Soldiers For The Truth (SFTT) Weekly Newsletter

When we assumed the Soldier, We did not lay aside the Citizen.
General George Washington, to the New York Legislature, 1775

In this week’s Issue of DefenseWatch: America Responds to Terrorist Attack

This Newsletter will also be available on the World Wide Web. Watch for the announcement of our new website URL and contact information in the near future.

EDITORIAL and ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Ed Offley
Editor, DefenseWatch
Email: defensewatch@aol.com

J. David Galland
Deputy Editor, DefenseWatch
Email: defensewatch02@hotmail.com

David H. Hackworth
Senior Military Columnist
Email: teagles@hackworth.com

Chris Humphrey
SFTT Webmaster
Email: chris@nanogadgets.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor’s Note: Announcing DefenseWatch, a New and Vital Platform for SFTT

Hack’s Target for the Week: “We Are All New Yorkers”

The Big Picture: America Responds to Terror

Article 01 - “Terrorism ... Time to Up the Ante,” by J. David Galland, Deputy Editor, DefenseWatch

Article 02 - Special Report: SFTT Members React to the Terror Attacks

Article 03 - Terrorists Breached a Sacred Line, by Mark Sauter

Article 04 - The Day We Rediscovered Our American Pride, by Paul Connors, DefenseWatch Air Force Editor

Article 05 - DoD Identifies 11 Employees Killed At Pentagon

Article 06 - Business as Usual for the California Army National Guard, by a National Guard NCO

Article 07 - The ‘Forgotten’ Military Service, by J.C. Carney

Medal of Honor:

Article 08 - Ross, Donald Kirby, Machinist, U.S. Navy

EDITOR’S NOTE: Announcing DefenseWatch, a New and Vital Platform for SFTT

By Ed Offley
Editor, DefenseWatch

The mission of Soldiers For The Truth is more important than ever.

Several weeks ago, my friend and long-time colleague, David Hackworth, approached me with the offer of reviving the SFFT newsletter and website after his reluctant decision to close down the operation sparked a massive response from members and supporters. As an avid SFTT reader, I too had been disappointed that logistical and financial setbacks had threatened the foundation’s continued operation, and I was relieved to learn that your encouragement and support had made the difference in reversing the shutdown.

I jumped at the opportunity to serve as editor of the revived newsletter, which we have renamed DefenseWatch, because I have always believed that the true voice of the U.S. military needs to be heard loud and clear - not just by senior commanders and the Defense Department secretariat - but by the nation’s political leaders and ordinary citizens as well. In my two decades of reporting on the military, I have come to realize that the gap in understanding, contact and communication between the military and the civilian society it protects constitutes a genuine, if indirect, threat to the national security.

If our congressional leaders become divorced from the armed services through lack of military experience or day-to-day contact, we cannot assume that their budget and oversight decisions will be sound, particularly in the contentious issue of defense transformation. If the senior editors and production managers at the nation’s newspapers and television networks are disinclined to learn about the military and its requirements, we cannot expect that the American people will receive a comprehensive, fair or balanced picture of the issues confronting the men and women in uniform.

And if our senior military commanders and noncommissioned officers themselves occasionally fail to effectively communicate with the men and women under them, or become distracted by external events to the detriment of a clear-cut picture of day-to-day reality in the field, it is a situation that demands correction.

Those are our fundamental mission tasks at the new DefenseWatch newsletter and our new website (to be unveiled in the next few days): To identify and communicate the real issues of the hour confronting the armed services and their personnel with vigor, honesty, firmness and civility; to inform the nation’s senior military and political leadership of those issues; to serve as an honest, independent forum for service personnel; and to bridge the gap between military people and their civilian counterparts.

But as you are well aware, there has been a sudden and drastic course change in this debate.

At the time I sat down to begin writing this editor’s note early on Tuesday, Sept. 11, the issues confronting the U.S. military seemed to be clear-cut. Consider the gamut of news events from one day alone, Monday, Sept. 10. These were the issues appearing in newspapers nationwide the following morning at the hour the terrorists struck:

* Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld was waging what informed observers called an uphill battle to win a defense budget increase totaling all of $18 billion for 2002, despite a growing consensus that the Defense Department may need over $50 billion more each year just to maintain the status quo of the force structure endorsed in the 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review.

* Rumsfeld also held a public event at the Pentagon on Monday announcing a program to trim the Pentagon staff. He described the effort to wring savings from the $300 billion-plus budget as the moral equivalent of war. “It could be said that it's a matter of life and death - every American's,” Rumsfeld said. “Today, we declare war on bureaucracy.”

* Meanwhile, Pentagon officials raised concerns to The Washington Times newspaper that Russian fighters have been harassing Navy EP-3 Aries II reconnaissance aircraft in a similar vein to the Chinese harassment last April preceding the 11-day standoff after a mid-air collision severely damaged the U.S. aircraft and destroyed the Chinese fighter near Hainan Island.

* And there were reports that NATO officials and Macedonia government leaders had had a nasty verbal confrontation over allegations that the Skopje government was aiding paramilitary fighters who have threatened NATO peacekeepers. According to The Christian Science Monitor, Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski at one point threatened to have NATO Secretary General George Robertson declared persona non grata and expelled from Macedonia.

* In Washington, D.C., it was business as usual as Democrats in the Senate continued their assault on the Bush administration’s defense programs. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-DE, told a National Press Club audience the administration was risking a new arms race and draining money from other domestic and military programs for a porous system that would never add to U.S. security. “[I]n truth, our real security needs are much more earthbound and far less costly than national missile defense,” Biden said.

* In California, Hawaii, Northern Virginia and Puerto Rico, meanwhile, environmentalists, local government officials and political activists continued unrelated skirmishes aimed at reducing the U.S. military presence in those areas.

