Let's Bring the Boys Home!

It seems that every now and then there's a yuuuuge kerfuffle over how many troops we have serving overseas, and when we should endeavor to bring them home.

Just lately it seems that POTUS Trump has engendered the enmity of every camp in D. C. over his decision to pull some of our soldiers away from the front lines in...somewhere.  Not sure whether they were in Syria, or Iraq, or Iran, or Kurdistan.  Maybe they weren't either...

Anyway, the Democrats, the Republicans, nearly every Hollywood script-reader and the blow-dried TV pundits all have their panties in a bunch over Trump's attempt to fulfill a campaign promise and "bring the boys home."  Yet, it seems that nobody, NOBODY wants that promise kept.  Not sure why, but ending a military conflict anywhere is anathema to the D.C. swamp-dwellers.  They luuuuuv conflict and want it to continue! 

Unless it's a Democrat doing the conflict-ending.  Then, they're just fine with the whole thing.  Think back when Obama pulled every single soldier out of Iraq.  After Bush had won the war.  Tens of thousands of them.  The vacuum they created by their departure paved the way for ISIS to take over and create their promised caliphate.  The same one Trump has worked tirelessly to decimate.  Which he has.  It's the "now what" that's confounding everyone... 

Under that backdrop, I'd like to offer up some rather jarring data for your reading pleasure.  We, the American People, have something north of 170,000 active duty military personnel currently serving in more than 150 foreign countries!  Did you know that? 

Here's a partial list of foreign military installations staffed by U. S. soldiers, sailors and marines:

  -   Australia
  -   Iraq 
  -   Niger
  -   Somalia
  -   Afghanistan
  -   Belgium
  -   Bosnia-Herzegovina
  -   Bulgaria
  -   Cameroon
  -   Germany (34 facilities)
  -   Israel
  -   Italy (22 facilities)
  -   Japan  (18 facilities)
  -   Burkino-Faso (Where the heck's that?)
  -   Kosovo
  -   No. Macedonia (But not So. Macedonia?)
  -   South Korea  (No, not No. Korea)
  -   Kuwait
  -   Spain  (15 facilities)
  -   Guam
  -   Moldavia
  -   Bahamas  (There are worse duty stations)
  -   Bahrain
  -   Brazil
  -   Cuba (Guantanamo Naval Base)
  -   Djibouti
  -   Greece
  -   Iceland
  -   Greenland
  -   Denmark
  -   Portugal
  -   Qatar
  -   Romania
  -   Turkey
  -   United Kingdom (36 facilities)

Yes, my friends, we have more than 5,000 bases, including posts, forts, airfields, bases, camps and stations around the world.  5,000!  We have more than 18,000 stationed in Italy.  Another 35,000 in Germany.  3,500 in Spain.  28,000 in South Korea.  55,000 in Japan.  And most of these have been there for more than 70 years!  

We have troops everywhere they might be needed.  And we're pretty busy, as you might have noticed.  And that's on top of the 600 bases we feature within the borders of the United States.  We have some 2,141,900 total military, with 1,282,900 on active duty. 

That number represents, by the way, only 0.07% of our total population.  Less than 1% of our population is trained up, geared up, armed up and stationed up, ready, willing and able to protect you and me, 24/7/365.  And they do.  They are the folks who've written a blank check made payable to the Federal Government - you and me - for an amount up to and including...their lives.

Let that sink in...

So for those who are dumb enough to demand that we bring soldiers home from here or there, let's just remember that the 28 or so soldiers relocated from the no-man's land between Syria, Russia, Iran and Kurdistan, are but a small part of the heroes we have prepositioned around the Globe to save our bacon...

Some might think it wise to bring most, or all of them, home.  Others, myself included, look at these postings as an insurance policy against another 9/11.  In other words, you pay a little bit today so you don't have to pay a whole lot tomorrow.  And I'd call that a pretty good deal...  

What do you think?