Tag: chaos

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One of the Biggest Battles That A Soldier Faces is Fear

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Military news…

The Pentagon is now calling Russia an ‘acute threat’


‘Russia poses acute threats, as illustrated by its brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.’

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Ukraine crisis aside, China remains the ‘primary challenge’ for the US, experts say

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the immediate concern for global leaders, but the U.S. will continue to focus on China and the Indo-Pacific as its most important competitive arena, international relations experts said.

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NATO steps up defenses over concerns Russia may use chemical attacks
NATO is activating nuclear, biological and chemical defenses in response to concerns that Russia may be preparing a chemical attack on Ukraine, a potential action that the alliance’s top official said Thursday could put neighboring nations at risk.

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North Korea’s latest launch may be a ‘new type’ of intercontinental missile

South Korea answered its northern neighbor’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile test Thursday with a volley of its own as a show of force, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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Review of suicide among troops to focus on Army bases in Alaska, South Korea

An independent review ordered this week by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will seek out ideas to stem the increasing number of suicides among soldiers stationed in Alaska and South Korea, as well as some stateside installations.

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US general: Ukraine resistance highlights need to prepare

Ukraine’s stiff resistance to the Russian invasion, which has turned Moscow’s advance into a grinding war of attrition, has underscored the importance to American allies of the need to be prepared for any eventuality, the top U.S. Army commander in the Pacific said Friday.

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Biden on Russia’s Putin: `This man cannot remain in power’
President Joe Biden on Saturday dramatically escalated his rhetoric against Vladimir Putin, calling for the Russian leader to be removed because of his brutal invasion of Ukraine.

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Sitting on a Military Plane Ready to Fly to the Bay of Pigs

I know of some of the fears you face or have faced as a soldier. I have had my share of scary times while in uniform for my country.

I had put in three years of active duty, and was very near to my discharge date while at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. As a matter of fact the discharge date was just days away.

It seemed like a normal day of “putting in your time,” but then there came a sound that I never want to hear again. It was the intercom in our section of the company I was stationed with saying, “This is an alert.” This is not a drill, all personnel report to headquarters for a briefing right away.”

I couldn’t think of why there would be any problems that serious happening, and still thought it was a drill as I ran towards the headquarters building.

When we all assembled, the commander went to the podium and spoke.

“I am here to inform you that all leaves and weekend passes are concealed. We have received a message from the commanding General of the Army to stand by for a possible mission to the Bay of Pigs. This is a very serious mission, which will put you in combat and in harm’s way. Our unit is being deployed, to help monitor the security of the communications while there. We will serve in the field headquarters of the mission. You have about two hours to go home to pack your full field clothes and equipment. Dismissed!”

That was it. No more explanations or chances to ask questions.

I drove home quickly, packed all my gear in a duffel bag.

I got back to the headquarters, and it looked like pandemonium and chaos had sat in, with soldiers running everywhere.  

A few minutes later everyone had made it there and we were all in formation. The commander then told us to come to attention.

We all headed to buses that were waiting to take us to the military airport on base. When we got there, we unloaded and marched to the area of several planes. They had us board the planes with full gear and field uniforms on. The pilot came on to tell us that we will be in a combat area when we land at the Bay of Pigs.

I sat down in my area, and was holding my weapon (M-1 rifle) between my legs. I was numb with fear and anxiety. I had never thought I would actually be in a conflict where I could die.

The plane started its engines. The plane shook as the engines roared to get up to the speed they needed to get off the ground. It taxied to the runway and stopped.

Then we waited for the pilot to push the throttle. We sat there for what seemed like hours. I could see the fear, in the eyes in the soldiers around me. I was only about twenty years old then, and began to see my life unfold before me. I had thoughts of not coming back. I had thoughts of my loved ones I would never see again.

The plane was shaking from the vibrations of the motors. I said a prayer because it looked like we were going to take off. The plane was moving. However, it was not going done the runway. It was heading back to the area where we boarded.

The pilot came on the intercom and said that the mission had been aborted, and we were going back to our companies.

I felt such relief along with men and women around me who were yelling for joy. We were safe and heading back to our homes.

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I only shared this story because I know some of you have gone through the same thing. You also have been sent into combat, and faced the fear of not coming back. I was very lucky, but many of you actually left the ground in your plane, and headed into harm’s way.

Fear is something that is hard to control. Even the most-brave face it. We all have been there in some capacity.

It could be the doctor’s appointment that has information on your health. It also could be the times when you have to leave your loved ones for any mission. It may be the crises of your marriage when your spouse is tired of going through the pain of wondering if you will come back alive.

Did you know that Jesus faced fear? He even asked God to take away the fear by relieving Him of the cup of the responsibility God had placed on Him. He sweated blood during that prayer. God heard the prayer, but let Jesus go through the fear, pain and agony of going to the cross and dying for you and me. 

I am not making it sound like we shouldn’t be afraid. I know we are quite often. I am not saying you are a bad person if you are afraid of something. We all have our spots where we fear the unknown.

I think that is the key. It is the “unknown.” It’s not knowing what will happen next.

What I have learned from so many times of facing fear is that 99% of what we fear never happens. We just need to give the other 01% over to God.

Is it that simple? I can honestly tell you that it is. God has big shoulders. He wants to take the burdens of our day away from us. We just need to depend on Him to keep His promises and know that He will never put us in a situation that we can’t handle with His help.

IWILL

Facing the unknown in life can be very hard. We aren’t built to take on such scary things at times. We just need to rely on God to see us through the dark clouds we face. He knows which way we need to go to avoid harm.

Think on this

Isn’t it interesting that having fear is what we really need to fear?   

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Checking in on you. How are you doing? Did you face some fears while in the military?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 14,200 veterans on this site who have your back.

