GOOD BYE NORMAN

On January 12th at 10:00, following a gracious invitation from the Daughters of the American Revolution, I will be speaking at the First Methodist Church in Farmerville. The reason I am telling you this is that I was sitting at my computer urgently preparing to get my article done before my early dead line expired. My article was going to be about the history of the DAR, a very noble organization that epitomizes the best in our country. As I researched for the article my patriotic fervor was becoming rekindled. I was thinking of what I was going to talk about on the 12th. My second book, “Desert Burning”, would be the subject. It was a novel about an oil field worker from a rural town in North Louisiana and living in Saudi Arabia. The story begins a week before Iraq invaded Kuwait and continued through the war. As I thought of the patriotic spirit of the Daughters of the American Revolution my thoughts drifted to a time twenty-two years earlier. It seemed like yesterday when the BBC announced that Kuwait had been invaded by Iraq. I thought of my upcoming talk and began typing my article when suddenly my computer erupted. Gen. Norm Schwarzkopf had died. I knew that the subject of my article had just changed.
For several days after the invasion of Kuwait the Americans in Saudi Arabia were in a vacuum. Aramco, my company, denied there was any real concern. Saudi press carried no stories. Suddenly it was announced that the 82nd Air Borne Division was on its way. Several days later the world was introduced to Norman Schwarzkopf, Commander of Southern Command and the man to lead the coalition in Saudi Arabia. When I first saw him I thought he reminded me of Jonathan Winters, a comedian from the 50s and 60s. I soon learned that this was my biggest mis-judgement in character that I have ever made.
“Strorman Norman” as he was called, was tough on his generals but was very soft on his troops. He was a soldiers general and reminds one of general Omar Bradley. Schwarzkopf attended West Point, just as his father had done. Norman told of his first day at the academy. He stood and looked at the commander of the senior class looking so great on top of his horse in front of the troops. He said he could never look that magnificent with his physique; however, four years later he sat atop his horse as the commander of his senior class.
He volunteered for Viet Nam and won three silver stars for bravery. At a press conference I remember he mentioned the shock of being trapped in a mine field and then coming under mortar attack. A couple of young inexperienced journalists thought it was amusing and snickered. Schwarzkopf’s entire demeanor changed, he stiffened and asked if that was funny, if they had ever been in that situation and proceeded to let the room know it was not an experience to be in nor was there anything funny about it. There were no more giggles and a new respect covered the general.
While in Riyadh he slept on an army cot covered by a sleeping bag just feet away from his head quarters. He had his troops ready for an attack into Kuwait. As I traveled north to the Kuwaiti border to fight the largest spill in the world I was perplexed to see the military vehicles moving south and little going north toward Kuwait. Schwarzkopf was moving his entire army west and finally invaded directly into Iraq and not Kuwait. A magnificent move to shift his entire army while the aircraft kept Iraq guessing.
He said his only mistake that he regretted was when he accepted the surrender of Iraq. The Iraqi generals, dressed in full formal military dress, did not believe he was Schwarzkopf. No American General of his stature would appear at the proceedings in his camouflaged desert fatigues. But there was no state department official at the surrender. Schwarzkopf agreed that the Iraqis could keep their armed helicopters for self defense but jets would stay grounded. Unfortunately the Iraqis turned the gun ships on their own Shiites during a quick attempt to overthrow Hussein.
The war and how the civilians in Iraq supported the many troops will be the subject of my talk on the 12th and “yes” General Normal Schwarzkopf will be there.

THE EGYPTIAN ELECTIONS OF 2012

In 2011 the Arab world was in the middle of what many have called the Arab Spring.  This is a period of time that witnessed the downfall of some  very hard lined dictatorships in the Middle East.  Also falling was the moderate and pro-American and pro-Israeli regime of Hosni Mubarak’s  Egypt.   The United States watched as thousands of protesters ushered in the end of another dictatorship with promises of free elections and the will of the people being allowed to determine its future.  We delighted as we saw democracy transforming the deserts of Arabia.  But be careful of what we wish for.

