Norwegians, unlike Americans, have their first names, not their surnames, on their uniforms.  A few European nations follow this practice.  I was curious about it so I asked a few fine Norwegian soldiers I met recently.  Apparently is it to protect them.  Not from the enemy here, but from anti-war radicals back home.  There were several recent cases in which soldiers serving in Afghanistan were featured on film during news broadcasts and shortly thereafter had their families threatened by nut-jobs.  Some service members had to return home and move their families to avoid harassment.  Or worse.  Their families were easier to find when the last names were shown on the uniforms in the video.  So now they go by their first names.

It made me realize that as active, and sometimes rabid, as the anti-war crowd is in the US, I haven't heard of anyone's family being threatened.  Generally people in the military are respected by the public, in my experience, and people opposed to our wars understand that it is our policy makers that are largely responsible for our involvement in the world's affairs, not the soldier, sailor, airman or marine executing their policy. 

In Norway, being in the military is about on par with being in a common trade.  That too, is different in the states.  I believe part of it is our warfare culture that many Europeans do not glorify; they who have seen war come to their cities and destroy them along with generations of young men.  That's the trick, I suppose.  To honor the warrior but not the war.  But without war there are no warriors.  So we must hate war and love those who fight them at the same time?  Okay, but can we at least hate those who make war necessary?