Why war funding matters to me: My husband, Sgt. Johnson

[medicswife]

My husband and father to our four beautiful children is currently deployed to Northern Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. He is a medic. When he decided to join the Army, it was because the economy had gone to hell after the beginning of Bush's Presidency and we were damn near homeless. He chose to be a medic because if he ever did have to go to war, he wanted his job to be saving people, not killing them. Well, as things worked out, he's now been to Iraq twice. The first time, he was extended and stayed 15 months. This time, his orders just flat out say, 15 months.

I don't hear from him as much as I wish that I did, but I got some exciting news today. His unit is going to be getting some Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, or MRAP's. Why are they getting them? Because Senator Joe Biden fought like hell to get them into the Iraq funding bill. Why are these vehicles so important? Over 70% of the casualties in Iraq are from the dreaded IED, and over 73% of the catastrophic injuries that are not life ending are also caused by these bombs. The MRAP vehicle protects troops from the favored weapon of those who would strive to kill my husband and his comrades. The Armor on these machines has not failed once.

On December 4, 2007 a group of soldiers from my husband's unit was responding to a suspected IED when they became the targets of an attack. There were 4 men in the vehicle. Three of them died. The lone survivor was so badly burned that he will be spending at least a year in Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. If they had been in an MRAP, they would NOT have died, and that poor Private who probably just needed the G.I. Bill and some steady income is maimed for life.

Senator Biden stands strong on this issue even though he has taken a pounding because of his refusal to vote against funding. To me, this speaks volumes about his priorities. He knows that any attempts to cut funding are simply going to be turned against the Democratic Party. His valiant efforts to make sure that our troops have the equipment that they need as long as they are in Iraq insulates him against the attacks that the Republicans are sure to level come time for the General Election. We need a clear victory this time round, and Joe Biden can deliver that victory.

I ask all of you to please, put aside for a few minutes, any anger or resentment that you harbor against Senator Biden for refusing to defund the war, and consider how you would feel if you were in my shoes. My husband, the love of my life, the father to four small children aged 7, 5, 4, and 2 is in Iraq because George Bush and Dick Cheney and their lot are liars. Wouldn't you, in my shoes want to make sure that as long as he had to be there, as long as he was honorably fulfilling his duty, that he were as safe as possible?

Respectfully,

Mrs. M. Johnson
Fort Campbell, KY