Close to Home

Phil Carter has a post up about the importance of supporting troops and recognizing their sacrifice, well-written as usual. What is unusual is that the WSJ article he references, written by the mother of a Harvard Army ROTC graduate, is about a man I know and trained with: 1LT Alex Herzlinger.

Herz is a great guy and was a stellar ROTC cadet, so I have no doubts that he is now an exemplary infantry leader. Two years ahead of me in school, he was a senior when I entered the program. He was one of the larger-than-life cadets who put fear and inspiration in the rest of us, and helped us understand the committment we were making and the reasons we were making it.

I have known abstractly that many of the cadets I trained with are likely in Iraq (1LT Daniel Hegg went Ranger Infantry and was in Afghanistan, I don't know where he is now), but this is the first confirmation I've had of it. It's a cliche of course, but your views really can change when world events hit close to home. This is another reminder of that.

Phil Carter's comments on the story also have resonance with me:

I wish more Americans would serve in uniform, especially in the elite parts of American society. That way, more Americans would appreciate the way this Ivy League mother feels about her son, the infantry lieutenant, and the sacrifices they make on our behalf.

What is particularly paradoxical to me is that I see positions on both the left and right which suffer from the same disconnect with soldiers and the realities of military operations. As I've noted before, the leaders of both the current and prior administration have a notable lack of military experience, and I think we've seen as a result a notable lack of restraint in using the military to solve global issues. The same goes for most of the speakers at the various sit-ins and protests, who are unable to recognize the humanity of the American soldier and his desire to serve his country proudly and justly. Why this disconnect? Because both groups are drawn from the elite part of society, which as Phil notes, no longer contribute significant numbers to our military ranks. They don't serve in the military, and they don't have friends or family who do. I've long thought of taking a more academic look at this phenomenon, and may still do so. It is a topic that needs addressing, for the good of our military and thus our country.