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Letters

Army, Mar 2008

UAV Flight

(With apologies to the late PiM Officer John Gillespie Magee Jr.)

Oh, I've slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And settled in behind my Dell laptop with Pentium Inside,

Clicked on my Windows-based icon and seen the pixilated ground rise,

Sipped my cappuccino with a doughnut from the break room next door,

Rebooted and Ctrl Alt Delete

Powdered sugar falling on my flight suit's sewn pleats.

Bored as I am, I've minimized Windows XP

And played Halo 3, beating some geek from MIT

The joystick small in my hands;

I've shot Hellfire missiles from Predators over one of the "Stans"

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Earning my fifth Air Medal with "V" device, too,

And wondering, what's on the SCI H channel at two?

My shift is now over; I haven't seen the light of day,

Put out my hand and drove my minivan away ...

LT. COL. JAYSON A. ALTIERI

FOB Kandahar, Afghanistan

The Army Uniform

* I completely agree with CSM Lowell A. May's letter in the January issue of ARMY Magazine. I live in the Atlanta, Ga., area, which has two Army installations. I cannot remember the last time I have seen a soldier in anything but a battle dress uniform or Army combat uniform. Almost every soldier in the area has an administrative job, and I think they should wear a more appropriate uniform. I often see members from the other services in the area, and they are almost always in a more formal uniform.

MSGT. DAVID B. LEBER, USA RET.

Atlanta, Ga.

* While visiting my home unit this week, I picked up the November 2006 issue of ARMY Magazine and began reading the article by Col. William F. Muhlenfeld, USA Ret., "The Green Uniform-Don't Kill It." I totally agree with the author. I am retired and still keep my Class As in tip-top shape, ready to wear at any moment. I understand that it is permissible to wear this uniform to military funerals and on other occasions. If the Army does, indeed, change the class A uniform, it is our responsibility (as retired soldiers) to purchase the new class As if we desire to wear them. Is this correct?

I also would like to compliment ARMY on the article "Operation Jump Start: National Guard Aids Border Patrol Mission" by Dennis Steele. I saw a lot of familiar faces from Company B and Company C, 201st Engineer Battalion, in which I was the battalion commo NCO until my retirement in 2003. Keep up the good work.

SFC GARY SMITH, USA RET.

Olive Hill, Ky.

'Broken-Back Battle'

* The nuclear scenario presented by Lt. Col. Robert B. Rigg in the February issue ("50 Years Ago in ARMY: BrokenBack Battle") should be a wake-up call not only to the developers of equipment but to the trainers of troops that may be exposed to these horrors-and horrors they are. Only the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were exposed to these kinds of weapons, but they were not expected to fight a battle afterward. No one knew the full effects of shortand long-term radiation exposure. The physical effects of any weapon are one thing, but the effects of radiation poisoning from use of a nuclear weaponboth near term and lingering-on soldiers of any age must be addressed now. We can design equipment to survive the shock, heat and radiation of a nuclear battlefield, but the human being is a far greater challenge. We can all hope and pray that no soldier will ever experience this type of Armageddon, but we must train in anticipation of such an event. At one time, nuclear weapons were under the control of parties that recognized the implications of their use. Today that situation has changed, and what is portrayed here, as horrible and unthinkable as it is, may indeed occur.

I feel the blinding scenario cited in the article should be addressed with great urgency. A person blinded under these conditions would become irrational, as mentioned, but one retaining his or her sight will be in a relatively more stable mental state. My fellow engineers must design systems that prevent blindness of soldiers such as tank drivers, infantry and anyone else potentially exposed. In my view, those who survive but become blind pose a fourfold burden to those survivors who retain their sight. Systems based on fast-response electronic welding goggles can be implemented now. More can be said, but this is enough for now.

THOMAS J. KESOLITS

Electronic Engineer

Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command

Fort Monmouth, N.J.

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Letters

Army, Mar 2008

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