I fully agree with you
but...
The Western world generally runs professional armies of volunteers. Everyone volunteers to join the armed services then volunteers to join the particular arm (branch) that they want.
An infantryman tends to be in more danger than an aircraft technician but the infantryman has
volunteered to be in the infantry and is trained to be in close combat. In Iraq, the greatest threat was from indirect fire and everyone was vulnerable but in Afghanistan the IDF is a lessened, almost non-existent threat therefore the combat soldier is at greater risk than his non-combat peer.
You also shouldn't dismiss the level of training that individuals receive - anyone who is expected to close with and kill the enemy is trained to do just that, in detail, but they are also cognisant that without the aircraft technician they will receive no aircraft support and more infantrymen will die because of it.
Please don't put me down as a nay-sayer. As a 'direct combatant' we relied on you guys to keep us both supplied and supported in combat and, regardless of your MOS, respected the contribution which you made.
Thank you for your service.
