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Excerpt from our Vision Statement:

...THE WARRIORS' WATCH RIDERS ENVISION A DAY WHEN EVERY MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES, AT HOME AND ABROAD, AND THEIR FAMILIES, FEEL APPRECIATED, HONORED, RESPECTED AND LOVED BY THE CITIZENS THEY RISK THEIR LIVES TO PROTECT...

From the Gazeebo...  

Spring is about to Spring!

If you are anything like me, you are by now bouncing off the walls in anticipation of balmy days and short nights. Today we were teased by mamma nature - blue skies, "warm" temperatures, all that against the backdrop of piles of plowed snow. The streets and lots are running with water melting from all that old snow, and it will keep on doing so for quite awhile.

But the daffodils are sprouting in the front garden, and the world is once again being renewed, coming back to life after months of dreary cold and dark. Soon we will detect the smell of cut grass, and the sound of V-twins freshly de-tethered from their trickle chargers will fill the air. The riders on those garaged bikes will do "the wave" as they pass you, and you are entitled to just chuckle to yourself, saying "where have you been all winter long, brother?"

While most had their bikes under blankets out in the garage, we were riding -cold, dark, wet, riding - to greet and honor our heroes - our nation's Warriors.

But soon you'll be able to go for a ride without spending two hours putting on layers, and then having to hire a crane to lift you up and put you down on the scoot (whatever you do, don't fall. You ain't getting up again.) Having done the hard rides, you are all the more entitled to rejoice and enjoy the easy rides.

This issue of The Weekly Ride (which could be more accurately named the "occaisional" Ride) is devoted to getting back to the philosophy of what we do and why. Remember, our goal is to have everyone in the country treating our troops like celebrities, and we are well on our way to realizing that goal.

See you on the road!

Of Politics and Pacifism... 

There is a leftist group in West Chester, Pa., that has written publicly in their newsletters and blogs that the Warriors' Watch Riders are a “far-right” “war mongering group,” and who have compared us, the WWR, and me, Lutz, with the Pagans MC (the motorcycle connection) and with Fascists. Should we, the Warriors' Watch Riders, play down our support for the troops, or perhaps give it up altogether, because some see troop-support as “political?” To some people, War is evil, and warriors are the tools of evil, and that's that. So people like us who honor the evil warrior are also evil.

Let's examine our own, personal motives. Are you a “war monger” or a Pacifist? Do you “support” the war in (pick a war) or do you oppose that war? Are “right-wingers” war-mongers? Are “Liberals” also Pacifists? If anyone ever asks you those or similar questions, don't be trapped. You need to start by rejecting the premise of that question. The over-simplification of the terms used above and the either-or nature of the questions demonstrate why it is dangerous to label people or groups.

Here at the WWR we are fond of saying that we avoid “politics,” and that's true. But I put “politics” in quotes because the definition of the word sometimes depends on your starting point. For example and as I said to a friend the other day, the WWR is a troop support organization, and the very existence of a standing military force in the United States is “political.” Our Founding Fathers feared a standing army. After the Revolution was won, the continental army was disbanded – the citizen soldier was to go home. All able bodied men were to be armed at all times, ready to be called up if needed – the “militia.” A standing army, it was feared, could be used by a future corrupt government to impose martial law and tyranny. At the time, the push for a standing army came from Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists. It was fiercely opposed by the 2^nd President, John Adams. The argument was a political argument, and the ultimate decision to form a standing army was, then, very much a political decision. Often, one man's “politics” is another man's “patriotism.”

I mention this only to point out that “politics” is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. As thinking people we sometimes understand that a certain degree of politics is unavoidable in the defense of the nation. Part of the mission statement of the WWR states that “we will support the mission of our uniformed brothers and sisters.” That means that we are not going to “protest” the war, the very mission that our troops sacrifice and risk to serve. If someone among us absolutely cannot support the mission (the war), then he or she will at least keep silent about it while engaged in “official” WWR activities.

But I am very uncomfortable with the wording, “supporting the war.” No right-minded person actually “supports” war. War is a horror and no one knows that better than our military and veterans. There is no hairy protester, no militant vegetarian, no liberal politician who wants and prays for peace more than the soldier in the foxhole does. But the difference between folks like us and those who go out and “protest the war” is that we recognize that war is sometimes unavoidable. America's wars have liberated untold millions of humans around the world from Slavery, from Fascism, from the Nazis and the Communists, and now from Islamo-fascism. When the Allies finally took Germany in 1945, they were frozen with disbelief when they discovered the concentration camps. Suddenly, if any one of them had doubts, the knew for sure why they fought.

