Fathers wear arrows on their ALERT Cadet chambray uniform shirt to signify the number of sons they have currently involved in the ALERT Cadet program. The arrow is chosen as our insignia from Psalm 127:4, “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth,” to remind fathers of their responsibility to raise their sons well.

Unfortunately, for the past two years we have been out of stock on the father arrows and unable to find a suitable new supplier. I am pleased to announce that we now have father arrow pins in stock!

We have significantly changed the design of the father arrow pin. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ve attached one for you to view below.

The first thing you will notice is the larger size and change of shape of the arrow pin. Our previous arrows were smaller and only attached by one clasp. This made them difficult to position on the uniform and to keep straight. The new arrow is larger to look more professional on the larger pocket flap of the father’s uniform. The arrow is now attached by two clasps and so will stay neat and horizontal on the uniform.

Next, you will notice the shield in the center with a number on it. The shield reminds the father of his responsibility to “shield” his sons from the attacks of our enemy who seeks to destroy them. The number designates the sons the father has active in the ALERT Cadet program. As new sons become eight years old and join, the father will purchase a new arrow, or exchange the old one for an arrow, with the appropriate number of sons on it. Likewise, as sons graduate from the program, the father will again change his arrow to a lower number and reflect the graduated son on his “Father Award” ribbon.

The “Father Award” ribbon is gold in color and has a silver arrowhead and number on it as shown in the Welcome to ALERT Cadets publication. This award is used to signify the number of sons a father has “shot into the world” upon their graduation from the ALERT Cadet program at age 18. This award may still be given to fathers, even though their son(s) are participating in ALERT Cadets as warrant officers and are assisting in the training of younger sons.

The new father arrow pins are available for $4 each plus tax, shipping, and handling. You may order them by calling ALERT Cadet Headquarters at 903-636-9228. Please be sure to specify the appropriate shield number with your order. If you need the separate father award ribbon, for graduated sons, please let us know that when you place your order. Be sure to use the terms “father arrow pin” and “father award ribbon” when you place your order to avoid confusion. You may find it advantageous to place one large order for your unit after surveying all of the fathers.

Thank you for the time you invest in your sons to make them “Strong to Overcome!”

Major Roger D. Farr
ALERT Cadet Commanding Officer

Gentlemen,

Service is an important element of the ALERT Cadet ministry. In fact, every one of our Handbooks requires a father and son to serve in their home, church, and community to complete the requirements for advancement.

God often provides unexpected opportunities to serve as evidenced by the recent hurricane in Texas. Cadet Captain Randy McDonald, our Southern Region Coordinator, took the initiative to coordinate with the ALERT teams being deployed to assist with the clean up efforts. I’d like to share with you his report below as an encouragement to serve in your community and to personally experience the joy of serving.

Cadet Captain McDonald’s Report

Hurricane Ike came ashore at Galveston on Saturday, 20 September 2008, with a diameter as wide as the state of Texas. Although it had been downgraded from a Category 4 to a strong Category 2 storm, its initial strength produced an unusual storm surge as high as 13 feet in areas, which devastated regions far beyond Galveston. One of those areas was the town of Bridge City, Texas, in the Golden Triangle area near Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas.

The State of Texas Emergency Management Office called upon the International ALERT Academy to assist victims of the hurricane. ALERT Colonel Tanner initially led a group of ALERT men to Anahuac, Texas, in Chambers County, before the state redirected them to Bridge City, in Orange County, Texas, near the Louisiana border. This was an especially hard-hit area that had received little assistance. Colonel Tanner left half his team in Anahuac to finish up work that they had begun, and he arrived with the rest of the men in Bridge City on Sunday night, 21 September, only a few hours before the first contingent of ALERT Cadet fathers and sons arrived.

The ALERT Cadet and ALERT teams were initially housed with the National Guard in a church but were later moved to Bridge City High School. The entire Bridge City deployment began on Sunday, 21 September, and lasted through Saturday, 27 September. The total of 23 ALERT Cadet fathers and sons who participated in this deployment came from four units in Texas and Louisiana. Along with the 22 men from the ALERT team, this deployment was the largest joint deployment effort of ALERT and ALERT Cadets in recent history.

The Bridge City area had gone through many powerful hurricanes over the decades, such as Hurricane Carla in the early 1960’s, but never one similar to the devastation caused by Ike. One resident who was helped by an ALERT Cadet team stated that she had lived there over 60 years, and she was not aware of another time that the city had flooded in a storm. However, Hurricane Ike’s storm surge produced flooding in houses in Bridge City up to 8 feet. In fact, only 12 houses in the entire city escaped flooding. Residents who returned following a mandatory evacuation order found that their houses had not only flooded, but in many cases were filled with swamp reeds and a thick, smelly black mud which coated the contents of their houses. Alligators and snakes were found in swimming pools and houses.

