Letters to the editor for Friday, June 26, 2009

European and Mideast editions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: These are the letters that appeared in each edition of Stripes on this publication date. There were no Pacific letters on this date.)

Irony of marriage in military

As a dual-military married couple serving in Afghanistan, my wife and I are subject to the prohibited acts of General Order No. 1, which, as most know, prohibits co-habitation unless adequate accommodations are available. But since we were told by our command that it will not provide nor support a lawful heterosexual relationship, we are forced to have the door open when we are together. Now the irony of all this.

Since our president has stated that he wants to repeal the policy and allow gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the armed forces, agreeing with retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, who stated that the U.S. government has replaced [thousands of] troops, including language experts fluent in Arabic, I wonder what they are going to do to replace the lawfully married couples who are tired of having commanders tell them that they can’t be in the same room together. To further add insult to this, homosexual couples are allowed to go into each other’s rooms and close the doors, but married couples are not allowed to do so.

Imagine that; our command inadvertently supporting homosexual relationships in theater while making legal unions of a man and woman wrong.

So tell me, what really brings unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability?

Staff Sgt. Vincent J. O’Donnell
Afghanistan

Stop racial jokes

Prejudice and discrimination in all forms have long lived in our communities and even our armed forces. We, as leaders in the military, can do something within our units to eliminate this negative venom from spreading.

One of the biggest and longtime issues I have seen throughout my 20-year military career is racial jokes. It really sickens me when I hear these jokes from our leaders and noncommissioned officers of all races. What sickens me even more is when the chain of command refuses to acknowledge that type of behavior as negative and leading to something more damaging if the message is not sent that this will not be tolerated.

When someone makes a complaint that they were offended by these jokes, all of a sudden the unit thinks equal-opportunity training will solve the problem and it hides behind the statement, "We did not know this was going on."

Leaders in all ranks should not overlook this type of sensitive joking, or even engage in this behavior. Leaders should always correct this type of behavior in order to erase this venom from spreading throughout our military. Leaders who walk away and fear acknowledging it are just as wrong as the individual who made the joke.

Our American military can be referred to as the greatest "melting pot." We have excellent leaders from all backgrounds who have molded this military into the greatest military in the world. I encourage leaders in all ranks to stop racial jokes from becoming a norm. This behavior will divide soldiers. To all my comrades in the armed forces: Continue to make this military the greatest military in the world.

Staff Sgt. Steven D. Hill
Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq

Fix for ID card numbers

"Security of ID cards" (letter, June 22) hit upon a problem that was solved while I served in the Canadian military around 1991. Our social insurance numbers had, in effect, supplanted the regimental numbers used until the introduction of the SIN in the 1960s, with the end result that private information was splashed all over personal mail, identification cards, etc. I even remember people shouting "Sir I am XXX-XXX-XXX Bloggins" during basic officer training. The solution: the re-introduction of a "service number," by which I became known as D55 834 479.

As for "Wasteful Air Force flights" (letter, June 22), regarding Hawaii’s Kona International Airport, I think you will find WestJet flies there from Vancouver, although passengers pre-clear U.S. Customs prior to leaving.

Mitch MacLeod
Kandahar, Afghanistan

It’s called indoctrination

"Setting a course for homeland security" (article, June 24) quotes Jonathan Zimmerman as asserting that starting high school programs designed to channel graduates into homeland security jobs is a wonderful idea, as long as the program doesn’t indoctrinate the students. Unfortunately, that’s almost impossible.

Setting aside glaring questions about the qualifications of the instructors and the potential to create a culture of fear among our youth, these students are at an age where they should be deciding what they want to do with their lives. They should not be funneled, even voluntarily, into a particular career field. That’s the definition of indoctrination.

To be clear, this situation isn’t like Junior ROTC. Rather, the homeland security curriculum was even added to traditional high-school classes. Students discussing "Romeo and Juliet" will now focus on what to do when they see "infiltration in [their] own family." Perhaps they’ll also read "Huckleberry Finn" and talk about what to do when they spot someone engaging in human trafficking on the Mississippi River.

Capt. Dan Harrison
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait

Apology to general warranted

I am writing on behalf of all military personnel in regard to what I believe was a serious injustice committed by Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California when she chastised Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh during a June 18 Senate hearing of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

While responding to a question, the general called her "ma’am." Boxer, in turn, scolded the general, telling him not to call her ma’am. She said she worked hard to get the title of "senator" and wanted him to address her in that manner.

This is not only an insult to the general, it is an affront to all people who address their peers with respect. Being a Marine Vietnam vet, I learned about honor, respect and dignity in the Marine Corps at a very young age.

Boxer, in my opinion, is an ego-driven narcissist who pulled a power play to show the general that she was the big shot in the room. Her arrogance and self-centered attitude should be admonished by the president.

Our military men and women lay their life on the line defending our country. They deserve respect and admiration from our elected officials, not their contempt and petty slights.

Boxer works for we, the people, and we, the people, don’t have to put up with officials who don’t respect our military. She owes the general an apology for disrespecting his rank and his service to this country.

Gregory J. Topliff
Warrenville, S.C.

‘Fix’ Reserve, Guard troops

This is in regard to "Army standards being ignored" (letter, June 24). You are on a forward operating base that is overrun by Army Reserve and National Guard units. They have no idea what the standards are. I’m not saying they don’t do their jobs, but these units don’t have the discipline instilled in them like active-duty soldiers do. To see these soldiers walk around and be way out of regulation in regard to Army Regulation 600-9 ("The Army Weight Control Program") is absolutely disgraceful, and makes the ones who are doing the right thing look bad, but these soldiers don’t know any better. They go to training once a month and think they are soldiers.

Well, part of being a soldier is always doing the right thing. The leaders of these units need to take a look at themselves and see that they need to fix these soldiers.

First Lt. Ryan Donaldson
Taji, Iraq