Presidential Campaign
The next President will face an awesome task in balancing the cost of all of our public needs against the necessity of reducing our fiscal deficit. The cost of national defense will receive particular attention in this process, and will require some agonizing decisions. The public clearly wants an adequate defense force, but they want it to cost as little as possible.
The key to successful resolution of this issue lies in two principles. First, our chief executive must have a deep understanding of the fundamental requirements of our force structure based on our international political posture and national objectives. Such understanding is not easy to come by, and requires long experience and participation in international affairs. Only one of the presidential candidates has that experience--Vice President George Bush is probably better equipped in this regard than any candidate in recent history.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Oct. 27, 1988 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday October 27, 1988 Home Edition Metro Part 2 Page 10 Column 5 Letters Desk 2 inches; 59 words Type of Material: Correction
In a letter (Oct. 25) by Allen E. Puckett discussing national defense costs and the presidential campaign, the word impossible should have been possible . The sentence should have stated: “Many of us who have spent our professional lives in the aerospace-defense industry believe it is possible to make better use of our defense dollars--that we can buy more and better weapons systems on a limited budget.”
Second, our chief executive must be able to create a management structure in the Defense Department that will make best use of our dollars. This is not a matter of nit-picking at $600 toilet seats, but of fundamental changes in the way that we plan, budget and manage individual procurement programs. The Packard Presidential Commission report in 1986 provides a clear blueprint for such changes. Bush was instrumental in the creation of that commission, and has supported it strongly.
Many of us who have spent our professional lives in the aerospace-defense industry believe it is impossible to make better use of our defense dollars--that we can buy more and better weapons systems on a limited budget. This should be of particular interest to Californians, where the aerospace-defense industry is second only to agriculture in dollar volume, and first in employment.
We believe that selection of our next president should include strong consideration of the vital issue of national defense. Bush has the experience and talent that can give us the right answers.
ALLEN E. PUCKETT
Retired Chairman
Hughes Aircraft Company
Los Angeles
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