swash plate september 2014

Volume 9, Issue 2 CHPA • The Swash Plate www.chpa-us.org

September 2014

From The President Milan Tesanovich

“From The President” Milan Tesanovich

“Welcome New Members”

“Convention Schedule of Events”

“Bad Discharges Reconsidered” Andrew Tilghman

“Convention T Shirts Available”

“Firebase Kathryn” Byron Edgington

• “To Change The World” ADM William H. McRaven

• “How to Pick A Service Officer” David Bowman, Service Officer

And much, much more!

Presenting!

Our 10th annual CHPA Annual Convention took place between Sunday, Sept. 7th and Wednesday, September 10, 2014, in sunny Riverside, California. Our host hotel was the world famous Mission Inn Hotel and Spa. Most of those CHPA members and their guests who attended the three day event told me that they were awed by the architecture and old world charm of the hotel. The food was excellent and the staff was especially helpful and friendly. The President’s Welcome Reception was attended by all who arrived by 6:30 PM on Sunday, Sept. 7th. Attendees took advantage of the opportunity to visit several of the tourist attractions in the rich Southern California historical area. In particular, most of the guests took a guided tour of the hotel and learned about its rich history. Nearly everyone visited the Wings and Rotors Sit Museum in Murrieta and partook of a BBQ cookout. Overall, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable event. We even got to enjoy the extremely rare thunderstorm that occurred on Sunday afternoon. That storm created some stir when the president’s hotel room flooded from a leaky roof. The hotel quickly moved us to a replacement room.

The hotel staff surprised us all with a champagne toast to the CHPA at the “Famous Flyers Wall” in the Chapel courtyard. The annual meeting took place on Tuesday, Sept. 9th. All attendees were informed about

the progress made in furthering the CHPA’s programs and services over the past year. Kenn Christensen, a videographer, was welcomed as an honorary member at the banquet that took place on Tuesday, Sept. 9th. Kenn has produced a couple of outstanding videos for the CHPA to aid in getting the word out about who we are and what we do. Shayne Meder, our 2013 Tredway Award recipient also marveled us with a slide show of her fantastic aircraft nose and tail artwork.

We haven’t settled on the exact dates for our 2015 annual meeting yet, but please look to reserve some time in your calendar next year (2015) in the last half of the month of September or the first half of the month of October for our 11th Annual Convention. 2015 is a biennial election year when we elect all of our Directors and Officers for the ensuing two years. Please think about getting more involved by running for the Board of Directors or nominating another member to serve on the CHPA Board. We will be meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana for that event. More information will follow as the events committee firms up the meeting dates, hotel venue, and activities schedule. I look forward to seeing you all in Indianapolis.


2

Please feel free to forward

this issue of “The Swash Plate” to

your colleagues, potential

members and other interested

parties!

Share the “Swash”

The Swash!

One of the things we all know, nobody tells a better story than a combat helicopter crewmember, whether it’s the truth or “enhanced truth.” Our most entertaining and informative stories come from you, our membership. We often receive responses from our members when an article is published that opens a memory or touches a nerve, in a good way.

So where are all the story tellers out there? All you veterans of the skies of OEF and OIF with an idea for an article, or a story to tell it’s as easy as sending it in. Take a moment to lay fingers on keyboard or just put pen to paper and send them in. You can email them to [email protected] or through the US Post Office to: CHPA • PO Box 42 • Divide, CO 80814-0042

Help us help you tell the tales of your experiences and continue to preserve our shared legacy of combat under a rotor disc.

[Call for Articles]

How Are We Doing? Jay Brown

Every month we try to bring you articles and notices that interest all of our members. Of course that

entails gathering news items and articles from various sources and varying topics, from the humorous to serious news of world events. We hope we’re meeting your needs and providing entertainment and we’d love to hear from you on whether we’re meeting those goals. If you have a comment or suggestion on what we’ve done well or where we could improve drop us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 800-832-5144 and let us know.

Please consider sponsoring

CHPA’s programs. You may make tax

deductible donations to support the

Goldie Fund, CHPA’s Scholarship

program, the Holiday Boxes for the

Troops, T-shirts for Heroes or the

Association. For further information

please look at Sponsorship at the

website, http://www.chpa-us.org.

