Two Former Secretaries Of Defense Are Studying Why So Many Veterans Are In Prison

 

“WE ARE THE MIGHTY”

“We have over 180,000 veterans in prison today and in jails all over this country,” Hagel told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell in an interview.

“This didn’t just start… the last 20 years, where America had its longest wars, we’ve seen these young men and women redeploy, redeploy, redeploy… that takes a toll on anybody, I don’t care how strong you are. There are going to be mental breakdowns.”

_________________________________________________________________________________

“The Veterans Justice Commission (VJC) of the Council on Criminal Justice announced in August of 2022 that a full third of veterans in the United States say they’ve been arrested at least once. Led by former defense secretaries Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta, the VJC began assessing the risk factor in play that leads veterans into the criminal justice system.

That same 15-member commission, made up of members of the judiciary, the Veterans Administration, and others is looking into the adequacy of transition assistance programs led by the Department of Defense, how well service members adjust to civilian life when leaving the military, and how the justice system responds when veterans are arrested. 

Both Panetta and Hagel served in the Army during the Vietnam Era. Panetta was a second lieutenant serving in military intelligence between 1964 and 1966. Hagel enlisted in the Army and was an infantry squad leader in Vietnam between 1967 and 1968. They believe the United States isn’t doing enough to care for veterans and their mental health when they return home.

“We can’t have this,” Hagel said. “It’s a disgrace. When these men and women spend so many years in uniform, then come back and somehow slip between the cracks.”

Researchers already know the risk factors that lead the general public toward criminal behavior, but according to the VJC’s 2022 Preliminary Report, veterans have a different set of risk factors and their protective factors against those factors is thin. These risk include mental trauma from repeated deployments, PTSD, TBI, substance abuse, loss of VA benefits,  and the criminal justice system itself. 

“These are patriots, they fought for our country, and now they’re in deep trouble, and we gotta help them,” Panetta said. 

69% of veterans who are incarcerated are doing time for violent crimes, and there are twice as many vets serving life sentences as non-veterans. Aside from the latest survey that found more than 180,000 veterans self-identify as having been arrested or incarcerated, very little other data on veterans in the criminal justice system exist. 

“We’re gonna be looking through the courts, police departments, the VA, DoD,” he said. “We’re going to be making recommendations over the next two years to all these bodies based on real, deep research… we don’t have all the answers but we’re gonna find out the answers.”

Some prisons and local municipalities have responded by creating special in-prison housing units and other programs for incarcerated veterans, but little is known about their effectiveness or if these units and programs are adhering to evidence-based models of treatment and rehabilitation. 

“There’s a code that Chuck and I know from the Department of Defense,” Panetta told NBC. “Which is, you never leave anybody behind in the military… and the act that we have this huge number in federal and state prisons tells us that we are leaving them behind.”

READ MORE

‘POGO’- A 5 Star Non-Profit Government Watchdog Informing The Public For Over 40 Years

 https://www.pogo.org/about

By Ken Larson

Having been on the inside of the workings of our defense industrial base, I have been constantly impressed with the objectivity, ethics and coverage of the ” PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT (POGO)”to surface issues in a clear, factual fashion that citizens must be made aware of.

__________________________________________________________________

The issues range from waste, fraud and abuse, budgetary matters concerning our largest federal agency, ethics in government and our role on the world stage.

I was a whistle blower years ago when there were few protections for such individuals. I appreciate the support POGO lends these days to that vital function, particularly in the defense industry.

POGO’s “Federal Contractor Misconduct Data Base” is an eye opener. It is maintained scrupulously with up to date public records of major corporation government judgments containing details of judicial proceedings and related fines.

The support of POGO for ethics in government has been around for decades. Its reputation is sterling, and its regular Congressional testimony is riveting.

https://greatnonprofits.org/org/the-project-on-government-oversight-inc?search=Project%20on%20governm

America’s Most Decorated Native American Veteran Was Wounded In Three Wars

“MILITARY.COM” By Blake Stilwall

“Poolaw would become the U.S. military’s most decorated veteran, serving in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. During his service, he earned 42 medals and citations, including four Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts, one for each war in which he fought.”

