While the USGLC was holding its annual conference last week, two veterans went on TV to speak out for elevating diplomacy and humanitarian development alongside a strong defense to keep us safe. In an appearance on C-Span’s Washington Journal, Admiral James Loy, USCG (Ret) said that “in the aftermath of [America’s] military engagements, so many of the challenges become developmental or diplomatic in nature. And perhaps more to the point, a strong diplomatic and development investment can often keep us from having to engage those young military men and women to begin with.
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He also said it’s important for not just the generals or admirals to talk about this important subject, and Jim Morin, who served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as an Infantry Platoon Leader in the 82nd Airborne Division, did just that. In an interview on the nightly TV show Capital Insider, Morin said “we need to have a full sweep of tools in our [national security] toolkit to address the problems that we have.”