-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! ARTICLE 9 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Army Spouse: Calling it Quits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: A NonComs spouse reflect on the decision to leave the service. Many military families that write us are experiencing similar sentiments. *************************************************************************** By Cynthia Neil, Army Spouse After 21 years in the "Army Family" it is time for us to move on. At other points, when I considered the approach of this moment, I thought that I would meet this challenge with deep regret. But because of changes in priorities of senior leadership, lack of intellectual honesty of civilian overseers, and the diminished emphasis on integrity in the day to day business of running the Army I am itching to be free of the ties that bind. When I married my husband 16 years ago, he made it clear to me that as much as he loved me, the Army would always come first. It had given him a job he loved, it had given him the opportunity to see a large part of the world, and had made it possible for us to meet and fall in love. Although this was a difficult pill to swallow, over time I observed that there was a justifiable pride in being a member of the armed forces that made whatever sacrifices we as a family must endure, not only understandable but a point of patriotic pride. Missed birthdays could be endured, forgotten anniversaries could be forgiven, and tight money situations managed because that was my contribution to the preservation of freedom. But in the last 5 years I observed the values and the purpose of the military change. At one time the Army was run by warriors who understood that their job was to lead soldiers into battle and to protect and defend our country. To do this, they had to respect the laws they had sworn to uphold, and earn the trust of the soldiers they had been assigned to lead through competence and a compassionate understanding. They understood that even the finest of warriors have their limitations. It was the obligation of the Field Grade leaders to tell the civilian leaders when their limits had been reached. It was the obligation of the senior NCOs to bridge the gap of understanding between soldiers and officers. And it was the obligation of the soldiers themselves to trust that their leaders were looking out for their best interests. Ever since the Somalia debacle, the first two parts of this sacred contract have been repeatedly broken. Today, the Army is not so much led as it is managed. Leadership implies commitment and commitment requires courage. It takes courage to say, "we do not have the parts we need to repair our equipment." It takes courage to say "we have not had enough time to train to meet the requirements of competency". It takes courage to say, "I have made an error in judgment and I will take responsibility." While I have seen plenty of errors in judgment in my two years at our post, I have yet to see anyone accept responsibility. Pundits ask why the best and brightest talents as well as senior technical specialists are leaving the military in droves, but no one is really listening to the answers. In a study of middle level officers conducted at Fort Leavenworth, when permitted to speak anonymously, majors and captains stated it was largely because they did not trust their senior leadership to be looking out for their best interests. To paraphrase one of the most telling comments, one person stated that they believed that senior officers would "drive a truck over junior officers if it would result in career advancement". This does not indicate trust in the senior leadership. Why should a college educated individual take less money than he is worth, for benefits which are questionable at best, to work for leaders they cannot trust? Logic dictates that they should not, and while some of them may find patriotism a compelling reason for a while, in the face of disrespect for their talents and opinions, eventually they will choose another higher paying alternative. With regard to the senior NCOs, in the early years of my experience with the Army I was told that should you ever as an NCO's wife need help and be unable to find it, go to your Command Sergeant Major, that is his job and he will be happy to help you. I have in my only experience with a CSM found this to be ludicrously untrue. It would appear to me that CSMs today are little more than enlisted Generals. They attend functions and micromanage resources. My husband and I have learned that in today's Army what's right doesn't necessarily matter. Soldiers' welfare doesn't necessarily matter. Truth is barely relevant. All that matters is the next star or the next stripe. That is the real unspoken mission of many of today's leaders. ============================================================ ARTICLE 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices from the Frontlines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For The Record ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: About LTC Ellerbee, commander 3/504 PIR. Was he a victim of political correctness? **************** By a fellow Officer I personally know LTC Ellerbee. He was one of the first "leaders" I met when assigned to 10th Mountain. Throughout the seven years I've known him he has proven himself a great person, soldier and leader. I don't know what went on in Kosovo and truly don't care. I did see him just 3 weeks ago and he is doing the "soldier thing" of driving on and attempting to continue to provide great service to his country. I "TRUST" LTC Ellerbee to LEAD! That means I don't need to know everything that went on in Kosovo. I trust his judgment and would be more than happy to have a man like him protecting my back. That's the kind of man he is. ----------------------------------------------------------- 3/504Th in Kosovo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By John C. Regner Saw your latest commentary on incidents in the military. Right On! Commanders who feel they have been made a scapegoat for the actions of their subordinates should request a court martial or an Article 32 investigation. That's what they're for. If there is one person I hate, it's a superior who will sacrifice a decent subordinate to save his own career. These are not gentlemen--they're cowards. ----------------------------------------------------------- Plugging towards Retirement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By an Air Force NonCom I am currently a SSgt in the Air Force, on active duty. As a Military Training Leader, I deal