Senator Mastriano

🚧 Traffic Shift Next Week – Roundabout Project Update 🚧

Drivers in Washington Township, Franklin County should be aware of an upcoming traffic shift at the Route 997 (Anthony Highway) and Orchard Road / Tomstown Road intersection near Waynesboro.

📅 Starting Monday, April 13 (weather permitting):
• Route 997 traffic will be shifted west onto temporary pavement near Orchard Road.
• Lane restrictions with flagging will occur during the shift.
• Once completed, one lane of traffic will remain open in each direction on Route 997.

🛠 Project Overview:
• Construction of two new roundabouts on Route 997
• Roadway widening and ADA curb ramp upgrades
• Drainage and stormwater improvements
• Installation of new roadway lighting

⚠️ Traffic Notes:
• Tomstown Road is permanently closed between Route 997 and Washington Township Boulevard.
• Orchard Road and Washington Township Boulevard may experience short-term detours during construction.
• Access to businesses and residences will be maintained at all times.

📆 Project Timeline:
Work is expected to be completed by August 22, 2028.

🚗 For real-time traffic updates, visit 511PA.com or use the 511PA mobile app.

Thank you for your patience as these improvements enhance safety and traffic flow in the area.

Please enjoy my April Veteran Newsletter! Link is in bio.

April 9, 1942 - The Fall of Bataan

THROWBACK THURSDAY: During the Cold War, I took this photo of Rebbie at the Dreiländereck — the heavily guarded tri-border where West Germany, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia met. At the time, I was serving with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment back then. #ThrowbackThursday

April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to the Union`s Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, marking the beginning of the end of the grinding four-year-long American Civil War.

Don`t miss out! Discover valuable insights in my weekly newsletter, delivered every Friday. Sign up now for exclusive content! http://senatormastriano.com/enewsletters/

The Bugles at Dinant and the Drones Over Iran: We Are Living Through a Revolution in Military Affairs
Sen. Douglas Mastriano, PhD, Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.)

In August 1914, the French Army marched into war convinced that courage could overcome technology. Their doctrine rested on the theories of Colonel Louis de Grandmaison, who argued that the offensive spirit — the bayonet and the will to attack — would decide modern battle. French soldiers trained for frontal assaults in the tradition of Napoleon. They believed élan — the fighting spirit — would carry them through enemy fire. But war had changed.

At the Meuse River town of Dinant, a young French lieutenant named Charles de Gaulle led his platoon forward with the famed French 33rd Infantry Regiment. The attack unfolded as if lifted from another century. Bugles sounded. Drums beat. Flags waved in the wind. The men surged forward across a bridge toward German positions, bayonets fixed, marching into what they believed would be a decisive assault.

Waiting for them were machine guns. What followed was slaughter. De Gaulle was among the first to fall, struck by a bullet that shattered his fibula. From the ground, he witnessed the collapse of the doctrine he had been trained to trust. He later wrote of that terrible moment:
“Suddenly the enemy’s fire became precise and concentrated… bugles sounded the charge… isolated heroes made fantastic leaps, but all to no purpose. In an instant it had become clear that not all the courage in the world could withstand this fire.”

*Continued in comments