Integrity is everything...

[PIRATE JUSTICE]

.................................................. ...................................

.NOTES FOR KEYNOTE ADDRESS FOR JSCOPE 2000 .................................................. ....................................
JANUARY 27, 2000 .................................................. ..................................

..By General Charles C. Krulak (USMC, RET) .................................................. ....................................

WE STUDY AND WE DISCUSS ETHICAL PRINCIPLES BECAUSE IT SERVES TO STRENGTHEN AND VALIDATE OUR OWN INNER VALUE SYSTEM … IT GIVES DIRECTION TO WHAT I CALL OUR MORAL COMPASS. IT IS THE UNDERSTANDING OF ETHICS THAT BECOMES THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH WE CAN DELIBERATELY COMMIT TO INVIOLATE PRINCIPLES. IT BECOMES THE BASIS OF WHAT WE ARE … OF WHAT WE INCLUDE IN OUR CHARACTER. BASED ON IT, WE COMMIT TO DOING WHAT IS RIGHT. WE EXPECT SUCH COMMITMENT FROM OUR LEADERS. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE MUST DEMAND IT OF OURSELVES. .................................................. ....................................

SOUND MORALS AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED OR CREATED IN A DAY … A SEMESTER … OR A YEAR.

THEY MUST BE INSTITUTIONALIZED WITHIN OUR CHARACTER OVER TIME … THEY MUST BECOME A WAY OF LIFE. THEY GO BEYOND OUR INDIVIDUAL SERVICES AND BEYOND OUR RANKS OR POSITIONS; THEY CUT TO THE HEART AND TO THE SOUL OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE MUST BE … MEN AND WOMEN OF CHARACTER. THEY ARM US FOR THE CHALLENGES TO COME AND THEY IMPART TO US A SENSE OF WHOLENESS. THEY UNITE US IN THE CALLING WE NOW KNOW AS THE PROFESSION OF ARMS. .................................................. ....................................


OF ALL THE MORAL AND ETHICAL GUIDEPOSTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TO RECOGNIZE, THE ONE THAT, FOR ME, STANDS ABOVE THE REST … THE ONE THAT I HAVE KEPT IN THE FOREFRONT OF MY MIND … IS INTEGRITY. IT IS MY ETHICAL AND PERSONAL TOUCHSTONE. .................................................. ....................................


INTEGRITY AS WE KNOW IT TODAY, STANDS FOR SOUNDNESS OF MORAL PRINCIPLE AND CHARACTER – UPRIGHTNESS – HONESTY. YET THERE IS MORE. INTEGRITY IS ALSO AN IDEAL … A GOAL TO STRIVE FOR … AND FOR A MAN OR WOMAN TO "WALK IN THEIR INTEGRITY" IS TO REQUIRE CONSTANT DISCIPLINE AND USAGE. THE WORD INTEGRITY ITSELF IS A MARTIAL WORD THAT COMES TO US FROM AN ANCIENT ROMAN ARMY TRADITION. .................................................. ....................................


DURING THE TIME OF THE 12 CAESARS, THE ROMAN ARMY WOULD CONDUCT MORNING INSPECTIONS. AS THE INSPECTING CENTURION WOULD COME IN FRONT OF EACH LEGIONNAIRE, THE SOLDIER WOULD STRIKE WITH HIS RIGHT FIST THE ARMOR BREASTPLATE THAT COVERED HIS HEART. THE ARMOR HAD TO BE STRONGEST THERE IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE HEART FROM THE SWORD THRUSTS AND FROM ARROW STRIKES. AS THE SOLDIER STRUCK HIS ARMOR, HE WOULD SHOUT "INTEGRITAS", (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) WHICH IN LATIN MEANS MATERIAL WHOLENESS, COMPLETENESS, AND ENTIRETY. THE INSPECTING CENTURION WOULD LISTEN CLOSELY FOR THIS AFFIRMATION AND ALSO FOR THE RING THAT WELL KEPT ARMOR WOULD GIVE OFF. SATISFIED THAT THE ARMOR WAS SOUND AND THAT THE SOLDIER BENEATH IT WAS PROTECTED, HE WOULD THEN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT MAN. .................................................. ....................................

AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THE PRAETORIANS OR IMPERIAL BODYGUARD WERE ASCENDING INTO POWER AND INFLUENCE. DRAWN FROM THE BEST "POLITICALLY CORRECT" SOLDIERS OF THE LEGIONS, THEY RECEIVED THE FINEST EQUIPMENT AND ARMOR. THEY NO LONGER HAD TO SHOUT "INTEGRITAS" (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) TO SIGNIFY THAT THEIR ARMOR WAS SOUND. INSTEAD, AS THEY STRUCK THEIR BREASTPLATE, THEY WOULD SHOUT "HAIL CAESAR", TO SIGNIFY THAT THEIR HEART BELONGED TO THE IMPERIAL PERSONAGE – NOT TO THEIR UNIT – NOT TO AN INSTITUTION – NOT TO A CODE OF IDEALS. THEY ARMORED THEMSELVES TO SERVE THE CAUSE OF A SINGLE MAN. .................................................. ....................................