________________________________________________________________

“Despite the troubled history between native tribes and the U.S. government, American Indians have served in every major American conflict in the country’s history. They also enlist in the U.S. military at five times the national average of other demographics. It’s a good thing, too, because without native warriors like Pascal Poolaw, American military history might look entirely different.

Poolaw was born into the Kiowa Nation in 1922, at a time when American Indians weren’t even considered natural-born citizens of the United States. Indigenous people wouldn’t have the right to natural-born citizenship until Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924. Poolaw’s military story isn’t just about his country, however; it’s also about his dedication to family.

He first joined the Army in 1942, following his father and two brothers who were already fighting in World War II. By 1944, he was fighting with the 4th Infantry Division in Europe. While assaulting the Siegfried Line in Belgium, then-Staff Sgt. Poolaw noticed a strong German counterattack threatening his machine gun squad.

Pushing his men forward, he began tossing grenades at the advancing enemy while under heavy returning fire. The effort dispersed the Germans and saved his unit. After repelling the German assault, his company continued its attack on the Siegfried Line. He was awarded his first Silver Star for making a stand against a concentrated enemy formation. Poolaw was also wounded in the effort, receiving his first Purple Heart.

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Poolaw was still in the Army and was sent to Korea with Army’s 25th Infantry Division. The 25th Infantry Division was one of the units that cut off the approaches to the port city of Pusan early in the war, preventing the communists from pushing United Nations forces into the sea and capturing Korea.

After the Incheon Landing put 40,000 U.S. and allied troops behind the communist lines in September 1950, the 25th broke out of what was then known as the Pusan Perimeter. Poolaw was there. Although the bulk of the enemy forces fell apart in disarray from the UN’s one-two punch, there were elements of stiff resistance. Poolaw was with a company of men against that kind of resistance.

On Sept. 19, 1950, Sgt. 1st Class Poolaw of Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment volunteered to lead a squad against a numerically superior force dug in at the top of a hill. His squad surprised the enemy’s perimeter, fighting a brutal hand-to-hand engagement while the rest of C Company followed and captured the position. Poolaw was awarded another Silver Star, but he was far from finished in Korea.

By April 1951, fighting was centered on or near the 38th Parallel, where the war had ground into a bloody stalemate. At Chongong-ni, then-Master Sgt. Poolaw’s platoon was pinned down by automatic weapons fire, mortars and whatever else the communists could throw at them.

To relieve the pressure on his men, Poolaw advanced under this onslaught, firing his rifle in the open terrain. Poolaw distracted the enemy, drawing all their fire on himself. As he moved, his platoon maneuvered to a better vantage point and returned fire on the enemy position, and he was awarded a third Silver Star.

His courage under fire in Korea earned him a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant and later a promotion to first lieutenant. He returned to the United States shortly after, where his four sons, all of whom would serve in the military, were growing up fast. In 1962, Poolaw retired from the Army after 20 years of service and four years in combat.

But Poolaw wasn’t away from the Army for long. The United States was soon involved in another war, this time in Vietnam. His sons were old enough to serve and three of them would fight in Vietnam. In 1967, Pascal Poolaw Jr. lost his right leg to a land mine there. Shortly after, his son Lindy received a draft notice and would soon be on his way to Vietnam. The elder Poolaw decided to reenlist and serve one more time.

To ensure he would see action in Vietnam, Poolaw resigned his commission, became a non-commissioned officer once more and volunteered to serve in combat, all in an effort to keep Lindy out of the war zones. He missed deploying with his son by one day.

Deploying to Vietnam with the 26th Infantry Regiment in May 1967, he was named first sergeant of his company. A few months later, he was on a search and destroy mission as part of Operation Shenandoah II in Loc Ninh. It was an attempt to secure South Vietnam’s Highway 13 as it was being repaired for use by American and South Vietnamese forces.

