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'NamVet Newsletter, Vol.5, no.2 (2/6)
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From: jew...@MACE.CC.PURDUE.EDU (Larry Jewell)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: 'NamVet Newsletter, Vol.5, no.2 (2/6)
Message-ID: <9209200135.AA18022@mace.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 20 Sep 92 01:35:18 GMT
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New investment funds are allocated only to those projects which
rely heavily on local raw materials and result either in import
substitution or foreign exchange earnings.
GNP: $34 billion, per capita $1,950; real growth rate 0% (1988)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 25-30% (1988 est.)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: less than 5%
BUDGET: revenues $20.0 billion; expenditures $18.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1987)
EXPORTS: $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--crude oil and
refined products, dates; partners--Brazil, Italy, Turkey,
France, Japan, Spain, USSR, Yugoslavia, US (1987)
IMPORTS: $13.0 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--food,
manufactures, consumer goods; partners--Turkey, US, FRG, UK,
France, Japan, USSR, other Communist countries, Italy (1987)
EXTERNAL DEBT: $40 billion (1988 est.); excluding nominal debt to
Gulf Arab states
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: growth rate 5% (1988)
ELECTRICITY: 8,692,000 kW capacity; 22,839 million kWh produced,
1,300 kWh per capita (1988)
INDUSTRIES: petroleum, textiles, construction materials, food
processing
AGRICULTURE: vegetables, wheat, barley, dates, rice, livestock
AID: NA
CURRENCY: Iraqi dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000
fils
EXCHANGE RATES: Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1--0.3109 (fixed rate
since 1982)
FISCAL YEAR: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
RAILROADS: 2,962 km total; 2,457 km 1.435-meter standard gauge,
505 km 1.000-meter gauge
HIGHWAYS: 25,379 km total; 8,190 km paved, 5,534 km improved
earth, 11,655 km unimproved earth
INLAND WATERWAYS: 1,015 km; Shatt al Arab usually navigable by
maritime traffic for about 130 km, but closed since September
1980 because of Iran-Iraq war; Tigris and Euphrates navigable by
shallow-draft steamers (of little importance); Shatt al Basrah
canal navigable by shallow-draft vessels
PORTS: Al Basrah, Umm Qasr, Al Faw (largely destroyed in fighting
during 1980-88 war), Khawr az Zubayr
MERCHANT MARINE: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
906,496GRT/1,616,429 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 passenger-
cargo, 18 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
18 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical
tanker
PIPELINES: crude oil, 4,350 km; 725 km refined products; 1,360 km
natural gas
CIVIL AIR: 15 major transport aircraft
AIRPORTS: 106 total, 97 usable; 69 with permanent-surface runways;
7 with runways over 3,659 m; 48 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
NAM VET Newsletter Page 14
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: good network consists of coaxial cables, radio
relay links, and radiocommunication stations; 632,000
telephones; stations--9 AM, 1 FM, 81 TV; satellite stations--1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT; 1 Intersputnik
coaxial cable and radio relay to Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, and
Turkey Defense Forces
BRANCHES: Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard Force, mobile police
force
MILITARY MANPOWER: males 15-49, 3,932,976; 2,193,448 fit for
military service; 212,318 reach military age (18) annually
MILITARY BUDGET: NA
NAM VET Newsletter Page 15
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
Desert Storm Army Addresses
Input by: Mark & Linda Reynolds
VIETNAM_VETS Echo
Please support our military personnel in the Middle East. A
postcard or a letter to someone will let them know that the people
in the U.S. are supporting their efforts. Following is how mail
can be sent to Airman, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines defending
democracy in the Middle East.
-+--------------------------------------------------------------+-
The U.S. Army Community Relations Office has released the chart
below as a guide for those wishing to mail letters and packages
to units deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm.
