To the Editor,
The bodies arenโt even cold and the talk has already started about downsizing the Military.
Usually Washington has the good taste to at least wait until the war is over before it starts this dance. I understand we wonโt need an army the size that it is right now if we can stay out of war. But as we know and as the old Greek Plato said, โOnly the dead have seen the end of warโ, and up until now heโs been right.
We have to be careful when a drawdown like this starts not to cause collateral damage โ a word that the military has taught us to understand. Along with the drawdown there will be base closings. Not that West Point would be one of them but why donโt we take it as an example since itโs in our neighborhood. A large percent of the people that staff West Point are civilians and not military. Even the MPs that used to be at the gate have been replaced by private security firms. They would all be put out of work. The Mom and Pop shops and small businesses in Highland Falls would take a hard hit and particularly in this economy many would close. The hotels, motels that depend on the Point would go the same way. Churches, synagogues, deliveries, bread, eggs, newspapers, you name it, itโs all going to get hit and thatโs going to cost other jobs.
Other collateral damage would be the retired military who tend to live around bases so that they can access the PX and Commissary and more importantly, medical treatment. If we lose Keller Army Hospital, the one at West Point, where are they going to pick up the slack? Not only do they work for the military but in an emergency they will take care of civilians. What if you have a car wreck on the ice coming around Storm King Mountain.
Going south, I guess Nyack or Good Sam would be the next best bet. Iโm not sure what going north, but for someone in critical condition extra minutes could kill them. Most bases have hospitals and many of them are far larger than West Point. Yes, Iโm sure weโre going to have to cut but letโs do that cutting with a scalpel and not a chain saw, and letโs give the grunts the first shot t the other jobs and special ops and cyber warfare since theyโve already been trained. And let us make sure that the money goes at least partially into Defense and not into some black hole in foggy bottom.
Letโs hope our friends in DC arenโt eyeing the dollars to put unto Healthcare. Sure, I want to see people have healthcare, but why do we have to take healthcare from hundreds of thousands of people to give it to other people who donโt have it? I guess itโs one of DCโs 10 Commandments. That is, when you begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, itโs time to buy a new tunnel.
Sincerely,
Jerry Donnellan
Director, Veterans Service Agency of Rockland County
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