Category: drill sergeants

Posted on

Drill Sergeants Can Be Very Tough, But They Just Want to Have Good Soldiers.

+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 news….

More than 60 South Korean aircraft are taking part in the weeklong, biannual Soaring Eagle exercise.

Aerial drills are underway over South Korea with ‘enemy provocations and threats’ in mind

_____________________

Florida sending 800 National Guard troops to Texas-Mexico border

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending 800 of the state’s National Guard troops to work for one month along the Texas border with Mexico as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on non-border states to do more to help with an expected increase in migration.

_____________________

Accused Air National Guard leaker had documented history of mishandling classified info
Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira’s superiors repeatedly warned him to stop “deep diving into intelligence information.”

_____________________

Russia is so low on armor it’s putting artillery and naval guns on old vehicles
Adapt. Improvise. Put a massive cannon on a 1950s-era tank.

_____________________

That one scene in ‘Full Metal Jacket’ that convinced a lot of young Marines to enlist in the first place
The entire seven-minute scene is one prolonged dive into depravity, pain, and verbal abuse, but it also felt a little bit like a dare.

______________________________________________________________

While in basic training at Ft. Ord, California, I hade some interesting moments. We had a drill sergeant that was known as a bad ass. He drilled us extra every day.

We weren’t happy about it. I can’t tell how many times I had to go to KP duty.

But, as the 8 weeks went by I realized that my drill sergeant was just trying to make sure we were good soldiers, and I liked him for it.

I decided he was the boss, and did every command he gave me. I never hesitated. Towards the end of my time there I was nominated by the drill sergeant for soldier of the month. I had to ask him why he did it. He said, “You have been the most obedient soldier I have had this year and you deserve it.”

He later chose me to be in the honor marching band. What a great feeling when I was told that. The other soldiers really looked up to me.

_______________________________________________________________

The were some who weren’t good soldiers that kept getting into trouble. Most of them were draftees. One even tried to take on our drill sergeant. He didn’t do well. He was knocked unconscious.

_______________________________________________________________

Had some funny time while running out for formation. I had a buddy that had signed up with me that had a bad hair day. It was the weekend, and no one expected to be called for formation. My buddy certainly didn’t. He had every bit of his uniform clothing in the wash. He had to run out dripping wet. The sergeant made him come to the front of the formation, and we had to laugh in cadence. I felt badly for my buddy, but it was funny.

________________________________________________________________

+ Almost done…
I am down to two more interviews and then it is off to my publisher. I just have one with a Gold Star Dad, and one with a Vietnam veteran who was wounded three times.

Keep coming back to hear more about the latest progress on my up coming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. Better yet… go to the top of this page and click on subscribe. When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.
______________________________________________________________
Checking in on you. How are you doing? Is everything going OK, or are you fighting back memories?
FEAR NOT!
There are over 15,219 Veterans on this site who have your back.
If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, 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 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.

+Now there is an easier way to get help. Just dial 988, and you will have help ready for you.

_________________________________________________________________

+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

1,500 additional troops to deploy to border with Mexico as migrant surge expected next week.

+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 news…..

California veteran who volunteered in Ukraine, survived rocket attack: ‘I would do it again’It was just before midnight on a frigid February evening in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine when a 29-year-old Marine veteran from Garden Grove, Calif., was struck by an enemy Russian rocket while inside a Humvee on the front lines.

_____________________

Pentagon to spend up to $7.2 billion on combat-proven Javelin anti-tank missiles

The U.S. military plans to buy up to $7.2 billion worth of Javelin missiles for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and international customers over the next three years, under a contract announced Thursday.

_____________________

Ukraine to receive another $300M in weapons, ammunition and equipment in new US aid

The equipment and weapons are being given through the presidential drawdown authority, which means it will come directly from Pentagon stocks and sent quickly on an emergency basis.

_____________________

In a first, female soldier becomes top enlisted leader at Army Special Operations CommandCommand Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann stepped into the job at a ceremony Monday at Fort Bragg, N.C.

_____________________

1,500 additional troops to deploy to border with Mexico as migrant surge expected next week

The troops will join about 2,400 National Guard members authorized to serve at the border with U.S. Customs and Border Protection as part of a support mission that began in 2018.

_____________________

I had some interesting times while in basic training. I will share two of them.

  1. During the time there we did different types of training. One was pretty frightening. We spent one day throwing live grenades. I was in a line of guys taking their turn of be coached to throw. I was next in line to do just that. I could hear the instructor say, “Pull the pin wait five seconds and then throw it.” He handed the guy the grenade and the guy pulled the pin. He pulled his arm back and was ready to throw. He tried to throw but the grenade slipped out of his hand and landed right next to him. The instructor grabbed the grenade and tossed sit. It blew up in mid air.

It was my turn, and I listened to the instructor very carefully. I pulled the pin and throw the grenade right on time and it didn’t explode until it hit the ground. It was the guys mistake in front of me that caused me to fine tuned my senses.

2. We had just finished our firing range time and it was time to march back to the barracks. our drill sergeant had to go to a meeting so he had a Warrant officer march us back. Well he had no idea how to give commands and of us noticed it right away.

The platoon decided to move only according to protocol. He said to form up. We accepted that, and then he said turn right, and we didn’t move. You could see that he was getting frustrated. He asked a nearby NCO what he was supposed to say, and then he said, “Right face!” We turned right.

He then tried to get us going. He said, “Start walking.” We didn’t move. he asked the same NCO what he should say, and then he said, “Forward march.”

We started marching, and we moved along pretty good for a while. The the officer saw that there was a boat ramp up ahead, and he said, “Let’s stop.” We kept marching. He shouted again, but we just kept marching.

