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Thanking Those Who Answered The Call Of Duty by Wendy McNamara
BERGDAHL AND MILITARY SWAMP HOLDOVERS
By Susan Stamper Brown
“I am a soldier. I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.â€â€“ Gen. George S. Patton.
Americans are outraged over the Bowe Bergdahl sentencing on November 3 that should have led to serious prison time, or worse. But, face it, we now live in a country where deserters who cause fellow soldiers to be maimed or killed are treated as heroes if weak leftists are in charge.
He should be in prison. The only difference between Bergdahl and the guy who used a Home Depot truck to mow down and kill people in New York recently is that Bergdahl displayed his allegiance to the enemy on foreign soil.
Bergdahl walked because the military swamp remains filled with senior leaders who climbed the ranks curtseying to former President Obama’s social experimentation and his upside-down value system whereby one treasonous deserter is worth five senior Taliban terrorists.
Obama exchanged five of Gitmo’s finest for Bergdahl, then hosted a sickening spectacle at the White House Rose Garden where a touchy-feely Obama spoke to Bergdahl’s parents “courage.†Meanwhile, Obama’s favorite fact-twister, former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, made her rounds, propagandizing that Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction.â€
Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers had a different story to tell on the Fort Richardson, Alaska Facebook page.
Time.com recorded comments which included: “I say we welcome him home with a firing squad,†and “He’s a piece of trash and everyone from [Fort Richardson] knows it ‒ the only person less American than that man is the president for giving up 5 hvt’s [High-Value Targets].â€
Another said: “Maybe if you knew the truth and the sacrifices made from people in our units in Alaska to find this douche… I feel worse for the kids who have to grow up fatherless cause their daddies died looking for this punk.â€
Now, “this punk†walks, thanks to, in part, the judge in charge, Col. Jeffrey R. Nance, who once said at a Fort Bragg hearing: “I will consider the president’s [Trump’s] comments [regarding Bergdahl] as mitigation evidence as I arrive at an appropriate sentence.†Nance was referring to Trump’s less-than- complementary comments about Bergdahl.
Obviously, Col. Nance did just that, essentially presenting Bergdahl a snowflake award, punishing him with the equivalent of a hand slap, despite six soldiers killed and others permanently maimed.
In my opinion as a retired military officer’s wife, Bergdahl’s dishonorable discharge devalued my husband’s honorable one.
I also believe Obama’s and Rice’s comments about Bergdahl helped to tip the scales of justice in the wrong direction, not Trump’s.
Furthermore, as a military wife during wartime, I attended way too many funerals for those who gave their all for something that had meaning and purpose. Not searching for a selfish son of a gun who thought only of himself, not the lives and families his actions might destroy.
At times and when politics aren’t in play, military justice can be swift, painful and fair. Not this time, and especially not for the brave warriors maimed and killed while searching for Bergdahl.
Col. Nance rewarded a traitor and Obama freed dangerous enemies most likely to face us once more in some future battle, plain and simple. It’s fair to say the Taliban interprets Obama’s prisoner exchange and Nance’s decision to let Bergdahl walk as weakness to be exploited.
Even this blonde columnist understands Americans are safest when our enemies see strength. Let them hate us, but they darn sure must respect us.
On a side note, given his rank, odds are, Nance is close to retirement, especially after trashing the Uniform Code of Military Justice, as many in the military community suggest. One can only pray.
Anyhow, it’s a sad day in America when a traitor is freed from a life sentence while fellow soldiers received theirs searching for him. What an insult to every veteran who served honorably.
Aleks Novakovich signs with UE men’s basketball
Novakovich is an Indiana native
 University of Evansville head men’s basketball coach Marty Simmons has announced that Aleks Novakovich has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Purple Aces next season.
Novakovich is a native of Hobart, Ind. where he graduated from Hobart High School in 2017. The forward checks in at 6-foot, 10-inches.
“Aleks is a great kid who will really fit in well with our program and system,†Simmons said. “He is a skilled player for his size that can pass, dribble, and shoot. Aleks is one of those guys who continues to get better all the time.â€
In his last season at Hobart, Novakovich averaged 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He is playing at Crown Point’s Don Bosco Prep this season.
Simmons and the Purple Aces begin the 2017-18 season tonight against Arkansas State at the Ford Center.
Aces Cross Country Competes at NCAA Regional
 Crews And Chepchieng Pace The Aces
On a chilly morning, the University of Evansville cross country teams ran in the NCAA Division One Great Lakes Regional on Friday morning at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
The Aces men’s team finished 26th as a squad while UE’s women grabbed a 31st-place finish as a team.
For the women, junior Sienna Crews led the Aces for the fifth-straight race, finishing in 166th among the 223 runner field, in a time of 23:39. Among fellow Missouri Valley Conference runners in the race, Crews beat all but one Valparaiso runner
Competing in her first NCAA Regional and her first collegiate 6k, freshman Anna Lowry came home in 208th, finishing the course in 25:17. Following Lowry in a pack together were junior Ashton Bosler in 210th (25:27), sophomore Hannah Welsh one spot behind Bosler in 211th (25:37), and freshman Izzy Dawson in 214th (25:40).