Lassen County air pollution control officials in northern California have refused to exempt the Sierra Army Depot from federal clean air laws, effectively putting the depot's ordnance disposal operations out of business and jeopardizing the base’s last important function.

In Oahu, press reports said a federal district court will rule next month on a lawsuit filed by activists to block the Army from using a combined arms assault course in Makua Valley until the service completes an environmental impact statement.
Army supporters claim that this would take two to three years and cost the Army several million dollars. The Makua course is the Army's only training area capable of handling company-level, live-fire maneuver training exercises, but has been shut down for nearly three years because of the suit.

In northern Virginia, a coalition including members of Congress, the Sierra Club, the NAACP and the National Park Service denounced Pentagon plans to expand the Arlington National Cemetery's burial sites onto land near Arlington House and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

And in Puerto Rico, a proposed $3.5 million advertising campaign by the U.S. Navy to help win public approval of continued Navy bombing practice on Vieques came under sharp criticism by anti-Navy activists who want to shut down the Atlantic Fleet’s use of the island for combined arms training for the Navy and Marine Corps.

* Finally, even Republicans were warning that with the economy teetering close to a recession, there was scant political room for changing the proposed federal budget in 2002. Republican pollster Frank Luntz warned in one press report, “Social Security trumps everything else, except the economy. Candidates better have a darned good reason -- and it better be a dire reason -- for messing with the so-called trust fund.”

As I was reviewing those issues early Tuesday morning, a loud and sharp report thundered through the office in my home in Springfield, Va. It was the shock wave from the hijacked airliner that had just plunged through the western side of the Pentagon some 13 miles away.

Not one of those issues survived the act of war that the suspected Osama bin Laden terrorist network unleashed on all of us on Sept. 11, 2001.

The U.S. military is preparing for extended combat; Congress has authorized military action and is poised to grant the Pentagon a minimum of $40 billion for force protection and contingency funds for future counter-terror operations; Russia has pledged full support (if not military partnership) in hunting down the terrorists; Democrats and Republicans have ceased their sniping in an historical demonstration of political unity in the wake of the deadly hijackings; the other issues - seemingly so contentious and intractable a week ago - have vanished from the news cycle. And the nation, as unified as it was the day after Pearl Harbor, is girding for war.

We have a lot of work to do.

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Hack’s Target For The Week: “We Are All New Yorkers”

By David H. Hackworth

For too many years I've been a voice in the wilderness trying to warn the American people and the military-industrial-congressional complex that we've entered a new era of war. Even after World Trade Center I, the embassy attacks and the savaging of the USS Cole, most people didn't want to know the truth. Nor, tragically, did our leaders in government -- probably because it's hard to think out of the box, especially when there's all that pork out there for the easy picking.

Five years ago, my wife decided to take me seriously. We were walking in Central Park when a car backfired. Several seconds after I'd thrown her to the ground and rolled with her under a bush, she asked shakily, "What's going on?"

So I told her that New York was at the top of the terrorist hit list. As a student and survivor of many wars, I could see it all coming down as clearly as I saw and warned the top brass in 1966 that we'd lose in Vietnam unless we fought that war with the correct guerrilla tactics rather than refighting World War II.

My wife loves New York City more than anyone I know. But within the year, at her insistence, we'd left the vibrant Big Apple to live in Connecticut.

Today, of course, much as I wish my predictions had been off-target, nobody rolls their eyes any longer when I carry on about how terrorism has become this country's biggest threat. But we can't all move to Connecticut -- in fact, nowhere we go can ever be far enough from either the threat or the physical and emotional fallout. There's no longer any safe spot for Americans except what we mindfully make for ourselves.

We are all New Yorkers. We are all the target, all under a shared siege, all bonded in spirit and in blood. Each and every American was hit last week -- and now we must take the hard steps necessary to protect our democratic way of life from an enemy with absolutely no respect for life, even his own.

This means instituting a level of security we've never known and having the unwavering commitment to an unconditional frontless war against an enemy who strikes at unarmed civilians from the shadows with increasingly more unthinkable weapons.

Our very survival depends upon our no longer allowing the MICC to keep trying to fight today's battles with yesterday's war machine. We must instead quickly punch into the basics of counter-terrorism and common sense and stop fantasizing about the supposedly miraculous, all-protective Missile Defense Shield.

We must set aside our unilateralism and not-infrequent national arrogance and forge the alliances necessary to close down any terrorist sanctuaries and cut off all support. We must make clear that the friend of our terrorist foe is our enemy and will be treated accordingly: Any state harboring terrorists will get what Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany got after Pearl Harbor. And then we must move in a global effort of civilized nations to bring these monsters to justice -- either in the courtroom or by doing unto them as they've done unto us.

But in order to succeed, we need to act, not react. We must strike only when we are truly ready, only when we know where our enemies are and only at the times and places we select. And our weapons should not only be the sledgehammer we wielded in Serbia and Vietnam, but the pre-emptive scalpel the FBI used so effectively at the beginning of this millennium to prevent terrorist strikes in Times Square and Seattle.

We need to get smart as much as we need to get even -- to put in the time and the bucks to do whatever it takes to make our anti-terrorism defense shield permanently proactive. Just as our New York cousins set a daily example with their courage as they clean up and carry on, so must we all come together as a nation to let the world know loudly and clearly, "Never again."

Terrorists such as Osama bin Laden and sponsors of terrorism like Iraq's Saddam Hussein will soon learn that a fine line separates fear from rage and rage from revenge.

Http://www.hackworth.com is the address of David Hackworth's home page. Sign in for the free weekly Defending America column at his Web site. Send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831.

