Military Officer - May 2006 - (Page 10)

fromthepresident AVF at Risk America is placing new demands on National Guard, Reserve, and active duty servicemembers; meanwhile, programs to support the all-volunteer force are falling short of the mark. Y ou might recall, from some years back, an advertisement that said, “Sleep well tonight, your National Guard is awake.” Well, here’s a new one: “Sleep with one eye open, your all-volunteer force (AVF) is at risk.” In the last few years, America’s active duty, National Guard, and Reserve forces have been stretched thin as they’ve been used to combat terrorism and maintain our other military requirements around the world. Our military certainly isn’t broken, as some claim, but I do contend that men and women in uniform today are badly overstressed — and we can’t do that to them much longer. With the Guard and Reserve taking on new responsibilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, they and their other activeforce comrades have had to shoulder new demands — demands involving deployment and family separation, demands that carry great physical risk. Yet programs to support them — health care, family support, educational beneﬁts, and others — are falling woefully short of the mark. For example, DoD is trying to raise health care fees for military retirees under age 65. This is tantamount to imposing a “military retirement tax” on those who’ve already paid their taxes through 20 or 30 years of sacriﬁce. Another example is lagging educational beneﬁts for the Guard and Reserve. Military people are smart, and they know well what lies over the horizon — more deployments, more famMILITARY OFFICER M AY 2 0 0 6 ily separations, and a steady erosion of beneﬁts. Who can blame them for voting with their feet? The AVF has proven itself time after time, and there’s still ample reason to encourage young people to serve. But once they’re in uniform, we need improved programs to induce them to stay — programs that will convince them their dedication and sacriﬁces, and the sacriﬁces of their families, are truly valued and appreciated. Americans have put the AVF at risk because we haven’t backed up our “Support Our Troops” bumper stickers with the programs those troops really need. If our nation can afford a massive foreign-aid program, billions of dollars on “pork” projects, and to help the many deserving hurricane victims, the men and women upon whom we depend daily to safeguard everything we hold dear — our nation, our freedom, our families — shouldn’t be a mere afterthought. If our nation doesn’t take better care of the AVF, we’d better plan on sleeping with both eyes open. — Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret. PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT 10

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - May 2006

Military Officer - May 2006 Contents From the Editor President's Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Raising Iraq Dogfight Fun Caring For Our Own Pages of History Information Exchange MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2006

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