T&O CORRESPONDENCE

Perspective: Flight 18 submitted its T&O Proposal package in March 2009 in hopes of sparking discussion at the Flight Captains' meeting during the 6-10 May National Convention in Seattle. Very little discussion actually took place there, as the Tenets issue was declared moot because of an early-1970s referendum that approved changing the 2nd Tenet from "...fellow Daedalians" to ".......a fellow Daedalian." Also at the Convention, Flight 18's proposals regarding the Objectives were tabled and referred to the Board of Directors for consideration in July 2009.

Fearing the Board of Directors might "circle the wagons" and give short shrift to our concerns about the "new" Objectives, on 30 June 2009 (about three weeks before the BOD was scheduled to meet) Flight 18 submitted a follow-up letter via email to the National Commander urging that the Board seek comments from the membership prior to going final with any updates to the 2004 version of the Objectives. To see that letter, the National Commander's reply to it and our subsequent reply to him, scroll down to the bottom of this page, where it kicks off all the subsequent follow-on correspondence contained herein.

Even though the Objectives that had superbly guided and helped define the Order of Daedalians throughout its first 70 years of existence weren’t broke, somebody decided to fix ‘em anyway. In 2004 our traditional Objectives were scrapped and replaced with new ones written in slick Madison-Avenue-style lingo (like that euphemistic and forgettable slogan “An Army of One”). Where they were specific before, now they say nothing that is meaningful. They were tweaked a little in 2009, but remain conspicuously devoid of any reference to patriotism, love of country or comradeship, the ideals that inspired the creation of our fraternity in the first place.

We used to have an Objective that committed us to encourage the development of those attributes on which our Tenets are based—that is, patriotism, integrity and character. That Objective was deleted in 2004 and is still MIA.

Our traditional Objective of recruiting new members was also eliminated in 2004. Thankfully, that one was improved and restored for 2010 after a six-year absence.

In 2004, the Objective “To assist in the education of deserving persons in the fields of aerospace engineering and flight” was replaced by “Educate Americans to the advantages of Air and Space Power.” Huh? Inexplicably, awarding scholarships was dropped as a stated Objective of our Order. This year, the word “assist” was plugged back into the front end of this one, but just what “educating Americans to the advantages of Air and Space Power” is supposed to mean and where scholarships fit in is anybody’s guess.

Meanwhile, the closely related Objective “To encourage young people who receive valuable aerospace training to make the military their career” has been changed to read “To promote the rewards of a career in military aviation to young Americans.” Good luck promoting those rewards to young Americans who long to fly in the military when the demand for UAV base station operators now exceeds the demand for aircraft pilots. The sad reality is that with the rapid expansion in UAV capabilities and employment, military pilots are becoming an endangered species. How rewarding is that?

Something else that ain’t broke is the “Promise of a Daedalian”, which is printed on the backs of our membership cards. It includes these words, which every new member has raised his hand and recited for as long as anyone can remember: “To be worthy of the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians”. But it seems the Order’s second Tenet, as delineated in our official Bylaws, has for some time read “To be worthy of the trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian.” The problem here is the ambiguity of the phrase “a fellow Daedalian”. Which Daedalian would that be, the one who nominated me, one of the three who endorsed my nomination, my Flight Adjutant, my National Commander, the one whose dues are always delinquent, the one we think has recently stopped beating his wife, which one? Language so open to interpretation has no place in the controlling documents of a fraternity of military pilots. Would we accept an op-order that said, “Attack a target somewhere sometime tomorrow”? No! Pilots require specificity. Thankfully, someone long ago exercised excellent judgment in keeping that ambiguous phrase out of the Promise of a Daedalian. We should do the right thing now and make sure it stays out.

Returning to the matter of the Objectives, some of our traditional ones could use a light polishing, but by and large they should be restored. What we are all about is succinctly described on the inside cover of the Daedalus Flyer in the paragraph that begins “THE ORDER OF DAEDALIANS was organized…..” I suggest we review this description and make sure our Objectives remain true to its sentiments. For example, the originals could be streamlined a bit to read:

· Support military air and space activities to ensure our nation’s freedom and status in the world.

· Provide education assistance to deserving persons in aerospace-related fields; encourage those who receive valuable aerospace training to pursue military careers.

· Promote and encourage the development of those values on which the Order was founded: patriotism, integrity and character.

· Support activities which and recognize individuals who contribute to improvements in flight performance and flight safety.

· Actively recruit qualified new members to perpetuate the traditions and prestige of the Order, accomplish its stated Objectives, and carry on the legacy of our Founding Members and all who have flown in defense of our nation.

As our “species” of military pilots grows ever more endangered, it becomes increasingly important to hang onto those honorable traditions that bind us together as a fraternity. I hope my fellow Daedalians will communicate to our National leadership their agreement with the foregoing suggestions.

