Experts in Aid
In the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake that all but leveled Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the U.S. military sprung into action with a flotilla of ships and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary unit, among other things.
In the month since that day, the U.S. Department of Defense has contributed over $200 million to the relief efforts, and combined with other USAID contributions, U.S. taxpayers have given just over half a billion.
I spent a week on the USS Bataan and went into Haiti with the U.S. Marines. They delivered aid, secured landing sites, and treated critically ill Haitians, not to mention delivering hundreds of tons of supplies to our own Operation Blessing.
In the weeks since then, I've heard several media personalities remark on how well our Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen are executing their missions in Haiti. The insinuation is that delivering aid really isn't in their job description. One blogger put it this way, "The military is not about providing humanitarian relief."
Really? These assertions show a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the U.S. Military.
Just because soldiers carry guns doesn't mean killing is the only thing they know how to do. In fact, in today's world, humanitarian assistance is a more powerful weapon than artillery because the fight is rarely for ground or sky, but for hearts and minds. Kindness is our most powerful weapon, and one that todays soldiers, sailors, airmen Marines and guardsmen wield well.
It's not an exaggeration to say that the vast majority of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - probably 70 percent or more - will never fire their weapons in anger. Does that surprise you? Probably because we in the media don't do a good enough job of giving you one very important factor that good news reporting requires: Context.
You can easily find out how many troops were killed on any given day with a simple web search. But how many roadside bombs were found and de-fused? How many schools were opened? How much aid was delivered? These rarely get much attention because they're not as sexy as bombs, bodies, and bullets - staples of the nightly news.
Case in point - you may not have heard about the huge avalanche that killed nearly 200 people in northern Afghanistan last week. But coalition forces were there right away, pulling people out of the snow and, by some accounts, rescuing more than 3,000 travelers who were stranded by the disaster.
Today's American military is, by necessity, expert at being the savior to millions around the world.
Yes, they carry guns. And yes, they can be incredibly lethal when necessary. But remember this: the single most important factor in making America great is that America is good. The men and women serving in today's military know that. And you should, too.