-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! ARTICLE 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices from the Frontlines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >From Korea I am an NCO and I have so many "butter bars" and young captains in my business that it isn't fun anymore. Whatever happened to officers who planned and made smart decisions and NCOs who executed the mission? I am totally surrounded by officers who are more worried about their efficiency reports than being worried that our tanks can shoot, move and communicate. I deadline the rides and they just circle X them or ignore my troubleshooting altogether. I am dedicated to sending tankers into battle with the best equipment I can provide them with. If our leaders want them to go with anything less, it's on them and it will cost... ----------------------------------------------------------- >From the Flight Deck We just read the piece from the Washington Post about us showing the Chinese how we fight a joint conflict. It could not have come at a more interesting time for me. Shortly, a Chinese Navy 2-star Admiral is coming for a tour of the USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70). We are spending the next couple of days (and possibly the weekend) doing nothing but cleaning (with a small exception for a General Quarters Drill), so the ship is spotless for his arrival. Rumor has it that he is also pushing for a tour of Naval Submarine Base Bangor and one of our SSBNs stationed there. Last time we checked, China wasn't our best friend, maybe we shouldn't be rolling out the red carpet... ----------------------------------------------------------- >From Bosnia We are eight troops assigned to the Turkish army base camp far from the flagpole. I want to let you know that the Army, the good tough Army we knew and know...is alive and well here. We have a tough job but the kids suck it up and drive on. I was distressed to hear the story related by the NCO in this WED newsletter. I can only speak for my tiny slice of the green...but I assure you, it is squared away, tough and professional. I had volunteered for this assignment. It has taken a toll on the family and the finances have suffered, but it was a good choice. I've made a difference here and made some great friends with Turkish and American warriors. It has been a long 9 months here but I (we) would not have traded it for anything. We will re-deploy back to the states in several days and our memory bags are full! =========================================================== ARTICLE 11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Memory Lane: Mr. Servoise ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: A touching story, submitted by Abe Sternberg. A Frenchman recalls the liberation by US Forces and the joyful reaction of a French WWI veteran with the Big Red One, a unit he had known from his own days in the trenches. *********************************************************** By Jean I was preparing documents for my friend Leonard Jiminez, whose father is a WWII " Blue and Gray" veteran, on the eve of the 56th anniversary of my Liberation by the U.S Army. As I was writing, I remembered a story I never told. It happened on 29 August 1944. I met the U.S Army on the late afternoon of 28 August but no American troops passed by my grandmother's village before the next morning. In front of our house lived a WWI disabled veteran. His name was Georges SERVOISE. Before the war, I only saw him in his small garden, as he picked up some licorice. Because of his wounds, he could only walk a few yards and always helped himself with two crutches. His sisters used to come everyday to take care of him. Mr Servoise' s house was at the corner of a small grassy path that we had to take to go to the fountain about forty yards farther along. We had a ceremonial to respect that my grandmother dictated. The first time of the day I had to go to the fountain, was the first salute: " Good morning, Mr Servoise!" The old man replied the salute: " Good morning Johnny!" The next time (we had no water at home) there were other salutes: " Mr Servoise, are you fine?" The old soldier replied: " I'm fine!" Nothing else. The months and years rolling he did not walk outside anymore. Now, I realize how hard was the life " between the two wars" in the North East of France. The old ones, unable to walk outside, used to stay at home in a chair next to a window, looking outside for some passer-by. And it seems that it was not the use to visit them except the next of kin. It's a fact that in southern France people were more cooperative with the old ones who received several visits everyday. Well, so we lived and Mr Servoise, if I recall, never asked us for any help. And then came the famous 29 August 1944 that I called "MY DAY." In the morning, when the first Americans stopped in the village, they were coming by a small road which is between my grandmother's house and in front of Mr Servoise's. They stopped and it was great for all of us, involving me as THE interpreter! Joy and joy and more joy, my heart certainly was beating 120! What a surprise when we saw Mr Servoise appearing behind of his small house fence. He opened the door and walked a few steps helping himself with his two sticks and I recall that he was wearing a WWI horizon blue overcoat and a same colored