The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) sent me canned, tear out, form letters to send to Congressional leaders of both the House and Senate Armed Services committees.

First, asking me to express concern about a Peace Dividend mentality that will take $$$ away from the Defense Industry, and put $$$ toward the American people. Secondly, to whine about military retirees having to help pay down the debt already acquired for the War on Terror.

SOURCE: Congressional Budet Office 

Oh, I contacted Congress. However my letters were not what the NEOCON leaders of MOAA had in mind. Other than strongly disagreeing  with MOAA’s attitude about a so-called Peace Dividend,

because there can be NO PEACE DIVIDEND when a nation is in WAR DEBT! I also passionately disagree with MOAA’s priority that is why I want nothing to do with MOAA regardless.  

 

Note the order in which a Senator or Representative would read of MOAA and my concerns IF I had sent MOAA canned form letter. Their emphasis is FIRST on continuing BIG TICKET DEFENSE BUDGET for the Defense Industry, and secondly ON VETERANS or in our case Military Retirees. If MOAA had their priorities in order and a moderate attitude, I just may have sent their letter INSTEAD of MINE.

 

MOAA asked me [as a Retired Military Officer] to contact Senators Carl Levin and John McCain on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representatives Ike Skelton and Duncan Hunter on the House Armed Services Committee, so I did send a snail mail letter to all four.

 

Since the Ohio Primary election is coming up on 4 March 2008, I wanted to share with readers the letter I sent to Presidential candidate John McCain. However, the basic text of my letters to all Congressional Reps REMAINED THE SAME.

 

February 2008

 

The Honorable John McCain

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Armed Services

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

 

Dear Senator McCain:

 

We understand that voters who are not your Arizona constituents usually should contact their own state Senator on issues and concerns of national import. However, I am a retired military officer, and my wife and I are registered voters in the state of Ohio. Instead of being asked to contact our own Ohio state Senators, we have been asked by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) to contact YOU, given your position on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Given that our Ohio state Senator Sherrod Brown sits on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, a courtesy copy of this letter is going to his office.

 

Senator McCain, 2008 is a crucial year for America’s Veterans, who have served, are currently serving, and of course retired military families. We are writing to ask for your clarification on a few issues of great importance.

 

First, we urge you to consider that imposing TRICARE fee increases for military retirees boils down to means testing. That said, speaking only for our military family, should we be asked to sacrifice even more for the War on Terror, we do not see it as being any different from means testing any American Veteran. Because, most Veterans chose to not make the military a career, we volunteered. Please let us clarify.

 Senator, neither you nor any member of Congress has demanded a commitment on the part of the American people to share in the disproportionate burdens, costs, and debt of the long term War on Terror other than in the form of lip service from Congress and the American public in general. What has the nation or Congress substantially committed to the War on Terror? Money? 

Only a precious one percent of the nation ‘is EXPECTED’ to carry the entire burden of a nation at WAR on the battlefield, and do so indefinitely, our military family sees something sinfully wrong with that notion. Thus, if we are expected to carry the hardships of the nation all alone, that by definition is disproportionate.

 Why not be expected to also pay for the debt due on the War on Terror. Is it not the patriotic thing to do? If our letter sounds sarcastic Senator, it is intended to be. We are not sure where you stand on demanding the nation make a commitment, to include the sons and daughters of the nation standing patriotically beside ours. That includes your child already serving in the War on Terror NOW. What is your position on the draft? Where do you stand on getting the people necessary to fight the War on Terror in the end, however defined, if you should become President? Would you have the guts to implement Selective Service if necessary? If under your Presidency, a national emergency is obvious would you have the courage it takes as Commander-In-Chief to commit THE NATION to war with no alternative but to implement the draft. On the other hand, would your intentions be to continue placing the burden of warfare on the precious one percent of the population as America goes about business as usual? We would like clarification from you by 4 March 2008.   

Regardless, we are willing to be subjected to means testing as long as any other American veteran is means tested, especially the young men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who either choose to no longer carry the disproportionately burdened imposed by their government and nation or cannot due to disability. If most of America’s Veterans are expected to help pay for the debt on the War on Terror, then all of us should be expected to. In fact, as a retired officer, I feel obligated to pay more for my medical care than my troops do. The higher one’s grade/rank in the Armed Forces, the more one should be expected to pay. This should be considered to cut costs for the lower ranking Veterans and Military Retirees. The argument of decades of family sacrifice and hardships doesn’t’ hold water if that is what we chose to do.

