In the Military, Fear Strikes Hard When We Don’t Know What is Happening Next

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Military news…

VA Pensions for Surviving Spouses

Did you know VA provides tax-free, supplemental income for qualified, surviving spouses?

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Free Resources Help Veterans, Military Spouses Find Jobs

AARP’s new job center includes a suite of resources to help Veterans and military spouses find jobs, explore new career fields, get advice, take a job training course and more.

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Chats with the Chief: Making the World More Accessible for Disabled Veterans

From wheelchairs that don’t need batteries to robotic arms that help Veterans with everyday tasks, Dr. Rory Cooper and his team find ways to make the world more accessible for disabled Vets. 

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Short news day again today. (The calm before the storm?)

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Before I share another excerpt from my upcoming book, I want to thank all of you for subscribing. It has been off the charts the last week. For the first four days of February there has been a 90 person increase in subscriptions. I think that must mean you are getting excited about the book coming out soon.

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Here is another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of hope for the Military: In and Out of the trenches of Life.

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Sitting on a Military Plane Ready to Fly to the Bay of Pigs

I know of some of the fears you face or have faced as a soldier. I have had my share of scary times while in uniform for my country.

I had put in three years of active duty, and was very near to my discharge date while at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. As a matter of fact the discharge date was just days away.

It seemed like a normal day of “putting in your time,” but then there came a sound that I never want to hear again. It was the intercom in our section of the company I was stationed with saying, “This is an alert.” This is not a drill, all personnel report to headquarters for a briefing right away.”

I couldn’t think of why there would be any problems that serious happening, and still thought it was a drill as I ran towards the headquarters building.

When we all assembled, the commander went to the podium and spoke.

“I am here to inform you that all leaves and weekend passes are concealed. We have received a message from the commanding General of the Army to stand by for a possible mission to the Bay of Pigs. This is a very serious mission, which will put you in combat and in harm’s way. Our unit is being deployed, to help monitor the security of the communications while there. We will serve in the field headquarters of the mission. You have about two hours to go home to pack your full field clothes and equipment. Dismissed!”

That was it. No more explanations or chances to ask questions.

I drove home quickly, packed all my gear in a duffel bag.

I got back to the headquarters, and it looked like pandemonium and chaos had sat in, with soldiers running everywhere.  

A few minutes later everyone had made it there and we were all in formation. The commander then told us to come to attention.

We all headed to buses that were waiting to take us to the military airport on base. When we got there, we unloaded and marched to the area of several planes. They had us board the planes with full gear and field uniforms on. The pilot came on to tell us that we will be in a combat area when we land at the Bay of Pigs.

I sat down in my area, and was holding my weapon (M-1 rifle) between my legs. I was numb with fear and anxiety. I had never thought I would actually be in a conflict where I could die.

The plane started its engines. The plane shook as the engines roared to get up to the speed they needed to get off the ground. It taxied to the runway and stopped.

Then we waited for the pilot to push the throttle. We sat there for what seemed like hours. I could see the fear, in the eyes in the soldiers around me. I was only about twenty years old then, and began to see my life unfold before me. I had thoughts of not coming back. I had thoughts of my loved ones I would never see again.

The plane was shaking from the vibrations of the motors. I said a prayer because it looked like we were going to take off. The plane was moving. However, it was not going done the runway. It was heading back to the area where we boarded.

The pilot came on the intercom and said that the mission had been aborted, and we were going back to our companies.

I felt such relief along with men and women around me who were yelling for joy. We were safe and heading back to our homes.

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I only shared this story because I know some of you have gone through the same thing. You also have been sent into combat, and faced the fear of not coming back. I was very lucky, but many of you actually left the ground in your plane, and headed into harm’s way.

Fear is something that is hard to control. Even the most-brave face it. We all have been there in some capacity.

It could be the doctor’s appointment that has information on your health. It also could be the times when you have to leave your loved ones for any mission. It may be the crises of your marriage when your spouse is tired of going through the pain of wondering if you will come back alive.

Did you know that Jesus faced fear? He even asked God to take away the fear by relieving Him of the cup of the responsibility God had placed on Him. He sweated blood during that prayer. God heard the prayer, but let Jesus go through the fear, pain and agony of going to the cross and dying for you and me. 

I am not making it sound like we shouldn’t be afraid. I know we are quite often. I am not saying you are a bad person if you are afraid of something. We all have our spots where we fear the unknown.

I think that is the key. It is the “unknown.” It’s not knowing what will happen next.

What I have learned from so many times of facing fear is that 99% of what we fear never happens. We just need to give the other 01% over to God.

Is it that simple? I can honestly tell you that it is. God has big shoulders. He wants to take the burdens of our day away from us. We just need to depend on Him to keep His promises and know that He will never put us in a situation that we can’t handle with His help.

IWILL

Facing the unknown in life can be very hard. We aren’t built to take on such scary things at times. We just need to rely on God to see us through the dark clouds we face. He knows which way we need to go to avoid harm.

Think on this

Isn’t it interesting that having fear is what we really need to fear?   

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Hope you have been enjoying all these excerpts. There will be a few more, but not many. Keep coming back to see the last of the excerpts. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future post will come directly to your inbox.

