Page 163 - Stand Down Vietnam

One of my strongly held opinions is that sometimes we
don't need to know everything. Having served for
twenty-two years, I know there were many times if we
had broadcast to the public exactly what was going on
it would have potentially created a situation where we
couldn't fully do our job.

By the same token, the American citizen, taxpayer,

should have a right to know more than what we’re
telling them. I think it's a fine line separating
those two issues. I do believe our government uses
disinformation to persuade different opinions and to
get support for whatever objective.

The education level of our Vietnam Era soldiers was
“class-specific”. If using a grade one through twelve
or college scale, it didn’t fit.

I think more along the lines of how well-educated was
this person on how to clean his weapon, fire his
weapon, repair his weapon, what happens if his weapon
jams? The M14 and M16 had some serious problems, so my
thought process was about survival and about military-
related education.

Do you understand the military aspect of what's going
on and what you must do to protect yourself and your
fellow soldier? That was the question. As far as the

general education level, I would say probably high
school for the enlisted and most officers were college
graduates.

As for military service, I think education is and
should be relative to your Military Occupation
Specialty (MOS). Your MOS determined the type of
training you received. A supply person did not need
the same kind of training as an Artillery or an
Infantry soldier.