CAPT Spaulding is a former Flight Captain, Vice Flight Captain, Flight Adjutant, current 10-year editor of the Mile High Flight 18 newsletter, and author of feature articles of a historic nature about fellow Daedalians Bill Bower (Doolittle Raid), John Thompson (Guadalcanal) and Salty Saltsman (Stalag Luft III) which have appeared in the Daedalus Flyer and elsewhere nationally over the years. CAPT Spaulding is a 26-year naval aviator who also flew for the U.S. Air Force for the last two years of his career as a military pilot. He is a Life Member of the Order of Daedalians, Mile High Flight 18 and Falcon Flight 11.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

I have your letter to the editor of the Daedalus Flyer of 24 Aug 09 and this little note will attempt

to address your concerns regarding changes to the Order's Tenets and Objectives. Yours is a

well-reasoned and articulate letter and I'll use an old saw with which you may disagree: if we all

held exactly the same opinions and judgments, we'd probably all be chasing the same woman!

Evidently, our mutual friends in Denver have shared their thoughts on the subjects, so perhaps

what I'll relate in the next few paragraphs has already crossed your computer and your attention.

At our Quarterly Board of Directors' meeting at Randolph on 23 July, the Directors and Officers

spent quite a bit oftime discussing, reordering, and/or rewriting various Tenets and Objectives;

the results were voted on, one-at-a-time, and those results reflect a majority vote on each Tenet

and Objective. Some votes were unanimous, some were merely a clear majority; the votes were

First, it was a unanimous vote to ratify the current statement of the Tenet, "To be worthy of the

trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian." That vote was made with a full discussion of the

historical changes in the Tenet; every Director and Officer present voted to let the Tenet stand as

changed by a vote of the entire membership in the early 1970's. Permit me to quote myself in a

"The change to the wording of the second Tenet was the result of a review requested by

Lt. Gen. Hal George in 1971; i.e., "To be worthy ofthe trust and confidence ofa fellow

Daedalian." The rationale for the change apparently was based on the notion if one were worthy

of the trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian then one would be worthy of the trust and

confidence of ALL fellow Daedalians. At this same time, the third Tenet, "To succor a needy

Daedalian," was dropped. The changes were presented to the entire membership for a vote and

were approved by 99.9% ofthe voters. In 1970 the Order only had about 5000 members and in

Lt Gen Hal George was one of the Founder Members present at the forming of the Order

at Maxwell AFB in 1934; his opinion was always highly regarded when he was alive. He clearly

had a hand in the change and the entire membership voted overwhelmingly to adopt that change

almost 40 years ago. Six weeks ago, your Board of Directors saw no compelling reason to

change it back. What IS apparent is that the Order's administrative staffs screwed up - - they did

not make the appropriate changes to the Bylaws, membership cards and other necessary

paperwork. If the folks in charge back in the early '70's had had their stuff together, we

wouldn't be exchanging letters because you and I wouldn't even know there'd been a change!

The National Adjutant is taking steps to correct those administrative oversights from long ago.

Reasonable people can agree to disagree, Spud. You may disagree with Lt Gen George's

changes and the votes of the entire membership to ratify those changes; the most recent

consideration was done with quite a bit of thought and discussion on the part of the present

The Board also carefully considered each and every Objective. I'm told that Maj Gen Bud

Breckner had quite a bit to do with the 2004 changes to the Order's Objective; I don't know

whether or not he polled the members of Falcon Flight. I'm fairly certain that future Boards,

Flights and Order members will cuss and discuss our Order's Tenets and Objectives and these

will change as needs dictate. For now, though, the Board of Directors' recent efforts of six

weeks ago work will be appropriately publicized. We hope not to repeat the mistakes of

previous years: our Flight Manual, brochures, and other 'paperwork' should be changed to

Frankly, I'm proud that our members feel strongly about the Order's institutional core

statements, and thank you for your candor and thoughtful suggestions. I assure you that your

suggestions for changes to the Order's Objectives will be considered at our next Board meeting.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my Letter to the Editor of the Daedalus Flyer on

I am somewhat perplexed at your allusion to “chasing the same woman,” a concept with

which, as a naval aviator, I am unfamiliar. When it comes to women, Navy pilots are of

As you suggest, I have been privy to prior correspondence on the T&O issue between you

and Mile High Flight 18, in part because we used my e-mail account as a matter of

expediency. Indeed, it was the mention of letters to the Flyer’s editor in your 15 August

e-mail to Don Neary that prompted me to submit mine. My letter was intended as a

response to the planned fall-quarter introduction of the new T&O with the hope that it

would be published as such in the ensuing issue. As a regular contributor of feature articles

With regard to Bud Breckner, he was a fellow member of Falcon Flight 11, a fellow

Tailhooker, and a friend with whom I played ORBS golf, worked on preparations for the

2007 National Convention here in Colorado Springs, drank martinis and commiserated over

the loss of our respective spouses. I liked and respected him a great deal, but also

recognized that he was human and, therefore, was not infallible. In my opinion, the 2004

T&O changes—which I too understand were largely his doing—are evidence of that reality.

