PEACE KEEPING...
means getting involved...
"Why bother with other people's agonies
when you have your own to keep you
company?"... a comment made on an episode of one of my favorite tv
programs
dating from my youth...
It reminded me of all of the Peace Keepers that I ever met... most
especially all of
those whom I personally knew. It also reminded me of the starring
characters in
all of my favorite programs, movies, books and comics. They were
cowboys,
troops of all the branches of service, sheriffs, marshals, Mounties...
and a group
called the BLACKHAWK SQUADRON who traveled the world putting down
insurgents and enemies of peace. At first they flew P38's... then
Sabre Jets...
but then because of girls, cars and motorcycles I outgrew my heroes...
that is until
I was a father with a family of my own... then I found them again in
movies, tv
programs and books... and on duty as a Peace Keeper myself... but by
then the
BLACKHAWK SQUADRON comics had disappeared and I never saw them again.
Where does all of that fit with the opening statement? I never knew a
hero that did
not have troubles and/or problems of their own... but they all left
those things for later
to solve the immediate threats to liberty and peace... sometimes the
hero was hurt
or killed but they all fought for peace and the down trodden people...
they all did the
best they could do... they won battles... peace and liberty were
restored... life was
good again... and the bad guys always lost.
Now I see my heroes in action every time I go out the front door of my
home. I hear
their voices over my police communications radio. I see their major
actions on the
evening news. I read of their exploits... and sometimes their
demise... on all of my
internet connections, in e-mail reports and in news papers.
Occasionally I even
hear from or about those who can no longer work the duty they did and
loved so
greatly. This week I even heard about one of whom I have often
wondered. I
learned that he is serving as a security contractor in Iraq. I heard
from another of
my compatriots this week with whom I worked frequently over several
summer
seasons until he no longer served in that duty. I miss all of my
heroes but I most
especially miss those with whom I worked and learned to respect so
greatly.
Sharing a battleground with someone reveals their true character and
reveals who
they really are. You get to see the stuff of which they are made. I
miss those
compatriots... those countrymen of the same heart... more than words
can ever
say... I miss them.
This past six weeks I have been swamped with a huge amount of personal
demands. Except for e-mail and the telephone I have had little
contact. It had to be
that way because I had a deadline to meet. By Grace and prayer I met
it today...
two days early. Tonight I will celebrate with a special meal... and a
night off from
the grind. Tomorrow I will throw myself back into the fray and do what
I can with all
the things that piled up while I was busy.
While I was so busy the world still went forward at the usual breakneck
pace. The
cost of life became much more expensive... ostensibly blamed upon
several storms.
It rained upon many of us in the past few days and weeks... for days at
a time it
rained. Some have been killed and found... some have been swept away
to never
be seen again... some are so traumatized that life will never return to
the previous
level of love and enjoyment... and many Peace Keepers have performed
their final
duty to never return to us again. Many who did not die have been so
badly worn or
injured that they cannot return to the field. Stress (more properly
stated as distress)
has taken it's deadly toll...!!!
Sometimes getting involved leads to getting over involved... over
involvement leads
to overload... overload can lead to stress/distress if not recognized
and relieved.
Stress/distress overload can and most often does lead to mistakes...
injury... and
death.
One of my instructors said, "Every death is avoidable." I do not agree
with that
statement. I have learned that the only way to avoid some deaths is to
avoid duty
and/or do nothing. The oath we take at the beginning of our careers
will not allow
us to avoid duty... and sometimes that oath will not allow us to avoid
death when
we do our duty. Sometimes we cannot avoid overload and still do our
duty... but we
must learn how to recognize stress/distress overload. Then we must
learn how to
cope with the overload we cannot avoid... and dispel the overload by
proper
methods and techniques that will restore us.
Many of those working long hours of extended duty in the Gulf Coast are
suffering
stress/distress overload and some are succumbing to illness. It is too
much to
carry when there is no relief. No relief will destroy the Peace
Keeper, their life and
their career. None of us are invincible. We must learn how to do the
job... but we
must learn to live with it... or live in spite of it. I am proud of
what our compatriots
from all over the country and even Canada are doing in the Gulf Coast
but I am also
greatly concerned for those who live there or are assigned there for
too long a
period of time. I invoke peace, health, strength, power, provision,
protection and
blessing for each of you daily. When I can do no other thing that
helps each of you
I do seek these things for you daily from my COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
Some of the cost this week plus the ones I did not report last week;
===============================================================
Police One.com
Officer Down
Colo. officer
dies while teaching defensive tactics course - 10/14/2005
Chris Grosz - [Littleton, Colorado] |
Texas officer who
survived AK-47 attack killed on traffic patrol - 10/14/2005
John Wheeler - [San Antonio, Texas] |
Cal. Deputy dies
in motorcycle crash - 10/13/2005
Daniel Lobo - [San Bernardino, California] |
Tenn. officer
killed in off-duty motorcycle accident - 10/11/2005
David Wimberley - [Jackson, Tennessee] |
Rocklin, Calif.