Sponsorship

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.chpa-us.org/


3

Reunions and Gatherings

Welcome New Members

Convention T Shirt Jay Brown

Are you planning a reunion or event that may be of interest to our members? Let us help you get the

word out and support veterans groups of all sizes and locations. Just send a message with the information to [email protected]. If you have a logo, send that along as well.

Be sure to include accurate contact and registration information and we’ll take care of the rest.

CHPA extends a hearty “Welcome Aboard” to these new members, who joined in September, 2014. William H. Auten Kenneth Christenson Christopher Ebdon Thomas Hohmann Rodney E. Kilduff Sean R. Laycox George W. McLachlan Eric W. Petricka Kevin R. Quinn

If you were you unable to attend the Annual Convention

in Riverside but would like to have one of the high quality and very handsome convention T Shirts we have a limited number available. They are not listed in the CHPA online store and are only available by contacting Headquarters at 800-832-5144 or dropping us an email with your order. Payment may be made by credit card or by check. The price remains $35 per shirt which will barely cover the postage. If you would like a shirt order now before we run out of your size.



4

CHPA continues to receive quite an assortment of patches from our members. These patches are displayed at our booth at HAI, Quad A, and VHPA. Several of you have donated patches, but we’re always looking for more. They are very eye catching and help us garner attention. So please dig through your old patches and if you have some you’d like to share, send them to us at:

CHPA • PO Box 42 • Divide, CO 80814-0042

GOT PATCHES?

So, Where Are the Stories Jay Brown

As has often been said, some of the best stories are told by military pilots, especially helicopter pilots, usually over a beer at a bar. As we’ve also said, this is your newsletter, not only to read and share, but to contribute to. We’ve shared tales of bravery and daring-do from flight school to combat zones around the world to boring stateside missions that were suddenly not so boring anymore. There was the CH-47 that spiraled down through a dark and cloudy night following a flare to deliver much needed supplies. There was the story about trying to take off for an instrument qualification check ride with seat belt and shoulder harness unfastened. There was the story of a near miss over Fort Campbell between two OH-58As that tried to share the same airspace at high airspeed below the tree line.

So, where is your story? It doesn’t have to be a literary work of art, nor does the spelling, syntax and formatting have to be perfect. I’ll take care of all that. It just has to be delivered to me at HQ and I’ll take care of everything else. And, with respect to “war stories” or TINS, it doesn’t even have to be true!!

Submit your stories to CHPA either by email to [email protected] or send them to HQ at CHPA, PO Box 42, Divide, CO 80814-0042.



5

DoD Reconsideration of Bad Paper Discharges Andrew Tilghman, Military Times

Concluded on Page 6

The Defense Department has agreed to reconsider the bad-paper discharges for thousands of Vietnam-era veterans who may have suffered from combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder but were kicked out of the military in the era before that became a diagnosable condition.

In a new rule announced Wednesday, the Pentagon said veterans from the Vietnam era and other past wars with other-than-honorable discharges will be given “liberal consideration” if they seek to correct their military records and provide some evidence of a PTSD diagnosis that existed at the time of their service.

Upgraded discharges could result in the restoration of some benefits, such as disability pay, separation pay or GI Bill benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department, which are typically denied to vets who receive other-than-honorable discharges. Health care in the VA system is typically provided to veterans regardless of their discharge.

In today’s military, PTSD is considered a mitigating factor for misconduct and behavioral problems. The military services are required to grant a medical evaluation to any service member who claims PTSD before finalizing a bad discharge.

The Pentagon’s new rule comes in response to a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of several veterans in March that claimed the Defense Department was wrongfully denying discharge upgrade applications from veterans with claims and evidence of PTSD. The new policy was applauded by the Yale Law School Veterans’ Legal Service Clinic, which is spearheading the federal lawsuit.

“DoD appears to be taking a significant step to correcting a longstanding injustice,” said Jennifer McTiernan, a student intern involved with the lawsuit.

