The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin- April 2012
April has a special significance for me because it is the month that I reported for duty at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Of course, April is noted for "April Showers" which we can certainly use more of, albeit we are off to having a much better rainfall statistic this year compared to the past few years. Spring is definitely in the air. Last month we bid farewell to our long time companion David Cochran and his lovely wife, Maryanne. The Cochrans are relocating to Vermont to be with their daughter. Of course we are deeply saddened, but happy for them that they will be near family. Companion Cochran was presented with the MOWW Award of Merit for many years of service as the Chapter's Chaplain and loyal and faithful MOWW supporter. Mrs. Cochran was given a Certificate of Appreciation for her untiring dedication and commitment to the chapter via David. Companion Anderson sponsored our very informative speaker CPO Bob Steinmann last month. CPO Steinmann brought many exhibits from his private museum to share with us as he enthusiastically recounted several interesting stories and highlights of his distinguished career in the Navy and aboard submarines. Don't forget to contact him should you wish to visit his museum in Round Rock. As a reminder, this is the time of the year we are actively involved with ROTC award presentations. It is definitely a personal rewarding experience to attend these ceremonies and to see the outstanding cadets at both the Junior and Senior levels. I will circulate a sign-up sheet at the next meeting for volunteers to present the MOWW Awards. Please do not hesitate to sign up. |
Companion Anderson discussed YLC at the March meeting and since that time he has found the interest
to attend one of the camps this summer is overwhelming. The interest far exceeds our expectations.
So, any and all contributions to defray the costs of sponsoring as many interested youth will be greatly appreciated. This month we will have representatives from the Austin Park and Recreation Department share with us information about the Waller Creek project and its impact of having our MOWW Monuments removed from Waterloo Park. The monuments are now in storage and will be relocated to Veterans Park in a year or so. This should be an interesting program and an opportunity to gain first-hand information about a major and long-anticipated Austin city project. A representative from our sister chapter in Georgetown will visit and tell us about the plans for the Region VIII Conference they are hosting this year. ---COL Leon Holland, USA (Ret.) Next Meeting. April 12 at the Holiday Inn for: $ 20. Please join us to hear The 39 grams of high fructose corn syrup in regular Coca Cola is equal to about 9.2 teaspoons of granulated sugar per can. A teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4.2 grams. Pertussis: To help bolster waning pertussis immunity (i.e. whooping cough) among Americans, a federal vaccine advisory committee expanded recommendations for the Tdap immunization to include all adults 65 and older. Most items are from RAO Bulletins. |
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MOWW Scripture and Commentary April 2012: Living in the Light Since you are God's dear children, you must try to be like God. You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light, for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth. (Ephesians 5:1,8-9) The Bible deals with darkness and light constantly. "God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all" (I John 1:5). Here is our hope and the promise to which we look. Evil, separation, sin, and death are the marks of darkness. Goodness, righteousness, truth, love, healing, and fellowship are some of the primary marks of light. We are all on the path of life. Just as if we were in the woods attempting to follow a dark path, we may become disoriented, even wandering off the safe path. We need a spark of light to guide us to show us the way. God's word is our foundational connection to that which is right, correct, safe: "Your word is a lamp to guide me, and a light for my path. I will keep my solemn promise to obey your just instructions (Psalm 119:105-106). We cannot say we do not know right from wrong, or light from darkness, and be honest with ourselves: "If we, then, say that we have fellowship with God, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions (I John 1:6). Living in the light is first of all about wholesome relationship, first with God, then with each other. I am not speaking here of just having coffee together, playing cards, sharing a picnic or any such similar social activity. Marilyn Brauer, a dear, dear woman of faith and a true neighbor, knew how to relate as a point of light. We lived across the street from Marilyn in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. One winter my wife was very ill with a sinus infection which drove her to bed. I was working. We had just adopted the last three children. Marilyn, without hesitation took our eight children into her home and rescued our whole family. People of light do this sort of gracious action as a matter of deep caring and sharing. |
Maybe you have been so blessed somewhere along the way. If so, be thankful.
On the other hand, you may be the one who blessed another. If so, be thankful.
You are living in the light. Ponder this powerful call to true life. Where are
you, where am I, where are all of us on the path of light? |
Chapter Officers
| Schedule: 1830-1900 - Social 1900-1905 - Invocation & Salutes 1905-1945 - Dinner 1945-2000 - Break 2000-2045 - Program 2045-2100 - Adjourn. The Army lists 34 active-duty bands from Texas to Belgium |
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What’s more effective and cheaper than sleeping pills? Changing your habits.
