The Newest Joint Chief

On Saturday (Dec 31st), President Obama signed into law the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.  While most of the coverage of this year's NDAA was about the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists, there was a surprise addition to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  From the Defense.Gov news article:

Section 512 of the act creates a new member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which currently includes the Army and Air Force chiefs of staff, the chief of naval operations and the Marine Corps commandant. The new member will be the chief of the National Guard Bureau, who will have responsibility for “addressing matters involving non-federalized National Guard forces in support of homeland defense and civil support missions.”

So from now on the Joint Chiefs of Staff won't just be the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, but the National Guard Bureau as well.


A great development for the foundation of our liberty, the Citizen-Soldier!

Armistice/Remembrance/Veterans Day

In Flanders Fields  
by Lt Colonel John McCrae, MD, Canadian Army (1872-1918)
 

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Pride of the Lancers "New World"

The Liberty "Pride of the Lancers" Marching Band placed 17th in the Bands of America Super-Regionals last weekend in St. Louis, MO -- missing the finals by 1/10th of a point! The video above is their 2011 exhibition performance "New World", featuring music from Dvořák's "New World Symphony" and Björk's "New World" from Dancer in the Dark -- complete with all the props used in the BOA Super-Regionals (boat, tarps, scrims).

GO LANCERS!

Never Forget

Pride of the Lancers Marching Band: "New World"

Liberty High School's "Pride of the Lancers Marching Band" show off their 2011 exhibition performance "New World", featuring music from Dvorak's "New World Symphony" and Björk's "New World" from "Dancer in the Dark".  GO LANCERS!

CO > TN

Today, Labor Day 2011, marks the day we have been residents of the Centennial State longer than we were residents of the Volunteer State.

It doesn't feel like it -- probably because I've been a LOT busier in Colorado than I ever was in Tennessee, or perhaps because I had such a strong connection to Oak Ridge thanks to my alma mater Cal (the source of those Calutrons in Bear Creek Valley's Y-12 plant that purified the fuel for the LITTLE BOY bomb during the Manhattan Project).

We've been a nomadic family.  In my youth, I moved a dozen times before High School -- and have moved a nearly a dozen times since College.  I've lived in seven states and four Time Zones, while my Bride has lived in six states and five Time Zones. (I've never lived in the Central Time Zone, where she was born....)

Our brief stay in Tennessee was professionally tumultuous: starting a new office for a late-stage startup firm, then leaving that (after 18 months) to start my own LLC, then rejoining the federal workforce.

In contrast, Colorado has been stable: by the time we actually moved to Colorado Springs, I had been with the Modeling & Simulation Directorate of the Missile Defense Agency more than six months -- working out of the Huntsville office while churning through Defense Acquisition Univ. courses.  And now, nearly 30 months later, I'm still in the same Directorate (albeit with a brand new contract to leverage) with many of the same people.

Here's to hoping my kids can complete Middle and High School in the same school district....

Pikes Peak Ascent Post-Mortem

 

Yesterday (Saturday, August 20th 2011) I began my 2nd attempt at ascending Pikes Peak: 13.32 miles, with a net ascent of 7,815' vertical (though the actual ascent is closer to 8,000' due to a couple of brief-but-blissful downhills between No-Name Creek and Barr Camp).

Last year's attempt (in my inaugural Pikes Peak Ascent) came to an abrupt end due to a timekeeping error at the A-Frame (mile 10.2, at 11,700' elev.).  However, in hindsight, had I made it even a minute sooner last year, I was wholly unprepared for what lay above the timberline....

So this year I entered the race wiser, more respectful of the mountain, and with a balanced hydration - nutrition - electrolyte strategy.

Mi dos amigos, Peter Molik (triathlete and fast runner) and John Veautour (endurance of a mule and a very fast walker), were able to best the Peak in under 4-1/2 hours.  I wasn't in as much of a hurry....  My only goal was to finish in less than 6-1/2 hours -- which is the cut-off for medals and finisher shirts.  Nothing else mattered this year, since I have no intention of ever running another marathon (Denver 2010 was my 7th and final).

