"We Train and We Fight"

President Trump wants a parade.

He wants to see the might of our Republic's military in an hours' long march of troops, tanks, rockets, and artillery through the heart of our capital; overcast with clouds of bombers, fighters, and helicopters.

The Colonel has to admit, that would be a pretty cool sight.  He means, who doesn't love a great parade?  Especially a parade of the nation's best and hardest showing off their coolest toys.

But, there's another side of the Colonel that is deeply troubled by the idea -- for a couple reasons.  Okay, probably three or four reasons.  Hear him out. 

At first blush, the Colonel has been tempted to mark this desire for a world class national military parade up to just another manifestation of President Trump's braggadocious ego.  (Look, the Colonel knows a braggadocious ego when he sees one -- the Colonel ain't the most humble man on the block, himself.)  Face it, it is who Donald Trump is -- a narcissistic bully whose modus operandi is to belittle and insult opponents (even those nominally on his team who disagree with him on a side matter).  

He cannot stand to be upstaged.

He sees a grand military parade in another country and he feels upstaged.  So, he demands that his military perform to assuage his feelings of inadequacy.

It is no secret that the Colonel despises the man Donald Trump is.  The Colonel didn't vote for him -- he wrote in the comely and kind-hearted Miss Brenda.  (And, frankly, she would rock as our president!)  So, the Colonel knows that his not-so secret disdain for the man colors your perception of his motivations for opposing this particular parade idea.  Just know that the Colonel has been in total agreement with nearly 90% of the policy positions and actions (as opposed to tweets) taken by the president.  (Except for that stupid wall -- empires that build walls fall immediately into decline.)  

The Colonel doesn't oppose the parade because it's Trump's idea.  

No, the Colonel opposes this parade idea for other more fundamental reasons that have nothing to do with whose idea it is.

Let's start with our nation's military tradition.

General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of the Army, said it best:

“These European militaries and some of these other guys, they dress up in fancy outfits with fancy uniforms. They have unbelievably fancy uniforms. Gold braid, sabers all over the place. Shiny helmets. We’re a pragmatic military. We reflect the American people. We're informal. Our uniforms are dull by comparison.  And what we do is we train and we fight.  We bear the burdens around the world.  These other guys, they do a lot more parading than they do fighting.”

"We train and we fight." Pretty simple sounding. Yet, it ain't so simple.  And that goes to the second fundamental reason the Colonel opposes this parade.

Training to fight, and win is the raison d'etre of the United States' military.  You (the citizen, in defense of whose freedom the military exists at all) don't want there to be any other competing requirements that detract or distract from that paramount imperative.  

This grand parade -- intended to show the world that "our button is bigger than your button" -- is a huge waste of time and resources at a time when the threats to our security are mounting and funding for military recapitalization, maintenance, and training is cratering. 

Some of you -- particularly the Marines with whom he served -- will no doubt consider the Colonel's stance on this issue a bit hypocritical.  You will point out that the Colonel himself had a few parades marched in his honor -- four changes of command and a retirement parade.  But, there is a not-so nuanced distinction between inward-focused military ceremonies and parades for public consumption.  Unit-focused drill and ceremonies are a key component of that specific unit's esprit.  U.S. Military ceremonies aren't for showing off -- they are almost always in honor of individuals receiving awards; or, in the case of a change of command, in honor of the unbroken chain of authority vested in the position not the individual in command.  The public is often invited to witness these ceremonies, but it ain't for them.  

Defenders of President Trump's grand military parade idea are painting the spectacle as an opportunity to "honor the troops."  

Want to honor the troops?

Honor them by demanding that Congress adequately fund their new equipment, maintenance, and training needs.

Honor them by demanding that Congress not allow them to be deployed to fight without Congressional authorization as specifically delineated in our Constitution.

Honor them by demanding that Congress honor the commitments made to them when they signed on.

Honor them by demanding that Congress ensure that the Veterans Administration provides world class service and care.

Honor them by respecting the flag, under which they deploy to fight, and under which many of their remains return for eternal rest.  (The Colonel does not refer solely to NFL "kneelers" -- all citizens of our Republic need a refresher on respect for the colors.) 

The Colonel can guarantee you one thing for sure.  The men and women serving in today's U.S. military aren't there for the glory.  

They hate parades.  

They are in it for something far greater than themselves.  And they only wish you were, too.