The Egyptian Army took control of the government and promised free elections.  These elections did take place and the outcome is still uncertain as it relates to the United States.  The final outcome was the election of Mohamed Mursi for President and  a member of the Muslim Brotherhood party.  Will Egypt succumb to Sharia law and slide back to a Saudi form of Islamic control.  Who exactly is this Muslim Brotherhood?

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1923.  It is seen as a fundamental Islamic organization intent on instilling only Islam through out the world.  However, it does have a charitable wing that performs great service to Muslims in need around the Middle East.  Their official stance is that they oppose violence; however, their open violence against the British in Egypt following World War II led to their part being banned and many of their leaders being imprisoned.  The brotherhood continued to maintain a presence in Egypt and expanded to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran and Iraq and has a quiet presence in Saudi Arabia.

The creed of the Muslim Brotherhood is “God is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations The Brotherhood’s English language website describes the “principles of the Muslim Brotherhood” as including firstly the introduction of the Islamic Shari’ah”the basis controlling the affairs of state and society;”

This indicates that Egypt will be moved to a governing position where many fundamental freedoms are lost.  Women in veils and loss of power, gender segregation and religious intolerance would be some of the expected outcomes.  But let’s don’t be hasty in our rush to judgement.  It is now known that the devout haters of the United States and the Western World, Al Qauda, has denounced he Muslim Brotherhood for their peaceful call for elections instead of armed Jihad.  The new president has also sent out signals that the new government is not going to look to dispose everything thing Western.  The Coptic Christians will be allowed to worship as allways.  Liquor is not to be banned and the peace treaty with Israel will remain in tact. This is a major change in the fundamental approach of the brotherhood.  Also, the new president is an engineer and went to the United States for his education.  He understands the American mind and western culture.

He did state that he would move to get the Sheik imprisoned in the in the United States freed for masterminding the first attempt to destroy the World Trade Center in 1993.  The Sheik was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.  I remember my friend in Sauid Arabia, Pat Smith, telling me how his son had just entered the building when the bomb went off in the basement.  It shook and swayed but stayed upright.  It would take 8 years  before Bin Laden would finish the job.

For now we can only wait.  Perhaps Egypt will remain in tact and continue as it has for the last 50 years or perhaps the words coming from the president are a smoke screen and the country will slowly slide into a pure Islamic state.  Only time will tell.

Wishing everyone a happy 4^th of July.  We have lost many fallen in battle to allow us to continue to celebrate the birth of our country.

“GOD BLESS THE USA” – A LASTING TRIBUTE

Every once in a while someone sings a song that becomes enduring in our country.  It transends culture and lasts from generation to generation and seems to capture the spirit of America.  Frank Sinatra recorded New York New York and it still epitomizes the vibrant spirit of a great city. This morning I heard Lee Greenwood perform on Fox and Friends  “God Bless the USA”.  Although it has been 30 years since he recorded it the song is still a treat to hear.   General Norman Swartzkof stated after Desert Storm that this was his favorite parriotic song.  What a wonderful way to begin Memorial Day.  Seems like just yesterday that I was standing in the middle of the Saudi Desert watching fighters flyng overrhead going to Iraq and not so much earlier that I saw islands off the coast of South Viet Nam when we cruised by from our home port in Mayport.  So proud of our country. 

 

IRAN’S ASSOCIATION TO CHAVEZ AND VENEZUELA

The world has witnessed the overthrow of major dictatorial factions over the last year in the Middle East. Referred to as the Arab Spring, we have witnessed Algeria’s turn to democracy, the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Yemen’s dictator being deposed, Libya’s brutal ruler being captured and summarily executed and now Syria’s internal strife that is leading to genocide in several cities. While the mid-east is in turmoil and the oil supplies remain in peril, a once vocal opponent of American capitalism has been silent for quit a while. The dictator is Simon Chavez and is the “president” of Venezuela and an active member of OPEC.