A CENTURY PASSED AND THE RIFT BETWEEN THE LEGION AND THE IMPERIAL BODYGUARD AND ITS EXCESSES GREW LARGER. TO SIGNIFY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS, THE LEGIONNAIRE, UPON STRIKING HIS ARMOR WOULD NO LONGER SHOUT "INTEGRITAS", (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) BUT INSTEAD WOULD SHOUT "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER). .................................................. ....................................



INTEGER (IN-TE-GER) MEANS UNDIMINISHED – COMPLETE – PERFECT. IT NOT ONLY INDICATED THAT THE ARMOR WAS SOUND, IT ALSO INDICATED THAT THE SOLDIER WEARING THE ARMOR WAS SOUND OF CHARACTER. HE WAS COMPLETE IN HIS INTEGRITY … HIS HEART WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE … HIS STANDARDS AND MORALS WERE HIGH. HE WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMMORAL CONDUCT THAT WAS RAPIDLY BECOMING THE SIGNATURE OF THE PRAETORIAN GUARDS. .................................................. ....................................


THE ARMOR OF INTEGRITY CONTINUED TO SERVE THE LEGION WELL. FOR OVER FOUR CENTURIES THEY HELD THE LINE AGAINST THE MARAUDING GOTHS AND VANDALS BUT BY 383 AD, THE SOCIAL DECLINE THAT INFECTED THE REPUBLIC AND THE PRAETORIAN GUARD HAD ITS EFFECTS UPON THE LEGION. .................................................. ....................................



AS A 4TH CENTURY ROMAN GENERAL WROTE, "WHEN, BECAUSE OF NEGLIGENCE AND LAZINESS, PARADE GROUND DRILLS WERE ABANDONED, THE CUSTOMARY ARMOR BEGAN TO FEEL HEAVY SINCE THE SOLDIERS RARELY, IF EVER, WORE IT. THEREFORE, THEY FIRST ASKED THE EMPEROR TO SET ASIDE THE BREASTPLATES AND MAIL AND THEN THE HELMETS. SO OUR SOLDIERS FOUGHT THE GOTHS WITHOUT ANY PROTECTION FOR THE HEART AND HEAD AND WERE OFTEN BEATEN BY ARCHERS. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE MANY DISASTERS, WHICH LEAD TO THE LOSS OF GREAT CITIES, NO ONE TRIED TO RESTORE THE ARMOR TO THE INFANTRY. THEY TOOK THEIR ARMOR OFF, AND WHEN THE ARMOR CAME OFF – SO TOO CAME THEIR INTEGRITY" IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF A FEW YEARS UNTIL THE LEGION ROTTED FROM WITHIN AND WAS UNABLE TO HOLD THE FRONTIERS …

THE BARBARIANS WERE AT THE GATES. .................................................. ....................................

INTEGRITY … IT IS A COMBINATION OF THE WORDS, "INTEGRITAS" (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) AND "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER). IT REFERS TO THE PUTTING ON OF ARMOR, OF BUILDING A COMPLETENESS … A WHOLENESS … A WHOLENESS IN CHARACTER. HOW APPROPRIATE THAT THE WORD INTEGRITY IS A DERIVATIVE OF TWO WORDS DESCRIBING THE CHARACTER OF A MEMBER OF THE PROFESSION OF ARMS. .................................................. ....................................


THE MILITARY HAS A TRADITION OF PRODUCING GREAT LEADERS THAT POSSESS THE HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS AND INTEGRITY. IT PRODUCES MEN AND WOMEN OF CHARACTER … CHARACTER THAT ALLOWS THEM TO DEAL ETHICALLY WITH THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY AND TO MAKE CONSCIOUS DECISIONS ABOUT HOW THEY WILL APPROACH TOMORROW. HOWEVER, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS NOT DONE INSTANTLY. IT REQUIRES THAT INTEGRITY BECOMES A WAY OF LIFE … IT MUST BE WOVEN INTO THE VERY FABRIC OF OUR SOUL. JUST AS WAS TRUE IN THE DAYS OF IMPERIAL ROME, YOU EITHER WALK IN YOUR INTEGRITY DAILY, OR YOU TAKE OFF THE ARMOR OF THE "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER) AND LEAVE YOUR HEART AND SOUL EXPOSED … OPEN TO ATTACK. .................................................. ....................................


MY CHALLENGE TO YOU IS SIMPLE BUT OFTEN VERY DIFFICULT … WEAR YOUR ARMOR OF INTEGRITY … TAKE FULL MEASURE OF ITS WEIGHT … FIND COMFORT IN ITS PROTECTION … DO NOT BECOME LAX. AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, REMEMBER THAT NO ONE CAN TAKE YOUR INTEGRITY FROM YOU … YOU AND ONLY YOU CAN GIVE IT AWAY! .................................................. ....................................


THE BIBLICAL BOOK OF PRACTICAL ETHICS – BETTER KNOWN AS THE BOOK OF PROVERBS – SUMS IT UP VERY NICELY: "THE INTEGRITY OF THE UPRIGHT SHALL GUIDE THEM: BUT THE PERVERSENESS OF TRANSGRESSORS SHALL DESTROY THEM". (PR 11:3) .................................................. .................................... THANK YOU. .................................................. ...................................


.

[Davian Hax]

Atten-shun!
Thanks for sharing that speech mate. I'm liking this forum a bit more now :-)

[Bart]

I guess David Petraeus forgot to read General Charles C. Krulak's note.

