Austin, Texas Chapter
Last month, we were entertained by Ervalyn and
Andrew McVeigh who had gone on a high adventure. It's amazing that
they weren't kidnapped near Mount Ararat or arrested when they passed
through customs. They must have the ability to look poor or
harmless with great success. Maybe the locals in northeast Turkey
knew that the family had agreed that there would be no ransom which would
give the travelers more time to write a book about their trip back in
time. For those who didn't attend, there will be another opportunity
to hear and see what they experienced. I highly recommend Part II.
We have two service projects that our chapter contributes to every
year. We provide a medal, certificate and presentation folder for
the 27 MOWW ROTC presentations that we will make in 15 ceremonies during
the months of April, May and early June. We collected $229 against
our bill of $ 279.95. Besides money, you can also present the
certificates. I encourage everyone to
support these service projects as they are truly
what we are about. Bring or mail your contribution to our chapter
treasurer, COL Andrew J. McVeigh III. Checks should be payable to AMOWW and marked for ROTC or YLC. APRIL 2009 Praise the Lord, all nations! This is strong faith language. We are not hearing words here coming from some
minor piece of advice or some incidental impulse. No, this admonition strikes at
the very heart of who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do. When all people busy themselves in actions of love directed toward God
and one another, then we will live the quality of life God created at the
very beginning, before humans became enamored with themselves more than
they desired to please God.
If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at
the results.”.... GSP
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.”
George Patton.
The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin-April 2009
Our other project is to sponsor great students to attend the
Youth Leadership Conference. Last year we gave $600 for 5 attendees.
This year it will cost $688 for 4 attendees or $ 516 for 3 attendees. The
number of attendees we sponsor depends on the quality of the applicants.
Chapter Commander
Our next meeting will be April 9th at the
Holiday Inn Northwest (Mopac & Hwy 183) Come
to the Inn at 1830 hours for the social period and 1900 for dinner. The cost for the
evening is $18.00. If you are not called by 5 April, contact J. R. Howard at 848-0285.
Program
Col Carlos Higgins was an F-111 pilot in Viet Nam. He brings a wealth of knowledge about his
operations and life during the Viet Nam years.
FOOD PACKAGING: It's a trick worthy
of a magician: Make a supermarket product look the same but actually contain
less. That's the kind of move that many companies are using to shrink popular
grocery items like mayonnaise, ice cream, peanut butter and toilet paper, while
keeping the price and packaging the same. The result: Consumers are getting less
for their money. Approximately one-third of items at the grocery store have lost
content since 2007, according to the Nielsen Co., which tracks market
trends...RAO Bulletin
MOWW Scripture and Commentary
(Chaplain Ernie Dean)
Praise the Lord, all peoples!
God's love for us is strong
And God's faithfulness is eternal.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117
It is clear that the plight of the human condition is born in false worship and
misguided praise. When we bow to the lesser gods, we receive unsatisfactory,
even destructive, results. For too long, humans, especially Americans, have
catered to issues of darkness, all the while giving little attention to the God of Light.
We should not be surprised, then that there is someone, or a lot of someone's,
ready to lead us astray. There is not a strong attempt at civility, humility,
responsibility, and love on the part of business, education, political or church
leaders.
God is a God of giving and we
find ourselves corralled by a group of folks who are "takers."
Join me in prayer for a world that reveres God and holds to the teachings
of God. As scripture tells us:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment.
The second most important commandment is like it, love your neighbor
as you love yourself. The whole law of Moses and the teachings of the
prophets depend on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:37-40
Staff Meeting
The next staff meeting will be at the call of the Commander.
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds,
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
.....Wendell Berry in April's Reader's Digest
Julia Child's recipe for
a healthy life:
Small helpings,
no seconds,
eat a little bit of everything,
no smacking,
have a good time,
and pick your grandparents.
George S Patton:
“A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution
applied ten minutes later.”
ARREARS of PAY UPDATE 01:
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC 3rd) has introduced The Military Survivor
Comfort Act H.R.613 into the 111th Congress. The bill would allow a survivor
to keep the entire retired pay for the month in which a servicemember dies.
HR 613 would authorize the retention of the full final month's retired pay
by the surviving spouse (or other designated survivor) for the month in
which the member was alive for at least 24 hours. Current practice requires
the government to recoup the money and pro-rate it based on the date of
death. It is current practice of the Department of Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) to immediately recover the last month's retired
pay upon notification of the death....RAO Bulletin
SSA TRUST FUND UPDATE 01: We
will soon learn how the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds are
faring in what economists say is the worst economic recession since the
end of World War II. The 2009 Social Security and Medicare Trustees
annual reports are due. Last year the Social Security Trustees reported
that the year in which annual benefit costs exceed tax income would be
2017. But a recent article appearing in The Washington Post says the
Trustees now estimate that we may be within three years of that
happening in 2011. The recession is speeding us out of the frying pan
and into the fire, without a doubt. But the way in which the government
accounts for the Medicare hospital insurance and Social Security trust
funds has lured Congress into putting off the highly contentious task of
fixing the programs.....RAO Bulletin
TRICARE &
OHI: All beneficiaries
should understand their Tricare benefit, which includes how Tricare pays
claims for beneficiaries who have other health insurance (OHI).