In cases like the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, or the Islamo-fascist attacks on New York and the Pentagon, the only alternative to war is to do nothing – pacifism. And there are many who, with the best of intentions, advocate for pacifism even in the face of evil. Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minster of Great Britain at the opening of WWII, held a position of pacifism and appeasement toward Germany while Hitler's massive war machine cast its evil shadow across Europe. He even signed an agreement with Hitler in 1938, conceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. Chamberlain's inaction in the late 1930's ended up costing countless lives. At the time, George Orwell said “Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist,” and there are few better illustrations of that than Neville's inaction while Germany grew stronger.

One of my favorite bumper-sticker slogans comes from a sign I first saw back in '02, held by a “counter protestor” at an “anti-war” rally. The sign reads, “Except for ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism, War Has Never Solved Anything.”

Robert Heinlein called the anti-violence doctrine, the idea that violence never solves anything, “historically untrue and thoroughly immoral.” He writes that “Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedom.”And the one thing that Americans have always valued above all else is their lives and their freedom, which helps to explain why the world always turns to us to preserve their freedom.

And so, the American Warrior answers the call of his nation and of the world for their salvation from yet another threat to life and liberty. It is that selfless American tradition, carried forward into a new generation of horrors and attacks on liberty, that our warriors uphold, and that we, the Warriors' Watch Riders, honor. And from our perspective, the American Warrior is not engaging in “politics” when he answers his nation's call, and the Warriors Watch Riders are not engaging in “politics” when we honor those solders for answering that call.

There are those who will disagree, such as the leftist group in West Chester, Pa., mentioned in the opening of this essay. Ironically, it is also they who use the freedom that was purchased for them by the blood of warriors to denounce those same warriors. They benefit from that which then condemn:

“Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay -- and claims a halo for his dishonesty.” — Robert A. Heinlein

So we, the WWR, call ourselves a-political, or non-political, but we do so while also acknowledging that we see “politics” from the viewpoint of a line that we have drawn, and that others will draw their lines in other places. We honor our Nation's Warriors without guilt and without justifying what we do to anyone. We simply ignore the lines that are drawn by others, and pay them no heed. We go ahead and honor our nation's warriors – and support their mission - at every opportunity, because we know it's the right thing to do – and that's all the reason we need.

- Wayne Lutz 

Missions go On!

We have not been much less busy because of the winter months. Most WWRiders ride all year long, stopped only by actual ice and snow on the roads. PLEASE continue to follow the Mission Planning forums for Confirmed missions. There are four forums for Confirmed Missions, one for each WWR Region.

Region 1 (Atlantic States)

Region 2 (Central States)

Region 3 (Mountain States)

Region 4 (Pacific States)

Also, read the stories through the after action reports and photos on the main website, which is continually updated. Remember, this is all about honoring our troops, one at a time or one unit at a time. Without that purpose, all the rest is just noise.

In the Warriors' Watch Store (and at Free American Biker) we have stocked up on one of the most popular items - the American Flag arm patch.

Many people have questions about the etiquitte of wearing the flag of the United States on clothing. At Free American Biker we think there is no more important patch or pin that you could wear - the American Flag, followed in importance by the POW/MIA symbol. When sewing an American Flag Patch to your clothing, put the flag in a prominant position, but use common sense. For example, if I see an American Flag Patch on the vest over the heart, I see honor. The same patch sewn to the seat of the pants would anger us - a lot.

Avoid buying American Flag patches with something else embroidered over the flag, such as an Eagle, or some wording. I see many flags and flag patches for sale that have, say, an eagle or a biker on the flag. Those are cool, but not proper. Nothing should be over the flag, regardless of good intentions.

NEVER buy a flag with something other than stars in the blue field. An American Flag with a peace symbol in the blue field is a DESECRATION of the flag and if we had our way it would be banned by law. Writing or images behind, around, under the flag is fine.

In the WWR store we have the flag patch in four colors: normal (red, white and blue), "blood-red," Olive Drab (jungle subdued) and desert brown (desert subdued.) The subdued patches are military-style patches. The full color patches with the gold border are also military style patches. The Blood-Red patch symbolizes in a dramatic way the blood shed by our warriors to preserve the flag.

If you wear the patch on the front of a vest or jacket, the blue field should be on the observer's LEFT. If you wear the flag on the upper arm, the blue field should ALWAYS BE FORWARD - always advancing, never retreating, military style. We have three types of military style patch here and at FAB.  Go to the store to check these out:

THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH, AND ALL OF THOSE WHO DO, HAVE, OR WILL DEFEND HER, AT HOME AND ABROAD.

- Wayne Lutz

*This newsletter is named "The Weekly Ride" or "The Ride", for short, in memory of and to honor Sgt. Jennifer Hartman, U.S. Army. Sgt. Hartman was killed in Iraq by America's enemies. She died in defense of our freedom at the age of 20. This quote from Jennifer was read at her graveside:

"It's not about what happened in the past. It's not about what might happen in the future. It's about the ride, for Christ's sake."

Click here for a Tribute to Sgt. Jennifer Hartman: "The Ride"