9.11.01 Never, Ever Forget...

This morning I found myself sitting in front of the tube having a cup of coffee and watching some of the memorial going on at Ground Zero. My 13 year old granddaughter came in and sat next to me in time to see some of the video from That Day.. the towers being hit and coming down, the people running down the streets trying to escape the collapse. One of the many pictures that got a strong reaction from her was of a man, coated in gray dust, dazed, walking away from the scene. You couldn't tell what color he was, what color his clothes were.. he was just solid gray. An innocent American citizen, who had just survived the attack. When she asked me "Papa, why did they do that?" I tried to explain to her, in a thousand words or less, what had happened on That Day, and why we are at war now.

I realized that it was going to take a lot more of my time than one sitting to get it all across to her, and vowed to my self to make that happen soon. To be sure she has an understanding, at least as much as a 13 year old can, of the events of That Day. I owe it to her, and to the memory of 2,996 Americans who did not survive the attacks.

Force Science Institute training...

I just returned from a week long training school hosted by San Jose PD, the Force Science Institute's Use of Force Analysis certification course. Talk about an intense course.. Forty hours of training from some of the top minds in the field of human behavioral science studies as they relate to deadly force encounters.

An absolutely incredible week.. my sincere thanks to to Dr. Bill Lewinski and the FSRC staff.

A link to the Force Science Institute is: www.forcescience.org

So, this friend of mine said...

Recently, a friend told me that the reason to have a blog is to write something...

"You Shall Not Be Afraid..."

From the Wall Street Journal, the caption reads: "RESCUE AND PROTECT: Staff Sgt. Edward Rosa reads the Bible and extends a cigarette to Pfc. Jorge Rostran Obando, who was stunned by an explosion in Afghanistan's Arghanab Valley. One comrade was killed and two injured in the blast. Pfc. Rostran asked the sergeant to read Psalm 91, a favorite from his childhood."

A warrior giving aid and comfort to a brother warrior.

One of the lessons I learned early on, as a young deputy sheriff, was that we always looked out for one another. We might not necessarily even like each other off the playing field, but when things went ugly we all knew we had each others' six. This lesson was taught to me when I was fortunate enough to be assigned to a resident post with four other deputies, all much senior to me, all with prior military experience, and several with combat time in Vietnam.

Later in my career, that lesson was repeated again to me by one of my SWAT instructors and was probably more eloquently and simply put than I've heard it anywhere else:

"Fellas, when it comes down to it you're not doing it for Queen and Country... you're doing it for your mates." - Phil Singleton, formerly of the 22nd SAS.

I have carried that lesson, along with many others, throughout my career, and passed it on to the young officers I have trained.

I will say of the Lord,
"He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."

Godspeed to the warrior who was KIA. A speedy and sure recovery to the two WIA's, and God bless and watch over all of them and their families.

My Quote for the Year, from Kipling...

This pretty much sums it up for me at the moment:

"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition"

Rudyard Kipling

June 6, 1944, D Day

I was outside working most of the day yesterday so I didn't get a chance to write until this morning. Off and on during the day I found myself thinking about the Allied invasion at Normandy on June 6, 1944. An incredible, audacious assault by the Allies against the German war machine in an attempt to liberate Northwestern Europe from the clutches of Hitler.

We all know what the outcome was. The Allied forces prevailed but not without tremendous losses: Approximately 10,000 total Allied casualties, KIA, MIA, wounded or captured. 2499 Killed In Action from the United States alone. The bravery and sacrifice of these men, what they did for us and for the people of Europe should never, ever be forgotten.

Saving Private Ryan should be required viewing by every American school student. I know... it's just Hollywood, not reality. But every once in a great while even they get it right. And if it helps to keep alive the memory of our battles, achievements, our veterans and our fallen, then I'm OK with that.

The WWII Fallen from the Greatest Generation... what would they think of us now, what we have become? America is truly the greatest nation this earth has seen, a bright light of freedom shining through the darkness. It is the American soldier who made it so, and keeps making it so. I've heard the word "hero" used an awful lot these days. These men were truly heroes. In the days and years ahead, remember them and honor what they gave us.

God Bless America!

Memorial Day 2010... Remember our fallen.


God bless America through these trying times, and watch over all our brother and sister warriors that are protecting this great nation. To our military and first responders, thank you for all that you do!

