by myname

Created on: July 29, 2008

We live in a day and age where our enemy doesn't declare war, he attacks swiftly, without warning and usually with deep seated ideological hatred. In this new, ever changing global environment with threats against and attacks on U.S. soils, heretofore unprecedented, the importance that the President of the United States have military experience should be heavily weighed as an important factor during his tenure.

Where the traditional warfare of yesteryear is gone and the standoffs between superpowers a memory, this experience, if at the very least, should be to know what it is like to hold, point and shoot a weapon in uniform, under orders for his or her country. It will be this person, the Commander in Chief, who will make the decision whether or not to engage an enemy who attacks or provides an imminent and credible threat against the American people.

This president does not necessarily have to have combat experience. But, he could have served on active duty, with the National Guard, the Reserves or the US Coast Guard. He should understand what it is like to be a service member and served with honor.

It doesn't matter if this president is a Democrat, a Republican, Independent, a Christian or an Atheist. It shouldn't matter if the person has ideological differences with conflicts he or she has served in or with in conflicts the country has been involved with in the past. But, a US President must have some understanding of what our troops will undertake for their country when he sends them into battle.

To elect a US President without military experience, whose role as the Commander in Chief is akin to having a hockey goalie pitch in the World Series. It makes no sense to put an inexperienced person in charge of a group of people he is in charge of during a critical point in time. How can the president understand his role as Commander in Chief, the highest-ranking member of the military, if he has never served in the military?

Have there been U.S. Presidents that have served and served well without military experience. Yes? Can a president serve and serve well without military experience in the future given the conflicts strewn across the globe with the same mission, to kill Americans, and make decisions on whether or not to engage the enemy in the face of credible threats internationally as well as domestically? Maybe.

It is the responsibility of every American to evaluate the experience of our presidents based on the sum total of their experiences in relation to

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