And while he would brief the Flight 11 membership occasionally on matters of concern to

(As you probably know, Bud was highly regarded in the local civilian community as well.

He had served for six years as a member of the Colorado Springs Airport Advisory

Commission and, on 1 September this year, a street in the airport’s business park was

renamed Bud Breckner Boulevard in recognition of his role in getting the park built.)

Finally, I must take issue with your assertion that preservation of the Promise of a

Daedalian in its current form has been due to oversight or incompetence on the part of prior

administrative staffs. There have been too many instances in which National Commanders,

Adjutants and others have quoted the Promise in the Flyer, exactly as it reads today, to

believe that the grammatical difference between the Second Tenet and the Promise had

either gone unnoticed for almost 40 years or was accidental in the first place. I urge you to

hold out the possibility that for all these years the Promise has been faithfully preserved just

as all of us recited it when we joined the Order. In my opinion, it would be a breach of the

Order’s heritage to now revise the historically often-evoked Promise in order to incorporate

language of the Second Tenet that, notwithstanding its bureaucratic history, many of us

consider to be flawed. Instead of remaining prisoners to that sort of history, we should

honor the heritage in which we and legions of our predecessors have participated by

conforming the language of the Second Tenet to that of the traditional Promise rather than

The above Letter to the Editor was prompted by an email response ten days earlier from the National Commander to a letter from Don Neary. Below is the email message from the National Commander, which essentially says that the Board decided to act on its own authority without input from the membership or from the Flights on the T&O issue as Flight 18 had recommended:

SPEAKING FOR FLIGHT 18, FLIGHT CAPTAIN DON NEARY RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY TO GEN DULA's E-MAIL WITH ONE OF HIS OWN:

Thank you, sir, for keeping us informed on the T&O issue. As you know, each of my communications to you as Chairman of the Board has been on behalf of all members of Mile High Flight 18, including but not only our Flight Provost Marshall Col Dale Boggie. Regarding his recent letter to you, I asked him to write it because as the sole member of our Flight present at the Seattle Convention, he was able to speak with first-hand knowledge of what transpired there.

We are of course pleased that the Board chose to adopt a portion of our recommendation regarding the recruitment of new members. However, we were disappointed that Flight 18’s recommendation, contained in my letter and e-mail dated 30 June 2009, that the Board solicit comments from the Flights before finalizing their T&O revisions appears not to have been addressed.

The Flights were invited to comment several years ago when new membership eligibility criteria were under consideration, and we think this proved to be a healthy and productive process. Two examples of the sort of comment that might result from a similar process this time are the following:

In 2004, the Board replaced the Objective that read “To encourage and stimulate the younger generations in developing those attributes that are the basis of the Tenets of the Order” (that is, patriotism, integrity and character) with “Honor the legacy of our Founder Members and all who have flown in defense of our nation.” While the language of the original Objective might have been streamlined somewhat, the 2004 rewrite did much more – it eliminated the encouragement of patriotism, integrity and character as a specific and fundamental objective of the Order. This deletion represented a profound change in what Daedalians are all about. Regrettably, this year’s revisions do not correct what we believe was a major mistake in 2004.

In 2004, the Board replaced the Objective that read “To assist in the education of deserving persons in the fields of aerospace engineering and flight” with “Educate Americans to the advantages of Air & Space Power.” We pointed out that this change basically eliminated the provision of scholarships, one of our most important Flight activities. In an attempt to correct this oversight, the Board this time around further revised the objective to read “Assist in educating Americans to the advantages of air and space power.” While we appreciate the Board’s attempt to reintroduce the notion of scholarships, this revision tries to marry two incompatible concepts. First, we don’t offer scholarships to the general population of Americans and, second, we are unaware of any college that offers a degree in the advantages of air and space power. Again, we feel the original language was far superior to either version that supplanted it.

In our opinion, the most appropriate way to proceed would be to publish in the Daedalus Flyer the T&O produced by the Board in July 2009 as "Proposed Tenets and Objectives", along with the pre-2004 T&O and the revisions approved in 2004 and invite comments from the Flights by a specified date.

If you are amenable, sir, since Mile High Flight 18 has probably been the "squeakiest wheel" on the T&O issue, we would be happy to draft an article for the Flyer that would incorporate all of the foregoing plus our particular comments and concerns. Such an article is likely to generate comments from other Flights that would be invaluable to the Board.

MEANWHILE, DALE BOGGIE REPLIED TO GENERAL DULA'S 5 AUG LETTER TO HIM AS FOLLOWS (see both the General's letter and Dale's first letter, which elicited the General's response, immediately below this one):

I guess we will agree to disagree. But, one thing is certain. In my humble opinion the National Board of Directors has abdicated its responsibility to preserve and protect the Order of Daedalians.

We asked that two letters be changed in the 2^nd Tenet. Delete the a before fellow and add an s to Daedalians. That is a simple request, but one with far reaching implications.

