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Man With A Mission
By: Marilynn
Bowler
Who better to remind us of the bravery and heroism of
those who serve in our country's military, and of their
selfless commitment to making our lives - and those of
our children - safer and better, than the brilliant and
articulate Charles H. Swannack, Jr., Major General, U.S.
Army (Retired).
Introduced so beautifully by Tod Thorne, this was a
perfect program to commemorate our fallen heroes as
Memorial Day Weekend approaches. Major General
Swannack's long roster of high command positions during
his thirty-year military career reads like a war novel
except in his case it was real and it was dangerous. He
commanded the 82nd Airborne Division from October 2002 ~
May 2004 during which time he provided forces for combat
operations in Afghanistan and led combat operations from
Kuwait to Baghdad and Iraq. And the list goes on.
A graduate of Capstone and the National War College,
Major General Swannack holds a Master of Science degree
in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of
Technology and is a Registered Professional Engineer in
Virginia. A decorated Legion of Merit and Bronze Star
Medalist, he is a man of many, many honors. He currently
serves as a trainer, coach and mentor to Brigade Combat
Teams preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan and,
in addition, is Chief Operating Officer for U.S.
Logistics headquartered in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Major General Swannack spoke poignantly of two things in
the forefront of his mind. "There are people who want to
kill us and change our way of life," he told us.
"Radical Islamists and other terrorists demand our
attention." And, he said, "the military is the ultimate
sacrifice made by those in our armed services so that we
- the rest of us - can enjoy the way of life we hold
dear in the United States of America."
Our speaker addressed the two war theatres which now
concern us most … Iraq and Afghanistan. Noting that
successful operations in Iraq are achieved because of
stability, infrastructure, nationalism, the culture of
the people (only ten percent of Iraqies really want to
kill,) and good military forces (both ours and theirs)
the prognosis for Iraq is more positive. Afghanistan, on
the other hand, is "a tougher road to hoe," he said. The
Afghanistanies are difficult to train, have multiple
dialects, do not have the infrastructure nor the economy
or culture of the Iraqies. The August 2011 timetable for
American troops to depart Afghanistan is unlikely to be
met. All of that having been said, the important message
throughout his address is that our U.S. military men and
women are doing a great job!
Major General Swannack reminded us of the commitment
that our servicemen and women make every day because of
their sense of patriotism and because it's a job that
provides for, and protects, their families, as well as
preserves our way of life. The price that so many of
them pay upon arriving home from war zones, however, is
enormous. There are mental and emotional issues to deal
with, divorces, suicides and multi-deployments. And yet
they fight on …and their acts of valor are astounding in
numbers. What our military men and women want, in return
for that valor, are simple requests. Should they perish,
they want their families to be loved and respected, and
taken care of (medically and emotionally.) And they want
their children to get an education. Such small payback
for such tremendous sacrifice.
Major General Swannack then introduced us to his two
favorite charitable foundations: The Military Family
LifeStyle Foundation which helps support the financial,
physical and emotional needs of military members and the
families of those who have been disabled in the line of
duty and/or those who have been deployed, thereby
leaving their families unable to meet financial demands
or to educate their children. The second charitable
foundation is the North Carolina Heroes Foundation which
provides financial assistance to military members who
find themselves in need.
In closing, Major General Swannack shared his wish with
us … that we each respect those in our military
services, that we take care of them - especially our
wounded warriors - and that we thank them whenever we
have the chance. "What can we send them to let them know
we care?" he was asked. "Little boxes of stuff from
home," he smiled. "One of my favorite things was boot
inserts."
Boot inserts. It seems like such a little thing …
Head Table:
Lisa Mask, Tod Thorne, John Snyder, Cindy Swannack, Kip
Haddock, Brent Royall;
Invocation: Cindy Wolfe;
Visitors & Guests: Tom Bartholomy; Health &
Happiness: David Erdman; Song & Piano: Thomas Moore;
Photos: Bert Voswinkel |
