David H. Hackworth

Last week, as the focus of our nation turned from disaster recovery toward military action and continued intelligence and law enforcement probes of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the issue of internal security moved to center stage with the Bush administration’s appointment of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to head up a new White House Office of Homeland Defense. We asked you for your thoughts, observations, recommendations and concerns and have been literally overwhelmed by hundreds of responses by concerned DefenseWatch members, which continue to pour in even as we prepared to publish this edition.

We share a cross-section of those responses today and plan to release another batch next week. If there is a common thread in your responses, it is the clear and articulate message that Americans are not content with observing the actions of their federal government and military to respond to terror - there is a heartfelt desire to become personally and directly involved in the campaign itself. And a second theme that resonates through your messages is equally heartfelt: Despite the immediate dangers and unknowns, a great many of you are sensibly concerned that the nation protect the Constitution and our inherent rights as citizens even as we go to war against an evil enemy who is likely still embedded in our own society.

Hack’s column this week merits a close reading, as he bluntly warns Health and Human Services Director Tommy Thompson (and the rest of the Bush administration) that candor and not double-speak must govern the dissemination of vital information for the safety and security of Americans.

In other news, DefenseWatch welcomes Robert G. Williscroft to our ranks as Navy Editor. Dr. Williscroft is a successful author and a pioneer in several disciplines. For twenty-three years he served with the U.S. Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a wide array of scientific and engineering activities. He has also worked in the publishing and securities industries. His article, “Challenges to Commando Infiltration,” assesses the detailed risks and opportunities for this type of unconventional warfare capability.

We also call your attention to an ongoing campaign by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the document-management firm, Kinko’s, to expand the Virtual Wall website of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to include photographs of all 58,226 servicemen and women whose names are on the famed memorial in Washington, D.C. Kinko’s outlets nationwide are providing free scanning and upload services for such photos between now and Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 2001.

We also welcome contributors David Horowitz and Lt. Col. Gary Conan USMC with their two thought-provoking essays.

Update: Hack reports that Richard Kidd, the former Infantry officer who recounted his experiences in Afghanistan in DefenseWatch last week (“Prepare for a War of Extreme Brutality”), so impressed the Defense Department leadership that he was invited to the Pentagon last week to personally brief senior DoD officials. Well done!

Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch.

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Table of Contents

Hack’s Target For The Week: Don’t Fool the People, Mr. Thompson

By David H. Hackworth

We're into a long war that will be fought on many fronts. And as military targets are taken out in Afghanistan, we must be soldier-alert on the home front. No question that there are many more sleeper agents undercover in our country, ready and raring to strike.

Last week, Floridian Robert Stevens died of pulmonary anthrax, the first such case in 25 years. Only a few days before his death, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson categorically stated, “It is an isolated case and is not contagious.”

But now a co-worker of Stevens is hospitalized, the rest of the staff are being treated with antibiotics, and the building where they all worked is off-limits.

Thompson has also been quick to assure the nation, “We're prepared to take care of any contingency, any consequence that develops from any kind of bioterrorism attack.”

Do I believe politician Thompson?

Like I believe Osama bin Laden is the tooth fairy.

Thompson sounded like Gen. William Westmoreland when he told the nation we were prevailing in Vietnam - just before the communists launched a major offensive that clobbered his Army.

This country is as ready for biological/chemical terrorism as we were prepared to stop the kamikaze bombers that smacked into the World Trade Center towers. And the facts surrounding Stevens' death speak for themselves:

There have been only 18 human cases of pulmonary anthrax reported in the United States in the 20th century.

Stevens worked only a few miles from where the suicide pilots lived, learned how to fly, lap-danced and probably experimented with bio/chem weapons. He fished one mile from an airport the skyjackers frequented and 40 miles from where they were trying to test-drive the same sort of crop-dusters that are already part of Saddam Hussein's weapons arsenal - along with enough anthrax to wipe out every human being on planet Earth.

