Letters to the Editor for Thursday, January 26, 2006

European and Mideast editions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: These are the letters that appeared in each edition of Stripes on this publication date. Click here to jump ahead to the Pacific edition letters)

No ‘noise-making campaign’

I just watched a story on American Forces Network news that talked about celebrities such as Ed Asner and Harry Belafonte supporting a group that is calling for a nationwide “noise-making campaign” during President Bush’s State of the Union address.

I have to tell this group, get a clue. The State of the Union address is required by the Constitution. Bush has no choice, he has to give it.

I fully support the group’s right to protest, which is also protected by the Constitution. However, this form of protesting is inane. Use political action committees and contact Congress members or stage a “Million-Person-for-Bush-Deposing” march. Do something that does not fly in the face of what the Constitution says is required of the president.

The State of the Union address is designed to tell the American public how the country is doing right now and give a view of the president’s plan for the country in the next year. Regardless of who the president is, I look forward to the State of the Union address, if for no other reason than to heckle the television as it plays.

I won’t say whether I support Bush, but I think a protest, if you can call it that, in this form is horribly anti-constitutional. If you support the Constitution, I urge you to not take part in this type of protest and urge anyone you know to forgo this protest also.

Sgt. Daniel Pond
Heidelberg, Germany

President within his rights

The authors of the letters “Still must adhere to law” (Jan. 12) and “Can’t scare away Constitution” (Jan. 13) fail to understand some basic concepts.

The president, when he conducted electronic surveillance on transmissions between people overseas and someone in the United States, was exercising his legal authority as a military commander, and not as a law enforcement officer. The intent of the surveillance was not to build a case for criminal prosecution, but to prevent attacks against the United States.

The National Security Agency is performing this surveillance by collecting the information outside the border and not via a physical wiretap. There is no requirement for a warrant in these situations, as there is no “reasonable expectation of privacy” for foreign communications. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not apply. Remember, we are talking about collecting foreign intelligence as part of a military operation, not as part of a law enforcement action.

The legislative branch may not enact legislation (i.e. FISA) that infringes upon the power given by the Constitution to the executive branch. The president has the constitutional authority to acquire foreign intelligence without a warrant, and monitoring overseas conversations during wartime falls into this category, even when one side of that conversation is someone in the United States.

The framers of the Constitution created a strong executive branch and provided the president with authority to act to defend national security in a time of war. The only constitutional methods Congress could employ to interfere with the president in this matter would be by cutting off funds or impeachment. The first writer should be more careful about stating people “displayed complete ignorance” or that someone is “unfamiliar with the facts.” More important, repeating the statement that “the NSA’s surveillance was illegal” over and over does not make it so.

Maj. Scott DeLorenzi
Misawa Air Base, Japan

Army doesn’t push Christianity

The Army does not force Christianity on anyone and that should not be the reason for converting to Christianity (“He saw the light,” letter, Jan. 8).

Yes, “God” is in our oath — but we have the option to say it or not. If you are being forced to go to events that celebrate God, then something is wrong. Your career should not be based on your participation at religious events. I have been in the Army for 19 months. That’s not long at all, but never once was I “ordered” to go to a religious event or ceremony. Also, the letter writer said he might have converted to the “wrong religion.” There is no such thing as the “wrong religion!” Enough said.

Chaplains are not there to just help Christians. They are also helpful to people with no religious preference. You won’t have to watch anyone squirm because they are not forced to attend religious services or forced to pray. If you converted so you won’t squirm during a social prayer, you are not a real Christian. The Army does not force religion upon anyone and if you think that, you are in for an awakening. When a chaplain comes in front of a formation to say a prayer, that doesn’t mean you are being forced to pray. You don’t even have to bow your head. So, rethink to yourself on why you are a Christian and what Christianity means to you.

Pfc. Brynn Veillon
Forward Operating Base Speicher, Iraq

Pacific edition

Mayor should quit

I would like to offer the following questions for the idiot mayor of New Orleans.

Why was God mad at the U.S. on Dec. 7, 1941? Why was God mad at the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001? Why was God mad at South Carolina in September 1989 when Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston head-on?

Am I to believe, according to this idiot in New Orleans, that God is mad at more than 2,100 [U.S.] civilians and soldiers who have died in Iraq in the past three years for being here? Who was God mad at on Dec. 26, 2004, when more than 200,000 lives were taken?

My next questions will no doubt raise the ire of some. When Charleston was devastated by Hurricane Hugo, I don’t remember the mayor ever standing up and saying “Let’s rebuild Charleston into a ‘Vanilla City.’”

Is this not the same mayor who was on a live national press conference and used the lord’s name in vain to express his outrage when federal relief did not come fast enough? I have visited New Orleans and Bourbon Street; I can assure you God’s presence is not wanted there. The lifestyle is more in tune with Las Vegas or Atlantic City, N.J.

I am sick of people using every excuse in the world to condemn our presence in Iraq. Yet, no one believes we should pull out now and leave the Iraqis hanging by a thread. Maybe we should not be here, but guess what? We are, and I, for one, am here to promote freedom and democracy.

