Newsletters - [ The archives ]
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The Mid Edition, October 2007 |
| What Are We Fighting For?, Inc. Newsletter |
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Here you will see photos that you will NOT see in the main stream media. Now see the other of the story.
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What Are We Fighting For?™
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Announcement |
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AIR FORCE SECURITY POLICE ASSOCIATION (AFSPA) VETERANS
We're looking for a few good men and women to build a strong association for all who have served or are serving in the Air Force Security career field; Air Police, Security Police, Security Forces, Active, Guard and Reserves.
We're a world-wide 2500 member AFSPA organization, founded in 1986 to preserve our heritage, support our active duty men and women, assist members for employment, and pledged to help our members in personal crises.
Membership is also open to all who have served honorably in the Army MP's, Navy Master of Arms, Marine MP's, and others with law enforcement background.
For more information about our growing fraternity, let's meet on our website
www.afspaonline.org, or call the AFSPA San Marcos, Texas headquarters at (512) 396-5444, or toll free 1-888-250-9876 for more information.
Honor the past, recognize the present and prepare for the future: These are our commitments.
Join us if you can. You'll be glad you did. Please help us pass the word about AFSPA! | |
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Dear Member
SITREP
(Situation Report)
by Bob Anderson
The last few weeks have been a challenge. Pam and I completed Phase 1 of our move to Missouri - we got there with our furniture and stuff. I finally got reconnected to the internet and just three days short of a month after the television was supposed to be hooked up - I HAVE TV AGAIN. I got caught in the unfortunate situation of trying to set up the house by myself while Pam is on the road - that means that whatever I put up or place in position I will get to move again when she gets back up here. You guys know what I mean. The land is beautiful and the home is wonderful so it is just a matter of time until I get the "Brown Towers" (moving boxes) emptied and our home base re-established.
During this period, my exposure to news was greatly curtailed. Now it seems to me that the crazies are even more crazy; the nonsense even more nonsensical. It reminds me of the quote by Shakespeare - "Life is a tale told by a fool, full of sound and fury, signifying . . . nothing."
Honestly, what ever warm feelings were generated by the fight against Illegal Immigration several months ago are cooling. More coverage is provided to whether or not Don Imus should go back on the air than our national security and sovereignty.
I do not understand why more folks do not realize the severity of the situation we're in and why more folks are not actively involved in stopping the insanity.
I think most of the reason is that our country has lost some things over the years; maybe lost is the wrong term. Maybe the correct analogy is we have some things we are no longer comfortable with. Things like right and wrong, things like individuality, things like patriotism, things like standing up for what is right and hitting a lick against what is wrong.
Many citizens have become discouraged and thrown up their hands and said, "Screw it!" I understand their frustration.
I, like many of you, waited with anxious anticipation for Fred Thompson to formally declare his candidacy. I have to say I have been some what disappointed, but maybe that is because I was looking for someone to rally the troops, take charge and blow the left out to sea. I wanted the fight to begin.
I hope Senator Thompson will ratchet it up a little before it is too late. The folks I have talked with are ready to support anyone with a clear vision, a solid plan and the drive to go forward. If we are to avoid a socialist government, the destruction of our healthcare industry, the continue march toward Globalism - we need something different than what we have.
The other day I was a guest on a radio show out Florida and the host, Chuck Harder asked me for some good news. I told him I didn't have any. I told him I fear that this current slide could continue and the country would keep sliding toward the abyss until things were so bad, action would be taken.
My friend Fred Eaton, LtCol, USAFR (Ret) has often said, "A problem isn't a problem - until it is YOUR problem." Maybe this is the way it has to be played. Like other addictions, you have to hit rock bottom before you make any changes. Too many citizens have become addicted to the government hand outs and entitlement programs. Too many companies have become addicted to cheap - ILLEGAL workers. Too many politicians have become addicted to earmark legislation.
I keep looking down at the ground; I fear I am starting to see the rocky bottom approaching at an alarming rate.
