yourviews
involuntarily the numbers we see today.
would do their jobs, we would have less need to separate
I believe that if our supervisors and leaders
“
— Col. Frank Alfter, USAF (Ret)
”
Recovery Recognition I have just fi nished reading the article “Recovery In Action” [in the November 2014 issue]. I enjoyed it and laud the eff orts of SUDS [Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba] and others. The problem was you failed to mention the operation that certifi es the most wounded warriors. It is run out of the Center for the Intrepid (CFI) facility at San Antonio Military Medical Center on Fort Sam Houston. This is the CFI adaptive scuba program supported by the Red River Rats and Air Warriors Association and conducted by Duggan Diving. This operation has been going on since 2005 and has certifi ed over 400 amputees and burn victims. They also fund two trips ... to Panama City, Fla., each year. Another is set up at South Padre Island in association with American Diving Headquarters. None of this training or travel costs the
wounded warriors anything. Transporta- tion for the trip is supplied by Veterans Airlift, Angel Flight, and Disabled Sports. Gear and instructors are transported down by Duggan Diving. While there, they also get a tour through the Navy scuba training school and the Experimental Diving Unit at the naval station in Panama City Beach. I do not think any of these organiza-
tions are asking for recognition, as they fund everything themselves, but [I] can- not understand how the CFI, which is one of the largest rehabilitation centers, and this eff ort is totally ignored. — Maj. John J. Duggan, USAF (Ret) Life Member via email
No Dignity in Drawdowns I read with great interest the article “Draw Down With Dignity” [Washington Scene, November 2014] and off er the following comments: I wholeheartedly agree with the idea that we must look for better ways to draw down the force
16 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2015
than handing out “pink slips,” especially to those great men and women in harm’s way. Of course, as stated in the article, there are voluntary ways, but I suspect those do not meet the urgency of the action required to shrink our forces. There is perhaps one way that has been overlooked, and that is properly culling the forces of people who should have been separated for other reasons. In today’s environment, where a very
large percentage (I’d suspect over 75 per- cent for the Air Force) of our servicemem- bers write their own effi ciency reports, coupled with the unwillingness of supervi- sors and leaders to “take care of the good people by taking care of the bad ones,” there are many who should have been removed from service. This results in good people competing with bad and being more at risk of involuntary separation (their effi ciency reports say they both are good). In recent years, I witnessed an Air Force captain, guilty of fraud, remain on active duty and a civil servant, guilty of sexual harassment, not dealt with by supervisors. We must do better than this. I believe that if our supervisors and leaders would do their jobs, we would have less need to separate involuntarily the numbers we see today. — Col. Frank Alfter, USAF (Ret) Life Member via email
Your Washington Scene piece “Draw Down With Dignity” brought back some painful memories. Just fi ve months and 25 days short of retirement lock-in, I was involuntarily eliminated from the Army in 1975 along with 2,500 other captains. ... Like the [servicemembers] now being eliminated involuntarily, I spent several years in direct-fi re combat. There was no dignity then either — just a letter saying I had 90 days to clear out. ...
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