Have I mentioned lately...

...that I hate what they're doing to my Army?

The number of U.S. soldiers testing positive for heroin in Afghanistan rose more than tenfold from 2002 to 2010, according to the Army. Eight soldiers died of overdoses in 2010 and 2011, Army reports also show.

Talking about my service, I sometimes joke about my gratitude to the country that sent me to the drug and prostitution capitals of the world, and yes, I opened wide in wide-open Amsterdam and the girls on TuDo Street could always hook you up with some herb before you went upstairs, but that exposure had tragic consequences for the guys who couldn't resist opiates, and we weren't stationed at ground zero for the world heroin trade.

This was completely predictable. The war planners must have known going in that the cost would include the threat of addiction and death by overdose by some number of young American men and women who otherwise would have lived their natural lifespans without exposure to heroin.  They had to know.  They had to count it an acceptable cost.

One more reason to bring 'em home and keep 'em home until there's a mission worthy of their service and sacrifice.