Here's something we can all do this holiday season: show heartfelt support for our men and women in uniform.
There are currently about 2.1 million serving in the armed forces — 1.3 million on active duty and about 800,000 in the reserves. Roughly 170,000 Americans are stationed overseas.
Most of those serving abroad are stationed at long-standing bases in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and other allied nations, training with partner forces and maintaining readiness.
Others serve aboard naval vessels or at regional hubs in the Middle East, supporting air, intelligence, and logistical operations.
A smaller number — several thousand — serve where the danger is immediate and real, including counterterrorism missions in Iraq and Syria, where U.S. forces still face hostile fire and where two young American soldiers and a civilian interpreter were recently ambushed and killed.
One can debate the rightness or wrongness of military missions, but we should agree that those who serve deserve our support.
In modern times, supporting our troops has not been a matter of need but a matter of choice.
Consider: During the peak of World War II, American defense spending was 41 percent of our gross domestic product.
Everyone — those who served as well as those who remained at home — needed to unite and sacrifice.
Today, defense spending is around 3 percent of GDP. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have required little or no sacrifice from most of us.
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We haven't paid higher taxes to fund the wars — our government borrowed trillions of dollars to cover the costs.
We haven't needed to buy war bonds or work long hours at a factory to produce tanks and planes.
We haven't given up vacations, new cars, gasoline, meat, sugar, and the hundreds of other items that were rationed during World War II.
The men and women who serve do not want our pity. They are highly trained warriors who volunteered to serve.
But they could always use a little more support.
In 2010, Jerry Newberry — a decorated Army Vietnam veteran and longtime VFW national leader (he passed away in 2024) — told me there are many small things we can do that will make a real difference to those who serve away from home.
"Family members go through a long period of wondering, worrying, and waiting," Newberry told me. "But they still need to deal with a car breaking down, a child getting sick, a death in the family."
The solution is simple: volunteer to assist service members' families — offer a ride, prepare a meal, run an errand — to ease the burden of their everyday needs.
Or write. The troops appreciate handwritten letters and care packages, which can be sent through sites such as OperationGratitude.com and SupportOurTroops.org.
Donate time. Your local Department of Veterans Affairs office, VFW, and other legitimate organizations are always in need of volunteers.
Organize a toy drive for children of deployed service members. Support the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program (toysfortots.org). Or send Exchange gift cards to troops via shopmyexchange.com.
Donate money. Help support service members, veterans, and their families by visiting vfw.org and clicking "Donate Today."
The holidays are here. There's no better time to show our heartfelt support for our men and women in uniform.
Find Tom Purcell's syndicated column, humor books, and funny videos of his dog, Thurber, at TomPurcell.com. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com
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