Preparation for this year's event was predominantly spent in planning.  After hiking Mt Sherman in early July, I knew I could walk above 13,000' elevation with little impact.  And I also knew that, since I turned 40, my speed has tapered off dramatically -- so no amount of endurance training was going to make me return to my sub-8:00 mile pace of my 30s.  Most importantly, I knew I had to plan for sustenance on the mountain more deliberately than I did last year.  And after my near-disastrous mountain bike ride down the Barr Trail last month, which resulted in five endo's and a still-scabbed gouge on my left shin (even three weeks later), I at least had seen the trail above timberline....

The top issues in my planning:

1. Attire: What you wear will affect your performance.  Last year I wore a windbreaker for the entire ascent -- which very likely overheated my core and sapped my endurance.  But too little and you'll be unprepared for weather changes above the timberline.  So this year I opted for my NYC Marathon long-sleeve technical shirt, running shorts, running shoes (vice trail shoes), no gloves, and a light running ballcap.  I also rolled up my Marmot windbreaker and kept it in the webbing of my CamelBak.  The start line temparature in Manitou Springs was in the low-60s F.; the finish at Summit six-plus hours later was in the high-50s F. -- so I never needed the windbreaker.
2. Hydration: Last year I relied on SmartWater in my CamelBak, which is insufficient for the level of exertion ascending 8,000' of vertical.  So this year I had a 2:1 mixture of Gatorade G2 and SmartWater.  Also, I took Gatorade at every aid station if available -- water if not.  At Barr Camp I refilled my CamelBak with pure Gatorade, and at Mile 12 I filled with plain water for the final mile and a half and the ride down the mountain.  Net intake: approx. 150 fl. oz. (or just under five quarts), which is consistent with my body's 16 fl. oz. loss per 30 minutes of exertion (calculated several years ago during my peak marathon days).
3. Nutrition: Last year I took a dozen Gu vanilla bean gel packets -- one for every half-hour.  But I did not consider the caffeine content in most Gu packets (it's in the fine print at the tear-line), so by my seventh packet I couldn't stomach any more.  This year I added a Pemmican Bar (a mixture of bread, nuts and fruits packed into a small dense package) and only took six Gu packets -- one of which I gave away, and one I didn't use.  Net intake: 4 Gu, 90% of a Pemmican Bar from Barr Camp to Cirque, a few pretzels, grapes and half-banana at Barr Camp, and one (1) plain M&M (a red one) at A-Frame.
4. Electrolytes: This was the biggest gap in my planning last year, and the primary reason for my calf cramping before Barr Camp in the 2010 attempt.  The one "Succeed! S-Cap" another ascender shared with me helped for about two miles, so I knew I needed to supplement my marathon-honed hydration/nutrition strategies with an electrolyte strategy.  Rather than rely on a Gu every half-hour, I slowed those down to one per hour and split the difference with one "Succeed! S-Cap" (also each hour, at the half-hour mark).  I upped my intake above timberline when I felt the first twinges of calf cramping, so my net intake was seven (7) S-Caps.
5. Safety: Several years of volunteering with American Red Cross Disaster Action Teams (DATs) and two as a Cub Scout Cubmaster have taught me to anticipate the unexpected.  Since I saw some people in bad shape last year (bordering on hyponatremia -- severe loss of electrolytes), I packed my mylar "space blanket" in the event someone on trail needed assistance before El Paso County Search & Rescue could arrive.  I also packed my self-adhesive athletic tape (which I did need just past A-Frame, as a 66-year-old participant had severe cramping in his calves) and did a quick refresher on lightning safety (since above treeline, you have little to no cover -- and a likelihood of electrical storms after noon).  Thunder above timberline sounds really impressive, so I used that opportunity to tell the others around me -- if they saw lightning -- to crouch low with feet together so you have only one point of contact with the ground; and to do this close to a medium-sized boulder (not the tallest around, which is more prone to be struck).  Lastly, I packed a small tube of 30 SPF sunscreen -- which I reapplied twice to my face, ears and neck.

