Category: Deployment

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The Military Did What to Cause a Stir?

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Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

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This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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What follows are some strange but interesting stories from our military. 

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The Navy Wants To Do Two Carriers At The Same Time

 

What would you do if you had billions of dollars? Two carriers at the same time, man.

The Pentagon has ramped up its evaluation of a Navy proposal to purchase both the third and fourth vessels in the beleaguered Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier program in one fell swoop, Bloomberg News reports, a significant step in the branch’s push for a 12-carrier fleet.

A contract with Huntington Ingalls industries for the next two of the $13 billion super carriers could potentially save the service around $2.5 billion, as Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told reporters in August. Funds for a fourth Ford-class carrier were approved as part of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

While the Navy has been eyeing a two-carrier purchase since March as part of the service’s push for a 355-hull fleet, the single contract could prove a major boon for a program that, per The Diplomat, has failed to meet cost-cutting goals amid the prospect of future cuts to defense spending.

“We are conducting an evaluation to ensure we have the warfighting capabilities to compete and win,” Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan told Bloomberg News in an Oct. 19 statement. “Any decision will factor in strengthening the industrial base and delivering best value for taxpayers.”

Savings are great, but there’s a big problem with the contract beyond the opportunity it presents for Office Space innuendo: It’s a sweet deal for a boat that, last we checked, had a bunch of serious problems.

The DoD Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation’s intensive assessment of the Ford, published in January, detailed “poor or unknown reliability” issues across critical systems from weapons elevators to radar, deficiencies that could “affect the ability of CVN 78 to generate sorties, make the ship more vulnerable to attack, or create limitations during routine operations.”

More embarrassing issues have cropped up in the intervening months. In May, the Ford was forced to return to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia due to an alarming manufacturing defect in the propulsion train, a problem that came just as NAVSEA announced that the total cost of the carrier would balloon to around $13.03 billion — well above the $12.9 billion cap lawmakers set the previous April.

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IN Coming!!!

A military vehicle was mistakenly dropped from a plane over Harnett County on Wednesday, but no person or property was damaged, according to Fort Bragg officials.

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, better known as a Humvee, was to be dropped via parachute as part of a routine test at Fort Bragg, which is known as the Home of the Airborne.

The testing involved a pallet onto which the Humvee was loaded.

Tom McCollum, a post spokesman, said the vehicle was prematurely dropped from an Air. The plane was about a mile from Sicily Drop Zone, flying at an altitude of 1,500 feet, when the Humvee and pallet were dropped about a minute too early, McCollum said.

All three parachutes opened, he said, and the vehicle landed in a wooded area between two homes on Walter Lane, off Gilchrist Road, which is between Johnsonville and Spout Springs, a little more than seven miles north of Fort Bragg’s drop zones.

There was no damage to any of the homes or residents. The only damage was to several trees and the vehicle itself, McCollum said.

 

James Grant, 78, lives in one of the homes. He said his wife was outside, saw the parachutes opening and yelled for him. Grant heard the crash as the load, weighing a total of 3 tons, hit the ground Force C-17 about 1 p.m.

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I will sharing these kind of stories every time I post.

I also have a book called, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out  of the Trenches if Life. It is almost finished. Come back here often to find out when it will be released.

I will be sharing some of my own adventures in the book, of my time in the military. There are some funny stories, and some very sad ones. In my next post I will actually share an excerpt from the book. This is the first time I have done it, and you will be the first ones to see it.

If you are struggling with PTSD, TBI, Depression, anxiety, etc. I feel your pain. I have been through some of that myself. Keep coming back here for uplifting stories and thoughts from me.

The crisis hotline for immediate help is:

1-800-273-8255

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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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A firing for Harassing Student with USMC Shirt

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 4,000 new subscribers. That was a huge increase in 2017. We only had 1,000 two years ago. The year 2017 helped us to make it to 4,000. Now in 2018 we are racing to 5,000. 

We have reached our goal of 4,000!  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4, 600.

WE HAVE A WINNER!! An email has been sent to our winner! New prizes for the 5,000th subscriber.

Help us make it to 5,000 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post and click on FEEDBLITZ , and the posts will come straight to your inbox.                            ____________________________________________________________

Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

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This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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Here is the news I saw today:

+Harassing people is common everywhere, but you would not expect it from a teacher.  