[PIRATE JUSTICE]

I guess David Petraeus forgot to read General Charles C. Krulak's note.There is nothing funny when someone loses their way.

[Jonmutley]

Like the speech pirate, very good. Bravo sir. Those are the exact reasons why I had a moral obligation to report the problems we had at the weekend to the Internet watch foundation. It's important to take a stand agains these people as to many people turn the other way or give in to not doing anything or come up with poor excuses. I believed that if we all turn away and not face the problem more effectively our world will never be as good as its potential. I hope that gree will sit up and take notice of the recent events and put new, workable procedures in place so it never happens again. I personally would like to see a representative from gree to post a message to me stating how they are going to tackle this problem so it does not happen again. I put alot of effort in at the weekend to bring the issue to a head by contacting the relevant outside agency's who I hope will contact and discuss this issue with gree. It's like the song, if we tolerate this, then our children will be next. I hope gree care enough about this issue as its all our responsibility to force change for good, gree included. I did my bit, now lets see gree do there's. A big thank you to the moderator who removed the trolls, with good management it shouldn't happen again. I would like gree to put a statement on the announcements page outlining how they propose to prevent this from happening again. This would make ALL of us have more faith in the organisation who have brought us this fun, interesting, informative and friendly forum. I believe this is the right thing to to so CJ, if you read this, some feed back would be hugely appreciated regarding the troll outcome and also what measures have been put in to place to prevent this from ever happening again. Remember, our children are our future. Lets respect them with the same respect we all demand. Thank you.

[cOsMiC-tRiGgEr]

Apparently I've missed something this weekend. Seeing posts about pornography and trolls... Sounds like I missed a good party.

[Jonmutley]

Cosmic, not really a party my friend. More on the lines of racial abuse, sexually inappropriate comments, pornographic images and down right poor behaviour from a pit of maggots. Considering that minors use the site I was appalled. More along the lines of a meth party run by perverts! I'm glad it's over now and they have been booted. we can all enjoy the forum again without the threat of there poisonous ways. Phewwwwwww.

[cOsMiC-tRiGgEr]

Cosmic, not really a party my friend. More on the lines of racial abuse, sexually inappropriate comments, pornographic images and down right poor behaviour from a pit of maggots. Considering that minors use the site I was appalled. More along the lines of a meth party run by perverts! I'm glad it's over now and they have been booted. we can all enjoy the forum again without the threat of there poisonous ways. Phewwwwwww.

Serious? Man.. I was on all weekend and I missed all of that. and...don't underestimate the joys of meth-induced perversions. I'm pretty sure that's part of the 8-fold path to enlightenment.

[Jonmutley]

Serious? Man.. I was on all weekend and I missed all of that. and...don't underestimate the joys of meth-induced perversions. I'm pretty sure that's part of the 8-fold path to enlightenment. yeah, it was pretty bad bro. Not good at all. Still, all quiet on the western front now! Lol. I certainly wouldn't underestimate it bud, Iv heard to many story's! I used to run a drug treatment program and many a soul was destroyed by the inverted delicacy of self destruction through the use of A class drugs. A sad truth I'm afraid.

[azy]

I stopped reading at the 2nd consecutive capitalized letter, it hurts my eyes. But grateful for the reference.

[mikebarth1955]

PJ and Jonmutley, I appreciate reading both of your posts. Thanks for sharing them.

[Agent Orange]

Sadly the person(s) most in need of this information won't understand it..........

[Big O]

Excellent post PJ. So very true Agent Orange.

[King little fruit fly]

If you want to say some thing nice, stick it on their walls, no need to do it here, you could get banned.

[Jonmutley]

PJ and Jonmutley, I appreciate reading both of your posts. Thanks for sharing them. my pleasure, and thank you for your reply. It means a lot. Glad to see its actually been read! Lol. Feed back goes a long way. I love the picture by the way, can you give me some advice on putting up a picture on my profile? Iv tried and just can't seem to do it! Lol. Your welcome to post me on private message. Thank you.

[1earEddie]

.................................................. ...................................

.NOTES FOR KEYNOTE ADDRESS FOR JSCOPE 2000 .................................................. ....................................
JANUARY 27, 2000 .................................................. ..................................

..By General Charles C. Krulak (USMC, RET) .................................................. ....................................

WE STUDY AND WE DISCUSS ETHICAL PRINCIPLES BECAUSE IT SERVES TO STRENGTHEN AND VALIDATE OUR OWN INNER VALUE SYSTEM … IT GIVES DIRECTION TO WHAT I CALL OUR MORAL COMPASS. IT IS THE UNDERSTANDING OF ETHICS THAT BECOMES THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH WE CAN DELIBERATELY COMMIT TO INVIOLATE PRINCIPLES. IT BECOMES THE BASIS OF WHAT WE ARE … OF WHAT WE INCLUDE IN OUR CHARACTER. BASED ON IT, WE COMMIT TO DOING WHAT IS RIGHT. WE EXPECT SUCH COMMITMENT FROM OUR LEADERS. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE MUST DEMAND IT OF OURSELVES. .................................................. ....................................

SOUND MORALS AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED OR CREATED IN A DAY … A SEMESTER … OR A YEAR.