These five factors led to a very enjoyable and fulfilling Ascent.  Even if I was a bit on the "slow" side (finishing 191st out of 194 finishers in my age bracket).

I made it to Barr Camp (mile 8, elev. 10,200') in 2:29:00 -- about 20 minutes faster than last year.  So I took a ten minute break, sitting by the fence while eating 1/3 of my Pemmican Bar (plus a couple pretzels and some fruit).  Cut-off at Barr Camp was 3:00:00, so I was comfortably ahead of the cut.

Though it was only 2.6 miles from Barr Camp to A-Frame, I was concerned about this final "cut off" -- especially because this was where I was turned back last year!  And since the whiteboard at Barr Camp still listed the clock time of 11:45am as the A-Frame cut-off (even though gun time was about two minutes after the scheduled Wave 2 start), I kept a close eye on my watch.

With so many switchbacks in the high-timber forest, it was impossible to gauge just how far you had to go to make it to the A-Frame aid station.  So I made announcements at the 30-minute mark so we'd all know we had that long to enter the aid station.  I passed the A-Frame cut-off at 3:59:00 -- 80 minutes after leaving Barr Camp (a pace of about 30 minutes per mile).  This was 15 minutes faster than last year, and left me 2-1/2 hours to ascend the final three miles to earn my finisher shirt!

After another ten minute break (and another 1/3 of my Pemmican Bar), I set off for the final leg -- my first time ever hiking up the Barr Trail from timberline!  Though we were above 12,000' elevation, the trail was wide and mostly clear.  The gradient was not as bad as the lower portion of the Barr Trail (especially the "W's"), and the views were truly extraordinary.  Looking up (as the photo at the top of this post shows, as we cleared the last trees) was a bit unnerving, since the summit never seemed to get closer.  But looking down, especially above treeline, gave a huge morale boost -- "Look at all those people way down there -- and look how high I've already climbed!"

I modified my Galloway-style walk-breaks (since I was only walking) to "breath-breaks" -- every few minutes I sat on a boulder for a minute and took some deep, deliberate breaths.  And for those first few steps, I felt like a new man.  This continued all the way up to the summit, so my mile pace slowed to about 35-40 minutes.  But I was also continuously calculating how far to go in how long to ensure I finished in "shirt time" -- faster than 6-1/2 hours.

When I reached the base of the 16 Golden Stairs (of which there are MANY more than 16; it's really about 300 yards with 400' of vertical, so the net gradient is above 40%), the volunteer said "Welcome to the Stairs -- you need to keep moving in order to make cut-off!"  I asked her "We still have 28 minutes, right?" She said yes, so I knew her recommendation was premature.  14-1/2 minutes later, I crossed the finish line (even with three breath-breaks) -- official final time: 6:16:32.

As for my well-being, I had no cramping, no blisters, no sunburn, very minor chafing (from my shorts), and feel excellent the day after.  My faster colleagues (who all beat 4-1/2 hours) had to push themselves, but my goal was not to make it as fast as I could force my body to go.  I simply wanted the shirt....

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

4th Blogiversary

Four years ago "Wizards of Oz" was launched, and though my musings have recently varied from the narcissistic to the non-existent it is always on my mind.  While professional distractions and family duties have diluted the content, I am humbled and grateful for those of you who still drop in from time to time -- over 227,000 visitors since I started counting in late August 2007.

Thank you, and may all of your birthdays and anniversaries be memorable!

Ending of an Era

Fair winds and following seas, ATLANTIS -- the final mission of the Space Shuttle!

Mt. Sherman: Our First 14er

Mt. Sherman (named after the Civil War general) is in Colorado's Mosquito Range, south of Breckenridge and east of Leadville.  Thanks to my friend Bob's recommendation, we set off before dawn this past Saturday (July 2nd) so we could be on trail before 9am -- and, more importantly, off the summit before noon to avoid the risk of summer afternoon thunderstorms.

