One Utah

Members of the military can now show how many tours of duty they’ve had in Iraq when they wear their Class A uniforms. The Department of Defense has announced that campaign stars are authorized for the Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM), also for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM).

Service members who have qualified for the medals may display a bronze campaign star for each designated campaign phase in which they participated. The four campaign phases and associated dates established for the ICM are described somewhat euphemistically as:

(1) Liberation of Iraq – March 19, 2003 to May 1, 2003.
(2) Transition of Iraq – May 2, 2003 to June 28, 2004.
(3) Iraqi Governance – June 29, 2004 to Dec. 15, 2005.
(4) National Resolution – Dec. 16, 2005 to a date to be determined.

The positive-sounding words “liberation,” “transition,” “governance,” and “resolution” cover five years and a multitude of disgraceful and horrific events that most people wish had never happened. I wonder, if Iraqis could be awarded medals for surviving this nightmare, how would they view the four phases of the campaign? Maybe they would call them invasion, resistance, civil war and foreign occupation.

The last phase is supposed to end on “a date to be determined.” The 2008 presidential election will determine that date– let’s hope it’s not a hundred years from now!

No matter what we think of the Bush administration’s Iraq fiasco and the war in Afghanistan, the wearers of the ICM and ACM deserve our respect. They went halfway around the world and made some major sacrifices because they wanted to serve with honor. They survived many dangerous missions, not to mention 138-degree heat and sandstorms.

A study by the Rand Corporation found:

• Nearly 20 percent of returning service members have symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression.
• 19 percent report that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed.
• 7 percent report both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression.
• The study estimates that about 320,000 service members may have experienced a traumatic brain injury during deployment, from mild concussions to severe penetrating head wounds. Yet, just 43 percent reported ever being evaluated by a physician for that injury.
• Half of service members say they had a friend who was seriously wounded or killed.
• 45 percent report that they saw dead or seriously injured non-combatants.
• Over 10 percent say they were injured themselves and required hospitalization.

CBS News has discovered that, on average, a thousand veterans attempt suicide every month.

This entry was posted Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 5:35 am and is filed under 2008 Election, Disaster, Iraq, John McCain, Military, National Politics, Peace, This Blog, War. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.