Mailbag: Col Hack's Defending America Newsletter, dtd 111500
November 15 2000 at 11:18 AM No score for this post
(Login Dick Gaines) Forum Owner from IP address 209.130.137.120
SOLDIERS FOR THE TRUTH (SFTT)
“DEFENDING AMERICA NEWSLETTER” (Mail Version)
11/15/00 – “Focus on the Future”
“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.”
General George Washington, New York Legislature, 1775
“Our militia will be heroes, if we have heroes to lead them.”
Thomas Jefferson
Soldiers For The Truth Foundation, PO Box 63840, Colorado
Springs, CO
80962-3840
HTTP://WWW.SFTT.ORG
***********************************************************
Note: This is an ABBREVIATED version of the newsletter that
contains table
contents, SITREP and the first two articles. GO TO www.sftt.org
FOR THE
REST OF THIS NEWSLETTER.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
SITREP from the President
HOT BUTTONS!
Hack’s Column:
Some Things never Change
“Through Zman’s Gun Sight”
Article 1 -- Patriots and Our Kids, Not Professional Politicians
Will Create
the Future
The Big Picture:
Article 2 -- Army Fires Colonel Who Laundered Drug Money
Article 3 -- Shinseki’s Final Call – Implement the Black Beret
Article 4 -- USS Cole Guards Told Not to Fire First Shot
Voice of the Grunt:
Article 5 -- Why Our Young Lions are Leaving Early – Part II
Article 6 -- Why I Still Want To Command
Article 7 -- USS Cole – Most Likely No Major Fault On The Ship
Article 8 – Military People Earned The Right To Vote
Article 9 -- Weapons Procurement – Problems are Cultural
Article 10 -- History: WWI Remembered by the Personal Notes of
John B.
Junor
Article 11 -- More Voices from the Frontlines
Article 12 -- Quality of Life Update
G.I Humor:
Article 13 -- GI HUMOR – Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
Medal of Honor:
Article 14 -- LEVITOW, JOHN L., Vietnam 1969.
SITREP:
1. Main topics: 1) Focus on the Future 2) Military Justice 3)
Tax Dodgers
4) Real History 5) Quality of Life/Healthcare
2. Hot Buttons:
A. Keep the feedback coming. Obviously most of our focus is
political
right now but we can’t forget that once the election is decided,
we should
present a constructive plan for improvements. Our first task
must be to
reunite our nation and rebuild its credibility.
My hope is now that Joe Stalin wasn’t right when he said: "The
people who
vote decide nothing. The people who count the vote decide
everything."
B. I am interested in the following feedback for next week:
* Have you experienced problems with your absentee ballot, i.e.
late
arrival in Europe?
* What should be our three main defense priorities for the next
administration?
* Should the US reduce its presence in Europe?
* Do you feel the Army is doing the right thing with the medium
brigade
concept?
Feel free to send me hot topics directly if you can’t get
through the
admin/log net -- rrzimm@gateway.net.
C. The WEBPAGE. Webmaster, John Cloven is continually working
on improving
the site. Thanks for your feedback.
D. DONATIONS. THE WEB DONATION OPTION SHOULD BE UP AND WORKING
ONCE AGAIN!
Thank you for your continuing support. Your donations are
helping us to get
the word out. Thanks for supporting an organization that stands
for the
Truth, even if it questions every rule of political correctness.
E. Keep the mail coming!!! We won’t reveal your true identity
unless you
give us your approval. We know how vindictive the “system” is.
3. How You can help:
!!! Credit Card donation via our WEBSITE at www.sftt.org.
!!! If you think we HIT a target, forward the newsletter to TV,
radio and
your local papers. YOU are the frontline recruiters and intel
gatherers for
SFTT.
Check or Money order: Send to and make payable to: Soldiers
For The Truth
Foundation, PO Box 63840, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-3840.
Important: Your donation is tax deductible! SFTT is a 501 (c)
3 non-profit
educational foundation, IRS # 31-1592564.
If you send us an E-MAIL address with your donation we can
immediately mail
you a RECEIPT.
Multiple contributions: Please remind us when you submit your
donation. We
will send you a cumulative statement.
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Hack’s Column
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some Things never Change
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By David Hackworth
“For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the
tide ...
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap ...
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you ...”
Rudyard Kipling's 19th-century poem "Tommy" perfectly captures
the
frustration of many in our armed forces toward the disconnected
mind-set of
too many of today's politicians, media folks and uncaring
Americans.
When the country has a gun pointed at its head, nothing's too
good for the
troops. But when the market's high and peace is blowing in the
wind, signs
quickly proclaim: "No dogs or soldiers allowed."
There's no national threat this week, but our Tommys and Tammys
are suddenly
in the spotlight. It's their absentee ballots that may decide
the
presidential election and who will be their next commander in
chief. What
irony! Now those who wear our uniform have become critically
important to an
administration that for the past eight years has treated them
with
callousness and contempt -- as if they were indentured servants.
They've been sent on one harebrained mission after another, none
of which
have zilch to do with national security. Their ability to defend
America has
been dulled by social experiments seemingly designed to turn a
once-disciplined, highly effective fighting machine into a
politically
correct commune. They've been marginalized, downsized and
socialized,
screwed with, manipulated and jerked around every way but loose.
Finally, these defenders of ours have made prime time and Page
One without
another USS Cole tragedy or an old atrocity charge or a new
scandal. Now
that they're the main event, let's hope they use their 15
minutes to send a
loud and clear message about what's on their minds.
About how they've had to wear the widespread Madeleine
Albright-type of
disdain, the sophistry that since they're all volunteers, they
should grin
and bear it as they wade through the cesspools of the world.