We followed Four Mile Creek Road about ten miles off the highway (nine of which were over rutted gravel) and parked a half-mile short of the 12,000' elev. gate.  Trail reports from 14ers.com indicated that the road was dry all the way to the gate, and no additional traction was necessary to cross the few snow fields on the southwest ridge route.  I'm very glad we brought the hiking sticks, though!

The Mosquito Range was rich in precious metals, forming a high barrier between the rift valleys of the Arkansas River headwaters (to the west, near Leadville) and the South Platte River (to the east, near Fairplay).  Mt. Sherman's Hilltop Mine produced more than 10 million ounces of silver (valued at over $300 million in 2010 prices).  So abandoned mines are a common sight on Mt. Sherman.

Several shelters are still standing, showing that the mines weren't abandoned until the past couple of decades.  The Hilltop Mine was in operation until 1982.

Despite being in the height of summer, there were several snow fields to cross en route to the summit.  Fortunately the pack was firm enough that we simply had to follow the footprints of our predecessors.

Jarrett was pretty winded after the first half-mile of the trek, but quickly found his groove and his second wind.  By the time we passed 13,000' above sea level, Jarrett turned into a mountain goat -- leaving old guys like me and Bob in the dust (until we told him to stop and take a drink to, y'know, stay hydrated..... and let us catch up!)

Mt. Sherman's Southwest Ridge Route is rated as a "Class 2" trail in the Yosemite Decimal System: still a "hiking trail" (vice a "climbing trail" that requires ropes and harnesses), but with some exposure and some portions requiring the use of your hands.

Looking left and down (to the west) from 13,600' shows a much more difficult approach....  Class 5 ascents in the Yosemite Decimal System are indicative of near-vertical faces requiring technical free climbing with belaying and other protection for safety (and are further stratified into more than a dozen sub-classes).  Jarrett has scaled a Class 5.7 ascent before (see here).

Jarrett reached the summit before me.  Here he is signing the log book indicating he has successfully ascended a 14er! By shortly before 11:00am MDT, we had reached our goal (and found two Geocaches along the way).  Our MotionX GPS track can be viewed here.

 On top o' the world, 14,036' above sea level!

---

But then we had to go back down....

Thankfully the snowpack just below 13,500' was well established for a glissading descent! Just like at the water park (except for the snow that ended up in all of my pockets....)

A great day all around, and a great start to many more ascents of Colorado's 53 "14ers"!

2dB: Road Trip 2011

Road Trip 2011 for the Deichman Family was a rare Point-to-Point (rather than our usual "loop" with abundant freeloading on our wonderful friends and family).  After more than two years as a resident of the Centennial State, Renee needed a beach....

So we set off for the best and closest beach we could find: Fort Walton Beach, Florida, 1,400 miles from home and nestled in the middle of the "Emerald Coast" of the western Florida panhandle.  The water acts as a natural air conditioner, so the 90-plus F. temperatures and 80%-plus relative humidity was bearable.  Also, the Emerald Coast has remarkably few bugs (unlike other parts of the Southeast) and the white sand is as fine as talcum powder.  Our dear friend Nicole has a great place on Cinco Bayou, and was a wonderful host for our family of five.  And each day she treated us to a different beach experience:

Day One: Fort Walton Beach (aka AlgaeFest)

Near the east end of Okaloosa Island's south shore, we parked by the Boardwalk for our first day at the beach.  Sophiepeanut had a great time working with her new sand toys, with Dad helping her build the parapets for her Princess Castle.

Unfortunately, the algae count was especially high at this particular beach -- so we're still picking it out of the velcro on our swimsuits....




Day Two: Crab Island (aka the Partyin' Sandbar)

Crab Island is a sandbar just inside the Destin Inlet to Choctawatchee Bay.  Boats will approach from the channel, then cut the engines to be walked into the "island".  We got a primo spot near the middle of the sandbar, not far from the floating sound stage (with live music!) and floating volleyball court.  The bar next to the stage was offering free Ziploc Margaritas, and "Helen Back Pizza Parlor" gave out free slices nearby.

