Robert's Ramblings

I've heard about enough from the whiners about how bad the United States is. Some people have some very selective memories and are quick to forget all the good we have done. They seem to forget that when a nation is in need, we are the first they call. They are also dishonest, dishonest with themselves. They have benefited from the very things they now condemn. In fact the radical Islamists are most upset about the decay of morals in the West and how those morals are infiltrating their country. Need I point out who is primarily responsible for the decline in Western morality?

Like most Americans, I have nothing to be ashamed of. I have a fairly comfortable life, a house that is not too bad, a really cool car, a loving family, the best friends in the world, a job that I enjoy and pays well (not that a raise would not be appreciated), and many opportunities to further my education and understanding. I have these things for some very simple reasons. First, I worked hard. While others were playing, I was studying. When some graduated from high school and went to work, I went to college. While some took the easy classes in college, I opted for the tough ones. While others merely did their jobs, I tried to do mine a little better than was expected. I was also blessed. Yes, I believe that I was given something to make me work a little harder than some. And of course all this was possible because I had parents who made sacrifices to make sure I got these opportunities. They made sure I lived in the best school districts, had the school supplies I needed, sent me to the college of my choice, and encouraged me in all that I did. I have nothing to be ashamed of other than those who are ashamed to be an American

I must admit, I find those people to be insulting. They insult me and all the Sailors I know. They insult those who have died in this war and those who are yet to die. But the funny thing about it is that I will fight for their right to insult me. They will not go unchallenged; they will not be allowed to have their say without the rest of us having ours, but we will fight for their right to say what they will. Why? Because we are Americans and that is the way we do things.

We, as Christians and Americans, do need to better understand Islam. It is the right thing to do but we must be careful that we do not turn this into an us against them war. This is not a war of Christians against Muslims; it is a war against terrorists who happen to claim the religion of Islam. It will be a long war and many good people will die before it is over. But we will win it.

I do still worry at times. The left has taken hold of many of our nations institutions with the belief they are doing good. I come back to the words spoken by Benjamin Franklin at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention when he was asked, "What have you wrought?" Franklin answered, "...a Republic, if you can keep it." I pray everyday that we can keep it.

Posted by robertgreen at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

Those Whom We Have Forgotten

It is hard to believe that it was about twenty years ago when I made my first trip to Washington, DC. It was the summer of my freshmen year in college and I had been working at a steel fabrication plant for the last several months earning some money for college and gaining some work experience. As the summer drew to a close, I mentioned to parents that I would like for us all to go to Wash-ington and see the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I pointed out that it would be the last time we could take a vacation as a family and that it was probably the last chance I would have to see Washington. I was right about the vacation, I was married the following summer and we have not had family vacations since; I was wrong about it being my last time to see Washington, the Navy has seen fit to provide me with many opportunities to visit the center of democracy.

Since that eventful summer, I have been to Washington many times. Most of my trips have been occupied with work and have involved mainly seeing the sights offered by hotel rooms and office suites. Very little time has been available for site-seeing. A few months ago I was in DC for two weeks and happened to have a weekend free. The snow had let up, at least for a little while, I was caught up on my sleep, and I did not have any work that I was willing to do. So, I opted for a little site-seeing trip.

My trip twenty years ago was spent mainly in the Air and Space Museum. The museum is a very large place and it took the vast majority of one full day just to see a good portion of what it had to offer. As much as I would have liked to have visited it once again and to have seen the other Smithsonian Museums, I knew that I did not have the time. I wanted to see the Washington Monument and go up to the top this time, something we did not have time to do on my first trip. I wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial again. It is an impressive place and Lincoln is one of my favorite presidents; he is the man that held the country together through the worst war we've ever had and then he helped us heal afterwards. I wanted to see the Jefferson Memorial, a site I had only seen from the distance. Jefferson is my other favorite president; the crafter of democracy. Jefferson was instrumental in developing the Declaration of Independence and had some influence on the Constitution; those few words that have held this country together for over two hundred years; those few words that allowed us fight within and then re-unite; those few words that have made us, the United States, the envy of the rest of the world.

There were other sites that I wanted to see as well. I wanted to see the Vietnam wall. And to enjoy a walk through the Mall. I had hoped for time to go inside the Capitol, perhaps the Mint, and I would have liked to have seen the Holocaust Memorial. But, there are only so many hours in the day and not everyone was willing to stay open as long as I willing to stay and visit.

I hopped off the Metro at the Smithsonian station and popped up at the Mall be-tween the Capitol and the Washington Monument. I made a path for the Washington Monument. It was being renovated and had scaffolding surrounding it. It was quite a funny site, particularly from the air as I flew in to the airport. I noticed that there were no long lines waiting to get in the Monument so I had a brief moment of excitement that perhaps I would get to go to the top. That feeling was short-lived when I realized that there could be another reason why there no long lines. The Monument was closed. Once again, cheated out the trip; twenty years ago by a line that was too long and now by a line that was too short.

Since the Washington Monument was off-limits, I set out for the Lincoln Memori-al. A choir was on the lower section of steps that led up to the Memorial performing some songs. I stopped and listened for a while then walked up the upper level of steps. I passed the spot where my father and I had stopped and talked to a Hare Krishna girl on my last trip. She was handing out material and taking donations. I think we gave her a dollar or two. My mother was a little upset that we had given her any money at all but my father and I both agreed that it was worth the money just to talk to her. She was kind of cute and had a pierced nose. At the time a pierced nose was an oddity, even for Washington but today she would be "under-pierced" for someone her age.

I arrived at the top of the steps and stood there for a while looking at the statue of Lincoln and then turned around and looked at the Washington Monument. The site was beautiful, slightly overcast but a fairly pretty day.

After reading the inscriptions on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial, I walked over to the Korean War Memorial. The visit to this memorial was perhaps the most moving I had on the entire trip. A garden-type atmosphere was present. Entering from the rear of the memorial you see a very realistic rendition of life-size soldiers walking through a field. They have aged with time and weather and, from a distance, look very realistic. A closer inspection reveals remarkable detail in their faces and their uniforms.

People were all around. Children were playing, running and yelling. Adults were talking loudly, some were laughing. I asked myself, "Did they understand what this was about?" This was not an episode of M*A*S*H; this was about peoples lives, and about their deaths, their sacrifices. On a wall at the front of the memorial area was a large engraving which read simply Freedom is not Free. As I read that and listened to the sounds around me, I wondered, did anyone really understand what that meant or was I surrounded by the Gulf War generation; the generation which thinks of war as a video game and smart bombs. Did anyone understand that people died for their country, that wives lost husbands and that parents lost sons?

Disgusted, I turned and was about to leave when I saw him. An elderly gentle-men, perhaps in his sixties, standing alone at the front of the memorial looking back at the sculptures. He was not moving at all, in fact I thought he had grown tired of waiting for someone and was staring off into space. For some reason I looked a little closer at him and then I saw his face. His eyes were moist, his cheeks were damp. He had a combined look of sadness and pain. I watched for a few more seconds and I realized that he was unaware of any of the children around him, he heard none of the jokes by the adults; this man was re-living a painful experience, perhaps of losing a friend in the war, perhaps he was thinking about how lucky he was to have survived, perhaps he was waiting after all, waiting for someone who would never come home. I wanted to say something to him but I did not want to disturb his reverie. I did what I could. I slowly walked up and stood next to him for just a few minutes. I wanted to thank him for his sacrifice, to let him know that someone cared and appreciated what he had done, appreciated the sacrifices he had made. I was honored to stand by someone who knew that Freedom was not Free, someone who was fully aware of the high cost of the freedom we enjoy each and every day.

As I left and walked to the other side of the Mall, I found the Vietnam War
Memorial to be quite a different experience. The long, black wall seemed to stretch for miles. Some children were playing around it, others were simply walk-ing. I saw mothers and wives with paper and pencil making rubbings of the names of their sons and husbands. I read the last name on the wall and won-dered how it would feel to have a loved one who was the very last to die in that war.

It was an humbling experience to see that wall, the names listed in chronological order of their deaths. These men also had given their lives for their country, given their lives in a war that we are all too willing to forget. A war in which we are all too willing to forgive those who found a way out.

This month is the month we celebrate the writing and adoption of the United States Constitution, the document to which every military officer swears his or her allegiance. That document, the pages that provide us with the democracy we all enjoy, has been defended with the lives of over three million men and women. Lives lost in Yorktown, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, Midway, Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, and many other places. These lives given because those before them, in the words of John Adams, dared to read, to think, to speak, and to write. These three million lives are a testament to the harsh reality that freedom is indeed not free. The war memorials in Washington are moving and solemn, they provide us with the opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by others. But the real memorial, the lasting thing that should remind us of these Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines every day, is the Constitution. It is the Constitution and all that it stands for that caused these fine men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice and it is the living document that has hundreds of thousands of other men and women waiting to jump to its defense on a moment's notice.

