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On 14 June, I had the privilege of attending two events that confirmed the idea of the Army as a constant force in our society.  A change of command began the day and a celebration of the Army’s birthday closed out the day.

The Fort Benning garrison command change occurred at 8 am to begin the day.  Thankfully, the event was early because it was already getting warm by the time it ended.  Colonel Jeff Fletcher relinquished command to Colonel Michail Huerter.  Fletcher is a Columbus native and Adjutant General Corps officer.  Huerter has been at Benning many times as an Infantryman with lots of Ranger experience.  The two Colonels had very different careers but are linked through their service and now command position.  Colonel Fletcher is now headed to Afghanistan, a place Colonel Huerter has been before.

Changes of command and responsibility occur virtually every day in the Army as leaders move to new assignments.  Formal changes of command such as this garrison are tightly regulated and happen every 2 years.  Organizations continue on because soldiers and civilians in those groups know their duties and expect such changes.  New leaders bring new ideas and keep the energy level up in order to cope with challenges that always seem to come along.  Regardless of these changes, life goes on in the Army and the Army remains the faithful watchdog ready to sacrifice itself for the nation.

The Army birthday ball ended the evening and in its own way reminded me of the constant change in the Army and the Army’s role in protecting the nation regardless of the calamity.  During the ball in order to remember the legacy of Fort Benning and celebrate the arrival of the Armor School, soldiers in period uniforms from World War I to today marched into the hall.  Their presence illustrated to the assembled soldiers, spouses, and civilians the long heritage of Fort Benning and of infantry and armor soldiers training and fighting together in defense of the nation.  This display again emphasized that the Army has a long history of change while maintaining its steady support to America’s citizens.  The entire event was a reminder of the solemn pledge all soldiers make to risk their lives if need be in order to safeguard the country.  Change was especially apparent when the oldest and youngest members present cut the birthday cake.  The oldest was a chaplain.  The youngest was a female private.

The Army does keep rolling along.  We citizens and our political leaders sometimes take that service for granted.  Consequently, there are times resources are short and the missions are many.  Regardless of these challenges, soldiers, their families, and Army civilians will keep trying to make do and to do their duty.  Without that dedication we would not be able to look forward to celebrations like the 4^th of July.  Please say a little prayer for those soldiers and civilians who are in harm’s way and thank God for the sacrifices of those who have not returned from battlefields all over the world from 1775 to now.

We’ve finally crossed a red line and to what end?  President Obama hemmed and hawed months ago and said the Syrian government use of chemical weapons would be a red line if crossed and would force him to change his “calculus” for the region.  The president was vague in the meaning of “red line” and “calculus,” which is not necessarily bad.

Keeping an enemy guessing can be good.  However, if you really want to prevent something then the threat must be seen as credible.  Now we finally agree with several European allies that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons.  The fun will really start now.

The president has been cautious in taking sides in this Syrian civil war.  There are still stories surfacing that Ambassador Stevens was killed in Libya while working an arms transfer to the Syrian opposition.  However, the administration has not confirmed that, so the stories are still only rumors.  At least overtly, we have stayed out of the Syrian fight.  Timing is everything because now that al Qaeda elements are clearly involved, we have decided to help them.

You can be sure that some of the aid provided will arm our enemies.  Just as in Afghanistan in 1979 when we supported the fight against the Soviets, some of the arms provided will be fired back at us someday.  We stayed out of the Syrian conflict when we had a chance, maybe not a good one but a chance nonetheless, to keep al Qaeda out of it.  Had we engaged earlier, we might have ensured that we were not arming our enemies.  Now with the Syrian government winning and al Qaeda in the fight on the side of the rebels, arming the rebels means we’ll arm al Qaeda.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to demand a refund when the conflict ends.  I am sure that some amount of the weaponry provided will be siphoned off to be held for future use against us.  Rebels fighting the Syrian government won’t receive everything.  We’ll keep writing almost blank checks because we’re good at that.  Corruption will ensure that regardless of our intentions some of the support will immediately go places we don’t want it to go.

So the mess continues.  The president boxed himself into a corner when he pronounced that the use of chemical weapons was a red line.  I’m sure he now feels obligated to do something since he promised he would.  I just hope that we don’t rue the day we helped the Syrian rebels.  We will arm al Qaeda.  If the rebels lose, all support left will wind up in al Qaeda’s hands for their future use against us.  Getting in this fight now is not a good idea.  Making promises with unintended consequences is always risky.