However, she said, it’s too early to tell how the new rule will be implemented and the lawsuit is likely to continue.

For years, the military services have rejected PTSD claims from Vietnam-era vets with what McTiernan called “Catch-22-like denials” that say changes cannot be granted without a diagnosis of PTSD from the 1970s — even though PTSD did not become officially recognized by the medical profession until 1980.

And for many veterans, fixing their official discharge document, known as a DD 214, is about more than VA benefits.

“Having an other-than-honorable discharge is a stigma. When someone has a DD 214 with an other-than-honorable discharge on it, it leads employers to possibly not hire them, it leads to discriminatory treatment in other aspects of their lives, it negatively affects their life prospects,” McTiernan said.

“These are veterans who honorably served their country and have a psychological wound of war and they should be recognized for having served honorably, not stigmatized and discriminated against,” she said.

The Sept. 3 memo was signed by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a former Army sergeant who earned two Purple Hearts for combat injuries he suffered in Vietnam. Hagel, a longtime veterans’ advocate and former top official at VA, played a key role in finalizing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The lawsuit estimates that a quarter-million Vietnam-era veterans were separated with other-than-honorable discharges and up to 80,000 of them may have suffered from PTSD. The Pentagon’s new rule will apply to all veterans with discharges prior to the formal recognition of PTSD in 1980. The vast majority of those are likely to come from the Vietnam era.


6

The Pentagon is also ordering the four military services to mount a “public messaging campaign” this year and next year targeting veterans who may be affected by this policy change.

The new guidance is focused on veterans with low-level misconduct that may have resulted in administrative discharge. It is unlikely to affect veterans who were court-martialed for serious misconduct and kicked out with a bad-conduct discharge or dishonorable discharge.

One defense official familiar with the policy change said the aim is to strike a balance between addressing concerns from veterans who suffered from a legitimate psychiatric disorder without eroding the respect derived from honorable service and the millions of veterans who earned it.

“This is not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” the defense official said. In effect, a veteran seeking a revised discharge will have to prove three elements: that he or she

suffered from PTSD at the time of service, that the cause was related to military service and that the symptoms were a factor in the misconduct underlying the other-than-honorable discharge.

The memo is directed toward the Army’s and Air Force’s Boards for Correction of Military Records and the Board for Correction of Naval Records, which handles requests from sailors and Marines.

The memo says: “Liberal consideration will be given in cases where civilian providers confer diagnoses of PTSD or PTSD-related conditions” and there is further evidence that the disorder existed at the time of service.

“Liberal consideration” will be granted in cases where any document — military or otherwise — can substantiate the existence of one or more symptoms of what is now known as PTSD.

However, in cases involving “serious misconduct,” the boards will “exercise caution” and carefully consider the likely causal relationship of symptoms to misconduct, the memo says.

Scrutinizing records that are now more than 40 years old will be a challenge, especially since some of them were destroyed in a massive 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

The last time the Pentagon issued force-wide guidance for service-level records corrections boards was in the wake of the 2011 repeal of the “don’t ask don’t tell” law. That guidance allowed former service members to seek changes to their military records if their separation was related to the military’s 17-year ban on gays serving openly in uniform.


7

Firebase Kathryn Byron Edgington

Concluded on

An Excerpt from Byron’s book, “The Sky Behind Me, A Memoir of Flying and Life.”

I’ll never forget my first girl. I’ll never forget Kathryn, either. Kathryn; the name of a firebase in northern I Corps in the Republic of Vietnam. The mission was to put troops on her mountaintop crag.

April 10th 1970. Chief Warrant Officer Ray Woods was company flight lead that day. I was a new guy, “still pissing stateside water” as John Lipski, my left seater said. Our string of Hueys laced across the sky in a circle, like charms on a bracelet. We were waiting for the artillery prep to end so we could land on the LZ, dump our grunts and go home.

In the twenty-four ship formation, I tried to ignore my place in the lineup. I was right seater in bird number thirteen. John and I followed the twelve Hueys in front of us like so many sheep in a line. Careful to avoid the artillery trajectory, Woody kept his flight a mile north of Kathryn.

