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Opinions, editorials and columns
If you’ve visited our news channel, you know what’s going on in your neighborhood and around the military. But do you know what your peers think about what’s going on? Here, you’ll find our views on the news of the day, along with views from your friends, co-workers and neighbors.
Navy Times: Opinions & Columns
Hold E-8 accountable
The Navy’s top officer has decided that the senior chief at the center of a hazing and abuse scandal in Bahrain should retire early.
Letters
I noticed the new Navy Working Uniform Gore-Tex parka and fleece liner for sale in my uniform shop with a price tag of $228 [“Steep drop in sailors’ clothing allowances,” Oct. 26]....
From our forums
Women can serve just as effectively as men. Can women be introduced to subs and work effectively? Yes. Will it still be voluntary service? Yes. Many women get pregnant to get off the ship, out of sea...
The price of going green
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has laid out an ambitious goal of deploying a “green” carrier strike group, converting a dozen destroyers to hybrid power plants and running 50 percent of the...
Turf war hurts families
The 2010 defense authorization bill, on a fast track to final passage at press time, used to include two important improvements in legal and financial protections for troops and their families.
Letters
I am a submariner, and I believe that women should not be allowed [“Women in subs,” Oct. 12]. The surface fleet has many problems with mixed-gender crews; why would you want that in a...
From our forums
The Navy has operated like this for years. Squadrons work ships up for months prior to inspections so that they will pass. Shouldn’t the Navy want to inspect their ships [based] on how they do...
A new manning plan
In the summer of 2001, then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark tasked his leaders with finding ways to cut the size of the crews needed to operate and maintain ships.
From our forums
Never should you have to “get ready” for an inspection. The ship should operate within guidelines of inspection criteria all the time. One way to fix this “get ready for an...
Letters
Navy Times always reports the bad results on the front page of the paper about ships that can’t do their jobs, commanding officers getting fired and pretty much bad news. If you look at the...
Limit Feres’ reach
With little fanfare, the House Judiciary Committee has approved landmark legislation that would override a 59-year-old Supreme Court ruling barring active-duty members from suing the government for...
From our forums
Any guardsman or reservist [who] has been called to active duty for more than 30 days or longer and has 20 years of service should be able to retire and collect retirement immediately. What makes the...
Letters
I would like to respond to the comments made by retired Cmdr. Michael Capasso about keeping unmanned aerial vehicles out of the hands of enlisted [“Keep UAVs for pilots only,” Letters,...
Give heroes their due
On the day President Barack Obama awarded just the sixth Medal of Honor since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, all of them posthumous honors, Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that soon...
A familiar VA pattern
Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress in late June that preparations for the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill were going swimmingly.
Good intention, bad plan
The House version of the 2010 defense authorization bill would place problematic new mandates on support programs serving military family members with autism.
Letters
Your editorial on commanding officer firings [“CO firings have roots in flawed screening process,” Sept. 14] is off the mark in a number of ways.
From our forums
I hate how an enlisted person messes up and commanding officers love to have “Open Masts” to teach us lowly peons a lesson, but then some CO or admiral gets busted [having sex] and all of...
Letters
If you’re a petty officer and you’re allowing your peers and the ranks below you to look shabby, you are more to blame than they are [“Stopping sloppy sailors,” Aug. 31]....
Protecting you, charities
Some small charities that support troops and their families are having a bit of heartburn over new vetting rules handed down by Defense Department officials.
Reshaping acquisitions
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that he intends to change how the world’s richest military buys its gear.
From the forums
I just don’t get it. In recent decades, the Navy and Air Force have closed East Coast airfields due to [base realignment and closure] after those communities fought to keep them open. Now the...
Letters
I read with disappointment Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West’s answer to Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (SW) Tony Chambers’ letter concerning the...
From the forums
First, vets will have to help themselves and not rely on the government. I encourage all veterans to join the American Legion, they are a strong advocate for veterans’ rights. Second, we need...
More accountability at VA
The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed rules to make it easier for veterans to link their diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder to their military service and become eligible for disability...
Letters
The issue of sloppy sailors — or sloppy service members, for that matter — has been around for as long as I can remember [“Stopping sloppy sailors,” Aug. 31]. The problem is...
Letters
The Aug. 17 cover [“5 new ways to kick out sailors”] makes it seem as if there is a witch hunt with the intention of getting rid of sailors just for the sake of reducing numbers. How...
From the forums
This retirement board is a sham and shows a total disrespect toward the chiefs’ community. I retired in 2008 and am glad I don’t have to deal with this stuff anymore, but it peeves me to...
Fully fund the military without using tricks
The White House has made clear that it intends to halt the use of supplemental funding bills, those “emergency” measures that critics have long contended obscure the true scope of the...
Bridge DoD-VA record gap
For years, the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department have struggled to build a system that can quickly and easily share medical records of troops moving from the military’s health care...
Letters
I’m upset with yet another cover of your publication [“Chiefs walk the plank,” Aug. 10]. I’m all for getting rid of substandard performers and feel this should have been...
Get real on social nets
The Pentagon has a growing problem — the phenomenon called social networking.
DoD: Do more with less
If any doubt remains that the military must overhaul the way it buys weapons systems, look no further than the Navy’s 15-year effort to build a 65-foot minisub for its SEAL commando teams.
From the forums
First off, I am relieved for the family of Michael Speicher that his remains have been identified and will be coming home. I can certainly understand that if someone is being held as a prisoner of...
Letters
In reference to the “protection from the cold” response [about why sailors can’t put their hands in their pea coats], I thought the chief of naval personnel’s answer could...
Obama can help vets
President Barack Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki met last week with Military Times and other military journalists in a bid to restore confidence in the administration’s...
Right call on pregnant mid
When a senior midshipman turned up pregnant just weeks before graduation, Navy leaders faced a quandary: bar her from graduation because of a clear violation of academy rules, or let her graduate and...
Allow spouses to choose
Service members can claim permanent residence in any state in which they are permanently assigned for as long as they stay in uniform. They can keep that residency status no matter how many...
Letters
I would just like to rebut Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (SW) Tony Chambers’ comment regarding the [Navy Working Uniform rules in the] Washington, D.C., metro area...
From the forums
The real reason this is an issue is because there had to be multiple systemic failures for this crack to go unnoticed during multiple inspection processes and unpredicted by those who designed the...
Letters
I am disappointed in the new prototypes for the service dress khaki uniforms [“New dress khaki prototypes unveiled,” June 29]. Originally, the uniforms were meant to be an iconic return...
From our forums
We shop around for whatever we need. Some items like paper products and meat are cheaper at the commissary, while produce and other stuff are comparable at the market.
Don’t gut gator fleet
The question keeps coming up: How many amphibious ships do the Navy and Marine Corps need?
End burdensome offsets
One reason Congress gets such routinely low approval ratings from the American people is that lawmakers often are seen as quick to break their promises.
From our forums
We already have those crap PT uniforms. Why do we need windbreakers? We already have a sweatshirt and sweatpants. If the secretary of defense wants to cut down on wasteful spending, then this is it.
Letters
In response to retired Damage Controlman 1st Class Donald Britt’s letter about the exchange glamorizing alcohol, does he think that the exchange is the only place sailors shop [“Serious...
Letters
I have been in the Navy for 16 years. I served my first eight years in the fleet and the last eight in the Seabees. I have been all over the world. I have felt all extremes of cold, hot, humid, and...
From our forums
The tests were in February and it takes them until five days after they announce the promotions that there was an error? Great deck-plate leadership.
Don’t rush ‘don’t ask’
As a candidate, President Barack Obama suggested he would work to overturn the law governing gays in the military as well as the policy that spun out of the law, known as “don’t ask,...
Training that works
Fleet leaders have complained for years that new sailors are showing up at ships and squadrons without the skills and knowledge to do their jobs.
Shed light on pay data
Having led the fight to close the gap between average military and private-sector pay — once as high as 13.5 percent and now under 3 percent — advocacy groups are setting their sights on...
Concurrent receipt — now
Five years ago, Congress finally decided to kill a century-old law that forced disabled military retirees to forfeit a dollar of retired pay for every dollar they received in disability compensation.
From our forums
This brings to mind a saying: Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong at sea. Maybe some [joint task force exercise] qualifications can be accomplished through synthetic training: administrative...
Letters
After reading Chief Religious Programs Specialist (SW/SCW) Patrick Mondragon’s comments, I was left to wonder: Was this superstar never frocked as a petty officer [“Why wait on...
4 tips for new SecNav
New Navy Secretary Ray Mabus was sworn in May 19, the 75th man to hold the post.
We owe wounded a lifetime of support
On Memorial Day, like every day of the year, we are inspired by the courage, competence and sacrifice of the men and women in our armed forces as well as their families.
Letters
I have had the opportunity to serve with female warriors in Iraq and onboard surface combatants. It is time to look at allowing female sailors to serve on submarines.
Letters
I have been in the Navy for almost 12 years and just picked up chief last year. When I found out that I made chief, I was ecstatic. But my joy is a little tainted by something that’s been...
Budget needs to balance personnel, weapons
The unveiling of President Barack Obama’s first defense budget was anticlimactic, coming weeks after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major program cuts and after Congress had approved...
From our forums
The Navy is the only force with minority recruiting requirements. When the CNO implies that COs may be mentoring their [junior officers and department heads] based not on need and ability, but on...
Letters
With the war on terrorism in full swing and no end in sight, the Navy continues to employ sailors in individual augmentee assignments [“Facing a sailor surplus,” May 11]. I thoroughly...
From our forums
If we take the stance that we should be fighting pirates half-way around the world, we should also take the stance that we should have been there to help prevent the conditions that caused the...