While many think that OPEC is composed only of the wealthy oil countries of the Mid-East, it also has Venezuela as a member. Chavez has been quit outspoken about the capitalistic government of the United States. He is personal friends of Fidel Castro of Cuba and has praised his leadership. Chavez nationalized the American Oil Companies that operated in Venezuela and used Citgo to offer low cost heating oil to America’s poor as a ploy to gain acceptance in America of his socialistic style of government. He has duped influential Americans to visit his country and they consider him to be a friend. On February16^th Sean Penn was his guest and Chavez proclaimed in a press conference with Penn in attendance that no country would tell him where to sell his oil. This was an obvious snub at U.S. led sanctions against the brutal Syrian regime.

Iran has aligned with Syria and provides support to the country. If the government of Syria falls the revolution could spill over into Iran. Iran also has close ties to Chavez and thus a strong alliance between two major oil producing countries exist. They have the ability to cause havoc in a slowly growing world economic recovery.

This isn’t Chavez’s only alliance with the Mid-East. He had partnered with Hussein of Iraq, Khadafy of Libya and Bouteflika of Algeria; all of whom have been deposed..

So the stage is set for a very challenging year for the American State Department. Iran is speeding toward a nuclear bomb and has declared that Israel must be destroyed. Syria, an ally of Iran is murdering their own citizens as a revolution is developing. Chavez is now flexing his muscles and providing support to both Syria and Iran. Israel is now planning an attack on Iran’s nuclear reactors and America is stuck trying to figure out what it will do to stop the nuclear threat while at the same time keep Iran and Venezuela’s oil production from wrecking the world economy.

Last Sunday the President of the Unites States strongly stated that the country is solidly behind Israel and lambasted the government of Iran. There have been recent strains between the present administration and the government of Israel and this the strongest support of Israel in three years. This speech clearly closes the divide and firmly puts the United States behind one of our most loyal allies. Was this speech an attempt to sway the Jewish vote to the Democratic party or was it a pointed message to the government of Iran and it’s rogue supporters. I would like to think that it is a warning to the world that the United States is behind its ally in preparation of a preemptive strike from the Israel Air Force. Now, the big question remains as to what Venezuela will do and how many of our American icons will show up in Caracas to display support for Chavez.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DESERT STORM AND ARAMCO

Can’t believe it was 21 years ago today.  I laid in my bed and finally got some sleep.  I knew the war would begin tomorrow.  At two the phone rang.  It was Lew Stroble, and Engineer for Meridian, Missisippi.  “It’s started Tommy,” he said.  ”Naw, it’s going to happen tonight”, I said.  “Tommy I’m telling you it has started”  I rolled over and looked at the clock.  “How do you know”, I said.  Listen to the sirense.  The the panes have been taking off for 15 minutes.  “Are they going out in two’s or threes,” I asked.  ”They are tearing out of here like bats out of hell one after the other.”  And thus I entered my second war.  Happy anniversary to the many Aramcon’s that kept the oil flowing to the free world.

DESERT STORM – 21 YEARS LATER; THE STORY CONTINUES

There are times in our lives that we look at a calendar or some reminder from the past jogs a memory and we utter to ourselves, “Where has all the time gone. It seems like yesterday when this happened. The memory is so vivid.” This is exactly what happened to me twenty-one years ago.

At 12:30 on the morning of January 17^th I laid down in my bed in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. It was 3:30 in the afternoon of January 16^th in Farmerville. I had eaten supper in the International Hotel in Al Khobar and had enjoyed walking around the hotel and observing the press core. All the news agencies were housed there and they would broadcast the war from the hotel. I stopped into the Kuwaiti information center and befriended a member of the Public Relations team hired by Kuwait to help get the countries story told. That is when I learned that we would be at war the next day.