If you have any questions contact me directly. Bob@WhatAreWeFightingFor.com
Bob Anderson, PhD, CMSgt USAFR (Ret)
936.520.9696
What Are We Fighting For?™
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Click here
to hear Bob on the OCPA 'Right Ideas' radio program |
TRIBUTE SONG & VIDEO
TO HONOR OUR MILITARY |
Below is a link to a new song and video to honor our military. Dave and I and other families we know contributed photos for this piece that will provide proceeds to an organization to help our wounded.
I hope something wonderful comes your way today.
Deb Tainsh | |
 ABOUT BOB
BOB ANDERSON, PhD, CMSgt USAFR (Ret)
Bob Anderson is a decorated military veteran with over 32 years of service. His last military assignment was with the Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Balad Air Base, Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. He retired as a Chief Master Sergeant with the US Air Force Reserves.
Bob is the president and founder of What Are We Fighting For?, Inc., an organization providing leadership and guidance across the nation in support of our troops and the re-Americanization of America. Additionally, he is president and founder of Back to Basics International, sits on the Board of Directors for the World Safety Organization, the WSO Accreditation Committee and chairs the Ethics Committee. He's a member of various veteran organizations, holds two PhD's and is a published author.
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 ABOUT DAVE
COLONEL DAVID A. BOND, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET)
Dave Bond is the Vice President for West Coast Operations for What Are We Fighting For?, Inc. During his 28 year military career he commanded eight Security and Anti-terrorism units and was Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Security Police, Headquarters Air Force in Europe overseeing the European Air Forces Anti-terrorism Program.
Heavily involved in the raid on Libya by the United States, he was responsible for the deployment of personnel securing B-52 Bombers conducting raids on the Iraq Republican Guard Forces and the coalition forces bases which launched aircraft during Desert Shield and Storm.
Dave Bond has been featured on radio talk shows and TV specials talking about Chemical and Biological Terrorism threats and how the U.S. and individuals can prepare and deal with these threats. |
The View From the Deck Plate:
The Invisible Fleet
by: Jeff Edwards l March 31, 2005
Top Gun, Crimson Tide, Iron Eagle, Navy Seals, A Bridge Too Far, Three Kings, Platoon, The Hunt for Red October, Full Metal Jacket, The Thin Red Line, Blackhawk Down, Men of Honor, Tears of the Sun, Down Periscope, Pearl Harbor, Casualties of War, Saving Private Ryan, K-19, We Were Soldiers, Wind Talkers, U-571, Hamburger Hill, Enemy at the Gates ... Did you spot the Surface Warfare movie in that bunch? No? Go back and look at the list again. Look hard this time. You still didn't find it? Okay, that was a trick question. There is no Surface Warfare movie in that bunch. Not counting the 1997 comedy film, McHale's Navy, I can't think of a single movie about the surface Navy since The Bedford Incident and In Harms Way were released in 1965. Barring the occasional cameo appearance of a frigate or destroyer in a movie otherwise dedicated to submarines, fighter pilots, or Navy divers, no one has made a Surface Warfare movie in about forty years.
There are Country Music songs that celebrate the Soldier and the Marine. The movie business has fallen in love with submarines, fighter jets, and helicopters. The news media runs footage of tanks and aircraft carriers nearly every day.
But who celebrates the frigate Sailor? Who recognizes and appreciates the accomplishments and sacrifices of the men and women who serve aboard our cruisers and destroyers? The surface Sailors of the United States Navy work and fight while nobody is watching. And sometimes they die while no one is paying attention.
A couple of years before the first Gulf War, thirty-seven Sailors were killed when a pair of Iraqi Exocet missiles nearly cut USS Stark in half. No one made any movies. Nobody wrote Country and Western songs when an Iranian mine did the same thing to USS Samuel B. Roberts. Nobody wrote books about the heroism of surface Sailors when USS Princeton was crippled by mines in the Persian Gulf, or when suicide bombers killed 17 Sailors aboard USS Cole.
