Not every night, but often enough I do my ritual of sit-ups and push-ups before either before bed or in the morning. It’s a quick refreshing experience that can wake you up or make you tired. It seems to have the effect I need for whatever time of day I do them. Anyway, just thought I’d share this before I perform my little workout ritual and pass out for another long day in HazMat class.

Good night!

I’ve been away at a class on transporting hazardous materials for my MOS. Ammo-62 is the name of the course, and boy is it ever so in-depth! There is a lot of material that is being covered, but I have been holding my own here, having passed the first two tests given with an “A.”

As an aside, one of the things that should be known is that as you move up the ranks you will need to ensure that you complete as many of the courses that are related for your specific MOS. The more proficient you are in your subject the better a candidate you become for promotion. Now this advice is given with the assumption that the MOS you are in is the one you really want to grow into, although you really don’t have a choice. Not improving and growing or stagnating is a sure way to mediocrity.

Anyway, look at all these books. I have to take them home and I don’t exactly have room to transport them back with me on the plane. Might ship them home.

On a break now, chillin’ with SGT Darius, a buddy I deployed with to Afghanistan last year. He’s a cool dude! Nonchalant as all get out. Haha!

Later.

Paula Broadwell and husband Scott were captured by television cameras returning to their North Carolina home on Sunday after hiding out at her brother’s house in Washington since the scandal broke.

General Petraeus, the most celebrated US military leader in a generation, stepped down on November 9th as head of the CIA after admitting to an affair with Ms Broadwell, a counter-terrorism expert and lieutenant-Colonel in the Army Reserve who had co-authored a biography of the general.

Pictures showed Ms Broadwell with one of  her two sons in her arms as she walked up the stairs from her car to her house on Sunday. “At some stage I’ll have a statement for you guys, just not right now,” husband Scott told reporters.

Last week, FBI agents searched the Broadwell home and seized several boxes of documents.

Prosecutors are still deciding whether to pursue charges against Ms Broadwell, 40, for mishandling classified documents or allegedly taking secret files from government buildings – AFP

At some point in time every, and I mean every soldier passes through the fire of internal turmoil about a bad experience with leadership, and debates if all that crap is worth it. But then you realize, should you allow even one jerk NCO or officer to determine your future and change your perspective about your own career and success in the Army? The answer is no! Resentment stifles creativity and inspiration. I let my anger and resentment of a string of bad apples in a huge military organization, zap my passion and motivation to this project, Go David Strong. In short, I’m over it! My bad. Let’s keep it pushin’! HOOAH!

Honestly, all that I could think of then, and I still think of it now, after seeing such a desolate environment is what Abraham, or Abram at the time of his calling, felt when God told him that his decedents would inherit a land he would never see and Moses only saw from a distance.  That required faith in the face of what must have appeared to be sheer impossibility.  Yet Abraham did everything that God asked of him anyway, even sacrifice Isaac believing God could restore his son to him.  My second thought wasn’t so noble, but quite arrogant and very American.  I thought repeatedly to myself as I flew over these mud villages, “I could never live like this.”  Despite the attitude behind the thought, it is absolutely and literally true.  We Americans and much of the western world live like kings and queens.  Even our poor have better options than what I saw, not just from the air, but also on the ground.

Living in Afghanistan in tents, carrying my weapon everywhere, and working in concert for the greater mission seven days a week to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people–some unafraid to kill us and themselves in a act of suicide–was life changing.  I think there were two consecutive months where I was actually very afraid because of the increase in attacks on our FOB.  And the talk among civilian contractors and service members alike of larger attacks really did not help.  It was all so surreal.  Believe me when I say that I prayed a whole lot more than normal that I would make it home in one piece, in peace.

Anyway, I snapped over a thousand photographs and have yet to put a real dent into the task of choosing all the photographs for my photo book with tentatively working title “Afghanistan.”  I hope to have it complete and finalized by the fall of this year.  Stay tuned!

If I were to go to Afghanistan again or any country for that matter, I would rather be a photojournalist, either as a soldier or a civilian.  I enjoy telling people’s story in images!

I attend a large church in South Florida called Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale. Each Wednesday evening a youth service is held called EIKON for 18-33 year olds. (I am 30-years old with 31 around the corner in April by the way.) I haven’t attended the service in over a year and truthfully it was somewhat refreshing to return last night. But underneath it all, having walked into EIKON put me in a state I did not realize had remained. I actually felt strange and different. I wanted to be there but felt somewhat out of place. Something was up. After much thought allow me to explain.