The original wording of the 2^nd Tenet: To be worthy of the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians was true to the fraternal nature of the Order. It is a concept that helped the POW’s in camps commanded by former National Adjutant, Col. Ted Guy, survive. Read about it in the December 1974 issue of the Daedalus Flyer. This is well after the change of the 2^nd Tenet to a fellow Daedalian by the 1971 Board.

That 1971 Board action apparently went unnoticed until I learned about it in 2005. None of the other accompanying documents had been changed, such as: :The Flight Manual with the Promise of a Daedalian in the Induction Ceremony that I have conducted many times, or the Charge accompanying the 2^nd Tenet that your conduct with other members shall be above reproach, or the wallet cards issued to all new Daedalians, only now being changed. But, the oath I took, the promise I made, can never be changed.

Let me quote two sentences from Col Guy’s remarks: “The two tenets of the Promise of a Daedalian- to place nation above self and to be worthy of the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians – struck an important chord in my memory. During the entire time that I was a prisoner of war, I operated my camps on similar tenets: that as American fighting men we would resist the enemy for as long as we were physically and mentally able before we would bring dishonor or embarrassment to our country, family or fellow POWs.” I challenge anyone to tell me that a fellow Daedalian concept would fit that scenario.

Those original Tenets also made long time member Col. Ken Herman proud to be a Daedalian. Read his from the heart essay in the Spring 1992 issue of the Flyer.

The revision of the 2nd Tenet: To be worthy of the trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian changes the whole notion of the Order from a fraternity into an individualistic club. No matter what skeleton might come out of the closet or happen, as long as one individual vouches for the member, he stays a member or must be accepted as one. That is not a fraternity any more, it is an “Army of One.” concept.

Then the “Vision Committee” did a hatchet job on the Objectives. Let me be clear. There is nothing inherently wrong with the objectives they came up with. I can support each and every one.

What is drastically wrong is what they threw out. Putting them side-by-side it becomes obvious. For example, there is no mention of supporting the many other activities the military services are involved in on a daily basis to increase our prestige among nations of the world. The whole emphasis is narrowed to support “National Defense”. .There is no mention of assisting in the education of those involved in aerospace studies, or call it air and space if you will. The remark that aerospace was changed to “…recognize the realm of space and give it equal billing in the equation of air and space.” is laughable.

I knew the chief architect of the Committee, the late MGen Bud Breckner, of Monument, CO, just a few miles down the road. He was bound and determined to put Air Power, Military Pilots and Military Aviation in the spotlight.

I have wondered why, other than that he was a fellow fighter pilot. Maybe he had been to Schriever AFB a few miles east. He might have reacted to the sight of hundreds of people manning desks and computer terminals in the uniform of the day – Nomex Flight Suits. I know I was surprised. Most were sporting those new Space Wings. Even some of the officers with Command Pilot wings placed the Space Wings over all. The only things they flew were moving satellites around. I don’t know what kind of wings they will come up with for UAV controllers, but it will be something in aerospace motif I am sure.

Face it. Airplane Pilots are going to be outnumbered one of these days. The military services are changing. How do the new objectives handle those facts? Not very well, because there is no logical place to fit in the following things Daedalians have historically done.

*Scholarships for students in aerospace studies, including engineering, meteorology, astronautics, etc.

*Recognize exceptional civilian air crews. They now carry increasing military cargoes and personnel.

*Support military aerospace activities to maintain our status among nations, like humanitarian missions.

*Stimulate young people in the attributes of our Tenets, patriotism, integrity, character.

Those are a few examples of where the new Objectives fall short of what the Daedalians have stood for for years and done very well under the historical Tenets and Objectives. No justification has been given as to WHY the new versions are better than the old. All we have been told is that the Board discussed it and voted so that’s it. End of discussion. Prior Board actions are thus protected and reaffirmed.

After 36 years a Daedalian and 33 consecutive national conventions you may have guessed I am not a quitter. I started asking questions 4 years ago and still have not had any definitive answers. I don’t care how many times the Board has voted. I want to know WHY they voted as they did. I want to know why the Order I joined and believed in has been destroyed and turned into something entirely different. I sincerely feel that this new Order is a shallow, narrowly focused shadow of its former self with a one man rule for membership and a Board that acts without explanation in a take it or leave it manner. Has our leadership turned into a Good Ol’ Boys Club?

I owe it to Ted Guy and Ken Herman who are no longer with us, to continue to try to make things right. I have yet to be convinced that what the Board has done is right. All of the responses that Flight 18 received from other Flights prior to the last convention agreed with our position that we should return to the historical Tenets and Objectives. Those responses, which we passed on to you, were apparently discounted, but you should know that Flight 18 is not alone on this issue. We couldn’t contact all the Fights because the information in the Flyer is not fully current as to addresses and contacts.

Unfortunately, too many flights and members could care less about the specifics of bylaws and tenets. It’s a place to gather and visit with friends once a month or so, listen to a speaker on some aviation subject or a good war story, maybe contribute a few bucks to the scholarship fund and feel good about being a Daedalian. Going to a National Convention is not in their plans.