Drinking part of culture
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead wants to see a 25 percent decline in alcohol-related incidents in 2009.
Make fee raise manageable
“Hit us over the head with a two-by-four three times, and we’re beginning to get the message.”
From the forums
I’m fine with the recruiters receiving students’ names and addresses, but my support stops at [providing] phone numbers. The path a high school graduate decides to take is best worked out...
Letters
I spent 10 years in the Marine Corps Reserve, and I was damn proud to wear that uniform. It embodied tradition, good taste and esprit de corps.
Strong start for Mabus
“The acquisition process has to be gotten under control or we’re going to unilaterally disarm ourselves.”
Pattern of misconduct
The Pentagon and the services have come far in fixing the many flaws in the disability review process for combat-injured troops. But Congress often has had to push them to do the right thing.
From the forums
In the spirit of Robert A. Heinlein, I’m wondering if we hadn’t ought to formalize this and offer all of the illegals in this country (that we catch) the chance to serve in the military...
Letters
Navy officials say that sailors will get more training in simulators before they deploy, and they will be ready [“Budget woes force cuts in home-based ops,” March 30]? That’s a...
Keep InSurvs public
It was shocking to learn early last year that two of the Navy’s front-line and most advanced warships — the cruiser Chosin and destroyer Stout — had both flunked inspections within...
Nonlethal options needed
Despite millennia of investment in developing better weapons, the options remain staggeringly binary — kill or not kill.
From the forums
The idea that you have to participate in this negative behavior or risk being ostracized or “blackballed” by the other members of your wardroom or command is a cop-out. The solution to...
Don’t stand by, stand up
Service members pride themselves on being stand-up people, with more integrity than the average civilian. The self-image runs deep: “The few, the proud.” “Aim high.”...
Letters
After the April 6 article “Ball caps on the brink,” I feel like ball caps will be reduced to souvenir items for purchase when one visits museum ships.
From the forums
Why would we shoot it down? The international community has all eyes on this, and consequences will prevail. The U.S. cannot be the front-runner for every campaign. We have our forces spread so thin...
Letters
Commodore Esek Hopkins used the First Navy Jack as a signal to engage the British in the American Revolution. The revived Jack in today’s fleet represents a historic reminder of the...
Sensible acquisition
In making a bold new call for sweeping cuts in some of the military’s most high-profile weapons programs, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is striving to bring to America’s military posture...
New VA reality: women
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are forging a new place in history for military women, who make up more than 10 percent of the deployed force.
From the forums
I don’t understand what the deal is. Making first class is not hard. I made it in nine years, in a cycle where advancement was only 2 percent (I’m a personnel specialist). I can’t...
Letters
I recently read the Back Talk piece by Donnie Horner in the March 23 edition of Navy Times [“A failure of leadership”]. In fact, I read the column four or five times. I understand that...
Sizing up missile defense
President Barack Obama has repeatedly said that the fate of the $9 billion-a-year missile de¬fense program depends on whether it works now. Analysts say that could lead to program cuts of $2...
Letters
My problem with the khaki [enlisted service uniform] has nothing to do with whether they are earned [“For, against khaki,” Feb. 16].
From our forums
No sympathy for those sailors, they knew what they were doing was wrong. However, it did one good thing — it exposed a practice that compromised the validity of the exam. If it happened once,...
2 sides to Dover debate
On Feb. 26, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the repeal of a policy dating to the 1991 Gulf War that prohibited media coverage of flag-draped coffins of U.S. war casualties coming home to...
Continue closing pay gap
President Barack Obama’s first defense budget calls for a military pay raise of 2.9 percent next year, which would mark the first time since 2000 that the annual military raise would not...
Keep InSurvs public
On March 3, the Navy fired the commanding officer of the mine countermeasures ship Devastator because of the ship’s poor material condition. Less than a month earlier, inspectors from the...
Editorial: Report burn-pit truth
Military officials say no known long-term health effects can be linked to heavy, lengthy exposure to the smoke from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Close the fighter gap
“When word of crisis breaks out in Washington, it’s no accident the first question that comes to everyone’s lips is, ‘Where is the nearest carrier?’”
From the forums
Our true fight is, and always was, Afghanistan, and I’m glad we are finally getting over there to do what should have done so long ago. We’ll probably never catch [Osama] Bin Laden now,...
Letters
I’ve been listening to the Navy trying to figure out where to make cutbacks: what Navy jobs can be contracted out to save money and which jobs are unnecessary. Now I’m stationed overseas,...
Military groups most deserving of government ‘bailout’
If the United States can afford to spend almost $1 trillion in bailouts for companies whose financial troubles were caused by their own mismanagement, what about those in the military community who...
Shinseki at VA
Nominating retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as secretary of veterans affairs is the latest bold move by President-elect Barack Obama to reassure troops and veterans that he intends to look out for...
From our Forums
I absolutely do not get this. I understand that the Coast Guard is trying to develop its SpecOps capability, but since 95 percent of the skill sets in Naval Special Warfare don’t transfer to...
Letters
Navy Times’ assessment that a carefully planned opportunity by the Royal Australian Navy to give some of our people a well-earned leave break “makes the service down under look something...
Editorial: Job plan too generous
President Bush has signed an executive order that gives a huge advantage to military spouses seeking federal government jobs.
United front
Adm. Michael Mullen, the relatively new chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has three big objectives as he starts this year’s wrestling match with Congress. His first objective is for the chiefs to...
Letters
I was discussing with my fellow corpsman their feelings on the faker that almost got away, and I wish to give all my brothers and sisters some words of encouragement [“Hero to zero,” Feb....
Editorial
For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program.
Editorial: The case to keep LCS
The hot topics for armchair admirals are whether the Navy should adopt the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter instead of its planned Littoral Combat Ship and whether it should trade the DDG...
Editorial: Build before you buy
Any initiative launched in an administration’s last year faces an uphill battle for survival, and the prognosis is even worse when it comes from a team suffering record-low approval ratings. So...
Services aim to curb cheating on brain-injury test
Troops in Iraq and elsewhere have tried to avoid being pulled out of combat units by cheating on problem-solving tests that are used to spot traumatic brain injuries, military doctors say.
Where are the ships?
The first joint Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard maritime strategy is laudable on many fronts, but it fails to deliver a plan to equip the sea services with the tools needed to achieve it.
New missions, new machines
The Navy’s decision to pare down its type/model/series of helicopters to one or two multipurpose models makes perfect sense for a business-based enterprise. From the operational perspective,...
Pass wounded warrior bill
On the list of military issues on which Congress has shown a breathtaking mismatch between rhetoric and action, few examples loom larger than taking care of troops wounded in the wars in Iraq and...
Letters
I do not want to comment specifically on the case of the USS Constitution’s skipper, Cmdr. Thomas Graves, because I do not know anything about the case [“Ship adrift,” Sept. 24]....
Dump photos for good
For years, the Navy required every officer to maintain a current photo in his service record jacket. It was no big deal.
Love from the heartland
Reports of our progress in Iraq and Afghanistan are a constant drumbeat of negative news. America is becoming disillusioned about our ability to win, and support for our effort is eroding....
Editorial
We’ll probably never know exactly what happened Sept. 16, when private security contractors protecting a State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire.
Editorial
On Sept. 17, the Web site for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project — which has spent the past seven years collecting the oral histories of tens of thousands of combat...
Letters
After reading the force cuts article, I can only shake my head and wonder exactly who signed us up for this manning atrocity [“Force cuts hit fleet,” Sept. 17]. Did anyone take into...
Healers become combat-ready
For a Navy medical team, the road to Afghanistan begins in Fort Riley, Kan., where physicians, nurses and corpsmen completed a course in combat skills in preparation for a yearlong deployment. Many...
Return of the Russians
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet empire, the image of the Russian navy has been one framed by submarine disasters, ships sold off to foreign powers and hulls...
Letters
Lt. Cmdr. Chris Van Avery was right when he wrote that the discussion of pulling troops out of Iraq is “not really debate, it’s arguing” [“Message accomplished,” Back...
Editorial: Establish valor database to honor national heroes
After watching the film “Saving Private Ryan,” which showed scenes of the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France, Monty McDaniel became curious about the grave of his uncle, who is buried...
Editorial: Congress can fix Feres
After 21-year-old Nathan Hafterson died during a routine medical procedure in March 2006, his family might well have expected they could sue the doctors and hospital whose negligence they say killed...
Editorial: Leaders’ failure remains
As we said in this space exactly one year ago, the term “military leadership” connotes many things: boldness, tactical and strategic decision-making, and moral courage, to name just a few.
‘Serve, support and simplify’
A rocket-propelled grenade fired by insurgents in Iraq during an ambush on Jan. 8, 2004, turned me from combat soldier into wounded warrior in a matter of seconds.
Letters
Isn’t it about time the post office granted to our service members’ families the same benefit as Congress receives? Our service members, specifically those overseas, are entitled to as...
Marines agree: What the next war needs is an inviting beach
Although I haven’t spoken to all Marines personally (I’ve spoken to four, which is close), I feel confident that I represent the feelings of the entire Marine Corps when I propose that we...
Letters
Although I applaud any move to make the Navy’s chief petty officers a more professional force, and I have experienced some ugly hazing incidents in my years as a chief, I feel that some of...
Message accomplished
You can’t turn on the news these days without having coverage of the latest celebrity miscreant interrupted by the endless debate over pulling out of Iraq. OK, it’s not really debate,...
Editorial: Don’t reinvent the wheel
The Army may have been slow in 2004 to fit its vehicles with armor plate, but it’s moving at record speed in 2007 when it comes to buying combat robots.
Make mental health a priority
As members of Congress with very different views on the war in Iraq, we know how difficult it is to find consensus on this war. But there is one thing that should unite us all — our commitment...
