| OCR Text |
Show TOUGHER HERE/continued ness and supported his three-year recovery period every step of the way. Today, our military-families fund, named in honor of Bob Hope,is essential.” Military personnel who complain Is there more to Mr. Peanut than meets the eye? abouta lack of on-post housing, which causes them to pay high rents in town, maybe getting helpatlast. On May8, Defense Secretary Perry announced a $1 billion plan to encourage the pri- vate sector to build new housing on military bases. Many members of Congress seemed receptiveto the idea. But Pentagon spending overthe next five years is primarily aimed at modernizing weapons systemsand at readiness training. At CampPendleton, Lt. Gen. Anthony Zinni explains: “In combat, beinga split second off could mean lot of people losingtheirlives —creating many widowsand orphans. So we’ ve gotto train well. Some peo- ple wantus to reduce ourtraining to pay for better quality oflife. But I have a responsibility to families to bring their loved ones home if we go to war.” Most ofthe recently announced “qual- ity of life” funding will not be available until the year 2000. Bythat time,“there will be long-term repercussions in termsoflosttraining, and morale and family problems,” warns Rep. Floyd Spence (R., S.C.), chairman of the House National Security Committee. The pro- posed increase in pay for the military, which now averages 12 percent below the figure for civilians, will barely keep up with the rising costofliving. “The bottom line,” observes Maj. Lawrence Krause of the Fort Hood Chaplain Office,“is that our soldiers preserve our freedoms. More important than equipment and technology is morale. If the society they defend won't provide for their families’ needs, how can we expect them to go off tc war or peacekeeping and not worry abouttheir children’s well-being?” - 1745 Jefferson Davis Highway, Dept. P, Arlington, Va. 22202. Army Emergency Retief, 200 Stovall St., Dept. P, Alexandria Va. 22332. Arlington, Va. 22203-1978. American Red Cross, Public Inquiry, 8111 Gatehouse Road, Dept. P, Falls Church, Va. 22042. PAGE @ - MAY 26, 1996 - PARADE MAGAZINE |
