 By Ronald F. Conley Washington, D.C. November 09, 2002
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation," George Washington said. Washington's words hold true today. No matter how clever the advertising campaigns of the armed forces and no matter how rough and tumble the economic tide, the best and brightest young Americans will look to the treatment of veterans as a measure of whether military service is worth its inherent risks and hardships. Veterans Day is not only a day America imparts a collective "Thank You" to its 25 million veterans of military service. It's a day, for the sake of military readiness, that America should take stock of how well it's treating its veterans. The American Legion surely
takes stock. And, frankly, there is room for improvement. Hundreds of thousands of claims for veterans disability compensation are piled on desks throughout VA's benefits system. The situation is so bad that older veterans die while waiting months for their claims for service-connected disability to be processed. More than a half million military retirees are robbed of a portion of their retired pay equal to the amount of compensation they receive from VA for their service-connected disabilities. A political stalemate on the conference committee that is negotiating the 2003 National Defense Authorization is bogging down "concurrent receipt" legislation that would repeal these cuts in retired pay. The president's non-veteran advisors say he should veto such legislation because it would cost too much to pay service-disabled military retirees every penny they earned. A veteran who retires from a civilian federal job fully collects both disability compensation and retired pay. An invasion of Iraq could result in the mobilization of about 300,000 members of Reserve and National Guard units. Increasing the active-duty force, from its current 1.35 million to at least 1.6 million, is a more sensible way to correct the undersized total force than demanding long-term deployments from Reserve and Guard personnel, even though the Reserve and Guard units are highly capable. It's a privilege to wear this nation's uniform and to serve under this nation's flag, which is an international symbol of freedom, justice and democracy. On the other hand, one must be prepared to make the Supreme Sacrifice to defend freedom, as more than 1 million U.S. citizen-soldiers have done. Military service also imposes family separation, frequent deployments that require long working hours usually in inherently dangerous environments, and the acceptance of a code of conduct more strict than civilian law. Given the nature of military service, it feels great, as a veteran, to be appreciated. When a community comes together to pause and to say thanks, veterans love it more than words can say. There's something special about inspirational speeches, flyovers of military aircraft and parades down Main Street USA that can make a veteran feel proud. But America's best and brightest young men and women weigh more than the annual celebrations when they consider military service. They look at the big picture: the quality of veterans health care; the treatment of those who seek compensation for their service-connected disabilities; the government's commitment to military retirees; and the quality of life of active-duty troops. It's up to the people, not
only veterans and their families but all Americans, to remind
their elected representatives in Congress to make sure a grateful
nation pays its full debt of gratitude to those who sacrificed,
as well as to those who continue to sacrifice, for freedom.
Note: Ronald F. Conley is the
national commander of the 2.8-million member American Legion,
the nation's largest veterans organization.
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