Writing Letters/E-mails

On my Google News Alerts I saw an article that made me want to send a little piece of advice to those friends, families, and well-meaning others who are sending letters and e-mails to our troops.

Here's the article:


NCOs Note Differences Between What They See and What They Hear [EXCERPT]

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, May 10, 2006 – It's the e-mails and calls from home that gave the soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division their first clue that something is becoming different about the will of the American people.

"All this time I thought we were winning," said a sergeant first class sarcastically. "Seems folks back home have already run up the white flag."

Some 4th Infantry Division noncommissioned officers were discussing the flood of e-mails they receive from family members and friends about the constant danger they are facing in Iraq.

I agree that the media focuses on the bad news--whether that is bias or just what the media does or some combination thereof, I'm not sure.

I do not know if we are winning or losing.

I do not know if NCOs, or any other troops for that matter, are in a better position to judge how the war is going from their own little piece of it.

What I do know is this:

If you object to the war, if you think we are losing, if you think it is a waste of money, keep it to yourself when you write to the troops. Now is not the time to share your fears or your politics.

If the soldiers wish to share with you, great. Please be as open to that as you can.

Otherwise, tell them about your day, a book you just read, something funny the pets did...anything besides what you heard on television about the war.