GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to take you to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Governor George W. Bush is addressing the VFW national convention.</s>GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Think of it, a guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy turning back because there was not enough money for fuel. In the Pacific Fleet training exercises have been cut back for the same reason. They've had to wait until the next fiscal year for training. In the Atlantic Fleet 21 warships need maintenance that's been delayed or the maintenance has been canceled. In both the Navy and Air Force there are shortages of one of our most effective weapons, the cruise missile. The Navy is not only short on money, maintenance and weapons, it's short on sailors. The Navy entered this new century with a shortage of nearly 10,000 enlisted personnel at sea. In 1998-1999, for the first time the United States Army fell short of its recruiting goals for the all-volunteer force. And the Air Force missed its recruiting goals for the first time since 1979. Over the last several years, the services have found it more and more difficult to retain the best people. Our men and women in uniform and their families are the foundation of America's military readiness, yet in a survey last year of more than 1,000 officers and enlisted personnel, more than half said they were dissatisfied and intended to leave the service when their current term of enlistment was up. I don't care what's said in a political campaign, these are signs of a military in decline and we must do something about it.</s>VAN SUSTEREN: We've been listening to Governor Bush, who's speaking at the VFW national convention in Milwaukee.
Bush Addresses VFW National Convention