QC Veterans’ Roll Call Radio Show December 11, 2016 Show Notes

Greetings All:

This was a jam-packed show with four guests, a first time for us.  We led off with Monte Schwartz of LivWell Seniors.  Monte assists seniors with evaluating long-term care options.  We wanted to have Monte on the show as he works with Veterans and assisting them in learning about various benefits Veterans are entitled to receive.  He works closely with David "Woody" Woods, Director of the Scott County Veterans' Affairs Department. Monte invites anyone with questions to please call him at 563.340.4781.  To learn more about LivWell Seniors, please visit their website.

Our second guest was Bubba Sorensen.  Zach James our Executive Producer conducted this interview.  Bubba is the visionary behind "The Freedom Rock" project.  Here is how the project is described on their Facebook page:

"The Freedom Rock is a large (approx. 60+ ton) boulder located in rural Iowa that is repainted every year with a different Thank You for our nations Veterans to honor their service to our country. The artist, Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II, was inspired by the movie Saving Private Ryan, as well as, wanting to give Veterans a unique recognition on Memorial Day."

Bubba discussed some of his future plans for other "Freedom Rocks" and his plans to help others learn the craft of Freedom Rock creation.  You can visit his Facebook page here.

Our third guest was Judge Scott Rolle.  Judge Rolle is also a Reserve Judge Advocate.  We served together with the "fightin'" 154th Legal Operations Detachment (LOD) Trial Defense Service (TDS).  He was recently selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.  It is with this background of service that Judge Rolle was inspired to create a "Veterans' Court."

Unlike a standard court, those who are admitted to Veterans' Court are required to undergo an intensive period of supervision.  It is more demanding than a regular court.  However, these defendants are also Veterans.  They are addressed by their last held rank.  Court begins with The Pledge of Allegiance.  The idea is to help the defendants recall their was a time when they had purpose and pride.  This court's mission it to assist these Veterans in making a fresh start and also holding them accountable for their actions.    Here is the link to the news article about Veterans' Court.

Our fourth guestwas Allison Winer.  Allison is with the Army Training and Doctrine Command or TRADOC.  TRADOC is sponsoring the "Mad Scientist" fiction writing contest.  As Allison explained, TRADOC is looking for future trends of warfare in the years 2030-2050.  As science fiction is often a source of inspiration for future reality, the Army wants to hear ideas, your ideas, about what the future battlefields may look like.  You have eight pages to work with and the deadline is February 15, 2017.

This contest is open to anyone over 18.  Here is the link to learn more about this contest.

We wrapped up today's show by discussing the selection by President-elect Trump's selection of Retired General James "Mad Dog" Mattis for Secretary of Defense.  I commented that I am quite pleased with this selection.

There is no doubt that GEN Mattis is a warrior.  He has four decades of service as a United States Marine and is beloved with Marines and other service members alike.  Many would gladly follow him to the gates of Hell if only he would lead them.

However, he is also a deep and strategic thinker.  He has a personal library of over 7,000 books and has been known to take a copy of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations with him on deployments.  He knows all to painfully well the true and terrible costs of war.

I also discussed the controversy that has arisen of the allegation by a now retired Special Forces officer that GEN Mattis' hesitation to respond to his request for assistance in evacuating severely wounded Soldiers cost them their lives.  Although a subsequent investigation found no wrongdoing and the General's career continued unabated, I strongly suspect these losses, as all losses of war-fighters under his command weight on General Mattis to this day.

At the same time, General Mattis is someone who understands that war, while terrible, is at times necessary.  It is necessary to protect our nation, our way of life.  Central to our way of life is freedom.  I believe the quote in the photo below captures the value he places of freedom...and freedom of thought.

Thanks for supporting our show.  We will have one more show this year before taking a break for Christmas and New Years'.  We're grateful for the  support we've received from the community in our first six months on the air and look forward to a terrific 2017!

Happy holidays everyone!

Jeno