McCain Visits Pensacola, Urges Military Increase

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By Steve Alexander Reporter

M50o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr McCain Visits Pensacola, Urges Military Increase

Published: Wed, April 02, 2008 - 10:22 pm

Steve Alexander

Republican presidential candidate John McCain told a crowd in Pensacola Wednesday afternoon that if the United States had initially sent more troops to Iraq, the situation there would be much different now.
McCain returned to a city where he trained when he was in the Navy.
The Arizona senator told a crowd of several hundred people at Pensacola Junior College, "I came to Pensacola to become an aviator."
McCain trained at Pensacola Naval Air Station during the late 1950's.
He said, "I enjoyed every single moment of my life here, from learning to fly to blowing my pay at Trader John's."
At one point toward the beginning of the senators speech, event organizers noticed an anti-McCain sign in the crowd.
The sign said, "Republicans Against McSame."
Police made those who brought the sign fold it up, than hand it over.
All the time the senator continued his speech.
McCain then talked about the need to significantly increase the size of the military.
He said had we begun doing that after 9-11 "or even when it became clear to many of us that our flawed strategy and inadequate troop levels in Iraq were going to result in that conflict lasting far longer than anticipated, we would not be in the situation we are in today."
But how do you attract more people to the military?
McCain said, "We could institute a draft, but that's neither necessary nor desirable. We could and should call on universities to allow ROTC (the Reserve Officers Training Corps) a presence on their campuses."
Many people who came to listen to McCain said they liked what they heard.
Rhoda Warren of Pensacola said, "I just think he's a man of integrity and I think it comes out from his speech."
Loretta Aiken of Navarre said, "I believe he's going to build our military back where it used to be."
McCain spent several minutes shaking hands with the crowd before leaving the campus.
This is McCain's second stop at Pensacola Junior College this year.
He visited in January days before the Florida primary.
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