Or how they're forced to pander to high-living politicos, their
pals and
entourages as they fly America's new nobility, their wives and
spoiled kids
around the world on jaunts at taxpayer expense. All the while
enduring long
separations from their own families, many of whom exist on food
stamps and
hand-me-downs.
These are the Tommys and Tammys who in the past eight years have
paid with
their lives in Albania, Bosnia, Colombia, Haiti, Kosovo, Kuwait,
Saudi
Arabia and Yemen, to name a few bloody spots. And now -- shock!
-- this year
their absentee ballots actually may be counted. They actually
may play a
critical, even indispensable role in the year 2000 election. And
along the
way, maybe they'll start getting some respect.
Of course, since most reporters share the Madeleine attitude,
few in the
Fourth Estate pay much attention to the troops unless it's the
"Thin red
line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll...And when one of
theirs such
as Time magazine's Margaret Carlson uses national TV to dump on
our soldiers
from Florida who voted by absentee ballot while serving in the
world's
hellholes -- calling them "tax dodgers" -- it goes virtually
unreported.
Rarely does anyone acknowledge that the sacrifices of our troops
-- past,
present and future -- are what allow the Carlsons to employ
their
constitutional right of freedom of expression to sully the
people who daily
lay their lives on the line to protect those very rights.
Few in the regular force blow the whistle over their misuse and
abuse for
fear of losing their jobs. But if conscription once again filled
the ranks
of our military, this nonsense would stop. Citizens would be
concerned with
what was happening to their children, as would the suddenly
enlightened
press and pols.
Sadly, things probably won't change much for the regulars until
the draft is
reinstated. But as long as it's the same old story for the
troops, Kipling's
caveat still holds:
“An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!”
And so do the wonderful men and women who defend America in
these troubled
times -- whose vote actually may mean something this time
around.
***
Http://www.hackworth.com is the address of David Hackworth's
home page. Sign
in for the free weekly Defending America column at his Web site.
Send mail
to P.O. Box 5210, Greenwich, CT 06831.
c 2000 David H. Hackworth
Distributed by King Features Syndicate Inc.
===========================================================
ARTICLE 1 – “Through Zman’s Gun Sight”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patriots and Our Kids, Not Professional Politicians Will Create
the Future
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By R. W. (Zimm) Zimmermann
President Soldiers For The Truth
11/14/00
Shortly after writing about how to turn Veterans Day into a
positive
experience by focusing on future generations of Americans, I was
offered a
wonderful opportunity to put my words into action.
My little daughter’s second grade class invited me to speak
about my
military career and Veterans Day.
So, armed with several different uniform, helmets, video clips,
a tank
model, medals and a sample packet of Meals Ready to Eat (MRE =
Meals
Rejected by Ethiopians) I met all the little critters in their
classroom.
And what a great day it became for all of us.
Eager to learn about the military and its purpose, the kids
asked lots of
questions and were especially interested in equipment and
uniforms. The
learning curve was steep indeed.
What struck me as interesting was that very few of the kids
understood what
our purpose really is and that war isn’t just a video game. One
little boy
actually asked me when the “game of war” normally ended. Very
few of the
youngsters understood that war is about big political goals and
that
military men and women were ensuring that these goals were
accomplished. I
tried to make them understand the most important of these goals
were the
protection of the American way of life and peace for our nation.
I was also a bit surprised that many of the kids had admiration
for the
“higher-ups” and generals but didn’t fully recognize that we
needed lots of
little guys with rucksacks, boots and rifles and other
hardworking troops to
accomplish the most dangerous and sometimes thankless jobs. One
little girl
mentioned to me that her dad had merely served for three years
and got out
to be with her and the family. I reassured the kid that she
really needed
to be proud of her Dad because he had made an important
contribution to our
society, that he was a true patriot.
Midway into our almost two hour session, I began to see that the
tide was
turning in our understanding. Many of the boys and girls
recognized that it
was okay and honorable to seek out professions that didn’t only
focus on
money, rank and privilege, but on making a contribution to
community and
society. They saw that policemen, nurses, firemen, teachers for
example,
were real heroes, too.
I wanted to share my school experience with you because I
believe that these
kids at ages 7-9 will be an important factor in the preservation
of our
national fabric. They are the ones, given the right tools, who
can bridge
the divisions that have become very apparent during the recent
cliffhanger
election.
Our country has turned cynical and shows a major divide in the
way different
generations view the world and our future. Many of our younger
voters don’t
care, as long we are economically well off and can’t acknowledge
that if we
want to be a superpower, our responsibilities are bigger than
the election
problems in the banana republic of Florida.
As the generations are growing apart and are searching for more
and faster
self-gratification, our youngest kids are looking for
fundamental values.
It is our duty and responsibility to teach them what’s right and
honorable.
No, we can’t leave it to administrators, businesses leaders and
lawyers, to
define the future for them. If we allow this, we will only
produce a sort
of economic Hitler Youth, focused on consuming and who will
discard anyone
who doesn’t measure up in the new-age struggle to become a teen
millionaire.
Parents, teachers, and citizen idealists, such as veterans, must
step up to
the plate and participate in the nurturing of our youth. I
assure you, the
cause is noble and it’s not too late. We former troops can help
teach our
kids about duty honor and country in an upbeat way and encourage
them to
learn about responsibilities and the realities of life.
Let’s give them options and the tools to make informed decisions
as they
mature, so that they don’t consider suicide after the first
failure to
become e-commerce millionaires.
We must show them that being a patriot is much more than
rallying behind the
flag, faithfully voting Republican or Democrat, or serving in
the military.
Being a patriot means caring about the unity of our society and
the future
of our country by raising decent children in supportive families
as well.
By getting involved, we vets can prove to our friends and
neighbors that
soldiers are citizens and patriots, and not tax dodgers as some
have us
believe. No, we paid our dues along the way and still stand
ready to take
on the future.
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