General Stanley McChrystal's Retirement Remarks on July 23, 2010 at Fort McNair, Washington D.C.

This is frustrating. I spent a career waiting to give a retirement speech and lie about what a great soldier I was. Then people show up who were actually there. It proves what Doug Brown taught me long ago; nothing ruins a good war story like an eyewitness.

To show you how bad it is, I can't even tell you I was the best player in my little league because the kid who was the best player is here tonight. In case you're looking around, he's not a kid anymore.

But to those here tonight who feel the need to contradict my memories with the truth, remember I was there too. I have stories on all of you, photos on many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter. (Laughter.) (Applause.)

Look, this has the potential to be an awkward or even a sad occasion. With my resignation, I left a mission I feel strongly about. I ended a career I loved that began over 38 years ago. And I left unfulfilled commitments I made to many comrades in the fight, commitments I hold sacred.

My service did not end as I would have wished, and there are misperceptions about the loyalty and service of some dedicated professionals that will likely take some time but I believe will be corrected.

Still, Annie and I aren't approaching the future with sadness but with hope and iPhones. And my feelings for more than 34 years I spent as an Army officer are a combination of surprise that any experience could have been as rich and fulfilling as mine was and gratitude for the comrades and friends we were blessed with.

That's what I feel. And if I fail to communicate that effectively tonight, I'll simply remind you that Secretary Gates once told me I was a modern Patton of strategic communications. (Laughter.) Fair point.

So if we laugh tonight, it doesn't mean all these years have not been important to me. It means the opposite; that every day and every friend were gifts I treasure and I need to celebrate.

But first, I need to address two questions that we've been asked often lately. The first is: What are you going to do? Actually, Annie is the one who's asking me that. I'm thinking I'd be a good fashion consultant and spokesman for Gucci -- (laughter) -- but they haven't called.

The other question is always asked a bit tentatively. How are you and Annie doing? We did spend some years apart, but we're doing well. And I am carrying some of what I learned into retirement.

First, Annie and I are reconnecting. And now, we're up on Skype with each other. Of course, we never did that all the years I was 10,000 miles away, but now we can connect by video link when we're 15 feet apart. And I think she really likes that. (Laughter.)

I was so enthused I tried using Skype for a daily family VTC -- (laughter) -- where I could get updates and pass out guidance, but there's some resistance to flatter and faster in the McChrystal household.

The same is true for the tactical directive I issued soon after my return. It's reasonable guidance: One meal a day, early-morning PT, the basics of a good family life. (Laughter.)

But I've gotten a few night letters, and Annie's stocking up on ammonium nitrate fertilizer -- (laughter) -- which is strange since our new yard is smaller than this podium.

Although the insurgency is relatively small -- one woman -- she's uninterested in reintegration. (Laughter.)

I assess the situation as serious and, in many ways, deteriorating. (Laughter.)

Mr. Secretary, look at her. I'm thinking at least 40,000 troops. (Laughter.) (Applause.)

Let me thank everyone for being here. This turnout is truly humbling. Here tonight are my wife and son, my four brothers, two nephews, mentors, comrades from countless phases of my career, and some special guests whose service and sacrifice are impossible to describe with words.

But because this crowd is pretty big, for good order and discipline, I've divided you all into four groups. Please remember your group number. (Laughter.)

Group 1 are all the people who accepted responsibility for making this ceremony work from the planners to the soldiers on the field. My apologies for all the time you spend in the heat. You're special people. And in my mind, you also represent soldiers all over the world. You have my sincere appreciation.

The second group -- (applause). The second group is distinguished servants of all nations who have taken time from your often-crushing schedules to be here. And thanks for your years of support and friendship. I got you out of the office early on Friday.

Group 3 are warriors of all ranks, and that includes many who don't wear a uniform but defend our nation with whom I have shared aircraft, VTCs, remote outposts, frustrations, triumphs, laughs and a common cause for many years. You are not all here. Some of you are deployed and in the fight. Others rest across river in Arlington. Most of the credit I've received actually belongs to you. It has been your comradeship that I have considered the greatest honor of my career.

Finally, Group 4 is all those who've heard we're having two kegs of beer in the backyard after my ceremony. This group includes a number of my classmates from West Point, old friends, most of the warriors from Group 3, and some others who defy accurate description. Anyone already carrying a plastic cup might be considered the vanguard of Group 4. (Laughter.) Everyone here today is invited to join.

