DAN K. THOMASSON We should hang our heads in shame

WASHINGTON -- Here are a couple of Christmas stories that both contradict the spirit of the season on the one hand and show the warmth and generosity of Americans on the other.
In the latter vein, a couple of Sundays ago in a historic church in an affluent area of the nation's capital, the good folks took up a collection to help those in need. It is traditionally what people of all faiths do on special occasions to fulfill their religious mandate to help others. This collection, however, wasn't for the usual baskets of food for the poor or toys and clothes for their deprived children. The congregation's generosity was for nothing as common as all that.
It was for discount phone cards. That's right. It was for those ducats that allow a person to buy so many minutes of telephone time at a greatly reduced price. They are offered by any number of communications companies in thousands of retail locations throughout the nation.
What made this so important was that the cards were for American soldiers recuperating from their wounds at Walter Reed Army Hospital here so they could call home at no expense at this special time. Otherwise, the telephone conversations with loved ones would be charged to them or their families because the military does not pay for the calls in this war where budgetary considerations seem suddenly to have become more important than the welfare of the troops. Which leads us to the darker side of the Christmas story.
Sad story
A friend called to say that a young acquaintance in a National Guard unit was to report for active duty in Iraq before Christmas despite the fact he has a two year-old child and will have to sell the house he has just bought because he will not be paid during his absence and the Guard salary will not cover the mortgage. His wife and baby must move back to her family.
As unpleasant as that may seem, it is, after all, the way of the military historically and is duplicated daily during wartime service. What disturbed my friend most were instructions from the guardsman's commanding officer that, because of tight budgets, he would be expected to furnish most of his own personal necessities, including toiletries and underwear and other items.
But far more appalling was the officer's warning that he would need to buy certain military equipment. It seems the anti-flak and bullet retardant vest guardsmen were being issued has a low efficiency rating and that he should consider upgrading at his own expense. The cost of a more reliable vest was listed at above $200, a sum the young man can hardly afford even at the risk to his own life. In addition, he would need to buy his own holster for a sidearm, a global positioning device (without which he would be difficult to find if he got lost) and a cell phone.
Here's the capper. He will be sent to a hostile, guerrilla-infested land at a time of maximum insurgency with only a bare few weeks of training to go along with his regular summer fortnight exercises required of the Guard.
There is no secret that the National Guard is billions of dollars behind the regular Army in its equipment needs, despite the fact it makes up 45 percent of those serving in Iraq. That has been sufficiently publicized by a host of horror stories, including Guard units scrounging for vehicle armor in landfills. But to send any American soldier, guardsman or regular, into combat with inferior equipment, including body armor, and with inadequate preparation for urban warfare is so infuriating that one can only stammer inarticulately in response.
Toothpaste
Here we are, the wealthiest society in the history of mankind, spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually on military hardware, and not only do we order troops into harm's way without the best possible chance of surviving, we can't afford to buy them toothpaste and shaving kits or pay for their telephone calls at Christmas when they come home missing an arm or a leg or worse. This alone makes what is happening in Iraq among the worst tragedies in our history. I'm sorry, but it is just plain despicable.
Is it any wonder that recruiting for the National Guard is off dramatically? I think all of us should be ashamed that we have allowed this to happen to those brave men and women on whom we depend to safeguard our liberty. Merry Christmas!
X Dan K. Thomasson is former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service.)