Would it be easy to bring anthrax into the United States of America? More than 6 million shipping containers enter America each year; only 2 percent are inspected. If we can't stop the narcotics flood, smuggling a few hundred barrels of anthrax - enough to bring down more warm bodies than bought it during the Dark Ages from the plague - should be a breeze.

And once it's here, why even bother with planes? A psychopath with a saltshaker spiked with spores could easily sprinkle his way through the specials at your local salad bar. Or the Middle Eastern illegals pulling long hours at your fave mall deli might well spice up those sandwiches finger-lickin' terminal. And if all else fails, there are always air-conditioning and heating conduits - or a hate letter from hell - where a little dab'll do you.

But Thompson says the United States is ready for a bio/chem attack.

What he means is that government teams wearing special-issue bio suits and respirators are ready to bag up infected folks and place them in quarantine zones, where the prognosis will probably be just as bad as Stevens'.

The president must tell his Cabinet to be straight with the American people about the dangers we face from all types of terrorist attacks. We need guidelines - like to stay away from salad bars and to see our docs, who hopefully will be brought up to bio/chem speed, at the first sign of a suspicious sore or sniffle. The medical military reserves must be called up, and all of the responder forces - fire and police departments and appropriate medical personnel -- trained and equipped right away.

Most critical of all, our government should be expediting the development of a safe, comprehensive “vaccine shield” - yesterday - rather than hustling a missile defense shield to fend off tomorrow's Chinese or Martian missiles. All precautionary measures possible should be enumerated and implemented immediately, not after we've been whacked again and again.

Louis Pasteur, who knew a bit about bugs and germs, said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

The American people have the right to know what's coming down and what to watch for. With the nation at war, we can't afford any more lies because the public-opinion polls show that it isn't political to tell the citizens the truth.

Our very lives depend upon our leaders doing the right thing and leveling with us.

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.

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ARTICLE 1 - Special Report: Members Speak Out on Homeland Defense

Editor’s Note: The response to our call for Homeland Defense recommendations was so overwhelming we could only post a small cross-section of responses. We will publish another batch of these excellent, thought-provoking ideas next week as well.

Supports National ID Card

I have a suggestion for the proposed National ID Card. The card, in fact, should be blank, with a code in the magnetic strip, which dials a secure number which contains, Name, Signature, Photo, Thumb Print, DOB, Gender, Identifiable scars (if any), Current Address. The reason for a blank card is simple, you can't use a card if you don't know what's on it. Social Security and other personal info should not be included. This is as close to a fail-safe system as you can get, and should be
acceptable to everyone. --Kerry Sirois

We Don’t Have Adequate Civil Defense

I believe that a crucial and vital part of any homeland defense should be civil preparation. That should include gas masks, potassium iodine and other necessary survival preparations and education. We should have extensive blast shelters for our citizens. We need to also closely monitor all non-citizens who are in this country. We must have full collaboration between our agencies in sharing information. --Brian Worley

Police State? Terrorists Win

I'll simply submit that if we go too far, they win. Recall the old saying, “If I become my enemy to defeat my enemy, who won?” The terrorists oppose freedom and openness. They want a tightly-controlled theocracy. We stand for everything opposed to that. We need to protect ourselves but we can't become a police state in order to protect the freedoms we'd give up in the name of “homeland defense.” There are simply risks in being a free and open society. We have to accept a certain level of risk in order to remain free. --Jonathan Shushan

Security Begins at Home

Suggestion; Form local security elements from retired and former military members who are willing and physically able to carry out this mission. Personally, I am 69 years old but am still in good physical condition and am willing to help secure my own neighborhood. I am sure there are many others like me. --Donald L. Simmonds

Links to Terrorism Reports

Before we start running off making suggestions re: homeland defense, we ought to read the reports prepared by the several task forces on terrorism, in particular the Hart-Rudman Commission (Editor’s Note: The report of the Commission on National Security/21st Century - the Hart-Rudman Commission - can be located online at http://www.nssg.gov/index.html). --Richard Olson

