As we
did last year, we will not have a December meeting. We have been invited
to share in the
fun, the music, and Gumbo's exquisitely catered dinner with the Austin
Military Officers
Association of America at their annual Dinner-Dance on December 14, 2011,
at Camp Mabry.
If you are not a member of AMOAA and would like to attend, please contact
Adjutant Pat
Eagan at 512-894-4036 or me at 512-335-1224 for details.
-Colonel Leon Holland, USA, (Ret.)
"TO GOD BE THE GLORY" We Americans love to celebrate Thanksgiving, "maybe the most American of
our national days." (Rev. Norman Vincent Peale.) From little on, our
parents, and other adults, encouraged us to say, "thank you," when
someone had a special treat or kindness for us. We likely did not fathom all of
this emphasis on gratitude and graciousness, but went along with it quietly.
1830-1900 - Social
By late 1967, the US command in Vietnam was issuing very optimistic
statements about weakening of the Communist forces and the likelihood that
the war would be won. However, these statements were based to a
considerable extent on wishful thinking. In its eagerness to make the
situation look hopeful, the US command was underestimating the actual size
of the Communist forces.
In past years, a tradition had grown up of declaring a truce for a few
days during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, to allow people on both sides to
celebrate this very important holiday with their families. During Tet of
1968, which came at the end of January, the Communists announced a truce
but then launched a stunning offensive, attacking almost every major city
in South Vietnam. One Communist unit got inside the walls of the US
Embassy in Saigon and remained for several hours before being killed. US
forces had made some preparations for the possibility of an attack, but
not enough. Most ARVN units were caught totally by surprise.
The result of the Communists' failure to achieve their objectives was
that they lost a large part of their forces. Tens of thousands of the best
NLF guerrillas had gone into the cities. When the population did not rise
up to support them, and the ARVN did not collapse, a large proportion of
these men were killed. This weakened the NLF organization in the
countryside very drastically, and it never completely recovered. The
Communist apparatus in the South became much more dependent on North
Vietnamese support than it had been up to this point.
The Tet Offensive was militarily a defeat for the Communists; it had
weakened them very substantially. However, in public relations it was a
Communist victory. There were several reasons for this.
1) The most important was the way the optimistic statements US
spokesmen had been making about Communist weakness contrasted with the
strength the Communists had shown in this battle. US spokesmen had been
saying for months that the Communist forces were weakening. The Tet
Offensive made it obvious that the Communist forces were far stronger than
US spokesmen had admitted. When the same spokesmen said after the Tet
Offensive that the Communists had been badly weakened, they were telling
the truth for a change, but they had a lot of trouble persuading anyone to
believe them. When General Westmoreland, the US commander in Vietnam,
asked for 200,000 more American soldiers to be sent to Vietnam, this made
people even less willing to believe that the Tet Offensive had been a
brilliant American victory.
2) The Tet Offensive made the brutality of the war very visible to
Americans. The US Air Force had been bombing South Vietnamese villages for
years; during Tet the Air Force was bombing South Vietnamese cities. The
ARVN had been killing prisoners for years; during Tet the American
television viewing public actually got to watch a prisoner, with his hands
bound behind his back, being shot through the head by a South Vietnamese
general. The Communists also committed atrocities, of course; the
Communists appear to have killed several thousand civilians in the city of
Hue during the period they held parts of that city. That, however, did not
happen within sight of American television cameras.
3) Tet, although militarily it was a clear American victory, had not
been a cheap victory. The total number of US soldiers reported killed in
Vietnam during the year 1968 was about 14,000, the highest number for any
year of the war.
4) The US and ARVN forces shifted their activities toward the cities
for a while as a result of the Communist attacks on those cities.
Therefore, the weakening of the Communist forces in the countryside was
not immediately apparent.
For all of these reasons, the Tet Offensive made the US news media, and
the US public, much less enthusiastic about the war than they had been
previously. General Westmoreland did not get the 200,000 additional troops
he had requested, and in less than two years the US began withdrawing
substantial numbers of troops. Negotiations began between the US and the
Communists, and for most of the time the negotiations were going on, the
US imposed limits on its bombing of North Vietnam. One might reasonably
say that in the long run the Tet Offensive was a victory for the
Communists, because of the way it reduced the American will to fight.
The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin- November 2011
Last month, we had an exciting program and a dynamic speaker. There is no
doubt that the UT
ROTC program remains in good hands with LTC Joseph Kopser. Likewise, it is
very impressive to
know that he is very actively engaging with the surrounding community.
We were also pleased to have as our guests last month Companions Ray
Sanchez and Anne
Buhls, the commander and adjutant of our neighboring Georgetown chapter.
Our chapter was well represented at the MOWW Region VIII Patriotic
Education Committee
meeting held in Waco on October 22 by Companions Anderson, Holland,
McVeigh and Perry.
This month, we will again be honored to hear a first-hand report from
Afghanistan by our local
Red Team expert, Colonel Jeanne Arnold. She has recently returned from Afghanistan, having
honored a personal invitation to assist with the phase-out planning
initative. So, bring your
family, friends and neighbors to the November 10 meeting (our last meeting
of 2011).
Next Meeting. November 13 at the
Holiday Inn Northwest (Mopac & Hwy 183).
Speaker
Colonel Jeanne A. Arnold enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard, 111th Area
Support Group (ASG) as a Transportation Specialist in January 1983. She received
her commission in June of 1984 through the Officer Candidate School program.
