When it comes to our men and women in uniform I don't think so.
Judging from what I hear from many of you the feeling is mutual yet our government, that makes so many demands on these people, consistently fails to meet those human needs which help sustain our troops and support their families. That responsibility falls on those who organize care package campaigns aimed at supplying basic needs.
Lets take something real simple. Phone calls home. Why should servicemen and women working in war zones have to depend on their, or their family's personal resources to make a phone call? I find it ridiculous that families have to send prepaid phone cards overseas to have the opportunity to hear from their loved ones. Why can't this be a service that is simply provided as a small acknowledgment of the sacrifice these people and their families make?
How about something more complex and yet necessary? Transport.
The law does not allow the military to disrupt operational transport functions to prioritize getting military personnel home on leave. If there is space available on scheduled transportation then the law allows military personnel to hitch a ride but there is no scheduled transport into and out of Afghanistan, or Iraq or any of the other places around the world where the U.S. has a presence that approaches what commercial airlines do everyday.
If you are a Marine with two or three weeks leave before being sent off to a hot zone your chances of hitching a ride to see your family before that happens are dismally small.
How about just making sure that when personnel are transported they are going to be taken care of when they get to their destination?
As we've recently seen logistical support that is supposed to move military personnel in a way that makes sense sometimes sends those troops to bases that won't even be open when they are scheduled to be there.
It takes Congressional pressure to fix it. Ridiculous.
We can bail out major corporations but we can't afford to pay for a soldier's phone call. Trillions for Wall Street, charity for our troops.
Something is out of whack.
