Another Uniform

How many times is the Army going to change its uniforms? They're getting ready to do it again. I can't believe it!

While I was in the USAR my Class A uniform changed four times. I lost track of how many different blouses I had. There was the cord uniform which wrinkled the minute you put it on and the Girl Scout type mint green uniform that no one liked. The winter dress coat, raincoat, field jacket, and short dress jacket have all changed several times. The shoes changed twice and the boots went three times I believe. The fatigues changed three times--then two different styles of the Battle Dress Uniforms (BDU) came along. AND then there were three different Physical Training (PT) uniforms. That all happened just while I was in for my 22 years.

I've been retired a few years now but I still have many friends in the military and I continue to subscribe to Army Times. I was living in El Paso when the dress uniform changed again between 96-97, as did the shoes. Yesterday I opened this week’s Army Times and read the article about another new PT uniform due out.

I have nothing against keeping up with style and fashion but come on folks. When will these changes stop? Is this a good way for us to conserve our nation's defense budget?

The only complaint I heard about the last PT uniform was that the shorts kept riding up or were too loose. That was alleviated when the Army said the soldiers could wear black bicycle shorts under the gray shorts. So why is the uniform being replaced again so soon and quickly? While new recruits will receive it in their clothing bags, the rest of our soldiers will have to pay about $106 for the new PT outfit. The article stated this could happen within two years but the current Sergeant Major of the Army wants it to take place this September. What's the rush? Is he paying for it? Will he pay for all the troops to get the new uniforms? Yeah—right!

Once again the soldiers will have to shell out their own money to replace a uniform. I've never noticed the other services changing their uniforms this frequently. Actually I don't recall them changing at all except to go from fatigues to BDUs. So why does the Army change so much? I wish I knew.

Bring Draft Back

For quite awhile now there have been articles and conversations about possibly bringing back the draft. This month there was a request to increase our military budget. The Secretary of Defense wants more funding to strengthen the defense of our own nation.

This week the Department of the Navy announced that it is 22,000 sailors short of its required personnel, 18,000 of those positions are onboard ships. Many of those already in the Navy are doing "double duty" and working in positions that they are not really trained for. Although I have not seen anything in particular about untrained personnel happening in the other three branches of our military I can only suspect that it is. That’s a scary thought. AND now the Navy is considering allowing more personnel in (up to 10% from 5%) without a high school diploma just to get their ranks filled. It should be noted that the Army is already accepting 10% enlistees without a high school education. The Marine Corps is excepting up to 5% while the Air Force is allowing 10%.

Our military has always been the best trained, equipped, and clothed personnel. Since the draft ended in the 70s all volunteers have been required to have a high school diploma. College education and/or diplomas were recommended for the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO). What has changed?

Civilian jobs are paying more than the military these days. The military cutbacks have lessened not only our bases around the country and world but also the amount of personnel and equipment. The troops are tired of being deployed so frequently. The families are tired of their loved ones being gone so much. There is seldom harmony now in our military families. Substance abuse has increased among the troops. As has spousal and child abuse. Everyone from the oldest member of the family down to the youngest are on edge—maybe not outwardly visible but its obvious that it is inwardly.

There was a recent article that the government should raise the subsistence (food) allowance. This would be to help the soldiers who have larger families to stop needing food stamps. Can you believe that in today’s economy our troops can’t afford to feed their families? So what can be done about all of this? I have a few thoughts on the matter.

I don’t think lowering the educational standard for entry-level troops is the answer. All enlistees should have a high school education and diploma. All entry-level officers should have a college diploma. However I don’t think that NCOs should be required to get a college education. Right now all these people are volunteers but why should we have to pay for them to get collegiate education while they are in the military.

The Department of the Army has a new plan to offer full paid college scholarships plus a monthly stipend of $400 to anyone who enlists. The Government Issue (GI) Bill allows for military personnel to get a college education after leaving the military so why should we pay enlistees more during their enlistment to get the education they can get after they leave the military. That’s not to say I’m against paying the troops more monthly—just not for their civilian education while in the military. They deserve to be paid more but I feel their college education should be done after they get out—on the GI Bill and not at an additional expense to the American public while they’re in the military.

If the Navy is so short handed, what does that say about other branches of the military? Young men are not entering the military because they have to—like in the days of the draft. Also many of them can get better paying jobs in the civilian work force. That’s one reason our military budget should be increased.

Personally I think the draft should be brought back now. Those personnel unwanted or uneducated could be weeded out before their military training begins. We could fill our ranks once again. We could train the people to do the jobs they’re best suited for. We would stop the double duty positions and feel that everyone is doing their own job correctly.

Here’s the clincher—I think women should be drafted also! That’s right, women! This is their country as much as yours. Women have either stood by their mate’s side defending their homes or donning uniforms and serving in some manner since the beginning of time. So why shouldn’t they be drafted also—they are in other countries. BUT just like the unwanted men, the unwanted women could be weeded out. Those unwanted men and women could then serve our country in other ways such as with the Peace Corps, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), Red Cross, United Services Organization (USO), or some other form of service as a civilian. What a concept—everyone would serve our country for a required period of time and stay longer if they so desire. AND then they can have the GI Bill or something similar to get their college education.

So let’s increase our military budget, bring back the draft to include women, strengthen our country, and provide a college education to those who serve after they complete their service. We need to get more patriotism back in our homeland. It is sorely lacking!

POWs

It doesn’t seem possible that 26 years ago our Prisoners of War (POW) were released from North Vietnam. That’s right 12 February 1973 Americans who had been held in POW camps in North Vietnam began coming home.

BUT where is the rest of our POW-MIAs (Missing in Action)? Because no treaty was signed with Cambodia and Laos (or China or the Soviet Union) the men and women taken captive there have yet to return to their homeland. What is the US government doing about it? Nothing from what I can see.

I read the frequent messages from the National League of Families, Task Force Omega, the Defense Department, etc. While there is some excavation going on in Vietnam at sites where planes and helicopters reportedly went down, there is no searching being done for live Americans. This is wrong!

It is wrong that our government did not include Laos and Cambodia in the peace accord that was signed in Paris. It is wrong that nothing has been done knowing that prisoners were also taken into China and the Soviet Union. It is wrong that little is being done to bring these people home.

Think about this: our government just spent over 46 million dollars allowing Ken Starr to dig into the personal, private life of our president. Then there was the cost to the taxpayers for the House of Representatives to hold their impeachment hearing. Finally the cost for the Senate to put aside everything else so they could try the president. Thank God it’s over—but at what cost? All that money spent and the man is acquitted. I’m not going to say what my vote would have been however I don’t feel he committed a high treasonous crime as expressed by the constitution.

BUT what I will say is that the money we just spent to hold this trial could have and should have been spent searching for our remaining POW-MIAs. There are still over two thousand American men and women missing from the Vietnam War. That 46 million plus dollars could have done a lot to fund searches for our people.

Copyright 1999-2008 by Noonie Fortin. All rights reserved.