Our Warriors

So you really think $75 per month county combat pay for our warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan is a "wonderful gesture." Maybe you (and the commissioners) should rethink the idea. It is perhaps a noble thought but one that is very apt to get bogged down in bureaucratic red tape which will surely spoil the original purpose.

For one thing, you say it will go only to those "on the front lines every day." Does that mean a wounded soldier evacuated to the rear for a week of medical treatment loses his stipend for that month? How would any soldier establish that he/she was on the front lines every day? Worse, in lands where suicide bombers and IEDs abound, where are the front lines? Someone driving a fuel truck to an isolated helicopter base may be in a lot more danger than someone patrolling a pacified neighborhood.

And how would you classify aircrews who spend a lot of time in relatively safe bases, but often brave deadly fire while on a mission? Are corpsman who routinely ride rescue choppers into firefights not on the front lines because they live in a barracks and not a foxhole?

Then there is the problem with identifying a "local soldier." Is someone who grew up in Sebring but left to join the Army five or 10 years ago still a "local." Or are they only going to get paid if and when they return to Highlands County?

I'm sure that with a little reflection you and the commissioners can envision a host of other issues that will complicate the seemingly simple idea of something to show appreciation for our front line troops.

If the county really feels it must do something for our fighting heroes, I would suggest they look for methods in accord with the KISS (keep it simple stupid) principle. One suggestion might be a $500 bonus for every 12 months spent "in-country" in any capacity for soldiers who list Highlands as their permanent home of record in their military file.

Jesse E. James
Avon Park