Guard Duty

Known only to God, the most prestigious guard duty in American military service is that of the Tomb Guards at Arlington National Cemetery, guards at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.

The soldiers who stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are hand-picked and rigorously trained. They have come from every state in the union, every walk of life. There are men and women who, for some this is their first unit in the Army, others are veterans of many years. Over the years there have been Regular Army and Draftees, the duty is not for everyone. Over 80% of the soldiers who tryout for this duty do not make it.

Each soldier must have strong military bearing, discipline, stamina and present an outstanding soldierly appearance. Each Sentinel must be able to flawlessly perform seven different types of walks, honors and ceremonies. They must retain vast amounts of knowledge concerning the Tomb, Arlington National Cemetery, the United States Army and their unit. In conflict, the most important duty assigned to any soldier is that of guard. Guarding the perimeter, in time of battle is essential to the safety of comrades. To not be alert, to sleep on duty, to be the reason that the enemy penetrates is sufficient for imprisonment. To be known for negligence on guard duty, much like a child molester is in civilian prison, is a disgrace in military prison. I am one of the very few relatives if any, who knows about a distant cousin who was imprisoned for sleeping on guard duty. As far as I know, I am the only one alive who still knows about this family disgrace.

We all should know about the essentials of guard duty. We have all been exposed to the deception of the enemy, the deceivers among us, the demons, ever present, attacking the very core of our existence as individuals and as a nation. Satan has infiltrated while our guards were asleep. The diabolical enemy is in control, but our defender, God of the universe, is greater. Satan is no match for God. God will guard you with His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, the sovereign of the universe.

God is guardian of your sight against all the corruption which will surely come your way, pornography, incestuous addictions, attractive heathen delights. God is guardian of your hearing against the senseless lyrics and music polluting the air around you. He will guard you from the cursings and vain speech of the uninformed. Remember, those who use profanity, have not acquired a sufficient vocabulary. The babblings and hurtful words from an unbridled tongue cut like a two-edged sword. God will guard your own mouth from sputtering which many times it is necessary to retrieve. Words mean something, and as Winston Churchill said, “Words are bullets. Use them carefully.”

Pray for God to guard your soul, to keep you out of the eternal cauldron of darkness, screams of the damned and the molested babblings of sin-cursed minds.

Keep up your guard. Only you can do it. Self control, self discipline, self-honor the character characteristics which will determine your destination.

You have surely thrown a rock into a lake and seen the waves rippling out from it. The air is full of man-made signals, somewhere out in the ether, still rippling from its source, words which you have spoken, sounds which you have made. Not one can ever be recaptured. Oh, how I wish I could take back some of things I have said. I have a very caustic tongue, of all my many weaknesses, this is the greatest.

Once, in one of my businesses, an employee, an army retired master sergeant, who went into the business every morning to clean, repair, do whatever necessary for the opening of the business. He called me, he said, “the night manager forgot to lock the safe. It appears that everything is there, all the cash register drawers, but the safe is unlocked.” I said, “I'll be right there as soon as my assistant-driver gets here, in the meantime, call the manager and tell him to come to the office, don't tell him what is wrong.”

I arrived before the night manager, the building had been broken in previously. Several boy scouts could have done a better job finding the robbers than the local police, so I wanted to make sure that the building had not been broken into. When the manager arrived, he never denied not checking the safe twice to make sure it was was locked. In fact, he seemed unconcerned, which really provoked me. The retired sergeant said later, I have seen a colonel chew out an enlisted man before, but you win all the awards. I'm sure that boy would have rather taken a whipping than the chewing you gave him. Guard duty extends in many directions.

Always lock your car, always lock your house, never open an entrance door to anyone unless you are sure who is on the other side of the door. Believe me, if you are depending on law enforcement for your protection, you are out of luck. It took ten minutes for the police to arrive when the congresswoman and others were shot in Arizona. Twice in one year, the telephone lines to my house were cut. I'm sure someone was trying to get in, and cut the phone-line because the security system is connected to law enforcement, as if that would do any good. The deputy from the Sheriff's department and a lieutenant from the police department, both told me they could not do anything until “I was either robbed or killed.”

In every action involving money, coming out of the bank, making night deposits, when I was young, most banks had revolving doors in the front, a method of keeping the temperature inside stable. Thieves learned to snatch purses in revolving doors. In an age of technology, with online deposits and withdrawals, etc. There are not enough firewalls on your computer to give you protection. As a banker told me, we had rather replace your money, than to run down the thief. Guard everything about your life, more identities are stolen than anything else, your good name, your reputation, your health, your eternal salvation.

You only go around once, make the most of it, guard your ambitions, your dreams, you will never go any higher than your dreams. So blessed if you have talent, with talent you are so much further ahead than the rest of us. My oldest grandson has a marvelous voice, he has university degrees in theater and law, but is doing the sensible thing and going into a course of study involving his talent. The talented people are the great ones of the world. Charles Hayden Spurgeon, prince of preachers, said, “if you are called to preach, don't lower yourself to become King of England.”