Exhausted I laid in the dark and for the first time in six months I finally had knowledge of what was coming and when. As I closed my eyes I thought of all the excitement and anticipation that had built up to this night. Saddam had invaded Kuwait on August 2^nd and I awoke to hear about it from BBC radio. Then for days there was no official response from the government nor the company. I had my escape route identified and if I drove out I would cross the border in the south and make my way to Dubai. A week after the invasion the 82^nd Airborne arrived. Our softball team sponsored the SEALs into the camp every week. Winds of war finally led to a mass exodus of the expatriate families as planes continually left with wives and children.

By November the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia was swarming with American and other troops from around the world. Russia backed the coalition but the Saudis disdain of Communism would make Russia’s as well as other Eastern Block countries military involvement an impossible option.

I saw Wayne Patterson from Spearsville at a fireworks stand in Ruston. It was our first encounter since we were lieutenants in the 528^th Combat Engineers thirteen years earlier. He had become the XO of the 527 Engineers and was preparing to take his battalion to Saudi. Wayne exemplified himself and eventually became General Wayne Patterson. Ronny Savage and Andy Roan and other residents of our area had arrived in Arabia and prepared for the inevitable.

When I closed my eyes to go to sleep everyone and everything was in place an I knew that I would get a full nights sleep and await for something to happen the next day.

Two hours later the phone rang. “Hello” I said in a groggy voice.

“Tommy it’s Lou Stroble. It’s started. Planes are blasting out of here like bats out of Hades. They have been flying out of here as fast as they can get off the ground for fifteen minutes. Listen to the sirens going off. We’re at war.”

America took the lead in Desert Storm and regained the role of world supremacy. Russia sat in shock as they watched the armaments they had sold to Iraq get turned into scrap metal. It is important for us to realize that a strong military is the best deterrent for tyranny.

Where has all the time gone. It seems like yesterday when all this happened. The memory is so vivid.

DESERT STORM 21 YEARS AGO – THANKSGIVING

The Navy SEALS had been playing the Dhahran Clippers every Wednesday for the last two months.  Following the game teh players were treated to a meal by the Clippers.  Curt, the senior SEAL NCO approached Loren Schoenholts, manager fo the Clippers and asked if they could sponsor all the SEALS to Thanksgiving. The Clippers and families all over Dhahrana and Al Khobar welcomed members of the SEAL team into their homes for a home cooked meal.  Tom Fields, Clipper Catcher, discovered that a fellow football player at Navy Memphis had graduated from Annapolis with the SEALS Lt Commander that had brought the first detachment into Arabia in August.   Captain Ray Smith took picture of Fields and Rich Hunter cutting up the Turkey.  “No one in the States would ever believe we spent Thanksgiving like this.”  Over 85 SEALS were fed following a softball game.  About 20 went to Jubail to see President Bush who had flown in to spend the Holiday with the troops.  Additional food was sent back to Half Moon Bay to feed the guards that could not attend.  Smith went back to the states after Desert Storm, was promoted to Admiral and became the head of all SEALS.  While the Clippers were feeding the SEALS other families around the Eastern Province were bringing families into their homes to give a semblance of peace prior to  the inevitable.

BEAT THE RUSH AND ORDER BOOKS FOR THE HISTORY BUFF

Monroe, Louisiana, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) November 24, 2011 — Thomas T, Fields has two books that will appeal to the History Buff for Christmas. “I Called Him Grand Dad, The Lost Political Papers of Harvey G Fields” and “Desert Burning” are available at Amazon.

“I Called Him Grand Dad” covers the tumultous political history of Louisiana and the Nation from the turn of the century thorugh the early 1960s. Individuals identified in the book include Huey and Earl Long, Franklin Roosevelt, Jim Farley, Richard Leche, Semour Weiss, William Jennings Bryant, Robert Jackson and many more. Over 100 private political letters are included.

