Commander

At this month’s meeting, Jim Blossey will assume the role of Commander of VFW Post # 8870, and my two-year run as your Post Commander will come to an end. I know all of you join me in wishing Jim good luck, pledging him our full support, and working alongside of him to fulfill our Post’s mission. Jim has prepared himself for this leadership position by directly involving himself in many Post initiatives and making many fine contributions. Thanks to his vision, interpersonal skills, and hard work, Post # 8870 will continue to move forward.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest appreciation to the members of VFW Post # 8870 for the wonderful opportunity to have served as your Commander. Thank you for the confidence you placed in me. It was both a privilege and honor to have served in that capacity. Regardless of the role I was asked to assume, it had always been a goal of mine to serve the heroes of my childhood; WW II and Korean War veterans. I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to serve and look forward to continuing to serve my comrades.

Finally, I would like to recognize the many significant contributions made by members of our leadership team. I was blessed to have had so many dedicated comrades serving in elected and appointed positions, and your loyal support has been greatly appreciated. Thank you for a job well done.

Among the great benefits of being retired, is the time I have had to devote to one of my passions, reading. At the suggestion of a former Air Force comrade, I just finished a book titled Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. I had never heard of Col. John Boyd until I read his autobiography that was written by Robert Coram. I recommend the book to you.

Boyd’s Air Force career began as an F-86 fighter pilot in Korea. While serving as an Instructor Pilot at the USAF Weapons School, Boyd was dubbed “Forty Second Boyd” for his ability to defeat any opposing pilot, while from a position of disadvantage, in 40 seconds. Single handedly, he re-wrote the tactics manual for aerial combat. Along with a colleague, Col. Boyd created the Energy-Maneuverability Theory, which, subsequently, moved the Air Force away from high speed, straight line aircraft toward planes with high maneuverability. Boyd’s creative thinking “saved” the F-15 by changing its design and played a critical role in the development of the F-16, F-18, and A-10.

Boyd also created the OODA Loop (Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action), which was applicable not only to aerial combat, but to combat ground operations as well. The OODA Loop had substantial influence on the operations plans for Operation Desert Storm, which featured the bypass of resistance, creation of deception and ambiguity, and multiple thrusts against the enemy. The Marine Corps adopted this thinking in the complete revision of its doctrine.

Col. John Boyd, whom most of us never had heard of, is considered one of our nation’s greatest military theoreticians.

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW.

At the end of February, Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, disclosed details regarding his proposed 2015 Defense Department budget.  He indicated the changes are “part of an overarching decision to protect big-ticket programs and research projects by saving money on people” and “reductions in troop strength and force structure in every military service – active and reserve – in order to sustain our readiness and technological superiority”.  Highlights of the proposed budget include:

• Next year’s pay raise will be 1% (the same as this year);
• One year pay freeze for top military brass;
• $1 billion dollar reduction from the $1.4 billion dollar commissary subsidy;
• Changes to Tricare will increase deductible amounts and co-pays;
• Establishment of a new Base Realignment and Closure Commission;
• A reduction in Army active duty personnel from about 530,000 to 450,000;
• Elimination of the fleet of A-10 Warthogs;
• Elimination of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft;
• Half of the Navy’s cruiser fleet will be “laid up” and taken out of normal deployments; and
• Scaling back of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship program from 52 to 32 vessels.

Since many of these proposed changes will require Congressional approval, our collective voices are an important element in the DOD budget process.  I urge you to express your opinions by contacting your elected representatives by going to their web-sites and sharing your views on this important matter.

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW.

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW.

Two years ago, our Post established the Freedom Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to four deserving high school seniors. The Freedom Scholarship Committee recently contacted career counselors in local high schools, to publicize this opportunity to their students. One of the application requirements is an essay in which students are asked to define what freedom means to them and to discuss how our Constitution establishes and maintains a culture of freedom in our country.

With the Freedom Scholarship requirements fresh in my mind, I was struck by a recent announcement that President Obama has delayed one more provision of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The President has repeatedly and unilaterally suspended portions of the law without the consent of Congress. While we have been constantly reminded that Obamacare is the “law of the land”, over 25 changes to the law have been made by Executive Decision, a clear violation of our Constitution. The brilliance of our founding fathers, when they wrote our Constitution, devised a system of checks and balances to prevent any of the branches of our government to abuse its authority.

Regardless of what letter follows the name of our elected officials, Americans who care about our freedom must be ever vigilant for instances of abuse of power or attempts to circumvent provisions of our Constitution. As concerned citizens who have already made a significant contribution to our nation’s efforts to defend liberty and freedom, it is our responsibility to express our feelings to and remind our elected officials of their responsibility to defend the Constitution and rule of law and to have as their primary objective, the well-being of their constituents. Regardless of the issue, I urge you to communicate with your elected officials on a regular basis and express your feelings. To contact your Senators and Congressional Representatives, you must visit their web sites:

Senator Patty Murray www.murray.senate.gov
Senator Marie Cantwell www.cantwell.senate.gov
Rep. Jim McDermott 7th District www.mcdermott.house.gov
Rep. Rick Larson 2nd District www.larson.house.gov
Rep. Suzan DelBene 1st District www.delbene.house.gov

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW.

