Posted on Thu, Jun. 21, = 2007=20

Troops inured to politics

By BRAD = HAMLETT
Guest columnist=20

The partisans can only imagine how we soldiers must feel over here = because=20 few have ever been to any combat zone. A political line they love to use = to=20 quash opponents=92 views always says something about =93slapping the = troops in the=20 face.=94

We heard it months ago, when the resolution disapproving the surge = was=20 passed. When Nancy Pelosi visited Syria and Harry Reid said Iraq was = lost, we=20 heard similar whining about facial slappage and disloyalty to = country.

For the record, we soldiers don=92t care. Let me clarify: Frankly, my = dear, we=20 don=92t give a damn. We soldiers are not the ignorant, simple lot of = lore. We=20 stuff iPods in our rucksacks and watch DVDs in our sleep tents between = missions.=20 Soldiers study for college classes between missions and receive = Army-mandated=20 training on ethics and values.

Most of us have studied history, political science and social studies = in high=20 school and often college. We understand the diversity of opinion. After = all, we=20 have a democratic form of government, not an autocracy. Even in the = Army, we=20 have regulations that protect free expression of political views, = including=20 views opposing this war.

We understand our history, our government and the political process = that=20 makes our great American experiment strong. We see all the = =93negative=94 press, we=20 hear all the =93insulting=94 comments, and we don=92t care.

We volunteer from the American population at large, so we mirror it. = We are=20 Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, pro-life, pro-choice, = single,=20 married, gay, straight, black, white, Hispanic. Some hold strong = political=20 opinions and argue vehemently with one another, and some are apathetic = towards=20 all things political. We are the melting pot that is America.

Only politicians who have been to war know what it=92s like to go = outside the=20 wire. The last thing we care about on a mission is what Harry Reid said, = or who=20 disapproved of the surge, or what group of Republicans traveled to Syria = to hold=20 a conference with whom.

When politicians claim that opponents=92 opinions slap us in the = face, they=92re=20 telling us troops that we=92re too ignorant to understand the = disagreement=20 inherent in democracy, that we=92re too stupid to be able to separate = political=20 views from our jobs and that we=92re too fragile and sensitive to hear = all sides.=20 They=92re slapping us in the face with ignorance.

Lively debate over the issues, heated disagreements and strong voter=20 participation are bedrocks of our democracy. We don=92t care when people = with=20 opinions different from ours run their mouths on Fox or CNN, regardless = of=20 whether those opinions are for this war or against it. What bothers us = is when=20 pundits use us troops as a trump card to insult fellow Americans as = unpatriotic.=20 That=92s the true slap in our face.

Mr. Hamlett grew up in Greenville. He is deployed in support of = Operation=20 Iraqi Freedom. He can be reached at Brad.Hamlett@us.army.mil.

Troops inured to politics

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