Weapons of mass destruction

Our neighbor Lorraine Collins always has an interesting perspective on a wide range of topics. Here's another that should catch your interest -- and perhaps spur a comment or two. Her commentaries appear regularly in the Black Hills Pioneer, and she graciously allows us to share them with on-line readers here.

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A small item in the news caught my eye the other day. It reported that Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont. had “completed deactivation of 50 missile launch facilities.” Clearing 50 silos of intercontinental ballistic missiles means that the United States now has only 450 nuclear-tipped missiles in silos.

I don’t think about ICBMs much any more, and I don’t know who they’re all aimed at these days since the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union no longer exists. In fact, I’m sort of surprised that we still have 450 of them, some with multiple warheads, ready to be fired at a moment’s notice. There are still officers in underground bunkers not too far away from us, ready to push the button if they have to.

I remember the years that Minuteman missiles were being deployed around Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City in the 1960s. Out on the prairie, silos were dug into ranch lands, command facilities were built here and there, and we became used to seeing USAF vehicles or helicopters on the landscape. It was not unusual to see a very long trailer, presumably carrying a Minuteman missile, escorted by armored vehicles, driving down some lonesome road. The deployment of missiles hereabouts resulted in an economic boom and I think we all appreciated that, even while pondering the seriousness of being the site of weapons that could destroy the world.

The idea of having hundreds of ICBMs in hardened silos at many sites in Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming was that if the Soviet Union attacked us, we could instantly attack them. This was the Cold War strategy called Mutual Assured Destruction, or MAD, which some thought it was.

There are no missile sites left in our neighborhood now, except for the one out by Cactus Flats, east of Rapid City. It’s a National Historic Site that displays a control center and a silo holding a disarmed Minuteman missile as a useful lesson in history.

The forces that threaten the peace and security of the United States are much different from those of 40 years ago and though we never got involved in World War III, we’ve certainly fought a lot of wars in the years since ICBMs were deployed. These weapons of mass destruction have not been of any use to us in Viet Nam, Grenada, Panama, Bosnia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

But yet we still have those 450 weapons aimed at somebody. They are just one part of our enormous military budget which is the largest in the world, larger than the military budgets of the next dozen or more major countries combined. Maybe one reason for our huge military budget is that various states have military installations or defense contractors they want to support.

For instance, our South Dakota Senators are adamant about funding the “next generation bomber” even though the Secretary of Defense says we don’t need that kind of plane any more. At more than $2 billion apiece, high tech new bombers are so expensive they use up a lot of money that could be spent on other weapons systems. So maybe Congress should rethink its approach to defense spending.

Back in the 1960’s when a Minuteman missile site north of Belle Fourche had a sort of open house for the public, I visited the underground command bunker along with my kids and mother-in-law. We went down in the elevator, passed through a huge metal door and entered the bunker where two young officers explained how they would fire any or all of the 10 nuclear weapons under their command if ordered to do so. It was impressive and terrifying. When we came back up to the twilit prairie my mother-in-law said, “Well, I wish we could spend the money on something we want.” I still feel the same way.

Lorraine Collins is a writer who lives in Spearfish. She can be contacted at collins1@rushmore.com.

Have we forgotten V-J Day?

V-J Day came and went this year with little fanfare. Perhaps our expectation of finding a story about it tucked below the fold in the world news section of the newspaper – or included as a feature on the evening news – was unrealistic. Time has a way of blurring our memories, and media preoccupation with celebrities and reliving Woodstock only contributes to our collective amnesia about things that really matter.

Too, most people simply don’t remember anything about Victory over Japan Day. Either they were not yet born or too young to recall that historic day, August 14, 1945. It marked the end to one of the bloodiest wars the world has ever known. More than 405,000 Americans were killed and another 671,000 were wounded.

The country rejoiced at the ending of the war. Famed photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured a spontaneous eruption of joy when a sailor kissed a young nurse in Times Square. That famous full-page photograph, which appeared in Life magazine the following week, was the inspiration for a huge sculpture (shown here) near the USS Midway Museum in San Diego.