I'm not carping because we 'skimmers' haven't gotten a movie in a while. This isn't about movies. It's not about songs on the radio, or news coverage. This is about something far more fundamental. I'm beginning to think America has forgotten that it has a surface Navy. For all intents and purposes, our cruisers and destroyers might as well be invisible.
It's one thing to be undetectable to the sensors and weapons of your enemies. It's quite another thing to go unknown and unnoticed by the citizens of your own country. So I'm going to take a whack at pulling back the cloak of invisibility. I'd like to introduce you to the men and women who walk the decks of your surface Navy. (If you happen to be a surface Sailor, then put a shine on your steel-toed boots and straighten up your military creases, because I'm about to introduce you to the citizens you protect.)
Who are these Sailors, and what do they do? First off, they're young. The crew of a typical cruiser or destroyer ranges in age from 18 to somewhere in the late 40s, but the number of crusty old-timers is fairly low. The average age on most ships is between 19 and 23.
Don't let their youth fool you. These kids are sharp! They operate, maintain, and repair incredibly complex systems, from the gas turbine engines that power their ships, to the world's most sophisticated radars, sonars, communications systems, weapons systems, and navigation systems.
The average surface Sailor is a technician, a tactician, a mechanic, and a firefighter. He or she has been trained in Theory-of-Leadership, Uniform Regulations, Tactical Doctrine, First Aid, Military Customs, Shipboard Damage Control, Visual and Electronic Communications, Navigation, Naval History, and a hundred other subjects. He knows how to patch a broken pipe, how to make an emergency life vest out of a pair of pants, how to isolate a faulty electrical panel, how to fight a raging fuel oil fire, and how to treat a sucking chest wound using a military ID card. He can read signal flags, launch high speed boats from a moving ship, and guide a helicopter to a safe landing in the dark. He can operate high-tech night vision equipment, lay down a barrier of Damage Control foam, and put two dozen 9mm rounds through a man-sized target silhouette in nothing flat.
The ships these Sailors serve aboard are nearly as amazing as the Sailors themselves. Our cruisers, destroyers, and frigates are all driven by General Electric LM 2500 series gas turbines, from the same family of jet engines that power 747 and 767 aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, all three ship classes can cut through the waves with the speed of a ski boat. Although they displace thousands of tons, these vessels can turn, stop, or reverse course almost on a dime.
The Ticonderoga class are quite simply the most lethal and combat-capable guided missile cruisers in the history of naval warfare. They were the first warships to be built around the famed Aegis combat system: an integrated suite of high-tech weaponry, sensors, and computer control systems that make the entire ship a weapon.
The Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigates were designed as submarine hunters. The smallest and most lightly-armed of the surface combatants, they've often been the subject of jokes or snide comments about disposable ships. But these tough little vessels have earned their battle scars the hard way. My grandfather would have called them scrappers, because they've proven time and again that they can take a punch and still come out fighting.
The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers are the newest and most advanced surface combatants in the U.S. Navy. They're the next generation of Aegis technology, combining the cumulative lessons of 230 years of naval architecture to create a singularly-lethal hybrid combat vessel that lives up to the old tin can Sailor's credo: Go anywhere; do anything; battle any foe.
Between them, these sleek gray warriors are the workhorses of the fleet, and the backbone of the surface Navy. Each class has its own area of specialty, but all of them are multi-mission capable. Any one of them can shoot down enemy fighter jets, intercept hostile missiles, track and engage threat submarines, or unleash a barrage of naval artillery fire on targets at sea and ashore. Any or all of these ship classes can screen and protect an aircraft carrier or amphibious ship, form part of a multi-ship Surface Action Group, or conduct solo combat operations in hostile waters.
