Revillie, REVILLE! All hands heave out and trice up!

Today is a decision day. Yes, local and national seats are up for election, but the inertia imparted in that mess rolling downhill has been imparted and with minor exception, the die is cast. We will jst have to wait out today to see the results.

My directive of the day: Do something constructive and forget about chewing your fingernails down to the quick, trying to figure out which party will control the House and the Senate, or the 30+ governorships.

What to do? Get back on task, because, Sgt Hook told us a few days ago, there is a more important mission. Nothing like a crusty old senior enlisted, tempered in the fires of the school of hard knocks to get he “Os” back on focus.

Valour-IT. Huge success last year. Beth said “Goal of $22K.” The Type As among us took that to read “$22K per service team.” Wisely she kept her mouth shut and kept us in the dark until the end, then told us what she really meant, about $108K later. we didn’t have a lot of press coverage, we had bloggers contacting everyone they knew and posting about it. My point? This year, we’re not on the flight path for a smooth landing.

Smadanek’s blog has been tracking our progress, as a whole and as teams. Capt Lex, with all his years of staring at “ROGER, BALL!” on the blunt end of a big gray thing (called “Mother” and kept afloat by those unnamed heroes wearing black shoes), would, metaphorically see himself looking at a red lower half of a circle and be hearing a frantic Landing Signal Officer on the radio yelling “Power! POWER!” if his plane is where we are now.

It comes down to this: We need to consider the warrior pledge, where soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines know no one gets left behind. We can’t afford, after the sacrifices these wounded men and women have made, to psychologically leave them on that battlefield where their wounds reshaped their lives forever. we have the means to help them see they can be productive in the job market, and they are no less important than Steven Hawking. We can give them a voice to express their ideas, to write reports, to carry on conversations, to tell their stories, to rech out to others, to provide hope where there seems to be none.

Enough for now. get to the polls, cast your vote and get back on task. If you’re signed on as part of the Navy Team and you don’t have a lengthy email titled “A few days left” from me, get me your address, and I’ll forward it.

One idea has come in overnight worth sharing: Enrevanche says try matching funds. For those who can afford it, it may pull a few more dollars through the door.

The last thought: Make contacts, today and throught the end of this drive, like some service member”s future depends on you.

Update: 8/11/2006: More thoughts here.

Trackbacked to: Outside the Beltway, Sgt Hook.