Category: excerpts

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There Can be Some Very Embarrassing Times While in the Military

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Military news…

“You’re ridiculous,” one elected official told a former Cabinet secretary on live television yesterday. Lawmakers of both parties used the hearing, where they grilled former Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and other witnesses over the Capitol Hill insurrection of Jan. 6, to grandstand for their constituents. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) called Miller ridiculous for going back on his previous position that former President Donald Trump instigated the riot.

“I stopped feeling like I mattered. Like what I was doing was insignificant,” is one of many reasons why troops choose to get out of the military. Haley Britzky writes that other big factors were the lack of family care plans and sheer exhaustion from the never-ending push for readiness and deployments. Haley’s story comes as the military struggles to meet its end-strength goals.

5 tips for how to successfully transition out of the military

1. Build a strong set of resumes. 

Translating your knowledge, skills, and abilities into multiple resume formats for the public and private sectors is the first step towards success when applying for post-military jobs.  

Chronological resume. This format is most likely what comes to mind first when you think of resumes. It lists your work experience in order, from most recent to oldest. Chronological resumes are standard in most careers fields and are the best option if you’ve been working in your desired area of interest for a while because it highlights your applicable experiences. 

Functional resume. This type of resume highlights your skills and abilities, rather than relying on work experience to make you a good candidate for a job. If you’re breaking into a new career field or are lacking experience for your desired job, you’ll want to create a functional resume to feature your potential to be the best candidate. If your education matches your career interest, make sure to highlight it here.

Federal resume. The federal job website USAjobs.gov relies heavily, though not exclusively, on automated filtering systems for portions of the hiring process and has specific requirements for your resume. A lot of your success in getting through the first round of screening is matching keywords in the job description to your resume. Set yourself up for success by using the websites FedsHireVets and FASClass – they’re key to helping you navigate the complex federal hiring system.

2. Take advantage of your benefits.

There are a multitude of benefits available to veterans through the VA – home loans, G.I. Bill for education, financial compensation for disability, and medical care, to name a few. Some former service members are hesitant to take advantage of what the VA has to offer, either from feeling like they didn’t do enough to earn disability compensation or fear of the process of applying for benefits being frustrating and time-consuming. VA benefits are not a handout, and applying for them doesn’t take anything away from anyone else who you think “had it worse.” There are a multitude of accredited Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) who can help you navigate the claims process.   

3. Transition your healthcare plan.

Moving from military health coverage to a private plan within 90 days of your separation is important to avoid gaps in medical care. Tricare offers 90 days of continued coverage after separation to give you time to find a new healthcare plan. But even if you’re retaining Tricare benefits as a retiree, you’ll still have to apply to continue your benefits. Most insurance plans have waiting periods before your coverage starts, so make sure to sign up with an insurance provider with ample time to spare before you lose coverage. If you are moving into the workforce post service, many employers offer insurance options in their benefits packages, so explore your options before committing.

4. Get life insurance coverage. 

Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) won’t provide you ongoing coverage after you leave the military, so it’s important to start shopping for life insurance coverage that suits your needs and the needs of your family. A lot of insurance providers offer a buffet of options to fit your stage of life and budget. There are some key things to consider, like if you want term coverage versus whole life coverage, and how much you’ll be paying in premiums. Who you buy your insurance from is just as important as the policy itself, so make sure to shop around and find what you need. There are a lot of veteran-friendly insurance providers who cater specifically to the needs of service members.

5. Take advantage of available resources. 

If you don’t know where to start or need a little help on your journey from service member to civilian, there are a lot of places to find help. Whether you need help making a resume, career counseling, financial planning, or mental health care, there are plenty of places to turn. Organizations like the USO, Hire Heroes, and Transition Assistance Program are just a few that offer support and assistance to transitioning service members. Becoming a fully integrated civilian doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that requires time, patience, and a lot of adjustment. Not only is it OK to ask for help, but it is wise to do so. Entering the civilian workforce after military service can feel a bit bewildering, not unlike your first days of basic training. Seemingly simple things like searching for a job, choosing what to wear, or interviewing for a position can feel foreign and overwhelming at first. Getting help from a transition expert can help greatly reduce the stress and anxiety associated with leaving the military.