It’s appropriate that we pay homage to those who served in World War II.

We were particularly pleased earlier this year to learn about Honor Flight, a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. They transport veterans to Washington, D.C. to “visit and reflect at their memorials.” We’re proud of these war veterans, and proud, too, of those who’ve led the charge to honor the veterans.

Friend and former colleague Larry Rohrer at South Dakota Public Broadcasting in Vermillion is among the South Dakotans leading this effort. We thank them all for what they do.

Started in Ohio in 2005, Honor Flight has transported more than 17,000 veterans from all over the country to Washington, D.C. to see their memorials; for 2009, Honor Flight has a lofty goal of transporting some 25,000 men and women on that pilgrimage. With more than one thousand World War II veterans dying each day, it is a priority to fly survivors of that war to the District of Columbia so they can visit the WW II Memorial. It is a fitting tribute for veterans who served their country during a very dangerous and difficult time for our country.

The World War Two Memorial was dedicated in May of 2004. We were living in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, on the outskirts of Harrisburg. It was just three months later -- in August of 2004 -- that we had the great honor of escorting one of our heroes, Guy Davidson, and his wife Marion, down to D.C. to visit the newly-opened memorial.

Good friends Bill and Joan Smith accompanied us on the day trip, and it was a truly moving experience. How fortunate that we have a few photo memories of that special outing!

We first came to know Guy and Marion through workshops at our church in Hummelstown. A retired Pennsylvania rural mail carrier, Guy Davidson is like so many WWII veterans: he seldom ever talks about his wartime experiences as a gunner on a half-track that landed in France after D-Day. His 2nd Armored “Hell on Wheels” division eventually ended up in Berlin via the Battle of Bulge. Guy would sometimes talk about it – but only if asked. He has never considered himself a hero, just a soldier doing his job. Such was the demeanor of so many veterans who were fortunate enough to come home from World War Two.

Now well along in years and afflicted with several health issues, Guy and Marion continue to live quietly and humbly in their small neighborhood on the south edge of Hummelstown. Clearly, they are no longer able to travel, so it gives us pleasure to know that we had a small part in helping Guy visit the memorial that paid tribute to him and other of the “Greatest Generation.”

Thank you, Guy Davidson, and all your fellow veterans for your sacrifices for the United States of America.

Lorraine Collins Remembers D-Day

Realizing that President Obama is joining other world leaders to observe the 65th anniversary of the landing of Allied forces in France on D Day on June 6th, I remembered that I had written something about that historic event 15 years ago. That was on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of D Day when I was a commentator for South Dakota Public Radio. Although a decade and a half has passed since I wrote this, nothing has happened since then to change my view. The essay mentions Rwanda, but if I were to write it today, I might mention Darfur, or Gaza, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq….

The view from D-Day beaches - SDPR , June 27, 1994:

It must be a decade ago by now that I stood on the western shore of France on a high bluff overlooking the sea and contemplated the famous beaches of the D-Day invasion of World War II. Since we’ve just observed the 50th anniversary of that tremendous and historic day, I’ve been remembering my visit and the mixture of awe and admiration I felt as I stood there.

Nearby is the great American Cemetery and visiting that brought a terrible sense of loss. The liberation of Europe was made possible only by great sacrifices by ordinary people. War always comes down to this—thousands of graves with names carved in stone. And there the bodies lie, all these years later.

There are a lot of other battlefields and military cemeteries in Europe, from several wars and I happened to visit a few of them during the time I lived in England. I followed the paths of World War I trenches in Belgium, strolled around the site of the Battle of the Bulge, stood on the hill overlooking the Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon fought Wellington and 20,000 men died in one afternoon.

