I support Colin Kaepernick. Not only because I agree with what he's protesting, and how he's doing it, but also because of the way people criticized him.

I have never seen so many people stand up for the U.S. military than I did when Kaepernick decided to kneel during the National Anthem, something he himself said had nothing to do with the our armed forces. I was astounded. The only other time of the year that people openly support our troops in numbers like that is Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Otherwise, what I mostly see and hear is hate. Distain, disgust, and disrespect.

I've seen this picture a few times this week (from people who I actually know, who know me, who I worked with), and it's sparked a response from me.

This picture is saying a few things about soldiers:

First, it's saying that a soldier's training is all about learning to kill people.

This is not only wrong, but also extremely offensive. We are not trained to kill people; we are not trained to attack. We are trained to defend. There is a difference. The mind set of killing and defending are poles apart.

We learn to defend YOU, our country. Sure, we are directly defending ourselves, but that defense extends to the people and country left behind.

In Basic Training, soldiers learn how to shoot a weapon. We shoot at a target. A stationery target. That's it. Does that automatically mean we are trained to kill people? If that was the case, wouldn't that mean that anyone who knows how to shoot is also trained and ready to kill? We're the ones that defend your right to even own your own weapon.

After Basic, soldiers go through many kinds of training. My training was Human Resources. Not once in my HR training did my platoon Sergeant say, "You need to learn how to write a memorandum in order to be prepared to kill a person someday."

Soldiers also have to follow certain laws and rules on how to act in times of war and peace. The Rules of Engagement requires us to use the least amount of force possible to defend. The Laws of Armed Conflict limits the use of military force and treat prisoners of war more humanely. The Geneva Conventions are international laws established in 1949 that protect people from all over the world from the brutalities of war. Those laws limit what an armed force can do.

Basically, soldiers have standards.

Second, this picture is saying that soldiers don't save lives.

Tell that to the medics who treat broken and bloody men and women. Tell that to Sgt. Dakota Meyer who drove into the line of fire four times to save both American and Afghan soldiers. Tell that to Sgt. Dennis Weiche who gave his life to save an Afghan girl. Tell that to Pfc. Desmond Doss who is credited with saving 75 people in World War II. Tell that to countless other soldiers who have put their lives on the line (sometimes even losing them) to save other people; to all the unknown soldiers who lost their lives to protect the freedom of the people they loved back home.

Tell that to the families of these soldiers.

Third, this picture is just wrong.

Soldier's training is not free. It's paid for by our taxes. School wouldn't be free either. It would also be paid for by our taxes. Nothing is free. If anyone believes this picture to be accurate, they clearly do not understand the military or the economy.

If a person wants their college tuition paid for by someone other than themselves, go to Europe, where personal income taxes raise from 30 percent to over 50 percent. Just because America does not pay for college tuition, does not mean we need to attack our military with false generalizations and over simplified ideas.

More often than not, I have seen people quick to bash on our U.S. military (unless of course, a black man protests against the American flag). I have seen videos of people burning flags for years, not just after the 2016 election. I have heard insensitive comments, false assumptions, and wild conspiracies. If you don't support the military, that’s fine; we fight for your right to think that. However, do not pick and choose the days in which you all of a sudden acknowledge my brothers and sister in arms, because they have always been there, defending you.

Have more respect and compassion for the people staking their lives sacrificing their freedom to defend yours.