It's rare for a warship to be named after a living person, and even rarer if that ship happens to be the lead vessel in a new class. But in 1991, retired Admiral Arleigh Burke was present at the commissioning of USS Arleigh Burke: the lead ship in the Navy's newest class of destroyers. Never one for pleasantries, Admiral Burke skipped right over the traditional flowery rhetoric and issued a personal challenge to the assembled Sailors who would crew his ship. "This ship is built to fight," he growled. "You had better know how."
As usual, the old sea dog spoke with wisdom. These ships are built to fight, and the thousands of men and women who serve aboard them do know how. Even when nobody is looking.
© 2005 Jeff Edwards.
NOTE: We appreciate Jeff Edwards, who writes for Military.com, allowing us to re-print his articles.
Jeff Edwards is a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, and an Anti-Submarine Warfare Specialist. He is currently working as an expert civilian advisor to the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, and Naval Space Warfare Systems Command.
A combat veteran, Jeff is a recipient of the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, campaign ribbons for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait, and numerous other medals and citations. His naval career spanned more than two decades and half the globe - from chasing Soviet nuclear attack submarines during the Cold War, to launching cruise missiles in the Persian Gulf.
Trained extensively in mainframe computers, weapons systems, and naval combat tactics, he brings an experience-based edge of authenticity to his writing. His novel, Torpedo was the winner of the 2005 Admiral Nimitz Award and the 2005 American Author Medal. Torpedo has recently been optioned by film producer Paul Sandberg (The Bourne Supremacy). Jeff is hard at work on his next novel, a naval thriller tentatively titled 'The Seventh Angel.'
Jeff is proud to be a member in good standing of the American Author's Association.
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Bearing Witness
by Deborah Tainsh
February 11, 2007
For Sgt Patrick Tainsh, our son, our hero
8-25-70 - 2-11-04
Today three years ago you swallowed
your final taste of earth
after nearly a year as one of the first to help secure
Baghdad International
and attempt to tame Sadr City where the enemy
offered a price for your head.
My blood boiled when we learned this
but your dad said, to want him that bad,
he was damn good. My boy was better and braver
than I could ever be.
The pride that a side of our split nation
doesn't understand
finally helps us to sleep through the night
after the message from Iraq came to us
sixteen hours after you, mortally wounded,
spent over 400 rounds
to secure and save ten other men before you secured
your shell in the arms of your commander.
The seven days from Baghdad, to Germany, to
Dover, Delaware, then home 100 miles south of
Atlanta was the longest week of a lifetime.
I only recently told your dad
that the night before the chaplain arrived at 6 a.m.
I cried, couldn't sleep, and restless
dozed on the sofa where the knock that still echoes
found me.
I know it was the premonition,
my prep to stay strong, because you knew I could,
for your dad, that Marine broken
only by your death.
After the chaplain left I told your dad
I couldn't tell him how to get through this,
I could only remind him to hold in his heart that
You died a hero, not the once drug addicted youth
who had returned to the roots of good seed
planted for 33 years.
We were angry that our Creator had not
removed the cup of sacrifice from us, just as He did not
from Jesus or those who liberated Buchenwald or Dachau.
But where would the world be without
such sacrifice for civilization's future?
And even though the heavens and our heart parted
with thunder on a day so dark
a parent wonders how their body withstands it,
we finally accepted faith's truth to the core,
Not our will, but Thine be done.
And today, three years after you swallowed
your last taste of earth, as the world still rages with pain and
suicide bombers kill at checkpoints
convinced our nation "doesn't have the stomach
for victory" convinced "they will destroy Downing Street
and the White House" convinced the world will
one day live beneath Shariah Law,
I return to the letter sent to us by
one of your war time buddies who said
you'll always be an example shining in
his heart, that something you said will forever
ring true, something
your dad and I will cling to as you dwell
with your comrades inside a world we cannot yet see.
Something I'll bear as witness to the world
that your dad and I will uphold.
Your words:
Sometimes you just gotta get out there,
No matter how scared you are and do
It. Sometimes it is part of the greater good.