Round after heavy artillery round pummeled the firebase. Its cratered surface, mangled tree stumps and arid ground resembled a brown blister festering atop the mountain. Artillery had pounded the firebase all night. It was nine a.m., and still we circled, twenty-four Hueys cutting holes in the sky over northern I Corps.

We were waiting for Willie Pete, two final rounds of White Phosphorus. When the twin marking rounds of WP popped above the firebase, their presence marked the end of the artillery prep. Only then could we land.

Minutes dragged on. We circled. Radio silence. Watching shell after shell explode atop that ridge I couldn’t imagine anything alive up there. I almost felt sorry for the bad guys, the ones the intel people told us were there waiting for us to land. Surely, I thought, they’d all be killed, or run off. Nobody could survive that massive bombardment. I was a rookie about to learn an important lesson. I was about to see how resilient the enemy was.

At nine-ten a.m., only a few minutes late, two ghostly clouds appeared a hundred feet above the LZ like twin thought balloons. Willie Pete; the arty prep was done. John slid his visor down and locked his shoulder harness. “Okay, guys,” he said. “Let’s go to work.”

In the rear of the cabin the crewchief and door gunner sat up alert. Crewchief on the left, door gunner right, they cinched their monkey straps tight and swiveled the business end of their .30 cals up. “Ready in the rear, sir,” they said in unison. As the gunners’ weapons came up, and their charging rods clattered, the grunts stirred. Five GIs flicked cigarettes out. Their M-16s banged against the floor of the Huey as they adjusted their backpacks. Time for them to go to work, too.

Woody’s ship angled off, aiming toward Kathryn and lined up for landing. Two Cobra gunships slid into position near the lead Huey, one left, one right. The Cobras would escort Woody as he neared the LZ, then they’d break off. Together, the three aircraft flew toward Kathryn’s ragged, shell-shot surface.

Woody called his approach. “Thirty seconds out,” he said. I watched from my aircraft, a mile behind, twelve UH-1s ahead. “Short final,” Woody said, the rattle and pop of Cobra suppressive fire in his radio call. Woody’s Huey touched down on Kathryn, and men streamed onto the firebase. Then a radio call that

chilled my arms. Woody screamed into the ether. “Taking fire,” he yelled. “On the firebase. My gunner’s hit. He may be dead.”

John looked across the cockpit, and shook his head. “Son of a bitch.”


8

To Change the World ADM William H. McRaven

Continued on Page 9

After an all-night bombardment, a pummeling no one could possibly have survived, an enemy soldier leapt into the open on Kathryn and shot Woody’s door gunner. It’s gonna be a long year, I thought.

Our turn. John steered the Huey toward Kathryn’s landing spot. I watched gauges, called out readings. “Torque’s good; rpm’s good.” I focused inside the cockpit, from fright or denial I’m not sure. I’ll never forget my first girl. But I don’t remember landing on Kathryn. Before I knew it the Huey was empty and John had lifted off. We took no fire, no hits. Still, what I’d seen gave me a lot of respect for the enemy. That respect helped keep me alive in Vietnam, that and a simple rule: never underestimate the North Vietnamese.

The following are the remarks by Naval ADM William H. McRaven, ninth commander of US Special Operations Command, at the University-wide

Commencement at the University of Texas at Austin on May 17:

President Powers, Provost Fenves, Deans, members of the faculty, family and friends and most

importantly, the class of 2014. Congratulations on your achievement. It’s been almost 37 years to the day that I graduated from UT. I remember a lot of things about that day. I remember I had throbbing headache from a party the night before. I remember I had a serious

girlfriend, whom I later married—that’s important to remember by the way—and I remember that I was getting commissioned in the Navy that day.

But of all the things I remember, I don’t have a clue who the commencement speaker was that evening and I certainly don’t remember anything they said.

So…acknowledging that fact—if I can’t make this commencement speech memorable—I will at least try to make it short.

