+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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It is the 1st of February and I promised a new format. This may change a few times until I get what I am really looking for. Let me know what you think, and I will use your thoughts to change for the better.
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I got a reply to one of my posts. It was a retired Army man, who was struggling. He has serious PTSD. The guy has overwhelming responsibilities, plus dealing with many other health issues.
Got to be very honored that he send me this message. I can now connect with him and be his “buddy.” We will share our feelings, and try to not cause problems. Just be a friend to talk to and support.
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This can happen to so many veterans. The transition is too much sometimes. What do I do now?…. is what many ask.
This question has faced many of you. You get out and you feel isolated, lost and bewildered.
I have talked to so many veterans that are fighting some sort of problems. Many are just clinging too long to their military routine. They can only operate with some kind of structure. This sometimes alienates them from the rest of their family.
The answer to this is not easy. First of all get help. The VA has programs to help you transend to civilian life. They have medications to help with your PTSD, or other ailments you may have.
It will also take some work on your part. Do not hide and let the dark side overcome you. Stand strong and fight back.
You are more than worth it. Your family is worth it. They will support you and help you through your storms.
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I am trying to get my second COVID shot. I am scheduled to have it this Thursday. I am hearing that they run out on some days. I am hoping since I and scheduled to have my shot early in the day that I will be oK.
The National Guard is helping with the shots. They are so courteous and kind. They have a great “Bedside manners.”
I still can see the young PFC who pulled me out of a big line to get my first shot. He was a guardian angel. I think it was because I had my Army hat on. It was brothers helping brothers.
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I am hearing more and more, how our new president could care less for the military.
The latest report says that he made the National Guard sleep in a parking lot with only one bathroom.
There is no respect happening since we changed leadership.
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How are your days going? Do they overwhelm you at times. You are not alone. There are over 11,220 fellow veterans here who have your back. Many of them are struggling with the same things you are.
If it is somehow becoming too much for you right now. GET HELP!
Here is a toll free number that is available 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK. It is all free.
Never take on this world alone.
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.
+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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In two days this site will look very different. On February 1st I will be having a different format. It is still all about the military, but I will be inserting some thoughts meant just for you, to help you to have hope.
What I am sharing now is an article talking about sexual harassment and rape. I will be sharing these true stories and much more starting on February 1st.
An airman who said her complaints of sexual harassment were ignored for months by Misawa Air Base command has finally secured a transfer to another duty station, Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs said in a statement.
“In accordance with her request, Airman First Class Sarah Figueroa was transferred to another duty location,” the statement said. PACAF did not disclose the new location to protect Figueroa’s personal information. PACAF wrote that it had also investigated the male airman who was harassing Airman 1st Class Figueroa, and that the commander took “appropriate action” after consulting with the legal office.
“The Air Force takes all allegation of interpersonal violence, to include bullying and sexual harassment, very seriously,” it added.
That did not appear to be the case in October when Airman 1st Class Figueroa took to Instagram to express her frustration with her command for disregarding complaints that a male airman had been stalking and harassing her for months.
“Last week, I was followed by the airman who sexually harassed and I feared for my life,” she said in her Oct. 13 post. “I thought I was going to die and I prayed over and over again while I was driving.”
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne Bass commented on the post, asking the airman to send her an email. Figueroa’s mother also spoke about her daughter’s desperate situation in a video interview posted to YouTube on Oct. 21.
Fatima Figueroa said the male airman was issued a no-contact order earlier this year (which is similar to a civilian restraining order), Figueroa said he has ignored the order and continued to follow Figueroa, making her feel scared for her life.
The chain of command, military police, Equal Opportunity Office, and other authorities had not been helpful in resolving the situation, punishing the male airman, or helping Airman 1st Class Figueroa secure a transfer out of Misawa, Figueroa said at the time.
“This is a nightmare, this is a horror movie,” she said on YouTube in an interview with Kayla Rivera TV. “We shouldn’t be going through this. The only thing we’re asking is to transfer her out. That’s the only thing we want.”
Airman 1st Class Figueroa reported the initial harassment to military police and her chain of command. According to her mother, the Air Force investigated the case, decided it was a case of sexual harassment, and issued a no-contact order to the male airman.
However, since then, the male airman has parked next to Airman 1st Class Figueroa’s car, followed her, made more inappropriate comments towards her, and said hello to her “like nothing has happened,” her mother said.
Airman 1st Class Figueroa and her mother expressed frustration with base leadership. They said the commander claimed it was just a coincidence that the male airmen was following her ‘because it’s such a small base,’ they recalled him saying.
