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Wendy Rogers: Arizona Needs & Supports the F-35

January 19, 2012 By 15 Comments

Wendy RogersBack in November, the East Valley Tribune and Ahwatukee Foothill News published an op-ed that I wrote in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In that op-ed, I noted the critical importance the F-35 program plays to the national security of the United States. After meeting with Arizonians who are involved in the F-35’s development, I learned of their concern over program cuts and the unforeseen consequences that may result from debate over program reductions. For the sake of our national and economic security, these conversations need to stop.

The F-35 is America’s next fifth-generation, multi-role fighter that our military leaders have designated to replace our military’s current arsenal of ageing F-16 and F-18 fighters. The F-35 is a pragmatic approach to modernizing America’s air superiority by using the same platform to serve the Air Force, Navy, and Marines. The highly advanced capabilities of the F-35 will provide out troops in the air, sea and land with the technology and situational awareness to get the job done and safely return home.

A recent program update proves that 2011 was a banner year for the program. Of the 872 test flights and 6,622 test points the F-35 was to endure in 2011, the program surpassed those goals by flying 972 test flights and completing 7,823 test points. These flights and test points ensure that the plane is strong and reliable through hundreds of challenging scenarios. The results prove that the F-35 program is maturing faster than anticipated – which is a good problem to have when working with advanced military technology.

Despite these overachievements, we have seen a lot of change in America’s political landscape. Most significantly, the deficit reducing “supercommittee” failed, forcing $600 billion in mandatory cuts from Department of Defense programs. During negotiations leading up to the supercommittee, there was a groundswell of support for full program funding and members of the committee were prepared to defend the F-35 because they recognized it’s importance to America.

Unfortunately, because the committee failed, the program is once again under debate. As evidence, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently confirmed that he aims to cut Defense Department spending on next generation weapons programs which could include the F-35. While no one believes that the F-35 will be cancelled, small businesses right here in Arizona are watching closely to see if the Pentagon will uphold their commitment to program funding, since the small business community has capitalized their production lines in anticipation of program growth.

The bottom-line is that we cannot allow political expedience to dampen the progress of the F-35. The program is deeply connected to our economy and cuts would send ripple effects across a nation. The programs suppliers, consisting of 1,300 independent companies across the United States and supporting 127,000 jobs, have the most to lose. If those parts are no longer needed in the quantities that were originally requested, then those suppliers will be unable to meet payroll and the rising jobless claim rates in the United States will see a significant uptick.

The security of our nation and the protection of our troops are important to all of us. It is our job to ensure that the men and women in the armed services are armed with globally superior technology and protection. America’s ingenuity and industrial infrastructure can deliver that superiority, and we Americans can make sure that the program and our troops are fully supported. The F-35 is not just a budget line item. It is a line item that represents real people and business, and we need to let our elected officials in Washington know that we support the F-35.

Lt. Col. Wendy Rogers, USAF (retired) was one of the first 100 women pilots in today’s Air Force. In 2010, she ran and narrowly lost a bid for the Arizona State Senate in Democrat-leaning Legislative District 17. She owns and operates a Tempe-based office complex as well as a home inspection business with 10 fulltime employees operating in four counties. Lt Col Rogers and her retired Air Force husband have two adult ASU-grad children and live in Arizona’s brand new Congressional District 9.

Filed Under: Guest Opinion, Military, National Security, State Economy Tagged With: ,

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like … A Change for the Worse: ESI vs. Walgreens

December 21, 2011 By

Submitted by US Navy Veteran

If you like the quality of pharmacy service and choices that TRICARE provides to veterans, don’t get too comfortable with it. It’s beginning to look like that will all change at the start of the year – and not for the better.

Through the end of 2011, Walgreens will provide pharmacy services as part of DOD’s TRICARE pharmacy program. But come January 1st, that will disappear because Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI), the company that manages the service, has a contract dispute with Walgreens and will not negotiate a settlement.

Actually, they will negotiate: my-way-or-the-highway is basically their position.

Walgreens is the largest pharmacy chain in the country. They serve 40 million consumers every week through nearly 8,000 stores nationwide. They have more stores that are open 24 – 7 than any other pharmacy network. And 70% of the U.S. population lives within five miles of a Walgreens.

However, after the first of the year, we won’t have access to that network or services.

Because ESI manages the Defense Department’s TRICARE pharmacy benefit, Walgreens offered a separate contract guaranteeing its prices would match or beat the average costs per prescription with all other retail pharmacies. The company has also committed to keeping the cost per Medicare prescription flat for the next four years. Such cost containment measures could be a real boon to the Federal government, as well as control the prices consumers pay.

Unfortunately, not only has ESI ignored or rejected these proposals, but it has also demanded unacceptable rates and terms from Walgreens. For example, they have demanded rates that are below the average industry cost to fill prescriptions. They also want to dictate which drugs are generic and which are not.

ESI has claimed Walgreens wants to increase prescription reimbursement costs by 20 percent. That is pure malarkey. Walgreens has offered ESI a number of cost-savings that would, in effect, hold the average prescription reimbursement cost increases to less than two percent annually over the course of the three year contract.

In an open letter to vets and active duty military, Walgreens’ CEO said, “We do not wish for military beneficiaries to be ‘in the middle’ of this issue.” Well, we are. Meanwhile, Express Scripts has rejected all efforts to reach an agreement that would keep Walgreens in the TRICARE network of pharmacies.

What can we do about this? Make noise. Register an opinion. Let DOD and Express Scripts know how you feel. Here’s a link to a page where you can sign a petition to do just that:

http://www.ichoosewalgreens.com/tricare-plans/

You can also send a letter to your Senator and Member of Congress, letting them know you value the convenience of having a Walgreens nearby. Another point to make is that Walgreens is working to keep prices as low as possible. With Walgreens gone, Express Scripts will be much freer to set prices that benefit them, not us.

