The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 178, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2007 Page: 3 of 10
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Opinion
September 13, 2007
THE J-TAC
Page 3
D-Louse by Daniel Connell
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
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GUEST COLUMN
This week is one of many
emotions. The Tarleotn family
is in a time of mourning, for-
giveness, healing, thankfulness
and learning.
Last week The J-TAC report-
ed the loss of a freshman Lora
Wulfjen after she died in a mo-
torcycle accident. Tuesday, trag-
edy struck again when fresh-
man Stephen Cage was killed
in an automobile accident. Both
students were beginning their
college careers at Tarleton State
University.
As college students, we of-
ten forget that life is fragile. We
are young, strong and fast, but
we are not invincible. We often
drink too much, stay up too late,
eat unhealthy food, try extreme-
ly dangerous stunts, and disre-
gard safety altogether, Please
pay tribute to the Tarleton fam-
ily members lost and remember
to wear your helmets, buckle
your seatbelts, and follow the
rules of the road.
In a spirit of remembrance
CHAI READ-WALSH
and celebrating life, the week
of Sept. 11 is here once again.
We remember our friends,
family, and loved ones who
died during the attacks six
years ago, and those who have
served our great country and
fought against terrorism. We
would like to thank our veter-
ans and those who have given
their lives for our freedom. In
this week's edition read the in-
credible story about the Yanc-
ey brothers, three Tarleton
ROTC graduates who are cur-
rently deployed in Iraq.
This is a time to appreci-
ate friends and family. Do
not forget to tell the closest
people in your life that you
care about them. Sometimes
we get so wrapped up in the
moment that we forget to say,
"thank you" and "I love you."
Remind those who work with
you, teach you and encour-
age you that they matter. Call
your parents and grandpar-
ents; remind them how much
they mean to you. Apologize
to those you have harmed
and forgive those who haye
hurt you, because you never
know when you will see them
again.
Students, have strength; if
you know something is a bad
idea never be afraid to say so.
You could save someone's life
or even your own.
Please be patient during
this time of remembrance and
healing. Look after one an-
other, stay together, and help'
raise the spirits of your fellow"
Tarleton family members.
Alumnus addresses student ' TviblitC tO 9-11 *
body from Ramadi, Iraq
First, I would like to say
some things in general about
the situation here. There
have been a few bad seeds
apnong the ranks that re-
gain in the media spotlight
while the vast thousands of
Americans are rebuilding a
broken and abused Iraq and
receive little coverage of
their good deeds. Saddam
brutalized the Iraqi popu-
lation and his institutions
and infrastructure served
hiim and his party, not his
cpuntrymen. Now, we are
doing it right and building
a foundation that serves
the people. They have free
elections; before there was
only one name on the bal-
lot. Iraqis no longer have
to be a Baath party member
to attend a university, to
be a leader in the police or
army, or hold any position
of responsibility. Essential
Services and Infrastructure
now serve all, not just those
loyal to Saddam.
: Al-Qaida wore out their
Welcome here in Ramadi.
We have been witness to
MAJ. JAY YANCEY
brutal and despicable acts car-
ried out by al-Qaida's suicide
bombers and the people don't
agree with their distorted view
of Islam or their tactics. The
people are realizing what they
can do with their new free-
doms and they've stepped up
and taken Ramadi back from
the terrorists. We are estab-
lishing rule of law, repairing
infrastructure, training and
partnering with Iraqi Security
Forces (ISF), and turning over
more and more responsibility
to them. The municipality is
blooming. The city now has
a mayor and functioning de-
partments for health, electric-
ity, water, sewer, education,
The J-tac
Managing , Editor
Chai Read-Walsh
News Editor
Joanna Hensley
Production, Manager
Mike Cedeno
J-TAC Staff
Reed Baize
Daniel Connell
JoLynn Elkins
Ashley Fuquay
Rebecca Hoeffner
Tyler McCollum
Johnathon Parker
Katy Thompson
Interim Sports Editor
Erik Walsh
i
Graphics Artist
Kenneth Brisendine
Advertising Manager
Rachel Riewe
Advertising Assistant
Christina Coleman
Student Publications
Director
Jim Looby
Content of this publication is
copyrighted materia! of The J-TAC.
Written permission must be
granted for reproduction of any
portion of The J-TAC.
Visit us online at:
www.thejtac.com
The J-TAC is published on
Thursdays during the fall and
spring semesters with the
exception of University holidays
and examination periods.