officer killed by alleged drunk driver - 10/10/2005
Matt Redding - [Rocklin, California] |
Chesapeake
officer, bank robbery suspect, shot and killed Saturday morning -
10/09/2005, Michael Kevin Saffran - [Chesapeake, Virginia] |
Fla. Officer
stumbles, falls to death during traffic stop - 10/09/2005
Jose Antonio Diaz - [Fort Lauderdale, Florida] |
Ind. Deputy
killed while responding to call - 10/07/2005
Shad Bassett - [Pulaski County, Indiana] |
Sheriff’s deputy
killed in overnight collision - 10/07/2005
Kevin Elium - [Tulare County, California] |
Decatur, Ill.
officer dies from on duty traffic crash injuries - 10/04/2005
Robin Vogel - [Decatur, Illinois] |
PoliceOne Training Tip:
Equipment Tips
by P1 Columnist The Police Officers Safety Association (POSA)
Ever take a weapon off of a suspect and not have an appropriate place
to put it?
Want to save some stress on your back? Have you arrested a
kicking suspect and
not had a ready means to secure his feet?
... Full Story
Stress may have broken New Orleans officer on tape
by News Editor Lindsay Gebhart
This is what we know: Saturday evening at least one New Orleans
officer
punched
a drunk man several times, and another officer assaulted a
journalist. The rest, said
Chaplain David Gardner
... Full
Story
===============================================================
Waterborne@aol.com
Arizona: Sheriff’s deputy dies after
stint on Gulf Coast. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=50308
Florida: $10,000 Reward Offered In Orange County Deputy
Shooting. http://www.wftv.com/news/5085455/detail.html
Colorado: Rocky Mount police
cadet who stopped to help motorists
involved in a wreck early Saturday morning in Raleigh died in a fall from
a bridge, authorities said. (Two in a week!!!) http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/12/20051012RMTcadet.html
=================================================================
VIRGINIAN-PILOT, NORFOLK, VA, 10/15/05
IRAQ
U.S. Troops Killed - 14
U.S. Troops wounded - 161
U.S. Troops killed since 03/03 - 1964
U.S. Troops wounded since 03/03 - 15,063
Editorial, 10/14/05, "Suicide claimed almost twice as many Virginians
as homicide
in 2003. ...60% of the 1332 violent deaths stemmed from suicides,
versus 33%
from homicide... "
================================================================
A reader from a foreign country took me to task for closing a letter to
him with
"stay safe". We corresponded back and forth on the subject and I sent
the following
definition to him to explain what I meant...
"My
injunction to stay 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 staying safe... doing the best you
can and
leaving the rest to God or whomever else is responsible.
That is being best employed for the sake and protection of all the
things and
people that we hold dear."
His closing response was...
"Oh, I would certainly go
for that definition with all my heart. Be well and of good
spirit."
================================================================
I could safely say that my injunction or wish for your safety includes
keeping you free
from the damaging affects of stress/distress. I had to learn it. We
all must learn it if
we are going to survive... and survive we must... first for our own
longevity so that we
may be as effective as possible for as long as possible... and we must
survive for the
sake of all the others whose lives are affected by our efforts.
Often people will ask, "How are you?"... or, "How are you doing?" My
standard
answer is, "I am surviving quite well thank you." To me survival is
the basis of living...
if I do not survive here then I cannot live here. If I am going to be
effective here then I
must live as best I can for as long as I can... doing the best I can in
each moment.
Taking as good care of all the facets of my being are my only tools for
living and
being effective.
If you worked with me, or knew me, you know what I mean when I speak to
"Stay
safe."... but I greatly respect the inquiries and feedback from those
who read what
I write. I want to be understood even if you do not agree with what I
say or write.
Being understood is what communication is all about. The messages we
send and
receive are what we use to make our decisions. Communicating clearly
promotes
understanding and good relations. It is the basis of all human
relationships. It is the
foundation of peace and happiness.
Writing really tries our communication skills. Writing is easy to
misread.
Communicating and asking questions brings about more minute detail as
messages are exchanged. Always ask questions when any message is not
clear
to you. Ask questions instead of making assumptions... whether the
message is
from me or whomever it is from.
Now I close as I always do... "BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!"
I dwelt on the subject of stress because it is the #1 killer of Peace
Keeper careers.
I know that from personal experience. I know that it takes time and
effort to learn
about stress, how to recognize stress, how to avoid stress, how to cope
with stress
and how to recover from stress overload. Deal with stress... or stress
will most
assuredly deal with you... and you definitely will not like the results.
Take the greatest care of you... all the facets of you... including the
spiritual part of
you and it's needs. Be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary. Survive
and live.
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
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...
Chaplain D. R. Staton (Don - C1) VBPD, VSP ALUMNI,
RETIRED Officer, Instructor, Senior Chaplain, Director of Chaplains
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
=================================================
Copyright: CHAPLAIN CORNER (DRS) 2005. All rights reserved. May not be
duplicated without permission, except to be forwarded with copyright
and
all source information for any quotation intact.
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