WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! SOLDIERS FOR THE TRUTH "DEFENDING AMERICA NEWSLETTER" 05 July 2000 "When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen." General George Washington, New York Legislature, 1775 Soldiers For The Truth Foundation, PO Box 63840, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-3840 HTTP://WWW.SFTT.ORG ***************************************************************** TABLE OF CONTENTS SITREP from the President HOT BUTTONS! Hack's Column: The Greatest Generation and Incredible Docs "From my Position" -- On the way!" Article 1 - Beyond Numbers: Can they Lead and Fight? Big Picture: Article 2 - The Americans Who Risked Everything Article 3 -- Task Force's Smith recalls Historic Days Voices from the Field: Article 4 -- An Open Letter to Your Presidential Candidate Article 5 - All Services need help with Recruit Training and Retention Article 6 - It isn't the Pay! Article 7 -- Air Force Monument - Hell No! Article 8 -- Help Wanted: Major News Network plans to do a Report on the Air War over Iraq Article 9 -- Health Care Update: How to file a VA Claim G.I Humor: Article 10 -- GI HUMOR - You might be a Soldier, if. Medal of Honor: Article 11 -- CAFFERATA, HECTOR A., JR., Korea 1950 =============================================================== SITREP: 1. Main topics: 1) Leadership and Retention Problems 2) Readiness/Training 3) More Monuments 4) Healthcare 5) Help wanted 2. FLASH!!!! - The Answer: Thank you for telling us that USAREUR and V Corps had NOT blocked access to our website and newsletter. The many feedback messages showed me how many eyes and ears we have in the field to verify that we are reporting the Truth! 3. HOT BUTTONS: A. ??? Newsletter TOO LONG? Received more than one hundred responses. - 90% (+) want to keep the newsletter the way it is. - Some suggested to reduce the font to condense the print requirement - we' ll try it. - 20% wanted a bit more focus on messages from the field vs. newspaper excerpts. I agree and encourage all of you to send in intelligence, opinions and other observations. Feel free to use a pen name since we realize that many of you can't risk being identified by the PP's in charge. *** Suggestion for those who want a shorter newsletter in the mail: Sign up for our short version which features the president's notes, the first two articles in full and the index. If you want the full newsletter, simply log on the website - www.sftt.org and pull up the complete version. B. CORRECTIONS: Of course it was the 50Th Anniversary of the Korean War and not the 25Th that appeared in my article. I immediately checked if I knew how to spell ordnance correctly. ___________________________________________________________________________ !!! Please continue your financial support for us. A warm thanks to all of you who help keep us in the fight. We couldn't do it without you! !!! If you think we HIT a target, forward the newsletter to TV, radio and your locale papers. I'll be happy to follow up and expand our exposure. Remember, we are all in this together and every SFTT supporter is a forward observer and rifleman for OUR cause. !!! Sorry, the credit card operation is still not cooking. We're doing our best. 4. Methods of Support Check or Money order: Send to and make payable to: Soldiers For The Truth Foundation, PO Box 63840, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-3840. Credit Card donation via our WEBSITE at www.sftt.org 5. REMINDERS: 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!!!! Some of you have sent multiple contributions. Please remind us when you submit your donation, so we can send you an annual statement for tax purposes. SFTT Website. Please check out our updates, i.e. objectives, mission statement, book reports, etc. If you didn't get the complete newsletter or only the Short Version (sv), you can find it archived on the website http://www.sftt.org. Radio check complete! -- "LOAD SABOT -- DRIVER MOVE OUT!" R.W. Zimmermann President SFTT [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================================================== Hack's Column ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Greatest Generation and Incredible Docs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By David H. Hackworth Medics have been my heroes from the first time I saw a "Doc" risk his life to patch up a wounded grunt. They're the bravest of the brave and the noblest of the noble. I've never known a more selfless or dedicated group of humans. This, from an Army Airborne Ranger doctor, explains why I feel this way: "As a military doctor I work long hours. One tends to become jaded by the lack of sleep and the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. "With our large military-retiree population, it's often a nursing-home patient. I've caught myself groaning when the ambulance brought in yet another sick, elderly person. I hadn't stopped to think of what citizens of this age represented. "I saw 'Saving Private Ryan.' I was touched deeply by the sacrifices of so many. I was touched most by the scene of the elderly survivor (Pvt. Ryan) at the graveside asking his wife if he'd been a good man. I realized that I had seen these same men and women coming through my hospital and hadn't realized what magnificent sacrifices they had made. The things they did for me and everyone else who has lived on this planet since the end of that conflict are priceless. "Situation permitting, I now try to ask my patients about their experiences. "They would never bring up the subject without the inquiry. I've been privileged to an amazing array of experiences recounted. These