My first job out of Stanford Business School in 1957 was in San Francisco. What a great city it was. That was the time when just about all professional and business men wore hats and there was a dignified aura about the City. It was also the place where retired military personnel wanted to end up. The Sixth Army headquarters was in San Francisco and the City was very supportive of the military. What has happened to this once great city? Many of the former mayors like George Christopher were models of good governance. Today we have an entire city run by left wing bureaucrats where it is nearly impossible for a republican to run for office in an elective capacity. San Francisco has done away with all vestiges of the military, refused to permit berthing of nuclear carriers, turned down the offer to receive the USS Iowa, a world war II naval ship, despite Senator Feinstein being in favor of the offer. Now, the last straw for me is the decision to eliminate the Junior ROTC from schools and toss out over 1,600 kids that participate in the JROTC. The Kook Fringe in the Bay Area doesn’t like any form of militarism. I received my commission in The ROTC program at Cal Berkeley, no longer there, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. The idea of a civilian officer corps rather than a 100% professional one is a good idea since it assures a balance of input from the non-professional sector. The anti-military left wing does not understand that since most of them have never served in any form of military service.

      I have often thought what San Francis of Assisi would say if he were alive today . He would probably tell the City Council to take his name from the City and change it. How about Sodom?

Gary E. Marsella

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