This article is based on remarks made by Gen. Frederick J. Kroesen, U.S. Army retired, at a conference entitled "The U.S. Citizen-Soldier at War: A Retrospective Look and the Road Ahead," sponsored by the Virginia Military Institute and the Cantigny First Division Foundation, and held at the First Division Museum at Cantigny in Wheaton, Ill., October 12-13, 2007. Cantigny is part of the McCormick Tribune Foundation of Chicago. A full conference report is forthcoming and can be ordered at www.first divisionmuseum.org. A follow-up conference in 2008 or early 2009 is being planned.
One of the brightest gems among the crown jewels of this nation is the U.S. Army. Maintaining it as the …