Posted on 06/15/2014 10:55:03 AM PDT by yoe
As an Army Veteran who was working as a contractor attached to the 25th Infantry Division (same Division as Bergdahl) in a nearby FOB when Bowe Bergdahl went missing, I feel the need to speak out on the situation (notice I don’t ascribe rank to him, I will address that later).
A few days ago, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel took the stage at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan and excitedly started with what he thought would be a big applause line. “We got him back!” he exclaimed.
Silence.
Not. Even. One. Clap.
Numerous White House leaks show that Obama and his team were convinced that Americans would greet the news of a returning POW with elation; that this would be the great moment in Obama’s second term. This shows just how clueless they are about the military. Let me clue them in.
You see, when Hagel took the stage, he expected joy at the announcement that one of their own was returned! However, you have to see inside a soldier’s mind to understand what was going on here. I believe I can provide a little insight.
When a soldier deserts his post, when he writes that he is ashamed to be an American, when he gives the enemy secrets (and he did), he is no longer “one of us”. He is a traitor. He is not a brother-in-arms. Soldiers risk their lives for each other every day on the battlefield, there is a trust and respect they have for each other. For Bowe Bergdahl to break that trust and the Secretary of Defense to announce a hero’s welcome instead of a court-martial is a huge let-down.
He isn't one of their own. He is one of them. He is the enemy.
That's not something to celebrate.
The message the White House is sending is that they value treason more than honorable service.
Read that last sentence again. Let it sink in. THIS is what every soldier is thinking.
In a soldier’s mind serving with honor means finishing your tour, even if you disagree with the way things are done. All bets are off if you serve with dishonor.
I do not refer to Bergdahl as a sergeant, even though he received “automatic” promotions while in the Taliban’s custody because according to law, after 30 days his rank and pay should have been stripped from him. Due to political pressure, his was not. In fact, he probably has over $200,000 in cash waiting in his bank account. In my opinion, this money should be given to the families of the soldiers who died in the aftermath of his desertion.
Bowe Bergdahl deserted his post. He served with dishonor. I know that firsthand. Our soldiers know that. They know they risk their lives every day. They don’t get a hero’s welcome from the White House, they get fewer meals (due to budget constraints) and less safety equipment (due to the drawdown).
Let me be perfectly clear. A Rose Garden Ceremony, a “hero’s welcome”, and automatic promotions to a person that deserted is nothing more than a slap in the face to every service member who has served honorably.
That, Mr. President and Mr. Hagel, is why soldiers aren’t clapping and applauding for you. That is why you have lost any remaining respect from the military community.
Powerful.
That about sums it all up.
Doggone right that's what they are thinking.
He isn't one of their own. He is one of them. He is the enemy.
So is 0bama.
This man DOES need applause.
wow ... Not much to add to that.
The real treason is the freeing of five hardened terrorists that will go on killing. The left loves killers except those in the gun free zones the create.
I have been talking to the boys who are still in, and they will not fight anymore. If sent anyplace, they will rollup the drawbridges and sit and do absolutely nothing. The vets I talk to that can be brought back, many are saying they will head out of country first...to Canada.
Thank you for your service.
“He is the enemy.”
Thank you for your honesty and clarity of thought. Yes, he is the enemy. And there is no doubt left that the enemy is in the white hut. Perhaps in the pentagon too.
Officers are ranked, enlisted are rated.
THEY create
This is the Lib/s/Dem's plan to destroy the military, by destroying their brother-in-arms camaraderie. They want to fill the army with homos and lesbos and then make it subservient to the Dem party, just like they did with the "news" media.
Nice plan. I wish the Repubs had thought of it first, but then they tend to be upright and forthright honest about things; you can't say that about Libs....
Obama is one of THEM. Until and unless Americans find the guts to admit,face and deal with that we have deluded ourselves into slavery.
Yoe, Thank you for providing your insight.
“Officers are ranked, enlisted are rated.”
I’ve heard of a rating in the Navy but not Air Force nor Army.
Where can I find a source for that interesting quirky bit of inside knowledge.
bergdahl aint going away no mater what the Army does.......he will resurface sometime in the future in an unwelomed fashion...My prediction
That’s telling it like it is ...
No they love killers in the gun free zones because they need gun control laws and gun owners to blame for the failure of a zone to work. Never mind the parents who let their kids run wild, never mind the vast majority of gun owners who don’t kill a hhuman. We need to go and blame someone for society’s wrongs, no matter how bigoted they are in such reasoning.
Bergdhal will have a high ranking position in either a Hillary cabinet position or become a huge cause celeb in a high paying position at a liberal arts college. Either way, Bergdhal will be very wealthy and a popular guy amongst the leftists. Hell, in 20 years the democrats will nominate him for president like the disgraceful John Kerry.
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