Honoring America's Heroes

June 2001

Greetings! June is here, the air is warm, and many people are looking forward to the summer months with anticipation. Perhaps you're planning to take a vacation or spend some time with relatives. Or maybe your schedule calls for a few weeks at home, out of the heat and away from the crowds. Whatever the case, I trust this letter finds you well.

Last month — May 28 to be exact — marked the annual Memorial Day holiday here in the U.S. For many of us, Memorial Day is simply a day off work and an opportunity to gather around the barbecue with friends and family to kick off the summer. Of course, the true purpose of this observance is to honor the men and women in our Armed Forces who have given their lives in defense of the freedoms we hold so dear. For the younger generation, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and even the Gulf War are simply entries in the history books. Nevertheless, we owe a great debt of gratitude to past generations of Americans who bled and died to ensure the peace that we enjoy today.

I'd like to pay tribute to those men and women this month. Allow me to start by sharing with you a letter that I recently received. It's called "Something to Think About," and it was written by a retired member of the U.S. Army:

19 February 2001

On 18 February 2001, while racing for fame and fortune, Dale Earnhardt died in the last lap of the Daytona 500. It was surely a tragedy for his family, friends and fans. He was 49 years old with grown children — [one of whom] was in the race. I am new to the NASCAR culture, so much of what I know has come from the newspaper and TV. He was a winner and earned everything he had. This included more than $41 million in winnings and 10 times that from endorsement and souvenir sales. He had a beautiful home and a private jet. He drove the most sophisticated cars allowed and every part was inspected and replaced as soon as there was evidence of any wear. This is normally fully funded by the car and team sponsors. Today, there is no TV station that does not constantly remind us of his tragic end, and the radio already has a song of tribute to this winning driver. Nothing should be taken away from this man; he was a professional and the best in his profession. He was in a very dangerous business, but the rewards were great.

Two weeks ago, six U.S. Army soldiers died in a training accident when two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters collided during night maneuvers in Hawaii. Many of the soldiers were young pilots, crewchiefs and infantrymen. Some of them lived in substandard housing. If you add their actual duty hours (in the field, deployed), they probably earn something close to minimum wage. The aircraft they were in were between 15 and 20 years old. Many times parts were not available to keep them in good shape due to funding. They were involved in the extremely dangerous business of flying in the Kahuku mountains at night. It only gets worse as the weather moves in, as it did that night. Most times no one is there with a yellow or red flag to slow things down when it gets critical. Their children were mostly toddlers who will lose all memory of who "Daddy" was when they grow up. They died training to defend our freedom.

I take nothing away from Dale Earnhardt but ask you to perform this simple test. Ask any of your friends if they know who was the NASCAR driver killed on 18 February 2001. Then ask them if they can name one of the six soldiers who died in Hawaii two weeks ago.

18 February 2001, Dale Earnhardt died driving for fame and glory at the Daytona 500. The nation mourns. Six soldiers died to protect our freedom. No one can remember their names.

James V. Torney

CW4, U.S. Army, Retired

Not only does this letter poignantly explain that military service is often a thankless job, it also demonstrates that service to one's country isn't easy — and in fact, it is more often than not dangerous and challenging. Previous generations were asked to pay an even greater price. Anyone who has seen the blood-spattered carnage depicted in the movie Saving Private Ryan can sense that the battlefield is a place of unspeakable horrors (we observe the anniversary of that fateful day on June 6th). And those who have actually served in an armed conflict will tell you that no movie could ever capture the full extent of that experience. At the same time, even in periods of relative peace — such as the one we're enjoying now — military life is extremely hard. The requirements extend not only to the soldiers who daily perform their duties under demanding and hostile circumstances, but also to their loved ones who remain on the home front.

The recent standoff between the U.S. and China over a downed American surveillance plane provides a powerful example. As you probably recall, a U.S. EP-3 aircraft was forced to land on the Chinese island of Hainan on April 1 after a collision in mid-air with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet.1 The U.S. maintained that the craft was on a routine surveillance mission in international airspace when two Chinese fighters aggressively intercepted it.2 The government in Beijing alleged that, because the incident took place in "disputed" airspace and resulted in the death of a Chinese pilot, the U.S. plane's emergency landing violated international law. As a result, the Chinese military took the 24 American crewmen and women into custody.