Walgreens is doing all it can to keep serving us as customers. It only seems right that we return the favor.

Filed Under: Federal Government, Guest Opinion, Health Care, Military, Veterans

Veterans Day. Observing Valor, Sacrifice, and Diligence: A Celebration of Purpose

November 11, 2011 By 5 Comments

There are two very distinctive cultures which observe the end of World War I: those who celebrate Armistice Day and those who celebrate Veteran’s Day.

Veterans Day as observed in the United States is related to Armistice Day in Europe. Today on November 11, the date of the signing of the cease fire in 1918, signed at 5 am but in effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day, is recalled by the French as a remembrance of loss and the wanton destruction of war.

Igniting across the global, spread transcontinentally through the colonial holdings of the warring nations, World War I  was fought most brutally on French and Belgium soil, with battlefield casualties of a magnitude that human beings are almost incapable of comprehending. At the First Battle of the Marne in 1914, the French incurred 250,000 losses, with German losses estimated at the same magnitude, or close to 500,000 men at arms consumed during one major engagement, and that was only the beginning. (1)

It was the “War to End All Wars,” a stunning loss of 1.4 million French soldiers alone, 10.5% of the French male population, with overall combat-related deaths and crippling injury exceeding ten million.  Americans, with victory achieved, but appalled at the squalor and horror of the trenches and observing the scenes of years of destruction, brushed the dust and grime off their uniforms and went home, muttering “another European War.”

French schoolbooks teach the horror of the war, and focus on the massive mortality amongst the generation of men who fought it. They detail to each new generation of children the suffering and the severe hardships of the populations which fled their homes and towns, running to be clear of the bombardments and combat. The lingering spiritual toll has been a cynical dismissal of purpose: the Europeans and especially the French ask if there is anything worth fighting for to justify loss of human life.

That Europe, especially France, Belgium and Britain, was shell-shocked by this war cannot be understated in order to understand the mindset behind how they have conducted their national defense and foreign policy since. This cynicism was the base on which appeasement was embraced over standing firm for principles, and its folly was soon exposed.

But Armistice wasn’t peace. It was more promise than delivery, more hope than reality, as fighting and battlefield dying continued after the famous 11th hour declaration of secession of hostilities.

 “There followed in early 1919 the Paris Peace Conference of victorious nations and the resulting Treaty of Versailles. Germany was stripped of territories and ordered to pay huge war reparations. Its military forces were restricted and it was forced to admit full guilt for the war. An international League of Nations was established to resolve future conflicts. The exultant Allied leaders went home, satisfied that they had achieved a great diplomatic triumph. But had they?
When the fighting stopped, not one Allied soldier on the Western front stood on one square foot of German territory. The four years of fighting on the Western Front had occurred solely in Belgium and France (Holland was neutral in the First World War). Germany had surrendered while her troops were still occupying foreign territory. To most Germans, this seemed incredible.

A nondescript German corporal, recovering from poison gas wounds, was enraged. Civilians back home had obviously betrayed the country. That corporal’s name was Adolf Hitler. More would be heard from him in coming years.” (2)

Recovering from his wounds on the other side of the border in France, a young American officer, one of a handful of survivors of a deadly engagement, and hating the man-eating trenches and the death they represented, took back a different lesson as he stood on the abandoned battlefields, and sternly surveyed the desolate scene. When he was asked why he was still surveying the French countryside as everyone was packing to leave, he replied, with an uncanny sense of unfinished business,  “The next war is going to be right here and I am going to be in it.”

General George Patton summed up the national character which formed him: “America loves a winner. America will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise a coward; Americans play to win.”

The cultures of these two wounded veterans of World War I, the War to End All Wars, met square-on at that great battlefield of Europe, two decades later.

 Hitler was in reach of being the most powerful emperor ever to have breathed the air of Europe, but led by clear-eyed men of purpose like Patton, derided by Hitler as “soft, weak, lazy and fat,” Americans surged across North Africa, poured ashore in Italy and charged through the countryside of the beaten and capitulated French, relieved the cornered and isolated British and shattered the seemingly unstoppable war machines of the socialist Hitler, the fascist Mussolini, then crushed them all and then turned their grim resolve to the imperialistic Tojo, who stood astride the battered and conquered nations of Asia, his juggernaut poised to overwhelm Australia.  

After Hitler demanded he needed Czechsolvakia and Austria, the Europeans  gave up  entire nations in exchange  for signed documents of peace,  and got war anyway.  Emboldened by that example, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor,  expecting the same response, that the United States would also sign for peace.    Americans didn’t need President Roosevelt to tell them it was war, they already knew it and they knew what had to be done.   Imperial Japan had made a mortal mistake, thinking Americans were just like Europeans, lacking in a vision of eternal truths of right and wrong, good and evil.  The sleeping tiger had been awakened.   One nation infused with  sense of greater purpose, that this was evil and men were called to fight it, freely left security,  headed knowingly into danger and halted the onslaught.

American soldiers, farm boys, cabbies, waiters, sons of carpenters and bankers, brick layers and doctors, were the ones who threw open the gates of the smoke-shrouded death camps, and beheld a vision of hell, then set their jaws and gritted their teeth and showed the world the proof of the cruelty and depravity of the fascist state, and marched the people through so they could not claim they “didn’t know.”

In this case, the pen was not mightier than the sword.  And when the pens finally came out, the American sword made sure the aggreements would be honored.

