Preparing for the Future

I often wonder what kind of impact the War on Terror will have on our domestic future. What I mean by this is wondering how the thousands of returning veterans will integrate into our society as we move forward.

Just as interesting is how the U.S. Military will approach its future with regard to the officers that have served in these conflicts. This is addressed in an interesting post from The National Review's The Corner. A summation:

It is often said that the military is worn out from the near continuous deployments to Iraq. Perhaps. But one way we can partially rectify that terrible burden, and gain advantage from that sacrifice, is to ensure over the next few years, that we promote to generals a cohort that proved itself repeatedly in battle in Iraq. We can ill afford to lose thousands of aggregate days of combat experience that may guide us in the future. That way the United States military for a generation will have sober, experienced, and savvy generals, who have served in the worst sorts of circumstances, to advise how and how not to approach any future conflicts. This is critical as we reach these do-or-die moments of juncture in dozens of careers between colonel and brigadier general.