It seems to me as if the future of our military may not be ready for the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. What was once a mission to find and kill terrorists, now has become a mission to help rebuild a nation torn apart by civil war and an insurgency. It is the duty of the Soldiers and Marines in-country to help stabilize the region not only by providing security, but by helping the populace return to a normal way of life. That means rebuilding schools, hospitals, etc., as well as knocking on doors instead of kicking them down. For some of my fellow cadets, that seems a little too much.
"I just want to kill 'Desert Monkeys'," said one of my classmates one day during a discussion on the war in Iraq. When I asked him whether or not he thought that wanting to kill the people you're trying to help is detrimental to the mission, he shrugged it off.
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sp; "Marines just kill people."
Well put, I guess. But my leatherneck compadre was only a light example of the problem. Even my more educated friends, one of whom is going to Norwich University next year, believes the mission is simply killing terrorists, and doesn't appreciate the gravity of what we are doing there.
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sp; Is this a serious issue? To me, yes it is. If our military is going to win this fight, we need to have the best trained, equipped, and educated troops in the world. Perhaps, it's just a part of my generation. All I know is that If I end up patrolling the streets of Baghdad one day, I want my men to realize what they are truly doing, building a nation, rather than just "killing the bad guys."
posted by WestPointer 