Universal National Service

We need mandatory national service by all U.S. citizens, either upon graduation from high school or college. I did not say, "mandatory military service,” because not everyone is cut out to be in the military. However, everyone owes his or her country a debt for their freedom. By requiring all young people to render service to their country - in such a manner as Israel does -- we will soon become a country [where people will have] a matter of pride in proclaiming their service to their country and maintaining a life-long, reservist type affiliation with the branch of national service they have chosen. --G.H. Davis

An Armed Citizenry

Studies show that (U.S.) states that have passed right-to-carry [firearms] laws have seen an 80 percent decrease in violent crime in the first two years. Violent crime continues to decrease at a slower rate after that. In contrast, countries that have taken the guns away have suffered dramatic increases in violent crimes, because only law-abiding citizens obey gun laws. Criminals still get guns, and they are more likely to have fewer inhibitions in committing even greater violence against their victims. --Sean Carlson

Promote the State Guard

Many states already have a "home guard" in place, known as the state defense forces or the state guard. Many have been around for years and are well trained for various missions. I suggest we start there. --S. Lauer

Revitalize Continental Air Defense

First, every four-star officer in the Defense Department should tender his resignation. The president should justify which of them are not acceptable. Anyone above the rank of major general in J/G/S-2 [intelligence] and plans and programs should tender theirs as well. Generals [Richard] Myers {Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff], [John] Jumper, [Commander, Air Combat Command] and [Ralph] Eberhart, Commander, U.S. Space Command, should publicly apologize for the air defense that showed 20 minutes after the towers were burning. During the Cold War we had fighters in the ‘barn’ ready for immediate launch. Had fighters been at Stewart Airport or F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base on Long Island, I think the second flight would have been intercepted. I hope we have alert fighters on the strip tonight. As an Air Force Reserve officer for many years, I know that we had some commitments to continental defense, with a set of missions …. It should not be hard to find those plans and revise them for new threats. But all the plans and all the money won't put this country in a safe position if we do not change the attitude of the military and get a more mission-oriented, less careerist atmosphere in the defense department. --A Concerned Reserve Officer

Protect Nuclear Facilities

I have the following suggestions to protect our [nuclear] plants: I would announce that any aircraft be warned to keep clear of that plant for so many miles or be subject to being shot down. This could be done by importing mobile radar units accompanied by Army missile technicians with Stingers or more improved man-launched missiles. This would be an around-the-clock surveillance job and would provide an added security ring around high-value assets. --Bill Oehlecker

Both Missile and Civil Defense Needed

We need both an active missile defense as well as a passive defense system, meaning a renewed and updated civil-defense program. In the physical world, passive systems are almost always more reliable than active ones. We will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail, either by renegades or by enemy nations, if the majority of our population can survive an attack. The only way that is probable is if we have publicly funded (and mandated) shelters which are adequately stocked with food and drugs, properly ventilated and filtered to protect against chemical and biological agents and nuclear fallout. Also, no shelter should be so large to become a target in itself. Private shelters could be encouraged by tax incentives. --Tom Eckhoff

Support the U.S. Coast Guard

The National Homeland Defense idea is laudable. The U.S. Coast Guard is already in a homeland defense posture using antiquated equipment and undermanned for the task plus all of its other missions. The Coast Guard is one of the few government agencies that brings monies into government coffers (via drug interdiction etc.). But it has almost always been under-funded, under-manned and over-tasked. For your information, the Coast Guard is compiling a list of retired Coast Guard personnel for possible recall to active duty. This might be a good idea for the other military branches to consider. --Kenneth Bradbury, Master Chief Petty Officer USCG (Ret.)