Transitioning out of the military is a monumental life change, whether you feel prepared for it or not. There are a lot of unknowns to navigate and an entirely new way of life to get used to. Planning ahead, using available resources, and finding the right partners are the best path forward.

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When I enlisted in the Army, I was only 18 years old. I was a very naive. I hadn’t even been away from my hometown.

Before you could officially be a service member you had to pass a physical. Two buddies and I went to Portland, Oregon to take the physical.

We came into a big room that looked like a gymnasium. There were about thirty enlistees there. They had us all stand in a line facing the far wall. Then two doctors came out of a side door and started going down the line to each man.

We weren’t military yet so we could watch what they were doing. I was horrified.

We all had to pull down our pants and take off our undies!

One of the doctors was in the front and the other was behind you.

The front doctor put his hand on your testicles and told you to couch. The other doctor put his finger up your rear and felt around.

That was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, up to that point.

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This is one of the many stories that are in my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.

Keep coming back to see other excerpts, and updates on how the book is coming along.

Better yet, Subscribe right now to this site by going to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do that all future post will go directly to your inbox.

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How is your day going? Did you have some embarrassing times while in the military, and do you have nightmares about them?

Fear Not!

There are over 11,800 fellow veterans on this site who have your back.

However, if it is just to 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.

Never live through nightmares anymore!

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 Loss of a Buddy During Your Time in the Military is Hard at Best

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My last post caused quite a stir. Talking about suicide is not an easy thing to do, but when 22 veterans take their own lives EACH day then we need to reach out.

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Military news…

It’s a bad day for one Missouri bar after a video went viral over the weekend of a bartender berating a group of six service members who tried to get drinks with their military identification card. The bartender, identified as Josh Weitkamp, refused to serve them, appeared to bend and throw away one of the service members’ military IDs, told them they “don’t even look old enough to know about f—ing 9/11” and then denied that they were in the military at all, which is funny because at least a few have been to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hazing is always terrible, especially when it involves being tied up to a target. Hazing is always terrible, especially when it involves being tied up to a target on a live-fire range while fighter planes drop ordnance near you for 20 minutes. But that’s what one French Air Force pilot said his fellow aviators put him through in March 2019. The pilot recently filed a criminal complaint because he felt the French military was not taking the matter seriously enough.

‘Wait, they just now started doing this?’ is a perfectly reasonable reaction that the 18th Airborne Corps wants anyone found guilty of sexual assault or harassment to be immediately separated from the Army. But it’s true: the new policy marks a major departure from how such crimes are handled elsewhere in the service, and it’s a direct result of soldier feedback to their leadership.

Remember that scene from The Matrix where Neo orders up a big honkin’ arsenal of virtual guns? Well that’s what the deck of the USS Monterey looked like last week. After the Navy ship stopped a small boat in the North Arabian Sea that was chock full of Type 56 assault rifles, PKM machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket propelled grenades and kaboodles of other kinds of firepower. In fact, the cache was so large it took the crew 36 hours to unload all of it.

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One of the many things that sticks out in my mind about my time in the military was the loss of lives during peacetime.

In my book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, I wrote about two buddies I lost while in Korea. Neither one of them were in combat.

The first one was a buddy that I signed up with to get into the military. We went through basic together. We went through MOS training together, and was sent to Korea together.

When we got there, he was sent to another part of Korea. Things went Ok for a few months until I was notified that he had died from some kind of crud he caught there.

I couldn’t believe it. He died from an illness? I found out it happens a lot in foreign countries. I still think about him to this day.

The second incident was right in my own company at Camp Red Cloud, outside of Uijeongbu, Korea.

A close buddy had been drinking heavily, and went out into the village to be with a girl. He was coming back to the Camp, and he was staggering very badly. He could hardly walk.

As he was walking he fell into a “honey bucket.” A honey bucket is where the locals keep their human waste for fertilizer. It is about seven feet across. My buddy actually suffocated.

We had no idea it had happened until our morning formation the next morning. I noticed a gap where he was suppose to be in the ranks. I didn’t think much about it. However, the company commander came out and announced that he had died the night before.

