REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 53 years ago today, U.S. forces were caught off guard and unprepared to mount a quick defense. As a result, the enormous loss of life was tragic.

Today, more than half a century removed from that terrible day, Americans remember the heroism of those who gave their lives and those who fought for nearly four more years in the battles of World War II around the globe.

Today, visiting the memorials to the "day that will live in infamy" in Hawaii is a somber and sober experience.

And today, it is a somber and sober thought that military readiness is as important as it was in December 1941. Much has been made of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. But there is an ever-present need for a vigilant and prepared military to guard American interests at home and abroad.

The news regarding the U.S. military is less than heartening: It is poorly equipped, insufficiently armed, incompletely trained and generally below standard. All due to cutbacks in military spending that may have gone too far. How bad is it? When troops were sent to Haiti, each soldier had only a few rounds of ammunition to use in the event it was needed. Thank goodness it wasn't.

The men and women who serve in the military deserve better than that. They deserve to be well-trained, well-armed and well-prepared for the dangerous situations in which they will be placed. On this Pearl Harbor Day, it is fitting to remember that America's strength in world affairs must have as its foundation an able and ready military.