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December 13, 2006

General David Grange speaks at Kiwanis of Central DuPage

General David Grange began serving as President and CEO of the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation in 2005. General Grange served in the Army for 30 years, including as Commanding General of the First Infantry Division (Big Red One) in Germany, Bosnia, Macedonia and Kosovo.

His was not a military oriented address. Rather, he tied our Kiwanis "one child at a time" theme to those goals and interests of the Foundation and civic action. It was a basic Civics 101 course in security and citizenship.

To achieve personal goals the individual must have an environment which promotes achievement. Personal safety in knowing there is a local police force that can keep you safe from harm all the way to knowing that your money is safe in a bank and will be available when you want it.

Next is Homeland Security which protects all local environments. Finally there is International Security where the Government and Governments of the world create a worldwide secure environment.

He talked about a unity of effort needed at the grassroots level where everybody knows their jobs in case of an emergency. He cited Katrina as a prime example of "what had to be done" had been established, but those who had to do it had not been trained to do so.

He also mentioned receiving a phone call from a small Katrina area. "People wanted to know where they could hire a company to install surveillance cameras and help the local police because there just was not enough police protection provided by the local government." He noted that government cannot possibly provide all the services needed and alluded to "that's why we have independent contractors".

He said the American people themselves area the first line of defense for a free society. He said the three Cs of Children, Community and County are good places to start.