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Oct. 20, 2004 In the presidential debates Senator John Kerry spoke of how we had too few troops on active duty. He spoke of how so many Reserve and National Guard units had been called up. He continued to speak of how long some of their deployments have been. He spoke of troops not being released at the end of their obligated service. The one thing he did not speak of was, WHY? His implication was that all that was the fault of President Bush. Remember the "Peace Dividend"? It was supposed to be a plus from the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. "Excessive" defense spending was to be cut, and the funds funneled into domestic programs. A complete restructuring of the armed forces was undertaken. Active duty army divisions were dissolved. Many support tasks were relegated to reserve units. Overseas and domestic bases were to be closed. Clark Air Force Base and the Subic Bay Naval Base/Cubi Point Naval Air Station were closed, eliminating American military presence in the Philippines. Forces were reduced in Germany and throughout Europe. Entire ship classes were decommissioned. Personnel were encouraged to retire early. Instead of the required 20 years, they were permitted retirement at 15 years. Others were encouraged to leave the military, and offered severance pay. Options were made available to negate obligated service time for junior personnel to leave the military. Although regulations stated people could enlist up to age 35, recruiters were not to even look at people over 30. Eight months into the current administration terrorists attacked our nation. More people were killed than in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. We went to war against terrorists in what can reasonably be argued is World War Four (Three being the Cold War against the Soviet Union). We went to war with the forces we had available. National Guard and Reserve units were mobilized because they were needed. Plans designed long before were implemented, plans designed to provide a "Peace Dividend". John Kerry has suggested that the reason we need to use so many of our Guard and Reserve personnel is because we haven't gotten our allies onboard. He chooses to ignore the 30 nation coalition participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom with the United States. He points out that their contribution is minimal troopwise. What Kerry has failed to point out is that the last time major troop contributions were made to a coalition was in World War Two. U.S. led coalitions fought in Korea, Vietnam, and Operation Desert Shield/Storm. In each of those conflicts America bore the brunt of the fight. Presidents submit budget proposals to Congress. Congress controls the purse strings. The House drafts a bill, and when it is passed, it goes to the Senate. The Senate has the ultimate stamp of approval on each federal budget. During the process when the military was gutted for the "Peace Dividend" John Kerry was in the Senate. George W. Bush was Governor of Texas. John Kerry could have done something about the state of the military. John Kerry, stop criticizing your opponent. Don't tell us, I have a plan to "Fix" the situation, answer our questions. Senator, where were you when the situation was being broken? What did you do to stop it? Why shouldn't YOU be held accountable for what was YOUR responsibility? Beware of a man who will deceive, accusing another to avoid scrutiny of his own actions. ------------ About the author Joseph Boudreau: I spent just under 24 years in the Navy, 9 on active duty, the rest in the Naval Reserves. From paygrade E-1 I advanced to paygrade O-4, and retired as a Lieutenant Commander. Email: bunnyboggins@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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