It is Sometimes Hard to Make New Friends in the Military

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Military news…

Navy Separates 23 Active-Duty Sailors for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine

Twenty-three active-duty sailors were separated for their refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The ranks of the sailors were not immediately clear.

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U.S. Air Force Ramps Up Intel Flights, Weapons Shipments to Ukraine

U.S. and allied reconnaissance flights in Eastern Europe have been ongoing since at least Dec. 24, dispatching multiple types of planes to listen in on communications signals and shoot high-altitude images.

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‘We’re Always Ready’—Meet The Soldiers of America’s Go-to Rapid Response Force

The 82nd Airborne Division makes up the core of the Immediate Response Force, a contingent of mostly soldiers tapped to deploy in under a day to respond to crises around the globe. 

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Fort Bragg MP Charged With Dereliction of Duty For Allegedly Moonlighting as a Drug Dealer

A military police soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, faces a general court-martial in May for multiple counts of using and selling Oxycodone while on duty.

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Alexandria VA Unveils New Statue Recognizing Female Veterans

A new statue recognizing female veterans was unveiled Friday at the Alexandria, Louisiana, Veterans Affairs hospital campus.

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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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It’s Tough Being the New Kid on the Block

After basic training I was accepted into the Army Security Agency, which is a unit of soldiers who, in my case, monitored radio/teletype transactions to make sure there were no breaches of security.

I was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for my training for that. I was separated from my two buddies there. I began to feel the loneliness again. Yes, there were hundreds of other soldiers just like me, but they weren’t from my home area. They were from all over the United States. They all had their own ways to approach people. Some didn’t want to have anything to do with the people around them.

I didn’t see why it was happening, and went out of my way to “cross the center line,” to the other side to get acquainted with them. I made some good friends on both sides, and didn’t get in trouble for doing it from either side.

Do you have family members, or fellow soldiers that you feel are isolating themselves from you? Are there those who want to be alone, and not mix with others?

I have felt that while I was stationed in Korea. There was a breakdown of short timers, (those with a month to go or less,) new guys who were “outcasts,” until they proved themselves, and the regular group who were in between.

I went through all three stages while I was there. However, I couldn’t let myself treat the new soldiers as outcasts. I learned that my first week there myself.

I was just settling in when two guys came walking up to me in my Quonset hut, (metal shelter.) They were both big and strong looking guys. One was African American, who looked like a linebacker, and the other was “tall drink of water,” from Texas.

I was every worried as they came towards me. Why would they fool around with a “newsikky,” (new guy) like me? They both had smiles on their faces and shook my hand. They greeted me like I was somebody important.

I figured they were the welcoming committee, but they weren’t. They were just two soldiers who had gone through the gauntlet like all new soldiers had to do, and they had decided that they would make sure no one else had to.

That was the one main factor that helped me cope while I was in Korea. I became very good buddies with those two guys. (Besides they were big and tough and they protected me!) They set the pattern that I used the whole time I was there. I felt it was my duty, because of these two men, to make the new soldiers feel welcome.

If you have been through some feelings of rejection in your world, reach out to someone who is in the same boat as you are and help them cope. Be like my two “angels” who came to make me feel welcome, and make others around you feel important and special.

You will not only feel good about what you are doing, but you will help someone who is struggling a great deal.

IWILL

There are times when you have “down time,” in the military. Use that time to get to know some of the soldiers that don’t seem to have any friends. It may seem uncomfortable at first, and they may reject you, but they will never be the same. They will know that someone cares, and they will walk a little taller.

Think about this

Isn’t it great that when we smile at someone they smile back?

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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?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,735 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.

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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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The Marine Corp is Getting Very Tough on Soldiers to Get their COVID-19 Shots

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Militray news…

“‘Please be in focus, please be in focus, please be in focus.’” That’s what was going through Army Master Sgt. Alex Burnett’s head when he took the photo of the last U.S. soldier to leave Afghanistan on Aug. 31

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The Marine Corps’ list of consequences for Marines who fail to get vaccinated for COVID-19 is a reminder that USMC stands for “You Signed the Motherf—king Contract!” 