The company was moving through a rubber plantation as it was ambushed by the Viet Cong. The ambush began with accurate sniper fire, but the unit was soon engulfed by claymore mines, rockets, small arms and automatic weapons. Outnumbered and outgunned, Poolaw tried to organize the lead squad to establish a base of fire and move wounded troops.

Already wounded in the initial ambush, Poolaw was hit by incoming Viet Cong fire as he attempted to pull one of his wounded soldiers to safety. He succumbed to the wound that day, Nov. 7, 1967, at the age of 45. He posthumously received his fourth Silver Star and third Purple Heart.

Irene Poolaw, his wife of 37 years, said in his eulogy: “He has followed the trail of the great chiefs. His people hold him in honor and highest esteem. He has given his life for the people and the country he loved so much.”

https://www.military.com/history/americas-most-decorated-native-american-veteran-was-wounded-three-wars.html?utm_campaign=dfn-ebb&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sailthru&SToverlay=2002c2d9-c344-4bbb-8610-e5794efcfa7d

— Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

 

Are Americans Truly Independent?

THE BRANCH UPON WHICH WE SIT

Technology has permitted marvelous advances and opportunities in communication and convenience. 

It has also impacted independent thought and created concerns with respect to privacy and transparency in government. Our focus has shifted recently to sophisticated forms of government technological control that may be both legal and illegal, and are being challenged in our court systems.

Mass marketing and communications have created expectations beyond reality in venues from romance web sites to building wealth.  They have also confused us about our government functions, our elected representatives and where they are taking us.

We have grown used to the convenience of viewing the world through media sound bites, opinionated, biased, news and insincere, short sighted, money driven politicians, who are financed by loosely controlled contributors and influenced by lobbying firms that spend enormous amounts of money made available by the wealthy to impact our opinions.

We have become less competitive in the global economy, as a concentration of wealth has shifted to a very few and our corporations evolve operations outside the country, taking the resulting tax relief, profits, investments and resources with them. 

Are Corporations More Powerful Than Countries?

THE CONUNDRUM

Consider simpler times a few years past (say 50). Trust was necessary in many venues as a means of survival on a day-to-day basis. We relied on others extensively for our well-being from our local store to our banker, from the policeman to the politician. And we knew them all better, we could reach out and touch them and we were not viewing them in sound bites and web sites, nor were we being bombarded with multiple forms of input to digest about them.

Americans have very little trust in the current era.  We see a negative, idealistically bound, bloated government, growing like a money- eating beast and putting generations in hock with unwarranted incursions into foreign countries and a focus on big corporations and big business. 

THE CHALLENGE

The key to our true independence is in becoming involved as individuals, taking flight on wings that grow strong by exercising our intellect, our shared opinions and our participation in government.  We must research a personal perspective based on our personal values and take time in the fast pace our culture demands to communicate with those we elect to government – before and after the election.

Trust is hard to establish in the modern era.  We see very little true statesmanship in the good people we send to Washington, who promptly become ground up in the huge machine there in order to survive.  That machine must change and the people we send to change it must share that objective with us. 

HOW STRONG ARE OUR WINGS?

Communications and expectations are two vital elements in measuring trust.
To an extraordinary extent, the age in which we live is requiring us to redefine trust and the degree to which communication and expectations contribute to it.  To become truly independent, we must become much more sophisticated ourselves in the manner with which we view all this input and sift it in a meaningful way to have true trust.

To a very large degree this is a personal responsibility. We must become involved, make prudent judgments and think for ourselves, then communicate our expectations to those who represent us.

If we do not, we run a high risk of tyranny and that fact is inescapable. 

Commentary On Getting Old

PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

A Q&A web site posted the following question pertaining to getting old. Below is my response:

QUESTION:

What is old age to you?

