Afghanistan: How Veterans can learn from Vietnam Veterans

2021-09-13T10:10:31-04:00

Each operation had U.S. involvement for about two decades. Both countries had a low initial amount of forces. Both later had a surge in forces. U.S. forces in both theaters fought an enemy that hid among the people. The U.S. participation in the Vietnam War started ending in 1973 with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. The U.S. withdrew, leaving the country to determine a path ahead. In Afghanistan, the U.S. withdrawal will leave Afghans to determine their own future.

Response by PO2 Marco Monsalve made Sep 13 at 2021 10:34 AM

2021-09-13T10:34:17-04:00

No issues with vets learning from each other. A number of us Viet Nam vets served as volunteers at the VA and Walter Reed when casualties were coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. However, wish it were as simple as saying we withdrew "leaving them to determine their own future" . It is hard to explain that the tremendous sacrifice by our service men and women as well as by our ally Vietnamese and Afghanis themselves yielded chaos and disappointment, in this case a resurgent Taliban and possibly more terrorist groups and yet another flood of refugees. Perhaps the real lesson is let's quit trying to fix what can't be fixed and stay out of nation building adventures.

Response by SPC Lyle Montgomery made Sep 14 at 2021 11:14 PM

2021-09-14T23:14:36-04:00

I sincerly hope that all the Afganistan vets are welcomed home with open arms. We Viet Nam vets werent. I respect all vets, whatever their Mos was and what branch they served in. It's the polititions fault the way things ended up, not the service people. A footnote I'd like to ad, When we came home in 1970 we were called baby killers. Now it's the liberal pro abortion people who are the baby killers

Response by SGT Jeff Everhart made Sep 15 at 2021 10:25 PM

2021-09-15T22:25:05-04:00

There has been no formal agreement ending the Afghan conflict. We have a constant reminder of this war in New York and every time we step inside an airport.

Response by 1SG David Williams made Sep 17 at 2021 9:13 PM

2021-09-17T21:13:43-04:00

Very good idea

Response by PVT Mark Zehner made Sep 18 at 2021 12:25 PM

2021-09-18T12:25:10-04:00

Sad they had too!

Response by PO3 Phyllis Maynard made Sep 19 at 2021 8:02 AM

2021-09-19T08:02:45-04:00

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Sep 19 at 2021 8:19 AM

2021-09-19T08:19:16-04:00

I work with groups at various vet centers; some are mixed (i.e. different wars) and some are not. I think that sometimes the age gap is as much a problem in getting younger vets to listen as anything.
BTW, what works is to do far more listening than talking...

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Sep 19 at 2021 4:12 PM

2021-09-19T16:12:25-04:00

I don't know, I don't care. Russia, China, India and Pakistan all have interests in Afghanistan. The Russians proved it is beyond them.Let them fight over it

Response by SGT Jeff Everhart made Sep 21 at 2021 11:55 PM

2021-09-21T23:55:54-04:00

There is a push to memorialize the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts and to an extent we need to as a nation. However, how can conflicts and tensions be memorialized when we are still fighting them? A Memorial signifies an end a complete cessation to conflict. We have not achieved that objective by any measurable standard.