hat. On his chest, at left were several medals, I remember the red " Legion d'Honneur "and the Yellow "Médaille Militaire", one of the others was certainly the " Croix de Guerre." I recall that Mr. Servoise walked a few steps to a jeep crew and he showed the G.I.s something he had on the right side of his chest. I went to look. A safety pin was holding a piece of dark green canvas and a big 1 was sewed in the middle of it! A WWI Big Red One patch! The old man kept showing his patch with one of his sticks. We all saw he was crying. Very moved, we applauded when a G.I sat him in the jeep while others crammed his pockets with packs of cigarettes! I don't remember what happened later but the last picture which comes back to my mind is this crying old soldier in the middle of young friendly fighters...his comrades in arms even if they were not B.R.O and it was another war... I actually owe so much to my friend Leonard Jimenez (former Major U.S Army) to have remembered this story. I recently sent him informations about the French " Croix de Guerre" his father was awarded in 1944 for heroism during the battle of Brest. ===================================================================== ARTICLE 12 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quality of Life Update: Fat Cats in a Rat Factory ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed: Anyone from the GAO reading this? Pete asks for your help to save money and TRICARE. *********************************************************** By Pete Peterson, Quality of Life Editor Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: It looks like there's been a "lock-down" at the five-sided wind tunnel as the election approaches. Ignoring his own gross inconsistencies on the issues, "Bouncing Bill" Cohen went out of his way recently to counsel the Joint Chiefs and assorted colored suits to not bang their military drums "with tin cups." Translation: Tell the world we're ready and don't mention the money we need to fix problems until after the election. In short, accommodate the Gore Campaign position. At a time DOD can't pass GAO audits and runs shortfalls in critical skills that would stagger the mind, MTFs say goodbye monthly to medical personnel who've had enough of this crap. They're leaving the services for saner lives as civilians. Shortage of doctors doesn't seem to matter as active duty doctors are routinely sent into nearby civilian hospitals to perform non-trauma assignments. One reader complains about needless delays to dissuade patients from spending TRICARE money, which is really the taxpayers' money, which is really the patient's money. Patients under TRICARE Standard still look for doctors who will see them, but they can't be found. If active duty doctors have enough time for civilian hospitals, they've got the time to take on more active duty and retired patients! We retirees used to be their favorite Guinea Pigs, so why are they using civilians? It used to be a fair trade. They got training and we got some health care. Inversely, the military hires civilian doctors and PAs to come in and staff MTFs. Rarely is a peep heard about this common practice. Perhaps the parties involved fear consequences to their own careers. Or, somebody's making deals, just like congress does. GAO just released a fat figure estimate of $116 Billion for our generous health care benefits over the next 10 years. Boy! I bet their fingers are sore! I suspect that number includes some Federal Employee's bias against military people getting as much choice, quality or quantity in health care as they have, being the real power behind the thrones and all. Sometimes they act like they're the "real" standing Army of federal government and not those who wear uniforms, carry weapons and prepare to die if need be. Whatever the real numbers, big dollars like these corrupt. $16 billion in health care this year, $28 million next year, under poor control and accountability provides the opportunity to play it loose. With sloppy management, somebody other than health insurance company executives can figure out how to exploit this situation to get ahead. For sure, all this money does not become health care. A lot of it goes into TRICARE contractor pockets. A lot of it goes into activities that don't see or treat patients. Another correspondent wants us to write about patient-dumping by military hospitals just to save money at the expense of lives? We'd love to, as soon as we have details. "Dumping" patients at military and civilian hospitals is a violation of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). If anybody has real life examples, let me know. Still another person wants to know if these civilian doctors the military is hiring are qualified and have malpractice insurance. We don't know that either. Again, if you know something, let me know. I think it's time for GAO to use their considerable expertise as investigators, not just as auditors and estimators. They should look at profits being made by TRICARE contractors (Net 30% range in our opinion - 18% is industry average). They should also investigate waste and misappropriation of resources on the military side of this TRICARE house of cards. They should look at "sweetheart deals" being made between the MTFs and nearby civilian hospitals. Look at contracts that are being thrown around. They should