blink-182 - Stay Together For The Kids (Official Video)

As a proud American and Human I review a song.

Blink 182 was my era and from the same city San Diego. They called us Latchkey Kids in the 1980s and 1990s.

But i dont think Blink considered that after this song, the broken home they reference, was actually fathered by an actual Army Infantry Combat Vet, Vietnam 66-68.

A lot of kids in that era were missing fathers, raised by struggling mothers, with no acknowledgement of VA veteran dependence support, who had children with Combat Vets of Vietnam.

I don’t think that Blink would actually think at the time that, we those kids, that were referenced as coming from broken homes, were well actually sons and daughters of ignored combat vets, who were not able to raise their families due something called agent orange or just plain old PTSD, which was not even called PTSd then, in the 1990s, when we were all teenagers.

I don't think Blink even considered these same kids would never receive 1 dollar of Veteran Dependent assistance, as they had a mom who could not feed them all the time, and they shared rooms, and moved often.

I don’t think that Blink would actually at the time consider that some of us, in the mid 1990s, would join the military, in a dead zone, of downsizing, budget cuts, force reductions, just off the end of the troop build ups of the cold war era, of the 1980s.

I don’t think blink actually considered that there was something developed called the “total force” doctrine that basically created a lot of reserve enlistments, and national guard enlistments, that were now 8 year obligations of service, as a replacement to the draft system that ended in approximately 1973 at the end of Vietnam.

I don’t think that Blink would consider that some of these enlistments that were recruited, with a chance to go to school similar to ROTC, to be an officer, that unlike ROTC, sent you to bootcamp, then discharged you into a life, with dual meaning of being in the military, to Defend “We The People”, with an obligation of deployment readiness 24/7, but no ROTC type leadership.

In Fact there was no leadership at all, no program to report, no guidance counselor for being in the military already, and being in school at the same time, just 18 years old, just starting out your life

I don’t think that Blink knew at the time that this young kid was trying to make up for his missing father, and now had to go through a reserve enlistment, that did not offer health care, off duty.

I don’t think blink knew that some of these kids wold get orders to back fill undermanned active duty operational commands, such as guided missile frigates, get orders for less then 30 days, and never be considered a veteran for veteran purposes, as the law was created that way, but you were not told that until you got to the va, injured, confused, and notified that you do not qualify to talk to a therapist, as your enlistment on its face does not qualify, as you are a reservist, which could be any other unwanted minority group.

I don’t think that Blink realized that this young guy would be sent back to his single mom, and his fiancee, out of that operational unit, countless times, without health care access, which of course no one had any idea how to handle that situational issue.

I dont think that blink realizes he would drop out of college, but there was no ROTC type leadership to notice, and his operational command was staffed by overworked mission oriented active duty, that were not required to monitor this, it seems.

I don't think that blink considered that you could get an honorable discharge and that honorable discharge, would on its face not get credit as a veteran for veteran purposes, although you were deployed, but never active duty up to 2 years, in those 8 years.

I don't think blink really realized how that might just possibly tilt the weight of a family already missing the father, who would later be discovered with a true identity of being a infantry soldier, as referenced before.

How would the mother be burdened?

I don’t think blink 182 considered any of this