Ready, Fire, Aim should have been the campaign slogan for President Barack Obama. He Is still campaigning isn’t he?
On Friday, 09-25-2009 the Obama Administration sent a message to congress outlining priorities for a military spending bill. In it was the disapproval for pensions to be paid to 26 elderly members of the World War II era Alaska Territorial Guard. You read that right.
These Guardsmen were assigned to protect Alaska from the Japanese during World War II.
That’s not going over too well with some of the Senators, nor the rest of the humans in America. Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski writes, ““It is deeply disappointing, bordering on insensitive, that the Obama administration has registered its opposition to the legislation that Senator Begich and I have proposed which would reinstate the Defense Department’s previous policy of counting service in the Alaska Territorial Guard as active duty service for the purpose of calculating military retirement payments. The administration’s justification, which is that the legislation will set the precedent of treating service as a State employee as federal service, defies logic and history.” Read her full article here.
Senator Mark Begich, also of Alaska stated, “We are talking about 26 brave, elderly Alaska Natives who served honorably for this country during World War II,” Begich said in a statement. “I, frankly, find it puzzling how the administration could object to giving these men the recognition they deserve. The federal government deserted these men at the end of the war, and I hope the Congress and my colleagues in the Senate won’t let that happen again.” Read Senator Begich’s statement here regarding retirement benefits to ATG Members
This issue has no party. Senator Begich is of the Democratic party and Senator Murkowski is a Republican.
In understanding history, Alaska was NOT a state in 1942, it was a territory. Had it been a state, Alaska would be responsible. Since it was a territory, it falls under Federal Jurisdiction.
Is this showing lack of experience? Lack of sensitivity? Lack of patriotism? Or simply stated… lack of leadership?
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