Back when I was a young Mondo, I had a big time fascination with all things war. Tanks, guns, small arms, uniforms all that jazz. I was a big time military history buff. I still am, but since after about the age of sixteen the need to get laid was greater, I had to tone this stuff down. I still am really fascinated by the military history to this day. There is a lot of it and some of it is very important.

Unlike many of my liberal pals, I believe in a strong military. We need to have that ability to project force and protect American interests overseas. Don’t get me wrong I’m not a raving militarist, just a guy who sees a need for a standing army ready to do its thing at a moment’s notice. We need these people with the special training and disciple to do these things we don’t really want to think about.

When I was in Alabama at the beginning of the month, we were only mere miles from Fort Benning, Georgia. So we decided to make a trip to the Infantry Museum there. The first thing I noticed about our new look military, was the folks guarding the main gate were not eager young MPs, they were civilian contractors. You see all the MPs are overseas. In Iraq. Or they are in the reserves who if they are. Anyway no soldiers there; as a mater of fact, soldiers are pretty thin on the ground there period. There we a few folks in uniform at the Museum. It is a nice little one at that, good displays; lots of stuff to see from the founding of the US Army until the Waronterra and everything in between. As we looked at the displays from the Waronterra we noticed that there was a very subtle conflation of 911 and shenanigans in Iraq. Strike two for the new look military. As Mort Milfington (look it up!) Shameful! Ignominious! Surprisingly, there was not a third strike.

Do I have a point here? Yes the point is don’t hate on the Army because it is the Army. They have a job to do to do and up until Bush’s folly they did it very well. You might not like what they are trained to do, but they are part of the modern world. We used to have the best trained, best motivated, best educated most professional army in the world. I say used to because the war is breaking the back of the Army. The recruiting standards are lower. People with criminal records are getting into the ranks. The Army has lost its way thanks to Bush and Rummy. We can have once what we had again. We need to stop this madness.

Mondo, out!