The Army is about to have another birthday. On June 14, the Army will be 238 years old. As you can see, the Army has been around for a long time and even preceded the Declaration of Independence by a year. The Center of Military History web site provided much of the following information.

The Continental Congress authorized the enlistment of ten companies of riflemen on June 14, 1775. These initial enlistments were for one year and provided the first regular force for the country. These first companies’ immediate task was to move to Boston for the defense of the city. The Continental Congress also accepted responsibility for thousands of volunteer soldiers in New England in order to defend several positions in the northeast. This number of soldiers grew rapidly and reached something like 22,000 in Massachusetts and 5,000 in New York by July 22. Congress also sought to provide an army based on members outside the area immediately threatened, so these initial companies came from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia as well as New England. This desire to expand sectional involvement influenced the decision to select George Washington to lead the Army since he was from the south. Fortunately, politics resulted in an excellent selection.
The Infantry branch rightfully traces its heritage to the beginning of the Army with these riflemen. The Adjutant General’s Corps, Corps of Engineers, Finance Corps, and Quartermaster Corps began on June 16 as Congress created the administrative and support elements of the Army. My branch, Field Artillery, did not come into being until November 17. Since Armor traces its heritage through the Cavalry, its heritage begins on December 12 when Congress authorized raising a cavalry regiment. Other branches have come into being throughout the Army’s history. Aviation is the youngest with a birthday of April 12, 1983.

The Army and the nation have come a long way since 1775. Browse the shelves of any decent sized bookstore and you can find some sort of book that addresses some aspect of the changes that the Army has faced. Large and small wars have demanded action as has support to civil authorities including fighting forest fires and riot control. Controversy comes with the territory whether the Army is implementing the directives of the Commander in Chief or rolling out a new uniform item. Regardless, the Army is always there. Many people in this country don’t fully realize that the Army never sleeps (Public safety forces never sleep either, but this is about the Army). I’ve often reminded my children that you can always find someone awake on an Army post even in times of peace. A staff duty officer or noncommissioned officer or some sort of guard is always on duty. That always brought me a sense of comfort regardless of where I was stationed and especially if my family was not with me. I knew someone was always available to handle a problem.

The nation benefits from this constant vigilance. The Army is steady. It may not always cut a spectacular presence because of the dirty jobs that must be done. The Army may not always be efficient in the use of resources, but then war is not an efficient business (regardless of how the occasional armchair strategist may wish it to be). Nonetheless, the Army will always be there for us when we need it to stand up and say “no more” to threats to our security and freedom. The Army uses the phrase “Army strong” these days as a slogan in advertising campaigns. Whether you like that phrase or not, there is a great deal of truth in those two words. The Army has been a rock that the nation could rest against for 238 years. I think that is proof of a pretty tough and resilient group of people that undergoes constant change in membership and composition.

So wish a happy birthday to the United States Army this June 14 by flying a flag or thanking a soldier. We wouldn’t be the same without them, past and present.

Even though the current administration still refuses to accept that we face a worldwide Islamic fanatic threat, we do.  The Boston Marathon bombing remains a clear example of that threat as does the stabbing in a London suburb of a British soldier.  Yet our president wants to repeal the Authorization to Use Military Force and continue to abandon Afghanistan as rapidly as possible.  The president may finally get his way and close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility for terrorists as well.  The Patriot Act will be next to go.  I think he is going to use the repeal of the AUMF and our departure from Afghanistan as an excuse to say the war is over and now we are in a pre-9/11 environment.  That will mean the cessation of counter-terrorism military operations and the treatment of terrorism as a law enforcement operation alone.  Liberals will cheer.  Even some libertarians and conservatives will applaud as well.  I’ll probably finally build the bunker in my backyard I’ve wanted for years or at least buy more ammo.

The Islamic fanatics who hate us are not going away.  Unfortunately, the events in Boston and London are indicators that the problem is worsening.  We’re killing al Qaeda operatives who are dumb enough to use some form of electronic communications so we can find them.  Drones and Hellfire missiles work well but that will end as well.  Congress is now concerned about armed drones flying over America as am I but this cessation of the war will lead to a cessation of drone strikes overseas.  Again, many people will celebrate the great liberal war victory.  Our lives will then depend on Attorney General Eric Holder who cannot remember that naming a reporter as a co-conspirator in a criminal investigation means he’s considering prosecution.  Members of the Black Panthers standing in front of a polling station with clubs in their hands aren’t an attempt at voter intimidation in his eyes either.  I’m sure he’ll see nothing wrong in the IRS or another government agency targeting conservative groups either.  I feel safer already.

