Category: deployment can be frightening

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Military Spouses Are Critical When deployment Comes. They Keep the Home Fronts Going

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Why didn’t they have these boots when I was deployed to Korea? Geeze!

The Marine Corps is about to field a new boot that provides the type of protection against cold weather that the Marines fighting at the Chosin Reservoir 70 years ago could have only dreamed of.

Starting in early 2021, Marine Corps officials expect to begin fielding the Intense Cold Weather Boot, which is designed to allow Marines to fight and ski at temperatures as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Marine Corps Systems Command.

The Marine Corps will have 3,600 boots available to issue this winter, said Marine spokesman Emanuel Pacheco. For right now, the boots are only being issued to Marines training or operating in a cold-weather environment.

One noticeable change from other cold weather footwear is that the new boots are made out of black leather.

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In my up coming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, I have a whole chapter on how important the spouses are in the military. I even talk about male spouse being the ones left behind during deployment.

Military Spouses have the home front handled while you deploy

When our troops deploy overseas, military spouses don’t just sit around waiting to see what’s new on Netflix. Months before deployments start, military spouses form a Family Readiness Group, commonly known as an FRG. Though FRGs operate differently based on the branch of service and individual unit needs, this is a typical list of their responsibilities:

It’s important to note that FRGs are almost entirely comprised of volunteers and wouldn’t exist without them. When I was deployed to Iraq in 2009, I was involved in a small vehicle accident with no injuries. In less than 24 hours, rumors had spread back home that we were attacked and had casualties. Our FRG immediately dispelled the rumors with real-time information from our command and allowed our family members to sleep better.

They bridge the gap between civilian and military through service and entrepreneurship

It’s not just during deployments that military spouses step up; They’re always serving. Many get involved in causes advocating for military reform that aim to improve the lives of service members. Others launch businesses focused on giving back to their communities, like the following:

They are the quiet professionals on the home front

With all of the extracurriculars military spouses engage in, many do so by maintaining a quiet, professional ethos. They continue to serve because of the intrinsic good for the community, not just for a pat on the back.

While they may be too humble to brag about their accomplishments, you shouldn’t be. Task & Purpose and Armed Forces Insurance want to highlight the unsung heroes and supporters of the military community on social media with the #OurMissionIsYou campaign.

If you know of a military spouse who goes above and beyond for their community, let them know that their efforts have not gone unnoticed by celebrating and showcasing them.

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General Flynn has come up the idea of having President Trump suspend the Constitution and declare Marshal Law.

That would be a disaster in my opinion. That would certainly fuse a civil war. There has to be other measures to help clear up the mess we have in our government right now.

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The muck and mire of this world is just getting deeper. How are you handling it? Do you still have your head above water? Trying to survive?

You are not alone. 10, 200 fellow veterans are on this site and have your back.

However, if it just too much for you right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. They have highly qualified counselors they to help you. It is all free.

1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

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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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Do Not forget Our Military Who are Deployed. They Are Without Close Family

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It is Thanksgiving. I am searching for things to be thankful for. This year it is hard. So many negative things happening around us.

I will whine a little more here and then show some reasons we should be thankful.

The rioting, the pandemic, and the messed up election, would cause anyone to complain. What can we find to be thankful for?? I have found it by searching and doing research:

  1. We are thankful we live in a free nation. That is because of our brothers and sisters who are deployed today as we speak. They are in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all over the world. There are away from their loved ones. They can’t hug their families. However, they are proud of what they are doing and I say God bless them.
  2. What follows is an actual story about Marines saving a woman’s life. They jumped into action and moved quickly.
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Whenever an emergency arises, people in danger have no better friends than motivated Marines.

Such was the case when a woman on a scooter was struck by a car recently near Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.

With the woman pinned under the car, Marines with Guard Company quickly had to come up with a plan to free her.

Cpl. Denny Bohne and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Belko quickly realized that they needed to find a way to raise the car so that the woman could be pulled to safety.

Bohne said he and another Marine opened the car’s trunk and found a jack.

“As soon as I grabbed the tire iron, I started jacking the car up from the rear, and Staff Sgt. Belko proceeds to run over to a civilian’s car, grab their jack from their vehicle, and then start jacking up the front of the car,” Bohne said.

Their actions significantly cut down the time it took for emergency responders to pull the woman from underneath the car and start treating her, said Washington, D.C., firefighter Lt. Leo Ruiz, of Engine 18.

“Honestly: If they hadn’t done what they had done, it could have delayed care for that patient,” Ruiz said.

With the help of the Marines and others on the scene, the woman survived.

Belko noted that a lot of people came together to make sure the woman was freed and treated as quickly as possible.

“Marines run to the sound of the guns, so it didn’t surprise me at all that the Marines were there,” Belko said.

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Here is another update of ne equipment the military is getting for the future:




After years in development, soldiers are officially putting the Army’s next-generation short-range air defense system through its paces ahead of its eventual delivery and fielding in Germany.
Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment out of Ansbach, Germany traveled to the White Sands Missile Range to conduct training and operational testing of the Army’s Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) system, the service announced last week.

The IM-SHORAD system consists primarily of a Stryker-mounted 360-degree Avenger air defense turret loaded up with Stinger and AGM-114 Longbow Hellfire missiles (the latter of which are traditionally used in air-to-surface roles), an XM914 30mm cannon, and a 7.62mm machine gun.

