\u201cI feel like my heart\u2019s been ripped out of my chest!\u201d and \u201cDamn it Sarge, no one understands me now\u201d is what a young 26 year old Soldier told me a short time ago.\u00a0 He went on to say, \u201cI don\u2019t feel like I belong here anymore\u2026can\u2019t wait to go back to Afghanistan, to where my life has real meaning.\u201d\u00a0 He got his wish.\u00a0 He is now redeployed with the friends he loves more than life itself.<\/p>\n
To understand this young Soldier and the hundreds of thousands feeling exactly like him, we first must ask ourselves \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of our Troops have completed their 5th<\/sup> Combat Tour, now waiting for their 6th<\/sup>. To date, they\u2019ve experienced 17 times more combat than anyone in WWII and 10 times more than Vietnam.\u00a0 This translates into 17 times more killing of the enemy, killing women and children, loss of sacred friends, combat rage, combat adrenaline, witness to and\/or participation in atrocities (cruelty) and the impact of war itself.<\/p>\n Our young men and women serving this nation in the military today are all volunteers.\u00a0 As Warriors, they stepped up when called, willing to die for what they believe in\u2026what all Americans believe in.\u00a0 And yet, being the elite of our society comes at a very high price.<\/p>\n When you walk off the battlefield your life has changed forever; you have changed forever.\u00a0 Friendship to die for is now your standard, as is living by the Warrior\u2019s Code of Honor.\u00a0 The innocence of youth is gone. And except for fellow Warriors, you stand alone, bearing your pain in silence, taunted by the flashbacks of war and tormented in the dark hours by the phantoms of the dead; both the enemy and brethren.\u00a0 Terrible perhaps, but then again, \u201cIt\u2019s just war\u201d.\u00a0 Think about it.<\/p>\n Well over a million Troops now feel abandoned, betrayed and alone; outcasts in the society they fought to defend. To explain the \u201cWhys\u201d of this would take longer than this column allows. And yet, for you to openly consider what they\u2019ve been through, what they\u2019ve seen and done, may perhaps allow you a glimpse into their world.<\/p>\n Then if you dare, open your own heart and ask \u201cWhat is<\/span> the just cause, the worthy price of sacrificing someone you love?\u201d and \u201cWhat can be done to help our children, this nation\u2019s children?\u201d\u00a0 For never in history have so few been asked to give so much for their country.<\/p>\n I am proud to say that New Mexico is a national leader in programs to help our Warriors and their Families.\u00a0 The Warrior Mentor Program, piloted by the New Mexico Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Horses for Heroes, Cowboy Up Programs are two of many making a dramatic difference in this time of great need.<\/p>\n All any Warrior wants is to be loved, to be accepted for who they\u2019ve now become.\u00a0 And who <\/span>they\u2019ve now become was for \u201cyou\u201d, this nation and all they loved, all they are now prepared to die for without hesitation.<\/p>\n No one returns from war un-wounded.\u00a0\u00a0 It has been said, \u201cNo one returns at all\u201d.\u00a0 And if we as a nation choose to send our children to war, then we as a nation must also be responsible to care for them when they return home, if they return home.<\/p>\n For who better to lead this nation into the future, than those Heroes who fought to defend it?\u00a0 They defend the principles upon which this great nation was founded; the liberty and freedom that so many now take for granted.\u00a0\u00a0 We must allow our young Warriors what they have earned, what they deserve; to welcome them home, in our arms and in our hearts.<\/p>\n Respectfully submitted by:<\/p>\n Sgt. Brandi, United States Marine Corps<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI feel like my heart\u2019s been ripped out of my chest!\u201d and \u201cDamn it Sarge, no one understands me now\u201d is what a young 26 year old Soldier told me a short time ago.\u00a0 He went on to say, \u201cI … Continue reading