Chaitanya Jyothi Museum Opening, 2000

RAMANAM
In the Name of The Father, and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit, Amen.

Countrymen,

ORBIS NON SUFFICIT
SOLUS DEUS SUFFICIT

Yesterday (13 APR 04) I had the honor of listening to a lecture by MG (R) Garrison who was the commander during the incidents in Somolia that led to the movie, Black Hawk Down. He started out his military career as an officer (attended OCS) who was drafted into Vietnam. From then until Somalia, he activelly participated in every combat operation, big or small, the U.S. has been involved in. He is Special Forces qualified and was in command of the Special Forces Group in Somalia. He spoke briefly about what happened in Somalia, but I believe that the following points he made were the most important.

1) At the root of the matter, we join the military to either cause death or get killed.

2) Do not chase success because it is determined by someone else. Pursue excellence, not success, because you can control that.

3) If you are going to be a fireman, I cannot imagine that you would not want to put out fires. If you are going to be a soldier, I cannot imagine why you would not want to go to war, and when you are in war, the nastier and more awful it gets, the more you love it.

4) Technology changes; war does not.

5) An officer’s impact on the battlefield is the training you do beforehand.

6) You can only lead someone to your own level of clarity.

7) There are only four ways to do things in the military; up the left, up the right, up the middle, or don’t go.

8) There is a fundamental difference between training and education. To distinguish them, think about the following caveat: If you had a young daughter, would you rather she had sex education or sex training. Both are important, but must be tailored to the correct circumstances.

I tell you what, West Point has some pretty cool perks!

AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA