yourviews
“I hope [legislators and defense leaders] con- sider cutting civilian and contractor
strength.” —Lt. Col. Emmet Cook, USA-Ret.
job, he assembled the staff and told us that he wanted to disenroll any midshipman who was not going to — and this is a quote — “drive a boat, fly a plane, or carry a rifle.” His point was very simple. He felt
the U.S. taxpayer was not paying the NROTC program to turn out any- thing but combat officers. The only reason he would accept for serving in a supporting role, like finance of- ficer, was because the individual was not physically fit to serve in combat. That year we had several disen-
Force] 2nd Lt. [Valerie] Felix. The statement is made that she was ac- cepted to “all three ser- vice academies.” I am impressed with the fact
Cutting Defense [According to] the article in August 2010 titled “Legislators: ‘Cut De- fense’ ” [Washington Scene], the [Sustainable Defense Task Force] … wants to save $100 billion by cutting 200,000 military personnel. I hope they also consider cutting the civil- ian and contractor strength. I know that would be a unique and bizarre approach to saving money within the Department of Defense. —Lt. Col. Emmet Cook, USA-Ret. San Antonio
Cadet Commitment I am very impressed with your ar- ticle “Committed to Serve” [August 2010]. It is encouraging and of no surprise to me that there are still many young people who are dedi- cated to serve our country and are well-qualified to do so. Having said that, I do have one
small problem with a statement made on page 69 regarding [Air
1 6 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R O C TO B E R 2 0 1 0
that she was accepted at the Air Force Academy, [the U.S. Military Academy at] West Point, and the Naval Academy. However, the syntax of the sen-
tence implies that there are only three service academies. As a gradu- ate of the Coast Guard Academy, I must take issue with this. —Capt. Royal E. Grover, USCG-Ret. via e-mail
I enjoyed [“Committed to Serve”] in the August 2010 issue right up to the part about cadet Valerie Felix, who wants a finance career in the Air Force. I am not sure what the role of a finance officer is in the U.S. mili- tary, but I don’t think that is why any man or woman joins the military. I had the good fortune to have
served as a Naval ROTC (NROTC) instructor after my at-sea tour in the Gulf of Tonkin. The CO of the unit was a crusty Marine Corps colonel. During his first few weeks in the
rollments. I completely disagreed with the colonel and did not get along with the man. In fact, he gave me the worst chewing out I ever had in my 27 years of naval service. Then I got to know the man, and I understood what he was telling us. As it turned out, he was [probably] my finest CO, and I would have fol- lowed him into hell. The man was absolutely right! —Cmdr. Vince Corry, USN-Ret. via e-mail
The photo of Army 2nd Lt. Matthew McClary on the cover of the [August issue of Military Officer] recalls a story I heard, long before I entered the Air Force in 1963: A cadet who had received a Korean battlefield appointment to West Point was to take a leadership exam. He signed into the exam hall, took his papers, and wrote five words. He turned in his paper and departed, elapsed time only a few minutes. He passed. He wrote, “Take care of your men.” —Lt. Col. Cal Taylor, USAF-Ret. via e-mail
Forgo a Pay Raise Everyone likes a pay raise, but I have read and heard quite enough complaining about the lack of a
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