-+--------------------------------------------------------------+-
Name of Soldier, Rank, SSAN Any Servicemember
Name of Unit Assigned Operation Desert Storm
Operation Desert Storm APO New York, XXXXX
APO New York, XXXXXX
-+--------------------------------------------------------------+-
Zip Codes of Major Deployed Units:
1st Armored Division Headquarters: 09761
2nd Brigade: 09663
3rd Brigade: 09665
4th Brigade: 09676
1st Cavalry Division: 09306
1st Corps Support Command: 09657
1st Infantry Division: 09310
2nd Armored Division: (Fort Hood): 09371
2nd Armored Division (European Element): 09758
2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment: 09759
2nd Corps Support Command: 09754
3rd Armored Division Headquarters: 09760
1st Brigade: 09680
2nd Brigade: 09681
3rd Brigade: 09682
4th Brigade: 09683
3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment: 09209
3rd Infantry Division (3rd Brigade): 09661
III Corps Artillery: 09218
7th Engineer Brigade: 09689
7th Medical Command: 09757
HQs, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade: 09616
11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade: 09656
11th Aviation Brigade: 09684
12th Combat Aviation Brigade: 09849
13th Corps Support Command: 09218
24th Infantry Division: 09315
30th Medical Group: 09698
82nd Airborne Division: 09698
101st Airborne Division: 09309
197th Infantry Brigade: 09315
HQs, III Corps: 09218; HQs, VII Corps: 09756
HQs, XVIII Airborne Corps: 09657
Headquarters, U.S. Army Central Command: 09852
HQs, U.S. Army Central Command (Supt Cmd): 09616
-+--------------------------------------------------------------+-
PROHIBITED MAIL TO SAUDI ARABIA:
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES NARCOTICS
WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES (WITHOUT PERMIT)
NAM VET Newsletter Page 16
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
PORK AND PORK PRODUCTS PORNOGRAPHY
MATERIAL CONTRARY TO ISLAMIC RELIGION
NOTE:
- PORNOGRAPHY IS DEFINED AS DEPICTIONS OF NUDE OR SEMI-NUDE
BODIES AND ALL SEXUALLY-ORIENTED LITERATURES AND MATERIALS.
THERE IS NO BAN ON PHOTOS OF FEMALE WHO ARE DRESSED IN
SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE AMERICAN STANDARDS OF GOOD TASTE.
-+--------------------------------------------------------------+-
Mark E. Reynolds, Sr. Linda G. Reynolds
TSgt USAF
NAM VET Newsletter Page 17
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
"Desert Dogs" and "Scud Busters" develop a language all their own
By Bill Gannon,
2/12/91 Newark Star Ledger, Newark NJ
Input by Jack Hawkins
NamVet's Coast Guard Section Editor
Vetlink #1.72 - Staten Island, NY
(413) 443-6313
DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia-- Each War makes its own somewhat dubious
contribution to the English language, and this one is no
different. The following is a list of buzz words, phrases and
acronyms developed and frequently used by the 510,000 American
soldiers of Operation Desert Storm.
ARNETT-BOUND: Air Force pilot's term for departing on a bombing
mission toward Baghdad.
BAGH BOYS: Army tank crews name for their Iraqi counterparts.
BAGHDAD BETTY: The troop's name for the female Iraqi radio
announcer who broadcast anti-American propaganda to the troops
before the war began.
THE BEACH: The Saudi Arabian Desert.
BEDOUIN BOB: Catchall name for any nomadic Bedouin salesman who
lives in the desert and often sells goods to the troops.
BLUE DOME BOYS/BABES: The rare sighting by troops in the desert
of famous American television news correspondents out of their
natural environment -- the illuminated blue domes of the pool
cabanas at the Dhahran International Hotel.
BOMBED-OUT BETTY: The troops name for the female Iraqi radio
announcer who used to broadcast anti-American propaganda.
BCGs: "Birth Control Glasses", a term used to describe the ugly
military-issued eyeglasses.
BDU: Battle dress uniform.
BMO: "Black moving object", a term for the black-clad women of
the KSA (see below).
