Thoughts for the Season
The year’s end brings victories and challenges.
By Col. Warren S. Lacy, USA-Ret.

Welcome to December. This is the point at which we traditionally wish you a joyful holiday season and expound on all the interesting things that happened during the past year. And why not? We’re certainly believers in tradition. 

At press time, it’s shaping up to be a fine end of year 2003. Indications are that public confidence is up; unemployment, down; the market, better; and holiday sales, brisk. From MOAA’s point of view, we’ve closed the year with great news: working with other members of The Military Coalition, we won a major battle to provide significant financial relief to hundreds of thousands of disabled retirees. Note that I said “battle.” Yes, we’ve scored a major victory in the campaign. But we haven’t won the war. The new legislation doesn’t solve the whole concurrent receipt problem. MOAA will continue the offense until we take the final objective. See “Washington Scene” (page 17) for additional details. 

Of course, on the national front our nation still is at war. Take time during the holiday season to wish well the men and women on freedom’s front lines. And don’t forget family members at home whose husbands and wives, moms and dads, face danger in a foreign land. 

The Iraq war gives us a view of the military’s changing role in the post-Sept. 11 world. The current war against terrorism presents unique challenges for U.S. forces. Men and women of all services and all components—active, National Guard, and Reserve—have responded superbly. But every segment of the military also is being pushed to its limits. Is the operations tempo supportable? Is end strength sufficient for the task?

To answer these questions and more about Iraq and the challenges that war and occupation pose for the United States and its military, Military Officer contributing editor Tom Philpott interviewed Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (page 54). 

Myers notes that Iraq still is a dangerous place. We continue to lose troops, and every loss is a personal tragedy. Yet, our forces are making headway. “What doesn’t make the news,” says Myers, “is that our military has completed thousands of projects throughout Iraq, rebuilding schools and women’s centers, helping the Iraqi people. When I visited the 4th [Infantry Division] … an Army captain said 30 to 40 people a day come up and say thank you. They get a lot of [positive] feedback from Iraqis.” 

When asked about the significance of the Iraq war, Myers says, “At stake in Iraq is the same thing that was at stake in Afghanistan. International terrorism, left alone, has the potential to destroy our way of life. It’s that simple. … Our very existence—and I don’t think I’m overstating that—is at stake.”