MILITARY READINESS

September 2000
		Is the U.S. military properly prepared to provide for the national defense? Gore defense adviser Gordon Adams, retired US Army Col. David Hackworth, former Defense Dept. official Lawrence Korb and Bush defense adviser Stephen Hadley take your questions.

Forum introduction Has the definition of readiness changed? How can we ensure the safety of military personnel? Are false readiness reports common? What enemy is the military allegedly unprepared to fight? What can be done to boost military morale? Is mandatory anthrax immunization causing morale to sink?     Sept. 14, 2000: Four experts discuss military readiness. Online Special: Coverage of the Missile Defense Debate August 9, 2000: Whether or not to build a defense system. July 10, 2000: The Pentagon's second failed test of the National Missile Defense System Browse the NewsHour's full coverage of military issues     US Department of Defense

Kurt Klein of Temecula, CA asks: I believe that Anthrax immunization has been a profoundly damaging program in that it has caused officers and enlisted to question the trust they place in senior leadership. Do you have anything to add on this, and do you agree that this issue has had a severe effect on our military morale and readiness?   Gordon Adams responds: I have little to add on the anthrax issue, sorry.   Stephen Hadley responds: The vaccination program is a very serious issue. Maintaining the trust and confidence of our men and women in uniform is critical to the future of our armed forces. Some months ago, Governor Bush called for the Commander-in-Chief and our military leaders to be very mindful of the concerns of our men and women in uniform and their families about the vaccine, and called for the government to do more to address their concerns. Hopefully the current administration will respond.   Col. David Hackworth responds: Yes. Trust is a very essential item -- and it's gone through the five previous questions. If we could trust the senior leadership, if we could trust the wisdom of the people at the top regarding our defense strategy and the way we spend our defense dollars. And the basic problem is that trust has just disappeared from the people at the bottom, because they've seen again and again misuses of power. The anthrax thing is a very clear example. It's a vaccine that no one has confidence in, that's being shoved down the throat of those people on active duty and those reserve units that are deployed to an area where anthrax might be used. There are so many questions about it -- not only among the ranks, but also among Congress and the scientific community. When you look at the end result of what happened to, perhaps, 100,000 or more casualties during Desert Storm, out of 600,000 people that were deployed in the desert -- and some of those could come from a vaccine that they were forced to take that was not tested. This vaccine has not been approved by federal authorities and the whole thing is extremely questionable, and it has just ripped the guts out of the military. So many people have refused to take the inoculation, and, as a result, they've been either booted out, court-martialed, punished in some way -- careers ruined. What we need to do is say "Wait a minute." We go back to that basic question that a corporal would ask his lieutenant when he's sent out on patrol -- "What's the threat, sir?" And we've got to go back and ask what's the threat of an enemy using anthrax. And, if he uses it, how effective will it be? How will he distribute it? If it doesn't come out as a high priority, then we should ask if it's necessary -- because it's destroying our force. Lawrence Korb responds: The Anthrax Immunization program was a disaster from its inception. It should have been voluntary, not mandatory, and should not have been started until there was much more evidence that it was needed and safe. It certainly had a terrible impact on morale.