CHOCOLATE CHIPS: The desert camouflage pattern on the BDUs.
DESERT DOG: Servicewoman's derogatory term for a male soldier who
has been out in the desert too long and has lost all basic social
skills.
DIS MISS: Serviceman's derogatory term for an officious and not
particularity friendly female member of the armed forces.
DOG 'EM OUT: To criticize.
A DOOGIE: A suspiciously young and seemingly inexperienced
military doctor or dentist -- as in the TV show "Doogie Howser,
M.D."
NAM VET Newsletter Page 18
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
DYING COCKROACH MODE: A Marine term describing how deserting
Iraqi soldiers surrender, rolling onto their backs, kicking their
feet into the air and waving their arms to show they are unarmed
and helpless.
EPW: "Enemy Prisoner of War," replaces POW.
EXPECTANT: A military medical triage term meaning "expected to
die."
FUEL AIR 'EM: A foot soldier's reference to the use of the most
feared conventional weapon in the American military arsenal --
fuel air bombs. A few hundred feet over a target, a fuel air bomb
releases a fine, flammable mist into the air. Moments later, an
explosive charge detonates, igniting the mixture. Far more
devastating than the napalm used in Vietnam, the explosive results
are similar to a low-yield nuclear blast.
GOGS: Goggles.
HIGH SPEED/LOW DRAG: Army 101st and 82d Airborne paratrooper's
term for very good.
HUMVEE: The American Motors-built four-wheel-drive vehicle that
replaced the jeep.
INVOLUNTARY ORGAN DONOR: Air Force pilots' term for enemy tank
crewmen who falls victim to their armor-shredding warplanes.
IRAN-RAN: Navy Tomcat pilot's term for what the Iraqi Air Force
pilots do.
IRAQ-AK: Pilot's term for the intense Iraqi anti-aircraft fire
surrounding Baghdad.
JU JU: Typically used as "bad ju ju," or bad luck.
KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
KTO: Kuwaiti Theater of Operations.
LITTLE HOLLYWOOD: The rear veranda of the Dhahran International
Hotel overlooking the blue domes of the pool cabanas where the
television news correspondents deliver their on-camera standup.
MAD ASS: Saddam Hussein.
MASK MASTER: A soldier who is particularly fearful of chemical
gas and is usually the first to put his mask on when Scuds are
incoming.
MINE SWEEPER: A camel.
MOPPED UP: To be dressed in protective chemical warfare gear, an
acronym for mission oriented protective posture.
MREs: Meals ready to eat, or meals rejected by Ethiopia, similar
to the c-rations of World War II and the Vietnam War's long-range
patrol rations (LRPs).
NAM VET Newsletter Page 19
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
NIGHT GOGS: Night Vision Goggles.
NINJAS: Saudi Arabian women. So named because they dress
entirely in black, like the legendary Japanese martial arts
masters.
PUCKERED UP: To be afraid.
QB: Kuwait.
ROUGH RIDERS: Resupply truck drivers.
SAUDI CHAMPAGNE: A mixture of mineral water and apple juice.
SCORPION DEATH DANCE: A form of recreation in which a scorpion is
dropped into a flaming circle. It ends with the scorpion killing
itself.
SCUD STUDS OR SCUD BUSTERS: The much-respected Army crews that
fire the Patriot anti-missile missiles.
SCUD BUSTED: To be shot down, or denied a request.
SHRAPNEL STOPPERS: The Navy's term for Marines.
STORMIN' NORMAN: Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of the US
led coalition forces.
TARGET HEAVEN: Pilot's term for the skies over Iraq.
THEM WHO AIN'T: Anyone in the military who is not serving in the
Persian Gulf War. It was taken from a speech by Gen. Colin
Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said that when
the war is over it will come down to "them who was here and them
who ain't."
TOW CRITTER: Soldiers, usually Marines, who fire the TOW anti-
tank missile from the tops of their Humvees.
VAMPIRES: Snipers.
