THE DIFFERENCE!!!

A victim asked a Peace Keeper how some humans could be so callous as to use other humans for self gratification or kill them just for sport or entertainment...  The Peace Keeper answered that they do not think like we think.  Later that  Peace Keeper asked the question of another Peace Keeper just after they had finished the very heartbreaking case...  This case involved two young men capturing victims and taking them into a dense, deep forest and releasing them to use them as hunting prey until they found and killed them.

The question, Peace Keeper to Peace Keeper was, "What makes us different from them?"  The female Peace Keeper asking the question could not get it straight in her own mind...  She could see no difference between her team that tracked down the criminal team they had just apprehended and had to kill the perps because they would not surrender...

Yes, Peace Keepers are hunters.  The prey for which they hunt are the perpetrators that perform evil upon other humans.  The perps invade, maim, rob, steal, rape, torture and/or murder other humans...  Always for selfish gain or other selfish purposes...  Sometimes just for pleasure...  Sometimes even for religious purposes/excuses.  The ones who do these actions see nothing wrong in killing another human being because to them the victims are not humans but just things to be used and discarded...  Nothing is as important as what they want for themselves...  No other life is sacred to them...  Sometimes even their own lives are not sacred to them.  Nothing in the animal kingdom is as destructive or as vicious as the evil doing, self centered human being...  NOTHING!

The Peace Keeper has been called into the service of peace and justice... 
Called to: Protect those who want to be peaceful... 
    Keep the peace between warring factions...
    Restore the peace when it is violated... 
    And stop/apprehend the perpetrator of the breaking of the peace.
The perp can vary from a traffic violator, to a petty thief, to a serial rapist, to a serial murderer, to a zealous enemy that is trying to make the whole world believe what he believes or kill them if they will not believe what he believes. 

Many Peace Keepers are trained and equipped to hunt and apprehend the vicious, self-centered, evil doing perpetrator.  The war on evil involves all levels of Peace Keepers from the homeland battle ground to the foreign battle ground.  It involves Peace Keepers of all levels from traffic enforcement involving hit-and-run and manslaughter to investigators to professional warriors...  Sometimes it includes all types of Peace Keepers from security guards to law enforcers to jailers, to courts and also the branches of the military...  Some Peace Keepers are employed by the governments...  Some are professionals who are contracted by the government to perform specified duties.

The oath I took twice said..."I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, (*)and I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as a (Trooper with the Commonwealth of Virginia)(Police Officer with the Virginia Beach Police Department) according to the best of my ability, So help me God."
(*against all enemies whomsoever, foreign or domestic, [in the TROOPER'S PLEDGE with Virginia State Police])

Every law enforcer takes a similar oath...  Every member of the military takes a similar oath...  We commit to Loyalty and Faithfulness...  Peace and Safety...  Sacrifice and Performance of Duty...  All to the best of our ability, which includes to our very best last action if the duty injures us or takes our lives...  And if you said, "So help me God.", you closed that oath with a prayer for the assistance of Almighty God to help you to do all that you can do in the performance of those duties.

The difference between the Peace Keeper and the Heinous Evil Doer is the the Peace Keeper does his hunting and tracking of the evil doing humans for the good of all peace loving, peace keeping humans...  While the Evil Doer does his for some twisted self satisfaction that is in violation of all of the Laws of God and the laws that govern peaceful societies.  The Peace Keeper is for the good of all peace loving, peace living people...
The Evil Doer is for self only or to satisfy some leader who is for self only.

Where do we go from here?...  We go nowhere if we do not have the Peace Keepers.
In the words of one of the best instructors I know, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, US Army Ranger Ret., "The Peace Keepers are the Sheepdogs...  The people are the sheep...  The Evil Doers are the wolves...  If there are no Sheepdogs, the wolves ravage and eat the sheep as they choose...  The sheep do not like the Sheepdog because the Sheepdog must be visible and proactive and take the sheep where they may not want to go or keep them from going where they will be hurt or killed.  The wolf does not like the Sheepdog because the Sheepdog is between the wolf's next meal and the wolf...  And the Sheepdog is a formidable, unrelenting protector of the sheep.  The wolf cannot ravage the sheep as long as the Sheepdog is there in his place of duty and protection."

The problem today is not enough Peace Keeper/Sheepdogs for far too many people in comparison to the number of Peace Keepers...  And far too many Evil Doer/wolves that sometimes outnumber the Peace Keeper/Sheepdogs and are often better armed...

Afghanistan is a country of sheep and wolves...  Iraq is a country of sheep and wolves...  Pakistan is now becoming a country of sheep and wolves...  Other areas of the world are becoming filled with wolves that ravage the sheep...  The world does not have enough Peace Keeper/Sheepdogs to protect all of the sheep and stop all of the wolves...  But we keep trying!  Our military forces are in those places trying to balance the odds.  Professional Peace Keepers are there trying to train native citizens to be Peace Keepers for their own countries.

Our Homeland is filled with sheep...  And too many wolves...  And not enough Peace Keeper/Sheepdogs...  But we keep trying!  The economic downturn is having a negative affect upon peace keeping but the Peace Keepers keep trying.