Editorial: Inappropriate message
A charitable group that enjoys at least tacit official support from the Pentagon is embroiled in a controversy that is proving too hot for defense officials.
Withdrawal, with a catch
Read the fine print. When a public figure talks about “withdrawing” from Iraq, there’s probably more to the word than you think.
Letters
According to a recently published Navy uniform announcement, sailors are now authorized to “walk and talk” on their cell phones while in uniform. Why does the Navy continue to tailor its...
Don’t reinvent the wheelbook
An old cartoon by “Broadside” creator Jeff Bacon — showing some poor skipper having to relinquish his beloved wheelbook — recently inspired a bunch of bloggers to rant about...
Adm. Mullen must bring straight talk back to chairman’s post
When Adm. Mike Mullen becomes chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — he is expected to receive Senate consent — will he give serious advice to President Bush and to Defense Secretary...
Editorial: Improving advancement
Demonstrated personal performance — and not just how long you’ve been in the Navy — will now count more for your score in the Navy’s enlisted advancement process.
Editorial: Right plan for reservists
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is the latest lawmaker with a plan to lower the age at which reserve and National Guard members can begin drawing retirement pay.
Letters
Tammy Gordon’s perspective on uniform policy changes is very familiar to me, and equally irritating [“Proposed uniform change removes a rite of passage for chiefs,” Back Talk, July...
Letters
For 25 years, the blue-and-gold fighter planes of our Blue Angels have flown over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This year, the political fringe wants to shut the flyover down, because...
How to engage Iran
During the Cold War, Ronald Reagan criticized the policy of “containment” toward the Soviet Union on the grounds that it was defensive and reactive and not designed to win the superpower...
Editorial: The right message
This past Independence Day, over the objections of some local parents, the city of Littleton, Colo., dedicated a statue to a local Navy SEAL killed in combat in Afghanistan. The critics had argued...
Editorial: Budget for construction
If the House and Senate appropriations committees have it right — and there’s no reason to doubt them — the Pentagon is headed for rough water on military construction that could...
Letters
This grand new idea of sending recruits to college before boot camp is neither a new idea nor a good one [“Books before boot camp,” June 25]. Does anyone remember the CASH — College...
Necessary limits
Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior...
Letters
Both the headline and the story on the Battle of Midway perpetuated the myth that the U.S. forces were heavily outnumbered and should have lost [“One for the underdog,” June 11]. But...
Editorial: Give troops their leave
On April 18, Pentagon personnel chief David S.C. Chu announced details of a new plan to compensate combat troops who are deployed longer or more often than Pentagon policy permits.
Where’s the plan?
Recently, I was asked what current Navy issue should concern folks. My answer goes directly to the core of the service and resonates with a singular frustration I had with our senior leadership while...
Editorial: No more strategy secrets
One year ago, at the Current Strategy Forum in Newport, R.I., Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen heralded the launch of a new effort to forge a National Maritime Strategy. The goal was to...
Editorial: Photo rules hide the truth
Some of war’s most memorable images include the wounded and the dead. It is impossible to chronicle a war without including that defining characteristic. But if the most current ground rules...
Letters
There’s been a lot of talk about putting the right sailor in the right place at the right time, so let’s apply that methodology to the standardized servicewide PT uniform issue....
MDA’s track record justifies continued investment
The Missile Defense Agency’s $8.9 billion budget request for 2008 is $500 million less than 2007, the first decline since the initial Bush administration budget in 2002. Within a defense budget...
Journalists’ hands are tied
Every day, thousands of American men and women perform untold acts of bravery and drudgery on behalf of what our leaders have defined as vital American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Editorial: Extra pay, not leave
After more than five years at war, reservists continue to answer the call to arms, deploying at an unprecedented pace.
LETTERS
Although Lt. Ted Kopinski made some good points about base security [“Down with decals,” Back Talk, June 4], I don’t agree with his risk-benefit analysis. As a former collateral...
Editorial: VA overhaul not cheap
A committee drawn from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council has produced a report that discusses how the Department of Veterans Affairs could better serve the rising number of...
LETTERS
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SW/FMF) Joe Campa’s recommendation that the degree requirement be lifted for chiefs is not a shot at education — quite the contrary...
Editorial: Fixing the death gratuity
In 2005, Congress raised the so-called “death gratuity” paid to survivors of service members who die on active duty from $12,000 to $100,000 — a generous gesture of wartime support.
Enough is enough
“And when you ask them, how much should we give?
Letters
I like the idea of a PT uniform for command activities such as the Physical Readiness Test, unit PT, community service, etc. I wouldn’t like to see the uniform be mandatory for individual PT....
Down with decals
While completing a one-year individual augmentee tour working with Air Force and Army personnel at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Hurlburt Field, Fla., I was surprised by the security policy now in place at...
Editorial: Prorate danger benefits
It’s no secret that you can qualify for a full month’s danger pay — $225 — and a month’s federal tax-exclusion benefits — worth far more — for spending even...
Joint chiefs must return to prominence within command chain
If Fleet Adm. Ernest King and George Marshall, general of the Army, were members of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in March of 2003, we might not be bogged down in a dreadful and misguided war in...
Letters
You correctly put a spotlight on an important issue — Department of Defense oversight of acquisition programs and overreliance on lead system integrators [“More oversight needed,”...
Editorial: Don’t stifle troops’ voices
One battlefield lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be anything less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
Familiar territory
The battalion commander that hot afternoon sat in his hooch inside a barbed wire donut on South Vietnam’s Delta and boiled over about how unfair the war was to his troops. The year was 1968. I...
Letters
I’m sorry that Lt. Cmdr. Mike Thornton didn’t understand what is going on with the proposed PT uniform [“White shirt is wrong,” Letters, May 14].
Editorial: More oversight needed
Like everything else, defense trends are subject to fashion, and it appears that the lead systems integrator concept may be slipping out of style.
Serving in silence
Many mornings, I am at the post walking when the flag is being raised. I wouldn’t be here at this moment if it were not for my spouse’s chosen profession, the military.
Editorial: Don’t cut STOVL JSF
Over the past decade, the Navy has launched many unsuccessful assaults on the Joint Strike Fighter program, only to be beaten back by Pentagon leaders.
Letters
As an officer, I would expect Army Warrant Officer 1 William Jones to have a little more wisdom than what he demonstrated in his letter [“Double standard,” Letters, April 30]. While I see...
Editorial: Pay proposal is fair
For more than a century, disabled military retirees were required by law to forfeit a dollar in retirement pay for every dollar received in disability compensation.
Honoring the fallen
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Following the deaths of 32 Virginia Tech students, the President of the United States ordered that all American flags be flown at half-staff for one week.
Editorial: Praise for PT uniform
After years of seeing sailors show up for physical training events looking like a mismatched high school gym class, Navy officials have finally decided to field a universal PT uniform.
Letters
Yes, the statue of Navy SEAL Danny Dietz does, in part, signify violence [“A proper tribute,” Frontlines, April 23]. Unfortunately, our history does include violence. Some violence, like...
Editorial: A half-staff salute in May
In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, where 32 students and teachers died at the hands of a highly disturbed gunman last month, the media published lengthy profiles of every victim and...
Editorial: Let the children play
Thanks to an ill-conceived Navy Region Mid-Atlantic policy forbidding kids under 10 to use Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities, Lt. Cmdr. Dan Moloney can no longer shoot hoops with his sons on...
Letters
I hold no issue with the writer questioning the British troop behavior [“British troops fed Iran’s propaganda,” Editorial, April 16]. What I do have issue with is the somewhat...
Editorial: VA owes veterans more
Lawmakers are watching with alarm the exploding backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now estimated at 600,000 cases and growing as troops return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
U.S. media reporting fairly on success, failure in Iraq
From my foxhole view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.
Privatization problems
It is refreshing to read that the surgeons general are fighting to keep more active-duty medics instead of allowing them to be replaced with civilians.
Can DDG 1000 do the job? One of 2 views
The DDG 1000 Zumwalt, the futuristic-looking surface combatant under development for more than a decade at substantial investment and with the commensurate oversight, has used a rigorous and...
Editorial: Resolve deployment pay
On Jan. 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he wanted to come up with a way to compensate combat troops whose deployments are involuntarily extended or who are redeployed without...
Letters
Name a destroyer after novelist Robert Heinlein? Are you kidding? Naval tradition holds that destroyers are named for heroes [“Sci-fi destroyer,” Frontlines, April 9].
Editorial: Update ex-spouses' law
The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act — which allows for the court-ordered division of military retired pay between service members and former spouses when they divorce...
British troops fed Iran’s propaganda
“Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
Letters
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, got himself in some hot water recently with his opinion on homosexuality. The ensuing barrage of criticism coming in from both ends of the...
On the front lines in the battle against IEDs
The editorial in Navy Times’ April 2 issue, “IED team: little to show” did not give an accurate summary of what the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has...
Passing judgment
“Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
Marital problems can lead to warfare at home
Long separations because of deployments or unaccompanied tours are hard on both sides of a marriage and may lead to adultery. Partners grow apart or seek comfort from another person. Some just...
Editorial: Level with troops
President Bush’s Iraq surge plan announced in January called for extending some current deployments and accelerating some others, enabling the military to increase the number of troops in Iraq...
Editorial: AF can learn from Navy
For the second time in three years, the National Security Archive — an independent research institute and library at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. — has given the...
Spending to save
As a Navy Reserve officer, I stand second to no one in my commitment to Navy recapitalization. The U.S. has historically been, and will remain, a maritime power. Sea-basing in particular will become...
Editorial: Awards reflect new risk
For a sailor serving ashore in Iraq and Afghanistan, being in the “rear with the gear” no longer means a safe assignment.