The 5-4 ADA will be the first unit to receive the IM-SHORAD system in Germany to replace its aging Humvee-mounted Avenger systems, a move that comes amid the U.S. military’s resurgence in Cold War-style tactics in Europe in the aftermath of the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014Top of Form
Bottom of Form”There’s a lot of equipment on this machine that will change a lot of aspects for the Air Defense Artillery,” Spc. Andy Mendoza, an air and missile defense crewmember with the 5-4 ADA, said in a statement. 
The operational training and testing come just weeks after General Dynamics Land Systems announced that the Army had awarded the defense contractor a $1.2 billion contract award to produce, test, and deliver 28 Stryker IM-SHORAD Strykers to the service.

The Army had previously selected an IM-SHORAD solution engineered by Leonardo DRS back in June 2018.
The service plans on eventually spreading 144 systems across four battalions by as soon as fiscal year 2023. According to Army budget documents, the service plans on spending an additional $1.575 billion through 2025 on acquiring a total of 180 IM-SHORAD Stryker vehicles.

The IM-SHORAD system “provides the Army improved capabilities for defense of maneuver formations and other tactical echelons from low altitude air attack and surveillance,” according to the service’s fiscal year 2021 budget documents. 

At the moment, however, the IM-SHORAD is “not quite ready for full production,” hence the soldier testing by the 5-4 ADA, according to the Army statement.

Soldiers “need to get their hands on the system, learn to use it, and then use it just as they would, including trying new things, making mistakes, and otherwise doing the sort of thing that the system designers may not have prepared for,” per the Army.

“Everything might look good on paper, on the board, but until we get through the testing and putting it through its paces, understanding what it’s actually capable of, we won’t know if we’re producing the right system for the Soldier,” Steven Powell, acquisition logistics lead with the IM-SHORAD Program Office, said in a statement.

Sorry the small print here. This old soldier can not figure out how to enlarge.
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I would be unforgiven if I didn’t check into how everything is for you. How are things going for you? Is the world turning too fast? You are not alone. There are over 10,160 fellow veterans here and they all have your back.

BUT! If it is too overwhelming for you GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number for you to call 24/7 and the help is free.. 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 Option # 1
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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 Time Spent Deployed, Can be Frightening. Here’s a Story That Isn’t

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What a week I have had.

My back went belly up on me last Saturday, and I have been suffering ever since. I am taking Tylenol to help.

Today I went to have a blood test done. I turned to go into the parking lot, and I was amazed to see at least a hundred cars lined up to get tested for the virus. There is panic here. In my county there have been many people coming down with the virus. The blood test came out great, and I got out of there as fast as I could.

There are other problems, but I am through whining for now.

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Did you take advantage of all the free things for Veteran’s Day?

I hope you did. You certainly deserve it. I told you in a previous post that my Veteran’s Day day was being at the Oregon Coast. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the little town I went to was having a Veteran’s Day event. They were right across the street where I was getting a haircut.

I so wanted to join them. I could see all the American Legion hats, and they were hugging and really enjoying themselves. My haircut took too long and the event was over. However, it felt good to see such a small town gathering to honor our veterans.

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I will share another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I have chosen one about a Vietnam veteran that is from the same town that I got my heair cut at. It is the town of Waldport, Oregon.

He shared with me a story that was very positive and hard to find from soldiers of the ERA.

He said:

” I was sitting on the ground with a buddy, when I looked up into the trees. There were a bunch of monkeys up there playing around. I told him I would love to have one of those monkeys as a pet. ” His buddy said he would take care of that. He cut a hole in a coconut, drained all the milk out of it, and place a quarter inside it.

The Veteran then told me, “My buddy put the coconut out in the middle of an opening with a string attached to it. Sure enough the monkey’s saw the glittering of the quarter on the inside of the coconut and soon there were several nearing the coconut. One monkey reached inside to try to get the quarter out and my buddy yanked on the string catching the monkey with his arm stuck in to coconut. He pulled the monkey next to me and I got ahold of him..”

That started a long friendship with the monkey. The veteran even made a home for him to live in. It had a grass bed, food and drink there for him, and things were going great. The monkey really bonded with him to the point that he could let the monkey out and sit with him. He didn’t run away.

Well, some odd things started happening.

The other men were complaining that things had been stolen from their personal stash of food. Yes, it was the monkey. One soldier threatened to get rid of the monkey if he didn’t keep control of it. The monkey kept stealing food.

Then the other soldier had enough. He grabbed the money. He made a miniature parachute for him and threw him over a cliff.

The veteran was very upset that this had happened. He became depressed.

It was a couple days later, and as the whole group was gathered, this brave little monkey came strolling into the camp with the parachute still attached to him.

The veteran was ecstatic.

He had gotten his monkey back. I couldn’t get much more out of this brave veteran. This rest of his story was too sad for him to tell. I did find out that he was severely wounded, and received the Purple Heart. He ended up with a drinking problem, but overcame that with the help of his wife.

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Checking in..

How are your doing my friend? The times are difficult at best. The pandemic, and rioting. Not knowing who will be our next president, and much more.

The days like we have been having can drag you down . It can push you to the edge. I know, I was on the edge way back in 2001. I was ready to check out of this hotel called earth. I came to my senses and got help. I am still here to be able to write to you.

If you are overwhelmed, GET HELP!!

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

1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

Please call if you need it.

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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 for the site, please let them know about it. I want to reach out to as many veterans as possible.