Category: wrong direction

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Have You Ever Done Something in the Military You Are Not Proud of…Me Too

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Military news…

US Says Russia Has a List of Ukrainians to Kill or Detain After an Invasion

U.S. officials told the U.N. human rights chief of “credible information” that Russian forces have a list of Ukrainian citizens to be killed or sent to detention camps following an invasion and occupation of the country.

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Russia launches full-scale attack on Ukraine

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Pentagon worried the ‘Nintendo Generation’ can’t survive boot camp because their bones are weak

“The ‘Nintendo Generation’ soldier skeleton is not toughened by activity prior to arrival, so some of them break more easily.”

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Here’s what those mysterious white ‘Z’ markings on Russian military equipment may mean

‘They’re different from what you normally see on Russian vehicles.’

(No actual proof, but it is said they have a “Z” to separate them from the Ukraine equipment, which looks very similar. )

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Biden: US troops will not fight in Ukraine

“Our forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine.”

(Not happy with this.)

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Generation Z has a simple message when it comes to World War III: Please don’t draft me.

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Russian naval assault on Ukraine could mean greater control over waters shared by US Allies Russian attacks on Ukraine from the Black Sea ultimately could give Moscow more control over an area transited by U.S. and allied naval ships under normal circumstances.

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‘Russian warship, go f— yourself’: Guards who died refusing to surrender will receive top honors, Ukraine says

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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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Really?

Has there been a time in the military that you weren’t proud of? I had an incident that still bothers me to this day. On one of my days off in Korea I was invited to ride with a courier to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone.)

I thought it would be very interesting, so I accepted the invite. The driver drove pretty fast in the open area. I was white knuckling it much of the way. We did slow down when we went through some villages. The people saw us and yelled at us because they didn’t want us there. This was hard to understand since we were saving them from the enemy. I was glad I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

We came to a farm area which had thousands of acres of rice paddies. In each field there was a deep hole with human waste in it. The people used their own human waste to fertilize the fields. We also saw the local farmers dipping the “honey buckets,” into the hole to get some of the waste out.

I saw an older farmer walking along the road with along pole across his shoulder that had a bucket on either side full of the waste. The driver dared me to spin the farmer with my hands. At that time of my life, I did stupid things to be accepted.

I reached out as far as I could as we passed the farmer. I caught one of the buckets, and this caused the farmer to completely spin around. I looked back and the farmer was screaming at us with human waste dripping from him.

The driver said, “Welcome to the club!” I guess there was a group of people that thought they were special being the one that knocked a defenseless old man down.

I immediately felt remorse for what I had done. I found out I was taken advantage by a guy, who hated the Korean people and did whatever he could to make their lives miserable. That made me even more remorseful.

I learned from this that you need to respect others and what they are doing to help their families. I realized in retrospect that if someone asks you to do something you know isn’t right for you to do it isn’t a group of people you want to be a part of.

We got to the DMZ. What a depressing place that was! It was a very small outpost with guards watching the North Korean soldiers on the other side of the DMZ.

They let me look through some powerful binoculars and I could see a North Korean soldier looking through his binoculars back at me. It was a very odd feeling. He was just another guy like me, but he would probably shoot me if he could.

Today, there is still strife between the two countries, and North Korea seems to be taking on the world on their own.  There is still the DMZ. There are still soldiers looking at each other through binoculars. Nothing much has changed except the lives of those who had to serve in Korea.

They had to come home to try to cope in the private sector. They had/have to adjust just to survive.

I can say that it is hard to block out some of the negative aspects of our military service. It is hard to change thoughts from the active duty mind-set to the different world of the private sector. It took me a while to clear my mind and concentrate on the future. I had to realize that I needed to move on and start a new adventure. I needed to think about the next day of my life and all the days after that instead of dwelling on days gone by.

I never regretted serving my country. I would do it again if I were able. I’ve learned that I just need to be thankful that I have another day on this earth and should seek what I can do to better my life and the lives of others.

IWILL

We have all done some things we are not proud of. We need to correct any wrong doings we have done, by asking for forgiveness or making sure we show others the negative consequences of what we do to others.