We have heard 40 is the new 30, but yet I think "old" seems to always stay the same distance for me. At 25 I thought 50 was old, at 35 I thought 60 was old, now I have hit 50, 75 is old.I know true age is more a matter of mind, but I would love to know how old you are and at what age you think you will be old.

MY ANSWER

I took a fall on the ice a few winters ago in front of the Middle School and 2 dozen 5th graders. The fall didn't hurt nearly as much as the laughter and the subsequent whispers later that year, "There goes that old guy again, do you think he might fall?"   He looked just like a helicopter!

I took a nap out in the wildlife refuge in a beautiful stand of aromatic pines. When I awoke I found two huge turkey buzzards staring at me intently from their perch nearby. I had known I was getting older but had not realized I had reached the carrion stage.

I reported a pollution spill in the Vermilion River and the Minneapolis paper picked up the story. A reader commented on the web site that the Minnesota pollution control program had now been relegated to an "Old Guy" in a vets home. 

I feel fine about getting old. It's how I am perceived by others that bothers me.

How Does A Combat Vet Feel He Hears A Civilian Say, "We Shouldn't Be Over There, We Should Worry About Ourselves"?

"War on the Rocks" New Rules for U.S. Military Intervention

The civilian must accept his or her role in the issue. Elected representatives appropriate money and approve U.S. activities in other countries. Solders go where they are ordered by their commander.

If the civilian wishes change, then change can be at hand if the elected official is contacted and a strong input from the citizenry makes the demand heard.

“Rose Covered Glasses”

Quora Veterans Opinions on Today’s Warfare

“FOREIGN POLICY”  By Rosa Brooks

“Asking warriors to do everything poses great dangers for our country — and the military. Our armed services have become the one-stop shop for America’s policymakers.

Here’s the vicious circle in which we’ve trapped ourselves: As we face novel security threats from novel quarters — emanating from nonstate terrorist networks, from cyberspace, and from the impact of poverty, genocide, or political repression, for instance — we’ve gotten into the habit of viewing every new threat through the lens of “war,” thus asking our military to take on an ever-expanding range of nontraditional tasks.

But viewing more and more threats as “war” brings more and more spheres of human activity into the ambit of the law of war, with its greater tolerance of secrecy, violence, and coercion — and its reduced protections for basic rights.”

How the Pentagon Became Walmart

An Employer Perspective And A Veteran’s Response To: “Top 9 Obstacles To Employment Veterans Face”

                                                     Image: getfive.com

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The following article from “Military.Com” is an excellent treatise from an employer perspective about the challenges often faced by veterans returning to or entering the civilian workplace.

It does not fully address, however, an understanding of why these challenges exist and what to do about them from both employer and employee perspectives. For that insight I suggest you combine your review of this article with the article at our companion blog , “Smalltofeds” “ Meeting Veteran & Employer Challenges During Transition from Military to Civilian Work”

https://www.smalltofeds.com/2015/08/meeting-veteran-employer-challenges.html

A respectful partnership and realistic expectations must evolve between the veteran and the company for success in transitioning former military personnel into the civilian work force. This must be achieved through education, training, communication and assessment of both the veteran and the company personnel.

"MILITARY.COM”

"Transitioning from the military into civilian life isn’t always easy. Despite the fact that you come from the same country and speak the same language, the culture of the civilian working world is radically different from the U.S. military. Both have different hierarchies, practices, and industry-specific language. Making a successful transition means learning a new set of skills to adapt to civilian workforce culture. Business Insider provided a list of the top nine obstacles transitioning veterans usually face, and we’ve touched one each of them for you below.

1. You don’t see the transition from the military as starting over professionally.

When you first joined the military, how much did you know about it? Maybe a few basic concepts from books or what you heard from friends and family, but not much else. It took months of training and acclimatizing to fully integrate, and years to move up the ranks. Every step of the way brought new lessons and new ways of doing things.

The working world is no different. No matter what you did in the military, no matter how competent you are with the core skills necessary to do the job you want, it takes training and experience to climb the ranks. Although some may move quickly, the learning curve is unavoidable.