To Secretary Gates, I want to express my personal thanks, certainly, for your generous remarks but more for your wisdom and leadership which I experienced firsthand in each of my last three jobs. Your contribution to the nation and to the force is nothing short of historic.

Similarly, I want to thank the many leaders, civilian and military, of our nation beginning with President Obama for whom and with whom I was honored to serve. Whether elected, appointed or commissioned, the common denominator of selfless service has been inspiring.

As COM ISAF, I was provided a unique opportunity to serve alongside the professionals of 46 nations under the leadership of NATO. We were stronger for the diversity of our force, and I'm better for the experience.

My thanks, also, to the leadership and people of Afghanistan for their partnership, hospitality and friendship. For those who are tempted to simplify their view of Afghanistan and focus on the challenges ahead, I counter with my belief that Afghans have courage, strength and resiliency that will prove equal to the task.

My career included some amazing moments and memories, but it is the people I'll remember. It was always about the people. It was about the soldiers who are well-trained but, at the end of the day, act out of faith in their leaders and each other; about the young sergeants who emerge from the ranks with strength, discipline, commitment and courage.

As I grew older, the soldiers and sergeants of my youth grew older as well. They became the old sergeants, long-service professionals whose wisdom and incredible sense of responsibility for the mission and for our soldiers is extraordinary.

And the sergeants major -- they were a national treasure. They mold and maintain the force and leaders like me. They have been my comrade, confidante, constructive critic, mentor and best friend.

A little more than a year ago on a single e-mail, Command Sergeant Major Mike Hall came out of retirement, leaving a job, his son and his amazing wife Brenda to join me in Afghanistan. To Mike, I could never express my thanks. To Brenda, I know after all these years, I owe you. I also love you.

To true professionals like Sergeants Major Rudy Valentine, Jody Nacy, Steve Cuffie, CW Thompson, Chris Craven, Jeff Mellinger and Chris Farris, your presence here today is proof that, when something is truly important, like this ceremony, you're on hand to make sure I don't screw it up.

I've been blessed with the presence of old friends throughout my career, friendships that began long ago at West Point, Forts Benning, Bragg, Lewis or countless other locations and shared years of Army life, moving vans, kids, laughs, disappointments, and each other's successes which grew into bonds that became critical on the battlefield.

I treasure a note I received during a particularly tough time in Afghanistan in 2007 from fellow commander, Dave Rodriguez, that quoted Sherman's confidence that, if he ever needed support, he knew his friend Grant would come to his aid if alive. Serving with people who say and mean such words is extraordinary.

I served with many. Many of you are here tonight. And not all the heroes are comrades are in uniform. In the back of a darkened helicopter over Kunar, Afghanistan, in 2004, a comrade in blue jeans whose friendship I cherish to this day passed me a note. Scribbled on a page torn from a pocket notebook, the note said, "I don't know the Ranger Creed, but you can count on me to always be there." He lived up to his promise many times over.

To have shared so much with and been so dependent on people of such courage, physical and moral, integrity and selflessness taught me to believe.

Annie's here tonight. No doubt she walked the 50 feet from our front door in cute little Italian shoes of which we have an extensive collection. (Laughter.) In Afghanistan, I once considered using Annie's shoe purchases as an argument to get Italy to send additional forces. (Laughter.) But truth be known, I have no control over that part of the McChrystal economy. (Laughter.)

But she's here like she's always been there when it mattered. Always gorgeous. For three and a half years, she was my girlfriend then fiancée and, for over 33 years, she's been my wife.

For many years, I've joked, sometimes publicly, about her lousy cooking, terrifying closets, demolition derby driving and addiction to M&M candy, which is all true. But as we conclude a career together, it's important for you to know she was there.

She was there when my father commissioned me a second lieutenant of infantry and was waiting some months later when I emerged from Ranger School. Together, we moved all we owned in my used Chevrolet Vega to our first apartment at Fort Bragg. The move, with our first days in our $180-a-month apartment, was the only honeymoon I was able to give her, a fact she has mentioned a few times since.

Annie always knew what to do. She was gracious when she answered the door at midnight in her nightgown to fight Sergeant Emo Holtz, a huge mortarman, carrying a grocery bag of cheap liquor for a platoon party I'd hastily coordinated that evening and not told Annie about following a Friday night jump. I got home not long after to find Annie making food for assembling paratroopers. Intuitively, Annie knew what was right and quietly did it.

With 9/11, she saw us off to war and patiently supported the families of our fallen with stoic grace. As the years passed and the fight grew ever more difficult and deadly, Annie's quiet courage gave me strength I would never otherwise have found.

