Friday, August 20, 2010

THREE STORIES




I am going to share with you three stories.

The first story involves an Army Captain who is a product of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He was ranked fourth out of his class of 901; ranked #1 militarily. In March 2003, he led a platoon of soldiers into Iraq. This was not going to be his first combat experience. In his Army career, he would complete THREE tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eventually, he would rise to Captain and the role of Company Commander in his unit. This officer received many awards for his service, including two Bronze Stars, one of which with valor. Because of his leadership experience, he was expected to return to West Point as an instructor and be promoted to Major ONE YEAR EARLY. This officer was called into the Battalion Commander’s office to discuss his orders to his new duty assignment.

The second story involves a Cadet in the Class of 2012 at West Point. She earned her appointment through a rigorous selection program. This cadet achieved an academic grade point average of 3.829, is ranked NINTH in her class, and is already a graduate of Army Airborne School. Her military GPA is a 3.9, ranking her tops in her class. On her Physical Fitness Test she earned 376 points. The maximum is 300.

CATEGORY (FEMALE AGED 17-21)
MAX
CADET SCORE
2-MILE RUN
15:36
13:40
2-MINUTES PUSH UPS
42
68
2-MINUTES SIT UPS
78
100

She adheres to the honor code rigorously as any cadet does. We invested $350K/school year for her to be commissioned an Army Second Lieutenant in May 2012.
The final story involves a decorated Air Force pilot who patrolled the skies in response to the horrible atrocities that took place on 11 September 2001. He has been commended for his efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. This pilot served this country for 20 years. Our nation invested $25 million for him to fly jets in the Air Force. This pilot is looking forward to returning to his unit and doing what he does best.
What do these three stories have in common?
Four Letters.
D. A. D. T.



Quality military personnel are being kicked out not because of incompetence, but because of who they are (NOTE: DO NOT get me started about the West Point cadet facing DADT discharge. That is a rant in itself…).
There needs to a moratorium on DADT.
Halt the discharges.
Mr. President, in your role as Commander-In-Chief of the American military, do the right thing as President Truman did in 1948 with the integration of the armed forces: Issue an executive order.
It may be tough to do the right thing, but the right thing is never easy or else everyone would do it.

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