In contrast to the anguished sorrow of an empty loss and faith in signatures on a paper that didn’t translate on the battlefield, our Veterans Day observances for the sacrifices of our fighting men are grave and solemn, but still retain a sense of a greater purpose to life than simply surviving. Our memorials and remembrances retain a pride, placing the sacrifices of every fallen soldier and veteran who carried his wounds through his life into the framework of a greater and eternal purpose.

America transported her soldiers to foreign lands, the best we had – the prime of our young men – to stand beside our allies, upended a brutal stalemate and ended two wars. War is everything the pacifists proclaim, even worse as they have not seen with their own eyes what soldiers have seen, but it is no peace to capitulate to evil. That’s just surrender; a bended knee to evil is the path to desolation, despair and destruction.

Was it worth it in human costs for Americans to leave their homes and fight on foreign fields?

No one can image without a shudder of horror what Europe and the world would be like today had Hitler and his counterpart Tojo triumphed.  And heeding the mistake made in 1919 of leaving too soon, Americans in 1945 stayed to provide security, stability, food, shelter and helped a devastated Europe and Asia develop democratic governance, holding firm for decades until the last of the empires collapsed, the Soviet Union.  

Yes, it was worth it.  By the Word of God, not a soul who should be saved is lost. There is a purpose; good is worth fighting for.  Peace is a curious thing. It has to be fought for and protected.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.

Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”

 - General George S. Patton, Jr

As we remember those who served before you, for all our men and women in uniform today who worked hard while people slept, who took on challenges and accepted discipline and risk, deployed far from our life of ease, thank you and God bless you for your service to our nation. 

*****

 1) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/ww1/11-11-11.htm
2) http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Armistice+left+unfinished/5684793/story.html#ixzz1dOVk1AQw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF5PBuPCd0A&feature=related

Inadequate Peace:
http://www.greatwar.nl/versailles/versail-summary.html  http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/treatyofversailles/p/overtofvers.htm  

http://www.military-quotes.com/Patton.htm

 

Filed Under: Culture, Guest Opinion, History, Memorial, Military, National Security

Prayers for our Troops

August 6, 2011 By 9 Comments

By now you’ve heard that the United States military lost 31 hero warrior patriots overnight.

I am in shock and deeply saddened.

At times like these, I want to respond with tremendous anger, blame and vengeance but I realize I have to reserve those emotions for later.

Instead, I know this is a time for prayer and mourning.

As the author of Ecclesiates so beautifully wrote in the 3rd Chapter:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

Anger will surely follow but now is the time to pray for our military family and the families of our hero warrior patriots.

Filed Under: Memorial, Military

I am a Republican Because I Love Children and the Military which Protects Them

July 29, 2011 By 13 Comments

Our military protects our children, and that’s why I am a Republican. 

I was Democrat for years as a selfish, self-centered single person, but the moment I got married and we had kids, those narcissist days were over.  The moment we lay flat on the floor at the store, our kids trapped apart from us, we not knowing what was happening to them, with automatic weapons fire over our heads during a massive army mutiny in Ivory Coast was the moment I really, truly began to love our selfless, awesomely disciplined military, for they were everything what we had rampaging around us were not, and we really, really would have been happy to have them arrive and save us.  Most times we don’t know what we have of great value, until we don’t have it.   How many parents have rued the days they didn’t spend with their children, only after they stopped coming home;  how deeply did we agonize during those long minutes as the shots echoed inside the mall  that it was truly possible that we might never see our kids alive again?

The two new loves came together in exhilarating magnificence when President Bush ordered American troops to rescue an entire school of American kids caught in the cross-fire of the Ivory Coast north-south split, the fracture line literally going right through their school compound in Bouake.  We were in Guinea at the time, two countries over, in a Christian Fellowship which had many parents whose kids were in the Bouake school, as it had been for decades a safe haven and island of stability for missionary families working in surrounding unstable, very poor countries with no schools.  No words are adequate to describe their tears of relief and their praises for God as they got the word that George W. Bush had ordered American soldiers in to save their sons and daughters.

To add to the thanks upon the incredibly electrifying news that President Bush acted decisively as Commander-In-Chief, the French military, based in the capital Abidjan, roused out of inert stupor by the unexpected muscled action out of the US Embassy, moribund during the Clinton presidency, suddenly decided their national honor was at stake, and raced to beat the Americans to Bouake to “save the children.”  French residents of Bouake, also trapped and terrified in their  homes for over a week as  factional fighting raged around them, quickly grabbed their bags and danced with joy that they were being rescued too, at last.

The Americans left with the kids, our soldiers proud and happy to be rescuing the little guys, the kids hugging the soldiers, glimpses of brightly colored teddy bears and backpacks with the kids protected inside their bristling  stern convoy guard, those soldiers would  die for those kids,  while  the French told their stunned citizens to stay put,  and left without them. 

The French pride themselves on being “Progressive Socialists.”   They should be ashamed, and they were bitterly cursed by their citizens for not valuing them the way the Republican President Bush valued those American kids.

I am not a Democrat because the Democrat Party believes children are burdens,  and supports the likes of noxious Code Pink spoiled rich Progressive brats to harrass and slander our wonderful fighting men and women, as it constantly uses our troops as political blackmail in budget fights.   Bouake,  Ivory Coast, far away and unknown to most of America,  exposed not only the strength and bravery of moral leadership still found amongst the Republican Party, it also exposed the empty, rotten  failure of Left Progressivism now firmly intrenched in the Democratic Party.

