Ah, the whining of Fred Reed--a poor man's Che!

John W. Powell

Date published: 10/12/2006

After reading Fred Reed's op-ed ["In Iraq, the officer corps fails us--but the snuffies won't long be fooled," Oct. 7], I was not sure if I should be amused, insulted, or angry.

I chose amused, because how could anyone make such statements as facts and be serious about them?

Mr. Reed has obviously dropped out of the mainstream to become a Che Guevara wannabe, from the looks of his photo, and probably has never had any one-on-one conversations with any currently serving "snuffy" or officer.

I have known both excellent and poor officers and snuffies alike. I suspect that Mr. Reed wrote this based on his own disillusionment with his service as a Vietnam-era Marine, and not on any current information he possesses.

There is always at least one subordinate who thinks he is smarter than his commander and questions any command.

If Mr. Reed was one of these, then he probably caused dissension in his unit and ran afoul of the command structure. This must have led to the attitude he has shown in his writing.

To characterize the snuffies as blue-collar may have been the norm in 1965, but today's enlisted members are sharp, and many are college graduates.

I would submit that the leadership by RLOs (Real Live Officers) of these enlisted personnel is pretty good and that they, themselves, make pretty good leaders, as well.

Otherwise, why do they continue to re-enlist and serve in combat areas under these leaders?

Both officers and snuffies alike must give and follow orders. That is simply the military. It's too bad Mr. Reed did not get that his first time around.

If it appears that I am reading Mr. Reed the riot act, it is so. I can speak from experience both in Vietnam and in our current conflict.

As for Mr. Reed, he needs to get over his issues from his service and at least take a more professional photo.

It is difficult to give credence to someone whose ego requires such a posed shot. Che Guevara he is not.

Alexandria

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Date published: 10/12/2006