Shortburst: Thanksgiving Edition

Today is the day millions of Americans focus on giving thanks for the good things in their lives. What would they be?  According to a new YouGov poll:

“The thing that the most Americans are grateful for this year is family and friends: 47% say that is what they’re most thankful for this year. 19% say they’re most thankful for health, 8% are most thankful for faith, and 5% are most thankful for the United States.”

Being “thankful for the United States” is very much something for which to thankful – and others see that as well.  In fact, according to Gallup, the U.S. is by far the most desired destination for migrants with “about 170 million adults worldwide” naming “the U.S. as their desired future residence.”

Former students

But family and friends understandably top the list for Americans.  This fall we were thankful for – and honored by – visits by former students, and here’s an update on some of them:

Robert “Bobby” DeNault ’21 is with White & Case in New York and is part of their national security law practice area.  Bobby was my research assistant and was the inaugural contributor to the LENS Essay Series (“The Crisis of Cryptocurrency: Executive Branch Authority to Address the World’s Most Potent Financial Threat,” No. 1, March 30, 2020).  Bobby’s enormous writing talent was recently on display in an article which he co-authored: “US could zero in on border searches of electronic devices.”

Ashley DaBirie ’23 is currently practicing law in New York at Desmarais LLP, a patent litigation boutique. Since graduating from Duke Law in 2023, she has worked on both plaintiff-and defendant-side cases in the life sciences and tech spheres, and has been a part of two successful trial teams.  Ashley is also a fabulous writer and wrote two articles in the LENS Essay Series (“Which Protectors Need More Protection? Analyzing Legal Possibilities of Reducing Patent Protection to Protect National Defense Companies,” No. 17, Mar. 23, 2023) and (“Wartime Propaganda in the Age of Generative Chatbots,” No. 18, Jul. 3, 2023).

Koree Blyleven Wooley ’13 is a partner at Jones Day in San Diego practicing labor and employment law. She did it all at Duke: summa cum laude; Order of the Coif; Notes Editor, Duke Law Journal; Intramural Chair, and Moot Court Board.  A fun fact about Koree: she was an NCAA Division I Women’s Water Polo Academic All-American, 2007-2009!  Notably, she is now the hiring partner for the San Diego office.  Most importantly, she and her husband Chris (also a Duke Law grad!) are the parents of two adorable daughters!

Cassidy with Joy Dunlap and the author

Cassidy Merten ’23 is an associate with Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston. While at Duke, Cassidy served as a Lead Editor of the Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, and was also Vice President of the Business Law Society. Also, in 2019 Cassidy got the incredible opportunity to serve as a judicial intern at the Supreme Court of the United States in the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice. 

In her current role, Cassidy is working in the business law department, and is focused mainly on Life Sciences clients and their capital markets work (and she’s really enjoyed working on IPOs). She says, “It’s been great working with clients who are developing products to help others and who are so passionate about what they do – I’ve enjoyed getting to play even a small role in their success!” 

While in DC for the ABA Conference, Joy and I were also pleased to have dinner with the former co-presidents of Duke’s National Security Law Society Riley Flewelling Delfeld ’24 and Madison Cash ’24. Riley is an international trade and government contracts associate at Crowell & Moring LLP, and Maddie will be an associate at Hogan Lovells before departing for a clerkship with Judge David Novak in the Eastern District of Virginia.

L-R the author, Riley Delfeld, Maddie Cash, and Joy Dunlap

Riley and Maddie, both gifted writers, penned articles for the LENS Essay Series.  Riley’s were “Not Just Words: Grappling with the Doxing of Civilians in War,” No. 19, July 25, 2023, and “Mind the Gap? Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello in the Era of Hybrid Warfare,” No. 23, Feb. 20, 2024.

Maddie authored “Financial Jihad: Combating the Use of Virtual Assets in Terrorist Financing,” No. 21, Oct. 23, 2023, and “Uploading Culture: Navigating the International Humanitarian Legal Framework Governing Cultural Property in the Metaverse“ No. 28, May 2, 2024.

My wife (Joy) and I are very thankful and proud this Thanksgiving to have gotten to know these Duke Law grads who are not only terrific lawyers, but also–and more importantly–truly wonderful people!

Thanksgiving; a bit of history

Though many traditional ideas about Thanksgiving that emphasize it as being “a peaceful exchange between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag” Indians have become mired in controversy, the actual story of how it became a national holiday is rather straightforward.  Here’s the explanation from the Mt Vernon Association:

“In 1789, Representative Elias Boudinot from New Jersey presented a resolution requesting that Congress persuade the now-President Washington to declare a thanksgiving observance in honor of the creation of the new United States Constitution. Congress agreed and passed the resolution creating a joint committee to make their request to the president.

Washington issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating Thursday, November 26 as a national day of thanks. In his proclamation, Washington declared that the necessity for such a day sprung from the Almighty’s care of Americans prior to the Revolution, assistance to them in achieving independence, and help in establishing the constitutional government.”

Thanksgiving in the military

Thanksgiving in the military is a special holiday (I have my own treasured memories).  A recent Pentagon news release from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)–which ships about 700,000 pounds of food around the globe for Thanksgiving—observes:

“Thanksgiving is an incredibly important holiday for DLA Troop Support. It is our Super Bowl,” said Robin Whaley, DLA’s chief of subsistence for customers outside the continental United States. “Food is emotional, and we want to make sure that the soldiers, airmen, sailors, guardians and Marines serving around the world have that taste of home on Thanksgiving Day.”

The Pentagon has also produced a touching video it calls “Pass the MRE – A Thanksgiving Story,” and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also made a video with his wife to pass Holiday Greetings.

All good, but consider this 26 Nov 2024 article on Military.com:

 Here’s what the base told Military.com:  “Brigade-level leadership”?  Are you kidding me?  Allegations that young troops have not been properly fed–perhaps for months–at one of the Army’s premier bases with over 26,000 soldiers assigned to it?  That’s not a “brigade-level” issue; it needs to go straight to the top. The military axiom “leaders eat last” has real application here.

Memo to Army Chief of Staff Gen Randy George and Sgt Major of the Army Michael Weimer: Gentlemen, with respect, this issue is in your foxhole, and you need to be all over it…now.  Get to the bottom of it immediately.  If it is misinformation, get the correct story out ASAP as this is the kind of thing that can only negatively impact recruiting and retention.

True, I don’t know all the inside details, but since responses fail to express shock, or to outright deny soldiers’ comments, and because there are admittedly “challenges with consistency,” this needs attention now. It’s disgraceful not to consistently provide healthy and substantive meals to those who signed up to serve our country.  This comes on top of a deeply troubling RAND study reported by Military Times in September that concluded that “nearly 26% of active-duty service members are considered food insecure, and about 15% rely on food stamps or food banks to help support their families.”

Concluding thoughts

Each of you have your own memories of Thanksgiving, and I hope today added another good one.  Think about the wonderful people you’ve known in your life, and don’t forget to give thanks for the 1.3 million active duty troops (and thousands more in the Guard and Reserves) standing watch around the world helping to keep us safe in a dangerous world.