There are more people than you can count
Who are looking up to you to do your job
No matter the consequences.
Copyritht 2007 Deborah Tainish |
 About the Author
Deborah Tainsh, Gold Star Mother of Sgt. Patrick Tainsh KIA Baghdad, Iraq, 2/11/04, is the author of Heart of a Hawk: One family's sacrifice and journey toward healing, recipient of the Military Writers Society of America's Spirit of Freedom award.
A supporter of America's military and their families, Deborah is a national speaker, writer, and peer mentor for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors of military personnel located in Washington, C.D. She and her husband, USMC Sgt. Major (Ret.) David Tainsh live in Harris County, Georgia, near Columbus and their son, Phillip.
Deborah Tainsh is an engaging, motivational speaker, volunteer national spokesperson, writer and peer mentor for TAPS www.taps.org. She has been interviewed and shared her family story on New York Public Radio, numerous national TV and radio broadcasts, the associated press, and most recently with German Public Television. She also writes for military.com and WhatAreWeFightingFor.com
Contact Deborah at heartofahawk@msn.com or through her publisher, Elva Resa.
Heart of a Hawk is published by Elva Resa Publishing. To find other books concerning the mission of the military and the familieswho support them, visit www.militaryfamilybooks.com. For more info go to: www.heartofahawk.com
For more information on Blue Star Moms go to: http://www.bluestarmoms.org/ and Gold Star Moms go to:
 http://www.goldstarmoms.com/agsm/Home/index.htm
Gold Star Flag
All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do reflect those of What Are We Fighting For? |
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- "If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshead; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you with only a precarious chance of survival. There may be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is not hope of victory at all, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill
- If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. - George Washington, 1st President (1789-1797)
· Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. - Ronald Reagan, 40th President (1981-1989)
· A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle. - George William Curtis
· He is a poor patriot whose patriotism does not enable him to understand how all men everywhere feel about their altars and their hearthstones, their flag and their fatherland. -Harry Emerson Fosdick
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On Men and Women in the Military
by ITC Lee Crowson, USN
I'd like to take a moment and reflect on the men and women in our military. The media continually tells us how bad it is to be in the military and how horribly we are treated. I have heard the mobilizing of reservists and guardsmen referred to as a "backdoor draft." The last I checked we have not had a draft since Vietnam. Every man and woman in our nation's military is a volunteer. Let me say that again, they are volunteers as in they made the choice to join and to serve knowing what that entails. The vast majority of military members I've worked with do so willingly and believe in what they do. I work in mobilization and I handle all the Navy reservists who want to volunteer (there's that word again) to be mobilized. I get a lot of traffic. Some of our missions are manned by a majority of volunteers who ask to be sent forward. These young men and women are readily, some eagerly going forward to fight for our freedoms, our liberty and, in fact, our very lives. As long as we have warriors who are willing to walk into harm's way for others there is still hope that freedom will survive. May God bless each and every one of them.
The following is something I wrote based on conversations with other military members about why they, we, do what we do, about going forward so that others don't have to. Giving what we have to give to keep our country and our loved ones free.
To Those We Leave Behind
In case I die tomorrow
Tonight I lift this prayer
That God will hold you in His hand
And you'll know I'm always there
As I walk into the fire
My heart I leave with you
Know that you're the reason
I do the things I do
I chose to be a soldier
And to walk in harm's way
Fighting for your future
That you'll have another day
Your picture in my pocket
A cross around my neck
Continuing the struggle
As fate will deal her deck
Fear is my companion
But your love makes me strong
Fighting for your freedom
I know is never wrong
Sleep safe and sound tonight
Knowing I'm on the wall
And that there's always another
To stand up if I fall
My only regret is that
I have but one life to give
But I will give it gladly
If it means that you will live
Shed not a tear for me
Just hold me in your heart
As long as you remember me
We'll never be apart
I will always be there
Watching over you
The only thing that changes
Is that my post is new
If Heaven has a gate
Then it's sure to have a wall
With soldiers standing on it
And there I'll be standing tall
Watching, ever waiting
Till your journey's done
When you finally come home
And my job at last is done
Thank you and may God bless you all.
