Rivers replies

In an earlier post I condemned Reggie Rivers for calling US troops "slaves" and I emailed him to ask for a retraction and apology. The following is his response.

Rivers just does not understand what the US military person stands for. He assumes we would put our family and jobs before our country. The exact opposite is the case. For without our country there would be no job and family. All over the world at this very minute millions of American troops sacrifice themselves, putting their country above their personal wants. Rivers is incapable of understanding Americas most valuable resource - patriotism.

Hi Marc,

Thanks for the message. I'm sure that some soldiers are happy to be in Iraq, and I'm sure that some feel a duty to serve their agreed terms. But I'd bet that most soldiers are like the rest of us. If they had the choice, they would quit a job the moment it became too dangerous. I'm not criticizing soldiers, because I believe they are brave, hard-working individuals who do the best they can in often impossible situations.

My criticism is aimed at policies that make military service compulsory, no matter how unattractive it becomes.

If your boss (at whatever job you currently hold) asked you to relocate to the Iraq office, leave your family, possibly throw your personal finances into disarray and risk death or injury, would you do it? Or would you quit your job and find another one?

Most of us would put our families before our careers. Most of us wouldn't deliberately accept a job in a war zone. You may believe that soldiers have some gene that makes them different from the rest of us, but research shows that more than 80 percent of the people who join the military actively seek non-combat positions. That suggests they're like the rest of us. They have no desire to get shot at. They want to come home to their families at night.

The argument that they're volunteers only works to a point. Suppose you were a volunteer at Children's Hospital. If the demands of being a volunteer became too great or if some other cause became more important to you, you could quit being a volunteer. The moment someone tells you that you can't quit, then you're no longer a volunteer.

Sadly, people who join the U.S. Military become slaves, because they're not allowed to quit their jobs. Most serve bravely and try to make the best of a bad situation, but where they get sent, how long they stay there and whether they die is usually out of their control. They're not like the rest of us, because they can't exercise free choice about where they live and the work that they do. If they quit they face dishonorable discharge, lengthy investigations, accusations of cowardice, difficulty finding future employment, possibly court marshal and possible prison terms.

The military also has instituted stop-loss policies to keep people from getting out of the service after their terms are up. Men and women who have served more than 20 years and have firm release dates are being told that they can't get out. They have to stay for another year, or two, or three. So even when people have done everything they agreed to do and they're ready to move on with the next part of their lives, the military is reluctant to let them escape.

You and I can quit our jobs. The President can quit. Secretaries Rumsfeld and Powell can quit. Members of Congress can quit. But soldiers have many barriers that force them to stay in the face of bullets and bombs whether they want to or not.

If that's not slavery, I don't know what is.

Thanks again,

Reggie