As a former military officer I was beside myself after hearing the exchange that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D.-Calif.) had with Army Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh at a Senate hearing, after he had addressed her as “Ma’am”:

Boxer: “You know, do me a favor: Could you say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am’?”

General Walsh: “Yes.”

Boxer: “It’s just a thing; I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it. Yes, thank you.”

General Walsh: “Yes, Senator.”

First and foremost, military protocol stipulates that every officer that addresses someone higher in his or her chain of command should be referred to as “sir” or “ma’am.”

General Walsh has probably been doing this since he was 21 years old.

Well, Senator Boxer, “do me a favor” and get down off your self-absorbed high horse and show the general the respect he deserves. The very last thing any military man or woman needs is to be lectured in a disrespectful, demeaning way in a public forum by some political hack.

What has Senator Boxer actually worked hard at? She’s an elected official who spends a lot of her time in office trying to get re-elected. I could see if you were a brain surgeon who saved lives and wanted to be called doctor, or if you were a, well, general who spent his career protecting lives and preserving freedom.

Senator Boxer, “ma’am,” do me a favor, dip into that bulging political war chest, take out a few dollars and buy a clue.

Senator Boxer did not apologize publicly to General Walsh. She should look in the mirror and see what everyone else sees — a petty woman wrapped up in her own sense of self-importance.

KEVIN E. LYNCH

Portsmouth