So, the Board decision will be published. Most members will barely notice. Maybe a few will feel the same tugs of loyalty to those who have gone before and those yet to come who will speak up and act to try to resurrect a once grand and meaningful Order of Daedalians. There is a glimmer of hope.

And here is Gen Dula's letter to Dale Boggie to which the general refers in his 14 Aug email to Don Neary.

I have your most recent letter of 7 July 09 and this will address your (and others’) concerns regarding the ongoing discussions surrounding the Order’s Tenets and Objectives. At our Quarterly Board of Directors’ meeting at Randolph on 23 July, the Directors and Officers spent quite a bit of time discussing, reordering, and/or rewriting various Tenets and Objectives; the results were voted on, one-at-a-time, and those results reflect a majority vote on each Tenet and Objective. Some votes were unanimous, some were merely a clear majority; the votes were recorded in the meeting Minutes for all to see.

First, it was a unanimous vote to ratify the current statement of the Tenet, “To be worthy of the trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian.” That vote was made with a full discussion of the historical changes in the Tenet; every Director and Officer present voted to let the Tenet stand as changed by a vote of the entire membership in the early 1970’s. Permit me to quote myself in a recent letter to Colonel Don Neary:

“The change to the wording of the second Tenet was the result of a review requested by Lt. Gen. Hal George in 1971; i.e., "To be worthy of the trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian." The rationale for the change apparently was based on the notion if one were worthy of the trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian then one would be worthy of the trust and confidence of ALL fellow Daedalians. At this same time, the third Tenet, "To succor a needy Daedalian", was dropped. The changes were presented to the entire membership for a vote and were approved by 99.9% of the voters. In 1970 the Order only had about 5000 members and in the vote, 2772 members voted for the change and only nine voted "no." I've attached a copy of a page out of the Order's official history dated 23 Apr 71.”

Reasonable people can agree to disagree, Dale. You may disagree with the change and the votes to ratify that change; the most recent consideration was done with quite a bit of thought and discussion on the part of the Board of Directors.

The Board also carefully considered each and every Objective. You should be pleased to note that the “sixth” Objective was reinstated and your suggested wording was largely adopted. I’ve attached a copy of the Objectives as the Board voted to finalize them.

I’m fairly certain that future Boards, Flights and Order members will cuss and discuss our Order’s Tenets and Objectives and these will change as needs dictate. For now, though, the Board of Directors’ work will be appropriately publicized. We hope not to repeat the mistakes of previous years: our Flight Manual, brochures, and other ‘paperwork’ should be changed to reflect current articulation of our Tenets and Objectives.

Please accept my thanks - - and the collective thanks of your brother and sister Daedalians - - for your thoughtful consideration of the Tenets and the Objectives of the Order, and for ultimately focusing the Board of Directors’ attention on our Order’s institutional core statements. Further, you brought to fruition needed changes in our administrative procedures and, for those things you deserve and have our respect and admiration!

This letter is addressed to you personally because I am deeply disappointed in your response to Col. Don Neary regarding the issue of Daedalian Tenets and Objectives and I will tell you why. First, let me be clear on why I took up this whole issue in the first place. I joined the Order in 1973 under the name of Stanley V. Wright while on the Air Staff at the Pentagon. My swearing in ceremony was at the Washington Naval Yard and was witnessed by Admiral Kidd, descendant of the Captain Kidd. I took my oath to be worthy of the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians seriously and became a Life Member.

I was the host Flight Captain for the National Convention Flight 18 held in Denver in 1977. We staged the first convention to be held under one roof and opened the first Hospitality Room in convention history. I have been the Flight 18 Provost Marshall for the past 25 years, and I have now been to 33 consecutive National Conventions. I haven’t quit on the Order, yet.

I was once appointed as the personal escort for LtGen Hal George and too few years later, attended his funeral service at the Air Force Academy. I am convinced he went to his grave believing in the Promise of a Daedalian as he first swore to it in March 1934: To be worthy of the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians. I have not found or been shown any evidence that that the words of that Promise have ever been changed. They are in the current Flight Manual, as they have always been to my knowledge..

I was also a personal friend of former National Adjutant Col. Ted Guy who went through a living hell as a POW at the torturous hands of the North Vietnamese. He was the Senior Officer in two different camps and his story was published in the December 1974 Flyer. He clearly stated that the concept of being worthy of the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians contained in the Second Tenet was the same concept that enabled the POW’s to resist and survive. They had to put their trust in each other as a group not in a individual. If an individual was not worthy of their trust, they were kept out of the loop and given permission to accept early release. One of those was Col. Norris Overly who was assigned as Vice Commander at Lowry AFB when I was there. He was shunned by all former POW’s who stuck it out, including Col. Tom Kirk who succeeded him.