© 2001 David H. Hackworth

ARTICLE 1 - “Terrorism ... Time to Up the Ante”

By J. David Galland
Deputy Editor, DefenseWatch

Following the greatest carnage on American soil since the Civil War Battle of Antietam in 1862, our elected officials state that we are now at war with terrorism.

My question is: Where have they been for the past 20 years?

Why were our leaders not singing patriotic songs on the steps at the U. S. Capitol after the 1983 bombing of the Marine compound in Beirut, or the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, or the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa that killed hundreds of innocent civilians, or even the 2000 assault on the USS Cole in Aden that killed 17 of our own sailors?

Terrorism is nothing new. The difference this time is that Americans had never been badly assaulted on their own home ground before (saving the 1993 World Trade Center bombing which killed only six people). Now it is different!

If it's war, let us be perfectly clear about the nature of the foe. Let us not mistake a mortal enemy for a religious belief, or a way of life. The cowardly acts of the aircraft hijackers cannot hide in Islamic religious customs, for they are an abomination to Islam itself, and are the evil deeds of mortal men.

However, it is not only terrorism's forward deployed units -- Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, Hamas and The Islamic Jihad -- that we must confront. We must also pursue those religious leaders and mullahs who preach to impressionable young people that martyrdom and murder of innocent civilians provide them first-class tickets to heaven.

Where else is our enemy, as we fix our war machine for action? In the market and street scenes of Palestine, where the deaths of thousands of Americans were greeted with unrestrained, and in the city of Nablus, where they cheered and shouted, "Beloved bin Laden!"

The force behind the destruction of the World Trade Center and Pentagon did not just touch these shores. Nor is the conflagration confined to the Middle East. The day before the attack on America, death came to Christians in the streets of the Nigerian city of Jos, where in the past year, scores of the faithful have died in fighting over Nigerian attempts to impose Islamic law.

Then there are the reports from Indonesia, where the Laskar Jihad has been engaged in religious purification in the Moluccas islands. Unofficial reports estimate that as many as 5,800 Christians have been forced to convert to Islam.

Make no mistake, America will finally go after the terrorist infrastructure and its shadowy leaders. But it is imperative that our national leaders take genuinely proactive measures to counter the current terrorist threat.

It is my fervent hope that our elected officials will employ all of the weapons of our Special Operations Force counter-terror units, backed by the full might of the conventional force. Those units even now are receiving warning orders and going on alert as the chastened U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities race to apprehend any terrorists still at large and to confirm the identity of both the terror cells behind the attacks and any states that have supported them.

Instead of undercutting their efforts and hamstringing some of our best, who surely have the ability,

Our politicians have the equally grave responsibility to stand behind the U.S. military as it enters this strange and complex war. The operational requirement they send to the troops must read, "by any means," so we will rid the world of this menace.

And we must arm them with our support as citizens.

J. David Galland, Deputy Editor of DefenseWatch, is a career U.S. Army senior Non-Commissioned Officer currently serving in Germany who has served in combat in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama and the Balkans.

ARTICLE 2 - Special Report: SFTT Members React to the Terror Attacks

Editor’s Note: Hundreds of SFTT Members wrote in to provide their comments and observations on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist hijackings and the Bush administration’s ongoing effort to mount a worldwide military, political and economic war to eradicate such networks. The following messages are a cross-section of what our comrades are saying:

‘Just Don’t Send My Kid’

I am approaching 20 years of honorable service to my country. I have a wife and family. Should I be called to assist in protecting our nation's freedom, I will do so: I have sworn to it five times now. However, what concerns me is the fact that I am
now hearing people say they don't want their sons and/or daughters spilling their blood or "dying face down in the mud of Afghanistan" (as one father put it). We are a country of men and women who have sacrificed greatly. Hundreds of thousands of sons died in the mud in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania to give us freedom during our War for Independence. How many died in the trenches in France During World War I or in the Philippines and on the beaches of Omaha during World War II? How many froze to death in Korea or were blown to bits in Vietnam?
Have we grown so oblivious to what made our country a superpower that we have the gall to say "I'm ready for war - just don't send me or my kid?" I bet of those
hundreds of thousands of men who died protecting our freedom none were excited to serve. They just went, scared to death. They would have enjoyed living a long life and having grandchildren. But they knew there was something bigger than their personal wants or needs. The preservation of our way of life guarantees us certain freedoms but it also comes with a great responsibility: to defend to the death our freedoms given us by the Constitution. -- SFC David Schnaidt USA

The Soviet Afghanistan Nightmare

I'm not in the military, but I hope and pray that our leaders are studying everything they can get their hands on about the Soviet experience in Afghanistan. One of Hack's most vivid points, in About Face, was how nobody in the Pentagon ever bothered to read the French reports on Indochina. Also, I think that the media should be completely banned from covering any engagements. This is necessary to keep morale up and to prevent another media circus, like the one for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. -- Diane Anderson

‘Hit All Targets Simultaneously’

Although I am not an active-duty serviceman, I do believe this war will pattern after
Operation Desert Storm. This will be largely an air war to severely soften the targets
with not much concern for collateral damage. I think it will last possibly 3-5 months longer than the air war in 1991. I suspect it will have several fronts including Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Palestine. The only way to approach this is to carry them out simultaneously, and it will take the United States and NATO at least two to three weeks to position the forces and to attack all these targets. Americans may not have the patience to wait three weeks for this to happen and may demand action sooner but that would be unwise and leave us vulnerable in other areas. We simply must be prepared for an offensive on all fronts like none of us has ever seen and hope never to see again. - Former Staff Sgt., USAF

‘A Kinder, Gentler Army Doomed to Fail’

