Best Defense is on summer hiatus. During this restful spell we offer re-runs from the past 12 months. This item originally ran on Mar. 21. 

(Tom note: Army Maj. D.J. Skelton is a friend of mine. The “pirate eye” phrase refers to an eye he lost in Fallujah, Iraq, when an rocket-propelled grenade round grazed the side of his head, for which he now wears a fake eye. He posted this account on Facebook. I am running it here with his permission. I like this because of the joy he takes in the evening’s proceedings.)