Veterans Can Defend Homeland

It appears to me that the National Guard will have its hands full during this war on terrorism. It will be virtually impossible for them to police and guard against all attacks. Therefore it will be necessary for a Home Guard or Civil Defense organization to take up the slack. We have an untapped wealth of manpower in the many veterans from World War II through the Vietnam era who are now retired from both the public and private sector. [They could carry out] rounds of guard duty at reservoirs, factories, utilities, etc. And even those who are physically unable to do guard duty could possibly handle the office work. Veterans are anxious to get in this fight with the rest of America. --Douglas Duke (World War II veteran)

Crack Down on Immigration

As far as homeland defense, the first step must be a stricter immigration policy, we allow these b******* to enter this country too freely on visas. Every foreign national must be thoroughly screened, and the slightest doubt should result in sending them back to the country of origin. The assailant who slit the throat of the Greyhound bus driver in Tennessee last week was a Croatian on a 30 day visa. How did he even get past immigration? --A Concerned American

Trim Inefficiency and Waste

Fire without pension the bottom 10 percent of the FBI. The rest will then know that they are expected to do a job, do it well, and work hard at it like most other Americans. Fire 20 percent of FBI management, since most of these people care more about "looking good" in the eyes of their superiors than anything else. Send a strong clear message that we expect results consistent with the Constitution and the ideals of America. Eliminate the BATF. --Norm Olsen

Beware Regulation Creep

What new powers will the federal government have in the name of terrorism? No doubt we need to address our internal security. In the hands of competent and honorable people, the new security regulations will be enforced by their original intent. How will these new laws be used, however, by a new administration ten or fifteen years from now? Remember the Endangered Species Act? The Environmental Protection Agency? The Antiquities Act? Imagine Homeland Security under a President Hillary Clinton. --John Darst

Support H.R. 218

For 10 years, H.R. 218 - the Active and Retired Police Officer Carry Bill - has been placed before the U.S. House of Representatives. It is a bill to allow active and honorably retired police officers the right to carry handguns within all 50 states. More than 600,000 always-armed active police officers would add immeasurably to the internal security of our nation. A side benefit is that officers are trained in defensive tactics, impact weapons, and Carotid/LVNR, so they know what to do when the situation does not call for a firearm. Before boarding a plane, an officers’ status could be confirmed; officers could also meet other traveling officers on the airplane. For the lack of four firearms and four well-trained people to use them, more than 6,000 people died on Sept. 11. It doesn’t have to be that way. Pass H.R. 218. --Rocky Warren, Patrol Sergeant/Trainer

Train Civilian Medics

In the early 1960s, the U.S. Army Medical Field Service School at Fort Sam Houston presented a course on the “Management of Mass Casualties.” This course was attended by civilian medical personnel who would be responsible for treating casualties following a nuclear attack. A course like this would be appropriate for present day medics faced with the possibility of treating mass casualties from biological, chemical or nuclear attacks mounted by terrorists. --James J. Meyers, Col. (Ret.)

Armed Police Officers Fly for Free

Police officers with at least 10 years experience should be allowed to participate in the Air Marshal training program. Upon completion, an officer would be placed in a reserve-like unit, and would have a yearly flight quota to remain in this unit. There would be no age restriction [currently 36-ed.] provided the officer could pass the physical and firearms portion of the training. This would be a non-paying activity, but participating officers could fly anywhere in the continental United States, and could bring family members. --Jim Ward, Police Sergeant

Nationwide Concealed Carry Approval (1)

Grant blanket concealed carry approval nationwide. --Vincent Dancer

Nationwide Concealed Carry Approval (2)

Imagine what would happen to anyone that tried to disarm the passengers on a west bound stagecoach. --Frank Crittenden

Nationwide Concealed Carry Approval (3)

Expand [concealed] carry laws to all 50 states. Allow those trained and certified to carry to do so, including on public transportation with prior approval. --Sandra S. Reckseit

