Thoughts on Escalation from Miss Johnnie

Regular readers will recognize that, she’s not only a military Widow but also a military Mom. Her Daughter was in the Marine Corps and wounded once in her three tours of “duty” in Iraq. Her daughter finally got her discharge about a month ago. Yay for her. There’s about a million and a quarter soldiers who didn’t. We’re glad, Miss Johnnie and I, for those who are no longer in the Meat Grinder.
And sad for those who still are. My nephew Nathan, for instance, was a year old when his mom and I started basic training in the Air Force.

Now he’s a Sergeant in the Green Berets and probably is going to Afghanistan Real Damn Soon. The boy’s dumb enough to have gotten himself into it, and probably still proud of what he’s doing, but that just doesn’t make it right.

Miss Johnnie said that every “surge” or escalation or boots on the ground troop increase by whatever name cheapens the value of each individual soldier. That it makes it easier for the Pentagoons to disregard the lives of all soldiers as being Expendable.
Disposable. Kill one, replace “it” with another, no problem, nothing to see here, citizen, keep moving.

It’s a sad truth about the Military, if you need a new light bulb, you have to turn in (along with a form in triplicate) a light bulb that no longer works. If you want a roll of Toilet Paper you have to turn in a core from the old roll.

To get any new equipment, you have to turn in some Dead equipment. Except for soldiers and (sometimes) ammunition. Even small arms ammunition such as cartridges for pistols revolvers and rifles have to be accounted for, if you’re judged to be using too much ammunition you’re punished for it.

Make no mistake, Soldiers are considered Equipment. Their basic humanity is stripped from them in Basic Training. They’re trained to think of themselves in exactly those terms and think of their Comrades and the “enemy” both Combatants and Civilians, in exactly those terms. It’s the only way that a war can be fought.

If Soldiers were to think of themselves or their “enemies”(so designated by their commanders, you’re not even allowed to decide for yourself who the “enemy” is) as Humans and to ponder the Moral Relativism involved in committing what would be Heinous Crimes if they were to do it of their own free will, like, say, walk into the middle of Anytown, USA and just start killing people… would be a Crime punishable by Death. Thinking of those Moral Relativisms which are OK when imposed from above but Not OK if you’re a Lefty Loon Liberal would be strecht verboten (that means strictly forbidden for those who don’t speak Krautlander) because it would be impossible, and quickly, to do “The Job”.

Because “The Job” is nothing more or less than Killing..

Killing PEOPLE, it’s just, you know, you’re not allowed to think of them as PEOPLE. That would take all the fun out of it.

Sarah Palin and John McCain are willing to sell their own sons into the Meat-Grinder, because they make money off Dead Soldiers. Sarah, for instance, has made a huge pile of money by exploiting the Ft Hood Shootings, and will make money and political (and financial) gain for her Corporate Sponsors if her own son gets his stupid head blown off in Afghanistan.

Or if my Nephew gets killed. It’s all the same to that mindset. I guess some people just don’t happen to have a functioning Moral Compass.