Category: deployment can be frightening

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It Is a Disheartening Time in Afghanistan. Many People Killed and Many still Stranded

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Military news…

It is still very disheartening in Afghanistan. Americans stranded. Afghan people being killed by the thousands. No signs of many getting out safe.

Afghans were clinging to the sides of U.S. military aircraft to escape the Taliban’s sweep of Kabul. Worst of all, some of them lost their lives falling from the aircraft as they left the runway. It’s only the latest in a terrible situation happening at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

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“Like many, I struggle to make sense of it all,” wrote Air Force Special Operations Command chief Lt. Gen. James Slife in a heartfelt Facebook post he penned about the fall of Afghanistan this weekend. Like many other veterans and service members, Slife spent a lot of time in Afghanistan, so it’s difficult to watch it all unravel before his eyes.

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M4 rifles, M24 sniper rifles, M2 .50 caliber machine guns and MRAPS make up only some of the vast quantity of U.S. military equipment captured by the Taliban in recent weeks.

“Now is the time where you bend the rules to save people’s lives.” That’s from Marine veteran Ryan Schalles, who’s prepared to bend a few rules of his own to get Omar, the man who served as an interpreter for his Marine Corps platoon during his 2012 tour in Afghanistan, safely out of the country.

You too can help Afghan interpreters and refugee. There are nonprofit groups trying to help Afghan refugees navigate the special immigrant visa process and find housing for new arrivals; and there are lawmakers with resources to get them moving sooner.
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American citizens and Afghans who worked with Americans are on their own if they want to get past the Taliban’s many checkpoints outside of Kabul’s airport. That’s because the U.S. military, the most powerful armed force in the world, isn’t prepared to send any of the 4,500 troops at the airport into the city to do it.

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It has been a tough week for me. I am so saddened by what is happening in Afghanistan. I feel helpless, and I am sure the people stuck there do to.

I see visions of Vietnam in my head constantly, only this is much worse. Our president struck out on his leadership. Not much of support from him.

We need a leader who won’t take what is happening there lightly, and go there NOW to help more.

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

A whole section of the book will be interviews with veterans who have been in the trenches. Some share about losing friends. Many had near death experiences. One WWII veteran had not one, but three near death experiences. Amazing story.

The book will come out soon.

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How is your life going? Do you remember lost friends from the military?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,820 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If it’s just too much for 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.

Do not live the death of your friends alone.

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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Too Much Pain and Suffering Going on in Kabul, Afghanistan

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Military news…

This news report will not be very reassuring, but I have to report the truth.

Massive crowds of Afghans trying to escape. Chaos and bodies on the streets of Kabul. Taliban fighters lurking everywhere. These are just some of the sights U.S. troops are witnessing as they arrive in the capital of Afghanistan to evacuate Americans and Afghans while the Taliban seize control of the country, shown in this collection of pictures taken by professional photographers in Kabul.

Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

soldier in afghanistan at kabul airport
Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan
Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

Taliban fighters patrol the streets in Herat on August 14, 2021. 

Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

Taliban fighters drive an Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicle through the streets of Laghman province on August 15, 2021.

Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan
Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. Five people died trying to stay with the outside of the plane when it took of.

Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN-AUGUST 16: Thousands of Afghans rush to the Hamid Karzai International Airport as they try to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021. Those who aren’t airlifted yet are being killed and the women and children captured to face horrible future.

Crowds, chaos, and Taliban fighters everywhere: What US troops are seeing on the ground in Afghanistan

Marines heading to Afghanistan to help with the departure of thousands of Afghans.

There are many more pictures coming in, but I think you see the horrible pictures and what they mean.

I have discontinued sharing excerpts from my up coming book, Signs of hope for the Military: in and out of the Trenches of Life.

You can check out the archives to find some excerpts. I also suggest you subscribe to this blog to find out the latest news, and more excerpts coming later.

The book will be going to the publisher by SEPTEMEBER.

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What’s up in your world. Are the clouds bringing storms in your life?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 12,800 fellow veterans subscribed to this site who have your back.

If the storm looks to heavy for 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.

Never face the storms alone!

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.

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Finally, The Outline of the Upcoming Book, Signs of Hope for the Military

+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…

A soldier with the Florida Army Reserve has a religious exemption to not only grow a beard, but also wear his hair long while in uniform.. Sgt. Jacob DePietro observes the Nazarite vow from the the Old Testament in the Bible, which states that “no razor may be used on their head.”

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+Report from Jeff Schogol on his trouble trying to get an Afghan interpreter way from his country. They are threatening these people ahead of the final withdraw.

“On Thursday, I received a series of frantic texts from Sher Ahmad Ahmadzai, an Afghan man who worked for coalition forces, after someone threw a Molotov cocktail at his home.” That’s from Jeff Schogol, who wrote this piece about his inability to help Ahmadzai and other Afghans who risked their lives to help the United States and are now in danger of being killed by the Taliban.

“This story is difficult to write because journalists are rightly expected to not get involved in the stories we cover, and the modicum of help that I have tried to provide to Ahmadzai clouds my objectivity,” Jeff writes. “In a way, I’ve already failed at my job.”
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When U.S. Marine Security Guards at American embassies around the world need backup, they call on the Marine Security Augmentation Unit. This may be your first hearing about the MSAU, but the unit’s been putting in a lot of flight time recently: in the past 30 days, the quick reaction force has responded to the call twice to protect embassies in Africa and the Caribbean.

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 A soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division is heading to a court-martial in connection with a murky incident in Syria last summer in which U.S. troops and pro-regime forces exchanged gunfire.

“We are all suffering in silence,” is how one soldier described the unseen problem of eating disorders in the U.S. military. The Army and other branches use outdated body fat measurements to judge soldiers’ fitness, which, when combined with PTSD, sexual trauma and other common military mental health issues, create a rampant eating disorder problem that has gone largely underreported until now.

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The U.S. may be leaving Afghanistan, but the ‘Forever Wars’ aren’t really ending, writes defense expert Bonnie Kristian in this guest op-ed. Despite his statements about leaving Afghanistan, ending support for the Saudi war in Yemen, and leaving Iraq, President Joe Biden’s plans for doing so remain vague, and you can stuff a lot of violence into an absence of details, Kristian argues.

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No excerpt today from my book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

What I am going to to is give you an outline of the book to give you a taste of what is coming:

  1. The first section will basic training. I have many stories there. Some funny some not so funny. Many things to talk about.
  2. The second section will be being deployed to Korea. Some very sad stories there, and few humorous.
  3. The third section will be my states side time at FT. Bragg. One very scary time there, but good vibes most of the section.

Then I will have two appendixes:

  1. Interviews from the trenches. I have interviews from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. Many are heartbreaking. I also have an interview with a Gold Star mother I am working on right now. Pretty exciting.
  2. The second Appendix will be eight pages of resources for veterans. It will have every conceivable information you may be looking for.

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How are you doing? Do you fear sleeping? Have you seen enough of the turmoil we are facing in this world today?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12, 550 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If the road is getting to rough for you, GET HELP!

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

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

Never face this not so friendly world alone!

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.