It's an axiom in the Army that soldiers write the checks but families pay the bills. And war increases both the accuracy of that statement and the cost families pay.

In a novel based on history, Steven Pressfield captured poignantly just how important families were and, I believe, are today. Facing an invading Persian army under King Xerxes, a coalition of Greek states sent a small force to buy time by defending the pass at Thermopylae and were led by 300 special, selected Spartans. The mission was desperate and death for the 300 certain.

Before he left to lead them, the Spartan king, Leonidas, explained to one of the Spartan wives how he had selected the 300 from an entire army famed for its professionalism, courage and dedication to duty.

"I chose them not for their valor, lady, but for that of their women. Greece stands now upon her most perilous hour. If she saves herself, it will not be at the gates. Death alone awaits us and our allies there but later in battles yet to come by land and sea.

"Then Greece, if the gods will it, will preserve herself. Do you understand this, lady? Well, now, listen, when the battle is over, when the 300 have gone to death, then all Greece will look to the Spartans to see how they bear it. But who, lady, will the Spartans look to? To you. To you and the other wives and mothers, sisters and daughters of the fallen.

"If they behold your hearts riven and broken with grief, they too will break and Greece will break with them. But if you bear up, dry eyed, not alone enduring your loss but seizing it with contempt for its agony and embracing it as the honor that it is in truth, then Sparta will stand and all Greece will stand behind her.

"Why have I nominated you, lady, to bear up beneath this most terrible of trials, you and your sisters of the 300? Because you can."

To all who wear no uniform but give so much, sacrifice so willingly and serve as such an example to our nation and each other, my thanks.

As I leave the Army, to those with responsibility to carry on, I'd say, service in this business is tough and often dangerous. It extracts a price for participation, and that price can be high.

It is tempting to protect yourself from the personal or professional costs of loss by limiting how much you commit, how much of belief and trust in people, and how deeply you care. Caution and cynicism are safe, but soldiers don't want to follow cautious cynics. They follow leaders who believe enough to risk failure or disappointment for a worthy cause.

If I had it to do over again, I'd do some things in my career differently but not many. I believed in people, and I still believe in them. I trusted and I still trust. I cared and I still care. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Winston Churchill said we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. To the young leaders of today and tomorrow, it's a great life. Thank you. (Applause.)

Merry Christmas

It is finally Christmas Day.  This is the day that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is a day that we use to celebrate all of the good things in humanity.  It is a day that we pray that the bad things will all go away.  It is a day to celebrate with family and a day that every Christian child in the world waits for.

On this day, let us think about the military protecting our country both inside and outside the natural borders of our country.  Let us pray that they never have to go to war again.  Let us pray that God will keep them safe and return them home to their families so that they can celebrate next Christmas with their loved ones.

Let us also be thankful that those who are not Christian have the ability, in this great country, to pray to whatever God they believe in.  Let us pray that all religions will be able to live together in peace and harmony and that the current conflicts between the religions are resolved peacefully so that more do not have to die in God's name.

In closing, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas.  Enjoy your celebrations.

Avatar and Boycotts

Over the last weekend, I had the privilege of seeing “Avatar.” This is a film of epic proportions and although I had some problems with it cinematically, from a technological standpoint, I recommend that everyone should see it. However, do not go and see it if you are expecting a live action film or good acting. It is a combination of live action and animation and it should be viewed as such. Just expect the equivalent of a technologically advanced, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” I was disappointed because I was expecting a fully integrated live action film.

However, there is one thing about the movie that really upsets me. It is blatantly anti-military and less blatantly Anti-American. Without giving away too much of the plot, the bad guys in the movie are the United States Marines. Apparently, in the future, the world has become one big country that seems to be controlled by the United States. The United States Marines are sent to the planet of Pandora to destroy the opposition to the New World Order’s acquisition of its substitute for oil which just happens to be located on Pandora.

There are scientists assigned by the New World Order to Pandora to negotiate a peaceful solution, but they are overruled by the military and the business interests at every turn. Eventually, the military solution is the final solution. The military then attacks with pure hatred and determination the locals on the planet. They do not care for the sanctity of the alien life, whether it be women or children. And, they attack with sophisticated weapons against the bows and arrows of the natives.

The glee with which the American Marines participate in this massacre is appalling and does not show the true feelings and concerns of the real United States Military. James Cameron should apologize to the American Military and should make a statement that he does not truly feel this way about them. He should also apologize to the American public for painting our young men and women that defend this country as cold blooded killers.