(Strong language)

The Teacher Who Bullied A Student For Wearing A USMC Sweatshirt Has Been Fired

The high school history teacher from El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, Calif. who famously called military service members the “lowest of our low” earlier this year and harrassing students who support the military, has finally been fired.

The El Rancho school board voted Tuesday to fire Gregory Salcido, 49, following numerous complaints about his behavior in the classroom on Jan. 19, when he was secretly filmed  harrassing a 17-year-old student for wearing a U.S. Marine Corps sweatshirt.

“They don’t have electricity,” said Salcido. “We have all our freakin’ night vision goggles and all that kind of stuff, and we can’t freakin’ control these dudes wearing robes and [inaudible]. Because we’ve got a bunch of dumbshits over there. Think about the people you know over there. Your stupid Uncle Louie or whatever, they’re dumbshit.”

Incredibly, this wasn’t the first time Salcido was cited for courting controversy (or being what I would call a total asshole). He allegedly threatened a student in 2010 and “smacked” a student in 2012, both of which got him placed on administrative leave.

During the January incident, Salcido railed against military members as not being “talented people,” while ordering the 17-year-old he was harassing to never again wear the Marines sweatshirt, which he was sporting to show pride in his family’s service.

“Don’t you ever bring the freakin’ military into this classroom,” Professor Douche Nozzle continued. “I don’t understand why we let the freakin’ military guys recruit you at school. We don’t let pimps come into school. ”

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Overseas Commissaries Caught Charging Military Families Triple For Groceries

U.S. military commissaries in Japan and South Korea have been charging military families triple the going rate on a number of produce items in their stores, according to a recent inspector general’s report.

The problem stemmed from a $55.1 million contract to provide fresh fruit and veggies for the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) in the Pacific, which saved the Defense Department $38 million, but simultaneously screwed over families by charging them a 101% markup on green cabbage and an 82% markup on mushrooms, among other examples.

To add insult to injury, the overpriced produce wasn’t even all that good, when compared with what buyers could have gotten at local markets, according to customer surveys.

Oh, and did I mention that bok choy — a type of produce originally from China — was being sold in the commissary for 372% more than usual? 372 PERCENT.

I’m not sure if that bok choy was gold-plated or something, but making your customers pay $4.20 for something they could have found out in town for 63 cents seems like a bit of a dick move.

The IG investigation found that DeCA didn’t effectively oversee the contractor at various stages in the supply chain. And although the contract required that “high volume core items” — like apples, bananas, carrots and two dozen other goods — be priced 30% lower than local Japanese markets, they were only found to be about 14% cheaper.

The director of the Defense Commissary Agency agreed with all the report’s recommendations, which is great, but the report didn’t offer any timeline on when families will stop being hit with a big green weenie that’s normally reserved for only those wearing a uniform.

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I enjoy sharing these little tidbits of news. I will be continuing to do this as long as you like it. Let me know.   

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If you are a veteran, or currently in the military. We have you six here. We are veterans, and know your pain. Never let the dark side pull you under. Seek help if you need it. There is always help at:

1-800-273-8255

___________________________________

Remember:

You are never  alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

 

Posted on

Teacher Blasts the Military; Rebuttal Here

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 4,000 new subscribers. That was a huge increase in 2017. We only had 1,000 two years ago. The year 2017 helped us to make it to 4,000.

We have reached our goal.  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4,270.

Help us make it to 4,500 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post and click on FEEDBLITZ , and the posts will come straight to your inbox.                            ____________________________________________________________

Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

______________________________________________________________

This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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Recently a school teacher went on a rant on how horrible the military people were. His blast on the military has a strong rebuttal by Mark Johnson a California Superior Judge, a retired Army Colonel and a Iraq veteran.

+Sorry about the empty frames, couldn’t get them to download.

+Warning! Strong language is used. 

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“Think about the people you know who are over there. Your freaking stupid Uncle Louie or whatever. They’re dumb shits. They’re not high-level bankers. They’re not academic people. They’re not intellectual people. … They’re the frickin’ lowest of the low.”

These are the deeply misinformed words of Greg Salcido, a local California city councilman and high-school teacher speaking to a student in a video that has now gone viral.

ADVERTISING

I am one of those dumbshits. On Oct.1, 2013, I retired from the Army after 28 years of active and reserve service.