When they join the civilian workforce, it’s important that veterans realize they are, more often than not, taking a step down. Their responsibilities won’t be as intense or, likely, important as they were in the military. Accepting that is imperative to maintaining a focused, realistic perspective.

2. You overestimate how unique your skills and experiences are.

Years of intense experiences have shaped you in many positive ways. You should be a shoe-in for any civilian job, right? If there were far fewer people competing for the same positions, then maybe. Monster.com reported that 470,000 resumes were uploaded every week in 2012. If you compare that number to the number of job openings available, you have roughly 187 candidates, qualified or not, per job. No matter how qualified you are, you’re likely competing with many others who are just as capable as you or are otherwise flooding the recruiter or hiring manager. Don’t ever rely on your inherent worth – finding jobs will always require work.

3. Your resume is too long or too short.

How do you condense the depth and breadth of your work history and military experience into a single sheet of paper? According to Business Insider, you don’t. The trick is to cherry-pick jobs and tasks from your work history, military experience included, that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. That means you might need to create a slew of resumes for different applications, but doing so will prove fruitful. An employer will respond more favorably to a resume that clearly identifies what in your history suits you well to the open position rather than a laundry list of miscellaneous accomplishments.

4. You did not proofread your resume.

If your version of proofreading is scanning for all the red squiggly lines and unthinkingly making the suggested changes, you’re doing it wrong. Proofreading tools that accompany word processors are powerful but limited. They won’t always catch obvious spelling mistakes, sometimes autocorrect to the wrong word, and their sense of grammar isn’t as impeccable as yours should be. Take the time to honestly analyze every single sentence and scrutinize each punctuation mark. Have other people read it, read it five more times yourself, then have even more people read it; do whatever it takes, even using a professional resume writing service, to make sure your grammar, spelling, and formatting are impeccable.

5. You aren’t using LinkedIn, or your profile isn’t complete.

The civilian working world takes LinkedIn seriously, and so should you. You don’t have to be a social media expert, but creating a complete profile and remaining open to networking opportunities will serve well any job-seeker. Some may even argue it’s a necessity. A LinkedIn profile shows off that you’re capable of navigating modern technology and adapting to shifting business standards. Even if you don’t have your sights set on working in upper management, having an easily accessible professional online profile will help you regardless of your chosen industry.

6. You aren’t trying to leverage social media.

A few years ago, scoffing at Myspace or the then young Facebook wasn’t an outmoded thing to do. Social media started off as an interesting way to reach out to others online, but only recently has it exploded into a nearly ubiquitous cultural phenomenon and enraptured the working world. Just as with LinkedIn, you don’t have to be an expert but competency will make you a stronger candidate.

Websites like Facebook and Google+ allow you to remain in contact with individuals who may offer you a new job; even if you don’t see each other face to face on a regular basis, professionals tend to remember who they like and trust when it’s time to fill a position. Furthermore, Twitter isn’t just for bragging about food or lamenting about “first world problems” – hiring managers and companies alike often tweet about job openings and provide information about their company, industry, and other useful information.

7. You did not prepare adequately for the interview.

No matter how many jokes you’ve heard about professionals successfully faking their way through work, the reality is that valuable employees train, prepare, and make sure they’re ready to accomplish a given task. Job interviews aren’t to be taken lightly, and research and practice can only help you. The more you know about a company and the industries it’s a part of, the more knowledgeable and prepared you’ll appear during an interview. Potential employers respond well to candidates who show genuine interest, and that’s proven by knowing who they are, what they do, who their competition is, what industry trends they’re grappling with; the list goes on and on.

8. You wrote a lackluster thank you note.

Thank you notes are simple, easy, and help you stand out. After a job interview, get busy procuring and crafting your note, and make sure it gets to the right people as soon as possible. Having said that, it’s not enough to write: “Dear potential employer, thank you for the interview. I’m awesome. Take care, veteran of the U.S. Military.” The thank you needs to be accompanied by genuine introspection. Recall what you discussed during the interview, and mention one or two points in the thank you note. The note itself is a mark of appreciation, but what you write is an indicator of what you learned and how much you pay attention.

