Welcome back! I truly
hope you found the secret to cope with the heat and drought we have
experienced this summer. Notwithstanding the historic weather, it's time
to reconvene our chapter dinner meetings. This year all meetings will be
held on the second Thursday of each month, with the exception of December.
Details about the December meeting will be forthcoming.
Our contract with Holiday Inn has been renegotiated and there will be a slight increase in
the cost---$20 for meals including a slight change to the menu. (Less pasta)
We are looking
forward to another active and exciting session. My sincere thanks and
gratitude are extended to our current companions who have agreed to carry
on their duties for our Chapter another year. As
of this writing, no volunteers for the Commander's and First Vice
positions have surfaced. I will volunteer to stand in for the first
meeting, at least to allow the membership to express its will.
In May, I attended
the MOWW Region VIII Conference in Plano, Texas. The outstanding day and a
half conference was hosted by North Texas Chapter234. It was my first MOWW
conference and it was an informative and very hospitable experience. I
look forward to attending others in the future. I will share a few
conference details at our meeting on 8 September.
Our first program
this year will feature a topic currently of great interest ---JOBs.
We will hear what one company is doing, especially, for our men and women
leaving military service and seeking employment. Clarence Richardson, a
representative of Bradley-Morris, Inc., "the largest military-focused
placement firms in the U. S.", will share what services are offered to
military members making their big career transition.
We look forward to
seeing you on Thursday, September 8, 2011, same time and place. We are
also anxious to hear all about your summer vacations and excursions.
-Colonel Leon Holland, USA, (Ret.)
CHOOSE THE CORRECT PATH
Clarence Richardson received his degree from South Carolina State
University. Besides being an intelligence officer in the Army, He has been
a Healthcare Sales Representative at Pfizer and a Senior Sales Consultant at
Novartis. Currently he works at
at Bradley-Norris to help
companies hire transitioning military experienced leaders.
Bradley-Morris, Inc.expertly matches the Host cities for military hiring events include Atlanta,
Ga.; Austin, Texas; Chicago, Ill.; Norfolk, Va.; Providence, R.I.; and San
Diego, Calif.
October 2002 -- May 2004 (1 year 8 months) Led 4-person team in Saudi Arabia providing intelligence
for supervisors during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom
Key Achievements: Fused together real time intelligence from the Air Force
and Army resulting in the attack of over 1000 prioritized targets in IRAQI
FREEDOM.
Regimental Intelligence Officer/Intelligence Plans
Officer
1830-1900 - Social
Elements of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division performed a covert
recon into Iraq on February 9, 1991, followed by a recon in force on
February 20, that destroyed an Iraqi battalion. On February 22, 1991, Iraq
agreed to a Soviet-proposed
cease-fire agreement. The agreement called for Iraq to withdraw troops to
pre-invasion positions within three weeks following a total cease-fire,
The U.S. VII Corps launched an armored attack into Iraq, just to the
west of Kuwait, taking Iraqi forces by surprise. Simultaneously, the U.S.
XVIII Airborne Corps launched a sweeping "left-hook" attack
across the largely undefended desert of southern Iraq, led by the 3rd
Armored Cavalry Regiment (3rd ACR) and the 24th Infantry Division
(Mechanized). The left flank of this movement was protected by the French
6th Light Armored Division (which included units of the French Foreign
Legion). The fast-moving French force quickly overcame the Iraqi 45th
Infantry Division, suffering only a handful of casualties, and took up
blocking positions to prevent any Iraqi force from attacking the coalition
flank. The right flank of the movement was protected by the British 1st
Armoured Division. Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi
territory, they turned eastward, launching a flank attack against the
Republican Guard.
Both sides exchanged fire, but the Republican guard divisions, worn
down by weeks of aerial bombardment, proved unable to withstand the Allied
advance. Tank battles flared as the Republican Guard attempted to retreat.
The coalition won with minimal losses.
It soon became obvious the Iraqi strategy was inherently flawed. Once
Iraq had decided it was not going to advance into the eastern oil fields
of Saudi Arabia, there was no reason for Iraqi forces to deploy further
south from Kuwait
City in great numbers. The decision to deploy significant quantities
of troops along the desert border of Kuwait unnecessarily increased the
length of Iraqi supply lines. Secondly, once the decision had been made to
deploy along the border, the decision to extend it only slightly along the
Iraqi border invited a massive flanking. Indeed, the Iraqis did not
possess enough forces to maintain a long enough front along the border of
Kuwait and southwestern Iraq. Therefore it was imperative that the
deployment and the front should have been shortened to just South of
Kuwait City and extending to the outskirts of Basra. Iraq possessed only
one absolute military advantage over the coalition, that being the quality
and quantity of its artillery pieces. However, most of Iraq’s artillery
pieces were towed and hence not well suited to large expansive maneuvers.
This also meant that it was in Iraq’s interest to slow down the movement
of opposition forces and engage along lines that could not be easily
broken or flanked.