After graduating from Transportation Officer Basic Course, she was assigned as
Commander, 1104th Transportation Detachment. She was then selected for and
completed US Army Rotary Wing Course in 1987 and returned to Texas where she
served in several Aviation assignments through 1998. Her tours included test
pilot, two Aviation Commands, and Flight Facility Operations. She has served in
key staff assignment positions with Headquarters, Texas Army National Guard and
with Headquarters Joint Texas Military Forces, including Assistant Inspector
General and J1, Director of Manpower and Personnel. After completion of Command
and General Staff Officer Course, Colonel Arnold was invited to return as
Instructor for the 11th Bn (CGSC), 95th Division. (continued on 2nd page)
MOWW Scripture and Commentary
November 2011
(Chaplain Ernie Dean)
Praise the Lord, my soul! All my being praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget how kind he is.
(Psalm 103:1-2)
Now as adults, how are we doing in our expressions of thanks and gratitude to
our God? And related to that question is another: Is it God and all folks we
meet on life's journey whom we love-no matter what-or are we pretty selective or
even arbitrary?
The Bible tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love
our neighbor as ourselves. (See Matthew 22:34-40). To lovingly share the best in
ourselves with the best in others results in the type of thankful life God
designed in the beginning and still expects.
So, in this month of November 2011, the call upon us by the Holy One is to show
thanksgiving by thoughts, words, and deeds that enhance the quality of life for
all of creation. Each and every act of kindness, temperance, care, nurture, and
love becomes a building block in putting together a world of wholeness and
holiness so that all are included in the circle of love and sharing. In such a
world, we need not fear being left out or left barren. We can rejoice and be
glad only when our lives fit into God's plan for abundance.
"Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget how kind he is." Indeed!
Speaker continued. After two years, she returned
to the 111th ASG as Director, Host Nation Support, and then S3/Security, Plans,
and Operations. She was with the 111th ASG during the deployment in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom where she served as the Base Commander in Kabul and
Jalalabad, and later as the Operations Officer (S3) for Task Force Eagle (BDE
Level) in Bagram, Afghanistan. Upon re-deployment, Colonel Arnold was selected
to Command the 949th Brigade Support Battalion, 36th Infantry Division. During
this time she also served as Task Force Wrangler Commander for Hurricane Dean
Evacuation and Recovery Operation, deploying to the predicted Hurricane strike
zone to assist the community evacuate and return when safe. Upon completion of
Command, she deployed again to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division as
the CJTF-82 Decision Support Red Team Leader. Her current position is instructor
and Commander of the Red Team Support Group. She returned from her most recent
deployment in October 2011.
She is a graduate of several Military Courses and Schools including the
Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Officer Rotary Wing, and Maintenance Test
Pilot Courses. Colonel Arnold has also completed several Staff Officer Courses
to include the Combined Arms Service Staff School, Support Operations Course,
Command and General Staff College, and Faculty Development Course. She attended
both the Garrison and Logistics Pre-Command Courses. Most recently, she is a
graduate of the Red Team Leaders Course. Colonel Arnolds' awards and decorations
include Senior Aviator Badge, 2 Bronze Star Medals (for Combat tours), 3
Meritorious Service Medals, 4 Army Commendation Medals, 3 Army Achievement
Medals, NATO service and other overseas deployment ribbons.
Colonel Arnold holds a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Education,
both from Texas State University. She is a native Texan and considers Texas her
home where her children and family reside.
Chapter Officers
Commander Col Leon Holland 335-1224
Vice Commander
Treasurer Col Andrew McVeigh 261-6272
Adjutant Mrs.
Patricia Egan 750-1399
Chaplin LtCol
Ernest S. Dean 477-5390
Youth Leadership
ConferenceLtCol
Thomas W. Anderson 445-4480
ROTC Awards Col
Leon Holland 335-1224
Newsletter & Web Site LtCol
J. Robert Howard 848-0285 Schedule:
1900-1905 - Invocation & Salutes
1905-1945 - Dinner
1945-2000 - Break
2000-2045 - Program
2045-2100 - Adjourn.
This year, Applebee‘s is offering a Veterans Day menu that includes some of
its signature and favorite items.
A survey of social workers, nurses and doctors working for the Department of
Veterans Affairs finds that more than 70 percent of respondents think the
department lacks the staff and space to meet the needs of growing numbers of
veterans seeking mental health care.
Veterans make up over 25% of the workforce for the US Customs and
Border Protection agency.
"Remember you can always get more with a kind word......and a gun, than
with a kind word alone. " - Professor Irwin Corey
"I won't know until my barber tells me on Monday.".......Knute Rockne, when asked why Notre Dame had lost a game
The total number currently on active duty from the Army National
Guard and Army Reserve is 70,251; Navy Reserve 4,719; Air National Guard and Air
Force Reserve, 11,145; Marine Corps Reserve, 5,681; and the Coast Guard Reserve,
674.
Even though the new fiscal year for the federal government began on 1 OCT,
Congress has yet to complete its work of funding the government for the new
year. Instead, they‘ve passed a stopgap spending bill, called a continuing
resolution, which keeps the government open until 18 NOV.
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off
your goal."
Henry Ford
The Tet Offensive and its Aftermath
The Communist forces appear to have been trying to win the war at a
single blow. They hoped that the ARVN would disintegrate in panic and
confusion, and that the civilian population would join in a mass uprising
against the government. They did not achieve either of these goals,
although the ARVN may have come rather close to collapsing.