with this nation's future day in and day out. As I see it, our military's future is not what it should be. In today's Air Force, between the mandatory "feeling's of others" classes, and lectures, we are lowering standards and pushing through trainees who do not belong in the service. I consistently see senior leadership doing everything possible to keep a person in the service, even when they clearly do not belong there. It has even come to the point that we are seemingly no longer allowed to train our subordinates to uphold the values of military service and exhibit the discipline required of military service. I for one, am consistently "counseled" by my superiors to "not be so rough or abrasive" in dealing with my Airmen and to be more open, caring and to 'smile' more. While I fully believe that this style of leadership is desirable in the private sector, it is not conducive to building a fighting force that is disciplined, respectful and well trained. Our problems are wide ranging...from lack of responsible leadership, to the corporate atmosphere, to the drastically >lowered standards, to inadequate funding. All could be remedied with time. These things are prompting many experienced NCOs and officers to leave the service in droves. Nine and a half years ago, when I joined, we had from what I could see, responsible leadership, good treatment and an atmosphere that was conducive to high morale and discipline. In fact, if I could have signed up for 30 years then, I would have. I loved it that much. But now, I just hope to serve out my 20 years and take my retirement with me. This ship is sinking and I hope that it stays afloat and the leaks are plugged long enough for me to complete my career. =========================================================== ARTICLE 11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Role of the NCO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: I agree that NCOs can do more than we currently allow them to. Given the right preparation they will make outstanding platoon leaders and could even fly choppers, as many other armies demonstrate. The writer also points to a better linkage between officers and other ranks. Officers who rise through the ranks could bring a better understanding of the human leadership factor. ********************************************************* By R.R. I take issue with the general perception that seems to persist among the officer corps that NCOs have to be "allowed" to do their jobs, or encouraged to do their jobs. In my 25 years as an NCO, I never asked permission to do my job, I just did it, and if the junior officer that I worked for (platoon leader or whatever) wanted to come along for the ride and learn, so be it. As a First Sergeant, those were MY troops that I temporarily loaned to the officers from time to time. If my troops were not getting trained properly, my beef was with the Platoon Sergeants, and not the Lieutenants. My point is that too many NCOs and officers seem to be making excuses for the NCO corps. Whatever happened to NCOs doing the right thing because it was the right thing to do? As a senior NCO for many years, I never accepted the excuse of another NCO that his officer "wouldn't let him do his job". Your suggestion that NCOs run platoons with a reduced compliment of officers will only work with proactive NCOs, and not those who wait for permission to do their job. How about changing the officer procurement system and make service as an NCO a prerequisite along with an all NCO review board to decide who is qualified to become an officer. Seems to me the Israelis tried it, and it works. I hate to say it, but the majority of quality officers I worked with came from the ranks. I'm not sure if that is an indictment of the officer procurement system or the OER system that demands officers become slaves to that picket fence, rather than focus on the mission. ===================================================================== ARTICLE 12 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quality of Life Update: Warner-Hutchinson, VA improvements pass House, Illegal aliens, Bethesda investigation, Great Ideas, more ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed: It's tough to cover so many health care issues in one small article, but Pete stays on top of the brush fires. Until Election Day, we must keep up the pressure. Let's watch if the candidates say something about military healthcare in the upcoming debates. *********************************************************** By Pete Peterson, Quality of Life Editor Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://medical.militarybenefits.org/ It now looks like the Warner-Hutchinson amendment, part of the yet to be reported FY 2001 Defense Authorization Bill, may get a "green light." This will allow our MEDICARE eligible retirees and their dependents access to TRICARE, which will become essentially a "second payer" to MEDICARE. These seniors will have to continue to pay Part B of their MEDICARE premiums. Those of us, who have intimate dealings with TRICARE on almost a daily basis, wonder where the "capacity" is coming from to absorb the added 800,000 patients and their families. We repeatedly get examples of TRICARE not being a "second payer" on anything, usually because the primary payer paid 80% of what TRICARE would have allowed anyway. If somebody pays something, TRICARE tries to pay nothing. Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Chairman of the House Military Personnel Subcommittee, ended his year of obstruction to helping military retirees by recently stating he would support making the Warner-Hutchinson Amendment "permanent." That's quite a shift for Buyer, who recently was appointed one of the 89 Vice-Chairs of Vets for Bush/Cheney. He must have finally gotten the word that rhetoric doesn't matter between now and election day - only action on what they have in front of them this year, oft ignored by the Republican leadership, will cut it. No more broken promises. Unfortunately, none of the above spells relief for those of us who are not yet MEDICARE eligible. That's probably some other year, and will require more of us get off of our butts. The Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Act of 2000 just passed the House providing a pay raise for 30,000 VA nurses and improved access to VA health care. In addition to giving VA nurses the same annual increase other federal employees receive, H.R. 5109 would refine the way VA officials survey local salaries and provide for greater nurse participation in decision making at VA facilities. Another key provision directs SECDVA