[JustPiper]

As I sit here with my 6 month old daughter on my lap, I try to think of her future. I look at my boys, 3 and 11, and wonder what goblins they will have to face.

How can I possibly explain to them that there are people that want them dead? My 11 year old is having a hard enough time learning the difference between good and bad vs. right and wrong. He has a tough time with things that can be both bad and right, (1st amendment protected speech with bad content but right in its allowance).

I look around and see news of people being assaulted outside of movie theatres, because they disagree with moveon.org paper hangers. I see some of our more visible citizens going to enemy countries, begging for forgiveness from tyrants. I see airport security skipping over ME type males, and strip searching 80 year old women, so as not to violate anyone's rights. I am bombarded with twisted headlines and deliberate misrepresentation of truth, by people whose agenda is more important than the truth. I can see pictures of people protesting at the funeral procession of my only modern hero, President Ronald Wilson Reagan. I see intolerant people calling all others intolerant for simply disagreeing.

I see all these things, but I'm not totally disheartened. We have managed to survive this far; I can look at the words of the people here and feel bolder. I know that I'm not alone; I know that there are others who see a ray of hope as well, and are willing to fight the good fight in the face of many enemies. This is a major crisis, and it's the ONLY crisis that faces us today, in spite of what Presidential candidates may say to the contrary.

I have no way to explain this to my young children; I have no way to prepare them. All that I can do is protect them through my actions. There is not a torch for me to pass; if there was one, I'm sure that I would keep it anyway. As I see the sweetest, bright eyed smile of an angel on my lap, her eyes filled with trust and playfulness, I know that I can only tell them about this when it's all over.

May we be successful here, so that our children never have to face the demons that we are facing today.

I love my God, I love my Country, I love all of you.

~by HipShot

[crabbie]

Great Thread, AGAIN.

Thanks so much for all you do and all you are.

[HipShot]

I hope that on this new thread, everyone will remember why we are here, and stay focused on that.

[ExSoldier]

I'm going to start this thread by reposting this army training doctrine on the observation process.

I'm proud of Jerseygirl's recon of the downtown area. It occurs to me that we need more eyes and boots on the ground looking for specific threat indicators. One good indicator obviously is the absence of ME where ME has in the recent past been a forceful and thriving presence.

When we do a recon in the infantry we teach a format to follow: It can be remembered by the acronym SALUTE. Say you're doing an S&P (Snoop and Poop) or a P&G (Prowl and Growl) and you spot enemy movement. You'd want to remember the most vital stuff for the intel weenies to analyze later so you'd use SALUTE:

Size (how many bad guys in the group)
Activity (what are they doing at that moment)
Location (don't forget direction of movement, vehicles if any and est. speed)
Uniform (how are they dressed; especially if not in keeping with climate, environment or culture)
Time
Equipment (what stuff are they carrying in the way of communications, weapons, chemical protective gear, video, optics like binoculars, etc.)

As they say, the "Devil is in the Details." The more details, the better. ALSO, LOOK UP. people, like deer have no natural "predators" that strike from above that's why deer hunters use tree stands and snipers like the high ground. So, you must deliberately look up, like jerseygirl did. I'm really proud of her, she did an excellent job. The more TM folks who undertake these kinds of forays and put actual eyeballs onto a situation and report back (BurbankKarl!) the faster we can dope out something useful to hand to the feds.

Let me also make very clear that I am in no way advocating any surveillance of law abiding citizens! We're in a war, be alert is all I'm saying.

[JustPiper]

Please read this post, it is a humble reminder of WHY we are here, Thank you HipShot!

[Oorang]

JP, thanks (once again) for the new thread and all you do for TM. Also thanks for re-posting HipShot's post.

HipShot, that is one of the best posts I've read in quite awhile. It needs to be at the opening of each new thread. Excellent words, thank you.