My real concern is that we will assume the pre-9/11 days have returned.  Anyone with a brain should know what to expect.  The Boston Marathon attack shows we have not yet managed to get government agencies to trade information.  Taking the pressure off al Qaeda and their allies will let the fanatics catch their breath and exploit the weaknesses we have.  After all, the Marathon attack was the fifth time an Islamic terrorist in the United States has reached his target since President Obama was first elected.

I’m worried.  The American people are fed up with the war.  They are anxious to declare victory.  Many people will embrace the president’s assertion that the war is over and we won.  Unfortunately, such belief will be extraordinarily misguided and will get some of us killed.  We are in a long struggle that we are not accustomed to facing.  The world has changed and if we want to live we had better accept that.  We are in a long war that is not close to being over.

The debate about privacy versus security is raging thanks to the revelation that the NSA is collecting data on telephone calls, email messages, and Internet use.  There is so much debate it is hard to tell exactly what the NSA is collecting and what they are doing with it.  It would be downright funny if it wasn’t so serious to see liberals and conservatives either damning or favoring the program together.

I must admit I’m not happy.  I have defended the Patriot Act as being needed to keep us safe with the belief that the NSA was collecting data on conversations between people in the United States and others abroad.  I did not believe the NSA was collecting domestic only information.  Even if allowed by a FISA court, collecting all domestic information whether used today or simply stored is not right.  That is simply too much of an invasion of personal privacy and violation of personal liberty to allow.

The young man who disclosed the program messed up though.  He should have gone to a sympathetic member of the Senate or Congress rather than the press.  By going to the press, he broke the law.  Fleeing to Hong Kong was even dumber.  I hope he escapes alive.  I supposed he missed the fact that Hong Kong is Chinese territory.  Maybe he missed that little fact when he dropped out of school.  If the Chinese capture him, they will enjoy finding out the things he really knows before releasing him if they ever do that.  A disappearance is more likely to happen.

The pundits wringing their hands about the number of people with security clearances make me want to laugh and cry at the same time.  There is a great deal of classified information that thousands of people use daily.  Most military members need some sort of clearance simply to function.  Everything from operational plans to most radio codes are classified at some level.  If someone might come in contact with anything that is classified then they have to have a clearance for that highest level of classified material potentially to be encountered.  Information is still restricted based on the need to know it and special program compartments further delineate who may know what.  Service members, government civilians, and civilian contractors all go through the same vetting process to obtain a clearance.  The problem with Edward Snowden is that the supervisory system broke down.  No one saw that Snowden was disgruntled and a risk before he disclosed the program.

Edward Snowden is no hero but he also is no Bradley Manning or Mata Hari.  I’m glad someone disclosed the reach of the NSA.  When seen in light of the potential for another arm of the government, like the IRS, to target individuals and hide that for a long time, the maintenance of this massive information database on American citizens runs counter to the liberty guaranteed by the Constitution.  We cannot trust the government to be fair because we have examples right now where it was not fair.  Therefore, this NSA program needs to be restructured so that the government is not spying on private citizens or establishing a system where the change of a person in any position or office could lead to the abuse of such information.  Promises not to abuse the information simply do not hold water

When most Americans hear the word Turkey they think of Thanksgiving.  But they really need to be paying attention to the country with that name.  The civil unrest in Turkey is growing and the reaction of the government will be interesting and will affect all of us.  There is great risk to the West with what is going on in Turkey’s government.

Few Americans pay much attention to Turkey.  However, Turkey is a member of NATO and has stood by us in the past in difficult times.  The courage and toughness of Turkish army soldiers in Korea is the stuff of legends.  Nighttime raids with knives against the North Koreans and Chinese made them feared and respected.  The army was the savior of democracy several times in the 20^th century.  When an administration strayed too far from the democratic and secular ideals set out by Kemal Ataturk when he founded modern Turkey in the early 20^th century, the army staged a coup but then always returned control to the people.  What military in the world has a record of seizing power and then returning it to the forces of democracy?  None.

Things are different now in Turkey.  The political leadership for years has been sliding toward a more fundamentalist Moslem outlook.  It’s like someone or some group thinks they can re-establish the Ottoman Empire or some sort of caliphate in Istanbul, once Constantinople.  The military has stayed out of this process and allowed democracy to run its course.  Some writers have applauded this as an example that the military has finally learned its place.  Maybe that’s so, but we also may be about to lose a critical ally that provides a literal and philosophical bridge to the Middle East.

