Cost of War

" Well let's talk more about how military families cope with the situation is joining me now from Dallas Fox News military analyst retired major general Robert Scales general. Happy veterans day first of all. You watch this story and use you come to grips with. Just how many soldiers and service members we have overseas and how long they're deployed away from the -- Yeah that's true read if you in this particular division the 82 airborne division there's 15000 of the 41000 troops in the division that are deployed right now. This division has been deployed for 49 months that's for years -- the last seven years that they've been overseas. And the fact for the whole army about half the army 265000. Of the 580000. Soldiers. Are deployed but what's important here the bread is to understand that Afghanistan is tough duty. It is the terrain that nature of the enemy the weather. Make service and Afghanistan particularly tough and hard on the soldiers -- who were serving there you know colonel you bank talks about the bond in his division that helps him get through the hardship of being away from home. You're in the 82 airborne talk about that that bond. Yeah that's that's you know the social side is called the band of Brothers effect it's it's this what some call the bloody glove that holds a division together you know. Patriotism and a paycheck may get a soldier to enlist but. Fear of letting his buddies down fear of breaking that personal bond with his buddies is what causes a young soldier to do something that might very well getting killed. And it's that glue it's that glue that ties together but. It's the -- that's forged in blood that keeps units like the 82 airborne together over these very very tough times. You what I thought after forty years of of of service in combat the army would've would've broken years ago. But it's that bond that special bond that band of Brothers that keeps units like the 82 airborne together. General scales as always thank you veterans day is poignant every year but this year with a pending deployment of more troops to Afghanistan and of course after the atrocity at Fort Hood. It's even more point journal."