Taking the Oath! Staying in the Army!

On Wednesday, 13 September, I went to court and took an oath before a judge. But I was not on trial and I was not a witness, I was taking the Washington State Oath of Attorney. Last February I took the two hour professional responsibility portion of the Washington bar exam so that I could be admitted to practice law here in Washington. Attorneys are licenced to practice by individual state bar associations. Each state has its own bar and its own admissions requirments. Reciprocity is the process of attorneys from one state being admitted in another state. Some states, like California, require all attorneys to take the full exam. Washington has a tit-for-tat process that says whatever a Washington attorney would have to do in your state, you have to do in ours. Makes since. If a Washington attorney wanted to be admitted to Colorado, they'd have to take only the multistate professional responsibilty exam, not the full test. Since Washington does not require the mpre, to be admitted from Colorado to Washinton I had to take the Washinton version of the ethics test, a two hour written exam. Also, I had to be in good standing and have practiced law for at least five years. Well, I passed and was sent an oath of attorney that I needed to take before a Washington judge. I contacted Judge Nevin, a judge in Tacomoa who also happens to be a reserve general officer in the Army JAG and he was happy to help me out.

So there I ended up on Wednesday with Melody, Megan and Dustin taking the oath of attorney. It is a very long oath, but it was actually nice to take. It has a lot of good things in it that serve as reminders that the profession of law is foremost dedicated to justice and helping others. In fact, part of the oath involves supporting the oppressed. I believe in this full heartedly. It was nice to have my family there. Melody was not able to be there when I took the mass oath in Colorado with every other new attorney. This was much better even if there were no pomp and ceremony - it felt very real and very nice to have my wife and children there as witnesses to what I was doing. I only need to wait for official admission now from the Washington Supreme Court and I could practice law in Washington as well as Colorado.



Ironically, that same day I put in paperwork to stay in the Army another three years, minimum. As a regular army officer I do not have a term of enlistment, but I requested what is called continuation pay. This is a sort of bonus that gives me a large lump sum in exchange for a three year comitment. As a former Army Judge Advocate General said, it is not meant to be so much of an insintive to stay in but a help for those who want to stay in. Many, if not most, Judge Advocates have heafty student loans. I'm no exception to that! So this will help pay off bills and make it easier to stay in. The plan is to go to the JA advance course next year at The Judge Advocate Generals Center and School on the University of Virginia law school campus. This one year course will give me an LLM in military law and will also incur a two year obligation. That means really I'm agreeing to another four years all told. The real question is whether somethign will come up that causes me to delay the advance course a year or what will I do afterwards. At this point I'd most like to stay and teach criminal law at the school, but there are other great jobs that would interest me as well. And this is a good move for our family right now. Few jobs carry so many good benefits as well as so many real risks. But also few jobs offer a chance to serve my country in the same way this one does.

All men are created equal

Today I sent the following letter via email to Senators Lindsey Graham of S. Carolina, John Warner of Virginia and John McCain of Arizona thanking them for their efforts to ensure that the military commisions being set up in Cuba will be fair and just and allow the accused all basic due process rights. I hope their efforts and the efforts of the tope Judge Advocates for each of the four branches will be rewarded with a just system for any possible trials.

Senator,

I wanted to thank you for your support of due process and basic rights for all people, even terrorists. As a lawyer and a Soldier I believe it is very important that those we try in Cuba be given every right which any American would expect. Our rights derive not from being Americans, but from our "Creator". Our country was founded on the principle that The Constitution merely is the best means we as a nation have for protecting those rights, it did not itself give us these rights.

My point in this is best expressed by a much greater lawyer than I could ever hope to be. In 1855 Abraham Lincoln wrote his friend Joshua Speed regarding his views on slavery and other issues. In so doing he discussed the Know Nothing party and said as to their increasing popularity: "Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that, ‘all men are created equal.’ We now practically read it ‘all men are created equal, except negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read, ‘all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics.’ When it comes tot his I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretences of loving liberty – to Russia for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy.”

