Category: coping

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There Are Times When We Are Proud of What We Did in the Military

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Military news…

Lt. Cmdr. Charles Cranston, a security officer with U.S. Fleet Forces Command’s Anti-Terrorism Force Protection unit in Norfolk, was arrested last week on sex trafficking charges in Virginia.

(sick!)

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The Air Force promoted a major who posted the personal information of an alleged sexual assault survivor to social media and her official newsletter, then denied posting that information before an ethics committee, and was recently censured by the Idaho House of Representatives.

(Also sick!)

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A cadet at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point got his forehead signed by the legendary actor Bill Murray, and took a video to prove it.

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The Marine Corps Commandant’s radical new talent management plan would allow civilians with critical skills to join the Corps without going through its infamous boot camp

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“To me, it does not make sense to be retiring the MQ-9 … There are lots of other platforms that I would retire before this.” That’s from aerospace expert Todd Harrison, who voiced his disapproval of the Air Force deciding to retire the MQ-9 Reaper drone by 2035.

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It’s a common trope that military service ends marriages, but have you ever heard of it saving a marriage? That’s what happened to Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Sloan and his wife Denise when his team leader actually embodied the “People First” initiative the Army is trying hard to put into action.

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I am sharing another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches o life.

Honors Marching Soldiers

During my basic training there was an opportunity to be an honor guard for our battalion. I didn’t seek the position, but my drill sergeant told me I was going to try out. When your drill sergeant speaks, you listen.

I went to the first “work-out,’ and quickly knew I had a rough road of stern practicing ahead of me. They not only had you doing constant, repetitive, drills, but your boots had to shine so much you could see your face in them. 

I made the squad, and then we really concentrated on things we would do while we were marching. We did cadence songs. There was twirling of the rifles in mid-air. Then we also did a halted maneuver of putting our rifles to the ground and tapping them twice and the flipping them up to our shoulders in one movement.  

We were in a local parade in Monterey, California. This was the town near Ft. Ord where I did my basic training. We marched and sang our cadence. We twirled our rifles and tapped them on the ground. The crowd loved it, and we felt very proud to be representing the Army.

Have you had moments that you were proud of while you were in the military? I would love to hear about them. Just send your stories to the email address at the back of this book, and I will have compiled them into a book for all to read.

It is important to feel proud. It is important to feel like you are doing something others really like you doing. It is important that you soak in these moments and keep them in your memory banks for later in life so you can look back to your military service with pride, and dignity.

We all have had our not so happy moments in the military, but there are also many times of joy, fun and excitement. Cling to those times, and let the others float away like a cloud.

IWILL

Some people want to forget about their time in the service. Many of them are Vietnam veterans. I was so ashamed of our country when I started hearing stories of the grief and verbal attack our soldiers had to endure when they came back from Vietnam.  I come from a military family. I had three uncles in WWII. My brother and I served, and now my son is a retired Colonel from the Army. He served two tours in Iraq, and has received many accommodation medals, including two Bronze Stars.  

I also have two brother-in-laws who served in Vietnam. Their stories may never be told, because of their reluctance to want to share much about their time there. I completely understand, but I am still very proud of their service to their country, and the fact that they put themselves in harm’s way for you and me.

Take time to let a veteran, or current military person know how much you appreciate their time in the service. I try to do that every time I see one. They may not say much, but “thank you,” but I know personally that it means a great deal to them.

Think about this

Isn’t it sad how some people say things, for no reason at all, that hurts others?

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What you see at the end of this chapter is what will be at the end of every chapter in the book. The IWILL section is for further thoughts, and it stands for, Important words in Life’s Learning.

The Think about this, will also be at the end of every chapter. It makes us think and ponder.

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 directly to your inbox.

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Bed check… How are you doing? Does the days seem dark and dreary? Do you dread sleeping at night?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 13, 430 fellow veterans here who have you back.

However, if the dark and dreary days are just too much, 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.

I-800-272-8255…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.

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The Military is Beginning to Defy the Direct Orders to Get Vaccinated

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Military news…

“I walked around pissed off for a year and my anger was directed towards somebody that was completely innocent of what they told me he did.” That’s from Arnold Wright, who the Pentagon outright lied to about the events that led to the death of his son Dustin and three other Army special operations soldiers in an ambush in Niger in 2017.

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The adjutant general for the Oklahoma National Guard has defied the Defense Department by decreeing that none of his guardsmen will be punished for refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

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An enlisted airman used a four-cent piece of plastic to fix a multi-million dollar night vision problem in the Air Force.

