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Be A Sheepdog
(January 29, 2010)
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As an Air Force lieutenant I was sent to Ft. Benning, Georgia
and trained to be an Army Infantry officer. During the
patrolling phase of training we learned how to set up an ambush
and stop the enemy cold as they walked past. But we also learned
that the enemy was instructed on how to set up an ambush and we
could be caught in their crossfire. If the ambush is laid out
and executed correctly and you walk into it, your chances of
survival are very slim.
One of the tactics we learned was when all else failed as you
were being ambushed you have got to charge the enemy's machine
guns. And maybe, just maybe you will disrupt their attack enough
to survive the day. | |
Van E. Harl |
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Attacking the machine gun (figuratively) was what the passengers
attempted on that aircraft flying over Pennsylvania on 911. Yes
they died, but they disrupted the enemy enough, that the
original target of the Muslim terrorist's mission was spared
death and destruction.
Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman, retired Army, has defined people in
three categories. Most people are sheep who get on with their
daily lives never intending to hurt anyone. Then there are
wolves whose very way of life it to prey on the helpless flocks
of sheep in our society. Wolves destroy for their basic needs
but, they also kill for sport. They inflict deliberate
destruction of life only for the sake of destroying the weak and
the helpless.
And then there are the sheepdogs. Sheepdogs are the protectors
of the greater society of sheep. In human form they are the
military members who elect to join the ranks of the defenders of
our American way of life. Policemen are the civilian branch of
the defender-sheepdog, brother and sisterhood. The problem with
sheepdogs is they can appear to us to look too much like wolves.
They have to be that way. One minute they are looking all shaggy
and oh so cute you want to pet them and the next minute they are
biting off the head of a wolf, which was sneaking up on you, as
you failed to pay attention to your surroundings. There is a
fear in the flock that the sheepdogs will take advantage of
their sheep charges and either try to totally control or bring
destruction to parts of the flock.
In some nations of the world the sheepdogs are the enemy, this
is not however the case in the United States. Unlike most
countries our sheep/populace can arm themselves against threats,
both foreign and domestic. We live in an emergency-911 society
where we expect to pick up the phone and have the sheepdogs show
up in minutes to protect and save us.
I once heard a mother call into the Dr. Laura radio show
complaining about the fact she did not want her son to have any
exposure to firearms. But when she went over to her
father-in-law's house it was the home of a safe gun owner. She
felt his ideas were going to wrongly impact her son. Dr. Laura
asked whom does the mother call when there is a potential
violent situation in her life. Of course the mother stated she
called a big burly policeman who has a gun on his hip, who will
come and save the day and not take advantage of the weaken state
of the citizen who has called for help. The mom wants a sheepdog
to save her and her family from harm, but she can not envision
her on son or daughter becoming a sheepdog.
A grade school teacher was instructing her class that in case of
a violent invasion of the class room by a “wolf” the children
were to all huddle together on the floor in the corner of the
room. Maybe the “wolf” would just go away and not harm the “baby
sheep.” A student who was a refugee of the Balkan Wars told the
teacher she was wrong. This child had seen the “wolves” up close
and personal. He said the class had to escape or fight back with
whatever they could use to defend themselves with.
Wolves hate sheep that have weapons and the intent to use them.
I would suggest that if the students at Virginia Tech had
attempted to “charge the machine gun” and disrupt the Korean
wolf, fewer student sheep would be dead now.
I am an old retired sheepdog but the claws and the fangs stay
sharp and I am always watching for the wolves in sheep's
clothing. It is the eight anniversary of the 911 attack and the
wolves are still out there with a bitter tasted of blood in
their mouths. | |
By
Van E. Harl
Copyright
2009 About Author:
Major Van E. Harl, USAF Ret., was a career police officer in the U.S. Air
Force. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the
Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. Major Harl is a graduate of
the U.S. Army Infantry School, the Air Force Squadron Officer School and the Air
Command and Staff College. After retiring from the Air Force he was a state
police officer in Nevada.
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