Jarrett found several hermit crabs, hence the island's name:

And Sophiepeanut got to ride her own boat!

Day Three: Destin Beach (aka Fathers' Day Napping)

Need I say more?

While the ladies swam, Jarrett spent the entire time Boogieboarding or Bodysurfing:

Day Four: Cape San Blas (aka Shell Hunt)

Our "Mini-Roadtrip" on the day after Fathers' Day took us east along the Gulf coast, past Panama City (home to Hunt's Oyster Bar, our lunch stop shown above -- with the best Appalachicola Oysters to be found!) to Cape San Blas.

Since Cape San Blas is right at the bend in the coast, where the Florida Panhandle meets the Florida Peninsula, the currents are very dynamic.  The Cape San Blas Lighthouse ended up nearly 100 yards offshore due to the shifting sand bars and ever-changing littoral topography, so they moved it to its present location (on one of Eglin AFB's test ranges).  While the shelling wasn't quite as abundant as we had hoped, the beach did offer blissful solitude compared to our previous beach days....

Day Five: Spectre Island (aka Restricted Area Fun)

Nic, being a former Test Squadron CO, has knowledge of hide-aways unknown (and inaccessible) to most locals.  "Spectre Island" is between the barrier island and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, just off the approach to the flight line at Hurlburt Field (home to the Air Force Special Operations Command, AFSOC).  This deserted island offered another secluded beach, a wide variety of fish and crustaceans in the shallows, and another different beach experience than our previous four days.

---

Our return trip allowed us to do touch-and-go's at some old favorites, like Cafe du Monde in New Orleans:

... and a new favorite: Avery Island, Louisiana, home to the McIlhenny Tabasco factory:

It also saw Sophiepeanut (who is not yet three years old) log her 34th and 35th U.S. states:

(Sorry, Sean & tdaxp: Iowa still remains "unseen" by the Peanut M&M!)

While we wish we had the time to travel a few hundred miles farther to see our other Florida friends (or even farther to the OBX of North Carolina, and our Virginia friends), this was a fun and relaxing trip for all!

Happy 236th Army Birthday!

Photo Contest: Quintessential Colorado!

Patriots' Day

Happy Patriots' Day!

On this 236th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, let us remember the patriotic fervor that drove our fledgling colonies to rise against tyranny -- to sacrifice their homes, their property and their lives -- so that we may form a more perfect Union.

May the light of liberty shine brightly throughout the world!

Radiation Doses: Fact vs. Fiction

Score another one for the Blogosphere.  Randall Munroe of xkcd.com fame (one of the best comic strips ever for the scientifically inclined) trumps the New York Times with this excellent graphic comparing the levels of radiation we experience in our everyday lives:

Click the link for a full-sized view.

Two things Randall does that make this so compelling are:

1. He includes the temporal factor in his data (something the New York Times failed to do in their overly-hysterical chart declaring that everyone within a half-mile of Fukushima's Daiichi Power Plant is going to die), and ...

2. He shows the scale of routine daily activities (like eating a banana, 1 microsievert or 1 µSv) to medical scans (a mammogram is 3 millisievert, 3mSv) to the minimum one-year dose clearly linked to an increased risk of cancer (100 millisievert, 100 mSv).  Spending an hour on the grounds of the Chernobyl Reactor in Ukraine in 2010 would likely give you a dose of 6 mSv, though it varies wildly; and two sites 50 km NW of Fukushima showed a daily dose of about 3.6 mSv (roughly our annual exposure from natural background radiation) -- but there are many areas closer to Fukushima with no measurable increase.

The bottom line is this: Radiation is a fundamental process in our universe.  It is prevalent in our daily lives, and -- with prudence -- can be used to benefit our lives.  So the next time you hear or read something that sounds alarmist in nature, dig a little deeper.  It may not be as bad as the talking heads would have you believe.