I have spent nine months in an Afghan desert in Army uniform attending a small shabby tent that we called a chapel with a small community of people from all over the world–India, Pakistan, Kenya, America and more. These wonderful disciples of Christ and I drew close and it was amazing to commune with them and study the word of God. I have never felt such a unity of spirit like that in my life! I was witness to different ways of worship but a oneness of spirit that was unified in Christ, by Christ and his holy word. It was astounding and I miss that! As much as I do not want to compare my home church to my fellowship experiences overseas, I have to say that on some level I miss the small community of believers and the intimate fellowship that was always present. We were surrounded on all sides by immense evil and danger, and yet we had peace in that tent. And after we had finished all that God had wrought in us in worship and edification we would go our separate ways into thick black nights, which were extremely cold in the latter months of my tour of duty. We would all return to our tents to rest, then continue our respective duties the next day until we would meet again–same place, same time, under one Lord and God, one faith, in obedience to the Holy Spirit. So as much as I felt so eager to come home and resume my church life, especially EIKON, it all felt a bit anticlimactic last night and I have no understanding or reason to the question of why I feel this way.

In the least, I believe I have something to bring to the table, as it were, as I contribute to this church youth community. While I am no bible scholar, God has done something to me that has not become full grown yet, but I discern something new and beyond my thoughts and expectations will emerge in my future on this earth in this body for the good of a great number of people.

In short, I have come back to America changed in what I believe is good change.

Lord, show me how I may now take this Patmos experience and apply it in my home church. Open doors for me to share the maturation that was attained while away and the resolute spirit with which I have returned. Let me be attractive because of Christ in me, not because of what I have done, but because of what you have done in my life and are bringing to completion, even now. Teach me to be a champion for your Word, and herald this new thing you have whispered to me is about to happen this year. I do not presume to know your plans, but I trust in you and know this, that you are light and in you there is no darkness at all (John 1:5). I embrace your truth and choose to be reflecting of your light. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Let me share where I am right now.  Currently I am about to return to America from being deployed for approximately nine months in west Afghanistan.  A lot has happened and man, i should have started this blog a long, long time ago.  I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I yelled, I joked and I wallowed in doubt and self-pity throughout this entire overseas experience.  But I am currently in a state of readiness–sheer readiness to leave it all behind and start my life fresh.

Today we received our deployment awards from our battalion commander and command sergeant major, and tomorrow morning, bright and early, we will conduct our transfer of authority (TOA) ceremony.  I will be singing the national anthem in the beginning by the way.  The sergeant major is just in love with the fact that I’m singing.

I cannot give an exact time for when I will be leaving for the US, but I can say I am very relieved in a way to be returning.  The freedom to do as I please and go where I’d like, t not work seven days a week, and see the beautiful Fort Lauderdale seashores again is just heavenly right now.  My desire to reunite with my family and friends is ever so urgent and it causes me to burst with all kinds of emotions.  I long to get back to my home church. While I do not have my teaching position a music teacher any longer, I pray deep down that I can get it back because teaching music is where my heart is.  My cousin is giving me a Jack Russel Terrier and I am so excited about it, although not to plused about the training part, but it’s whatever–I will deal.  Oh, and let me not even forget all the food I miss eating so much, and I have yet to decide what my first delicious meal will be.  I have begun enrollment at Liberty University’s Master of Arts in Worship Studies too.  All the possibilities  are exciting…

…and scary too!  Structure, rank and file, and routine have been the call of each day for what will have been nine months in uniform.  This makes for a great deal of concern and anxiety believe it or not.  No I did not see combat, but for every soldier, reintegration on some respective level is always a challenge, and the statistics that have been presented to us have shown as much.  So, I am truly nervous and have already begun to communicate my concerns and expectations, particularly to my mother, about what I want to do during the first week back.  What I plan is secret and unfortunately not for others to know outside of my immediate family.  It is a plan my friend, SGT Nadine Brown, strongly suggested I do, and I am eagerly going to give it a try

Anyway, cryptic plans aside, I am truly overjoyed to be coming back to my blessed country.  I wonder how much has changed in a year because technically I have been away from home for a year.

