(The following piece was written by my former student Roxanne Turner Boughner and is featured here with her permission. It was written before the event faced possible cancelation due to the government shutdown. Copyright: Roxanne Boughner, all rights reserved.)

WHY I WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE ARMY 10-MILER

by

ROXANNE TURNER

     Today is a sad day as I have decided not to participate in the Army 10-miler 2025, which is to be held on October 12 in Washington, D.C. I ran this race many moons ago, and it was truly an experience of a lifetime. I remember slowly walking to the starting line with almost 35,000 fellow runners. I had goose bumps as the excitement of the race was unfolding while paratroopers jumped out of airplanes.  I didn’t track my run because I wanted to fully immerse myself in the experience.

     To me a big part of what makes this race so meaningful is the community that comes out to support it! The streets are lined with people from diverse backgrounds, bands, and the sprinkling of bag pipers. The encouragement, support, and pride of the community was tremendous and I couldn’t stop smiling as I ran at my slow and steady pace. I had the pleasure of running alongside a 90-year-old man, platoons, and people running in teams. It was incredibly moving to run by the historic monuments and buildings, a representation of what makes America a special place. Yes, we were there celebrating and supporting the U.S. Army, but it was also a moment to cherish the community that makes D.C. so special. When I reminisce on that experience, it felt like in that moment, both civilians and military personnel were congruent in living the Army Values:

·     Loyalty – Bear truth, faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other soldiers.

·     Duty – Fulfill your obligations.

·     Respect-Treat people as they should be treated.

·     Selfless Service-Put the welfare of the Nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own.

·     Honor-Live up to Army values.

·     Integrity- Do what’s right, legally and morally.

·     Personal Courage- Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral). (1)

    Now, here we are in Fall of 2025, with the National Guard deployed to Washington, D.C. and authorized to carry guns. The military is designed to protect us from foreign wars and invasion, and neither one of those is happening. In these times when I am conflicted about what to do, I think of my father, a Vietnam vet who served in the U.S. Air Force and is buried in Arlington Cemetery with his grandfather, who retired from the U.S. Army.  Both were men of great integrity who defended the rights of all. They would be horrified that the military is being used against U.S. civilians in conflict with the Constitution.

     My great-grandfather would be the loudest voice in the room because he fought in World War II and witnessed the atrocities of war first hand! Neither man would be okay with what we are seeing in Washington, D.C. and across the country; violence against citizens, people’s rights being violated, inhumanity and, frankly two sets of rules. This is the antithesis of everything they stood for and fought for.

     Why am I deciding not to participate in a race that I hold so dear even though I have been wanting to run in it again for the last 10-plus years? It is because I have been mortified and disgusted by what I have seen going on in our country and especially the deafening silence of those who have sworn--and should have remembered--their oath to the Constitution, not to party or person. I have been very conflicted since the National Guard was deployed while unidentified federal agents tackle and threaten Brown and Black individuals in the streets.

      Participating might in some way imply that I support the dismantling of our Constitution and American Democracy that is occurring in D.C. or that military role in our city streets is at all acceptable. I am watching the militarization of our nation, the suppression of opposition, and the wrecking ball fall on what made America a nation of individual rights. I do not want to be complicit in my silence either. None of this is acceptable.  I have struggled with what to do and I know it is a small stance to say I will not be participating in this year’s Army 10-Miler. Maybe you too will consider not participating in this event or others until we find our way back to the road of“We The People.”

(1) Daniels Chip. chapter 5 , p 63. Leadership Lessons from West Point, San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-bass; 2007

VOICES OF CONCERN FOR OUR IMPERILED DEMOCRACY

An Introduction by Gerald A. DiGrezio, Colonel, USA, retired

Below is a letter I signed along with 16 other members of my 1968 Infantry Officer Candidate School at Ft Benning, GA.  While we certainly do not claim that we represent the views of the entire class during this period of extreme political diversity, we are a group of mostly Vietnam Veterans with a very singular concern. The signers come from all political persuasions and areas of this country but are united in our concern for what has transpired during the past four years of this presidency.

We are in an era of time when each week a discovered situation would bring the demise of an administration, but we have become so shell shocked that it barely causes a ripple in the news cycle.  We are led by a president who is only concerned with his own image and is bereft of any concern for the Constitution and the rule of law.  Just two instances in a very long list are his multiple firings of Inspectors General and the U. S. Attorney in Manhattan.

The duplicity by the Republicans in Congress and the United States Senate has been palpable.  To watch the demise of a political party that prided itself on  patriotism and support of the Constitution has been mystifying at best and duplicitous at worst.

While we know that this letter will only be a raindrop in a deluge of national concern, the signers felt compelled to issue it.  After all, we took and oath to defend this country against all enemies “foreign and domestic.”  And while I never expected to say it, the greatest threat to the United States of America is resoundingly domestic.

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VOICES OF CONCERN FOR OUR IMPERILED DEMOCRACY

We the undersigned are former or retired army officers now in our seventies.  We share a common bond, having graduated from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia in 1968.  From there, we served in the military in a variety of capacities, wherever we were needed.  As young men, we were committed to defending America’s values, our freedoms, our democracy, and our Constitution.  Some of us made a career in the military, but most of us went on to have productive careers back home in the civilian world.  As a group, we have diverse political views: Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, and Conservatives.  But we are all concerned Americans.

In the past few months, our system of government has been increasingly under siege.  Our nation has reached this critical point under the current administration of Donald J. Trump.  Important voices have begun to speak out, led by respected members of the highest military rank.  We would like to join this chorus of alarm.

Our government structure, with its co-equal branches, is in jeopardy.  Our judicial system is reeling.  The FBI, the CIA and the NSA are being mocked and belittled.  Our Attorney General’s office is overtly politicized.  Our State Department is being decimated. Where are the voices of outrage in Congress? The Senate is virtually mute.

We are concerned that our country is rapidly spinning toward a Presidency staffed by family members and cronies in which the only prerequisite is blind loyalty.  The United States is withdrawing from the world, enjoying little respect internationally.  This cannot continue.  

Quoting James Mattis, a Marine Four Star General and former Secretary of Defense:

                 “We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority…We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

We honor the General’s courage, and emphatically call on both chambers of Congress to follow his lead in defending our democracy and our Constitution.  We urge all Americans to consider these ideals as you vote this Fall.

         Signed:                                                                   

Copyright: Gerald A. DiGrezio, all rights reserved.