Balance Security and Rights

My concern regarding homeland defense is the possibility that fear will erode our Constitution, destroying our unique way of life from within. The Office of Homeland defense should exist. It should also be subject to policing and control as the rest of our government (within reasonable operational limits). I worry that a fearful population and over-anxious government could turn such an office into an American secret police. I already hear fellow civilians declaring that they would give up some freedoms and rights for safety/security. I am not against a strong, safe America. I just don't want us to do to ourselves what all of our enemies past and present couldn't do, to destroy our way of life, but from within. -- Ed Mullin

Bounty Money

Charge $1,000 per entry visa, and put the money in an interest bearing account. An alien who overstays the legal time, is legal game for bounty hunters. Upon apprehension and exit from this country, the bounty hunter gets the $1,000 plus interest. --Robert Garbay

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ARTICLE 2 - Challenges to Commando Infiltration

By Robert G. Williscroft

Suppose you are going to insert a group of Special Operations commandos into hostile mountainous terrain one thousand miles from the nearest water, and several hundred miles from the nearest friendly airfield.

How would you get them in?

Let’s examine the options. You could fly in the force from sea using ship-based helicopters. Or you could ferry in the helos to a friendly airfield and commence the inbound operation from there. And finally, you could HALO (High Altitude/Low Opening) insert the commandos using long-range, high-altitude carriers.

Ship-based insertion carries a lot of unnecessary risk for both the commando unit as well as for helicopter crews and other support aircraft such as refueling tankers refueling aircraft crewmen. A thousand miles of terrain is a long way to fly without being seen, especially if the enemy may be expecting some kind of SOF operation. For operations this far from the launching vessel, the only feasible platform is an aircraft carrier, since you also must launch refueling aircraft.

A destination within the round-trip range of the choppers, of course, significantly increases the available launch platforms. The risk is further exacerbated when the enemy has access to Stinger missiles. It can be done, but any SOF commander will tell you how important it is to reduce the known upfront risk.

Sea-based insertion is as old as modern SOF warfare. Typically, however, for the Navy SEALs, this mode presupposes some use of water other than the launch. The SEALs came of age in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam conflict. They used every means of insertion except HALO and HAHO (High Altitude/High Opening), but always, always, water was the SEAL’s friend. Since then SEALs participated in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983, Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991, and even more recently in Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia. Generally, those SEAL operations involving water were more successful than those taking place strictly on land but not always. These operations will be examined in greater detail in later articles.

Departing from a friendly nearby airfield simplifies the insertion and lowers the risk of a long trip, but this is more than offset by the increased risk for detection. Even without the presence of modern telecommunications, how long will it take for the whole countryside to know about the arrival of several helicopters inside the bellies of a couple of large transport aircraft?

Then, what do you do with the transports and choppers while you wait? Leave them there at your peril. You must fly them out, and when you bring them back a second time, the world will know you are about to extract. This method compounds risk to unacceptable levels.

That leaves the option of high-altitude insertion, and while this carries the risk inherent in any free-fall parachute operation, in every other respect this is the most secure approach. The transport is undetectable by the enemy. A nighttime drop cannot be seen. There is no way for the enemy to get wind of the covert operation, so it brings the element of total surprise.

HALO insertion also gives you great flexibility. With proper planning, you can insert pairs of operatives along a string of geographic positions that will enable a thorough investigation over a wide geographic range with little chance of discovery. HALO insertion also allows timing flexibility, where you can initially insert a small investigative force followed by a larger group that will act on the information transmitted shortly before by the first group.

Ideally, therefore, when the operation is in rugged terrain far removed from accessible water, HALO insertion becomes the method of choice. Extraction, however, is another matter.

Typically, about the time extraction is necessary, the enemy will have discovered the presence of SOF troops in his midst. He will be on high alert to locate the intruders, and will be in no mood to take prisoners. This means that extraction must be sure, swift, and unannounced. This almost always eliminates using a friendly nearby airfield, because a cunning enemy will have all such fields under close observation, specifically in order to determine the timing and mode of extraction.

