National Defense Budget Signed Into Law

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.

We have reached our goal.  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4,480.

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Help us make it to 4,500 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.  

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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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They just passed a new National Defense Budget. See what it includes:

National Defense Budget Signed into Law

President Donald Trump signed the new National Defense Budget for the military. It is a $626 billion budget for defense programs and another 65.7 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Syria, and the war on terrorism.

Highlights:

  • $241.2 billion for operations and maintenance.
  • $46.2 billion for military personnel.
  • $33.9 billion for defense healthcare programs.
  • $15 billion for ballistic missile defense.
  • 10.7 billion for military construction and family housing.

Other good news:

Included in the new National Defense Budget:

  • 2.4 percent increase in base pay and a provision that restricts the President’s ability to reduce it.
  • Expanded protections for victims of sexual assault.
  • Many other new provisions

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It hasn’t been widely known, but there were “trans dressers, way back in the Revolutionary War.

There were many occasions when women dressed like men, and snuck into the military to help fight the war. Some examples:

  • Deborah Sampson. In May of 1782 Sampson took the name of Robert Shurtliff, and impersonated a man while serving with the 4th Massachusetts regiment. She was wounded on July 3, 1782. It was not until Oct. 25, 1783 that Sampson’s true identity was discovered when she contracted a brain fever. She was then discharged from the military.
  • Sally St. Clair masqueraded as a man so she could follow her lover into war. She was killed on October 9th 1779. It was only then that it was discovered she was a woman.

There are many more stories similar to these. Women fought alongside the men and no one knew.

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If you are a veteran and are struggling. You are not alone. Veterans like myself care for you. We want the best for you. Never give up. Never think you are not worth anything.

Life is tough enough in this world. Do not pile more burdens on yourself.

If you need help right now call:

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!

 

 

Soldier Did The Delivery of wife’s Baby in Car

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.

We have reached our goal.  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4,330.

Help us make it to 4,500 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.  

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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 a warm fuzzy story about a soldier who delivered his own baby. 

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Soldier Delivered Daughter at Fort Drum Gates After Base Hospital Turned Wife Away

When Brittany Kennedy showed up at the hospital in labor last Monday night, she was told she wasn’t dilated enough to have her baby and was sent back home to the Fort Drum Army base.

Less than an hour later, her husband—U.S. Army Sgt. Preston Kennedy — delivered their baby girl in the couple’s car at a Fort Drum entrance gate. The couple’s other four children remained in the back seat of their Dodge Durango – one of them fast asleep during the whole event.

“I still can hardly believe it,’ Brittany Kennedy, 29, said this weekend. “I had a baby inside a car! And I’m so proud of my husband – the first time we had a child he nearly passed out in the delivery room.”

Brittany Kennedy wasn’t due to have her baby until Jan. 25, but her labor pains started Monday, Jan 8. By late afternoon, the couple decided to go to the hospital. They got their other four children into the car, and made the 25-minute drive to Watertown.

At the hospital, Brittany Kennedy said she was examined, but sent home because her labor hadn’t progressed enough. She said she questioned the decision, but decided the experts knew best. She said she had had four children already, and felt like she knew her body.

“As we started to drive back, I had a feeling we weren’t going to make it home before the baby came,” she said. “But Preston assured me I was probably just nervous and disappointed.”

The couple, who are from Texas originally, stopped at a Taco Bell drive-thru in Watertown to get their other four children some food.

As they got back on the highway, Brittany Kennedy remembers the pain intensifying. She pushed her seat back, and her young son placed his small hand on her forehead to comfort her. As they drove, she told her husband she felt the urge to push.

“I told her no – don’t push, just breathe – until we can at least get home,” said Preston Kennedy, 29. “I was driving, and then all of a sudden I heard a pop and her water broke. We made it to the Fort Drum gates, and I pulled over and stopped the car.”

He called out to the soldier at the gate to call an ambulance. Then he got in the front seat and propped one of his wife’s legs on the dashboard radio and the other on the car door.

“I’m thinking ‘oh my God, not right now,’ ” Preston Kennedy said. “I was really nervous, but I knew I had to stay calm. I could see the baby’s head crowning, and then it was coming out in my palm. And then she was out – and crying!”

Looking back, he said he acted instinctively.

“I’ve been in the delivery room for our four other children,” he said. “And when you are in the military, you learn to handle stressful situations calmly and with poise. So that really helped me.”

At some point during the whirlwind delivery, Preston Kennedy called his platoon sergeant Justin Foster. When he told him he was at the gate delivering his baby, Foster at first didn’t believe him, but he quickly realized it was true.

“I could hear his wife screaming in pain,” Foster recalled, and just a few seconds later he heard the baby start to cry. He told Preston to wrap the baby up in something warm, and turn up the heat while waiting for the ambulance. (The high that day was only 36 degrees.)

Preston Kennedy said another solider who had come by during the delivery offered his coat to wrap the baby in. Within a few minutes, the Fort Drum ambulance and fire department were there.

Brittany Kennedy returned to the hospital and this time was admitted. She stayed until Wednesday morning.

Bella was six pounds, 13 ounces and 18 inches long. She joins Preston Jr., 2; Paytin, 6; Kianna, 8 and Ananda, 10, at home.

Preston, who is a field artillery tactical database systems specialist with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, is now at home helping his wife. When the 1st Brigade posted his successful delivery on their Facebook page, congratulatory messages came in from everywhere.

“The whole thing just happened so fast,” Preston Kennedy told Syracuse.com. “It’is still hard for me to believe I actually delivered my own baby– and in my car!”

