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Military news…
“The Marine Corps taught me not to [mess] around.” That’s from Marine veteran James Kilcer, who grabbed a would-be thief’s pistol during a robbery attempt in Yuma, Arizona earlier this month.
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“A blank can actually do you a huge amount of damage. If it was pressed right up against your head, it could probably kill you.” That’s from Paul Biddiss, a former British Army paratrooper who told James Clark all about how firearms are handled on movie sets. This is after Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on film set in New Mexico last week, killing one person on set and injuring another.
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“I don’t really like to talk about how many times I [deployed] here or there … because even if you go once, you did more than most.” That’s from Senior Master Sgt. Robert Gutierrez Jr., a legendary Air Force combat controller whose humility shined in a recent video posted to the Air Force Special Tactics Facebook page.
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Pentagon Mandates COVID-19 Vaccine for Civilian Workers
All civilians working for the Defense Department and the military services must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Nov. 22, under new guidelines released earlier this month.
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| Navy Recovers Helicopter, 5 Sailors Killed in Crash That Prompted Pause in Flight Operations The Navy has recovered the five crewmembers and MH-60S helicopter that crashed |
3 Brothers Reunited After 50 Years Include an Army General and An Army Colonel
Maj. Gen. Edmonson was reunited with his younger half-brothers, Brian and Army Col. Eric Jackson, at Fort Knox. Edmonson’s father was stationed in Germany when he learned his child had been given up for adoption.
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As Afghanistan Sinks Into Destitution, Some Sell Children to Survive
A housecleaner in Herat, Afghanistan, said she may have to hand her three-year-old daughter over to a man to settle an insurmountable debt of $550, illuminating the starvation crisis in the Taliban-controlled country.
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Another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: This shows that not everything is serious in the military.
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I Hope I Can Swim!
There weren’t always serious times in the military.
One day after we were done with shooting at the range in basic training. The regular platoon leader had to go to headquarters, and he asked a Warrant Officer to march us back to the buses.
The Warrant Officer had never led a march before and it was very clear that he was not in control. The men whispered to each other that we needed to follow his commands completely, but only if they were Army regulated.
Well, the Warrant Officer had no idea what the Army regulations were for marching troops, so he just told us to start marching. We didn’t move. He shouted, “Let’s go!” We still didn’t move. Then a passer-by soldier told him the wording was “Forward march!”
He said “Forward march!” We started marching. He wanted us to do a turn at a street corner, and said “Turn right!” We kept going straight. He was heading us toward a boat ramp leading down to the ocean. He saw what was happening, and yelled, “Stop!” We didn’t stop! He shouted “You’re going into the water, stop!”
By this time the front of the platoon was in the edge of the ramp and had water over their boots. He was again getting desperate. He ran over to some other soldier watching “the show,” and begged them to tell him what he is supposed to say. He said yell, “Platoon halt!” He did, but by that time there were some men swimming, and laughing I might add.
The platoon leader didn’t get mad when he heard what happened. He even chuckled to himself, and then he called the Warrant Officer to apologize.
Have you ever gotten confused with some orders you have received in the military? Were they in such a way that you had to question them? Let me tell you that it is OK to question a command or orders if you stay with the guidelines of the Army manual.
If an officer asks you to do something you aren’t comfortable with you could say, “No disrespect sir, but could you explain that order to me?” You could also say, “I would like to say “Respectively sir that I will do what you say, but I am not comfortable doing it.”
Any good officer will not chew you out for statements like that. My son, who was a colonel, had times when he had to give soldiers commands, and I am sure if they questioned him, he didn’t punish them or he didn’t become angry. I met many of his soldiers when I visited him on base, and every soldier I met said that my son was a soldier’s soldier. Meaning, they knew he was in charge, but they also knew that he would listen to them if they had a disagreement.
In your life it is wise to be open to others who may disagree with you. It may make you uncomfortable, but in the long run, the other person will respect you for listening to them even if you stick to what you first advocated.
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There is more to this chapter, but I am cahllenging ypou to buy the book to read the rest of it. 🙂
If you want to see more excerpts, keep coming back. Better Yet, go to the top of this page and slick on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.
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Hey, how’s it going my friend? Has the world sent you lemons? Do you dread going to sleep?
FEAR NOT!
There are 13,270 fellow veterans subscibed to this site who have your back.
BUT! If the going is just too rough for you right now, GET HELP!
Here is a toll free number to 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…texting838255.
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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.