Austin, Texas Chapter
The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin-January
2008
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Companions, The December meeting at the Austin Club truly met our expectations. The meal was superb, the service outstanding and we were all surprised when First Vice Commander, Stanley Bullard personally provided superb entertainment in the form of gifted members of the Austin Gilbert and Sullivan Company. What a wonderful after dinner program to help commence the current Holiday period. During the evening, it was our extreme pleasure to initiate Mrs. Pat Egan as the Chapter's newest "Perpetual Member". The next time each of you see this new MOWW member, she should be congratulated! Welcome Companion Egan. The meetings at the Austin Club are a twice a year event that the members relish to attend and bring guests. This meeting was no exception. Mrs. Barbara Quates joined Colonel Ernest Dean and his wife Shirley, and Colonel Maurice Quigley and his wife Tinka as the guests of Companion Bullard. Mrs. Flo Kerr was the guest of Colonel Wes Lokken. On a note of concern, however, we missed Companion Jim and Mickie Burrill, Companion Gus and Francis Herzik, and Companion J. R. and Lois Howard. | While
they had planned to attend, as luck would have it, all three of these
Companion's wives were under the weather. They hopefully will shake off
their ill health in short order as we certainly desire to see these ladies
up and about, sooner rather than later. It will be back to the Holiday Inn Northwest for our 10 January meeting. There, we will be honored to have Colonel Ernest Dean as our guest speaker, who will discuss the role of Chaplains in the modern military force. I look forward to this very knowledgeable and talented Officer's presentation We want to again thank Companion, Major Stanley Bullard for the Austin Gilbert and Sullivan Company's great musical entertainment. Ervalyn and I hope to see you at the Holiday Inn Northwest in January.
Come early and bring a new member. The social gathering is at 1830 hours.
Andrew J. McVeigh III |
Schedule:
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10 January 2008 Holiday Inn Northwest (Mopac & Hwy 183) The cost for the evening is $18.00. If you are not called by 7th January., contact Andrew McVeigh at 261-6272 |
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Program LtCol Ernest Dean Quote to Ponder: |
India is developing a new ballistic missile with a range of
over 3500 miles. Beijing and Shanghai are closer than 3500 miles.
Staff Meeting |
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The Battle of Chosin Reservoir was a battle in the Korean
War, in which 30,000 United
Nations troops (nicknamed the "Frozen Chosin" or "The
Chosin Few") under the command of American General Douglas
MacArthur faced approximately 60,000 Chinese
troops. The name Chosin is the Japanese rendition of the Korean place
name Changjin.
The name stuck due to the outdated Japanese names on maps used by UN
forces.
Shortly after the People's Republic of China entered the conflict, large numbers of Chinese soldiers swept across the Yalu River, encircling the United Nations (UN) troops in the northeastern part of North Korea at the Chosin Reservoir. A brutal battle in freezing weather followed. Although they inflicted enormous casualties on the Chinese forces, the UN troops were forced to evacuate North Korea after they withdrew from the reservoir to the port of Hungnam. The battles of the Chosin Campaign, which had a decisive impact on the future course of the war, were fought in the ten day period between November 27 and December 6, 1950. |
Four different actions were fought; the successful defense of Hagaru-ri,
the successful defense of Yudam-ni, the successful effort of the 5th and
7th Marines to break through from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri, and the fight of
RCT 31, east of Changjin.
