Navy football nixes ‘inappropriate’ gun motto

I appreciate your thoughts and heartfelt good message. However, the football team's motto never had anything to do with the shooting. It is a motto that military men and women can understand as a metaphor and get behind because it is a part of their world. Military men and women train for combat, and that includes weapons and lethal force. That is our culture, even when we've suffered losses in combat or in peacetime. We should not hide it or be ashamed of it. We can celebrate Wendi Winters' life, and be saddened by her death, and pray for her family...and still embrace the military culture of being the lethal force of defense for our nation.

Col Joseph Lenertz I don't take issue with the lethal force aspect being cultural to the military. This decision though is a political decision that considers the civilian population of Annapolis who support the Naval Academy, particularly as fans of the football team. It lowers tensions of those affected by the tragedy and does nothing to compromise the integrity or fighting capacity of the Naval Academy by doing so. It is a smart decision to maintain positive relationships with the civilian population and consider the context of military/civilian interactions in the area: It's all about PR.

I think you are correct on all counts there. It was a political decision.