Hey Kossacks! I’m David Hackworth’s widow Eilhys and I’ve just finished reviewing much of the traffic kicked off by Occam’s Hatchet’s initial, powerful diary on body armor -- which was brought to my attention by the many supporters of SFTT (Soldiers For The Truth Foundation) who I’m so touched to learn are part of your vibrant community.
I oversee SFTT because of a death bed promise I made to Hack; your commo was sent to me because of the attacks on SFTT that resulted after those of you who knew OH defended him from a stranger in your midst with an apparent agenda calling himself California Joe . As you may recall, CJ quickly back-pedaled by turning on SFTT (whose name he didn’t even get right in his first few attempts at mud-slinging). I just wanted to check in to reassure you that while David Hackworth may be dead – as California Joe kept repeating in his one-note opinion-based rather than fact-based assaults – Hack’s spirit is within me and his legacy lives through all concerned Americans who, as SFTT’s slogan goes, "SUPPORT THE TROOPS WITH MORE THAN LIP SERVICE." This means we remain dedicated to Hack’s mission to get our country’s frontline troops the best equipment possible so they have the best chance possible to make it home alive, in one piece, in a plane seat instead of a body bag or on a stretcher.
So SFTT is far from a shill for any company, let alone a member of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex (MICC) my husband and I and like-minded warriors have been battling for too many years. Like Occam’s Hatchet, we are simply trying to get the kids Hack so loved out at the tip of the spear the best-available body armor, i.e. if there’s any better than Dragon Skin we want to know about it ASAP so we can do our due diligence – which is based upon months, even years, of research and triangulation – and get behind it. But at present, for example, it appears to be the body armor that flipflopper(a Marine we’d really like to hear from at sfttpres@aol.com) told you his unit would choose if given the opportunity. In his words,
The leadership for the Corps decided to allow Marines to acquire other vests on their own. The most popular choice thus far has clearly been Dragon Skin...
Listen to the urgency from this Marine as he continues:
We do not give a damn about the politics, money or who gets what lucrative contract, we just want the best gear. Please give us that. Fucking PLEASE!
The bottom line: SFTT is a totally transparent, apolitical, nonpartisan non-profit educational foundation staffed primarily by dedicated volunteers trying to respond to pleas like flipflopper’s to get our kids out in the valley of the shadow of death "the best gear." The few folks who are paid are paid a pittance; I, former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey and most of our other Board and all of our Advisory Board members and most of the writers for our webzine are volunteers -- and while editorial policy skews toward the voice of the grunt and our combat troops’ needs, send up a flare if you feel the fire in your gut and are so inclined.
For the record: David Hackworth’s SFTT has never knowingly received money from a MICC company nor, considering our mission, can I imagine why they’d give us any. In fact, since Hack died our biggest problem is not enough money to do, for example, what Bob Kerrey suggested at our meeting this past December: that SFTT conduct Consumer Reports type testing of all our frontline troops’ equipment, as Bob Kerrey put it, "without an engine."
Also for the record, Hack and I have never taken a dime from SFTT; instead, we always contributed a percentage of our earned income, a tradition I intend to continue as long as my day job bears fruit.
What a wonderful result of this vilification from California Joe if you’d all send SFTT whatever you can afford to kick off a special Kossacks-For-Equipment-Testing seed fund, perhaps in honor of the foot Bob Kerrey left in Viet Nam!
Next, I challenge California Joe – who incidentally has not participated on Daily Kos since 8 Feb. -- to reveal his identity to us all. A full CV including real world contact information along with references from some verifiable straight-shooters.
In parting, thanks to all you Kossacks who wrote vouching for me and Roger Charles, SFTT’s retired Marine president and webzine editor-in-chief -- and incidentally a close friend for over 40 years of Hack’s distant cousin Jim Webb, our new junior senator from Virginia.
Please recommend this diary and help SFTT get the troops the same body armor worn by knowledgeable generals!