Some soldiers, returning to the private sector, have issues that stay with them from their time in the service. I understand this. I have had to re-group myself. The key is to do something about it. Don’t hide your feelings. Get the right help to get you back on track in life. There are many resources in the back of this book to help you on your way down your new path.

Think about this

Isn’t it sad how people think they’re cool when they bully or belittle someone?

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There will be more excerpts coming. Come back often 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.

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Checking in on you…How are you doing? Are you struggling with memories?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,9010 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If you are battling mentally, because of your love for others, but it isn’t working, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number that you can call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will no hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Our Country is Reeling From All The Mistakes Our Government is Doing

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Military news…

In 2017, a Marine Corps veteran named Brian Easley took desperate action to get his VA disability payment: He walked into a bank with a backpack which he said was filled with C-4 explosives.

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“With the mass airlift complete, U.S. policymakers no longer have an excuse to avoid contemplating the lessons of a 20-year war riven by hubris, flawed assumptions, and deceit.” That’s from national security expert Daniel R. DePetris.

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“What inspires me as a leader is just the men and women that serve alongside me every single day” That’s from Capt. Shaina Coss, the first woman to lead elite Army Rangers in combat. But apart from her gender, Coss’ journey to commando commander was typical of most Ranger officers, she said.

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A Marine veteran allegedly killed four people in Florida, including a 3-month old baby, and then told police that God told him to do it. Bryan James Riley, 33, also reportedly wore body armor and tried to lure police officers into a kill zone.

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“I don’t wanna close my eyes without feeling like I lived.” That’s from a March Instagram post by Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class Maxton Soviak, who received a posthumous promotion and Purple Heart on Tuesday after being killed alongside 12 other U.S. service members in a suicide bombing attack in Kabul, Afghanistan last month.

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Still so much controversy on how president Biden is running the country. I wish he would do the right thing and resign. I would hate to have him with a impeached tag on his forehead.

From his terrible mistake in Afghanistan, and his disrespectful checking of his watch after each of the heroes coffins came out of the plane.

One Gold Star parent said that was the most disrespectful thing he had ever seen.

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Sorry!

I know you are missing my excerpts from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

My publisher Bookbaby has suggested I should not share so many excerpts from the book. They think I should tease you.

You can find many of them by going through the archives.

Better yet… Just 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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What is happening in your world. Too many things distracting you? Do you fear sleeping at night?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 12,960 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If there is just too much pulling you down like a huge magnate, 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.

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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A Veteran Shares His Frustration of What the Leadership of Our Country is Doing

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Military news…

What follows is not from me. It is an opinion from a veteran. I agree with everything he says:

‘White hot rage’: America’s veterans are ashamed of Biden’s ugly retreat from Afghanistan

Last week was a searing experience for many veterans. We watched a dissembling commander in chief smear Afghans who fought and died for their country (the Afghan National Security Forces suffered more casualties this year alone than the United States did in our 20-year campaign).

We watched him trot out a focus-grouped phrase — “the buck stops here” — while dodging actual responsibility and casting blame everywhere but at his own door. We watched a secretary of Defense mumble about doing our best to rescue Americans and allies caught within the tightening grip of a barbaric enemy.

We watched him trot out a focus-grouped phrase — “the buck stops here” — while dodging actual responsibility and casting blame everywhere but at his own door. We watched a secretary of Defense mumble about doing our best to rescue Americans and allies caught within the tightening grip of a barbaric enemy.

He cautioned the United Kingdom from ever again depending on the decisions of a single ally. Other NATO allies also have questioned the actions of the United States and their ability to rely on us.

If the goal of the Biden administration was to prove that “America is back,” we have established exactly the opposite.

I had the privilege last week to engage with an ad hoc network of Americans coordinating to help individual Afghans navigate the gauntlet to safety. One of them, a 28-year-old single woman whose support for America resulted in Taliban visits to her home and threats on her phone, had applied for a special immigrant visa. The State Department lost her application. She traveled with a man who was an SIV visa holder and a family of nine, all with U.S. visas.