The front to d platoon was starting go into the water. The officer yelled, “Stop!” We kept going. Now most the the platoon was in the water. An NCO saw what was going on and ran over to yell, “Platoon halt.” We stopped, but everyone was wet, and we laughing our heads off.

The next morning at our daily briefing, The Captain came and chewed us out for what we had done. BUT you could see him trying to hold back the laughter as he went back inside.

We were told the Capitan apologized to the officer.

______________________________________________________________________

I met a marine yesterday while shopping at Cost Co. He was one hell of a guy. We quickly became friends, and I asked him if I could have his email to keep in touch. He agreed, and I told him I was writing a book on the military and could I interview him. He said yes.

Then he gave me a sneak peak of what happened to him. He was wounded three separate times. Two times by bayonets. One of the bayonet times the bayonet went through both legs. He was also wounded by shrapnel. He said there was a lot of close up fighting going on. He was in Vietnam from 1965-1969. A long haul.

Come back and read his amazing story as it unfolds. 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.

_______________________________________________________________

Checking in on you. How are you doing? Is everything going OK, or are you fighting back memories?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 15,219 Veterans on this site who have your back.

If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, 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 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.

+Now there is an easier way to get help. Just dial 988, and you will have help ready for you.

_______________________________________________________________

+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

Drill Sergeants in the Military Can be Very Tough When Needed

+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 news…

The Pentagon wants to get rid of 24 ships and more than 150 aircraft

_____________________

The Air Force wants to spend big bucks replacing its decades-old surveillance plane

“It just really takes miracle workers … to keep these airplanes in the air.”

_____________________

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is finally coming to theaters — and Russia may be the villain


Maverick is still, presumably, in the danger zone

_____________________

Russian Forces Halt Kyiv Advance as Kremlin Says Donbass Was Only Goal All Along

A month into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia appears to be reducing its war plans from annexing the entire country to holding the region called the Donbass. A top Russian military officer said this has always been the intended mission.

_____________________

Marines Barred From Traveling to Ukraine as Americans Try to Join Fight

The Marine Corps has barred its personnel from traveling to Ukraine and the neighboring countries of Belarus and Moldova amid reports of U.S. military veterans going to assist Ukrainians.

____________________

National Medal of Honor Museum Breaks Ground in Texas

The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation broke ground on its future campus in Arlington, Texas, in a ceremony attended by 15 veterans who received the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

_____________________

Russian Troops’ Tendency to Talk on Unsecured Lines is Proving Costly

The Russian military possesses modern equipment capable of secure transmission, but troops in Ukraine have picked up simpler-to-use but less-secure lines because of sketchy discipline and an apparent lack of planning for long-term combat operations.

_____________________________________________________________

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

———————————————————————————–

You Never Know Who Your Friends May Be In the Military

I had my basic training at Fort Ord California, which is now closed. I enlisted with two buddies, and we all were in the same company. It was kind of fun, because we all did things together. I could write another book on just the happenings at basic training. Many of the stories are humorous, others not so humorous. 

A few of the soldiers were people that were drafted, which were still going on in the early sixties. Those people didn’t like being there and even marked their calendars until the day they got out. They only had two years, and their first year was nearly over by the time they got to MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) training.

The soldiers seemed to separate each other into enlisted, and draftees. Not in the form of gangs liked you see on the streets, but there were a definite divided feeling in the two groups.

I remember one incident that made me admire my drill sergeant a great deal. One of the draftees was complaining about being in the military, and my drill sergeant told him to straighten up and quit being a baby. The draftee challenged the drill sergeant to a fight. The drill sergeant was a short and thin guy, and the draftee was a linebacker sized guy. We all thought it would be over quick, with the draftee winning easily.

The sergeant told the draftee they would fight in the platoon leader’s bedroom. (I wasn’t sure why that was the choice, because those rooms are pretty small.)

Then we heard a lot of crashing and groans coming out of that room. The door opened, and we were sure it would be the draftee coming out, but it was that tiny drill sergeant. He was bloodied up, but the draftee was unconscious and lying face down on the floor.

We realized that our drill sergeant was the toughest man on the planet and we were to do what he said or pay the price. Surprisingly, all of us loved and respected him after that. Even the draftee was very respectful to the sergeant.

What do we need to do to gain respect? It probably isn’t a good idea to fight someone to gain respect like my drill sergeant did. What things would gain respect of others?

How about putting others first? Maybe it is being a friend to someone who really needs support. It could be going that extra mile for someone. It says in the Bible, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6: 31 NIV) Keep that in mind each day you are interactive with others.

There is a, “I am tough,” type mentality in the military. However, we aren’t always out in the trenches. We aren’t always threatened by the enemy. You have times when you can think about things and maybe reach out to someone around you who you know is hurting. Many of your buddies never want to tell you that they are depressed. That is a “sissy,” approach in their mind.

However, you can tell they are hurting, because you may have felt hurt yourself. When two people are on the same wave link, they can help each other through the storms of life.

Try this approach and see if your friendships develop into best friends forever (BFF) type situation.

IWILL

God knows what loneliness and depression is. He sent His only Son down to this earth to face the whole world on His own. He knew His Son would feel alone. He knew that his Son would be rejected. Yet, God did all of this for you and me so that we can know that we have eternal life if we believe in Him. He will help you with your own depression and loneliness if you let Him. 

Think about this

Isn’t it sad how we allow bad things to rise up in our heads, and cause us to feel depressed?

________________________________________________________________

There may be more excerpts in the future, so keep coming back to check this site out. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on Subscribe. When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

________________________________________________________________

Checking in on you. How are you doing? Did you lose some friends while in the military?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 14,200 veterans on this site who have your back.

Here is what I am asking you to do…please share this site with as many other veterans as you can. It has helped so many.

______________________________________________________________

If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, 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 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.