Cpl. Aaron Mankin spoke at IAVA's Sixth Annual Heroes Gala on Tuesday, November 13th in New York City. Aaron, IAVA's 2011 Veteran Leadership Honoree, is an Iraq Veteran and spokespman for UCLA's Operation Mend.
I just streamed the Maddow show segment:
And again am very disappointed with her take and trying to use this, the Military especially those still being sent into theater , in her speaking points as to just picking up and pulling out of Afghanistan, many sitting at their computers, her on a national broadcasted cable show she gets very highly paid to do so, this day and age, in the comfort of their homes or somewhere in their communities do same.
Rachel is not a Military Veteran! Does she have the right to do the call for instant withdrawal, Of Course. Do the others, including many of our brothers and sisters in our Veterans Community, far more non veteran civilians do, Of Course. Do I want them out of this long occupation and those abandoned missions, You Bet I Do, but I'm not going to second guess those sent and trying to accomplish at least some of why they were sent in the first place and many died or were maimed trying to accomplish as they now seek a slow withdrawal to at least try. Many Afghans will be helped many won't and those sent know this, but for the fallen and maimed brothers and sisters they want to help as many Afghans as they can and hopefully leave a stable country which even that they realize may not happen. Thing is once again in these calls they leave out the Most Important Issue:
Rachel does this every-time she has segments related to the Military and Veterans of. She and IAVA call for parades, credit to her for pointing out the community parades and welcome homes, but Then What. They call for a National Parade in NYC while we still have the Main Missions of why we sent the Military into that region ongoing, the one they want to just walk away from. IAVA doing what the other long established Veterans Organizations reaction and not proaction's as the leaders of do in Congressional Hearings and most of Congress, representatives of the people, do same, they too leave out the most important issue, as do that American Public, DeJa-Vu all over again. Cpl. Aaron Mankin says it near the end about "Having our backs when we return and I know you'll do just that!".
Does Anyone hear the Soldiers and Sailors being sent demanding that we end the occupation, Abandoned along with the Missions years back with almost full support of the Country with the first drum beat pointed at Iraq and the lying reasons for from the top civilian and military leaders beating those drums, and walk away, as we did during Vietnam in an ever growing movement of Active and Veterans of! Even those from Iraq and Iraq Veterans Against the War, active duty that joined them, take their orders and join their brothers and sisters in theater.
What's that extremely important issue everyone once again ignores:
That the Country has yet to Sacrifice and fulfill their obligation to those that not only serve to protect them, and Constitution, but they demand same be sent into their chosen wars. The tax cuts came with both wars, once again the Abandoning the Main Missions to gladly send them to invade another country same region. This is what he is talking about though Not Demanding but stating the should be obvious the Countries Responsibility, as the deficits had already started rising Before 9/11. I hear tax cuts and for these past decades I think more of the decades long Under Funding the Agency that is the Peoples Responsibility to those that serve and the Representatives who should be demanding, especially as the Country sends our Military into wars, attacking same Agency because of what that underfunding causes, like backlogs from returning troops joining our Veterans community and needing it's help, needing help from the people served.
Rachel has the soapbox of the media and shes good at it, she isn't the only one, she and they in the media and the citizens of the country, including the new national org IAVA as well as the long established veterans orgs, should be questioning why the country has yet to Sacrifice and especially in these times the continuing talk about the countries budget and the huge deficits that the war costs and results of these wars, along with the previous wars in the preceding decades are being added to daily. And with the decades long underfunding, ignoring what the veterans are saying about their needs and the issues from, PTS, Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, Military in Theater Burn Pits to name but a few though PTS and TBI now can't be ignored so easily, adds to the apathy of a country that loves cheering on wars, waving flags and using symbols and calling that patriotism, but not seeking to serve nor Sacrifice a few pennies in taxes for the treasury thus for the Agency to build what always should have been which would save budget funds.
Think the National Parade, and recently the Welcome Homes for us Vietnam Veterans, after Desert Storm. Now ask a Veteran, especially the hundreds to thousands suffering from Gulf War Syndrome, of how much Help came from them when the folks attending, more not or if on TV watching, went home and put those flags away till the next opportunity to wave that 'patriotism'.
Most of these younger Veterans are already facing, and have for the past decade plus, the same battles we older veterans have been fighting and we're still fighting them as we grow older and die off like the Country wants us to rather then address the real issues of those who've served them and they demanded their sacrifice, and will be facing same in the decades to come. While the Country, especially through their hired representatives, many wanting to privatize for profit, continues laying blame, including many vets, on the Agency that's the peoples responsibility!!
I hope I made the point as there's plenty I could have tried to write about all of this, but this Veteran already knows what many of us also learned, we can depend on our own brothers and sisters, mostly, but not the Country we've served as many of them argue about who's more patriotic then others!
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