Anyway, I better post this and go while the generators are still running.  We’re on a rolling power generator blackout schedule until someone wises up and just fixes the generators that need repair or replacing.  Boy, when they shut down these tents turn into freezing meat lockers where you can see your breath while wrapped underneath the covers.  As hot as this place can get in the summer months, I never would have thought how cold this desert can get.

Good night from Afghanistan.

SGT Moore

• “Armed U.S. troops in residential streets of Crookston, MN,” May 1, 2012.
• “ Army tanks on streets of St. Louis,” June 24, 2012.

The latest are armored military vehicles patrolling Wisconsin’s neighborhood.

Paul Joseph Watson reports for Infowar.com, August 7, 2012:

Armored military vehicles of the type used to hunt for insurgents in Afghanistan are set to patrol roads in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin as part of a training exercise on behalf of the U.S. Army Reserve.

“(Capt. William) Geddes said the U.S. Army Reserve wanted to alert the public to the training dates so residents are not alarmed when a pack of heavily armored military vehicles is driving around the county,” reports Sheboyganpress.com.

The exercises are being run despite the fact that troops driving the M1117 Armored Security Vehicles have already received their basic training. “They’re vehicles that these military officers might use if they’re deployed, patrol vehicles,” Geddes said, adding that the drills were to ensure that officers didn’t get “rusty” in handling the M1117s.

The vehicles, which have been used overseas in Afghanistan, are described as being “strange,” “intimidating” and “heavily armored,” while being the same size as a large SUV.

Local authorities have apparently not even been briefed about the planned exercises, which will run until August 17.

“Sheboygan County Administrator Adam Payne said he had not heard about the training exercises. Two city officials declined to comment, because they also had heard nothing about the training,” states the report.

Geddes urged citizens not to create safety hazards on the roads by stopping to gaze at the vehicles.

The increasing phenomena of military training drills taking place away from military bases and amidst the general public has led to fears that the American people are being acclimatized to accept a potential future declaration of martial law.

Back in June, residents in St Louis were shocked to see heavily armored U.S. Army vehicles patrolling neighborhoods as part of an exercise. However, the local media responded by featuring ‘vox pops’ interviews with people who supported the use of the military in order to “cut down on crime,” despite the fact that using the Army for domestic law enforcement is forbidden under the Posse Comitatus Act.

Advocating that America ape foreign countries where troops patrol the streets, one resident told Fox 2, “I think it’s the same way when you go to other countries…they don’t have police officers they have troops, and I think it kind of scares a lot of people…it might cut down on a whole lot of crime because they don’t know if they’re military or the police.”

“I think it’s fantastic because it might slow down some of the crime rate,” added another.

Predictions of mass civil unrest have fueled fears that the federal government and the U.S. Army are gearing up for domestic disorder. Both the U.S. Army and the Department of Homeland Security recently purchased large quantities of riot gear in anticipation of trouble at the upcoming DNC, RNC and the presidential inauguration. The DHS has also purchased 450 million rounds of .40 caliber hollow point bullets.

A recently leaked US Army Military Police training manual for “Civil Disturbance Operations” outlines how military assets are to be used domestically to quell riots, confiscate firearms and even kill Americans on U.S. soil during mass civil unrest.

On page 20 of the manual, rules regarding the use of “deadly force” in confronting “dissidents” are made disturbingly clear with the directive that a “Warning shot will not be fired.”

As an example of how high tensions are running, the following You Tube video, which shows over a hundred tanks being transported through Burbank, California, is also causing consternation amongst those that fear some form of martial law could be just around the corner.

H/t FOTM’s Miss May (Maziel)

~Eowyn

(Top L) DS Busen, DS Cowick, Cadet Simmons, Mr. Bentley, SPC Wheller, LT Korte (Lower L) DS Baze, SGT Dutton, SFC Williams

It was the hat I noticed first when I reconnected with my old high school friend.  He had come over for a visit to discuss running in an ultra-marathon, but the hat he wore showed me exactly where he had developed the kind of discipline that it took to run races that were hundreds of miles long.  My friend Jared’s hat

DS Busen in the 2011 Veteran's Day Parade. Photo by Liz Weisheit Hoffman.

was the hat of a United States Army Drill Sergeant.

Drill Sergeants have one of the most demanding jobs in the US military. Their primary mission is to train civilian recruits and transform them to combat ready soldiers.  Their responsibility goes far beyond the order-barking movie archetype (although I’m sure they’ve all said, “drop and give me 20” at least a time or two).  Drill Sergeants must act as mentors, coaches, and counselors.  They are tasked with making sure recruits are ready for the road ahead, so they are first and foremost leading by example.   The hat sets them apart, but so does the pride and strength they each seem to carry in their eyes.

