Equipping our Heroes for Victory

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

NKJV

Heroes willing to lay down their lives in service to their country have blessed the United States throughout its history.  These people stood up against the British Army, the greatest army in the world at that time during the Revolutionary War, which formed the nation.  These people then stood up against the same army as they attempted to take the nation back in the War of 1812.  These individuals fought to maintain the unity of the nation during the Civil War, in the process securing freedom for thousands of African Americans in slavery.  They then fought in two world wars, protecting the nation, and the rest of the world from tyrannical rule.

Fortunately for the United States, heroes like this still exist in the current War on Terrorism.  Unfortunately, however, since World War II, our politicians send troops into harm’s way but fail to allow them to complete their mission and finish strong.  As a result, we have the unfinished wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and soon Afghanistan if things do not change. 

Most of us know what it is like to begin a project and fail to complete it.  For those of us that are married, we usually have a spouse to remind us of our unfinished projects, encouraging us to follow through and complete them.  However, in spite of a spouses goading, most of us still have unfinished projects in our lives. 

The Bible gives examples of unfinished projects that we can learn from.

1)      Joshua led the nation of Israel into the Promised Land but as we see in Joshua 13; 1-7, they failed run out all or their enemies.  Most notably, among those people remaining in the land were the Philistines who would continue to be a thorn in Israel’s side.  An unfinished project in this example caused grief for the nation of Israel for several future generations and may even be responsible for the ideology behind the current War on Terrorism.

2)      David had a desire in his heart to build a house or temple in which God could dwell.  However, this planned project was not in God’s will and God instructed David to have his son Solomon complete the project (1 Chronicles 17:1-14).

3)      The Israelites that left Egypt witnessed God miraculously delivering them from Egyptian bondage.  However, after sending twelve spies to spy out the Promised Land, all but two of them returned reporting on giants in the land creating doubt in their ability to occupy the land (Numbers 13:31-33, 14:26-30).  Their lack of faith that God could miraculously help them slay the giants in the land the same way as he allowed them to leave Egypt caused them to stop short of their goal. 

It is shameful when a nation such as the United States sends young men and women into combat and fails to provide the tools and plan for them to finish their mission and finish strong.  Instead, our soldiers return from combat and are made to feel inferior.  Is it any wonder many of them return suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  We owe these brave heroes better than this. 

On September 10, 2014, on the eve of the 13^th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President Obama outlined his strategy to take care of another group of terrorist thugs, ISIS, or is it ISIL, who are occupying territory in Iraq that our brave soldiers fought to liberate.  (1)  Many of our soldiers even paid the ultimate price, their lives, to free the people of Iraq from the ravages of Sadam Hussein.  Now these people probably think we have deserted them as they face a threat from ISIS that may make rule under Sadam Hussein look like a cakewalk. 

As part of Obama’s speech, he cites strategies used in Yemen and Somalia.  Citing these strategies would be comforting if they had been successful but the U.S. has been conducting airstrikes in Yemen for more than a decade and Al Qaeda continues to have a presence in the Arabian Peninsula.  (2)  In addition, Secretary of State John Kerry also insists that the ISIS offensive is not a war.  (3)  Once again, our politicians appear ready to send the military into harm’s way without a plan for victory or even the proper weapons of warfare they will need to achieve victory. 

The United States possesses one of the strongest, most well equipped, and trained militaries in history.  However, if we continue to fail giving them a plan and the equipment necessary for victory, the U.S. Military will continue to suffer failure after failure until morale will deteriorate to a point where victory may no longer be possible.  For our nation to remain secure it must return to providing and training our military for victory, enabling them to finish their mission and finish strong.  

Next Saturday, we will begin a series exploring what we as a nation must do to begin equipping our brave heroes for victory. 

1. New York Times. Obama's Full Speech About ISIS. www.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times, September 10, 2014. [Cited: September 12, 2014.] http://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000003107090/obama-addresses-the-nation-about-isis.html.

2. Hawkins, Awr. OBAMA CITES MIXED RESULTS IN YEMEN, SOMALIA AS MODELS FOR FIGHTING ISIS. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, September 11, 2014. [Cited: September 12, 2014.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/09/11/Obama-Cites-Mixed-Results-In-Yemen-Somalia-As-Models-For-Fighting-ISIS.

3. Marquardt, Alexander. Obama's ISIS Offensive Is Not 'War,' Kerry Insists. abcnews.go.com. [Online] ABC News, September 11, 2014. [Cited: September 12, 2014.] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-isis-offensive-war-kerry-insists/story?id=25443905.