THE STRESS CONTINUES

Since the dawn of man everything has changed in one way or another except human nature... Human nature runs the gamut from good to evil... And the only real tool we have with which to deal with destructive human nature is other human beings which I call Peace Keepers.

Names change.  Procedures change.  Methods change.  Weapons change...  Time marches on...  But in the final actions and analysis, it is human beings dealing with human beings.  Short range or long range it still comes down to that.  Even if we were to achieve building armies of robots, we would still need humans to oversee the final actions and maybe perform the final actions themselves.

Last week I wrote about stress or more properly distress.  This week I learn there is much distress among the Recruiters of the U.S. Army and some of them have committed suicide because of the extreme toll the hours and the pressure from higher ranks to recruit takes upon them.  Our most important tool is still the human being...  Yet we find there is much abuse being done to the ones who must find and recruit candidates to become soldiers.  This ought not to be...  But it is!

We in the peace keeping realm are so strapped to furnish raw material human beings to the trainers to become soldiers that we push too hard and too far the very ones who have already served upon the battlefields and know what military service needs and expects.  This ought not to be...  But it is!

In order for Peace and Liberty to survive and flourish there must be Peace Keepers who are trained, ready, willing and able to take to whatever field necessary...  To perform whatever duty necessary...  To face terrible odds...  To face terrible dangers... To suffer hardships...  To suffer loneliness for being separated from loved ones...  Sometimes be injured, wounded, used up and no longer able to function in their own life of peace and liberty...  Sometimes to die by horrible assault... Because someone else hates the very symbol they are and that they stand for as they live and fight for Peace and Liberty.

Where do such people come from?

They come from the backwoods, the cane breaks, the hills, the hollars, the farms, the coal mines...  They come from most unexpected places and they are often the very ones we would never expect that they would do it...  They step out from their daily comrades and separate themselves apart to become our first line of defense at home and abroad...  They become Peace Keepers of the military and of law enforcement.  In these hard times they come from lost jobs and homes suffering hardships and lack of what it takes to keep life and spirit together.  Some of them come because there is nothing else for them to do...  But they all agree to come and be Peace Keepers.  In some rare instances they were the stars of their society and they did not have to come...  But almost all of them come because there is an inner compulsion that drives them. 

They may not be able to put this inner compulsion into words themselves but they come.  Such a man was Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WW2...  From poverty and destitution he came to join...  He tried every branch of the armed forces.  Every branch turned him down until the Army decided to take a chance on him...  Experience turned out to be that he was a natural Peace Keeper who had the right balance of instincts, training and personality.  He would have been a great career soldier except that a wound shortened his dreams of making a career of being Peace Keeper.

Alvin York came from the hills and backwoods of Tennessee.  He had a horrible fight within himself that questioned whether he could in good conscience kill another human being in war.  He finally settled the question and became one of the most well known soldiers of WW1 after he captured so many of the enemy single handedly.

Over the years we have received many more Alvin Yorks and Audie Murphys into our ranks of Peace Keepers.  They have valiantly fought in all of our wars including Afghanistan and Iraq.  Every one who took the journey into and through peace keeping was and is a hero.  Some have served on the fields several times and returned to find they could not be at peace themselves unless they were standing in the line of Peace Keepers somewhere paying the price for Peace and Liberty.  Some went back to the military...  Some went into law enforcement...  Some became security contractors...  But whatever choice they made, they knew the die was cast for them...  They must be Peace Keepers...  Then they served as long as they lived or were allowed to serve, even into old age.

Recruiters, whether for military or law enforcement, are people who have been there.  They know the lay of the land and the cost of service...  Yet they will usually tell you from their own hearts that they cannot serve any place else and be happy...  For them to be happy they must be Peace Keepers and they are committed to the task of recruiting others who will be of the same heart.  We should honor them rather than beat them down with pressure and demands.  They will perform as best they can.  They know what it is like.  They are usually there because they want to be.  In today's world recruiting is not easy.

Whether in front line duty or in a recruiting office...  Whether in a supply depot or keeping the vehicles running...  Whether moving paperwork or cooking the food...
Whether leading or following...  Patrolling or investigating...  All of our Peace Keepers are volunteers!  They stepped out...  They signed up...  They bore the hardships of going from raw recruit to useful Peace Keeper.  It is the same whether we are talking about military or law enforcement...  THEY ARE ALL VOLUNTEERS...  THEY ARE THERE BECAUSE THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED TO BE THERE.

I know whereof I speak.  I was forced into retirement by chronological age...  A law that said a man my age could no longer serve caught up with me.  It did not sit well to have to turn in my credentials, my badge and my authority to enforce the law.  I had spent 43 years basing my life upon law enforcement and authority for the keeping of the peace.  My last 29 years were as a police officer/chaplain dual role. 

I could still serve as a chaplain but active law enforcement was over.  My heart would not let me stop serving.  When I needed gainful employment I became a Traffic Safety Officer...  Some minor law enforcement but mostly providing for the safety and welfare of the motoring public...  And for the safety and welfare of Public Safety Personnel at traffic crashes.  It was a place to continue serving and get paid for it...  Plus still walking beats on the Resort Strip for the purpose of controlling problem people... Until I had to stop to provide life sustaining care to my ill, disabled daughter.

I know the push of the inner compulsion.  Will it ever leave us so that we can become just a citizen.  I do not know.  It has not left me yet.  Do I want it to leave?  I am to busy to consider that question...  But I do know that there are some things in all of the systems of military and law enforcement that must change if we are to utilize our personnel to their greatest potential.  Appreciation , care and concern for the individual Peace Keeper is most sorely needed in many places of duty.  A little properly placed appreciation can go a long way toward giving that boost a that a Peace Keeper needs to get him/her over some difficult spot and functioning at full capacity giving full service to peace keeping.

If I could, I would research it all out and make the necessary changes myself.  I cannot do that because I am such a small cog on the great wheel that keeps it all going.  I do what I can do...  I pray for peace, power, protection, provision, prosperity and blessing for every Peace Keeper...  I personally thank each one as I can...  I watch over them when I see them performing some task that could be dangerous (such as a traffic stop)...  I speak on their behalf wherever and whenever I have opportunity...  I write for those whom I cannot see and touch in person.  All of my purpose is to thank you for all of the service you give and have given.  YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE TO SOMEONE.  You have made a difference to me.  You have preserved Peace and Liberty for me and for those whom I know and love.  Whenever I can I will do more but I will not stop doing that which I can do...  I deeply love and appreciate all of you and each of you.  I count it one of my greatest blessings to be among 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.

Progress is very slow with my daughter's wounds.  We are experiencing off and on trouble with the chest port for the IV's.  Sometimes it works great...  Sometimes several things must be done to get it to function.  She is still in great pain and that was exacerbated by her falling last weekend.  She is still extremely sore from the fall.
Overall she is still doing much better after this surgery than she has done after any other surgery in the last 2 1/2 years so we are still rejoicing.

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...
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers,
Surviving Peace Keeper,
Virginia State Police Alumni,
RETIRED Police Officer Virginia Beach Police Dept.,
DCJS Certified Police Instructor,
Community Service Officer (Traffic Safety)
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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