Oz - 2020 New Years Day BLOG

OZ Family Brief - 01 January 2020

 So here it is the first day of a New Decade !

The first day of 2020 is a day of New Beginnings for the Osborne Family.

If you already read my Birthday Blog 2 weeks ago you can skip past that part if not I would like to preface my New Years Day blog with that message as the foundational “back story”...…

20191219 = 50 Year Anniversary of the Birth of OZ !

Greetings one and all! it is 6 AM on the 19th Day of December in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Nineteen! -- yes the day that marks of the 50th Anniversary of the Birth of OZ ! –

I am creating this note as an AUTO-REPLY to the hundreds of social media messages that are flooding my inbox via E-mail --- Facebook --- LinkedIn –Twitter (which I happen to be locked out of at the moment) – etc… etc…

  ?  So here we go – 50 Years of OZ ! one half of an entire CENTURY since the day I was BORN into this world in the teeny tiny small town of Medway, Massachusetts to my parents Preston and Dorothy Osborne – both of whom have recently gone Home to be with our Lord – dad passed away in Feb 2017 and Mom joined him in heaven March of this year.

So – if you are still reading – you might be asking yourself what has OZ done with his life for the past 50 years! --- some of you reading this may know me very well personally and some of you may know me professionally in one capacity or the other--- and of course many of you only know me on social media and quite possible- given the fact that Social media can give a false impression of how may “FRIENDS” one has it is safe to say that the vast majority of the “Birthday well wishes” that I have received are from folks who have never met me in person (personally or professionally) but there is a high likelihood that we DO have at least one or two connections in common - Love LinkedIN for that reason – very easy to connect the dots and see who we know in common. 

Insert ClickBait here ---

https://www.DavidOsborne.net 

--- if you care to bookmark that link it is simply a hyperlink to my linkedin page https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/Davidosborne1

  ?  If you are STILL reading at this point- thank you - you probably know me well enough to actually care what I have to say on my Birthday – so here it goes -

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair… --- as much as I would love to take credit for that --- for those who have no idea where that came from try GOOGLE-- Thank you Charles Dickens for the Tale of Two Cities – I am sure when you wrote those words you knew that OZ was going to steal them as part of his 50th Birthday BLOG

  ?  IF YOU ARE STILL READING… you must be a real friend of mine to make it this far.. for those of you who know me online only as part of my Law Enforcement Professional network let me thank you for connecting with me and it is my sincere hope that the group that I created over a decade ago will continue to serve the Law Enforcement community as a whole without political bias or prejudicial malintent -- I created this group because as a young soldier / Military Police Officer serving in Bosnia in 1995/1996 I came to realize that “COPS” – GOOD COPS that is -- share a common bond of deep desire to SERVE and PROTECT everyone --- at least at some point in your life we all felt that calling to SERVE those who may never know or care to know us personally – they just need someone with a badge and a gun and the authority of the LAW -- to DEAL WITH the situation that you have been dispatched to just because you happen to be on duty in that jurisdiction at the time the call was made.

SO – the question has often been asked of me over my long career in Law Enforcement - what made you decide to do Law Enforcement as a career? Simply put, and no this is not a joke – my Law Enforcement gig started at about 5 years of age -- yup do the math - I have been at this gig for 45 Years ! So, you say - how does one become a cop at age 5? -- easy - they just don’t call you a Law Enforcement Officer – the other kids just call you the TATTLE TALE !! --- yeah I really was – and to a large degree still AM the TATTLE TALE - whether it was running in the hallway or chewing gum in class or whatever little rule infraction I could spot you can rest assured that OZ would tell the teacher or the school principal what I saw --- who did it and who else was there to witness it ..