experiences have revealed the incredible individuals I've had the honor of serving in a medical capacity, many on their last admission to the hospital. "There was a frail, elderly woman who reassured my enlisted medic trying to start an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised despite her illness and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. As the medic made another attempt, I noticed a number tattooed across her forearm. I touched it with one finger and looked into her eyes. She simply said 'Auschwitz.' Many of later generations would have loudly and openly berated the medic in his many attempts. How different was the response from this person who'd seen unspeakable suffering. "There was a retired colonel who had parachuted from his burning plane over a Pacific island held by the Japanese. Now an octogenarian, his head was cut in a fall at home where he lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until after midnight. Still spry for his age, he asked to use the phone to call a taxi to take him home, then realized his ambulance had brought him without his wallet. He asked if he could use the phone to make a long-distance call to his daughter. With great pride we told him that he could not, as he'd done enough for his country and the least we could do was get him a taxi home, even if we paid for it ourselves. My only regret was that my shift wouldn't end for several hours and I couldn't drive him myself. "And there were the gentleman who served with Merrill's Marauders; the survivors of the Baatan Death March and Omaha Beach; the 101-year-old World War I veteran; the former POW held in North Korea; the former Special Forces medic. I remember these citizens. I may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in, but now I am much more aware of what an honor it is to serve these particular men and women. "I am angered at the cutbacks -- implemented and proposed -- that will continue to decay their meager retirement benefits. I see a president and Congress who have turned their back on these individuals who've sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations who seem to be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties won with such sacrifice. "It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and enlisted medics aware of these amazing individuals. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation. "My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible generation and that this nation knows not what it is losing. "We should all remember that we must 'Earn this.'" Thanks Capt. Stephen Ellison, M.D. Well said. ***The End 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. � 2000 David H. Hackworth Distributed by King Features Syndicate Inc. ================================================== ARTICLE 1 - "From my Position" -- On the way!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beyond Numbers: Can they Lead and Fight? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By R. W. (Zimm) Zimmermann President SFTT 07/02/00 The military Crown Princes are telling us that enlistment and retention numbers are improving and that we're still the most ready military in the world. A few more panels made up of the corpses of former "go-along" generals and politicians will soon attest to the same. On top, Army Times tells us how capable our junior and senior leaders are when compared to the Russians, Ukrainians and many Third World armies. Never mind the countries of comparison. Despite the victory celebrations, the indicators for a brewing leadership readiness crisis are obvious. Officer Candidate School is increasing its output of 90-Day Wonders by over 300 candidates. Army Personnel Command is "buying back" Majors and Captains who had been axed as below standard. Most worrisome however is the decline in quality junior leaders, especially the young sergeants. Most of you know that many battles are decided by small units. Squads, platoons, and companies set the conditions for victory, all led by junior officers and combat noncommissioned officers (NCO). In the latest move to tweak the numbers, Army units were directed to send every eligible soldier to the noncommissioned officer promotion boards, "regardless of soldier motivation or qualification." Unit commanders and subordinate leaders have been told that they won't deny the soldier the board opportunity, unless they produce an "extensive paper trail of negative counseling." Sounds like Nam, "Shake and Bake" to you? You bet. To be truthful, this board practice has been going on for years Under the protest of our professional noncommissioned officer leaders, the tank commanders, squad leaders and platoon sergeants, these boards have produced many mediocre sergeants for years. Many of the boards are chaired by careerist Sergeants Major and are never questioned by unit commanders who are conditioned not to meddle in non-commissioned officer business. In my last command, I discovered this sad state of affairs when my Command Sergeant Major, who normally served as president for the NCO selection board, had to attend another "more pressing" meeting. Since I was the only remaining officer eligible to preside over the board, I took the opportunity to check first-hand who would be my future tank commanders and section sergeants. To my surprise, most of the questions the panel asked had nothing to do with weapons, the tank, battle drills, chemical defense training and the like. The majority of questions were about Army community services, counseling, efficiency reporting, family support groups and legal crap. When I interjected technical and tactical questions, 