 

 

Filed Under: Conservatives, Family, Guest Opinion, Liberals, Military

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Great For Arizona Economy

July 29, 2011 By 15 Comments
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

This week’s debt ceiling debate, not surprisingly, has us all focused on policing government spending.  And one suggestion that’s been circulated is to slow production of certain defense projects, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.  That conversation takes place at a time when Arizonans anticipate Luke Air Force Base will be the training home for the aircraft. There are already suppliers and experts in our state working on it, and we need the jobs and economic development that a large squadron multi-role stealth aircraft would bring.
Arizona’s congressional delegation must stand for high-rate production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The aging F-16 squadron at Luke already shrunk from 185 fighters six years ago to now 138 – with the base’s population slipping down to 7,400 personnel from the original 8,000. That’s fewer jobs, meaning diminished wages and decreased revenue for the state.
We can’t turn this around with more F-16s. They’re outdated and, frankly, enemy technology is fast catching up with them.  We need next-generation technology to keep our men and women safe.
The F-35 project brings nearly $90 million in economic impact from the work of 19 suppliers based here in the state.  So, full production would bring more jobs at Luke, and more jobs throughout Arizona.  And that’s just the tip of it.
Several years ago, an independent study discovered that Luke AFB alone was bringing in $2.2 billion annual revenue for Arizona.  There’s nothing chump about that kind of change. Included is an economic engine from nearly 100,000 retired military personnel living around the base and the many businesses, schools and community institutions in surrounding metropolitan areas that depend on that income for its existence.
So, supporting the F-35 is, in reality, supporting the state and growing jobs. Projections estimate that the initial base construction phase for the F-35s would generate $125 million by itself.  Again: more jobs.
We could talk all day about the F-35 as the most advanced multi-role stealth combat aircraft in the world.  And it doesn’t hurt to mention how much we need it to maintain our global air superiority (would you believe that some of our aircraft are nearly 30 years old??).
But, we really need our representatives in Washington to hear this loud and clear. Simply put, this is all beneficial for Arizona―with the extra-added bonus of protecting our country and people in uniform. We need to get the F-35 here, benefit from the job growth, train the pilots and get this aircraft in full flight.  That’s a no-brainer Arizonans can’t afford to take chances on.

Filed Under: Jobs/Labor, Military, State Economy

Congressman Flake: U.S. Mission in Libya is Unclear

June 24, 2011 By 9 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2011
CONTACT: Genevieve Frye Rozansky

National Security Objectives Must be Defined

Washington, D.C. – Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona’s Sixth District, today voted against two legislative measures regarding U.S. military involvement in Libya. The first (H.J. Res. 68) would authorize the limited use of the United States Armed Forces in support of the NATO mission in Libya. The second (H.R. 2278) would limit the use of funds appropriated to the Department of Defense for United States Armed Forces in support of NATO Operation Unified Protector with respect to Libya.

“The President still has not made clear what national security objectives are being met by U.S. participation in the NATO mission or how we can justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fund our efforts there,” said Flake. “The time for debate over whether to authorize U.S. armed forces to engage in Libya was months ago, before the U.S. entered into the NATO operation.”

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Filed Under: Elected Officials, Federal Budget, Federal Government, Foreign Policy, Legislation, Military, National Security, Press Release Tagged With: ,

Representative Schweikert Statement on Obama’s Afghanistan Speech

June 22, 2011 By 15 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2011
CONTACT:  Rachel Semmel

Washington, D.C. – Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) released the following statement after President Obama’s speech calling for the withdrawal of more troops from Afghanistan:

“I am an unabashed supporter of our troops and our military leaders who fight for freedom every day. I support our military leaders and generals on the ground and defer to their expertise regarding our troop levels.

“While the time to withdrawal our troops might be fast approaching, it is not wise for us to hand our enemy our battle plans years in advance. Our gains in Afghanistan have not come without a price. While we remember our troops in harm’s way tonight, I remain adamant that whatever strategy is implemented for stabilization and withdrawal, it must not put any of our men and women in uniform even further at risk.”

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Filed Under: Elected Officials, Military, National Security, Press Release Tagged With: , ,

Dimensions of National Security

May 29, 2011 By

Sheriff Paul Babeu in his letter this week, raised an issue that provoked a number of thoughts.   He alludes to an  argument that has roots in a Democrat political positioning to frame our national security as a budgetary zero sum game :  we “need” to pull our troops out of foreign theatres of war and redirect them to our border.

We are quite capable of doing both, and always have been.   The budget arguments are cynical fog, when stimulus money went to tax cheats and the Democrat Party politically connected, NOT to any “economic stimulus.” The Democrats had no problems whatsoever throwing copious amounts of tax payer money around for their pet projects, while national security at home and abroad is being slowly, inexorably bled of financial support.  

Democrats proudly opine that they” saved”  General Motors, a peculiar choice of national interest spending while making emotional arguments to abandon two incredibly geopolitically strategic positions that have enabled the United States for years now to disrupt Al Qaeda operations against Americans and our allies.   GM is actually contributing less to the national marketplace after receiving taxpayer money than before, and is sinking daily, in the the throes of bizarre corporate mission creep that is suddenly more interested in promoting Chairman Mao than building a solid car.   Instead of investing aggressively in Afghanistan, as they aggressively invested in the likes of failed business model GM, Democrats announce to our enemies that current American political policy is to  weaken our positions there.   Priorities?  How about sanity?

The US went overseas,as we have ALWAYS done since our military was structured to do to protect our nation since the 1801 Barbary Wars against the state-sponsored Islamic terrorism of  high seas grand theft and hostage-taking which was being waged against unprotected American merchant fleets and American citizens overseas. Bin Laden coordinated the 9/11 attacks from what he believed was the safety of far away Afghanistan. Anti-American terrorists used Iraq as a safe haven for years. The foreign bases of Al Qaeda allowed them to attack and murder Americans on foreign soil and then catastrophically on US soil.  As Thomas Jefferson proved, it is far more effective and efficient to identify the source of the problem and project our forces to it instead of haplessly running to and fro trying to police the entire globe, always too late or in the wrong place, and at crushing expense.  The effects are multiplied in efficiences.  With physical  proof that America is willing to take the fight to foreign havens, other countries take the hint and are far more reluctant to allow terrorists to nest within their borders.  Not worth the trouble.

