Military

‘We are at war and people don’t even know’: Inside the divide between the military and the rest of America that’s wider than it’s ever been

A little more than a year after she married, Tiffany Smiley walked into a hospital room to tell her husband he was blind.

A car bomb in Mosul, Iraq, had sent shrapnel into Army Maj. Scott Smiley’s eyes as he was serving as an infantry platoon leader and ultimately led him to this bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He had been deployed six months — six months that Tiffany endured catching glimpses of him in reports from an embedded Fox News journalist. She’d watch and wonder what reality she’d fallen into as explosions boomed in the background of the shots.

When she wasn’t watching the news, Tiffany was working as a nurse. But as she went about life in the US, it felt like no one else was paying attention.

You've reached your daily free article limit.

Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.

Get Full Ad-Free Access For Just $0.50/Week

Enjoy unlimited digital access to our Military Culture, Defense, and Foreign Policy coverage content and support a veteran owned business. Already a subscriber?

A little more than a year after she married, Tiffany Smiley walked into a hospital room to tell her husband he was blind.

A car bomb in Mosul, Iraq, had sent shrapnel into Army Maj. Scott Smiley’s eyes as he was serving as an infantry platoon leader and ultimately led him to this bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He had been deployed six months — six months that Tiffany endured catching glimpses of him in reports from an embedded Fox News journalist. She’d watch and wonder what reality she’d fallen into as explosions boomed in the background of the shots.

When she wasn’t watching the news, Tiffany was working as a nurse. But as she went about life in the US, it felt like no one else was paying attention.

“At the time, I was shocked,” she told Business Insider. “We are at war — and people don’t even know or care.”

Her experience isn’t uncommon. The US military has become more isolated from civilian life than at any period in the country’s recent history.

 

Read the whole story from Business Insider.

Featured image courtesy of US Army

About SOFREP News Team View All Posts

The SOFREP News Team is a collective of professional military journalists. Brandon Tyler Webb is the SOFREP News Team's Editor-in-Chief. Guy D. McCardle is the SOFREP News Team's Managing Editor. Brandon and Guy both manage the SOFREP News Team.

COMMENTS

You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.

More from SOFREP

REAL EXPERTS.
REAL NEWS.

Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.

TRY 14 DAYS FREE

Already a subscriber? Log In