I am an Army active-duty NCO stationed at a military clinic in New Mexico. The general feeling of every active duty and retired person I know, is "Let's go and kick some butt." I too feel this way, and I am ready to put my life on the line to defend the American way of life. However, I know these young troops just joining the Army do not have the discipline that it takes to be an effective fighting unit. One example: On Sept. 11, as we watched with horror the events unfolding in New York and Arlington, Va., I had placed a private 2nd class guard duty at the door (as required by SOP for the ThreatCon). This private was not at the door 10 minutes before she left
her post to ask me if she could leave the clinic and go home (she had been off for the day but recalled for accountability.) Needless to say, I went off! I had her in the front lean and rest, then commenced with a very loud and expressive ass-chewing! I am normally a very quiet person, however on this day my voice was heard throughout our work spaces. When my colonel inquired as to what had happened, I explained things to him and he just nodded, acknowledging that I had everything under control. But a short while later I was approached by my commander, a former E-7 who had become an officer. He also agreed with my actions, but informed me that our head nurse, a major, had thought I was to tough on the young private, and that I should have been more sympathetic to her. To me, that was unconceivable to even think of disobeying an NCO, especially during a time of crisis. This is a perfect example of our "kinder, gentler, Army." I believe that with the political correctness that permeates the Army, these children in uniform do not have what it takes to live in combat. The leaders above us have set us up for failure. - A Sergeant, USA

‘Collateral Damage’ Is Inevitable

I am a retired naval aviator and believe that one of the main problems facing us is whether the United States truly has the will to do what has to be done to go after the terrorists. In the past, groups like this have protected their assets by placing them either in or in close proximity to schools, hospitals or other 'socially' undesirable targets that would cause an outburst of international condemnation if damaged. We have to have the resolve to go after the perpetrators regardless of the collateral damage. We can insure the most accuracy humanly possible but if it is indeed war, then it is war with all of the ugliness that war entails. It is time that organized terrorism is stopped and I hope that the world is ready to see it put to bed! -- Michael J. Pianka

‘Unleash the U.S. Military’

No matter how bad things may be for the U.S. military today, there is one thing that soldiers hold in common: Give us the mission and we will make it happen. Our noses are bloodied right now and we are ready to fight back with a fire in our eyes as bright as that of the "Greatest Generation." I ask the same question of the American people: Are you ready to unleash the American Man at Arms to do what our leaders ask us to do? - A Master Sergeant, USA

Brace For More Terrorism

As a vetaran of World War II and Korea, I fear the terror attacks on Sept. 11 were just the first wave. The terrorists were smart, using our hardware (airliners) and their guidance systems (pilots). The next wave will likely involve their hardware - chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons. It’s a pity that it took something like this to renew respect for the American flag. - Robert F. Renfro

Exhaust Diplomacy Before Striking

As a veteran of more than 30 years in the Air Force Security Police/Forces, including a decade in various duties directly related to the anti-terrorism/counter-terrorism
business, I believe caution is necessary as we step out on that mission to destroy the terrorist network that struck New York and the Pentagon. If the mastermind is indeed Osama bin Laden, we should pursue him with vigor, but we must exhaust every diplomatic effort before we start using explosives. Helpless and innocent Arabs
who are in proximity to our target do not qualify as enemy and to accept large collateral losses of life, particularly in the absence of a specific target, would be to commit acts similar to those committed by those whom we now count as the enemy. We cannot strike just for the sake of striking and to appear to be doing something. We must have a certain target, a clear purpose, the backing and perhaps assistance of all our important allies - Arab nations included - and we must be prepared for a war that will be both protracted and dangerous. - Col. Larry Mayes USAF (Ret.)

Hot Lead and the Armored Cav

My men are ready. Our equipment is good. All we ask is that the powers that be find these assholes and positively identify them. Don't waste our time, just put us on
target and we will punish these cowards with vengence and hot lead. - A Platoon Commander, 3ACR

More Urban Training Is Needed

I believe that at the brigade and lower levels of the chain of command, our leaders are very capable and motivated. But I do not believe our training has adequately prepared us to fight terrorists. Our training revolves around 1980s doctrine, which
emphasis is on the heavy fight (M1 tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles). Our MOUT (military operations in urban terrain) training is in a sorry state. At the beginning of the year, as a platoon leader, I put together a plan to train my mechanized infantry platoon in MOUT operations. My company commander loved it, but my plan was shot down because it was not part of our mission. I believe most of our future battles will be in cities, and we will need all the MOUT training we can get. On the plus side, our soldiers are motivated, dedicated, and flexible. We will all adapt and continue the mission. - A 1st Lieutenant, USA

Declaring War Is Important

There is only one important issue I would like to mention: the relationship between
the people, the Army, the Congress and the president. Never in our nation's history have we lost a war that we formally declared. Never have we clearly won a war that we did not. - A Concerned Citizen

‘Boots on the Ground’

The 1998 Tomahawk strikes against Osama bin Laden were a total waste of money, let alone missiles. We need to put boots on the ground to ever clean out those
suckers root and branch from their sanctuary. Anything worth using the military for should be worth any necessary casualties involved. The Clintonian paralysis caused by a fear of any casualties at all rendered the entire might of America impotent. This was unacceptable, and it must stop. -- Vincent Zahnle

The Situation Could Get Far Worse

We must recognize that the terrorist situation could be far worse as time goes by.
Thousands of Russian missiles with multiple thermonuclear warheads are guarded
by soldiers who seldom get paid. We can reasonably fear that one or more of
those warheads could be smuggled into this country and exploded, a disaster
which would dwarf Sept. 11, 2001. Now, we must settle down to fight this
war which has been forced upon us, recognizing that it will be long, difficult and costly. Our war objective should be to make international terrorism and its toleration unacceptable to civilized nations and to expand the number of nations which wish to be considered so civilized. We begin by making it clear that this is war, probably a very long war. We will use the means of war whenever we deem it desirable against any and all persons and nations who engage in terrorism and who support it. -- Robert E. Burt, World War II and Korea veteran.

