General Patton Had a Love/Hate Relationship

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  

We Made it to 5,000! Never dreamed we would do that. Thank you so much for the support. It also excites us that you are supporting veterans. That is our theme here right now. 

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Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

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Military News for today.  Great stories.

This first story is very unusual in the it is about the famous General Patton’s grandson.

Ben Patton never was in the military like his grandfather General Patton, but he is doing whatever he can to support veterans through his documentaries that cover PTSD in veterans.

He was interviewed by Andrew Carroll about his contributions.

Your grandfather George Patton Jr. I one of the most famous generals in American history.  You father was a major general who served with Vietnam. That’s a unique way to grow up. 

My father used to say, “We’re not better or worse than anyone, we are just different.” We did have to act a certain way, behave appropriately, and have a service-oriented mind.

You didn’t join the military  was there pressure for you to do so? 

I think I felt pressure from history. I had a strong, but somewhat challenging relationship with my father. However, I always felt he wanted me to find my own path to lead an authentic life.

What inspired you to become a documentary filmmaker and teacher? 

I got interested in film. I wanted to find a way, beyond just going to veteran’s events and representing my family, to apply those talents and skills to the service of veterans and military families.

That led you to do the work of helping those veterans captured on film? 

Yes. Initially I was focused on combat veterans. They had too many things that the just couldn’t articulate in a normal conversation. We found that film could be a wonderful conduit for a veteran to express something.

Your grandfather won lots of glory but was criticized for slapping two soldier fighting battle fatigued.

I’m not an apologist for my grandfather. I would say that generation of the military just didn’t understand the phenomenon of PTSD.

What makes your work different from other PTSD programs? 

There are wonderful writing programs and theater programs , but there something about them being able to create narrative in this way. They can observe themselves in a video but also participate in them.  From this they can take control of their lives.

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The Army’s New Camouflage Will Hide Soldiers And Tanks In Plain Sight Wherever They Are

The U.S. Army is moving forward on next-generation concealment technology to ensure that American soldiers can hide in plain sight.

Fibrotex has built an Ultra-Light Camouflage Netting System that can be used to conceal soldier’s positions, vehicles, tanks, and aircraft. The new “camouflage system will mask soldiers, vehicles, and installations from state-of-the-art electro-optical sensors and radars,” the company said Thursday in a press release sent to Business Insider.

Fibrotex has been awarded a contract to supply this advanced camouflage to conceal troops from night vision, thermal imaging, radar and more.

Soldiers, vehicles, and other relevant systems can just about disappear in snowy, desert, urban, and woodland environments, according to the camouflage maker.

The new program aims to replace outdated camouflage that protect soldiers in the visible spectrum but not against more advanced, high-end sensors. ULCANS “provides more persistent [infrared], thermal & counter-radar performance,” Fibrotex explained.

The Army has awarded Fibrotex a 10-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract valued at $480 million. Full-scale production will begin next year at a manufacturing facility in McCreary County, Kentucky, where the company expects to create and secure hundreds of new jobs in the coming years.

“Today, more than ever, military forces and opposition groups are using night vision sensors and thermal devices against our troops,” Eyal Malleron, the CEO of Fibrotex USA, said in a statement.

“But, by using Fibrotex’s camouflage, concealment and deception solutions, we make them undetectable again, allowing them to continue keeping us safe.”

The result came from roughly two years of testing at the Army’s Natick Soldier Systems Center, where new technology was tested against the Army’s most advanced sensors.

Fibrotex noted that the netting is reversible, creating the possibility for two distinctly different prints for varied environments. And while outsiders can’t see through the netting, those on the inside have an excellent view of their surroundings.

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A few personal thoughts for you. Are you having trouble with your daily routine? Are your nights full of restless, sleepless hours?

You are not alone!! Many veterans battle these problems.  This path will lead to a dead end my friends. Get help.! Seek support!!