Posted by robertgreen at 9:47 AM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2008

Military Advisers Can Be Found in the Strangest Places

"Military Finds an Unlikely Adviser In School-Building Humanitarian," by Yochi J. Dreazen. Wall Street Journal, Friday 26 December 2008, Vol CCLII, No. 150, p. A9.

The military is listening to Greg Mortenson a co-author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time. Mr. Mortenson is being courted by the military now for advice on nation building. He believes that building schools is an effective way to fight Islamic extremism. He has already visited with Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen.

"General Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, read Mr. Mortenson's book, which recounts his school-building efforts, and recommends it to his staff." Nation-building, something once abhorred by the military has now become a part of the military strategy. People like General Petraeus are, I believe, responsible for much of this. In the past he military was quick to divide fighting wars and rebuilding following the war. The military did the former, NGOs, aka civilians, did the latter, but in the new age of warfare it is more difficult to divide these two phases, especially when fighting an insurgency where winning hearts and minds is critical to winning the war.

"Education is the long-term solution to fanaticism,: says Col. Christopher Kolenda, who commanded an Army brigade in a part of eastern Afghanistan where Mr. Mortenson founded two schools. "As Greg points out so well, ignorance breeds hatred and violence."

This seems so obvious but many of us tend to miss the obvious. Not only does "ignorance breeds hatred and violence" apply to Islamic insurgents; it applies to people across the world. When you look at those who are the most racist, the most protectionist, and most violent also tend to be the most ignorant. Let's face it, when was the last time you read about a gang of Ph.D.s terrorizing a neighborhood?

Mr. Mortenson has come face-to-face with an issue that concerns me and one I have been looking into for several years--the military-NGO incompatibility. When offered to have $2.2 million secretly funneled to him to build schools, he "...realized my credibility in that part of the world depended on me not being associated with the American government, especially its military." This is a sad yet real part of the world in which we live. NGOs and the military could do great things by working together but there are serious issues which must be overcome and the most serious issue is the one of perception.

Mr. Mortenson has another book coming out in January. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World... One Child at a Time, scheduled to be released on 22 January 2009 is geared for younger readers. If his first book is recommended reading by General Petraeus to his staff, surely this one will be recommended to the children of his staff.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Posted by robertgreen at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)

November 26, 2008

Etzioni is wrong on Mullen

Retire Admiral Mullen by Amitai Etzioni

In a recent post Amitai Etzioni calls for Obama to replace Admiral Mullen and he gives several reasons for his thinking. And he is wrong on most all of them.

It seems Etzioni is chastising Admiral Mullen for speaking against the president’s plan to withdraw troops from Iraq and rather says that withdrawal should be governed by conditions on the ground. The problem is Etzioni is a might confused as to who the president is. He may be salivating over the day Obama becomes president but right now the president is George Bush and the policy Mullen has stated is THE president’s policy.

Etzioni also takes the cowards solution to problems often seen by many in academia. According to him the solution is to either go along or resign. That is a spine of Jell-O! He also erroneously states that a military officer’s obligation is to carry out the orders of the President. Wrong again, but this is a mistake often made by many. An officer takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, it is not to the President.

I am also completely amazed at Etzioni’s ignorance of the function of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Admiral Mullen is the president’s chief military advisor—he is not someone to merely carry out orders. Perhaps before writing again he should review the Goldwater-Nichols Act. I really don’t mind people taking issue with the military but I do wish they would take the time to do a little research and form an intelligent opinion.

I think Etzioni is a little too keen on a retreat and lacks a little understanding of the military. If he becomes an advisor to President-elect Obama this country may be in serious trouble.

Posted by robertgreen at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2008

Third Place in Chili Cookoff

I won third place in the Mississippi State Scabbard and Blade Honor Society Chili Cookoff today. I made the chili last night and let it cook all night. The judging was today at 1100 in front of Middleton Hall. I was not expecting to win, this was my first entry, so I am very happy. Even better, one of the members of my Day One Action Team from last year won first place!

I had to joke that those running this copetition had to be future contracting officers. They require you to buy the ingedients to make the chili, that you pay a $10 entr fee, and then they sell the chili for $1.00 per bowl. Only a contracting office couldwork such a deal. Of course I was only joking. The proceeds went to support the Sacbbard and Blade Society and the Intrepid Fallen Heros fund--two very worthy causes.

Posted by robertgreen at 9:38 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2008

Lunch with WWII Veterans

I had the privilege of having lunch today with America’s finest. The Sony Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans hosted a luncheon for World War II veterans today on the campus of Mississippi State I was fortunate enough to be invited. I met some really wonderful people who answered their nation’s call and to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude. In addition to lunch, we also viewed the PBS documentary on the World War II memorial in Washington, DC.

My only regret is that my grandfather was not around to be invited. I was able to eat with several people today who reminded me of him in many ways. On the one hand I was tremendously proud of what he did. On the other hand it brought back memories and made me realize how much I still miss him.

Posted by robertgreen at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)

October 2, 2008

General Colin Powell Speaks at MSU

What a man! I attended the Colin Powell talk tonight and was more than impressed. I read his autobiography many years ago and was impressed then but seeing him in person was even more impressive. He is clearly a very intelligent person and has a keen sense of humor. His talk was informative and entertaining.

We had some students present who embarrassed me, and their fellow students. Some kid (yes, kid) showed up on the floor wearing a “colorful” t-shirt and black and white checked shorts. Most everyone else was wearing business dress. Perhaps he thought he was cool, but I, and even the students sitting near me, thought he was ridiculous and an embarrassment to the university. Some students even called that he be taken off the floor.

Questions were submitted to General Powell and read by students who apparently had some role in deciding which questions to ask. One question dealt with how you could work with someone and work on topics you disagreed with. The implication was that General Powell continued to work on the Iraq war even though he disagreed with President Bush. The General set the student straight and noted that the question assumed he and the president disagreed. He clearly stated that he did not. He was in agreement with going to war but differed in how things were handled after the fall of Baghdad. Another question was so boggled and senseless I can’t even remember what it was. I only remember that the General did a great job in handling it with dignity. I was impressed with the answers given but disappointed in the questions asked.

His talk covered his time in the military, his time as SecState, retirement, and his outlook on life--he looks ahead, not to the rear.

General Powell is definitely a speaker to hear given a chance.

Posted by robertgreen at 2:58 PM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2008

Air Force Birthday Ball in Columbus

I attended the 2008 Air Force Ball in Columbus tonight with my wife. I was there actually representing the Greater Starkville Development Partnership Military Affairs Committee but Navy uniforms were authorized so I added a touch in joint service. It was held celebrating the 61st birthday of the Air Force and the 66th anniversary of Columbus Air Force Base. We had a good time, with good food, with good people. Harding Catering handled the food and I have never had Bridget serve anything I didn’t like.

The guest speaker tonight was Major General Michael Gould, Director of Operations and Plans, US Transportation Command. He did a really good job with is talk. Like most, not all, but most, flag and general officers he was able to give a talk that was on topic, had the right amount of humor and serious content, and was of an appropriate length. Sounds like it is easy to do until you try it yourself and realize how difficult it can be. Of course the central theme was the excellence of the Air Force and the pride in CAFB and among those serve. But the greater theme was family and keeping them first. He made some excellent points but, unfortunately, it is difficult to do, especially in today’s world with today’s OPTEMPO. On the other hand, by doing what we do, we allow others to have that family time.

My wife and I actually danced to two songs. Doesn’t sound like much but for someone who does not dance (me) it was a lot of dancing. I really did enjoy the night. Happy Birthday Air Force!

Posted by robertgreen at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2008

Read, Think, Write, and Publish--But be Prepared for the Conequences

"Read, Think, Write, and Publish' by Admiral Jim Stavridis, U.S. Navy, US Naval Institute Proceedings, August 2008, pp.16-19.

In the August 2008 issue of Proceedings, Admiral Jim Stavridis, USN, Commander of US Southern Command makes a compelling case for military officers, actually military members, to air their ideas. In his article entitled “Read, Think, Write, and Publish”, he quotes Benjamin Franklin as saying “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing” and then Admiral Stavridis adds, “Do both!” The John Adams motto “Read, Think, Write” has long since been adopted by the Naval Institute, and is also my personal motto, and now Admiral Stavridis asks that we all adopt it but take it a step further and publish. [John Adams actually said “Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”]

Such a request is not without its risks, however. Putting ideas out in the open can be a dangerous thing at many levels, especially at the personal level. Reciting the widely-accepted mantra of the day, or merely restating the obvious is usually not risky. But then again, it accomplishes very little. The best writings, in my opinion, are those that get people to think. Even if in the end the opinion expressed is not widely accepted or the idea is relegated to the trash can, the act of getting the thought started is worth the effort. Of course the audience must be willing to listen and willing to have an open debate and that, unfortunately, is not always the case. When an unpopular opinion is expressed publicly, whether is right or wrong, does not matter, it can carry a high personal price. This is something I recently learned the hard way.

