Strategy Impacts Military Families

By Elaine Wilson, AFPS
Dec. 2, 2009
Elaine.wilson@dma.mil

Along with the rest of the nation, I sat glued to my TV set last night as President Barack Obama unveiled his Afghanistan strategy at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

During his speech, the cameras often would pan to the audience and focus in on the face of a young cadet for a second or two.

President Barack Obama walks to the lectern to present his strategy on Afghanistan to the nation and a live audience of about 4,200 cadets and guests at Eisenhower Hall Theatre at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2009. U.S. Army photo Tommy Gilligan

The cadets looked so intent, and I wondered what they were thinking as Obama announced his decision to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. I wondered what the impact would be on them and on their families, and on those military families already taxed by a sustained war effort.

The president’s plan is to flow the additional troops in to Afghanistan in the first half of 2010, and then begin to turn over security responsibility to Afghan security forces and withdraw U.S. forces in July 2011.

Forces may involve at least two or three Army brigade combat teams and many soldiers and Marines to train the Afghan security forces, according to an American Forces Press Service article, Obama Calls for Another 30,000 U.S. Troops in Afghanistan . Air Force and Navy personnel also will be called on to support this effort.
 
Our troops and their families already have made extraordinary sacrifices in the face of war, but Obama made it clear last night that he weighed this decision heavily before making it.

“…  I know that this decision asks even more of you — a military that, along with your families, has already borne the heaviest of all burdens,” he said. “As president, I have signed a letter of condolence to the family of each American who gives their life in these wars. I have read the letters from the parents and spouses of those who deployed. I visited our courageous wounded warriors at Walter Reed [Army Medical Center]. I’ve traveled to Dover [Air Force Base, Del.] to meet the flag-draped caskets of 18 Americans returning home to their final resting place. I see firsthand the terrible wages of war.
 
“If I did not think that the security of the United States and the safety of the American people were at stake in Afghanistan, I would gladly order every single one of our troops home tomorrow,” he said.

West Point cadets listen to President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan policy speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2009. White House photo by Lawrence Jackson

I’m so appreciative of our military members and their families. Their service and sacrifice have a direct impact on the security of this nation, and we owe them a deep debt of gratitude. We also owe them our attention. If you know a military family, particularly with a loved one deployed, reach out to them and see if they need a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. And, if you see a servicemember, thank him for his service.

I have no doubt that our military families will continue to weather this new challenge with the same grace and strength they have shown in the past.
 
Obama put it eloquently when he said: “America — we are passing through a time of great trial. And the message that we send in the midst of these storms must be clear:  that our cause is just, our resolve unwavering. We will go forward with the confidence that right makes might, and with the commitment to forge an America that is safer, a world that is more secure, and a future that represents not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes.”

For more on President Obama’s Afghanistan strategy please see this special report from American Forces Press Service: http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/1209_afghanbuildup/