THEY MUST BE INSTITUTIONALIZED WITHIN OUR CHARACTER OVER TIME … THEY MUST BECOME A WAY OF LIFE. THEY GO BEYOND OUR INDIVIDUAL SERVICES AND BEYOND OUR RANKS OR POSITIONS; THEY CUT TO THE HEART AND TO THE SOUL OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE MUST BE … MEN AND WOMEN OF CHARACTER. THEY ARM US FOR THE CHALLENGES TO COME AND THEY IMPART TO US A SENSE OF WHOLENESS. THEY UNITE US IN THE CALLING WE NOW KNOW AS THE PROFESSION OF ARMS. .................................................. ....................................


OF ALL THE MORAL AND ETHICAL GUIDEPOSTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TO RECOGNIZE, THE ONE THAT, FOR ME, STANDS ABOVE THE REST … THE ONE THAT I HAVE KEPT IN THE FOREFRONT OF MY MIND … IS INTEGRITY. IT IS MY ETHICAL AND PERSONAL TOUCHSTONE. .................................................. ....................................


INTEGRITY AS WE KNOW IT TODAY, STANDS FOR SOUNDNESS OF MORAL PRINCIPLE AND CHARACTER – UPRIGHTNESS – HONESTY. YET THERE IS MORE. INTEGRITY IS ALSO AN IDEAL … A GOAL TO STRIVE FOR … AND FOR A MAN OR WOMAN TO "WALK IN THEIR INTEGRITY" IS TO REQUIRE CONSTANT DISCIPLINE AND USAGE. THE WORD INTEGRITY ITSELF IS A MARTIAL WORD THAT COMES TO US FROM AN ANCIENT ROMAN ARMY TRADITION. .................................................. ....................................


DURING THE TIME OF THE 12 CAESARS, THE ROMAN ARMY WOULD CONDUCT MORNING INSPECTIONS. AS THE INSPECTING CENTURION WOULD COME IN FRONT OF EACH LEGIONNAIRE, THE SOLDIER WOULD STRIKE WITH HIS RIGHT FIST THE ARMOR BREASTPLATE THAT COVERED HIS HEART. THE ARMOR HAD TO BE STRONGEST THERE IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE HEART FROM THE SWORD THRUSTS AND FROM ARROW STRIKES. AS THE SOLDIER STRUCK HIS ARMOR, HE WOULD SHOUT "INTEGRITAS", (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) WHICH IN LATIN MEANS MATERIAL WHOLENESS, COMPLETENESS, AND ENTIRETY. THE INSPECTING CENTURION WOULD LISTEN CLOSELY FOR THIS AFFIRMATION AND ALSO FOR THE RING THAT WELL KEPT ARMOR WOULD GIVE OFF. SATISFIED THAT THE ARMOR WAS SOUND AND THAT THE SOLDIER BENEATH IT WAS PROTECTED, HE WOULD THEN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT MAN. .................................................. ....................................

AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THE PRAETORIANS OR IMPERIAL BODYGUARD WERE ASCENDING INTO POWER AND INFLUENCE. DRAWN FROM THE BEST "POLITICALLY CORRECT" SOLDIERS OF THE LEGIONS, THEY RECEIVED THE FINEST EQUIPMENT AND ARMOR. THEY NO LONGER HAD TO SHOUT "INTEGRITAS" (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) TO SIGNIFY THAT THEIR ARMOR WAS SOUND. INSTEAD, AS THEY STRUCK THEIR BREASTPLATE, THEY WOULD SHOUT "HAIL CAESAR", TO SIGNIFY THAT THEIR HEART BELONGED TO THE IMPERIAL PERSONAGE – NOT TO THEIR UNIT – NOT TO AN INSTITUTION – NOT TO A CODE OF IDEALS. THEY ARMORED THEMSELVES TO SERVE THE CAUSE OF A SINGLE MAN. .................................................. ....................................


A CENTURY PASSED AND THE RIFT BETWEEN THE LEGION AND THE IMPERIAL BODYGUARD AND ITS EXCESSES GREW LARGER. TO SIGNIFY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS, THE LEGIONNAIRE, UPON STRIKING HIS ARMOR WOULD NO LONGER SHOUT "INTEGRITAS", (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) BUT INSTEAD WOULD SHOUT "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER). .................................................. ....................................



INTEGER (IN-TE-GER) MEANS UNDIMINISHED – COMPLETE – PERFECT. IT NOT ONLY INDICATED THAT THE ARMOR WAS SOUND, IT ALSO INDICATED THAT THE SOLDIER WEARING THE ARMOR WAS SOUND OF CHARACTER. HE WAS COMPLETE IN HIS INTEGRITY … HIS HEART WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE … HIS STANDARDS AND MORALS WERE HIGH. HE WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMMORAL CONDUCT THAT WAS RAPIDLY BECOMING THE SIGNATURE OF THE PRAETORIAN GUARDS. .................................................. ....................................


THE ARMOR OF INTEGRITY CONTINUED TO SERVE THE LEGION WELL. FOR OVER FOUR CENTURIES THEY HELD THE LINE AGAINST THE MARAUDING GOTHS AND VANDALS BUT BY 383 AD, THE SOCIAL DECLINE THAT INFECTED THE REPUBLIC AND THE PRAETORIAN GUARD HAD ITS EFFECTS UPON THE LEGION. .................................................. ....................................



