Following Orders Was a Must in the MIlitary, because Your life Depended on it

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No current news today

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Here are a couple more basic training stories:

My company went together to the grenade range.

It looked fairly easy. Just just be in the bunker, pull pin, and throw. Well of course, the guy right ahead of me had his grenade slip out of his hands and the instructor got him away before he could get injured.

So, I wasn’t as confident when I stepped in.He reminded me what happened to the soldier ahead of me, and repeated, “Take grenade, pull pin, and throw.”

I did exactly what he said to do, and I was successful. What I learned from that was, not matter how cocky you think you are be alert, and do exactly what you are told. That was the common thought throughout basic training.

My drill sergeant was a feisty guy.

He was only 5’7″ at best, but he definitely in charge. He would get in your face and scream if you did something wrong. He seemed very angry at those times, but I later realized that he was just trying to make us good soldiers.

He spent one Sunday working over me verbally. He had me go out in the parade ground and dig a big hole. He handed me his cigarette and told me to bury it there. I was able to do that with much sweat and grunting.

When I was finished burying it he said, “Dig it up again!” Al I said back to him was “Yes, Sargeant.” Of course, I had to fill up the hole again.

Towards the end of basic, he came to talk to me privately. He said, “I have been very hard on you. I wanted to see what you were made of. I liked what I saw, so I am nominating your for soldier of the month.”

I wasn’t selected as Soldier of the Month, by just the honor of being nominated was enough. He went on to name me an honor guard. We were in several parades.

What I learned from all of that was that there are times when you have to learn to accept orders, and do them quickly. That really prepared me for active duty.

Both of these stories are in my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the Trenches of Life. Many more are there.

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How was your basic training?

Fun and Games, or do you have some bad memories from it?

You are not alone, my friend. There are over 11,500 fellow veterans here who have your back.

I remember a few guys who didn’t make it through basic. It was just too much for them.

If you have had some not so good memories from the military, and they control you, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. It has highly qualified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are ok.

Do not take on this not so friendly 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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We All Have bad Moments in Serving. We Do Not Need to Face Them Alone

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A short bit of news sn then a story or two from my service time.

It’s time the US military finally bans troops from joining extremist groups.

The Air Force may change its height standard to hire more enlisted aviators.
The Air Force may soon change its outdated height requirements to hire more career enlisted aviators, particularly women.
Marine Corps releases pregnant Marine physical training handbook.

DARPA is developing an air-launched drone missile that fires air-to-air missiles.

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I have hundreds of stories from my days in the military. What follows is just one of them that will be in my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.

While in basic training I was doing my firing range testing. This 18 year old kid have never held a rifle before. The loud noise of all those rifles going off were deafening.

It was my turn to shoot. The instructor showed me how to get down on the ground and wrap my arm around the sling. He then spread my feet behind me, and said, “Open fire!”

I started shooting, and the targets were falling down. I didn’t miss one of them. The instructor was amazed and said, “Didn’t you tell me you had never held a rifle before?”

“Yes sir,”I said.

He had me step back to let the next group of men to fire. This went on for a while, and finally everyone had had a chance to shoot.

The Head sergeant then read of the names of those who was able to shot in the second round, and he had the rest go to another range. I was one of those who stayed. I couldn’t believe it. I was able to be in the second round of shooting?

They moved the targets back another 50 yards, and we commenced to shot again. I hit every target. I was getting used to my rifle. At the end of the second round, they called out the group for the third round. I was chosen again!!

The third round was much harder, they put the target at 100 yards.

My instructor then told me about “kentucky windage.” That is where you aim a little high to allow the wind to bring down your bullet.

I missed one target there, but I had enough to make it to the final round.

The final round was 150 yards. That is one and a half football fields.

Again my instructor showed me how to allow for a little more windage. there were on six of us shooting now.

I only missed two shots the whole round. They gathered us together to let us know how the last group did.

They named one guy that won the whole thing. He had only missed one the whole day.

To my shock they named me second. I had only missed three all day.

They told me I was an expert shooter, and this was from a kid that had never held a rifle before.

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Time to check in….

How are you doing? Do you remember your basic training days. Was it a good experience?

Did you get some troubled times during basic? How about the rest of your time in the service? Not so good?

Not to worry my friend. There are over 11,500 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If you are overwhelmed with nightmares and painful memories, GET HELP!!

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

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

Do not try to take on this world alone!!!

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!

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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

Why does the Army Helicopters Have Native American Names? Because 32 Them Earned the Medal of Honor

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This story is very interesting so I decided to share it all.

Here’s why Army helicopters have Native American names.

Black Hawk. Apache. Comanche. Lakota. Notice anything?

The Army’s history of naming its helicopters after Native American tribes and figures stems from an Army regulation made decades ago. The regulation has since been rescinded, but the tradition has carried on over the years.

An Army press release posted Wednesday explained the backstory of the U.S. military’s “long history” with Native Americans — and specifically the American Indian Wars.

“But Native Americans also served as some of the fiercest fighters for the United States for more than 200 years,” the release said. “In fact, 32 Native Americans have earned the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor.”

The tradition originated from Army Gen. Hamilton Howze, who was tasked with the job to “develop doctrine and the way forward when it came to employing Army aircraft” after the Air Force split from the Army in 1947, the Army release said.

The original names for two helicopters were “Hoverfly” and “Dragonfly” — which Howze didn’t like. He decided the next helicopter would be called the Sioux “in honor of the Native Americans who fought Army soldiers in the Sioux Wars and defeated the 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of Little Bighorn.”

And from that decision, years later in 1969, Army Regulation 70-28 was born.

AR 70-28 required that Army aircraft had to be named after “Indian terms and names of American Indian tribes and chiefs.” It also directed that tanks would be named after American generals, infantry weapons “would receive names for famous early American pioneers,” and assault weapons would have “fearsome reptile and insect names,” according to the press release.

Though the regulation has since been rescinded, the tradition for Army helicopters was set.

A press release further explained the process behind deciding on a name for an Army helicopter, saying that before the service could use the name Lakota for the UH-72A Lakota, the Lakota tribe was consulted for permission.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs advised Stephen Hart, a Light Utility Helicopter maintenance manager, that the Army “had to contact and obtain approval from a majority of the council members making up the Sioux Nation,” of which the Lakotas are a part.

Within six months, the Army had received the permission they needed. The Army wanted that name specifically, the press release said, because the Lakotas “were known as a peaceful, non-aggressive people,” and the helicopter “is a non-arms-bearing helicopter that performs medical and casualty evacuations, provides disaster relief, aids in homeland defense, and also works to counter drugs and narcotics.”

In February 2008, Rosebud Sioux tribal leaders joined the Army for a ceremony at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., to celebrate the new helicopter.

Rodney Bordeaux, the Rosebud Sioux tribal council president, said at the ceremony that it was a “great honor to have our name out there now where people can see it.”

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Too many of our veterans are bitter and lost. They came home with PTSD, severe TBI, and war wounds. It is hard to reach them because they do not want to show weakness.

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That leads me into my daily rant.

How are you doing? Are the paths you are walking breaking down and causing landslides for you?

Rest at ease! There are over 11, 450 fellow veterans here who have you back. You are not alone,. There is no need for you to take on this world by yourself.

However, if the path doesn’t look repairable, 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.

Never take on the dark side by yourself.

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 from this site, please let them know about it.