The signs are in the yards. The rhetoric is repeated. The saying is simple: Support Our Troops. Some go so far to say support President Bush and our troops. What happens when the president stops supporting the troops he sent to do his will?

There are millions of veterans in America. I drive older Albuquerque vets to the VA hospital or the local posts to kick back with a beer or two. I drive around fresh-faced kids, wet-behind-the-ears, from physicals to the recruitment centers. They are like the rest of us, with the one exception that they perform military service at some time in their lives. As a high schooler, I had friends enter the military at seventeen to ensure they could escape a boring life in a boring town.

I've always had a problem with authority, whether it be my parents, my teachers, the police or the government. I knew that military service would not be an optimal future for me. I understand why many people take the military route, but I just couldn't do it myself. That's why the phrase 'Support Our Troops' has always been a good argument for the government. I don't know government officials personally, but I have met many a private, private first class, and even a captain or two. I really don't want to root against those guys and gals.

President Bush recently cut benefits to veterans. It's also very likely that pay will be cut pay for active duty military. The budget proposed for next year does not take into account any money spent on our military in Iraq. We spend four to six billion a month to pay for these troops and operations, and to be frank, not much has improved in Iraq lately. The lack of electricity and fuel for their citizens has reached a desperate boiling point in 120 degree weather. We are relying on troops who will get less pay for doing the worst job in the country. That's an ugly scenario.

It's not just Iraq. Our military is all over the world. Afghanistan, Bosnia, not to mention our standard bases in South Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and on and on. Politicians are calling for more specialized troops in the Middle East. Others are calling for international forces to step up their efforts. If we reduce everyone's pay, how many will be willing to keep doing their jobs at an optimum level?

I've never got a pay cut at any job I've had, but I do know what it's like to be up for review and not get a raise. I began to ask myself what I was really doing at the company and ultimately left within months. If you told me I would be making less money, I just might quit on the spot.

The military does not get that option. When they sign on, it's for years regardless of what happens. Morale can go down, and they can get sloppy without incentives. With the cutting benefits to vets and pay to active duty, it's very easy to conclude that even the president doesn't support the troops anymore. Guess we're going to have to tear all those signs in half and keep the support the troops section.

I know people are tired of the pro-war, anti-war debate. I know people don't like bad mouthing of the president and his policies. The problem is that it's not just one problem, it's a slew of things, and the list keeps growing. What kind of president demands a preemptive strike war and then cuts the benefits of those who fought in wars long before he was in charge and the pay of the soldiers who put their life on the line at this very moment because of his decisions? A very bad one.

Chris Jungle has no signs in his yard.