Under these circumstances, sometimes SOF personnel face a long, difficult ground transit. The various SOF branches of the U.S. military assume differing approaches to outfitting. SEALs, for example, travel light. Their missions usually require quick action and rapid withdrawal; carrying supplies to support a several day trek would seriously hinder their primary mission. Rangers, on the other hand, typically plan for longer insertions. Their setup time is longer, but they are well trained to survive for days or even weeks if necessary before being extracted. They have built-in provisions for resupply, so that while they might not wish it, if necessary a Ranger platoon could travel several hundred miles overland to reach a suitable extraction point. Knowing this forces the enemy to keep a much larger number of potential supporting airfields under observation, tying up his forces and complicating his situation.

Regardless of the SOF elements used or the location of the extraction point with respect to the insertion point, extraction probably will be by helicopter, unless the SOF team can reach accessible water, which is not the case in the scenario we have painted here. This is the purview of the carrier-based extraction team.

So long as communications between the SOF force and the carrier exist, carrier-based helicopters and support aircraft can locate and extract the SOF team rapidly. Even without real-time communications, the SOF team and carrier-based aircraft can implement a prepositioned plan, or even a series of plans. If the SOF team is not at the first planned extraction point, the carrier team automatically shifts to Plan B or C, or whatever, according to the plan of action.

The same considerations apply to seaborne extraction as to insertion, except the risk becomes acceptable, and the flexibility of a carrier-based extraction team makes it the method of choice. Inbound, the helicopters can change routes as dictated by immediate circumstances, knowing they can rendezvous with refueling aircraft anywhere. Once the SOF team is on board, the helicopters have an even wider range of options. The carrier can move to a new pickup location, or another ship can receive the helicopters, or they can even choose to land at a friendly airfield.

Robert G. Williscroft is DefenseWatch Navy Editor

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ARTICLE 3 - An Open Letter to the Anti-War Demonstrators

By David Horowitz

I am a former anti-war activist who helped to organize the first campus demonstration against the war in Vietnam at the University of California, Berkeley in 1962. I appeal to all those young people who participated in “anti-war” demonstrations on 150 college campuses this week, to think again and not to join an “anti-war” effort against America’s coming battle with international terrorism.

The hindsight of history has shown that our efforts in the 1960s to end the war in Vietnam had two practical effects. The first was to prolong the war itself. Every testimony by North Vietnamese generals in the postwar years has affirmed that they knew they could not defeat the United States on the battlefield, and that they counted on the division of our people at home to win the war for them. The Vietcong forces we were fighting in South Vietnam were destroyed in 1968.

In other words, most of the war and most of the casualties in the war occurred because the dictatorship of North Vietnam counted on the fact Americans would give up the battle rather than pay the price necessary to win it. This is what happened. The blood of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, and tens of thousands of Americans, is on the hands of the anti-war activists who prolonged the struggle and gave victory to the Communists.

The second effect of the war was to surrender South Vietnam to the forces of Communism. This resulted in the imposition of a monstrous police state, the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent South Vietnamese, the incarceration in “re-education camps” of hundreds of thousands more, and a quarter of a century of abject poverty imposed by crackpot Marxist economic plans, which continue to this day. This, too, is the responsibility of the so-called anti-war movement of the 1960s.

I say “so-called anti-war movement,” because while many Americans were sincerely troubled by America’s war effort, the organizers of this movement were Marxists and radicals who supported a Communist victory and an American defeat. Today the same people and their youthful followers are organizing the campus demonstrations against America’s effort to defend its citizens against the forces of international terrorism and anti-American hatred, responsible for the September attacks.

I know, better than most, the importance of protecting freedom of speech and the right of citizens to dissent. But I also know better than most, that there is a difference between honest dissent and malevolent hate, between criticism of national policy, and sabotage of the nation’s defenses. In the 1960s and 1970s, the tolerance of anti-American hatreds was so high, that the line between dissent and treason was eventually erased.