Drill Sergeant Busen recently invited me to come and observe and participate in drills for the US Army Reserve Drill Sergeant group based in Quincy. The Unit- D co – Eco 2/334/3/95th IET- were practicing MACP drills (Modern Army Combatives Program), which is a Mixed Martial Arts based hand-to-hand fighting system.   Robert Bentley, owner and lead instructor of Legacy Martial Arts Studio in Quincy hosted the group of soldiers for their training this day.

If it weren’t for the ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms), the scene at the beginning of this day of drill would have looked like any fitness class.  The soldiers circled up around DS Busen and he led the group in some stretches.  Most of the men in this group were Drill Sergeants or in training to become them, so this type of group leadership rotates among them for drill days.

To become a proficient fighter, soldiers must have a base of knowledge not just how to throw punches but also how to recover if they are knocked off of their feet, so the first set of drills were practice rolls.  The rolls were an unusual mode of locomotion to get across the gym floor.  It was as if each man were being tossed to the floor by an invisible adversary, only to pop back up to his feet, ready to go again.  The soldiers by and large made these moves look easy; while my own strained attempts looked more like a kid in a gymnastics class trying to do a backwards summersault for the first time.

One of the most interesting floor exercises was a simulated wrestling escape called “shrimping.” Basically, the soldier would lie on their back with one knee bent and then using their foot and abdominal muscles, they would shoot backwards and on to their side in an explosive motion.  The body ends up in sort of an L shape that brings to mind the way a shrimp propels itself in the water.  The motion was tougher than it looked, and by the end, my core muscles were getting pretty worn out.

From there, the group went on to boxing drills.  Soldiers paired off and preformed jabs, crosses and hooks with gloves and mitts.  After this warm up, the fighters practiced combos of these three basic moves.  DS Busen and Mr. Bentley walked the floor and helped soldiers with technique.  The atmosphere of the class was energetic and, even though the soldiers were concentrating on what they were doing, they were all clearly having fun throwing punches with each other.

LT Korte practices some jabs.

After boxing drills, Mr. Bentley took the floor to demonstrate Mixed Martial Arts kicks.  Bentley’s primary training is in Taekwondo and instruction, and he is proficient at several other disciplines as well. He outfitted a soldier with a practice pad and the force of each of his demonstrated kicks echoed around the whole room.

I paired off with DS Busen to try out some of the kicks, and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself that this trained combat instructor was going to just stand there and let me kick him for a while.  Don’t worry though; he got the chance to throw some kicks while I held the pad too.  I know he held back some of the power, but the energy in his kicks still rang through the pad and up my leg.  It actually was one of my favorite parts of the drill.  It made me feel tough!

The whole morning went on similarly- demonstrated martial arts moves then practice in pairs- and throughout it all the soldiers would horse around a little or give each other a hard time, but there was also an ever-present serious undertone to the fun.  At one point, Mr. Bentley was demoing a knee strike from a stand-up clinch position, and he said, “Now, of course, in MMA you aren’t allowed to knee ‘em in the groin, but if it’s an enemy combatant, nail ‘em!”  This elicited laughs from the guys, but it actually made me look up around the room and realize what these men could potentially face.  Instead of facing kicks from a 5’5” local blogger girl, these guys could someday be engaged in hand-to-hand combat with someone trying to kill them.  Adding to the intense feeling of purpose, the men standing in front of me might not just have to defend themselves, but also held the responsibility for training other soldiers to defend themselves under the gravest of circumstances.  Words become paltry when you’re trying to describe the respect this gives you for these soldiers.

I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed spending some time with the guys in the Drill Sergeant Unit.  To a man, these are some of the most strong, disciplined, fit leaders I’ve ever met.  They’re also pretty funny guys, and I’d gladly go out for a beer with them any day.  To co-opt the Army slogan, There’s Army Strong, then there’s Army Drill Sergeant Strong.