Here is what I am asking you to do…please share this site with as many other veterans as you can. It has helped so many.

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If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, 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 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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Panic is High in Afghanistan, Especially at the Kabul Airport

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I told you I would keep you up dating on my SFC friend who is in harms way in Kabul, Afghanistan. The city has been over run. We have all seen the panic at the airport.

i haven’t heard from my friend in two days. Has me worried big time. She is part of the military that is the last in Afghanistan. She is a huge harms way situation. Please pray for her.

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Military news….


The Coast Guard belatedly commemorated its 231st birthday last week with a record offload of illegal drugs.

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For some reason, White House officials still believe the conquering Taliban will settle for a negotiated peace with the collapsing Afghan government, rather than total victory. Then again, when it comes to Afghanistan, U.S. presidents rarely like to face reality.

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The scene at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has devolved into chaos as both Afghan and foreign nationals seek to flee Afghanistan amid the Taliban’s violent campaign to reclaim the country. Social media footage captured at the airport shows hundreds of people on the airport flight line, apparently blocking the take-off of at least one commercial airliner.

The Taliban captured Kabul on Sunday as former President Ashraf Ghani fled to neighboring Tajikistan, leaving Taliban fighters to occupy the presidential palace and mark the return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan almost exactly 20 years after the United States initially invaded the country.

While President Joe Biden has ordered another 1,000 troops to bolster the roughly 5,000 U.S. troops already a the airport to help evacuate Americans who work at the Kabul embassy and some Afghans who have applied for visas, the U.S. embassy in Kabul warned on Sunday that the airport had come under fire amid the Taliban’s push into the city.

“The security situation in Kabul is changing quickly including at the airport,” the embassy said in a statement. “There are reports of the airport taking fire; therefore we are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place.”

The U.S. military’s focus right now is evacuating Americans from Afghanistan.

For Afghans, the prospect of getting a flight to another country is virtually non-existent for the foreseeable future. While Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has claimed that the evacuation from Kabul is “not Saigon” the U.S. government is once again leaving a country as tens of thousands of people in the capital are terrified of retribution from the new regime.

One Kam Air flight was apparently unable to take off because hundreds of people tried to board it.

“The runway of the airport was filled with a constellation of uniforms from different nations,” the New York Times reported. “They joined contractors, diplomats and civilians all trying to catch a flight out of the city. Those who were eligible to fly were given special bracelets, denoting their status as noncombatants.

Despite the panic that has engulfed the country in recent weeks, the Biden administration has held fast to its decision to rapidly withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan amid the worsening security situation there.

“When I became President, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our Forces and our allies’ Forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country’s civil conflict,” Biden said in a statement on Saturday prior to the Taliban’s march on Kabul. “I was the fourth President to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan—two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.”

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The article about Afghanistan is heartbreaking. How could the president not know this would happen, and why hasn’t he been taking people out earlier. Many people will die now because the Taliban have no mercy.

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I shared with you a couple of posts ago, that I was cutting back on my excerpts from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

You can see some of them by searching the archives.

I will be sending the book to my publisher soon.

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What’s happening in your world? Do you have friends still in Afghanistan? Do you worry they will not make it home?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,800 fellow veterans subscribed to this site. What don’t you join them by clicking on the subscribe button at the top of this page. When you do, all future posts will directly to your inbox.

If the days are just too much for you, GETHELP!

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 fear the world.

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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There Could be Big Trouble at the Inauguration. Troops Are There to protect

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This is the last post before the inauguration on Wednesday. I hope there will not be any bad news from that day. I live in Salem, Oregon, which is the state capital of Oregon. Protesters are already starting to show up and they are carrying weapons.

They are peaceful at the moment, but I am afraid they will have plans for Wednesday.

The Capital is well fortified this week. Hopefully the show of force will cause the protesters to stay peaceful.

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In our nation’s capital 25,000 National Guard troops have been called up to protect the capital. That is five times more troops than there are in Afghanistan, and Iraq combined.

High fences have been put up. Windows covered. The congress men and women have been put on alert.

The actual inauguration site is also well fortified. They are only allowing a few people to come, and they will be spaced apart correctly.

This is be the most unusual inauguration in the history of our country.

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I heard a person say, “If they need that many troops there, it must be the wrong person becoming president.”

I ungently ask you not to go to any capitals and protest. There will be clashes, and people hurt.

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I had a great experience with the Oregon National Guard on Thursday. They are doing vaccine shots for the COVID virus at our State fairgrounds, which is in my home city of Salem.

My wife and I went to try to get a dose. There were thousands trying to get into the parking lots. There were directors moving cars in the right direction.

We parked our car and saw people running to a building. We knew that was where they were giving the shots.

We got to the end of the line and I had my walker, because it was going to be a long wait, and could sit down.

I did set down, because the race to get to the building, exhausted me. I also had my Army hat on.

Then out of no where a PFC National Guardsman came through the crowd and told me and my wife to follow him. He took us to a side door and escorted us to a side area where they were giving shots for those who may have handicaps.

We sat down, and five minutes later we got our shots. There were hundreds of people waiting for the shots, and we were done in less than an hour.

Did the walker cause this soldier to feel pity, or was it the Army hat he could see in the mob of people?

I think it was both. It was a brother helping another brother.

When we left there were still people in line outside that were in the line when we were there.

Maybe it was not fair to get moved up in front of so many people. Some of you may think so, but there was a caring trooper that made it all possible.

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How are you doing? Have been able to get your shot? I hope so.

Are you holding up under all this chaos? Does the scene seem to scary right now?

Not to worry, my friend there are over 10,970 fellow veterans here and they all have your back.

If the road is too long and rough GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. It has highly qualified counselors there to help, and it is all free.

Do not take on this crazy world alone!

1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

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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.