Author: Billie “Bugs” Dunlap

Greetings from Pax River!  

FOCUS ON THE MISSION!!!

As many of you may have heard, I recently retired from the U.S. Navy after a rewarding career spanning over 37 years.  During my ceremony remarks, I spoke about how one mission in life leads to another and how my military service to my country has slowly transformed into a veteran’s service to military members and their families.  Right now, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is reporting 1,597 Missing across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and China from the Vietnam War.  One of our Mission Statement objectives is, “To call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA)”.  That very important mission is taken up by ours and several other motorcycle centric organizations that may sometimes be confused with that of RFTW.  However, there are few if any other organizations that place as much emphasis as RFTW places on all our Mission Statements in such a proactive and dedicated way…

• To promote healing among ALL veterans and their families and friends;
• To call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA);
• To honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA) from all wars; and
• To support our military personnel all over the world.

Your loyal dedication to those statements throughout the year culminating in a 10 day coast-to-coast pilgrimage of ACTION in May is what makes Run For The Wall a unique and special thread in the fabric of our great nation.  It is very frustrating to have the successes and accomplishments of our efforts attributed to another organization regardless of how sincere their efforts, but we must remain focused.  A true Patriot is not one who stands on the shoulders of others shouting to demand their rights, but rather a true Patriot is one who stands at the base of those rights to protect and preserve them ensuring our future generations may enjoy them as well.

Just this past weekend, Gwynne and I had the pleasure of a lunch visit with RFTW family.  I encourage everyone to stay in contact, attend the weekend gatherings and reunions.  This is what keeps our relationships strong throughout the year and will help us all stay focused on what’s important.

To all my Brother and Sister Patriots, I salute you and look forward to serving you in the coming year as we honor and support the objectives of Run For The Wall and CONTINUE THE MISSION!

Watch for August Newsletter series coming soon…

Bugs out!

Billie “Bugs” Dunlap

Southern Route Coordinator 

Run For The Wall XXXI

Greetings from Pax River!  

After Action Report Update…

Quite a few folks mentioned to me that they’d like to see some feedback on the AAR’s.  So far, the Southern Route Riders have generated over 50 After Action Reports (AAR’s) and I have read every one of them – thank you to everyone who took the time to write.  (It’s not too late – they are still coming in!)  The most commonly referenced items are addressed below along with the number of times they were referenced in an AAR:

1. Rider Training (14) – This topic is extremely important and each of us as conscientious riders should take responsibility to ensure we are capable of handling our machines and always seeking to improve our skills.  Our Board President emphasized this very issue in nearly all his newsletters from last year.  With that being said, there are many different training opportunities out there and I encourage everyone to take advantage of them to improve their skills before RFTW XXXI.  I will be doing that very thing myself!
2. Route Selection/Detours (9) – RFTW XXX Southern Route experienced some extreme challenges with an unexpected arduous detour and the growing pains of a new stop along the route.  Your leadership team will be closely reviewing the issues associated with both in order to determine the best course of action for next year.  
3. Schedule/Stops (8) – The Run schedule governing dwell time at each stop and the process by which that time is monitored are both under review.  Thank you all for the ideas on how to start and stop the clock as well as where we might shave some extended dwell time off a few of the locations.  You can expect some noticeable revisions coming for the RFTW XXXI Schedule.
4. Staging (8) – There were some evident growing pains with the large number of participants on RFTW XXX as well as some issues with the equipment used to organize the multiple staging locations.  Many of the staging team members submitted AAR’s with ideas for improvement that promise to make next year’s operation better than ever.

There were several other issues touched upon such as Fueling Process, FNG Mentoring/Liaison, CB Requirements, and Trucker Coordination and almost all were constructive, thoughtful comments and suggestions – THANK YOU!  Your Leadership Team will be reading every one of these AAR’s to help generate actions improving our Run.

Watch for Part 3 coming soon…

Bugs out!

Billie “Bugs” Dunlap

Southern Route Coordinator 

Run For The Wall XXXI

Greetings from Pax River!  

I am extremely honored to have been confirmed as your RFTW XXXI Southern Route Coordinator and look forward to another successful and rewarding year serving you all and this great Mission.  

LEADERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

For my first announcement as RC, I am very happy to tell you that Bob “Captain America” Nelson has been confirmed by your Board of Directors as the RFTW XXXI Southern Route ARC.  Bob has been a major contributor to the continued success of our Southern Route having served in a number of demanding leadership positions.  He recently served for two years as our Platoon Coordinator and just this year he qualified as a Road Guard.  As I write this he is in the middle of completing the Hoka Hey Challenge.  Please congratulate him when you get the chance and show him the same fantastic support that I’ve enjoyed over the past year.

Next, I’d like to send out a GIANT THANK YOU to everyone who put so much of their time, effort, donations and HEART into making RFTW XXX such a HUGE SUCCESS.  Chad “Slacker” O’Dell was absolutely the right leader for that Run and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for the enormous personal investment he made toward its success.  His was an investment that will pay off for us all in the years to come.

As the RFTW XXXI train starts rolling toward next May, we are all very fortunate to have so many of our great leadership team returning…

 

Three very important leadership roles still not yet assigned are Ambassador Lead, Staging Lead, and Finance Coordinator.  If you have a heart to serve the Mission and the Riders of RFTW, then we need you on the team!  It’s not too late if someone out there is interested in one of these very important jobs.  As usual, I expect to have the entire team assigned by the end of the Kerrville Reunion.

The Southern Route Coordinator News will be published throughout the year in several parts per month so that you can read through quickly and stay informed.

Watch for Part 2 coming soon…

Bugs out!

Billie “Bugs” Dunlap

Southern Route Coordinator

Run For The Wall XXXI