Gary, thank you for a very inciteful article. I understand the vehemence on the part of all the participants in this discussion. Having been an actual participant at both the confrontation in the Wash, and now going up this Friday to the Ranch for the 3rd time, I believe I can bring some light to this discussion.
There were several organizations who disgraced themselves during this event! Unfortunately the OKs was one of them. Leaving the field, and those who you had pledged, to hide in a motel room nearby, at the expense of their members, was an unconscionable act! Your people ran from the field of battle, which in itself is a terrible act of cowardice!
This is not meant in any way to defame the brave men and women OKs who came out to defend freedom and a wonderful family, because as in any structure, the leadership is responsible for the actions of its people. So, if you were ordered by the OK leadership to abandon your posts, no one can condemn you for following orders, or even for ignoring those same craven orders, and standing your ground as some did! However, your national leadership should not only be ashamed of themselves, but they should be very carefully scrutinized by the membership as to their qualifications, and fitness for leadership!
I am sorry that will rub many of you the wrong way, but you did not see the militia packing up and high-tailing it to safety! And, I do not believe that their leadership would have ever issued those orders to abandon that family to their fate, under ANY circumstances! Especially, if we believed that the Intel was real! This “Sanctity of Purpose” is exactly what differentiates the “REAL” militia from the keyboard commando organizations, and the posers! In addition, any militia leadership issuing such an order would be removed immediately by any “REAL” militia citizen-soldiers!
Remember, it was the Citizen-Soldiers who stood, while the supposed professionals left! That is the now the OK legacy, unfortunately!
The next big issue deals with the two different organizations who attempted to co-opt the headship of this mission, and did everything to aggrandize themselves and their organizations at the expense of the movement, and the Bundy family! Both the OKs and the ASM should be ashamed for attempting to subvert the authority of the man, hand-picked by the Bundys, to be their specific representative! This was very wrong! Neither of those organizations were given the authority to be in charge of things at the Ranch, and they both attempted to usurp that authority; the ASM directly, and the OKs by proxy! Again, Shame On You!
And, I am not even going to go into the financial improprieties on the part of the OKs. Sorry, but the truth hurts, and although this will not make make many OKs happy, and might cause some members to leave once the entire truth comes out; I believe that this many be a necessary house-cleaning in order to save the organization! I think you guys perform a vital function, but please, please don’t try to be militia until you change your leadership and get trained! Yeah, sounds bad, but militia is NOT the US Military, and there is a whole different thing that goes on with it, but they ran rings around the OKs vets on-site, with a very few exceptions.
Sorry, Tough Beans, LEARN FROM IT! This way you won’t put people in a position to get people killed next time!