We volunteered eventually knowing that our government does not keep its promises to America’s Veterans. Colonel Bud Day can confirm just how honest military recruiters really are. He, and others older Military Retirees are still waiting for the free health care for life PROMISED by Military Recruiters needing to fill their quotas for Korea and Vietnam. Both Colonel Day, and you know what I say is true. You personally know Colonel Day Senator. He was your CO at the Hanoi Hilton.

 

Secondly, because it is not a high priority for our military family, haggling over a questionable Peace Dividend by any quarter of the political spectrum is down right immature and self-serving. Why? Because Senator you and I should both know that only a minority of American people are naïve enough to believe there is going to be any Peace Dividend worth arguing about, regardless of what future decisions might be made on troop levels in Iraq. Some fear a peace dividend mentality like that which followed the Gulf War, but our military family doesn’t understand where such a dividend would come from regardless what happens in Iraq? Because, we still do not believe American tax payers have already paid for the initial battles in the War on Terror [few even believe in.]

 

If anyone in Congress, or at MOAA, can explain to us [in laymen’s terms] exactly how the nation is already paying for the billions now spent on Iraq and Afghanistan, before you should take office as President, then and only then will we believe there is going to be a peace dividend for anyone. Can you Presidential candidate McCain assure our military family that we are not already in debt on the War on Terror far beyond the next generation of Americans? Is that a fair statement to make?

 

A fellow MOAA member who ranks me, said it well when he addressed the so-called peace dividend, and I quote, “Unquestionably, modernization is necessary to keep our military edge in the international community, but any modernization effort that is untimely, too costly, and unnecessary must smartly be avoided”.

 

The most crucial issue (for our military families) is the survivability of our soldiers (and Marines), but when any service builds a new fleet of unnecessary weapon systems that are useless against Al Queda, dreams of a new generation of aircraft when Al Queda has no Air Force to speak of. When concerns remain that our Sea Power needs and wants more ships when Al Queda has no Navy worth any debate over Peace Dividends, these are misguided illusions of flawed military leadership and extravagant defense spending when no Peace dividend exists worth haggling over.  

 

What is MOAA really saying when it fears any Peace Dividend? They are saying that the Defense Industry comes first, then our troops. If anyone can convince our military family different, have at it. However, start with our belief that any Peace Dividend is in itself an illusion.

 

In closing, Senator McCain, I again quote my fellow MOAA member, Lt. Col. Robert G. Raye, USA-Retired. “The more misguided money we allow the [Armed Services] to spend for Iraq [and beyond], the more strain we will put on future resources and initiatives.” Like Colonel Raye, I spent near 30 years in and out of uniform serving my country, and I have experienced first hand the difficulties of equipping and training troops when debts of previous engagements and deployments overshadowed current real needs. That is how we ended up sending ground troops into a ground war unprepared circa 2003. Because the other services (Air Force and Navy) tied to big-ticket programs of the Defense Industry always got the bulk of Defense Budgets.

Undoubtedly, maintaining a military technological edge is vital to our nation’s safety and status in the world, but each initiative needs to be thoroughly weighed and examined before the magic wand of approval is waved. Our current resources, if employed and deployed correctly, and more so if a commitment from the American people to the War on Terror where forthcoming, that is the key to success or failure.   

That Congress allows our Armed Forces to be overstretched and overburdened because of fear to commit the nation to war, debate over any Peace Dividend is the least of our National Security worries for the rest of the 21^st Century.

Robert L. Hanafin

SP/5, U.S. Army (1969-77)

Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired (77-94)

Dayton, Ohio

Related Links:

 

Aerospace Strikes Back – Operation No Peace Dividend!

http://www.graduatingengineer.com/industryfocus/aerospace.html

 

The Peace Dividend & Surpluses In The 1990s. http://www.willisms.com/archives/2005/10/trivia_tidbit_o_183.html

POSTED BY: Major Robert L. Hanafin

  SP/5, U.S. Army (69-76)

  Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired (77-94)

  Military Families Speak Out - OHIO