You can always make a comment here and we will help you in any way we can. You can also call the support line at:

(877-247-4645)

Remember

You are never alone.

You are never forgotten

You are never unloved.

And above all….Never, ever, give up!

 

A firing for Harassing Student with USMC Shirt

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 4,000 new subscribers. That was a huge increase in 2017. We only had 1,000 two years ago. The year 2017 helped us to make it to 4,000. Now in 2018 we are racing to 5,000. 

We have reached our goal of 4,000!  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4, 600.

WE HAVE A WINNER!! An email has been sent to our winner! New prizes for the 5,000th subscriber.

Help us make it to 5,000 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post and click on FEEDBLITZ , and the posts will come straight to your inbox.                            ____________________________________________________________

Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

______________________________________________________________

This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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Here is the news I saw today:

+Harassing people is common everywhere, but you would not expect it from a teacher.  

(Strong language)

The Teacher Who Bullied A Student For Wearing A USMC Sweatshirt Has Been Fired

The high school history teacher from El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, Calif. who famously called military service members the “lowest of our low” earlier this year and harrassing students who support the military, has finally been fired.

The El Rancho school board voted Tuesday to fire Gregory Salcido, 49, following numerous complaints about his behavior in the classroom on Jan. 19, when he was secretly filmed  harrassing a 17-year-old student for wearing a U.S. Marine Corps sweatshirt.

“They don’t have electricity,” said Salcido. “We have all our freakin’ night vision goggles and all that kind of stuff, and we can’t freakin’ control these dudes wearing robes and [inaudible]. Because we’ve got a bunch of dumbshits over there. Think about the people you know over there. Your stupid Uncle Louie or whatever, they’re dumbshit.”

Incredibly, this wasn’t the first time Salcido was cited for courting controversy (or being what I would call a total asshole). He allegedly threatened a student in 2010 and “smacked” a student in 2012, both of which got him placed on administrative leave.

During the January incident, Salcido railed against military members as not being “talented people,” while ordering the 17-year-old he was harassing to never again wear the Marines sweatshirt, which he was sporting to show pride in his family’s service.

“Don’t you ever bring the freakin’ military into this classroom,” Professor Douche Nozzle continued. “I don’t understand why we let the freakin’ military guys recruit you at school. We don’t let pimps come into school. ”

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Overseas Commissaries Caught Charging Military Families Triple For Groceries

U.S. military commissaries in Japan and South Korea have been charging military families triple the going rate on a number of produce items in their stores, according to a recent inspector general’s report.

The problem stemmed from a $55.1 million contract to provide fresh fruit and veggies for the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) in the Pacific, which saved the Defense Department $38 million, but simultaneously screwed over families by charging them a 101% markup on green cabbage and an 82% markup on mushrooms, among other examples.

To add insult to injury, the overpriced produce wasn’t even all that good, when compared with what buyers could have gotten at local markets, according to customer surveys.

Oh, and did I mention that bok choy — a type of produce originally from China — was being sold in the commissary for 372% more than usual? 372 PERCENT.

I’m not sure if that bok choy was gold-plated or something, but making your customers pay $4.20 for something they could have found out in town for 63 cents seems like a bit of a dick move.

The IG investigation found that DeCA didn’t effectively oversee the contractor at various stages in the supply chain. And although the contract required that “high volume core items” — like apples, bananas, carrots and two dozen other goods — be priced 30% lower than local Japanese markets, they were only found to be about 14% cheaper.

The director of the Defense Commissary Agency agreed with all the report’s recommendations, which is great, but the report didn’t offer any timeline on when families will stop being hit with a big green weenie that’s normally reserved for only those wearing a uniform.

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I enjoy sharing these little tidbits of news. I will be continuing to do this as long as you like it. Let me know.   

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If you are a veteran, or currently in the military. We have you six here. We are veterans, and know your pain. Never let the dark side pull you under. Seek help if you need it. There is always help at:

1-800-273-8255

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Remember:

You are never  alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!