I spent a night in a big, creepy old hotel in the town of Verdun, a city that seemed to be one vast mausoleum, with a huge war memorial at one end of the Main Street, topped by a glowering, helmeted figure leaning on a sword. Near Verdun, which was the site of the most brutal and continuous shelling of World War I, there is a cemetery containing the remains of 130,000 unidentifiable, unknown soldiers, both German and French.

Visiting battlefields and military cemeteries is a very sobering experience, and it should be. We should never forget what war means, never glamorize it, never romanticize it, never enter into it blindly and carelessly. Visiting military cemeteries helps us remember that.

But what I’m afraid of is that war has now evolved in such brutal new ways that such formal, well-tended, sanctified burial sites have in a sense become obsolete. Even by the end of World War II, the lives of millions of people were ended without honor and bravery on the battlefield but in concentration camps or in the firestorms of bombed cities. The dead were buried not in neat and orderly rows in hallowed ground but under heaps of rubble or in mass graves.

And now, we hear that 500,000 people have been killed in the mindless warfare in Rwanda, just in the last few weeks. It’s not possible to dig 500,000 graves.

If war was ever a sane and manageable activity, it doesn’t seem to be so now. Wars used to be fought in fields, in trenches, in fox holes, on the sea, in the air. Now wars are fought in schools and hospitals and market places and refugee camps. Now there is no distinction between being a soldier and a civilian, between men and women, adults and children. All are slaughtered without conscience or hesitation.

In an era in which whole populations are involved in war, and military cemeteries are becoming obsolete, dare we hope that one day war will be obsolete, too?

Lorraine Collins is a writer who lives in Spearfish. She can be contacted at collins1@rushmore.com.

Nice graphics, but...

We sometimes pick up a copy of USA Today while traveling; otherwise, we seldom read it because most of its stories lack the depth necessary to gain an understanding of the topics covered. That’s okay if they're reporting on the misadventures of Paris Hilton – but a disaster when covering suicides in the military (USA Today, 5/30-6/1, 2008).

Even Pentagon consultants appear to provide data that supports the headline, "Army tallies record number of suicides among soldiers."

Near the end of Gregg Zoroya’s story lie the naked facts that “one in four of the victims had never deployed overseas” and that less than one-third of the 115 Army suicides in 2007 were personnel stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Nonetheless, Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) cites the statistics as “a tragic reminder that repeated deployments …are taking a heavy toll.”

Contrast that statement with the fact – also buried near the end of the article – that the Army suicide rate is lower than among civilians, “when adjusted for age and gender similar to military demographics.”

Loss of life is a very sad event. Suicides are more so. It is unfortunate that the USA Today format doesn’t allow for greater depth on covering such sobering subjects. This story suggests conclusions that on closer scrutiny appear misguided, and it raises even more questions – questions not likely to be addressed any time soon by USA Today.

Have military suicides tracked civilian suicides? What are the longer term trends? How do we reconcile “multiple combat deployments” as a key factor, when the highest percentage of victims have never deployed overseas?

USA Today is an economic success story, with circulation second to none. Perhaps that’s because its glitzy graphics and superficial stories satisfy a citizenry seeking entertainment and superficiality rather then substance. On-the-move citizens apparently find the publication meets their needs. Some of us, however, believe that USA Today nurtures only our shortened attention spans and desire for colorful graphics. It’s like overdosing on sweets and snack foods.

Perhaps it’s time to order a full healthy meal and renew our subscriptions to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Gaining an understanding of complex issues is important, if we are to seriously address the issues facing our country.

Serving our country is a public service

It would be wonderful if there were no conflict in our world – no need for a military. But history has taught us otherwise, and we would do well to pay heed to its continuing lessons.

I was impressed last week by an editorial piece written by William McGurn in Atchison, Kansas for the Wall Street Journal. The commencement speaker at Atchison’s Benedictine College, McGurn contrasted the small heartland school with Harvard University, which has not allowed ROTC on campus since it “was booted off” during the Vietnam War. He reflected upon the nurturing pride that Benedictine showed its ROTC graduates.