Consider the Nuclear Option

There has never been a situation that called for a nuclear response as the Sept. 11 terrorist attack does. This is the worst sneak attack on any country with this many lives lost in modern history. Since Afghanistan is a country of rubble already, iron bombs will not have much effect. We need to strike back with such a tremendous force that no one will ever think of attempting a strike on us like that ever again. The world needs to know the United States will not accept this any longer. If we have a neutron bomb now is the time to use it. - A Former B-52 Pilot

Afghanistan Fighting Will Be Hard

Sure, one can go in and blast the main cities to bits, but after that you have a guerrilla war, and with the terrain in that country, we are guaranteed to lose because our armed forces have no clue how to fight a guerrilla war. Additionally our government would need to have the guts to give orders to kill anyone (women, children included) who supported the enemy. This war needs to be recognized as total, and I don't see our leadership having the moral certainty to ensure that our forces have no qualms about wiping out the enemy. - Jack Lovell

7ID Soldiers Are Ready

I am a Company Commander, in an enhanced light infantry brigade. One of the three Guard Brigades that comprise the 7th ID. I can tell you that the general attitude among our soldiers is one of eagerness to come to grips with those who have attacked us and frustration at our uncertainty as to whom, exactly, those people might be. I cannot speak for other battalions, but I know that ours is ready to meet our mobilization timelines and our mission. In a training environment we can, and have, demonstrated our ability to conduct sustained tactical infantry operations at the battalion level. We may need some polishing in post-mobilization training but we really are prepared and capable. We are ready for any mission. -- Capt. Gregory T. Day, USA Infantry

Searching For a Way To Help

I am a proud Non-Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army. On Sept. 11, I watched the events unfold in disbelief. It was so unreal, like a Tom Clancy book or a Steven Spielberg movie. Right now in Columbus, Ga., the recruiting station is packed with people. They have more people coming into the offices who want to enlist. Others, who are prior service, are also motivated to return to active service. Even children, some as young as 15 and 16 years old, are offering their service to our nation. The responses to the attacks are amazing. There is not a flag to be purchased anywhere in this town. - Sgt. Guinevere Pedigo, USA

Stress Force Protection in Training

Some quick observations from the last couple of days: Having been placed in charge of soldiers and NCOs from various administrative and tactical units I can say the difference shows. Force protection training has not instilled the sense of urgency and perfection necessary into the soldiers who must carry it out. NCOs are having to be reminded of the basics. Leadership has been lax about Force protection, and it shows. No SOPs (standard operating procedures) were in place. Good news! We are taking advantage of this time to get it right. I recommend that the administrative mission be on "mark-time" occasionally, so that force protection training can be conducted properly, as any other wartime unit requirement and missions are exercised. -- A. Lutes

A Veteran Would Like to Return

Long story made short: I would be honored to go back into the infantry and fight for this wonderful country, and I know that many of my buddies feel the same. I don't know if this is the nice way to feel, or politically correct, or whatever, but I want to make them (whoever they are) suffer and lose even more than we have. Maybe we can teach the world that it's just not smart to bully the United States, if we execute this action rapidly and with precision. -- Jerry Thomas, USA Infantry veteran

Halt All Immigration For Now

We need to have a moratorium on all immigration for a period of at least 12 months. During this time, the resources and personnel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service should be devoted to verify the legal status of previously admitted aliens, and to expeditiously deport those in any violation of immigration laws. A restructuring of current immigration policy is needed to limit student visas for a period of specific years, then a mandatory return to the student's country of origin for a period not less than five years. Federal law on terrorism should be changed to make this a capital crime. Also, speedys trial and prompt executions will help. - Col. Brice H. Barnes, USA (Ret.)

Careful Operational Preparation Is Essential

I am currently an Army doctor doing residency training on Individual Ready Reserve, in Dallas. While I can only speak for myself, this mission [against the terrorist networks] needs to be done. From my many colleagues in combat arms, I have heard a great deal of things that give me pause. While inflicting cataclysmic damage on our enemies is our primary mission objective, I have concerns that we could blunder into another Task Force Ranger (Somalia) or Operation Market-Garden (World War II). This should be an operation for which we should carefully train and prepare, as opposed to launching a half-assed operation without preparation or intelligence. - A U.S. Army Medical Corps officer

Defends Younger Generation

I personally feel that there has been a bit of Army bashing going on within the service lately. A lot of soldiers have said that they feel the new younger generation will not be up to the task. Well friends - j ust watch what happens next! Defending freedom is my life, and will gladly lay it down to further the cause of freedom. - A U.S. Army Sergeant

Do Not Throw Away Our Troops

I am not a military person, but my family is (my grandfather in World War I, my father in World War II, my husband in Vietnam). I am greatly concerned that we do not throw our men away recklessly. This is a different kind of war, with a different terrain. I truly hope the U.S. government will do everything else first - identify and freeze assets, starve the creeps out, blockade their ports, etc. before seeking a military solution, which to me should be the last resort. -- A. Guinosso

ARTICLE 3 - The Terrorists Breached a Sacred Line

By Mark Sauter

NEW YORK - Just for a moment, it sounded as if the sky were being ripped open.

I jerked my gaze upward, trying to determine what could possibly be roaring directly over my head at low altitude in the middle of New York City. By then it had already hit. I turned to see the World Trade Center’s south tower erupt, an intense orange fireball blossoming against a gorgeous blue sky. Debris started to arch down from the heights above, falling lazily through the crisp morning air.

People began to run for their lives around me.

Just minutes earlier, spotting the fire caused by the first crash, it had seemed at least possible I was encountering a disaster, some kind of terrible accident. With the second strike came absolute confirmation that I had actually stepped out of my apartment and into a war.

