Military Officer - November 2006 - (Page 12)

yourviews “I often found that [chaplains] brought that final piece of confidence or inner courage to the soldier.“ — Col. William F. Kelly, USA-Ret. Politics by Other Means MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., graded the support of the [all-volunteer force] by political leaders of both parties as a C and support by citizens as a B[“Sustain the Force,” From the President, September 2006]. I would give both groups an F. The politicians deserve an F for misleading citizens, and citizens deserve the failing grade for being so gullible in listening to the politicians. One of the most accurate proverbs of our time is: “People would rather hear a beautiful lie than the ugly truth.” In other words, we would rather display our “patriotism” with a bumper sticker (or a mindless hot button such as the Flag Amendment) instead of serving in the armed forces or paying our fair share of taxes to support wars we choose to enter. … We are told by politicians that we can cut taxes and balance the budget. If a politician tells the truth, he or 12 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2006 she will be voted out of ofﬁce. We are told that if we allow drilling in [Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] our fuel crisis will go away and there will be cheap gas again. They say or do little about conservation. … If we are concerned about our nation, we must get our heads out of the sand and face the ugly truth. There is no free lunch, and the longer we listen to the lies we are being told, the worse will be the day of reckoning. CWO4 Carl L. Hess, USA-Ret. Ozark, Ala. [“Higher Calling,” September 2006]. I made it a practice to include my unit or assigned chaplain in all aspects of unit activity and operations whether home or abroad, whether in unit or in family activities. Most chaplains relish being with the troops and their families, especially when they are assigned staff versus troop duty. In combat, I often found that they brought that ﬁnal piece of conﬁdence or inner courage to the soldier that their comrades and the rest of the chain of command may not have been able to instill. Chaplains are an often-underutilized staff member and should not be overlooked in the daily scheme of operations. Col. William F. Kelly, USA-Ret. Kilmarnock, Va. MOAA Service Changes I received from Bank of America a letter concerning “important updates and new beneﬁts” for me now that they have absorbed MBNA. … It would be a great service to our members if you could produce an article detailing the true impact on our long-standing MBNA money market plan. … A side-by-side comparison of the differences immediately in effect would be very helpful. The long-term changes I predict will further diminish the values we have enjoyed with MBNA. Maj. Lewis M. Manchester, USA-Ret. via e-mail With 1 percent, the military, carrying the remaining 99 percent in the war on terrorism, maybe it is time to consider that everyone serve two years before their 25th birthday in some capacity in support of the nation’s security. Lt. Col. Tom Pickering, USA-Ret. DuPont, Wash. Editor’s note: See page 21 for more information about how the change from MBNA to Bank of America will affect members’ accounts. Military Chaplains Kudos on your recent article on chaplains and their service to our servicemen and -women and their families Hits and Misses I would like to thank Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, USPHS-Ret., for her

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

From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Financial Guidebook Got (the right) Insurance? A Penny Saved, a Degree Earned The “Y” MOAA Scholarship Recipients Pages of History Information Exchange Member Books MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - November 2006

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