-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! ARTICLE 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taunting the Flood Gates ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: A Marine officer contemplates recent events with a historic perspective. ********************************************* By Augustus McRae Capt, USMC In 1783, in the very first year of our victory over England, the Republic of the United States found itself facing a potentially fatal situation. Founded on the premise that the military in this nation would be subordinated to them, Congress had managed in the space of a few years to so enrage the officer corps that talk of mutiny was heard about the capitol. This entire episode has been known throughout history as the Newburgh Conspiracy. In what would become a common act of deception, Congress had promised the Officers of the Continental Army a pension in return for their service, of half pay for life in 1780. By 1783, the threat from England had all but vanished and Congress was loath to pay up. As a result of this mismanagement, a group of officers met at Newburgh, New York to discuss how to attain redress. When General Washington learned of the meeting, he was shocked that the officers had not come to him, but not really surprised that these men were upset at their treatment. He shared their belief "that their valorous service had been rewarded by ingratitude and injustice." Accordingly, the General called a meeting and warned his men of impassioned actions and argued that an attempted coup would tarnish the army's reputation and "open the flood Gates of Civil Discord." He pledged to do everything he could on their behalf, citing his own past sacrifices, and convinced these men to accept his word that they would be looked after. Congress soon listened to the General's wisdom and paid the promised pensions. This episode set three long term precedents: 1) the military would be constantly kept under scrutiny, lest they become subversive; 2) standing armies would be disbanded as soon as a crisis was ended; and 3) the military would avoid using force of arms to further its own interests, and would remain content with having the right as a citizen to influence the process by voting. These precedents have held true since that difficult time. Even during the War Between the States the armies of both sides were beholden to the civil rule of their respective countries. In all cases, the ability of each soldier to influence the policies of his home by voting as an equal citizen has remained untouched by the state. Until now, that is. We have seen many firsts over the past two weeks. The lack of a popular mandate to any challenger, the electoral/popular imbalance, elections decided in civil courts by lawyers and judges, all of these things promise to tie this country, and its devotion to the Constitution, in knots. However, before all of this is decided, we who serve must ask ourselves some troubling questions. Should a service member who votes, but whose ballot goes unmarked by a military postal worker, expect his vote to count? Should we tolerate being derided as "Tax-Dodgers" by those who have never bothered to take up arms in defense of this country? To what extent must we tolerate as citizens the shirking of contracts sworn to us by our country? "A person who has nothing for which he is willing to defend... is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself" John Stuart Mill ============================================================ ARTICLE 11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More Voices from the Frontlines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Honest opinions of people who want to vent... *********************************************************** Keep a Mix ~~~~~~~~~ I think the Army needs to keep a mix of light, heavy and the new (old) medium units. Obviously a flexible unit is better suited to act in different environments and to different missions. I have always thought that the Marines duplicated the Army in some respects. The peacekeeping missions may change depending on who sits inside 1600 Pennsylvania AVE. Personally, I think they stink. Maybe an answer would be an all volunteer unit that is trained for that stuff? Infantry NCO at Ft Bragg ----------------------------------------------------------- Looks Good but has No Utility ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I wore a beret for about a year ago and except for the looks of wearing a beret, I thought it was a useless hat and had no earflaps at all to keep your ears warm. Since the Army is going to get the berets, the Rangers will probably get over it. I believe it would be good for the Army to develop BDU headwear that a) would look OK b) would be all weather c) would be durable. The beret will look OK if worn properly but it will not make it on the other two counts. It might get some recruits who like those hats. When I was in fire support, we were always short of people and looking for recruits. I suggested we start wearing camouflage berets and I thought we'd get a lot of young guys in fire support just so they could wear the hat. Nobody above liked the idea, of course. ----------------------------------------------------------- Thoughts About Ammo Control ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Part of the "lock up" routine springs from unpopular "leaders" being "fragged" in 'Nam. One way to get rid of incompetent leaders, no doubt. Could be a factor that the "brass" learned from and try to prevent such a repeat by accounting for every shell fired etc. Just a thought Nam Vet =========================================================== ARTICLE 12 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Troop Health Issues: Certification eludes anthrax vaccine - Flaws found in operation force Bio-Port to hire, contractor to fill drug ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Another BioPort failure! Why doesn't anyone have the guts