*A special thanks to Legacy Martial Arts and Mr. Robert Bentley.  His facility was simply top notch, and his training philosophy and style are unmatched in the

Mr. Bentley and DS Cowick "roll" - or practice ground wrestling moves.

area.  I’ll be blogging more about Legacy soon, but if you have interest in learning more about Taekwondo, mixed martial arts or FIT classes, I highly recommend stopping in at Mr. Bentley’s facility at 307 N. 36^th Street (behind Blockbuster Video) or visiting his website at www.atalegacy.com . They’re also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ataLegacy

Please check out my Flicker Slideshow of the workout at Legacy Martial Arts by clicking the photo below! To learn more about becoming a US Army Reserve Drill Sergeant from the Quincy Lincoln Douglas Reserve Center, contact CPT Mellon at 217-653-9982 or call an Army Career Counselor at 309-647-6712.

Click on these ADVENTURE FEET to see a slideshow the Army Reserve Drill Sergeants at Legacy Martial Arts!

Dr. Jo Buyske challenged her SAGES colleagues to share their gifts with those in need. Photo by Diana Mahoney

Toward this end, the University of Pennsylvania adjunct professor and associate executive director of the American Board of Surgery spearheaded a series of initiatives that debuted at the conference. On Thursday, a group of meeting attendees boarded a bus to a Habitat for Humanity construction site where they swapped their surgical scrubs and scalpels for hard hats and hammers to help build a new home for a low-income family. The following day, SAGES sponsored an on-site donor blood bank and a bone marrow testing station at the convention center – both of which were well utilized between sessions – and a number of SAGES surgeons offered to mentor local high school students with an interest in medicine who had been invited to the meeting for the day.

Throughout the week, attendees dropped off used medical text books for medical schools in China and old medical instruments and supplies that for shipment (via Medwish) to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti. During the course of the week, SAGES members also gathered information about international volunteerism from the several medical volunteers’ desks located near the SAGES membership booth and Dr. Buyske announced the formation of a SAGES humanitarian task force, charged with identifying new service opportunities and resources for its SAGES members.

Dr. Buyske volunteering with Aloha Medical Missions in Bohol, Philippines. Image courtesy of SAGES.

The very vocal call to arms is more than just lip service for Dr. Buyske. In her presidential address, aptly titled, “To Whom Much is Given, Much is Required” [Luke 12:48], she described her own humbling experiences as a surgical volunteer in remote villages of Chiapas, Mexico; Bohol, Phillipines; and in the Republic of Mozambique, where access to sufficient water and electricity was erratic, at best, and where all of the niceties of surgery in this country, such as having assistants to help scrub, glove, and gown, as well as prepare and handle instruments, were non-existent. “I was not prepared for things as simple as having to pick up and unwrap my own instruments and choosing which sutures to use and which size needle. I was used to having everything handed right to me. It takes a different part of you brain to think about these things.”

Despite at various times having to pull anesthesia tubing from the trash to reuse it, having such poor lighting that she had to wait until the afternoon sun was just right in to perform cesarean sections, and having to use water from the local stream to scrub, Dr. Buyske said that each of the volunteer experiences made her a better person, and a better surgeon,. “You begin to think hard about what you use and why; you become more flexible; and you become more frugal. You revisit surgery in a way you might not have since medical school or residency. And though you’ll be exhausted, you will also be refreshed.”

As surgeons, “we have the great good fortune of doing work that allows us to go to bed every night knowing that just by doing our jobs, by our livelihoods, we have taken care of people; we have improved lives; we have done good. We should pause for a minute and savor the great good fortune, the luck, the wisdom, the hard work that went into a profession that is so fulfilling. but we should also be good stewards of our skills and our good fortune and take advantage of opportunities to be of service,” Dr. Buyske stressed. “As our Japanese friends and colleagues can tell us, our fortune and status can’t be taken for granted. There is no guarantee that it will be with us, even tomorrow.”

Thoracic surgeon Dr. Cameron Wright is a Colonel in the Medical Corps of the US Army Reserve. Image courtesy of MGH.

Dr. Buyske’s pledge to service was echoed by Dr. Cameron Wright, during the meeting’s Gerald Marks Lecture. A respected thoracic surgeon at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Wright is also a colonel in the Medical Corps of the US Army reserve, which he joined in 2007, “for many reasons,” including the obvious need for qualified surgeons to deal with the many casualties of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the opportunity to experience war surgery, he said. The most important reason, however, was the fact that his son, a heavy weapons specialist in the US Marine Corps “had skin in the game, and I decided I should put my skin in the game as well.”

