JOINT SERVICE HONORS COMMAND Monthly Newsletter January 2015 Volume 0115

If you would like to submit a column for this newsletter, please contact the editor: SSG Susan Planas at: jshcplanas@gmail.com

THE HONOR GUARD CREED

Handpicked to serve as a member of the Joint Service Honors Command, my standards of conduct and level of professionalism must be above reproach, for I represent all others in my service. Others earned the right for me to wear the ceremonial uniform, one that is honored in a rich tradition and history. I will honor their memory by wearing it properly and proudly. Never will I allow my performance to be dictated by the type of ceremony, severity of the temperature, or size of the crowd. I will remain superbly conditioned to perfect all movements throughout every drill and ceremony. Obligated by my oath I am constantly driven to excel by a deep devotion to duty and a strong sense of dedication. Representing all Honor Guard members, past and present, and all branches of the military, I vow to stand sharp, crisp, and motionless, for I am a Ceremonial Guardsman.

HONOR * PRIDE * MOTIVATION DEDICATION * PERFECTION

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My Rememberer

My forgetter's getting better, But my rememberer is broke To you that may seem funny But, to me, that is no joke

For when I'm "here" I'm wondering If I really should be "there" And, when I try to think it through, I haven't got a prayer!

Oft times I walk into a room, Say 'what am I here for?' I wrack my brain, but all in vain! A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away Where it is safe, but, Gee! The person it is safest from Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone, Say 'Hi' and have a chat, Then, when the person walks away I ask myself, 'who in the world was that?'

Yes, my forgetter's getting better While my rememberer is broke, And it's driving me plumb crazy And that isn't any joke…

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JSHC CHRISTMAS PARTY 2014

A fun time and a great meal was had by those who attended the JSHC Christmas Party at Yosemite Falls Café on December 14, 2014. One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of a woodcarving, made by SSG Gene Lehnick’s father, Al Lehnick, to retired COL Dale Neumann. It was the first time any of us saw the COL speechless!!! LOL

SGT Bilko says… 1) Count your blessings first! 2) Whatever you did last year, Do it better! 3) Go step-by-step, One day at a time. 4) Create/make your own opportunities. 5) Believe in your abilities at all times, 6) Quitting is not an option. Keep Going. 7) Finish what you started…

Got that!

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A MOMENT IN TIME

One of the oldest and most reliable combat weapons is the hand grenade.

Hand grenade information and history: the grenade is a small bomb, used on the ground and up close. It's dangerous for an attacker to use, and deadly for its

victims.

The grenade might be termed a ‘niche’ weapon. In effect it's a small bomb, but unlike a bomb, it's used on the ground and up close. However, as with most bombs, it is not a precise weapon, scattering destruction in all directions. It gets its name from the French word for ‘Pomegranate’ and during World War I and beyond it was nicknamed ‘Pineapple’ because of its serrated shell. This is pretty inappropriate for a weapon that's as dangerous for an attacker to use as it is deadly for its victims. Like the tank, the grenade was developed to break down defenses in close-combat warfare. Grenades were first used in the 15th century, and, when reliable, must have been devastating against a lightly armored enemy. As firepower became more deadly, hand-to-hand combat declined, and with it, the use of the grenade. It was virtually abandoned after 1750, although, 100 years later, Napoleon Bonaparte's armies began to recruit large, strong soldiers who could fling grenades a long distance. These soldiers were called Grenadiers, and they dressed differently and became an elite force. The experiment didn't work too well however, and

the grenadiers were eventually reabsorbed into the infantry. In the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, the grenade proved useful in breaking the siege of Port Arthur. It came into its own in the static, defensive trench warfare of World War I. The Germans were well armed with grenades, but the Allies had to improvise. British soldiers, probably remembering childhood experiments with fireworks, started to throw glass jars filled with bits of metal and explosive. Later in the war, the British deployed the Mills Bomb, a highly effective fragmentation grenade. A contact grenade was also developed, but it was not effective. The Allies improvised further, strapping grenades to a rod, which was fired from a rifle with a blank charge, and used slingshots to deliver grenades to the enemy. The Russians actually manufactured a grenade-launching catapult on the Eastern Front in World War II. During World War II, the grenade was refined. It gained its distinctive pineapple skin, and was packed with TNT. Despite this, however, the heavy hand grenade did not always fragment. In this war, armies were also issued with purpose-built rifle grenade launchers. The war also saw the birth of the Molotov Cocktail, a gasoline-filled bottle, with a rag stuffed in the top. This poor man's grenade was lit and thrown at armored cars and the like. In 1956, the outgunned freedom fighters in Hungary used the Molotov Cocktail against the Russian oppressors. By the time of the Korean war, the grenade was lighter, and fragmented more easily, and by the time of Vietnam, American GIs had light, reliable grenades that exploded five seconds after the pin was pulled, killing up to 15 meters, and injuring up to 35. They had a thin shell, and dispensed thousands of tiny, jagged steel strips. Many a GI must have been grateful for early Baseball training. Fragmentation grenades are the most common, but there are other types. In addition to the already mentioned contact and rifle-launched grenades, there were machine gun grenades (they never worked properly), and a purpose-built anti-tank grenade and launcher, which evolved into the Bazooka, which in turn was replaced by