to out this fledgling operation on at least a temporary halt? Once again, the pentagon has chosen to reinforce FAILURE. >From an AP report. *********************************************************** LANSING -- BioPort Corp. is searching for a contractor to bottle and package its anthrax vaccine -- one of the company's toughest challenges in winning government approval for its renovated labs. It would be the second time in recent months that the Lansing-based company has turned to an outsider for help while working toward U.S. Food and Drug Administration certification. A company official said Monday that FDA approval could come by mid-2001 - a few months later than projected. The certification process began in August 1999. "We've had a little slippage, but not much," Mike Tanner, BioPort's director of corporate services, told the Lansing State Journal. "We're optimistic we could see final approval by the middle of next year." BioPort and the military's anthrax vaccination program have come under fire in Congress for delays in getting the FDA approval. Low supplies of the vaccine caused the Pentagon to delay its plans to inoculate all 2.4 million U.S. troops against the deadly biological weapon. For months, BioPort has considered getting outside help for its filling and packaging operations. The company cemented its decision after a general FDA inspection this month found 18 flaws in the Lansing operations -- more than half connected to filling and packaging. BioPort, the vaccine's only manufacturer, had hoped to fix its bottling and packaging operations in stages while keeping it operational. But after last week's FDA report, company officials decided they'd be better off renovating the entire area at once and hiring an outside contractor to package vials in the meantime. It could take BioPort a year or more to renovate and win federal approval for its filling and packaging area, company officials said. Eventually, the anthrax vaccine could be bottled in two locations: one at BioPort and one off-site. "The Department of Defense would like us to have a second filling site, "Tanner said. The Pentagon is also hunting for a second company to make the vaccine. One potential second source is Battelle Memorial Institute, an Ohio-based defense contractor. BioPort recently hired Battelle to assist with key potency testing for the anthrax vaccine. The FDA inspection completed this month was a routine probe conducted every two years. It is separate from an FDA visit that likely will come early next year, tied specifically to renovated anthrax vaccine labs. FDA spokeswoman Lenore Gelb would not comment Monday on the BioPort inspection. =========================================================== ARTICLE 13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GI HUMOR - New Study: Politicians Best Bet for Successful Surgery ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: I always thought there'd be a reason why politicians live so long... *********************************************** Five surgeons are discussing who makes the best patients to operate on. The first surgeon says, "I like to see accountants on my operating table, because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered." The second responds, "Yeah, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is color coded." The third surgeon says, "No, I really think librarians are the best; everything inside them is in alphabetical order." The fourth surgeon chimes in: "You know, I like construction workers...those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over at the end, and when the job takes longer than you said it would." But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed: "You're all wrong. Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, and no spine, and the head and butt are interchangeable." =============================================================== ARTICLE 14 - MEDAL OF HONOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: WWI - Leadership from the front. 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] *********************************************************** *MILLER, OSCAR F. Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army, 361st Infantry, 91st Division. Place and date: Near Gesnes, France, 28 September 1918. Entered service at: Los Angeles, Calif. Birth: Franklin County, Ark. G.O. No.: 16, W.D. 1919. Citation: After 2 days of intense physical and mental strain, during which Maj. Miller had led his battalion in the front line of the advance through the forest of Argonne, the enemy was met in a prepared position south of Gesnes. Though almost exhausted, he energetically reorganized his battalion and ordered an attack. Upon reaching open ground the advancing line began to waver in the face of machinegun fire from the front and flanks and direct artillery fire. Personally leading his command group forward between his front-line companies, Maj. Miller inspired his men by his personal courage, and they again pressed on toward the hostile position. As this officer led the renewed attack he was shot in the right leg, but he nevertheless staggered forward at the head of his command. Soon afterwards he was again shot in the right arm, but he continued the charge, personally cheering his troops on through the heavy machinegun fire. Just before the objective was reached he received a wound in the abdomen, which forced him to the ground, but he continued to urge his men on, telling them to push on to the next ridge and leave him where he lay. He died from his wounds a few days later. =========================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EDITOR'S NOTE: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For Article Submissions: 1. Try to keep articles to 700 words or less. SUBMIT IN WORD FORMAT, if possible! 2. 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. Hack is 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. 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