Along with thousands of other New Leftists, I was one who crossed the line between dissent and actual treason. (I have written an account of these matters in my autobiography, Radical Son [Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998]). I did so for what I thought were the noblest of reasons: to advance the cause of "social justice" and "peace." I have lived to see how wrong I was and how much damage we did - especially to those whose cause we claimed to embrace, the peasants of Indo-China who suffered grievously from our support for the Communist enemy. I came to see how precious are the freedoms and opportunities afforded by America to the poorest and most humble of its citizens, and how rare its virtues are in the world at large.

If I have one regret from my radical years, it is that this country was too tolerant towards the treason of its enemies within. If patriotic Americans had been more vigilant in the defense of their country, if they had called things by their right names, if they had confronted us with the seriousness of our attacks, they might have caught the attention of those of us who were well-meaning but utterly misguided. And they might have stopped us in our tracks.

This appeal is for those of you who are out there today attacking your country, full of your own self-righteousness, but who one day might also live to regret what you have done.

David Horowitz is editor-in-chief of FrontPageMagazine.com and President of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. This essay originally appeared at www.FrontPageMagazine.com on Sept. 27, 2001 and is reprinted with permission.

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ARTICLE 4 - A Letter from the Pentagon

By Lt. Col. Gary Conan USMC

I remember in the aftermath of the unforgettable September 11, 2001 attack on America, our Commander-in-Chief and senior officials proclaimed that the federal government was open for business as usual. Returning to my office at the Pentagon on Sept. 12, I walked through the smoke-filled parking lot, saw the rescue workers' tents, watched firemen fighting to contain the still-burning sections, and quickly realized that although open for business, life at the Pentagon was anything but back to normal.

After almost three weeks of dealing with the many feelings, emotions, and consequences of the attacks, I believe the terrorists gave our great nation a great (albeit twisted) opportunity to do and see things that we were unable and unwilling to do and see by ourselves before that black day.

The Pentagon is many things to many people: a bastion of U.S. military might, a microcosm of society, a victim of attack, a symbol of the American reaction to attack, and the centerpiece of American resolve to seek justice and revenge.

Business at the Pentagon today is much different than it was before Sept. 11. The underground Metro station entrance remains closed with only Pentagon workers allowed to board and exit the trains. Heavily-armed uniformed civilian and military guards are stationed inside and out. K9 dog patrols continue inside and out. The free public tours have been cancelled. Physical inspections and x-ray of bags at entrances are the norm. The parking lots immediately adjacent to the building are restricted and tightly controlled. Entire organizations and offices are closed and re-located outside of the building.

If “usual” means the way things were before the attacks, then today's “unusual” precautions mean common sense given the reality of the terrorist threats.
Everyone here at the Pentagon seems to accept these new measures as the price you have to pay for the privilege of working here in the Pentagon.

If you walk the Pentagon's corridors you hear many thought-provoking questions and statements that reflect the concerns of many Americans: Why does it seem like only terrorists, and not our senior decision-makers, read and learn from the writings of folks like Tom Clancy and David Hackworth?

Why did it take 9/11 to suddenly make everyone acknowledge and take seriously such an obvious threat to our people and national security? Are we experiencing the loss of the innocence, ignorance, and arrogance of our perceived invincibility?

Perhaps the terrorists did us a favor in stimulating us to action and preparation before they learn how to attack us with more lethal chemical and biological agents.

I believe the spirit of the Pentagon today is captured in two familiar quotes. The first is directed inward, within ourselves and within our
borders:

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” said Benjamin Franklin.

The second quote is directed outward, towards our friends and allies, and especially toward our terrorist adversaries:

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger," wrote Friedrich Nietzsche.

I hope these quotes become lessons that we will not have to re-learn again.

Lt. Col. Conan is the pen name of an active-duty Marine officer stationed at the Pentagon.

