THE SITUATION

I am in a very quiet place today.  No noise but the warm air and the hum of the furnace because we are in the grip of a cold wave.  Both dogs are someplace asleep and my daughter is in the hospital for an extended stay.

I have contemplated what to say to you today.  I have said everything I know that is important to the lives of Peace Keepers dozens of different ways over the last eight years plus.  I am sitting here in the midst of peace and so very far removed from strife for the moment that it all has faded to a low roar in my mind and heart.  That is good for I have needed the break from strife and crisis and so now I have it and the peace is so soothing.  Here in the peace and quiet with the absence of strife I am able to meditate and consider all of you who will be reading this message after it leaves me.

This morning I awakened with something coursing through my thoughts so I went to my research tools and looked it up...  Then I considered what it might mean for us today. 

The words coursing through my thoughts were these... "He who is unjust and wicked, let him be unjust and wicked still; and he who is vile and impure, let him be vile and impure  still; and he who is just an d upright, let him do right still; and he who is living according to God's directions, let him still live the same way."  This is my simple English rendition of Revelation 22:11.  To me it says a simple Truth that we all need to be aware of.

The lawless man will continue on in his manner of lawlessness...  Not stopping but likely getting worse...  Unless a power greater than himself is encountered that forces him to change his manner of living...  Force of some kind: law enforcement, court, jail, other punishment, a cataclysmic event...  Or the catastrophe of great loss...  Or maybe the  coming face to face with the reality of his condition in relation to the desires of his Creator (a personal spiritual event).

In another place Jesus said we will always have the poor with us.  In this statement He is saying we will always have the breakers of the peace among us.  He is also saying that we will always have the people who try to live right among us and the people who seek living a fully spiritual life among us.  In peace keeping, we seldom have to deal too much with the last two categories. 

It is that 1st category that takes up the majority of our time:
Patrolling to catch them or to find what they have done... 
Patrolling to keep them from being successful in their intentions... 
Investigating the reports of what they have done or attempted to do... 
Dealing with the people during and after the investigation who appear to be the peace         breakers...
Dealing with the aftermath of the affects they have had upon the people who are not             peace breakers... 

This applies to wherever we are...  Homeland or foreign field...  Remote areas or Urban areas...  If there are people, we must recognize the reality of these categories always being among us.  This applies to al-kaida, street gangs, bullying thugs, molesters, rapists, robbers, cheaters, swindlers and every other kind of intentional peace breaker.  There are some people who cannot lawfully operate a motor vehicle because the mixture of a motor, gasoline and a heavy foot is as natural to them as breathing and it is go full out everywhere or not go at all. 

Even when the status quo is peaceful, there is usually some one or more looking for ways to satisfy themselves at the expense or endangerment of those who wish to live peacefully and mind their own business.  The wolves are always looking for ways to prey upon the sheep...  And there is just not enough Sheepdogs to stop them.  Therefore we have to spend much time looking for the wolves after they have done something against the peace and welfare of the sheep (the ones who want to live peacefully and law-abiding).

I learned all of this long ago and made it my business to gain all of the training that I could get so that I could know how to find, hinder or apprehend the wolves who prey upon our people.  I also learned that when you know who you are and know what you are doing and are doing it properly that usually the wolves will back down and go looking for other prey rather than tangle with the Peace Keepers...  That applies to most of the wolves...  But it does not apply to the zealots...  Not to the religious fanatics...  Not to those who see themselves as being the elite, the exclusive, the epitome of the human race...  These see all other humanoids as flawed and defective because they will not agree with the fanatic...  The fanatic then sets out to take all they can from the ones they see as inferior, bleed them until they have nothing left and even take their lives as well.

The wolf, the fanatic, is subtle, sneaky, and sly...  The wolf would have the Sheepdog believe the wolf has changed and is no threat...  The wolf would like to deceive the Sheepdog/Peace Keeper until the wolf can eradicate the Peace Keeper and then prey upon the sheep at random with no interference.  This works well in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.  They mix in so well with all of the population.  Sometimes it works well in our own society unless they start advertising by wearing colors. semi-uniforms or insignias of some type which identifies them on sight.

I know this from experience and also because the Scripture I quoted says the same thing, that we will always need Peace Keeper/Sheepdogs as long as this world exists.  They have been needed since the time man began to socialize and we will need them until this world ceases to exist.  We will always have the sheep among us who cannot believe the wolf will attack them.  The people who want to live peacefully and rightly just seem to be oblivious to the reality of the presence of the wolves.  We will always have the need for eyes, ears and force to keep the wolf at bay or to find him after the attack and bring him to justice. 

