I am a longtime member of AUSA and have been a reader of ARMY Magazine since I was a second lieutenant. Now retired, I have continued to be a member and read the magazine each month. The articles are always interesting; the monthly column "CompanyCommand" is especially noteworthy. My compliments on this excellent tool for company commanders.

During my time as a company-grade officer there is no doubt that I would have been a regular reader of this column and would have applied its lessons. In the past, one of my favorite monthly columns was that of Maj. Gen. Aubrey Newman. I applied his lessons as I advanced through the ranks. It is great that ARMY Magazine is carrying on the tradition of educating younger officers.

As I read the monthly writings in "CompanyCommand," I often find myself comparing the experiences of today's company commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan to my own experiences in Vietnam. These writings, and certainly May's column on resilient leadership—outstanding, by the way—explain better than any other articles I have seen what it is like at ground level in Iraq and Afghanistan. Too bad the general media does not pay more attention to the good work our troops are doing.

Keep up the good work.

Col. Lee J. Pryor, USAR Ret.
Raleigh, N.C.


NCO MENTORSHIP
Maj. Gen. Guy S. Meloy's article "NCO Mentorship—And Friendship" ("Front & Center," March) was the highlight of my weekly reads. His article clearly reflects what keeps us "Army Strong," as the new slogan goes: a corps of professional, dedicated leaders—our NCOs.

I don't know where I would have been during my service were it not for the mentorship of SFC Joe Wynnberry during my first assignment as an aeroscout platoon leader; or the bonds that I formed with Sgt. Craig Cramer, my crew chief during the same assignment; or the trust I had with Sgt. Charlie Herron, my aerial observer, when I commanded B Troop, 5th Squadron, 9th Cavalry at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. These men, in part, made me the man I am today and make me extremely proud to look back on my service.

I lost touch with Joe Wynnberry and Craig Cramer, but recently learned of Charlie Herron's passing in a tragic accident. It was a real blow to me personally. He had left the Army, served in a civilian capacity in Iraq only to come home and die in the garage of his new home. I wrote a letter to his young son, expressing how much this man meant to me. I received a response from Charlie's widow, who thanked me for my kind words and told me she would keep that letter forever so that she and her son would have it.

Maj. Scott A. Townsend
Lewisville, Texas

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I greatly enjoyed Gen. Meloy's article "NCO Mentorship—And Friendship" in the March issue. I certainly owe my advance in rank after Officer Candidate School, in the artillery and in the intelligence services, to enlisted men—especially to savvy sergeants—who were never above helping an untutored officer in the ways of the Army.

Gen. Meloy asserts that good NCOs are largely responsible for shaping the officer corps—I could not agree more.

Col. Donald R. Hart Jr., AUS Ret.
West Cornwall, Conn.


THE ARMY UNIFORM
After reading the letters to ARMY on the uniform controversy, I decided to join the fray between the traditionalists—those wanting to maintain the status quo—and the avant-garde who support the new Army dress blue uniform.

I found the doorman story particularly interesting. I am not questioning the author's experience, but it's an urban legend that I've heard each time there was a uniform change. That couple from Kansas sure gets around!

I couldn't agree more about not wearing the battle dress uniforms (BDUs) or Army combat uniforms (ACUs) in public. It should not happen and is a fairly recent phenomenon, apparently influenced by televised briefings from Desert Storm/Shield and Operation Iraqi Freedom and a desire by senior leaders to be viewed as warriors rather than policymakers. It will not be resolved until the leadership remembers to set standards and lead by example.

I do have to take exception with maintaining the Army green Class A uniform. I am a product of the Army green Class A uniform, with first the tan, then the green shirt. Thankfully, the traditionalists lost the battle to retain the tan shirt. The tan shirt was hideous, almost as hideous as today's troops would find the "pinks and greens" of yesteryear.

It was interesting to note that all letter writers said, "No change," but drew varying lines in the sand as to where to start maintaining a "traditional" uniform. Unless you're a purist, you may not abide the 1779 stiff, high-collared cotton tunic (with tails), white waistcoat, breeches and knee-high boots that will undoubtedly bankrupt many a poor NCO. We could top it off by dragging swords around like the Marines' blue dress Class A uniform.

Throughout my career I had to purchase dress uniforms as I moved to different assignments, including the mess and dress whites, mess blues, then finally dress blues. Each assignment mandated tradition, seasonal wear and time of evening as rationale for raiding my wallet. Those costs hurt.

It won't be any different for tomorrow's soldiers.

If you really want to save the troops money, throw several variations out. Retain a set of whites for formal eveningwear and merge the dress blue uniform with the Class A uniform. This is apparently what we have done and it makes sense.

Let the Marines continue to pay for their service dress, blue dress, blue-white dress and evening dress uniforms and all four classes (variations) of each.

In short, we are never going to draw away the best of the best recruits from Marines featured in testosterone-laden commercials wearing sharp uniforms and fighting dragons with flashing swords while we wear green polyester business suits.

Just go with the dress blues, but make the pants more durable. Then we can fix the commercials.

Maj. James H. Centric, USA Ret.
Phenix City, Ala.