My friend and fellow fraternity brother, Brian Farenell (a member of the Glens Falls Writers Group) posted the following link earlier today on Facebook (please note that this wasn't a post authored by Brian nor did he comment on it, he simply provided the link as his Facebook status update), and I felt particularly inclined to reply to it:
Brian and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on political issues, but like him, I appreciate thought provoking concepts and pieces written by others. This one is especially poignant to both of us as it relates to how the military fits into larger society. Here goes my reply:
Brian,
Thanks for the post. I really agree with this author on principle (noting I am a vet myself). As one who joined pre-9/11, I clearly have a sense that those that joined in the last 10 years have a very different mindset with regards to service than those already on duty that day. Vets have gotten their lofty position in the American mindset, yes because of the reaction to the Vietnam vets, but also because of how Desert Shield/Storm vets dealt with their return and the model of such leaders as Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf, humbly returning their sword. American’s trust and laud veterans because of their humility and not only their prowess and power. Soldiers who abuse their earned privileges to “except” themselves, are in error, and will likely result in a degradation of the privileges they currently enjoy.
I think, however, the Delta incident, is one that shouldn’t be pointed at as an example, precisely. There is a difference between privileges granted and contractual obligations. Delta is a contractor of the government and part of that contract is to provide a level of luggage service at no additional cost. This was a screw-up on Delta’s part, and the company and its employees deserve, and have had, admonishment for it. The part that I think the author gets right, is that making a video and trying to give Delta a bad-eye over the incident is not in keeping with our values. I also think part of this is that the degree of separation between the ones fighting and the general population (less than 1% defending the rest) is part of why these friction points exist (on both sides).
Military circles see themselves as extraordinary and are lauded as being such as the public is ill equipped to understand what they do. The public is ill suited to determine what is right or wrong for a military complex it ostensibly controls, but tacitly distrusts the government that controls it (and is supposedly their representative instrument) and has a strange mythos of idealism about what a good soldier is, that only feeds into the separation. The military is far from perfect, but on the other hand it is highly functional and the most powerful/adaptive/effective defense mechanism anywhere in the world. Its people are a microcosm of society, but yet are expected to act with a different, arguably higher, set of moral and ethical standards.
This “us and them,” on both sides, is dangerous for the American way of life, as it is self defeating. Military personnel who think they are above or set apart from the greater society become weary of “civilian weakness” (not my concept, Pinochet is a good touch-point), and civilians who feel a disconnect with those that defend them can become revolutionary in rejecting alleged “militarism” of society (see the evolution of the Wiemar Republic). Both have tragic and devastating results (dictatorships and leftist/rightist regimes that spiral downward uncontrollably, in the former, and ineffective, non-functioning states that cannot defend themselves and result in societal collapse, in the latter).
What is the fix? Americans need to honor service without idolizing the person. Take time to listen to and conceptualize what the vet went through, why they went, and how that affects you both mutually. Understand that our mutual indebtedness (citizen to the solder for the sacrifice made to go in their place, and soldier to citizen for the willingness to grant them extraordinary benefits and privileges) needs to be held between each other and not carried by one side or the other. Soldiers need to respect the institutions they defend by being active, respectful, and responsible citizens in their communities. They need to be models of humility and strength of character, worthy of the earned privileges and benefits so that future generations can enjoy the respect and admiration of the service they give.
For my part, I try to remind soldiers that it is not in doing it or in the immediate aftermath that they accrue the benefit of their sacrifice; it is in the legacy of merit and their time of true need that they will redeem their reward. This is a long range, highly conceptual and philosophical approach, which some will not or cannot follow. I also am active in civilian circles, speaking and being a responsible member of society (and I have my slip ups, too, just ask Jackie). It is my hope that we do indeed get to a place where we conjoin, much as we did after World War II, the spheres for the benefit of an optimistic and more powerful and prosperous future.
Your Friend,
Erik C. Backus
Major, US Army
Student, Command and General Staff School
U.S. Army Combined Arms Center
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
“The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.”
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