Understanding how the two work together is necessary for ensuring timely
and accurate claims processing. Beneficiaries may be eligible for OHI through an employer, private
insurer, school health care coverage or entitlement programs such as
Medicare. Navigating two health care plans can be quite confusing at
first. The most important thing to remember if you have OHI is that, by
law, your OHI is the primary payer, and Tricare is secondary. You or your
provider must file health care claims with your primary health insurance
before you file with Tricare. Check with your OHI provider and your
regional contractor to find out the appropriate steps to take to ensure
your claims are paid.....RAO Bulletin
Letter from Benjamin Franklin, 1750
Sir:
The bearer of this, who is going to America, presses me to give
him a letter of recommendation, though I know nothing of him, not even his
name. This may seem extraordinary, but I assure you it is not uncommon
here. Some times, indeed, one unknown person brings another
equally unknow; to recommend him, and sometimes they recommend one another!
As to this gentleman, I must refer you to himself for his character and
merits, with which he is certainly better acquainted than I can possibly
be. I recommend him, however to those civilities, which every
stranger, of whom one knows no harm, has a right to, and I request you will
do him all the good offices, and show him all the favor, that, on further
acquaintance, you shall find him to deserve. I have the honor to be,
etc.
Spanish-American War: Battle of Santiago de Cuba
By Kennedy Hickman, About.com
Following the outbreak of war between Spain and the United
States on April 25, 1898, the Spanish government dispatched a fleet under
Admiral Pascual Cervera to defend Cuba. On May 29, Cervera's fleet was
spotted in the harbor. Two days later, Rear Admiral William T. Sampson
arrived with the US North Atlantic Squadron and began a blockade of
the harbor.
While at anchor in Santiago, Cervera's fleet was protected by the heavy guns
of the harbor defenses. In June, his situation became more tenuous following
the landing of American troops up the coast at Guantánamo Bay. As the days
passed, Cervera waited for inclement weather to scatter the blockade so that
he could escape the harbor. Following the American victories at El Caney and
San Juan Hill on July 1, the admiral concluded that he would have to fight his
way out before the city fell. He decided to wait until 9:00 AM on Sunday July
3, hoping to catch the American fleet while it conducting church services.
On the morning of July 3, as Cervera was preparing
to break out, Adm. Sampson pulled his flagship, the armored cruiser USS New
York, out of line to meet with ground commanders at Siboney leaving
Commodore Winfield S. Schley in command. The blockade was further weakened
by the departure of the battleship USS Massachusetts which had retired to
coal. Emerging from Santiago Bay at 9:45, Cervera's four armored cruisers
steered southwest, while his two torpedo boats turned southeast. Aboard the
armored cruiser USS Brooklyn, Schley signaled the four battleships still on
the blockade to intercept.
Cervera began the fight from his flagship, Infanta Maria Teresa, by opening
fire on the approaching Brooklyn. Schley led the American fleet towards the
enemy with the battleships Texas, Indiana, Iowa, and Oregon in line behind. As
the Spaniards steamed by, Iowa hit Maria Teresa with two 12" shells. Not
wishing to expose his fleet to fire from the entire American line, Cervera
turned his flagship to cover their withdrawal and directly engaged Brooklyn.
Taken under heavy fire by Schley's ship, Maria Teresa began to burn and
Cervera ordered it run aground.
The remainder of Cervera's fleet raced for open water but was slowed by
inferior coal and fouled bottoms. As the American battleships bore down, Iowa
opened fire on Almirante Oquendo, ultimately causing a boiler explosion that
forced the crew to scuttle the ship. The two Spanish torpedo boats, Furor and
Pluton, were put out of action by fire from Iowa, Indiana, and the returning
New York, with one sinking and the other running aground before exploding.
At the head of the line, Brooklyn engaged the armored cruiser Vizcaya in an
hour-long duel at approximately 1,200 yards. Despite firing over three hundred
rounds, Vizcaya failed to inflict significant damage on its adversary.
Subsequent studies have suggested that as much as eighty-five percent of the
Spanish ammunition used during the battle may have been defective. In
response, Brooklyn bludgeoned Vizcaya and was joined by Texas. Moving closer,
Brooklyn struck Vizcaya with an 8" shell that caused an explosion setting
the ship on fire. Turning for shore, Vizcaya ran aground where the ship
continued to burn.
After more than an hour's fighting, Schley's fleet had destroyed all but one
of Cervera's ships, the new armored cruiser Cristobal Colon, which continued fleeing along the coast.
Slowed due to engine trouble, Brooklyn was unable to catch the cruiser. This allowed the battleship
Oregon to move forward. Following an hour-long chase Oregon opened fire and forced Colon
to run aground.
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba marked the end of large-scale naval operations
in the Spanish-American War. In course of the fighting, Sampson and Schley's
fleet lost 1 killed (Yeoman George H. Ellis, USS Brooklyn) and 10
wounded. Cervera lost all six of his ships, as well as 323 killed and 151
wounded. In addition, approximately 70 officers, including the admiral, and
1,500 men were taken prisoner. With the Spanish Navy unwilling to risk any
additional ships in Cuban waters, the island's garrison was effectively cut
off, ultimately dooming them to surrender.