For the past several weeks, the media has been all abuzz regarding revelations made by former Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, in his recently released book, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary of War.  Depending on one’s ideology, you might praise Gates for exposing the duplicitous manner in which our Commander in Chief conducted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or you might ridicule Gates for being a self-serving and self-righteous partisan, whose motives for publishing the book were strictly monetary and vengeful.

I have a different view.  I have no doubt that much of what he revealed in his book actually occurred, but I take issue with Gates with the manner in which he chose not to address the issues he raised.  Gates worked as Secretary of Defense for four and a half years, bridging the Bush and Obama administrations.  In spite of all of the problems he witnessed, lack of trust between military and administration leaders, declining morale among members of the military, lack of enthusiasm in supporting military operations, and decisions based on pure ideology and political expedience, Gates remained silent.  Despite his moral and legal obligation to “protect” those whose lives had been placed in danger, Gates became complicit in all that has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If he really cared about the manner in which combat operations were being conducted, he would have done the principled thing and resigned and done so in a very public fashion.  He could have testified in a Congressional hearing about the issues he raised in his book.  He shouldn’t have waited more than a year to disclose the injustices he witnessed while he wrote his book.  He should have begun work, immediately, to correct the problems cited in his book.

I keep waiting for that principled leader to step forward and place the lives of those they have sworn to defend ahead of their own careers.

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW.

On behalf of VFW Post #8870, I want to wish you all a New Year that is filled with good health and happiness for you as well as the members of your family.  I am not too sure about other nations of the world, but it has been a custom in our great nation to make Resolutions for the New Year.  Typically, we make promises to ourselves hoping to better ourselves and our lives.  Typically as well, very few of us succeed in fulfilling our resolutions.  Research indicates that only about 10% of us successfully implement the promised changes.

Several months ago, we shared with you the many opportunities in our Post in which you could become involved.  In fact, we need your involvement.  I was disappointed that not one member stepped forward to volunteer their time to assist.  We are similar to other organizations inasmuch as a small core of our members are responsible for doing most of the work.  Some among that core group have been serving our Post in a variety of roles for many years, and they are entitled to be able to lighten their loads.  Along with our membership in VFW Post #8870, comes the responsibility to become involved.

It is my sincerest desire that one of the resolutions you make for the New Year will be to volunteer to serve your comrades by assuming a leadership role.  It is also my desire that you become part of the solution by fulfilling your New Year’s Resolution.

I look forward to hearing from you (206-940-7502 or [email protected]).

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW

I have always loved this time of year because of the two wonderful holidays we celebrate. To me, Thanksgiv-ing and Christmas are synonymous with family and having the opportunity to enjoy being with members of my family. As a kid, I can recall hearing the song “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays” being played on the radio. Another song that captured the essence of this holiday season was the Bing Crosby song, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”.

One by one, as my older siblings moved away and started their own families, they were not able to get home to celebrate the holidays with Mom and Dad. I sensed the sadness my parents felt. In time, it would be me who wouldn’t be able to be home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. This was an experience that each one of us has in common and all for the same reason; our military service took us away to serve in another part of the world. That was when we could all understood the last line in the Bing Crosby song, “I’ll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams”.
Fortunately for today’s soldier they have cell phones and the miracle of Internet technology provides them with e-mail and Skype. For them, at least, they have more than dreams to reconnect with members of their family.

I hope you will able to join your VFW Post #8870 family in celebrating Christmas by attending our Annual Christmas Party on December 14. Details regarding the party are contained in this newsletter. The working members of our Post find it a challenge to attend our monthly meetings because of the hour at which we meet. The Christmas Party provides you with a great opportunity to participate in Post activities. I look for-ward to greeting you all on the 14th. I trust you will make every effort to attend.

Holiday Blessings to you and the members of your family.

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW

The myth refuses to die.  We have all heard it.  Several weeks ago, I was with a group of people and one “enlightened” member of the group mentioned in passing the “fact” that the military disproportionately attracts minorities and men and women from disadvantaged backgrounds.  She, like so many, believed that troops enlist not because they want to serve their country but because they have few employment options.  I have heard ill-informed politicians express this lament and at least one Presidential candidate.

Curious, as to whom, exactly, serves in the military, I researched this topic.  Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, I found several studies that addressed this topic and they all had similar findings.  Both enlisted and officer corps come, primarily, from middle-class and upper-middle- class backgrounds, from families in which the median incomes were nearly 10% higher than the national median income of $50,428.  Clearly, low-income families are underrepresented in today’s military.

Contrary to the popular misconception America’s that enlisted troops are poorly educated, research indicated they are much more highly educated than their peers.  A little more than 1% of enlisted troops do not possess a high school diploma compared to 21% of men between the ages of 18-24 years of age.  95% of the officer corps has, at least, a bachelor’s degree.

The all-volunteer force was established in 1973 amid concerns over whether the military could maintain race representation proportional to the overall population.  Research on this topic produced some interesting findings.  Both whites and blacks are slightly over represented in their population representation, due to the fact that Asian and Pacific Island recruits are smaller than their population representation.  While their numbers are small, the most over represented group among our recruits is the American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Finally, the findings regarding representation in the military by geographic region confirm the strong Southern military tradition.  The South accounts for more than 40% of men and women serving in uniform, a huge proportional over representation.  By contrast, the Northeast is significantly under represented.  The Mountain West is overrepresented, and the West coast under represented.  Surprisingly, the Midwest is slightly under represented.