I am a 27 year vet. I have gone to a lot of military funerals.
I agree with the author.
Not that all do not deserve honors but
Active duty soldiers while being paid should honor only the vets that have died in combat.
All the rest of us, should get military honors from the American Legion, Navy League & etc.

As a former enlisted man you should know quite well that Gen McChrystal's first duty is to the Commander in Chief, not the media. McChrystal should have been fired for leaking the 40,000 troops he wanted to the media. It has put the president in a very awkward position.

In case you did not know it, McChrystal is also now being heavily criticized for failing to included in his Silver Star written recommendation for Pat Tillman that there was no enemy fire. Tillman was killed by friendly fire.

We have a General here who is in dire need of a discharge.

This is one of the most thoughtful articles I have read on this subject.

Finally, after 8 years, we have a president who is giving great thought on a strategy before sending men into harms way. Rather than a knee jerk reaction to each thing the other guy does as we have seen with the previous administration.

And it seems like almost all of the people writing here are: "Armchair Patriots". People willing to condemn the president for caring about the men in uniform and the country as a whole.

Good thing none of these are making the hard decisions.

A 27 Year Veteran