10/19/2004 08:52:35 AM|||Toni|||Froggy Ruminations: Vox Blogoli: Why George Bush

I'll just excerpt a couple paragraphs and then go read all of what Matthew has to say:

As a SEAL Reservist, I have tried to maintain contact with my friends in the Teams who have remained on active duty. This President has authorized SOF operations that were unthinkable with the prior administration. If I told you the places my friends have been, you would be shocked. President Bush’s risk tolerance for operations in support of the GWOT is satisfyingly high. While John Kerry promises to double SOF which is impossible, the President has shown a detailed understanding of what the SEALs are up to and how they are getting it done. The President has mandated the creation of 2 additional SEAL Teams, but he told our top Admiral that he would not abide the degradation of training and selection of men. This is music to the ears of a Navy SEAL who places his life in the hands of his comrades in training and war.

SEALs that I have talked to love the President and Donald Rumsfeld as well. The CINC matters to the military more than you could imagine, and this is a personal matter for me. I served under Bill Clinton, and at the time everybody in the Teams knew that we were never going to be unchained to conduct Direct Action against America’ foes. I was constantly on the road traveling around the country and around the world on training evolutions. It was so frustrating to know that you were going to be away from your family to practice for a game that the coach would never let you play in. Many experienced operators left the Teams with me at the end of the 90s for the same reason. It wasn’t like we didn’t see threats or targets out there, but after Somalia, we knew Clinton didn’t have the sack to pull the trigger. So did UBL as it turned out.

|||109819395589778351|||Froggy Ruminations: Vox Blogoli: Why George Bush