“We’re just not going to all kick them out on the day of the deadline itself.” That’s from Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who said not all Marines who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 will be kicked out of the service after the vaccine deadline on Nov. 28th.

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The only person charged in connection with the murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén at Fort Hood, Texas, last year is trying to get the charges thrown out.

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A tech sergeant with the West Virginia Air National Guard is the latest airman to get married on board a C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet.

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Here is another excerpt from my upcomingbook, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

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Skosh the Dog

While I was in Korea we had a company stray dog that made our Quonset hut home. She was a loving dog that was pretty small, and that is why we called her Skosh.

We had to protect her as much as we could, because the Korean people thought dogs were a delicacy. She wouldn’t last long in the village outside the Camp Red Cloud grounds.

Much to our surprise she got pregnant. We didn’t know there were any other dogs in the area. I guess when a dog is in heat, any dog will find them.

She had four little puppies. As soon as they were born, right in our hut, she took them and hid them. We feared for the lives of those puppies, and we were right. Within a week after Skosh moved them, she came back to our hut and never left. She obviously had lost her babies.

That was a sad time for the soldiers in my hut. We knew what had happened, but there was nothing we could do about it. Skosh wanted to raise her babies her way.

I find that this happens today in our lives. We do whatever we can to guide our children, and show them what we think is best for their lives, but they still go into unknown territories and see what they can find there.

It is hard to see some of the things that our children do, because we have done them and had the same results. We try to tell them about the trials they may face, but they want to do it themselves. The hard facts are that we need to let them seek their own paths, and hope they will walk the right way.

Proverbs 22:6 Says: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

That can be our guide when we have children. We need to show them the right path, not just tell them about the right path. We should live by example, and when our children see what we do, they will want to do it too.

It is much like the old saying, “Monkey see, monkey do.”

If you don’t do drugs or alcohol and do take your children to church every Sunday you will have a better chance of having them grow up being good parents, and good citizens.

If you do have a problem with drugs and alcohol, you children have a much higher risk of following in your footsteps because they see it every day in their homes.

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Checking in on you my friend. How are you doing? Does there seem to be too many storms in your life?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,410 fellow veterans who are subscribed to this site, and they have your back.

If that isn’t enough. GET HELP!

Here is a toll free nimber to calle 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there tohelp 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 fosaken.

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.

Posted on

A Marine saved Two of His Buddies and Had a Near Death Experience

+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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Military news…

The Army wants to make the question of “how the hell did this person make sergeant major?” 

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As events in Syria, Kabul, Niger and elsewhere have shown, the military has a tendency to use its investigations to absolve itself rather than to hold senior leaders accountable for their mistakes.

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A Marine got a tattoo based on the viral “He’s a Marine” TikTok video that ostensibly caused the entire Marine Corps to cringe in June 2020.

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“I am disappointed by the lack of action taken so far to hold this Marine accountable. Sir, you know what he did to me.” That’s from Cybèle Greenberg, a Marine veteran who wrote to her former general, Maj. Gen. Francis Donovan, urging him to do more to hold accountable the Marine who a 100-page investigation confirmed had sexually harassed her.

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Ever try coordinating 21 aircraft across 37 different radio frequencies in the dark over a firefight while flying your own aircraft? That’s what Air Force A-10 pilot Maj. Mike “Vago” Hilkert did in Afghanistan in 2011, saving several dozen ground troops in the process.

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“We’ve raised our counterterror capability to an exquisite level. We’re going to sustain and protect that. The other side is harder to describe.” That’s from retired Army Special Forces Col. David Maxwell, who told about the U.S. special operations community’s post-Afghanistan identity crisis.

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As He Leaves The Marines, a Navy Cross Recipient Finds Purpose Through Tragedy

Retired Marine raider Nick Jones end his 11-year career in the Marine Corps just before Veterans Day. In March 2020, Jones narrowly cheated death while trying to save two of his wounded teammates on a mountainside in Iraq.

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Taliban Hold Military Parade With U.S.-Made Weapons in Kabul in Show of Strength

The Taliban recently held a parade of captured American weapons in Kabul, including dozens of MI-17 armored security vehicles and MI-17 helicopters.

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Got some exciting news…I have a publisher who wants to print my new upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life. Their name is Bookbaby. They are the leading publisher in their field.

I am starting to work with them as I type this. Keep coming back to hear about the progress of the process to getting the book published. Better yet… Go to the top of this page and click on”Subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will directly to your inbox.

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What happening in your neck of the woods? Storms keep coming? Dreams aren’t fun?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,400 fellow veterans on this site who have your back.

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

Here is a toll free number your can 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.

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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.