“She needs help. She needs to get out of there,” Fatima Figueroa said about her daughter in the YouTube interview. “Sarah should never have been placed in this predicament. Action should have been taken from the beginning.”
Now their request has finally been granted. On Oct. 29, Airman 1st Class Figueroa wrote on Instagram that she was given emergency orders to be transferred within 24 hours. She said her command expressed remorse for what happened.
“I just can’t believe it took this extreme of a measure for my chain of command to believe me,” she wrote. “On the way to the airport, my leadership shed tears in telling me they couldn’t believe it was true and that everyone felt horrible for thinking I was exaggerating.”
When asked if the Equal Opportunity Office, chain of command or military police at Misawa were being investigated for allegedly disregarding Airman 1st Class Figueroa’s complaints, PACAF wrote that there were no ongoing investigations on the matter.
“The Air Force’s investigative processes thoroughly address all persons and parties involved in incidents to ensure alleged victims and alleged perpetrators are protected under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” PACAF said. “In this case, helping agencies and the chain-of-command worked diligently to provide a solution for Airman First Class Figueroa.”
On Instagram on Oct. 29, Airman 1st Class Figueroa wrote that her leadership issued her a no-contact order detailing the places the male airman could not walk by, drive by, or be seen in unless he called leadership. The order also said he would have to call leadership any time he came across her and that he could not park his car next to any v “When I got this Order, I was angry and disappointed … I just kept looking at it in disbelief and wondering why this wasn’t given to me earlier,” Airman 1st Class Figueroa said. “I had just been notified that I was going to be transferred so it felt like too little too late until I was told this could last my entire military career to keep me safe.”
Still, she wrote that she saw the male airman’s car in her dormitory’s parking lot that night. She fled and said her leadership picked her up and drove her to the police station.
In one of her Instagram posts on Oct. 29, Airman First Class Figueroa wrote that she was “somewhere safe now,” but there are plenty of women in the military who are not. In her earlier posts, she compared her situation to that of Spc. Vanessa Guillén, a soldier who was sexually harassed and murdered by a fellow soldier in April.
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I think we can all agree that this is very wrong, and yet it is still happening. In my next post on February 1st. I will share an interview from my upcoming book. Signs of hope for the military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, I had with a VA nurse. It is very graphic about two women who were rapped, and how it destroyed their lives.
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Where is your thoughts going these days? Do you have good thoughts, or your still haunted by the past. Do not worry my friend there are over 11, 153 fellow veterans who follow this site, and they all have your back.
However, if it is just getting too overwhelming for you, 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. All of this is free.
Do not take on the not so friendly 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.
+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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It seems to me that things have gotten worse since we have a new president. His massive signing of executive orders are changing our country fast. Much of it, in my opinion, is not good.
His stopping of completing the border wall doesn’t make sense. It will allow thousand of people to cross that are up to no good.
He shut down a pipeline that will have 11,000 workers unemployed. He is suppose to be for the workers and unions, and he does this???
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I am a registered democrat, but the last time I voted for a democrat was for Obama’s first term. I saw the light at that time and have been very selective on who I vote for since then.
I am for a president who wants to support our military, and Biden certainly isn’t that man. He had the National Guard sleep on cement floors in a parking lot, and told them to leave later.
I quoted a National Guard soldier in my previous post that said.
“I felt like I was trash to be put into the garbage.”
It is so sad to see this happening to our military. They are here to protect each of us. They enlisted to serve.
Audie Murphy — then a second lieutenant commanding Company B of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division — found himself surrounded by six German tanks and wave after wave of enemy infantry while fighting in Holtzwihr, France.
Rather than retreat with his men, Murphy made a gutsy decision: He ordered his soldiers withdraw to the cover of nearby forest and set up their artillery while he remained at his forward command post to direct their fire.
Things quickly took a turn for the worse. A nearby Allied tank destroyer burst into flames following a direct hit from an enemy tank, its crew fleeing to the woods and leaving Murphy alone.
But Murphy didn’t shrink from the oncoming onslaught of German armor; instead, he mounted the burning tank destroyer and took on wave after wave of German infantry with nothing more than the vehicle’s .50 caliber machine gun and superhuman determination.
“Second Lieutenant Murphy’s indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy’s objective,” the citation reads.
Murphy’s bravery also earned him a spot in the history books as one of the most highly-decorated heroes in U.S. military history — and set a new standard for courage under fire in the process.
When you read that, it makes you very proud that you were a part of the military that he fought for.
How is the world rotating for you? Going to fast? Well, you have over 11,120 fellow veterans here who have your back.
I understand how the rat race can be overwhelming, and if that is happening to you GET HELP!
Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. They have highly qualified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.
Do Not take on the not so friendly 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.