McGurn noted that opponents of the Iraq war frequently express the view that they oppose the administration’s policy – not the troops. In fact, most public sentiment overwhelmingly supports the troops. He told of how tiny Benedictine College has embraced its ROTC graduates, recognizing that these young people may soon be put in harm’s way to defend the liberties we Americans enjoy. It was his opinion that Harvard would do well to emulate Benedictine.

McGurn’s observation that the military is one of our nation’s “most open and diverse institutions” rang true. Those of us who have served know all too well that the military is far from perfect. Like all huge organizations, it often succumbs to stupidity. Notwithstanding the views of those who focus upon the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding homosexuals (http://www.bertrandrussell.blogspot.com/), the United States military remains near the top of those organizations where you’ll find a modicum of openness and diversity.

Offering ROTC on campus is a good thing. I still subscribe to the notion that our country would do well to require that all able-bodied young people be required to perform two or three years of public service for their country. It might be the Peace Corps, a CCC-type domestic program, or the military. They – and our country – would be the beneficiaries of such a plan.

In the meantime, Harvard should go back to school and study the wisdom of embracing ROTC students on its campus.

Remembering Russ

We lost a friend a few weeks ago.

Russ Bailey passed away January 27th at the United Retirement Center in Brookings, South Dakota. He was 77 years old. Our condolences go out to the entire Bailey family.

Many South Dakotans will remember Russ from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s as an on-air spokesman for South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

A native of Beverly, Massachusetts, he and his wife Marge were married in 1955. A career Air Force officer, Russ had assignments throughout the United States, Japan and Germany. After he retired as a Major, and they made their home in South Dakota, Russ became a key player in helping organize the Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting. He remained affiliated with Friends for some 20 years.

It was my good fortune to work with Russ during some of those years. He was an honest, no-nonsense fellow with a heart of gold. He spoke his mind and had the courage of his convictions. He was highly regarded by his many friends and colleagues throughout public broadcasting.

His obituary touched upon his varied career and the many activities for which he volunteered. Russ Bailey made the world a better place, and we’re all richer for having known him.

The Chinese have a PLAN -- Do We?

Bully! The Wall Street Journal today had a nice opinion piece written by Bret Stephens about "The Great White Fleet" sent around the world by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1907-09. It was Teddy's way of demonstrating to the world that the United States had arrived as a naval power.

Stephens' article is another alarm bell of the wakeup call that doesn't seem to have stirred anyone. He writes, "...a supremely powerful Navy is not a luxury the U.S. can safely dispense with. In September, ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) made their first-ever port calls in Germany, France, Britain and Italy, and Chinese admirals are frequent guests on American warships.

He further quotes a senior Navy official as saying "The Chinese Great White Fleet is not too far off on the horizon." In fact, the UK Daily Mail last month reported that U.S. military leaders were "dumbstruck" by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk.

Coupled with unfolding nautical developments in the Middle East, where Russia will soon establish an 11-ship presence in the Mediterranen, led by the carrier Kuznetsov, it appears we have tangible evidence of Sino-Soviet inclinations for bolstering their naval power. If the Iranians then begin operating submarines from a base in Syria, which reportedly has the Israelis on edge, we may begin waking up to the possible radical change in military strength in both the Pacific and Atlantic. Take a look at this UK web site named Chinese Defence Today that outlines growth of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

I'd like to think that the U.S. Department of Defense and our crack intelligence program (gulp) are on top of things. Lack of media coverage about these unfolding events means that most Americans are probably watching their favorite reality program. We may truly be "asleep at the switch."

To Cling....Or Not to Cling?

Reuters reported yesterday (December 16, 2007) that Cuban Premier Fidel Castro has “hinted that he’ll not cling to power.”

That sounds a bit disingenuous to me, given that Castro has outlived most of his adversaries and has, indeed, clung to power longer than even did the eternal Francisco Franco in Spain.

