Opinion | Smartphones in the Military

Sept. 21, 2026 12:00 pm ET

As a veteran, I read John Spencer’s op-ed “Can Military Morale Survive Smartphones?” (Sept. 17) with interest. Service members shouldn’t be blamed for maintaining contact with family members back home. It’s likely that effective leadership was lacking at every level of the military chain of command and resulted in the many issues that Mr. Spencer lists regarding the use of technology.

Today’s military leaders need to step up and manage the use of personal electronics. More importantly, they need to lead their soldiers, sailors and airmen through adversity, just as plenty of second lieutenants did during World War II when they tended to their troops after they received “Dear John” letters.

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