NAM VET Newsletter Page 20
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
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" I t ' s o n l y t e e n a g e a c n e ! "
-Robert Nimmo-
NAM VET Newsletter Page 21
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
The Consequences of War
By Jesse Brown, Executive Director
Disabled American Veterans - Washington, D.C.
The DAV Magazine - February 1991
Input by: G. Joseph Peck
NamVet's Managing Editor
VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
(413) 443-6313
Like so many of you, I was struck by both the suddenness of the
allied strike against Saddam Hussein and the massive scale of
troops, materiel and fire power brought to bear on Iraq.
Operation Desert Storm has been an international show of force
unmatched in the history of the world. And as I write this - less
than a day after the initial attack - it appears the size of the
allied force is matched only by its resolve to free Kuwait from
Iraqi occupation.
As it must, our minds turn to what will surely be a new
generation of American combat-disabled veterans, and how this
nation will honorably respond to their special needs.
During the debate in Congress over whether or not authority
would be granted to the President to wage war in the Persian Gulf,
I was repeatedly struck by the depth of the moral tone taken by so
many Congressmen and Senators. I was moved by the deeply felt
votes of conscience so many legislators cast. From both sides of
the issue, both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol
there came a definite statement of the full support of Congress.
Congress and the Administration agreed that the absolute
commitment of the government was necessary for the troops in the
Gulf. There was a clear statement of the missions and goals of
the forces engaged in the operation and there was the repeated
promise that whatever those troops needed to meet those missions
and goals would be provided.
Some Congressmen opposed the commitment of U.S. forces in the
region. Others supported it. The majority were ideologically
somewhere in between. But they were unanimous - resoundingly so -
in the strength of their commitment to our young men and women in
uniform serving in the Middle East.
For some of those members of Congress, it was a terrifyingly new
experience, which many of them acknowledged. They had cast votes
that effectively committed more than 400,000 U.S. troops to combat
- to the sure threat of disease, disability or death.
In the process, the Congress of the United States sent a clear
message to all Americans: America's troops in the Gulf will have
the full and unwavering support of the nation.
It is my wish now that the full strength of that commitment -
the completely unwavering sense of moral duty that I witnessed
during the Congressional debate - be present for those servicemen
and women who will have incurred a combat disability as a result
of their service.
I hope we do not have to say to Congress that they gave
America's soldiers everything they needed on the battlefield, but
much less than what they needed as a result of their military
service.
And when they tally up the cost of war, we hope we need not
remind them that the nation's responsibility to pay for a
prosthetic arm or leg is equal to the responsibility that dictated
the purchase of the bombs, bullets, tanks and aircraft that are
the weapons of war.
NAM VET Newsletter Page 22
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
Some of you may view my statements as mean-spirited in the face
of a Congress that has made the right moral decision and an
Administration that has set the right course in the Persian Gulf.
But I think our sense of duty as advocates on behalf of disabled
veterans demands that we ensure everyone - from the outset -
understands the consequences of sending Americans into battle.
It was easy for the Congress to approve spending $4,000 for each
750-pound bomb that's been dropped on Baghdad. A similar sum
could provide a state-of-the-art prosthetic limb for a disabled
veteran. But most veteran amputees don't wear state-of-the-art
prostheses because the funds to purchase them are not there. It
was not so easy for Congress to find the same sense of moral
purpose in appropriating those funds.
Indeed, that sense of moral purpose has eroded just as surely as
the federal deficit has grown - until now that is. And that's my
point.
We have seen the democratic process at its best, during one of
its finest moments. I have seen our leaders in Congress speak
from a strong and abiding faith in this nation, its citizens and
the freedoms we cherish. And I watched and thought that this
truly is what being an American is all about.
Now we must ensure that our sense of duty is not diminished, nor
promise of assistance dismissed.
Much has been made of the blue-collar make-up of the troops of
Operation Desert Storm. The sons and daughters of working-class
Americans are the backbone of today's all-volunteer military. For
the most part they are not from board rooms or boarding schools.