Forty-four years ago this month, I was stationed at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, serving an “unaccompanied tour” (without my bride). As program manger for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Station (WGBY) at “Gitmo,” I spent more than a little time eavesdropping on Cuban television programs from the other side of the fence. They consisted mostly of B-grade syndicated programs from the United States, particularly old cartoons.

But the Cuban airwaves were often filled with revolutionary pronouncements delivered by the fiery revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro. It was not uncommon for us to watch Fidel waxing emotional about a topic – tune out for a few hours – and then return to find him still plugging along.
We called him “Forever Fidel,” referring not to his anticipated tenure as a Cuban leader – which none of us thought would be very long – but rather to his unending stamina before the cameras.

Little could any of us have known that Fidel would still be around nearly a half century later, and still enjoying his role as a political thorn in the side of the United States government. That, despite his ascendancy to revolutionary legend, is likely to be his lasting legacy.

The promises of the revolution in Cuba never came to fruition. Somehow, with his tenacity and cunning, Fidel fortified his power base and…..well….he "clung."

And headlines say he’s “not going to cling to power"? I suspect old Fidel has fallen victim to the ravages of time and change. Age, health, and emerging political realities have loosened the iron-clad grip Fidel Castro has had on Cuba the last half century. And if he's no longer clinging -- it's a result of lost grip -- not lost desire.

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If Batista could only see him now.

Asleep at the Switch?

Like many folks, I’ve basked in the glow of glasnost for the past few years. Even with the ascent of ex-KGB agent Vladimir Putin, I was not overly concerned. And it’s been interesting to witness the recovery of the Russian economy.

I didn’t even pay attention – nor did most mainstream media – when Defense News reported that the Russians had indicated last summer that they planned to reassert their military presence near the perimeter of NATO countries.

Last Thursday, however, I was startled to read a simple four-line report in the Wall Street Journal that said: Russia sent an aircraft-carrier group to the Mediterranean, part of efforts to expand its military presence and flex its economic might.

I found nothing more in the Journal and jumped to the New York Times on-line, where I found one short article.

The most comprehensive information I located was contained in Defense Update, an on-line publication headquartered in the United Kingdom. It notes that the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov, which leads the 11-ship group, will work out of a Syrian port. The Israelis apparently have expressed concerns that Iranian submarines also may soon be serviced by the Syrian port facilities at Tartous.

It will be interesting to see how much play – if any – this turn of events gets in U.S. media.

A Tribute to Slim

He was a hero, and we didn’t know it. And I doubt he ever considered himself a hero – but isn’t humility a common trait among the truly heroic?

I didn’t know him well, but Warren Beamish and his wife Gladys were good friends with our family.

He loved horses and would perform with his horses and as a rodeo clown in communities around western Nebraska and the surrounding region.

Warren grew up in Michigan during the Depression years of the ‘30s. It was there that he became acquainted with my uncle Alex Miller and decided to accompany Alex back to Chadron, Nebraska. He was a “hired hand” for my grandfather Bill Maiden, among other jobs he had over the years. In 1942, Warren married Gladys Warren.

In World War II, like so many other young men, he went into the Army and was shipped overseas. It was in July 1943, when – as part of the American invasion of Sicily – that “Sergeant” Beamish and one other soldier helped open up enemy beaches for an Allied assault.

Official Army records indicate that “…on 10 July 1943…a few minutes after landing…Staff Sergeant Beamish, then a Sergeant and squad leader, volunteered to accompany an army officer and, under fire from enemy guns, succeeded in moving inland, assaulting a gun position and pill box which was being manned by six Italian soldiers.”

After opening up a landing site, they then proceeded up the beach, capturing another 25 Italian soldiers manning 20 millimeter and 50 caliber guns. Their actions opened the beach for 500 yards, allowing a successful assault – the largest such amphibious assault of its kind up to that time of the war.

For his “extraordinary heroism” during this major Allied invasion, Staff Sergeant Warren W. Beamish was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the highest combat medal awarded by the United States military – second only to the Medal of Honor. Read the text of the award.

