Verra, with his wife, Shauna, and their daughter, Scarlett, waves to the crowd at Nationals Park as they appear on the stadium's giant screen. The wounded troops from Walter Reed were honored with a standing ovation in the third inning. Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post
On The Home Front, Reminders Of The Wars In Afghanistan, Iraq Come In Small Doses -- Washington Post
The wars came to the Nationals baseball game, as they always do, in the third inning.
The wounded troops from Walter Reed Army Medical Center had assembled in the stands behind home plate. Those in wheelchairs were in front. The ambulatory stood behind them. The Nationals pitcher threw a strike for the third out.
“Give a warm welcome to brave servicemen and women and their families joining us tonight,” the stadium announcer intoned. Now the troops were on the big screen in center field, and the modest Tuesday night crowd was standing, hooting and cheering.
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My Comment: Aside from this blog and the constant contact that I am always getting from people in the military and/or related agencies .... I am receiving zero input from anyone else on the fact that there are wars now being fought by tens of thousands of U.S. and allied forces in places like Afghanistan, Libya, and elsewhere. And when I talk about the wars that are ongoing .... the debate is always on the merits of the conflict and never on the men and women who are fighting it and on what are their opinions on the conflict.
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I am receiving zero input from anyone else on the fact that there are wars now being fought... the debate is always on the merits of the conflict and never on the men and women who are fighting it and on what are their opinions
Because that all that is so '2007'?
Thank you Philip for your comment.
Unless you have a love one in the military .... the focus is not on the wars (with the exception of a mass casualty event or if a political point/issue is raised). Otherwise ... yeah .... most Americans priorities are elsewhere. Is this a good thing ....definitely not. We need constant debate and discussion .... unfortunately .... and it is just my opinion .... the energy among most Americans is not there. The million+ peace demonstrations are a thing of the past, and vocal debate in Congress, the media, academia, and the blogosphere .... it is no longer there.
I've either served in the military or worked as a civilian employee of the military since 1976. What you are talking about has always been such.
The demonstrations and the discussion and the debate and the "input from the troops" don't exist now for the most part, because all were supported and kept in the public domain for partisan political reasons, not due to their merit.
And I can guarantee that even the wounded will be forgotten once the wars are ended one way or another, unless there is something to gained.
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