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WriteUP!
Shifting troops finds support among vets
By Feoshia Henderson
Post staff reporter
President Bush's contention that American troops can be deployed to hot spots just as easily and quickly from home as from bases
spread around the globe makes sense to Robert Hayes.
"We're still in the 19th century, and we do need to move forward, and repositioning our soldiers is part of that," said Hayes, a
Lexington, Ky., native who is among 15,000 veterans attending the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars this week in
Cincinnati.
The president used his speech before the VFW to announce his plan to bring up to 70,000 foreign-based U.S. troops back to America
as part of a major military restructuring.
Retired Lt. Col. Bruce Withers, who lives in Germany and fought in Vietnam, said the military should change with the times.
"The Eastern Bloc countries are now our friends. We have friendly relations with Russia," he said.
"We just have to change. With the modern equipment we have, we will be able to move from the homeland. We're able to deploy more
quickly from the home base."
Bush told VFW members that a number of posts in Europe and Asia would be closed or consolidated as part of a 10-year process.
He didn't detail when the process would start or what posts would be affected. As proposed, the federal government would return the
soldiers and 100,000 of their family members and support personnel to the United States.
"Our forces have changed a lot. They are more agile and more lethal, and they're able to strike anywhere in the world over great
distances on short notice," Bush said of the reasoning behind the plan.
Bush said the end of Cold War threats from Russia and new focus on fighting global terrorists made the realignment necessary.
"The world has changed a great deal and our posture must change with it -- so we can be more effective at projecting our strength and
spreading freedom and peace," he said.
Robert Magner, a Vietnam veteran from Riverside, Calif., said the troops wouldn't be the only ones excited by the president's plans.
"This will make it better for the troops and for their families," he said.
Service members "will have more time on the home front and more predictability and fewer moves over a career," the president noted.
Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan won't be affected by the move.
During the speech, Bush once again defended his pre-emptive strike doctrine that led to the country going to war in Iraq.
"I had a choice to make, either to forget the lessons of Sept. 11 and trust a madman, or take action to defend America. Given that
choice, I will defend our county every time," he said.
He said his decision was the right one even though no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.
"Knowing what I know today, I would have taken the same action. America and the world are safer because Saddam Hussein sits in a
prison cell," he said.
The president got some of his biggest applause when he further defended his war decision in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"One of the lessons of Sept. 11 -- is that we must deal with threats before they fully materialize," he said.
Of the terrorists, Bush said, "You cannot talk sense to these people. You cannot negotiate with them. You cannot hope for the best.
We must aggressively pursue them and defeat them in foreign lands so we do not have to face them here at home."
Bush noted that among his listeners were Carolyn and Keith Maupin, parents of Army Spc. Matt Maupin, who has been missing in
action in Iraq since his convoy was ambushed outside Baghdad April 9. He said the U.S. is doing everything possible to find Matt
Maupin.
Bush, who is running for re-election against U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also touted several programs he said would help aging and
homeless veterans, including plans to update VA Hospitals across the country and a $35 million program to provide housing and
healthcare and other support services to homeless vets.
"No veteran who served in the blazing heat or bitter cold of foreign lands should have to live without shelter, exposed to elements in
the very country whose freedom they fought for," he said.
He also highlighted legislation he has signed that allows veterans to receive both military retirement pay and VA disability, a practice
barred by the federal government for more than a century.
"Our disabled veterans deserve better," he said.
In a statement, the Kerry campaign criticized Bush's record on the military.
"George Bush needs to learn a certain four-letter word -- fact. It is a fact that he has overextended the military to its thinnest levels in
years and forced thousands of soldiers to involuntarily extend their deployments," Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said in the release.
Singer also said the president was increasing healthcare costs for veterans by, among other things, increasing prescription drug co-pays
for middle-income veterans in his 2005 budget.
"It is a fact that he has broken his promise to America's veterans and made its harder for them to access quality healthcare," Singer
said.
Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, is scheduled to speak at the convention Wednesday.