The American policy as established at the end of World War II of providing security to enable local governance to be established in Germany, destroying the NAZI grip on German politics, resulting in over 50 years of continuous peace in Europe – literally and historically a world’s record for that region, is being applied in Afghanistan and Iraq, but this historically proven strategy is under attack from the Left which seems to have an agenda apart from credible American national security. It seems hard to believe today, but Germany and all of Europe needed easily a half-century American commitment, but Democrats can’t seem to grasp that worthwhile things take time, investment and effort to be lasting successes.

This is the same political Left that is blocking basic common sense border security. Why should anyone buy their arguments for dismantling two hundred years of succesful foreign military strategy when they don’t want to apply very basic and cost-effective security measures at an increasingly violent southern border?   

Some of the plans sound like job creation schemes.  Thousands of troops on the border, patrolling up and down.   Let’s point out that if Mexico or say, an aggressive drug cartel consolidated enough power by murdering off its rivals and decided to grab some US territory, calculating that the political will wasn’t there to react , and invaded – say not to expressly redraw the border, but to stake out new operating forward positioning territory, what would an actual  military defensive response look like?   

Given instructions to drive out the invaders and secure the area, the most common military response, i.e the most effective and cheapest historical solution to control a border, from China to Scotland, Egypt to Cyprus to India,  would be a …wall.  Nothing fancy, the Moroccan wall to control the rebel Western Sahara Polosario  is a big ol’ sand berm, but it is what is called a “force multiplier,” providing troops a superior defensive position, enabling fewer troops to control longer stretches far more effectively than a thousand patrols.  In an actual conflict zone, the military’s first act is to “secure the perimeter.”  Basic Tactics 101.    Instead, we have Wishful Thinking 101.

Most commanders would not require “extra troops.”  Extra troops mean higher costs – greatly increasing support expenses and burdensome supervisory responsibilities, a solution more appealing to politicians, bureaucrats and unions than results-oriented field commanders.   Fences and walls don’t require pensions, health care, social security deductions or tax withholding. 

National security is not a one dimensional issue of “budget.”  It’s a multidimensional inter-relationship of place, at home and abroad; of  depth, foreign and domestic, intelligence to combat, legal, financial and information fronts; of time, years of commitment that provides protection and stability.  Effective national security requires sensible but not exploitative cooperative efforts between a myriad of people and agencies with a common goal, efforts that obviously include the elected representatives of the People.   In this day of global transportation, the problems of Afghanistan are easily transported to our shores.  Border security and global security are irrevocably  linked. 

In 1798, a time when ocean crossings took weeks by sailing ships, without instant global communications, in American cities and towns from Boston to Charlottesville, in taverns and salons, in newspapers and in theatres; North African, Ottoman Empire Islamic terrorism was the hottest topic of the day.  Americans were not only losing millions of dollars in property every year, they were losing family and neighbors to Muslim state-sanctioned piracy.   America has never had a period in her history when she wasn’t forced to deal with aggressive, anti-American aggression, a constant testing of our resolve and our ability to defend ourselves and our interests.  Foreign nations noticed there was much to take from American merchant trade, and when America wasn’t able to protect her shipping, it was instantly pillaged.  Nothing  out there has changed, except the speed at which it can be applied against us. 

Our elected representatives have spent years talking  without delivering actions on basic, sensible measures.  Yet, they certainly didn’t waste any time the past two years delivering though on throwing other people’s money around like candy at a Mardi Gras parade.  They have proved they can act very quickly  if they really want to. 

Sheriff Babeu and the officers under him and their collegues who work in the border counties from California to Texas certainly work hard and have great responsibility to the People.  A single day of real physical defense against drug lords, criminals  and terrorists is worth more than twenty years of high-falutin’ political rhetoric.   The Constitution expressly provides for the “common defense,” so our elected officials have no credible  grounds for cynically emptying the U.S. budget and running up debt in a manner that threatens our ability to protect our nation “from enemies foreign and domestic.”  US taxpayer money is not for spending on GM, massage parlors and gelatin wrestling in Antarctica, while leaving our military and law enforcement structures in the lurch.

Filed Under: Federal Budget, Federal Government, Foreign Policy, Military, National Security, Public Safety

PCSO Participates in Multi Agency Tactical Detail

May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 25, 2011
CONTACT:  Tim Gaffney

Florence, AZ - The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Team attached with U.S. Border Patrol’s “BORTAC Team 5” has completed another operation to deny, degrade, disrupt and dismantle drug and human trafficking operations in Pinal County. The latest detail ran from May 11th – 13th and 18th – 20th. The operation was focused in the Vekol Valley area.

Participating in the detail were law enforcement members from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Department of Public Safety, U.S. Border Patrol Tucson and Yuma Sectors, Bureau of Land Management, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations, CBP Office of Air and Marine, Tohono O’odham Police Department, Gila River Police Department, Eloy Police Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Arizona and the Arizona National Guard.

During the six day operation agencies combined arrested 60 suspects, the seizure of 5,433 pounds of marijuana, $115,630 in cash, and 4 firearms. In addition, 5 stolen vehicles were recovered, 7 suspects were prosecuted federally and 38 suspects were prosecuted at the state level. Below are some examples of the cases we were involved with.

May 11th at 1:40 a.m. a group of 12 people were spotted carrying backpacks believed to be containing Marijuana just south of Interstate 8. The group was followed to a location approximately 30 yards south of Interstate 8 where they stopped underneath some brush.