Here’s how… 1. Get comfy. . A room that’s dark, a temperature you like, blankets and pillows that feel nice. 2. Minimize stimuli- no TV no computers, no books 3. A consistent sleep schedule. 4. Create a wind-down routine, hot bath, reading, milk. 5. The Sleep Foundation says beds are only for sex and sleep. 6. Exercise, no smoking, and keep stay slim. 7. If this doesn't work visit a sleep expert at SleepCenters.org It’s common in these highly politicized times to paste warm, fuzzy names on even the most obnoxious proposals. An initiative to whack Social Security benefits might be called the “Saving Social Security Act,” for example. A few years ago, when the Pentagon proposed big health care fee hikes, it was labeled the “Sustaining the Benefit” plan. Such euphemistic spin campaigns bring to mind the old quote, “We had to burn the village to save it.” One common phrase that’s cropped up repeatedly in speeches, press releases, and testimony by defense and service leaders is the importance of “keeping faith” with currently serving personnel in planning deep defense budget cuts. If only it were so. The fact is there’s far more breaking faith in those plans than keeping faith. That rhetoric first appeared in the wake of a Defense Business Board plan that envisioned changing the military retirement system and included an option to change retirement rules in midstream for servicemembers currently on active duty. |
Army Twilight Tattoo: The history of Twilight Tattoo began more than 300 years
ago as British troops were summoned from the warmth and hospitality of local
pubs by a bugle and drum call to return to the barracks. The familiar tune told
tavern owners “doe den tap toe,” or “time to turn off the taps.” The
troops knew the call to mean “taps off,” and minutes later they were back in
their tents. The modern-day call is known as “Tattoo” and during basic
training the call signals the time to quiet down and hit the bunks. For the U.S.
Army Military District of Washington (MDW), the call serves as a tribute
dedicated to the vitality of our nation and to the sacrifices of those who
forged America into the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is for
our forefathers and fellow Americans that MDW proudly presents “Twilight
Tattoo.” If you live near Washington, D.C., or plan on visiting the nation’s
capital this summer you might want to take advantage of the free Army Twilight
Tattoo. Twilight Tattoo is an hour-long military pageant featuring Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Observations On Growing Older The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore. You miss the days when everything worked with just an ¡§ON¡¨ and ¡§OFF¡¨ Switch.. You tend to use more 4 letter words ..... what? ¨... ¨when? ¨... ??? Everybody Whispers |
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Operation Shingle (January 22, 1944), during the Italian Campaign of World
War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area
of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General
John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter
Line and enable an attack on Rome. The resulting combat is commonly called
the Battle of Anzio. The success of an amphibious landing at that location, in a basin substantially comprising reclaimed marshland and surrounded by mountains, depended completely on the element of surprise and the swiftness with which the invaders could move relative to the reaction time of the defenders. Any delay would result in the occupation of the mountains by the defenders and the entrapment of the invaders. Lieutenant General Mark Clark, commander of the U.S. Fifth Army, and his superiors understood the risk but Clark did not pass on their appreciation of the situation to his subordinate Lucas but as an experienced general he no doubt should have understood. The initial landing succeeded without opposition and a jeep patrol which went as far as the outskirts of Rome reported no resistance. Despite that report, Lucas, who had little confidence in the operation as planned, failed to capitalise on the element of surprise by delaying his advance a few days until he judged his position was sufficiently consolidated and his troops ready. While Lucas consolidated, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, the German Italian theatre commander, moved every spare unit to be found into a ring around the beachhead and on the flanks of the mountains, where his gunners had a clear view of every target. The Germans stopped the drainage pumps and flooded the reclaimed marsh with salt water. They planned to entrap the allies and destroy them by epidemic. Meanwhile, for weeks a rain of shells fell on the beach, the marsh, the harbour, and on anything else observable from the hills. After a month of heavy but inconclusive fighting Lucas was relieved and sent home, replaced by Major General Lucian Truscott. The Allies finally broke out in May but instead of striking inland to cut lines of communication of the German Tenth Army's units at Cassino, Truscott on Clark's orders reluctantly turned his forces north-west towards the prize of Rome which was captured on 4 June. As a result, the forces of the German Tenth Army at Cassino were able to withdraw and rejoin the rest of Kesselring's forces north of Rome, regroup and make a fighting withdrawal to his next major prepared defensive position on the Gothic Line. Aftermath |