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MILITARY OFFICER
OCTOBER 2016 $4.75 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF MOAA | NEVER STOP SERVING®
With Election Day around the corner, the presidential candidates share with MOAA their thoughts on key issues facing the military community 48
He Said, She Said
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commander in chief must have what is necessary to get the job done — either domestic or international — without spending too much time spreading
“ My next
words without a definite plan of action.
— Capt. Mike Boston, USN (Ret)
”
Candidates Face Off I appreciate that Military Offi cer off ered a timely Q&A session [“Time to Choose,” October 2016] to the two front-running presidential candidates as military vet- erans shaped their voting decision. It’s a pity the candidates didn’t appear to take the opportunity as seriously. Hillary Clinton chose to use almost all of the allotted 1,600 words to give depth to her responses. She even chose to use many hyphenated words to keep the word count low while making her posi- tions known. Meanwhile, Donald Trump proved to be a man of few words and thought he could properly address the important top- ics in less than one-third of the number of words needed by Clinton. Trump certainly showed his lack of military exposure with all the white space he left. [He] had more than enough space left to have printed out his 10-step Veterans Reform Plan, rather than provide an internet link. Both candidates’ responses were im- personal and formatted as if their respec- tive staff s had [copied] and pasted the
information from talking papers. —Col. Bill Malec, USAF (Ret) O’Fallon, Ill.
I found it very interesting how each presidential candidate responded to the four simple questions MOAA presented. ... It was very clear that each had some- what diff erent approaches in answering the four very basic issues. Trump took just less than 15 column inches to make his point [regarding po- sitions] he would take on the issues in question. Conversely, Clinton used more than 47 column inches for her responses. Looking back on my many years in the
… U.S. Navy, both enlisted and as a naval aviator, I was in most cases impressed by the leaders who would simply get to
the point and get the job done. ... Those who tended to “blow their horn” usually didn’t earn the respect of their juniors, whatever the pay grade. Sadly, the U.S. is at a point where some might believe we must choose between the lesser of two evils. While this has likely been the nastiest campaign in our political history, my next commander in chief must have what is necessary to get the job done — either domestic or inter- national — without spending too much time spreading words without a defi nite
plan of action. —Capt. Mike Boston, USN (Ret) Life Member
Lakeway, Texas
The questions MOAA presented to the presidential candidates were compre- hensive, objective, and provocative. It is my observation, however, that none of the three candidates wrote or under- stood their own purported answers writ- ten by staff ers. Next election, I suggest MOAA interview and transcribe the can-
didates in person. —Col. Don E. Gordon, USA (Ret) via email
Listen — and Solicit Input My thanks to Christine Dickman for re- counting her experiences [“Listen and Learn,” Lessons Learned, October 2016]. Many, including myself, can remember having their input discounted when their military team was confronting a problem. But I also recall times I could have done far more as a leader to elicit collabora- tion from all team members. Results are enhanced when leaders
ensure a climate where all members of a team are encouraged to share their
knowledge and experiences. —Lt. Col. Dawn E. Jones, USAR (Ret) via email
DECEMBER 2016 MILITARY OFFICER 13
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