H/T to Charles Cameron at zenpundit.com and Cheryl Rofer at Phronesisaical.

Shelby's Band in Concert

Last night the Liberty High School Band (led by Ms. Genice Matzke) hosted a "Future Lancers Concert".  Since Timberview Middle School is right next door to Liberty, the vast majority of Timberwolves migrate across the parking lot to LHS after their eighth grade year.

The genius of the TMS-LHS program (singular) is that Scott Singmaster at TMS and Genice Matzke at LHS have formed a true "Grade 6-12" music program.  Given the extraordinary quality of instruction at both schools, and the accolades afforded to the TMS program recently (e.g., playing an hour-long concert at the Broadmoor Hotel for the Colorado Music Educators Association's annual conference last month), these kids are doing some amazing things:



("Music for Silent Film", commissioned especially for this 8th Grade Concert Band by Prof. Ken Singleton of the Univ. of Northern Colorado [GO BEARS!], and conducted by Mr. Josh Prewett.)





("Oxford Pointe Overture" by Huckaby, with the combined TMS 8th Grade Concert Band and the LHS Wind Ensemble -- over 150 teenagers making an amazing sound! -- conducted by Ms. Genice Matzke.)

These kids all have a bright future ahead of them!

"A new hope for our children in the 21st century"

{Crossposted from ChicagoBoyz.net, which is hosting a "Reagan Centenary Roundtable" in honor of the 100th birthday of our 40th President}

Tomorrow afternoon (Monday, February 7th, 2011), the first Monday in February, President Obama will deliver his Fiscal Year 2012 Presidential Budget to the Congress.  This is the opening act of our annual budgetary tango, with copious debate over the coming months of the necessary trades between programs.

On March 23rd, 1983, a few weeks after President Reagan presented his Fiscal 1984 budget to Congress, he gave his famous "Star Wars Speech" to a national televised audience.  Although "Star Wars" was the derisive name opponents used to mock the fantastic nature of the President's vision, President Reagan's speech was singularly focused on restoring American military strength and credibility -- and to "... pave the way for arms control measures to eliminate the [nuclear] weapons themselves."

Ironically, unlike President Kennedy's 1962 speech at Rice University that was fully focused on the seemingly-impossible challenge of putting a man on the moon (and Rice defeating Texas in football), Reagan's "... call [to] the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents ... to the cause of mankind and world peace: to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete" warranted only a couple of sentences in an otherwise lengthy speech.

Rather, this speech was part of “…a careful, long-term plan to make America strong again after too many years of neglect and mistakes,” and (when coupled with President Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando just two weeks prior) was a deliberate escalation of Cold War rhetoric.

President Reagan was rightfully concerned that the defense budget had been “trimmed to the limits of safety” by Congress.  This decay of U.S. armed forces led Reagan “…to improve the basic readiness and staying power of our conventional forces, so they could meet - and therefore help deter - a crisis.”  But his confidence in the logic of deterrence had limits.  The Star Wars Speech presented to the world Reagan's realization that deterrence based solely on commensurate offensive capabilities was fallacious.

“Over the course of these discussions, I have become more and more deeply convinced that the human spirit must be capable of rising above dealing with other nations and human beings by threatening their existence....  Wouldn't it be better to save lives than to avenge them? Are we not capable of demonstrating our peaceful intentions by applying all our abilities and our ingenuity to achieving a truly lasting stability? I think we are - indeed, we must!”

The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO, precursor to today's Missile Defense Agency) was founded the following year, 1984.  Reagan realized the complexity of the task, noting in his speech that it “... may not be accomplished before the end of this century.”  Yet the U.S. Army PATRIOT terminal defense system performed admirably in early 1991 during DESERT STORM, and today's U.S. Navy Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) has been used to destroy a failing satellite (Operation BURNT FROST, February 2008) as well as form the future foundation of land-based European missile defense and our nation's "Phased Adaptive Approach".