My former church had been going through rough times. The internal issues, which are too numerous to list here, but which were, in my opinion, not being addressed. The Session was, again in my opinion, too concerned about not hurting feelings or not offending someone than they were in doing the work they were supposed to be doing. Now I must be clear here that this is not a condemnation of any individual member on the Session or in the church—the problem was one of the organization as an entity. There were strong members of Session but the Session as a whole was unwilling to look at the problems. Membership growth had stalled, if not declined; weekly attendance was falling; the number of people removing their names from elder ballot was rising; and the minister was being blamed for all of this. Sermons were, according to those dissatisfied, “too intellectual”, “too long”, “not exciting”, and a host of other things.

The church, over my objection and against my vote, removed the minister and then pronounced the problem was solved and we needed only a healing period. I was ready to leave then, like many of my friends did, but I stayed in hopes of being able to get things back on-track. However, what followed were group discussions and surveys which resulted in little and ignored those of us who were not into group therapy. Further, those like me were being told that we needed to get with the plan. But I had a finger on the pulse of the church membership and I knew that roughly a third of the church members attended so sporadically that they were clueless as to what was happening. Another third was happy because they “got their way”. The final third was still hurt, not happy with the things were going, but were either sticking it out to try to make things better (like me) or were sticking around because they did not feel comfortable going to another church.

Recognizing this I chose to write an article for the church newsletter. I had written them in the past and they often would stimulate some thinking. The article was entitled “A Message to Garcia” and referred to the story by Elbert Hubbard which recounted the struggles of Rowan to deliver a message to General Garcia in the Spanish-American War. I pointed out that there were those of us who were still not healed and that problems remained the church. I acknowledged that there were also Rowans’ within the church who were trying to deliver the message that all was not well. Interestingly, I also pointed out that the motto of our church was “Open hearts, open minds”, in hopes that the message would be heard.

What I found was that the church seemingly no longer had an open mind. The reactions to my article ranged from “I was wrong, everything was fine”, to “who is Garcia?” There were also those who came up to me and thanked me for saying what needed to be said. Rather than stimulate debate it raised defenses of those who wanted to pronounce the church healed. Further, it was stated that if I had concerns I should take them to the Session and not publish such articles. There was even brief discussion of having Session or a committee review articles before being published. Call it what you will but in my book the church with open minds was seriously discussing censorship.

The price I paid was coming to the conclusion that it was time to leave. I hated to leave; I had really hoped that things would turn around and get better. I joined another congregation in town and have been very happy ever since. They put God first in the church and their membership is growing. My old church has seen little to no growth and even fewer members are leaving their names on the ballot for elder elections. They now have a new minister and I truly pray things get better. However, before I left, the interim minister resigned. I have this hope because there is a need for such a church and because I still have friends who attend there. There are also some friends who attend there, share many of my thoughts and concerns but, for whatever reasons, are not comfortable joining another church.

I still agree with Admiral Stavridis and John Adams, but I am now keenly aware that reading and writing do not necessarily result in thinking, and there may well be a high personal cost associated with the publishing.

Posted by robertgreen at 1:57 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2008

Act of Kindness Honoring Airmen

Uniform Inspires Act of Honoring Airmen, Silver Wings, 22 August 2008, p. 9

I was pleased to see an article in the Columbus Air Force Base newspaper about an Air Force Master Sergeant at Luke Air Force Base having her books bought for her by a citizen. It is was nice to read that almost 7 years after the events of 11 September 2001, there are citizens who are still thankful and appreciative of what the military does for them. What’s more telling is the fact that this person recently lost his brother to the conflict in Iraq. This man had made a tremendous sacrifice yet he wanted to thank this Airman for her service.

I too have been blessed with the kindness of ordinary people over the years. During drill weekends it was not at all uncommon to have people, generally elderly, but not always, come up and thank me and those I was with for what we do. On my trips home I have also seen kindness. It was never much, but it was meaningful. Perhaps the most meaningful was a stop at Burger King on my home from drill one Sunday. I was in uniform and ran in to get a couple of burgers. The total cost was only a few dollars but when I pulled out my wallet to pay, the young lady, okay the girl—seemed to still be in high school—told me there was no charge. I thanked her but told her I wanted to pay. Her response was “No, I appreciate what you do and this makes me feel like I am serving my country too.” I couldn’t argue with that logic.

Whether it is books or burgers, we do appreciate these gestures of kindness. But please excuse us if we seem a little uncomfortable. Most of us were reared in environments where we were the ones who were expected to make the sacrifices for others and we are not used to having others show us that side—outside the military anyway.

Posted by robertgreen at 12:14 AM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2008

Generation Entitlement

The Navy and the Generation of Entitlement, by LCDRSteven L. Rogers, USN, Naval Reserve Association News, August 2008, p. 14.

This commentary struck a chord with me. The article mentioned that we have the baby boomers, the Gen-X and Gen-Y crowd, and even the Millennials, but the author described a new generation he calls Generation Entitlement. This is the generation that my generation messed up by trying to make sure they did not do without. It seemed like a good idea at the time but now I think we, and they, would have been better served by experiencing a little more adversity in their lives.

LCDR Rogers points out that “[t]hese individuals question all authority, care little about tradition, and refuse to embrace a work ethic which requires ‘earning your way’.” He also states they are arrogant, self-serving, and impatient. He says they do not belong in the Navy and I would add they do not belong anywhere.

Before I run the risk of generalizing about an entire generation, let me be the first to add that within this generation are a large number of exceptions. These are the people who are hard-working, dedicated, and believe in sacrifice. They look at what has been given them not as an entitlement but rather as a gift to be used to better themselves and society. They really are out there and I have had the privilege of meeting them.

However, I have also had more than my fair share of meeting the self-serving Gen E’ers. Over the last few days I have been dealing with more than fair share of them. They have been asked to sit out of school for various periods of time because of poor academic performance and have been petitioning for readmission. Far too many have had parents and distant relative intervene on their behalf. I have heard all kinds of excuses as to how they got in trouble and how not they really will work hard to do better. Some really have identified their difficulties and taken action to correct the problems. Others simply want a bye because they feel entitled.

I also have the privilege and honor of dealing with many other students who have shown remarkable maturity and insight. They have recognized problems that they have and are working to correct those problems. They are the students I like. They realize why they are in school and know that their success depends on them. Even though some of them have found themselves in trouble I have never spoken to their parents about those difficulties. I do know that their parents care, and care deeply, but they are letting their children handle the problems while they provide emotional support. These students will be successful. They are going places and I am proud to be a part of their journey. The others are destined for either failure or a big wake-up call in the future.

As for me, I much prefer those who do not feel they are entitled.

Posted by robertgreen at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2008

CWID 2008 MPC Day 1

The CWID Mid-Planning Conference (MPC) began to day. There is a lot of work for us to do to get ready for the exercise in June, but it is fun.

The guest speaker today was Major General Koen A. Gijsbers, Royal Netherlands Army. He spoke about interoperability between nations and pointed out that single nation warfare was essentially a thing of the past. I must say that I agree with him. We have all become too interconnected and the communications technology has brought so much news, so quickly, that it does seem unlikely any major power will go to war alone.

Given the audience he was speaking to, interoperability was a key point. As he stated: We do not do a very good job of communicating between services within a nation; in fact we do not always do a good job of communicating between branches within a single service, so how can we communicate and operate better between nations? This is indeed the purpose of CWID.

General Gijsbers mention one general officer who had 7 computers (and many phones as well) on his desk because they were all attached to different networks and different domains. Although technology would allow them to be interconnected, policies and standard operating procedures would not allow it. He correctly stated that we must not only work the technology side of interoperability; we must also work the policy side. In fact, I wonder if the policy will not prove to be the most difficult piece of the puzzle.

Posted by robertgreen at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2007

ENTERPIRSING US MILITARY OFFICERS

ARTICLE: "Midlevel Officers Show Enterprise, Helping U.S. Reduce Violence in Iraq." By GREG JAFFE.
Wall Street Journal, V. CCL, N. 152, P. A-1, Saturday/Sunday 29-30 December 2007.

This was a nice article on the ability of US military Officers to adapt and implement change, even when it involves bean counters. The article discusses how the officers sought to separate the Sunnis and Shiites to reduce the fighting between them. That is something you do in a fight so it only seems right to do that in Iraq now. Sure, the time will come when the two groups will have to live and work together but let’s keep them apart until they can learn to get along a wee bit better. Of course the officers also set about getting the place functioning again. Opening banks, turning on water, and getting electricity to flow are major factors in establishing peace. This is exactly what I’ve heard from my friends who have been over there. They say the Iraqis are very appreciative when you get them drinking water and get the sewage flowing in the right direction.

