One Officer To Another:
A Letter of Resignation

By Al Colombo

A letter of resignation belonging to a lifer in the U.S. Army was published in the July 26, 1999 issue of the "Voice Of The Grunt." In his letter he cited several points of contension that led up to such a life-changing decision. Among the many valid points he brought up, he said that the future stability of his family, which includes a six-year-old daughter, was at stake. His decision was meant to create "a well-established and secure environment without the turmoil of constant moves and deployments."

According to this soldier, the military has chosen an image of readiness over that of the real thing. He said, "The Army has become a 'social experiment,' geared towards promoting diversity and celebrating individual success vs. instilling the sense of unity behind the values our constitution, the Flag and our distinguished unit colors. The end result we see today is clearly diminished combat readiness and a lower willingness by our young people to serve a higher cause."

He also pointed out that military leadership are no longer listening to their men and women who serve. History dictates that most of the significant changes that have swept the military through the years were initiated by junior and mid-grade officers who in many cases placed their careers in jeapordy to do so. He says, "The attitude of 'father knows best' will definitely not lead to major changes in our current situation of eroding combat readiness and rapidly disappearing benefits."

This soldier also seems to be saying that the armed forces need to move away from uniform and equipment standardization. He says that leadership no longer understands the average soldier that they now lead. "Why not give elite organizations, such as Armor units, berets, a tank expert/assault badge and special work coveralls, just one example. If you want to create an elite army with high combat spirit, you cannot treat first-line combat troops just like the rest."

According to this soldier, the current MDMP (military decision making process) is no longer in step. He says that it is actually geared to reward incompetent, all too often inexperienced officers, promoting them into key leadership and command positions. He says, "The result: high risk for catastrophe in combat but good survival opportunities for the incapable leader if he follows the PROCESS. Follow the process but lose the fight--you'll still be stuccesful in our Army."

He also says that his retirement will enable him to better serve the institution which he has served for 20 years. This he intends to do by writing a book or serving in a political role of some kind. He says, "This 'outside' option ensures that my voice will not be drowned out by senior officers and commanders who have lost their connection to the troops and have lost comprehension of the real causes for the decline in readiness or marale in the armed forces of today."

Based on the above letter of resignation, TK Trix, a retired Naval Officer and Contributing Writer to David's Call, adds the following:

Hear, Hear...I know what this soldier is talking about. It is not just Army. I felt the erosion in the Navy the last ten years until my retirement. There are no more leaders--there are managers. The phony awards, the integration of women and lip service vice real action. Don't get me wrong, I believe women should be in the military services...just not in combat or direct combat support. It is bad for the males' morale when a woman does something routine and gets all the fanfare of being the first this and the first that.

This soldier is also right about the promised (or implied promised) heathcare after retirement for himself (herself) and their dependents. It is an absolute joke. They repackaged the free healthcare, gave it a fancy name (Primecare), and did an advertising campaign to sell it to very angry retirees. Not only that, but it isn't cheap and the medical care leaves a lot to be desired. In other words...IT'S A TOTAL JOKE!!!

The military has been dismantled by declining personnel numbers, experienced personnel, expensive, unreplished equipment and then pushed to the limit by extensive deployments in peacekeeping missions. You throw all of that together and put out to the world that everything is wonderful and you can watch morale plummet! Why? Because the military knows the truth.

One last item that I really must mention. Don't forget, this President (William Jefferson Clinton) has never served. In fact, he ran and shirked his duty. He then had the gall to protest in Moscow (the capital city of the Soviet Union which was supplying the arms to Vietnam that was killing Americans). Not only had President Clinton not served, but his Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State and all of the President's cabinet has never served. The only one that had served was Vice President, Al Gore, but his career was totally uneventful. In fact, he did not even complete a one year tour of duty in Vietnam. I wonder why....

Copyright©1999 Allan B. Colombo