The ALERT Cadets and ALERT men performed work ranging from hauling furniture, appliances, carpet, and general house contents to the street, to shoveling out the smelly mud from homes. They tore out sheetrock, cabinets, and brick fireplaces from houses, removed wood floors, power washed the inside of homes, and hauled hundreds of wheelbarrow loads of debris. In most cases, ALERT Cadet fathers and sons and ALERT men worked right alongside homeowners, many of them overcome with grief at losing almost everything they owned. While many of the residents had flood insurance, some did not. One single mother with a disabled daughter had no insurance on her contents, and an ALERT Cadet team spent a day and a half assisting her in various ways.

Four joint teams assisted the hardest hit areas of the city, and the street names of Dugas, Sharp, Young and Norbert became well familiar to ALERT and ALERT Cadet members. Residents of this area often flagged the men down and asked for help as word spread that they were available to assist. One wife, whose husband’s employer would not allow him off work, was frustrated and physically exhausted when she was initially approached with offers to help. After several hours of working alongside ALERT and ALERT Cadet members, her frustration had turned to smiles and laughter. At almost every house, ALERT Cadet fathers and sons and ALERT men sang and prayed with residents. One resident kept asking for “another hymn” and the team members were “hymned out” after four selections. Residents often broke into tears and said, “How can we ever repay you?”

However, the greatest joy was not felt by the victims of the hurricane, but by the team members themselves who experienced the joy of serving and giving God the glory. They will never be the same, as they truly experienced the truth that it is “more blessed to give than to receive.”

May God continue to allow us as fathers to model service for our sons.

Major Roger D. Farr

ALERT Cadet Commanding Officer

Monthly Message from the ALERT Cadet Major - October 2008

Gentlemen,

September has been an incredible month for ALERT Cadets with many new members joining, my trip to Malaysia, much activity on the publications front, and contact by you, the folks we seek to serve. This month, I’d like to give you a flavor of what God is doing in our midst by sharing with you a few of the messages and e-mails I received recently.

Let me start in Iraq with an e-mail from a Marine Corps officer and ALERT Cadet father. We have many ALERT Cadet fathers serving in the US military, and I am personally grateful for their service. Our office prays for them regularly; my middle son is now a 2^nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps while in veterinary school, so I am especially aware and proud of them all. However this father asked how he could pray for us! I shared with him some of the work going on in our publications and our desire to see further expansion of the program into Indonesia, Malaysian churches, and U.S. book fairs with our ALERT Cadet Challenges. Bottom line, God is raising up men who are praying for us, and I was totally unaware of them!

Next, God is working in the Northeastern part of the U.S. where a father informed me this week that God has been patiently gathering together a few fathers in his area to get a new unit started. It began several years ago with a desire in one man’s heart, and now God has placed other like-minded men in the same area to begin the ALERT Cadet ministry.

In Malaysia, God has now raised up a father to start a unit in the southern part of the country where we did not yet have an ALERT Cadet presence. Again, it started with God bringing together three like-minded fathers, each desiring to grab and keep the hearts of their sons. A pastor in northern Malaysia is excited by the results he sees in the fathers who are involved with ALERT Cadets and is sharing his excitement with other church leaders.

During a recent dinner conversation with the ALERT Basic Training Chaplain, himself an ALERT Cadet father, I learned how some of our ALERT Cadets were fairing in their training. I also learned that this unit, Unit 40, of ALERT contains 22 young men who have been a part of an active ALERT Cadet unit. This is 30% of the unit and the highest absolute number and percentage since 2000, the first year we kept statistics! In 2003 we began an effort to retain older young men in ALERT Cadets by creating challenging projects, changing the format of our LTC camps, and expanding the curriculum and teaching opportunities for LTC members. God appears to be using these efforts in the lives of fathers and their older, young men who choose ALERT training.

Another e-mail, not on such a bright note, informed me that an ALERT Cadet father was having marital difficulties, leading to possible separation from his wife, and that he is unsure whether he could continue in the program. This was a sober reminder to me that Satan is alive and busy with his work of lies and deception seeking whom he may devour. My role is often as an encourager to fathers with questions on using the ALERT Cadet program to raise their sons (and daughters); however, this time it was a man-to-man discussion.

Finally, a “Thank You” card came in from a newly commissioned ALERT Cadet squad leader with the following. “In July 1979 I was commissioned a second Lieutenant in the US Army. Now, God has allowed me to be commissioned a Second Lieutenant in ALERT Cadets. God has given me a unique second chance to serve and bless the fathers and sons of this unit as God gives me grace. I am very grateful for the ALERT Cadet program. It is exactly what I wanted to do with my older sons.” Our God is a God of second chances, and this father is doing well in his new role and in raising his own sons. I am grateful for his prayers and the opportunity to serve.

Gentlemen, I want you to be encouraged as you fight for your families in these difficult spiritual and economic times. I am reminded of what Nehemiah said when they were under attack for rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. “And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.’” (Nehemiah 4:14, NKJV)

Let us fight well for all that we hold dear and pray that our sons will become “Strong to Overcome,” and that our wives and daughters will be safe and thriving.

In Christ,

Major Roger D. Farr

ALERT Cadet Commanding Officer