The magnitude of the technical challenge caused many to blanche in 1983, and to ridicule the President.  Yet today's successes would never have been possible if President Reagan had not had the faith to "... [launch] an effort which holds the promise of changing the course of human history."

For that, we have "... a new hope for our children in the 21st century."

Christmas Eve at Nürnberg, 1945

My friend and editor Fred Zimmerman from Nimble Books offers this reflection on the "spirit of Christmas", from U.S. Supreme Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson (Chief Prosecutor at the Nürnberg Trials):

This is the first Christmas in many years which does not find the world engaged in a major war. Christmas should bring home to all peoples, regardless of race, creed or nationality, what it really means to the world that this year marks the conquest of the Nazi-Fascist-Japanese drive to dominate the world. We who are here in Nürnberg, far from home but close to the scenes of the war, have thrust upon us a new appreciation of the significance of Christmas.

Twenty centuries ago, there was laid in the manger at Bethlehem the Great Witness to the eternal truth that Might does not make Right. Christ taught that there is a right and a wrong in human conduct which in no way depends on physical strength. This belief has been summarized in the familiar sentence that “Thrice armed is he whose cause is Just.” The Nazi-Fascist-Japanese alliance tried to establish a regime based on exactly the opposite philosophy of life.

Just before the great war, Adolf Hitler had a meeting of the officers of his High Command. We have captured the minutes of that meeting and put them in evidence at Nürnberg. He said to his generals: "I shall give a propagandist cause for starting the war, never mind whether it be true or not. The victor shall not be asked later on whether we tell the truth or not. In starting and making a war, not the right is what matters but victory – the strongest has the right."

Over and over again the Nazi leaders reiterated this foul philosophy. We may rejoice at this Christmas season that once again it has been demonstrated that cruelty, oppression and false dealing will disintegrate the strongest power and will at the same time arouse moral forces in opposition that will certainly, though perhaps slowly prevail. No more dramatic vindication of the truth that power does not make right has been seen by the world than in the last two years.

In the early years of the war, Germany had every physical superiority. She had unity, the Allies lacked cohesion; she had a plan—the Allies had only confusion; she had preparation, armament, air power—the Allies had neglected their military forces; she had victory—they had a long series of defeats that were so great as to be disasters. Two years ago it really looked possible that the peoples who believed in moral and spiritual forces would go down under the crushing weight of Nazi physical force.

Today we see those who relied on strength alone, who despised right and scoffed at wrong facing an accounting. We are seeing their acts held up for reexamination in the light of moral principles and legal precepts. Sir Hartley Shawcross, Attorney General of England, in his great opening address at the Nürnberg trials said:

"The British Empire has twice been victorious in wars which have been forced upon it within the space of one generation but it is precisely because we realize that victory is not enough; that might is not necessarily right; that lasting peace and the rule of International Law is not to be achieved by the strong arm alone, that the British Nation is taking part in this trial."

Like all human efforts, the attempt to measure the conduct of the defeated by moral standards is an imperfect one—I have no disposition to claim it faultless. But I do say that the utter and irreparable collapse of the doctrine that might makes right is the most significant feature of the Nürnberg trials. Whatever other shortcomings we representing the victors may have—and they are numerous—we do not adhere to the doctrine that because we have power we can do no wrong. If we did, there would be no trial. We are patiently—too patiently, many think—examining the acts of the Nazi leaders.

We are trying dispassionately—too dispassionately, many think—to test those acts by the principles which must prevail in a sound and peaceful international order, principles by which hereafter the conduct of the victors, no less than of the vanquished, will be tested by world opinion.

Once again, the world is proceeding on a basis that power and might are subject to moral responsibility. There may be—there are—many deviations from the principle and many failures to live up to the ideal. But at least the teaching of our times has returned to the Christian ideal that the strong, no less than the weak, must answer to the moral forces of the world and again demonstrate that right will generate the might to vindicate itself.

May you enjoy peace and joy this holiday season.

