The American Spectator

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Special Report

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The response to the song from soldier and civilian alike has been almost uniformly positive. Almost.

"With everything attached to 'Soldiers,' the only problem we've had is a few people wanting to catch us up in an argument about the war," Benton said. "It's hard with those people to keep the focus on the troops and convince them that what we're doing isn't pro-war or anti-war, Republican or Democrat. We're just trying to keep in mind the ones who are really involved here."

All in all, though, Benton said the band doesn't worry too much about any outside criticism. The men and women they wrote "Soldiers" for get it, and that's enough for them.

"If we roll into a town close to a military base, it's absolutely nuts," he said. "Our guitarist joked at the USO shows that the shots would be on him for Iraq vets at the next stateside show. Just about every night he's got people yelling at him on stage, 'You owe me a shot!'" The normally jovial Benton paused, and in a more quiet, subdued voice added, "It's great to see them back home, just hanging out, relaxing."

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