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ARTICLE 05 - A Vietnam Campaign: Put a Face With Every Name

By Ed Offley

Do you have a loved one, friend or former service buddy on the Wall?

As the Vietnam Veterans Memorial approaches its 20th anniversary next year, the nonprofit organization that developed the memorial is engaged in an ongoing campaign that will breathe new life into the remembrance of the 58,226 servicemen and women who gave their lives in Vietnam.

In collaboration with Kinko’s, the well-known copying and printing company, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is soliciting photographs of every one of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel whose names are on the memorial. The images will appear on the organization’s online extension of the Vietnam Memorial at www.thevirtualwall.org.

If you haven’t visited that website, the Virtual Wall is an interactive display of the memorial established in 1998 by the Memorial Fund in collaboration with Winstar Communications Inc. It uses advanced demonstration software to enable visitors to take an overview tour of the memorial, to search for individual names on the wall, to post personal messages of remembrance for individuals or the memorial as a whole, and to review remembrance messages posted by other visitors. In its three years of existence, more than 30,000 people have left remembrance messages at the Virtual Wall.

Between now and Veterans Day on Nov. 11, Kinko’s outlets nationwide are providing free digital scanning and uploading of photographs of loved ones whose names are on the wall.

Footnote: Kinko’s advises that some photographs - such as portraits taken by commercial photographers - may be copyright protected and will require formal permission to post on the Virtual Wall. If you have questions about the copyright status of a photograph or need additional information, contact a local Kinko’s office or call 1-800-954-6567, ext. 3154. Personal and governmental photographs are not restricted by copyrights.

The goal is to put a face with a name of everyone listed on The Wall. DefenseWatch urges all members and readers to join this worthy campaign.

Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch.

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ARTICLE 06 - Medal of Honor Recipient - WATTERS, CHARLES JOSEPH, Maj. USA

Rank and organization: Chaplain (Maj.), U .S. Army, Company A, 173d Support Battalion, 173d Airborne Brigade.

Place and date: Near Dak To Province, Republic of Vietnam, 19 November 1967.

Entered service at: Fort Dix, N.J. Born: 17 January 1927, Jersey City, N.J.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Chaplain Watters distinguished himself during an assault in the vicinity of Dak To. Chaplain Watters was moving with one of the companies when it engaged a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle raged and the casualties mounted, Chaplain Watters, with complete disregard for his safety, rushed forward to the line of contact. Unarmed and completely exposed, he moved among, as well as in front of the advancing troops, giving aid to the wounded, assisting in their evacuation, giving words of encouragement, and administering the last rites to the dying.

When a wounded paratrooper was standing in shock in front of the assaulting forces, Chaplain Watters ran forward, picked the man up on his shoulders and carried him to safety. As the troopers battled to the first enemy entrenchment, Chaplain Watters ran through the intense enemy fire to the front of the entrenchment to aid a fallen comrade. A short time later, the paratroopers pulled back in preparation for a second assault. Chaplain Watters exposed himself to both friendly and enemy fire between the two forces in order to recover two wounded soldiers. Later, when the battalion was forced to pull back into a perimeter, Chaplain Watters noticed that several wounded soldiers were lying outside the newly formed perimeter. Without hesitation and ignoring attempts to restrain him, Chaplain Watters left the perimeter three times in the face of small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire to carry and to assist the injured troopers to safety.

Satisfied that all of the wounded were inside the perimeter, he began aiding the medics - applying field bandages to open wounds, obtaining and serving food and water, giving spiritual and mental strength and comfort. During his ministering, he moved out to the perimeter from position to position redistributing food and water, and tending to the needs of his men. Chaplain Watters was giving aid to the wounded when he himself was mortally wounded. Chaplain Watters' unyielding perseverance and selfless devotion to his comrades was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

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.

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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. The DoD site is not working but the nonprofit Federation of American Scientists has an excellent online acronym roster. Please see below:

http://www.fas.org/news/reference/lexicon/acronym.htm

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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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