He goes a little far to make a point. The combat arms of the Army, and what seems to me to be the entirety of the Marines, are still manned by men worthy of the name. They seem so young to me, but then so was I, once upon a time. Given leaders with balls the troops will make us all proud... and leadership, good or bad, comes from the top down.
So far President Bush seems to be bringing out the best in everybody, except for the people who prefer Bin Laden to him, like Rep. Marty Meehan and cartoonist Garry Trudeau. In the case of those two wretches there may not be any good to bring out.
Tom Ridge, the new homeland czar, is a combat vet (infantry, B/1/20th Inf, 196th Bde., Americal Div) of Vietnam. That particular unit means he saw the US Army at just about its very worst, and he doesn't think combat is magic or a Nintendo game. d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F