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The Army has kicked off a study of the service’s current height and weight requirements, which could eventually end in a change to the standards for the first time in decades.

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A TikTok video shows a big difference in how Air Force and Navy aircraft land on the runway, and a lot of it has to do with how their pilots are trained.

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​The Marine Corps is considering changes to its current tattoo policy.

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A junior enlisted airman is donating his uniform top to a museum after a famous photo showed an Afghan child using it as a blanket while sleeping on the floor of a C-17 Globemaster III transport jet.

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I read an article that states that our current president is being used as a scapegoat. It says, he makes all the mistakes, and takes all the blame. No other democrats are at fault then. That was an opinion article, but I am not sure if that is not in place as we speak.

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It is getting very dicy between China/Russia, and the rest of the world. They have joined forces with Russia and are doing joint military exercises.

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I just reupped with the American Legion today. I think they are a fine organization that helps veterans everyday. I suggest you check them out.

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I am not sharing another excerpt today, from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. I’m a little under the weather today, and will keep it shorter today.

But to see excerpts in the future 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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Bed check…How are you doing? Has the world thrown you a curve? Do you feel like you are being pulled down by a magnate?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 13,280 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If it is just too overwhelming for you right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. There are highly qualified councelors 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.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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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.

Military People Sometimes Can Not Find Happiness in Things

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In a bizarre propaganda video released on Monday, bare-chested North Korean troops destroy bricks and cinder blocks with their bodies; bend a metal rod with their throats and perform other nutso action movie stunts.

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“The surgeons were worn out. Many died on the operating table.” That’s from Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Desautels, who led a unit of search and rescue airmen who responded to the deadly suicide bombing and gunfight at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26th.

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This photo of 1st Sgt. Kenneth Johnson with the Arkansas National Guard captures just how breathtakingly irritating life in the field can be. In those eyes lives the dull fatigue of putting up with the Army for far too long.

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Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller was found guilty on Thursday of numerous charges in connection with his very public battle with top military and civilian leaders that began over the Afghanistan withdrawal and then morphed into a grudge match over “the system.”

“I haven’t been able to figure out how to cure suicides.” That’s from Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, said that senior leaders are still struggling to address the issue as the suicide rate among active-duty soldiers reaches its highest point in years.

Soldiers will have to wait a few more months for IVAS, the Army’s new heads-up display that looks like it came straight out of the future.

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

Happiness is a Choice

It is a well known fact that most people are as happy as they choose to be. People go through life allowing depression to overcome them to the point where they are incapacitated. Even presidents have trouble with depression. Can you imagine the daily stress they have? It is non-stop.

Abraham Lincoln once considered suicide, he was so depressed. One of the greatest times he remembered while in office was when a little old lady came to see him at the White House, and gave him some cookies she had made. He thanked her, and it was one of the grestest moments of his tenure. A very little gesture, but it brightened a person’s life that was battling depression in life in general.

Some people accept depression, because they think they deserve it. They they have done something wrong and this is their punishment. I had some of those days myself. I often thought, I must deserve this if it keeps happening to me.

This world is not the Disney channel anymore, it is Law and Order. There are many battles to fight on many fronts.

Many people try to find happiness to overcome depression, and they fail? Why?

Because so many people think a fancy car, a big house on the hill, or own a yacht, will give them happiness, and “things,” do not give us happiness. We also seek happiness through sexual prowess, but end up with fleeting pleasures and bitter disappointments.

We try to seek power in corporations, in government, or in our own families through excessive control, but still many are unfulfilled.

What are they missing? They are missing inner joy and peace.

How do we get that inner peace and joy? It is from the love of God who provides us with all the love and understanding we need.

While we spend time in the military, or many years afterward, we need to know that the path to true happiness isn’t for “things” we own, or people we control, it is found through searching our own souls, and coming up with the ways to reach out to those around us, and when we feel the love, they return it back to us.

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There is more to this chapter, but I suggest you buy the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, to be able to read the rest. The book will come out soon.

You could also keep coming back to check the excerpts out, but better yet go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will go directly to your inbox.

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Is your life on tract to happiness? Do you have some down moments?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,240 fellow veterans on this site who have your back.

If you can’t find happiness…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 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.