As a military defense counsel I have represented a client in a case that included classified information. In that case my client, who did not have a clearance, was given a temporary one so that he could have the same access to all information and all parts of the trial as the rest of the court, to include the panel, the judge and the lawyers. In that case a potential witness’s identity was itself classified. Had this been necessary to disclose, it would have been. The government didn’t need him, and neither did we, so it was not an issue. But it never was given to the panel and hidden from my client.

Those set for trial before military commissions can and should be given the same rights that Soldier received. If, as Congressman Hunter suggested, the only evidence would require reveling a classified source, it cannot be that great of a case to begin with! Further, what if the suspect could point to a bias in that witness that would cause doubt as to the credibility of the evidence? Without the suspect knowing the evidence, there is no reasonable way for the lawyers to effectively represent him. Further, how can we possible allow a conviction to stand based on “confession” obtained through coercion/torture. We are Americans and we of all Nations should not be playing semantics with definitions of torture! In doing so we evoke the dead spirit of the USSR or Kafka’s “Trial” and Orwell’s “1984” more than the Spirit of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt and Reagan.

I have no respect or love or admiration for the terrorists who rendered their horror upon us five years ago and who continue to fight us. But I love my country deeply and I believe that we lose a part of ourselves and our foundations in those “unalienable rights” derived from our Creator if we subvert those rights in others. By giving all suspects the same basic rights we subvert their purpose and prove ourselves superior.

Thank you for your fight on behalf of the Rule of Law and natural rights.

Today I flew around above Issaquah, Washington for over an hour catching thermals and enjoying the view from Mount Rainier to Mount Baker, from the Cascades to the Olympics.

A few birthdays ago Melody gave me a promise of a paragliding lesson, but we never got around to doing it. She never forgot, however, and today she suprised me with a trip. She said she had "always wanted to see Issaquah" and that we were going up there today. Of course it was clear that something was up, but she has a great poker face. She told me to wear pants and bring shoes rather than shorts. Telling me how to dress was odd, but so to was saying we should drive the jeep and not the minivan. I kinda guessed what it might be at that point, but she said she would not confirm or deny so i kept guesses to myself.

We drove up and had a good lunch at the Issaqah Brewhouse - home to Rogue Ales in Washington (it is an Oregon brewery, and the beer is quite good). We then walked about for a while as we had somewhere to be at 3pm, though Melody continued to not say where. Anyway, we drove up a valley road for a bit southeast of town and sure enough, pulled over at a small field that had wind socks. We watched a few guys packing up gear and saw some paragliders coming down, and then met up with the guy who was going to take me, Steven Wilson. Melody did a lot of research on the internet and found that he is one of the best in the state with a great safety record. He gave me a very positive impression - nice guy, easy going, and very professional. He claims that he is a fairly conservative flyer, but then said later how he has flown from Issaquah to his home in Redmond. He clearly knows his stuff and has been in lots of competitions. And he was a nice guy which is key when you are going to trust someone to fly with you.

We drove from the lot up to the top of Tiger Mountain via a back road that you have to have a pass and key to get up - he has one. Everyone else hikes up. One guy we were talking to left just before Steven got there, and when we got to the top he'd just taken off and was doing touch and goes. The drive is a long way around, but it beats the hike I'd think.

He gave me some initial instructions and then we put on the harnesses. I was in a smaller one that would be in front of him. Behind his was a reserve chute and a pack that he put gear in (such as gear to get out of a tree he said). The wing of the paraglider was, if I rember, 40 feet long. His solo one is 25 feet I think he said. Much, much smaller. The tandem paraglider he said was a truck, his other one a ferrari. The truck was good for this because it is very stable - good thing for a first timer, or an expert with a first timer in front of him!

The start didn't go as planned. A gust caught the wing a bit off and Steven's helmet was pulled over his eyes a bit. Instead of saying "run" he started saying "stop" - not as easy to do as you'd think. We did stop, but about 10 feet down the very steep slope! We didn't get air and there were were problems, with the help of another guy there we got ourselves and the wing (as he referred to the chute - so I will also) back up. I thought it was actually kind of funny, he was annoyed to have that happen, especially with a customer. The second take off worked, but also was not picture perfect. Oh well. He said it wasn't me and I think he'd have said if I just screwed it up. We both ran, but the wing started bearing left and so we did also and then all of a sudden we were airborne. Awsome!

