You Don't Say

The reputation of the Army is on display everyday.  Sometimes bad Soldiers wind up in the spotlight.

http://www.army.mil/article/159082/Online_misconduct_hurts_fellow_Soldiers__Army__NCOs_tell_Dailey/

West Point... Hellloooo, Are You There?

Every once in a while, I write to West Point, never hear back from them... but I keep writing...  West Point is where the ethics of the Army is held accountable.  West Point is where committees of general officers meet and talk about the state of ethics in the Army.  Notice I said talk about the state of ethics in the Army.  I don't think they are doing a good job, those committees aren't the least bit concerned with my opinion of course, but that won't stop me from expressing my opinion.  I've decided to make my letters public from here on out.
 

To Whom it May Concern, and I Certainly Do Hope it Sincerely Concerns Someone,

My name is Debra LeCompte, and my husband is COL (RET) Randy LeCompte, an honor graduate of West Point, (top five percent of the class of 1981.)  My husband would love to attend his 31st reunion this year, but is currently serving with the State Department in Iraq in the civilian sector.  My father and grand-father were Soldiers as well, my daughter was a Soldier, and she is now serving in the civilian sector in Germany where she lives with our two grand-daughters as her husband serves in Afghanistan.  Our other son-in-law was blown off a recon vehicle in 2003 in Iraq, and can no longer serve, but he would give everything in him to do so.

My family, especially my husband, has been recipients of the all that is good in the Army.  We are better as a family because of the Army, as my husband says, "the Army gives one skills, identity, and purposeful living."  We have all also been the recipients of very bad things from the Army because of the problem of ethics in the Army.  The Academy is not achieving it's goals of teaching ethics.  The Army is not, because of the incestuous relationships involved in its' "self-policing," truly promoting ethics.  I don't think anyone who reads this, (if anyone does,) can with any honesty argue that point.

We had a young intern from West Point in our home for dinner while my husband was still employed with BAE Systems, as was our custom with each of the interns who spent part of their summer in the Sealy, Texas plant.  My husband being the man he is, posed the question, "So, which of the Army Values do you think is the most important?"  For a couple of minutes the young man could not answer, he couldn't remember any of the seven values, then he at first said, "leadership."  My husband reminded him that was an  acronym used in another set of characteristics promoted by the Army.   Finally the young man said loyalty.  That is a frequent answer among Soldiers.  Both my husband and I disagree with this answer every time we hear it , for so many times a Soldier means by that response loyalty to his unit or to a commander.  There are times, more frequently than I would like to acknowledge, when that is not the honorable or right thing to do.  In order for loyalty to be worthy of first mention, it should be loyalty to honor and doing the right thing.  Too many times loyalty in the Army is affected by who does your OER, honor never is.

When a firstie can't tell a retired colonel who earned a Bronze Star in Afghanistan what the Seven Army Values are.... your ethics training is a monumental failure in my opinion.  That is without mentioning the First Sergeant with 19 years in, who by all reports was an outstanding mentor and man of honor, who was sleeping on the floor of a Garland, Texas jail, all because he came up against corrupt command.  I can't mention every miscarriage of honor that I have knowledge of, there are too many innocent people involved.  My great sorrow is I am but a grain of sand in the scheme of the Army Family, but I know of dozens of atrocities.  It is like rats, for every instance of lack of honor that I know of, there are a hundred I am not aware of.  Even though I know of the rats, like my husband, I love the Army, the real Army, the one that belongs to the hearts of those who nobly serve, and I will fight for the honor, integrity, and reputation of that Band of Brothers, (and Sisters,) until the day I die.  I believe there is an answer to this breakdown in ethics.

The answer West Point is ACCOUNTABILITY.  That accountability should begin with generals, not cadets.  Every time self serving corruption prevails, those who would serve with integrity are driven away.  Who, of any character,  wants to associate with lack of integrity?  Who wants to risk their own career and reputation to those lacking integrity?  Just as those who would serve with honor are driven away, those lacking in it are reinforced in behavior which is dishonorable.  They receive the message you have to "go along to get along."  No matter who you are, what your rank, the answer is ACCOUNTABILITY.  It only exists when those controlling the "self policing" are possessed of honor.  As the guardians of the honor of the United States Army those meetings where accountability by individuals is weighed and measured in the balance must be populated by men and women of honor and the COURAGE to execute The Code of Military Justice.  Surely, you can scrape together enough general officers with moral courage to fill the positions on those committees?

