Have you heard of the “Morale, Well-Being, and Recreation” programs?
The Coast Guard website descibes it thusly:
The mission of the Coast Guard Morale Well-Being and Recreation (MWR) program is to uplift the spirits of the Coast Guard Family and be an essential element of Coast Guard readiness and retention through customer-owned and driven MWR programs and services.
Great idea! One that has actually been around for years – many years. Each of the Armed Services has such a program. We ask much of our service men and women. Sometimes we ask all – and they give all. One trip to Arlington National Cemetary should convince the most Left-Wing Nut-Job of that fact.
Keeping in mind the Gift of Freedom these folks give us by being willing to pay for said gift with their lives, and considering the relatively cheap financial cost of keeping the MWR facilities open, then will someone please explain to me why we are closing some of these facilities down?
Case-in-point: Dauphin Island Recreational Complex on Dauphin Island, AL is scheduled to be closed. Why? No real reason.
Yes, Hurricane Katrina did hit the Gulf Coast hard. Yes, there was tremendous damage to the West end of Dauphin Island. However, the East end of the island was spared much of the destruction and the MWR facility there on the East end weathered the storm rather well. Of course there was some damage, but it is minor. Considering how cheaply built these facilities are built in the first place one would think that they were purposely made to be washed away by high tides every so often just to modernize.
Here is a bit of what offers to those brave men and women who serve our Country:
- Location: Dauphin Island, AL. Located about 40 miles south of Mobile, AL.
- Season of Operation: Year round.
- Description: Situated on the Gulf of Mexico at the east end of Dauphin Island.
- Facilities: 11 cottages, 5 trailer pads, primitive camp sites, picnic areas, elevated sundeck, playground, sports field, bath house, laundry, arcade, and mini exchange.
- Activities: Swimming, fishing, boating, beach combing, bicycles, and video games.
- Recreation Equipment Available: Fishing gear, bicycles, crab traps, sports balls, and VCR’s
Not bad, eh? Guess what… it is not free to these Heroes. They pay for thier vacation spots the same as you and me – and get paid considerably less than most of us at the same time!
When one takes into consideration the huge positive effect upon our Service Personel and their families that use these facilities, the cost of repairs is trivial. Retention of our current Servicemen is far cheaper than recruitment and training of replacements. Seems to me that the equation is a simple one:
Happy Soldiers & Sailors = Long-Term Soldiers & Sailors
Ok. What can be done about these closings? Contact your Congressmen and Senators. Write the President. Let them know that you don’t approve of these silly moves when they are sending our sons and daughters into harm’s way. Let’s make sure that when our kids come home from the blood-stained Sandbox that they have a quiet place to unwind and get to know the children they left behind while fighting for us! All of you Alabama residents should be advised that U.S. Representative Jo Bonner has been contacted about this subject by Servicemen now serving in the Gulf. He ignored them completely. That, I promise, will be recalled come Election Day!
Make those calls! Write those letters! Webpages for all are listed at the bottom of this blog. (Well, they were until I was told of the failure of my layout…)
Pissed,
Bull, out.
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