Why military should stay out of politics

As an active duty combat soldier, Lt. Matt Spartz (Afghan Journal) is more than just a reporter for the Daily Herald. Lieutenant Spartz offers the credibility of a person who has been there and done that. He and his fellow soldiers make the sacrifices that other reporters can only write about, and the rest of us can only stand and say thank you.

When the lieutenant shares his experiences it makes for powerful journalism. With this power comes responsibility. In the April 8 editions, Lieutenant Spartz used the power of his pen to contrast the selfishness of petty public employees to the unselfishness of the men and women of our armed forces who daily face life and death situations. He began his article with the sentence: “Last week, six more soldiers were killed in one of our deployment’s hardest battles.”

Nobody in their right mind would argue about who is making the bigger sacrifice. However, in my opinion it is totally inappropriate for Lieutenant Spartz to use the sacrifices of his fellow comrades in arms as the basis to make what is in fact a personal, political point. He places blame for the current economic squabbles only on the shoulders of public employees with an added dig at Wisconsin and Indiana senators. Another combat officer could just as easily have placed the blame on certain governors and members of congress who are also public employees. I hope that a third officer would have risen to place blame on all of the above.

This commentary by Lieutenant Spartz provides a glimpse of why military officers are discouraged from taking a political stance in public. Please leave the politics to Defense Secretary Robert Gates who, after all, is currently a civilian. And please stay safe.

Dennis Reynolds

Glen Ellyn