Deterrence can work in the Middle East
If the American intervention in Iraq succeeds, the reason will not be the desperate pacification campaign now underway in Baghdad.
In it together
I recently had the privilege of visiting members of the Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are doing amazing work. Serving alongside their joint teammates, their warfighting contributions are...
Editorial: Protecting ‘dwell time’
The Navy now intends to give deployment credit where credit is due. And credits earned will be credits kept.
Editorial: Fixing fractured reserves
Almost all of the 13 members of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve have military experience. Several served in uniform for decades.
Editorial: Blame at Walter Reed
Defense Secretary Robert Gates got his first big test last week and showed exactly what kind of secretary he is.
Editorial: Owens deserves degree
Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt has recommended that embattled Academy quarterback Lamar Owens be expelled from the school with neither a commission nor a degree.
Navy Times Editorial: Fix disability system
Recent reports by the Military Times newspapers, The Washington Post and others have highlighted the plight of hundreds of injured and wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
Perfect fit for ‘Fox’
The recent selection of Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, current commander, Pacific Command, to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid as commander, Central Command, has raised some eyebrows within the...
Navy Times Editorial: Scrutinize vaccine policy
Just as the Pentagon is set to resume mandatory anthrax shots for the troops, the vaccine’s sole manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions, says it is testing its product as a potential treatment...
Beyond leadership
Last fall, I wrote that chiefs, like it or not, are part of Navy management.
Navy Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate finally seemed poised in early February to debate the matter.
Navy Times Editorial: Clarity on force cuts
After four years of handwringing, debate, denials and due diligence, the Navy’s long-awaited drawdown plan is finally official. The bottom line: a 322,000-sailor Navy by 2013, 27,000 fewer than...
call to armsNavy Times Editorial: A call to arms
The adage “every sailor a damage controlman” reflects the very real need for every sailor to be physically able to fight shipboard fires and prevent a ship from foundering.
Navy Times Editorial: One is too many
Like thousands of America’s youngest generation of veterans, former Marine Jonathan Schulze came home from Iraq, hung up his uniform and tried to move on.
As mobilizations increase, more employers become wary
All National Guard and Reserve members voluntarily signed up to protect their country, but the rules recently changed: The Defense Department now can recall them to active service more frequently and...
Is being a reservist still worth it?
In recent months, the Department of Defense has re-examined policies regarding the size and use of our nation’s military, both active and reserve, in light of the demands of operations in Iraq,...
Reservists’ jobs on line
Times are getting increasingly tough for reservists, just as they are for active-duty troops. The line between the two has blurred since Sept. 11, 2001, and reservists now are used as an operational...
Letters
I am writing in response to Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Robert Dabbs’ letter [“FTS needs sea experience,” Jan. 1]. I did not like his statement that sailors stationed on...
In the path of progress
Ask anyone in the Pine Tree State about the regional airport at Sanford, Maine, and they’ll probably tell you it’s where two presidents named Bush have landed and taken off when traveling...
Campa can do more
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa is old-school, confident, without pretense and blunt.
Navy Times editorial: First things first for Tricare
At the initial meeting of the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care, it quickly became evident that Pentagon officials want the panel to get behind a proposal to boost fees for some...
Navy Times editorial: A short-term surge?
President Bush’s new objective in Iraq appears to be to stabilize the country so Americans can leave with our heads held high.
Equal ranks, equal pay
As a junior electronics technician second class on my first boat, I got my first taste of the differences between the married and single pay scales. My realization that not all sailors were created...
Navy Times editorial: 6 issues for new Congress
The new Democratic Congress has an ambitious agenda for its first 100 hours in power, to include the national minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research and alternative energy options.
Navy Times editorial: BAH standards outdated
The 3.5 percent average increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing in 2007 is lower than in recent years, when the average hikes ran to 6 percent, 7 percent or more.
Navy Times letters
I am a chief petty officer serving in Iraq. As I get Navy Times late over here, I have just read about all the debate on awards or the lack thereof and wanted to sound off [“Fairness essential...
Navy Times editorial: Looking for a new course
The military professionals who make up the core of today’s career force no longer believe President Bush is on the right track in Iraq. According to this year’s Military Times Poll, only...
Navy Times editorial: Essential alternatives
Oil prices in recent days have taken a dip, but the dizzying heights that fuel costs reached over the past year have raised concerns that the petroleum-based U.S. economy is much too dependent on the...
Navy Times letters
During this holiday season, with our nation at war, the vast majority of the American people will prayerfully think about their men and women in uniform deployed around the world away from their...
Navy Times letters
I strongly disagree with CTI3 (SW) Richard Mullen’s call for a stoppage of the new uniform distribution in 2008 [“Stop the new uniforms now,” Letters, Dec. 11]. His excessively...
Navy Times editorial: Honor the living
Spc. Ross McGinnis dived onto a grenade thrown in Baghdad, saving the lives of four other soldiers while costing him his own.
Letters
I was just reading some of the [letters] in the Dec. 11 issue and have my own remarks on the physical readiness test [“PRT smarter, not harder”].
Navy Times letters
Your article “Fuel for the fire” [Dec. 4] was exceptionally striking. The American Family Association is exactly correct to note that consumers have choices. It is time for Navy Exchange...
Navy Times editorial: A dangerous drawdown
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen intimated that officials could cull as many as 4,000 more sailors from the ranks than previously reported.
From our forums
If an individual is having problems readjusting to life after combat/military, there are likely mental health/physical health issues that need addressed. Stating that a service member is OK because...
Letters
I find your Nov. 2 cover illustration offensive and not in line with responsible journalism [“Give me back my liberty!”]. Your cartoon of a junior sailor yelling at a chief petty officer...
Track your paperwork
Members of a group of 16 chiefs and senior chiefs under 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing are claiming that, because their command master chief didn’t sign out their evaluations in time for their annual...
Coburn’s callous ‘hold’
A bill is pending in the Senate that would grant new benefits to help the families of severely wounded troops keep their loved ones at home, rather than in hospitals and other institutions. But the...
Letters
Although I agree that women should not be placed on subs, I find it interesting that the male point of view is that women get pregnant just to get out of going on ships [“Opinions diverse, but...
Air-sea battle concept critical to future plans
With U.S. acquisition and operations spending facing cuts in the years to come, the imperative among the military services is more cooperation.
From our forums
I’m tired of seeing junior enlisted getting hammered where senior enlisted and officers get off for doing the same exact thing. Senior enlisted and officers are supposed to set the example and...
Don’t slight spouses
The Military Postal Service Agency is looking to tighten up on some mail rules that officials say are too often flouted.
Letters
• The third class crow doesn’t mean [squat] unless you’re a boatswain’s mate.
Letters
I work as a technical representative and have direct contact with shipboard technicians; I see where our “A” and “C” schools are lacking [“Computer-based...
Raise sim time carefully
Over the next few years, the Navy wants its student aviators to be spending 50 percent of their flight training time in a simulator — more than double current practice.
Reflecting on 5,000
The U.S. military reached a somber milestone in mid-June when the 5,000th American service member died in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
From our forums
On my last cruise, I started out at 235 and came home at 170. I’m a picky eater, so if I didn’t like what was for chow, I either ate a salad or went to the ship’s store for beef...
Letters
I was surprised to read your article concerning computerized training [“Computer-based failure,” June 15]. I’m disheartened to see that it took an inspector general’s report...
Relaxed rules not enough
The Navy has decided to relax its excessively restrictive — and highly unpopular — rules regarding off-base wear of the new Navy Working Uniform.
Stamp out burn pits
A growing number of military medical professionals believe burn pits are causing a wave of respiratory and other illnesses among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
From our forums
It seems that everywhere I turn in the Tidewater area, I see somebody wearing a naval flight suit in various conditions. From enlisted to officers, sailors think that this is yet another appropriate...
Letters
People have been complaining about the PT shirt not wicking enough and becoming see through when wet. Fine, redesign the PT shirt [“PT uniform upgrade,” June 29].
Expand family leave rules
No military spouse or parent — whether active-duty or reserve — should be forced to choose between keeping a job and taking time off vital deployment preparations.
Make use of commissary
The best-loved benefit of many a military family is the commissary. Those who know it and use it may complain about the unusual queuing process, the long lines, the lack of house brands and even the...
Keep quals meaningful
Enlisted warfare qualifications, a very visible badge of achievement for sailors, soon will become mandatory for all.
Letters
The air and surface warfare qualifications used to mean something. Once the pin was made a requirement for advancement to E-6 and allowed for anyone, the program was slashed of content and made so...
Rules can be changed
“Stupid is as stupid does,” said the title character in the popular movie “Forrest Gump.”
Letters
Regarding banning tobacco sales and use on base, only good can come of it [“Rx for military: Ban tobacco use,” July 20].
From our forums
Big Navy gets it wrong again. When you make something mandatory, it takes something away from those who put forth the extra effort to earn it on their own. Shouldn’t junior personnel learn...
Smoking is troops’ right
No one disputes that using tobacco, in whatever form, carries dire health consequences for users while driving up the costs of health care for everyone.
Letters
Your July 27 feature story [“No brainer”] was tacky and tactless.
Stay strong on F-22 cuts
It’s not often that Congress votes to shut down production of a big-ticket weapons system — along with the jobs that the system supports in home states and districts.
Fix housing oversight
The Pentagon finally has issued rules for the expanded Homeowners Assistance Program, designed to help certain military homeowners facing a loss in the housing-market downturn of recent years.
Amphib forces essential
Among the issues the Quadrennial Defense Review will determine is whether to retain the Marine Corps’ amphibious assault mission.
From Our Forums
The exams correlate directly to activities done at sea. Repetitive actions done on a daily basis create proficiency. You can’t get that from a book. Shore-duty sailors are slacking off when it...
