History has shown that the military and veteran community have mainly been supportive of the Republican candidate for President, it appears that may change this election cycle. There are a lot of Veterans who do not support President Trump because of his actions toward Veterans. I entered the Air Force under President Reagan. I was a big Reagan supporter during because I felt he placed the country first. But this election cycle I am starting to see a huge shift in the military community from that history. It appears that the military community is deeply divided for this Presidential election. Both candidates found a way to avoid the draft during Vietnam, which does not set well with me. I feel that society is to blame. We have over 300 million people in the United States and all we could find to run for President is two draft dodgers, but here we are. This does not look good for the country and where we are going.
The “Presidential debate” if you want to call it that, made us look like a Banana Republic. The constant over talking of the President appeared to me to be very childish and somewhat strategic. Vice President Biden telling President Trump to shut up was not helpful either. It has been documented that the Vice President Biden has had to overcome a stutter in his life. Speech specialists acknowledged the way President Trump was acting was designed to cause Vice President Biden to stutter and become confused. It appeared not to work, but the losers of this encounter are the people of the United States. It appears that the US military and veterans are being used as a prop by the President and his comments about us are not helping. The Trump family has not had anyone who served in the military. It has been noted that the Trump family threatened to dis-inherent anyone who joined the military. On the other hand, the Bidens have had family who served.
The Biden family has had some of their family members who have served. Even though Joe Biden, like the president had gotten several deferments and not served in Vietnam. His son Beau Biden served a tour in Iraq when he was the attorney general of Delaware. Not only has the Biden family Served in the military Vice President Biden’s wife Jill came together with Michelle Obama launching a nationwide initiative to rally around service members, veterans, and their families. This initiative was disbanded by President Trump after the election. We as veterans should question who the commander in chief should be, we should also look at the sacrifices both candidates have offered to our country.
It is true that the VA is being funded well under President Trump, I get it. But it was also funded well under the Obama / Biden administration. Not funding the VA is a death sentence for any politician. It just goes to show that no matter what it will be a tough decision for some veterans to make when it comes to making a choice for our next commander in chief.
I personally struggled with the way President Trump has handled veterans and troops under his command. The name calling and belittling veterans and adversaries is just too much for me to accept. At the end of the day we all need to decide what we believe is best for the country. Please do not attack your fellow veterans for their beliefs or who they vote for. The country is divided, veterans need to stay united for each other even through our differences. Veterans are a dysfunctional family, but family, nevertheless.
As our Vietnam era veterans age, we continue to lose the power that veterans have as a unit. The number of veterans is slipping by the day and it worries me that we may be losing our voice. Veterans need to look at where we fit in this election. We need to get past the rhetoric, the over talk, and all the BS associated with this election and do what is best for the country again. We did not fight for this divisiveness. The best thing that I can say is vote no matter how you feel, do not criticize other veterans for their decisions, and have each other’s backs.
For questions or comments you can contact me at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at www.afterdutyvets.com. I also have 2 books on Amazon if anyone wants to read more about veterans and their struggles. Living the Dream: Nightmares of Military Re-integration and Living the Dream II: Nightmares of Navigating the VA System.