When You Are Deployed, Getting There Can Be Very Hard

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Military news…

A known white supremacist serving in the Air Force is still in the ranks more than two months after his extremist views were first widely revealed. Airman 1st Class Shawn Michael McCaffrey, 28, has a track record of espousing white supremacist, anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic beliefs on social media.

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For the first time in decades, service members who have suffered due to negligent medical care now have the chance to file a claim against the Department of Defense The Pentagon’s brand-new rules for doing so represent a turning point for service members and their families.

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The military is going ahead and doing sexual changes for trans dressers. The many changes that the military is making does not go well with me.

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I have some recommended military books to share with you. I have read them all, and they are all excellent:

  1. D-DAY: The Climactic Battle of World War II. A New York Times Bestseller. by Stephen E. Ambrose. Complete coverage from the first moment to the end.
  2. We Were Soldiers Once…And Young. By Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway. The story of the battle at Ia Drang. It change the war in Vietnam
  3. Band of Brothers by lt. Lynn “Buck” Compton Great personal stories of the Band of Brothers. (Had two of them live right in my hometown.) Met Buck. Great guy and signed his book for me.

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One of my interesting times in the military, was getting ready to shipped out to korea.

I signed up on the buddy plan. There were three of us. Two of us had one last party before we were to go to San Francisco, California to board a ship heading to Korea.

It was just two of us buddies doing the party. I was definitely not a drinker, but on this night I was going to party.

It turned out to be a big mistake. I drank far too much. I went into some kind of blackout after a couple of hours. I woke up once in the shower. My buddy was alternating hot water with cold water to try to bring me back. That was the worst thing he could do. It made me pretty sick.

The next time I woke up was on the bed. I was stark naked, and they were two girls there giggling. I was so embarrassed.

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We finally got to San Francisco, and spent the night at a USO hotel.

There was dancing, etc, going on in the ballroom, but I had enough partying, and headed up to my room.

I was waiting for the elevator when a guy came up to me and put his hand in my crotch. He said, “You are very gifted. Would you like to come to my room?”

The fear was overwhelming. My first experience with a gay guy.

I quickly got on the elevator to safety.

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The actual trip on the ship is another whole story. Thousands sick, but I wasn’t…

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These are some actual excerpts from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the trenches of life.

Be sure to come back to see more excerpts.

BETTER YET... Go to the top of this page and click on the subscribe button. When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

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How is your world today? Things not going to plan? Too much helter skelter?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,300 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If they aren’t enough right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number you can 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 Option # 1 for 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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It is Not Good When People Take Advantage of You While in the Military

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Military news…

Just rename the Confederate bases already

It’s well within the Pentagon’s power to re-name bases, ships, buildings and other assets dedicated to the former Confederate States of America, but nobody seems in a hurry to get it done. In fact, Congress has put an independent naming commission in charge of the process, which is usually Capitol Hill-ese for “let’s take our sweet-ass time.”

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“The farther I get from those days, the heavier my guilt,” writes Marine veteran Russell Hellyer in this story, which originally appeared in The War Horse, about his deployment to Afghanistan. Russell describes how his view of the Afghan people changed over the years. As a bitter grunt in a war nobody seemed to understand, he had little empathy for them. But now, years later, he writes sharply that “we were never committed to anything but sticking around, and the results for the people of Afghanistan show it.”
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Two sailors die after Navy plane crashes in Alabama

“The aircrew did not survive the crash,” wrote U.S. Naval Air Forces. “We are not aware of any civilian casualties.”

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Marine commandant to leaders: Quit the ‘soft relief’ of fired officers
In a letter sent earlier this month to a wide swath of the Marine officer corps, commandant Gen. David Berger reminded everyone from general to lieutenant that they needed to hold Marines accountable with a paper trail.
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Exoskeletons and the future of military body armor

What if soldiers in the future could carry 300 lbs of body armor and heavy weapons with ease? With the development of new exoskeleton suits, the burden of heavy body armor may become an issue of the past.

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Serious injuries’ reported in explosion at Connecticut VA hospital
An explosion at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Connecticut has left several people with “serious injuries,” the Associated Press reports.
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Enlisted sailors on Navy warships are at higher risk of COVID-19 than officers, study finds

Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are more likely to spread among enlisted crew members on Navy ships, a new study released this week found, due to the sailors’ tight living and workspaces.

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French military kills senior Al Qaeda leader in Mali
French forces have killed Bah ag Moussa, a military leader of al Qaeda’s North Africa wing, during an operation in northeastern Mali, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Friday.
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I just got home from an appointment with my hearing aid doctor. I asked her if she would write a letter to the VA for my hearing loss. She said I needed to go through the proper channels before she would do that. I have already done that, but I will try again.

I have been battling the VA for years on my hearing loss that happen while I was in Korea.

