President Barack Obama talks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, left, and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outside the Oval Office, in the presidential secretary office, in the White House. 16 June 2009. White House (Pete Souza)
Adm. Mike Mullen: Americans forget the troops who die in 'our dirty little wars' -- Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner
Americans love the troops -- until they're killed in action, at which point all too many people forget the soldiers and their families, according to retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"Our culture is a culture of 'if you're here, we love you, and if you are not, please carry on [with] whatever it is,'" Mullen said at a breakfast hosted by Concerned Veterans for America and The Weekly Standard. "And the best and worst example of that were Gold Star families."
A Gold Star pin "is distributed to members of the immediate family of a fallen servicemember by the Department of Defense," as the National Gold Star Family Registry explains.
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My Comment: Ret. Adm. Mike Mullen analysis on the cultural divide between the armed forces and the American public is right .... but his proposal for some sort of universal national service program (although not a draft) is going to go nowhere.
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