European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse A Man in command of ideas for men and women by Cindy Killion Washington Bureau he idea that men have been Cut off at the Knees by women s liberation and thus have lost their place in society is pure bunk. So says James Johnson a command ser Geant major and 21-year Veteran of the infantry. Johnson the senior enlisted Soldier of the 4th inf div mechanize Calls that idea a he Points to the Way he has guided his life and career As proof a career that includes two stints with the 8th inf div in Germany one with the 2nd inf div in Korea and enough time in Vietnam to earn five Campaign stars. He laments what has happened in Western society the breakdown of social Structure the seemingly inability of so Many men to be what they could be. That is to be the leaders mentors coaches and Hometown role models of Young people looking for someone to follow. We have male leadership in our civilian society today he said in an interview in his office at fort Carson Colo. But sadly it s not the kind or the Cal Iber that we want. Our Young people should t want to be what so Many of these men have Johnson says his Mother was the guiding Force in is Cindy kill lion find themselves View loses James Johnson. His Early life with the army s principles of leadership taking on that role later. Both gave him the foundation to have a stable Quarter Century marriage raise six children and still climb the promotion ladder to be in charge of some 15,000 soldiers. Nor does he buy the idea that single Parent House holds Are the primary cause of society s breakdown. I did t have a father at Home. Of i knew who hews but my Mother raised All 10 of us by herself. She was a Tough woman he said one who could use a whip or words to get her Point across. She was t a sergeant major. She was a chief of and he does t believe that racial conflict is the cause. Just ask him what it was like to be a poor Black youth growing up in Selma ala., in the 1960s. Johnson said his Mother taught her children to be Lieve in themselves to respect their elders to main Tain the integrity or their family and have a sense of Pride in their Community. You know to this Day i still know the words to my school Johnson in t saying that civilian society should embrace the military Way of life but it could draw on the military s leadership principles. It s really rather simple what we a with our Young troops. First we teach them and after they be Learned we continue by coaching them How to get along. In society our schools Are teaching but no one s coaching he said. No one is guiding those first Johnson offers ideas on How he says society could Start working again in a Way so women won t need to spout off about equal rights and men won t need to enter self help groups in order to find themselves if he were All powerful and could walk into any Community and Issue an edict it would be this first everyone would be taught from their earliest Days to respect and care for each other and one an other s property. Second there would be a massive education pro Cess of what responsibility and accountability is All about ". that would Start a groundswell Johnson said. And i believe in time it would make our male leadership in the communities figuring he had his manhood in the bag his real Man thing is Well me i m married to one. I could spout countless examples of real Man isms erupting in my household. They re like Kudzu just As i pull one out by the roots another Springs up in its place. My most recent experience happened in october. It was Deer and Elk season and my real Man and his buddies ventured into Colorado s High country to stalk Bambi. They d planned the excursion for months. They bought new arrows even though their old ones were just Fine. They canvassed sporting goods departments for those they took trips into the mountains to scout their Hunting they spent hours taking aim at defenceless Bales of Hay to get their sighting and pull just right. They solemnly made their plans with All of the foresight and tactical expertise of the most intense military operation. We women smiled to their faces and stroked their egos feigning great interest in their Manly Endeavor. Behind their backs we broke out in laughter. We speculated on what they really do up there. My theory stated that they strip Down to loin clothes dance around a fire and bark at the Moon. And we All agreed that this was no time to ask them to think rationally or logically about anything. They were men on a Mission just Duck and stay out of the Way. I admit i did slip once by suggesting to my real Man that perhaps he was taking it All too seriously. He was speechless. Then appalled. How could i possibly believe that spending a week at 10,000 feet living unwashed in a tent with four other men trudging knee deep through Snow and sitting perched in a tree like some Frozen tree rodent for eight hours a Day in t perhaps the most important activity in a Man s life How could i entertain such a notion silly me. But then he backpedal a and explained the eco nomic sense that Hunting makes. We won t have to buy meat for a year he said just look at All the Money Well but i Don t like Venison i replied. Again he was speechless and appalled. Actually i knew he just did t want to admit the real reason this trip was so important. He did t want to admit that spending the Guys doing Guy stuff was something he needed. He would never admit that male bonding is a stabilizing Factor in his life. So i dropped the topic finally hailed with an overwhelming sigh of Relief from the women the big Day came. The Guys left for the wilds and into an area void of communication Back to the by now i had been transferred to Washington but my real Man was still living in Colorado. One night i called a Friend in Colorado Springs. I asked her to look out her window towards pikes Peak. She obliged. Do you see anything unusual i asked. Some thing that could be say a testosterone Cloud hover ing Over the mountains she paused looking hard into the horizon. Yes i do believe i see something yes it definitely is it s almost like smoke signal. Guess it Means the Guys Are All since we now knew that no one had sat on an Arrow or fallen out of a tree we changed the subject to Chat about important stuff the kids our jobs the sales i hit since i d come to . Eventually i Hung up knowing that my real Man was of and All was right with the world. A few Days later the phone rang. It was my Hunter calling to say he d returned unharmed Hon he said in that tone that says boy have i screwed up and i Don t know How to Tell yes Hon i really miss you and ". -. ,. Us. I wrecked the truck.". How it fell off the mountain.". Why /., the jeep was in a ditch and i was trying to pull it out.,. Why was the jeep in a ditch Well it did t have any brakes so Joe tried to run into some Bushes to Stop but he missed he explained quickly without taking a breath. The brakes went out i asked. No it never had any. Us i mean let me get this straight you Guys you members of the adult male gender have been planning this trip since july. And i definitely remember seeing that same jeep sitting in Joe s garage All summer. Yet you took it knowing it had no brakes into the mountains where if you re Lucky you might have a logging Trail to use As a Lymm Well yeah that s about and then you took your truck which As i recall you Haven t even paid off yet into that same uncharted umm Well yeah.". And it fell off the that about says it. Yeah that s what s the damage Well the insurance company says it s Hon we had to walk out of the mountains. It was seven Miles and it was cold he got no sympathy but i did stay Calm. All i made him do was Promise that if the Guys Ever venture out again they must draw straws to deter mine who was going to be the adult supervision. In the end the tally stood at this no Deer no Elk no truck no Bank account. In Short it was Bambi 1, Hunters 0. And i thought it was All Over for another year until the phone rang a couple of weeks ago Hon " yes i just got a Bear tag. This will be really Good. Just think of the great Rug Well have Cindy Killion Page 8 sunday january 23. 1994
