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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Listen to the Troops
Oliver North
March 9, 2001
"Most people don't know how hard service members work, or how stressful
military life is for families." - William J. Clinton, Feb. 25, 1999
WASHINGTON - This statement is certainly true. But try to imagine if you
will, the reaction of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who heard
those words broadcast over the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Their draft-dodging, intern-hounding, impeached commander in chief was
appearing with Janet Langhart Cohen, the media-maven wife of the then
secretary of defense, on a show called "Special Assignment." In the midst of
the exclusive interview, he bites his lip and bemoans how tough things are
for those who serve in uniform because "they're making the world safe for
genuine self-determination, for free commerce, for free exchange of ideas, in
a way no generation has ever tried to do, or had to do before."
It is all very moving. If you don't know better, if you forgot say, World War
I, World War II, Korea or even Vietnam, you might believe him. And if you
willfully suspended disbelief, you might almost think Clinton really cared -
that he felt their pain - and all this hardship was someone else's fault.
Unfortunately, the low morale, recruiting and retention shortfalls, and
readiness deficits that are Clinton's legacy of loathing to our armed forces
are going to be much more difficult to rectify than many people suspect.
President Bush, in asking Congress for $310.5 billion for defense in fiscal
year 2002, a "reasonable" 4 percent increase over this year's allocation, has
already acknowledged that it's going to take more than throwing money at the
problems to repair eight years of neglect.
But the "top down review" President Bush has ordered Secretary of Defense
Rumsfeld to conduct is only part of the answer. The force structure changes
and acquisition improvements that devolve from such a review will take years
to implement and will do little to staunch the hemorrhage of highly trained
young non-commissioned officers and junior officers who are critical to the
force. And while you could almost hear the cheering in the barracks when
President Bush said, "I am requesting $5.7 billion in increased military pay
and benefits and health care and housing," there are other things which must
be done if we are to maintain an adequate defense while we transition from a
Cold War defense structure to deal with the realities of a new world disorder.
Over the first 50 days of the new administration, hundreds of soldiers,
sailors, airmen and Marines have called or e-mailed my radio show. Some were
prompted by the death of seven members of the Army's 25th Infantry Division
killed in a training accident in Hawaii last month. Others were provoked by
last week's air crash that killed 21 soldiers and Virginia Guardsmen. And
still others were motivated by Bush's inspiring words at the dedication of
the USS Ronald Reagan at Newport News Shipyard on March 4. As one of my old
Battalion Commanders once told me, "You can learn a lot when you listen to
the troops."
In every case, they are glad that Bush is "in charge." They know he's right
when he says, "America's strength ultimately depends on the courage and
spirit of the men and women who wear the uniform." But the sailors who heard
him say last week - "Nearly half our ships are at sea right now. One-third
are forward deployed overseas ..." - are quietly asking, "Why?"
Those who have been in for a few years have seen our active forces slashed by
320,000, our reserves by 193,000 and the DOD civilian work force by 286,000
since 1993. They wonder why we still have 800 troops wearing U.N. uniforms
and more than 15,000 U.S. military personnel deployed around the world as
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's "Meals on Wheels" contingent.
Service men and women returning for repeat assignments to Kosovo and Bosnia
wonder why we continue to send troops into this "Balkan Aberration," where
"all we do is protect ourselves against the Albanians we came to save."
Soldiers ask, "What the hell is an Army of One?" Rangers, proud of their
hard-won, distinguishing head gear, wonder why every cook and "Remington
Raider" in the Pentagon will now be wearing a black beret made in - of all
places - communist China. Air Force pilots remonstrate that they would get
more "flight hours" in any U.S. commuter airline and their crew chiefs tell
of having to scavenge spare parts from "hanger queens."
The Marines, glad to get distinctive new camouflage utility uniforms, are
worried that they may not get something they need even more, the V-22 Osprey.
It's not likely that the generals and admirals are going to make these kinds
of comments in their "top down review." But the young people saying these
things aren't whiners, grumblers or malcontents. Most of them have put their
lives on the line before, are willing to do so again - and are willing to
"tell it like it is." That's why Churchill, like Napoleon, kept a young
soldier nearby to "tell the truth."
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