To Salcido, I have this to say: I had teachers like you, blowhards who spout unchallenged opinions to captive high-school kids. There was one teacher in particular, Mr. Raymore. Like you, he taught history. It was 1974, and I was a sophomore at Westminster High School.

He accused our Vietnam veterans of the oft-repeated atrocities. They were all “murderers” and “baby killers.” If challenged, I suppose Mr. Raymore would have wrapped himself in the flag and said, as you have, that his comments were “free speech.”

But he wasn’t exercising free speech. Neither were you. The constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech allows people to speak freely so others can decide to accept or reject their words. The founders did not draft it so a teacher could mock a student without repercussions, particularly one dependent on that teacher for a grade. Freedom of speech never gave you the right to call that student’s father and uncle — Iraq War and Desert Storm veterans — the “lowest of the low.”

The students laughed. The student you insulted sat there and said nothing.

I did the same thing in 1974.

Vietnam War Author and retired Army Col. Harry Summers, speaking at a college campus in the post-Vietnam era, was once accused of atrocities in Vietnam by a man in the audience claiming to be a veteran. David Zabecki, a friend of Summers, recounted his response. “Shame on you, you rotten son of a bitch!” Summers said. “I didn’t do those things, and I don’t know anyone who did. I didn’t need the Army to teach me right from wrong — my mother taught me that much.”

I wish I had said that to Mr. Raymore. I wish that student said those words to you.

Today I have a second chance.

I have served with those dumbshits who cannot win a war. They are the men and women who fight and die to allow you the luxury of spouting opinions. You are talking about Americans who died in places most people only read about: Normandy, Omaha Beach, Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Our military is not comprised of the “lowest of the low,” however you define that term. The military screens applicants for intellectual ability using the Armed Forces Qualification Test and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Test. The military also evaluates candidates on a variety of areas including physical and mental fitness.

The data does not support what you said.

According to October 2017 findings of the Washington D.C. based Heritage Foundation and the Army Times, only 9.7 of the 33 million Americans between 17 and 24 meet the Army’s enlistment standards. Less than one-third, or 31%, are eligible to enlist. The vast majority of candidates are rejected for reasons such as low test scores, failure to meet weight and fitness standards, mental health and medical issues and substance abuse.

But even if the military was accepting those you judge unworthy, so what? Willingness to serve says a great deal about a man or woman. It speaks of character and a willingness to belong to an organization built on selfless sacrifice.

Your comments imply people of your caliber could do better.

I do not want you. I’ll take a private who scores in the lowest percentile any day to an arrogant councilman who thinks he is better than the rest of us. I would never trust a man like you guarding my flank.

The men and women you callously dismiss are the best of America. I know. I am alive today because of the courage of the young men and women of our military. You do not seem to understand that.

And do you really think the United States military cannot win a war? You said our military has not defeated “guys wearing frickin robes and chaklas” and lost to Vietnamese “throwing rice.”

What you miss is that wars are not won on the battlefield. They are won at home, politically. If the national will is ambivalent, our military personnel find themselves dying to take the same turf over and over depending on the current mood of the civilian leadership. And eventually the politicians and the public lose interest in the fight and most of our soldiers return home. Some do not.

Evan Wright nailed it in Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War: “Five years into this war, I am not always confident most Americans fully appreciate the caliber of the people fighting for them, the sacrifices they have made, and the sacrifices they continue to make. The young troops I profiled in Generation Kill, as well as the other men and women in uniform I’ve encountered in combat zones throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, are among the finest people of their generation. We misuse them at our own peril.”

Councilman Salcido, I certainly hope you will educate yourself then apologize to the student and the public. Somehow I think you won’t. Guys like you never do.

As for Mr. Raymore?

You are a rotten son of a bitch.

M. E. (Mark) Johnson (Mark) Johnson is a California Superior Court Judge. He presided over the Riverside County Veterans Court for five years supervised the recovery of combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other military related mental health issues. He is a retired colonel of the United States Army Reserve, an Iraq War veteran, and a graduate of the United States Army War College.

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I am a veteran, but I am also a retired teacher. This blast of the military by this teacher imbarrases me. Please know he is not the typical teacher. He is a sick and very wrong teacher.

If you are a veteran, and are struggling with PTSD, war wounds, depression, etc. Please know we have your six. If you need immediate help call:

1-800-273-8255

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Doug Bolton