I will NOT give up and neither should of any of you who have physical problems that you got while in the military.
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Several posts back I talked about being greeted by two guys on my first day at Camp Red Cloud, South Korea. Those guys became my best buddies. One reason was that hey were very muscular and big. I needed my body guards. 🙂

A week later they invited me to go with them to the Camp bar. I glady went because I liked them so much. When we got there we had a couple of beers, and then one of them went to the bartender and ordered another kind a drink. He brought three of them to the table.

They were tall glasses and were full of gray and other colors. The one who bought the drinks said we should go for it and have a sip. I took that sip and my head almost exploded. I choughed. The guys laughed.

The the one who bought the drinks said let’s have a drinking contest. I was an 18 year old kid who was very naive. I went for it. I took another big gulp and I was spinning after only two drinks.

We continued and had the third gulp. That is the last thing I remember. I was in a black out mode, and I didn’t even know what that was.

I woke up the next morning by the wheel by a 2 1/2 ton truck. I was dry heaving.

I found out later that what we was drinking was Zombies!

I got very upset with the guys for taking advantage of me, and they were sorry.
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+This story and many more are in my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the MIlitary: In an Out of the Trenches of Life.

Check Back often to see other stories and update on the progress of the book. Better yet, sign up to subscribe by clicking on the subscribe button at the top of this page. When you do you will get all future post directly in you inbox.
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Have you ever been taken advantage of while in the military? Does it still haunt you today?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,025 fellow veterans subscribed to this site. They all have your back.

However, if what you are going through is overwhelming, GET HELP!

There is a toll free number you can call 24/7.

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

Never take on the not so friendly world alone.

I-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!

___________________________________

+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 about it.

There Were Some in the Military Who Weren’t Thinking Too Clearly

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+ I am excited to announce that we just past 12,000 subscribers. Not many sites can’t say that. I am proud to be here with you.

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Military news….

“He was my pilot, as much as any of my American students had been,” writes Navy helicopter pilot Jack McCain in a heartfelt story about his deployment training Afghan pilots in 2018. McCain learned to speak Dari for the deployment, and in so doing he learned to connect with his students as human beings in a way which many Americans still cannot, even after two decades of shared conflict.

Don’t challenge someone to a push-up contest if you can’t do push-ups is a lesson retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West taught by example last week, Paul Szoldra reports. The head of the Texas Republican Party, West challenged a reporter who showed up late to a press conference to a push-up contest. When the reporter declined, the 60-year-old West went ahead solo. The thing is, none of his push-ups would pass muster in the Army, according to service members far and wide who commented on footage of the one-man contest that appeared on social media.

Even badass combat pilots have stuffed animals, Here is the story of the plushy lucky charms that many pilots take with them over airshows and combat zones far and wide. Many of those charms start out as a gift given by the pilot’s son or daughter, but over time they take on extra significance as a guardian angel, or even as a third co-pilot. They are not as expensive as an extra fuel tank or enhanced night vision goggles, but for many pilots the keepsakes are just as vital. Plus, they’re cute as heck.

IA congressman wants to “fire the generals” after an investigation revealed that safety and maintenance lapses led to a fatal training accident last summer. Eight Marines and one sailor died in the accident when the amphibious assault vehicle they were riding in sunk off the coast of California. The Marines were not trained in escaping a submerged vehicle; the crew had no time to do proper maintenance beforehand; and no safety boats were nearby to help. But the generals in charge have not been punished.
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I noticed that there was no shortness of people being stupid in the military.

While in Korea, I saw some GI’s doing things that could not only hurt them, but embarrass them.

The first one was actually funny. I was walking back to my quinsite hut. I passed a Camp bar on my way.

I saw a very drunk man stagger out of the bar. He unzipped his pants and proceeded to take a leak.

In an instant he realized that that was a wrong idea, when his urine froze before it hit the ground. He zipped up his pants and rushed back in. Korea wasn’t called, “The land of the frozen chosen” for nothing.

Another time I was walking by the same bar. Four guys came out and were as drunk as skunks.

Three of them were egging the fourth guy to touch a mental flagpole with his tongue. He refused at first, but the guys kept yelling at him to do it.

He finally touched the icy pole with his tongue. Big mistake! When he tried to pull away he couldn’t. His tongue was frozen to the pole.

He started screaming in pain. There was nothing the other guys could do but stand there shocked.

They called the medics. When the medics got there they sorta laughed at first until they saw the the guy was in real trouble.

The medics did something with water and they guy was able to get his tongue loose. He was still screaming in pain.

They hauled him off to the base hospital. I heard later that the doctors told the guy his tongue would be really swollen for several days. He had to sip his meals.
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Both of these stories will be in my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

Keep checking in to see the progress. Better yet, subscribe right now by going up to the subscribe button at the top of this page. When you do this all future posts will go directly to your inbox.
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Have you had any embarrassing moments? Many have.

Fear not!

There are now over 12,000 fellow veterans here who have your back.

However, if your embarrassments were too much, GET HELP!

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

Never let any embarrassing moments get you down.


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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+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 about it.