“Desert Burning” is a historical novel that covers a period that starts 1 month before Iraq invaded Kuwait and ends a month after Desert Storm ended. The author was living in Saudi Arabia during this time and he captures the period and looks at the war from the lives of the civilians that kept the oil flowing during the war.

Both books are available from Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and XLIBRIS.com.

MID-EAST BOILING POINT

As we sit down to Thanksgiving meals and give thanks for the abundance that we so much enjoy in America, the Middle East is beginning to reach a new boiling point. The Syrian regime is on a downward spiral and riots are starting again in Egypt while Tunisia has elected an Islamic fundamentalist government. Earlier in the year the Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak was overthrown and was replaced by military rule with a guarantee that there would be free elections. These elections are scheduled for November 25, but there is concern in Egypt that the military may not relinquish control to the elected officials. This has prompted riots in the center of Cairo just as what happened months ago to overthrow Mubarak. We can only hope for a speedy and orderly transition of power following the elections. Syria has been slowly moving toward the overthrow of the current dictator. This is now increasing with riots taking place in the center of Damascus. The army is becoming more understanding of the rioters and the Arab League has proposed sanctions against Syria while the King of Jordan has asked for the head of Syria to step down. Turkey has stated that there is no place in the Mediterranean Region for authoritarian leadership. Powerful words from a country in such close proximity to Saudi Arabia and Jordan. While Syria is on the verge of Civil War, Tunisia took to the polls in free elections and selected an Islamic fundamentalist government. This is quite a disappointment as it was hoped that Tunisia would become more liberal; however, with an eighty percent turn out the people of Tunisia freely determined their future. While this has not been in the best interest of the United States, by the Unites States not asserting any power on this new democracy we may be able to develop an ally with both countries being tolerant of each others religious beliefs. With the increasing momentum for change in the Middle East, there is an even larger issue that is brewing that threatens the financial and political stability of the world. Iran may soon have a nuclear bomb and all the power and terror that goes with it. While the United States is pressing for sanctions, Israel is preparing for surgical strikes that will eliminate the threat to their own country. Sanctions have never led to the results they were intended to deliver and Israel knows this. In the 1980s, Iraq was well on its’ way to completing facilities that would lead to the construction of a nuclear bomb. In one well coordinated strike, Israel destroyed the sites and everyone in the Middle East breathed a sigh of relief. Any military strike on Iran will send shivers to the rest of the world but Iran is rogue and there would be little or no repercussions from other counties. On the other hand, let Iran develop the bomb and then hit Israel. The world would then fall into chaos as world armies would descend on Iran and the Muslim countries would have to decide to fight against Iran the aggressor, or on the side of Iran the Muslim brother. This Thanksgiving take the opportunity in a moment of quiet to ask for true peace in world and a speedy change to democracy for the oppressed countries of the world and ask that the leaders of the United States have the wisdom and leadership to make the right decisions. The year 2012 will prove to be very pivotal in the history of our world.

DESERT STORM 21 YEARS LATER – NOV. 1ST

Desert Storm 21 Years Later:  The world was in a war frenzy.  News stations continually carried the stories of the preparation for war.  National Guard units were being mobilized.  The 527^th  Combat Engineers was being readied for mobilization.  Work continued in Saudi Arabia.  The 82^nd Airborne Championship Softball Team called Dhahran and challenged the Dhahran Clippers to a game.  The Division’s band performed from the stands and one of the largest crowds to witnesses a softball game in Dhahran showed up.  Average age:  82^nd Airborne early 20s.  Dhahran Clippers 39.  Clippers won by 6 after moving the outfield to play in the infield and the infield moved to the outfield for an inning in te middle of the game.  The 82^nd Players were treated to a steak supper at the home of Loren Schoenholtz, Clipper’s pitcher and co-founder.  As a note:  The 82^nd “B” team defeated the Dhahran “B” league representative.