Mr. Mayor, you should remove yourself from office and apologize to all the families of the fallen heroes of this war. You should ask forgiveness from God also.

Tech. Sgt. S. Alan Reynolds
Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait

More body armor? No thanks

“Army secretary: GIs to get more armor in Feb.” (article, Okinawa and Korea editions, Jan. 20) stated that civilians feel the government should issue more body armor to troops overseas. I agree that troops should have the best body armor available. But these civilians fail to understand that the more armor troops don, the less capable we become and the more prone we are to various injuries. Not to mention, with more armor we will look like the Michelin Man.

I wish these civilians could have the opportunity to wear our armor, (level IV plates, soft armor along with a standard load of ammo), for an eight-hour day. I am sure most servicemembers who patrol would agree, that is a light load. Let the civilians go through our daily routines of mounting and dismounting from our vehicles, and walking or running when needed. After our daily routine, I am sure that these civilians would agree and sympathize with our dilemma. Do we armor ourselves to the hilt, or protect the vitals of our body so that we may remain mobile enough to react when the need arises? I am not angry at their desire to help us, but we do not need overprotective mothers. We just need to do our jobs effectively, and we can’t with everything they want us to wear.

Unfortunately, we are going to lose good people out here, it’s a war. But we have lost considerably fewer people than we would have, thanks to our armor.

We have excellent armor protecting us; we do not need to pile more on.

I thank these people for their concern. But let us be the ones asking for extra armor. As for myself, I have an appointment with a chiropractor when I get home.

Sgt. Chris Mettler
Forward Operating Base Courage, Iraq

Not all Bronze Stars earned

What is with the Army and handing out awards and medals like they are candy? I don’t agree with the handing out of the Bronze Star medal.

It seems that these people have forgotten what it takes to earn a Bronze Star. Do they realize that the Bronze Star is the third-highest medal in the U.S. military? So let’s give it to people who are barely doing their job.

The Army is giving them out to almost every E-7 in country, with the exception of awarding them to the E-7s who deserve them the most. In my unit and the unit we replaced, the Bronze Star was given to almost all platoon sergeants. Come on now, I’m not sure about all units, but in mine the platoon sergeants did nothing more than attend a few meetings a day. Maybe they did just a little more than that, but not much.

On top of the E-7s in my unit, they awarded a Bronze Star to an E-6 who barely left the base. He sat on site security in the International Zone of Baghdad, never even being engaged or engaging the enemy. How professional is that? I understand that my chain of command let him get away with his actions, but come on. After all his actions, let’s give him a Bronze Star. That way, he thinks that his actions are rewardable and therefore will not change them.

I read “Back on his feet; Marine shaken but not deterred by IED” (article, Stars and Stripes, Jan. 16), about a gunnery sergeant who was almost killed by an improvised explosive device. His job was to ride around in a Buffalo and defuse improvised explosive devices. That gunnery sergeant defused how many IEDs? This, in turn, saved the lives of other U.S. and coalition forces. That, in my book, is an example of a Bronze Star recipient. Salute to you, Gunny!

It seems that the U.S. Army has forgotten what our veterans did in Vietnam, World War II, etc. They are saying “Forget about what they did, and remember the pogues (persons other than grunts) who don’t deserve them.”

Spc. Mark A. Pettinato
Baghdad

IRR no-shows

In regard to the Individual Ready Reserve soldiers who refused to show upon orders: Are they courageous for disobeying command and not reporting for whatever reasons they may have had, or just plain cowards?

As an IRR soldier who reported for duty, I am disgusted that those who refused to come back on orders will receive little to no punishment for their betrayal to their service, their fellow soldiers, and their country. The oath to “Uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic … that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me” must have been mere words to them.

I was told that out of the 200-plus Individual Ready Reservists who were called back from my group, about 30 percent showed up. And out of that, 63 of us (later known as “The Benning 63”) were deployable. We would joke around saying, “I wish I had the guts to just stay home!” But the reality is, those IRRs who laced up their boots and returned to service when our commanders sought fit truly retained the seven Army values considered so crucial to the Army way of life.

All of us have left loved ones behind. I had to say goodbye to my wife and 2½-year-old daughter. What makes these people think they are so special that they do not have to fulfill their contractual obligation? We did not show up because we wanted to go to war, otherwise we would have re-enlisted. But we came back and are doing our mission with honor and integrity.

If the words “Failure to report may subject you to UCMJ action” printed clearly on all of our orders, did not influence their decision to come back … do you believe an “honorable, general or other-than-honorable” discharge will make them lose a wink of sleep?

There are IRR soldiers fighting and dying in this war, and those who never showed are being released from their military contracts, with no criminal charges, which is what they wanted. It almost makes you want to wonder: “What else will they let me get away with?”

I hope they appreciate all of the sacrifices and adversities the military men and women are making for them while they turned their backs on us.

Spc. Nicholas “Dozer” Dolezal
Camp Victory, Kuwait