AS A 4TH CENTURY ROMAN GENERAL WROTE, "WHEN, BECAUSE OF NEGLIGENCE AND LAZINESS, PARADE GROUND DRILLS WERE ABANDONED, THE CUSTOMARY ARMOR BEGAN TO FEEL HEAVY SINCE THE SOLDIERS RARELY, IF EVER, WORE IT. THEREFORE, THEY FIRST ASKED THE EMPEROR TO SET ASIDE THE BREASTPLATES AND MAIL AND THEN THE HELMETS. SO OUR SOLDIERS FOUGHT THE GOTHS WITHOUT ANY PROTECTION FOR THE HEART AND HEAD AND WERE OFTEN BEATEN BY ARCHERS. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE MANY DISASTERS, WHICH LEAD TO THE LOSS OF GREAT CITIES, NO ONE TRIED TO RESTORE THE ARMOR TO THE INFANTRY. THEY TOOK THEIR ARMOR OFF, AND WHEN THE ARMOR CAME OFF – SO TOO CAME THEIR INTEGRITY" IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF A FEW YEARS UNTIL THE LEGION ROTTED FROM WITHIN AND WAS UNABLE TO HOLD THE FRONTIERS …

THE BARBARIANS WERE AT THE GATES. .................................................. ....................................

INTEGRITY … IT IS A COMBINATION OF THE WORDS, "INTEGRITAS" (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) AND "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER). IT REFERS TO THE PUTTING ON OF ARMOR, OF BUILDING A COMPLETENESS … A WHOLENESS … A WHOLENESS IN CHARACTER. HOW APPROPRIATE THAT THE WORD INTEGRITY IS A DERIVATIVE OF TWO WORDS DESCRIBING THE CHARACTER OF A MEMBER OF THE PROFESSION OF ARMS. .................................................. ....................................


THE MILITARY HAS A TRADITION OF PRODUCING GREAT LEADERS THAT POSSESS THE HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS AND INTEGRITY. IT PRODUCES MEN AND WOMEN OF CHARACTER … CHARACTER THAT ALLOWS THEM TO DEAL ETHICALLY WITH THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY AND TO MAKE CONSCIOUS DECISIONS ABOUT HOW THEY WILL APPROACH TOMORROW. HOWEVER, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS NOT DONE INSTANTLY. IT REQUIRES THAT INTEGRITY BECOMES A WAY OF LIFE … IT MUST BE WOVEN INTO THE VERY FABRIC OF OUR SOUL. JUST AS WAS TRUE IN THE DAYS OF IMPERIAL ROME, YOU EITHER WALK IN YOUR INTEGRITY DAILY, OR YOU TAKE OFF THE ARMOR OF THE "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER) AND LEAVE YOUR HEART AND SOUL EXPOSED … OPEN TO ATTACK. .................................................. ....................................


MY CHALLENGE TO YOU IS SIMPLE BUT OFTEN VERY DIFFICULT … WEAR YOUR ARMOR OF INTEGRITY … TAKE FULL MEASURE OF ITS WEIGHT … FIND COMFORT IN ITS PROTECTION … DO NOT BECOME LAX. AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, REMEMBER THAT NO ONE CAN TAKE YOUR INTEGRITY FROM YOU … YOU AND ONLY YOU CAN GIVE IT AWAY! .................................................. ....................................


THE BIBLICAL BOOK OF PRACTICAL ETHICS – BETTER KNOWN AS THE BOOK OF PROVERBS – SUMS IT UP VERY NICELY: "THE INTEGRITY OF THE UPRIGHT SHALL GUIDE THEM: BUT THE PERVERSENESS OF TRANSGRESSORS SHALL DESTROY THEM". (PR 11:3) .................................................. .................................... THANK YOU. .................................................. ...................................


.
1earEddie want to thank Pirate Justice buddy...want to thank him for EVERYBODY who read here....
1earEddie also want to thank CJ for giving FFP 1ear back on 2/2/2013 as promised...
CJ...is first admin/mod who as ever done this for FFP...all other bans...character and Internet address
bans were permanent...

[Corsair]

Thanks for sharing this PJ. I briefly met the Commandant on a flight out of Jacksonville after a change of command ceremony. My brother always spoke highly of him, he was well liked among the lower ranks.

[King little fruit fly]

No wonder no one hacks in PUN. :cool:

[PIRATE JUSTICE]

Thanks for sharing this PJ. I briefly met the Commandant on a flight out of Jacksonville after a change of command ceremony. My brother always spoke highly of him, he was well liked among the lower ranks.

Yes, I've known him for many years.

He's my most admired LIVING military leader.

The three most admired military leaders of all time: General George S. Patton (my dad served under him as a battalion commander for a tank battalion in WWII), Major Robert Rogers (Rogers' Rangers), and Major General Smedley Butler (USMC, Retired; and two time Medal of Honor Recipient).

General Butler is my most admired military figure because of his leadership, heroism, and because he spoke his mind. Here is one of the ten best speeches ever delivered. It was delivered in five parts. Chapter One follows, with a link at the end of the chapter to the ENTIRE speech.
.................................................. ..............................

CHAPTER ONE

War Is A Racket


WAR is a racket. It always has been.


It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.



A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.



