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Everyone responsible for looking out for the troops has become partisan and politicized. The DoD is VERY political, and of course the House and Senate committees are politicized. A politician sitting on one of the Armed Services Committees is there for military experience, to look good on the resume. You saw the House Armed Services Committee hearing on Iraq. Petraus parroted the administration.
The soldiers need something to protect them that has teeth. The VA doesn't have teeth. The House and Senate are hopelessly bogged down in perpetual politics. The DoD is under the thumb of the president.
The first report of under-armored humvees started coming out of Iraq in 2004. Today, there are still EFPs killing our soldiers because they don't have the right armor. Who was responsible for getting the FRAG Kit 5 onto the machines? All of the above. The DoD, the House and Senate. Even the VA.
Soldiers are the heart and soul of the military. Without them, there is no nation building but more importantly there is no national defense. If those charged with protecting them from unreasonable danger are impotent, then why shouldn't they organize? And they don't have to use a refusal to fight as their only bargaining chip. There are steps to be taken within the rules of the UCMJ that could be disobedience but not illegal. Can you imagine an endorsement from the Military Union? Can you then imagine the noticeable lack of such an endorsement? It wouldn't breach the UCMJ because it wouldn't specifically be badmouthing someone on the chain of command, but the consequences for elected officials of ignoring military issues would be unthinkable. Everyone loves the troops.
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