Letters
In response to the editorial “CO firings have roots in flawed screening process,” [Sept. 14], the author was spot on with his recommendations.
VA needs bold change
When it comes to the vast and stubborn backlog of veterans benefits claims, Congress seems all too content to take a flyswatter to an elephant.
Letters
The Congressional Budget Office is concerned that military members are being paid too much [“A fresh look at pay,” July 16]. We have an unfair advantage when compared to our civilian...
Editorial: Take TBI seriously
A hidden menace follows our troops home from the combat zone. about 2,100 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, but medical experts estimate up...
Editorial: Upgrade the GI Bill
Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb wants a renewed national commitment to the GI Bill to reward wartime service and sacrifice of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
The underwater war
The estimated cost of the Iranian SADAF-02 naval mine that did $96 million worth of damage to the frigate Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 was $1,500.
Letters
I am writing in response to the National Naval Officers Association’s [position] regarding a need for the Navy to hire more minority officers [“Navy must add minority officers, group...
Editorial: Unanswered questions
President Bush’s announcement that he has accepted Army Gen. David Petraeus’ plan to begin drawing down about 21,500 U.S. troops sent to Iraq earlier this year as part of the...
Outsourcing media analysis severs key link with public
This summer, the Army, National Guard and Defense Department issued requests to industry to hire contractors to analyze and monitor media reporting and make recommendations to the highest ranks of...
Editorial: A line COs can’t cross
Few things are as demanding as commanding a Navy warship. The ship, the crew, the life-or-death missions are all burdens the lone skipper must shoulder. The pressure and stress are enormous, as are...
Letters
I would suggest it’s obvious that retired Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Frederick Miller never had the honor of becoming a member of the chiefs’ community, and as an onlooker to the...
Letters
I read with interest the letter from retired Storekeeper 2nd Class Benny R. Foster, who proposed that jets be fitted with “silencers” — what he called a “simple technological...
Letters
Who thinks up these ridiculous spins on recruit stress that have been tried time and time again? Give me a break already! [“Getting picked up by BOOTSTRAP,” Oct. 8].
A matter of time?
As a former Navy submarine nuke, I’m at once shocked and not shocked by the recent news from the attack submarine Hampton.
Editorial: Scrutinize VA nominee
The White House’s nomination of retired Army Lt. Gen. James Peake as the next veterans affairs secretary is an interesting choice.
Think before we redeploy
We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
Letters
It has been more than 10 years since I retired from the nuclear community, in which I served both as a reactor operator and a nuclear limited-duty officer. I thought I had seen just about everything...
A simple first step
It is a well-understood shame that it can take a disabled veteran years to gnaw through red tape to collect what is owed.
Helo plan falls short
The R and S models of the MH-60 Seahawk helicopter bring an impressive list of capabilities, from finding and destroying submarines, surface targets and mines to carrying out combat...
Letters
The World War II-style old-school khaki uniform is very sharp and professional in appearance. I wholeheartedly approve [“Uniform throwbacks,” Oct. 1].
Editorial: Closely track reforms
In the wake of the Walter Reed scandal, the Pentagon belatedly has begun a test program to begin overhauling the complex and, some say, unfair disability rating and payment system.
Think before we redeploy
We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
EOD knights
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The biggest issue polarizing Congress is the Iraq war.
Letters
I am writing this from my desk in Afghanistan regarding Cmdr. David R. Owen’s column about the promotion of beer sales at the Navy exchange [“Move the booze,” Back Talk, Nov. 19]....
Editorial: NMCI needs oversight
The Navy-Marine Corps Intranet is the government’s biggest gamble yet on privatization. Worth more than $900 million per year to contractor Electronic Data Systems, the Texas computer services...
Letters
Did Army Lt. Col. Dave Offer never finish Economics 101? [“Draft economics,” Letters, Nov. 12] Many people who serve, as I do, believe we are a military at war and a country detached. I...
Editorial: Corps put spin control ahead of victims’ health
Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Matthew Lee, a Catholic chaplain who led a second, secret life as an HIV-positive homosexual predator, acknowledged to a military court that he lied when a lieutenant colonel...
Letters
I reflected on research that I conducted for a drugs and society course I recently taught when I read the arguments for and against the pornography in military exchanges [“Anti-porn groups...
Editorial: Inappropriate housing
Not long ago, troops living off base were paying about 20 percent of their housing costs out of pocket. Five years of above-average BAH increases earlier this decade cut that figure to zero. Yet some...
Uniform unhappiness
After seeing the new uniforms, I am reminded of the “MASH” episode in which Hawkeye and Radar go pick up B.J. Honeycutt [“Clothing cash,” Dec. 3]. On the way back, they stop...
Saving the military
The stage is set for our armed services to relive the worst days of the 1970s, when discipline broke down, crime ran rampant, race relations soured, many of the best and brightest in the junior...
Letters
After seeing the new uniforms, I am reminded of the “MASH” episode in which Hawkeye and Radar go pick up B.J. Honeycutt [“Clothing cash,” Dec. 3]. On the way back, they stop...
Letters
We were taken aback by your article and editorial on customer satisfaction with the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet [“Survey gives much-maligned NMCI high satisfaction rate,” “NMCI needs...
Editorial: Patients shouldn’t pay
Asking military beneficiaries to pay higher fees for health care requires a better argument than the one made in a new report by a Pentagon task force.
Editorial: Committed to the mission
This year’s Military Times Poll reflects in cold hard numbers what we’ve known from our personal contact with the members of our professional military: It’s made up of tough,...
Editorial: Improve GI Bill benefits
Several years ago, Congress linked GI Bill payment rates to inflation, ensuring that the payments rise each Oct. 1.
Letters
I can’t agree more with Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jerry Boyd on the subject of the sergeant major of the Marine Corps having condom posters removed [“Lives on the line,” Letters,...
Editorial: Might alone won’t win
After six years of conflict in what the administration bills as a generational struggle against Is¬lamist extremism, Defense Secre¬tary Robert Gates has it right: Military power, even...
Editorial: Bill, veto unfair to troops
President Bush gave service members a rude holiday jolt Dec. 28 with a last-minute veto of the 2008 defense authoriza¬tion bill.
Letters
There were some seriously negative connotations about liberty plans in your story about the crew of the carrier Kitty Hawk [“Kitty Hawk sailors chafe at new liberty restriction,” Dec....
Editorial: Fix custody rules
A New York appeals court has upheld a 2006 ruling that should send chills through the ranks.
Letters
Iran’s Jan. 6 provocative incident, in which five attack boats swarmed the cruiser Port Royal, the destroyer Hopper and the frigate Ingraham, is a true testament to the volatile atmosphere in...
Editorial: Restraint shows strength
When five Iranian gunboats tore through the horizon toward three U.S. warships as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, they endangered lives and could potentially have brought both nations to the...
Letters
I have several issues with the article on the Navy’s expanded motorcycle safety efforts but will focus on one I think is the most significant — one of the most commonly misunderstood...
Letters
I just finished reading the article on individual augmentee incentives, and as an IA sailor serving in Afghanistan, I can say our system is broken [“Making IA pay,” Jan. 21].
Letters
OK, so Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Dontae Lee Tazewell was busted for B.S.-ing his command into believing he earned his medals, so much so that his command publicly awarded them to him...
I am quite concerned over our lack of support for Georgia. They had 2,000 troops in Iraq helping us, making them the third-largest supporter for Iraq operations. The Georgian president has criticized...
Letters
Now that both the CO and XO have been relieved for the fire that damaged the carrier George Washington [“Sacked,” Newslines, Aug. 11], my question is, where were the department chiefs?...
Editorial: Photos of courage
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so Rep. Walter Jones decided to let the images do the talking.
Editorial: No more amphib excuses
Through all the design delays, construction problems and cost overruns that have plagued the amphibious transport dock San Antonio, Navy and industry leaders repeatedly have given the same excuse:...
Judge protects T-shirt with dead troops’ names
It’s sickening to think that someone is making a profit using the names of the fallen and causing their families more pain by cruelly reminding them that their loved one is no longer alive....
Letters
In the Sept. 1 issue, the Coast Guard article describes the commandant’s “servicewide shakeup” aimed at “a more efficient and better prepared Coast Guard” [“Allen:...
In their honor
This week, the Pentagon Memorial opens to honor the lives of the 184 service members and civilians lost when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building Sept. 11, 2001. Let us pause to...
CPO initiation
I remember mine, lots of pointless stuff (the year was 1987). In the end, during the pinning ceremony, I was bawling like a friggin’ baby and the chief [who] was roughest on me hugged me and...
Our patriotic duty
Actor Russell Crowe has a great scene as Capt. Jack Aubrey in the movie “Master and Commander.” One evening at the officers’ mess, he tricks the ship’s surgeon into choosing...
Editorial: Get with the program
In January, Congress ordered the Pentagon to drop its disability ratings rules and strictly follow Department of Veterans Affairs criteria in assigning ratings to injured and wounded service members.
Back talk: Camp Bucca
I have been to Camp Bucca and was a part of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center up north at Camp Cropper. I have seen firsthand what we are doing there, and we are doing great things. We...
Letters
I was extremely disheartened to read about these senior petty officers breaking the law so blatantly. What was Chief [Cryptologic Technician (Technical) Terry] Moore thinking [“Cops: Sport...
Editorial: A better hot line option
At a recent congressional hearing, Department of Veterans Affairs officials talked about how pleased they are with VA’s year-old suicide prevention hot line, which they credit with saving the...
Editorial: Define hard labor
A sailor who declared himself a conscientious objector and refused to deploy to Iraq was made to pull weeds in a vacant lot until his hands bled.
