Letter: Civilians turn peacetime military into whipping boys

Monday, June 2, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The ignorance of the civilian populace is appalling. Maybe every young man and woman should serve a year in some branch of the military as they are required to do in Israel.

Are civilians aware that the military is the last bastion in the United States when a man or woman is responsible for the conduct of their spouse and dependent children, especially when they reside on a military base.

A service member can be court-martialed for passing a bad check or if a member of his family, for whom he is responsible, does. Likewise, if bills, like credit cards, can't be paid. And the court-martial offenses go on and on. So what's the big deal about sexual conduct alone getting all the media coverage?

My husband, when he was in the Navy, got a very bad sunburn. He refused to go to a doctor because he said he could be charged with harming government property. Of course, that was 40 years ago. I'm sure the standards are being lowered and lowered and lowered.

It's been my observation from a military and civilian viewpoint that our service personnel are heroes in times of war and parasites on the taxpayer in times of peace.

Betty Lane