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            The immediate aftermath of Veterans Day, and all the related media commentary, is a good time for reflection on our military and our democratic nation. National Public Radio interviews with two leaders are especially instructive.

            Robert A. McDonald, new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, combines dedicated public service and demonstrated senior executive ability, which is encouraging but guarantees no success in the bureaucratic jungles of Washington.

            Pres. Barack Obama quickly removed the previous Secretary of Veterans Affairs, distinguished Vietnam combat veteran Gen. Eric Shinseki, during rapidly escalating controversy over broad departmental dysfunction. The abrupt move may or may not have been merited, but undeniably reflects intense political pressures. Secretary McDonald began extensive firings at the VA the day before the November 11 holiday.

            Another important leader is Max Cleland. He lost three limbs from combat in the Vietnam War, then ran the Veterans Administration during the Carter presidency.

            Cleland won a U.S. Senate from Georgia in 1996 in a close election. Six years later, he was defeated in a shocking cynical campaign of invective, insult and character assassination.

            His Senate voting record was centrist, including support of authorizing the Bush administration invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, in the 2002 senate campaign attack ads pictured him along with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Republican Saxby Chambliss accused him of “breaking his oath” to defend the Constitution.

            Chambliss has never served in the military.

            McDonald graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served five years on active duty, mainly with the elite 82nd Airborne. He proceeded to further professional distinction at Proctor and Gamble Corporation, where he capped his business career there as president, chief executive officer and chairman between 2009 and 2013.

            In an October speech to the prestigious and influential Institute of Medicine, McDonald crisply laid out a ‘Blueprint for Excellence.’

            The main goal is to change the VA from a ‘sick care’ to a ‘health care’ culture. This means not only breaking bureaucratic logjams, but also providing a full range of services to veterans.

            There is a notable vow effectively to reintegrate vets with society. The challenge, as old as warfare, is at the heart of Homer’s classic ‘The Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey.’ The first book describes the horrors of combat, the second the warrior’s desperate need to get back home.

            Which brings the discussion back to Max Cleland. With admirable – and disturbing – candor, he describes the searing effects of the Republican smear campaign in his memoir ‘Heart of a Patriot – How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove.’ He struggled to regain a balanced course in life.

            Denigration of Cleland served as prelude to the relentless slander of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, another decorated combat veteran, in the 2004 election campaign. The success of such smears reflects the degree to which we Americans as a whole have become segregated from the military.

            This gap goes straight to the top. Every U.S. president from Harry Truman through George H.W. Bush had significant military experience. That provided insight crucial to executive leadership when the stakes are highest.

            The remedy is to do more than utter the pro forma “thank you for your service,” which loses significance when constantly, thoughtlessly repeated.

            Spend some time as well as money helping groups which support veterans.

            Our collective record in the forty years since the end of the military draft makes this not only important, but imperative.

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of ‘After the Cold War.’ Contact him at acyr@carthage.edu