Tag: deployed

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There Are Many Intersting and Scary Things that Happen in Basic Training

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Military news….

In the military, losing your weapon could end your career, and that was the situation the late Colin Powell found himself in when he was a 21-year-old second lieutenant in 1959. Of course, that was not the end of the line for Powell, who went on to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State before passing away on Monday at the age of 84.

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The chests of most generals’ service dress uniforms are festooned with colorful ribbons, but not Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan’s.

His men and women love him for that.

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Sailors who refuse to get immunized for COVID-19 could end up owing the Navy a lot of money. They might have to pay back bonuses, special pays, and the cost of training.

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Officials in southern Oregon have asked the state’s governor to call in the National Guard because they are being overrun by illegal pot farms.

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Pentagon Mandates COVID-19 Vaccine for Civilian Workers

All civilians working for the Defense Department and the military services must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Nov. 22, under new guidelines released earlier this month.

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He Attacked Cops At The Capitol. The FBI Interviewed Him. Then He Rejoined The Army.

A Fort Bragg soldier has been arrested after authorities learned he sprayed police with a chemical agent while officers were under siege by the violent mob of Trump supporters on Jan. 6.

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Ex-Taliban Commander Pleads Not Guilty to Killing U.S. Troops

A former Taliban commander previously accused of kidnapping an American journalist pleaded not guilty on Friday to murdering three U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2008.

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I got picked on for not sharing more excerpts from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. 🙂 So here is one just for you.

Fire in the Hole!

I think this chapter title fits quite well for what I am about to tell you. While in basic training, one of the training steps we had to go through was learning how to properly throw a hand grenade. Each soldier took his turn getting into the pit with an instructor. He showed them how to pull the pin and properly hold it long enough before tossing it.

I was a ways back in the line so I watched with great anticipation. One by one each soldier stepped into the pit with the instructor, pulled the pin, and tossed the grenade. If it was a good pull and throw, the instructor slapped you on the back and said, “Move out !”

Just three people ahead of me and I was getting pumped. Then a soldier stepped into the pit, pulled the pin, and slung his arm backwards to throw the hand grenade. The problem was he didn’t have a tight grip on the weapon and it flew out of his hands backwards, hitting the wall of the pit. The instructor knew what to do, grabbed it, and tossed it over the wall of the pit. It went off about halfway to the ground.

Then I wasn’t so sure I wanted to try this! My turn came. I stepped into the pit. The instructor handed me a grenade, and told me to pull the pin and toss it after counting to three by saying, “One thousand one, one thousand two, and one thousand three!” I did exactly what he told me and I had a good pull and throw. I got that wonderful slap on the back and didn’t wait for him to shout, “Move out.” I was already on my way out of there!

Sometimes things happen in life we aren’t expecting. We’re going along enjoying life and then something serious happens. It could be an injury. It could be being told you are being deployed. It could be that a child was just born and you have to leave. Even worse, it could be that your child is born while you are deployed and it’s months before you’ll get to hold your child.

This is where our character is tested. This is when we have to dig deep and bring out the courage to keep going on. We need to know that everything will be OK, and we just need to be patient.

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So how is it going for you? Is the wolrd pulling you down like a huge magnate? I have been there myself.

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,250 fellow veterans here who have your back.

But…if the load is just to much for your right now…GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to 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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+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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Deployment Can Be Very Hard on the Military Family

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Military news…

They finally released Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller from prison. However, he may still face a court marshell. He told the truth, and questioned the nation’s top military leaders about how we withdrew from Afghanistan. He shouldn’t be charged for telling the truth.

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One-hundred percent of the soldiers who served under Brig. Gen. Amy Johnston, the recently-suspended Army Chief of Public Affairs, said she created a hostile work environment.

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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was recently guarded by an all-woman team of three sentinels for the first time in history.

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The Navy and Marine Corps are testing out a new rifle scope that allows users to lock onto a target and bring it down, even if the target is a very small drone.

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The Space Force is making changes to its service dress pants after people made fun of them for being too baggy.

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I told you in my last post that I would start sharing excerpts again. My excerpt on Monday was very successful in that 24 new people subscribed to this site.

Here is my excerpt for today:

Deployment Can Be Very Hard on the Military Family

As parents get deployed in the military, there is a void created. The children a left without a mother or father to have for love and guidance. So, remember, it can be very hard on the children as well.

As for boys in the family there is a need for a father figure to help show them the way. A father can help them acquire knowledge and confidence they need.

There is a time when they need to seek out their father for attention. There is a need for someone to play catch with; to wrestle with.

I didn’t have a dad that came home each night to give me a hug and share my day with. My parents were divorced when I was about six years old.

My mother called me her “little one,” when I was very young.