We all were in shock. He was a good guy that everyone liked.

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These and many other stories like them will be in the book that will come out this fall. Be sure to follow this site to see the latest on the book.

Better yet, subscribe now by clicking on the subscribe button at the top of this page. You won’t have to come back here to find out more. It will be sent straight to your inbox each time I post.

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How are you doing? Did you lose a buddy while in the military? It is hard at best to even think about it.

FEAR NOT!!

There are more than 11,800 fellow veterans subscribed to this site who have your back.

BUT! If you heart is broken, and you need further assistance, 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. AND IT IS FREE!

Never face another day that causes you to hurt.

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!

___________________________________

+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.

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Soldiers Are Often Accused of Things They Didn’t Do

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Military news…

In the latest bad news to come out of Fort Jackson, South Carolina, an Army trainee was arrested for allegedly hijacking a bus full of school children on Thursday while armed with a rifle, Jeff Schogol reports. None of the children were physically harmed, and neither was the bus driver, or the trainee, who was “arrested without incident” after abandoning the vehicle and leaving his weapon behind.

“Soldiers must be confident” that they can report sexual assault or harassment and get the protection, dignity and respect they need, said Acting Army Secretary John Whitley after his branch announced it would put a civilian in charge of its Criminal Investigations Command, Haley Britzky reports. The change is meant to address glaring holes in the Army’s criminal investigative system which were revealed by a recent review of Fort Hood’s bungled response to the disappearance and death of Spc. Vanessa Guillén last year.

Connecticut Legion Family: $17,000 raised for hospitalized children

For more than 25 years, the Department of Connecticut American Legion Family has conducted a Kids Walk and other fundraisers to benefit the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford. The department’s seven districts host the events in April for Children & Youth Month with all donations supporting CCMC.

Department Children & Youth Chairman Louie Robinson has now tallied the donations from the seven districts, whether they hosted a walk or conducted other fundraising efforts for the medical center. He will present a $17,000 check to CCMC in the coming weeks.

“This cause to support the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is very rewarding, and we are very proud of it,” Robinson said.

The 3rd District hosted a Kids Walk April 24 at Great Hallow Lake in Monroe with the Legion Family and community. T-shirts were awarded to walkers with $25 or more in donations.

The district raised $1,500.

During the Kids Walk, “people come up to us and say ‘Hi. What are you doing? Oh that sounds fun’ and they jump in and walk with us,” said Victor Yanosy, commander of American Legion Sippin-Winspur Post 176 in Monroe. “Some read about it in the local Monroe newspaper, and they bring their families just as a way to get out and meet the community. It’s for a really good cause.”

The mission of CCMC is to “improve the physical and emotional health of all children.” Every donation that the Department Connecticut Legion Family raises for CCMC helps provide resources to support this mission.

“In the 3rd District the Kids Walk has almost become a rite of spring,” said Mike Kellet, 3rd District executive committeeman. “We get out together and chat, enjoy each other’s company. You have all that enjoyment plus you’re raising money for a children’s medical center. You can’t beat it.”

The 3rd District was unable to hold its Kids Walk last April due to the pandemic. They hosted a fundraiser in September and raised $2,700 for CCMC. 

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One of the negative things I went through while in the military was at FT Bragg, NC. I was riding with a buddy in a jeep going through some of the forest area of Fayetteville, NC, on base.

We came across three guys who seemed to be washing one of the guys car. We were very wrong. They were chiphening gas out of the jeep that was there and putting into their car.

We stopped and watched them. Suddenly the MP’s came barreling up and went to the three guys vichale.

They arrested all three of them. They saw us, and made us come with them as well.

On the way to the MP headquarters all five of us were in the back of a truck. We whispered what we should be saying when questioned.

I wondered why my buddy and I needed to play the game. We had not done anything wrong.

They took in one man at a time and took us in too. Apparently each soldier told the exact same story, and we all were released.

I was very embarrassed to even be a part of that, but we didn’t mean to drive there in the first place.

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Have you had a similar incident while in the service? Did you get accused of something you didn’t do?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 11,960 fellow veterans here that have your back.

If the guilt is too much, 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 live with guilt in your life.

1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

___________________________________

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.