In a moving slide presentation, Dr. Wright told his story through dramatic pictures, both of the soldiers with whom he served with and those to whom he ministered. Evident in all of the pictures are the camaraderie and sense of shared purpose that pervades military deployments, but also the human destruction that begs for the hands of a skilled surgeon.

— Diana Mahoney

Lawrence Sellin, an Army Reserve Colonel has had just such an experience–the ‘or even worse’ part–during this, his second tour in Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, Sellin’s vent, while of some entertainment value, is ultimately counterproductive.

Why?  Because his vent is way too personal and it offers no solutions, only complaints.  How so?  Let me count the ways:

1. Sellin says he has not done anything productive.
2. Little of substance is being done where he serves.
3. IJC (which BTW, is never defined) was established to create a three-star command.
4. The staff endlessly tinkers with its power point (shocking, I know!).
5. The generals are cognitively challenged and need to be spoon-fed their information.
6. The things that are said in briefings don’t matter.
7. The general officers on the staff are in a semi-comatose state
8. Information has little impact.
9. The measure of goodness is information volume and not knowledge imparted or learning.

While Sellin has offered this is a form a therapy for him, what he instead offers is a diagnosis.  Therapy follows diagnosis, not the other way around.

Is there too much overhead?  Yes.  Is the military a hide-bound bureaucracy?  Often.  Does the military confuse activity with productivity?  All the time.  This is all diagnosis, not therapy.

The issue becomes what, if anything can be done?  The “doing something” part would be the therapy.

Danger Room reports that Colonel Sellin has been sent home. The good news is that Colonel Sellin doesn’t work with nuclear weapons.

“Memorial Day is a time to reflect on the sacrifices and service of American soldiers and veterans,” Chief Warrant Officer John McCune told those in attendance at the WSSC’s morning program at Mouton Field.

As keynote speaker at yesterday’s WSSC event, Wakefield native McCune talked about the significant meaning that Memorial Day had for him as an Army Reserve officer attached to the Pentagon.

He recalled arriving at the Pentagon just 18 hours after the 9/11 attacks. “All I have to do is close my eyes and see the Pentagon and the World Trade Center,” McCune said. “Now I understand how soldiers in World War II felt when they talked about Pearl Harbor.”

McCune also remembered the October morning in 2005 when he was at the Pentagon listening to the daily Iraq casualty reports and heard the name of Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia of Wakefield. McCune talked about the tears he shed when he spoke later to his friend, Joseph F. Bellavia, the soldier’s father.

“There’s a lot more to the story,” McCune said, “but war touches us all.”

Bringing the greetings of the town, vice chairman of the Board of Selectmen Patrick Glynn praised the West Side Social Club as “one of the most charitable organizations in Wakefield.” Glynn particularly lauded the WSSC for its dedication over the years in honoring veterans on Memorial Day.

“As a selectman, I’ve come to better appreciate the community spirit of Wakefield,” Glynn said. “The West Side Social Club has become much more than a social club. It is a place where community spirit, charity and remembrance are embraced.”

WSSC past President Edward Muse served as master of ceremonies and told of a World War I helmet that he had in his bedroom as a Wakefield youth. The helmet had the name “Meuse” and some other information written on it, but its origin and owner were unknown to Ed Muse until recently when research led him to a local cemetery and the grave of Corporal John T. Meuse.

“On Friday,” Muse said, “I had some personal closure. I placed a flag on my uncle’s grave in the veterans’ section of Forest Glade Cemetery.”

Melrose Alderman Monica Medeiros spoke of the outstanding qualities of love, fortitude, courage and sacrifice as exhibited by veterans that have enabled Americans to enjoy “freedom, equality, opportunity and security here at home.”

WSSC president Tom Rawson introduced his grandson Noah, who read a poem, “Home of the Brave.”

Singer Carissa Scudieri of Wakefield, a junior at Berklee College of Music, performed a cappella “The National Anthem” “Amazing Grace” and “God Bless America.”

After a short parade down Main Street from the Galvin Middle School, the town’s Memorial Day observance began at 1:30 p.m. on the Upper Common under the auspices of local American Legion Post 63.
After leading the large crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, Commander Thomas Collins introduced Albert J. Turco, chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

“We pause today to honor and remember one million Americans who died in combat to establish and preserve our freedom,” Turco said, citing the sacrifices of soldiers in wars from the American Revolution to the present war on Islamic terrorism.