Hard labor
I find it simply astounding that [a military newspaper] would even publish such an article. Frankly, some of the responses that people posted before me are a tad hilarious as well. I don’t know...
Letters
Before I retired in 2004 as an E-6, I witnessed many of my fellow shipmates being screwed out of their advancement pay because the division chief, division officer, department head or commanding...
Diversity atop the ranks
Diversity is a great idea, and I’ve seen its positive impact during my service; making a Crayola box for the sake of being PC in upper echelons of the world’s most powerful Navy might...
Letters
Moving the schools from shore to the fleet is going to be a bad idea [“Immediate frocking ends,” Sept. 15]. I have been to the school on the shore side, and it was great.
Letters
Hats off to Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa for recognizing the role of first class petty officers [“First-class leaders,” Feb. 18]. In my 29-year stint in the Navy, I...
Editorial: Presence with a purpose
The amphibious ships of the Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group left Norfolk, Va., in mid-February for a six-month cruise, comparatively empty.
Editorial: Retire this bad idea
The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve, chartered by Congress to study and propose changes to every aspect of the reserve components, released its final report Jan. 31.
An indefensible defense budget
As President Bush backs out the White House door, he is asking Congress to appropriate enough money for the coming fiscal year to enable the Pentagon and its government sidekicks to spend $1.2...
Letters
Lt. Cmdr. M.J. Brienza and retired Cmdr. Gil Gibson wrote that they’re glad the Navy is taking longer to get the digital camouflage uniforms into the fleet [“A welcome delay,”...
Letters
Staff writer Zachary M. Peterson stepped outside the boundaries of responsible reporting in his article “Navy sink list includes Forrestal, destroyers” [NavyTimes.com, Feb. 28].
Letters
Over the last five to 10 years, I have seen many E-6s become obsessed with making E-7 — so obsessed that they begin to treat their junior personnel poorly [“First-class leaders,”...
Editorial: Follow up for families
Defense Department officials have spoken often and at length in recent years about their commitment to military families. But Congress wants to see less talk and more action.
Editorial: An outdated standard
Basic Allowance for Housing rates are vastly improved after five years of hefty increases earlier this decade. But the housing standards underpinning the rates are another story.
Editorial: Rethink promotion
A sweeping new report on mili¬tary compensation seeks to re¬ward the military’s fastest risers with a permanent pay advantage.
Editorial: Adding amphibs a must
The Marine Corps says it needs at least 33 amphibious ships to take two Marine expeditionary brigades to war.
Letters
I am very surprised that Senior Chief Operations Specialist (SW) Steven Douglas feels that my allowances should be based on what my spouse does — or does not — do for a living [“End...
Letters
At first I was incredulous and then incensed when Patricia Lewis of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves stated that “It was never our intention of cutting anyone’s pay in...
Editorial: Raise single BAH rates
A sweeping study of military pay calls for bringing fairness to the Basic Allowance for Housing. It’s about time.
Editorial: Rank injustice
Rank has always had its privileges in the military — and nowhere is that clearer than in the final honors rendered to service members buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Letters
While I find a former sailor exaggerating his military record [repulsive], I also find it repulsive to read the statement, “[Seaman Recruit Brian] Mazurowski sent Navy Times a boot camp...
Editorial: Don’t phish own waters
In the pervasive online scam known as “phishing,” con artists create official-looking e-mails that appear to come from credit card companies, banks, charities, government agencies and...
Editorial: Allow all applications
The Navy is barring 10 officer communities from applying to become astronauts in this year’s upcoming board, including explosive ordnance disposal technicians, SEALs, judge advocates general...
Letters
I was very disappointed to read the “Ask the Lawyer” column [“Drug tests: when you have a choice, when you don’t,” March 24].
Call girl set women back
Some 91 women have died in combat since Sept. 11, 2001, more than the number killed in any previous American war, including World War II. Thousands more have risked their lives in the war zone. But...
Editorial: Prep course helps SEALs
The SEALs have a problem. To meet the growing demands for commandos in the post-Sept. 11 world, the community was ordered to add 500 operators to bring the force to 2,300.
Letters
The story on the submarine Hampton is disturbing on multiple levels [“‘Failure of the worst kind,’” March 24]. It seems that the high standards of integrity, the critical...
New PT uniform unveiled
As to the preference of pants over shorts, that’s fine, so long as the command allows you that choice. However, if the CO says everyone during the summer uniform period will wear shorts for...
Editorial: VA overhaul overdue
Congress held a hearing April 10 on ways to modernize the benefits claims system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has a backlog of 600,000 claims and counting.
Letters
In response to retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 Raymond Salmons’ letter, “Chiefs, do your job” [April 14], I suggest Salmons remember what had been asked of the goat locker more and...
Navy officer testifies in ‘D.C. Madam’ case
Being an officer comes with a responsibility to America, the Navy and the oath she took. She was in dire financial straits, she made a risk-based decision and thought the rewards were greater than...
Editorial: Corrosion of confidence
Over the span of two weeks in March, inspectors found two frontline warships in such eye-popping disrepair that they were deemed “unfit for sustained combat operations.”
Editorial: Secure the vote
A couple of decades into the Internet Age, billions of dollars in commerce is transacted by credit cards via secure online servers.
Letters
Every sailor, enlisted and officer, will spend nearly $50 to buy two physical training uniforms [“Gearing up,” April 14].
Saluting the sacrifice
Nearly 70,000 enlisted sailors and officers are currently deployed around the globe. They sail into harm’s way in defense of freedom, while the loved...
Editorial: More than words
“Our troops are our most valuable asset,” military leaders like to say. But as we begin National Military Appreciation Month, it is worth examining how actions and words sometimes...
Editorial: Change starts at the top
Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently echoed the mantra of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, by saying the military is not moving fast enough to address wartime needs.
2 ships deemed ‘unfit’ for combat
Does it really take a rocket scientist to figure out what went wrong? Not enough crew to service the ship, 18-hour days, long watches, not enough technical training. Yard periods so short that major...
Letters
While the accountability for the inspection failures [of the destroyer Stout and cruiser Chosin] ultimately rests with the commanding officers, there is a root cause as to why two ships of different...
Editorial: Deeds, not words
At a time when at least two frontline warships are deemed unfit for combat, a growing credibility gap exists in Congress over whether the Navy can accurately manage its soaring shipbuilding costs and...
Editorial: Raise Tricare fees slowly
The Pentagon’s health care costs have more than doubled since 2001 to $43 billion this year, almost 10 percent of the defense budget.
InSurv failure fallout
I’m writing in response to the April 28 article “Double trouble,” specifically to address the intent of Navy planners to transfer more responsibility to land-based facilities. This...
Service dress khaki wear tests underway
And so the bad ideas continue to re-circulate. The Navy actually asked the chiefs back in the ‘90s if we would like that uniform again. We said, “No.” Now it is being tested again....
Editorial: Remember the fallen
The United States is almost 232 years old, the world’s greatest and oldest experiment in freedom and democracy.
The right path to unity
When the blood of any war soaks your clothes, covers your hands and soldiers die in your arms, every breath forever more becomes an appeal for a greater peace, unity and reconciliation.
A room ashore for nearly every shipboard sailor
What happened to the phrase “Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong at sea?” If you wanted to live on shore and have a room with a view, you should have joined the Air Force. Sailors...
Letters
Single people defending an increase in their basic allowance for housing [“Fair play,” April 7] ask, “Don’t I deserve to be paid the same as married people?”
Editorial: A workable GI Bill plan
In the congressional debate over how to improve the GI Bill, the question of whether to let service members share their education benefits with their families has reached a flash point.
Letters
I completely agree with your editorial “Deeds, not words” [May 19].
Editorial: Combat stress kills
At least 172 service members have killed themselves while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in the past six years.
Letters
I must join the ranks of those who disagree with bachelor enlisted quarters for single sailors.
Changing attitudes about gays in the military?
Objections to homosexuals serving openly in the military usually boil down to the argument that they’ve got to keep their orientation hidden to avoid offending someone else’s view of...
Editorial: No reason for rejection
It’s been two months since the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed to Afghanistan without its amphibs, yet Navy and Marine Corps leaders still haven’t adequately explained why...
Editorial: Privacy safeguards needed
A new Pentagon directive states the government can “inspect and seize data” on any government computer in the interest of information systems security.
Adultery trial for supply officer
There is a huge double standard going on here. Maybe NCIS should get involved. The commanding officer should be investigated, along with parts of the chain of command. Let’s square this outfit...
Editorial: Crew-swap with caution
Congress is pushing the Navy to create a single entity to oversee ships and submarines manned by multiple rotating crews.
Letters
Several weeks ago, Navy Times’ cover had the headline “Unfit for combat” for an article related to two ships [failing inspections, “Double Trouble,” April 28].
Don’t ask, don’t tell
The policy is wrong. True, it has given gay men and women the opportunity to join and serve their country, but if a gay man is willing to die for America, then I say welcome aboard. They...
Letters
I like the retro service dress khaki uniform, and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughhead looks good in it [“Sailors sound off,” June 9]. It looks distinguished and proud.
Editorial: Provide paternal leave
The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed giving new dads in uniform a benefit already widely available in the private sector: a little time off to bond with baby and care for mom.
Editorial: Expand disability benefit
A provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act erased a long-standing policy requiring troops who received disability severance payments from the military to repay that money before they can...
Letters
Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints coming from the chiefs’ mess, both at my command and in the letters section, about how the junior enlisted are getting a khaki uniform...
Editorial: Better late than never
In 2005, when Congress made it more difficult for people to declare bankruptcy, it included an exemption specifically for disabled veterans.
