The Indispensables
The recent beating and likely unintended death of a young black man in Memphis was unique, in that the primary, now-fired, five police officers involved were all black as well. The courts will have to determine any motive and causes for the severe beating administered by those directly involved, but for now, although seemingly racially unique (black officers on black victim), it shines a piercing light on law enforcement, and regrettably not in any positive way.
And apart from this specific crime, the last thing that the nation’s law enforcement community needs now is yet more negative publicity and focus. Along with all professions, there are always a small percentage of men and woman who are ultimately proven unqualified, or who misbehave (on or off-duty) in an unprofessional and simply unacceptable way, and in most cases must then relinquish their employment. The same is true of those in law enforcement. Sadly, these rogue former Memphis officers have fallen into that negative category, which spreads the harsh broad spotlight of public judgement, once again, over our nation’s police and others who, with justifiable honor, wear and represent the vital-to-public-safety enforcement badge.
The last thing our committed, and serving with distinction, law enforcers need, now or ever, is an episode like this one, although certainly most unusual in circumstance, to resurrect the harmful, increased-crime-creating, “defund the police” frenzy of the past two-years, a malicious effort by leftist social activists, to both defame our officers and somehow cast them as villains within our cities and towns, rather than being the badly-needed community servants the vast majority truly are. The ‘defund’ movement spread, mostly in Democrat-led and dominated municipalities, and in knee-jerk (emphasis: jerk) fashion, budgeting for law enforcement was in fact cut, sometimes sharply. This safety-weakening phase only lasted, publicly, until, as expected, crime increased, and reverse pressure soon arose, particularly from impacted neighborhood residents and from store owners most seriously (economically) impacted.
Now while that ‘defund’ wave has largely passed, believe it or not, we now have less than a handful (thankfully, very few) of social media anti-cop types who continue to call for the complete elimination of our law enforcers. And now there are also an additional few of irrational non-thinkers who actually call for emptying, and then closing, the nation’s prisons! This is all total lunacy, and neither effort must ever be allowed to happen. Fortunately, these anti-social, anti-free-America loonies are shouting in the wilderness (or within their parent’s basements), and neither ill-conceived wish is ever destined to gain any traction, and, certainly so, not among the vast majority of rational, responsible, traditional, hard-working pro-Americans who keep our country on an even keel and moving forward every day.
Responsible law enforcement is at the core of, and critically vital to, the continued civility (and the very existence) of peaceful American society. Absolutely vital to the freedom of our law-abiding, and law-desiring citizens. Without broad and effective law enforcement, we will have tyranny, the evil enemy of sovereignty, democracy, capitalism, and the liberty that brave Americans have fought to maintain for us through the generations.
As you might suspect, however, that temporary ‘defund’ craze, and the resultant increase in crime caused by those police pull-backs, along with the lack of support voiced by activist public officials in Democrat-dominated municipalities, resulted in both budget-cut dismissals and also the voluntary departures of police officers seeking employment within more appreciative cop-friendly environments, or in some cases, sadly, some ending up leaving public law enforcement careers altogether, the latter a true loss for society. As a direct result, a great many departments around the nation now continue to seek quality sworn officers or trainees to refill their ranks.
Hoping that we can work our way past this temporary force-strength disruption, when it comes to law and order, our great, dedicated, and courageous police and fellow enforcers are, then, the key “INDISPENSABLES” whom we count on to protect us and keep us safe in our daily lives. We are thankful for their 24/7 availability and service keeping our cities civil and our streets safe. It goes without saying that, disregarding the few way-off-plumb harm-seekers who oppose our men and women in blue, we value, honor, and praise those who have answered the vital calling and have sworn, on their honor, to keep we ever-thankful citizens safe and secure. Huge thanks to our great, brave police officers, and all other enforcers who wear local area or America’s badge!
The other key “INDISPENSABLES” category is the one dedicated to keeping our entire nation safe and free, and that would, of course be, the proud men and women of the United States military. Stationed all around the United States and in other allied countries, and on various oceans of the world, we too often take those combat-ready, nation-protectors for granted, confident that they’ll be there, on-call and at the ready, and ever hoping that call to defend us never has to come. We’re far less able to take our active-duty/reserve/guard component ‘ready to fight and win’ service members for granted these days, due mainly to serious issues like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the on-going concerns about the continuing independence of Taiwan, and the ever-aggressive-nuclear weapon-rattling of problem nations like North Korea and Russia. As a result of all the military uncertainty potentially impacting so many corners of the planet, we in America no longer have the privilege of defense complacency.
