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The New Guy
by John Moore


When Mr. Zelman first spoke with me about his need for another writer for JPFO, it took me a few minutes to conclude it would be a good thing for me to consider. This is my introduction to all of you.

I will have my 60th birthday in August of 2007. I came of age (with several million other baby boomers) in the mid-1960's. As I frequently say publicly, U.S. Military Intelligence School( Ft. Holibird, Baltimore MD) took my 19 year old pile-of-mush brain (in 1967) and made it into something useful. Eventually my brain became a disciplined, cognitive tool with the questioning mind of the homicide detective, the discipline of an intelligence analyst, the skills of a para-legal and the lack of fear of a Green Beret.

Coming from a small ( 100 seniors) High School in a small town near St. Louis I was about as naive as a 19 year old young man could be.

Two weeks after my 20th birthday, I landed in the Republic of South Vietnam. I was to be an Intelligence Analyst assigned to Psychological Operations with the 10Th Psyop Battalion in the Mekong Delta the next twelve months.

I landed in Vietnam a boy. I left a man. As most men who have been in combat will tell you, the experience defines their life.

My main duty was to conduct classified studies of the war. I was immersed in classified briefings ( at the 4Th Corps Tactical Operations Center every weekday morning) classified documents from the C.I.A., Rand Corporation, Military Intelligence and more. Everything I read, heard leading eventually to the intelligence summaries I wrote, was classified.

By the end of September 1967, I began to read and learn the indicators that the Viet Cong were planing a major military offensive around the Chinese New Year (Called TET). which is a major celebration near the end of January every year.

As the Fall of 1967 proceeded, I kept getting more and more independent confirmation of the pending offensive. At the same time, levels of Viet Cong activity were at all-time lows.

The light at the end of the tunnel

In December 1967, General Westmoreland gave his famous (infamous?) "light at the end of the tunnel" speech to a joint session of Congress. This was a big deal. he told Congress that the enemy ( Viet Cong (V.C.) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) where a defeated force and could no longer mount a credible offense on the battlefield.

Years later, Westmoreland filed a lawsuit (Westmoreland V. CBS) over "The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception" aired September 13, 1982, about the events surrounding the 1968 TET Offensive. The historical novel "A Station In The Delta" by John Cassidy, also does an excellent job of documenting the Fall of 1967. I just re-read the book recently. It brought back a wave of memories.

I digress.

As the months rolled by, I saw clear and convincing evidence of this coming offensive and absolutely NO PREPARATION on the part the of U.S. Army! I took it upon myself to warn the men in my outfit. I urged them to stockpile food and ammunition. A few (very few) paid heed, most (nearly all) did not.

The first morning of the TET offensive found my outfit completely caught off-guard.

We had enough meals ( C-Rations) to feed every man 1/2 of one c-ration meal one time.

After the shooting slowed down mid-morning, our First Sergeant called a meeting. He asked
every man who had at least one magazine (20 rounds) of ammunition for his M-14 rifle to raise his hand. We had a number of men that did not have even one magazine of ammo!

He then asked those with two or more to keep their hand up, then three, then four, etc.
At six or more magazines, I was the only one with his hand still up.
"Moore, how many magazines of ammo do you have?" He said smiling.
"Ten , First Sergeant!"
"Moore, keep four and distribute the rest"
"Yes, First Sergeant!"

A month earlier, I was out at Binh Tuey Air Force Base to fly combat air missions (as a crew member) dropping leaflets ( I flew 57 combat air missions during my tour) and play propaganda tapes over very powerful loudspeakers. We worked too late and could not make the return trip ( ten miles on a two-lane black-top highway thru Indian country). The two men from my outfit and I were looking forward to a movie and good Air Force food that night. That is, until the base was put on alert for attack.

We sought out and found the Air Force Major in charge of Base Security. We introduced ourselves and offered to man the perimeter at his most vulnerable, most likely point of attack that night. Our price? All the M-14 ammo we could carry home with us the next day!

He took one look at us carrying our M-14's smiled, agreed to our offer and told us when and where to report for duty that night. He was VERY grateful!

The attack came about 0200 hours. Mortars hit the main base buildings. We were in a small bunker hearing the shells go over us.

No ground attack.

I should have made a tougher bargain for the flares and grenades, in addition to the ammo.

I lost several friends in the TET Offensive. Needless deaths due to an Army that would not pay heed to its own intelligence.

Bottom line? I learned at the tender age of 20:
Rule# 1 "Never trust anything the Government says." A quote from Patriots, Surviving The Coming Collapse.

Upon return to the U.S. I was assigned to the 6th Special Forces Group ( Airborne) at Ft. Bragg N.C. There, I conducted classified studies of Middle-East Terrorists. I was put on alert several times to invade the Middle-East. Working with the Green Berets gives you a very
unrealistic view of life. Imagine yourself living and working with 600 men, none of whom have less than a 120 I.Q. All of whom could be collegiate athletes, none of whom are overweight, or even wore glasses. Nearly all of whom are Alpha Males. All of whom think that jumping out of a cargo plane at midnight, over enemy territory, is a perfectly normal thing to do!

I left the Green Berets ( and the Army) to go to college. I graduated as a Para-Legal in 1972 and ( in less than a year) was recruited by the State of Missouri to become a criminal investigator and homicide detective.

I'm in my 35th year working as a private investigator and criminal defense investigator.
My professional life has been one of working on serious matters with serious consequences.

I became politically active in the pro-gun movement in the late 1980's. Working to help pass concealed carry in Missouri, getting my own radio talk-show in 1995. Even running for U.S. Congress in 1996! The Crime Bill of 1994 ( with it's ban of semi-auto rifles)
energized me in ways I never expected. My 20 plus years of experience (at that point in time) in dealing with crime professionally, gave me an intimate knowledge of the guns of choice for criminals. I knew that banning semi-automatic rifles had nothing to do with crime. I also knew that the rifles they wanted to ban were the most desirable to defend the Republic with.

My professional associations and contacts within law enforcement and the judicial system led me to know in intimate detail what the attitudes and knowledge was inside various government agencies. They were either clueless, or did not care, what the consequences of the rifle and magazine ban were for the Republic.

Tiger
My radio call-sign in the Green Berets was "Tiger". When it comes to the security of our Republic, our Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Second Amendment, I am truly a "Tiger".

I'm a husband, father and grandfather. I teach concealed carry classes, still have a radio show and do public speaking on preparedness and terrorism. I'm the author of
"Feel Safe Anywhere, You Can Be Your Own Bodyguard". I look forward to working with JPFO and writing articles that you will find thought provoking and helpful.

My weekly radio show is on the Republic Broadcasting Network every Sunday 4 to 6 P.M. Central time at:

WWW.REPUBLICBROADCASTING.ORG

My website is
WWW.THELIBERTYMAN.COM

Regards,

John "J.R." Moore
















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