Will pointed out an article in today’s Seattle Times about Army Reserve Maj. Grant Haugen having the unenviable and difficult task of letting the families of his unit know that the unit’s tour of duty has been extended — for the third time.
Back in the United States for a short leave, Haugen had the unenviable task of telling family members of his Army Reserve unit that its stay in Iraq had been extended for a third time. The news didn’t sit well with nerve-worn relatives who were already counting the days until the unit’s homecoming.
Alpha Company, a 200-member Chinook helicopter unit based at Fort Lewis, is among the first companies to have their tours in Iraq extended beyond one year.
One thing really jumped out at me as I was reading the article, though. As the families expressed their dismay and frustration with the situation, Maj. Haugen commiserated with them, and at one point, said the following:
“It’s not up to soldiers to question our orders,” he said. “That’s up to us as voters.”
For the first part, he’s very right — as soldiers, it is their duty to do their jobs and follow the orders handed down to them by their commanding officers. It was the second part of his statement that really struck me, not because of what he said, but that he said it at all, and that it was reported.
In today’s ultra-patriotic, with us or against us atmosphere, here we have an Army Major essentially letting the families of his soldiers know that the best way they can support their husbands and protest the repeated extensions is by exercising their right as U.S. citizens to vote — and if the people in power aren’t doing what you think they out to be, you vote them out.
Something tells me Maj. Haugen won’t be casting his vote for Pres. Bush come November.
iTunes: “Keep Hope Alive (There is Hope)” by Crystal Method, The from the album Keep Hope Alive (1996, 5:42).