Iraq

America’s 21st Century Spartans

Afghanistan

When policy makers finish talking, when debate has ceased, when negotiations have failed and orders are given, it becomes the mission of the young men before you to execute national policy.

Baghdad

You’ll engage in vicious close combat in one block, protect children as they attend school in the next and restore water and power on the third. All of this simultaneously.

The vast majority of your Drill Sergeants and your Company Commanders have been to the battlefield. They have moved under fire, they have seen the enemy up close and they know that this endeavor is deadly serious.

The best and the brightest are not necessarily on campus or in the corporate boardroom right now. Men, don’t ever think that the kids running around on some university campus have anything on you.

You are privileged to have the one advantage that they all covet, you will know, you will have facts about the goings on in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, the Philippines, the Balkans and many other places.

You’ll hold more responsibility and do more in the next few years than most people will do in an entire lifetime. High expectations, to be sure, but you will succeed, because you are the 21st Century American Spartan.

“It would be awesome if you could find a way To share this with our countrymen.”

1st Sgt Dave JobeBaker Company, Marine Infantry Division

While serving in Baghdad, my brother, LT Carl R Ward, lauded www.anysoldier.comfor their support of our troops. Rest assured, your packages reach their destination!

This Memorial Day, my sister-in law is serving in Afghanistan. Please remember all of our troops who are away from home and family this holiday.

With Special Thanks• I was thrilled to find Bill Coffey’s slide presentation, 21st

Century Spartans, on the Internet.• Soon after September 11, Sgt Jobe’s photo arrived in my

Inbox. At his request, I share it whenever I have the opportunity.

• I assembled the slides, the transitions and the special effects. Photo credits go to Sgt Jobe, Bill Coffey, my brother and his wife.

• We are a military family and understand fully the price that these men, women and their families pay to keep us safe. We can never repay them. We can only pray to God to keep them safe and bring them home again.

Pam Adams, President, CPI Training Solutions, Inc.

February 24, 2008To all American Warriors & Patriots,

In Nov 2007 I released a PowerPoint presentation tribute entitled, “These Are My Credentials”, and in January 2008 I released a similar tribute “On Point”, both of which generated an unexpected quantity of positive responses. (Google “These Are My Credentials Coffey” to find several links to these slides ). I Thank you for your kind and supportive words.

This presentation, “21st Century Spartans” , provides the verbatim text of a speech given in the summer of 2006 at Fort Benning Georgia during the “Boot Camp” graduation of Army Infantrymen. The speaker at this event, the Battalion Commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 58th Infantry Regiment, LTC Randolph C. White Jr., and his remarks need no introduction or comment from me. I will however, share with you a long standing personal opinion; I have always maintained that the one thing the best Soldiers in the world deserve, our American troops, is the best leadership in the world. Leadership which ensures our Soldiers are always the first priority, that their training and equipment is the best in the world, that their every need is addressed and satisfied to the best of our Army’s and our nation’s ability and that their service, bravery and sacrifices are always appreciated and never wasted. I believe LTC White is one of these leaders. Please read his verbatim remarks in the following slides to draw your own conclusions. Always remember our Soldiers, who make the sacrifices, take the fight to the enemy, get shot at and take the bullets, so we don’t have to.

Bill Coffey, Soldier (Retired)Colorado Springs, Colorado, USAwilliam.coffey@smdc-cs.army.mil

This presentation is provided fully without restrictions. You may use it, post it, distribute it, use its parts in any way you would like. This presentation may be considered “public domain”, while some of the photos may be copyrighted. I receive many photos without credit to the originators and therefore do not know the sources for many of them. The full text of this presentation can be found in the “Notes Page” section of this slide.

Bill Coffey,Basra Iraq, June 2006

Bill Coffey,Basra Iraq, June 2006