Military memories, cycles and family points of intersection

Spent this week at Fort Benning in Georgia doing some consulting for an Army group. Within an hour or so of coming on post, I went to refill the gas tank from the drive and ended up passing right by the barracks, the drop towers and the running track that were a part of my Airborne training more than 25 years ago, the last time I was at Fort Benning.

Got me thinking of the cycles and how things seem to come full circle when it comes to the military.

This past year was able to research a bit about my lineage in the military, with  aTucker serving in the Massachusetts Militia before the Revolutionary War and another Tucker losing a limb serving during the Civil War.

Grandpa Lehman spent some time at Ft. Lee, VA back during WWII era, when it was Camp Lee as an officer trainee. We used to go there during my pre-teen and teen years to watch fireworks every July 4th- I remember following the Yankee's Dave Righetti throwing a no-hitter one of those years- I see it was 1983 as I do a quick online search. And I would be back at Ft. Lee in 1995 going through Quartermaster Officer Basic myself as a 2nd Lieutenant.

My dad, Robin, had a substantially shorter military career than I have had, but we had plenty to discuss in common before his passing. He served as a behavioral medicine specialist (probably getting the title wrong), going through training at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. As he recalled his experience there, I was able to determine that we walked the same halls at the top of the hill, where I did training as a private studying to become a medical lab technician in 1992. It was so hot, and I was glad I was not suffering in that heat as much as the combat medics in much tougher training down the hill.

He also served a stint at Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas. I had a short stay there in preparation for and then out processing after my Balkans tour in 2015-2016. Pretty warm place there, too! While there the first time, I took a picture of a couple of signs and buildings set aside for the Japanese Self Defense Forces (both Ground and Air).  It was of interest to me as I recalled Japanese SDF support during my Iraq tour as they provided air transportation during my (much longer than) 4 day pass to Qatar, and my son, Nathan was at the time serving his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Kobe Japan mission.

Japan was also a military connection with my father, unfortunately after his passing. He served a bit of time working in Okinawa. I yet been to Okinawa, but did get to meet with the JSDF and USARJ forces during a trip to Tokyo earlier this year as part of a larger study about USARPAC posture in the INDOPACOM region.

Steven Greenhouse- The Big Squeeze, Tough times for the American Worker

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3192448-the-big-squeeze

Finished this one last week. Took a while as this is not light reading. 11 years after it came out, you can see how that feeling of the workers being exploited continues to be used by politicians on both the right and the left.

I have held plenty of those tough types of jobs, and have been blessed to move past them and into better circumstances. I recognize fully that I've "won the lottery" in terms of the circumstances into which I was born. Those circumstances enabled educational and work opportunities that many do not enjoy.

As I have prospered financially, I am now in position to vote regularly as a shareholder on executive compensation packages for many companies. As one voice in the wilderness, I have consistently voted against most of those packages in these non-binding votes, unless I am aware that the executives/and or company have particularly enlightened approaches to their own pay or in working with their rank and file employees.

The problems described by Greenhouse are linked to the increasing wealth disparity in the United States. Listened to an interesting NPR Planet Money podcast this week featuring a controversial (to other rich folk) billionaire/many multimillionaire type who has been crusading for wealth taxes to address this inequality before the reckoning that he thinks is otherwise unavoidable as the poor revolt with pitchforks.

The civil-military divide- an anecdote

So a side hobby of mine is personal financial management. Was attending the local chapter's meeting for the American Association of Individual Investors yesterday. Got another blatant reminder of how some of us simply live in a different world than others.

The invited presenter started off his presentation asking what was happening in 2007. I started thinking about what was happening in my life. I was deployed to Iraq during "the surge" that may be seen as contributing to a period of relative stability in Iraq. It was a challenging time there, as a number of helicopters had been shot out of the sky, and the surge was part of a broader effort to get things under control. I lost 3 contractors- 2 to IEDs that July and one, a local national, a bit later, to a mafia-style hit by other Iraqis who wanted to get in on his business.

Binksy and I prep for a brief walkabout June 2007

The reminder of the different world for civilians hit right then. He said "Nothing. Nothing was happening in 2007. There were no wars going on, no major events."

Granted, the markets were in the quiet before the storm as credit default swaps and garbage mortgage backed securities had yet to become common parlance in the public arena. So, what was going on from a military standpoint might not have been seen as relevant for an investment advisor.

But there were definitely wars going on in both Iraq and Afghanistan. And as I return from Army War College I have friends who are still deploying to the CENTCOM region and Afghanistan in particular.

We are still at war.

Some have forgotten September 11, 2001. For others, it was the beginning of personal involvement in armed conflict that continues to today. We have soldiers deploying who weren't even born then.

Bastille Day!

30 years ago, I went to France on a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  A lot of hard work and great experiences. One of the more "tourist-like" experiences was the opportunity to watch a coordinated fireworks show at the old walled city on the hill in Carcassone on Bastille Day- probably in 1991 if I remember my timing right. Just a cool thing. I told myself I needed to get back there some time and do it again with my spouse. Well, missed it again this year, but life is good and I believe we'll get the opportunity some time!

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks it is a cool deal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbG0SM0BsKo

American Lion, Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3147367-american-lion

Read it, enjoyed it enough to entertain reading more Meacham work.

Felt like it found a nice balance between singing his praises and acknowledging some of the contradictions/problems or even sins, such as policies and actions relative to native Americans and slaves.

Does a nice job of telling a personal story of the man, those around him, and also helping give a sense of America in this era. In particular, gave me more insights into the South Carolina politics of the day which pointed towards the Civil War.

Plenty of lessons for today's leaders about character, selflessness, respect for women and children. Admirable not just for his work as President, but successful military career, came from humble beginnings as well. Just as today, robust dialogue about the role of the President having more power than was necessarily intended by the founding fathers/framers of the Constitution.