A Century of Naval Aviation

Exactly 100 years ago today, Eugene Ely made history.  By flying a Curtiss bi-plane off the deck of the cruiser USS BIRMINGHAM, off Old Point Comfort near today's N.A.S. Norfolk in southeast Virginia, he demonstrated that planes could indeed be flown from ships.

The five-degree inclination of the wooden ramp, and the forty-foot drop to the water, allowed Ely to get enough airspeed to remain aloft for 2-1/2 minutes before landing at nearby Willoughby Spit.  Within months, Naval Aviation was founded -- and less than ten years later, USS LANGLEY (the world's first aircraft carrier, built on the hull of USS JUNO) was built.

GO NAVY!

Armistice/Remembrance/Veterans Day

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, in the year 1918, "The Great War" ended.

Of course, it couldn't have been known as "World War I" at the time -- because that would mean the insanity of wholesale slaughter and wanton destruction would happen again.  What a difference a generation makes....

92 years after the poppy has come to signify remembrance of those who fell in defense of the State, whether in Flanders Fields or France or the coral atolls of the Pacific or the rolling hills of Korea or the jungles of Vietnam or the deserts of Iraq or the river valleys of the Hindu Kush, today we are living off the interest earned by their blood.

It is a bittersweet blessing that we can live in such ignorance and apathy of those who serve today.  The strength of the American nation -- even in the midst of a global recession -- and the interconnectedness of the developed world means that we DON'T have to sacrifice like our parents and grandparents did when war consumed the nation.

Our blessing to is live as if nothing is happening.  We are free from want, from rationing, and from the personal sacrifice to ensure our servicemembers have the materiel they need to succeed.  And only those families who have an immediate relative serving in a combat zone truly grasp the heartbreak of "Deployment".

But this blessing is also a curse.  The nation that loses touch with its most dedicated citizens is a nation that does not deserve their service.

And yet they serve.

They serve so that we have the right to ignore them, to belittle them, to contradict them, to purchase "The Communist Manifesto" freely in bookstores, and to picket at their funerals in our feeble outrage at a nation's policies.

Theirs is a dignity few can grasp, and even fewer know.


They are who we honor today, but who deserve our honor EVERY day.

Happy 235th Birthday, Marines!

The Other 9/11

Today, 09-Nov-2010 (or "9/11" in European notation) is the 21st anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Though "9/11" is seared into our memories as the day terrorists killed thousands in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, it can also represent the beginning of the end of the Cold War -- and the liberation of millions from the grip of Communist totalitarianism.

Let us never forget either -- and in so doing, create a better world for our children's children.

U.S. Constitution Day

 

Happy Constitution Day!

 

 

TDIH: Inch'on Landing

Sixty years ago today, the U.S. Marines conducted a daring amphibious assault at the port city of Inch’on (west of Seoul).  Inch’on was far from the United Nations Command’s tiny toehold at the southern end of the peninsula, in the city of Pusan, and was intended to split the North Korean lines to permit the U.N. forces to break out.  Inch’on turned the tide of the three-month old Korean War in favor of the United Nations, and enabled General MacArthur’s forces to push the North Koreans all the way to the Yalu River.

Exactly five years before the Marine Corps reestablished their strategic relevance and excellence in amphibious operations at Inch'on, two young Marines were married in San Francisco.  PFC Charles Mulrenin, USMC, a former mortarman with CHARLIE Company, 1^st Battalion, 6^th Marines at Guadalcanal and Tarawa, married PFC Louise Krausy, USMC, a clerk-typist at Hunters Point, San Francisco.  My grandfather and grandmother:

Today would have been their 65^th anniversary.  While Grandpa died more than 30 years ago (from lung cancer, which was due to his smoking habit due to complications from the malaria he contracted on Guadalcanal), “Kupuna” is alive and well – and will likely outlive all of us.

Semper Fidelis!

M2 Browning .50-cal

The sound of liberty, courtesy of an M2 Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun!

F/A-22 & F-15 Flyover: Air Force v BYU

Never Forget