Even though we’re perhaps now more on edge about our nation’s security than we were prior to Russia’s aggressive military incursion into Ukraine, the nation’s conflict-concern temperature was elevated last week, at least among those Americans paying attention, when a Four-Star United States Air Force General predicted to the public, via the media, that we could very well be in a war with China over Taiwan by 2025 (China sources are today ‘leaking’ that year to be, instead, 2027!). That effectively rattled, or should have, any remaining complacency among Americans. Whether it was a smart idea for a senior U.S. officer to sound the war bugle at this point is a reasonable question. And one must wonder whether he gave the other of our military branch senior leaders a heads-up prior to his announcement?
Regardless, on the one hand it is an effective way to force Americans and those of our military leaders to seriously focus on significant war-fighting preparations, to not only include our service members at all levels, but also a warning to America’s military equipment industry of the immediate need to step-up and expand aircraft, ship, and missile production (offensive & defensive) especially, but also ground equipment, like tanks, munitions, communications gear, etc. needed to further bolster Taiwan’s existing defensive forces and abilities. And this at a time when our own military equipment preparedness is, we’re told, negatively impacted by all of the dollars and military gear that we’re already shipped to Ukraine! On a more positive note, and certainly a far more wishful one, perhaps the General’s open warning of America’s need to now begin the necessary march to a serious and well-prepared national war-time footing might (I said, hopefully!) cause the Chinese to rethink its near-term hostile intensions toward Taiwan, which would result, without question, in very serious, terribly costly and destructive combat with the United States, along with our likely other allies in that Pacific region, and, hopefully again, cause the Chinese military to stand down, and very literally cool their jets!
That hopeful feeling about America not having to be involved in any allied response to international military aggression in the Far Pacific, whether due to the AF General’s prediction of 2025 or the leaked Taiwan invasion assumption of 2027, or perhaps never actually become a military response for America at all, would indeed be a blessing.
Whether for reasons of household concern over international tensions, or the unfortunate known fact that a large percentage of American military age youth simply, as of the present time, show no interest in military enlistment (i.e. exhibit no ‘propensity’ to serve), the military services in America are dealing with varying degrees of shortfalls in recruiting. The Army, in additional to offering recruitment sign-on bonus potential, has initiated an idea that is proving effective in eventually being able to in-process more recruits previously denied entry. It’s called The Future Soldier Preparatory Course which is actually designed to serve as a pre-boot camp training experience for young men and women wanting to serve our nation, but who do not yet meet either the Army’s physical fitness standard (obesity) or score well enough on the Army Forces Qualification Test for entry.
This special new pre-basic boot camp opportunity was initiated at Fort Jackson, S.C., already one of the Army’s larger regular basic training installations. The results in physically shaping up potential recruits, and/or sharpening the ability of others to perform better on the required initial qualification test, have been so positive that the plan going forward is to expand this pre-basic training program to some other Army recruit training centers around the country. Faced with recruiting shortfalls, this innovative solution to the significant recruit shortfall is proving to be an excellent technique for being able to eventually admit young people who definitely desire to serve the nation, but who were initially unable to satisfy one or two of Army’s basic entry standards and expectations. Perhaps some of the other branches will adopt a similar program to maximize the potential flow-through of their recruit applicants. This pre-boot camp plan, for those in need who definitely want to serve America, is successful and a truly brilliant problem-solving (or reducing) concept.
America’s men and women currently serving in one of our military branches are simply the definitive and vital keys to the ability to effectively defend our great nation, and hopefully fend off today’s non-traditional warfare and weaponry so that we might successfully prevent and/or survive an attack. The very last thing our nation and our citizens ever want to have to face is an actual Pacific regional war that would likely bring with it, today’s modern, even more deadly lethal weaponry (nuclear), potentially actually impacting, for the first time, our continental shores via missiles/rocketry, resulting in massive U.S. Coastal (or worse) destruction and very likely causing major loss of American lives.
With that unthinkable actual warfare prospect in mind, it is once again becoming more important than ever that our military members, and the industries that support their efforts, along, of course, with the general public, remember, again, just how critically important our military branches and their fighting forces are to maintaining America’s peaceful present, and potential future wartime, existence. In peace and war, our nation’s staunch military units, at home and abroad,
America’s dedicated and courageous sons and daughters all, are our ultimate national “INDISPENSABLES,” our noble national defenders, enabling us to fend off threats, and actual aggressive actions, in order to preserve our exceptional nation, as our terrific military members have done so successfully throughout the generations. Our sincere and heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all those mighty “INDESPENSABLES” who have served and kept us safe in the past, and have sworn to do so, whenever and were-ever the call to defend our nation and our national security may come. We pray that their training, capabilities, state-of-the-art equipment, and their staunch dedication, will continue to keep them, and our nation’s population safe and free, hopefully, well into the distant future of our truly exceptional homeland, the United States of America.
And a final note in this regard: A well-known, respected, and time-tested admonition: The best DEFENSE for a nation is a strong, imposing, widely-known and, wisely-respected OFFENSE. That can be a potentially-effective war-stopper…..