Bobzhuman

A general letter from Col. Mike Walker, USMC (retired)

Marines,

By now you have all read the reports about the "town
meeting" at the HS Truman Building in Washington DC
regarding deployments to Iraq.

I will first state that the "death sentence" remarks
by the fellow in Foggy Bottom was a regrettable muddle
of panic and cowardice that can only be characterized
as disgraceful.

Hopefully these inane reactions are isolated for they
are cancerous in that they cannot but enfeeble the
organization.

Having written that, it is my opinion that those
remarks are not indicative of the performance of the
officers of the Department of State, especially of
those serving in Iraq.

The State Department officers I served with in Iraq
were exemplary. The names Stu Jones, Kieth Kidd, Hugh
Geoghan, Nate Jensen, and Kael Weston are names of
honor and sacrifice and all were from State.

I saw them on a daily basis work tirelessly in some of
the most dangerous parts of the al Anbar governorate.
The were routinely shot at, rocketed and mortared.
They were deliberately targeted for attack. Yet they
never shirked from their duty. They never allowed
personal risk to stand in the way their mission.

Those folks upheld the highest ideals of courageous
service to the United States of America. We should
take great pride in the fact that we have people like
this in our Department of State.

We should should not allow the comments of one aged
yet still callow soul to besmirch the honorable record
of so many outstanding members of the Department of
State.

Semper Fi,

Mike