9. You don’t know what you want to do.

If you really don’t know what you want to do professionally, your job-searching forays are a poor time and place to figure it out. Candidates who lack focus aren’t appealing to employers. You might not know what you want to do, but no one else will figure it out for you, especially hiring managers and recruiters. Rather than use job listings and the application process to find your path, try securing informational interviews, attending gatherings for different careers, and researching online.”

Nine Obstacles to Employment Veterans Face

"ODYSSEY OF ARMAMENTS" - Inside Pentagon Procurement from Vietnam to Iraq

This document is free electronically in pdf format. An excerpt is provided below.

If you desire a copy of the book please download it in Adobe format from the "BOX" Cube in the mid- margin of this site to your immediate right or at Odyssey of Armaments at Academia. edu

- Ken Larson - from the book, "Odyssey of Armaments, My Journey Through the Defense Industrial Complex"

In 1968, I came home from serving two US Army tours in Vietnam, having been awarded five medals, including a Bronze Star. During my second tour I acquired Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Depression. Treatment would not become available for either ailment until the mid to late 70's. Returning to the University of Minnesota at Morris, I found that most of my former classmates were either facing the military draft or were violently against the war. I was not their favorite person.

Feeling isolated and alone, I was unable to relate to my family due to untreated Depression and PTSD. Disillusioned with school, I moved to Minneapolis Minnesota and began a career in the Defense Industrial Complex that would span over three decades from 1969 through 2005. I thought that through working on defense systems, I could contribute to the quality and quantity of weapons that the next generation would take to war. Given a clearly defined mission and the best armaments and systems in the world, I believed that another Vietnam could be avoided for the American Soldier.

In pursuit of this goal, I participated in the design, development and production of 25 large scale weapons systems under Federal Government and Foreign Military Sales Contracts. I worked in several different disciplines for the companies that produced these weapons, negotiating and controlling the associated contracts with procurement agencies in the US Armed Forces and in 16 allied countries.By the time treatment for PTSD and Depression became available, I had such high security clearances that had I been treated for these disorders, the US Government would have revoked my clearances and my career would have ended or would have been sharply curtailed. This quandary led to my journey through the Defense Industrial Complex.

I found that accepting extreme challenges and succeeding at them became a way to displace PTSD and elevate depressive moods. For extended periods of time this method of self-management led to a satisfying, although somewhat adventurous and diversified life. However, down periods always occurred, especially after the latest challenge had been met. A new challenge was then required. Family, friends and acquaintances were often puzzled by the frequent changes in my job sites and locations. Two marriages fell by the wayside.

I became known in the industry as a front-end loaded trouble shooter on complex projects, installing processes and business systems required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. These systems included estimating and pricing, proposal preparation, contract administration, cost and schedule control, program management, design to cost, life cycle cost, export management and other specialties unique to US Government Contracts. Getting through government source selection boards and surviving audits during competition was a significant challenge for defense contractors. 

Installing required business systems after contract award, under ambitious cost, schedule and technical conditions, was an even more difficult undertaking. I became a leader in the problem solving and creative processes necessary to win contracts and successfully fulfill them. When my mood demanded it, there was always a new job, with a new challenge and a subsequent elevated feeling from success. It was not unusual for a career professional in the Defense Industry to move regularly with the ebb and flow of competitive procurements and associated government funding shifts.I came to know many of the career military and civil servants who managed the government procurement process. These individuals never went away, regardless of elections or politics. They developed the alternatives from which elected officials must choose. The American Public rarely heard from these powerful insiders, while the insiders slanted the choices supplied to elected officials in a self-perpetuating manner.

