Author: Zach Batcho

Summer Essay Campaign #5: “An Ideology for the American Soldier”

To Answer Question #5: “How should an officer respond when a soldier asks, ‘why are we fighting’?”

By Captain Zach Batcho

The question of, “Why are we fighting?” can be answered two ways. It can be answered from the perspective of the current day or the perspective of the conflict’s starting point. Answering the question from today’s perspective would imply there’s a coherent articulated national strategy to today’s conflicts. In my experience there is not a long term strategy that has been a unifying thread throughout the conflict but multiple disjointed strategies. It is the nature of both America’s form of government and the organization of the Army where leaders serve short terms and rotate very frequently without being able to execute long term plans. I prefer to address the question of, “Why are fighting?” through the lens of what brings America into a conflict and what pricks young citizens hearts to defend her cause.