We All Have bad Moments in Serving. We Do Not Need to Face Them Alone

+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

____________________________________

A short bit of news sn then a story or two from my service time.

It’s time the US military finally bans troops from joining extremist groups.

The Air Force may change its height standard to hire more enlisted aviators.
The Air Force may soon change its outdated height requirements to hire more career enlisted aviators, particularly women.
Marine Corps releases pregnant Marine physical training handbook.

DARPA is developing an air-launched drone missile that fires air-to-air missiles.

___________________________________

I have hundreds of stories from my days in the military. What follows is just one of them that will be in my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.

While in basic training I was doing my firing range testing. This 18 year old kid have never held a rifle before. The loud noise of all those rifles going off were deafening.

It was my turn to shoot. The instructor showed me how to get down on the ground and wrap my arm around the sling. He then spread my feet behind me, and said, “Open fire!”

I started shooting, and the targets were falling down. I didn’t miss one of them. The instructor was amazed and said, “Didn’t you tell me you had never held a rifle before?”

“Yes sir,”I said.

He had me step back to let the next group of men to fire. This went on for a while, and finally everyone had had a chance to shoot.

The Head sergeant then read of the names of those who was able to shot in the second round, and he had the rest go to another range. I was one of those who stayed. I couldn’t believe it. I was able to be in the second round of shooting?

They moved the targets back another 50 yards, and we commenced to shot again. I hit every target. I was getting used to my rifle. At the end of the second round, they called out the group for the third round. I was chosen again!!

The third round was much harder, they put the target at 100 yards.

My instructor then told me about “kentucky windage.” That is where you aim a little high to allow the wind to bring down your bullet.

I missed one target there, but I had enough to make it to the final round.

The final round was 150 yards. That is one and a half football fields.

Again my instructor showed me how to allow for a little more windage. there were on six of us shooting now.

I only missed two shots the whole round. They gathered us together to let us know how the last group did.

They named one guy that won the whole thing. He had only missed one the whole day.

To my shock they named me second. I had only missed three all day.

They told me I was an expert shooter, and this was from a kid that had never held a rifle before.

___________________________________

Time to check in….

How are you doing? Do you remember your basic training days. Was it a good experience?

Did you get some troubled times during basic? How about the rest of your time in the service? Not so good?

Not to worry my friend. There are over 11,500 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If you are overwhelmed with nightmares and painful memories, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7.

It has highly qualified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

Do not try to take on this world alone!!!

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

The load of this World is Hard to Overcome. Time to Fight Back

+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 the site, please let them know about it.

__________________________________________

This old soldier is getting very tired. Very tired of all the crap that is going on around me. I struggle with shaky hands, bad back, and getting tired very easily.

So now that I whined at you, let me cover what I am doing about my problems:

  1. I am a member of RallyPoint.com. It is a social network just for veterans. There are over 1.8 million veterans there to talk to. I get about 40 emails every day from veterans I have become friends with there. They give me virtual hugs, and give me hope through their advice. The site is http://www.rallypoint.com.
  2. I reach out to help others who are hurting. I help them smile, and they help me smile. A win. win!
  3. I get involved with military non profits to help my brothers and sisters. My favorite military nonprofit is www.victoryforveterans.org. Please check it out and see all the good they do.
  4. My son is a retired Colonel in the Army. We spend a lot of time talking about our times in the service. There is some laughing and some sadness.

___________________________________________

I am going to share another excerpt with you today. It is gut wrenching one to say the least:

Sgt. Michael Thorin was a SGT who was in charge of a “shot gun,” company that was accompanying a caravan that was heading to a new area.

The day was going fine when all of a sudden the rig right in front of him caught on fire. There were huge flames quickly. There were four soldiers in it.

SGT. Thorin ran to the rig but it was too late. The flames had ingulfed it. Four min died in a matter of minutes.

I asked him, “How did you handle that? He said, “I haven’t yet. I have PTSD because of it.”

SGT Thorin is a Christian man, and he feels that it is the only thing that is keeping him alive, since he had a pistol pointing at his own head twice.

There is so much more to his story.

Be sure to get the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, to read his story and many more. Most of the stories had their dark moments, but most also come out good. The book will come out in early January.

__________________________________________

So wat’s happening in your world?

Are you struggling PTSD, TBI, depression, or war wounds?

You are not alone.

There are over 10,150 fellow veterans here to talk to and find hope.

If it is just too overwhelming right now, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7 and it is free,

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

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 the site, please let them know about it.