Category: Afghan war

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Searching for Gold Star Families to Interview for my Upcoming Book

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Military news…

Thanks to a U.S. Marine’s GoPro deployment video, we can see what the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan actually looked like. This isn’t the sanitized version presented by public affairs: this is the confusion, anger and antics that actually marked life on the ground in the war’s final days.

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The Department of Defense needs your help renaming nine Army forts and two Navy ships that were named after people who served the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. . That’s right, the military is crowd-sourcing name ideas for its installations, so it’s up to you to make the dream of Forty McFortface, or perhaps something better like Fort Alwyn Cashe, a reality.

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 The five sailors killed in a recent helicopter crash aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln provide a stark reminder that seemingly routine military operations can turn just as deadly as combat. That is especially the case when it comes to the difficult task of landing a helicopter on an aircraft carrier.
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16 years ago, Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe died after walking through fire three times to save his fellow soldiers from the burning wreckage of their Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Iraq. But despite being endorsed by the Pentagon eight months ago to receive the Medal of Honor for his incredible act of sacrifice, Cashe has still not received it.

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For the past three presidential administrations, top military leaders went out of their way to avoid any conversation with the American public about what was happening in Afghanistan and why. But now that U.S. troops are finally out, military leaders have no excuse to keep their work secret. The war is lost, and the country deserves to know why.

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Ever want to take your boss to court for being a jerk? It’s a tactic that rarely works in the military, but it did for the legendary Army Maj. Richard “Dick” Winters of “Band of Brothers” fame. That’s right, Winters out-foxed the Army’s green weenie just like he did the Nazi’s. in WWII.

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I just finished putting the table of contents together for my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

All I really have are some follow up interviews. I also want to do another interview with a Gold Star mother, but I seem to have lost her contact information.

If you know Vickie Ziegler, please tell her to connect with me at doug@dougbolton.com.

I have stopped sharing excerpts from the book, because my publisher said SLOW DOWN! Do not give so much away free.

You can find many of them by searching the archives.

Better yet….

You can go to the top of this page and hit “subscribe” to be a part of this site, which has over 12,970 fellow veterans. When you do, all future posts go right straight to your inbox.

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What’s happening in your world soldier? Is the earth spinning too fast for you? Do you fear sleeping at night?

FEAR NOT!

With the 12,970 fellow veterans on this site who have your back, you are in good hands.

But! If it is 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. They will not hang up until the 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.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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It Was a Hard Day for Biden When he Met With Families of the 13 Heroes of Afghanistan

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Military news…

“With the mass airlift complete, U.S. policymakers no longer have an excuse to avoid contemplating the lessons of a 20-year war riven by hubris, flawed assumptions, and deceit.” That’s from national security expert Daniel R. DePetris, talking about America’s overdue reckoning with its failure in Afghanistan.

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“I was just thinking, ‘is this real’ … Things like this don’t just happen.” That’s what a security forces airman at Beale Air Force Base thought last month when he saw a car speeding towards his gate with no sign of stopping.

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In 2017, a Marine Corps veteran named Brian Easley took desperate action to get his VA disability payment: he walked into a bank with a backpack which he said was filled with C-4 explosives. Now, a movie about Easley is being made.

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President Biden, got a chilling response from the families of the 13 dead heroes who died in Afghanistan.

Some refused to even talk to him.

Others shared their hurt feelings with him, and some were very directive.

One father showed Biden a picture of his son. he said,” Don’t you ever forget that face. Get to know about each of these heroes who died for you. ” Biden who seemed upset said, “I know them.”

Know each and everyone of those heroes and their backgrounds. I think not.

As they took each soldier, in coffins, off of the plane, Biden saluted them and looked at his watch. He did that with all 13 coffins. One parent said that this was the most disrespectful thing he has ever seen.

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Yet, another reminder that I have slowed down my sharing of excerpts of my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

My publisher, Bookbaby, thinks it is better to tease you a little rather than share so much.

So, to see some excerpts you need to find them in the archives.

Here is my suggestion:

Go to the top of this page and click on, “Subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

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Checking in…

How are your days going? Long and sometimes frightening?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,950 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If the days are overwhelming you, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7.

There are highly qualified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255

________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

________________________________________

+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.

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The Afghan War May Be Over, But its Scars Will Last Forever

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Military news….

The last U.S. military aircraft has left Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, marking the final moment of America’s longest war. The conflict left thousands of American troops and Afghan citizens dead and injured and shaped an entire generation of American service members.

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As the ground war in Afghanistan comes to an end, the military’s mission elsewhere continues, like in California, where Air Force Tactical Air Control Party members are helping firefighters battle wildfires. But they are not calling in airstrikes like they would in a combat zone. Instead, they are doing something much more useful.

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Sometimes good news comes in the strangest forms, like when a Navy challenge coin saved the life of an Oklahoma police officer by stopping the bullet that would have hit his femoral artery.

Even if Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss knew he would die in Kabul, he still would have deployed there, said his wife Alena, who survived Knauss after the Special Forces soldier was killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan last week. The 23-year-old was a remarkable man.

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My view…

Yes, the Afghan war is over, but its scars last for ever.

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Another reminder is that I have slowed down my sharing of excerpts from my upcoming book. Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the trenches of Life.

Speaking of trenches, one of my sections of the book is called, Voices from the Trenches.

These will be actual interviews from soldiers who have been deployed to a foreign land. Many of the interviews were very hard for me to do. They talk about death. They talk about lost buddies.

They talk about near death experiences. Some are even funny.

Stay with me on this. Please 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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Is your world controlled by nightmares? Are there things you try to forget, but can’t?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,900 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If the nightmares are overcoming you, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. There are Highly qualified counselors there to help you. They ill not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255

_______________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

_______________________________________

+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.