American Service People Coming Home:

A quick note on our brave service people coming home from completing their sacrifice and amazing work in the service of our country. It is striking that of the major news services, commentary shows, etc., only "This Week" on ABC Sunday mornings, takes the time to consistently honor our fallen troops when their names are released by the Pentagon. 

Everyday, in despairingly difficult combat situations, over rough sometimes brutal physical terrain, and even harsher political turf, hundreds of thousands of Americans are prosecuting our military initiatives, pursuing our enemies, and working to safe guard our country for the safety of all Americans. These brave men and women project American power into the global arena with dignity, honor and integrity.

And after seven years (of just this set of wars), through extended tours of duty, and lacking clear directives during prolonged involvement in some of the world's toughest theaters of conflict, our service people deserve more than what we offer them upon their return.

The fallen deserve more than a simple mention on Sunday morning. The permanently harrowed, harmed and maimed deserve the best care America can offer. An opportunity to forge a bright future through education, job placement assistance, and ongoing engagement in society is a mandatory and minimal requirement that we should fulfill to our veterans who at such a young age have already sacrificed so much.

And lastly, we need to change how we project our power, how we think of our military, and up the ante, so to speak, on the value we place on the lives and futures of our young people before we send them into harms way again. Measure twice and cut once, for as usual, past political expediency and needless/false justification have meant that we have done worse than the opposite, and the deepest victims of that mismanagement and folly are the people who are serving in our defense. They require our support, our diligence and our dedication to fierce, open, and thorough debate. They have earned and require our very best care, comfort and understanding of their burdens. They deserve a keen eye and a ready acknowledgement of their service from all corners of our society, and not just a solemn nod on the Sunday rotisserie of politicos.