The Daedalian General Membership Meeting was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in
North Austin on Thursday, 9 February 2012. It was a dinner meeting with coat and tie.
Following the social period, Flight Captain LtCol Ron Butler called the meeting
to order at 1910 Hours. After the invocation and pledge of allegiance, Provost
Marshall, Mike Rhodes, toasted our departed brothers and sisters and the
Commander-in-Chief. The Flight Captain led a toast to our guests.
A list of guests follows:| GUEST | HOST
|
|---|
| Mary Boyce | J Ward Boyce |
| Gloria Buckman | Louis Buckman |
| Bonnie Burris | Darrel Burris |
| Pat Mahaffey | Darrel Burris |
| Martha Davis | Ronald Butler |
| Jane Day | Art Day |
| Jojo Edwards | George Edwards |
| Charlotte Firestone | Kenneth Firestone |
| Richard Gruver | Neil Gruver |
| Dr. Marion Mark | Ronald Butler |
| Dr. Rufus Mark | Ronald Butler |
| Dr. Hans Mark | Ronald Butler |
| Dolores McLain | Roger McLain |
| Frances Pearce | William Pearce |
| Janie Williams | David O. Williams |
| Mary Donahue | Dean Caswell |
Attendance was a total of 54 members and 16 guests. $ 272 was collected for the
raffle. Guest Hans Mark donated $ 500.
The dinner entrees were roasted prime rib, and champagne chicken. Following
dinner, the Flight Captain reconvened the meeting. A motion was made and
seconded to accept the Minutes of the past meeting as written.
Flight Captain Ron Butler introduced friend of the flight, Dr. Hans Mark, He
gave Flight 38 a presentation on "Dealing with Emerging Threats: an Air
Force Challenge". Here are some of the high points of his briefing.
China is the only country that poses a threat to the United States in the far
tem. They are well on their way to becoming the world's number one economy by
2020. They are building a strong blue water navy along with significant
ballistic missiles can easily dominate maritime trade by 2050.
In response, we should maintain the most capable navy in the world supported by
long range air power. We should expand our strategic bases around the world and
continue space surveillance and dominance. Politically, we should develop and
maintain strategic alliances with many countries to include India, Malaysia,
Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.
Our best strategy is to avoid a land war and develop new technologies to support
sea and aerospace power.
In the near term, the interruption of oil could produce an existential threat to
the industrial nations in Europe and to Japan. We need to vigorously explore
world wide for new oil and gas resources to reduce the importance of the Persian Gulf.
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