The Republican Party has always supported the military. Recently, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville has been holding the Pentagon hostage by refusing to promote military personnel. Currently, 31 admirals who have been approved, and who Tuberville voted to approve, cannot be promoted. The Marines are without a Senate-confirmed commandant for the first time in more than a century.

There are now roughly 300 members of the military awaiting promotions. By the end of the year, those numbers are expected to double. This has a real impact on our military readiness. The strongest military in the world is being manipulated by a football coach-turned-senator. Tuberville did not serve.

Tuberville also isn’t well informed. He’s mixing social issues with military issues. The Department of Defense is paying for travel expenses for personnel to travel for abortions, and that is legal.

When asked about the Defense Department, Tuberville said that he doesn’t “know what they (Pentagon leaders) do every day.” Another complaint is that military people on aircraft carriers are writing poetry.

Where are the Republicans on this issue? Do they care about military readiness? We need to know where the Republicans stand on this problem.

Elizabeth Perry
Standish