Monday, Might 26, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Eighty-five.
As squadron commander of a mortuary unit within the Center East, that’s the variety of flag-draped coffins I saluted.
I didn’t know the race, faith, gender or sexual orientation of these 85 fallen warriors. All I knew is that they had been patriots, American little children who gave their lives for our freedoms. On Memorial Day 2025 and the seventy fifth anniversary of President Harry S. Truman’s Freedom to Serve Report, it’s value reflecting on our ongoing responsibility to optimize the effectivity and war-fighting effectiveness of our armed providers.
Freedom just isn’t free. As a son of Accomplice-sympathizing dad and mom, Truman appeared an unlikely advocate for desegregating the army and opening the doorways to ladies. However after listening to the brutal tales of African American troopers coming back from preventing fascism solely to be lynched, crushed and blinded at dwelling, he needed to proper these wrongs. Truman understood that patriotism comes from all corners and sectors of America.
Truman issued Govt Order 9981 to desegregate the army in 1948. He appointed a committee of numerous Individuals to report on progress in 1950, the Freedom to Serve Report. Led by Secretary Stuart Symington, the Air Pressure was driving change as ordered. However the Military and Navy had been making excuses and dragging their ft. The president’s advocacy and contemporary management finally opened doorways, driving extra equal therapy and better alternative for all.
However together with all Individuals right into a extremely efficient preventing pressure didn’t occur with an government order and a committee report. When my buddy retired U.S. Military Brig. Gen. Donald Scott entered service in 1960, there have been no Black generals. As a fight infantry officer in Vietnam, he noticed how racial battle practically tore the Military aside. That motivated the Military and all of the providers to acknowledge the necessity for sturdy, efficient cultural coaching.
America’s armed forces are a subset of America. We come from all of the totally different corners of the nation. We come from totally different beliefs, biology and biographies. After we open our doorways for all to serve, we are able to solely be our greatest when our airmen, troopers, sailors and Marines belief each other. Somebody from Le Mars, Iowa, will possible be fairly totally different from somebody who grew up in Oneonta, N.Y. The coaching we’ve got developed throughout the previous 50 years brings folks collectively, incorporates the strengths of every particular person and their neighborhood and molds them into an efficient unit, able to battle and win.
Truman and the Freedom to Serve Report established the founding beliefs for a completely inclusive pressure. Truman’s braveness to do what was proper 75 years in the past has impressed many people to maintain preventing for us to reside as much as these beliefs.
I’ve retired after about 30 years of service, however proceed to advocate for change. For instance, the Freedom to Serve in the present day means having tactical vests and chilly climate gear that matches all Air Commandos. The Freedom to Serve means having a approach for girls on lengthy sorties to alleviate themselves with out working towards tactical dehydration and placing themselves, their crews or our missions in danger. The Freedom to Serve means being pregnant shouldn’t be, by itself, a limiting situation. Ladies can nonetheless fly. We will nonetheless deploy and may fulfill most army duties.
Immediately, there are superb commanders who unapologetically problem outdated practices and insurance policies and making our formations extra deadly, so we are able to win. Unusual ladies and men are doing extraordinary issues to problem the established order, figuring out actionable options and eradicating boundaries to service so everybody has extra freedom to serve by defiantly saying no to the best way issues have at all times been.
There are such a lot of individuals who need to share their skills in our armed forces. We have to hold the pathways to service Truman opened to permit all certified Individuals to rise to their highest army potential. That’s one of the simplest ways to keep up essentially the most deadly all-volunteer pressure, in order that democracy will win.
A retired U.S. Air Pressure colonel, Eries Mentzer based Freedom to Serve Options, a consulting agency, and is a board member of the Truman Library Institute. She wrote this for The Sacramento Bee.