        So -- why does THAT matter – it matters because here we are on my 50th Birthday – and I look back over my lifetime of service and I am deeply concerned that some in the Law Enforcement professional community are less concerned with TRUTH and JUSTICE – and more concerned with furthering a political agenda -- up to and including the Impeachment of the President of The United States – Donald J. Trump - I had to at least mention this fact because when most people look back in history on the 19th Day of December 2019 – the 50th Birthday of OZ will not be the number 1 historical reference – it will of course be the day following the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment vote. I will not take the time to elaborate on this fact – but time will tell how the American People will view this vote -- and the history books have yet to be written on the impact these proceedings will have on the future of the United States Government - specifically the Law Enforcement community. -- One thing I always like to mention when talking about my Law Enforcement career in general --- it is very important to understand the threshold of “Burden of Proof” and how very different they are when viewed through the lens of a Law Enforcement Officer (street cop) as opposed to the view of a PROSECUTOR, Judges, Juries, Lawyers, etc !!! --- the cop must never allow himself or herself to be the JUDGE and JURY or the LAWYER for that matter – if there is PROBABLE CAUSE to make a charge --- then just make the charge and let the PROSECUTOR decide whether or not to move forward with the process – prosecutorial DISCRETION rests with the PROSECUTOR – not the street cop / Law Enforcement Officer --- there MUST be a clear delineation between these TWO very distinct roles --- a Law Enforcement officer gathers evidence - interviews witnesses etc etc.. to DETERMINE if there is sufficient evidence to CHARGE a person with a CRIME ----- yes a CRIME--- defined as an ACT committed or omitted in violation of a LAW – yes a LAW forbidding or commanding it --- and to which is annexed upon conviction a punishment of sorts Death? Imprisonment? Fine? Removal from office? Or disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor trust or profit….  

Enough on that soapbox -- if you are STILL reading this - let me first thank you for being such a great friend or family member that would take the time to read my lengthy 50th Birthday Blog post - If you know me BOTH personally and professionally you know that the Osborne family is in transition – my professional career in Law Enforcement is coming to a close with my retirement on the horizon ! --- again it was the best of times – it was the worst of times… but God is ever faithful and He will direct my path – more to follow - thanks for reading and thank you for the Birthday Well Wishes – may God Bless you and keep you – may His face shine upon you – and may God continue to Bless the United States of America – even when we do NOT deserve it ---

                                    Now for the New Years Day blog —

So I have been 50 years old for a couple of weeks now — as I continue to reflect back over the last 50 years this New Year’s Day not only marks the beginning of a new decade but so many new beginnings for our Family personally and professionally—. 

For the past several weeks I have been in professional transition as my career in uniform has officially ended for all practical purposes —. Even though my official retirement date is not until 01 February 2020 I am on terminal/transition leave and I am in possession of my FINAL DD214    For those not familiar with that document you can google it and you will find that it is by far the single most important document that any service member holds In may case it is the 5th DD214 I have been issued over my 26 year career in uniform. 

My future career plans must remain undisclosed for now as I have not yet received an official FIRM offer letter from the Air Force Civilian Personnel Office.

However comma —- since I HAVE spoken several times with the Human Resources folks as well as the team leadership who have selected me for the position and issued a TENTATIVE offer which I immediately and enthusiastically accepted my family is moving forward in faith that the official firm offer will be drafted soon. 

While future plans are still in development phases I feel compelled to blog about and testify to the grace and mercy that I have been blessed by God to have received over my lifetime.  Like many of you reading this who know my family on a very personal level the past 5 years have been a roller coaster of emotions with true highs and lows that can’t be explained without the close and personal intimate relationship that only very few have with my family  —- you know who you are

On a professional level - my Law Enforcement background has laid the foundation for my professional future. My 5-10 year goal is to become a respected leader in the CyberSecurity industry either with the United States Government OR the private sector—. Actually to be very candid BOTH. While my allegiance will always be to the Flag of the United States of America and to my oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies foreign and domestic.....etc.   2020 marks the year that I surrender my conventional weapons of war —. No I am still keeping and maintaining my PERSONALLY owned forearms. — someone will need to pry those out of my COLD DEAD HANDS —

Enough on that —. Shout out to the 2nd Amendment. 

My US government issued weapons have all been turned in and will be issued to a younger Soldier to maintain and carry on the mission. My title of Law Enforcement Officer (Retired) will be in effect in about 30 days — the First Day of February 2020

With that I wish each and every one reading this News Years Day Blog a Happy and Healthy New Day, New Year and New Decade —. And may God continue to bless the United States of AMERICA - may He lead and direct all of those who hold a position of Authority who have pledged their allegiance to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and/or the Constitution of their STATE — may God bless our Law Enforcement Professionals and the Local, State and Federal Level — May we all serve our fellow citizens with honor bearing true faith and allegiance to our Oath —. May all Law Enforcement Professionals young and old understand and commit to true servant leadership—. Not self serving

 I write this “Thin Blue Line” article about 20 years ago and added some event oriented content a couple of times. 

https://www.facebook.com/813391903/posts/10157742499146904/?d=n

This article was published in 2001 on FreeRepublic with the title LEADERSHIP 

https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/617102/posts

I share it again because it had served as my personal moral and ethical compass over my career and my prayer is that it is an encouragement to all who read it.

David C Osborne

SFC (Ret)

Military Police Operations

850.933.8511