‘A Boondoggle Base’ It’s Not

Re the editorial “Grounding a Boondoggle Base” (April 23): If the editorial wants excesses to be investigated, it is correct. If it wants abuses of power to be controlled, it is correct. If, however, it wants this base (the Marine Corps recreational facility at Big Bear Lake) to be closed, it is dead wrong.

These recreation facilities are a part of the overall system that has provided us with the professional all-volunteer military that just demonstrated their value to the entire world. The budget to operate this facility is minuscule, and the sale of the land would be a one-time drop in the budget-deficit bucket.

Benefits such as these facilities are part of the package that help increase the retention of an older, more mature, better-educated and more well-rounded volunteer. These facilities also provide an intangible benefit in terms of pride and self-image in the military. Closing and selling off these facilities and then increasing the compensation of our military members to reimburse them would not be the same.

This is not a “Boondoggle Base” as the editorial implies, but a well-thought-out and very efficient part of a system to provide an equivalent standard of living for our soldiers, sailors and airmen.

Whereas a civilian may own a powerboat or a nearby cabin or time share, his counterpart in the military is moved every several years, often overseas, and therefore can’t have these things. The military member deserves them just as much as anyone in our society.

Draw whatever conclusion you like about the general’s actions. But don’t relate them to the facility. And please don’t let his actions or your feelings about them cloud the air about the very worthwhile mission that this and similar facilities provide.

MARTIN NATION, Long Beach