Who knew? Like so many of his era, Warren came home from the war and – according to his wife Gladys – never talked about his war-time exploits. He merely got on with his life in Chadron, Nebraska. He and Gladys raised two children, Bill and Bonnie.

Warren "Slim" Beamish died on July 21, 1998. He was 80 years old. We've compiled a few photos to help tell this story.

It was Warren Beamish and others like him who won that war. Winning for us a way of life that most of the rest of the world can only dream of enjoying. It is right that we should honor him and others who've fought for our country.

Thanks, Slim. Belatedly, but with much admiration.

Jack and "The War"

The airing of Ken Burns' The War on PBS this month stirred memories of my friend Jack Shelley.

For just about anyone around today who lived a decade or more in Iowa during the 1900s, Jack Shelley is a familiar name. Born in 1912 near Boone, Iowa, Jack is as close as you get to being a "living legend.”

A journalist of the first order, Jack's career with WHO radio and television in Des Moines was punctuated with historic broadcasts of World War Two. From live broadcasts at the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 to covering the Japanese surrender ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in 1945, Jack reported from a variety of war venues. After the war, he served as News Director at WHO-AM-TV for some 25 years.

Fortunately for a new generation of aspiring broadcast journalists, Jack moved from the newsroom to the classroom in 1965, accepting an appointment to the faculty at Iowa State University in Ames. By 1969, when I was News Director at KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa, I had become acquainted with Jack through the Iowa Broadcasters Association. That was a factor in my return to Ames in 1970 to pursue a Masters degree in Journalism. Jack Shelley was my major professor.

In 1982, Jack retired from his second career as a college professor -- but not before touching the lives and positively influencing hundreds if not thousands of young men and women. What a tremendous career this gentleman has had.

In the 1990s, he was a staunch opponent of WOI-TV being sold by the university and was rather outspoken on the topic. While the sale occurred anyway, it didn't diminish Jack's capacity for being active and involved in the community and across campus. While his pace has slowed a bit -- at 95 years of age, he's entitled!

To capture a bit of his remarkable careers as a broadcaster and educator, I heartily recommend Robert Underhill's excellent book, Jack Shelley and the News (McMillen Publishing, Ames, IA 2002). Last I heard, Jack was still giving weekly news reports at Rotary meetings in Ames, but his good friend and long-time colleague Bill Kunerth tells me that Jack has recently had a few setbacks with his health. We'll hope it's only temporary!

And then, there's Bill Kunerth, but that's a story for another day.

Fair winds and following seas to a good friend and mentor, Jack Shelley.

Read This Blog – Earn 50¢

The other day, the Arizona Daily Star reported that some students in “poverty-stricken areas” of Tucson are being paid up to $25 a week to attend classes this fall. The incentive is being paid from private versus public funds, and it's a scheme that appears to be embraced by some schools and the Tucson Education Association.

The idea is basically to keep kids from dropping out of school. Of course, any increased enrollments won’t hurt the school district or the teachers union, both of which would seemingly benefit. School enrollment is a big driver in state funding for schools.

The devil is in the details, and it’ll be revealing to follow this Arizona effort.

Of course, the really big bucks to lure young people are being offered by the U.S. Army. It’s their effort to offset continuing shortfalls of recruits. Proposed new incentives include a $20,000 bonus (if you join up quickly!); new recruits wouldn’t have to meet weight requirements, and Uncle Sam would accept more recruits with GED certificates rather than high school diplomas. Plus, the Army wants to increase waivers for medical and moral reasons or for individuals testing positive for drugs and alcohol. My personal favorite is the one where the Army, according to the Associated Press, would create a "more pleasant boot-camp environment."

Throwing money at these issues – in my humble view – is NOT the way to go. It provides only temporary relief at an enormous cost.

Can you say “Mandatory Universal Public Service”? All young people should be required to dedicate two or three years of public service in the Peace Corps, the military, or a similar selfless endeavor like the old Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s.

