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Bush supports the troops. He garners overwhelming support from them. It made me sick when Kerry sanctimoniously declared that "help is on the way" for our troops... as if most of them wanted his bullshit promises. This is a matter of record (divined from polls, personal experience, studies... etc.) not my preferred notion. That being said...
This subject is one of my biggest personal departures from the Bush administration's policy regarding defense. The national guard is being tasked with missions and deployments that A) they weren't designed or funded to execute B) the soldiers who signed up weren't told they would be engaged in. Additionally, the military has put "stop loss" restrictions on certain high-value career fields. Not only are the personnel in those fields unexpectedly deployed overseas for years at a time... they have lost the option to leave the service under these changed circumstances. That would certainly be frustrating.
I feel the reserve and guard components of our military have risen to the occasion and made huge sacrifices without much complaint. Sadly, I feel the government has not done it's part to recognize the extraordinary burden they have born.
I feel these soldiers have been taken advantage of. On one hand they have a strong sense of duty and commitment to their service, but on the other they're getting the screw job. The U.S. is trying to wage war on-the-cheap. By activating these components and congress not raising the cap on service size... they are saving money but expecting the same level of service from our current force as they would from a full-fledged active duty force.
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
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