Pinal County SWAT and BORTAC Team 5 moved in and engaged the group. Part of the group was taken into custody under trees at that location along with 10 backpacks of marijuana. Several of the suspects fled south from that location and were captured with the assistance of air support. A total of 10 suspects were apprehended, along with a total of 10 marijuana backpacks (492 lbs), along with a solar charger and other electronic items used for counter surveillance. The suspects and marijuana were turned over to GIITEM for investigation and prosecution.

May 11th at 3:00 a.m. a passenger truck with a flatbed trailer was seen stopped on the south shoulder near milepost 154 on Interstate 8. The driver was observed acting suspiciously, and was observed taking an item from a parked semi trailer at that location and loading it onto his trailer. The truck with the trailer then got back on Interstate 8 and began to travel eastbound. A traffic stop was conducted on the truck on Interstate 8 east of Montgomery Road by AZDPS, Pinal SWAT and Bortac Team 5. The driver was later identified as Hector Armando Quiroz (age 49 of Bonita, California). He was questioned, and subsequently admitted stealing a large crate from the parked semi trailer.

The owner of the semi trailer arrived back at his trailer while this was taking place, and contact was made with him by AZDPS. The semi trailer owner advised that the crate taken contained a turbine worth approximately $100,000. AZDPS then escorted the semi driver to the location of the stop. The semi trailer owner recovered the turbine at the scene of the stop. Quiroz was turned over to PCSO Patrol, and they took the theft case and prosecution on the Quiroz.

May 12th at 11:00 p.m. a group of 8 individuals was observed walking north approximately 3 miles south of Interstate 8 . These 8 individuals walked to I-8, and crossed over the interstate. Pinal SWAT, BORTAC Team 5, and Pinal K-9 moved in to apprehend these individuals, with air assistance. The subjects all fled northwest from that location.

At 2:30 a.m., one of the 8 individuals was apprehended and turned over to Border Patrol. The remainder of the individuals was unable to be located.

May 13th at 8:53 p.m. AZ DPS was involved in a pursuit with a vehicle which was reported stolen out of Glendale. The pursuit ended near Arizona City, and the driver fled on foot. The driver was apprehended by PCSO after a short fight with the deputies. The driver was turned over to AZ DPS for charging.

May 13th at 11:13 p.m. a truck was observed traveling “blacked out” south of Interstate 8. The vehicle was tracked to a location, where it was parked and a driver and passenger were seen “brushing up” the vehicle and leaving it. The driver and passenger were then seen “bedding down” approximately 100 yards from the vehicle.

With the assistance of air, Border Patrol Agents moved in on the driver and passenger, and one of these subjects was taken into custody. Pinal SWAT with BORTAC Team 5 moved in on the vehicle, a 1999 Ford F250, and secured it. The subject in custody was turned over to GIITEM for prosecution. The registration on the vehicle came back to a false address, and the vehicle was seized. The vehicle was a “supply” vehicle used to re-supply scout locations with food, etc.

May 18th at 10:35 p.m. units spotted bodies loading into a car on I-8 east bound. The vehicle then proceeded eastbound on I-8. Pinal SWAT members set up ahead of the vehicle to deploy spikes if needed, and AZDPS initiated a traffic stop. Gila River PD and Pinal SWAT/Bortac Team 5 backed up the DPS unit. The vehicle contained 4 Hispanic males believed to be “scouts”. These subjects were turned over to AZDPS GIITEM and Border Patrol for prosecution.

May 19th at 8:40 p.m. ICE Detention saw multiple subject loading “packs” into a large truck that was also accompanied by two small sedans. These vehicles traveled east on I-8 from that location. With the assistance of ICE and Air, units were able to catch up to the vehicles. A high risk traffic stop was conducted by Gila River PD, BORTAC Team 5 / PCSO SWAT, ICE Agents and AZDPS GIITEM on all three vehicles at approximately milepost 158 on I-8. The passenger of the truck fled, and was quickly apprehended by BORTAC Team 5 K-9. All occupants (total of 8 bodies) were taken into custody, and it was discovered that the cab of the truck had 8 bundles of marijuana weighing approximately 174 lbs.

May 19th at 9:45 p.m. the air unit advised that it had located bodies south of I-8 between Russell Rd and Murphy Rd.. Pinal SWAT and BORTAC Team 5 moved into the location with the assistance of air. No bodies were discovered, and it is believed that the heat signatures were residual from bodies that had been in that location, but made it out before ground units could move in.

May 19th at 10:32 p.m. Pinal SWAT and BORTAC Team 5 had a “blacked out” Ford truck pass one of our elements near Stanfield Road. After passing our personnel, the vehicle immediately fled at a high rate of speed west of Stanfield Rd., and into the desert area. Ground units were unable to maintain a visual on the truck as it traveled further south west into the desert area. Pinal/Bortac attempted to track the vehicle, but eventually lost sign as it traveled toward the gas pipeline road.

Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “These multi agency details have a much greater impact than just in Pinal County. Pinal County is the number one pass through county in America for drug and human trafficking because of the roadways and terrain. The cartels of Mexico have between 75 to 100 lookout posts through this known drug and human smuggling corridor. They use these high vantage points to ensure their loads, whether they are humans or drugs, make it through. Some of these loads stop in Phoenix but many of them are sent throughout the United States. I appreciate the assistance provided by all of these law enforcement agencies to disrupt the cartels activities. We need this continuous law enforcement presence to help protect America until the border is truly secured.”

