I had not been out of the United States Navy for even four months when a retired Air Force colonel co-worker entered my new office at Oklahoma State University with a direct order. That “order” was for me to wholeheartedly champion some random thought that had emerged out of his own personal “wild blue yonder” that required some serious work hours expended by anyone but himself. Completely unknown to the colonel, his biggest offense was daring to officiously enter my office without offering me a steaming cup of coffee made to my liking. That is actually why we got…

How Templars Cope in the Holy Land ___ The Multimorbidity of Cause and Effect In mid-December of 1972, on the midwestern plains at Oklahoma State University, the northwestern skies were deep blue and ugly. I had just completed my last final exam of the semester and was frantically packing my 1963 Ford Galaxie 500. It was a beast – an eight-cylinder gas-guzzling big-boy who could move down the highway with a purpose. And on that day, I definitely needed purpose. The first flakes of snow were falling just ahead of a certified blizzard that loomed behind the dark clouds hanging…

  I grew up on the lush Oklahoma prairies. The wild range grasses were beautifully green in the spring. They were fed by the early rains and naturally fertilized through the spring weather that converted the elemental atmospheric nitrogen by the ubiquitous lightning storms into the various bio-available oxides of nitrogen that the verdant vegetation below needed to grow. Springtime on the great plains was filled with beauty – and occasionally with great violence. If you wanted the green grass, you had to pay for it with the occasional angry, black skies of spring. And all that annual violence was…

Click here for more details and to register! Prior Dennis Chamberland and Prior Howard Giraldo request your presence at A Knight with Team Florida! Our two Priories are excited and honored to co-host our joint Autumnal Convent and Investiture for the Priory of The Temple Church and the newest Priory in GPUSA, the Priory of The Holy Trinity. This historic and solemn C&I, officiated by our Deputy Grand Prior for Region III, Chev. Frederick A. Cassidy, GOTJ, will take place in Cape Canaveral, Florida, October 3-5, 2025. Festivities include a Friday evening Priors’ Reception and dinner introducing six Postulants at…

“It would be nice” to wake up every morning and KNOW that whatever we put our hands to today will be filled with the certainty of success. But for a Christ Follower and particularly a committed Templar, the “odds” can be heavily stacked in our favor. Then the words “it would be nice” shifts dramatically to “success is promised me today”, for if we leave home after committing our day and the work He has given to us before God in prayer, then we have this sure promise from God’s Word: “I know that there is nothing better for them…

  It may be nearly invisible to we as modern Templars, but we do many things in our Order that emulate what our forefathers did over nine centuries ago. Their Convents were critical for maintaining the Templar’s cohesion, discipline, and effectiveness as a religious and military institution from their founding in 1119 until their dissolution in 1312. Frequency and location varied, but major Convents were typically held at least annually. Just like the Templars of antiquity, in the state of Florida, we have many members scattered all over the state. Our territory is so large that it requires 10-12 hours…

As a 30-year career NASA Engineer and Scientist, it is easy for me to dream of and speak of the fanciful future that is almost upon us. I know that it is no longer vaporware, but our future is unfolding round about us with a mostly hidden – and yet with a relentless purpose even as I write these words. NASA is effectively now out of the crewed deep space exploration game, as is nearly every other nation except China, which is about to catch up and pass everyone else except for SpaceX. SpaceX WILL have humans on Mars permanently…

As stated in a previous Battlefield Report, I will occasionally review bits and pieces of Templar history. The Templars rarely chronicled any aspect of their events, so these accounts are scarce, having been recorded by others who witnessed the events. ———– Of all the Templar crusade battles, one stands out for its historic accuracy because of multiple eyewitness observers who recorded the event, among them councilors to Louis IX, Jean de Joinville and Matthew Paris. Through their combined efforts, we receive a detailed view of the event, of the courage and level-headedness of the Templars and their singular obedience, courage,…

  Last weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Grand Convent and Investiture of the Autonomous Grand Priory of the United States of America, the Priory of the Holy Trinity, Temple Church’s former Commandery, was stood up as an independent priory, serving all of South Florida. The photo above features, left to right, Capt. Howard Giraldo, Prior; COL. Fred  Kienle, Grand Prior XXIV; MGySgt. Gerson Cabrera, Chancellor; and newest member, Knight Claude Mode. Here now is a history of the Priory of the Holy Trinity as recorded by Prior I, Howard Giraldo. ___________________________________________________ In 2017, three newly inducted Knights of the…

Today our official Battlefield is 2,138 miles from the one in Orlando, Florida. And while Orlando can get toasty, Scottsdale makes the warmest Orlando summer day seem like “sweater weather” on the Scottish Highlands. Yeah, it’s a “dry heat”, kind of like the business end of a hair drier. But to be fair, our son who spent some time in Kuwait says that even Arizona heat is tame compared to the real, vast desert sands of the Middle East. Joining us here in Scottsdale are many members of our south Florida Knights and Dames of the Commandery of the Holy…