Their roots are in the factories of this nation and the public
schools of our communities. In the Persian Gulf they are doing a
better job than even the most optimistic of battlefield commanders
expected. And they are doing it with pride and dignity.
We in the DAV, for the most part, share that background. More
importantly, we share their pride. And we promise them our
support - a support that will not be dampened by political
concerns or fiscal expediencies. They may be the consequences of
war, but they are also now the pride of America. And the DAV will
not let them down.
NAM VET Newsletter Page 23
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
SaudiNet - Its working!!!
By Todd Looney
NamVet Editor Emeritus
APECS BBS - San Jose, CA
(408) 298-2740
Hello All!
Things are really starting to roll here in SaudiNet. We are
incorporating as we speak as the American Public Emergency
Communications System, Inc. Our legal department should be filing
the papers within the next few days.
I know there has been some concern about whether our letters were
being delivered to Saudi Arabia or not and my response has been
that we are in constant contact voice with our people in SA and
they are delivering our letters into military hands within a
couple/three days of their being written in the U.S. My major
concern has always been that we lose control after that point and
it has been taking up to 3 weeks to get them to the troops after
that.
Well, one of our dedicated members (Capt. Stan Hardegree) who has
working (along with Dennis Hancock) with us on the military end
of things to see what could be done to speed up delivery, just
received a call from Marine Major Kerr with the Joint Staff (long
distance call *from* Saudi Arabia!) Major Kerr was ordered
personally by General Schwarzkopf, who received a letter written
by Capt. Hardegree recently, to call us. He didn't have our
number so he contacted AT&T Headquarters in the U.S. first to find
the number.
This is really good news because it means now that we have broken
through the military problems in delivering mail, so much so that
the top brass are involved.
Here's the jist of the conversation as written by Hardegree:
-Schwarzkopf is interested in the SaudiNet, interested enough in
fact that he told this guy to call me...you may recall that Dennis
Hancock and I sent the general a letter some time ago telling him
what we are up to. Yes, he read the letter.
-The guy I talked to is Marine Maj. Kerr from the joint staff
there. Mail is his bailiwick. He had to call AT&T headquarters
in the States to get my phone number, which is an indication of
how serious they are about helping us with this.
-He told me that he would GUARANTEE delivery of SaudiNet messages
in two to three days anywhere in the theater...even as the
fighting continues, if:
The Saudi Sysop contacts Maj. Mike Whitaker (sincere apologies to
Tim Jacobs).
Whitaker commands the 4401st Air Postal Squadron and Kerr said
that he is not familiar with this effort. He is familiar with
Prodigy and Genie, but not SaudiNet.
NAM VET Newsletter Page 24
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
Kerr said that the 4401st will supply the Saudi SYSOP with
official (military) mail pouches.
Now this may have been done on a local level, but the 4401st will
insure delivery ANYWHERE in theater after we contact them.
Kerr said that I should expect a letter from Schwarzkopf reference
the SaudiNet in the near future. He's that interested. I am going
to send him (Schwarzkopf) a SaudiNet message today so that he has
an example of what these things look like. If I do get a letter
from Schwarzkopf, I will send you a copy and post it in the
SaudiInfo echo if appropriate.
Ciao for Niao
Todd Looney
NAM VET Newsletter Page 25
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
=================================================================
Images
=================================================================
WITH ONSET OF A NEW WAR'S IMAGES, SOME COUNTY VIETNAM VETS CRASH
By Linda Burchard
1/23/91 Berkshire Eagle - Pittsfield, MA
Input by: G. Joseph Peck
NamVet's Managing Editor
VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
(413) 443-6313
Pittsfield - "The phone's been ringing off the hook" at the
Veterans Outreach Center because of veteran troubled by images of
war in the Persian Gulf, according to director Daniel Denault.