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Filed Under: County Government, Crime and Punishment, Drugs, Illegal Aliens, Illegal Immigration, Military, National Security, Press Release Tagged With: ,

Rep Schweikert Statement on Osama Bin Laden

May 2, 2011 By 8 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 2, 2011
CONTACT: Rachel Semmel

Washington, D.C. – Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) issued the following statement today regarding the killing of Osama bin Laden:

“God bless our brave men and women in uniform who have sacrificed so much to catch Osama bin Laden. Thanks to the persistence and bravery of our intelligence community and our troops on the ground, this is truly a great moment for our country. Though we cannot bring back the lives of those we lost, we can have peace that justice has been served. We will never forgot those who lost their lives on attacks on our country and those who died defending it.”

 

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Filed Under: Elected Officials, Military, National Security, Press Release, Terrorism Tagged With: ,

Rep. Quayle Statement on the Death of Osama Bin Laden

May 1, 2011 By 17 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 2, 2011
CONTACT: Richard Cullen

WASHINGTON (D.C.) Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ) released the following statement regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden:

“Nearly ten years after the horrors of September 11th, the man most responsible for the attacks has been brought to justice. This development is a monumental achievement made possible by continuous operations of American intelligence officials and members of the United States Armed forces, many of whom were inspired to serve their country following the attacks in New York and Washington. While Bin Laden’s death is indeed significant, the threat of terrorism around the world will not dissipate. For the thousands of Americans who lost loved ones on 9/11 and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, justice has been served tonight.”

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Filed Under: Elected Officials, Military, National Security, Press Release, Terrorism Tagged With: , ,

Great Support our Troops video

April 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A U.S. Marine serving in Afghanistan thanked her mom, Gabriela Saucedo Mercer, for sending lots of great care packages and mentioned that some Marines were not receiving any packages from home. A bunch of patriots from the Tucson area stepped forward and adopted her unit serving in Afghanistan and sent lots of packages to the troops fighting overseas. Here is video of the Tucson homecoming for Gabriela’s daughter and another fellow Marine as they arrive in the Tucson Airport.

Thank you to all of our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines for your service to this nation and to the cause of freedom.

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Video about the Christmas Packages for the Troops.
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Filed Under: Military, Veterans

Fundraiser in Support of Wounded Phoenix Warrior Joshua Bullis

April 11, 2011 By 2 Comments

Fraternal Order of Police to Hold April 15th Event

(PHOENIX, Ariz.) – In September 2010 Army Private First Class Joshua Bullis, a graduate of Goldwater High School in Phoenix, lost both legs above the knees and one arm above the elbow after he was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device while serving his country in Afghanistan.

Josh’s family is keenly aware of service and sacrifice. His parents, “Bub” Bullis and Karen Freund-Bullis are both Phoenix Police Officers. The Bullis family is getting support from their extended family in law enforcement and they could use your help.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #2 is holding a fundraiser for this wounded warrior, including an all-you-can eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with raffle prizes and music on April 15th from 6am to 9pm at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge at 12851 North 19th Avenue (between Cactus and Thunderbird).

Breakfast ($5.00) includes eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes
Lunch ($10.00) includes burgers, hotdogs and grilled chicken
Dinner ($15.00) includes spaghetti and homemade meat sauce

All of the proceeds will benefit Private Bullis whose lifetime of a road to recovery is just beginning. Josh is at a military hospital in San Diego; however he plans to be in Phoenix to attend this special event.

Josh’s parents are Officers Karen and Bub Bullis, “Six months ago we received a phone call that would change all of our lives forever. We learned that our son, Josh, who was in the Army in Afghanistan, was now a triple amputee. We worried that losing two legs and an arm might be more than he could handle. Little did we realize just how far he would progress in six, short months. He is mastering the art of walking on prosthetic legs and using a prosthetic arm, in addition to learning to drive again. He has been an inspiration to multitudes of people and harbors no ill will towards the Army, the war, or his injuries. He knew this was a possibility when he joined the Army and he has no regrets. We would all like to thank everyone for their prayers, kind thoughts, and ongoing support in Josh’ journey to becoming independent and self-sufficient. “

For more information on the fundraiser visit the event’s Facebook Page.

For those who cannot make it to the fundraiser, donations are being accepted. Checks can be made payable to FOP2 Foundation Inc. with Joshua Bullis in memo section and mailed to the attention of Officer Dave Hopkins at:

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #2
12851 N 19 Ave
Phoenix, Arizona 85029
(Map)

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Filed Under: Military, Press Release, Special Event Tagged With:

Commander-In-Chief Belshazzar Obama Undermines America’s Fighting Forces

April 8, 2011 By

Governor Sarah Palin just articulated a MAJOR GLOBAL SECURITY ISSUE that no one else has raised, yet should have:  Barack Obama publically announcing he won’t pay our troops in order to hold them hostage to keep  Republicans from repairing the national damage from the last Congress’s horrific spending spree that has exploded our national debt.   The internationally dispersed announcement that the President of the United States of America cares so little about  American soldiers as they fight on the front lines-   that Obama will stonewall in order that our soldiers suffer to protect a partisan Democrat Party political  agenda  – will EMBOLDEN our enemies AGAINST our troops while this despicable announcement  DEMORALIZES our men in women as they serve far from our comforts in foreign theatres of war against a vicious enemy that declares its goal is to annihilate not only America, but Western Civilization itself.

Obama and the Democrats have made no secret of their desire to “bring our troops home,” not just from a single arena, but as a stunning shift in geopolitical vision – to abandon over two hundred years of successful, informed, active and liberating American presence internationally.  At the birth of America, the isolationist vision now re-marketed by the Democrats prevailed, until Americans were attacked, again and again by foreign nations at our shores, our merchant shipping,  Americans killed, captured, enslaved, economic losses in the millions.  After hard losses, death and destruction, our military was retooled and built  for realism – and projecting of our forces to the sources of aggression, not waiting until war arrives at our shores.  It would be playing with a treacherous betrayal of our national security to strangle our troops to manufacture a pretext for abandoning centuries of a highly successful traditional military strategic operational structure.

