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Obama was asked by a retired U.S. Army colonel at a CNN town
hall what he would say to his daughters Malia, 18, and Sasha,
15, if they wanted to serve in the military.
"I'd say, 'Go for it,'" Obama said, describing to the audience
at the Fort Lee military base how inspired he has been by the
discipline and patriotism in service members he has met during
his time as Commander in Chief.
"Now, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't sometimes get nervous
about possible deployments," Obama said. "Your kids are your
kids. You want to keep them tucked in their pajamas for the rest
of their lives, if you had the chance."
Obama said he would like to see more Americans sign up for
military service, particularly "folks who are from higher income
brackets" who are "underrepresented" in the military, noting
many people no longer have a personal connection to men and
women in uniform.
"You start getting like a professional warrior class of one
percent and then you get 99 percent who will salute and cheer at
a ball game and will honor our veterans on Veterans Day, but
beyond that, don't really have that much of a stake," Obama
said.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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