more efficient recoilless weapons and anti tank missiles. Also used in war were illuminating grenades, for lighting up enemy positions and parachute drop zones, and incendiary grenades, to spread fire. Used by both the army and civilian police forces are the chemical or gas-grenade, and the smoke grenade. As the balance between defensive and offensive warfare changes, so does the role and efficacy of the grenade. Grenades will certainly be used in future wars. The speculative world of Star-Trek contains the photon-grenade, which can be launched, beamed, or thrown in the old-fashioned way. According to the Starfleet Manual, it has twenty settings, which vary its effects from stunning through killing, through total destruction. Don't laugh. This thing may be closer to reality than you think. After all, we already have laser weapons, and mankind has a supreme genius for inventing weapons of destruction. The power of the hand grenade, however, will always be limited by the throwing-power of the attacker, and the speed with which he can flee the destruction that he himself has unleashed.

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WHO IS THIS JSHC MEMBER?

Don’t know??? He will be revealed at Drill on January 21, 2015…

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CHAPLAINS CORNER

Steven B. Cloud …Though even thinking on the subject of time may prove discomforting, it is not a bad idea—especially at

the beginning of a new year. As we look into 2015 we look at a block of time. We see 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds. And all is a gift from God. We have done nothing to deserve it, earn it, or purchased it. Like the air we breathe, time comes to us as a part of life. The gift of time is not ours alone. It is given equally to each person. Rich and poor, educated and ignorant, strong and weak—every man, woman and child has the same twenty-four hours every day. Another important thing about time is that you cannot stop it. There is no way to slow it down, turn it off, or adjust it. Time marches on. And you cannot bring back time. Once it is gone, it is gone. Yesterday is lost forever. If yesterday is lost, tomorrow is uncertain. We may look ahead at a full year’s block of time, but we really have no guarantee that we will experience any of it. Obviously, time is one of our most precious possessions. We can waste it. We can worry over it. We can spend it on ourselves. Or, as good stewards, we can invest it in the kingdom of God. The New Year is full of time. As the seconds tick away, will you be tossing time out the window, or will you make every minute count? Chaplain Jim Taylor

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JUST FOR FUN A little boy was standing in front of a mirror in the restroom at John F. Kennedy Airport, when in walked a Marine staff sergeant, dressed in his dress blues. The little boy turned to the Marine and said, "Wow! Are you a Marine?"

The Marine replied, "Why, yes I am, young man. Would you like to wear my hat?" "Boy, would I," said the little boy. He took the hat and placed it on his head and turned to admire himself in the mirror.

As he was looking in the mirror, he heard the door open and through a ray of bright light, a man entered the room. But, this was not just a man -- he was more than a man. He was an Airborne Ranger. The little boy turned and went over to the soldier. As he approached him, he could see the reflection in his boots. His eyes widened as he stared up at the soldier's chest full of medals and combat ribbons. He tried to speak, but he couldn't. Finally, he took a deep breath, and managed to say, "Excuse me, Sir. Are you an Airborne Ranger?" The Ranger replied with a thunderous voice, "Why yes, I am!! Would you like to shine my boots?" The little boy smiled, and said, "Oh, no sir!! I'm not a Marine. I'm just wearing his hat!"

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DID YOU KNOW?