Psalm 23 Memorial Day Tribute here..

In Support of Arizona..

With all the hoopla about Arizona's recent illegal immigration law, now the City Council of Sacramento has jumped on the PC bandwagon and wants to boycott Arizona. To the Sac City Council: Are you serious? There is nothing unconstitutional or racist about this law. The State of Arizona is trying to protect its' citizens against an illegal invasion. It's a federal crime to illegally enter the United States. What is it you're not understanding about the word "illegal"?

The only thing I can come up with then is, once again, it's all about politics. How we look, how we appear, how we might be perceived.. Take a another hard look in the mirror, Emperor, because you are stark naked. As much as this might offend the sensitivities of some folks out there, our border with Mexico is a war zone and has been for many, many years. Murder, robbery, rape, drug trafficking, human trafficking, all are allowed to continue by our national lack of guts to stand up and address the problem. None of this is news to any cop or Border Patrol agent who has spent any time working the border areas, not to mention the citizens who live there.

Try Googling "Aztlan" or "The Reconquista" if you don't believe me. I was born and raised in Southern California but I moved my family in 1987 to get them out of the mess that area has become. The drain on state and local resources due to illegal immigration and all the related problems is enormous.. but you won't hear that truthfully talked about in the media.

Now we have a police chief in Los Angeles, along with other chiefs, who are telling us that a law like Arizona's will boost crime? Hmmm... ok, so if I close my eyes the monster won't get me. Why has appeasement become the new way of doing business?

I took an oath 28 years ago to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.. I still take that oath very seriously. I sent the following letter to Mayor Kevin John on 5/26/10. We'll see if there's any response:

Email to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson sent on 5/26/10


Sir,

Regarding the question of whether or not the City Council of Sacramento should boycott Arizona, I would respectfully ask that you consider a couple of points..

I am a 28 year law enforcement officer. I am still currently working in law enforcement in a neighboring county to Sacramento. I started my career with the San Diego County Sheriff's Dept., and grew up in Southern California. I am very familiar with Mexico, it's customs and laws, having traveled there extensively over years past, and also having worked with Mexican law enforcement.

One of the reasons I left S. California in 1987 was due to the constant problems with illegal immigration. Those problems not only included the criminal element that we had to deal with on a daily basis, but the drain on public services as well.

We lost a badly needed trauma center in N. San Diego County because of the overwhelming loss incurred by the center due to uninsured, non-paying illegal aliens.

My children's education was affected because their school was too busy trying to deal with the large percentage of non-english speakers in the classroom. Our San Diego County jails were hosting anywhere from a 45 to 55 percent Mexican national population.

Many of the violent crimes and fatal/serious injury auto accidents I dealt with were committed by criminal or uninsured illegal aliens. It is now well documented that OTM's (other than Mexican) are crossing our borders. Many of these people are from the Middle East and do not have our best national interest in mind.

I could go on, but the important points are these: The costs of the problems I listed are ultimately borne by our citizens. Public services are lost or diminished. Arizona's law does not encourage racial profiling. Any officer who engages in racial profiling needs to be immediately disciplined or terminated. I, and every other law enforcement professional I have ever worked with never racially profiled. We criminally profile every day on patrol. That's how you protect the people you've sworn to serve.

Arizona's law does nothing more than enforce existing federal law. Typically, citizenship is determined during the booking process of arrestees. Illegal aliens are turned over to ICE for deportation proceedings. The City Council of Sacramento is way off base supporting a boycott of Arizona who is simply trying it's best to protect it's citizens. I expect that sort of activity from San Francisco or Los Angeles, but not from our State's capital.

Thank you.

Steven Morrill


Not that I really expect any response, but the more of us that make our voices heard, maybe, just maybe we can turn this bus around before we hurtle off into the abyss.

Lest We Forget...

Memorial Day is almost upon us. Please take some time to reflect on all those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we, and others around the world could be free. We owe them our deepest thanks and should strive every day to honor and earn what they gave us.

Welcome...

Welcome to my blog. I'm new to this blogging stuff so we'll see how it goes. You can expect to find some commentary and some of my training related articles here along with the occasional rant when I just can't contain myself any more. I hope you can find some usable information here as well as some material that might provoke some thought.