Now, as to your response letter, you stated that no one supported my position at the 2008 convention. NOT TRUE. Col. Ed Josephson had a copy of my package and told me he supported it. He stood up in support and stated that it was a confusing issue and requested that National Hq send out a clarification. LGen Brown said they would look into it. He said it happened before his watch so he couldn’t speak to the issue. I agreed that we couldn’t solve anything at this meeting and it would be an issue for the Board to decide. End of discussion. .

I gave you a copy of my “Words mean something – Choose them carefully” paper which had a side-by-side comparison of the original vs. Vision Committee changes. Perhaps you didn’t have time to read them because about five minutes after the meeting, Bob Karre had the package and said he guessed he would have to come up with the answers.

The “clarification” came in an e-mail from Col. Jim Kellogg, addressed to me, copy to you and copy to Connie. (attached) It only raised more questions.

It is true that no one supported my position in 2008 because not one of them admitted to knowing that anything had been changed. Very few if any go on the website to read the By-Laws. They used to be published occasionally as an insert in the Daedalus Flyer. I myself glossed over them. It wasn’t until a few months before the 2008 convention when I became aware of the changes. I had been asked to help update our Flight by-laws to make provision for Flight Life membership. I checked to see how National handled it and happened to actually read the Tenets & Objectives in front of me.

Whoa! When did this happen? Checking back, I found a casual mention in the September 2003 Flyer that listed some Objectives crafted by a Vision Committee which would be incorporated into the By-Laws in January 2004. No mention of a vote. No mention of the Tenets being changed. No mention of what was omitted from the Objectives.

In consultation with our Flight 18 Staff, it was agreed that I would bring it up at the Flight Captains meeting in 2008. For most of the 33 conventions I have attended I was the Flight Rep except for the 6 or 7 times the sitting Flight Captain could get away from his job or other endeavors and could afford to attend, which has become more expensive each year.

At the Flight Captain meeting in 2009, I was again the only Flight 18 member there and acted as Flight Rep. You stated that after Col. Kellogg’s explanation that the Tenets and Objectives had been voted on and changed years ago, Flights who previously supported Flight 18 changed their position. NOT TRUE. The Flight Captain sitting directly in front of me asked that the issues of Tenets and Objectives be separated so that we could vote. You answered No, and stated that the matter would be referred to the National Board for a decision. Again, end of discussion. No one made any comment about changing their position. They didn’t have an opportunity to enter into any discussion. The meeting was over.

At the 2009 General Membership meeting I knew it was beating a dead horse to bring up the Tenet issue again but I did request that in reviewing the Objectives that the Board carefully consider them and especially reinsert an Objective on recruiting new members which is the life blood of our Order.

REGARDLESS of what the Tenets and Objectives currently are, when they originated or when they were changed, WHY can’t they be judged on their individual merits? The whole effort of the National Staff appears to have been to circle the wagons and protect the status quo.

No one has been able to convincingly explain why the a Daedalian wording is better than fellow Daedalians. It certainly was not so in Col. Ted Guy’s opinion. It would not be better if a Daedalian Flight voted to dismiss a member convicted of a felony or serious infraction, but were prevented from doing so by a friend who said No, he is still worthy of my trust and confidence.

Why is the Objective: Educate Americans to the advantages of Air & Space Power, better than the Objective: To assist in the education of deserving persons in the fields of aerospace engineering and fight. Education assistance is what we do – especially to ROTC students and those learning to fly in the CFIP program who hopefully aspire to a military career. We don’t presume to educate Americans at large.

Why was the entire Objective on recruiting new members eliminated? What was the justification?

And so it goes down the line. You are the National Commander. You don’t appear to share my concern and stated at the 2009 meeting that you didn’t think the issue had to be revisited. I hope you and the Board will open your minds and consider each Tenet and each Objective on its own merit, then do what is best for the Order..

What follows is Flight 18's post-Convention follow-up to its original T&O proposal. It was submitted three weeks prior to the National Board of Directors Meeting scheduled to begin on 23 July. Its primary purpose is explained in the first paragraph. This letter was comprised of an email "cover letter" and two enclosures which appear immediately below it.

This letter prompted a reply from Gen Dula and a counter-reply from Flight 18, both of which also appear below it on this page in chronological order.

30 June 2009 (email cover letter)

General Dula,

As a follow up to our 20 March 2009 T&O recommendations, Mile High Flight 18 proposes via the attached letter that, prior to reaching a final decision on this issue, the Board of Directors invite comments from the general membership. This could easily be done in the next issue of the Daedalus Flyer.

Regarding the Tenets, we can find no evidence to support the Adjutant’s assertion in the Summer 2009 Flyer that the Tenet change issue “was put to rest” in 1973. To the contrary, in the Summer 1986 Flyer, National Commander Gen John Roberts (who in the previous issue had announced the death of Gen George) wrote: “…all members, old and new, must understand and abide by our Tenets: · To place nation above self · To be worthy of the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians.”

Gen Roberts did not concoct those words out of whole cloth. Furthermore, to this day, the same words remain firmly imbedded in the Order’s membership applications and in the Oath we administer during induction ceremonies. In signing their applications and in reciting the oath, prospective members promise to abide by those very words—as they have done for many years in accordance with the Flight Manual. Clearly, this issue was not put to rest in 1973.