Old instincts resurfaced. Take cover. SITREP: surreal - kamikaze jetliners are striking my neighborhood. Last impact maybe a half-klick away. Key questions: Are more incoming? What’s the kill-zone of a passenger airplane? What if there’s uranium or some other poisonous agent in the cargo hold? Plan: provide assistance as needed and then get out, avoiding the descending plume of oily black smoke. Make my way uptown to check on my coworkers, then let my family know I’m okay.

So that’s what I did. With no wounded in my vicinity - and emergency services personnel having already surrounded the World Trade Center after the first impact - I started to head north.

Looking down, I noticed what I had been carrying the whole time, a copy of the book Attacks, German Gen. Erwin Rommel’s account of his combat operations during World War I. It was meant for my cousin, a superb young Army officer serving at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Cal. I ended up stashing the book in a safe place along the way. I plan to retrieve it soon and send it off, because he could use its lessons now more than ever.

The walk to my company was a long and grim one. And once there, I was reminded of a day almost 20 years ago. The basic training DI gathered us together to declare that our duty was not just to fight and win America’s wars, but that it was to fight and win them in other people’s countries, because if innocent civilians had to suffer, they should not be our innocent civilians. “If somebody’s grandmother has to die along the way, it should be the other guy’s, not yours,” the sergeant declared.

To a young soldier, it seemed a brutal but undeniable summation of perhaps our military’s most essential mission. This was the line of defense that had to be held at any cost. This was the sacred line that protected our families, our friends, our neighbors: Defending our homeland.

It is that line that the terrorist penetrated on Sept. 11, 2001 - a line the American people can no longer take for granted.

As I sat talking with one of my co-workers later that terrible day, a distant buzz became perceptible outside, the source hidden for the moment by the surrounding skyscrapers. The buzz grew into noise, which shaped itself into the sound of an approaching jet aircraft. My co-worker’s eyes widened with concern, no doubt reflecting my own expression. The noise grew yet louder, this time to my relief as I recognized the source.

“Don’t worry. It’s one of ours. A fighter,” I said, sitting at my desk in the middle of New York City, watching the sky.

Sauter, the chief operating officer of an e-learning company in New York, served as a U.S. Army infantry officer with the 2nd ID and as an A-Team Leader in the 5th SFG during the 1980s.

ARTICLE 4 - The Day We Rediscovered Our American Pride

By Paul Connors, Sr.
DefenseWatch Air Force Editor

Once upon a time there was a United States of America where the social divisions were not so pronounced, a place where people didn't identify with ethnic groups when asked their nationality. When asked, they answered proudly, "I am an American!"

Then came Vietnam and the protests and distrust of the federal government and anyone over the age of 30. In 1975, Saigon had fallen and the people of the United States, still hurting and still very distrustful, pulled in their collective oars and hoped that the rest of the world would just go away and leave them alone. But that didn't happen because world events wouldn't let go of us. Despite that, under the Carter administration we allowed our military forces to deteriorate. An entire generation of Americans avoided military service like the plague and only the poor, the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised signed up. Then came our year-long nightmare in Iran.

In 1981, a new sheriff arrived in town, vowing to clean the place up. In addition to wearing a big badge on his chest, Ronald Reagan was also a great cheerleader. He told the American people that it was okay to be an American, that we had nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to apologize for. He reminded us that throughout our history as a nation and as a free people, we had never sought to conquer, but only to liberate. Never to possess or colonize, we acted only to free and pass on to others the benefits of the free society our founders created back home. On his watch, the United States revitalized its military, the Berlin Wall crumbled, the Soviet Union imploded and the world became a safer place.

It was a great time to be an American. It was a great time to be a member of the finest military in the world. This sheriff gave us back our pride and sense of place and purpose. Then he was gone and things seemed to change.

Replaced by his chief deputy, George Bush, the United States selflessly stepped into the breach again and again to prevent despots from over-running their neighbors. The United States intervened in Panama, then led an international coalition to liberate Kuwait. We went to Africa, in places like Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire and Somalia, not to conquer or occupy, but to feed, clothe and protect. But in November 1992, the American people forgot who had protected them and sought change.

In January 1992 another new sheriff came to town. Inexperienced in the world arena, Bill Clinton only sought to be liked and hoped the world would accept that at face value. The new sheriff and Congress decided the military was not a real priority. They slashed its budget and demanded that it engage in vast social experiments such as gender-normed basic training, and the services became more "sensitive" and less aggressive. In short, this sheriff forgot what the purpose of the military is. Even the Republican defenders of a strong national defense - who also wanted to slash the bills - went along. The services down-sized after Operation Desert Storm and some of our most ardent and dedicated defenders took off their uniforms. Soon, the military did begin to mirror the rest of America: We had gays and unwed mothers, an inordinate fear of casualties, and dumbed-down training. The money dwindled away, the buildings began to fall down and airplanes stopped flying for want of spare parts.

The American people didn't care. After all, the nation was in its longest peacetime economic expansion since World War II. The Yuppies got richer, the IPOs became more frequent and lucrative and an entire generation came of age ignorant of the meaning of the word, service. It appeared that America was defended by a warrior class of mercenaries who had become increasingly detached and aloof from the mainstream they were hired to protect

Americans really believed the world was theirs for the taking. Somewhere along the way, they forgot it could be a dangerous place. The military, more than ever, became a social engineering experiment. In the process, it also became a shadow of what it once was under Sheriff Reagan.

One day last week that changed drastically. Sept. 11 was a beautiful day, a day that almost all Americans will remember for the rest of their lives. That balmy Tuesday in New York and Arlington, Va., was the day that terrorists decided to unleash their full fury on America and the world. We were truly caught napping and once again thousands of people would have to die as a consequence of our lack of readiness.