However, I am sure the Mr. Cameron will not do this as the movie is obviously a political comment on Iraq and Afghanistan.

On another issue, all of my regular readers know that I am a firm believer in Free Speech. I believe that this aspect of the Bill of Rights is absolute. Neither the left nor the right should have any say in limiting it. I agree with the United States Supreme Court on the few limitations on Free Speech they have declared as there is an obvious reason for those few and rare limitations.

In the past few years, many department stores such as Target have decided that the use of the word Christmas should not be permitted in their stores. The new corporate policy is that it is the Holiday Season and these are Holiday sales. My brother wrote an article in this column a few weeks ago dealing with this very issue. I agree with my brother’s concerns.

However, it has just come to my attention that Starwood’s Hotels has now adopted the same policy. I have been informed that all of their employees have been told that they are not permitted to say Merry Christmas or to type Merry Christmas in e-mails. To me this is a clear violation of both Free Speech and Freedom of Religion. If a person wants to wish another person a Merry Christmas, they should be able to do so freely.

I have many Jewish friends. I wish them Happy Hanukah and many of them wish me a Merry Christmas. This is one of the Freedoms that are allowed in this country. If someone chooses to say “Happy Holidays,” that is also their own personal choice. But, when a company I am working for tells me that I cannot say “Merry Christmas,” this is going too far.

Accordingly, I am asking that all people should begin a boycott of Starwood Hotels. Everyone that reads this column should pass this on through their e-mail lists, their Facebook account, their My Space account and their Twitter Accounts. The American public was able to force Target and other department stores into changing their policy back to the way it used to be. Let’s see if we can get Starwood to change its policy as well.

© 2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be freely granted upon request.

Pearl Harbor Remembered by Craig Covello

Monday was December 7.

Not too long ago that date was fairly significant in the media. But this year, I was troubled by the lack of remembrance from our leaders in Washington. President Obama was conspicuously silent regarding any acknowledgment, let alone thanks, for the sacrifices my parent's generation made to keep our nation free. I did some searches on Google News, thinking that perhaps our president may have actually traveled to Honolulu or at least made a speech on the White House lawn which might not have been significant enough for the Los Angeles Times, CNN or CNBC to cover. It appears that he did not. The truth is that our federal leaders are consumed with much more important issues such as cap and trade, socialized healthcare and the impending destruction of our planet by CO2 emissions. Funny how manufactured emergencies take precedent over remembrance of those who fought real threats to our freedom, if not our very existence, back on December 7, 1941. On that day, the Japanese successfully launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. It resulted in the destruction of 188 US airplanes, four battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers and caused the death of more than 2200 sailors and Marines. The noise of the bombs, explosions, artillery fire and screams that day must have been deafening, but perhaps not quite as deafening as the silence yesterday.

So I picked up the phone and called my dad just to thank him for his service to our country in World War II.

He was surprised, but I explained that since our president wasn't going to thank him, then that job should probably fall to me.

It was a great conversation. He shared with me some details regarding his army years that I had not known, including the fact that he was only 18 years old when he joined the service. That is the same age as my youngest son is now who is studying jazz at the University of North Texas. My dad, however, at age 18 had completed basic training at Fort Ord and now was on a ship headed for the invasion of Japan. Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific these brave kids, who were headed for harms way, looked up and saw several of our planes flying overhead with an important radio message. There had been victory for the United States in Japan, which is now commemorated as VJ Day. So the invasion didn't happen, which is lucky for me since I might not have "happened" if my father hadn't survived. Instead, he was reassigned to the island of Iwo Jima with orders to build a radar installation atop Mt. Suribachi. Coincidently, Mt. Suribachi was also the location where a famous picture was taken on February 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal. It depicted five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsmen raising the flag of the United States during the battle of Iwo Jima. Pretty hallowed ground. Ground my dad walked upon.

As he spoke of his experiences in service to our country, my father must have said at least twice "that was a long, long time ago", inferring somehow that the significance of his service days had diminished in light of more recent events. I disagree. It may have been a long, long time ago, but that doesn't lessen the contribution our World War II veterans have made to this country. A contribution that should be remembered every single year, regardless of whoever is in the White House.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFKP_AHRWNKnf1u6yd1MTw0c2K-wD9CE3KA80

 

Copyright 2009 by Craig Covello.  Used with Permission.  All Rights Reserved.

