FARMINGTON — America doesn't seem very serious about being at war, and maybe that's because many Americans don't feel like they're at war, says Brig. Gen. Keith Thurgood.
During World War II, rationing was implemented to get critical materials to troops overseas. But nothing like that has happened since the terrorist attacks of 2001 and the United States entered into a war on terror.
"The people have not had to feel the pain of being at war," Thurgood told a group of Davis County officials Friday evening.
Otherwise, he said, there probably would be more support across the country for the war effort.
"We haven't communicated the message right," he added.
Part of that message is how critical it is that the U.S. effort in Iraq succeeds.
"Otherwise, it will send a bad signal to our partners across the world," Thurgood said.
The U.S. can't make that happen with its military alone. There need to be diplomacy and economic aid, too, he said.
The other part of the message is all of the good things that are happening, like that all of Iraq's universities and technical schools are up and running and that inflation is down 50 percent.
Thurgood is on a short leave for his son's wedding in Utah County. He arrived Wednesday and left Sunday at 6 a.m. for the Middle East, where he is stationed as the commander of the 143rd Transport Command, deputy commander of the 377th Theater Support Command and director of Mobility Forces-Surface for the Third U.S. Army.
Those are a lot of titles that go hand in hand, and they are all related to the logistics of getting people and things to the right places at the right time.
Thurgood grew up in the military doing transportation and it became a part of his private life too.
When not on active duty, the reservist is director of strategy for PepsiCo in Plano, Texas.
"It's the same job, different uniform," he said.
But the military has a different sort of urgency.
Every day the Third Army drives 1,015 vehicles 158,000 miles and uses 2 million gallons of fuel. Soldiers eat 700,000 meals and 47,000 tons of ammunition are shipped.
That's enough ammo to fill the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., to a height of 10 stories, Thurgood said.
During the question-and-answer portion of Thurgood's talk, he was asked if he is concerned about the political makeup of Congress —which recently garnered a Democratic majority —or future changes in the presidency.
"We work for the president of the United States," Thurgood said. "I'm not concerned about it."
He said congressional changes can be good because new ideas can come to the forefront.
But the numbers that are most striking to Thurgood are these, which he shared with the group:
$700 billion — total military spending worldwide on the war on terror.
$400 billion — total military spending by the United States on the same war.
3.8 percent — the percentage of U.S. gross domestic product spent on the war. During World War II, it was 38 percent.
He said political leaders need to get serious about ending the war in Iraq, but people also need to be patient.
"You can't go in and build a democracy in two or three years. It takes time," he said.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com