I was still feeling a bit weak that first Day morning, after several days in bed with a bilious fever. But I was now better, and the weather in New York was fair.
My good wife agreed that a walk to Meeting would likely do me good. It was only four blocks to Rose Street, after all.
Several men Friends were milling around near the broad meetinghouse steps, on their way into the plain brick building. But one lingered, not going in. His tall figure was unmistakable even though his grey coat and broadbrim hat were like all the others.
It was Simon Goodloe, and he was standing on the top step, looking over and past the rest, evidently waiting for someone. And I thought that someone must be me, because as soon as he recognized me he came striding down the steps, long legs moving like those of a graceful grey crane, and extended his hand.
“Jacob Hicks, I heard thee was ill,” he said, his grip firm.
“I’m better,” I answered, “but grateful to be here.”
The forecast for Washington DC on Saturday June 14 is typical: hot, muggy, and with maybe a passing thunderstorm. The expected “realfeel” is pegged at 97 degrees, Fahrenheit, with high humidity.
Sweltering, in sum.
I lived near D. C. For a long time, before global warming was a thing. Late spring and summer were the worst.
George Washington sweltered here.
It was ever thus: “Very hot and sultry; indeed extremely so, “George Washington noted from nearby the not-yet built capital city in June of 1769. “A small breeze from the Southwd.” In July 1771 he memorialized a brief respite: “Clear & the Sun very hot but a pleasant breeze from the Westwd.”
To be sure, weather forecasts can change and cool. But if I were a lad in the uniform of the armed services, I’d sure be hoping that the orders to report for the president’s day of self-adoration would spare me.
Eons ago I was such a lad, unspared: lined up on a side runway at Schilling Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas, with several hundred other trainees, standing at parade rest under the same pitilessly bright sun. Even in our supposedly lightweight summer khakis, it was an ordeal: the waves of heat shimmered around us like silently shrieking demons, making the large hangars tremble in our vision, and we felt the heat reflecting up, melting the polish off our newly-shined shoes.
Schilling AFB Salina Kansas
What ceremony it was I have forgotten; surely no ego larger than a colonel — likely doing penance for some bureaucratic misstep — was in charge.
Anyway, the main event, glimpsed sidelong as we stood, was counting the number of airmen and my fellow ROTC cadets who withered and keeled over onto the white concrete pavement during the droning ceremonies, to be retrieved by a busy first aid squad, carried into the blessed hangar shade, and revived with water and salt tablets.
I wasn’t the first, or second among them, but soon enough the vertigo arrived and I sagged. There was no real shame to it; we weren’t there vying to be Green Berets. By that night, one of us had recovered enough repurpose a song from the movie West Side Story as our impromptu getaway anthem. It was a refrain from “Maria”, as crooned by the lovestruck Tony (Richard Beymer) in the film: Maria, I’ll never stop saying Mariaaaah. . .”
Which scanned perfectly as
Revised ”Sa-li-na,
I’ll never come back to Sa-li-naaaa.”
Sure enough, I never did.
Overall, our Schilling crucible was over in a couple of hours: we marched briskly out to it, unencumbered by extra equipment, and then shuffled back, damp and weary. But the 9000 men, women (and any daring disguised trans) warfighters on June 14 will not be so lucky. They’ll be coming in early, bunking up in government buildings, up and out early for setting up and assembling, a long day in heavy uniforms, costumes and weapons. Then afterward, breaking down, cleaning up and clearing out.
Lots of old tanks withbasphalt crunching metal treads. Planner say the treads will be specially cushioned. What could possibly go wrong?
This does not include allowance for that venerable military traditions of SNAFU/FUBAR (for civilians they mean Situation Normal All FouledUp, which can easily progress to Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. With regional variants for “fouled up.”) Any of this could quickly lead to the military condition of “Hurry Up & Wait,” which is much more annoying when the temperature is above 90.
Even if the whole schmeer goes off like clockwork, it will mean long sweaty days for troops, many (most?) of whom would rather be somewhere else. ForNo Kings protests, I hope friends will keep this in mind.
There were many snarky media cracks made about president Trump’s very weird West Point commencement address on May 24th. It was definitely up there on the crowded DJT Weirdness scale: a long shaggy dog story about an unhappy real estate developer and his unhappy trophy wife, a plop of freshly made up steaming malarkey about army recruiting breaking records (false), since his arrival, slanders of Biden, and so on.
But for my money, the real jaw-dropper came before the commander in chief even opened his mouth, and no news account of the event I’ve seen has yet taken note of it.
Which makes what is disclosed here sort of a scoop, namely:
Donald Trump was trolled and denounced in front of God, the1002 graduating cadets, and the world, to his face, by a serving general.
The culprit here was Lieutenant General Steven Gilland, the Superintendent of West Point, who introduced Trump.
Gilland’s speech was brief, and the opening was typically ponderous and forgettable boilrtplate, name-checking congressmen and other poohbahs, the 1975 grads there for a 50th year class reunion, families etc. Here are excerpts, with key terms in bold italics.