I have no pictures. I left the camera with Melody and the Kids who watched the take offs and the intial flight, but our battery is low and then died before we got airborne. We can't seem to find the spare and the charger! And I didn't think of brininging my camera which had a phone. Oh Well. Melody and the kids watched as Steven and I caught some thermals and flew higher, and then over them! It was great to actually go up instead of down, fast, as I did in airborne school in the Army. We had the best luck of anyone - solo or tandem - today. There was an inversion at about 3000 feet. The take off point is at 1800. We got up into the inversion about 3200 - 3400 feet!! It was incredible!!! The air was warm. The views amazing. I loved looking down between my airborne feet and seeing nothing for hundreds, thousands of feet. Steven helped show how to catch the thermals and look for them, how to feel the slight tug and know where they were. He has a gadget that beeps faster the faster you go up. Listening to that was fun - beep ... beep .. beep . beep, beep, beep. That meant going up! I took the brake lines a couple of times to feel it and try it.

We were up for over an hour, longer than anyone else who went up near the time we did. We certainly were higher. I asked him at one point why more of the other paragliders didn't see us and go to catch the same thermals - he said without being rudely boastful that they just weren't as good and couldn't do it like he could. I easily believe him - that was a factual statement, not idle talk.

I would recommend this to anyone. I would love to go again and learn how to do it myself. Not sure if I really have the time, but I may look to see if my GI Bill would cover this (it covers airplane flight lessons, why not paragliding flight lessons?). Go to Steven's company's website for more information and for great pictures of what I was doing today.
http://www.paraflyparagliding.com

Geoff

Moved to Washington and Adopted Dustin

Greetings!

We are a long time from the last posts. And a long ways. This summer the family moved to Washington as I took a new job at Fort Lewis, though I'm still an Army defense counsel. It is a great place to be, and our new home in Steilacoom is great. Wonderful views of puget sound. The best part is that we are a complete, legal family. We finished adopting Dustin! Now Dustin is Dustin Garrett DeWeese forever. A long process that took nearly two years finished picture perfect with a great family. We are so blessed. While the process was tough, and when we thought we'd lose each child at various times we were very depressed, God has been good to us and we give Him thanks.

Pictured are Papa, Melody, Dustin, Grammie, Megan and Me at Dustin's court hearing - just days before we hit the road for Washington.

The trip to Washington was quite an adventure. My Dad and Mom had come up for Dustin's adoption and to help with the move, and we all piled into the Minivan, along with the dog (Caxton) and cat (Talus). We drove North from Anchorage to Tok on Saturday, 8 July, then on the 9th we drove south through Canada's Yukon Territory and British Columbia before coming back into AK and spent the night in Haines. What a beautiful town! Surrounded by mountains and the deep fjords of the northern Inside Passage, it is a place to go back to. We boarded a ferry there on the 10th bound for Bellingham, WA. Melody and the kids and I got a berth curtesy of the Army, my mom and dad set up a tent on the back deck of the boat. They said it was actually no problem (and they could use our private bath and shower which was nice!). It was a great trip. Many whales and beautiful scenery. Caxton and Talus got to stay in the car and had regular visits from us. In Juneau, where we stopped for a brief visit in the middle of the night and I took Caxton for a quick walk. It was also the first time I'd seen the dark night sky in a long time! We safely arrived in Bellingham on the 14th and then drove straight to Steilacoom where we'd already arranged to rent a house. It was a very good trip.

The DeWeese-Fields Family at the Harbor in Haines!

I enjoy the beautiful mountains of the Inside Passage as evening sets in.

My Mom, Barb, enjoys the sunet next to their view room on the boat. They weren't the only ones to camp out and said it was fun, especially given the views in the morning!

Having Mom and Dad on board ment we had babysitters and Melody and I could get away for a dinner on our own in the dinning room. Food wasn't bad! We brought the kids also once or twice. The snack bar food just wasn't as good. Mom and Dad's tent was on the deck just below the window!

