Us Marines on the strike in Afghanistan

Just over five days ago our United States Marines, along with more than fifteen thousand Nato soldiery and Afghan army personnel began an charge into the Helmand Province, Afghanistan, a longtime stronghold of the Taliban and the town for opium poppy yield which fuels the Taliban's resurgence. Not since 2001 has there been an charge of this size launched in that country. It is named 'Operation Moshtarak' - ('Together').

The main thrust of the operation began before dawn on Saturday, January 13th, as numerous helicopters flew Marines into the area leapfrogging the mined and booby trapped roads. In the dark of the night, some elements of the force disembarked in the city of Marjah to build perimeters, seize highway intersections, and block entry to or exit from that city, the main target of the attack. Then the real battle commenced as the Marines began door to door searches eliminating Taliban who stayed behind to engage, blowing up numerous booby traps and Ied's along the walls and streets, and meeting with frightened civilians urging them to help ferret out any Taliban in the city. The fighting will continue, block by block, until the parasitic Taliban have been rousted from their dens and a new civilian government established to provide for the general welfare of the residents.

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As I watch it, the operation, unfold on Tv - mesmerized - I can't help but think of those young Marines thousands of miles away fighting hard, in mortal danger at all times, to accomplish a mission to free up a citizen in a backward land where we may not even be wanted while we here at home go about our daily lives in relative comfort and safety. It's truly wondrous that these young Marines sacrifice, voluntarily, so much for their country every day. I wonder how many Americans truly appreciate them? Or worse, I wonder how many Americans are even paying any attention to the battle unfolding there at all?

It gives me pride to see them in action, so sure in their attitudes, dedicated to their purpose, fearless and brave in their fighting. But, I also get chills and some anxiety knowing some of them are living their last days in a hellish country which may never rise to anyone good than a stagnant cesspool of civilization, may never subscribe to even a modicum of democracy so antiquated and unyielding is their judgment of and isolation from the contemporary world.

Where do we find such unselfish, steadfast, and devoted young people? What does it say about the character of these warriors for peace in such a far off place? Why should they give a damned for these backward malcontents to the degree they are willing to put their very lives on the line on a daily basis?

Is it 'patriotism' which drives them to such ends? Somewhat, I believe. We are not so far off from that vile day when we were so viciously attacked here at home by the very citizen we now confront in their own backyard. These American fighters remember that day, although they may have been very young at the time, as the bad dream was televised dinky by dinky into their living rooms at home. They recall the gut wrenching fear, the anguish, and, ultimately, the anger we all felt as a nation.

A more relevant aspect of their selfless actions is the very training our Marines get upon entering nautical Corps boot camp where they are taken in as civilians from varying geographic locations, diverse ethnic makeup, subjective intellectual skills, and unequal bodily attributes. Here they receive some of the best training in the world: willful and immediate obedience to legal orders, unquestioning loyalty, unswerving allegiance to our country, and unselfish commitment to their fellow Marines. Here at boot camp they are inducted as the raw material for the nautical they will become once they have completed their training. Not all make the grade, but those who do are changed individuals and will never be the same again. "Once a Marine, all the time a Marine!" and "Semper Fi" (Always Faithful) becomes their motto and creed.

A fellow Marine, Col Jim Bathurst, a 36 year Vietnam Veteran with his share of combat experience suggests that the most pertinent motivation for these young Marines' valorous operation under fire is their unfaltering faith in their fellow nautical - so much so that throughout the Corp's history there have been heralded tales of Marines sacrificing their own lives to save others. Not an uncommon act in wartime so deep is their love for their nautical compatriot. Jim said it best when he wrote me "A nautical doesn't jump on a live grenade for mom, apple pie and the grand ole flag; he does it to save his brother, his friend, his fellow nautical that he loves dearly. Granted they do this because the Corps taught them that, but it's all for their brother-in-arms."

Whatever the reasons, and each nautical has their own I suspect, for these young Americans valiantly carrying the fight to a persistent and resolute enemy so distant from our shores, they have upheld the traditions of their Corps, the values of their country, and the promise of our nation's youth without hesitation or remorse. They are true and brave heroes in every sense of the word - an attribute so obviously lacking in our elected officials in Washington that they cannot even accomplish the simplest task without partisan bickering, political infighting, and self-serving, self-absorbed political ambition even though they face not one iota of danger in their daily lives safely ensconced behind the doors of Congress.

It may be months before we can accurately portion the success of this new obnoxious against the resurgent Taliban. It will be years - if ever - before we see any measureable accomplishment in that problematic geographic area of today's world. But one thing is sure - our fighting men and women have given their all, some even development the extreme sacrifice, to see that the Afghans have every inherent chance at a good life. At some point we will leave them to fend for themselves and, hopefully, find their own place in the world in peace.

Meantime, we at home must take performance ourselves. We must get complicated in supporting our troops, welcoming them back graciously, and providing for their welfare when they do return. We owe them nothing less. They will have fought courageously and sacrificed much to promote America's foreign procedure and fulfill America's promises to our allies. No one will have done more for the Afghans than they. Let's hope there is appreciation for their sacrifices both here at home and there far away.

They will deserve nothing less.

(Post script: Now, at a time when our soldiery is as heavily engaged as it has been for more than 40 years, at a time when personel troop's are ordered to repeated deployments to the war zones, now in a time of soldiery uncertainty and maximum commitment, now is the wrong time for our politicians to advocate for a collective engineering experiment by endorsing an end to the current 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy. Neither the President nor an fantastic preponderance of those in Congress has served a singular day in our country's military. For them at this time to pander to a vocal minority seeking a liberal interpretation of society's rules is disturbing and quite revealing as to the total lack of any observation of the residual effects of their actions. To politicize our soldiery in a time of war is as incredibly contemptible as it is indisputably ignorant of the soldiery as an institution. Tinker with the civilian world if you must; do not inflict your liberal agenda on America's soldiery for the purpose of vote gathering.

Are there gays in our military? in effect and all the time has been. "Don't ask, don't tell!")

Us Marines on the strike in Afghanistan

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