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Checking in on you…How are you doing? Are you struggling with fear?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,785 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If you are battling mentally, because of your love for others, but it isn’t working, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number that you can call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will no hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255.

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.

Paratrooper’s Parachute Doesn’t Open, But He Survives

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Military news…

A new “in-flight bladder relief” device being tested by the Air Force might make life safer for pilots, especially female pilots.

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A former colonel for the D.C. National Guard accused Army leaders of lying to Congress and the Pentagon’s inspector general about how they responded to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack,

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Among the late Sen. Bob Dole’s many accomplishments was ensuring that the legendary unit that he fought with during World War II reclaimed its heritage when it was reactivated 40 years later

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A Navy SEAL died on Tuesday after being injured over the weekend in a training incident in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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More than 100 Florida National Guardsmen are deployed to Ukraine as U.S. intelligence officials warn that Russia is poised to launch a crushing invasion of the country.

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“On a scale of 1-10, I would say that is definitely a nine, as far as ‘oh man, I’m scared.'” That’s what one paratrooper said about what it’s like when you jump out of an airplane only to find your parachute has not deployed.

(He was able to grab another paratrooper’s legs near to the landing.)

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I have been sharing excerpts with you often. I have completely shared with you the whole book, and you have been able to read it all.

Now, I will be spending the rest my time doing final preparations to send the book to a publisher. I have a publisher, and their name is Bookbaby. There are all set to print the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. I will be sending them the book this January.

Keep coming back to check on the progress of the finalization of the book. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to you inbox.

(Just do it! 🙂 )

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Checking in on you my friend. How are you doing? Do you have dreams about your service time? Are they nightmares?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,440 fellow veterans subscribed to this site who have your back.

If the dreams just too much for you right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until the know you are OK.

1-800-272-8255..texting 838255.

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.

Do You Need to be Tough to be in the Military?

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES!!

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Military news…

U.S. Bank is proud to honor military veterans. We’re committed to helping you reach your financial goals during and after your military career. That’s why we offer competitive rates on VA home loans so you can buy a home or refinance with little or no down payment.

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The Air Force has relieved a colonel at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma who berated his airmen for not flying a training mission in dangerous conditions.

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No, the Marine Corps is not offering backseat rides in F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets for Marines who re-enlist.

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While we’re fact-checking, the British press may have to correct its claims that British Royal Marines wiped the floor with their American counterparts during an exercise last month, writes retired U.S. Marine Col. Andrew Milburn, who was actually at the exercise.

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Housing veterans living on the streets in LA could spark momentum nationwide, VA secretary says
VA Secretary Denis McDonough, who spoke at the National Press Club, said the VA succeeded in its goal of getting all homeless veterans living in the area known as “veterans row” in Los Angeles into housing by Nov. 1.
Former Marine in Russian prison goes on hunger strike over rights violationsFormer U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, jailed in Russia for nine years after being convicted over a drunken 2019 incident he did not remember, declared a hunger strike to protest violations of his rights in prison, according to his family and lawyers.

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Law saves the day, Army defeats Air Force in OT

Jordyn Law recovered teammate Christian Anderson’s fumble at the goal line for an overtime touchdown and Army defeated Air Force 21-14 on Saturday.

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Yes I have another excerpt for you from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trecnches of Life. . Aren’t I nice? 🙂

Do I Need to Be Tough in the Military?

I spent twelve hour days on hill 468 in Korea. (That’s the number I remember. Each hill was numbered.) You were up there alone to run the whole operation. I worked in a 2 ½ ton truck with a radio shack placed on top of it.  You were closed into a little area where you could reach both walls from where you sat. The shacks were only about eight to ten feet long.

If you had trouble with claustrophobia, this was not the job for you.

One night everything came to a stop. The generator had stopped. I went out to check and it was out of gas. I had to climb up on the generator to put more gas in. I was doing just fine until I slipped. I started to fall off the generator. I grabbed the first thing I could. Unfortunately it was the extremely hot manifold. It burnt the whole palm of my hand.

There was not one person to take my place, as the soldier who was my replacement was on leave. I had to operate the radio system with my hand wrapped in a cloth, and I was in severe pain.

I could have radioed down to the base, but you were supposed to be a soldier first and a cry baby later. I finished the night. Luckily I only had about three hours to go when I had my accident. I was off duty for over a week while my hand recovered.

Have you had a sudden incident change your path? Did you feel like crying out for help, but didn’t think you should because of how tough we as soldiers are supposed to be?

I am sure many of you have while you were in the service, or are still there.

What do we do about this?

I am convinced now that there is no shame in seeking help. There is no time when you should ever feel that your integrity will be hurting if you seek help for something.

It could a minor injury or it could be harassment. It could that you need to see a counselor for some issues you are going through.

The tough guy/gal theory has no place in the military. It is good to be tough when you are in a trench fighting for your country, but when you need some special help, get it.   

Don’t let the rigors of daily military life drag you down like a huge magnate. Seek help for whatever you think you need help with. 

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Be sure to come back and see more excerpts. Better yet..go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

Bed check… How are you doing today?Does the world seem dark and dreary? Would you rather stay in bed all day to avoid thiss earth?

FEAR NOT!!!

There ar eover 13,350 fellow veterans subscribed to the site who have your back.

But…if it is just too dark and dreary, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. There are highy qualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.