America's forgotten heroes

Today is Veteran's Day.  It is a day in honor of all American Veterans.  It was created by an Act of Congress in 1926 to remember the end of World War I and was originally called Armistice Day.  November 11, is the day that the treaty ending World War I was executed.  In 1954, it was changed to Veteran's Day to commemorate all US Veterans.

Today we celebrate their sacrifices and their love of country.  May God Bless them all.

Please click on the below link to see a moving article about our Heroes.

America's forgotten heroes

Supporting Our Troops

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the GI Film Festival at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. The Festival took place in one day and showed films that portray American enlisted men and women in a favorable light as opposed to the usual Hollywood fare. This festival was an offshoot of the main GI Film Festival which takes place in May every year in Washington D.C. The main event lasts seven days and includes showings of approximately 50 films. This was a one day shortened version in which the crème of the crop were exhibited. You can find out more details about the festival at: http://www.gifilmfestival.com/. I also recommend that if you are so inclined, you make a donation to this worthy cause.

Among the screened films was a documentary entitled “About Face,” which was directed by Steve Karras. To me, the film is a masterpiece. It depicts a group of Jewish Refugees from both Germany and Austria that joined the American and British Armed Forces in WWII to fight against their native lands. The film was both moving and educational. In fact, I must state I was not even aware there was so many of these refugees. Apparently, they numbered approximately 10,000. And, because of their knowledge of the native languages of the enemy, many of them were placed in positions that put them directly into contact with the same Germans who were persecuting their family and relatives.

The film explored the motivations of these soldiers and the feelings that many of them have regarding Nazism and the war to this day. You must remember that although these people were Jews, they were also Germans. Their native language was German. They were schooled in Germany prior to the Nazi takeover. All of their friends were Germans and some of those friends were even fighting in the war against the Allies. One of the refugees interviewed stated that he came across a childhood friend of his towards the end of the war and that it was an emotional experience for them both.

Another of the refugees was shown going back to his hometown for the first time since leaving before the war. He was walking the streets of his childhood and searching for some of his boyhood friends. Again, the question came up regarding what he would have done in the event he was confronted with killing one of them. Remember, these were all Jews who were fighting the same Nazis who had decreed that Jews were inferior and must be annihilated.

When asked while standing on one of the beaches at Normandy, what should be done to stop another holocaust and war with the scope of WWII, one of the documentary’s subjects stated, “Never allow another fanatic to gain control of a powerful country.” To no surprise, this garnered the most applause from the obvious partisan crowd.

Another film that I found extremely moving was a documentary entitled “Bedford: The Town They Left Behind.” This film traces the effects of D-Day on a small town in Virginia that had the largest per capita casualties on D-Day of anyplace in the United States. It also deals with the current effects of the citizenry as a result of the National Guard troops being called up in 2004 to fight in the “War on Terror.” Obviously, the D-Day losses are still considered and in the minds of the residents. A common question being asked by the residents today is, “Could this possibly happen again?”

This film was almost as emotional as “About Face.” It is hard to believe that this town was so affected by the losses sustained on D-Day. It was just their turn of bad luck that the National Guard branch based in Bedford was on the front lines storming Normandy on June 6, 1944. The town truly paid its price for Democracy. And, to their credit, the town people have learned to be proud of their boys and not regret the sacrifices which made.

There were many other films shown at the festival that were moving and made me proud of the Armed Forces and of being an American. Among them were “Spitfire 944” a short about an American pilot seeing a crash landing in which he survived during WWII 50 years after the war for the first time on film; “Witt’s Daughter” which fictionally explored the effects on a family of a soldier’s absence during the Korean conflict; and, “A Touch of Home” which is a documentary about the Vietnam War’s Red Cross Girls and their memories of the experience.

At the conclusion of the screenings, Gary Sinise hosted a reception honoring the filmmakers, the festival and the Armed Forces in general. Mr. Sinise appeared with his usual humbleness and towered praises upon the people that risk their lives for democracy and for the United States of America. This is a man that has devoted a major portion of his free time to supporting the military and asks for nothing in exchange. He is a true patriot and a true gentleman.

On the whole, the experience was a great one. It was both pleasant and unusual to be with a group of filmmakers and film aficionados that were of a like conservative mind and proud to be Americans. The usual gatherings of film people are full of condemnation of the country and its form of government. I hope that you all find a way to see these truly patriotic films. In closing, I salute the troops. I salute Gary Sinise for his untiring work for them and his love for America. And, I salute the founders and supporters of the festival. Thank you.

© 2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be granted freely upon request.