But the key to this article is that the officers recognized the need to reach out to the local power brokers and get them involved in the solution. Discussed specifically is a PowerPoint presentation made by Captain Travis Patriquin, 32 at the time, and later killed by a roadside bomb in the Fall of 2006. His PowerPoint slide was simple but effective. It was a stick figure of a soldier sharing tea with a sheik. The caption read, “This is one sheik. They’ve been leading the people of this area for approximately 14,000 years. In spite of many, many conquering armies trying to remove him, this man and his family have been involved in politics here since recorded time began.” Hmmm, makes sense to work with these people, you think?

These officers understand that you need to understand the culture you working in and people you are working with. It is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong, as many people try argue, it is a matter of working together. And yes, the sheiks need to understand us as well so they can work better with us. As I watch the news I seem to see two types of people. On the one side are those Rosie O’Donnell types who are convinced that we are evil incarnate and deserve the attacks of 9/11. On the other side are the ill-informed who believe the Iraqis and Afghanis should be so happy that we are helping them that they simply roll over and do as we say. Fortunately our military officers are able to recognize the truth lies between these two extremes. They realize that it is fine to recognize and work within a culture without having to accept that culture as their own.

Posted by robertgreen at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)

December 4, 2007

Day One Leadership

We had the final Day One Leadership Program luncheon for the Action Team Leaders. We all got certificates, an umbrella, door prizes, and an item from the grocery store picked by our teams to describe us. I got a bottle of V8 Splash because I “add a splash to the traditional”. It was a fun event but I’m sad it is the end of Day One for year.

One of my team members won the Day One Leadership Idol award from the pod and it was presented to her at the Air Force ROTC Dining In last week. She could not stay for the presentation following their presentation but it all worked out well.

I had a great team and I look forward to doing it again next year.

Posted by robertgreen at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)

September 6, 2007

Army ROTC Contracting Ceremony

I was invited to attend the Army ROTC Bulldog Battalion Contracting Ceremony today and I went as Commander Green to help demonstrate to these newest of cadets that the military is truly joint today. I was impressive to see 34 young college students stand up and take the oath of office. Some were new to the military, others are serving in a National Guard unit already, all were impressive with their character and their willingness to stand up and take the oath.

They Army ROTC Cadre also took the time to recognize their current students who completes schools over the summer. At a time when most college students went to the beach these went schools such as Airborne, Air Assault, Leadership Training Course, and the Leadership Develop Accession Program.

Posted by robertgreen at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2007

Troop Deaths Fall Below 100--Won't See it one the News

CENTCOM Point Man Sees Progress in Surge. Navy Times, August 20, 2007, p. 28-29.

Funny, I haven’t heard about this on CNN, Fox, my Internet news feeds, or any other source, but according to Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Morin who works for Admiral Fallon, there slightly more than 70 deaths among US Forces in Iraq in July, the first time the number has fallen below 100 since March. Now I do recall seeing news stories in the last few months about the “highest number of causalities”, the “rising number of casualties”, etc. Always quick to criticize, seldom ever to praise, our main stream media is once again showing how its collective judgment is often flawed.

CSM Morin essentially gives evidence that things are improving in Iraq, security is gradually being restored, and Iraqis are feeling safer. Admittedly it is not happening everywhere, and it will take some time to spread, but things are improving.

One thing the troops need, more PRTs (Provincial Reconstruction Teams), something near and dear to my heart as it is likely to be the subject of my forthcoming dissertation. PRTs really belong to the State Department but they do involve military personnel and are an evolution of tactics started near the end of the Vietnam War.

Posted by robertgreen at 4:34 PM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2007

Way to go Marine!

Fond on Blackfive.

Posted by robertgreen at 4:31 PM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2007

Thucydides and Petraeus

It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs. They expect too much of ordinary men.
-Thucydides

I ran across this qoute and think it aptly sums up what is going on between General Petraeus and Congress. Petraeus has a plan, rightly recognizes that it will take time for it to work, and actually expects to be given the time and resources he was promised when he took the job. He expects too much of the Congress.

Posted by robertgreen at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2007

Seven Days in May

After being suggested by my major professor, I ordered Seven Days in May from Amazon a few days ago and was able to watch it today. Wow! Great movie with a great theme! What would happen if there was a military coup to take over the government because the politicians were too soft or failed to see an imminent threat? Parallels to events of today? Perhaps.

Posted by robertgreen at 8:08 PM | Comments (0)

July 9, 2007

TOP MILITARY AND NAVY MOVIES

Navy Times, 09 July 2007, page 29.

The Navy Times was not happy that military movies were lacking from the AFI’s Top 100 films list so they came up with their own. If Navy Times had its way the following would be the Top 10 Military Films:

10. A Bridge Too Far (1977)
9. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
8. The Great Escape (1963)
7. Top Gun (1986)
6. Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
5. The Caine Mutiny (1954)
4. Glory (1989)
3. Black Hawk Down (2001)
2. Patton (1970)
1. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

I can’t really disagree with these but I would have included Gettysburg (1993), and perhaps my personal favorite, Apocalypse Now (1979).

This list compares to the unranked list given in the October 2006 issue of Naval History:

• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)


• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)


• They Were Expendable (1945)


• The Caine Mutiny (1954)


• Victory at Sea (1952)


• Hornblower (1999, 2001, 2003)


• Das Boot (1981)


• Mister Roberts (1951)

Posted by robertgreen at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2007

THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG

Given I couldn’t get a flight early enough to get me home so that I could unpack, repack, and get back to the airport, combined with my lack of faith in the airlines being able to get luggage back on schedule when it really counts, I opted to stay in Richmond tonight and leave for the ASEE conference in Hawaii from here tomorrow. So, what to do with the day?

I went to Fredericksburg and toured the battleground and cemetery. With all of the houses that have been built and the growth of the trees, it was difficult to get an appreciation of the terrain facing the soldiers of the Civil War. The cemetery was impressive and even more impressive when you realize that there were some 15,000 plus soldiers, many unknown, buried there.

There were the requisite canons placed here and there and even though I’ve seen more than I can remember, I still felt compelled to take a photo or two.

Much of the stone wall has been rebuilt over the ages, but there is still a section of the original which remains. I also walked along Telegraph Road, now known as “Sunken Road”. It was from this road, behind the stone wall, that the Confederate soldiers repelled the Union.

Usually I do not like having tour guides for things like this because they tend to either be too canned, or to have too little knowledge to be useful. Today was an exception though. The historian we had as our guide was a former Park Ranger who was not only very knowledgeable about the site; she made a dramatic impression that conveyed the feelings of the battle rather than just the facts. The best tour I have had was of Gettysburg while at a National Defense University class, but that was given my a staff member of the college who was very knowledgeable about that battle.

Posted by robertgreen at 9:39 PM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2007

A TRIP TO GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHPLACE

Today I drove over to visit George Washington’s Birthplace. The National Park Service site made for a very nice visit. There were a few people around, but not too many. I walked around the grounds and certainly understand why it was selected as a home site.

There was an interesting house there but, as the park Ranger pointed out, it was not the actual house, nor was it on the actual site. It seems that years ago people took it upon themselves to rebuild our first president’s birthplace (the original burned in 1779). When the well-intentioned folk decided to rebuild the house they built what they thought was befitting a President. The house was built where a marker had been placed indicating it was the birthplace.

Once the site became a national park, the archaeologists started their investigation and found the site of the original house. It was very close (about 50 feet) from where the rebuilt house was. Of course no one knows what the original looked like above ground but the archaeologists did find that it had been built in three stages.

I did enjoy getting out and walking around. There was a workshop, complete with a forge, which my grandfather would have loved. It was quiet and cool and I found my self standing inside the workshop thinking about the time I had spent with my grandfather in is workshop. He loved tools, he loved to collect tools, and I have no doubt that had he had a forge, he would have loved making tools.

Posted by robertgreen at 7:57 PM | Comments (0)

June 8, 2007

NEW CJCS COMING

Marine General Peter Pace will not be nominated for a second term as Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Admiral Mike Mullen, current Chief of Naval Operations will be nominated as his successor. I have mixed feelings about this. Reportedly General Pace is not being nominated because his re-confirmation process could be “contentious”. Well, shouldn’t it be? Is there not supposed a little tension, a little contentiousness, between the branches of government? That tension is what keeps everyone honest and makes sure the tough questions get answered.

General Pace seems to support the troop increase in Iraq while Congressional Democrats do not. Admiral Mullen, according to news reports, is not so favorable of the troop surge. Of course the articles on the net also mention General Pace’s recent anti-gay comments. Okay, quick poll now, who is surprised that a Marine General opposes gays in the military? Anyone? If you are then are so out of tune with the military, especially the Marine Corps, that you are not qualified to have an opinion. I have to wonder that, if in this day and age where political correctness is valued more the freedom to say what you think, if that is not a major factor in the decision.