The coalition advance was much swifter than U.S. generals expected. On
February 26, Iraqi troops began retreating out of Kuwait, allegedly
setting fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they left (although the fact that
coalition troops had to clear unexploded cluster bombs from the oil fields
before the fires could be extinguished has lead some observers to suggest
that the fires may have been caused by the coalition bombing campaign). A
long convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq-Kuwait
highway. The column also had prisoners and other fleeing Iraqi civilians
such as families of Iraqi military. Controversially, this convoy was
bombed so extensively by the Allies that it came to be known as the
Highway of Death. Equally controversially, forces from the United States,
the United Kingdom, and France continued to pursue retreating Iraqi forces
over the border and back into Iraq, moving to within 150 miles (240 km) of
Baghdad before withdrawing.
One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, President Bush
declared a cease-fire and on February 27, declared that Kuwait had been
liberated Source: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gulf_War
The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin- September 2011
Next Meeting. September 8 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
VA Wrong Surgery Study: Procedures and surgeries on the wrong patient
and wrong body part have declined substantially at Veterans Affairs hospitals
nationwide, while reports of close calls have increased, according to a study
that credits ongoing quality improvement efforts.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked
out of you."
Woody Hayes / Ohio State
"When all is said and done, the real citadel of strength of any community
is in the hearts and minds and desires of those who dwell there."
Everett Dirksen
MOWW Scripture and Commentary
September 2011
(Chaplain Ernie Dean)
Because the Lord is righteous and good, he teaches sinners the paths
they should follow. He leads the humble in the right way and teaches
them his will (Psalm25:8-9)
The Psalms have been called "the heart of the Bible." Anyone who
searches the Biblical word is led, sooner or later, to state his /her
appreciation for the Psalms, for these songs/poems speak to every human need and
emotion. The more familiar we become with the Psalms, the more powerful is their
influence. Read what you will, but please do not omit the Psalms.
The short passage above from Psalm 25 is a firm and appropriate description of
God's careful and loving participation in our lives. God cares and continually
finds ways to demonstrate this. All of us are in need of guidance, for all of us
are sinners. We may not want to be, but frail as we are, we succumb to our
weaknesses far too often.
God, who is "righteous and good" (v.8) can do no other than be near at
hand to address our needs. God expects faithfulness and love to be our way, our
choice. Unless we deliberately choose otherwise, the Holy Word guides us to the
right path and helps us remain there. When we "let go and let God"
lead the way, we walk and live in humble admiration and faithfulness; following
God's will (obedience) becomes paramount. This is the good life we long for and
cherish. This is what it means to be blessed.
How foolish for us to cling to our own ways when God's way is eternal and
steadfast. How foolish for us to cling to our own ways when God's way is the
only answer to the countless tragic problems facing us and our world this very
day.
"The test of character is not hanging in there when you expect light at
the end of the tunnel, but performance of duty and persistence of example when
you know no light is coming...."
- Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale, USN
Our Speaker:
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.
VA Homeless Vets Update 22: The number of
homeless veterans on any given night has dropped by over 55,000, the Department
of Veterans Affairs said on 15 JUL, due in part to programs like the $46.2
million announced 14 JUL to provide permanent housing for 6,790 homeless
veterans. ROA
Jane Fonda:
A
new controversy over Oscar winner Jane Fonda's Vietnam War activism caused the
actress to come out swinging against home shopping TV network QVC on 23 JUL,
over what she described as its caving in to "extremist" pressure to
cancel her appearance. In a blog posting on Showbusiness website TheWrap.com,
Fonda wrote that she was scheduled to appear on QVC to introduce her book
"Prime Time" about aging and life cycles.
But the network, Fonda wrote, reported receiving a flood of angry calls
regarding her anti-war activism of the 1960s and 1970s, and it decided to cancel
Fonda's appearance. ROA
Medicad Eligible
Vets: A growing number of states are shifting health care costs to the
federal government by finding military veterans who receive Medicaid and signing
them up for medical benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Arizona, California and Texas are among the states that are working to replicate
a program first launched in Washington State. That program, begun in 2003, has
moved some 9,500 veterans from the state's Medicaid rolls to the VA's.
Washington State has avoided paying $27 million in health care bills this way --
enough to make a small dent in a strained state budget. And veterans generally
find that the benefits offered through the VA are more generous that what they
were getting through the state. ROA
Gulf War
The coalition forces dominated the air with their technological
advantages, but the ground forces were considered to be more evenly
matched. However, the coalition ground forces had the significant
advantage of being able to operate under the protection of coalition Air
supremacy that had been achieved by the Air Forces prior to start of the
main ground offensive.
Initial moves into Iraq
and called for monitoring of the cease-fire and withdrawal to be overseen
by the UN Security Council. The US rejected the proposal but said that
retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked, and gave twenty-four hours
for Iraq to begin withdrawing forces.
Coalition forces enter Iraq
Iraq's forces outmatched