Memorial and Veterans Days are two annual occasions when many in the United States pause to honor the sacrifices of those who have served their country in the armed forces, especially those killed in battle. Honoring veterans on those two days is good. Praying for and honoring them daily is even better. However, praying for, appreciating, and actively supporting them truly honors veterans.
Military personnel do not decide the wars the nation will fight. The U.S. military has no selective conscientious objection option for those serving in the military who believe a particular war immoral. Once in the military, an individual who enlists must complete his or her enlistment and, presuming the military has not imposed a stop-loss order on personnel with the person’s military occupational specialty, may decline to enlist. Officers must complete any obligated service; officers without obligated service may request permission to resign or, if eligible, retire. In other words, once a person is in the military he or she must often serve even if the nation initiates a military action the individual finds morally reprehensible. Thus, even when the public objects to a particular conflict, finding it particularly unpopular or distasteful, the public has a moral obligation to honor those who have volunteered to serve.
Actively supporting veterans at a minimum entails adequate compensation for active duty and retirees (e.g., paying the most junior personnel a “living wage” so that none need to live on welfare), full healthcare coverage for active duty, retirees, and any veterans’ injuries received in the line of duty, and support for the military member’s family during deployments (especially during combat). Sending military personnel into harm’s way whose spouse and children subsist on welfare is immoral. As always, words speak louder than actions and commendatory words twice a year are no substitute for genuine support.
The recent Memorial Day observances coupled with a report about the sad state of morale in the Russian military, with its inadequate pay and high unemployment prospects as the military downsizes, paint two contrasting pictures of support for the military. (Philip P. Pan, “Discontent Rises Sharply Among Russian Troops,” Washington Post, May 26, 2009)
U.S. military compensation rose sharply during the Reagan era. In recent years, increases in military compensation have lagged compensation in the civilian sector. The inflation on the horizon as the nation pumps money into its economy to end the current repression bodes poorly for future of military compensation. The legacy of many veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress syndrome and other, more visible, wounds received in Iraq and Afghanistan represents a costly unfunded obligation. Memorial and Veterans Days’ speakers will do well to remind their hearers of these obligations, pointing to them as tangible ways to express gratitude for the service of veterans.
1 comments:
It is absolutely disgusting how little we pay out soldiers. I got out at the tail end of 1999 as a Sergeant with nine people working for me and I was making less than $20,000 a year. Even worse was that one of my privates had a family and he had to get food stamps in order to feed them. And my Commander couldn't understand why he didn't want to reenlist.
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