This is DEVASTATING. Obama as POTUS and Commander-In-Chief is SCREWING the troops who are under his authority – our ENEMIES LOVE IT.  They CAN’T BELIEVE their good luck!  What other president on the planet would do that?   Perhaps American-murdering terrorist Ghaddafi ‘s calls to his “brother Obama” have PAID off!!   Can we now also question the sleazy sincerity of the Democrats, who have assured us for years that poor Blacks, Hispanics and uneducated  Whites make up a disproportionate percentage of our military, and Obama now won’t pay them if he doesn’t get his way, blatently hurting minorities in disproportionate numbers?  If their wailing rhetoric was true and Democrats actually cared, they wouldn’t even consider this sort of nasty, racist by their own words,  political brinkmanship, but they are not distancing themselves from this raw brutality against American citizens who count on their payslips to support themselves, their families, to  pay their bills. 

Obama will have a very nice dinner tonight, no, not just nice, but exquisite – the best other people’s money can buy – as he has had every night he’s been POTUS,  banqueting like Belshazzar before the Persian conquest.  Obama seems to have a taste for the finer cuisine, at taxpayer expense, consuming as a glutton, entertained by some of the very same A-List celebrities whom the terrorist oil-rich Ghaddafi family paid $2 to $3 million per performance,  while troops under his authority eat cold, dry MREs and sleep on the dirt.  Now Obama and his political party, the Democrats, announce their shared priorities are protecting  the likes of special interest death industry Planned Parenthood, not the Constitutional “provide for the common defense.”

Sarah Palin CAUGHT IT.   Where are the other voices?  This goes beyond political parties.  All Americans should be united in disgust and with condemnation for this dangerous rhetoric and path Obama seems so careless to lead us all down as he ratchets up the mortal danger aligned against our troops.  Our troops don’t get paid, Obama don’t get paid.   Even the rhetoric alone – examined carefully by our enemies – deserves aggressive rebuke.  How does a commander eat while he denies his troops their food?  This sort of egotistical selfishness is routinely condemned in the military as a grotesque failure of leadership, and the cost of feeding Obama and his friends with luxuries like $100 a pound steaks and $300 a bottle wine  for the past two years at the White House  with live performances by Paul McCartney and Beyonce to name only two of many entertainers,  dwarfs the expense of feeding entire platoons during the very same time period.   Now, multimillionaire Obama’s openly stating he intends to block payment of services rendered by our troops, putting their families, their mortgages, their credit ratings, everything they need to function in our society AND and their lives at risk as our enemies assemble to attack.   Obama’s  fitness for such an important job as Commander -In-Chief  is now in question – a terrible thing thing to for citizens to have to consider.

Filed Under: Federal Budget, Federal Government, Foreign Policy, Guest Opinion, Military, National Security, Public Safety

Franks Votes to Fund Troops, Cut Spending, Keep Government Running

April 7, 2011 By 2 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 7, 2011
CONTACT: Ben Carnes

April 7, 2011 – Following his vote in favor of a one-week Continuing Resolution that would keep the government from shutting down at midnight tonight, would ensure the troops continue to receive funding, and would cut $12 billion in spending, Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) today released the following statement:

“Quite simply, Democrats today have done precisely what pushed Americans to throw them out of office en masse in the last election.

“Last year, while Democrats were still in control of the House, they failed to accomplish one of their most fundamental responsibilities — to pass a budget. Since that time, Democrats have also refused to support any Republican budget proposal, including the plan offered today to ensure our troops continue to be paid and our government doesn’t shutdown.

“Instead, Democrats overwhelmingly demonstrated today that they would rather allow our military to go unpaid and our government to stop operating than to budge even an inch on their big spending liberal dogma.

“My vote on today’s troop-funding bill was a vote to continue paying our men and women in uniform, to cut $12 billion in excess spending, and to keep our government functioning.”

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Congressman Franks is serving his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives and is a member of the Judiciary Committee, where he serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and a member of the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law. He is also a member of the Armed Services Committee, where he serves on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

 

Filed Under: Federal Budget, Military, Press Release, Spending Tagged With: ,

Rep. Schweikert votes to fund troops, keep government open

April 7, 2011 By 8 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 7, 2011
CONTACT: Rachel Semmel

Washington, D.C. – Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) issued the following statement today after voting for a short-term continuing resolution which would fund our troops through the end of the year, cut an additional $12 billion in government spending, and prevent a government shutdown:

“Today I voted to take our troops out of the front lines of Washington’s political battles, cut more spending, and keep the government open. Senate Democrats have yet to support this or any budget resolution and our Commander and Chief has already said he will veto it without explanation. However, I will never compromise or stand down when it comes to supporting the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us.

“In addition to funding the troops through the end of FY2011, this stopgap measure will cut $12 billion more in Washington spending. At a time when our deficit is in the trillions and our government is on a verge of a shutdown, it is incomprehensible that Senate Democrats will not accept a modest budget cut that equals just two percent of this year’s budget.

“I want to encourage my friends in the Senate to pass this continuing resolution. The decision is simple: vote to pay our troops or walk away and let the government shut down.”

BACKGROUND:

The House has passed two bills that would keep the government running through the end of this fiscal year and cut $61 billion in job destroying spending. (H.R. 1, passed February 19th and H.R. 1255, passed April 1st). H.R. 1363 is the third bill out of the House to fund the Department of Defense through the end of the fiscal year.

47 days after the House passed the first bill to keep the government running through FY2011, the Senate has yet to do the same.

The House has also already passed a measure that would not allow Members of Congress to be paid during a government shutdown (H.R. 1255)

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Filed Under: Federal Budget, Military, Press Release, Roll Call Tagged With: ,
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