Nowhere to go but down
All of those Anchorage residents who hope that Anchorage Economic Development Corp.'s guest speaker Daniel Pink will help Anchorage become the No. 1 city in America to live, work and play by the year 2025 stand up and cheer. Can we afford it? Is it sustainable? It's lonely at the top. There will be no place to go but down.
Or can we just leave us alone where we are. I'd be fine with that.
-- Joe Buesseler
Anchorage
Guard needs guidance of Uniform Military Code
As a veteran of the Alaska National Guard, I wholeheartedly support the inclusion of an effective state version of the federal Uniform Code of Military Justice into Alaska state statutes. The American Bar Association has created a "Model State Code of Military Justice" for use by the individual states. That document might be a resource for this effort.
After recent events, one could argue that the guard does not have the proper instrument to create the atmosphere of discipline necessary for an effective military organization.
For example, what Alaska statutes provide specific punishment to guard members for "failure to obey order or regulation," "disrespect toward superior commissioned officer," insubordinate conduct toward warrant officer, noncommissioned officer or petty officer, absent without leave," "missing movement," "contempt toward officials" "mutiny and sedition" or similar crimes? There are crimes unique to a military organization and punishment for such crimes can be of critical importance to complete a military mission, minimize undue political influence or favoritism, and serve to boost morale.
On occasion military personnel have to be motivated, not by what can happen "for them" if they perform, but by what can happen "to them" if they don't.
-- Lynn Willis
Eagle River
Peaceful faiths applauded
Our sincere thanks to the writers of "Murder perverts any faith; peace is the work of all faiths" (ADN, Friday). The whole world should read that and live by it.
-- Sallie and Norman Hogg
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.