Editorial: End pre-meal prayer
The Naval Academy has a religious problem on its hands. It centers on a tradition during the noon meal formation, when the 4,000-strong Brigade of Midshipmen gathers in the cafeteria, stands and...
Blue Digitals
I think the digital blues (we call them aquaflage) look silly. I don’t think anyone ... not training in the woods needs to wear cammies. I work at a joint command, in a building where we do...
Letters
I am very happy for the folks who are now going to receive benefits [under] the new GI Bill [“Your new GI Bill,” June 30].
Editorial: Fair review of disability claims is needed now
Once the process of evaluating troops for disability claims had become so Byzantine, backlogged and unfair that it could no longer be ignored, Congress sprang into action and mandated reforms.
Letters
I’m 48. This means the low end of my push-up and curl-up scores run dangerously close to the single digits, and I get cab fare for the run.
As clergy, are we supposed to be perfect?
We’re all human, and we’re all going to make mistakes. Now with that being said, since you are a chaplain, people will hold you to a higher standard. People come to you for problems and...
Running on fumes
One good thing about being at war is that I don’t have to fork over a large pile of money to fill up my gas tank. That’s all going to change before too long. After I leave Iraq,...
Editorial: Iran act wearing thin
In trying to compel Iran to give up its nuclear program and the weapons that would come with it, the international community has a tough challenge: How do you raise the heat and keep it there without...
Editorial: VA adds fuel to fire
The Veterans Affairs Department, buffeted by a string of controversies in recent years, has another to add to the list.
Letters
After reading the negative review of the new Navy PT uniform [“Uniform unfit for duty,” Back Talk, July 7], I wasn’t sure I wanted to wear my new PTU for my next 17-mile run.
GI Bill
I’ve loved my GI Bill benefit, without which I could not afford to attend school. It’s been a real lifesaver. It covers my tuition [and] my books, and the remainder goes in my pocket. The...
New class, old school
I recently was afforded the opportunity to achieve escape velocity from the steamy vapors of the inner Beltway and make my way back to where the air had a distinct hint of salt to it. The occasion...
Letters
The new physical training uniform finally hit Japan last week. I bought mine and tried it out.
Moving forward
My thought that we military spouses are being unfairly penalized started with an ironic remark from a sister-in-law. She told me she knew that every time we moved for the military we got a lot of...
Bikers: Take training — or else
If they are offering free safety classes, take ’em. However, the article neglected to mention how many of the people involved in the accidents did not already have training. The way the article...
Editorial: It’s your decision
“If Obama wins,” our July 14 cover story, drew hundreds of messages from our readers. Some wondered if Sen. Barack Obama had advance knowledge of our questions — he did not.
Editorial: Focus on sailors’ role
At a July 11 media presentation, Navy and industry officials invited reporters to Dahlgren, Va., to unveil the surface warfare module for the littoral combat ship.
Editorial: A simple thanks
This week, we honor five Military Times Service Members of the Year for going beyond the call of duty. We honor them not because they are the bravest, strongest or smartest, but rather because they...
13,000 Japanese rally against nuclear carrier
Japan has nuclear power plants, so for them to complain about us having the same — as the GW is nuclear-powered — is a bit two-faced. If the Japanese want the security of a U.S. aircraft...
Letters
The new Navy physical training uniforms are out of date and out of style. The yellow T-shirt will get dirty and won’t last very long, and the sailor will have to buy more uniforms because of...
Editorial: Explain destroyer flip-flop
The Navy’s credibility sunk to a new low July 31 when service officials reversed course on the next-generation destroyer after spending more than a decade — and $10 billion in research...
Editorial: Erase inequity in GI Bill
As the details of the recently approved Post-9/11 GI Bill come into sharper focus, a glaring omission has popped up.
Motorcycle safety courses keep us refreshed even though I have been riding for 37 years. But the vast majority of motorcycle accidents are due to drivers of motor vehicles failing to extend...
Letters
Even though the new physical training uniform was developed over several years and took the dedicated time of dozens of uniformed and civilian personnel, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, the...
Editorial: Weigh fee hike benefits
The latest salvo in the Defense Department’s quest to raise Tricare fees for retirees under age 65 is a proposal from a Pentagon-sponsored pay study to tie those fees to the annual premiums...
Editorial: Expand tenants’ rights
Service members and their families are particularly vulnerable as the nation’s housing market melts down.
Bank would not cash bereavement check
I can understand the banks wanting to be cautious in immediately cashing these checks, though they should have at least offered to advance partial payment as was done by the Credit Union referenced...
Letters
Thank you for your editorial support for the term “Shipmate” [“Save our ‘shipmate,’” Opinion, Aug. 4].
Letters
It is a product of our times that [the American Civil Liberties Union] finally has found some midshipmen to complain about the prayer at the midday meal [“9 mids, officers ask academy to end...
Editorial: Keep SSNs private
The Defense Department is in the midst of a multiyear effort to eliminate full Social Security numbers from ID cards.
Editorial: PT gear comes up short
It’s hard to believe an organization as sophisticated as the Navy can’t get T-shirts and shorts right.
Blue digitals
I didn’t like my working khakis much, and while the coveralls are a comfy and practical uniform, they got stained and fell apart too quickly. With no rip-stop, I kept getting them caught on the...
Editorial: Move forward on database
The push to create a public database of the nation’s highest awards for valor — and the mili¬tary personnel who won those awards — reaches a critical cross¬roads in the...
Editorial: Don’t cheat test, buddies
The latest disturbing news from Iraq: Troops have cheated on problem-solving tests used to spot traumatic brain injuries in order to avoid being pulled out of their units for treatment.
Editorial: Treat problems early
A new study puts hard data behind the many anecdotal reports that mental health problems among combat troops often take months to appear.
Letters
Why wouldn’t it make sense to have the religious program specialists conduct all services held under combat conditions [“Saving grace,” Nov. 12]? They would have to be trained to...
Fix this insurance mess
Anyone who has worked in government long enough has come across rules and policies noteworthy only for being devoid of common sense.
Best of Broadside
Jeff Bacon, who retired as a |captain in 2005, has been |poking fun at Navy life with his weekly “Broadside” cartoon since 1986.
From our forums
Navy leadership continues to be out of touch. I’m a 33-year-old lieutenant, never married, and have no kids. The idea that my guys can't pick up their kids at off-base day care, get gas,...
Letters
Deployment is a time for mixed emotions. Time away from family, friends and home coupled with a new working environment often forces us to set new schedules and adopt new routines. Others tell us...
Obama must prove himself
Our latest Military Times poll indicates a good measure of doubt in the ranks about President-elect Barack Obama in his pending role as commander in chief. Six out of 10 respondents said they were...
Letters
So long [to] Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa. It’s been a true honor to have him run our mess. He brought our mess back to taking care of sailors. He made changes that will...
From our forums
Didn’t the Marine Corps, along with the Navy, 200 years ago take on the Barbary pirates? They had pretty low-tech stuff back then, not to mention the Navy was a little bit smaller than today...
Views, and views, on NWU
Navy Times received more than 150 e-mails in response to the wear rules for the Navy Working Uniform. Tell us what you think of the rules online at militarytimes.com/forums or by e-mailing...
Lighten up on uniform rules
In 2005, then-Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/AW) Terry Scott told Navy Times the service’s plans for the newly approved Navy Working Uniform:
From our forums
Married military couples should be allowed to be together in theater. People think that dual military couples have it easier than anyone else, but that isn’t really the case. Not only do you...
Letters
The newly established Combined Task Force 151 may have made its first pirate bust on Feb. 11 [“Task Force makes 1st pirate bust,” Feb. 23], but it certainly was not the first pirate bust...
SRB window too narrow
The Navy’s new Selective Re-enlistment Bonus program is an effective hedge against a changing economy.
Deserving of MoH
Only five Medals of Honor have been awarded to service members for heroic action in Iraq and Afghanistan — all posthumously.
Letters
After I read Lt. Cmdr. Mike Brienza’s letter [“Uniform funds misused”] in the March 16 issue, I decided to put in my two cents.
From our forums
Double up your hearing protection and move on. I’ve been working around the Rhino for years and my annual hearing checks are still right on par with what they were when I joined the Navy 16...
Burn-pit study needed
Tens of thousands of troops have been exposed to burn-pit toxins in Iraq and Afghanistan, and concerns are mounting that many may be at risk for serious health consequences.
On course, mostly
President Barack Obama in February outlined the most sweeping overhaul in decades of how the Pentagon buys everything from weapons to services.
Letters
The recent decision to classify Board of Inspection and Survey reports brings back memories of about 30 years ago when, based on the same rationale as today, higher authority decided to classify...
As a newly appointed division officer in the surface fleet I can say that your words ring true. I am a prior enlisted officer with 11 years in service, and I have been completely surprised by the SWO...
Let the ball caps stay
It seems there’s no rule too ab¬surd to attach to the Navy Work¬ing Uniform.
No tolerance for assaults
Reports of sexual assaults involving military victims and/or perpetrators in 2008 were up more than 8 percent over 2007.
Navy’s turn to shine
In the midst of two protracted land wars, it’s only natural for a maritime service to feel left out.
Editorial: Spend wisely, carefully
President Eisenhower wisely said the economy is the source of America’s national security. It powers the world’s largest defense budget and gives the country worldwide clout.
From the forums
Are you kidding me? This poll was so biased it should be sent back to the scuttlebutt area on the ship. It is a basic reported FACT, by the national press and the NAVY that McCain is backed by those...
Drawing strength
The halls of military hospitals in the U.S. and Germany were invaded recently by members of the National Cartoonists Society on a mission to bring smiles to the faces of the brave men and women who...
Letters
I just read your article “Latest fitness program targets sailors over 40” [Sept. 29], and I had to respond.