then consider if Sherman Anti-Trust and RICO applies to some of what's happening. Finally, to lighten up. Here's something for those who can never forget (or forgive) Dr. Sue Bailey who mangled DOD's TRICARE Program into the mess that it is now. I warned the rest of the country to buckle up as she moved over to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration! Well, now she's quoted in the New York Times: "What else are we not knowing about, and when don't we know it?" Heck, don't ask me Sue, you're in charge, aren't you? Congress / DOD: FIX TRICARE NOW! =========================================================== ARTICLE 13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GI HUMOR - A visit at the Russian Staff College ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Hilarious, enlightening and undeniably politically INCORRECT. *********************************************************** At the Russian War College, the general is a guest lecturer and tells the class of officers that the session will focus on potential problems and the resulting strategies. One of the officers in the class begins by asking the first question, "Will we have to fight in a World War Three?" "Yes, comrades, in all likelihood, you will," answers the general. "And who will be our likely enemy, Comrade General?" another officer asks. "The likelihood is that it will be China." The class looks alarmed, and finally one officer asks, "But Comrade General, we are 150 million people and they are about 1.5 billion. How can we possibly win?" "Well," replies the general, "think about it. In modern war, it is not the quantity, but the quality that is key. For example, in the Middle East, 5 million Jews fight against 50 million Arabs and the Jews have been the winners every time." "But sir, " asks the panicky officer, "do we have enough Jews?" =============================================================== ARTICLE 14 - MEDAL OF HONOR The Story of Andrew's Raiders ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Ever wonder who the first Medal of Honor recipients were? Here is there incredible story of heroism and courage during the Civil War. Note: If you know of any MOH recipient who is hospitalized or has passed recently, please write James H. Also, if you would like more info on MOH recipients and their stories, please email James H at [EMAIL PROTECTED] *********************************************************** By James H., SFTT Medal of Honor Historian and Assistant Editor Secretary of War Edwin Stanton looked in amazement at the 6 young soldiers before him. It was March 25, 1863 and the sight of ragged remnants that had once been brave young commandos moved his heart. They had just been released from a Confederate P.O.W. camp in a Prisoner exchange. The original mission had been proposed by Virginian and Union, spy James J. Andrews, and was quickly embraced by Union Generals Buell and Mitchell. In fact, Brigadier General Ormsby Mitchell was so enamored with the plan, that he personally joined Andrews when he went to three Ohio regiments on April 7, 1862 to enlist volunteers for the daring foray into enemy territory. 23 young soldiers volunteered their services. A 24th man joined the group, civilian William Campbell, who happened to be visiting his friend Private Philip Shadrach at the time. When Shadrach volunteered to join the effort, the 200 pound William Campbell volunteered to join him. The soldiers were told little more than that they should separate into small groups and travel separately through enemy lines to Marietta, Georgia. Four days later 21 of the volunteers had successfully arrived to meet Andrews in the small city just north of Atlanta, and the plans for their daring raid unfolded. Their mission was to purchase tickets as passengers on a Confederate train, then take control of the train and travel north 100 miles to Chattanooga wreaking havoc and burning bridges along the way. The courage of Andrews and his men would be challenged by the courage of their enemy as well. The General's engineer, Jeff Cain was joined by two of his crew Anthony Murphy and William Fuller, in a desperate effort to recover their train. The three ran after the train on foot, pursuing it for two miles to Moon's Station where they found a hand-propelled cart to continue their pursuit. Over the first twenty miles of their journey north from Big Shanty, Andrews and his men took time to pull up rail behind them and drop timbers across the tracks to discourage any possible pursuit, as well as cutting telegraph lines that might have sent news of their desperate mission ahead to waiting Confederate troops. As they passed the Etowah River, they made a fatal mistake, ignoring the presence of the old steam engine Yonah as they continued on towards Kingston. Cain and his crew however, didn't overlook the enhanced pursuit vehicle and quickly traded their handcar for the aging mechanical one. As it became obvious that The General would not make Chatanooga, the raiders began to jump one by one from the train and race for the shelter of the woods. Two miles north of Ringgold and just five miles from Tennessee, the General gasped its last puff of steam and the remaining raiders ran in desperation to avoid capture. The Great Locomotive Chase was over, the flight for life had begun. Within a week Andrews and all 21 raiders were