Claire Lorentzen’s article against the ROTC (“Studying War More?” September-October 2011) is intolerant. Not needing a military at all is a pipe dream. Nobody is forced to join ROTC. I have been in combat under various types of officers. Believe me, having a commanding officer that learned to think from a college like Stanford can make a world of difference to the troops versus an officer from an inferior, small-time, “good old boy” college.

John Rensen
Potter Valley, California