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PUT UP
OR SHUT UP
CurryforAmerica.com
No matter what he
does, President Obama’s policy seems to be to commit just enough money and
personnel resources to keep in the game, but not enough to win. After months
of dithering he finally gave General Petraeus two thirds of the minimum
number of soldiers requested to win the wars in
It is not just in
war where Obama plays his game of “symbolism” and “photo ops.” He plays the
same game in all that his administration does or does not do and in all the
policies he formulates and adopts.
Most recently the Governors responsible for securing our south
western border asked Obama for 3,000 National Guardsmen for border control.
After an unconscionable delay, Obama reluctantly agreed to send those troops
– but only 1,200 -- not enough to make a difference. As of this writing none
of the troops have arrived.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in step with his boss, says he will
reform the Pentagon through austere spending, cutting back the Pentagon
bureaucracy, and by eliminating unneeded weapons systems. My experience
while commanding the Army’s Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving
Ground in Maryland, where the Army evaluated weapon systems and military
equipment, was that austerity was seriously needed at every level of weapons
and systems development. If Mr. Gates is serious and not just paying lip
service, I commend his efforts and offer to help in any way I can. I
question, however, whether or not this is just another of Obama’s many
tricks to undercut badly needed weapons systems, military equipment, and
personnel requirements.
But
it appears that the Commander in Chief actually intends to cut the military
health care budget; concurrently he would like to reduce growth in military
pay. Our armed forces are being repeatedly sent off to fight two wars at the
same time. In the meantime their families live in dread of answering the
door bell to find someone in uniform standing there bearing the news that
daddy or mommy isn’t coming home.
Is this really the
appropriate time to reduce military pay, benefits and the availability of
artificial limbs? As one who
served two tours of duty in
And while the
austerity broom is cleanly sweeping through the corridors of the Pentagon,
perhaps it could broaden its scope and address the most significant military
problem the nation faces. We are requiring too much sacrifice from too few
of our citizens. To adequately face up to our world wide requirements and
wars, the threat of a possible war on the Korean Peninsula, a nuclear Iran,
and winning the “War on Terror” requires a significant increase in the
numbers of soldiers, sailors and airmen on active duty.
To be prudent, the
size of the Army and Marines should be increased, perhaps by as much as
fifty percent. Yes, I hear the groans from Obama, Gates, the news media and
the
Perhaps President
Obama and Secretary Gates should be required to go to Walter Reed Army
Hospital and face the soldiers whose legs have been blown off and whose arms
have been amputated and tell them and their children why they don’t merit a
miserly 1.4 percent pay increase in 2012.
I’d be the first
to confess that military spending can be restrained in some areas. But it
also needs to be increased in other areas such as medical care, pay, and
benefits. We also need to better equip the warriors who are safeguarding our
liberty and Constitution. Perhaps then President Obama can win the war-time
trust and confidence of the nation’s armed forces and of the American
people.