ITC Lee Crowson, USN
"This world is an uncertain realm, filled with danger. Honor underminded by the pursuit of power, freedom sacrificed when the weak are oppressed by the strong. But there are those who oppose these powerful forces, who dedicate their lives to truth, honor, and freedom. These men (and women) are known as (United States Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines)."
~ The Three Musketeers
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About the Author
Chief Crowson is an Information Systems Technician for the Navy Reserve who is currently serving on active duty at Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command in New Orleans, LA. During his career in addition to his role as a communications operator he has functioned as an instructor for personnel entering the Navy Reserve with no prior military experience. His other duties included serving with Navy Coastal Warfare, a part of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, and with Navy Expeditionary Logistics Group deploying both to the Middle East and to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. |
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Author unknown
Not true but probably could be in this day and age.
An unemployed man is desperate to support his family of a wife and three kids. He applies for a janitor's job at a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him, "You will be hired at minimum wage of $5.35 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can get you in the loop. Our system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your first day."
Taken back, the man protests that he is poor and has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the manager replies, "You must understand that to a company like ours that means that you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high-tech firm. Good day.
Stunned, the man leaves not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers' market and sees a stand selling 25 lb. crates of beautiful red tomatoes. He buys a crate, carries it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100% profit. Repeating the process several times more that day, he ends up with almost $100 and arrives home that night with several bags of groceries for his family.
During the night he decides to repeat the tomato business the next day. By the end of the week he is getting up early every day and working into the night. He multiplies his profits quickly.
Early in the second week he acquires a cart to transport several boxes of tomatoes at a time, but before a month is up he sells the cart to buy a broken-down pickup truck.
At the end of a year he owns three old trucks. His two sons have left their neighborhood gangs to help him with the tomato business, his wife is buying the tomatoes, and his daughter is taking night courses at the community college so she can keep books for him.
By the end of the second year he has a dozen very nice used trucks and employs fifteen previously unemployed people, all selling tomatoes. He continues to work hard. Time passes and at the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse that his wife supervises, plus two tomato farms that the boys manage. The tomato company's payroll has put hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work. His daughter reports that the business grossed over one million dollars. Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance.
Consulting with an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new circumstances. Then the adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically. When the man replies that he doesn't have time to mess with a computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance man is stunned, "What, you don't have e-mail? No computer? No Internet? Just think where you would be today if you'd had all of that five years ago!"
"Ha!" snorts the man. "If I'd had e-mail five years ago I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.35 an hour."
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by Bob Anderson, Chief Master Sergeant, USAFR (Ret)
I am a dinosaur, a Neanderthal, an old brown shoe, in other words - I find myself out of step with the current norm. In three separate situations, good friends of mine are finding that senior leadership (both militarily and civilian) have given the keys of the asylum to the inmates.
While I don't understand this current trend I do recognize it. Our senior leaders are not leaders - they are managers. What is the difference? Managers do things right and Leaders do right things - that's the difference. Knee jerk reactions, political correctness, personal agendas and manipulation are the trade marks. I learned a long time ago that Cream Rises, unfortunately I also learned that S-t Floats.
It is not easy to be a leader; it takes courage, the ability to look past the obvious to see what sometimes is nearly invisible. It takes integrity, loyalty and a deep aversion to "Yes Men." Too many of our corporate and military leaders should put down their Steven Covey, Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar books and reread the old fairy tale, "The Emperor's New Clothes."
Back during the Viet Nam War, the iconoclastic Air Force General Curtis Lemay said, "We have to stop swatting at flies and go after the manure pile." If you are currently in a position of responsibility either in the corporate world or the military, I ask that you take a moment to re-evaluate some of the problems and issues that face you right now.