Letters
I read the comments [Navy] Times attributed to me in the article “Backing McCain” [Oct. 13]. I am disappointed in what [Navy] Times chose to print and what it did not.
From our forums
I’ll believe this when I see it. I got out in November 2007 (started terminal [leave] in August), and I’m still waiting on a decision. Have gotten two really nice “don’t call...
Little faith in VA’s Plan B
Last month, senior Department of Veterans Affairs officials told Congress that VA needed to hire a private contractor to be ready to handle claims and payments when the new Post-9/11 GI Bill takes...
Investing in the future
A new NATO agreement promises to step up attacks on narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan, hoping to divert some of the estimated $100 million that flows into Taliban pockets from the poppy trade each...
Pentagon must recognize burn-pit health hazards
More than five years into the war in Iraq and seven years into the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. military continues daily disposal of hundreds of tons of war-zone waste in the most crude and hazardous...
Letters
Having just read the article on the new physical fitness standards [“Fitness rules with muscle,” Oct. 13] and the possible effects on the fleet, I am assuming that it has been quite a...
From our forums
The [cost-of-living adjustment] increase is 5.8 percent, the biggest since 1982. It still doesn’t make sense. Retirees (who must outnumber those on active duty) get 5.8 percent, but active duty...
Editorial: Don’t be a victim
The military has long been an irresistible target for unsavory businessmen and businesswomen because all service members draw steady paychecks, the government helps creditors collect what’s...
Editorial: Separate old, new shorts
The Navy Exchange Service Command blew a chance to fix a key problem with the new physical training uniform after the Navy fielded gear earlier this year that was both uncomfortable and impractical.
Letters
Your Sept. 22 cover about the drunken “1-Star Groper” really enticed me, but I thought after I read the article that this isn’t such novel news.
From the forums
If the ballot requires an address of the witness, then that is a requirement. The law is the law, and the ballot should be rejected. Hopefully, there was some follow-up with the voter to give him/her...
How Obama can win trust
If the combined forces of the U.S. military were a state, its 2.2 million residents would have voted strongly in favor of Sen. John McCain in last week’s election — giving him five votes,...
‘Burn pit’ letters
In the Nov. 3 issue, Navy Times reported on the massive open-air waste burn pits on U.S. installations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones that some service members worry may pose health risks.
Letters
The Defense Department misapplied benefit laws. So, what else is new?
U.S. troops, U.S. law
When an Iraqi court recently convicted and sentenced to hang an insurgent who murdered three U.S. soldiers in 2006, it was one of the most significant milestones of the war since Saddam Hussein was...
Letters
On Dec. 16, 1907, 16 American battleships steamed out of Hampton Roads, Va. In 14 months and six days, these coal-burning men-of-war traversed 11 oceans and seas, crisscrossed the equator six times,...
From our forums
I cannot wait to put these uniforms on. We will finally look like we are part of a military organization and not a mechanic or prisoner.
Confronting piracy
Piracy has never been entirely out of fashion, but a new generation of Somali bandits are setting troubling standards of audacity. The international community must respond with similar unprecedented...
From our forums
The Navy has some serious problems right now, including a budget that may not be able to be fixed, and a grave leadership crisis that may be splitting the Navy apart. Something is wrong, though....
Letters
After reading the rollout plan for the Navy Working Uniform, it looks like Navy [officials] put as much thought into the rollout as they did the design of the physical training uniform [“Blue...
Tweak GI Bill for reservists
Having seen Congress overhaul active-duty GI Bill benefits, military advocates are now gearing up to get Congress to fix the reserve GI Bill, too.
Free speech has limits
Retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jesse Nieto understands the price of freedom.
Personnel chief: Diversity doesn’t mean quotas
After reading the letter from retired Capt. James A. O’Reilly Jr. [“Merit key to promotions,” Nov. 24], in which he commented on the Navy Times article “Diversity push for...
From our forums
Does our freedom of expression stop at the base? If so, then no-go. If not, then say what you wish in a civil manner. Nothing treasonous or anarchistic, though. Some people get too easily offended....
Surrounded by heroes
From mid-October to mid-November, my family faced the most difficult month of our lives. Not only did my mother, Pamela Losey, pass away Oct. 13 from pancreatic cancer, but 11 days later, my uncle,...
Smart to stay with Gates
In a July interview with Military Times, President-elect Barack Obama praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for bringing a “level of realism and professionalism and planning” to his job,...
Ease NWU restriction
The Navy sure is proud of its new blue-and-gray camouflage working uniform. So proud, in fact, that you can’t be seen wearing it off base.
From our Forums
It isn’t what should be on your car on base. It’s what kind of person local civilians see when a military member steps out of that vehicle. We are supposed to set an example, not whine...
Letters
In regard to the article “Freedom of speech?” [Dec. 1] reporting that a worker on Camp Lejeune, N.C., is suing because he has been banned from driving his car with offensive decals on...
Report vindicates Gulf War veterans
The National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition applauds the Veterans’ Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness for the release of its thorough scientific review of research...
Time to get creative
Only time will tell whether President-elect Barack Obama views various big-ticket defense programs as too costly for a nation in economic recession, or as valuable jobs programs amid rising...
Limit ‘liberty chit’ use
every enlisted sailor or Marine up to the rank of E-6 now must get permission from his commanding officer before making a visit to Mexico, thanks to a rule put into effect Christmas Eve. It’s...
Dispersal is a priority
Strategic dispersal has been key to the tactical positioning of our naval assets for over 150 years. We are pleased that the Navy is proceeding with the overdue decision to disperse our Atlantic...
From our forums
The term shipmate is not evil. The way it is spoken can be. With these new two-man apartments for sailors in port, “shipmate” will be obsolete; we’ll argue about...
Letters
I am disappointed by the results of the Military Times poll regarding a prospective repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” on several levels [“Troops oppose repeal of...
Speak strongly to fix VA
The stubborn backlog of 400,000 benefits claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs has never made sense. It takes an average of 188 days to process a claim, yet VA leaders somehow accept that as...
From our forums
I’m not sure if more skippers are being relieved now, or if the Navy is just being more public about it. I wonder, would the Navy benefit more or get hurt if details about why COs were fired...
Letters
As a Navy commander operating “behind enemy lines” as an instructor at the Air Force Academy, my current assignment allows me to insert deck-plate leadership, the chiefs’ mess and...
Retool housing standards
The National Military/Veterans Alliance plans to call for a review of the standards on which housing allowance rates are based. And for good reason.
From our forums
As a former Navy deep draft ship’s captain, I maneuvered out of both Norfolk, Va., and Mayport, Fla., many times. Given a choice, I would always choose Mayport. The short Mayport run is a walk...
Letters
I know it may be a bit old-fashioned, but I was quite concerned about the picture [with] the “Suggested reading” piece [Back Talk, Jan. 26].
Enlisted deserve better
The new marching order at Arlington National Cemetery is that enlisted soldiers killed in action qualify for burial with full honors.
From our forums
Most of the security is an illusion, an impressive front to make the public feel safe. A moderately intelligent and determined person can penetrate a majority of the security you see in office...
Letters
When the Navy made its long-awaited announcement to base a nuclear carrier at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., it ensured that our service personnel and aircraft carriers will be much safer [“Navy...
From our forums
BAH should be based on the basic cost of living for the area you are in, not rank. Base pay is based on rank.
The new readiness
Anyone who thinks Robert Gates won’t make big changes during his second stint as defense secretary hasn’t been paying attention.
The military needs change
We seem to be living in an age where so much that we thought certain and permanent crumbles into dust before our eyes. Our once robust economy founders while our once cherished personal liberties...
Letters
Regarding this passage from the article about the continuation board and those exempted [“Continuation board to focus on performance levels,” Feb. 9]:
A realistic VA budget
A few years ago, the Bush administration was forced to acknowledge that it was about $3 billion short in funding the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Reverse Dover policy
The cost of war can be counted in dollars and cents, entered into spreadsheets and processed across budgetary lines.
From our forums
This is simply a continuation of the process of eliminating “deadwood” that was started when the Navy initiated high-year tenure roughly 20 years ago. At least here, there is the chance...
Letters
The entire purpose of having an E-1 through O-10 working uniform is to develop uniformity among all ranks [“Working uni won’t work,” Letters, Jan. 26].
Learning to let go
Formerly secret intelligence reports give a valuable insight into why Defense Secretary Robert Gates has so vehemently warned Congress not to try to Americanize the war against terrorists in...
Letters
I remember when, as a data processing technician first class on the [anti-submarine warfare aircraft carrier] Shangri-La anchored in the Bay of Naples, I found out that I had passed the...
From our forums
We who have served have become public figures by virtue of both our service and acceptance of the taxpayers’ coin. Our death entails not only loss to our family but also to the country and its...
Redefine PTSD standard
Legislation pending in Congress would make a change for the better for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after they separate from service.
Fixing the surface fleet
February started badly for the surface fleet: A sailor died Feb. 1 when a small-boat crew flipped over as it was being lowered into the water from the amphibious transport dock San Antonio.
From our Forums
I don’t know if anyone else has ever noticed, or perhaps it’s just my command, but it seems like the amount of work you do really isn’t rewarded unless you constantly draw attention...
Letters
How dare you break a chief petty officer’s anchor for the [Feb. 23] cover of your rag! Yes, it is true there have been more than a few individuals throughout our great Navy’s history who...
Keeping China open
HONG KONG — The symbolism was clear even if a bit muted. The commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Timothy Keating, came to this doorway to China in February to persuade leaders of the...
No more blank checks
Only in Washington can a budget increase be characterized as a cut. For weeks, the Pentagon had privately suggested the Obama administration would cut its 2010 defense budget by about $50 billion.
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