The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin- October 2011

Words from the Commander:   Our first meeting this session was exciting and fun-filled, including unsolicited, but interesting, background music adjacent to our alternate meeting area. Fortunately, the singing from another group meeting a floor below us was completed before our program segment began. The highlight of any meeting is to bring aboard a new member. We are delighted to have inducted LTC Keye Perry as a companion at the September meeting. Please be sure to extend your congratulations to Companion Perry and his wife, Becky, the next time you see them, if you have not done so already. A big "thank you" to Companion McVeigh for this recruitment. I am indeed honored to have been given the privilege of serving as your Commander for a second term. I thank you for your vote of confidence and loyal support. My sincere gratitude to Companion Rudy, Immediate Past Commander, for taking the helm of the meeting while the Commander's position was addressed by the attending members. I am very pleased to say that all of the officers from last year will remain in place. Unfortunately, we still need a companion to fill the Vice Commander's position. It is absolutely critical this year that the position is filled, not only to help with the program function but, more importantly, to ensure that we are prepared for a smooth Commander succession next year. The viability and vitality of our chapter depend on the strength, support, and participation of its members.

The other exciting and fun-filled aspect of our meeting occurred because of the cancellation of our speaker. When I was attempting to follow-up with our speaker, I learned from his ex-supervisor that our designated speaker was no longer employed at the company. Although, it was very short notice, the supervisor made an attempt to get a replacement speaker and was successful.  However, the replacement speaker contacted me just before the meeting and informed me that, due to his scheduling conflict, he would not be able to make the meeting in time. The company representative did offer to be rescheduled for a future meeting. Not a problem, the show must go on.                 -Colonel Leon Holland, USA, (Ret.) Next Meeting. October 13  at the Holiday Inn Northwest (Mopac & Hwy 183). The meal price has increased from 18 to 20 dollars. Please join us to hear our guess speaker, Clarence Richardson Disinfect and Deodorize Sponges. Don't throw out the kitchen sponge that smells like last night's salmon. Soak it in water spiked with white vinegar or lemon juice, then heat it on high for 1 minute. (Use an oven mitt to remove it.) This will also disinfect any sponges you used to wipe up the juices from a raw chicken. COLA  Although federal workers face at least one more year without a pay raise, government retirees are cautiously looking forward to a cost of living adjustment of around 3.3 percent in their January checks

MOWW Scripture and Commentary October 2011 (Chaplain Ernie Dean) IN PRAISE OF THE CREATOR I will sing to the Lord all my life; As long as I live I will sing praise to my God. May God be pleased with my song, For my gladness comes from him. Psalm 104:33-34 Our lives are to be songs of praise. Not just what we do. Not just what we say. Not even just what we believe, but all of the above. God calls us to an integrity that shows faith in total obedience and commitment. No part of our body can function properly solely on its own. Too, no part of all that makes up who we are can function properly solely on its own. And, certainly, God expects an on-going and ever-emerging sense of being. We are not to be the somebody God wants us to be for just a short time and then fall apart. "All my life" are the words from the Psalm. We are on a journey, a pilgrimage, an ever-expanding reality of relationship. There is always more to come, because God is at work in us-always! Our part is to be responsive in a mature way. Isaiah 41:10 lifts up our spirits and gives us encouragement for all we are called to be: Do not be afraid-I am with you! I am your God; let nothing terrify you. I will make you strong and help you. I will protect you and save you. The Defense Accounting and Finance Service announced that paydays for military retirees will be changing to the first day of the month versus the first business day.. The change will affect the October 2011 and January 2012 payments which will be on September 30 and December 30 respectively. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory

Our Speaker: Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Kopser serves as the Professor of Military Science at UT. He  graduating from West Point in 1993 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. He also holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. Commissioned as a Cavalry Officer, his former assignments include Tank Platoon Leader and Scout Platoon Leader with the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Bliss, Texas. He returned to Texas in 1998, where he commanded Charlie Company, 3d Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment in the 4th ID. After graduate school,  LTC Kopser began a teaching assignment at West Point with the Department of Social Sciences.  While he was there, he volunteered for a summer assignment in 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq to assist in the planning of their first national elections. In the summer of 2005, he volunteered for his 3d assignment in Texas where he joined the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss as a Squadron Operations Officer and Executive Officer. After deploying to Mosul, Iraq in the fall of 2006, LTC Kopser became the Executive Officer of 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment (Garryowen), where they served as the only ground battalion securing a city of almost 1.8 million people. After returning from Iraq, LTC Kopser joined the Future Force Integration Directorate where he served as a strategic planner  in the testing and evaluation of the Army's $160 billion modernization effort. In April of 2009, he became a strategist and special assistant for the 36th Army Chief of Staff.   While at the Pentagon, he assisted in the coordination of speechwriting, Congressional relations, media relations, and executive outreach with the defense industry.  LTC Kopser's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger Tab, the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge. He met and married his wife Amy from El Paso, TX in 1994. They live in Austin with three daughters ages 16, 13, and 11.