Take a look at your subordinates. Are they talking about what is good for them or what is good for the organization? Are they offering ideas for responsible improvement or ones that will enhance their own little kingdoms? Are they continually in the midst of personnel actions and problems? A wise man once said, "If you're having problems with someone chances are they are an S.O.B. If you're having problems with everyone - chances are - you are the S.O.B!"
Now take a look at yourself - are you listening to those folks that are telling you what you want to hear more than those telling you what you need to know? Think about that for a moment, before you end someone's career or wipe out someone's job. Are you leading or are you being used by an unethical slug who simply wishes to advance his or her own goal? Interesting thought, isn't it!
Copyright© 2007 What Are We Fighting For?, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM)
Since the beginning of the program 1985, mammography rates have more than doubled for women age 50 and older and breast cancer deaths have declined. But too often younger women don't think they are at risk. Here is a story written by Angela Patterson, who in 2006 had to fight for her life. She is a cancer survivor. We honor her bravery.
Angela Patterson
 When I was diagnosed in March 2006 I was 34 years old and 36 weeks pregnant. My son arrived 10 days after my diagnosis and I started chemo when he was two weeks old. Through eight rounds of dose-dense chemotherapy and 33 days of radiation, my husband and I learned to take one day at a time and to be patient with one another's exhaustion.
Having a baby in the house during treatment made dealing with treatment harder because I rarely got a chance to rest properly. On the other hand, having a baby in the house during treatment made treatment easier because I had a reason to smile every day no matter how awful my body felt. I have entered my second year of survivorship and so far I'm doing great. I am not grateful at all to have had breast cancer, and yet I gained a new love for humankind because people all around me showed how wonderful and kind people could be. I wrote poetry and essays to cope with and to record my experiences. My baby is now a vivacious toddler and my husband is an even closer best friend (and an awesome father).
Here are the pathology and treatment details:
-Stage IIA invasive ductal carcinoma and DCIS
-Lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy -3.5 cm tumor, 2 negative lymph nodes
-9 of 9 on Blooms/Richardson scale
-Triple negative for ER/PR and Her-2/neu, so no Tamoxifen or Herceptin for me
-4 rounds of AC and 4 rounds of Taxol
-Neulasta shots the day after each infusion
-28 rounds of whole breast radiation
-5 rounds of "the boost" radiation
-BRCA negative
I had a passport in my left arm rather than a port-a-cath in my chest. That had definite pros and cons. A pro was that I could cuddle my baby to my chest once the lumpectomy scar healed. A con was that I couldn't lay my son on that arm to give him a bottle with my right (dominant) hand. The port came out between chemo and radiation and I was SO glad to get it out and a month later to stop taking the Warafin blood thinner pills.
These days I return some of the kindness that helped me by volunteering with the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin. I also think that groups such as Wonders and Worries are incredible for helping survivors learn how to talk with their children about cancer and other serious illnesses. Even though my son was an infant during my diagnosis and treatment, someday he will need to know that I survived cancer so that it will be just a part of our family history and not some deep, dark secret.
My oncologist recommended Dr. Love's book to me during our first appointment. It shared coffee table space with The Baby Whisperer and Baby 411 during my treatment. It never ceases to amaze me how empowering knowledge can be.
I continue to write poetry. Here is one of my most recent poems:
Radiation on a Rainy Day
Lazy summer rain kisses pavement
as I walk from car to gantry.
I know where shade on any other day
will have wandered by the time I leave.
Enslaved in the ritual, I brave the rain
to enter a room bathed in shadows.
Soft lights, gentle music, and hard science await
with a table on rails and monstrous equipment.
Today's technicians position my body carefully,
referencing doctor's orders.
They retreat behind thick walls, watching and listening.
Exposed, I cannot hide. I must lie very, very still.
The gantry responds with alien grace to computer programs
tailored to my body, my shape, my former privacy.