Televised reports of the war against Iraq have stirred memories
and, with them, the anguish that has for some lain just under an
uneasy surface since their service in Vietnam 20 years ago.
"It's the Persian Gulf," said Denault yesterday. "And with
the POWs, it's going to get worse."
Denault said that since the day before the United Nations'
deadline of Jan. 15 for Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait,
the number of calls has risen dramatically.
PSYCHIATRIC HELP
This week, the center transported three men, two Monday and one
yesterday, to the Veterans Administration hospital in Northampton,
which has an inpatient unit for the treatment of post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). Another was referred to the Berkshire
Mental Health Center.
Denault said that of the approximately 85 calls the center has
received since Jan. 14, 50 were prompted by the war in the Persian
Gulf, and 20 of the callers were in distress. Of those, 10 were
in such distress that they were advised to come to the center to
talk and were told that if they could not get there by themselves,
"we'll come for you," Denault said.
One of these was suicidal, Denault said.
Some calls, he said, were from veterans of World War II or the
Korean War who wanted to know if they could help. While veterans
with the most severe or acute problems are taken to Northampton,
others are referred to the peer support groups run by the outreach
center, and to the Hoosac Valley and Berkshire chapters of the
Vietnam Veterans of America.
Berkshire Chapter 65 has a rap group that meets Monday evenings
at its chapter house at 97 First St. Hoosac Valley Chapter 54,
located at Firebase Trentino, 30 River St., North Adams, provides
referrals and an informal support network.
Hoosac Valley Chapter President William Bradley of North Adams
said members here have had an increased number of calls prompted
by the gulf war.
"Right now, with the crisis the way it is, seeing the things
we're seeing on TV, no one can help but remember," said Bradley.
"Things like this bring it right back to mind," he said.
Bradley said he expects it will be easier for military personnel
serving in Saudi Arabia because unlike the Vietnam War, "the
majority of people support our troops" in the war against Iraq,
whether or not they support the war politically.
"The Vietnam-era veteran just wanted to forget it all," he said.
For Bradley, it is ironic that the Veterans Outreach Center,
NAM VET Newsletter Page 26
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
which has offices in Pittsfield and Adams, has been without state
funds since October, and Denault has been working without a
salary.
Denault said the center has been building up its presence for
the past seven years, and he is hoping that the state will resume
funding. In the meantime, the center is operating on donations to
pay the $600 rent for both offices, in St. Luke's Square, 525 East
St., and on Park Street in Adams, and pay its $400 a month in
telephone bills.
The center provides free transportation to VA hospitals to
veterans with a handicapped-accessible van, bought for $24,000
through funds from the Agent Orange class action suit. Agent
Orange funds also pay for maintaining the van, insurance, and the
cost of a driver.
Bradley said the Hoosac Valley Chapter formerly had a rap group
but discontinued it for lack of demand.
"We just weren't getting that many people asking," said Bradley.
"The majority of Vietnam vets don't have PTSD. There's a lot of
emotional distress, but a lot of fellows were able to deal with
their problems."
NAM VET Newsletter Page 27
Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
THE VIETNAM ARMY --- SECOND TO NONE
By Richard K. Kolb
1/25/1991 The Wall Street Journal
Input by Jack Hawkins
NamVet's Coast Guard Section Editor
VETLink #1.72 - Staten Island, NY
(413) 443-6313
Just when we thought the open season on Vietnam veterans had
ended, the potshots have begun again. As veterans of Vietnam, we
are all especially delighted to witness the enthusiastic and
sincere public support offered U.S. troops now serving in Saudi
Arabia. Those who fill the ranks of combat units - especially the
grunts - are to be congratulated for their willingness to
volunteer for such hazardous duty. But is it necessary for the
so-called experts to denigrate the Vietnam veterans in analyzing
today's military?
The public is being bombarded by these experts with the same
tired message pushed by the anti-war movement during the Vietnam
era: that the typical Vietnam serviceman was poor, unmotivated, a
high school dropout and overall, not a very admirable character,
who had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, all the way to the
draft center.