My other concern is that Admiral Mullen will be nominated to replace him. Don’t get me wrong, I think, no, I know, Admiral Mullen will do a great job as CJCS. My concern is selfish. Admiral Mullen is making great strides in making changes in the Navy and they seem to be welcomed changes. He has a new uniform in the works, is working the 1000-ship Navy concept, and appears well-respected by those in and out of the Navy. He will do a good job as CJCS but he will be missed as CNO, I think.

There is one thing I have learned over the years however, there is a seemingly limitless supply of talent and leadership in the military, so every time a great leader leaves one position, another comes in to fill the void.

Posted by robertgreen at 9:27 PM | Comments (0)

March 8, 2007

EMBRACE THE SUCK

While getting ready for work this morning I was listening to “Morning Sedition” from National Public Radio and they did a story on a book entitled Embrace the Suck: A pocket Guide to Milspeak Compiled and Introduced by Col. Austin Bay, an Army Colonel. It sounded interesting so I looked it on the web and found a neat little web site.

The New Pamphleteer offers some neat little books for sale. Well, they are not really books, they are pamphlets. They are inexpensive, about $4.00 per copy, and when you order one you can get a link to download a pdf of the pamphlet.

This is getting back to what I think some of our publishing needs to be. Just as Thomas Paine wrote and distributed Common Sense in pamphlet format, these books are in pamphlet format. They are short and focused. I have to wonder, what would our society be like today if more pamphlets were made available to the general public? Sure, I’ll still read a 300 page book on a topic of interest, but will everyone? Do we need a 300 page book on every topic? I think not. A short pamphlet works just fine for many topics.

Posted by robertgreen at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)

March 4, 2007

DEMOCRATS CAN'T CAP TROOP LEVELS

Article: "House Democrats Set to Retreat From Effort to Cap Troop Levels", Wall Street Journal, 02 March 2007, p. A4

One thing I cautioned my Sailors against was expecting to see much change in Iraq as a result of the November elections. The Democrats may have gained the majority, but it was not enough to override a veto or, as we have seen lately, not even enough to bring bills up for a vote. According to the WSJ apparently the Democrat’s are now beginning to see that as well.

According to the article, Rep. John Murtha has been humbled. I doubt I would go that far but he has certainly run into some roadblocks. I can’t say that I’m bothered by that, in fact I think the roadblocks are good. I, for one, never understood the purpose of a non-binding resolution. What were the Democrats trying to prove? Were they trying to tell the President that they were unhappy? If so, they needn’t have bothered; I’m confident the President Bush knows the Democrats are unhappy with the situation in Iraq.

Perhaps they are simply schizophrenic. They holding hearings before they confirm General David Petraeus and he makes it clear that he supports a surge in troop level. After the hearings, they confirm him by an overwhelming number. Then they want a resolution to keep the surge from happening. It makes no sense to me, but then I’m not in Congress.

House Republican Leader John Boehner is quoted in the article as saying “For seven weeks Democrats have been all over the block. They have no strategy to stop the war. They have no strategy to win the war. They are the majority here on Capitol Hill. It’s time for them to grow up make a decision.” I can’t say that I agree with him because I fear the decision they might make.

The truth is that Iraq is not another Vietnam. It can be if we yield to those who want to cut funds and withdraw troops. On the other hand, if we tough it out, we just might win. It was our weak response to prior acts of terrorism that led Osama bin Laden to believe we were a paper tiger and hence the reason he was willing to stage the attacks of 11 September 2001. Imagine what would happen if we were to pull out of Iraq too soon. The acts of terrorism on American soil would drastically increase and they could well prove difficult to counter. Yes, the Iraqis need to take a more active role in running their country; yes they need to do more to quell the sectarian violence; yes they need to train more troops; but their failure to so should not result in our withdrawal for we, along with the Iraqis, will suffer.

Posted by robertgreen at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)

March 3, 2007

MPSA PAPER PRESENTED

I made a quick trip down south to present a paper at the Mississippi and Louisiana Political Science Associations annual meeting. My paper was entitled “Military and Humanitarian Assistance Organizations: Is there Common Ground?” It was an enjoyable trip, even if it was a bit rushed. I had some work to do Friday morning so I left just in time to make it to my panel and then I had to leave afterwards. I would have liked to have stayed for some of the other papers.

I did get to stop in a visit my grandmother and have dinner with my parents on the way home though. Made for a long day but worth the effort.

Posted by robertgreen at 2:46 PM | Comments (0)

December 2, 2006

NAVY 24 -- ARMY 16

Dateline: Home Study

Or perhaps it should be Navy-Army

I had some thing s going on so I couldn’t watch all of the game but I caught parts here and there. This is always my favorite game of the year; I like it better than even the MSU-University of Mississippi game. Why? Several reasons.

One, the teams realize that this is a game and when the year ends they will be teammates in America’s military. Two, each team has discipline. Sure, they lose their tempers every now and then, but then compare that to other football games. Third, regardless of whether one, both, or neither team is any good, they always play hard. And finally, at the end of the game, both teams sign their alma maters, first in front the losing team’s students, and then in front of the wining team’s students. Now that, my friends, is sportsmanship.

I think that, with a little effort, the MUS team could do the same at the University of Mississippi game, but many of the UM fans I’ve met would not be able to. The UM fans are so bad I have sworn off ever attending another sporting event at their school. By the way, the best fans I met were from Auburn. They seem to be good winners and good losers—although lately they have not had much practice at losing.

Navy 24 – Army 16!

Posted by robertgreen at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)

December 1, 2006

MILITARY BALL

Dateline: Home Study

My wife and I attended the Army and Air Force ROTC Joint Military Ball held at the Hunter Henry Center on the campus of Mississippi State University. I was invited in my capacity as chair of the Military Affairs Committee of the Greater Starkville Area Development Partnership and there were other committee members present as well. It was a pleasure to be there and do the double duty of representing the Navy as well.

This event was, by and large, planned and executed by the cadets of the Army and Air Force ROTC programs. They did a great job and are truly leaders. There were simply too many things to be done for this event to have come together without that leadership.

There was a reception line entering the room and I happened to be in line behind Becky Wiles of the Oktibbeha County Red Cross, a table-mate for the night, who took this picture of General Foglesong and me as I was entering.

Of course the teaching of that leadership was done by my friends Lt. Col. Terry Dickensheet of the AFROTC, and LTC Marcus Majure of the Army ROTC.

The keynote speaker for the event was the President of Mississippi State University, General Robert H. “Doc” Foglesong. General Foglesong gave an interesting and motivating speech on character and leadership. I have had the privilege of hearing speak on that topic in several other venues, but it was a little different tonight. By speaking to an audience of like-minded people, people in uniform, he was able to make some points that are difficult to make with more general audiences.

Unfortunately, I had been up late for many nights working on a paper so my wife and I did not stay for the dancing that followed. Perhaps next year.

Now all that remains is – Go Navy! Beat Army!

Posted by robertgreen at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)

July 9, 2006

RECENT SPEECH BY MAJOR GENERAL MICHAEL R. LEHNERT, USMC

I recevied this by email yesterday and found it to be very mving. It is a little long but well worth the read.

Recent speech by Major General Michael R. Lehnert, USMC Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations West

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

Eight days ago, I was present in the audience when Tom Brokaw addressed the 2006 Stanford graduating class. After the initial pleasantries and one-liners, Mr. Brokaw said something unexpected. He told the class that they were the children of privilege, fortunate to be attending one of the finest educational institutions in the country, the anointed because they had both the test scores for admittance and parents who were able to afford their tuition. He noted that they could likely expect rapid advancement in almost any endeavor they choose and that they were destined to lead the most powerful country in the world.

The class was beaming.

And then Brokaw reminded them that the liberties and freedoms they enjoyed were being defended by young people their age that did not have their advantages. That at this time thousands of men and women were fighting, dying and suffering debilitating injury to ensure that the rest of us could live the American dream.

There was an uncomfortable shifting in the seats, followed by slow but growing applause from the audience.

When we sent my son to Stanford four years ago, we filled out a form asking for demographic information. One of the questions for the parents said, what is your profession? After it was a list of about thirty professions including doctor, lawyer, congressman, educator, architect. Military was not listed so I filled in “other”

My son was the only graduate who had a parent serving in the armed forces. As I was introduced to his friends’ parents, it was interesting to watch their reaction. Few had ever spoken to a member of the military. One asked me how my son was able to gain admittance with the disadvantage of having to attend “those DoD schools”. Many voiced support for our military and told me that they’d have served but clearly military service was not for their kind of people.

This year of the so-called elite schools, Princeton led them with nine graduates electing military service. Compare that with 1956 when over 400 of the Princeton graduating class entered the military. Most of the other Ivy League schools had no one entering the military this year.

I wonder how many of you know the young people who are serving today. I won’t embarrass anyone by asking for a show of hands to ask how many really know a young enlisted Marine who has been to war.