A buzzer warns of piercing rays and I lie very, very still,
imagining the day when I can leave and stay away.
Free at last - until tomorrow - I chuckle at people
hurrying through cold rain to my exit.
Last year I'd have sported an umbrella, knowing
hair would wilt despite ample gel and spray.
A smile shines behind my eyes because velvet fuzz
has grown into baby fine softness, half an inch long.
Too short to style, this is a different kind of freedom.
No need to hurry or worry about umbrellas today.
Instead, I slip through the falling sky towards my car, naked face upturned,
defiance and acceptance dancing through my thoughts.
A moment of optimism catches me and, with moisture in my eyes
I finally sense a glimpse of sunshine to come.
Written by Angela Patterson Copyright Angela Patterson 2007
| To understand more about preast cancer please visit the website of Dr. Susan Love, a leader in the field. She has featured Angela's story her website: http://susanlovemd.org. Also visit www.nbcam.org For additional information: American Cancer Society (800) 227-2345, National Cancer Institute 9NCI), (800) 4-CANCER, Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization (800) 221-2141. |
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Commentary by Bob Anderson: When this project we call What Are We Fighting For? first began I knew an integral part of the leadership must be the inclusion of a Chaplain. I went to my dear friend and comrade B. J. Garner, one of the most Godly men I have had the privilege of knowing. At the end of this article you will find his bio, but for now a word from our Chaplain.
Learning Through Hard Times
by Chaplain B. J. Garner
The Cod fish has been a vital part of the New England fishing industry for the past century. As technology has progressed, commercial exporters, in an attempt to expand the market, froze the Cod fish for shipment to other markets throughout the USA. However, the ice crystals that developed altered the succulent flavor of the Cod, and the customers complained.
Then attempts were made to ship the fish live in sea water tanks to their various destinations. This method proved unsuccessful as well. The fish did not get their normal amount of exercise due to remaining almost stationary within the tanks during shipment, and when they were prepared for consumption, they were soft and not as flavorful as fresh cod fish should have been.
It was decided that the way to keep the Cod fish exercising during the trip was to place their natural enemy - salt water Catfish - in the tank with the Cod. Although only one or two Catfish were in the tank, the many Cod fish were energized enough to keep moving and arrived at their destination "toned and tasteful" for the consumers.
Life for the Christian is much like that of the Cod fish with the turmoils and stress that it faces with the Catfish.
God teaches us that:
· Life is Fragile (James 4:14)
· People are Fickle (2 Timothy 4:10, 14, 16)
· He is Faithful (2 Timothy 4:17)
Christians often experience difficulties such as domestic strife, unemployment, financial problems, and failing heath.
Remember, these problems can help us to be more:
Confident in Him for the future when He solves the problems of the present. (2 Corinthians 1: 8-9)
Christ-like (Romans 8: 28-29)
Content in unchangeable situations.
Adversities can make us stronger by "toning" our emotional health enabling us to be more spiritually "tasteful" to our Lord and others.
Remember, when we are in the "tank of life" with our adversary, Satan,
God is also in the tank with us.
B.J. Garner is a former member of the USAF Reserve and the Texas Air National Guard. He ended his career as a Lieutenant Colonel and currently resides in Houston Texas. As head of the Garner Vision Center, Dr. Garner holds degrees as a Registered Pharmacist, Doctor of Optometry and an Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. He and his wife Laura have two married daughters and three grandchildren. He and his wife are active members in the Sagemont Baptist Church. | |
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I am a member of What Are We Fighting For?™ I promise to do my duty to God and country and to be as well informed as I possibly can be in order to make sound and reasoned decisions for the benefit of my family, my friends and my country. I shall always strive to enhance my life by enhancing my citizenship, service and sacrifice to this great country. I believe in personal accountability and responsibility. I believe it is my duty, not the responsibility of the government to take care of myself and my loved ones. I believe that Freedom ain't free.
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