Manns Medium

When you assume the rank of supervisor within any of the branches of the U. S. Armed Forces beginning at E-4, with it comes the responsibility of troop welfare.  Today, troop welfare has been down-graded on the list of paramount trait required to lead and it appears so far down that list now, many often forget it is even there.  This seems to be the condition that many military commanders and their staff are suffering from right now.  The mission is no longer making sure that their troops are properly prepared and ready to engage at all times, the mission is protecting those in command and the upper echelon from anything that could possibly make waves or result in being skipped over for promotion.  Today, commanders and their staff ignore troop welfare and even troop equipment by concentrating more on troop numbers and anything that will embarrass the command. Today’s troops cannot be compared to yesterday’s troops because of how much things have changed.  ...

No one likes to see a young life snuffed out before it even has a chance to grow but many times bad things happens for a good reason and provides us with an opportunity to correct the direction in which we are headed if we would only heed that chance and get the hint. I speak about the recent unnecessary deaths that have occurred in the past few days like the ones I list below;  For our local news 23 WIFR | Rockford, Illinois the title of the article is “ Baby Struck by Vehicle, Driver Leaves the Scene ” and it reports that “Police are searching for the driver who they say hit a 22 month old baby with a car and took off, leaving the child in serious condition.  It happened just before 7:30 pm on Ashland Avenue, which is right next to Andrews Park on Rockford's west side. Investigators were on the scene with an accident reconstructionist and say they are still trying to figure out what happened. Officers say they are now searching for a black Chevy Avalanche with a grey ...

Was a little disturbed by this article written by Harriet McLeod for Reuters titled “Police hunt man who killed nine in historic South Carolina black church” not really because of the information found within but basically by the enormity of how often this is happening within our communities.  While trying to figure out what seemingly strong force is guiding these people to violate even God’s will, I had to look past the normal excuses given when something like this happen and look much deeper.  What I found was even more disturbing than my initial reaction to this story. In the story it is reported that “Police in Charleston, South Carolina, were searching on Thursday for a white gunman who killed nine people in a historic African-American church including the pastor, a black state senator, in an attack the U.S. Department of Justice called a hate crime.  The FBI identified the shooter as Dylan Roof of Columbia, South Carolina. An uncle of Roof's said he recognized ...

I make no excuse for the actions of anyone especially a mature and seasoned veteran but as with all things each of us need to take a step back and be more than willing to address any mistake we might have made or any part we may have played in a celebrated moment going so very wrong.  This is clearly the case involving an article by Nicholas K. Geranois for the Associated Press titled “ Iraq War veteran charged with murder in deaths of relatives ” In the article it is reported that “a decorated Iraq War veteran arrested in the deaths of his estranged wife's mother, stepfather and brother was charged Tuesday with three counts of premeditated first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances.  The charges mean Roy H. Murry, 30, might face the death penalty, Spokane County prosecutor Larry Haskell said. "At this point in time, every option is on the table," Haskell said after the hearing.  Amanda Murry has told law enforcement officers that her husband blamed her famil...

Today I heard a very disturbing fact.  One of the many reporters on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri reported that several small but rowdy groups have descended upon Ferguson and is mainly the cause of the unrest there.  It’s disturbing because these “transplants” don’t have to stay there after they make it so very hard for those who do to survive in the place that they call home.  These selfish, unthinking and cowardly people, migrate into an area, create hate and discontent, then slim their way out leaving devastation and hopelessness in their wake.  If this sounds a little familiar, it should because this is the very same thing that is happening in Iraq, Syria, Israel and so many other countries where dialogue and compromise is a very dirty word. We call those who perpetuate this type of discord terrorist but when it comes to people who travel from place to place with their own agenda and not really caring about the cause of the gathering of people but only s...