I’m going to try to give you a better feel about those who serve our nation.

Our Marines tend to come from working class families. For the most part, they came from homes where high school graduation was important but college was out of their reach. The homes they come from emphasize service. Patriotism isn’t a word that makes them uncomfortable.

The global war on terrorism has been ongoing for nearly five years with Marines deployed in harms way for most of that time. It is a strange war because the sacrifices being levied upon our citizens are not evenly distributed throughout society. In fact, most Americans are only vaguely aware of what is going on.

That isn’t the case aboard the Marine bases in Southern California where we see the sacrifice everyday as we train aboard those open spaces that you covet for other purposes. Many of our Marines are married and 70% of our married Marines live in your communities, not aboard Marine bases. These Marines coach your soccer teams. They attend your places of worship. They send their kids to your schools. However, in many ways they are as different from the rest of the citizens of Southern California as my son was different from the rest of the students at Stanford.

One of the huge differences between the rest of society and our Marine families, is when Marine daddies and mommies go to work, some of them never come home. The kids know that. The spouses know that. Week after week we get reports of another son, father, husband who won’t be coming back. During the past four years, over 460 Marines from Southern California bases have been killed by the enemy.107 more have died in Iraq and Afghanistan due to accidents. 6500 have been wounded some of them multiple times.

You will never know or meet Brandan Webb age 20 or Christopher White age 23 or Ben Williams age 30. They were all assigned to First Battalion First Marine Regiment, Camp Pendleton, California. They were some of the Marines who died this week out of Marine bases in Southern California.

Last Friday, we hosted a golf tournament at Camp Pendleton to raise money for wounded Marines. There are a lot of expenses that the government cannot legally pay for from appropriated funds. The people who attended the tournament genuinely wanted to help and we invited a couple of dozen wounded Marines to golf with them. As I watched the teams leave for a shotgun start, I saw three Marines sitting by themselves and went over to talk to them. Clearly they’d been told by their chain of command that this was their appointed place of duty. They were sitting in the sun chatting, probably not unhappy with the duty but mildly uncertain as to why they were there. I asked them why they weren’t golfing and they said that they’d never learned. No one in their families ever played golf and that this was the first time they’d ever been on a golf course. I asked them how many times they’d deployed. One of the young men had just returned from his third deployment and had been wounded every time. The others teased him for being a bullet magnet. I asked him if he was going to stay in and he thought for a moment what to say to a general and he said, “I think I’d like to try college. No one in my family has ever gone.”

I asked these Marines if I could buy them a beer. They looked at me and smiled. One of them said, “We can’t ask you to break the rules sir. None of us are 21 yet.”

They seemed much older. As I left them I wondered about a policy that gives a young man the power of deciding who will live and who will die but won’t let him drink a beer. I thought about these young Americans who had never shot golf but had shot and killed other men in order to carry out foreign policy.

On the 10th of August we will open a wounded warrior barracks at Camp Pendleton. Few taxpayers’ dollars were used. We were able to raise the money through the Semper Fidelis fund to house those Marines who no longer need to be hospitalized but who suffer debilitating injuries and need follow-on care. Heretofore, when regiments left for the war, they left their non-deployables behind. These Marines often had to live in WWII era barracks with open squad bays and gang heads down the hallway. Those having limited mobility found it difficult and uncomfortable. It was no way to treat our wounded warriors. We’re fixing it.

Now let me introduce you to another enlisted Marine. His name is Brendan Duffy. Brendan was an infantry Marine. Like so many others, Brendan had dreams of going to college but no means to do so. While he was in the Corps, he immediately began using his Montgomery GI bill benefits by enrolling in Mira Costa College. Though deployed soon after signing up for college, he took his textbooks to war. Last month he received Mira Costa’s highest award for academic excellence, the Medal of Honor for Academic Excellence. Brendan described studying pre-calculus while fragments from explosions struck the sandbag shelter he was in.

Brendan left the Corps this week and has been accepted to the University of California Los Angeles to study math and economics.

Later this morning I’ll be meeting with educators across the California University system. We are trying to make California more veteran friendly. California hosts 40% of the combat power of the Marine Corps and 40% of the Marine veterans who leave the Corps do so out of Southern California bases. 96% have participated in the Montgomery GI Bill and are eligible for benefits but only a small number enter the California University system. That’s because California, unlike other states did not provide any veterans preference or even reach out to veterans. These combat veterans score in the top 50% of their age group, are drug free and morally straight but are lost to California and return to other states that aggressively work to attract them.

Several months ago, I along with senior leadership of all the Services, met with Governor Schwarzenegger and told him that California was not an education friendly state for military veterans. To his credit, he is trying to change that and this meeting today is a natural outgrowth of his support.

In Iraq, the media talks about the casualties. They seldom report the successes. I don’t think that this is intentional. It is just more difficult to quantify progress and reduce it to a sound bite.

Some of you may recall almost exactly two years ago when a four man sniper team from 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines was killed on a rooftop in Ramadi. It made news because sniper teams aren’t supposed to get ambushed and because an M40A1 sniper rifle was now in the hands of the enemy.

Over the next two years, that rifle was used against Americans and we wanted it back. Last week, a 21 year old Marine sniper from 3rd Battalion, Fifth Marines out of Camp Pendleton observed a military aged male videotaping a passing patrol of amphibious assault vehicles near Camp Habbaniya. After radioing the patrol and telling them to stay low, the Marine watched the man aiming a sniper rifle that looked remarkably like his own.

He killed the enemy sniper with one round to the head. Seconds later, another insurgent entered on the passenger side and was surprised to see his partner dead. That hesitation was enough time to allow Sgt Kevin Homestead age 26 to kill the insurgent before he could drive off.

When the Marines went down to inspect the scene, they saw that the sniper rifle was one of their own. It was the same M-40A1 sniper rifle looted from the 2/4 sniper team exactly two years earlier.

We are making progress in Iraq. The Iraqi Army is more capable each month. In the Anbar province we have brought the 1st Iraqi Division - the most capable of the Iraqi formations - to the former British RAF base of Habbaniyah - between Fallujah and Ramadi. We are standing up the 7th Division. In Baghdad, Iraqi brigades own parts of the city and are reporting directly to the US Army Division commander as component units.

The Iraqi Police are the essential element - and the most difficult challenge. In any insurrection, the insurgent specifically targets the local security elements of the government - because they are essential to maintaining control via interaction with the community, intelligence gathering, and law enforcement against petty and organized crime, traffic control. These police units are having good success in places like Fallujah. Ramadi is a different kettle of fish. Some of the police departments haven’t been paid in months and the intimidation campaign is in full force.

My Chief of Staff, Colonel Stu Navarre formerly the Commander of the 5th Marine Regiments told me this story. One day in December, the Ramadi Police Dept Operations Officer (#3 in the pecking order) did not come to work. When we inquired, he told us that the day before his 10 year old son had been kidnapped after school and transported to the north side of Ramadi. He was called by the kidnappers and advised of his son's location. When the Operations Officer arrived at the location, he found his son alive, with a note pinned to his shirt, "If you go to work tomorrow, you will never see your son again. We know where you live. "I wonder how many of us would show up for work with that kind of intimidation.

Your fellow Americans in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing a superb job in the most dangerous places on earth. They believe in what they are doing. The majority of the sergeants, corporals, and privates enlisted after 9-11. They knew what they were signing up for. They want to deploy in defense of the nation. We are sending best leadership to the combat zone. Service in Iraq/Afghanistan has become the norm for our Marine and Army leaders, and an essential part of their experience/qualifications for advancement. Finally, the American people have continued to demonstrate an unprecedented level of support for their fellow Americans in uniform - as well as the understanding that these young men and women are executing the policies of their elected representatives.

Reconstructing an entire nation takes time. Think about our own experience during the American Revolution. Despite having a homogeneous nation with no incipient insurgency, it was thirteen years from the Revolution to the ratification of the Constitution. We seem to have forgotten that it takes time to build institutions.

Introduction of a stable, representative form of government in Iraq is revolutionary in its impacts on the region and the world. Iraq is at the center of the Mid-East, the Arab world, and Shia Islam. Iraq has been, and will continue to be a major producer of natural resources - especially oil. It is at the center of the chess board. Iraq separates two sponsors of terrorism - Iran and Syria - and with Afghanistan - isolates Iran. It is no coincidence that Muammar Qadaffi has sensed the change in the wind and sought to distance himself from terrorism and WMD and become a legitimate player in world politics.

The Iraqis are capable of running Iraq. Today, thousands of young Iraqis are lining up to become soldiers and policemen - despite constant, highly lethal attacks on recruiting stations, police stations, and army checkpoints. Concurrently, there is no more dangerous job than being a candidate for office or an elected official in Iraq. We should not underestimate the absolute danger to any Iraqi that steps up to plate for law, order, and progress. The enemy is absolutely committed to winning. For him, there is really no other option. He also understands that the center of gravity is the commitment of the American people.

