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WHAT GENERAL MCCRYSTAL WOULD SAY BY JAMES BAYS is the general being kept away from the media? from MILSPEAK: WARRIORS, VETERANS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS WRITING THE MILITARY EXPERIENCE “carrying on” “When contemplating Milspeak’s uncertain future, David Ellard and I have often wondered why seminar advertising and articles in The Jet Stream and The Boot attract so few active duty enlisted participants, the workhorses of our country’s military. As an enlisted Marine, I want to reach the workhorses, the people like me. Maybe those who would consider writing with Milspeak think I am an unqualified instructor. Maybe they fear exposure on a command level. Who would want to write about their military experiences after witnessing the nation’s highest-ranking general, General Peter Pace, toppled from the nation’s most powerful military post for speaking his mind? Part of the answer is that most young enlisted service members would rather spend their free time with their families. They have so little free time, particularly with our country at war. Not only do our military members deploy for longer tours in war zones than ever before, but each deployment is preceded by training that often calls for months’ long separations from family. Divorce and suicide rates are climbing. Acts of violence are on the rise in military families. As the title character in the film, Juno, says, “I’m dealing with things way beyond my maturity level”; humanity as a whole is dealing with things way above our maturity level. “Maintaining public silence about military life creates separation from self, a inner sense of unease in the outer world. This silence separates human being from human being. Breaking this silence gives birth to many voices – not only to a public voice but also to an inner voice. Milspeak writers are empowered by breaking this silence through sharing their experiences in writing. Our warriors have more than earned the right to freedom of speech, freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom of religion. Each American enjoys the Four Freedoms because military men and women brought this country into freedom and have kept it free since 1776. Will speaking out about military life bring discredit upon our country, our military, or the service members themselves? I don’t think so. Then why do we military people so fear our own voices? Most of us fear being misunderstood by the civilian community and the military community. Many military people fear career repercussions. Open dialog will certainly create heat, but that energy will help us grow as a country and as human beings. Our leaders owe our warriors the right to exercise the very freedoms they protect. Milspeak proves this can be accomplished without destroying good order and discipline.” (Milspeak, 364) http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2009/11/26/what-general-mcchrystal-would-sayshapeimage_2_link_0

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