The University’s slogan is, “What starts here changes the world.” I have to admit—I kinda like it. “What starts here changes the world.” Tonight there are almost 8,000 students graduating from UT. That great paragon of analytical rigor, Ask.Com says that the average American will meet 10,000

people in their life time. That’s a lot of folks. But, if every one of you changed the lives of just ten people—and each one of those folks changed the

lives of another ten people—just ten—then in five generations—125 years—the class of 2014 will have changed the lives of 800 million people.

800 million people—think of it—over twice the population of the United States. Go one more generation and you can change the entire population of the world—8 billion people.

If you think it’s hard to change the lives of ten people—change their lives forever—you’re wrong. I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan. A young Army officer makes a decision to go left instead of right down a road in Baghdad and the ten

soldiers in his squad are saved from close-in ambush. In Kandahar province, Afghanistan, a non-

commissioned officer from the Female Engagement Team


9

Continued on Page 10

senses something isn’t right and directs the infantry platoon away from a 500 pound IED, saving the lives of a dozen soldiers.

But, if you think about it, not only were these soldiers saved by the decisions of one person, but their children yet unborn—were also saved. And their children’s children—were saved.

Generations were saved by one decision—by one person. But changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it. So, what starts here can indeed change the world, but the question is … what will the world look like

after you change it? Well, I am confident that it will look much, much better, but if you will humor this old sailor for just a

moment, I have a few suggestions that may help you on your way to a better a world. And while these lessons were learned during my time in the military, I can assure you that it matters

not whether you ever served a day in uniform. It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation, or your social status. Our struggles in this world are similar and the lessons to overcome those struggles and to move

forward—changing ourselves and the world around us—will apply equally to all. I have been a Navy SEAL for 36 years. But it all began when I left UT for Basic SEAL training in

Coronado, CA. Basic SEAL training is six months of long torturous runs in the soft sand, midnight swims in the cold

water off San Diego, obstacles courses, unending calisthenics, days without sleep and always being cold, wet and miserable.

It is six months of being constantly harassed by professionally trained warriors who seek to find the weak of mind and body and eliminate them from ever becoming a Navy SEAL.

But, the training also seeks to find those students who can lead in an environment of constant stress, chaos, failure and hardships.

To me basic SEAL training was a life time of challenges crammed into six months. So, here are the ten lesson’s I learned from basic SEAL training that hopefully will be of value to you as

you move forward in life. Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would

show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under

the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack—rack—that’s Navy talk for bed. It was a simple task—mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to

perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle hardened SEALs—but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another.

By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.

If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you

made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start off by making

your bed.


10


During SEAL training the students are broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students—three on each side of a small rubber boat and one coxswain to help guide the dingy.

Every day your boat crew forms up on the beach and is instructed to get through the surfzone and paddle several miles down the coast.

In the winter, the surf off San Diego can get to be 8 to 10 feet high and it is exceedingly difficult to paddle through the plunging surf unless everyone digs in.

Every paddle must be synchronized to the stroke count of the coxswain. Everyone must exert equal effort or the boat will turn against the wave and be unceremoniously tossed back on the beach.

For the boat to make it to its destination, everyone must paddle. You can’t change the world alone—you will need some help— and to truly get from your starting point

to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the good will of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle. Over a few weeks of difficult training my SEAL class which started with 150 men was down to just 35.

There were now six boat crews of seven men each. I was in the boat with the tall guys, but the best boat crew we had was made up of the little guys—the

munchkin crew we called them—no one was over about 5-foot five. The munchkin boat crew had one American Indian, one African American, one Polish America, one

Greek American, one Italian American, and two tough kids from the mid-west. They out paddled, out-ran, and out swam all the other boat crews. The big men in the other boat crews would always make good natured fun of the tiny little flippers the

munchkins put on their tiny little feet prior to every swim. But somehow these little guys, from every corner of the Nation and the world, always had the last

laugh— swimming faster than everyone and reaching the shore long before the rest of us. SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not

your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their

flippers. Several times a week, the instructors would line up the class and do a uniform inspection. It was

exceptionally thorough. Your hat had to be perfectly starched, your uniform immaculately pressed and your belt buckle shiny

and void of any smudges. But it seemed that no matter how much effort you put into starching your hat, or pressing your

uniform or polishing your belt buckle—it just wasn’t good enough. The instructors would fine “something” wrong. For failing the uniform inspection, the student had to run, fully clothed into the surfzone and then, wet

from head to toe, roll around on the beach until every part of your body was covered with sand. The effect was known as a “sugar cookie.” You stayed in that uniform the rest of the day—cold, wet

and sandy. There was many a student who just couldn’t accept the fact that all their effort was in vain. That no

matter how hard they tried to get the uniform right—it was unappreciated. Those students didn’t make it through training. Those students didn’t understand the purpose of the drill. You were never going to succeed. You were

never going to have a perfect uniform.