As further testimony we would invite you to consider the attached comments of Col. Ted Guy, former National Adjutant, which were published in the December 1974 Flyer. Col Guy describes how significant the Order’s Tenets (fellow Daedalians version) were to him as a former POW. Without question, the principle underlying the term fellow Daedalians in the Second Tenet was far more critical in the dire circumstances the Vietnam POWs were forced to endure. It was not the principle of the single individual, i.e., a Daedalian, that held them together. It was their strong organizational skills and their unwavering faith in their country, their God and each other. Similarly, the Order of Daedalians, a fraternity of military pilots, relies on the trust and confidence of fellow Daedalians to survive. Even applying for membership in the Order requires the trust and confidence, not of a single Daedalian, but of at least four members in good standing (a nominator and three endorsers). There is no place for going it alone when it comes to the Second Tenet. Therefore, regardless of when, where or how the Second Tenet became the now long-accepted and sworn to fellow Daedalians version, please agree that this version is far more appropriate than the singular for our Order and for all Daedalians, particularly for those among us who go in harms way to protect our nation and way of life.

Obviously, we in Flight 18 have given the T&O matter a great deal of thought. That's because we strongly believe our promises and commitments are crucial in defining what the Order of Daedalians is all about.

General, I hope our attached proposal is helpful to you and to the Board as you consider this important issue.

Very respectfully,

Donald O. Neary

COL, USAF (Ret)

Flight Captain

First Enclosure (the actual follow-up to our T&O Proposal)

30 Jun 2009

Ref: Flight Captain, 18th Flight Mile High letter dated 20 Mar 2009

General Dula,

The reference urged reconsideration by the Board of Directors of changes approved 1 January 2004

to the Tenets and Objectives section of the Order’s Bylaws. It also recommended specific revisions

and provided rationale for each.

At the May Flight Captain’s meeting in Seattle, it was announced that the Board of Directors would

address this issue at its next meeting, which we understand will take place in the latter half of July

2009.

While the Board of Directors is empowered to amend the Bylaws without approval of the

membership, we strongly believe the Board should solicit comments on our recommendations from

all Daedalian flights prior to deciding this important issue. (This was done circa 1996 when revisions

to membership eligibility criteria were under consideration.) To facilitate solicitation of such

comments, I have enclosed a summary of our 20 March 2009 proposal.

Regarding the current T&O issue, coincident with submitting the reference to National we also

distributed it via email to all flights for which an email address is listed on the Order of Daedalians

web site. Our objective in doing so was to enable those who might participate in discussing our

proposal at the National Convention to adequately prepare for any such discussion. Although we

have no idea what percentage of our emails actually reached their intended recipients, we received

zero negative responses. Some of the positive responses we received might be of interest to the Board

(we have not identified the respective flights because we did not stipulate that their comments would

be forwarded):

* “I just finished reading the 18th Flight’s recommendation, and I believe they make a

powerful argument for returning to the core tenets of the organization most of us joined

pre-2004”;

* “I fully concur with your suggested changes which would change our Tenets and

Objectives back to the pre-2004 wording”;

* “Any vote I get to make will side with the proposal”;

* “I know we are chiming in a bit late on this, but the XXth xxxxxxxxxx flight at xxxxxx

concurs with the recommended changes to the bylaws”.

* “Had the 2004 Objectives been in place when I was invited to become a Daedalian, I

never would have joined”;

* “I have forwarded your email to our 2009 Staff for comments. I think, however, that you

are right on. I am not sure why they were changed but felt it was a top down decision”.

These comments suggest potential overwhelming support among the membership for restoring the

original Tenets and Objectives—with two important exceptions:

(1) While the goal of actively seeking new members remains an indispensable activity of the

Order and each of its flights, the original language of this objective is unrealistic and needs

to be updated. We recommend the following new language: “To actively recruit qualified

new members to perpetuate the traditions and prestige of the Order, accomplish its stated

Objectives and carry on the legacy of our Founding Members and all who have flown in

defense of our nation.”

(2) We enthusiastically support the new Objective approved in 2004 that reads, “Recognize

exceptional performance by military pilots.” We support this Objective not only in spirit,

but also in tangible ways. Specifically, we have established a strong relationship with the

Colorado Air National Guard at Buckley AFB through which we regularly present what we

call the Distinguished Pilot Award to a deserving pilot of the COANG 120th FS (currently

deployed to Iraq). The criteria for this award—consistent with the Tenets of the Order of

Daedalians—are leadership, airmanship and personal character. For more details on this

award, please see our forthcoming submission to the Daedalus Flyer or visit our web site at

this address: http://www.ghspaulding.com/distinguished_pilot_award.htm.

