I’ve got news for those who do not get it yet. A bigger war, like we are attempting to prevent with foreign policy right now, will require the participation of every one- willing or not. The next big one will claim young and old, fat, outta shape, handicapped, you name it, every one. Time for a big reality check.

Lord, I hope not. If something happened to this country that required every able-bodied person to take up arms, I don't know if we would survive. We've got too many "America is the enemy" defeatists in this country. To defend something, you have to believe in it and love it more than your own life. Do you honestly think there are enough of those people in this country? Sadly, I don't. We'd lose a few states before folks finally started waking up. I hate to admit this, but it is honestly how I feel.

This is exactly the problem. Our society is so far detached from their own survival. We have become lazy couch potatoes, enjoying our liberty and damn the rest of the world.

I've got news for those who do not get it yet. A bigger war, like we are attempting to prevent with foreign policy right now, will require the participation of every one- willing or not. The next big one will claim young and old, fat, outta shape, handicapped, you name it, every one. Time for a big reality check.

I have to admit, I am tired of the "not my perfect angelic little Johnny" attitude of today's parents when it comes to discouraging military service... but the way to overcome that isn't to gather and collect this kind of data. It's too much of a slippery slope and will only increase agitation and hostility towards the big green machine.

The military simply has to do a better job of reaching out to the American public and integrating itself into our communities. The public needs to truly understand that Soldiers are real people with lives very much like their own; mortgages and children, cars and bills, etc. Closed up in their bases, Soldiers and their families enjoy very little real support from society as a whole. Magnetic yellow ribbons and bumper stickers, while nice gestures, don't count as "support." Military bases have great facilities for public fireworks displays, picnics, cook-outs, community volunteer efforts, races, etc.

Right now, America isn't at war, our military is.

Until Americans feel some sense of kinship, a sort of ownership and belonging (for lack of a better word) with the military, recruitment is going to continue to suffer, and overprotective mommies and daddies are going to continue to discourage their precious Johnnies from serving.

JMHO.

A little marketing seems appropriate in time of war, dontchathink?

I still love looking at WWI and WWII posters from the USA and Great Britain, as well as old newsreels and wartime movies and magazines from those eras.

It is interesting how "gung ho" our parents' and grandparents' generations were in times of crisis. It is almost like we are afraid to emulate them in even the slightest way.

And I also admit I am troubled by the anti-military recruiting aspect of the criticism. Apparantly the uber lefties think that the military should just sit in an office and wait for the volunteers to find them-there aren't many businesses that get quality people without putting in some effort, and I would expect no less of the military.