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This is why we love all our military and veterans. God bless this family.

If you are a veteran and currently serving, stand strong. If you are hurting and battling anxiety, fear, depression, war wounds, addictions, etc. Know that we care!! Know that we will help you whenever you need it. Just make a comment below and we will try to connect you with the right people to get your problem solved.

If you need immediate help call:

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!

Teacher Blasts the Military; Rebuttal Here

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.

We have reached our goal.  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4,270.

Help us make it to 4,500 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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Recently a school teacher went on a rant on how horrible the military people were. His blast on the military has a strong rebuttal by Mark Johnson a California Superior Judge, a retired Army Colonel and a Iraq veteran.

+Sorry about the empty frames, couldn’t get them to download.

+Warning! Strong language is used. 

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“Think about the people you know who are over there. Your freaking stupid Uncle Louie or whatever. They’re dumb shits. They’re not high-level bankers. They’re not academic people. They’re not intellectual people. … They’re the frickin’ lowest of the low.”

These are the deeply misinformed words of Greg Salcido, a local California city councilman and high-school teacher speaking to a student in a video that has now gone viral.

ADVERTISING

I am one of those dumbshits. On Oct.1, 2013, I retired from the Army after 28 years of active and reserve service.

To Salcido, I have this to say: I had teachers like you, blowhards who spout unchallenged opinions to captive high-school kids. There was one teacher in particular, Mr. Raymore. Like you, he taught history. It was 1974, and I was a sophomore at Westminster High School.

He accused our Vietnam veterans of the oft-repeated atrocities. They were all “murderers” and “baby killers.” If challenged, I suppose Mr. Raymore would have wrapped himself in the flag and said, as you have, that his comments were “free speech.”

But he wasn’t exercising free speech. Neither were you. The constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech allows people to speak freely so others can decide to accept or reject their words. The founders did not draft it so a teacher could mock a student without repercussions, particularly one dependent on that teacher for a grade. Freedom of speech never gave you the right to call that student’s father and uncle — Iraq War and Desert Storm veterans — the “lowest of the low.”

The students laughed. The student you insulted sat there and said nothing.

I did the same thing in 1974.

Vietnam War Author and retired Army Col. Harry Summers, speaking at a college campus in the post-Vietnam era, was once accused of atrocities in Vietnam by a man in the audience claiming to be a veteran. David Zabecki, a friend of Summers, recounted his response. “Shame on you, you rotten son of a bitch!” Summers said. “I didn’t do those things, and I don’t know anyone who did. I didn’t need the Army to teach me right from wrong — my mother taught me that much.”

I wish I had said that to Mr. Raymore. I wish that student said those words to you.

Today I have a second chance.

I have served with those dumbshits who cannot win a war. They are the men and women who fight and die to allow you the luxury of spouting opinions. You are talking about Americans who died in places most people only read about: Normandy, Omaha Beach, Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Our military is not comprised of the “lowest of the low,” however you define that term. The military screens applicants for intellectual ability using the Armed Forces Qualification Test and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Test. The military also evaluates candidates on a variety of areas including physical and mental fitness.

The data does not support what you said.

According to October 2017 findings of the Washington D.C. based Heritage Foundation and the Army Times, only 9.7 of the 33 million Americans between 17 and 24 meet the Army’s enlistment standards. Less than one-third, or 31%, are eligible to enlist. The vast majority of candidates are rejected for reasons such as low test scores, failure to meet weight and fitness standards, mental health and medical issues and substance abuse.

But even if the military was accepting those you judge unworthy, so what? Willingness to serve says a great deal about a man or woman. It speaks of character and a willingness to belong to an organization built on selfless sacrifice.

Your comments imply people of your caliber could do better.

I do not want you. I’ll take a private who scores in the lowest percentile any day to an arrogant councilman who thinks he is better than the rest of us. I would never trust a man like you guarding my flank.

The men and women you callously dismiss are the best of America. I know. I am alive today because of the courage of the young men and women of our military. You do not seem to understand that.

And do you really think the United States military cannot win a war? You said our military has not defeated “guys wearing frickin robes and chaklas” and lost to Vietnamese “throwing rice.”

What you miss is that wars are not won on the battlefield. They are won at home, politically. If the national will is ambivalent, our military personnel find themselves dying to take the same turf over and over depending on the current mood of the civilian leadership. And eventually the politicians and the public lose interest in the fight and most of our soldiers return home. Some do not.

Evan Wright nailed it in Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War: “Five years into this war, I am not always confident most Americans fully appreciate the caliber of the people fighting for them, the sacrifices they have made, and the sacrifices they continue to make. The young troops I profiled in Generation Kill, as well as the other men and women in uniform I’ve encountered in combat zones throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, are among the finest people of their generation. We misuse them at our own peril.”

Councilman Salcido, I certainly hope you will educate yourself then apologize to the student and the public. Somehow I think you won’t. Guys like you never do.

As for Mr. Raymore?

You are a rotten son of a bitch.

M. E. (Mark) Johnson (Mark) Johnson is a California Superior Court Judge. He presided over the Riverside County Veterans Court for five years supervised the recovery of combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other military related mental health issues. He is a retired colonel of the United States Army Reserve, an Iraq War veteran, and a graduate of the United States Army War College.

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I am a veteran, but I am also a retired teacher. This blast of the military by this teacher imbarrases me. Please know he is not the typical teacher. He is a sick and very wrong teacher.

If you are a veteran, and are struggling with PTSD, war wounds, depression, etc. Please know we have your six. If you need immediate help call:

1-800-273-8255

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Doug Bolton