In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.
How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?



Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few -- the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.



And what is this bill?



This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations.



For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.



Again they are choosing sides. France and Russia met and agreed to stand side by side. Italy and Austria hurried to make a similar agreement. Poland and Germany cast sheep's eyes at each other, forgetting for the nonce [one unique occasion], their dispute over the Polish Corridor.



The assassination of King Alexander of Jugoslavia [Yugoslavia] complicated matters. Jugoslavia and Hungary, long bitter enemies, were almost at each other's throats. Italy was ready to jump in. But France was waiting. So was Czechoslovakia. All of them are looking ahead to war. Not the people -- not those who fight and pay and die -- only those who foment wars and remain safely at home to profit.
There are 40,000,000 men under arms in the world today, and our statesmen and diplomats have the temerity to say that war is not in the making.



Hell's bells! Are these 40,000,000 men being trained to be dancers?
Not in Italy, to be sure. Premier Mussolini knows what they are being trained for. He, at least, is frank enough to speak out. Only the other day, Il Duce in "International Conciliation," the publication of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said:

"And above all, Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the development of humanity quite apart from political considerations of the moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace. . . . War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the people who have the courage to meet it."
Undoubtedly Mussolini means exactly what he says. His well-trained army, his great fleet of planes, and even his navy are ready for war -- anxious for it, apparently. His recent stand at the side of Hungary in the latter's dispute with Jugoslavia showed that. And the hurried mobilization of his troops on the Austrian border after the assassination of Dollfuss showed it too. There are others in Europe too whose sabre rattling presages war, sooner or later.



Herr Hitler, with his rearming Germany and his constant demands for more and more arms, is an equal if not greater menace to peace. France only recently increased the term of military service for its youth from a year to eighteen months.



Yes, all over, nations are camping in their arms. The mad dogs of Europe are on the loose. In the Orient the maneuvering is more adroit. Back in 1904, when Russia and Japan fought, we kicked out our old friends the Russians and backed Japan. Then our very generous international bankers were financing Japan. Now the trend is to poison us against the Japanese. What does the "open door" policy to China mean to us? Our trade with China is about $90,000,000 a year. Or the Philippine Islands? We have spent about $600,000,000 in the Philippines in thirty-five years and we (our bankers and industrialists and speculators) have private investments there of less than $200,000,000.



Then, to save that China trade of about $90,000,000, or to protect these private investments of less than $200,000,000 in the Philippines, we would be all stirred up to hate Japan and go to war -- a war that might well cost us tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives of Americans, and many more hundreds of thousands of physically maimed and mentally unbalanced men.

Of course, for this loss, there would be a compensating profit -- fortunes would be made. Millions and billions of dollars would be piled up. By a few. Munitions makers. Bankers. Ship builders. Manufacturers. Meat packers. Speculators. They would fare well.



Yes, they are getting ready for another war. Why shouldn't they? It pays high dividends.
But what does it profit the men who are killed? What does it profit their mothers and sisters, their wives and their sweethearts? What does it profit their children?
What does it profit anyone except the very few to whom war means huge profits?
Yes, and what does it profit the nation?



Take our own case. Until 1898 we didn't own a bit of territory outside the mainland of North America. At that time our national debt was a little more than $1,000,000,000. Then we became "internationally minded." We forgot, or shunted aside, the advice of the Father of our country. We forgot George Washington's warning about "entangling alliances." We went to war. We acquired outside territory. At the end of the World War period, as a direct result of our fiddling in international affairs, our national debt had jumped to over $25,000,000,000. Our total favorable trade balance during the twenty-five-year period was about $24,000,000,000. Therefore, on a purely bookkeeping basis, we ran a little behind year for year, and that foreign trade might well have been ours without the wars.



It would have been far cheaper (not to say safer) for the average American who pays the bills to stay out of foreign entanglements. For a very few this racket, like bootlegging and other underworld rackets, brings fancy profits, but the cost of operations is always transferred to the people -- who do not profit.


http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html



.................................................. ....

[King little fruit fly]

PJ, I figure you don't like international bankers and the military complex. There is no IB that I am aware of here, but you can crush the SAS Elite faction for the other reason. :cool:

[1earEddie]

WOW...PJ...best 1ear has ever read on this matter...General Butler "nailed it" as you
would say... Always admired General Patton...thank you for bringing General Butler
to my attention...will do some more reading...mahalo my friend.

[PIRATE JUSTICE]

WOW...PJ...best 1ear has ever read on this matter...General Butler "nailed it" as you
would say... Always admired General Patton...thank you for bringing General Butler
to my attention...will do some more reading...mahalo my friend.


You got it. General Butler was a very interesting man.
Had he been born 50 years later, he might have become president.

[Charles of the PFJ]

I too will be doing some more reading on General Butler, at 29 I'm still not fully clued up on this particular subject, but it sounds like one which I'd like to know more about, thanks for the link PJ

[Corsair]

It's a good one. He called it 30 years before Ike's military-industrial complex.

[I am a cow]

.................................................. ...................................

.NOTES FOR KEYNOTE ADDRESS FOR JSCOPE 2000 .................................................. ....................................
JANUARY 27, 2000 .................................................. ..................................

..By General Charles C. Krulak (USMC, RET) .................................................. ....................................

