thedrifter
12-21-04, 08:04 AM
12-19-2004
A ‘Signature’ Win for the Families
By Ed Offley
To those fortunate people who have not endured the agony and grief of losing a loved one in Iraq and Afghanistan, the issue of whether or not the Secretary of Defense personally signed a condolence, or had the document executed with an autopen machine, may seem abstract and not that important.
But to soldiers and their families, this seemingly minor point carries great resonance, for such a letter is supposed to reflect the fact that the U.S. military – despite its size and far-flung operations – is even today, in this era of smart weapons and spaced-based sensors, a band of brothers united in common cause to protect the nation. There is no better way to symbolize that spirit of community than to have the nation’s senior defense official personally sign the personal communication to a slain soldier’s loved ones.
So it was with genuine outrage that our senior military columnist, David H. Hackworth, recently revealed that Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld had been resorting to an autopen to affix his signature on letters of condolence to military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan (“With Deepest Sympathy,” DefenseWatch, Nov. 22, 2004).
As a combat leader in both Korea and Vietnam, Hack knew that this was no mere bureaucratic process. He wrote:
“I will never forget the pain when I signed KIA letters in Korea and Vietnam. I would choke up as I signed them – I could see the boys’ faces, their cocky smiles, their muddy soldier suits. Each signing reinforced the awesome responsibility I carried as a leader to be as protective as possible about the young lives entrusted to me.”
Hack went on to scold the SecDef for “relinquishing this sacred duty to a signature device,” passing on the words of one embittered father who received an autopen-signed letter, that Rumsfeld “could keep his squash schedule but not find the time to sign his dead son’s letter.”
We at SFTT.org are pleased to note that such a stern lecture has had positive results. The military newspaper *Stars & Stripes reported this week that in response to Hack’s column, the SecDef has decided to give up the autopen and will now personally sign each condolence letter (Also see an article in *The Washington Post on the incident).
In a statement provided to Stars & Stripes, Rumsfeld said:
“At the earliest moment in the global war on terror, I determined that it is important that military families who have lost loved ones in hostile actions receive a letter from me directly.”
“I wrote and approved the now more than 1000 letters sent to family members and next of kin of each of the servicemen and women killed in military action. While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter.”
Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at dweditor@yahoo.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com. © 2004 Ed Offley.
Ellie
A ‘Signature’ Win for the Families
By Ed Offley
To those fortunate people who have not endured the agony and grief of losing a loved one in Iraq and Afghanistan, the issue of whether or not the Secretary of Defense personally signed a condolence, or had the document executed with an autopen machine, may seem abstract and not that important.
But to soldiers and their families, this seemingly minor point carries great resonance, for such a letter is supposed to reflect the fact that the U.S. military – despite its size and far-flung operations – is even today, in this era of smart weapons and spaced-based sensors, a band of brothers united in common cause to protect the nation. There is no better way to symbolize that spirit of community than to have the nation’s senior defense official personally sign the personal communication to a slain soldier’s loved ones.
So it was with genuine outrage that our senior military columnist, David H. Hackworth, recently revealed that Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld had been resorting to an autopen to affix his signature on letters of condolence to military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan (“With Deepest Sympathy,” DefenseWatch, Nov. 22, 2004).
As a combat leader in both Korea and Vietnam, Hack knew that this was no mere bureaucratic process. He wrote:
“I will never forget the pain when I signed KIA letters in Korea and Vietnam. I would choke up as I signed them – I could see the boys’ faces, their cocky smiles, their muddy soldier suits. Each signing reinforced the awesome responsibility I carried as a leader to be as protective as possible about the young lives entrusted to me.”
Hack went on to scold the SecDef for “relinquishing this sacred duty to a signature device,” passing on the words of one embittered father who received an autopen-signed letter, that Rumsfeld “could keep his squash schedule but not find the time to sign his dead son’s letter.”
We at SFTT.org are pleased to note that such a stern lecture has had positive results. The military newspaper *Stars & Stripes reported this week that in response to Hack’s column, the SecDef has decided to give up the autopen and will now personally sign each condolence letter (Also see an article in *The Washington Post on the incident).
In a statement provided to Stars & Stripes, Rumsfeld said:
“At the earliest moment in the global war on terror, I determined that it is important that military families who have lost loved ones in hostile actions receive a letter from me directly.”
“I wrote and approved the now more than 1000 letters sent to family members and next of kin of each of the servicemen and women killed in military action. While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter.”
Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at dweditor@yahoo.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com. © 2004 Ed Offley.
Ellie