Tough Times for Veterans During the Rat Race of Christmas.

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It has been a rollercoaster ride this whole week. I am beyond tired, but I am going to post anyway.

I have been “running,” all week. Not to the point where I can brag about my step totals, but just going, going, going!

I had two appointments to go to. A trip to the Oregon Coast. A trip to pick up groceries we had ordered, and much more.

It is called the “rat race,” and I am not able to keep up with it. I haven’t done all of my Christmas shopping yet, but I have to do it online. I am on lock down because of the virus. I have too many health problems. I would be a dead duck if I caught the virus.

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First woman to Captain a Nuclear-powered-air craft carrier

The Navy has selected a woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for the first time in American history.

Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt was selected for the position by the fiscal year 2022 aviation major command screen board. Other officers who were picked for nuclear aircraft carrier command include Capts. Colin Day, Gavin Duff, Brent Gaut, David Pollard and Craig Sicola.

Naval Air Forces confirmed the historic selection on Monday, though it’s not known at this point which of the Navy’s 11 nuclear-powered carriers Bauernschmidt will command. 

This isn’t the first time Bauernschmidt has made history. In 2016, she became the first female executive officer of a nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln. As such, she was second-in-command of a crew of about 5,000 people. 

Bauernschmidt graduated from the Naval Academy in 1994, the same year women were allowed to serve on combat ships and planes.

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Airman receives the Air Force Cross

A Special Tactics Airman was awarded the Air Force Cross on Dec. 10 for heroic actions during a 2017 battle in Afghanistan in which he “repeatedly” exposed himself to enemy fire to direct airstrikes.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Alaxey Germanovich, a Special Tactics combat controller assigned to the 26th Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, will be presented with the second-highest award for combat bravery by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett during a ceremony on Dec. 10.

Germanovich was attached to an Army Special Forces team with Afghan Commandos during a mission in Nangahar Provine, Afghanistan, on April 8, 2017. The team was ambushed by enemy combatants, and Germanovich “repeatedly exposed himself to sniper and machine gun fire while directing numerous danger close airstrikes.”

“With the team expending all of their rifle ammunition and grenades, they drew their pistols in an attempt to suppress the advancing enemy,” the release says. “Germanovich directed his team’s withdrawal, then traversed 700 meters carrying a casualty up a mountain to a helicopter landing zone while directing close air support.”

He’s credited with protecting over 150 friendly forces and destroyed 11 enemy fighting positions during the eight-hour battle.

Bed check

How are things going? Is the holiday season catching up to you? Is the rat race too fast?

You are not alone. There are over 10,320 fellow veterans here who have your back.

However, if it is just too overwhelming right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and it is free.

Don’t try to take on this 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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Do Not forget Our Military Who are Deployed. They Are Without Close Family

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It is Thanksgiving. I am searching for things to be thankful for. This year it is hard. So many negative things happening around us.

I will whine a little more here and then show some reasons we should be thankful.

The rioting, the pandemic, and the messed up election, would cause anyone to complain. What can we find to be thankful for?? I have found it by searching and doing research:

  1. We are thankful we live in a free nation. That is because of our brothers and sisters who are deployed today as we speak. They are in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all over the world. There are away from their loved ones. They can’t hug their families. However, they are proud of what they are doing and I say God bless them.
  2. What follows is an actual story about Marines saving a woman’s life. They jumped into action and moved quickly.
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Whenever an emergency arises, people in danger have no better friends than motivated Marines.

Such was the case when a woman on a scooter was struck by a car recently near Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.

With the woman pinned under the car, Marines with Guard Company quickly had to come up with a plan to free her.

Cpl. Denny Bohne and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Belko quickly realized that they needed to find a way to raise the car so that the woman could be pulled to safety.

Bohne said he and another Marine opened the car’s trunk and found a jack.

“As soon as I grabbed the tire iron, I started jacking the car up from the rear, and Staff Sgt. Belko proceeds to run over to a civilian’s car, grab their jack from their vehicle, and then start jacking up the front of the car,” Bohne said.

Their actions significantly cut down the time it took for emergency responders to pull the woman from underneath the car and start treating her, said Washington, D.C., firefighter Lt. Leo Ruiz, of Engine 18.

“Honestly: If they hadn’t done what they had done, it could have delayed care for that patient,” Ruiz said.

With the help of the Marines and others on the scene, the woman survived.

Belko noted that a lot of people came together to make sure the woman was freed and treated as quickly as possible.

“Marines run to the sound of the guns, so it didn’t surprise me at all that the Marines were there,” Belko said.

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Here is another update of ne equipment the military is getting for the future:




After years in development, soldiers are officially putting the Army’s next-generation short-range air defense system through its paces ahead of its eventual delivery and fielding in Germany.
Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment out of Ansbach, Germany traveled to the White Sands Missile Range to conduct training and operational testing of the Army’s Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) system, the service announced last week.

The IM-SHORAD system consists primarily of a Stryker-mounted 360-degree Avenger air defense turret loaded up with Stinger and AGM-114 Longbow Hellfire missiles (the latter of which are traditionally used in air-to-surface roles), an XM914 30mm cannon, and a 7.62mm machine gun.

