Confirmation of one sentence

"Our own senior military officers warn that our military is nearly broken by the strain of the Iraq occupation."

DQ,

Yesterday I got to talk on the phone to my very homesick son who is stationed in Honolulu as an officer in the USAF. I have never heard him as discouraged as he was yesterday. He said several F-15s just fell apart in the air recently. They are having to use 40 year old, corroded tankers. The safety of our troops is uncertain due to budget constraints, and yet the top DoD folks just placed new etched glass doors on the front of the Officers' Club there at Hicham to the tune of $1000 because a general is coming to pay a visit during two weeks of war games hosted by the base. Needless deaths occur while the general's office gets new furniture. We've had over 200 fallen heroes from Ft. Hood near me alone. The Fed is fudging the numbers for deployment in all branches. The USAF has always been the family-friendly branch, but now overseas deployments are being extended to a year. For other branches, deployments are routinely 15-18 months now and sometimes 2 years. That is SO hard on families. There isn't enough money in the budget to move soldiers, so if you do get moved overseas (relocated with your family instead of temporary duty), you are staying there indefinitely. My son knows if he re-ups when he makes captain, his chances of being deployed are almost certain, and that means years without being able to see his extended family.

He hasn't been home in a year and he doesn't know when he'll get leave again. He's working 12 hour shifts. They are understaffed and he's doing the work that three people used to do. The good things are that his wife is with him and Hawaii is beautiful.

Because of the truth in that one sentence, I am more likely to believe the other statements in this post by Ron Paul. He's one guy who is not afraid to speak the truth. Thank you for sharing it with us.

And if you would, please pray for my son. His name is Alan. I know he would appreciate it.

Blessings,

Donna Tweet