As a battalion commander during the Vietnam War, Army Maj. Gen. Oscar Decker remembers carrying his uniform in a bag during trips to the Pentagon. He was ordered not to wear it, he says, because public support for the military “just went away.”

Though public opinion, or “national will,” is high now Decker said, it’ll take work to keep it that way. Decker, 80, was the keynote speaker at the Military Ball– a joint event with the University’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs– Friday night in the Union Ballroom.

“This intangible thing called national will is something that each and every one of us in here has to ensure that we maintain. That we do whatever we can to maintain it,” he said. “We probably have the best support, despite arguments, we’ve got support of our troops (now). We’re not ashamed of our troops being out there. Nobody, I think, is pointing the finger at those troops.”

Retiring in 1983 after 40 years in the Army, Decker held dozens of positions, most recently as Commander of the Army Tank Automotive Command where he designed vehicles used in day-to-day operations and combat. He earned an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Michigan Technological University for his design work.

Young leaders are especially important in keeping public support high, Decker told the cadets Friday.

“You cadets are our foundation stone, I think,” he said. “You’re a foundations stone for the national will because you can support it. You can support it in uniform, and if you don’t make a career out of the military, you can still support it in civilian life and we need that.”

But those who don’t support the military, Decker said, shouldn’t intimidate University cadets.

“If we would lay down every time somebody ran up against us, we’d be speaking some other language,” he said. “I feel very strongly that when our country goes and does something we support it. We may not like it, but you support it. The worst thing in the world you can do is not support it because the other side gets that information.”

According to Decker, weakening public opinion in America was one tactic that Saddam Hussein was hoping to use through the War in Iraq. Even with Hussein out of the picture, public support is vital, he said.

“I feel bad for our young people that don’t understand that (tactic),” he said. “And there’s a lot of people out there that are trying to rouse them up against understanding. I just feel bad for them because I don’t think they see both sides of the picture.”

The price of freedom is gruesome, but required, Decker told cadets Friday.

“We buy freedom with blood and we buy it on an installment plan,” he said. “That doesn’t sound too good, we don’t like it, but if you back away from it, you’ll buy it with more blood even in the long-term.”