West Point, you are accountable for a firstie who doesn't know The Seven Army Values as he enters his senior year.  A web site about honor and integrity won't do it, all the training, classes, and instruction in the world, won't do it, only accountability without bias, favor, or self serving will forge a force where honor and integrity are the norm, not the exception.  When every Soldier believes and knows that lack of honor will not be tolerated under any circumstances, when they know power mongering will be met with swift and sure justice, and lying is unacceptable and will result in dire consequences, will honor and integrity, and a force devoted to The Seven Army Values prevail.

I have been very plain spoken, and in the past it has not done me a bit of good.  Well, there was the commander of the First Sergeant sleeping on the jail floor who was relieved of command, but please understand, I speak plainly because of my devotion to, and respect of all those who live "uncommon lives."  Their families as well depend upon the honor of leadership.  I wish the Academy, The Army, and every Soldier serving only the  best.  It is owed to them.

With Respect and Sincerity,

Debra LeCompte

Fighting Depression and Other Demons

My husband has been "in-country"  for three weeks now, but I still haven't gotten to see him.  Leaving the Army after 30 years of service is even more complicated a process than entering the Army it seems.  I can't leave the responsibilities of the ranch to go to Georgia to be with him, and it feels as though I've never needed him more.  There are so many challenges, I couldn't hope to name them all, when a loved one is deployed.  You have to experience it to fully appreciate what it means to a family.   Just being without my husband has been the greatest struggle of my life, and been the background for each day I have lived in his absence.  Currently the greatest challenge is health issues, the exact nature of which has yet to be determined, they are looming and awaiting tests for an exact diagnosis.  I find myself  after two years of my husband being deployed, at the end of my personal resources, and the one in need.  I am not used to the role of being the one in need, in life my role has always been the one of ministering  to others.  As in most reversals of roles that people go through, it is disconcerting, at the least, and in moments when just a "mite" of  additional stress is added, completely overwhelming.  I feel as though I am on the very edge of a deep cavern at times.  I told my husband I know what Soldiers who experience PTSD feel like inside sometimes, even though I have never been to war.  Holding within mself the fear of the one I love more than life itself being wounded or dying in a war zone, has been for me the most difficult place I have ever been, and I have been some tough places.

Watching the show Army Wives last night, (I have only lately began watching the show,) I thought how good it was for the country to have the opportunity to see just a pale glimpse of what service to this country really entails.  Far more revealing is the show on the same channel, "Coming Home."  Real families and service members share their home comings as their loved ones return from long absences to foreign countries.  They have selflessly been standing against those persons who have determined to destroy the way of life that our own country, and many others countries and peoples of the world wish to live in.   These individuals explicitly do not believe in the right to personal freedom for any person.  

As freedoms have come to the two countries where the fight has been concentrated, and so much has been given, people in the surrounding countries have seen the possibility that they too can have the way of life these men and women who are serving represent.  As the Middle East comes alive with the cries of people demanding the personal freedom and opportunity to shape their own destiny, more of our sons and daughters will be called, and the call will be answered.  

Training, information, and resources will be given to both the individual volunteering to serve our country, and to those family members, who in wisdom, will tap what the Army or other branch of service will offer them as well.  Then these families will begin a journey, or as it may be, many journeys down the road of deployment.  In volunteering, and pledging to give up their lives, if that is the cost, the price of freedom will continue to extracted from those serving, and those who love them, for freedom continues to demand this cost.  The rest of the citizens of this country, and many citizens of other countries, will reap the benefits of the sacrifices of those who in the greatest act of valor and honor an individual can perform, pledge their lives to serve in the United States Military.  To those fools who believe that every enemy can be tamed by diplomacy, fairness, aide, and such, I make no argument.  Any person who looks at humankind and believes that anything short of God's return will end conflict requiring this kind of sacrifice, does not possess the intelligence or reasoning to process reality.  However,  the protection of their right to protest  military engagement of the enemies of our country, will continue to be protected by those who serve.   Families, for that is where every person who serves comes from, will continue to endure and in some cases, even be empowered by the sacrifices required of them.  Other families will dissolve under the weight of service.  

Just as Soldiers come from families, when their service is done, they will return to families.  Some will come home with no apparent physical changes to their bodies, and some of those will later develop debilitating illness, having suffered exposure to a toxin somewhere in service to our country.   Some will come home changed by wounds that eventually will heal physically without changing the course of their lives.  Of course some will come home having suffered wounds that  forever change them  physically and they will have to rebuild their lives.  Some will come home in coffins, having given their last true measure of devotion.  None will come home without being profoundly changed forever within their hearts and minds by "the rockets red glare, and the bombs bursting in air."  Some will be haunted and oppressed by experiences and loses too extensive for expression by any human language.  

