Saturday is Armed Forces Day, which honors Americans serving in the five military branches – the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Their contributions to defending American freedom deserve honor every day of the year.
But part of honoring the Armed Forces also means recognizing that they should only be put in harm’s way as an absolute last resort. Their role is to defend America and American interests, not to act as police officers in the civil wars of far flung countries.
In the video below, Georgetown Professor Peter Jaworski explains exactly how destructive unnecessary wars are. “Wars are traumatic, chaotic events,” he says. The post-traumatic stress and suicide epidemics among our veterans are proof of this.
So while we honor our Armed Forces on Saturday, let’s also consider how we can better protect them by keeping them out of harm’s way as much as possible—surely the greatest honor of all.