Review of November 11, 2015

Saluting the Armed Services - Those Who Serve, and Those Transitioning to the Workforce

Reporter: Mike Colbrese

President Sue Nixon opened the meeting by inviting all veterans to the stage, which was followed by a rousing tribute from the entire club. Club member Tom Hayward, a retired Admiral, led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance and song leader Virginia McKenzie and accompanist Trish Bostrom directed the National Anthem. Retired Admiral Bill Center presented the invocation asking us each to think about the service and sacrifice of our veterans. He called particular attention to honoring and assisting wounded vets.

Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins made announcements about the Toys for Tots drive and encouraged members to visit the club’s website. Kim Moore introduced new member Dom Musafia by reminding attendees that he is a returning member, who previously ran a business importing musical instruments. Dom came back to Seattle 4 because he missed the relationships he built in our club, our great speakers, the connection to local, regional and international issues and that feeling of a day well spent.

President Sue introduced Laura Mathers, who is taking the stage for the last time before she moves on to serve as president of the Seattle Police Foundation. She thanked members for their support and commitment to service, then introduced LTG Stephen Lanza, who assumed command of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on February 6, 2014. LTG Lanza’s presentation, entitled “Veterans Transitioning Among Us,” focused on the need to support those service people who are transitioning to another uniform—that of a civilian. He explained that the narrative for these individuals has not been a good one, partially because of the “unseen injury”—post traumatic stress disorder. However, significant strides have been made to assist veterans in their transition and he encouraged members to hire veterans because of their value to the work place. In addition to their skills, veterans bring with them an understanding of loyalty and leadership learned through an environment tested under severe conditions. He illustrated his point by speaking to the positive impact Starbucks has had on transitioning veterans through special employment opportunities. He closed by thanking the club for their service.

Retired RDML Bill Center introduced RDML Jeffrey Ruth, who after growing up in San Diego, graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy in 1986. As a Naval Flight Officer, he flew 40 combat missions in the F-14A Tomcat during Operation Desert Storm and 43 combat missions in the EA-6B Prowler during Operation Allied Force over Kosovo. Admiral Ruth spoke to the vital Navy assets that are represented in the 11 western states, which are a part of the larger defense strategy. Using several charts and graphs, Admiral Ruth illustrated that the Navy plays a huge role in protecting citizens during crises and wars by making sure that our enemies are not using waters against us. He explained the type of protection that the Navy supplies to protect trade routes by using the trade of coffee beans as an point of interest and proclaimed that businesses must have the freedom to ply their trade. He illustrated the impact of the work slow down this past year had on the trade industry, in particular apples and potatoes and the concern that America’s traditional trade partners might look elsewhere in the future.

Admiral Ruth spoke to 2015 Maritime strategy and the concern about peace in the Asia Pacific region by illustrating the build up of the military in China as that nation strives to become a modern nation with a global impact. By presenting statistics, he explained that this modernization in China, which now includes their outreach to Taiwan, has increased dramatically since 1999. He spoke to the need to remain aligned with these countries in order to have assistance with national disasters and piracy, describing this as a balance between “deterrence and encouragement.” He mentioned concerns about Russia getting dangerously close to undersea cables but explained that he is encouraged by the new strategic plan and the work that has been done on the national budget to increase the number of the Navy’s vessels. During the question and answer period, the admiral addressed questions about unmanned vessels and decreasing the length of deployment in the future to assist with keeping families in place.

Following Admiral Ruth’s presentation, Don Kraft made closing announcements, including an invitation to the next day after party at Pike Brewing and information that next week we will be back at the Westin with the program presented by philanthropist Floyd Jones.

In a very special closing, with the accompaniment of Ken Grant, Sue sang “I’ll Be Seeing You” while pictures of Rotarians during their days of armed service were shown on the screen.