One of my major concerns is quality of life issues for our Marines, Sailors and their families. We are making significant progress but we have a long way to go.

We are building 1600 more homes at Miramar to give our Marines and Sailors decent places to live. California is a beautiful State. It is also extraordinarily expensive and we are the gypsies in your castle often driving 50 or 60 miles one way to because those are the only places that our junior Marines can afford to live.

We are replacing worn out World War II vintage barracks that we make our single Marines live in. When I took over, I visited some of the open squad bay barracks at Camp Horno in Pendleton. A young Marine corporal and veteran of the fighting in Iraq looked at me and said, “Sir, I lived better in Fallujah.” That hurt but he was right. A couple of weeks later I had a chance to talk to the Commandant and tell him the same story. I told him that at the rate we were replacing barracks, we wouldn’t have decent enlisted quarters until 2036. To his credit, he listened and we now plan to have them replaced by 2013. This won’t come without a cost because the Marine Corps doesn’t get more money to build barracks, we have to realign our priorities and not buy other things that we need. It was a significant decision by our senior leadership but the right thing to do.

With our Navy partners we are going after Pay Day Lenders. Pay Day Lenders are the parasites found outside of our military bases in Southern California who pray on young Marines and Sailors because the lenders know they are uninformed consumers. Pay day lenders take advantage that California has some of the weakest laws in the country. In North Carolina, pay day lenders are limited to 36% annual percentage rates of interest. Here in San Diego we regularly see rates of 460% and I have seen rates as high as 920% being charged legally against our service members. Service members go into a cycle of debt. Ultimately because we expect our Marines to be financially responsible, their ability to reenlist, compete for good jobs and keep a security clearance is effected.

Let me be clear. Pay day lenders are not providing our Marines with a service. They are parasites, bottom feeders and scumbags. One of them sent me a note recently telling me that he was a member of an honorable profession and that I should back off. He told me that a pay day lending institution had been found in the ruins of Pompey after Mount Vesuvius erupted. I responded to him that archeologists also found a whore house and that antiquity did not bequeath virtue. It is a shameful practice.

We also recognize that military leaders have a responsibility to educate our service members and their families about sound money management. We are doing that. We are using our base papers, information campaigns and personal intervention to tell them that there are alternatives to the pay day lending institutions.

Both the State and Federal legislatures have heard our message as well and there are bills making their way through the process to significantly curtail the excesses of payday lenders.

I know that many of you came here today to find out what I would say about the airport situation at Miramar. So as not to disappoint you, let me be clear.

The Marines came to Miramar ten years ago as a result of a BRAC decision and four subsequent BRAC rounds determined that the interrelationship of the Marine and Navy bases in Southern California provided a capability that was unmatched anywhere in the country.

The Marine Corps uses its bases as a projection platform for combat power. 25,000 Marines from California bases are presently deployed in harms way and over 3,000 of them are from Miramar.

Through the years, we have accommodated our neighbors development needs. Often we allowed infrastructure that was unpopular elsewhere but vital to the community. San Diego’s primary landfill is located at Miramar. A nuclear generation facility sits aboard Marine Corps property at Camp Pendleton and powers 2.2 million Southern California homes. We want to be good neighbors and work hard at it.

We examined the proposal for joint use of Miramar carefully, provided all data requested and saw that data ignored. Joint use does not work at Miramar. Thus the real issue is whether you want a civilian airport at Miramar or Marines.

If you want us to leave, you should say so. However you must understand that no matter what names are used to describe us in the Union Tribune, the decision whether or not to leave do not rest with the military leadership in Southern California. It rests with your elected leaders and most of them have clearly put defense needs above local requirements and said no to Miramar. The decision rests with the appointed civilian leadership in the department of defense. They’ve said no as well.

Sadly this controversy has effected local civil military relations. There is no way you can sugar coat it or pretend otherwise. But we are here. If our leadership tells us to leave we will. We will take our Marines, our families, our wounded and if necessary we will dig up our dead. However right now our leadership says we stay. And whether or not we remain in San Diego, the Marine Corps is committed to protecting your liberties and your freedoms.

We know that this is a difficult issue. We know that we have many friends in San Diego but we also know that we have others who see the economic potential of development of the military installations. They say that they love the military but would rather love them somewhere else than in their backyard.

If you take nothing away from this talk, I’d hope you understand and appreciate what a remarkable group of young people currently serve in your Armed Forces today. Want to know what Marine Generals talk about when we are together? We talk about what a remarkable privilege it is to lead these extraordinary Americans.

I started by mentioning Tom Brokaw. His book coined the phrase, "The Greatest Generation,” and our nation responded in kind. Twenty years from now we may recognize that this young generation currently serving has the same qualities of greatness.

On the battlefield today are future CEO’s of corporations, university presidents, congressmen, state governors, Supreme Court justices and perhaps a future president of the United States.

Take the time to meet one of these young people. You won’t be disappointed.

Posted by robertgreen at 8:52 PM | Comments (0)

July 8, 2006

HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS

Dateline: Boston Marriott, Copley Place

John Gonsalves, President and Founder of Homes for Our Troops gave a very moving talk about his organization and what it is doing to our disabled veterans. Home for Our Troops was John's brainchild and is proving to be very successful. This organization is doing great things and is deserving of support.

What was truly impressive about John's presentation were the stories he told about the generosity of Americans. He related stories of anonymous donors giving thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of dollars. But he also had many stories of the average working American who shows up to donate time and services building houses. More proof that Americans are giving people.

Posted by robertgreen at 8:34 AM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2006

NATION-BUILDING OR TERRORIST-KILLING?

A Camp Divided by Greg Jaffe, WSJ Weekend Edition, 17 June 2006, Page A1.

A good story this weekend about two different types of Colonels in Iraq and the conflicts they have. On one side we have Col. Charles Payne, on the other side we have Col. James Pasquarette. Both are well-educated, both have the best interests of their troops, their country, and Iraq at heart, both have radically different ides on how to achieve their goals.

Col. Payne wants to shoot 'em up. He favors kicking butt and taking names and using Iraqi troops to help in the process. Col. Pasquarette favors a slower, more deliberate, kinder, friendlier way. Col. Pasquarette wants to build relationships and raport with the locals and win their hearts and minds with kindness. Col. Payne wants to win their hearts and minds too, but using different tactics.

As Tom Barnett mentions in his blog, this is a clash of Leviathan and Sysadmin forces. Sysadmn may rule the day but the Leviathan also has a role to play and will not simply disappear. I think the real solution lies in getting the two to work together.

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May 28, 2006

NICE SUNDAY, MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY PREPARATIONS

All in all, today was nice day. The church servoce was good, lunch was good, the nap was good, and a visit from a friend was good.

I put the final touches on the Memorial Day Ceremony for tomorrow, worked up some scripts to help with the music and sound system operation. The Boy Scouts are going to help us and I want to make sure they understand how everything should work. Yesterday morning I picked up the wreath, the committee co-chair picked up the sound system so graciously loaned to us by Backstage Music, and I got the programs folded (thanks to the folder at the church office).

Tomorrow my parents will be here for the service, mainly to hear Kathryn sing, and then hang around for a cookout afterwards. We invited some friends to come over as well. I even go some Navy work done today, with a little more to finish tomorrow.

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May 27, 2006

MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE FLYOVER

Things are looking up. The Memorial Day Service is coming together. I found out this morning that a committee memebr and one of his friends will do a flyover for us as we play taps and rasie the flag. He will be flying a Stearman and his friend will fly a T6. We've been working o nthe ceremony for a few weeks and things are really coming together. It is a nice feeling when things work!

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March 15, 2006

IT'S NOT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS IN IRAQ

Dateline: Home Study

I'm enjoying a little of Spring Break this week, and putting off some course work I really need to do, but I also felt a need to catch up on some reading. A couple of articles seem to indicate that things in Iraq are not as bad as the media makes them out to be. No surprise, based on the other sources of information I have.

Iraq Withdrawal: A Tragedy in Slow Motion by Colonel Norvell B. De Atkine, USA (Ret), US Naval Institute Proceedings, March 2006, V131 N3 P12.

Basic argument is that withdrawing from Iraq at this time is not an option. The US is needed to stabilize not only Iraq, but also the Middle East. He also discusses the possibility of dividing Iraq into separate countries and says that is not an option. Out right civil war is unlikely, but insurgencies will continues. Arguments about legitimate government need to first define legitimate. On of the major points he makes, and I have to agree with, is that the US does not understand the Middle Eastern way of war.

I find it hard to believe that people are even thinking of dividing Iraq into three countries. Did we not learn anything from the likes of Yugoslavia? Part of the problem now is, in my opinion, the way the Middle East was carved up long ago, further divisions would likely only create greater feelings of divisiveness.

