By Thomas Mockaitis
A little more than a decade ago, the Republican Party issued its famous "Contract with America." Although we should be leery of contracts with politicians who never show us the fine print, the idea of such has some interesting possibilities. In light of continuing developments in Iraq and new revelations about the treatment of National Guard members on active duty, it may be time for Washington to consider a contract with the men and women of our armed forces. For lack of a better term, let's call this pact "A Covenant with the American Soldier." The title's biblical connotations should accord well with the Bush administration's evangelical leanings.
Setting partisan politics aside and recognizing that soldiers don't get to choose their wars, the covenant might contain the following clauses:
- We promise not to send you into harm's way ill-equipped for the dangers you will face. You will never have to scrounge for scrap metal to up-armor your vehicles. You will be provided with the most up-to-date flak jackets that protect your entire torso, not just your front and back.
- We promise to send you with enough of your comrades to complete the mission as safely and quickly as possible. We will listen when you tell us how many of you are needed to do the job.
- We promise that if you are wounded, you will receive the best medical attention available at public expense for as long as necessary. If you are permanently disabled, we guarantee you an income on which you can live and support your family for the rest of your life.
- We promise that if you are killed in the line of duty, your loved ones will receive death benefits worthy of the name that enable them to have a standard of living equivalent to what they enjoyed when you were with them. We will make sure these benefits keep pace with the cost of living and will not try to reduce them during peacetime when no one is looking.
- We will implement a fair and reasonable compassionate leave policy. Except in the most dire circumstances, none of you will have to miss the birth of your child or negotiate a divorce via cell phone.
- Whenever possible we will keep the duration of your deployments reasonable and avoid unnecessarily extending and/or renewing them.
- We promise that if we violate any of these guarantees using "manpower shortages," "overextension," or "low recruitment" as an excuse, we will seriously reconsider whether the American people truly support the mission on which we have sent you. If they do not, we will bring you home in a timely manner. If we are ever in doubt as to whether the mission is worth your blood, we will ask ourselves a simple question: Would we send our own sons and daughters where we have asked you to go?"
Signed,
Your political leaders
I suppose a few more things could be added to my list, including an occasional "thanks for serving" offered at times other than the 4th of July or Memorial Day. These propositions do, however, provide a good place to start, especially for an administration that constantly asks us to support our troops.
Setting partisan politics aside and recognizing that soldiers don't get to choose their wars, the covenant might contain the following clauses:
- We promise not to send you into harm's way ill-equipped for the dangers you will face. You will never have to scrounge for scrap metal to up-armor your vehicles. You will be provided with the most up-to-date flak jackets that protect your entire torso, not just your front and back.
- We promise to send you with enough of your comrades to complete the mission as safely and quickly as possible. We will listen when you tell us how many of you are needed to do the job.
- We promise that if you are wounded, you will receive the best medical attention available at public expense for as long as necessary. If you are permanently disabled, we guarantee you an income on which you can live and support your family for the rest of your life.
- We promise that if you are killed in the line of duty, your loved ones will receive death benefits worthy of the name that enable them to have a standard of living equivalent to what they enjoyed when you were with them. We will make sure these benefits keep pace with the cost of living and will not try to reduce them during peacetime when no one is looking.
- We will implement a fair and reasonable compassionate leave policy. Except in the most dire circumstances, none of you will have to miss the birth of your child or negotiate a divorce via cell phone.
- Whenever possible we will keep the duration of your deployments reasonable and avoid unnecessarily extending and/or renewing them.
- We promise that if we violate any of these guarantees using "manpower shortages," "overextension," or "low recruitment" as an excuse, we will seriously reconsider whether the American people truly support the mission on which we have sent you. If they do not, we will bring you home in a timely manner. If we are ever in doubt as to whether the mission is worth your blood, we will ask ourselves a simple question: Would we send our own sons and daughters where we have asked you to go?"
Signed,
Your political leaders
I suppose a few more things could be added to my list, including an occasional "thanks for serving" offered at times other than the 4th of July or Memorial Day. These propositions do, however, provide a good place to start, especially for an administration that constantly asks us to support our troops.
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