-Bombing deaths of over 200 marines in Lebanon in 1983
-Bad economic spending decisions on military hardware and budget over the past 3 decades
-Privatization of American military and Intelligence Agencies
-Invasion of Panama in 1989
-Coalition War with Iraq 1991
-Military quagmires in Somalia (1991-1993), in Afghanistan (2001 to Present), and in Iraq (2003 to Present)
-Bad management of Peace in Israel and the Middle East in general from the Reagan administration onwards since 1981
Alas, the state department and U.S. government agencies find me-and others like me-to be unemployable.
AARP ARTICLE ON VETS & STATUS OF FAMILIES 2008
In the aforementioned, piece from American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) on the burdens that veteran victims of war are importing home to their families, the author, Barry Yeoman, notes that it is "estimated 10,000 recent veterans of these conflicts now depend on their parents for their care. Working unheralded, these parents have quit jobs, shelved retirement plans, and relocated so they can be with their injured sons and daughters. Many have become warriors themselves, fighting to make sure this new wave of injured veterans gets the medical care and rehabilitation it needs."
In the main human interest tale introducing the topic, a frustrating tale of a women name Cynthia and her son, it was noted that the main character's son had entered the military only because in the two years prior, the economy in her family's region of the country was doing so poorly, i.e. jobs were lacking.
I understand this. My own brother joined the navy during the Reagan recessions of the 1980s.
However, I wonder how many young unemployed or underemployed young Americans will come home injured now and in the immediate future?
In doings so, I also wonder how many of those entering national military service will feel that between (1) joblessness, (2) entering the U.S. military or (3) joining its private military contractor, signing the recruiter's paperwork is a no-brainer?
MANY, MANY, MANY ARE COMING HOME NOW
The AARP article states, the "Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq, has a 96 percent chance of survival. He or she can sometimes be stateside within 36 hours of the injury. As a result, there are just 6 deaths for every 100 injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, compared with 28 deaths per 100 in Vietnam, and 38 in World War II, according to Linda Bilmes, a researcher at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government."