Today we know just how unprepared we really were. A venal and ruthless enemy finally brought war to our very doorstep. As the civilian casualties continued to add up and the experts calculated the economic damage in the billions, the American people suddenly again rediscovered pride of nationality.

The sad thing is that millions now want a final resolution to a problem that has existed for a long, long time. Terrorism didn't spring up from the ground on that fateful September day last week. It merely found its way to America's financial and political capitals. And thousands died.

Hopefully, this will be the absolutely last time Americans will have to die because their government did not adequately safeguard the nation and its interests. Let us all pray that the current sheriff has the same sense of purpose as the one who preceded him 20 years ago and who knew even then, that we were the last, best hope for the world.

ARTICLE 5 - DoD Identifies 11 Killed At Pentagon

The Department of Defense confirmed on Sept. 17 that the following people were killed during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001:

Army:

Ms. Ada L. Mason, Department of the Army civilian, 50, Springfield, Va.
Ms. Diana B. Padro, Department of the Army civilian, 55, Woodbridge, Va.
Mr. Scott Powell, Department of the Army contractor, BTG Inc.
Mr. Edward V. Rowenhorst, Army Department civilian, 32, Fredericksburg, Va.

Navy:

Capt. Gerald Francis Deconto, 44, Sandwich, Mass.
Cmdr. Patrick Dunn, 39, Fords, N.J.
Aerographer's Mate Second Class Matthew Michael Flocco, 21, Newark, Del.
Lt. Jonas Martin Panik, 26, Mingoville, Pa.
Lt. Cmdr. Otis Vincent Tolbert, 38, Lemoore, Calif.

124 persons were unaccounted for in the wake of the attack. To date, 97 remains have been recovered and transported to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for identification. Eleven have been identified. Search and rescue operations continue. A 125th person died in the hospital on Sept. 18.

Two DoD civilians initially thought to have perished in the Pentagon strike have now been confirmed as having died on two of the hijacked airliners.

Herbert W. Homer, a civilian employee of the Defense Contract Management Agency, was initially reported as unaccounted for at the Pentagon, but had been included in
the passenger list of United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York.

Civilian employee Bryan C. Jack was removed from the DoD list on Sept. 14; he was on the passenger list of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon.

Source: Department of Defense

ARTICLE 6 - Business as Usual for the California Army National Guard

By a National Guard NCO

Do you think it wise -- in the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon suicide attacks on Sept. 11 - to have military policemen of the California Army National Guard operating under the following FRAGO (fragmentation order) as they pulled security details around various sites throughout the state? Note the parts I’ve put in italics.

UNCLASSIFIED

FRAGMENTARY ORDER: SEVEN

References: 49th MP Battalion OPORDER 01-04

Time Zone Used Throughout Order: Uniform

1. SITUATION: THREATCON CHARLIE: NO CHANGE

2. MISSION: NO CHANGE

3. EXECUTION: Intent: The Battalion Commander's intent is to continue
security support to designated installation commanders. No unit will
cancel training to meet this mission unless approved by the Battalion
Commander. No soldier will be forced to complete this mission (italics added).

a. Concept of the Operation. The installation security mission is no
longer a 95B MOS specific mission. This has evolved into a Basic Soldier
Skill mission. All soldiers of the 49th MP Battalion will perform basic
guard duties at all installations. All soldiers will adhere to the Arming
Order (Arming Order One) stated in this FRAGO.

b. Tasks to Subordinate Units:NO CHANGE

c. Coordinating Instructions:

1) ARMING ORDERS:

a) The M-16 (A1,A2) Rifle WITH LOCKING PLATE will be the ONLY WEAPON used
by soldiers.

b) All magazines with live ammunition WILL BE STORED IN AMMO POUCHES, NOT
IN THE WEAPON (italics added).

c) All M-9 9mm pistols WILL BE STORED IN THE ARMS ROOM UNTIL FURTHER
NOTICE (italics added). All MP Brassards will be removed as a direct correlation to the storage of the 9mm Pistol.

d) Each commander or OIC with soldiers performing this mission must
contact the Battalion Commander for further details.

4. SERVICE and SUPPORT: NO CHANGE

5. COMMAND and SIGNAL: The Battalion Commander's phone number is
(###)###-####.

ACKNOWLEDGE:

#############

LTC, S3

I've deleted my BC and BN S-3's name. I have many former 11B's in my unit. Many, including myself, have served active prior to joining the National Guard. Why are my soldier and NCO's well-being put at stake? The only answer I seem to get is "safety."

My opinion: It's bullshit CYA! I can't believe the Army has trained me for 15 years to become Sheriff Taylor while soldiers in my unit have to play Barny Fife.

ARTICLE 07 - The ‘Forgotten’ Military Service

By J.C. Carney

The U.S. Coast Guard celebrated its 111th anniversary on Aug. 4, but to most Americans, the event - like the service itself - passed largely unnoticed.

And that’s a real shame.

The Coast Guard, operating under various titles and duties, has been going strong
since its inception in 1790. This service, which started out as the U.S. Revenue Service chasing contraband smugglers, has come full-circle more than a century later, as it is again today involved in hunting down drug smugglers.

While much also is known of the Coast Guard’s role in daring sea rescues, it is the service’s distinguished role in the nation’s wars that has been forgotten.

For example, in late 1940 Coast Guard cutters stationed along the East Coast were ordered into the North Atlantic to escort merchant convoys to Great Britain and to establish the Greenland Patrol to deter Nazi Germany from occupying then-neutral Greenland. Several of these ships never returned, including the cutter USCG Escanaba (WPG-77) that sank in June 1943 with only two survivors from her 103-man crew.

