Bad Memories Can Haunt People in The Military From Deployment

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Military news…

A disturbing number of Americans still believe the stereotype that veterans are ticking time bombs ready to explode at the first provocation, a new survey which shows that the stereotype of the unstable, violent veteran is still alive and well among U.S. adults. 23% of adults also said that PTSD is not treatable, which is far from the truth.

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A pregnant specialist in the Oregon National Guard is back home on Thursday after staying in her unit armory for an unclear amount of time while her battalion was gone for annual training this week. It is about the Guard failing to build “cohesive teams” and push “people first” the way the Army wants to do. The unit commander is still trying to figure out out how many nights she spent in the armory.

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“I could ask what color the sky is and even though we can all see the sky is blue, they’ll still need everyone and their lawyer to sign off on a statement confirming as much.” That’s what one Army public affairs officer said about the branch’s transparency problem. Haley writes about how Army commanders fail to recognize the importance of communicating with the public. That failure not only disrupts the branch’s connection to the people they serve, but also takes away its “information advantage” as one source said.

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It is getting very disturbing to me the things that are going on with national government.

There still is no plan on how to save the lives of interpreters of Afghanistan. They are going to be put out like last night’s trash if we do not protect them.

The latest is that the chief of staff said that, “We are working on it.” Well, the September 11th withdraw day for our military is coming closer and closer.

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I may be repeating myself here, but a thought about South Korea came to my head right now.

I had a day off from work, and a courier driver invited me to ride with him up to the DMZ zone. (Demilitarized zone.)

I was excited to do that. Never been up there. We headed out and along the way we came to some rice paddy fields. The driver told me,”Let’s have some fun.” I wasn’t sure what he meant, but we came up on a old man carrying two buckets on his shoulders with the help of a strap across his back.

My driver said, “Let’s give him a spin.” Again, I was too naive to know what was coming next. He told me to lean out of the jeep and tap the old man’s bucket on his left side.

I did that, and the man spun around and fell to the ground. I looked in horror, while my driver laughed his head off.

The old man was covered with the contents of his bucket which was human waste that they use to fertilize their crops.

I looked back to see him shaking his fists in anger. I got very angry with the driver and his thought was, “He’s only a gook!”

We finally got to the DMZ. The driver went off to deliver his packages. He left right on the edge of the DMZ. There were soldiers there with guns, and they were observing the other side of the DMZ, which is enemy territory.

They allowed me to use their binoculars to look across. I could see a North Korean soldier looking back at me.

I asked the soldier if I should wave. He said, “NO!” That guy would rather see you dead then to wave at you.

This excerpt from the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, and many more are in the book.

Be sure to come back to read more excerpts.

Better yet… Go to the top of this page and click on the subscribe button. When you do that all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

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Last bed check for this week…. How are you doing? Did you have some not so fun things happen while you were deployed?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,195 fellow veterans here who have your back.

However, if your memories are getting the best of 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 let your bad memories overcome you!

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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Drugs and alcohol Pull Down Many Military While Serving Their Country

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Military news…

The German military has to deal with a very German problem: What to do with 65,000 cans of beer at its base in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan? In this amazing story about our NATO ally, about the enormous quantity of alcohol that Germany wants to withdraw from the country before the scheduled departure date for coalition troops on September 11. There would be much less around if only American troops could help um, get rid of the booze.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has a baller home worth nearly $3 million

Did you know that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has a baller home worth nearly $3 million? The military takes us on a grand tour of the retired Army general’s 7-bedroom 7-bathroom, 5-car garage home, with heated floors in the master bath.

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Yes, the Marines have to learn the correct way to open and close doors. That is, if you are a Marine sentry guarding the White House, where opening doors is one of many duties they must execute with robot-like precision. In this story, James Clark takes us behind the scenes of what it’s like to prepare for the most public parade ground on the planet, where even opening a door has to be done with style.

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I remember when I was a recruit. That was 65 years ago. I was only 18 and super naive.

The military made me into a man. I learned discipline. I learned honor and country. I learned that there are brothers to protect as they protect me.

I learned some things the hard way.

I had never left my home state of oregon. When I was deployed to South Korea, I was pretty much in shock.

Total different culture. Totally different the way the people looked.

One thing I learned quickly is to question people before you move forward. I had one incident that had me grow up overnight.

I came into Camp Red Cloud in South Korea, and was lost, of course. They directed me to my quinsite hut, and I started to unpack.

About half way through two guys came in looking like players for the 49er’s.

I was guessing this was a hazing. I was very wrong. These two guys came up and shock my hand to welcome me to Camp Red Cloud. They were very friendly and polite.

The next night, they invited me to go with them to the Camp bar. I thought it was a good idea to say yes, so I could be a part of the group.

We got to the bar, and they bought me a couple of beers. Then oneof them went up to the bar and ordered three drinks. He brought them to our table and said, “Drink up!”

I had no idea what kind of drink it was. I was gray and ugly.

I had a sip, and my head exploded. The other guys laughed, and challenged me to keep drinking with them. Again, wanting to be accepted I took a couple more sips.

After the fourth gulp, I went into a blackout. I never remembered the rest of the evening.

I woke up the next morning lying next to the tire of a deuce and a half truck, doing the dry heaves.

Welcome to camp!!

This is another story from my upcoming book. Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

Keep checking back to see more stories and reports about the progress of the book.

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How is your world spinning? Out of Control? Did you have times when you battled the drinking and drugs that were so available?

You certainly are not alone. Alcohol and drugs were to plentiful in the military.

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 12,100 fellow veterans subscribed to this site, and they all have you back.

However, if you are in a dark world and struggling mightily 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.

Fight back against drugs and alcohol!

I-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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+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.

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
__________________________________
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.