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Not stressed in the article is that U.S. fighting forces have the purpose of fighting not policing. Currently forces are acting as police which means they are not performing their prime duties, the duties for which they are trained. Most military personnel abhor the notion of keeping the peace. It is not their job. When anyone is assigned job responsibilities that are outside their job description, morale will be lowered. Morale is what allows an armed force to be successful, on and off the field of battle.
Considering “off the field of battle”, I have always been amazed at how poorly veterans in this country are treated. Is it because most noncoms are from the less elite social classes? Or, ...why? In my opinion, anyone who serves this country by volunteering their life should enjoy a much better slice of the pie after leaving active duty. For the lifetime of a veteran there should be free and high quality health and life insurance, and greatly discounted or eradicated federal income taxes on their salaries. There should also be a return to the more liberal “GI Bill” form of job/educational training. Much can be learned from a society when studying how that society treats those that do the necessary “dirty work”.