 

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 Conference LtCol Thomas W. Anderson 445-4480 ROTC Awards Col Leon Holland 335-1224 Newsletter & Web Site LtCol J. Robert Howard 848-0285

Schedule: 1830-1900 - Social 1900-1905 - Invocation & Salutes 1905-1945 - Dinner 1945-2000 - Break 2000-2045 - Program 2045-2100 - Adjourn. "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." - Doug Larson

Great line in the editorial of the Idaho Statesmen. "Witnessing the Republicans and the Democrats bicker over the U.S. debt is like watching two drunks argue over a bar bill on the Titanic." SBA Vet Issues Update 15: Since 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded billions of dollars in contracts under a program to steer work to firms owned by veterans without requiring proof of their eligibility for the funding. A new mandate forcing companies to prove their ownership and management status has led to the removal of at least 18,800 companies from the VA vendor preference list, the government said. Until last year, contractors were able to self-certify their status as veteran-owned businesses. Air Force veteran Chad Gill, whose Plankinton, S.D.-based company supplies ammunition, insecticide and pesticide to federal agencies, said he welcomes the stricter requirements. "The honor system doesn't really work in the real world," said Gill, who served at a Merced, Calif., Air Force base and is the chief executive of Phoenix Environmental Design. "Only about 8,200 veteran-owned companies remain in the agency's Vendor Information Pages," said Josh Taylor, a VA spokesman. That represents a 70 percent reduction after the introduction of tougher certification measures.

 

The Lost Battalion is the name given to nine companies of the United States 77th Division, roughly 554 men, isolated by German forces during World War I after an American attack in the Argonne Forest in October 1918. Roughly 197 were killed in action and approximately 150 missing or taken prisoner before 194 remaining men were rescued. They were led by Major Charles White Whittlesey. Action in the Argonne On October 2, the division quickly advanced into the Argonne, under the belief that French forces were supporting the left flank and two American units were supporting the right flank. Unknown to Whittlesey's unit, the French advance had been stalled. Without this knowledge, they moved beyond the rest of the allied line and found themselves completely cut off and surrounded by German forces. For the next six days, surrounded by the putrefying corpses of fallen comrades, the men of the division were forced to fight off several attacks by the Germans, who saw the small American units as a threat to their whole line.

 

The battalion suffered many hardships. Food was short, and water was available only by crawling under fire to a nearby stream. Ammunition ran low. Communications was also a problem, and at times they would be bombarded by shells from their own artillery. As every runner dispatched by Whittlesey either became lost or ran into German patrols, carrier pigeons became the only method of communicating with headquarters. In a famous incident on the 4th inaccurate coordinates were delivered by one of the pigeons and the unit was subjected to "friendly fire". The unit was saved by another pigeon, Cher Ami,[1] delivering the following message: WE ARE ALONG THE ROAD PARALELL 276.4. OUR ARTILLERY IS DROPPING A BARRAGE DIRECTLY ON US. FOR HEAVENS SAKE STOP IT.[2] Despite this, they held their ground and caused enough of a distraction for other allied units to break through the German lines, which forced the Germans to retreat. [edit] Aftermath Monument to the Lost Battalion in the Argonne Forest, France. Of the over five hundred soldiers that entered the Argonne Forest, only 194 were able to walk out unscathed. The rest were killed, missing, captured, or wounded. Major Charles White Whittlesey, along with several other officers received the Medal of Honor for their valiant actions. Whittlesey was also recognized by being a pallbearer at the ceremony interring the remains of the Unknown Soldier. However, it appears that the experience weighed heavily on him. Whittlesey disappeared from a ship, in what is believed to have been (and was reported as) a suicide, in 1921. Former Major League Baseball player, and Captain of the 77th Infantry Division, Eddie Grant, was killed in one of the subsequent missions in search of the battalion. A large plaque was placed in center field of the Polo Grounds New York in his honor. Brigadier General Billy Mitchell wrote after the rescue that the Germans had managed to prevent supplies being air-dropped to the battalion. He ordered:[3] ...chocolate and concentrated food and ammunition dropped.... Our pilots thought they had located it from the panel that it showed, and dropped off considerable supplies, but later I found out they had received none of the supplies we had dropped off. The Germans had made up a panel like theirs and our men had calmly dropped off the nice food to the Germans who undoubtedly ate it with great thanksgiving.... Cher Ami, one of the carrier pigeons used during the battle. Cher Ami was not the only pigeon used but is by far the most famous. His stuffed body is still displayed today at the Smithsonian. In his last mission, he delivered a message despite having been shot through the breast. The bird was awarded the Croix de Guerre, for heroic service delivering 12 important messages in Verdun. Wikipedia For the last 3 months late at night troops from The Old Guard Delta Company of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment-the Army's official ceremonial unit) has been photographing every grave at Arlington National Cemetery. (With an iPhone). "Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."   Sun Tzu