69.9: Troops
Supporting our Troops Other Information:
Supporting our Troops, Standing By Our Heroes -- The foundation of our military lies in the men and women who wear our country’s
uniform, whether on active duty or in the Reserves and National Guard, and the families who support them. Under no circumstances
will we reveal any secret or detail of a military operation that could put our people into additional harm’s way. The members
of our military should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. We reject the use of the military as a platform for
social experimentation and will not accept attempts to undermine military priorities and mission readiness. Consistent with
this commitment, we believe compensation and conditions for our Armed Forces in place at the time military service is initiated
should be sufficient to attract and retain quality men and women as we honor our promises and commitments to veterans, retirees,
and their families. These shall continue and not be reduced or otherwise diminished while in service, or upon separation,
or retirement. The combat readiness of our Armed Forces is the foundation of strength and deterrence. Readiness requires a
consistent and sustained investment in the training and re-equipping of our military personnel. We will never assume the risk
of reduced readiness, and we can never return to the “hollow” forces of the 1970s. Combat readiness also requires that we
reserve troops for truly necessary operations by not overextending them around the world. We recognize that drastic cuts to
our military’s end strength pose severe national security challenges. To avoid the overextension of our forces, we support
a larger active force and oppose cuts to the National Guard and Reserves. The all-volunteer force, begun on the watch of Republican
Presidents, has carried America to victory from the Caribbean and Central America to the Balkans and Southwest Asia. We oppose
the reinstatement of the draft whether directly or through compulsory national service. We support the advancement of women
in the military, which has not only opened doors of opportunity for individuals but has also made possible the devoted, and
often heroic, services of additional members of every branch of the Armed Forces. We support military women’s exemption from
direct ground combat units and infantry battalions. We affirm the cultural values that encourage selfless service and superiority
in battle, and we oppose anything which might divide or weaken team cohesion, including intra-military special interest demonstrations.
We will support an objective and open-minded review of the current Administration’s management of military personnel policies
and will correct problems with appropriate administrative, legal, or legislative action. The National Guard and Reserves are
a fully operational and battle-tested component of our Armed Forces. Many of them have heroically served for multiple deployments
resulting in inadequate time between deployments, also known as dwell time. We pledge to maintain their manpower and equipment
strength and to ensure their members receive the pay, benefits, and adequate training to continue their service and maintain
mission readiness through Presidential leadership and Congressional budget support. Their historic and continuing role as
citizen-soldiers is a proud tradition linking every community across America to the cause of freedom. We affirm service members’
legal right to return to their civilian jobs, whether in government or the private sector, and we urge greater transition
assistance to and from employers as they return to the civilian world. Especially in light of the high unemployment rates
faced by younger Reserve and Guard members, we salute those employers who have wisely decided that it is a smart and patriotic
business decision to hire those who have served above and beyond the call of duty. The spiritual welfare of our troops and
retired service members should be a priority of our national leadership. With military suicides running at the rate of one
a day, with post-service medical conditions, including addiction and mental illness, and with the financial stress and homelessness
that is often related to these factors, there is an urgent need for the kind of counseling that faith-based institutions can
best provide. We support rights of conscience and religious freedom for military chaplains and people of faith. A Republican
Commander in Chief will protect religious independence of military chaplains and will not tolerate attempts to ban Bibles
or religious symbols from military facilities. We will enforce and defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the
Armed Forces as well as in the civilian world. We call upon the entire chain of command – from the President and the Secretary
of Defense, to base and unit commanders – to ensure that our troops and retired service members, wherever stationed, have
the opportunity to vote in the November elections, and that their ballots will be returned in time to be properly counted.
Those who fight for and defend freedom around the world must not be disenfranchised.
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