Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
Americans like their army being a little rough around the edges, and they like it being something that good citizens form in times of need, and that melts back down to its professional core once that need is over. The irony is, that the "profession of arms" that prevents the formation of such a citizenry, is perhaps the group that grieves their fading from the American fabric the most.
Bob,

I don't mean to take anything from your excellent points but I would like to refocus them a bit. You maintain "Americans like their army being a little rough around the edges", however, I suggest Americans like their army to successfully defend the country no matter how rough or refined.

I agree with your view of the historical evolution of the American military is important and we need to keep the public interest in mind. But since we do not know what challenges we may face in the future and how much time we will have to respond, we cannot afford to build an army just in time of need "something that good citizens form in times of need".

If we have a quality professional force prepared to respond to the next challenge rapidly and at the earliest sign of trouble, by actively seeking out the weak signals, we are more likely to address the problem when it is small and less costly in resources of blood and treasure, to nip the problem in the bud so to speak. If we follow your advice, our forces would not be ready to react quickly and we would have to wait while we train the "good citizens" before we could act thus making us far less proactive and more likely to ignore small problems until they become overwhelming consuming far more blood and treasure.

Just saying.

Bill Jakola