there with.