Some things never change

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy
that, an' "Tommy wait outside";


But it's "Special train for Atkins"
when the trooper's on the tide
...

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms
that guard you while you sleep

Is cheaper than them uniforms,
an' they're starvation cheap ...

We aren't no thin red 'eroes,
nor we aren't no blackguards too,

But single men in barricks,
most remarkable like you ...

Rudyard Kipling's 19th-century poem "Tommy" perfectly captures
the frustration of many in our armed forces toward the disconnected
mind-set of too many of today's politicians, media folks and uncaring
Americans.

When the country has a gun pointed at its head, nothing's too good
for the troops. But when the market's high and peace is blowing in the
wind, signs quickly proclaim: "No dogs or soldiers allowed."

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There's no national threat this week, but our Tommys and Tammys are
suddenly in the spotlight. It's their absentee ballots that may decide
the presidential election and who will be their next commander in chief.
What irony! Now those who wear our uniform have become critically
important to an administration that for the past eight years has treated
them with callousness and contempt -- as if they were indentured
servants.

They've been sent on one harebrained mission after another, none of
which have zilch to do with national security. Their ability to defend
America has been dulled by social experiments seemingly designed to turn
a once-disciplined, highly effective fighting machine into a politically
correct commune. They've been marginalized, downsized and socialized,
screwed with, manipulated and jerked around every way but loose.

Finally, these defenders of ours have made prime time and Page 1
without another USS Cole tragedy or an old atrocity charge or a new
scandal. Now that they're the main event, let's hope they use their 15
minutes to send a loud and clear message about what's on their minds.

About how they've had to wear the widespread Madeleine Albright-type
of disdain, the sophistry that since they're all volunteers, they should
grin and bear it as they wade through the cesspools of the world.

Or how they're forced to pander to high-living politicos, their pals
and entourages as they fly America's new nobility, their wives and
spoiled kids around the world on jaunts at taxpayer expense. All the
while enduring long separations from their own families, many of whom
exist on food stamps and hand-me-downs.

These are the Tommys and Tammys who in the past eight years have paid
with their lives in Albania, Bosnia, Colombia, Haiti, Kosovo, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia and Yemen, to name a few bloody spots. And now -- shock! --
this year their absentee ballots actually may be counted. They actually
may play a critical, even indispensable role in the year 2000 election.
And along the way, maybe they'll start getting some respect.

Of course, since most reporters share the Madeleine attitude, few in
the Fourth Estate pay much attention to the troops unless it's the
"Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll. ... And
when one of theirs such as Time Magazine's Margaret Carlson uses
national TV to dump on our soldiers from Florida who voted by absentee
ballot while serving in the world's hellholes -- calling them "tax
dodgers" -- it goes virtually unreported.

Rarely does anyone acknowledge that the sacrifices of our troops --
past, present and future -- are what allow the Carlsons to employ their
constitutional right of freedom of expression to sully the people who
daily lay their lives on the line to protect those very rights.

Few in the regular force blow the whistle over their misuse and abuse
for fear of losing their jobs. But if conscription once again filled the
ranks of our military, this nonsense would stop. Citizens would be
concerned with what was happening to their children, as would the
suddenly enlightened press and pols.

Sadly, things probably won't change much for the regulars until the
draft is reinstated. But as long as it's the same old story for the
troops, Kipling's caveat still holds:

An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that,
an' anything you please;

An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool --
you bet that Tommy sees!

And so do the wonderful men and women who defend America in
these troubled times -- whose vote actually may mean something this time
around.