WE STUDY AND WE DISCUSS ETHICAL PRINCIPLES BECAUSE IT SERVES TO STRENGTHEN AND VALIDATE OUR OWN INNER VALUE SYSTEM … IT GIVES DIRECTION TO WHAT I CALL OUR MORAL COMPASS. IT IS THE UNDERSTANDING OF ETHICS THAT BECOMES THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH WE CAN DELIBERATELY COMMIT TO INVIOLATE PRINCIPLES. IT BECOMES THE BASIS OF WHAT WE ARE … OF WHAT WE INCLUDE IN OUR CHARACTER. BASED ON IT, WE COMMIT TO DOING WHAT IS RIGHT. WE EXPECT SUCH COMMITMENT FROM OUR LEADERS. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE MUST DEMAND IT OF OURSELVES. .................................................. ....................................

SOUND MORALS AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED OR CREATED IN A DAY … A SEMESTER … OR A YEAR.

THEY MUST BE INSTITUTIONALIZED WITHIN OUR CHARACTER OVER TIME … THEY MUST BECOME A WAY OF LIFE. THEY GO BEYOND OUR INDIVIDUAL SERVICES AND BEYOND OUR RANKS OR POSITIONS; THEY CUT TO THE HEART AND TO THE SOUL OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE MUST BE … MEN AND WOMEN OF CHARACTER. THEY ARM US FOR THE CHALLENGES TO COME AND THEY IMPART TO US A SENSE OF WHOLENESS. THEY UNITE US IN THE CALLING WE NOW KNOW AS THE PROFESSION OF ARMS. .................................................. ....................................


OF ALL THE MORAL AND ETHICAL GUIDEPOSTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TO RECOGNIZE, THE ONE THAT, FOR ME, STANDS ABOVE THE REST … THE ONE THAT I HAVE KEPT IN THE FOREFRONT OF MY MIND … IS INTEGRITY. IT IS MY ETHICAL AND PERSONAL TOUCHSTONE. .................................................. ....................................


INTEGRITY AS WE KNOW IT TODAY, STANDS FOR SOUNDNESS OF MORAL PRINCIPLE AND CHARACTER – UPRIGHTNESS – HONESTY. YET THERE IS MORE. INTEGRITY IS ALSO AN IDEAL … A GOAL TO STRIVE FOR … AND FOR A MAN OR WOMAN TO "WALK IN THEIR INTEGRITY" IS TO REQUIRE CONSTANT DISCIPLINE AND USAGE. THE WORD INTEGRITY ITSELF IS A MARTIAL WORD THAT COMES TO US FROM AN ANCIENT ROMAN ARMY TRADITION. .................................................. ....................................


DURING THE TIME OF THE 12 CAESARS, THE ROMAN ARMY WOULD CONDUCT MORNING INSPECTIONS. AS THE INSPECTING CENTURION WOULD COME IN FRONT OF EACH LEGIONNAIRE, THE SOLDIER WOULD STRIKE WITH HIS RIGHT FIST THE ARMOR BREASTPLATE THAT COVERED HIS HEART. THE ARMOR HAD TO BE STRONGEST THERE IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE HEART FROM THE SWORD THRUSTS AND FROM ARROW STRIKES. AS THE SOLDIER STRUCK HIS ARMOR, HE WOULD SHOUT "INTEGRITAS", (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) WHICH IN LATIN MEANS MATERIAL WHOLENESS, COMPLETENESS, AND ENTIRETY. THE INSPECTING CENTURION WOULD LISTEN CLOSELY FOR THIS AFFIRMATION AND ALSO FOR THE RING THAT WELL KEPT ARMOR WOULD GIVE OFF. SATISFIED THAT THE ARMOR WAS SOUND AND THAT THE SOLDIER BENEATH IT WAS PROTECTED, HE WOULD THEN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT MAN. .................................................. ....................................

AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THE PRAETORIANS OR IMPERIAL BODYGUARD WERE ASCENDING INTO POWER AND INFLUENCE. DRAWN FROM THE BEST "POLITICALLY CORRECT" SOLDIERS OF THE LEGIONS, THEY RECEIVED THE FINEST EQUIPMENT AND ARMOR. THEY NO LONGER HAD TO SHOUT "INTEGRITAS" (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) TO SIGNIFY THAT THEIR ARMOR WAS SOUND. INSTEAD, AS THEY STRUCK THEIR BREASTPLATE, THEY WOULD SHOUT "HAIL CAESAR", TO SIGNIFY THAT THEIR HEART BELONGED TO THE IMPERIAL PERSONAGE – NOT TO THEIR UNIT – NOT TO AN INSTITUTION – NOT TO A CODE OF IDEALS. THEY ARMORED THEMSELVES TO SERVE THE CAUSE OF A SINGLE MAN. .................................................. ....................................


A CENTURY PASSED AND THE RIFT BETWEEN THE LEGION AND THE IMPERIAL BODYGUARD AND ITS EXCESSES GREW LARGER. TO SIGNIFY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS, THE LEGIONNAIRE, UPON STRIKING HIS ARMOR WOULD NO LONGER SHOUT "INTEGRITAS", (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) BUT INSTEAD WOULD SHOUT "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER). .................................................. ....................................



