Austin, Texas Chapter

The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin-September 2009

Companions
Words from the new Commander, R. B. Rudy
I really must have been looking the other way when the nominations committee came by, because I now find that I have been selected to serve this year as Commander of this fine organization. Others selected (and most appreciated for serving) include Leon Holland as 1^st VP. Tom Anderson as 2^nd VP. Pat Eagan as Adjutant. Andrew McVey as Treasurer. And Ernest Dean as Chaplain.
   See you there. R. B. Rudy Each of the above may, in the execution of their duties, require some assistance from other members of the Austin MOWW. Please help when and where you can. Also in that vein, suggestions relating to the improvement of this chapter are always welcome.
   See you there. R. B. Rudy While it is nice to be a part of a small congenial group, it is every member’s duty to be on the lookout for potential new members and actively pursue same. Their names can be turned over to any of the above listed officers.
   See you there. R. B. Rudy 1^st VP Holland has looked far and wide for speakers of quality and interest. The speaker for 10 Sept. is of the highest quality, and if the Gods that control equipment will cooperate we should have a very entertaining evening. Andrew McVey will bring us the second chapter in the recent travels with the McVey’s.
                   See you there. R. B. Rudy
Meeting.
Our next meeting will be September 10th with Col Andrew McVeigh at the Holiday Inn Northwest (Mopac & Hwy 183) Come to the Inn at 1830 hours for the social period and 1900 for dinner. If you are not contacted by 7 September, please call Pat Egan at 750-1399 for a reservation.

If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.

If you are in the Original Medicare Plan, providers (e.g., hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and physicians) and suppliers are required by law to file Medicare claims for covered services and supplies that you receive. You should not need to file any Medicare claims.

As many as 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as a result of medical errors, according to an Institute of Medicine report. Some 99,000 people die each year from infections acquired in the hospital, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vigilance is key, says Cindy Sellers O'Brien, president of the mid-Maryland chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association

Scripture and Commentary
(Chaplain Ernie Dean)
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41)
   Please read this scripture from Mark and join me in thought. This is a most intriguing piece of scripture and a challenge, not just for the disciples, but for all of us. Mark reports that Jesus demonstrated miraculous powers. He spoke “Be quiet!” and the winds died down. He spoke again “Be still!” and calm settled in over the entire scene.
   The disciples were amazed, observing all of this in a state of awe and/or fear. “Who is this man?” Indeed, who is this man to you and to me? Or, maybe the question really is, “Does this man speak truly for God?”
    As we encounter the storms of life, we want to believe we are not alone. We want to believe that in God all things are possible (Mark 10.27). God is the God of presence, of empowerment, of love that is shared and never dies.
    These truths we can hold too. These are the truths that calm our personal storms. There are truths that enable us to be the faithful, obedient children of God that God plans for us to be.
    To God be all glory, honor and power. Amen
The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department will open a national call center in Waco, Texas, to help answer questions from veterans and VA pharmacies. U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX-17) announced the new project 12 AUG during a visit by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to Waco's VA hospital
Staff Meeting
The next staff meeting will be at the call of the Commander. The Battle for Baghdad...August 25, 2009 —
    The scheming had gone on for hours. The Iraqis were from a half dozen different political groupings, some sectarian, some secular. It was Baghdad, it was February 2009 and it was less than a month after Iraq’s provincial elections. For our hosts, the purpose of the dinner was to assure me and a colleague that their coalition had enough people on its side to oust Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki in a vote of no confidence. It was one of many such meals we attended on that trip with Iraqi friends determined to prevent Maliki from spinning his recent electoral victories into absolute power.
    That night our hosts were hoping to convince us of the strength of their position, but as the evening dragged on, assurances were forgotten. The scheming turned desperate. A little longer and any remaining vestige of confidence was gone altogether. The Iraqis began to reveal, to each other as much as to us, the problems they faced. This party boss would only join if he were named defense minister, but he brought too few votes to justify it. Another group would only join if still another party were excluded. But they would not give up on their dream of ousting Maliki, and their machinations turned to ways of getting around those obstacles.
    Finally, the conversation reached its climax. The Iraqis managed to convince themselves they would have the votes they needed. They had convinced themselves that they had ways, tenuous ways, but ways, to overcome their problems. The somber mood of concern that had hung in the room seemed like it was about to lift. They had successfully built a Rube Goldberg machine that would oust the prime minister. Then, at that moment, one member of the group dispelled the whole fantastic edifice: "But Hakim [leader of the most important Shia party] won't agree to a vote of no confidence," he pointed out glumly. "He says it would look like we were trying to overturn the will of the people.