An even more distinguished role was played by the cutter USCGC Taney (WPG-37), which served with distinction in three wars over a 51-year period.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, only a handful of ships managed to get underway and fight their way out to sea. One of them was the 327-foot cutter Taney, which had been in service in the Hawaii area since the summer of 1937 and was moored at the downtown Honolulu harbor. In December 1941, her primary duty was to assist four Navy destroyers guarding the entrance to Pearl Harbor against intruders.

The Taney served throughout World War II, seeing combat both in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters, and was converted to an amphibious command ship in early 1945 and participated in the invasion of Okinawa where her gunners shot down four Japanese kamikaze planes. She participated in the postwar occupation of Japan, later served in the Pacific during the Korean War, and reclassified from gunboat to high-endurance cutter, deployed to Vietnam in 1969.

Decommissioned in 1986, the Taney now sits in Baltimore harbor as a floating museum.

I have a theory as to why the Coast Guard gets so little recognition for military service: In peacetime the service comes under the authority of the Department of
Transportation (DoT), but in war it is transferred to the Department of Defense (DoD) where it takes orders from the Navy. This stepchild status almost guarantees that its contributions will be overshadowed by the larger, permanent military services.

In the wars of the 20th century, Coast Guardsmen fought and died for their country. In World War II, 241,093 Guardsmen served and 574 fell in battle. While the Coast Guard escaped any combat fatalities in Korea, units served as forward artillery observers and aided in rescuing downed pilots. More than 8,000 Guardsmen served in Vietnam, with seven killed and another 60 wounded in action. More than 400 Guardsmen deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1990, serving in harbor security and force protection missions, again without casualties.

Those figures alone are the answer to the question, “Is the Coast Guard a combatant service?”

But the fact that this question repeatedly resurfaces is evidence that neither the Coast Guard nor its parent departments (DoT and DoD) have adequately communicated the service’s wartime military contributions.

I raised that issue to a senior Coast Guard public affairs officer recently. Capt. Jeffrey Karonis admitted that the issue of “parity” in historical recognition was real (the four larger services dominating news coverage), but added that progress was being made. He cited a speech by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen in Boston last year that cited the Coast Guard as the nation’s fifth armed service.

"Yet the [public] awareness curve isn't where it should be yet," Karonis admitted.

The captain had a thick file of recent news articles and TV programs citing recent Coast Guard operations, including a cover story in Parade magazine in July, and recent TV profiles of Coast Guard search-and-rescue and anti-drug patrols.

Yes, we are getting recognized for these important roles. But there remains a need to honor the Coast Guardsmen who fought and died in the defense of our nation, and the least we can do is ensure that their contributions and sacrifices are not forgotten.

J.C. Carney served in the U.S. Coast Guard during 1963-67.

Editor’s Note: Coast Guard reservists are among those being mobilized for active duty in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

ARTICLE 08 - Medal of Honor Recipient - Machinist Donald Kirby Ross

ROSS, DONALD KIRBY

Rank and organization: Machinist, U.S. Navy, USS Nevada (BB-36). Place and date: Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Entered service at: Denver, Colo. Born: 8 December 1910, Beverly, Kans.

Citation: For distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage and disregard of his own life during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. When his station in the forward dynamo room of the USS Nevada became almost untenable due to smoke, steam, and heat, Machinist Ross forced his men to leave that station and performed all the duties himself until blinded and unconscious. Upon being rescued and resuscitated, he returned and secured the forward dynamo room and proceeded to the after dynamo room where he was later again rendered unconscious by exhaustion. Again recovering consciousness he returned to his station where he remained until directed to abandon it.

After Pearl Harbor, Ross received an officer’s commission and went on to serve as the Nevada's chief engineer for the duration of the war. In that role, he took part in several major actions, including the allied D-Day invasion of Normandy. He retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain after 27 years' service, settling in on a small farm in Kitsap County, Wash., with his wife, Helen.

Ross became well-known for educating children in the area about the importance of a strong, well-prepared U.S. military and for leading the singing of the national anthem at local military ceremonies. In 1991, Ross introduced President George H.W. Bush at the 50th anniversary observance at Pearl Harbor of the Japanese attack.

After Ross' death on May 27, 1992, his ashes were strewn upon the Pacific Ocean by crewmen from the Trident missile submarine USS Nevada (SSBN-733), the namesake of his ship at Pearl Harbor. The Navy subsequently announced that it would name a new Arleigh-class guided missile destroyer the USS Ross (DDG-71), which was subsequently commissioned in 1997.

Editor’s Note: If you know of any MOH recipient who is hospitalized or has passed away recently, please email MOH Correspondent James H. Also, if you would like more info on MOH recipients and their stories, please email James H at bulldogleader@mindspring.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Article Submission Procedures/Subject Editors Sought

1. Try to keep articles to 750 words or less. SUBMIT IN WORD FORMAT, if
possible!

2. Submit your piece to one of the following editors:

Ed Offley, Editor
defensewatch@aol.com

J. David Galland, Deputy Editor
defensewatch02@hotmail.com

DefenseWatch is looking for volunteer subject editors willing to assist in screening and editing article submissions. We are looking for experts in the following areas: U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, Special Operations forces/counter-terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (NBC), Reserve and National Guard affairs, and veterans affairs. If interested in joining the DefenseWatch team, please contact Ed Offley at defensewatch@aol.com.

GLOSSARY OF MILITARY ACRONYMS:

We've had numerous requests from troops in different branches of the
military to establish this link so that we will all know how "all you
others" talk that talk. Please see below:

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/acronym_index.html

HACK BOOK SALES

Hack's books, About Face, Hazardous Duty, The Price of Honor and The
Vietnam Primer can be found at www.hackworth.com. They make a great addition
to any library. Hack is offering them at a special SFTT price.

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