Everywhere I went this weekend, I saw rows of flags waving in symbolic support of our troops, past and present. On the day set aside for Americans to show their gratitude toward our veterans, it seemed only fitting to look at how our government has supported our men and women in arms.
While driving down 11th Avenue Monday, I saw a young homeless man, probably no older than 30. His face showed the signs of aging and stress usually reserved for men much older. He was dressed in tattered clothing, holding a sign saying, “Homeless Vet. Very Hungry. Please Help.”
After seeing the downtrodden gentlemen, I wanted to know how many of our homeless have served our country. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 33 percent of all homeless males in the U.S. have served in the armed forces. This statistic should be embarrassing to all Americans, regardless of party affiliation. When a young man or woman puts his or her life on the line, in defense and aid of our country, our country thereafter should take it upon itself to defend and aid the veteran.
It seems that hardly a week goes by without President Bush giving a rousing speech in front of a clichéd backdrop, pledging his unwavering support for our troops. Aside from his impassioned rhetoric, what is the Commander in Chief doing to aid our men and women in the armed forces?
This administration’s disregard for the welfare of troops – both active soldiers and veterans – is staggering. According to Fox News, immediately after the invasion of Iraq, more than one third of troops were not equipped with the best body armor available. This prompted many soldiers to request that their parents or a loved one purchase the armor and send it to them in Iraq. Apparently, the troops quickly recognized that their families were far more willing to support them than the president was.
Bush’s apparent disregard for the well-being of troops isn’t limited to the physical security of active enlistees. Last February the president signed his latest budget that included a 16-percent cut to veteran health services. These cuts are especially troubling in light of the more than 18,000 soldiers wounded in Iraq, a number growing by the day.
The president’s abhorrent record of supporting the troops isn’t confined to living veterans. Since the D.C. National Guard’s inception into America’s armed forces, all presidents have been in charge of it, much in the same way that governors are responsible for their state’s Guard. It seemed only appropriate that in September 2003, when 21-year-old D.C. guardsman Darryl Dent was killed in Iraq, the President would attend the funeral service. The president’s attendance seemed even more likely considering that the proceedings took place just three miles from the White House.
However, needless to say, the president chose not to mourn with the family of Specialist Dent. President Bush spent this Memorial Day laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns before giving a speech at Arlington National Cemetery. The president then spent the rest of the day with his family. Rather than participating in token measures of appreciation, it would behoove the president to follow through on his empty talks by actually supporting the troops in some tangible manner. Instead of using the holiday as an opportunity to take a half day, it would have been a great gesture of appreciation and respect to our soldiers if the President had stayed in the Oval Office and worked on something that would have truly supported the troops: an exit strategy to bring them home safely from Iraq.
While the lack of armor given to our soldiers is disgraceful, the cuts to veteran health services are despicable and the president’s absence at funerals is perplexing, putting our troops in harm’s way, with no clear plan or strategy for bringing them home safely, is an act so unconscionable that it’s hard to fathom. On a day reserved for remembering and appreciating troops both past and present, it would have been appropriate if the president had for once acted upon his self-proclaimed support of servicemen and women. Another opportunity lost.
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