I feel a personal obligation to each service member, and to their families, and I will spend the rest of my life endeavoring to repay my obligation.  Both my husband and I have made the commitment to use our own blessings and personal resources to support all those we can, in any way we can, in the light of the knowledge that only as brave men and women continue to serve, will our nation and those values which we hold sacred continue to stand.     

There is now within me a clear distinction which was not there at the beginning of my own period of sacrifice.  I have come to the knowledge that within the numbers of those who serve, there are as one would expect within any given number of people, those without honor.  There are those who serve purely for personal gain.  Since military service does not by comparison to civilian service, pay as well, or offer as much opportunity, those who serve for their own gain have a single identifying characteristic, they desire power.  As I watch men and women serve, there is a far greater fear than what the enemy can do to a Soldier for me.  I have personally observed, and been affected by, individuals within the ranks who blatantly disregard the rules governing military service.  Recently I have personally observed members of the units within the Army whose job it is to "police" the following of the rules, bend, and in some cases, break the rules themselves.  Nothing should be more troubling to those serving, and to the rest of us.  We must be able to trust in the integrity of the system.  It is time that the hiding of facts, the turning of the blind eye, and any other breaking of the rules be abandoned. 

There has been a long standing excuse by leadership that some things be covered in order to avoid tarnishing the image of the military.  I see through that completely.  Never is it in the best interest of the Army, or any other branch of service, to hide wrong doing.  It only creates an atmosphere of mistrust, enables wrong doing, and makes a joke of the pledges of honor made by those willing to serve.   It also creates a threat which is far greater than that of the enemy, against those who serve.  As the wife of a Soldier, I cannot understand lack of  response by the highest levels of authority when anyone makes accusation of wrong doing.  There should be a rush to investigate all reports which constitute abuse of power by those in charge.  The investigation should only be carried out by impartial and honorable men and women, I am not certain at this point that the Army should continue to administer it's own justice.

The Army spends huge amounts in researching what problems exist within the system, spends more coming up with plans, programs, rules and regulations to guard against "fraud, waste, and abuse."  All of those endeavors are only as legitimate as those administering them.  The system by which the Army investigates wrong doing is flawed.  An IG investigation is, and I am quoting the Army, "a tool of the commander."  What if the commander is the problem?

Not only is that piece of the process flawed, false accusations can be made either up or down a chain of command, without accountability by those making false statements.   Once accusations are made, there are  no time constraints for investigation or resolution.  I have personally observed, and in some cases, still hold the written evidence of disregard of UCMJ law.   It is completely deliberate and schemed disregard of those laws governing the military, and wrong doers are protected, and the innocent abused.  That disregard renders UCMJ worthless.

In the head quarters of the 95th Division of  the United States Army Reserves, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, an individual so corrupt and powerful that he could, kept a wall populated with pictures of individuals whose careers he bragged of destroying.  I am not the only person with knowledge of this, many know, it was done publicly.  While my husband was deployed I asked myself almost daily, why is it that this can happen?  Why are there numerous good persons, who detest the fact that this exists, knowledgeable concerning this, and possessed of moral courage to stand against it, and yet it prevails?  I have come to discover I can write this, post it publicly, and not worry about any consequences, or ever having anyone ask a single question concerning why the wife of colonel, with 30 years of service, who is an honor graduate of West Point and the Army War College, would dare to make such an accusation.  During my husband's deployment, my greatest fear and anxiety was the enemy within.  I am going to keep revealing things I know in an effort to affect change.  If military service to this country is going to continue requiring our sons and daughters, I believe all those in charge of even one Soldier, all those with the power to effect a single life, should be held accountable for every action.  Additionally, the higher the rank of the person, who allowed on their watch, the disregard of justice and rule, the more expedient should be their removal.  I believe the existing law governing agencies, and their leadership, should be closely examined for abuse of power and other inconsistencies.  


There are so many other pursuits I would rather engage in.  Every person is possessed of only a limited amount of energy and resources with which to meet each day.  I talk to so many who know of abuses, and it is such a huge and powerful avenue, with so many on it, that sometimes the oppressed never consider taking up the cry for justice.  That is a shame, but in order to facilitate sleeping at night, as my husband returns from deployment and retires after 30 years, I cannot take the more beckoning and peaceful road.  I long to.  Nevertheless,  war and battle weary, I will take up my own weapons once again, and continue to do all I can concerning wrong doing.  Every family who gives their sons and daughters should be able to expect this from someone, and if I am the only one to speak out against this, I will be one. 

