Military Officer - January 2007 - (Page 32)

washingtonscene course we are we need our resources and our strategy to match our rhetoric. The active duty Army is 80,000 soldiers short, the Marine Corps is 25,000 short, the Coast Guard ought to [have] 75,000 people, the border patrol ought to be 45,000, and the National Guard 600,000.” On the positive side, Rochelle cited MOAA’s assistance in helping achieve the Army’s recruiting goal. Asked whether the Army could get the volunteers to grow substantially without a draft, Rochelle asserted, “Unquestionably we can do it. We are the richest nation on the face of the planet, the most gifted nation on the face of the planet. And we can do anything for which we as a nation have the political will.” You can view a video summary of the symposium on MOAA’s Web site at www.moaa.org/symposium webcast061116. cent of the incoming 110th Congress has ever served in uniform, including active duty, Reserve, or National Guard service. The trend is highlighted by comparing those who left Congress by retirement or defeat with the freshmen legislators who replaced them. Twenty percent of departing senators and 25 percent of departing representatives were veterans, versus only 10 percent and 11 percent, respectively, of their replacements. The declining number of veterans in Congress is a reﬂection of the same trend among all Americans. With smaller military forces, the proportion that has served will continue to decline as time passes. But don’t jump to the conclusion that veteran status is a good litmus test of a legislator’s likely support for issues affecting the uniformed service community. Many nonveterans are among our strongest supporters on the Hill, and some who have advocated severe beneﬁt cutbacks have served in the armed forces with great distinction. More than anything else, the ﬁgures below illustrate the education challenge we face in getting our legislators to understand our issues. Most want to do the right thing, but their unfamiliarity with our issues means constituents who are veterans need to make special efforts to outline both problems and solutions for them. Vets Aren’t Taking Hill Military experience in Congress is at a 60-year low. W ith each new Congress, we’ve noted the steady decline in the number of senators and representatives who have experienced some form of uniformed service. Only 24 per- Percentage of Legislators who Are Veterans Is Declining At press time, a few elections still were being contested. For consistency, the 2007 numbers below include the status of those candidates listed as leading in those races. ■ SENATE ■ HOUSE 68 48 56 37 43 31 35 27 31 25 29 23 1991 32 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2007 1995 1999 2003 2005 2007 http://www.moaa.org/symposiumwebcast061116 http://www.moaa.org/symposiumwebcast061116

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - January 2007

Military Officer - January 2007 Contents From the Editor From the Chairman Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Osprey Rising? Battlefields of the Great War I Resolve ... New Mission Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Member Books Encore

Military Officer - January 2007

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