military

Humvees, Seabees, and Howitzers were on the table Monday night as two combat-tried members of the armed forces told a crowd of about 25 students what they do in the military and why.

It was thoughtfully suggested to me that my last column, which appeared on Veterans’ Day, should perhaps have had something to do with the on-again/off-again relationship between Columbia and the military.

I know why I joined the Marine Corps: the pay is low, the training could literally kill you, and some people call my peers a bunch of Neanderthals. I can look at a stranger, tell him or her that I was in the Marine Corps, and hear the predictable, “Wow, I bet you’d be handy during a bar fight.”

Freedom of Speech Comes From the People, not the Military
Mudslinging Invalidates Arguments and Has No Place on Opinion Page
Comments on Free Speech and Bollinger Taken Out of Context and Misleading

In its series on the Service Academies, Spectator has published two submissions: an ignorant, invective piece titled “The Truth About The Academies” by Idris Leppla, whose brother attends the Naval Academy; and a very fair and honest account by Emily Haney-Caron, a self-described anti-war liberal whose fiancé attends West Point.

Let’s dispose of the political stuff right away: I’m liberal, I think war stinks, and sometimes I question the decisions made by our government and military. I’m one of those left-wingers against killing animals and who hates violent movies, so you probably don’t even want to get me started on how I feel about the idea of killing people.

I remember clearly the moment I realized that the U.S. was not invincible. I was 10 years old and for the first time I was told that the U.S. had lost a war. Not only did this revelation raise questions of America’s invincibility for me, but it also raised the question of America’s infallibility.

General David Petraeus sits in front of a Congressional committee testifying "candidly," a word he uses to tell lawmakers that some parts of the war in Iraq are not going well. Rows of gleaming medals and campaign ribbons adorn his tunic, reflecting the TV lights bearing down on him as he leans forward, hands clasped, head cocked like a golden retriever. He's a very sincere-looking man.