Hope Disappears
For the people of Afghanistan these are the times of desperation.
I am sitting on the front porch with the Grandson this morning. We are watching cars go by at the bottom of the hill. At times we get distracted by birds, but it is mostly cars going by that catches our attention. I have a lot of mixed emotions today.
Many people have asked me tons of questions regarding Afghanistan over the last few days. Why did we leave? Do you feel the government let you down? Is this best for Afghanistan? Is this best for America? Why did we not have a plan? Who is to blame for this blunder? Have you heard what the Europeans said about this? And the list goes on and on. On this Friday, I am choosing not to answer these. If you want my answers on these, catch the two podcasts earlier this week, they do a good job answering those. My thoughts on this though are all over the place.
First and foremost, the people I have served with and many of my friends that served tours over there, gave their best with our country and Afghanistan being first in their minds. Even when we were not down there, many missed important life events all in the preparation to get to Afghanistan as the best trained Soldier as possible. Basically, many servicemembers put their normal lives on hold for the last 20 years to fulfill our countries bidding. They did it with honor and pride in a way that everyone would be extremely proud of them. Many were servicemembers but also because of their duties assumed the roles as humanitarian’s depending on the situation. The bottom line is, they gave their all to this country and its objectives.
As we know we had some that gave the ultimate sacrifice. 2448 servicemembers lost their lives supporting our nations interest. Their families will never be the same and many today will be asking, why? We also had countless of servicemembers who brought demons back home with them and many could not escape those demons. I have no idea what that count is, but it is truly tragic.
This pushes several questions, that has entered the equation. After this hasty nonthought out withdraw, the question is, was all this in vain? Were the last 20 years simply a waste? For something that we were told was so important, could be dismissed as an afterthought in the decision process without properly planning the exit. We planned for every single detail the last 20 years in Afghanistan and to have the senior most elected official to simply not put any effort or time in a plan, doesn’t sit well.
I am grateful to sit on this bench with my Grandson today and enjoy the environment around me. Something tells me that there are many children in Afghanistan that will not get to relish those moments. That is sad because a week ago they still had hope. Now that has vanished.
This is My Friday’s Thought to Ponder for the Weekend
The Vet
Originally published at https://shop.thecoachandthevet.com on August 19, 2021.
