Last week I was invited to Fort Carson for the observance of 8th Regiment Week. I spent a pleasant day with Command Sgt. Maj. Tim Chrysler and soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry. Bravo Company, 1/8th Infantry was my home in Vietnam, 1967-1968. This means that 1/8th Infantry will be forever carved into my heart. In today’s Army, with maneuver battalions organized into brigades, regiments no longer exist as organic units. But the spirit lives on with the battalions that carry the regimental names.

I can only hope that the Army will see fit to bring the regiments back, smaller than they used to be perhaps, still organized into brigades, but with all the old pride and elan. I think it would be very good for morale and combat effectiveness. Certainly this would be true for the 8th Regiment, whose spiritual words on the regimental coat of arms are “Patriae Fidelitas,” Faithfulness to Country. The true soldier subordinates himself to the needs of the collective, a spiritual goal indeed.

A highlight was the visit to the firing range where guests of the battalion fired the M4 carbine, the descendant of the M16 rifle that I carried in Vietnam. I enjoyed the experience but shooting the weapon reminded me of the true purpose of the Army: to kill the enemy. The 8th Regiment has done that for a long time. It is a proud and ancient regiment, created on July 5, 1838. Starting with the Florida Seminole Indian War, the 8th Regiment has fought in almost every U.S. war since. The war history of an infantry regiment is important for the veterans whose home it was in combat. The regiment was my home in Vietnam. It was so much my home that I have never felt the same feeling of home that I felt when I was in Vietnam.

When I tell this to civilians, they find it hard to understand. But it is not so strange. War is the ultimate male bonding experience. Last week, I felt that coming-home feeling again. On the walls of the headquarters of the 1st Battalion I saw the battle flags, the framed citations, the trophies and medals, and the portraits of soldiers killed in action, privates along with colonels. I immediately looked for certain portraits. The sergeant major took me to them. I saw their faces again, my squad mate and battle buddy, Kenneth Dau, and stoical Robert Brigham, who had wanted to come home to see his wife and newborn baby. How vividly I remember when they died. The portrait gallery is dedicated to their memory. They, too, have come home.

I met many fine young soldiers last week, men and women. It was a reassuring feeling. We can rest easy knowing that the Army is in good hands. The traditions of a democratic Army are still intact in spite of the futility of the present wars. We must never forget that the Army is the tool of the society which creates it. It reflects the values and purposes of that society and does its bidding. The Army is an implement, a weapon which society uses against its enemies. It is not to be used carelessly, for saber-rattling, or sent into unwinnable wars, which have afflicted us since Vietnam.

The Army is like a bright and very sharp sword. It should be sheathed and scrupulously guarded but not forgotten or neglected. The Army is best when it is rarely used but always remembered and kept within easy reach. The combat infantry battalions and regiments are the cutting edge of the sword. That sharp deadly blade has to be constantly honed and maintained. I ran my finger along that blade last week. It’s still very sharp.

Joe Barrera, Ph.D., is the former director of the Ethnic Studies Program at UCCS and combat veteran of the Vietnam War.