I hope this message finds you doing well. The late spring and summer months have been tough, with the passing of dear friends, the nearly uncontrollable wildfires across the country, the heat in some areas and the torrential rain in others. Let’s take a moment to take stock of what we are grateful for, and as we do on the Run, reach out to those less fortunate in their time of need.
Mission Statement
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.
RFTW Philosophy
We strive to maintain a safe, supportive and private atmosphere in which all participants can reflect and heal on their journey to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. and the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial in Marseilles, Illinois in the hope they can return home to a new beginning.
As I write this, Gunny Gregory and a whole host of riders are traveling to Sturgis. Gunny is being inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame for his lifelong contributions to motorcycling. In support of this, our Merchandise Director designed and is selling a commemorative shirt based on the original 89’er shirt. If you would like to purchase a limited-edition shirt, just click here. We do not plan on any additional production of this shirt; when they are gone, they are gone.
At the recent Board Face-to-Face Conference, we reviewed the Central Route experiment on using GMRS in lieu of CB radios. The experiment was pretty successful, so much so that the BoD added a change to the SOPs allowing, at the RCs discretion, use of GMRS in lieu of CBs on the RFTW 2025 Run. We anticipate GMRS being the required standard in the next couple of years. Each RC will release more detailed information specific to their route in the very near future.
I recently participated in a podcast covering Run For The Wall. The organization, One Gang Worldwide, asked detailed questions covering many aspects of our Mission and Run.
If you feel it warranted, please feel free to post this to various groups and pages. Please also consider subscribing to their channel. They are ardent supporters of veterans, RFTW, and motorcycle riders, and all-around good folks.
Our calls for AAR’s post Run resulted in our receiving a record number of submittals. Even our FNGs sent AARs – please keep it up! But one word of caution; we often follow-up on AARs, so please ensure they are fact-based and include examples of YOUR observations. I ask this because all too often when we discuss the particulars of an AAR with someone, the feedback we receive is second or third hand.
The content of AARs was also a topic of discussion at the recent Face-to-Face (F2F) conference in Dallas where we covered a lot of territory in a short period of time. I’d like to take a minute to discuss a couple of the prevalent areas of concern, both from a rider’s perspective and the RC/BoD perspective.
One of the things that we find most disturbing is ATTITUDES. I ask that you take a moment and reread the Mission Statement and the RFTW Philosophy shown above. Nowhere does it imply it is okay to bring or display an attitude on the Run. They simply are not acceptable and are inconsistent with both Mission and Philosophy. Far too often we hear of hats publicly berating and even yelling at someone. There is a difference between trying to be heard over the noise of 300 motorcycles and publicly and loudly berating someone. The former is to be expected, the latter – never! Check your attitudes at the door. If you are struggling, seek the private counsel of one of our chaplains, talk it over with your leader.
One of the other issues is the failure of a few Platoon Leaders to properly brief their riders on the daily issues affecting the ride. RCs cannot cover every detail, so they rely on their Platoon Leaders (PL) to take responsibility to ensure their platoon is briefed DAILY. From a review of the AARs, it seems like this mandatory requirement is sometimes glossed over. That omission cannot continue. It is the charge of our PLs to meet and get to know the members of their platoon. You are there to help ensure they and their bikes and gear are ready for the challenges ahead. You are there to help ensure their Run meets the Mission and Philosophy we adhere to. I’m not suggesting all PLs failed in this area; the numbers are actually quite small. But this was noted on AARs across the routes. One of the items we are currently working on is an RFTW Leadership Guide with expectations of our various leaders outlined along with sample briefing sheets. We hope to have this finalized and published in the next few months. Suggestions in the form of an AAR are always welcome.
There are some forthcoming changes to our organization structure. We’ve redefined the position of Platoon Coordinator and increased the responsibilities of that position, while reducing the administrative demands on the RC and ARC. Your RCs will brief you on these changes and how they are going to implement said changes on their routes.
We also heard quite a bit about meetings in Lot D, and how the information and messages oftentimes did not change across the various groups being addressed. We had a fruitful discussion with the RCs on ways to reduce the number and length of meetings and of the need to focus each meeting on issues impacting the group you are meeting with. Leaders do not need to hear the FNG briefing; in point of fact, much of the leadership meetings can be conducted via Zoom before we ever reach Ontario. Targeted discussions along with more interaction between FNG Coordinators and FNGs seem to be the messages in the AARs. We hope to meet that goal.
One final note on an issue with which we need your support. Without your ideas and fundraising efforts, RFTW would cease to exist. But we also encountered a couple of frustratingly negative fundraising actions this past year, both of which were conducted by long-time riders. Our fundraising rules exist so that we can protect the interests of RFTW. Fundraisers are RFTW centric or Route specific; you cannot conduct a fundraising activity under the guise of RFTW and then use the money as you see fit. That simply isn’t acceptable and cannot be tolerated. All fundraising activity requests must be sent to the RC, who will in turn coordinate the request for approval in compliance with RFTW By-laws and IRS Charitable organization requirements. Funds raised by a route through the efforts of a volunteer must go directly to the finance person on that route, and from there to the Treasurer. The funds CANNOT be deposited in a private account and then a check written against that private account to the route finance or the Treasurer. The IRS does not allow or condone that practice. I know it is frustrating, but we can ill afford to come afoul of the IRS.
Also at the F2F, we asked our Secretary to begin breaking apart the SOPs so that the RCs can provide relevant information and expectations to each of their leaders. I know Corey is working on that along with many other things, but we do anticipate this being complete in the next couple of months. More to follow.
On a much brighter side, as you have heard by now, in a special tribute to our origins, RFTW 2025 is the “Year of the Vietnam Vet”. We have special shirts, pins and patches in design and production, along with some other merchandise products supporting that theme, and some potential changes to our route structure for 2025. On the route structure changes, we asked the RCs to work on developing a Vietnam Vet-only platoon on each route. This platoon will ride as the first element behind the MMF, led by Vietnam Vets specifically for Vietnam Vets, on the Coast to Coast (C2C) Routes. Also, our Missing Man Formation (MMF) bios on the 3 C2C routes will focus on those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. We are also working on a special guest speaker for our departure from Lot D. While it is too early to announce as we do not yet have a firm commitment, we hope to make RFTW 2025 a memorable anniversary year. Keeping this in mind, 2026 will be the 35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm and we are already working on plans for that Run.
On the really good news front, there are a couple of announcements that are forth coming on some long-awaited topics. I don’t want to steal the thunder of the directors working on these projects, so they will be posting individual announcements in the near future.
I leave you with this: It is not the worst thing to die in war, it is not the worst thing to be missing in war. The worst thing is to be forgotten in War.
No one left behind is more than a standard we all live up to. It is a way of life. It is part of our Mission. If you or someone you know find themselves struggling with their mental health, please know you can contact the VA Veteran’s Crisis Line by dialing 988 then press 1 or text 838255 and speak or chat with a qualified responder.
Let us dedicate ourselves and our efforts and remember to keep our focus on the Mission. It is why we ride!
Is it May yet?
John “Turkey” Staub
President, RFTW, Inc.
2011- CR FNG
2012 – CR Participant
2013 – CR Staging Team
2014 – 2015 – CR Staging Team Ass’t. Lead
2016-2017 – CR Staging Team Lead
2022 – CR Platoon Coordinator
2023-2024 – CR/SB Road Guard
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Midway Route Photos from previous runs are no longer available. 