European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 09, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday november 9, 1994 i commentary the stars and stripes Page 15 Tor /none7 puts into Anna Quindlen there Are Many riveting thing about travelling around this great nation of ours on the Cusp of a major election. Not the least of them is the ability to see political advertising designed chiefly to Appeal to the stupid and mean spirited in state after state interchangeable and unimaginative As the de Cor of the hotel rooms but it is also possible to hold your Finger to the wind and discern the prevailing ethos. And this year in Many places that ethos has clearly been none of the above. None of the above is so seductive for americans because there is no Way to pursue it politically no mechanism by which we can dissolve the government and Start again from scratch. In our democratic system there is no Way to elect a none without winding up with someone. If that sounds a Little like Alice s adventures in wonderland Well Haven t these midterm elections actually been a delightful mixture of themed Hatter s Tea party in which every one moves constantly but no one really goes anywhere and the red Queen s croquet match with her Clarion cries of off with their Heads in fact the inevitable parabola of the none of the above phenomenon is most easily understood by taking a fond Back Ward look at that most through the looking Glass of National characters Perot. Perot came out of nowhere in 1992 with a throw the bums put zest. While the press and other politicos largely ignored him the feisty Guy from Texas picked up a Large following by being Theun candidate. But elections play but Over time and Over time those Down Home eroticism began to seem As predictable As Smoothie political rhetoric. No matter How Many charts the Man hauled out it became Clear that no one could truly get rid of the deficit without even breaking a sweat. Then he crashed and burned in therace out of the race in the race again. Weird conspiracy stories. Accusations that the Bush Campaign had tried to ruin his daughter s do you screw up a Texas wed Ding wrote James Carville who ran the Clinton Campaign. Show up sober in a Sedan leave with the woman you came with a a by the time the election heared it final week Perot s biggest Success was As a halloween costume. Under scrutiny there was simply less than met the Eye. There is a great Deal of anger against what Are called career politicians which is a strange thing after All no one Ever complains about using career dentist. It but As the Perot time line indicates a some Point cipher must give Way to sub stance and voters begin to turn toward the candidate who has actually done something say sponsored legislation or balanced a state budget. And the in candidates begin to com undone. -. And there s the rub nothing at All is not the same As none of the above particularly when you begin to imagine it in Washington or it s not uncommon for americans to become so disgusted by politics that they want to Start from scratch. But ultimately they re forced to choose among real people scratch does t make much of a senator. And when a person needs constituent services some of the above is better than the alternative. C naw York times who ski there s no mix How sharper than a Serpent s tooth it is to havea thankless child said William Shakespeare s King Lear-.-,. Those words must have crossed army chief of staff Gen. Gordon r. Sullivan s mind during the ongoing re View of the roles and missions of the armed services when the air Force the army s erstwhile progeny staked out a claim for a major portion of its father s estate. / sired by the army signal corps with the formation of its aeronautical division in 1907, coming of age As the army air service on the battlefields of world War i it became the army air corps in 1926, the army air forces in 1941 and in 1947 struck out on its own As the Independent United states air Force. Not Content with its initial legacy of Primacy in air and space however it now like Lear s daughters wants a Large share of the remaining part of the estate As Well. As air Force chief of staff Gen. Merrill a. Mcpeak announced just prior to his retirement last month the air Force would dominate the deep Battle beyond the immediate front line close Battle eliminating the need for army Long Range artillery and missiles. In return it would graciously give up the Mission of providing close air support for troops on the ground a Mission the air Force has resented from the begin Ning because it made them Mere auxiliaries of the land the air Force has argued with considerable truth that it could Best support troops on the ground by shielding them from enemy air Many army combat veterans i am alive today because of the magnificent Job members of the air Force have done in that has been nearly 40.year s now Mcpeak noted in 1992, since a . Soldier was killed by enemy aircraft. No one now serving in our ground forces has overcome under attack by enemy and another thing for which the army must give its prodigal son full credit is the air Force s ability to move ground forces into Battle rapidly. As the commander of the us transportation com before assuming his present office As air Force chief of staff Gen. Ronald r. Fogleman presided Over the recent . Deployment to the persian Gulf quickly moving the troops of the army s 24th inf div much by air to marry up with their tanks and other heavy equipment on the ground and provide a credible counter to Saddam Hussein s threatened aggression after his Relief As air Force chief of staff in 1990 for saying the air Force could win the Gulf War All by itself Gen Michael j. Dugan had second thoughts. In the future he told Brit Ain s Royal United service Institute in 1992, nations. Will keep a flexible mix of modern ready air ground and naval forces sized to meet the extent of its flexible mix must be at the heart of America s future defences for the simple reason that unlike the cold War we cannot know where threats to America Security might arise. And without that critical information we can Nei ther plan for nor optimize future military meet that Challenge Means that above All our Mili tary must be flexible in thought in design and in execution. The air Force s b-2 bomber is a Case in Point. From bases in Diego Garcia Guam and the United states with one Aerial refuelling it can deliver a b-52-siz.e bomb Load anywhere on the planet. And development of the air Force c-17 transport Harry g. Summers gives the United states the reach to deploy forces to meet crises anywhere in the world. Flexibility is the hallmark of the Navy As Well. With nuclear Power and replenishment under Way Itcan project . Power around the world without Reli Ance on foreign bases. V the Marine corps also with its flexible air ground task Force organization is structured to meet the de mands of the future. As the nation s Premier ground fighting Force the army too has incorporated flexibility into its fighting doctrine and organizational Structure. Part of that is the development of Long Range Artil Lery and missiles to strike the enemy deep before it can deploy against front line forces. That is the capability that the air Force would Nowden but where technology once limited deep strike operations to air and naval forces the modern Battlefield is a Multi service area of operations. In the Gulf War for example the army s 101st air borne div air assault covered 186 Miles in 24 hours. Apache attack helicopters have a combat radius of 162 Miles and the army tactical missile system can strike deep within the enemy s rear with deadly accuracy without putting a Pilot or a multimillion Dollar air Craft at risk. Dugan Best defined the future role of the air Force in his concluding remarks to the Institute. Whether airmen will stand in the front rank i do not know. They May or May not be decisive they will surely be and so will America s soldiers sailors and marines los Angeles times