90 % of the boys had no clue what I was asking. When asked to explain the core mission of the noncommissioned officer, most answered: "taking care of soldiers, sir!" When I asked to define taking care of the troops, another shock: most of the guys were telling me about how they would make sure that their soldiers were paid, got time off, families were taken care off, and safety was enforced. What Zimmermann simply wanted to hear was that taking care of your men meant training and drilling them in their combat skills that they succeed in combat, and make it home to their families in one piece. What an eye opener! It was the first time when not all of our soldiers were recommended for advancement. When I later asked for the reasons for the lax board procedures, I was told that the questions had to be generic to present a fair spectrum for all specialties and genders. What a farce, especially when we were trying to pick squad leaders and tank commanders who must train crewmembers and soldiers in critical combat skills. Ultimately, we turned the board process around. With the eager support from our senior tank commanders, platoon sergeants and outspoken first sergeants, we prepared and promoted a smaller number of great young fellows who will make a difference as future leaders. Does the big brass really care about this issue? No! Just like most civilians, they are impressed by neatly dressed, slim noncoms that brief us with crisp yes sirs, no sirs, just like the boys who surrendered their Hummer and weapons in the Balkans. Good looks, rehearsed answers, fancier medals and quicker promotions cannot preserve the fighting and leadership abilities for a ready force. Tough training, high standards and appropriate rewards for only exceptional performance will. Look beyond the Hollywood glitz and the production numbers and ask: Can they shoot, navigate, apply misfire procedures, can they lead and fight? � R.W. Zimmermann, LandserUSA [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================================================ ARTICLE 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Americans Who Risked Everything ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: I know you were all bombarded with the 4th of July story of the 56 signers of the Constitution. After a little research, I realized that e-mail version was a highly abbreviated article from the Federalist Digest. Here is another excerpt that talks about the character and background of the signers. Credit goes to Rush H. Limbaugh, father of the radio host Rush. What is striking is that the men that gave us the Revolution and freedom from England were calculated risk takers, many of younger age and not afraid of the consequences of their actions. In a time, when most of us have become economic/career slaves, the truth seems only to survive in the closet for fear of economic reprisals. We desperately need men of true character to save us from ourselves! ********************************************************************** >From Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr. (Father of notable EIB radio host, Rush.) What kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of treason against the Crown? To each of you the names Franklin, Adams, Hancock, and Jefferson are almost as familiar as household words. Most of us, however, know nothing of the other signers. Who were they? What happened to them? I imagine that many of you are somewhat surprised at the names not there: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry. All were elsewhere. Ben Franklin was the only really old man. Eighteen were under 40; three were in their 20s. Of the 56, almost half--24--were judges and lawyers. Eleven were merchants, 9 were land-owners and farmers, and the remaining 12 were doctors, ministers, and politicians. With only a few exceptions, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, these were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th century. Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it. John Hancock, one of the richest men in America, already had a price of 500 pounds on his head. He signed in enormous letters so "that his Majesty could now read his name without glasses and could now double the reward." Ben Franklin wryly noted: "Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately." Fat Benjamin Harrison of Virginia told tiny Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts: "With me it will all be over in a minute, but you, you will be dancing on air an hour after I am gone." These men knew what they risked. The penalty for treason was death by hanging. And remember: a great British fleet was already at anchor in New York Harbor. They were sober men. There were no dreamy-eyed intellectuals or draft card burners here. They were far from hot-eyed fanatics, yammering for an explosion. They simply asked for the status quo. It was change they resisted. It was equality with the mother country they desired. It was taxation with representation they sought. They were all conservatives, yet they rebelled. It was principle, not property, that had brought these men to Philadelphia. Two of them became presidents of the United States. Seven of them became state governors. One died in office as vice president of the United States. Several would go on to be U.S. Senators. One, the richest man in America, in 1828 founded the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. One, a delegate from Philadelphia, was the only real poet, musician and philosopher of the signers (it was he, Francis Hopkinson--not Betsy Ross--who designed the United States