Over six interminable hours, we monitored and relayed communications, praying and urging as they reported surging crowds, debilitating heat, Taliban checkpoints and, finally, tear gas and chaos at the airport gate.

The family turned back. A child’s leg was crushed in the crowd. The grandmother fainted from the heat.

Finally, the message from our contact inside, coming after midnight: “We got them!!!” and the note that their voices were “the definition of pure joy.”

This effort ran outside of official channels. Individuals on the ground took personal risk to bend the rules, identifying targets and snatching them into the gates. Other networks of veterans have spun up to assist refugees past Taliban checkpoints using satellite imagery. Dedicated Americans flooded the zone to plug the gaps in a broken government process.

The sacred creed in the combat arms is “no one left behind.” Combat warriors can bear any risk and carry through harrowing odds so long as they know that they will never be abandoned.

Afghan forces fought and died

There were reasonable arguments for leaving Afghanistan. There are valid critiques of the Afghan government and the competence of the National Defense Force. But there can never be an excuse for the casual, wholesale dismissal of people who fought and died alongside us for years. “They didn’t fight for their own country” is a calumny belied by 50,000 ANSDF casualties and by the tens of thousands who served by supporting our operations and working with us to build a civil society.

Anyone who has traveled downrange, relying on that creed, has been horrified by a feckless retreat from a sacred obligation. We withdrew all logistical, technical, operational and intelligence support from the ANSDF, and we messaged relentlessly for months that they were entirely on their own. We stole out of Bagram Airfield in the dark of night. And we pointed at the collapse of morale to say: “See, of course they failed.”

We abandoned a generation of Afghans to the brutality of the Taliban. To their torture, executions, stonings and beheadings. We left them to witness their daughters peeled off as “wives” of mujahedeen.

Veterans are hurting now

I know many veterans who have been shattered and horrified by this past week. My own emotional state has swung from utter despair to white hot rage. I have lashed out at friends. A combat veteran friend spoke of wanting to renounce his citizenship.

Some have compared this to a modern-day Dunkirk. The key difference is that Winston Churchill exhorted a shattered nation to summon the courage and will to persevere through the darkest hour.

Our commander in chief has presented a false choice (our footprint over the past few years has been less than our mission in Djibouti). He has slandered those who risked everything at our side, and he has lied about the presence of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations in country.

We have abandoned our only air base in central Asia, on the doorstep of China, Russia and Iran.

His national security team has ceded initiative to the enemy and stranded our troops and allies in an indefensible position, where a mishap or attack will seal tens of thousands into an Alamo in the Hindu Kush.

If you know a veteran, reach out. Many of us are hurting right now. Many are watching a nation consumed with bread and circuses as they question the costs they paid and wondering whether their fellow citizens were worth it after all.

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Thirteen American military service members were killed and another 18 troops were wounded on Thursday in suicide bombings near Kabul’s international airport in Afghanistan. The two explosions also killed dozens of Afghans and wounded many more. The top American commander in the Middle East believes the Islamic State group is responsible.

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While Biden plans his retaliation, U.S. troops still in Afghanistan are bracing for additional attacks. The attacks may come in the form of rockets, more suicide bombings, or small arms fire, but the U.S. has acquired an unexpected ally in thwarting the attacks. The Taliban.

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My view…

In my view there are three evil forces now in Kabul. The Taliban. Al Qaida, and ISIS. They are all fighting against one another and our troops are right in the middle

I have this deep feeling that the Taliban does not like this and may become an ally with the U.S.

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I need to remind you again that I have stopped sharing excerpts with you from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: IN and Out of the Trenches of life.

If you wish to read some of them you will have to check in the archives to find them.

To avoid missing some excerpts in the future you need to subscribe today. Just go up 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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Checking in…

How are you doing? Are the events in Afghanistan overwhelming you?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12.870 fellow veterans here who have your back.

However, if you are having trouble, GETHELP!!

Here is a toll free number for you to call 24/7.

There are highly qualified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255.

__________________________________

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.