yourviews
M
that he was getting a real kick [out of ]
O
I
F
LIT
IC
AR
R
Y
“... I felt re-
having a Marine Corps major working
assured that
as his aide, as his time in service had
JA N UA RY 2 0 0 9 $ 4 .7 5 T H E O F F I C I A L M AG A Z I N E O F M OA A | O N E P OW E R F U L VO I C E® W W W. M OA A .O RG
been as an Army enlisted postal clerk
33
in these dif-
during World War II.
ficult times, —Lt. Col. C.T. “Tony” Anthony,
Issues
America is
USMC-Ret.
San Diego
MOAA is working
still powerful
for
you in
[and] highly
America in Decline?
2009
respected.”
I found the MOAA Professional Se-
—Col. Jim Lincoln,
ries entry by Alan W. Dowd [January
How will MOAA’s
legislative goals fare
USA-Ret.
2009] to be a mix of some factual
with a new Congress and
new administration? 31
assertions and a head-in-the-sand
fl ight from evolving realities. The
author engages in a self-infl ating (on
icy weather forced the sec- the national scale) inventory of ac-
ond aircraft to land short of complishments by the U.S., which,
U.S. IN DECLINE? HAIL TO THE CHIEF RACE AGAINST TIME
Washington, D.C. (at Fort while generally correct, nonetheless
Economic woes Go behind the scenes Technology provides
prompt questions 72 of an inauguration 56 aging assistance 62
Campbell, I think). We constitute a gaze backward.
formed up into one squad- We are too prone to rest on our
ron unit and marched laurels as a nation and assume that,
Jan
cover_GO.indd 1 12/8/08 9:26:12 PM
Military Retired Pay through ankle-deep snow and slush because we have been the dominant
I am glad to see in the January 2009 for the new president that day. ... force on the planet for a century, it al-
issue of Military Offi cer that one of Thank you for a well-described ways will be so. However, adherents to
the 2009 goals of MOAA is to sup- and colorful article describing Army this philosophy are ignorant of human
port legislation authorizing payment Col. Tom Groppel’s exhausting efforts history. Every powerful nation has de-
of a full month of retired pay for the to [pull] off a memorable occasion for clined over a period of centuries, but,
month of the servicemember’s death. the incoming commander in chief. in today’s environment of pervasive
Bravo Zulu! This should have been —Maj. Bradley Van Sant, USAF-Ret. high-speed technology, that pattern is
authorized in 1996, at the same time via e-mail compressed to conceivably decades.
that the VA was granted that author- This nation will decline in certain
ity! Keep up your good work. The article “Hail to the Chief” realms of infl uence, but that need not
—Lt. Cmdr. Richard G. Chappell, brought back a lot of pleasant memo- lead to our becoming irrelevant in the
USN-Ret. ries. In 1989, I had the pleasure and world if we exhibit the wisdom and
via e-mail honor, as a major, to serve as military the fl exibility to evaluate the geopo-
assistant to the honorable Edward J. litical changes evolving on the world
Hail to the Chief Derwinski, [then-secretary] for Veter- stage and position ourselves to occupy
Reading Tom Philpott’s article [“Hail ans Affairs. ... I got to be involved with the correct niche. All readers of [this]
to the Chief”] in the January Military just about every important event that piece need to balance that tome by
Offi cer brought back fond memo- took place prior to the inauguration, to reading Fareed Zakaria’s book The
ries of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural include attending the private church Post-American World (W.W. Norton
parade. I and several other U.S. Air service for President George H.W. & Co., 2008). ... I urge all military
Force Academy cadets marched for Bush. The day of the inauguration was schools to make this mandatory read-
then-President-elect Kennedy Jan. 20, tremendously exciting, as we attended ing, because it is an excellent descrip-
1961. Two planeloads of personnel had the swearing-in ceremony, parade, and tion of the evolving new world players
departed from Colorado, but only one several inaugural balls that evening. I and an excellent prescription for fu-
made it to Andrews AFB, Md. Snowy, still remember [Derwinski] remarking ture American direction.
1 4 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R M A R C H 2 0 0 9
MMar_your
views.indd 14ar_your
views.indd 14 22/4/09 6:06:26 PM/4/09 6:06:26 PM
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