Office: Barry B. Thompson
Student Center, Room 20
Telephone: (254) 968-9056
Fax: (254) 968-9709
E-mail: jtac@tarleton.edu
Mailing Address:
The J-TAC
Office of Student Publications
Box T-0440
Stephenville, TX 76402
Editorial Policy
The deadline, for submission of
opinion/editorial works Is noon of
the Monday before publication.
Letters to the editor should be
typed and signed. Letters can
either be hand-delivered, mailed,
or sent via email to:
jtac_opinion@tarieton.edu,
Please include a phone number,
student ID number, classification
and major. Anonymously signed
letters or letters signed under a
pseudonym or ''pen name" will
not be published.
Letters should be limited to 250
words. The J-TAC reserves the
right to edit letters for content,
length and grammar The J-TAC
also reserves the right to refuse
to print any letter deemed to be
in "bad taste"
Opinions expressed in The
J-TAC are not: necessarily those of
Tarleton State University or The
Texas A&M System.
and more. In fact, the
entire al-Anbar province
is now scheduled to go
under Provincial Iraqi
Control (PIC) in early
next year. That's when
they'll call the shots in
security and governance
and we'll assume an
overlooking role and as-
sist them when they ask
for help.
Although I play a
small part in the over-
all operation, I feel a
great deal of personal
satisfaction and sense
of mission accomplish-
ment because its plain
to see that things are go-
ing in the right direction
in Ramadi. The unit we
replaced in February of
this year, (along with the
locals) started the turn
around, but at that time,
the city was still very
much a war zone. Some
of their soldiers referred
to Ramadi as " Stalin-
grad/' Back in Febru-
ary it seemed that every
building in the city bore
the marks of combat and
barely a soul could be
seen on the streets. Now
the markets are bustling,
school children hold
sports days and parades,
soccer tournaments are
being played throughout
the city and surrounding
areas, there are small
businesses opening in
every neighborhood,
city workers are out in
force repairing the water
mains, power lines, and
sewers. The local leaders
have emerged, formed
councils, and are meet-
ing regularly to find so-
lutions to the many chal-
lenges they face. These
include civic councils at
the district and munici-
pal level as well as Sheik
and religious councils.
The Iraqi police can be
seen at checkpoints and
on patrol at all times of
the day and night. We
are training them in
evidence collection and
case development. Iraqi
judges are now review-
ing these cases and are
actively involved in es-
tablishing a new and fair
By
Alan Magnani
■
Mi
a
i
i
1
Johnathon Parker/The J-TAC
"A Tribute to 9-11" by Alan Magnani, a carpenter in the Department of Physical
Facilities, is on display at the Campus Store in the Thompson Student Center.
judicial system based on the
rule of law, Saddam's tyranni-
cal days of executions and in-
timidation are gone for good.
In my mind, we are clearly
winning and after last night's
testimony by Gen. Patraeus
and Ambassador Crocker, I
am very proud to be a part of
this moment in history.
To any students think-
ing about ROTC, I say go for
it. In my 10 years of service
since graduating from Tar-
leton, the Army has taken
me around the globe, I have
been on training and combat
deployments to Thailand,
Guam, Hawaii, Korea, Japan,
Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq. I
have been stationed in Wash-
ington, Georgia, and Alaska
and have trained ajt numerous
other states throughout the
continental mainland. I've
landed at the same airstrip on
the Island of Tinian where
the Enola Gay took off on its
famous mission. I have par-
ticipated in airborne jumps
from all sorts of rotary wing
and fixed-wing aircraft
(even a balloon). On my
first deployment to Iraq in
2005, 1 was an infantry com-
pany commander and given
the great responsibility to
lead 135 Soldiers and oper-
ate and maintain 40 million
dollars worth of equipment
in a combat environment.
My company area of opera-
tion in and around the town
of Bayji in the Salah ad-Din
province had a population
of roughly 100, 000 and I
was responsible for lines of
operation including secu-
rity, governance, economic
development, infrastructure
development, and informa-
tion operations.
I'm not getting rich, but
now as an active duty ma-
jor, I make a pretty good
living. The most reward-
ing thing for me is serving
our country and having the
responsibility to ensure the
readiness, mission accom-
plishment, and safety of fel-
low Americans entrusted to
my charge, and facing and
defeating the enemies of our
nation and our way of life.
There have good days and
bad, but the good days have
always outweighed the bad.
Please relay my kindest
regards to the Zel'mans, Dr.
Atkinson, Dr. Cruz, Dr. Clif-
ford, Dr. Young and the rest
of the fine staff and faculty.
GOTEXANS!!!
Very respectfully,
Maj. Jay Yancey
Class of '97
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 178, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2007, newspaper, September 13, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142157/m1/3/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.