We believe the 2004 iteration of the Order’s Tenets and Objectives are incompatible with the current

and forecast trends in military aviation, while—ironically—the traditional T&O are more

appropriate. For example, it is extremely difficult to “promote the rewards of a career in military

aviation” when the demand for UAV operators now exceeds that for military pilots (just ask those

UPT graduates about the rewards of being diverted from cockpit seat assignments to computer

terminals). And, replacement of our long-standing Objective of “assisting in the education of

deserving persons in the fields of aerospace engineering and flight” with “Educating Americans

to the advantages of Air & Space Power” (a vague platitude) eliminates the whole notion of

awarding ROTC scholarships, one of our most important flight activities.

It is our hope that, given the opportunity, other flights will contribute in a meaningful way to the

refinement of our Objectives at what we feel is a crucial juncture in the proud history of the Order of

Daedalians. Thank you, Sir, for bringing our March 2009 proposal and the recommendation included

herein that it be presented to the membership for comment to the attention of the Board.

Very respectfully,

Signed

DONALD O. NEARY

COL, USAF (Ret)

Second Enclosure (article copied from the Dec 1974 Daedalus Flyer)

One week after Flight 18 submitted the foregoing follow-up to National, Gen Dula replied. His response is immediately below. Flight 18's response to Gen Dula is below that.

7 July 2009

Dear Don,

I have your 30 Jun 09 letter and deeply appreciate your thoughtful

consideration of the Tenets and the Objectives of the Order. However, I

believe you may have a misconception about when the changes to the Tenets

came about. The change to the wording of the second Tenet was the result of

a review requested by Lt. Gen. Hal George in 1971 i.e. "To be worthy of the

trust and confidence of a fellow Daedalian." The rationale for the change

apparently was based on the notion if one were worthy of the trust and

confidence of a fellow Daedalian then one would be worthy of the trust and

confidence of ALL fellow Daedalians. At this same time, the third Tenet, "To

succor a needy Daedalian", was dropped. The changes were presented to the

entire membership for a vote and were approved by 99.9% of the voters. In

1970 the Order only had about 5000 members and in the vote, 2772 members

voted for the change and only nine voted "no." I've attached a copy of a

page out of the Order's official history dated 23 Apr 71. When this was

explained at our recent Convention in Seattle, the flights that previously

supported your proposal changed their positions. Further, when Dale Boggie

surfaced the same subject at the 2008 convention, there was no support from

any of the flights represented. Contrary to the position you stated in your

letter to the flights, the changes were the desires of the Founding Members

led by Lt Gen Hal George himself. At the time the changes were proposed and

approved, there were over 10,000 Founders still alive and about 500 were active

Daedalians. I will surface the issue at this month's Board

meeting but, as the membership has already voted on the matter, I hold

little hope of yet another vote being taken on the matter unless the Order's

Board of Directors feel differently.

As far as the wording for the Objectives is concerned, we said the Board of

Directors would consider your suggested changes at our 23 July meeting. We

fully intend to do that and it is on the agenda for discussion.

Sincerely,



Brett M. Dula

Lt Gen, USAF, ret.

National Commander, Order of Daedalians

11 July 2009

General Dula,

Thank you, sir, for your response to our letter of 30 June 2009.

We are more convinced than ever that the Board of Directors at its forthcoming meeting should update the Bylaws so that the Tenets match the traditional Promise of a Daedalian. The case for doing so rests on the following salient points:

·        The phrase “a fellow Daedalian” is so ambiguous we are forced to guess at what this odd collection of words was intended to mean. But ambiguity and guesswork have no place either in military aviation or within the governing document for a fraternity of military pilots. The phrase “fellow Daedalians,” on the other hand, is perfectly clear. Its meaning is further underscored during the Induction ceremony with this charge made to each inductee: “Your conduct in your relations with other members of this Order shall be irreproachable.”

·        Whatever the bureaucratic history of the Bylaws, thankfully, the phrase “a fellow Daedalian” has not been incorporated in the Order’s functional documents. As they have for decades, the Flight Manual, Membership Applications and Promise of a Daedalian administered during the induction ceremony all say “…fellow Daedalians.” The version of the Second Tenet to which most, if not all, living Daedalians have pledged to abide is “fellow Daedalians,” not “a fellow Daedalian.” This fact cannot be changed. And to put an exclamation point on this, “fellow Daedalians” is the language that appears in the Promise printed on the back of the wallet membership card, to which the attention of every new member is directed by the National Adjutant in his membership notification letter.

·        Article IX, Section 9.04, of the current Bylaws authorizes the Board of Directors to amend Article II. Tenets and Objectives without a vote of the membership.

We believe that whenever and however it occurred, adoption of the phrase “a fellow Daedalian” within the Bylaws was at best ill-considered. Perpetuation of this awkward and vague singular construction would also be ill-considered.

The Board of Directors has the authority to do the right thing now by ridding the Bylaws of this unfortunate language and conforming the Tenets to the traditional Promise of a Daedalian, as our members have raised their right hands and recited it for decades.

Very respectfully,

Donald O. Neary,

COL, USAF (Ret)

Flight Captain

Mile High Flight 18