Taking Chance

Sorry its been so long since my last post, but I've been busy getting set up in my dorm room, buying my books, etc. Tonight I finally had some down-time, so I rented a couple of movies I've been wanting to see. One of them was "Taking Chance", and I can't remember ever having been so touched by a movie.

The movie (based on actual events) is about the experiences of Marine LtCol Mike Strobl during his service as Escort Officer for the remains of PFC Chance Phelps, a 19 year old Marine killed in Iraq on Good Friday, 2004. This is an incredibly moving story and I think that anyone, regardless of how they feel about the war in Iraq, can relate to the characters and the story. Please, if you get the opportunity, rent it and watch it.

One thing the movie did for me is to remind me that in my life, I've been honored to serve this nation, and to be in the presence of heroes. Men and women who have stood ready to lay down their lives to protect those of us at home. Those of you who know me have already either heard or read the retirement speech I gave with I left the Navy, but for those who haven't, I'd like to reprint it here:

Twenty years ago, a young man got off the bus at Recruit Training Center, Orlando, Florida, tried, scared and unsure of what the future would bring. Today I stand before you, no longer so young, but ready to step again into an uncertain future. For a young man from a small central-Texas town, the journey from then to now was a time of incredible wonder, with the opportunity to see and do things the people I grew up and graduated high school with could only dream of. It has been filled with travel, adventure, friendship, and a few moments of abject terror.

But now, as I reach the end of this journey and prepare to begin another, I realize that there is not a single moment of the past twenty years that I would trade. Whether visiting exotic ports like Hong Kong, Greece…Bahrain, or riding a small Minesweeper through two sleepless days in a hurricane, these experiences have combined to make me the person I am today.

I’ve heard many Sailors talk about their “proudest moment” in the Navy. I’ve had several, but there are two that stand out above the rest. First, the day I put on the khakis and hat of a Chief Petty Officer. This is a defining moment in any Sailors’ life, knowing that you have been tested and found worthy to join a fellowship whose members trust you, sight unseen, with their very life because you carry the title of “Chief.”

The second was the first time I stood on the bridge of a Navy warship and announced, “This is Chief White…I have the deck.” For those of you who have not had this experience, I apologize, but there is no way I could sufficiently explain it. For those who have, I don’t need to explain it. Qualification as Underway Officer of the Deck was not a requirement, but an opportunity for me.

And this is what I would like to pass on to the next generation of Sailors. Take the chances you are given. There will be times when you are dissatisfied or disillusioned with the part you play in the Navy. Times during budget crunches or manpower shortages when you feel that what you do is now worthwhile, but that’s part of any career, any life. Its what you do with those times when you are challenged that define who you are as a person. There is a quote by President John F. Kennedy printed on my programs, “I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked…what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can response with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: “I served in the United States Navy.”” Always remember that you are serving something bigger than yourself. Always remember that our American way of life is worth the sacrifices you make. The concepts of duty, honor and loyalty seem to be out of style today, and most Sailors, when asked why they came in the Navy will talk about education, job security, or the chance to see the world. But why do we stay? There are much easier ways to get college money, and most people would rather make minimum wage at McDonalds than have a job where the pay is not commensurate with the opportunities we have to be shot at in some sand-filled corner of the world. Why do we endure the separations, the danger, the poor working conditions, and all the other hardships that come with making the military our way of life?

Because somebody has to! Somebody has to stand up and say, “This is my country and I’ll defend it. This is my country and I’ll defend, with my dying breath, your right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is my country and I’m going to make sure that my children grow up in a safer world.”

These twenty years have seen some amazing events. In 1984, the Cold War was in full swing, and the Soviet Union was considered the “axis of evil” in the world. Today, the Cold War is a memory, the Berlin Wall exists only as pieces of rock for sale on Ebay, and the Soviet Union no longer exists. But now we have a new enemy, and make no mistake, our country is at war. The enemy may be unseen, but the vacant city blocks in New York City where the World Trade Center once stood attests to his existence. The events of Nine Eleven were terrorism on a scale so huge that many countries would not have recovered, and would be living under martial law even today. But our countrymen sleep soundly at night. They point at you…and you…and you, and say, “Protect me. As long as you’re doing your job, my family is safe, and I will not live my life in fear.” I’m now joining the ranks of those people you protect and I too will sleep soundly knowing that you are on watch, defending our country and our way of life. My oldest son, Brandon…Private First Class Brandon White… is not with us today because he is in Fort Benning, Georgia, in Army Recruit Training, to be followed by Infantry Training and Jump School because he too believes it’s a job that somebody has to do, a calling which somebody has to answer. “HOO-AH!”

As I conclude, there are many people I would like to thank today, starting with my wife Anita, who has stood by me for the past thirteen years, in the good times and those not so good, and my children, Brandon, Collin, Aaron and Darren. Without you, my successes would have been meaningless, and my failures unbearable. I’m sure they are looking forward to seeing me leave for no more deployments, underways or duty days, and Anita has informed me that I have many years of “honey-do’s” to catch up on. To my father and mother, James and Jean, thank you for giving me the solid foundation of a Christian up-bringing to build upon, and the freedom to make and learn from my own mistakes. Skip, Beverly, thank you for your support. A person could not ask for a better family to marry into, and you’ve always treated me more like a son than a son-in-law.

To all the people at PSD who have worked to make this ceremony possible, particularly DK1 Pryor and PN2 Ryel, thank you. In twenty years I have never been blessed to work with a finer group of people, military and civilian, that I have seen here.

And finally, but not least of all, I want to thank God for all I have and all I am. For protecting me during times of danger and looking over my family during my many absences. I know that some people spend their lives looking for “proof” of God’s existence. But I’ve seen that proof. Standing on the deck of a ship at sea on a moonless night, and looking up at the heavens to see stars stretched from horizon to horizon in uncountable numbers is, I believe, as close as any person can come to physically seeing the face of God. It has been a remarkable journey and an incredible adventure. Thank you, and God bless.

On the road again...

Today I drove a little over 700 miles and had a lot of time to listen to the radio. There was one news item that caught my interest. Ben & Jerry, the Vermont ice cream maker, announced today that they would be changing the name of their "Chubby Hubby" ice cream to "Hubby Hubby" for the next thirty days in "honor" of the first same sex marriage in Vermont. Not making any judgments here, just posting for whomever might be interested.

The other thing I heard was a very lengthy (and frankly boring) show about the Christian (read "fundamentalist creationist") view of evolution. This is a topic that's been the subject of some lengthy discussions in the seminary website, and something I've given a little thought to. Here's what I've decided:

My view: I believe that an Intelligent Designer (okay, God) created the universe and actively participates in its daily operation. I am not a Luddite or a Fundamentalist and I don't think that science is evil. I don't think that the Earth is 6,000 years old, and I believe that science is just another avenue of special revelation by which God communicates his design to us.

The evolutionist's view: The universe appeared spontaneously, out of nothing, and for no reason. Over the course of billions of years a planet, circling a yellow sun with the perfect temperature and radiation output and in the exact right spot in the galaxy, coalesced the perfect distance from the sun and in the perfect orbit to support life. Then in a pool of primordial ooze, a single celled organism appeared by random (even though the odds for that happening are on the order of 1x10^40,000, and hasn't even been achieved in controlled lab conditions). Through a series of successful mutations (the odds of which are trillions to one) the single celled organism became a more complex organism, crawled out of the ooze, learned to breath oxygen and eventually evolved into the billions of species populating the world today through a series of intermediate forms (which have completely failed to appear in the fossil record.)

And they think we're crazy?