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Editor (Gazette Telegraph, Pueblo Chieftan, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Trinidad Chronicle) Who is standing up for the Soldier in this long running battle over the Pinon Canyon expansion? In all the heated meetings between Ranchers and “the Army” in southern Colorado, or the pontificating editorials in all Colorado’s newspapers, or the pronouncements and posturing by Politicians on both sides, I never hear the core issue discussed. The expansion is required by the Army for the combat training of soldiers! Who stands up for them? Soldiers who have to train hard and constantly and as realistically as possible on enough land with all their battle equipment and then go and defend the United States. Ready or not. 15,000 more soldiers are not being brought to Fort Carson for the economic benefit of Colorado Springs. The promises by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for more business close to the training areas are not for the economic welfare of Southern Colorado. The expansion land is not being pursued just because the Federal government in Washington wants more land. I am angry at the debate in which the Soldier and his most important need– to be as highly trained as the US can make him, has been ignored in the arguments about everything else. I was forced, at Fort Carson, 40 years ago, to train on the insufficient land it had for mechanized combat operations in a likely war against the Soviets in Europe. It remained insufficient because Pueblo politicians wanted the federal Pueblo Reservoir for itself and fought the Army to deny the land around it to the Army. It succeeded, and I had to conduct 2d rate training. Now it will be immeasurably worse if those ranchers, none of whose children will ever have to go to war unless they ‘volunteer’ block what is needed again. At one time, the nation got behind what soldiers needed for war. No more. Iraq will end. NIMBY rules. Then who will care whether the Soldier is ready to win or die in the next one? David Hughes (Col, Ret) 6 N 24th Street Colorado Springs, CO 80904
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