Clancy on B-2 Bomber

On the morning of the appearance of Clancy’s article favoring stealth weapons such as the B-2 bomber, I received a telephone call from my younger brother, a Navy lieutenant, informing me that due to budget cuts and lack of promotion slots he would be involuntarily separated from military service next January.

My brother and his assigned frigate were in the waters off Kuwait when that country was invaded by Iraqi forces. Despite having already been deployed for almost six months, his vessel and less than a half-dozen other Navy ships remained in the Persian Gulf for another two months waiting for the nucleus of Operation Desert Shield to form.

Clancy neglected to mention that high-tech, costly weapon systems such as the unproven B-2 are being funded at the expense of dedicated servicemen and women who were first applauded at the end of Operation Desert Storm and who are now being shown the door.

JAMES BRIDGE

Norwalk