Tomgram: Andrea Mazzarino, Stop Thanking the Troops and Lend a Hand | TomDispatch

Tomgram: Andrea Mazzarino, Stop Thanking the Troops and Lend a Hand | TomDispatch: 

 

Ready or Not, Here They Come
A Military Spouse’s Perspective on Bringing the Troops Home from Afghanistan and Iraq
By Andrea Mazzarino

By the end of this year, the White House will reportedly have finally brought home a third of the 7,500 troops still stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq (against the advice of President Trump’s own military leaders). While there have been stories galore about the global security implications of this plan, there has been almost no discussion at all about where those 2,700 or so troops who have served in this country’s endless wars will settle once their feet touch U.S. soil (assuming, that is, that they aren’t just moved to less controversial garrisons elsewhere in the Greater Middle East), no less who’s likely to provide them with badly needed financial, logistical, and emotional support as they age.

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