(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column of those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
As many of you know who have read my books and articles, I was associated with the military for many years. I continue to have close ties with the Army, the Air Force and the Marine Corps.
For my first 17 years, I was an Army brat. Our family moved a great deal, and I attended eleven schools (in many places: including Kansas, Hawaii, Minnesota, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Italy, Washington, DC and New York). The next four years were spent at the United States Military Academy. I served for the next 30 years in the Air Force.
My association with the Marine Corps has been more indirect—but important to me and my family. Marine Lt. Col. Jimmie Dyess was my wife’s father. When I did the research for the biography of Dyess (Courage, Compassion, Marine: The Unique Story of Jimmie Dyess), I was able to establish a close relationship with many Marines.
Our military today is much smaller than it was when I served. However, it is well trained, well equipped and well led. Recent polling indicates that our military is held in very high regard by a majority of Americans. In fact, of all the important American institutions, our military tops the list.
The choices that people were given were in a survey by the Gallup organization: great respect, quite a lot of respect, some respect, very little respect and no respect. Combining the scores of “great respect,” “with “quite a lot of respect,” here is the Gallup breakdown.
Military 69%
Police 51%
Medical systems 44%
Presidency 38%
Church/Organized Religion 37%
Supreme Court 36%
Criminal Justice System 34%
Banks 33%
Public Schools 32%
Newspapers 21%
TV News 16%
Congress 12%
The military services have done a fine job of giving minorities and women the opportunity to serve and to move up the ranks. In 2022, for example, both the secretary of defense and the chief of staff of the Air Force are African Americans.
Unlike the case in most American institutions, women in the military services receive pay and allowances at the same level as men. When I was on active duty, the highest-ranking woman in the military was a major general (two stars). Today, there a number of women who serve at the four-star general or admiral level.
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Next month, Army Lt. Gen.Maria Barrett will become the top commander at Fort Gordon (see below). Having a three-star general stationed at Fort Gordon is a strong indicator of the importance of Fort Gordon to the United States military.
Let me update you on Fort Gordon. Most of this information comes from Tom Clark, the president and CEO of the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon.
The working population at Gordon has risen by about 9,000 in recent years. The number is now 32,000. This includes professionals from all four of our military services as well as federal civil servants.
By way of background, the CSRA (Richmond, Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, and McDuffie Counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield) is the 96th most populated MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) in the United States.
In 2021 the CSRA contained close to 700,000 folks, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the second largest community in Georgia. Those of us in the CSRA who have close ties to the military number about 130,000 (approximately one in five). The annual economic impact of Fort Gordon on our area is quite impressive. It has risen to $2.7 billion.
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Gen. Barrett will assume command soon. The change of command ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 3rd at 9 a.m. at the Whitelaw Building (on the corner of 107th Ave and 15th Street). I have been in email contact with Gen. Barrett. She informed me that she is delighted to return to the CSRA.
In my next article, I will examine the upcoming primary election in Georgia (24 May). I will explain why I am supporting Brad Raffensperger in his quest to be reelected to the position of Georgia secretary of state.
Perry Smith lives in Augusta. With 350,000 copies in print, Smith’s most successful book is Rules and Tools for Leaders. His books are available on amazon.com.
Retired Maj. Gen. Perry Smith has published seven books. His most recent is “Listen Up: Stories of Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, the Pentagon, CNN and Beyond.”
