In the face of Bravery

He enters the servery area and is greeted by the cook on the line. "What'll ya have today partner, Veal Parmesan, Grilled Chicken Breast, Beef Tips with Portabello Mushrooms, or Oven Roast Beef?" As his eyes get big he says; "Can I have veal and beef?" "Are you on a meal card?", "No" he answers and the cook puts a large roll of Roast Beef and a piece of Fried Veal dripping with tomato sauce and mozzeralla cheese on the plate for him and sends him down the line for his starch and vegetables. They enter through the large double doors and filing single line into the servery area three times a day. They intermingle with the federal civilians that are supposed to be there to service them and tend to their needs but for the most part treat them as if they are doing them a favor.
Hundreds of them are fed the best food prepared on the post every day and and seek out the hospital dining facility because they can get what they want since the Army placed a ban on all dining facilities requiring them to remove all fat from the diets of the soldiers by removing deep fat fried foods, donuts, sugary soft drinks and the likes in an effort to cut down on fat intake and decrease the waistline of overweight personnel, it's called the "Soldier Refueling Program." The word on the street though is that it is only driving the young trainees out the gates into the arms of the fast food properties or to other fast food eateries where they can get their fill of fries, soft drinks, burgers and pizza and spend their hard earned dollars of which they have plenty.

But that's the trainees, the warriors returning from the mountains of Afghanistan and the other various conflicts have to suffer right along with them when they return with their respective units subsisting in dining facilities that offer vegetarian lasagna, couscous, seasoned baked chicken, various wraps and the like. But the dining facility food is not the issue with our returning warriors, the sad part of their plight is for them to have to stand back and watch as others who have not even finished their training or finished mobilizing for movement overseas are suckled at the breast of the great big military medical mother. There are those that really get injured during training pushing themselves to their maximum effort, mentally and physically but there is a very great majority that are in it for the benefits, these are the personnel that never get out of the United States. The slick-willies that do as little as possible and skate around every corner they can find to get out of the stressful. tedious projects that make up the every day life of the American soldier when he or she is not overseas in a war zone. They are readily noticeable in their pregnant uniforms, sneakers, hobbling around on one crutch, using canes, pants not tucked in to the top of their boots in normal military fashion. There are various groups involved in this fleecing of the American taxpayer and they are the worst of the worst, the cowards that don't want to go and face the sometimes austere and dangerous conditions that are found in every theatre of war and they are supported by the politicians that are raking in the money and passing out the excuses for the billions of dollars in budgets needed to run the great war machine.

At one major military treatment facility a returning warrior that had served faithfully, a tour of Irag and two tours of duty in Afghanistan as an infantryman and sergeant first class in charge of up to forty-two personnel returned wounded after his humvee had been blown sideways off the side of a mountain in war torn Afghanistan. He made it out of the vehicle and in his attempt to save his driver was wounded by a sniper firing at them from half a mile away. The explosion and ensuing chaos left him with a repaired spine and a permanent limp of his right leg. He returned went through the surgeries, physical and occupational therapies, the constant classes and appointments to bring his body back into line with as much of a normal life as possible and the other classes and appointments with counselors and psychiatrists to help him maintain a sense of balance that would allow him to return back to civilian life and the job he had held for twenty years while he practiced the art of war on weekends and two weeks every summer. They began asking him several months after he was recuperated and physically fit to return to duty or be honorably discharged, how he felt, did he feel good enough to go home and resume his duties as a shift supervisor at the plant; how was his leg holding up; had he passed his recent physical training test; was he having any bad dreams; did he feel angry all the time? He would come into the dining facility and speak with the chef who would listen intently as he would continue on about his anger and frustration at being held virtually against his will from going home just so the command could be able to report to the higher up's that they were brimming over with wounded and needed more money, supplies, personnel to handle the influx all the time they were doubling up on the numbers and giving him excuse after excuse, after excuse to keep him going to this appointment and that appointment for this treatment and that treatment which were all just ploys to keep him on the roles to get more out of the great war machine.