Publication Date: 08-17-2004
By Feoshia Henderson
Post staff reporter
President Bush's contention that American troops can be deployed to hot spots just as easily and quickly from home as from bases
spread around the globe makes sense to Robert Hayes.
"We're still in the 19th century, and we do need to move forward, and repositioning our soldiers is part of that," said Hayes, a
Lexington, Ky., native who is among 15,000 veterans attending the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars this week in
Cincinnati.
The president used his speech before the VFW to announce his plan to bring up to 70,000 foreign-based U.S. troops back to America
as part of a major military restructuring.
Retired Lt. Col. Bruce Withers, who lives in Germany and fought in Vietnam, said the military should change with the times.
"The Eastern Bloc countries are now our friends. We have friendly relations with Russia," he said.
"We just have to change. With the modern equipment we have, we will be able to move from the homeland. We're able to deploy more
quickly from the home base."
Bush told VFW members that a number of posts in Europe and Asia would be closed or consolidated as part of a 10-year process.
He didn't detail when the process would start or what posts would be affected. As proposed, the federal government would return the
soldiers and 100,000 of their family members and support personnel to the United States.
"Our forces have changed a lot. They are more agile and more lethal, and they're able to strike anywhere in the world over great
distances on short notice," Bush said of the reasoning behind the plan.
Bush said the end of Cold War threats from Russia and new focus on fighting global terrorists made the realignment necessary.
"The world has changed a great deal and our posture must change with it -- so we can be more effective at projecting our strength and
spreading freedom and peace," he said.
Robert Magner, a Vietnam veteran from Riverside, Calif., said the troops wouldn't be the only ones excited by the president's plans.
"This will make it better for the troops and for their families," he said.
Service members "will have more time on the home front and more predictability and fewer moves over a career," the president noted.
Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan won't be affected by the move.
During the speech, Bush once again defended his pre-emptive strike doctrine that led to the country going to war in Iraq.
"I had a choice to make, either to forget the lessons of Sept. 11 and trust a madman, or take action to defend America. Given that
choice, I will defend our county every time," he said.
He said his decision was the right one even though no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.
"Knowing what I know today, I would have taken the same action. America and the world are safer because Saddam Hussein sits in a
prison cell," he said.
The president got some of his biggest applause when he further defended his war decision in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"One of the lessons of Sept. 11 -- is that we must deal with threats before they fully materialize," he said.
Of the terrorists, Bush said, "You cannot talk sense to these people. You cannot negotiate with them. You cannot hope for the best.
We must aggressively pursue them and defeat them in foreign lands so we do not have to face them here at home."
Bush noted that among his listeners were Carolyn and Keith Maupin, parents of Army Spc. Matt Maupin, who has been missing in
action in Iraq since his convoy was ambushed outside Baghdad April 9. He said the U.S. is doing everything possible to find Matt
Maupin.
Bush, who is running for re-election against U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also touted several programs he said would help aging and
homeless veterans, including plans to update VA Hospitals across the country and a $35 million program to provide housing and
healthcare and other support services to homeless vets.
"No veteran who served in the blazing heat or bitter cold of foreign lands should have to live without shelter, exposed to elements in
the very country whose freedom they fought for," he said.
He also highlighted legislation he has signed that allows veterans to receive both military retirement pay and VA disability, a practice
barred by the federal government for more than a century.
"Our disabled veterans deserve better," he said.
In a statement, the Kerry campaign criticized Bush's record on the military.
"George Bush needs to learn a certain four-letter word -- fact. It is a fact that he has overextended the military to its thinnest levels in
years and forced thousands of soldiers to involuntarily extend their deployments," Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said in the release.
Singer also said the president was increasing healthcare costs for veterans by, among other things, increasing prescription drug co-pays
for middle-income veterans in his 2005 budget.
"It is a fact that he has broken his promise to America's veterans and made its harder for them to access quality healthcare," Singer
said.
Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, is scheduled to speak at the convention Wednesday.
Publication Date: 08-17-2004
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