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Letters to the Editor

Call me ‘sailor’

As a retired two-star admiral, and having commanded four ships and three shore commands, the title I am most proud of, even today, is to be called a “sailor” [“Is everyone a sailor?” Aug. 29].

Any officer with such low self-esteem as to be offended by being called a sailor reminds me of a young ensign who at a ship’s party once chastised me for not remembering his name. I responded by saying, “Son, I only remember the good ones and the bad ones.”

— Rear Adm. Robert Reimann (ret.), Great Falls, Va.

2 cents on 2-piece

I find it hard to believe Navy Times found advertising an article about camouflage with a photo of three ladies in swimwear and shorts an acceptable idea [OFFduty, Aug. 15].

This is a smack in the face of efforts to create a work environment free of discrimination and sexual harassment. Navy Times, a newspaper supposedly committed to serving and informing men and women in uniform, just published an edition that I can’t keep in my office or route to my crew.

— Coast Guard Cmdr. Paul Gill, Kodiak, Alaska

In response to the letter criticizing the Aug. 15 OFFduty cover image of women in camo bikinis [“‘Inappropriate cover,’” Aug. 29]:

Yes, female military personnel have been striving for equality for quite some time. Navy Times is simply advertising what is on the market now, not advertising women as objects.

Female military personnel, like any other women in the world, are going to wear what they want to wear. The idea of women being “sex objects” for men is a feminist stereotype.

No newspaper article or chain of command makes women dress in clothes like the bathing suits shown on the cover. They choose to do so themselves.

Women who want respect in the military need to remember that someone is always watching. That is put into the head of every recruit on Day One of boot camp. Women who joined don’t need someone to hold their hand with every little issue they may have.

— Former Marine Cpl. Alex Greenman, Omaha, Neb.

Really, Navy Times? Putting three scantily clad women on the flip-side cover to model camouflage is offensive! Here we are having mandatory training on sexual harassment every year, and you put this on your cover? Come on. Your publication is better than this.

— MUC Melissa Bishop, Arlington, Va.

Ask divorced troops, too

After reading the Aug. 29 story “3-year study examines deployment, families,” I had to take a minute and address my concerns. As the story mentioned, after 10 years at war, the military is just now beginning the study of how families are impacted by deployments.

And to make things worse, the story states that those who can take part are “married and living with their spouses.” Although this will undoubtedly provide valuable information, I think a whole demographic is being excluded.

What about the service members who completed the multiple deployments and ultimately ended their marriage?

What about the family members who had to deal with the time apart and the ramifications of these deployments?

As mentioned in the article, deployments are different today than they were even a few years back.

For example, my ex-wife and I used to joke that in 2006 I was home for approximately 10 weeks. And, for the record, I am deploying again next month.

The study is warranted, but at the same time, do not limit it to today’s [married] service members. A lot of data will be left out if service members like me are excluded.

— Marine Master Sgt. Jason Lovell, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.

Reduce helo casualties

On Aug. 6, the U.S. lost 30 troops in a helicopter shot down over Afghanistan [“Deadliest day,” Aug. 22]. These people were the elite of our military who have trained for these missions over many years.

Unfortunately, we have suffered similar losses in prior missions where helicopters loaded with military personnel have been shot down or crashed due to equipment problems.

Helicopters are relatively slow-moving vehicles, especially the large Chinook helicopters, which operate close to the ground. They make easy targets for rocket-propelled grenades and hand-held missile systems. We need missile and RPG countermeasure defensive systems to protect our vulnerable helicopters.

Special operations forces should also re-evaluate their operational plans to encompass minimizing casualties from helicopter operations.

Instead of loading up 38 people in one helicopter, why not use more helicopters? Granted, using more helicopters is costly, and landing zones may not be able to handle multiple helicopter landings simultaneously, but these impediments can be overcome, and our casualties can probably be reduced.

We should also determine whether there could have been an intelligence leak by Afghan forces prior to the operation.

— Former Lt. Donald Moskowitz, Londonderry, N.H.

Mids’ light punishment

According to a recent article, the [decommissioned aircraft carrier] Saratoga had “uninvited visitors” when four midshipmen sneaked aboard and were overzealous about collecting “cool things” [“Mids swiped souvenirs from Saratoga,” Aug. 29].

When caught with their “souvenirs,” they were awarded demerits. It’s almost as if this was just a schoolboy prank. It was not. It was entering a secure area without permission, breaking and entering, and theft of government property.

Demerits? They should be held responsible for their actions just like you or I would if we did the same thing.

Title 10 of U.S. Code says individuals “in authority in the Naval Service are required to show in themselves a good example of virtue and honor.” This must be instilled in our future leaders from the very beginning. It is what our Navy, our country and our sailors deserve.

— AT1 Walter Shaughnessy (ret.), Taunton, Mass.