Category: struggling

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As a Veteran, You should Never Feel Like a Failure. You Served Your Country

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Military news…

During recent testing at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, the Army tried out a new 20mm Gatling-style machine gun for the very first time.

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The Marine Corps is being really shady by not releasing public documents that lay out the exact charges it leveled against Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, the 17-year infantry officer who ignited a firestorm of controversy in August after publicly criticizing military leaders.

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Speaking of fire, bravo to the Marine Corps photographer who managed to make this picture of an M777 howitzer look like the depths of hell.

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Ok…Here is another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

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Are You Trying to Finish the Race With a Broken Leg?

You have spent several years of your life serving your country. You have had many months of stress, and pain. You may be still in the trenches, or you may be already out in the private sector.

As the time gets near to facing the outside world, separate from the military, are you ready? Do you have a plan? If you are already in the private sector, have you attempted to fit in, or are you hiding from others?

What I have said here doesn’t fit most of you, but there are some who are having difficult times thinking about the future. You worry about the new approach to living. You were used to the strictness, and regimented type atmosphere, and fear that this approach will not be too acceptable in your new environment. Then you are facing a world where you make all the decisions. Some of us do not do well with no one in authority over us.

In the private sector, we have to find a new normal. The first goal at this time is to release the past. The second goal is to plan for the present. The third goal is to look to the future.

Treat each new day, in the private sector, as if there was just a new fallen snow and it has provided a white blanket for you to walk on to form a path that only you take and others follow.  

After we join the private sector, we expect our lives to suddenly be happy, trouble free, and victorious. We forget that victories come only after we fight battles and win. 

There shouldn’t be this barrier between you and what you are trying to accomplish. It is tough enough to survive in this world without other factors digging into your thinking process.

Having stress about facing the new world is like having a broken leg and trying to finish a race. It can be done, but the pain, and agony is almost unbearable.

Help yourself by taking time before you leave the military to study the ways of cooperation’s. Learn how to adjust to the new status quo. Don’t go into a new situation cold turkey.

Read up on life after the military. There are books that can guide you to walk the right path to help ease you into the new world.

Go to night school and get some college credits. There are also online courses you can take no matter where you are in the world. My son was able to get two Masters Degrees while in the military, and this helped him get a very nice job when he retired.

My first few months after I got out of the military were pretty stressful because I had a family. I had to provide, and there weren’t too many jobs to be had. I had to work at jobs I didn’t really like. Some were down right degrading, like the story I told you about working on the “chain gang,” railroad crew.

But I slowly adjusted and eventually found a job in teaching that was very good for not only providing for my family, but was rewarding as well.

Take on this world with vigor, and courage. It is almost as daunting in the private sector as it is in the deserts of Afghanistan. You are a brave soldier for facing that challenge, and I am sure you will be just as brave in the private sector. You will achieve your goals and be a very productive citizen, who has a big feather in their cap. The feather of valor, and commitment, because of your time you served your country.

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There will be more excerpts in the future. Keep coming back to read them. Better yet… go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

Checking in on you… How are things going? Not too good? Does it seem like that are too many storms in your life?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 13,330 fellow veterans on this site who have your back.

If the storms are just too fierce, 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 the know you are OK.

1-800-272-8255…texting 838255.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never fosaken.

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.

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Too Many Veterans are Harassed Once They Get Into Civilian Jobs

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Military news…

A British paratrooper made himself at home in Atascadero, California on Wednesday when he crashed through the roof of a suburban kitchen during a training jump. The soldier hit the tile roof and fell right through, prompting a neighbor to call 9-1-1. Miraculously, the paratrooper suffered only minor injuries.

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Army Gen. Austin ‘Scott’ Miller, the longest-serving U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has stepped down from his post.  Miller’s exit marks another symbolic milestone as the U.S. prepares to wrap up its part in the decades-long conflict.

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Veterans Suffer Hearing Loss at a Higher Rate Than Their Peers
The American Academy of Audiology estimates that more than one million U.S. military veterans receive disability compensation for service-connected hearing loss. In fact, hearing loss is the number one service-connected disability amongst veterans, with former military members experiencing 30% greater hearing loss than the general population.

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Show us all the amazingly awful tattoos you got in the military. There was a call for images of readers’ fantastically trashy hats that they may or may not have gotten after a bender with the last of the money left in their wallets. There’s no shame or judgment here, and whether the ink is of a zombie Hello Kitty wearing a flak jacket or a Teletubby riding a tank, we are here to applaud it.

Read more about this proud military tradition, and find out how to submit your own, by checking out James’ entertaining piece here.Veterans Suffer Hearing Loss at a Higher Rate Than Their Peers
The American Academy of Audiology estimates that more than one million U.S. military veterans receive disability compensation for service-connected hearing loss. In fact, hearing loss is the number one service-connected disability amongst veterans, with former military members experiencing 30% greater hearing loss than the general population.



Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi has been fired as the Inspector General of the Marine Corps for failing to fully prepare his Marines and sailors ahead of a training exercise last July in which nine service members drowned when their amphibious assault vehicle sank.
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But Castellvi may be only the first of several general officers to be disciplined over the sinking. Learn more by reading Jeff’s first-rate story here.“I looked back and saw that the rear end of my right wing was all in flames. ‘Oh, man, I’m hit!’ I yelled.” That’s from Lt. Col. Rob Sweet, the Air Force’s last serving prisoner of war, who retired on Saturday after 33 years of service. In this story by yours truly, I write about the time the A-10 attack plane pilot was shot down over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. Sweet was then held captive for 19 days, released and went on to mentor countless young airmen during his long career.
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Another Excerpt from, Signs of Hope for the Military. In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

There is Never a Time When You Don’t Have a choice

In the military you are faced with many orders. Go here, Do this. You expect that in the military and since you decided to enlist, you should live the life that has been given to you there.

However, out in civilian life it is a different story, People will also be barking at you to do this and that.

I have hear people say, “I had to do it because I didn’t have a choice.”

There is always a choice! We never have to accept our fate because we feel we have no choice.

We need to acknowledge that we have the same rights of others around us.

Have you had a boss threaten you if you didn’t do what he asked? It is OK to give out directions, but never OK to threaten. The people in the private sector need to realize that they are all working together just like a unit in the military. They need to respect each employee, and have their back when they need it.

When I first came out I was treated pretty badly by a boss who didn’t like any “youngsters,” trying to infiltrate his group of workers he loved to work with. He did whatever he could to make my day miserable.

When there was a job that was somewhat dangerous, he would make me do it. When it was time for a break, he wouldn’t let me sit with the rest of the men. I let it happen by my own choice, because I didn’t have any other way to find a job quick enough to provide for my family That was with me at the college I was going to.

So I fell for the trap, “I didn’t have a choice.”

Today, you have choices, You have your rights. You can respectfully disagree and not fear of losing your job.

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There is much more to this excerpt so keep coming back to check the site out. BETTER YET! Go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe,” When you do all future posts will directly to you inbox.

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Wellness check… How are you doing? Have you had a boss have no mercy for you?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 12,480 fellow veterans here who have your back.

But if it is still happening to you and you are overwhelmed, 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 the know you are OK.

Never be pushed around anymore.

1-800-273-8255, 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.

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Racism is Not Much of a Problem in the Military

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Military news…

The military’s got a long list of more important things to worry about than ‘wokeness’ and ‘critical race theory, which reminds readers that the national security universe does not revolve around whatever Fox News host Tucker Carlson thinks of it. For example, have you heard of private housing contractors forcing military families to live in mold and rodent-infested houses? Yep, that’s a thing, and it’s still going on.

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A private donor is funding a National Guard deployment and nobody’s sure if it’s legal or not. South Dakota governor Kristi Noem said on Tuesday that up to 50 of her state’s Guardsmen are deploying to Texas to help secure the border with Mexico. Apparently a Tennessee billionaire is paying for it, which has national security experts and legal scholars scratching their heads.

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Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who led the Pentagon at the start of the Global War on Terrorism in 2001, has died at 88. Rumsfeld was SecDef when Jeff first started out reporting on the military, so no one can summarize better, or more succinctly, than Jeff can Rumsfeld’s outsized impact on America’s national security more than 15 years after he left office.

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Sixty Army special operators who fought in the Battle of Mogadishu 28 years ago are having awards they’d previously received for their heroic actions upgraded to Silver Stars and Distinguished Flying Crosses.The 15-hour battle, now known to history as ‘Black Hawk Down,’ saw 18 soldiers killed and dozens wounded in some of the heaviest fighting since the Vietnam War.

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There is no hiding the fact that Afghanistan is collapsing in real time and as a result the country will look remarkably similar to how it appeared on Sept. 11, 2001. The Taliban control most of the country, and are now just a two-hour drive from the capital, Kabul.

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One thing I really remember about time in the military was the “hurry up and wait” slogan.

I can’t tell you how many times I had to wait for new equipment to come. I struggled with the old beaten up equipment far too long.

Another thing I remember about the military was the closeness the soldiers had. There were no barriers of race or creed. We were all brothers working together to protect our country.

These current thoughts of training the military about racism, is not a waste, but the soldiers already know about racism, and do not use it at anytime.

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These thoughts are from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

Keep coming back to hear about more parts of the book. Better yet… Go to the top of this page and click on “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will directly to your inbox.

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Friday bed check. How are you doing? Do you wonder if you will ever get rid of the nightmares. Do you still grieve over losing a buddy?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 12,400 fellow veterans here on this site, who have your back.

Of course it is just to hard for you now, 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 the know you are OK.

Do not try to take on this crazy world alone!

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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+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.