Army Regulation 670-1 prescribes uniform wear by Army veterans and retirees: Retirees. Paragraph 30-3 of the above listed regulation gives full details. Army retirees may wear the Army uniform only for the following circumstances: (1) Personnel performing instructor duties at an educational institution conducting courses of instruction approved by the Armed Forces (such as JROTC). (2) While attending military funerals, memorial services, weddings, inaugurals, and other occasions of ceremony. (3) Attending parades on national or state holidays, or other patriotic parades or ceremonies in which any active or reserve United States military unit is taking part. For (2) and (3), above, only service and dress uniforms may be worn; the BDU and physical fitness uniforms will not be worn. Wear of the Army uniform at any other time, or for any other purpose than stated above is prohibited.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION At the next Drill, January 21, 2015, an election will be held to fill three positions on the Board of Directors. Five members are running for these three positions. CAPT Ken Bain Col Richard Miller LTC Larry Branam CSM Jim Pfeifer SSG Gene Lehnick Voting will be done by secret ballot and results will be announced at the end of Drill. Please make an effort to be at Drill for this important election and training.

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AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

The following awards or decorations were presented during the month of November 2014.

The JSHC Achievement Ribbon with One Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster

CPT Vic Weatherly

The Department of Defense Honors Ribbon With One Gold Oak Leaf Cluster

Completion of 525 Services 1SG Tommy Riccardo

The Department of Defense Honors Ribbon

with Two Silver Oak Leaf Clusters Completion of 225 Services

MAJ Jim Taylor

The Department of Defense Honors Ribbon with One Silver Oak Leaf Cluster

Completion of 125 Services LTC Lay Prum

SSG Gen Lehnick

The Department of Defense Honors Ribbon with Two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters

Completion of 75 Services LCDR Conrad Bitters

Capt Dennis Davenport

The Department of Defense Honors Ribbon with One Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster

Completion of 50 Services GySgt Brad Otto

The Department of Defense Honors Ribbon

Completion of 25 Services SSgt Luis Burriel

The Bugler Badge

SCPO Chuck McGaugh

The Emergency Service Training Ribbon CPT Vic Weatherly

The AP3 Certification Ribbon

CPT Ed Planas 1SG Tommy Riccardo

SSG Susan Planas

STATISTICS

December 2014: During this month, we have completed 8 solo Honor Services and 1 Special Events. A total of 9 services for the Month of December 2014. A total of 128 services and events for 2014

***** NEXT DRILL

The next drill will be on Wednesday 21 January 2014 at 7 PM at the Clovis Veterans Memorial Building. Uniform is class B.

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JANUARY BIRTHDAYS

LCDR Conrad Bitters 2nd COL Shawn Em 14th 1LT Rith Rou 19th Capt James Canales 19th CCMSgt Dean Harley 21st

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TO SUBMIT A STORY OR COLUMN Please email your story or photos to jshcplanas@gmail.com BEFORE the 20th day of the month to be considered for the next month’s newsletter.

WEBSITE Please visit the site at www.jshc.info.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Current Board of Directors are: BG Murphy – Chairman of the Board, Lt Col Estep, LCDR Bain, Capt Espinosa, CCMSgt Harley, 1SG Riccardo and SSG Planas. The Board of Directors meet on the 4th Tuesday of every month at 1025 ‘T’ Street, Fresno, CA.

FACE BOOK GROUP Joint Service Honors Command has a new Face Book Group, Joint Service Honors Command - Fresno. You must have a Face Book page to be added to our group. If you have a Face Book page, ‘friend’ SSG Planas to be added to the group.

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COMMAND STAFF Brigadier General Dean Murphy, Commander 559-448-6551  jshc.1.star@gmail.com   Captain Ken Bain, Chief of Staff, California Brigade. 559-439-5553 klbain@sbcglobal.net Lieutenant Commander Conrad Bitters, 1st Battalion Commander. 559-974-1510 clbitter5@att.net Lieutenant Colonel Larry Branam, Recruiting Officer. 559-322-5057 lbranam@att.net Comments and Suggestions: If you wish to contact the editor, please call SSG Susan Planas at 559-240-1736 or email at jshcplanas@gmail.com                      

                                 Happy New Year to you and your family. May the New Year be a place of new beginnings, strengthening family ties and being content in all you have accomplished! May you look back at the service to your country with pride and knowing you gave your best. Others really do appreciate you! As this New Year unfolds each day, be prepared to try new adventures, prepared to just sit and reflect upon your life and then welcome the surprises that come along. May this New Year find you proud of the service to your country and as you continue that service to our deceased veterans. Their families thank you! May God bless each of you!