FAO Quotables

"But being right, even morally right, isn't everything. It is also important to be competent, to be consistent, and to be knowledgeable. It's important for your soldiers and diplomats to speak the language of the people you want to influence. It's important to understand the ethnic and tribal divisions of the place you hope to assist."
-Anne Applebaum

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Rest in Peace: LTC Shannon Beebe dies in plane crash

I am sad to report that LTC Shannon Beebe died in a plane crash last weekend.  I had only met LTC Beebe a handful of times but he was someone that I admired deeply.  As a young officer just starting out as an Africa FAO,  LTC Beebe was always kind, sincere and humble in our interactions.  His book The Ultimate Weapon is No Weapon: Human Security and the New Rules of War and Peace was one of the first books I read as an Africa FAO and has profoundly shaped my perspective on the realm of possibilities for a FAO working in Africa.   He was someone that carried with him a light and a brightness everywhere he went.  He will be missed.

LINKS:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/he-thrilled-at-the-most-challenging-flying-but-died-in-routine-test-flight/2011/08/12/gIQA8gmxBJ_story.html

http://mountvernon.patch.com/articles/remembering-mount-vernon-lawyer-elizabeth-pignatello-39#photo-7362985

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/08/shannon-beebe-dies-in-fauquier-county-plane-crash-64982.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=ltc+shannon+beebe+died

http://features.rr.com/article/07CtdYL2H5bDd

http://www.hotsr.com/news/localnews/2011/08/12/lh-graduate-security-expert-dies-in-virg-50.php

http://cseees.unc.edu/News/Beebe

2 comments:

  1. This is sad Jack...really at a loss for words. Thank you for posting this. I really hope we get to see the day when some of his hopes and ideas are realized. He was a great and humble officer who always put his country and others first. When he spoke to you, you knew he was genuinely interested in what you had to say. I wish we had more like him in this world...it would, without a doubt, be a better place. You are right, he will be sorely missed.

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  2. Sadly, he was a risk taker that took one too many. He had a lot of ambition but I always knew him to be someone who also liked the spotlight and accoldates; I think flying gave him some of what he sought after at too great a risk.

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