The Chinese launched heavy assaults that halted the UN offensive. MacArthur and Almond ordered Major General O.P. Smith, commander of the 1st Marine Division and associated forces in the Chosin area to fight his way out of the trap. Starting on November 26, 1950, the UN troops began a fighting withdrawal to the south, towards Hungnam. Keeping his units concentrated and moving deliberately, Smith made an aggressive assault to break out of the reservoir. When asked if the Marines were retreating, Smith explained that their fighting withdrawal through Chinese lines did not constitute a retreat. His explanation was abbreviated into the famous misquote, "Retreat? Hell, we're attacking in a different direction!" (recalling the famous quote from Captain Lloyd Williams in the Battle of Belleau Wood during the First World War, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!"). |
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Chosin continued... In their withdrawal, U.S. troops were either attacking—conducting numerous assaults to clear Chinese roadblocks and overlooking hill positions—or under furious Chinese attack. The sub-zero temperatures inflicted even more casualties than the Chinese (who also suffered greatly from the extreme cold). U.S. forces enjoyed total air supremacy, with Navy, Marine, and Air Force fighter-bombers flying hundreds of sorties a day against the encircling Chinese. Over 4,000 wounded were flown out and 500 replacements flown in during the operation, contributing considerably to its success. |
The Marines and soldiers were able to destroy or effectively disable all seven Chinese divisions that tried to block their escape from the reservoir. The UN forces in northeast Korea quickly withdrew to form a defensive perimeter around the port city of Hungnam, where a major evacuation was carried out in late December 1950. All together, 193 shiploads of men and material were evacuated from Hungnam Harbor, and about 105,000 soldiers, 98,000 civilians, 17,500 vehicles, and 350,000 tons of supplies were shipped to Pusan in orderly fashion. [6] [7] ...Wikipedia |
Austin Chapter Website and
Newsletter
Inspiration Selection |
Chapter Officers Commander - COL McVeigh 1st Vice Cmdr. - MAJ Bullard Adjutant - Patricia Eagan Treasurer - CAPT Burrill Chaplain - CDR Cochran Youth Leadership Conference Coordinator - LTC Tom Anderson ROTC Coordinator - Col Leon Holland
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Make way for UAVs Pentagon advocates and operators of unmanned aerial vehicles are increasingly frustrated with civilian agencies as attempts to gain access to U.S. airspace languish. The Defense Dept. has 5,300 UAVs in inventory and many thousands of flight hours' experience in the U.S, Iraq and Afghanistan, but the search for ways to move them quickly from home base to emergency locations is stalled. U.S. operators, including those who provide fire-fighting services, say there's no problem with the aircraft, ground stations and air traffic control. But a staggering amount of time is taken up with "FAA negotiations, contingency landing planning, frequency coordination, | GPS jamming coordination and mission and weather planning," says a longtime UAV specialist. Others complain that NASA has "abdicated leadership" in trying to get airspace access for UAV's. Dyke Weatherington, deputy for the Pentagon's unmanned aerial systems planning task force, tells analysts and operators he's trying to organize a high-level meeting among Defense Dept, NASA and FAA officals to thrash out the problem, but he can't find a high ranking NASA official who will participate. The Air force maintains 15 round-the-clock combat air patrols in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the number is expected to increase to 21 soon. ....Aviation Week |
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Military Health Care TF Update 07: At a public meeting of the Defense Health Board, the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care gave a briefing which included a general description of what their recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and Congress are going to be. While they were not a surprise; they are a real disappointment and worry for the future.
No specific numbers etc. will be announced until they present the report to the SecDef on 19 DEC. Remember these are just recommendations-nothing is final. But it is clear that there will be much more work to do on this again next year. Following are a few items they covered that could impact retiree financially:
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* Along with many structural changes the Task Force made clear that they are going to suggest increases in enrollment fees and deductibles for retirees under 65 enrolled in TRICARE Prime. * A new "modest" yearly enrollment fee for TFL. * Changes in the incentives for everyone using the TRICARE Pharmacy program (that translates into making co-pays to direct patients to choose the mail order pharmacy plan or the MTFs). * Automatic increases in enrollment fees, cost shares and deductibles every 5 years. (Source- RAO-Baguio City) |
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Veteran Charities Update 04: The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), a leading charity watchdog, issued a report card this month for 29 veterans and military charities. Letter grades were based largely on the charities' fundraising costs and the percentage of money raised that was spent on charitable activities. Following is an alphabetical summary of charities and grade assigned:
* Air Force Aid Society (A+) |
* Soldiers' Angels (D) * United Spinal Association's Wounded Warrior Project (D) * Veterans of the Vietnam War & the Veterans Coalition (D) * Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (D) * World War II Veterans Committee (D) * American Ex-Prisoners of War Service Foundation (F) * American Veterans Coalition (F) * American Veterans Relief Foundation (F) * AMVETS National Service Foundation (F) * Disabled Veterans Association (F) * Freedom Alliance (F) * Help Hospitalized Veterans/Coalition to Salute America's Heroes (F) * Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation (F) * National Veterans Services Fund (F) * NCOA National Defense Foundation (F) * Paralyzed Veterans of America (F) * VietNow National Headquarters (F) (Source- RAO-Baguio City) |
| Prodded by Congress, the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. is going to test laser jammer technology next year as a defense system against terrorist missile attacks on commercial airline flights. The department has awarded BAE Systems and team member American Airlines a $29-million contract to test the infrared countermeasures system known as JetEye on scheduled American transcontinetal flights.....Aviation Week |
| Nicaragua is planning to nationalize the import of oil, but Pemex might be sold. Pemex is the totally state owned Mexican oil company. It could be described as ailing and in need of reform. |