28Oct04

This is from one of our Marine students who joined us for a pistol class last January in Yuma, AZ. He was deployed to Iraq shortly thereafter and i s just now returning to CONUS:

"John. Just wanted to let you know that your philosophies caused q uite a stir over here in Iraq. Many other SNCOs, and even officers, where taken a back by the aggressive attitude I had, garnered from your class, about continuously carrying my weapon in a high state of readiness, everywhere. However, as the level of excitement went up, they all came to me, one-by-one, and asked

me to teach them. As you taught us, 'Where you stand depends on where you sit!'

I carried a rifle AND A PISTOL whenever we went outside the wire. Even though I had a formidable security element with our team, I took personal responsibility for my own safety and was PERSONALLY PREPARED AT ALL TIMES, b oth inside and outside the wire. Your lessons on pistol concealment came in ha ndy!

I also wanted to let you and your wife know that all of us from ______ , that you trained, came home safe."

Lesson: Nitobe: "The very possession of a dangerous instrument imparts to him a feeling and an air of self-respect and responsibility."

Ghandi: "When faced with a choice between violence and cowardice, always choose violence".

Their world is defined by "rules." OURS ISN'T. Victory is t he only reality in the universe!

/John