SATURDAY VIETVET WEBZINE HIGHLIGHT

Not in his goals but in his transitions, man is great. The most successful leader of all is the one who sees another picture not yet actualized. John Kerry or GW Bush? What think?

quote by Mary Parker Follett-

 FRIDAY VIETVET WEBZINE HIGHLIGHT

A healthy bank account and a healthy body will take you a long way in our society. And if you have both, you are blessed indeed. But neither will bring you any comfort if your own children hate you. Neither will suffice for companionship if your neighbors avoid you. There are plenty of lonely rich old people in this world who would give anything to be loved.

Pastor John L. of the Boca Raton Congregational Church.

 WEDNESDAY VIETVET WEBZINE HIGHLIGHT

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one, it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves.
unknown

 TUESDAY HIGHLIGHT:MARLON BRANDO

This snapshot is of Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in the 1954 film 'On The Waterfront' with Eva Marie Saint-Reuters/handout. Marlon Brando was an incredibly talented actor with a tragic personal life who died July 2 of lung failure and rumored liver cancer.

Check out the Kelly Thomas take on Marlon Brando.

 THE BACKDOOR DRAFT (IRR) IS HERE

Although I've been advocating a draft for a long time, I didn’t quite expect it to so totally come out of left field. But, given the war in Iraq and it’s mismanagement--nearly two billion dollars and going, almost 900 lost lives, the need for troops has gotten so out of hand that now the Army has engineered a draft--calling up the IRR (individual ready reserve).

The Individual Ready Reserve is one of those little clauses that some bureaucrat somewhere slipped into a contract as some nefarious fine print. Most soldiers serve out their commitments on active duty, 2,3,4, 6 years and then they are out. Unless they are anal retentive to the max, they never think of anything beyond that which they have done, i.e.,their duty. In their own minds, they are finished with the military. But, because the military has mismanaged a war, suddenly the fine print clause is activated and so we have a backdoor draft.

What always fascinates me is that there is always an elusive, Army spokesperson (notice PC tone). The IRR recall is the biggest move of its kind since the first Persian Gulf War. What is not mentioned is that in the first Gulf war, it was more or less voluntary. And, there would be no need for a recall if the Army had not been reduced so drastically over the years through RIFs (reductions in force) anyway. What the Army is really good at doing is pretending that this is just normal operating procedures. Soldiers from the IRR go and fulfill vacancies all the time essentially what the program is designed for, so it’s not anything new. And, we thought only the news media could spin things. THE BACK DOOR DRAFT IS ALIVE AND WELL.

  SOLDIER'S INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE

Hope everyone has a great 4th. We are all doing very well. Everyone is working hard and keeping focused on our mission. Spirits are good. The Chaplins and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation personnel do a great job.

We request that everyboby back home eat an extra portion of their favorite holiday food for us. Hope you have some great fireworks but we are hoping for no fireworks. It's calm around here now and we are use to the heat so life is good.

On that note we would like everyone to keep the families of our recent fallen brothers in thier thoughts and prayers. They fought magnificiently and it is a great honor to have known and served with them. They were Cpt Chis Cash, Spc. Danial Dessens A 1/120 Infantry, 30th BCT. 1ID. As the chaplin stated at thier service " Those who bleed with me, Therefore are my brothers ". Their bravery along with the rest of the wolverine company will never be forgotten by their Old Hickory brothers.

We are looking forward to our return. Be safe at home and enjoy the a great holiday. With fireworks and drunk drivers you are probably at a greater risk than we are. SO BE CAREFUL.

I want to see all of you when I get home. I leave you with the 1st Infantry Division motto. It has become very important to me as well as the rest of Old Hickory.
"DUTY FIRST"
Have an Old Hickory day
SGM WM.P.GILL (Soldier in Iraq)