However, I needed a dad to say, “Hi Ace, or How’s it going to today champ?” I never heard that. It was like my dad was deployed somewhere else, but he was never coming back.

My mother was my only comfort zone. She had to be the one that showed interest in me. She was the only one who could support me when I needed it. She was my protector, but I needed someone to show me the excitement outside the realm of our home. My mom worked long hours and was very tired when she came home each day.

My mother did teach me toughness. She allowed me to play with toy guns, beebe guns, and let me play with GI Joe figures. She did this becasue three of her brothers fought in WW 2.

I didn’t have a dad to go fishing with. That was probably the most glaring thing thing missing in my childhood. I loved to fish, but I didn’t have the proper skills to know how to do it. My uncle Paul taught me how to fish, but he was a farmer and didn’t have the freedom to go with during the summer months because that was the busiest time for him. So I grew up fishing by myself. I needed a dad to get excited with me as I pulled in a fish.

Today, I go fishing with my two sons often, and there is a special bonding there.

Daughters need their father or mother to be there for them as well. Sometimes it is the mother who is deployed, and the father becomes “Mr. Mom.”

He needs to find ways to give his daughter the love she needs without mom around. He needs to join her is fantasy tea parties. He needs to allow her to paint his finernails a special color. She may even want to give dad a perm.

No one expects a mother or father to be perfect in a military home, but you should do what ever you can to keep the family united and happy.

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There is more to this chapter, and you will be able to read the rest of it if you aquire the upcomg book, Signs of hope for the military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I will share more excerpts in the future. Come back so you won’t miss 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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Bed check… How are you days going? Some good, some not so good? Do you fear sleeping at night?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,160 fellow veterans on this site who have your back.

If the nights are just too scary for you, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number to 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!

____________________________________________

+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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Finally, The Outline of the Upcoming Book, Signs of Hope for the Military

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Military news…

A soldier with the Florida Army Reserve has a religious exemption to not only grow a beard, but also wear his hair long while in uniform.. Sgt. Jacob DePietro observes the Nazarite vow from the the Old Testament in the Bible, which states that “no razor may be used on their head.”

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+Report from Jeff Schogol on his trouble trying to get an Afghan interpreter way from his country. They are threatening these people ahead of the final withdraw.

“On Thursday, I received a series of frantic texts from Sher Ahmad Ahmadzai, an Afghan man who worked for coalition forces, after someone threw a Molotov cocktail at his home.” That’s from Jeff Schogol, who wrote this piece about his inability to help Ahmadzai and other Afghans who risked their lives to help the United States and are now in danger of being killed by the Taliban.

“This story is difficult to write because journalists are rightly expected to not get involved in the stories we cover, and the modicum of help that I have tried to provide to Ahmadzai clouds my objectivity,” Jeff writes. “In a way, I’ve already failed at my job.”
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When U.S. Marine Security Guards at American embassies around the world need backup, they call on the Marine Security Augmentation Unit. This may be your first hearing about the MSAU, but the unit’s been putting in a lot of flight time recently: in the past 30 days, the quick reaction force has responded to the call twice to protect embassies in Africa and the Caribbean.

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 A soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division is heading to a court-martial in connection with a murky incident in Syria last summer in which U.S. troops and pro-regime forces exchanged gunfire.

“We are all suffering in silence,” is how one soldier described the unseen problem of eating disorders in the U.S. military. The Army and other branches use outdated body fat measurements to judge soldiers’ fitness, which, when combined with PTSD, sexual trauma and other common military mental health issues, create a rampant eating disorder problem that has gone largely underreported until now.

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The U.S. may be leaving Afghanistan, but the ‘Forever Wars’ aren’t really ending, writes defense expert Bonnie Kristian in this guest op-ed. Despite his statements about leaving Afghanistan, ending support for the Saudi war in Yemen, and leaving Iraq, President Joe Biden’s plans for doing so remain vague, and you can stuff a lot of violence into an absence of details, Kristian argues.

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No excerpt today from my book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

What I am going to to is give you an outline of the book to give you a taste of what is coming:

  1. The first section will basic training. I have many stories there. Some funny some not so funny. Many things to talk about.
  2. The second section will be being deployed to Korea. Some very sad stories there, and few humorous.
  3. The third section will be my states side time at FT. Bragg. One very scary time there, but good vibes most of the section.

Then I will have two appendixes:

  1. Interviews from the trenches. I have interviews from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. Many are heartbreaking. I also have an interview with a Gold Star mother I am working on right now. Pretty exciting.
  2. The second Appendix will be eight pages of resources for veterans. It will have every conceivable information you may be looking for.

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How are you doing? Do you fear sleeping? Have you seen enough of the turmoil we are facing in this world today?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12, 550 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If the road is getting to rough for you, GET HELP!

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.

Never face this not so friendly world alone!

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!

___________________________

+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.