After 11 days of tense diplomatic negotiation, these brave American men and women were released and sent home (although the EP-3, presumably stripped of its technology by the Chinese military, remained behind).3 It was a dramatic international incident that harkened back to the days of the Cold War — and yet it's important to remember that caught in the middle were two dozen individuals who had made a commitment to serve their country. Although the mid-air collision and subsequent detainment were unexpected developments, the men and women knew when they boarded that plane that such a mission carried the potential for injury, imprisonment and even death. We see them now as heroic soldiers, as indeed they are. But they are also fathers, mothers, sons and daughters — all of whom had worried family members waiting at home for news of their safety and praying for their return.

Issues of national security and international relations aside, this incident clearly demonstrates that while service to one's country is a wholly honorable and worthwhile calling, it carries with it the potential to be devastating to the stability and well-being of families. For those of us in the private sector, it is difficult to imagine the reality of saying "farewell" to a spouse for literally months at a time while he or she is deployed to a foreign shore. Those who are married to firefighters or police officers may experience the same thing on a certain level, but for most civilians, the primary breadwinner leaves home each morning and journeys no farther than the other side of town, only to return again in the evening.

In a recent article about the demands of life in the military, Laurel Lewis, the wife of an Air Force captain, described the pressure placed upon her marriage as a result of her husband's rigorous schedule. At one point, he was sent to Kuwait on three days' notice, and remained there for 20 weeks. During that time, the Lewises spoke to each other less than half an hour each week.4 So demanding was Captain Lewis' schedule that he had resolved to end his military career early and seek a job in the private sector. Unfortunately, before that happened, he was killed — along with 11 other airmen — when two Pave Hawk helicopters collided during a training mission over the Nevada desert in 1998.5

While young, fresh-faced soldiers easily come to mind when we think about someone losing his life in the line of duty, the composition of the military has changed in recent decades. Before the war in Vietnam, our Armed Forces were highly oriented toward drafted, single men. Today, by contrast, the military contains many more professionals with specialized skills, many of whom have families. According to the Defense Department, in 1953, only 33 percent of enlisted members were married. When the draft ended in 1973, the figure had risen to 43 percent. Today, 52 percent of active-duty enlisted individuals are married, and 71 percent of officers are married.6 Children are a significant factor, too. Currently, 46 percent of all people on active duty have children.7

Inherent dangers notwithstanding, military life can be incredibly taxing on these young families. Joyce Raezer of the National Military Family Association summed up the problem by saying: "The U.S. military is the only organization I know that is hiring teenagers with families and then sending those teenagers to the other side of the world. There are consequences when you do that."8 Although accurate divorce statistics for military couples are difficult to obtain, it doesn't take an expert to know that the extended separations and emotional stresses that characterize service in the Armed Forces place even greater strains on the marital relationship. For example, legal experts reported that divorce rates soared near military installations after the Gulf War.9

Divorce isn't the only problem facing our military families. The negative effects of prolonged separations on children cannot be overlooked. A 1999 study funded by the Pentagon revealed serious anxiety among children of deployed parents.10 While we often envision mothers being left at home while fathers are deployed, the reverse is often true. The increased presence of women in the military has been particularly damaging to the younger generation. The Pentagon study indicated that children separated from mothers deployed at sea for five to six months often experience deep feelings of anxiety before and during the separation. Children whose mothers drew shore duty were much less likely to exhibit these symptoms.11 The study also showed that 12 percent of children of deployed mothers showed signs of chronic depression reaching "clinical" levels (meaning they warranted professional help), compared with only 5 percent of children whose mothers were assigned on shore.12 "The kids whose mothers were deployed did exhibit higher levels of . . . sadness, crying [and] withdrawal — compared with women who were in the Navy on shore duty," one psychologist said at the time.13 This phenomenon was most prevalent among enlisted mothers, the majority of whom were either divorced, separated or single with very young children.14

Military families face other pressures, as well. Financially speaking, service in the Armed Forces can hardly be considered lucrative. More than 5,000 military families are currently on food stamps.15 A private first class makes $15,684 a year in base pay, a staff sergeant makes $24,552, and a first lieutenant makes $31,440. While medical care and various allowances and benefits supplement these incomes, they can't begin to compete with civilian wages. The director of Fort Carson's financial readiness program here in Colorado Springs has said that "we run into families that come into the Army too big for a military salary," and that a private first class with several children will earn only $1,200 a month — "a salary built to take care of one person living in a barracks."16 The White House reports that a typical member of the Armed Forces earns 13 percent less than his or her civilian counterpart for the same type of work.17

