We are fortunate to live in a nation where free and open discussion is accepted and encouraged.   To ensure that as citizens we may retain our right to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech without retribution and the right to worship as we choose, there are those who must stand tall and alert and be prepared to defend our rights – the honorable Men and Women of the United States Militarly.

It is important to remember those who have made a voluntary commitment to protect the United States of America. The men and women who serve our country are deployed to areas that we can only catch a glimpse of on television.

I believe our priority is to our fighting men and women. It is important that the soldiers have the appropriate equipment and weapons they need to fulfill the requirements of their job duties;

After the military men and women return home,.they may need to receive the best mental counseling services available to them,  These soldiers have seen the unthinkable and witnessed the most brutal treatment to mankind;,  Counseling should definitely be encouraged and perhaps required.  Post Traumatic Street Disorder is a medically recognized condition and not a sign of mental disease.  The number of diagnoses of PTSD have more than tripled since the wars in Afghanistan,  Pakistan and Iraq began.

There are multiple programs related to the military that have been under consideration by the House and the Senate, and ultimately the President.   The bills to construct at least five new warships patterned after the USS Gerald Ford have been circulating through the proper committees for approval;   There have also been requests for several more high tech war planes to be constructed   With so many other needs at the moment,  I don’t see why the ships and planes cannot be put on hold for a few yearsl

There are those who are adamantly in favor of drastically reducing the military budget;  I find the thought of reducing our budget at this time frightening and a little premature.  We have thousands of men and women in uniform serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.  They will need supplies, equipment and enough forces to get the job done.
Any large military cut at this moment would be a mistake.  Let us never forget the terrorists that attacked our people in foreign lands and of course, the devastating September 11 attacks on our homeland.  Our people need the best equipment possible to complete their mission and come home.  They are in the land of the Taliban and you never know where Bin Laden’s foot soldiers may appear.  Our troops need to be ready for anything.

Our military personnel will be returning to a completely different United States and there will be a period of adjustment.  For some, this adjustment could result in a sense of anxiety and depression and the military should make counseling easy to obtain with no sense of shame.

,a) There is still a need for body armor for our soldiers, who are daily under-attack.  As they patrol their assigned areas, there is an ever current threat of a sniper or EID attack.  The government has not been able to provide our troops with these valuable protection devices, and the burden of obtaining these vital protection devices have fallen to their families at home

(b) Injuries sustained by military personnel on routine patrols have been sustained by exploding IEDs.  The number of soldiers lost to this type of attack is rising rapidly, and the catastrophic damages received by those who survived have amazed the field doctors who worked to save what they can of their limbs;.  Further extensive treatment is required for our soldiers at Walter Reed and other Military hospitals where doctors work diligently to help the soldier return to their lives.  Learning to move about without legs or an arm can require months of extensive therapy.  The  ability to obtain employment after their treatment is concluded, can be devastating.  Occupational therapy is just as important as physical therapyl

We  need to welcome home each remaining troop with a smile and a hello, They valiantly volunteered to protect our nation and a thank you is the least we can offer to the men and women who wear the military Uniforms of the United States