11


Sometimes no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform you still end up as a sugar cookie.

It’s just the way life is sometimes. If you want to change the world get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward. Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events—long runs, long swims,

obstacle courses, hours of calisthenics—something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards—times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name

was posted on a list and at the end of the day those on the list were invited to—a “circus.” A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics—designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to

force you to quit. No one wanted a circus. A circus meant that for that day you didn’t measure up. A circus meant more fatigue—and more

fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult—and more circuses were likely. But at some time during SEAL training, everyone—everyone—made the circus list. But an interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list. Overtime those students-

—who did two hours of extra calisthenics—got stronger and stronger. The pain of the circuses built inner strength-built physical resiliency. Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you

to your very core. But if you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses. At least twice a week, the trainees were required to run the obstacle course. The obstacle course

contained 25 obstacles including a 10-foot high wall, a 30-foot cargo net, and a barbed wire crawl to name a few.

But the most challenging obstacle was the slide for life. It had a three level 30 foot tower at one end and a one level tower at the other. In between was a 200-foot long rope.

You had to climb the three tiered tower and once at the top, you grabbed the rope, swung underneath the rope and pulled yourself hand over hand until you got to the other end.

The record for the obstacle course had stood for years when my class began training in 1977. The record seemed unbeatable, until one day, a student decided to go down the slide for life—head

first. Instead of swinging his body underneath the rope and inching his way down, he bravely mounted the

TOP of the rope and thrust himself forward. It was a dangerous move—seemingly foolish, and fraught with risk. Failure could mean injury and

being dropped from the training. Without hesitation—the student slid down the rope—perilously fast, instead of several minutes, it only

took him half that time and by the end of the course he had broken the record. If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first. During the land warfare phase of training, the students are flown out to San Clemente Island which lies

off the coast of San Diego. The waters off San Clemente are a breeding ground for the great white sharks. To pass SEAL training

there are a series of long swims that must be completed. One—is the night swim. Before the swim the instructors joyfully brief the

trainees on all the species of sharks that inhabit the waters


12

Concluded on Page 13

off San Clemente. They assure you, however, that no student has ever been eaten by a shark—at least not recently. But, you are also taught that if a shark begins to circle your position—stand your ground. Do not swim

away. Do not act afraid. And if the shark, hungry for a midnight snack darts towards you—then summon up all your strength

and punch him in the snout and he will turn and swim away. There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with

them. So, If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks. As Navy SEALs one of our jobs is to conduct underwater attacks against enemy shipping. We practiced

this technique extensively during basic training. The ship attack mission is where a pair of SEAL divers is dropped off outside an enemy harbor and then

swims well over two miles—underwater—using nothing but a depth gauge and a compass to get to their target.

During the entire swim, even well below the surface there is some light that comes through. It is comforting to know that there is open water above you.

But as you approach the ship, which is tied to a pier, the light begins to fade. The steel structure of the ship blocks the moonlight—it blocks the surrounding street lamps—it blocks all ambient light.

To be successful in your mission, you have to swim under the ship and find the keel—the centerline and the deepest part of the ship.

This is your objective. But the keel is also the darkest part of the ship—where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, where the noise from the ship’s machinery is deafening and where it is easy to get disoriented and fail.

Every SEAL knows that under the keel, at the darkest moment of the mission—is the time when you must be calm, composed—when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear.

If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment. The ninth week of training is referred to as “Hell Week.” It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and

mental harassment and—one special day at the Mud Flats—the Mud Flats are area between San Diego and Tijuana where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slue’s—a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you.

