The St Louis welcome home parade for Iraq campaign veterans was a huge success. I had a great time and was able to meet up with my good friend Mark Seavey who is also a veteran of the Iraqi Campaign in the Global War on Terror. We briefly discussed the topic of if a parade honoring Iraq veterans was appropriate when we still have so many troops fighting in Afghanistan (many of whom are Iraq veterans). We came to the same conclusion; it is very appropriate and we’ll just have another parade to honor Afghanistan veterans.
However, DoD doesn’t feel the same way when it comes to a “New York-style ticker-tape parade” for veterans according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Douglas B. Wilson. DoD leadership feels it is “too soon” primarily because of the number of Iraq veterans now serving in Afghanistan, but is waiting really the right answer?