A few writers are saying the civil protests resemble the Arab Spring.  I’d say that’s not exactly accurate.  The civil unrest in Turkey is focused on protesting the right wing Islamic threat beginning to grow within the government.  A more secular government as Turkey once had is the demand, not a theocracy like that of Iran.  I do not think the Muslim Brotherhood is supporting these protesters.  The Islamists do not want a secular government.  They want a theocracy or at least a government dominated by Sharia law and Islamic social and political concepts.  The West is a threat to all of this.  Where Kemal Ataturk embraced Western civilization’s ideas of freedom, the Islamists clearly oppose them.

The outcome of the protests in Turkey is very important.  NATO could find itself with a member nation that disagrees with the foundational principles of Western society.  Let’s hope the Turkish government comes to its senses and realizes progress and freedom do not lie in a reversion to the 7^th
century.  I think even the Ottomans might be shocked at where the Islamists really want to go.  An Islamist Turkey would be a threat to Western civilization.  We want Turkey as an ally and not an enemy.

It always amazes me that so many liberals are so intolerant of conservative views when they constantly demand acceptance of the demands of people who are not conservative.  The neutrality if not acceptance required of conservatives when compared to the actions of the committed Left wing of this nation is sickening.  One by one the protectors of American values are falling.  The Boy Scouts of America is an example with the national organization now accepting behavior that was considered morally corrupt when I was a Scout.  However, I am really concerned about the attacks on Christians in our military forces.

It has to be getting difficult to be a conservative or a Christian in uniform these days.  The repeal of the “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy was a clear change in values.  That alone would have caused me to resign because I would not have been comfortable showering with someone who could have found me sexually attractive.  After all, that’s why we separate men and women in locker rooms, restrooms, and dormitory rooms all over the country.  The concern and reason is sex.  Even as a Colonel, I on occasion had to shower in a room full of men.

Soldiers do not always have the luxury of a private shower, restroom, or sleeping area.  Therefore, I don’t understand the reasoning behind separating anyone by sex if we are going to force heterosexual and homosexual soldiers to live together.  Add in religious reasons and for the privacy and religious freedom of people who disagree with such a lifestyle, conservatives and Christians in the military are under attack.  With regard to this issue, they lost.

However, the attacks on religious liberty of conservatives and Christians in the military are much more widespread.  Since President Obama has come to office we’ve seen Bibles banned from hospitals.  Chaplains have been ordered to conduct same-sex marriages even if their sponsoring religious agency does not condone such marriages.  Now a master sergeant in the Army band is facing punishment for having political stickers on his car and reading conservative and Christian literature.  This truly is scary.  The administration is demanding that the military stomp on the rights of conservatives and Christians in order to bend over backwards to cater to a minority of people on the far Left.

I’m glad I am no longer wearing a uniform because I know I would be in trouble.  Other than a true love for soldiers, I am sure many chaplains must be having doubts.  If the economy was in better shape, I suspect a lot of people would bail out.  President Obama is succeeding in changing the fundamental structure of America.  The degree of change could be seen as revolutionary rather than evolutionary due to the speed.  Personal liberty is under attack from religious beliefs of soldiers to my cell phone records.  I can’t help but wonder what the United States will look like in 2016.  You might consider what the future may bring and what can be done to slow the amount of change.

President Obama’s choices for national security adviser and ambassador to the United Nations have provoked a lot of comment.  Susan Rice is known as the serving UN ambassador and Benghazi cover-up lead while Samantha Power is not well known to most Americans.

Susan Rice has been at the forefront of American foreign policy actions involving the UN.  Given the continued lack of support of us from that body such as the inability to get the Russians and Chinese onboard with containing Syria and Iran, I don’t give Ambassador Rice high marks for persuasive ability.  Her being either sufficiently stupid to think that the Benghazi attack was due to a video or so naïve that she allowed herself to be duped by other people in the administration does not indicate a great degree of wisdom.  I don’t see her stature rivaling that of the national security advisers of previous administrations.

I had no idea of Samantha Power’s qualifications until I saw her name.  She has been a journalist, even winning a Pulitzer prize.  She has also been a Harvard professor and worked on a number of political campaigns.  Ms. Power is known for supporting U.S. intervention for humanitarian reasons but also for apologizing for previous American interventions.  As I’ve read about her past I have been struck with how difficult it seems to be to determine whether she wants us to be the world’s policeman or stay home.  She doesn’t seem to understand that military forces break things so it is best not to use them unless you want something broken.  Ms. Power is not going to bring a strong name to the contest of wills at the UN, so she will have an uphill battle trying to exert leadership.  Of course, when we lead from behind, that doesn’t really matter.

