| The
military and Virginia
by
Peter Galuszka
Virginia
Business
May 2003
When I was a young kid in the Cold War 1950s, one of
my first memories was watching my Dad sail away. He
was a Navy doctor attached to a Marine unit and every
now and then my mom, sister and I would go down to the
docks at Morehead City, N.C., and watch him leave on
big transport ships. He’d be gone for a month or
two invading Labrador or shooting up Vieques in the
Caribbean. I didn’t know it at the time, but the
Labrador exercise was to practice repelling a Warsaw
Pact invasion of Norway. Vieques simulated seizing parts
of the Suez Canal, then a strategic choke point that
was politically hot because of Arab nationalism and
Soviet ambitions.
Once
again, this part of the country is a major staging area
for strife overseas, illustrating just how important
the military is for states like Virginia and North Carolina.
Thousands of Virginians have been called up to serve
in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and several have fallen
in combat. Not only is Virginia the No. 2 state in the
country for the defense industry, there’s a clear
sense of military duty and devotion that surpasses most
parts of the country. It’s been embedded in the
state’s history since before the Revolution and
lives on today.
At
this writing, the war in Iraq seems past a turning point
towards Coalition victory. As they did fighting the
Taliban in Afghanistan, U.S. forces have again performed
with skill and professionalism. The political future
of Iraq may be a hornet’s nest and not everyone
agrees with President George Bush on foreign policy,
but taking most of Baghdad in only three weeks is without
question quite an accomplishment.
We
are devoting much of this issue to the military. Our
cover story by Senior Editor Bob Burke shows just how
many Virginians have been called up as part of the Pentagon’s
policy of relying on citizen soldiers. Their absences
are a drain on their companies, but many like Norfolk
Southern and Verizon go out of their way in patriotic
generosity. Richmond writer Garry Kranz weighs in on
how the Virginia Port Authority is busy adding surveillance
technology to prevent a “dirty” bomb from
being sneaked in as container cargo. I have a short
piece on how the Iraqi campaign will impact the economy
of Hampton Roads.
Like
many in the Old Dominion, a number of us here at Virginia
Business have personal ties to the military. Some are
veterans; others have family links. I mentioned my own.
One of our editors is the child of a West Point-trained
career Army officer, now retired. As for me, I feel
squeamish when I see TV images of wounded or dead Iraqi
civilians. But I admit that when I watch statutes of
Saddam Hussein being toppled in Baghdad with U.S. soldiers
and Marines nearby, I do feel a pinch of pride.
Return
to Virginia Business - May 2003
|
