Stoops will be a great asset to UA football

Congratulations on snagging the absolute best coach available!

I am just a typical University of Oklahoma football fan, but I know how extremely valuable Mike Stoops is going to be to your program!

Arizona, like OU, takes pride in its football program (I still remember Desert Swarm), and I will not be surprised to see Arizona as PAC-10 champions within two years and playing for a national championship within four.

This isn't hype; Mike Stoops will bring Arizona to the top of the college football world, so get season tickets now before they bring a premium. Good luck on next year's season!

Jay D. Lankford
Norman, Oklahoma

Get on board the bus to USC to show UA pride

I know it is a busy time for all of you students right now, but I want to remind you about an awesome opportunity. ASUA wants to plan a spirit trip to the USC away basketball game on Jan. 15. This is a chance for those of you who didn't get tickets to be able to watch the Cats in person. For those of you who have tickets, this is a way for you check out a different venue. For those of you who just want to show your loyalty and spirit, this is a perfect chance for you.

This will be a turnaround trip that leaves Tucson the morning of, and returns directly after the game. So you won't miss a lot of class or parties, or whatever else it is that you do with your time. The price of your ticket will be subsidized by ASUA, so the only thing you would have to pay for would be the bus fare for the bus that we have reserved.

This will be a great way to kick off the new year, so get a group of friends together and show your allegiance to an amazing basketball program. Seats are limited, so please take advantage of this opportunity and come to ASUA to reserve your spot. For any questions, call 621-2782 or visit our Web site at asua.arizona.edu. I hope to see you all there.

J.P. Benedict
business administration senior
student body president

Wartime military losses not unlike peacetime

I just want folks to know that the military is a dangerous place in peacetime too. With all the controversy about our anti-terror missions in Iraq and Afghanistan (to name only two), there is one argument that has advanced through the media ranks and onto bumper stickers: that our service men and women are somehow being needlessly sent to their deaths in these remote places because of misguided foreign policy initiatives. This message usually comes from those who support our troops yet are anti-Bush. The people who want to pull our troops out use casualty statistics to build their argument. Look a little closer at those claims before agreeing with them.

Servicemen and servicewomen are killed and maimed every day - peacetime, wartime, combat, whenever. What are we seeing reported in the news? A helicopter crashes, a Hummer hits a land mine, other combat fatalities and related accidents. As tragic as combat losses are, there's much more to be told that isn't. For example, has anyone seen any stories about the personnel on board ships being killed and permanently disfigured due to boiler accidents, steam pipe ruptures, electrical shock, various machinery accidents and even routine maintenance? I certainly haven't seen ABC or CNN covering these losses. Don't Navy personnel matter enough to get equal airtime? How about accidents that claim life and limb which occur as part of routine training here in the states? Those reports certainly are hard to come by. Why could that be? The truth is that serving in the military is dangerous even in peacetime. I myself am a combat veteran and have witnessed death and destruction first-hand. Thank God I survived without a scratch. Unfortunately, I was permanently disabled while serving in the U.S. Navy but that was the result of a car accident when I got back, something that happened here in the U.S. during peacetime. From my point of view, drunken drivers have caused me more harm than anything else.

So before you start thinking that our losses overseas are too high to tolerate, compare that to our peacetime losses if you want to know how many are more than normal. Then take that number and compare it to those who perished on Sept. 11, 2001 By being in Iraq and Afghanistan, we're doing what needs to be done and we're so good at it that we're not getting the crap beat out of us, as some would have you believe. When the war does finally end for network cameras, the troopers in the field will still be in a dangerous line of work, as will the sailors at sea. Truth is, the entire U.S. military is protecting more than U.S. interests; it is protecting the world from threats that can easily kill people wherever Americans go. Driving tanks, flying planes and helicopters, being out at sea - all these activities are more dangerous than pushing papers around a desk. It's work that needs to be done, which every citizen should gladly do but only a few have the courage to fulfill.

Is it the military's responsibility to police the world? Maybe not, but who better to protect peace and freedom from threats that can strike us here at home? If nothing else, being in Iraq is a much better training exercise than what troopers would accidentally die in here at home; it's important training that will keep us fresh if things ever go from bad to worse. It may be expensive, but it comes with all kinds of great benefits, like stomping al Qaeda into their graves. We are the champions and if we want to remain that way, the drills to stay sharp aren't free.

Peter Gamble
business management senior