Bob Wakefield
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

How You Can Really Support The Troops

On FB, I frequently post statements that start out, “when you say you support the troops” and then I finish with an example of something Trump and/or the right did that most definitively does NOT support the troops. That comes from a conversation I had during the election where this person who identified as conservative kept saying, “I support the troops, I support the troops.” I kept thinking to myself, do you even know a troops?

Seriously do you? Do you know anybody personally that is actively serving? Statistically you probably don’t. DoD is a super small fraction of America. But that’s no excuse to stay ignorant. If you don’t know anybody in the military, here is some stuff you can do to support the troops.

1. Spend some time reading “[Insert Branch] Times”. Every branch has a news source related to it but not associated with it. Publications like Air Force Times cover the Air Force but independently as opposed to PAOs who have to tow the party line.

2. Join a military association. I know the Air Force Association has a “supporters” membership. You don’t have to be military to join.

3. Contact your local VFW and see if they need any kind of volunteer help.

4. Volunteer/donate to the USO.

5. Send goodies to deployed soldiers. Deployed soldiers love goodies. Seriously, just bake up some brownies and pick a random E-2 sitting in some shit hole firebase in the ass end of undisclosed location. It’s like the bare minimum that you could do.

6. VOTE FOR POLITICIANS AND POLICIES THAT ACTUALLY SUPPORT ACTIVE/GUARD/RESERVE PERSONNEL AND THEIR FAMILIES INSTEAD OF JUST FEEDING THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.

Read Air Force Times

Join the Air Force Association

Find a VFW post

Volunteer with the USO

Bob Wakefield

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Living at the intersection between finance, economics, and data science/engineering. Follow me on Twitter! @BobLovesData

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