Sunset on Old Glory

Our home in Steilacoom is great. It is a bit smaller than our home in Anchorage (which turned into a great investment when we sold it), and the rent is a bit more than our Army housing allowance, but the view is worth it. Steilacoom is a great town - the first incorprated in Washington. It is small and quiet, except for the trains that go along the Sound. It has a small ferry dock where a ferry goes to Anderson Island and another goes to McNeil where there is a state pen. Alcatraz of Puget Sound I guess! This is a town we could live in for a long time - to bad it probably will only be one year. It is very near to Fort Lewis so the commute is short - which is very important to be sure I can come home to Melody and the kids at reasonable hours. And the view!

Sunset from our Deck

One of the good things about moving here was having the chance to be with my Grandma, Doris DeWeese, just before she passed away. She was able to visit with us all and see Melody and the kids on my 35th Birthday, but she broke her hip shorty afterwards and after surgery she caught pnemonia and passed away. She was a wonderful woman who was very proud of her Danish heritage and her family and who prayed for us every day. We all miss her very much. My Grandpa, Joe DeWeese is still going strong at 94 and took the death of his love as well as could be expected. He is quite a guy. Dad had flown back up after Grandma took a turn for the worse and was with her, along with Grandpa, when she passed away. Mom had been in Colorado with Grandma Quick, who has health worries of her own, and flow up from there along with my sister Gini. One of the nice things to come from Grandma's passing on was having nearly the entire family together. It was really good to be with my family as well as my cousins, Kami and her husband Pat, and Mark and his wife Katie, and Kami and Pat's kids Emma Daisy and Stanley. Em and Stan get along great with Dustin and Megan! Family really is the best thing in the world to be surrounded with.

Grandma and Granpa DeWeese at my 35th Birthday!

Grandpa DeWeese came to visit after the funeral and recalled a time when he had visited Steilacoom before with a choir - he is sure he actually even visited the home we are renting!

The kids and I gave Melody a couple of days off and went camping together near Mt. Rainier. For some reason, a lot of people think that is amazing - a dad would camp with his 3 and 4 year old alone! For me, it is awsome. Not to say we wouldn't have had fun with Melody, but I simply enjoy showing Megan and Dustin the beautiful creation God has given us and I want to teach them to love the outdoors as I was taught. Melody and I are dedicated to raising them to love camping, cycling, kayaking, and all the other fun outdoors activities we so enjoy. It was especially fun to take them to see Mt. Rainier because we went to the Sunrise (East) side of the mountain where I'd never been before - it was great to see it for the first time from that side with the kids! We camped in a national forest campground way up into the mountains off the highway just outside the Park, and the next day drove around the south side coming back home via the Paradise side of the Mountain. What a fun trip!

Megan and Dustin enjoying Reflection Lake just south-east of Paradise. What an amazing spot!!!

Ok, so anyone who is reading this who knows us should know by now that in addition to Megan and Dustin, we will soon have two more kids! Yes, Melody and I finally got pregnant (and I deliberately mean both of us go pregnant - it is a team effort all the way from start to finish!). And yes, it was with the aid of medical support and yes, we are having twins. Melody is now at 25 weeks and is big enough that strangers touch her belly (weird!) and ask if it is soon. Twins are usually early and the doctors have said they don't want us going past 38 weeks which puts us at 28 November for a due date. Melody is doing well as can be expected. Megan and Dustin are looking forward to having a brother and a sister (the ideal situation if you ask us), and Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunts and Uncles and cousins are all very excited.

Mommy with Megan and the twins enjoy the sun and the flowers on the balcony. Week 23!

Well, our new internet works faster than the one in Anchorage, we've cleaned up the computer so it also is faster and doesn't have spyware and other stuff causing problems, and so I may actually be able to keep this up regular again. Especially with the twins coming, it will be a nice way to keep friends and family informed on how things are and to post nice pictures of our life. Anyone else reading this, I guess enjoy! More posts to come, I promise!

Geoff - 2 Sept 06