Military Officer - December 2008 - (Page 14) yourviews MILIT ARY OCTOBER 2008 $4.50 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF MOAA | ONE POWERFUL VOICE® W W W. M O A A . O R G OFFICER Deep Impact As weapons beneath the waves, submarines have altered the course of maritime warfare 56 RETIREMENT OVERHAUL? The 10th QRMC offers major changes to retirement, health care, and other benefits 31 A HELPING HAND MOAA chapters reach out to wounded veterans 64 “I noted with pride … the crew atop the conning tower … ready for the call for ‘Sweepers.’” — Lt. Cmdr. Rod Rancik, USN-Ret. viewed. As a 30-year Navy veteran and long-term MOAA member, I would welcome the opportunity to be part of such a group. Thank you. —Capt. Joan E. Darrah, USN-Ret. Alexandria, Va. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell works. This should remain in the [regulations]. I would suggest recruiters should check closer before accepting a person for homosexuality. … I have served in the U.S. Army, from August 1945. [Homosexuals] were not knowingly admitted then, with very good reason, in my opinion, [and] should not be allowed to serve today. It has been proved over the many years that the mix of the homosexuals are not a good mix in our U.S. military. Even though some other countries’ militaries do accept them, that’s their problem — not in America. —CWO Jack L. Daniels, USA-Ret. DeRidder, La. I took the DADT survey and was a little surprised anybody can get in and put in their opinions, regardless of who they are, by identifying themselves as any category they wish. … The DADT survey, while seemingly well-conceived, will produce worthless data. —Col. Jon M. Owings, USAFR-Ret. Huntsville, Ala. Oct cover.indd 1 Clean Sweep I started a 20-year naval career as an E-1 and retired as an O-4. In the early enlisted days I thought that the Navy may be obsessed with cleaning, since I did my fair share of it. As I observed the cover of the October [2008] issue of Military Officer, I noted with pride that the crew atop the conning tower of this nuclear submarine was ready for the call for “Sweepers” as they maintain a broom at the ready. —Lt. Cmdr. Rod Rancik, USN-Ret. via e-mail cises, not going “into battle” as he states. Second, he implies the combined crews of the subs totaled 3,506 men and every one of the submarines went down with all hands (no survivors). In reality, there were survivors from 14 of the 52 subs, and 3,506 was the number of crewmen lost from those 52 crews, not all of the crewmen on the subs. —Lt. Col. Elliott Stoffregen III, USAF Millbrook, Ala. 9/9/08 9:20:13 PM We Asked, You Told Thank you for your objective reporting on the recent congressional hearings on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). While a survey to assess people’s opinions can be useful, I assume that this will only be one factor used in developing MOAA’s position on this issue. I would hope that MOAA would convene a working group to review the numerous studies and data available on the impact of DADT and the projected outcome if gay servicemembers were allowed to serve openly and honestly. The positive experience of the 24 countries who allow gay servicemembers to serve openly should also be re- Although Mark Cantrell did an otherwise excellent job with “Beneath the Waves” (Military Officer, October 2008), his statement, “Of the 288 submarines that went into battle, 52 of them — with a total of 3,506 men aboard — never returned,” about the U.S. Navy’s World War II losses, is incorrect in two respects. First, two of the subs (R-12 and S-28) were lost on training exer14 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2008 Flag Amendment I join [Lt. Col. John Moisuk, USMCRet.] in stating that MOAA should not support a flag amendment (“Your Views,” October 2008). A constitutional amendment allowing legislation against flag desecration would be an assault on the fundamental tenet of our liberty, that the government has a legitimate interest in compelling the behavior of citizens only to the degree
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