To my mind, this would be a far more sustainable program than the bottomless pit of monetary incentives that so many policymakers are quick to offer. Would such mandatory service have problems? Of course, but they are dwarfed by the quagmire created by a seemingly bottomless pit of trying to solve every problem with money.

Young people, federal and state government – and U.S. taxpayers – would all be the better for such a program.

Thanks for reading my blog. Redeem your incentive from the cable guy when he shows up on time!

Tomek anchors at OETA

I was pleasantly surprised this week to see that long-time friend George Tomek has signed on to do some work with the Oklahoma ETV network (OETA). A veteran television anchorman with WKY-TV (now KFOR) in Oklahoma City, I first knew George when he and I served together in the Naval Reserve back in the 1970s. I was a new Lieutenant (jg) and George was our unit Executive Officer.

Those were special years, and our small group (Office of Information 411) drilled together for several years, including a variety of "Special Active Duty for Training" assignments. Folks like Jack Raskopf, Gean Atkinson, Greg Slavonic, Bill Hickman, and Ed Klecka, were a talented group of Naval officers who came from a variety of backgrounds. I had been teaching and managing the public radio station at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, but later went to work at OETA as Assistant Director and then Manager of KOED-TV/Channel 11 in Tulsa. In the 1980s, George and I served together in OI-1018 in Kansas City. Of course, all my old colleagues at OETA are retired, dead or working elsewhere. But it was good to see the photo of George's smiling face in OETA web photos. It brought back fond memories of a great group of shipmates -- and of some good years at OETA.

Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!

Is it important that a president have military experience?

An AP analysis caught my attention in the Rapid City Journal yesterday morning (April 10, 2007). “Few candidates have military record,” read the headline. The piece gave a good synopsis of military experience – more accurately, the lack of it – among presidential candidates.

Apart from John McCain, there’s no real breadth or depth of military experience among the many candidates who’ve already announced for 2008. But just how important is it for a president to have served?

While our constitution gives only Congress the power to declare war, the reality is that there are hundreds of examples where the president has directed our forces in “police actions” and “peace-keeping” missions as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Of course, the constitution also entrusts the Executive Branch to set foreign policy, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi has demonstrated that the Legislative Branch can also push the envelope in interpreting the constitution. But that’s another issue.

If history is an indication, serving in the military has been a big deal in getting elected over the course of our history – even if it is now falling out of favor.

American Diplomacy editor Henry Mattox cites examples of how most U.S. Presidents have served in the military – but often such service has been fleeting or inconsequential. He points to President James Buchanan, who enlisted as a Pennsylvania volunteer during the War of 1812, but served only a few weeks. Abe Lincoln spent not much more time than that in the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War of 1832. And Ronald Reagan’s military experience was primarily served in his hometown (Hollywood) assigned to making training films.

Of course, there were the few whose service in uniform is unquestionable, starting with George Washington’s 15 years – all in leadership positions. Fellow professional soldiers who rose to flag rank included Zachary Taylor, Ulysses Grant, and Dwight Eisenhower. Some 20 presidents served during war time, many capitalizing upon that fact in their campaigns. The earliest, perhaps, was William Henry Harrison.

The oldest man ever elected president (he was 68 ), Harrison hearkened back nearly 30 years – when he was a General, and his troops defeated the Shawnee Indians at the Battle of Tippacanoe. The 1840 campaign slogan “Tippacanoe and Tyler, too” was a key factor in his election as president.

Numerous 20th century presidents laid claim to service in war time: Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish American War, and Harry Truman in World War II. And no fewer than six presidents were able to point to war-time service in the Second World War: Dwight Eisehnower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George Bush.

But the question remains; how important is military experience?

With burgeoning health care issues, do we look to the medical profession for presidential material? Does it take a teacher to successfully grapple with reforming education? Of course, few things are more important than national security – in which the military plays an integral role.