So, the Cleveland Plain Dealer referred on Nov. 4 to "the high
school dropouts and reluctant draftees who were sent to Vietnam a
generation ago." In a confessional piece in Life magazine on
October, a former draft dodger absolved his conscience by
dismissing the Vietnam era military as "a fighting force made up
largely of minorities and the poor ..." "Overall, today's
voluntary force is far more representative of the middle class
than the draftees of the Vietnam War, who included many high
school dropouts, proclaimed U.S. News and World Report on Dec. 24.
Talk of reviving the draft to make the military truly
representative o the entire population elicits such responses as:
"An Army drawn at random would have to include misfits, making
discipline and unit cohesion harder to achieve-which would cost
American lives in combat," according to that same U.S. News
article. A former Reagan Pentagon official quipping that only
"the dummies got put in the infantry . . ." under the draft.
Observers of the army now in Saudi Arabia compliment it by
insulting the army sent to Vietnam. The Associated Press noted on
Dec. 13 that "the booze, broads and drugs' synonymous with
Vietnam" are absent from Saudi Arabia. "(T)he draftees of Vietnam
and their hatred of the military establishment are long gone," it
added. Similarly, the Dec. 23 Washington Post associated
"bellyaching, malingering, dissent and drug abuse" with the
Vietnam soldier. "Vietnam," the Post continued, "also was fought
mostly by draftees, amateurs ... some of them reluctant soldiers
disgusted and demoralized by a war without end."
These invidious comparisons could be listed "ad nauseam." But
take a look at the facts:
^ The servicemen in Vietnam were not reluctant conscripts.
Draftees constituted 25% -- 648,500 -- of the 2.6 million
American servicemen who served in Vietnam. (By contrast, 66%
of U.S. forces in the Second World War were drafted.)
Draftees accounted for 27% -- 15,404 -- of combat deaths in
Vietnam.
^ They were not disproportionately nonwhite. Whites made up
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Volume 5, Number 2 February 28, 1991
88.4% of the forces in Vietnam. Whites accounted for 86.3% of
the deaths in Vietnam. Blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in
Vietnam as a time when blacks of military age were 13.5% of
the total population.
^ The soldiers in Vietnam were not drawn from the poor: 76% of
the troops came from lower middle or working class
backgrounds.
^ Nor were they ignorant. High school educations or better had
been attained by 79% of the men sent to Vietnam, making this
the most educated armed force fielded by America up until that
time.
^ They did not disgrace themselves during their service to their
country. Honorable discharges were earned by 97% of Vietnam-
era veterans.
^ They did not crack up when they returned home. Surveys show
85% of the Vietnam veterans have made a successful transition
to civilian life. Admittedly, 15% have indeed experienced
varying degrees of emotional stress-but, by comparison, that
less than half the rate of emotional stress suffered by
veterans of World War II. According to a 1965 National
Academy of Science study, fully one-third of 1941-1945
veterans suffered some neurotic problems.
^ Nor do they feel any shame for what they did in Vietnam. 91%
of actual Vietnam War veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy
combat tell pollsters that they are proud to have served their
country. Vietnam veterans constitute more that 25% of the
membership of each of the big three veterans organizations:
the American Legion, the Disabled Americans Veterans and the
Veterans of Foreign Wars. (The VFW has had two Vietnam vets
as commanders-in-chief, and a third will assume that position
in 1991-1992.)
Simply put: The Vietnam War serviceman was not some sort of
societal scum dredged from the bottom of a barrel. America sent
some of it finest to Vietnam. The American public has finally
begun to acknowledge this fact: According to an April 1990 Gallup
Poll, 87% of the nation holds Vietnam veterans in high esteem.
The question is, when will the country's opinion-makers do the
same?
<Mr. Kolb, who served with the 4th Infantry and the 101st Airborne
divisions in Vietnam, is editor of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
magazine in Kansas City, MO.>
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