first class

first class

The businessmen who traded 8 first-class airline seats to eight soldiers flying home from Iraq for two weeks of R&R were the epitome of class.

It is a small gesture, but what a difference to the way soldiers returning from Vietnam were treated.

If one does not like war, then that is one thing; to take that dislike of war out on those who are powerless to stop it, namely average grunt soldiers, is a serious misdirection of anger. It is the politicians who choose whether to go to war, it is the military brass that decides on how that war is to be conducted, and it is the average grunt that merely does what he is told to do.

Average grunts have absolutely no choice in the matter; when one joins the army, one loses many rights that citizens take for granted, such as the right to quit and seek other employment. This was even worse in Vietnam, as soldiers were selected by the draft system, and they had no choice as to whether to become soldiers or not (other than going to jail or fleeing the country). At least today's US army is a volunteer force, but that doesn't change the fact that once you join the army, you are the property of the government.

So, if one has a problem with the way a war is conducted, it is the military brass that deserves the criticism, and the politicians who control them. If one is upset with the fact of a war, the proper direction to vent is towards the politicians, the ones who choose whether to go to war or not.

Those businessmen who gave up their seats surely made the flight home for those troops a memorable one, and word will filter back to the guys still in Iraq. And with 8 battle-hardened US troops in the first-class cabin, that was one flight with a zero chance of a hijacking attempt.