The 5-4 ADA will be the first unit to receive the IM-SHORAD system in Germany to replace its aging Humvee-mounted Avenger systems, a move that comes amid the U.S. military’s resurgence in Cold War-style tactics in Europe in the aftermath of the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014Top of Form
Bottom of Form”There’s a lot of equipment on this machine that will change a lot of aspects for the Air Defense Artillery,” Spc. Andy Mendoza, an air and missile defense crewmember with the 5-4 ADA, said in a statement. 
The operational training and testing come just weeks after General Dynamics Land Systems announced that the Army had awarded the defense contractor a $1.2 billion contract award to produce, test, and deliver 28 Stryker IM-SHORAD Strykers to the service.

The Army had previously selected an IM-SHORAD solution engineered by Leonardo DRS back in June 2018.
The service plans on eventually spreading 144 systems across four battalions by as soon as fiscal year 2023. According to Army budget documents, the service plans on spending an additional $1.575 billion through 2025 on acquiring a total of 180 IM-SHORAD Stryker vehicles.

The IM-SHORAD system “provides the Army improved capabilities for defense of maneuver formations and other tactical echelons from low altitude air attack and surveillance,” according to the service’s fiscal year 2021 budget documents. 

At the moment, however, the IM-SHORAD is “not quite ready for full production,” hence the soldier testing by the 5-4 ADA, according to the Army statement.

Soldiers “need to get their hands on the system, learn to use it, and then use it just as they would, including trying new things, making mistakes, and otherwise doing the sort of thing that the system designers may not have prepared for,” per the Army.

“Everything might look good on paper, on the board, but until we get through the testing and putting it through its paces, understanding what it’s actually capable of, we won’t know if we’re producing the right system for the Soldier,” Steven Powell, acquisition logistics lead with the IM-SHORAD Program Office, said in a statement.

Sorry the small print here. This old soldier can not figure out how to enlarge.
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I would be unforgiven if I didn’t check into how everything is for you. How are things going for you? Is the world turning too fast? You are not alone. There are over 10,160 fellow veterans here and they all have your back.

BUT! If it is too overwhelming for you GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number for you to call 24/7 and the help is free.. 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 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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Much Needed New Equipment For Our Troops, Will Help us Win the battles

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I have been reading about some great upgrading the military is doing, thanks to the support of President Trump. The following examples will give you some idea what is ahead for our military.

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The Army is searching for defense contractors to build an reconnaissance vehicle to compliment its growing fleet of next generation of combat vehicles.

It will have enhanced mobility, load capacity, and on board power. Six soldiers can ride in it. It will electric powered.

A Supacat Light Role Vehicle (LRV), an example of a light reconnaissance vehicle

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New M17 pistols, the new handguns of the U.S. Army, made by Sig Sauer, lay on a table as Soldiers assigned to Allied Forces North Battalion familiarize themselves with the weapon replacing the M9 pistol, in Chièvres, Belgium, Feb. 11, 2020.

Every US military branch is about to get its hands on the Army’s new sidearm of choice.

Gunmaker Sig Sauer has finally delivered its MHS to every service branch in the U.S. military, the company announced on Tuesday.

The announcement came amid Sig Sauer’s delivery of its 200,000th M17/M18 pistol to the military under the Defense Department’s MHS program despite the obstacles posed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Based on Sig Sauer’s P320 platform, the MHS is a 9mm, striker-fired pistol that features coyote-tan PVD coated stainless steel slides with black controls and takes both 17-round and 21-round magazines.

As Military.com previously reported the Army plans on purchasing a total of 195,000 MHS pistols, the majority of which will be M17s, over the next several years.

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The job outlook for technology careers is booming, according to the Bureau of Statistics with a projected 11% growth rate between 2019 and 2029. That’s more than half a million jobs with a median income of $88,240, compared to all other occupations, which have a median income of just $39,810. 

Before you tell yourself you aren’t qualified for a technology career, know this — most technology jobs don’t require more than a bachelor’s degree, if that, and with less than five years of career field experience, you could potentially find yourself earning a six figure salary with the right skills and certifications.

Technology careers have evolved significantly over the last two decades right along with the technology itself — so if you’re picturing the IT Guy helping an office minion restart their computer over the phone, rest assured that the tech career field goes way beyond that. Careers can range from website development, ethical hacking and cyber security, to database administration and software development. 

If launching into the world of technology post-military service sounds enticing, read on. We’ve compiled resources and tips for you to be able to position yourself at the front of the pack for a new career.

Get the right certificates. 

If you don’t have a degree in a technology-related area of study, don’t sweat it. Most jobs within the field don’t even require you to have an undergraduate degree at all — but obtaining the right certificates is key to building your skillset. Here are the most basic and helpful certificates you’ll want to start with. Computing Technology Industry Association

CompTIA A+). This is your boot camp of certificates and where you’ll want to begin. It will help you learn how to do basics like data recovery, networking, hardware configuration, and troubleshooting.

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). ITIL is a standardized technology management set of practices used worldwide by small and large organizations from Microsoft to NASA. Think of this as your IT SOP. This five-tiered program, ranging from basic skills to mastery, will help you build your skills in technology management.

Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA). MTA is not just one certificate, but rather a set of entry-level certificates you can obtain based on your chosen career path, much like MOS-specific training in the military. The self-learning courses are free online through Microsoft, or you have the option of paying for an instructor-led course.

I hope this post helps you understanding the upgrading in the military, plus an article for a good job transition.

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So how are you doing?

The world today is not much fun to be in. Things aren’t very rosy.

But fear not. There are over 10,150 fellow veterans here and they all have your back.

If it is just to overwhelming right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call, and the help you receive is free. There are highly trained counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

______________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never ever, give up!

_______________________________________

+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 for the site, please let them know about it.