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VETERAN RANKS ARE THIN IN THE 110TH CONGRESS --
Just 29% of Senators and 23% of House Members
have served in the U.S. Military.
Story here...
http://www.nbc17.com/
midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-
NCN-2007-02-03-0001.html
Story below:
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Veteran Ranks Thin in Congress
James Crawley
National Correspondent
WASHINGTON - As Congress debates the war in Iraq, the Senate and House
are short on experience -- military experience.
Only 29 senators and 23 percent of House members today have ever worn a
uniform. Those are the lowest percentages since World War II.
Several who follow Congress say the lack of military experience is
unlikely to sway the current debate over the President Bush's new war
strategy. But it does affect oversight and legislation on other military
matters that fail to make the front page but have huge impacts on
readiness and the armed forces' future.
The war debate "is so public, frankly it will have little effect," said
national security analyst Jeff McCausland. "Congressmen and senators are
being inundated by their constituents who, one way or the other, have
very strong feelings" about the war.
"My concern is in the nuance military issues -- veterans' benefits,
military construction costs, the backlog in rebuilding (damaged)
equipment -- issues that aren't sexy," said McCausland, director of
national security affairs at Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney, a Washington
law firm.
Only 130 of the 535 senators and representatives in the recently seated
110th Congress served on active duty or in the reserves of the Army,
Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard, a review by Media General News
Service has found.
It's the lowest number since World War II, when 196 veterans served on
the Hill in 1945.
After World War II ended, a candidate's veteran status became a campaign
issue in the late 1940s and early 1950s, said Donald Ritchie, associate
historian of the Senate.
Through the Sixties, Ritchie said, "It was more uncommon not to serve in
the military."
With the high proportion of veterans, Ritchie said, the military
services benefited when it came time for Congress to dole out money for
new bombers, fighters, ships and tanks. Being a veteran and staying in
the reserves was good for the politicians too.
"The military was very good about getting promotions for those
(congressmen) in the reserves," he added.
The ranks of veterans in the House peaked at 317 in 1973. In the Senate,
78 senators were vets in 1977.
But since then, the roll call of veterans has become much shorter.
Public discontent over the Vietnam War, plus elimination of the draft,
meant fewer people joined the armed forces.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Congress has been dealing with the
gamut of military issues -- from funding bullets, armored Humvees and
more troops to boosting pay, benefits and life insurance.
Being a veteran does help, said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who served in
the Army and reserves during the Vietnam era.
"When you have military experience, like I do, it gives you a base of
knowledge," Nelson said. Other senators "naturally look to those with
experience," he said.
But, he added, being a veteran doesn't much matter in the ongoing debate
over Iraq. Nelson has criticized the surge of 21,500 troops to assist
Iraqi forces.
Organizations representing veterans and military personnel said they
spend more time lobbying non-veterans -- both politicians and staff
members -- than those who served.
"The impact to us is we have to educate them on veterans' issues," said
David Greineder, deputy national legislative director for AMVETS.
The lack of veterans in Congress has resulted in an "insensitivity" to
the burdens placed on troops and their families by the war and frequent
deployments, said Steve Strobridge, director of government relations for
Military Officers Association of America.
"One percent of the population is bearing 100 percent of the burden of
the war," he said.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may fuel a resurgence of the veteran
ranks in politics.
"With the war dominating politics, I think there will be more veterans
running as candidates (in 2008)," said Winslow Wheeler, director of the
Straus Military Reform Project.
Of the seven Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who ran for Congress last
November, only three won.
Unlike during Vietnam, Wheeler said, the public honors returning troops.
Being a veteran "is definitely a positive on the resume rather than
something to hide," he said.
E-mail James W. Crawley, national correspondent for Media General News
Service, at
jcrawley@mediageneral.com.
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Larry Scott --
