Should the President and elected officals with the power to send our sons and daughters to war be required to have served in the military?
That being said at present, I personally feel that we have been led down a primrose path by our political leadership of the last 30 years and I am now to the point where I feel that we have casted our pearls before the Swine of the Congress, the office of the President, the Federal Bureaucracy and to a some extent, the American people as a whole.
If you want to inspire real leadership trust with this soldier, how about 70% pay cuts in Congress ( including STAFF and GSA benefits, a reduction of federal "benefited" employees in the government as well as a serious reduction in those persons getting entitlements who have never paid real taxes and have never served anyone but themselves), rather than helping themselves to the monies paid in by real Americans, including the under paid members of our military (WHO DO PAY TAXES). How about term limits in Congress ( 5 terms in the house, 2 terms in the Senate and don't let the door hit you in the ass when and if you make it to 24 years of total time) as well as the destruction of the platinum parachute retirement programs that the Congress and other branches of government have voted in for themselves.
How about PAYING OFF DEBT AND MAKING THE DOLLAR STRONG? When peoples life savings are swept under the rug due to a hyper-inflationary depression (which we are presently heading for) and a thieving spend thrift government, I wonder how many government officials will weasel their way out of owning up to that responsibility. Gee, if I ran my life like the government did I would have been thrown in jail for embezzlement and fraud years ago. Then again, "do as we say not as we do" is Congresses mantra for the last 30 years or so. Long Live TEXAS, and to Hell with the present and past socialist and sell-out groups of assholes in the CONGRESS. they have led us to civic disintegration for the last 30-40 years and surely fiscal ruination in the very near future. Our "leadership" (I use that term very loosely due to the lack of real statesmanship in our government) got a bunch of our comrades killed in wars that they (Congress) wouldn't send their own kids to and are NOW saying we should haven't even been fought. In the end the real losers are the American people, but then again, you really do get the government YOU DESERVE!
When we took the oath to protect and defend the Constitution, did we really and truely understand this impact? I would say "no"...how many of us really know the U.S Constitution? Oh...we get the main parts, the parts that we can understand but there are 2 more documents that are in concert with...The Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.
...and because of these 3 documents, written by our forefathers who had the insight that maybe someday their efforts would not be in vain. These men who wrote the Constitution and signed it, were not all prior military but farmers and landowners who were very well educated. They shared the same vision...
Representing their society, they all put their lives and their families lives on the line in the hope of being free men.
They were hunted down by the British.
Today,our country is still a beacon of hope around the globe and setting an example of our Republic and Democratic process.
President Harry Truman relieved General MaCarthur. Truman was not a military man, however, he knew how to run a business.
Truman had the vision of a limited war with Korea, with no Chinese intervention. General MaCarthur was a Soldier and had the vision of taking the fight to China. When the Chinese came down to the Northern Korea, they pushed the UN, United Nations and allies back down to Southern Korea. Consequently, the General was relieved.
This was a case of broken vision between 2 leaders.
SFC, I felt the same way for a long time. Our political leaders can make decisions on a subject that they could have no experience in. They can declare war and send us anywhere in the world to fight it but have no idea what it actually takes on the ground to make it happen. They see numbers, we see Soldiers. I do believe and would very much like it if every one of our political leaders had served even one tour in some branch of the military. However, I think making that a law is not the best idea. Some of our best political leaders have never put their feet in a pair of combat boots. Being in the military, even as a private, gives you an idea of how our system works. Chain of command, military movements, esprit de corps, motivations, ideals, etc. This would make all of our political leaders think in about the same way. That could also be the problem. I love the military and I would not do anything else with my life but serve in it, but if we had all of our leaders, both military and political, thinking and working in the exact same way when we encountered an issue there would be no one thinking outside the box on how to overcome it.
With all of that said. I would be most likely to vote for the candidate that has military experience over any other.
We are a civilian-run military. Washington had a large part in ensuring that was the case. The Congress has the ability to send us to war, but they do so with a great deal of consideration. Some might not care that they are sending Troops into battle... but I don't think that is even a fraction of a percent. I am completely opposed to requiring miltary service to serve as CiC. No way. It's completely against our principles of government. We have had a lot of veterans serve as the President, but it is and should never be a requirement. We must remember that there are many ways to serve our country. We are in uniform, their uniform is a suit and tie (& female equivalent). We can't discount their service just because they haven't experienced what we have.