True Peace Keepers are not force loving Bigots...  But people who have observed the reality of our society and have heard deep withing themselves a call to a higher commitment...  To a life of being on the line between good and evil...  To live a life of confrontation and investigation...  To ceaselessly hunt for the evil doers among our societies by doing all they have been trained to do and utilizing all of their personal faculties plus their training and equipment to make life as peaceful as possible and keep the wolves at bay...  Or to apprehend the wolves when they strike.

Life for the Peace Keeper can explode at any moment.  They must be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary...  They must learn safe methods of approach to all situations...  They must learn to never assume that no danger exists...  They must learn to entrust their safety to no one but another Peace Keeper if they want to survive, have a long career and reach retirement age.  They must be capable of being as forceful as necessary one moment and as gentle as necessary the next moment.  They must learn to never relax while upon the field unless they have safe cover and another Peace Keeper watching out for them.  They must learn that when they are out in the open to put something solid behind their backs if possible.  They must develop the habit of constant scanning of the area around them so that they can see as much as possible of all that is going on.

Peace Keepers, like Sheepdogs, are a breed apart...  And they must learn to live in a very particular way or they will not survive the job and maybe not survive at all.  It takes too much time to bring all of this about.  It takes many support man-hours for basic training, field training and regular re-training plus specialized schools.  Gaining as much training as possible is only the beginning of the commitment...  Then there is the personal time necessary to practice the actions and the correct thinking.  Real relaxation is something that can be done only in the right places and in the right circumstances...  And these circumstances are not plentiful.

I spent two and one half hours standing on the grass away from my car one night as I waited for a wrecker to come and tow a disabled vehicle from a dangerous position by the roadway.  Why did I stand outside the car...  Because an officer had been sitting in his car during the processing of a DUI at almost the same spot and was struck in the rear by another car disabling him and forcing him to retire from the job because of the injury from which he could not fully recover.  My car was protecting the disabled vehicle but it was up to me to protect myself.  We must learn to think for ourselves in all situations and develop the best possible procedures for self protection that we can use and still get the work accomplished. 

We are always going to have all of the different kinds of people here.  We are always going to be charged with doing all we can to keep the peace and/or restore the peace.  Every Peace Keeper who does the job for very long and survives is a hero or heroine as far as I am concerned.  All of the different people and circumstances occupy every tour of duty.  Something or someone can always cause your injury or death.  That is simply the nature of what we are expected to do as we serve our duty.  It has always been this way...
It will be this way tomorrow...  It will be this way next week...  It will never stop being this way for as long as there are people and perpetrators...  There must be someone to go out to try and deter them...  To hunt them when they attack and run...  To apprehend them and bring them to the Bar of Justice...

Peace Keepers, you signed on to do this...  I rejoice that you are there doing the job at home and abroad...  My Commander-In-Chief and I are deeply appreciative.  We love you and will always do all we can to teach you, lead you, accompany you and to protect you.

"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.

I thank you who read and forwarded or responded to my request for open wound assistance and information last week.  I received 14 responses and saw the surgeon on Monday.  We sent her to surgery on Tuesday and immediately implemented some of the information that I received from several of the respondents.  I have no words to convey how deeply I appreciate to information, advice and assistance.  Your help was great and your willing, concerned attitudes were even greater.  THANK YOU!  You were all answers to prayers.

The surgeon has trimmed and cleaned the inside of the wound and installed a Wound Vac with Silver Nitrate Sponge and he is doing all of the sponge/Vac changes himself so that it will be done right.  He plans to keep her in the hospital until the wound gets small enough to graft and to maintain pain control.  She is back on the previous antibiotic after I discovered she was having a life threatening reaction to the antibiotic she had been changed to.  The adverse reactions were horrible and could have killed her if I had not caught what the problem was and stopped the med.  She has recovered from all of the adverse reactions and is feeling some better since Monday.  The Silver Nitrate is causing some burning but is not nearly so bad as the previous treatment was causing.  The war for her health continues with this current battle.  Thank you all for your prayers, for your care and for your concern.

My Captain wanted to put me on Medical Leave because of all of the demands of my daughter's treatment that I had to take care of.  Since she is in the hospital I am delaying that leave until we see if I need it when she comes home again.  This week is filled with reports for the last quarter and the Annual Report and trying to figure new ways to further streamline that process.

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
===============================================================
All rights reserved.  May not be duplicated without permission, except to be
forwarded with all source information for any quotation intact.
 
To subscribe to this free e-mail message for Peace Keepers, 
write to Chaplain D. R. Staton at chpln1@verizon.net or at 
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.