Sixth U.S. Army was born during World War II and performed so well that it has always been held in very high regard. All over Europe and the Pacific Rim people still hold the Sixth U.S. Army is very high esteem. Sixth U.S. in no more it was deactivated in 1995. I say shame of all those who chose to deactivate Sixth U.S. Army which did so much in all the years it was active. I served as the last Congressional Liaison of Sixth U.S. Army before it was no more. Sixth U.S. Army and the Presidio of San Francisco had jurisdiction over the 12 Western States. At the Presidio of San Francisco we trained soldiers from all the Reserve Units and did a great job. During the Desert Shield and Desert Storm - Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco played the singular important role in the deployment of our well-trained soldiers. Within a couple of months the war was over and we did so well in most every department of logistics and operations. I was involved directly and indirectly in several key functions related to Desert Storm and Desert Shield - not too much in the actual planning of war but in the secondary actions of support to the soldiers and their families. While major emergency plans were in place in case Iraq used Chemical warfare? We saw minimal casualties in this arena. We had the body bags in place and the logistics to move dead soldiers to Europe and from there to the United States. Antidotes and other emergency processes were all in place and thank God we never had to use them. The overall performance of all the units under the jurisdiction of Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco did us all proud. We did not see abhorring incidents as we see now revealed daily about prisoner abuse. We had our Standard Operating Procedures in place and those who had the responsibility to train our soldiers did a great job. Forces Command would do well to realize that it made a great mistake to deactivate Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco. To put it mildly when the Armed Forces in the West did a job - they did it well under the Command of the authority at the Presidio of San Francisco. We now see Commands on the East Coast kept alive because of Republican influence doing a very poor job. They do not come close to the high standards maintained by Sixth U.S. Army and the Presidio of San Francisco. The actions of a few because of lack of quality training have shamed the Nation. After Desert Shield and Desert Storm I had the unique privilege to interview many soldiers. Many of them had problems regarding their pay and I took full responsibility to have this problem fixed within 24 hours. Senators and Congressperson who contacted me via telephone were rest assured that all pay problems would be resolved as quickly as possible. In fact any family member who contacted us while the war was going on was treated fairly and if they needed monetary help or some other help all measures were put in place to help them. I did what I could and as a team we did more than well. I was given a special award for helping the families. To this day I treasure this certificate of appreciation because it says that my fellow workers and I had the heart and compassion to do what is right. We helped the families and we saw that our soldiers in the arena were rest assured that they did not have to worry about their families and loved ones at home. We trained our Active and Reserve Soldiers well and we also took care of them. We also had special Military Police sent to Kuwait to fight in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Each and every one of them treated the thousands of prisoners who gave up to our forces with dignity. Let me state here for those at Forces Command, higher command and the White House that I am very proud of Sixth U.S. Army and the Presidio of San Francisco. I cannot say that of those who have let us down badly in Iraq now because they do not have the right and proper training. Who is responsible for this fiasco? Stupid cuts in our Armed Forces specially the Army has led us to a state of affairs that is beyond repair unless our Armed Forces are increased. There has been some notion that modern technology can win a war. Again and again we have found out that is not so. There is nothing like the human being and human interaction specially when it comes to home to home searches and dealing with thousands of civilians who are really not our enemy. The use of cyberspace has its limits and even as we speak certain elements within the ranks of our enemy can cut down huge power plants and other sources that can trigger serious and adverse impacts affecting stationary computers and huge IT systems. Other movable modes that are technology based but connected to land and satellite modes in space can be knocked out of commission by viruses and other modes by remote control. There has been some false notion that using 5000 pound bombs and dropping them on targets against which the enemy have no way of defending themselves does our Armed Forces proud. Far from doing this - this "bullying tactic" has failed and in the eyes of millions of people all over the world we the Americans are bullies and cannot prove ourselves worthy in a hand to hand fight - given the same equipment and the same training. I can name the elite forces from North Korea, the Gurkha Regiments, and many other elite groups who are physically in good shape. What they lack are technological weapons some costing millions of dollars whose prime object is to kill human beings in our case our enemy with the enemy having no chance to even know what is