captured. In Atlanta, James Andrews was tried and convicted as a spy. On June 7th, he was hanged. Eleven days later, on June 18th, seven more raiders including the civilian William Campbell and his friend Private Shadrach and two of the three NCOs were also hanged as spies. The remaining 14 soldiers were placed in prison camps. Bold, daring and with nothing to loose they escaped. Four months later, eight of them reached safety. The other six were recaptured. It was these six young men, released in exchange for Confederate prisoners who stood before the Secretary of War to recount the tale of their ordeal. The Secretary was moved and stepped briefly into an adjoining room at the War Department. He returned momentarily with something in his hand. "Congress," he told the young men, "has by recent law ordered medals to be prepared on this model. Yours will be the first that have been given to private soldiers in this war." He stepped before the youngest, Private Jacob Parrott and presented the FIRST Medal of Honor ever awarded. After awarding the remaining five, he walked them to the White House to meet the President, thus setting the stage for a tradition that would become part of our military history. On 9 September, more of the raiders were presented Medals of Honor. Eventually 19 of the 24 were awarded Medals of Honor. As civilians, neither James J. Andrews, or William Campbell were eligible for the award. =========================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EDITOR'S NOTE: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For Article Submissions: 1. Please try to keep articles to 700 words or less. SUBMIT IN WORD FORMAT, if possible! 2. Please submit your piece to one of our subject matter experts who can assist you in pre-editing prior to final publication decision, unless you feel strongly that your issue is so hot that Zimm needs to see it personally and immediately. SFTT is not trying to duplicate a rigid chain of command with titles and perks. R.W. Zimmermann [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================================= GLOSSARY OF MILITARY ACRONYMS: We've had numerous requests from troops in different branches of the military to establish this link so that we will all know how "all you others" talk that talk. Please see below: http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/acronym_index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ***** BOOK SALES ***** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hack's books About Face*, Hazardous Duty*, The Price of Honor* and The Vietnam Primer can be found at www.hackworth.com. They make a great addition to any library. We are offering them at a special SFTT price. ==================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Defending America Newsletter: Administrative Volunteers: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ R.W. Zimmermann, Chief Editor/President of SFTT and Tank Commander David H. Hackworth, Spirit Guide, and undisputed Y2K Expert Bill Rogers, Senior Assistant Editor and SFTT Vice President Kate Aspy, Contributing Editor and Oracle Barry "Woody" Groton, Chief TECH DROID and Medicine Man John Cloven, Master web manager Ed "Edgar" Schneider, Copy Editor, Man of Letters and gentleman: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kyle Elliott, Book List Editor and Most Over-worked James H., MOH Editor and NCOIC =================================================== Defending America VOLUNTEER EDITORS/SPECIALISTS NOTE: The following list only includes the two primary assistant editors for each service or special area. Please refer to our WEBSITE -- www.sftt.org, for the complete listing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALL Letters and Articles for considered publication should be submitted to one of our brave, resolute and caring volunteers. **************************************** U.S. Army: Tig Dupre, Civil-Military relations, weapons expert and Senior Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] CPT Scott Key, Armor, Generalist, Assistant to Chief Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] Robert L. Duecaster, Legal [EMAIL PROTECTED] ********************************************** U.S. Navy: Mark Crissman, Naval Aviation, Generalist and Senior Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pat Nisley, Navy Generalist and XO [EMAIL PROTECTED] John J. Vanore, Surface Warfare, Reserve and Intelligence issues [EMAIL PROTECTED] ********************************************** U.S. Air Force: Paul Connors, Senior Editor, AF Historian, Grunt experience, Procurement and AirCrew issues [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sean Fermat, Fighters, WSO, Weapons, C&C, Generalist [EMAIL PROTECTED] ********************************************** U.S. Marines: Maj. Gordon Todd, USMCR, Communications & Tech., Small Arms Training, Senior Editor. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Capt A. McRae, Marine generalist [EMAIL PROTECTED] ********************************************** US Coast Guard Tom Grabowski [EMAIL PROTECTED] ********************************************** Department of Defense Mike St.Clair Acquisition and Quality Assurance [EMAIL PROTECTED] *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... Patrick Buchanan <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