Mr. President . . . ladies and gentlemen good morning and welcome to West Point home of the United states Military Academy. We are tremendously honored to have you here today to celebrate the 1002 outstanding cadets of the class of 2025 as they graduate and Commission as the newest officers and leaders of character in your United States Army. . . .
But then, in a deceptively brisk monotone, Gilland spoke sternly and directly to the cadets. Here are more excerpts (Note that this commencement capped a presidential week in which Trump formally accepted a $400 million “gift” — aka “emolument, aka bribe — of a secondhand 747 jet from the Saudis; put the finishing touches on a dinner for top “investors”in his completely illegal bitcoin scheme, and ambushed South Africa’s president Ramaphosa in the oval office with false claims of a “white genocide” in his country. Just another go-round at the 2025 White House.)
Among other things. Gilland said:
[To the]Class of 2025, “together we thrive,” congratulations and well done. Today your experience at West Point may come to an end, but today really marks a milestone in your personal journey as you assume the mantle of leadership. . . for all of you, I just ask you to take a moment during the next few weeks while you’re enjoying some free time, to reflect on your time here: think about all the opportunities and experiences that you’ve had and the challenges you’ve overcome on the road to becoming a leader of character.
Think about the hard work some blood a lot of sweat as well as the grit, toughness determination and the continual pursuit of excellence. Think about the friends you’ve made and the relationships developed, the camaraderie with teammates, attacks instructors, coaches and old grads who encouraged and mentored you . . . as you pursue this journey as a leader of character remember today is about the responsibility of service. Service to our country and to the American people today is about challenging yourself, challenging others to be better: better teammates, better officers, better leaders, and character that starts with you each and every day.
Today is also about the responsibility of leadership as army officers: your responsibility to support and defend the Constitution of the United states, to be standard bearers to lead by example and embody what right looks like.
Most importantly today is about your responsibility, your obligation to the citizens of our nation and to your soldiers —America’s sons and daughters — to give them your very best leadership every single day.
Also take a moment to reflect (and)understand what it means to be a graduate of the United states Military Academy. People expect more from you as a graduate of this institution. You represent this institution and you represent the United States Army every single day.
You know you now join a proud legacy of leaders who committed themselves to selfless service and continual excellence guided by our army values and the ideals of duty honor country. Those ideals,they unify us and they define us. They define (those) who notably lead honorably and demonstrate excellence in everything that you do. Congratulations and godspeed to all of you.
Mr. president on behalf of the team at the United States Military Academy, (it) is an honor to present this outstanding class to you this morning, as our nation’s newest war fighters and leaders of character. [Applause.]
Gilland (left) speaks of character as Trump (right, in red MAGA campaign hat) looks at the floor.
Gilland delivered five calls to the class to be and stay “leaders of character” and urged them five more times to, in sum, “embody what right looks like. . . each and every day.” He even reminded them that the goal of their warfighting would be to defend the Constitution, not a politician.
All this while only a few feet away from the public official who flouts all such character standards and statutes more flagrantly than any predecessor, and is a convicted felon to boot.
Further, while Gilland lauded the “grit and toughness,” cadets had gained at West Point, there was no mention of the reigning theme of Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (Gilland’s superior), that is, “lethality,” aka unbridled killing.
Generals of Gilland’s rank are sometimes in contention to add a fourth star and be named army chief of staff. But among all the valor and fighting skills evoked by the medals and ribbons on Gilland’s chest (he sports ten rows worth), the successful generals also learn how to be diplomatic and oblique in the indoors combat among their peers likewise aiming to grab the brass ring.
And at his level, one surely needs to know how to kowtow to a sitting president.
But general Gilland definitely did not kowtow. My guess is his introduction of Trump, if the president was awake enough to actually hear it, did not do any favors for Gilland’s promotion prospects. In fact, in a close reading it comes across more as a coded resistance communiqué.
Maybe, as a civilian outsider, I’m like an unfinished AI program, and this interpretation is just one of my “hallucinations.” But then again, it could have been a veiled warning to the cadets that one of their biggest threats they’ll face as military officers may well come, not from enemy drones or snipers, but from their home base, the Pentagon, in orders trashing all the rules and directing them to turn the weapons on their own fellow citizens.
I wonder if any if them noticed, and are thinking about it.
From confidential Washington sources, the following excerpt is drawn from an account of the aftermath of the March 17 seizure and closing of the U. S. Institute of Peace, by armed agents of the DOGE administration. The account has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Brief Encounter at 2301
Mid-March, 2025, on the edge of the National Mall, not far from the Vietnam War Memorials.
It was almost break time, the leftover dinner pizza was hours cold, and Hennigan thought he heard something.
Standing up from the desk chair, he closed the Security Inc. employee handbook, which was making him drowsy anyway, and peered across the open atrium: first left, then right, following the protocol.
Everything seemed in order: several tiers of closed offices rose or each side. Lights were dim. Nothing moving.
Several men Friends were milling around near the broad meetinghouse steps, on their way into the plain brick building. But one lingered, not going in. His tall figure was unmistakable even though his grey coat and broadbrim hat were like all the others.
The culprit here was Lieutenant General Steven Gilland, the Superintendent of West Point, who introduced Trump.