I recognized the mirror image way in which procuring agencies and defense contractors organized their operations on the largest systems acquisitions. Key executives regularly moved back and forth between government and industry. I often observed the short, happy life of a defense company program manager. Appointed by the powerful insiders to head a single project, he had no authority over company resources, he perpetually competed with other program managers for the same talent pool and he always took the heat from management when things did not go well. His counterpart in the government quarters had similar experiences. I often supported several program managers at the same time. They all were desperate to achieve success. They each believed they had the most important program in the company.

In early 2005, approaching age sixty, I found myself unable to self-manage an extremely deep depressive episode. The journey had simply wound down. This situation nearly resulted in an end to my life. Recovering with help from my family and the US Veteran's Administration, I now reside in a veteran's home, volunteering through the Service Corps of Retired Executives(SCORE)and MicroMentor Foundations to Small,Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned and Minority-Owned businesses that are pursuing contracts with the Federal Government. I provide advice, alternatives and business examples based on my experiences. It is refreshing to witness the successes of small, motivated and flexible companies. I believe they deserve every special consideration they have achieved under our system of government.

After thirty-six years in the Defense Industrial Complex my greatest satisfaction came from watching "Stormin Norman" and his Gulf War Forces defeat the Iraqi Army in Operation Desert Storm. They used the Abrams Main Battle Tank, the Hellfire Missile and an array of communications and other systems on which I worked. I have had the privilege of meeting several young soldiers coming back from current conflicts in the Middle East who have praised these systems for their life saving performances.Operation Desert Storm had a clearly defined mission to liberate a small country from an aggressor. We accomplished the mission utilizing the best weapons in the world. Unfortunately, we did not leave the area. 

The lessons of Vietnam have not been remembered and once again political factors govern our presence in several countries. This time it is the Middle East. Future combat systems are now under development geared for urban warfare with unmanned vehicles, state of the art sensors and remote standoff capabilities. The enemy has grown to become a formidable force, cable of striking without notice even within our own country. He threatens the world economy with violent disruptions in several domains at the same time. He is a product of our own creation, rebelling against the "US Police Force" with help from neighbors who play either benign or active roles. 

Our enemy knows his neighborhood far better than we do. US intelligence and military capabilities are strained to the maximum monitoring perceived hot spots all over the globe. We must face the fact that our long term presence in other countries is resented.

How much longer can we afford to be the "World's Policeman"? We are spending over $700B per year for defense, homeland security and nation building. Investments we are making in developing new democracies are draining our domestic programs such as health care, stifling the education of our young people and limiting research and development in valuable commercial technologies. 

The largest corporations selling to our government are no more than extensions of our government in the cloak of industry. They are not in the business of making money for the stockholder. They are in the business of spending money for the government. As a result they are some of the poorest growth stocks on Wall Street.

Recent consolidation in the Defense Industrial Complex has dramatically reduced competition. Only public laws mandating a twenty per cent allocation of Federal Contract Funding to small business have kept diversification in the mix. Even then, much of the moneys that flow to small business go through a select group of large business prime contractors who add their respective overhead and general administrative expense to the small business cost and pass it on to the government.

When we consider the largest evolving countries in the world today, such as China, India and others, we should note that they are successfully competing with us in a fast moving, complex world economy. These countries are not all pure democracies and probably never will be. No overt action on our part created these powerhouses. As we struggle to compete with them we must have education, research and development and a healthy work force to keep pace. How much can we afford to spend forcing our capitalistic ideologies on other societies? Events have proven that the world has become a tightly wound place economically. Countries who wish to succeed and grow will play the game anyway.

I hope that this account of my experiences has supplied useful insights into the US Government Defense Industrial Complex. My odyssey was driven by a need to manage illnesses acquired in warfare. I found a way to deal with the maladies for years by spreading myself thin and accepting every new challenge. I thrilled at success and moved on after defeat, pursuing a misguided goal. 

Out of necessity I have now been forced to look inward, wind down to a smaller perspective, take care of my health - begin serving the little guy.

Perhaps it is time for our country to consider a similar transition.