I went to Sears the other day to do some shopping, because I am a fashion maven, and nothing says haute couture like Hagar slacks. I was checking out some short-sleeved shirts when something caught my eye. I turned and saw an Army 1st Infantry Division (otherwise known as the “Big Red One”) clothing section. They were selling T-shirts, fake cargo pants, and various other screen-printed clothes with pictures of bright-colored paratroopers and shiny tanks. 

My first thought was, “I wish they had these colors when I was in the Army.” My second thought was, “this is pretty disgusting.” When did the U.S. Army turn into a brand name, hawking wares next to the LL Cool J collection? 

Feeling nostalgic, I bought a navy-colored Army T-shirt, “United States Army” emblazoned across the chest and the Big Red One insignia on the lower corner of the shirt. I thought that if anyone could wear a fake Army T-shirt, I could. I was a part of the Big Red One in Europe. It wasn’t fake if it was real for me, right? 

Still, the idea of selling the Army as entertainment disturbed me because it’s a symptom of how much of America views the military: it’s entertainment; part of pop culture to be dissected by the media until the next celebrity dies. The Army could order soldiers to be killed en masse by roadside bombs on a daily basis and they’d barely get a mention in the Arts & Leisure section of The New York Times. 

My opposition to the Iraq War conflicts with my belief that the men and women in the military are the bravest, most dedicated Americans I have ever met. I rooted for them after their 2003 deployment to kick ass like I knew they could, hoping they would all come home. The things soldiers do, no matter who’s watching, is awe-inspiring. Someone needs to tell their tales. 

The day I realized what our military did was vital to the safety of the world came during my deployment to Bosnia in 1996. Near the end of my tour, I volunteered to be part of a protection detail for the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). A delegation from the ICMP was going to verify the existence of a mass grave near the Serbian border. My detail went with them and their exhumation equipment to the suspected site. It was in a large, open field, a common place for such atrocities.