“The enemies of our country sometimes mistake our tolerance for softness or mistake our openness for indiscipline,” Turco said. “But our enemies underestimate us at their peril. For more than 200 years, ordinary men and women committed to liberty, equality and the preservation of our republic have protected and defended the rest of us. The least we can do today is to honor and remember those who served in the past and support those who are bravely serving our country today.”

Rep. Katherine Clark called on everyone to “honor those who laid down their lives.” Clark noted that when they went to war most soldiers were not much older than the WHS Marching Band students who played the patriotic music at yesterday’s ceremony. “They were willing to give everything so that we could continue our way of life,” Clark said. “They believed in the values that our country was built on: freedom, equality and justice.”

Rep. Mark Falzone said, “The best way that we can honor our heroes and war dead is to prevent future war dead.” He said that we must make sure that our soldiers have what they need in battle and that they have proper health care and benefits when they return home. “We want to make sure that we take care of those who have taken care of us,” Falzone insisted.

Sen. Richard Tisei called Memorial Day “a day to reconnect with our history and core values by honoring those who gave their lives for the ideals that we all cherish. We are a tolerant nation that welcomes diversity and creativity,” Tisei added, noting that for those reasons tens of thousands of people from all over the world “are fighting to come to these shores so they can experience the American Dream.

Tisei noted that the names on Wakefield’s war memorials “indicate a tremendous price that this community has paid over the years to defend this country. We will be forever thankful to them.”

Local resident Eric Estevez said that the importance of Memorial Day must be impressed upon young people. He noted that the effort to build a new World War II Monument was an important step toward that end.

Featured speaker William J. Walsh Jr of the American Legion said that he often thinks of his high school classmates who never returned from Vietnam. “I came back and they didn’t,” he said. “I think of all who are waiting for loved ones to come home.”

Walsh said that it was up to parents to explain the significance of Memorial Day so that kids understand the true meaning of the day. He talked about the role that the American Legion plays in decorating cemeteries with flags and raising funds so that veterans can receive the aid they need.

At Collins’ request, Phyllis Hull, Chairman of The World War II Monument Committee provided a brief update on the effort to replace the current aging wooden memorial with a new granite monument by Memorial Day 2011.

Rev. Vincent J. Gianni of St. Florence Church offered the Invocation and Benediction. WHS senior Dan Reardon performed an a cappella version of the National Anthem. Michael Russo and Caroline Andrews of WHS played “Taps” to close the ceremony.

[This story originally appeared in the June 1, 2010 Wakefield Daily Item.]

Men riktigt otäckt blir det inte förrän vi kommer till de militära rekryteringsfilmerna. Att locka till konsumtion av värdelösa prylar är en sak, att locka till uppoffring av liv och hälsa, med illusioner om spänning och ära, är en annan. Glorifiering av militären (eller av våld i andra icke-fiktiva sammanhang) måste vara ett av de största hoten mot ett samhälles långsiktiga överlevnad. Det är väl förvisso en oundviklig konsekvens av privatiseringen av densamma, något som redan är en långt gången process i USA — se military industrial complex.

Militärreklamen som dök upp nu under NHL-slutspelet framfördes med hjälp av en slug metod som skulle kunna beskrivas av propagandatekniken euphoria, i viss kombination med appeal to emotion. Metoden går ut på att framföra reklambudskapet till en recipient som är mottagliggjord genom att vara försatt i ett emotionellt rus.

Så här; man tittar på matchen (hockey är givetvis bara ett av många exempel) och rycks med av tacklingarna, dribblingarna, målen och missarna, man “laddas upp” emotionellt. Vid ett reklamavbrott görs en sömlös övergång från actionfyllda matchbilder, till soldater som marscherar, flaggor som hissas, tanks som vräker fram över terrängen och stridshelikoptrar som susar fram mot solnedgången. Känslorna och engagemanget från matchen följer med och formar ens intryck av bilderna i reklamfilmen, man är nu emotionellt, snarare än rationellt, mottaglig för dess budskap.

Man har som följd också en högre acceptans för andra tekniker som flag-waving, appeal to authority, slogans och heroism.

US Army. “Army Strong”, pampig, vanebildande musik.

US Army. Särskilt riktad mot datorspelare, notera hur man försöker uppnå en så sömlös övergång som möjligt mellan fiktion och verklighet.

US Army. “Army Reserve”, notera återigen övergången, nu civilt — militärt.

US Marines. “The Few, the Proud, The Marines”…tungt.

US Navy