Officer, The: The Roa 2001 Minuteman Of The Year - Senator John McCain

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), in a stirring and emotional speech before 1,300 Reservists and guests at the 2001 Mid-Winter Banquet, stressed the importance of the Reserve forces to our national security and expressed his deep appreciation to ROA for being named the organization's Minuteman of the Year. For the senator, this was an honor with special significance, coming from Reservists who, McCain noted, have distinguished themselves by their service to their country. "It is still the opinion of those who wore the uniform that matters most to me" McCain said.

The award itself had distinct significance, not only because it was from ROA but also because of the name of the award. "The minuteman represents the citizen-soldier, who put down his plow and picked up his rifle to defend his country when his country called, at a moment's notice. He is the symbol of the patriot, leading his fellow citizens in a war against tyranny and subjugation," McCain said. It was also an honor to be in the company of the founder of ROA, General of the Armies, John J. "Blackjack" Pershing.

McCain was "born into a family whose members made their living at sea in defense of our country's cause." His experience as a POW in Vietnam has been chronicled. Yet this American hero recognized the Reservists at the banquet as patriots and said: "You answered the call when it came, took up arms for your country's sake and fought to the limit of your ability because you believed your country's welfare was as much your responsibility as it was the professional soldier's. I did what I had prepared most of my life to do. You all served as I did, but unfortunately without the advantages of training, modern equipment, and experience that I had. I believe you outrank me."

McCain cautioned that he did not mean to dismiss the virtues of the professional soldier. Noting the success of the Reserve force in the all-volunteer military, he pointed out that there is, however, "an increasing chasm between those Americans who have served in the armed services and those who have not." Consequently, "it is increasingly difficult for many of our fellow citizens to truly appreciate the sacrifices of those who serve. That is another reason that the Reserves are so important in our national life. You not only protect our liberty, but you also serve as the indispensable link to those Americans in civilian life not ordinarily touched in their daily lives by the sacrifice, honor and privilege of military service."

These Reserve forces are not receiving the type of support necessary for them to fulfill their expanded role in the post-Cold War world, which concerns McCain. This lack of support has an effect on the nation's readiness and spills over into problems with morale and personnel retention. McCain claimed that what concerns him most is that "highly skilled service men and women, who have made ours the best fighting force the world has ever seen, are leaving in droves, unlikely to be replaced in the near future." Furthermore, he notes that "the reason for deciding to leave the service is simple; if one is overworked, underpaid, and away from home more and more often--why stay?"

McCain recommends that the administration take several important steps: "propose realistice budget requests; specifically budget for ongoing contingency operations; provide adequately for modernization; ensure equipment and base operations maintenance is adequately funded; and resolve the wide pay and benefits disparity that precludes the services from competing successfully for volunteers in the current economic environment.

"Reservists are performing many vital tasks, from patrolling the no-fly zones in skies above Iraq to rebuilding schools in hurricane-stricken Honduras and fighting fires in our western states, from overseeing civil affairs in Bosnia, to augmenting aircraft carriers short on active duty sailors with critical skilled enlisted ratings during at-sea exercises as well as periods of deployment." McCain supports providing equality in benefits for Reserve component service members because Reservists "resemble their active duty counterparts during training evolutions and are deployed... around the world [and] should be treated equally."

Our world is an uncertain one, and McCain knows that American servicemen and women will be called again to "bear sacrifices that only the bravest can endure." This call to duty is seen as an honor by McCain, even though he has "memories of that honor that caution me to this day to be careful when asking such sacrifices of others."

Recalling the conflict in Vietnam and the sacrifices made by men such as Colonel Hanna and Petty Officer Smith, McCain concluded: "I know that on some fitting, distant occasion, young men and women will be instructed in their duty by recalling your example. And on a quiet beach somewhere, many years from now, the liberated will again gather to pay tribute to the liberators, look upon their seasoned faces and say: they were warriors once and very brave. You and I know how great an honor that is."

With these final words, everyone in the hall stood and applauded Sen. John McCain, Vietnam War hero and ROA's Minuteman of the Year.