I Have Set My Face Like A Flint

I am writing a novel, I wanted to share the introduction here, and perhaps the first chapter.  This is the first half of the introduction.  The book is loosely based on a collection of experiences and stories I have heard from Soldiers over the years.  Being based in actual experiences, the book writes itself, I just change details, names, and of course, strive to protect the innocent... for the guilty I have no compassion...
 Isaiah 50: 4-7
"The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:  I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." 

 

 I Have Set My Face Like A Flint

Introduction

As soon as the doors of the car shut in the parking lot, she asked how it had gone.  He answered first with complete silence, then a quiet, “wait until we are out of the parking lot.”  Instantly she knew it had not gone well.  As they pulled out, she searched his face for clues, but waited for him to speak when he was ready.  Far too much was revealed in his face, and the level of his anguish was palpable in the car.  Her mind raced, she longed to break the silence and ask, “How could it have gone badly?”  Instead, she held her breath waiting for him to speak.  When he finally did, his usually quiet and confident voice was even more quiet, and shaking with emotion and pain.

The trouble for her new husband, Colonel Douglas Cutler, had actually began a few months before when the Army had announced that due to “The Transformation,” the 2nd Brigade would be moving from the 78th Division of the Army Reserves to the 36th ARRTC.   The Transformation was the process of reorganization and base closures that the Department of Defense had determined was necessary in order to change the Army into a new leaner and meaner organization, and save the country’s taxpayers billions every year in doing so.  The 2nd Brigade, which her husband commanded, and where she served as the unit’s Family Readiness Group leader, trained drill sergeants in the fine art of being drill sergeants.  The Soldiers under Colonel Cutler’s command tended to be the “best of the best.”  Their job was the training of men, and a few women, to be those who took the Army’s raw recruits and turned them into dedicated and loyal Soldiers, who were highly disciplined, in the best physical condition they would know in their lifetimes, and confident to the point for some, of being completely without fear.  The Army would then assign them specialties and populate their ranks with this fresh set of America’s sons and daughters who were ready to stand the wall in defense of all national security threats, and when necessary, to wage war.  For four years now, it had been necessary to wage war. 

The term “OPTEMPO” had become familiar to her, and a part of her everyday work as the FRG leader.  Her lifelong respect for all those serving in the country’s military had grown past even what she had learned in childhood.  From her own father’s service in the National Guard as she was growing up, she gained the impression of all things military being honorable.  Her father had first entered the Army when he was seventeen years old.  Somehow, he had convinced his mother to lie about his birth date, giving him the few months he lacked being eighteen years old and of legal age to join the military.  She had to write a letter saying his birth certificate had burned in a house fire, and being the time it was, few hand written records of such things existed anyway.  She probably would not have done it if the prospects of having food enough to feed him were even a glimmer on the horizon.  Already she had cut the toes out of his shoes to allow for his still growing feet.  Where or when new shoes could be had wasn’t even something she thought of, there were so many more pressing matters.  

 
There were the stories of her father's active duty service and how it had been, for him the opportunity to leave the abject destitution of his childhood growing up during The Great Depression.  Serving under a West Point graduate he identified as Major James, her father told of coming for the first time to understand successful living as he was led under this young soldier’s command.  From that experience, he had gained the rights to certain benefits, including the obtaining of a GED at the government’s expense, and then training to become an electrician.  The work ethic that was his through his instinctive survival of poverty, hunger, and need, had coupled with the positive attitude and ethics developed by Major James, and fueled her father’s success in life.  His life was also anchored solidly in a deep and personal faith in God.   His principled life had enabled her childhood to be sheltered, safe, and full of happiness, which developed in her a naivety few still possessed at her age.  The honor, integrity, and loyalty, taught as the basic principles of the Army to all young recruits, was internalized by her father, and now at 79, these traits burned as strongly as they ever had.  In his lifetime, he had never slipped an inch from duty, honor, and country.  
 
This parenting had been one of the things that first drew her to the Colonel.  She saw in him the living embodiment of the legendary “Major James.”  He too, was a West Point graduate, possessed of deep beliefs in self-less service, all that was honorable, and he endeavored to live as closely as possible his sacred “Seven Army Values.”  His own childhood had created in him a drive for excellence in all he did, and he left West Point as an honor graduate in the top fifth of his class.  Later, as he attended The Army War College, they were already acquainted, and by the time he graduated, again with honors, they were in a relationship.  Oddly, despite his own bleak childhood growing up in privation and a physically and emotionally abusive family, he too, was possessed by naivety in certain areas of reasoning.  To her developing wonder at this fact, he was even more naive than her concerning people.  Over the next several months she would watch the heartbreak he experienced as those he had looked to with such admiration for leadership revealed  feet of clay and dishonor within their lives he could never have conceived of.