To make matters worse, military personnel living overseas are not eligible for food stamps or a number of other assistance programs. The economic plight of military families abroad is best understood by those who have experienced it firsthand. Rick Ballard, a colonel in the U.S. Army, tells a powerful story about a young soldier named Spec. Jones and his family. While stationed in Germany, Col. Ballard had noticed that Spec. Jones was barely scraping by financially, and he resolved to visit his home and determine how he might help out. "Upon entering the [Jones'] house," Col. Ballard recalls, "I noticed three boxes of powdered milk and a pitcher of constituted pale milk on the counter. Nearby was a stack of tuna variety cat food cans. As I began playing with the oldest child, I asked her what kind of cat she had. She didn't seem to understand. Embarrassed, Spec. Jones finally told me they didn't own a cat. On that date, I vowed that if I ever had the chance, I would try to do something about the situation that excludes Americans on foreign soil from eligibility for WIC (Women, Infants and Children) and food stamps."18

The defunding of the armed forces in recent years has placed an added burden on members of the military, including their families. Many of the bases that haven't yet closed down entirely have fallen into disrepair, and housing on these installations is notoriously substandard. Randall Yim, the deputy undersecretary of defense for installations, reports that six of every 10 Defense Department homes (nearly 300,000 in all) need extensive renovation or replacement.19 On a recent tour of living facilities on Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, General Hal Hornburg said, "I saw ceiling tiles falling and missing, and I saw condensation on the walls. I didn't need to see any more."20

The extensive budget cuts of the Clinton era have left members of the military overworked, underpaid and demoralized.21 A recent study revealed that more than two-thirds of Army officers in a survey sample agreed with the statement, "I see no possibility for continued job satisfaction in the Army."22 More than 70 percent of officers in the same survey said, "I can no longer balance the needs of the Army with the needs of my family."23 And as frustrated soldiers end their careers early, the military is left seriously under-manned. In August 2000, the retiring commander of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf said that the military would find it more difficult to conduct another operation on the scale of the 1991 Gulf War.24 At the start of the Clinton era, 85 percent of Air Force combat units were considered to be operating at the military's best level of readiness. Today, that figure has declined to just 65 percent.25 Also, 2000 marked the fifth consecutive year that the Army and Navy would fail to commission enough new officers to meet their goals, 26 and a 1999 report found that more than half of the 1,000 officers and enlisted personnel surveyed were "dissatisfied" and intended to leave the military after their current term of commitment. 27

It appears that our new president is taking positive steps to address the situation. Earlier this year, Mr. Bush announced plans for $5.7 billion in spending for men and women in the military (the majority of the funds will go toward pay increases and improved health benefits for soldiers and their families).28 To date, the president has proposed $400 million more in military spending than he promised during his campaign, and he plans to request another $400 million to improve military housing. 29 In a speech to soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia, Mr. Bush said, "While you're serving us well, America is not serving you well enough. This is not the way a great nation should reward courage and idealism. It's ungrateful, it's unwise, and it is unacceptable. We will do better." 30

Even so, better barracks, higher pay and improved morale will only go so far. At the end of the day, military service is a demanding and difficult calling. Thousands of men and women join the ranks of our Armed Forces every year knowing that they will face physical danger, emotional strain and periods of long and indefinite separation from loved ones. They do so out of a deep sense of honor and a strong desire to protect and defend the freedoms that characterize the greatest nation on earth. It's important that we never take for granted those who have sacrificed so much on our behalf.

I hope that my letter this month serves as a reminder that we need to take better care of our service personnel, and that we must lift them before the Lord in prayer. They willingly face danger and inconvenience to protect our liberties, and yet they are rarely recognized or appreciated for their contributions. If you know members of the military, whether married or single, I hope you'll take the time to let them know how much you value their service to our country. We owe them so much. You might also consider making copies of this letter and sharing it with any military personnel you know, or, if you're reading online, send it along to them via e-mail.

In addition, if you're among the many people who will be traveling this summer, why don't you consider visiting a military academy or other installation? Many of them have areas that are open to civilians. And if your summer travels bring you to Colorado, why don't you drop by Focus headquarters for a tour? While you're in the area, you could visit the United States Air Force Academy, which lies just across the road from us.

With that, I'll bring this letter to a close. Thanks for taking the time to read my comments each month. We'd love to hear from you when you have a free moment. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Your prayerful involvement is the lifeblood of this ministry. God's blessings to you!

Sincerely,

James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
President

We have several resources available for military families and those who love them. These books, tapes and other products are designed to inspire, motivate and encourage the brave men and women who serve and protect our country.

P.S. Thanks to all of you who, after reading my explanation of the financial challenges we're facing in last month's letter, contacted us to assure us of your prayers or to send a monetary gift. Our financial shortfall is still not resolved, and we would appreciate your continued prayers.