Rounding out the Aces runners at the regional were freshman Lauren Meyer in 217th (26:064 and junior Hayley Elliot in 223rd (27:51).
Eighth-ranked Michigan captured the NCAA Great Lakes Regional women’s title with 71 total points and a top five average time of 20:53.
On the men’s side, sophomore Stanley Chepchieng set a new PR finishing in 168th in a time of 35:20.3. The Kabarnet, Kenya native’s previous PR in a 10k was 35.52 set in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional a year ago.
Crossing the line second for the Aces was freshman Dawson Hood in 173rd in a time of 35:37. Following Chepchieng and Hood were sophomore Ricky Hendrix in 175th (35:46), freshman Kalen Ochs in 178th (36:22), and freshman Ethan Price in 179th (36:40).
Sophomore Tucker Dawson and freshman Tyler Frields-Reifsteck wrapped up the Aces finishers, crossing the line in 181st and 186th place, respectively.
Michigan State won the NCAA Great Lakes Regional men’s title with 68 total points and its top five runners finishing in an average time of 31:17.
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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MVC ANNOUNCES MEN’S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
ST. LOUIS – Missouri State, Central Arkansas and Bradley each had a player earn a top individual honor. Central Arkansas sophomore forward Niklas Brodacki claimed the league’s Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Missouri State senior defender Nick Burtenshaw earned the Valley’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Missouri State net minder Liam Priestley claimed the Goalkeeper of the Year award, while Bradley’s Younes Dayekh earned Freshman of the Year accolades. Brodacki, Burtenshaw, Priestley and Dayekh headline a list of 37 student-athletes named to the 2017 MVC All-Conference teams, selected by the coaches, and announced by the league office Thursday. The all-conference teams were recognized at an awards reception tonight in Peoria, Illinois.
Missouri State, along with Central Arkansas and Bradley, the league’s top three finishers, combined to place 20 athletes on the all-conference squads. Missouri State placed eight players on the all-conference teams, the most in the league, while Central Arkansas and Bradley each added six. Loyola and Evansville had five players on the all-conference teams, while Valparaiso added four and Drake had three honorees.
Brodacki, a two-time first-team all-MVC honoree leads the league in goals (15) and points (35) and ranks third in the conference in shots (56), while also tallying five assists. Brodacki’s total of 15 goals scored is the highest in The Valley since Creighton’s Ethan Finlay netted 15 goals during the 2010 season and his 35 points are the most in the league since Tulsa’s Ryan Pore racked up 55 points in 2004. The freshman currently ranks second nationally in goals scored and third nationally in points scored. The sophomore is UCA’s first MVC Player of the Year award winner, while claiming his second-straight MVC Offensive Player of the Year award.
Burtenshaw, a senior standout for Missouri State, has been a mainstay in the Bears lineup, starting all but one match this season. Earlier this season the defender saw a six-game shutout streak and has led the defense to one of its strongest seasons in history. The Missouri State defense has held opponents to .530 goals per game and a .416 shot on goal percentage.  MSU’s defense, led by Burtenshaw, has allowed 154 shots this season, but only given up eight goals. The squad paces the conference and is fifth in the nation in goals against average this season (.51).  The senior is Missouri State’s fourth MVC Defensive Player of the Year award winner and first since James Fawke won the award in 2013.
Priestley, a senior goalkeeper for Missouri State, currently has a .871 save percentage and totaled 54 saves for the Bears entering MVC tourney action. The senior keeper ranks as one of the top goalies in the nation this season, siting in third in shutouts (10), second in save percentage (0.871) and sixth in goals against average (0.51). Priestley holds the second lowest career goals against average in Missouri State history (.850) and has 24 career shutouts which also ranks second in school history. Earlier this season Priestley posted a six-match shutout streak and has led the defense to one of its strongest seasons in history. Priestley joins MVC Goalkeeper of the Year Alex Riggs (2010) as the only Bear to claim the honor.
Dayekh, a freshman midfielder for the Braves, is Bradley’s second leading scorer with five goals and 12 points this season. All five of his goals have given the Braves the lead and four have stood as game-winning goals this season. His four game-winners are tied for second in the MVC this season.  Dayekh is the sixth player in program history to be named MVC Freshman or Newcomer of the Year. The award was a Newcomer of the Year award from 1991-95 and Freshman of the Year from 1996-present.
Central Arkansas’ coaching staff has earned the MVC’s Coaching Staff of the Year honor, the first coaching honor for the Bears as a member of the Valley. Head coach Ross Duncan is in his fourth season at the helm, leading the Bears to an 8-10 mark this season, including a 5-3 league record which earned a second-place finish in the MVC standings.  Ross Duncan is assisted by Mitch McKay, Jordan Bates and Nick Doyle.
Missouri State was tabbed the honor of the Valley’s Fair Play Award, which is structured after the FIFA Fair Play honor. It is awarded to the Valley squad that has the fewest penalty cards during all MVC matches, as the Bears tallied just five penalty cards in regular-season league action.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Nick Burtenshaw, Missouri State
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR: Liam Priestley, Missouri State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Younes Dayekh, Bradley
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Central Arkansas (Ross Duncan, Mitch McKay, Jordan Bates, Nick Doyle)
MVC FAIR PLAY AWARD: Missouri State