And without ISCI [the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Hakim's party] we don't have the votes." The dream was over. The desperate confidence evaporated. The circle of conversation splintered as some went to get more coffee or tea or sweets; others simply rose to give physical manifestation to their frustration. They fell to complaining about Sa’id Abdul Aziz al-Hakim’s unwillingness to join a vote of no confidence and to warning us that if the United States did not do something about Prime Minister Maliki we would be facing either a new Saddam or a new civil war. And as the evening faded, their warnings wasted away into plaintive questions about the new Obama administration’s willingness to oust Maliki since they could not do it themselves.
America is still all that stands between stability and anarchy in Iraq
From the Brookings Institue

Chapter Officers

Commander Major Rylen Rudy 452-9923
1st Vice
Commander Col Leon Holland 335-1224
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 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.

" If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush

Battle of Pydna

The two armies appear quite evenly matched in numbers. The Romans had 29,000 men, of which 24,500 were infantry, including two legions (approximate strength 15.000 foot and horse). The Macedonians had 44,000 soldiers, of which 21,000 were phalangites. The cavalry forces were roughly equal, about 4,000 each. The two armies were drawn up in their usual fashion. The Romans had placed the two legions in the middle, with the allied Latin, Italian and Greek infantry on their flanks. The cavalry was placed on the wings, with the Roman right being supplemented by 22 elephants. The phalanx took up the center of the Macedonian line, with the elite 3,000-strong Guard formed to the left of the phalanx.

Lighter peltasts, mercenaries and Thracian infantry guarded the two flanks of the phalanx, while the Macedonian cavalry was also most possibly arrayed on both flanks. The stronger contingent was on the Macedonian right, where Perseus commanded the heavy cavalry (including his elite Sacred Squadron), and the Thracian Odrysian cavalry were deployed.
   The two centers engaged at about 3pm, with the Macedonians advancing on the Romans a short distance from the Roman camp. Paulus claimed later that the sight of the phalanx filled him with alarm and amazement. The Romans tried to beat down the enemy pikes or hack off their points, but with little success. Unable to get under the thick bristle of spikes, the Romans were beaten back, and some of their allies abandoned the field.
   But as the phalanx pushed forward, the ground became more uneven as it moved into the foothills, and the line lost its cohesion. Paulus now ordered the legions into the gaps, attacking the phalangites on their exposed flanks. At close quarters the longer Roman sword and heavier shield easily prevailed over the short sword (little more than a dagger) and lighter armor of the Macedonians. They were soon joined by the Roman right, which had succeeded in routing the Macedonian left.
   Seeing the tide of battle turn, Perseus fled with the cavalry on the Macedonian right. According to Plutarch, Perseus' cavalry had yet to engage, and both the king and his cavalry were accused of cowardice by the surviving infantry. Poseidonius claimed that the king was injured by enemy missiles and was brought to the city of Pydna at the start of the battle. However, the 3,000 strong Guard fought to the death, and the Macedonians suffered more than 32,000 dead or captured out of 40,000. The battle lasted about an hour but the bloody pursuit lasted until nightfall.
   Perseus later surrendered to Paulus, and was paraded in triumph in Rome in chains. He was then imprisoned. The Macedonian kingdom was dissolved, its inhabitants enslaved and sent to Rome, its land settled with Roman colonists (ex-legionaries) and roman allies, its government replaced with four republics. In time, these were also dissolved, and Macedonia became a Roman province.
   The battle is often considered to be a victory of the Roman legion's flexibility over the phalanx's inflexibility. Nevertheless, some argue that the loss was actually due to a failure of command on the part of Perseus and the peculiar stance of the Companion cavalry, who did not engage the enemy. In effect, the battle of Pydna might be the only battle attested, where the Roman maniples succeeded in breaking the Macedonian phalanx by engaging it frontally.
Aftermath
This was not the final conflict between the two rivals, but it broke the back of Macedonian power. The political consequences of the lost battle were severe. The Senate's settlement included the deportation of all the royal officials and the permanent house arrest of Perseus. The kingdom was divided into four republics that were heavily restricted from intercourse or trade with one another and with the rest of Greece. There was a ruthless purge, with allegedly anti-Roman citizens being denounced by their compatriots and deported in large numbers (300 000). In 167 BC, Paulus received orders to attack Epirus, resulting in the enslavement of 15,000 Epirotes. This took place despite the fact that Epirus had not aided Perseus in the war. The Battle of Pydna and its political aftermath mark the effective end of Macedonian independence, although formal annexation was still some years away.