There would be no world as we know it this 1st day of January if the Peace Keeper/Sheepdogs did not keep trying moment by moment, hour by hour, day in and day out, around the clock, in every way they can to keep the societies safe and at peace and to apprehend the evil doers when they commit their unlawful acts and must be tracked down and apprehended.  We, all of us in this world, owe a debt of gratitude to the Peace Keepers that will always deserve far more gratitude from us than we will ever be able to give.

Peace Keepers, thank other Peace Keepers for who they are and for what they do and have done!

Citizens, thank every Peace Keeper that you can reach for who they are and for what they have done to give us a safe world in which to live.  We will never pay them enough...
We will never be able to thank them enough...  We will never be able to love and appreciate them enough...  But I BELIEVE WE OUGHT TO TRY AND CONVEY ALL THE THANKS AND APPRECIATION OF WHICH WE ARE CAPABLE EVERY DAY!

When You see them, thank them.  There is even a new universal sign that can be used when it is not convenient or possible to speak to them...  Holding the hand open and palm against the chest, swing the arm down, keeping the hand open and the wrist straight and bending at the elbow until the arm is extended downward with the open palm facing toward the Peace Keeper(s) you wish to honor and thank.  If there are many of them, the action may be repeated as long as they are passing you or you are passing them...  This is especially useful in airports, public buildings and crowds.  Make it your plan to do this as often as you see them.

Peace Keepers, I say to you again, I am proud to be counted among you for all of these last 47 1/2 years...  There is nothing else I would rather have done with my life than to be among you.  Thank you for who you are and for what you do and have done.  I will never cease to tell you this for as long as I live and breathe in this world.  I hold each of you and all of you in the highest esteem...  I love no one more than I love you...  I love you because you are like my own family and my own children.  Our bonds are stronger than blood ties...  Be even greater blessed than you have ever been, every day that you live...  Being blessed means to be so happy that others will envy your personal condition of life...

"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!"  ALWAYS be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary.  Take the very best care of you as you care for and about others. See to the strength and well being of your spirit as well as all the rest of you.  Your spirit must be strong for you to be successful.

Call or write if I may be of any service... Or if you just want to encourage me... Feedback encourages all who write... It helps to know we are reaching someone who reads the message.

My daughter, Donna, is having a very rough time of it with the current wound.  She was discharged last Sunday evening and I immediately found problems with the wound.  It is huge, almost a foot long and over four inches deep with tunnels going even deeper than that.  If anyone knows a military doctor who is, or has recently been, tending war wounds, please advise how I might communicate with them in relation to wound care.  I want to see if there is anything new that I might be able to introduce into her care. 

We have used a Hyperbaric Chamber and that did not help.  At different times we have used Peroxide in the wound, Dakins (a 25% bleach solution) in the wound and now we are using Betadine in the wound.  The Betadine seems to give better results but it has burned all of the tender skin around her wound and the skin is brittle and peeling off.  Her fevers come and go.  When she has a fever it causes the tape holding the dressing to weld to her skin and I must use alcohol pads and a special technique I developed to remove the tape without tearing her very fair, sensitive skin.

The antibiotic has been changed because the doctor taking care of that part of her care is away on vacation and another doctor took over the care.  The new doctor changed the antibiotic to a different type, less of it and less often.  Now we are beginning to see infection in the wound again.

Her wound is excruciatingly painful.  When I must clean and pack the wound, it gets even more painful and even on extra medication, she sometimes cannot stand the pain and writhes and screams.  This is not a gaping wound but one that is narrow at the skin level and angles downward away from the opening so that I must hold it open and insert my gloved hand into the wound to properly place the Betadine soaked packing into the tunnels and deepest crevasses.  Some of the tunnels are too small for my fingers and I must use a six inch, cotton tipped swab to put the packing into place in those areas.  This is progress because they were all as large as my largest finger on Sunday night.

The wound was packed 4 times yesterday (Thursday) because she was supposed to be re-admitted to the hospital and they removed the packing to examine the wound and then decided not to keep her.  They did not have the right material in the ER, so I had to do it again when she returned home and again this morning,(Friday).  Her surgeon is away and the doctors on call will not re-admit her.  They are trying to wait for her surgeon to return on Monday when we are scheduled to see him.

My Supervisor has placed me on Family Medical leave until the load lessens again.  It is like being a military medic tending this large wound so often.  My ministrations have been keeping her wound clean, her fevers under control and her alive and sometimes able to function.  I will do this for her for as long as she is here and for as long as I am able to do it.  I would do the same for any one of you if it were needed and I was available to do it for you.  Thanks for the prayers and concern.

As it has always been... So it still is!!!

"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN."  Sun tzu

Training and practice are everything!
Without them, the best results are not obtained!

ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL
PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!

WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
[My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means
doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get
the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace...
it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything
to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics...  it means that if
the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. 
That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God
or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all
the things and people that we hold dear.]

I represent, write for... and give the credit to:
God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief),
Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and
the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide).
In Christ I live... with Him and for you I serve...
And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not...
For God, Country and the Peace Keeper...
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers,
Surviving Peace Keeper,
Virginia State Police Alumni,
RETIRED Police Officer Virginia Beach Police Dept.,
Senior Chaplain and Administrative Chaplain VBPD,
DCJS Certified Police Instructor,
Community Service Officer (Traffic Safety) VBPD
Blackwater Alumni
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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