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This letter was addressed and sent to congressman Jack Bergman on Sept. 7
Mr. Trump has been consistently antagonistic towards military service. While the Vietnam War raged, many young men avoided the draft by going to Canada. The president avoided the draft using a medical deferment by claiming bone spurs. Years later, the president's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, asked the president for medical documentation relating to his bone spurs. President Trump didn't give him any and said, "You think I’m stupid? I wasn’t going to Vietnam."
Retired four-star Marine General John Kelly, chief of staff in the president's first term, said that the president thought people who defended their country were "suckers." The Atlantic reported that he specifically called the Marines who died at Belleau Wood "suckers."
He disparaged John McCain, who showed extraordinary bravery while held captive by North Vietnam. More recently, when asked about the historically long deployment of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, the president said it was "not nearly long enough."
Recently disregarding military expertise, he placed his fickle feelings above naval engineers by ordering the Navy to stop using modern electromagnetic aircraft launch systems (EMALs) on aircraft carriers. He wants to return to 1950s steam-powered catapults.
The old catapult systems used steam that built up pressure in pistons below deck until released to jarringly sling aircraft down the deck. After each launch, the steam hisses out of the slot in the deck that attaches catapults to a hook used to sling-shot aircraft off the carrier, making for dramatic cinema. To keep the piston from blowing out the bow of the carrier, a water cushion was used. Steam needed to build up for the next launch. EMALs are ready instantly after launch.
Boilers and pipes take up more room and require more sailors than EMALs. Because steam catapults are slower, EMALs can launch 1/3 more aircraft.
According to military.com, the president's order will require the retrofitting of a carrier that is already under construction, increasing the cost by billions and delaying its deployment by a couple of years.
Using no-bid contracts to cronies to turn water into slime in the Lincoln Reflecting Pool was a national embarrassment. Placing personal taste over military effectiveness is dangerous. Article I of the Constitution gives you the necessary authority to check a capricious commander-in-chief. What will you do?
Letters to the editor reflect the opinions of the individual authors.