It seems to me that military service can be helpful, but certainly is not essential. Rather, we should seek intelligent, thoughtful, and decisive individuals to fill the highest office in the land. Those experienced few who have demonstrated their management and leadership capabilities, whether it’s been on the battlefield, in the classroom, or – yes, even on the big screen. Maturity and wisdom will count more than piloting or sharpshooting skills.

But, of course, the military has been a leading arena for developing leadership skills and measuring the worth of a person by his or her abilities and skills. Hundreds of thousands of men and women will attribute their maturity to lesson learned in the service of their country.

Mississippi writer Bill Minor, who served on a Navy destroyer in the South Pacific in World War II, recalled the words of his commanding officer at a reunion of the USS Potter some four decades later.

“I took a group of boys to sea, and they became men.”

To be sure, there are many ways to gain maturity and develop leadership skills, but military experience remains among the best. Military experience can be a plus – but it is not essential – for those who would be president of these United States.

Sweepers...Man Your Brooms!

As a young sailor in the 1960s, I remember an evening at rest on the fantail of the USS Saratoga – at anchor in the Mediterranean Sea – gazing at the reflection of the moon atop a seemingly endless ocean. Heady stuff for a kid from landlocked Nebraska.

“Jeez, Chief,” I commented to a salty Chief Petty Officer next to me, “that’s a lot of water.”

“Yup, son,” he drawled in his crusty but authoritative style, “and that's just the top of it.”

That fleeting moment left me with a lingering respect for the enormity and wonder of our planet. That perspective, however, didn’t stop me or any of the thousands of sailors aboard hundreds of ships in our navy, from throwing trash off the stern of the ship. It was, after all, a nightly routine we were directed to follow – instigated by the Boatswains Mate’s nightly announcement over the 1MC speaker system. “Sweepers, sweepers, man your brooms and give the ship a clean sweepdown fore and aft. Take all trash to the fantail.” And take it…and more…. we did. I shudder when I think about the many items given the “Deep Six.” Some “garbage” had to be taken to the fantail with a hand truck!

But my conversion to treating Mother Earth more kindly didn’t occur overnight. Largely through the unflagging efforts of my wife over many years, I became a believer in recycling. And appropriately disposing of batteries, spent oil, etc.

I recall the devastation and loss of lives (some 250,000) from the tsunamis that swelled from the 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The sobering experience from the eruption of Mount St. Helen’s in 1980. Of course, these occurred in the short snippet of history called “my lifetime,” and I was keenly aware of them, due largely to a modern communications system that spewed out more facts, history, video and still photos than most of us could absorb.

Having become a believer in environmentalism, I have not become a believer in Al Gore’s gloom and doom. His film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is conveniently focused upon Al Gore. From nostalgic childhood memories to a his touching self-described survival of difficult personal losses that many of us have or will come to experience in our lives. It was…..well, it was…..Gorey.

I believe in global warming. I believe earlier in this century, many scientists were equally concerned about a coming “ice age.” However, there does appear to be unrefutable evidence that we are in a period of global warming. Key questions for me are:

What is the cause of this global warming?
How much of the cause is “man-made”?
How long will it last?
How does human activity compare with “natural” forces of nature in climate change?
Can we make a difference?

My view is that we humans DO participate in a wide range of environmental misdeeds. I also believe that those misdeeds, including exorbitant carbon dioxide emissions, pale when compared to the forces of Mother Nature.

Of course, we know it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature, and some would say it’s even more foolish that we humans should think we can significantly alter the forces of our global environment.

Perhaps the most nagging question for me is the final one. Can we make a difference? I believe we can, however miniscule it might be. So I’ll continue to recycle and find other ways I can be friendly to the environement.

But don’t expect me to fall for Al Gore’s gloom and doom. The cataclysmic events he unveils in his self-aggrandizing movie may well occur. But they’ll not be caused by man.
In the meantime, I don’t want to be even a minor, unwitting participant, in such an event. So please help me find a recycling center that’s closer than 50 miles from home!