Quiet the Riff and Come Together!!

Old, new vets clash over IAVA chief comment

With five words, the executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America opened a rift among veterans groups that could derail efforts to improve mental health care and other benefits........

The phrase “Unlike during the Vietnam War” is being taken as a jab at the professionalism of Vietnam veterans. Joe Morgan, a Vietnam veteran and president of Veterans of Modern Warfare, said Rieckhoff’s statement has “stirred a fierce and justifiable outrage by all veterans, not just the Vietnam veterans he maligned.”

The head of the nation’s largest organization for combat veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, also criticized the statement, saying Rieckhoff “doesn’t need to be reminded that every entitlement, every service and every program Iraq and Afghanistan warriors enjoy — many of whom are VFW members — is because previous generations of, as he regrettably put it, ‘nonprofessionals’ demanded and fought to be properly recognized and respected for their service to our country,” said Glen Gardner Jr., VFW commander. “He owes a sincere apology to our brethren.........”

“A broken promise for one veteran is broken promise for all veterans,” he said.........

For those of us 'Nam Vets who noticed, what little money and support the country was willing to pony up back than started the shift to us from the Korean Vets, over the years as costs started rising countries willingness didn't. Many of us that started into advocacy and activism to fight for what the country owed did so for All Veterans, those Fights Continue, Proactive not Reactive. But what has been won, and shouldn't even needed to be fought for, has benefited All Veterans Since, and the battles being fought for for this new generation, still in or now vets, are being fiercely fought for by us older brothers and sister Vets!!

We serve a Country and it's Constitution, we take an Oath of service to, All of us, that most don't. Those that don't haven't a clue, and it's extremely hard to explain to closed ears, the results of these Wars of Choice or any War. They, and we, hire mostly representatives who share their lack of knowledge, and have way to many who try and use 'Strong National Defense' as their political catch phrase! Very few than want to pony up the costs of those results of as they stick on their flag pins and use empty words and other symbols to one up on their patriotism!

So please, younger brothers and sisters, remember that and choose your words clearly for this unique community of soldiers and sailors you joined, a very small percentage of the whole country! We get enough 'nixonian verbal spitting', from the 'rambo chickenhawks' and even some veterans still in denial about 'Nam it's political and economic purpose to the few, and what went on during!!

Oh and by the way, Paul's words weren't any different then those used many times over these 30plus years as this country stuck itself in denial and kept trying to denie the reality of 'Nam! And our recent history is the cost of that denial!!