flag). ==================================================================== ARTICLE 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Task Force's Smith recalls Historic Days ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: 50 years ago, a small Task Force of only about 540 men undertook a classic rapid deployment mission against all odds to buy space and time for an unprepared Army and Nation. They succeeded at a terrific cost but allowed us to build the Pusan perimeter that was so critical to stop the invading communist forces. Although highly criticized, these men accomplished the impossible in the best tradition of the Minutemen when compared to the recent rapid deployment attempts in the Kosovo conflict. Army News Service report from 29 June 2000. ********************************************************************** By Staff Sgt. Jack Siemieniec "The thing that's most clear in my mind is being awakened by my wife and in a few minutes learning that I was going to the beginning of a second war, because she had done the same thing, practically, in Hawaii in 1941." Smith and about 30 members of "Task Force Smith" were in Washington June 28 for ceremonies to commemorate the beginning of the Korean War. They had gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and plant a tree in the cemetery. The task force is widely recognized as the first American combat maneuver force to engage the enemy during the Korean War. In June of 1950, Lt. Col. Smith was commander of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Division, stationed in Japan. On June 25, the North Korean army had invaded south across the 38th Parallel. Laying waste to their former countrymen, the forces were marching quickly through the capital, Seoul, on their way to the southern coast city of Pusan and total victory. While the rest of the world decided what to do, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commanding in Japan, received the go ahead from President Harry Truman to commit ground forces. The job fell to Smith. Buying time for the rest of the division and other forces who were proceeding by boat, Smith took his task force by plane to Pusan. He said his orders were to fight a delaying action, break the enemy's momentum and allow more units to arrive in South Korea. Also, he was to send a clear message to the North Koreans that the United States was going to be part of the fight. The task force, only 540 soldiers, was actually comprised of three units. Smith said he had only his C and D companies and parts of his headquarters staff from the 1/21, plus soldiers from the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion and the 21st's medical company. Smith was ordered to take his force and meet the enemy as far north as possible. They boarded trains and made it as far as Taejon before heading on by truck to a point about three miles north of Osan, where they deployed July 5th and waited for the enemy. And the enemy came. Smith said he first saw 33 tanks moving independently. He was prepared with artillery, mortars, bazookas and small arms, none of which proved effective against the Russian-made T-34 tanks. Smith said the tanks were buttoned up tight against the driving rain that was falling and rolled through his position, continuing south on the road towards Taejon, about 70 miles away. "After the tanks went through, what I saw was three tanks coming down and then about 25 vehicles, loaded, and behind them, North Korean soldiers walking four abreast as far as I could see, the whole time I was there. "We later found out it was two regiments of the North Korean Fourth Division, about 6,000 men. So we started out with odds of about 15 to one," he said. Firing into the column, the soldiers drew the full wrath of the invaders. It is reported that tanks and machine gun fire raked the American positions. Smith said they held their ground until his men were down to as little as two clips of ammunition per man. Smith said as they engaged the North Koreans, they were not only flanked, but the enemy had turned the flanks and were threatening to completely surround them. "My people had to withdraw through rice paddies and you can't organize a position to cover a withdrawal in rice paddies. Some men took off their shoes because it was easier to walk through the ooze of a rice paddy with no shoes than with shoes on. "It was a disaster, but we made them deploy. As soon as we hit them with fire, they stopped going forward and then they started moving out. By three o'clock in the afternoon they had almost surrounded me. He emphasized that he was and still is, "very proud of the fact that not a man left his position until he was ordered to do so and every one of them could see what I could see." Smith said he believed even his small delaying action was enough to stall th e North Korean's progress long enough to allow other American units the chance to arrive and eventually form the Pusan Perimeter that would repel the North Korean advance. =============================================================== *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! ****************************************************************************** ******************* A vote for Bush or Gore is a vote to continue Clinton policies! A vote for Buchanan is a vote to continue America! Therefore a vote for Gore or Bush is a wasted vote for America! Don't waste your vote! Vote for Patrick Buchanan! Today, candor compels us to admit that our vaunted two-party system is a snare and a delusion, a fraud upon the nation. Our two parties have become nothing but two wings of the same bird of prey... 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