coming to them. Our country should only go to war if we are attacked. In the case of Iraq there was no preemptive attack and it is wrong to spend over $180 billion when this money could have been spent at home to cater to the elders, the children, our schools, health projects, our aging infrastructure, and so many other pressing issues that the White House does not give a damn about. In fact our soldiers are not fed well and in many cases do not have the right equipment. Bechtel, Haliburton and other crooks have been given tons of cash - in many cases from money appropriate from the arena in Afghanistan. Command Training Centers have put too much attention and focused on technology. Even during Desert Storm and Desert Shield our forces were caught off guard when fine sand entered sensitive equipment resulting in serious equipment failure. Tanks failed in performing precise maneuvers and targets became blurred. Our soldiers were really not trained for the desert and the harsh environs that the desert inflicts on our soldiers. We bombed some enemy Chemical Depots and our soldiers were exposed to chemicals because they were got in the cloud and wind that came their way. The Gulf Storm Syndrome took over 10 years to be acknowledged. We were not expecting that the war would be concluded so quickly and that we would encounter so many unknowns. Our soldiers were vaccinated and these came through orders. No one took responsibility for these actions. I say this because thousands of soldiers women and men who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm were adversely impacted by the vaccines and should be compensated. Forces Command and other higher authorities thought because they did not see body bags during Desert Shield and Desert Storm they would not see that many body bags as we are now seeing. As of today over 780 noble soldiers have died. Have we put them in harms way? Who is responsible? Why are we always saying our soldiers are put in harms way? Did we make a mistake by deactivating Sixth United States Army and Presidio of San Francisco? It has been 9 years since Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco has been deactivated and I am counting each and every day. It is a shame when the world sees photographs that were taken of prisoner abuse in Iraq. This should stop at once and strict Standard Operating Procedures put in place at all jails facilities dealing with Prisoners of War. Rumsfeld bear full responsibility and should resign. Right now in Iraq we are not acting as Liberators we are for surely acting as Oppressors. Again and again our soldiers are NOT trained to understand the Muslim mentality. The Muslims in Iraq do not want us and the sooner we pack our bags and come home the better. The higher ups may think that a lean army with fewer soldiers can do the job. The matter of fact is that our soldiers are put in harms way each and every day. Hundreds of our good soldiers have died because higher ups have failed to protect them in their training and caring. The Chain of Command has failed and the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of Defense have lied to Congress and pretend that they do not know what is really happening. In fact these morons at some point have given direct order to change Standard Operating Procedures dealing with prisoners often times failed to fully under the mandate of the Geneva Convention. Other mandates initiated at the Hague and the Nuremberg Trials. It is mostly White Men who are biased ruling the White House and looking the other way when horrendous mistakes are made which affect the credibility of all good, honest Americans. After all the Iraqis are people of color. The majority of soldiers who have died are from poor families and people of color. Will they be compensated and get fat pensions as will the Senators, the Congresspersons, and the higher command officials in the Armed Forces - No. The families will suffer not only from the loss of their loved ones - but for life if they are injured and suffer disability from stress or injury. I saw it during Desert Storm and Desert Shield and I continue to see it today in very large measure. It is shocking to see the quadriplegics our soldiers who will be in wheel chairs for the rest of their lives. It is shocking to see how families are suffering - soldiers who were to serve for one year and now serving two years. Imagine being away from your loved ones under very hostile conditions for over two years. As the years go by those who served under the Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco will always feel proud, as they always should. President Bush will lose the election but the damage he has done to the Armed Forces and to the Nation will take years to repair and heal. Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco is no more but the memories of those who served and are now doing other things in life always beckon to the good times when everyone did a good job and was proud of very high standards. I remember Colin Powell coming to the Presidio of San Francisco and talking very highly of our troops. I remember General Harrison and General Mallory. There were others too but just of the record let me mention the above two Generals who are well known. Today the Presidio of San Francisco is run by the corrupt Presidio Trust. What a shame. Before that it was run by the National Park Service that belong to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area - what a pathetic bunch of buffoons. Long live the memories and long live the good that came from Sixth U.S. Army and the Presidio of San Francisco.