The Paradox of International Action, Francis Fukuyama, The American Interest, V1 N3 P7.

One point: The United Nations is a distraction to both the left and the right. The UN is not capable of enforcing any of its resolutions and its legitimacy is even questionable at times. Fukuyama seems to be saying that coalitions of the willing may well be the wave of the future in conjunction with other, perhaps more complex international organizations. He points out that we have many international standards which were developed without the UN.

I am also pretty impressed with The American Interest, even though it is only in its third issue. The articles are well-written, enjoyable, and informative. Many of them are also thought provoking and seem to be less biased than many other journals. Of course “unbiased” really means I agree with their bias.

Security Council Waivers on Taking Tehran to Task, by Cara Anne Robbins and Guy Chazan. Wall Street Journal, 15 March 2006, Vol. CCXLVII No. 61 p. A6.

See Fukuyama above. The United Nations is incapable of doing anything with Iran so it is reluctant to try and do anything. Again, coalitions created off-line will most likely be root of solution to the difficulty. The US, because it has little to no trade with Iran, has little to exercise as far as economic sanctions. Because of the oil exported to Europe, it is not clear what the European countries will be willing to do. Again, the UN is ineffective in many matters of security.

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NO BOOK REVIEW YET

Dateline: Home Study

I was disappointed a little this morning. I emailed the National Defense University yesterday after reading the latest issue of Joint Forces Quarterly and offered to review a book they need reviewed. This morning I got email that something strange had happened and there had actually been two previous requests in the last few days to review the book and it has already been sent out. So, because I'd like to get a review published in the JFQ, I offered to review another. We'll see what happens.

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February 1, 2006

24 STAR LETTER

Dateline: Home

A cartoon in the 29 January 2006 Washington Post was a little on the insensitive side, so much so that all of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have written a letter to editor of the Post. The letter will be published tomorrow, supposedly, by the Post.

A copy of the letter is here, and a Navy Times story can be found here.

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December 31, 2005

MILITARY DEATH TOLL IN IRAQ

Dateline: Home Study

Up until today, listening to the news you would think there were a record number of soldiers killed in Iraq in 2005. After, we are losing the war, the Iraqis hate, people are dropping left and right…at least that is what the liberals want us to believe. The truth is much different, something you can find by reading the many blogs of soldiers who are in theater.

And what about that record death toll? Well, the Associated Press put the death toll of American Soldiers this year at 841, five LESS than last year. Wait a minute. I thought things were going worse than last year! Okay, those are still 841 Patriots we lost this year doing their duty, and the death of any one of this is a tragedy, but the death toll seems to be headed in the right direction (down), and opposite the direction the media has led us to believe.

Today’s Washington Post states that the DC Medical Examiner’s Officer is a wee bit backlogged on autopsies, some 1,037 are incomplete, including 84 homicides. Granted, some of those cases go back a decade, and not all autopsies are the result of homicides, but they did report 1,163 were performed last year. That’s a lot of deaths that need an autopsy and it helps put the Iraq death toll in perspective. Over eight hundred American deaths in a country at war compared to over 1,000 deaths in an American city not at war. The web reports that there were 248 murders and homicides in Washington DC in 2003.

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November 27, 2005

MAJGEN MATTIS ON READING MILITARY HISTORY

Dateline: Home Study

Abouit a year and a half ago, while doing my last in residence portion of the AJPME and the Joint Forces Staff College, I got email from one of my old COs. We had been talking in class about the amount of reading required (this was even more true in the Naval War College classes) and we all made the standard joke that "it's only a lot of reading if you do it". Then I got this email which is ginving General Mattis' take on reading military history. I think the message applies to any reading done to better yourself and have forwarded the message on to others. I always seem to have a hard finging it though, so I am posting it here for easy reference.

Subject: MajGen Mattis on Reading Military History

ALCON,

As someone who has worked with MajGen Mattis in OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, I can personally testify to his keen abilities that he credits to his extensive reading and study of military history over the course of a long career. Please read and ponder the below: the first E-mail is from a Colonel at National Defense University who hears the usual "it's only a lot of reading if you do it" type comments...and the second is MajGen Mattis' extremely pointed and eloquent response. Would love to see this reprinted somewhere....

Sir,

I was having a discussion with one of my seminars this week regarding value of professional reading in response to COS of USAF providing all USAF TLS students books from the AF pro reading list. The response from some of my uniformed service students genuinely astounded me--"too busy to read", "NATOPS is all I need to know", "if it is anything more than TTP, I don't have time for it." I was curious if I could impose upon your time to share with me your thoughts on professional reading, and if possible, what books/reading material you had with you when deployed as TF-58 and to Iraq. General, as always, I'm appreciative of your time and energies, but I really don't want this teaching opportunity to pass by. I've also attached another gouge file that may be of use, if your G-2 doesn't already have.

Very respectfully and Semper Fidelis,

Bear

Colonel Barett Byrd, USMC
Professor of Military Strategy and Logistics
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
National Defense University

From: Mattis MajGen James N
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 9:22 PM
To: Byrd, Barett
cc: Kelly BGen John F
Subject: RE: Professional Reading

Bear:

The problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience (or by your men's experience), i.e. the hard way. By reading, you learn through others' experiences, generally a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men. Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before. It doesn't give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.

With TF 58, I had w/ me Slim's book, books about the Russian and British experiences in AFG, and a couple others. Going into Iraq, "The Siege" (about the Brits' defeat at Al Kut in WW I) was req'd reading for field grade officers. I also had Slim's book; reviewed T.E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom"; a good book about the life of Gertrude Bell (the Brit archaeologist who virtually founded the modern Iraq state in the aftermath of WW I and the fall of the Ottoman empire); and "From Beirut to Jerusalem". I also went deeply into Liddel Hart's book on Sherman, and Fuller's book on Alexander the Great got a lot of my attention (although I never imagined that my HQ would end up only 500 meters from where he lay in state in Babylon).

Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face NOTHING new under the sun. For all the "4th Generation of War" intellectuals running around today saying that the nature of war has fundamentally changed, the tactics are wholly new, etc, I must respectfully say... "Not really": Alex the Great would not be in the least bit perplexed by the enemy that we face right now in Iraq, and our leaders going into this fight do their troops a disservice by not studying (studying, vice just reading) the men who have gone before us.

We have been fighting on this planet for 5000 years and we should take advantage of their experience. "Winging it" and filling body bags as we sort out what works reminds us of the moral dictates and the cost of competence in our profession. As commanders and staff officers, we are coaches and sentries for our units: how can we coach anything if we don't know a hell of a lot more than just the TTPs? What happens when you're on a dynamic battlefield and things are changing faster than higher HQ can stay abreast? Do you not adapt because you cannot conceptualize faster than the enemy's adaptation? (Darwin has a pretty good theory about the outcome for those who cannot adapt to changing circumstance -- in the information age, things can change rather abruptly and at warp speed, especially the moral high ground which our regimented thinkers cede far too quickly in our recent fights.) And how can you be a sentinel and not have your unit caught flat-footed if you don't know what the warning signs are -- that your unit's preps are not sufficient for the specifics of a tasking that you have not anticipated?

Perhaps if you are in support functions waiting on the warfighters to spell out the specifics of what you are to do, you can avoid the consequences of not reading. Those who must adapt to overcoming an independent enemy's will are not allowed that luxury. This is not new to the USMC approach to warfighting -- Going into Kuwait 12 years ago, I read (and reread) Rommel's Papers (remember "Kampstaffel"?), Montgomery's book ("Eyes Officers"...), "Grant Takes Command" (need for commanders to get along, "commanders' relationships" being more important than "command relationships"), and some others. As a result, the enemy has paid when I had the opportunity to go against them, and I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn't waste their lives because I didn't have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields.

Hope this answers your question, Bear. I will cc my ADC in the event he can add to this. He is the only officer I know who has read more than I.

Semper Fi,

Mattis

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September 4, 2005

WHY DIDN'T THE MILITARY GET THERE SOONER?

Dateline: Home Study

I've been asked several times or heard comments several times, over the last day or two, asking why the military did not respond faster to the hurricane. The answer is really quite simple--Title X of the US Code. To make it plain and simple: this is the United States of America, not Iraq. We have civilians who control civil law, not military.

Compound the problem further by the New Orleans Police Department officers who resigned. They certainly have no honor, no courage, no commitment. If the Mayor and Governor have any leadership qualities, they will pass a law forbidding those cowards from ever holding a public job again.

The National Guard can essentially be deputized by their respective governors and can then enforce laws, but the active duty can not.

Why didn't they get there sooner to provide humanitarian relief? Again, you have to first ask and then it takes time. From what I've seen the Navy actually began executing a plan before the storm hit but it takes times. If you put troops close, they become casualties. If you put ships in the Gulf of Mexico, they sink.