INTEGER (IN-TE-GER) MEANS UNDIMINISHED – COMPLETE – PERFECT. IT NOT ONLY INDICATED THAT THE ARMOR WAS SOUND, IT ALSO INDICATED THAT THE SOLDIER WEARING THE ARMOR WAS SOUND OF CHARACTER. HE WAS COMPLETE IN HIS INTEGRITY … HIS HEART WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE … HIS STANDARDS AND MORALS WERE HIGH. HE WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMMORAL CONDUCT THAT WAS RAPIDLY BECOMING THE SIGNATURE OF THE PRAETORIAN GUARDS. .................................................. ....................................


THE ARMOR OF INTEGRITY CONTINUED TO SERVE THE LEGION WELL. FOR OVER FOUR CENTURIES THEY HELD THE LINE AGAINST THE MARAUDING GOTHS AND VANDALS BUT BY 383 AD, THE SOCIAL DECLINE THAT INFECTED THE REPUBLIC AND THE PRAETORIAN GUARD HAD ITS EFFECTS UPON THE LEGION. .................................................. ....................................



AS A 4TH CENTURY ROMAN GENERAL WROTE, "WHEN, BECAUSE OF NEGLIGENCE AND LAZINESS, PARADE GROUND DRILLS WERE ABANDONED, THE CUSTOMARY ARMOR BEGAN TO FEEL HEAVY SINCE THE SOLDIERS RARELY, IF EVER, WORE IT. THEREFORE, THEY FIRST ASKED THE EMPEROR TO SET ASIDE THE BREASTPLATES AND MAIL AND THEN THE HELMETS. SO OUR SOLDIERS FOUGHT THE GOTHS WITHOUT ANY PROTECTION FOR THE HEART AND HEAD AND WERE OFTEN BEATEN BY ARCHERS. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE MANY DISASTERS, WHICH LEAD TO THE LOSS OF GREAT CITIES, NO ONE TRIED TO RESTORE THE ARMOR TO THE INFANTRY. THEY TOOK THEIR ARMOR OFF, AND WHEN THE ARMOR CAME OFF – SO TOO CAME THEIR INTEGRITY" IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF A FEW YEARS UNTIL THE LEGION ROTTED FROM WITHIN AND WAS UNABLE TO HOLD THE FRONTIERS …

THE BARBARIANS WERE AT THE GATES. .................................................. ....................................

INTEGRITY … IT IS A COMBINATION OF THE WORDS, "INTEGRITAS" (IN-TEG-RI-TAS) AND "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER). IT REFERS TO THE PUTTING ON OF ARMOR, OF BUILDING A COMPLETENESS … A WHOLENESS … A WHOLENESS IN CHARACTER. HOW APPROPRIATE THAT THE WORD INTEGRITY IS A DERIVATIVE OF TWO WORDS DESCRIBING THE CHARACTER OF A MEMBER OF THE PROFESSION OF ARMS. .................................................. ....................................


THE MILITARY HAS A TRADITION OF PRODUCING GREAT LEADERS THAT POSSESS THE HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS AND INTEGRITY. IT PRODUCES MEN AND WOMEN OF CHARACTER … CHARACTER THAT ALLOWS THEM TO DEAL ETHICALLY WITH THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY AND TO MAKE CONSCIOUS DECISIONS ABOUT HOW THEY WILL APPROACH TOMORROW. HOWEVER, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS NOT DONE INSTANTLY. IT REQUIRES THAT INTEGRITY BECOMES A WAY OF LIFE … IT MUST BE WOVEN INTO THE VERY FABRIC OF OUR SOUL. JUST AS WAS TRUE IN THE DAYS OF IMPERIAL ROME, YOU EITHER WALK IN YOUR INTEGRITY DAILY, OR YOU TAKE OFF THE ARMOR OF THE "INTEGER" (IN-TE-GER) AND LEAVE YOUR HEART AND SOUL EXPOSED … OPEN TO ATTACK. .................................................. ....................................


MY CHALLENGE TO YOU IS SIMPLE BUT OFTEN VERY DIFFICULT … WEAR YOUR ARMOR OF INTEGRITY … TAKE FULL MEASURE OF ITS WEIGHT … FIND COMFORT IN ITS PROTECTION … DO NOT BECOME LAX. AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, REMEMBER THAT NO ONE CAN TAKE YOUR INTEGRITY FROM YOU … YOU AND ONLY YOU CAN GIVE IT AWAY! .................................................. ....................................


THE BIBLICAL BOOK OF PRACTICAL ETHICS – BETTER KNOWN AS THE BOOK OF PROVERBS – SUMS IT UP VERY NICELY: "THE INTEGRITY OF THE UPRIGHT SHALL GUIDE THEM: BUT THE PERVERSENESS OF TRANSGRESSORS SHALL DESTROY THEM". (PR 11:3) .................................................. .................................... THANK YOU. .................................................. ...................................


.

Now my eyes hurt LOL :D

[andypandy2]

I think Gree should allow us to build military cemeteries for our brave fallen comrades.

[Paddy89]

Wow I eat my words . This is actually a decent post by PJ . But only because you are quoting the intelligent writings of other men . Too bad you couldn't be a respected hero on this "community" forum by making more post that showed signs of intelligent vs 85% of the junk here originating from one troll. Ok I am sorry I really wanted this to be a compliment.