Understand military

I disagree with Martha Dickinson’s take on Sarah Smiley’s column, Nov. 10 (“Election distressing to military families”). While I have not always agreed with the comments expressed in Smiley’s columns, I thought she did an excellent job at capturing some of the feelings that military families may have with the election of Barack Obama as our next president.

Although I can agree that military service does not, in itself, make a person (male or female) more qualified to be president, a clear understanding of what it means to be in the military does. For example, I would feel comforted to know that relatives or friends of President-elect Obama’s served in the military. Maybe he greeted a cousin or uncle returning home from serving in Vietnam or maybe a close family friend who was returning from service in Desert Storm. If President-elect Obama had personal experiences with those who had served in the military, I would not be as skeptical about his role as the commander in chief, the most awesome responsibility he will have.

My hope is that President-elect Obama recognizes that he needs to have on his staff people with military experience, such as Gen. Colin Powell, to give him credibility with military families and those of us who pay more than lip service in our support of the military.

Wanda L. Lincoln

Old Town