Thoughts on War

Thoughts on WAR

Copyright 2018

I didn't grow up being against war. I was really scared in 1944 at age 5 when our teacher read Our Belgian Twins because I thought that was happening just then rather than in WWI. But I wasn't against war. WWII and Korea were really necessary to stop the bad guys.

When I was in high school, the Korean War was concluding but the Universal Military Training Act was still in force. The Department of Defense instituted plans for six months active duty followed by 7-1/2 years in the active reserves which avoided the draft. I discovered there was another plan that allowed for an enlistment for six years in the active reserves but provided no draft avoidance; if one took ROTC, you would not be drafted, however, and the time would count for longevity pay--about $100/month as a second lieutenant. I even got a principal appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I certainly wasn't against war. In an interview for an NROTC scholarship, I opined that I felt it was patriotic to want to serve my country.

I elected Dartmouth over West Point because I thought I would have broader opportunity and still could have a military career if I wanted it. I did choose Army ROTC rather than Navy ROTC because I didn't know how to swim. (I did turn down a Regular Army commission at the end of my Dartmouth time.) My active duty as an officer was delayed for six years as I pursued first a Master of Engineering science degree and then a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. When I graduated from Dartmouth, I had to get special permission at 1st Army HQ on Governors Island in NY to take two years as a graduate assistant rather than the normal one year for a masters program. It was really quite amazing that the Army let me continue for the Ph.D. but Vietnam had not heated up.

As I was nearing the end of my doctoral program, I learned that some Army officers were allowed to serve most of their active duty at NASA centers or JPL. I was still not against war but that seemed like a good use of my training so I applied. At NASA Ames Research Center, the Branch Chief where I was likely to be assigned, offered to let me come even before I finished my degree and complete my research while working for NASA; that didn't seem like such a good idea when a week later the Army recalled all officers assigned to NASA and sent them to Vietnam. I decided that if I entered active duty as Dr McKee rather than Mr. McKee with courses beyond the M.S., I might be less likely to go to Vietnam. By then both my brother and my brother-in-law had gone to Vietnam and I was beginning to think that I'd rather not. There were plenty of protests at Stanford but I didn't participate although in early 1969 at a Toastmasters Meeting, I proposed that the U.S. should declare Victory and just leave Vietnam.

Before reporting to NASA, I had to take the ten-week Engineer Officer Basic Course or EOBC at Ft Belvoir, Virginia just across the Potomac from Mt. Vernon. With the course completed and my Combat Engineer Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in hand I reported to NASA Ames Research Center hoping to be able to complete my two years there. I was able to complete that assignment but by the time I finished in 1969, I had concluded that the whole Vietnam effort had been a great waste.

Fast forward to 1991. The first Gulf War was a no-brainer. Get in, save Kuwait, get out. What if Sudain remained in power.

Even in 2003 I, too, was persuaded by the claims of weapons of mass destruction that it was necessary to invade Iraq again. This time, however, it didn't take long to believe that the lies from the government had generated another no-win. Afganistan, at first seemed like a reasonable adventure but the memories of the Russian debacle there did not portend well and that has also been no-win. These no-win actions have moved me much closer to being anti-war in general. It seems to be very hard to get it right and we have gone from major wars concluding in a few years to limited actions that continue for decades without really providing benefit to anyone except the manufacturers of war hardware!

Today with saber rattling leaders both in North Korea and the U.S.A., the whole idea of war in anticipation of future bad seems like about the worst concept imaginable!