Ambassador Rice and Ambassador-want-to-be Power are probably best known as diehard supporters of the president.  That’s also not all bad from the president’s perspective.  The president should not want people who automatically nod yes about every idea, but every idea also does not need to be a fight.  Nonetheless, it seems to me that the president has not always assembled a good team of people to help him make and implement decisions.

With Rice and Power, the president has definitely reached for political loyalists rather than seek out top names in the foreign policy field.  I suspect he also is trying to insulate Rice from further Benghazi questioning by using executive privilege even though it should not apply to her time before being the national security adviser.  By the time lawyers sort out that we’ll have a different Congress and the president hopes to change it to a Democratic one.  So maybe the president is brilliant.  He can keep Rice off the stand for months if not forever.  The UN does the United States little good so why waste time with someone who might accomplish something?  Power will probably accomplish exactly what the president wants in the UN – nothing.  These two choices will probably accomplish little.  I just hope they don’t get us stuck in some mess that we cannot escape.

Scandals in government are not new and will never go away.  People have flaws and great responsibility will bring out their best and worst characteristics.  In that sense, this administration is no different from others.  However, one difference with this group of people in power is that the media are so in love with them that they have not acted as the watchdog for the people that many in the media have claimed they are.  Frankly, their bias is reprehensible.  Nonetheless, the scandals now piling up may not be the worst aspect of government.

The scandals are terrible and tear at the fabric of our democracy whether the IRS unfairly targeting conservatives for their political views or lying to Congress about targeting a journalist for investigation.  However, the real problem could turn out to be the distraction from international events where people’s lives hang in the balance.

Don’t get me wrong.  I think some people ought to go to jail for breaking the law.  The scandals must be investigated and the people who broke the law prosecuted.  In some cases, the act may not be criminal but was immoral in that the public’s trust was violated.  Those public servants should cease serving the public.  We don’t need their help.

I’m concerned that the government leadership is spending their time covering up and denying illegal actions of subordinates rather than focusing on keeping us safe.  Besides the continuing war in Afghanistan we still face a confident, sometimes arrogant, and assertive (if not belligerent) China.  Provocations in the waters around Japan continue.  China has done little to restrain North Korea.  Investment in Iraq and in Africa by the Chinese is rising.  What are we doing to prevent China from becoming the international superpower that we have been since World War II.

North Korea as mentioned in the previous paragraph remains a threat.  Their leader is inexperienced.  Starvation remains one bad harvest away.  The North Korean army remains capable of striking South Korea.  The North Korean missile threat continues to grow.  How will we stop them before someone starts a full-fledged war?

Iran’s nuclear program continues as well.  They will construct a nuclear bomb or missile warhead unless someone takes direct action.  Can we live with that?  I don’t think so.  Either Israel, the United States, or some coalition of threatened countries will have to conduct military action to stop Iran from developing a nuclear capability.  More than likely, the only country with the courage to try is Israel.  We will stand back and watch it happen.  The outcome will most likely not be good.

So to me the worst aspect of the scandals is the time taken to deal with them.  Our leaders need to be focused on the international issues that will get Americans killed.  I also think we should do a better job in picking the people who go to and stay in Washington.  It does not seem that many of them understand the world and many also are just as crooked as so many political jokes over the years have implied.

Securing the information world is a major challenge for the government and businesses.  There is pressure to avoid restraining any action on the Internet from libertarians and liberals because of free speech.  Supporters of small business decry any regulation or taxation that could cripple the free market interaction on the Internet.  Yet our enemies are working hard to exploit the free flow of information in a way to harm us.

A few weeks ago there were warnings from the Department of Homeland Security that al Qaeda hackers were mounting an information campaign.  An alliance between criminals and Muslim extremists appears to be growing as well.  That’s a scary development, especially with the growing connection on the ground in Latin America between the same types of groups.

However, China may very well be the major cyber-security threat thanks to their resources.  At about the same time as we recognized this terror cyber threat it became apparent that Chinese hackers have been and continue to bombard our information systems with attempts to steal our secrets and inhibit our weapon and other system development.  Key components of major weapon systems have been compromised through cyber-attacks that lead back to the Chinese government.  Our allies in Europe and Israel also have reported attacks from known and unknown sources.

We really are caught between a rock and a hard place.  I do not like government control of the Internet.  However, the freewheeling nature of the Internet may make it nearly unusable if we do not find a way to deter our enemies and competitors from using the information highway as a way to steal our information.  There are most likely no easy or good answers other than we each must protect ourselves to the best of our ability.  Unfortunately, that may not be enough.