It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing cold mud, the howling wind and the incessant pressure to quit from the instructors.

As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening, my training class, having committed some “egregious infraction of the rules” was ordered into the mud.

The mud consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit—just five men and we could get out of the oppressive cold.

Looking around the mud flat it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up—eight more hours of bone chilling cold.

The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything and then, one voice began to echo through the night—one voice raised in song.

The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm.


13

How to Pick A Service Officer David Bowman, Service Officer

One voice became two and two became three and before long everyone in the class was singing. We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well. The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing—but the singing

persisted. And somehow—the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away. If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one

person—Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan—Malala—one person can change the world by giving people hope.

So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud. Finally, in SEAL training there is a bell. A brass bell that hangs in the center of the compound for all the

students to see. All you have to do to quit—is ring the bell. Ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5

o’clock. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the freezing cold swims. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT—and you no longer

have to endure the hardships of training. Just ring the bell. If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell. To the graduating class of 2014, you are moments away from graduating; Moments away from

beginning your journey through life. Moments away from starting to change the world—for the better. It will not be easy. But, YOU are the class of 2014—the class that can affect the lives of 800 million people in the next

century. Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often, but if you take some risks, step up when the times

are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up—if you do these things, then next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today and—what started here will indeed have changed the world—for the better.

The quest to obtain quality representation when you file and pursue your disability claim has been a

journey many of us have been on. When you provide your Power of Attorney (“POA”) to the Veteran Service Organization (“VSO”) you have chosen to prosecute your claim before the VA, you are counting on the Service Officer (“SO”) assigned to represent you to competently and zealously process your claim and obtain for you all that you deserve as result of your injuries or illnesses suffered from your military service. The best measure of that quality would be: when the SO files your claim, the SO treats it like it is the SO’s own claim. That is, the SO crafts and pursues your claim in the highest quality manner possible. The best way to assure that you have the appropriate SO is to perform an interview process with all of the VSOs. They are usually all on the same floor in the VA Regional Office in each state. Your regional office may be quite a distance from your home, but you can still arrange these interviews on the phone. Just because your buddy’s SO is a Purple Heart National Service Officer in Kentucky, and he is happy with him/her, does not mean your Purple Heart Service


14

Call on Us! Contact Quick Reference Chairman of the Board – Robert Frost Buzz Covington [email protected] [email protected] President – Mick Tesanovich Mark Hilton Call us! [email protected] [email protected] 800•832•5144 VP Administration – Rich Miller Alex Horony Fax us! [email protected] [email protected] 719•687•4167 VP Membership – Al Major Randy Jones Write us! [email protected] [email protected] CHPA

PO Box 42 Secretary – Rhea Rippey Dan McClinton Divide, CO 80814-0042 [email protected] [email protected] Treasurer – Loren McAnally Randy Zahn Remember! [email protected] [email protected] Feel free to contact

us any time. Executive Director – Jay Brown [email protected]

Officer in Colorado is just as good, too. Understand that whichever VSO you choose to represent you, be it American Legion, AMVETS, DAV, MCL, MOPH, PVA, or the VFW, there are good and bad quality people serving as SOs. If you forego using a VSO SO, and instead rely on the VA itself to process your claim without independent representation, then in my opinion, you are putting the fox in charge of the hen house.

Considering what has come to light recently regarding the VA’s claim processing, why would you allow the VA to decide what evidence it will offer to support your claim, and then determine the sufficiency of that evidence to prove your claim? Consider also who would best be competent to establish the validity of your claim. If your claim involves Back and Spine or similar injuries from your flying days, then aggressively pursue those proof of claim questions with each VSO to determine which one is most competent to pursue such a claim. In my experience, the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) is one VSO that truly understands Back and Spine issues and its SOs may well be your best choice. I reiterate, not all Service Officers are equal in competence, so vigorously interview them until you find the right one for your case.

Until next time.














swash plate september 2014

Documents

annual chpa annual convention

chpa members

hotel staff

hotel venue

host hotel

chpa board

annual meeting

presidents hotel room