Obama's pending announcement about Afghanistan has created anxiety for parents of cadets, who await the details with a mixture of foreboding and relief.
When President Barack Obama goes to West Point Tuesday night to outline his strategy in Afghanistan, he will be sketching the futures of scores of U.S. Military Academy cadets from Long Island and New York City who are likely to face combat shortly after graduation.
Obama's pending announcement has created anxiety for parents of cadets, who await the details with a mixture of foreboding and relief.
"I think because most of last year's class is being deployed to Afghanistan, he may have to go as well," said Pat Gill of Lynbrook, whose son, Justin, 22, is in his last year at the Academy.
Justin Gill hopes to train for the helicopter corps, a skill that could make him particularly likely to see action in Afghanistan because helicopters are essential transportation in the rugged terrain.
Pat Gill said it is important for the president to spell out an exit strategy. She said fighting in Afghanistan has humbled two major empires - bleeding the Soviet Union in the 20th century and the British Empire a century earlier.
"I support my son 100 percent, but I'm very concerned about the mission," she said. "Personally, I don't think anyone has ever conquered Afghanistan in centuries, and I don't think this will be any different."
There are about 80 Long Islanders among the Academy's 4,300 cadets, said Tom Dunne, president of the West Point Parents Club of Long Island.
Parents generally want to know how many more troops the president will send; when new deployments will begin; where in the country U.S. troops will be deployed; and what role Afghanistan's corruption-riddled government will play in providing for its own security, Dunne said.
West Point graduates leave the Academy as Army second lieutenants, enlisted to four years of active duty and three in the active Reserve.
"Every parent's concern is how long are we going to be there and when are we going to get out," said Dunne, of Centereach, whose son Thomas is in the class of 2011.
"But we were at a time of war when our children were accepted at the Academy, so they knew the realities involved," he said. "Am I looking for war? No. But do we have a job to do? Yes. So we need to support the troops that are there already."
Corinne Miller of Baldwin is another parent who will be listening intently. Her youngest daughter, Christine Solon, 20, is a second-year cadet at the Academy.
"It is something I will definitely watch, because whatever decision he makes will affect my daughter directly," said Miller, a single mother. "There is a possibility you might lose your child."
Source:newsday.com/
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