to carry out a pilot program in four geographic areas to improve health care access to veterans who live considerable distances from VA medical facilities. More "demos!" VA would cover some of the costs of care and services at non-VA hospital facilities for participating veterans whose private or Medicare plans would pay the lion's share. SECDVA has to make sure 70 percent of the veterans in the designated pilot areas live at least two hours driving distance from the closest VA medical or surgical facility. This'll be the first time VA has involved itself in coordinating health plan benefits provided veterans by third parties. >From a former "river rat," we got word he finally found a surgeon who would do the operation on his wife as a TRICARE assignment. While his wife was in "post-op," he noticed guards stationed near some of the recovering patients. Being curious, he asked why. It was explained that the patients were illegal aliens also recovering from surgery. "River rat's" wife now needs another operation requiring different a surgical specialty. The closest surgeon TRICARE can find is 75 miles one-way from their home. TRICARE numba 10! Our friend Dale Eisman (the "Iceman") of The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Bethesda is the target of an investigation demanded by an angry Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young (R-FL), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Young is angry about the medical treatment an injured Marine received last spring at the Navy's flagship hospital. The Navy has commissioned an independent investigation of the management at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, headed by retired Rear Adm. William J. McDaniel. McDaniel's group is to submit a report next month, including detailed recommendations about the hospital's future. McDaniel, who was an administrator at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, said he's troubled by signs of "a loss of focus" among Bethesda staffers about the hospital's mission. OK, Admiral, but who's looking at Portsmouth and the other 436 MTFs? No, still no answer to my call for an investigation of the fake emails at US Army Medical Command. It's becoming very Clintonesque, but these emails weren't lost - they were fabricated. "The Colonel" has asked for his congressman's help with his part of this TRICARE cover-up. Heavier guns are being brought to bear on the target. Congress / DOD: FIX TRICARE NOW! =========================================================== ARTICLE 13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GI HUMOR - The Master Chief and the TRUTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: A Navy Master Chief tells nothing but the Truth and no one believes him - not even his wife. Warning: This joke is not PC. *********************************************************** A Master Chief Petty Officer and his female yeoman are having an affair, so one afternoon they get a motel room and engage in strenuous lovemaking. He's not used to the pace, so he falls asleep afterwards and doesn't wake up until about 2030 that night, at which time he realizes it's late and that he has to get home. So he says to his yeoman, "Quick! While I get dressed, you take my shoes outside and drag them around through the grass and mud." Puzzled, the secretary complies. When the Master Chief gets home about 9:30 his wife confronts him and asks him where he's been. The man says, "I cannot lie to you. I spent the better part of the day with my secretary in a motel room, then I fell asleep, woke up later, and came right home." His wife looks down at his shoes and says, "You lying bastard, you've been out playing golf again! =============================================================== ARTICLE 14 - MEDAL OF HONOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: WWII, Italy 1944. The 34th Infantry in action with tank destroyer support. MOH Update: Gino Merli, (MOH 1stInd Div, Belgium 1944) suffered a mild stroke and is currently in Mercy Hospital in Scranton, PA. He's had a rough time the past few months with his Parkinson's disease. Despite the setbacks, Gino's a fighter and doesn't give up, no matter how tough things get. Cards can be sent to Gino via his wife Mary. Hopefully he'll be soon and he'll have a few waiting for him. Address is: 605 Gino Merli Drive, Peckville, PA 18452 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] *********************************************************** *GALT, WILLIAM WYLIE Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, 168th Infantry, 34th Infantry Division. Place and date: At Villa Crocetta, Italy, 29 May 1944. Entered service at: Stanford, Mont. Birth: Geyser, Mont. G.O. No.: 1, 1 February 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Galt, Battalion S3, at a particularly critical period following 2 unsuccessful attacks by his battalion, of his own volition went forward and ascertained just how critical the situation was. He volunteered, at the risk of his life, personally to lead the battalion against the objective. When the lone remaining tank destroyer refused to go forward, Capt. Galt jumped on the tank destroyer and ordered it to precede the attack. As the tank destroyer moved forward, followed by a company of riflemen, Capt. Galt manned the .30-caliber machinegun in the turret of the tank destroyer, located and directed fire on an enemy 77mm. anti-tank gun, and destroyed it. Nearing the enemy positions, Capt. Galt stood fully exposed in the turret, ceaselessly firing his machinegun and tossing hand grenades into the enemy zigzag series of trenches despite the hail of sniper and machinegun bullets ricocheting off the tank destroyer. As the tank destroyer moved, Capt. Galt so maneuvered it that 40 of the enemy were trapped in one trench. When they refused to surrender, Capt. Galt pressed the trigger of the machinegun and dispatched every one of them. A few minutes later an 88mm shell struck the tank destroyer and Capt. Galt fell mortally wounded across his machinegun. He had personally killed 40 Germans and wounded many more. Capt. Galt pitted his judgment and superb courage against overwhelming odds, exemplifying the highest measure of devotion to his country and the finest traditions of the U.S. Army. =========================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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. 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. 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] 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... 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