Tag: interviews

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Searching for Gold Star Families to Interview for my Upcoming Book

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Military news…

Thanks to a U.S. Marine’s GoPro deployment video, we can see what the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan actually looked like. This isn’t the sanitized version presented by public affairs: this is the confusion, anger and antics that actually marked life on the ground in the war’s final days.

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The Department of Defense needs your help renaming nine Army forts and two Navy ships that were named after people who served the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. . That’s right, the military is crowd-sourcing name ideas for its installations, so it’s up to you to make the dream of Forty McFortface, or perhaps something better like Fort Alwyn Cashe, a reality.

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 The five sailors killed in a recent helicopter crash aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln provide a stark reminder that seemingly routine military operations can turn just as deadly as combat. That is especially the case when it comes to the difficult task of landing a helicopter on an aircraft carrier.
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16 years ago, Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe died after walking through fire three times to save his fellow soldiers from the burning wreckage of their Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Iraq. But despite being endorsed by the Pentagon eight months ago to receive the Medal of Honor for his incredible act of sacrifice, Cashe has still not received it.

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For the past three presidential administrations, top military leaders went out of their way to avoid any conversation with the American public about what was happening in Afghanistan and why. But now that U.S. troops are finally out, military leaders have no excuse to keep their work secret. The war is lost, and the country deserves to know why.

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Ever want to take your boss to court for being a jerk? It’s a tactic that rarely works in the military, but it did for the legendary Army Maj. Richard “Dick” Winters of “Band of Brothers” fame. That’s right, Winters out-foxed the Army’s green weenie just like he did the Nazi’s. in WWII.

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I just finished putting the table of contents together for my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

All I really have are some follow up interviews. I also want to do another interview with a Gold Star mother, but I seem to have lost her contact information.

If you know Vickie Ziegler, please tell her to connect with me at doug@dougbolton.com.

I have stopped sharing excerpts from the book, because my publisher said SLOW DOWN! Do not give so much away free.

You can find many of them by searching the archives.

Better yet….

You can go to the top of this page and hit “subscribe” to be a part of this site, which has over 12,970 fellow veterans. When you do, all future posts go right straight to your inbox.

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What’s happening in your world soldier? Is the earth spinning too fast for you? Do you fear sleeping at night?

FEAR NOT!

With the 12,970 fellow veterans on this site who have your back, you are in good hands.

But! If it is just too much for you right now, 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 the 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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It Is a Disheartening Time in Afghanistan. Many People Killed and Many still Stranded

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Military news…

It is still very disheartening in Afghanistan. Americans stranded. Afghan people being killed by the thousands. No signs of many getting out safe.

Afghans were clinging to the sides of U.S. military aircraft to escape the Taliban’s sweep of Kabul. Worst of all, some of them lost their lives falling from the aircraft as they left the runway. It’s only the latest in a terrible situation happening at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

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“Like many, I struggle to make sense of it all,” wrote Air Force Special Operations Command chief Lt. Gen. James Slife in a heartfelt Facebook post he penned about the fall of Afghanistan this weekend. Like many other veterans and service members, Slife spent a lot of time in Afghanistan, so it’s difficult to watch it all unravel before his eyes.

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M4 rifles, M24 sniper rifles, M2 .50 caliber machine guns and MRAPS make up only some of the vast quantity of U.S. military equipment captured by the Taliban in recent weeks.

“Now is the time where you bend the rules to save people’s lives.” That’s from Marine veteran Ryan Schalles, who’s prepared to bend a few rules of his own to get Omar, the man who served as an interpreter for his Marine Corps platoon during his 2012 tour in Afghanistan, safely out of the country.

You too can help Afghan interpreters and refugee. There are nonprofit groups trying to help Afghan refugees navigate the special immigrant visa process and find housing for new arrivals; and there are lawmakers with resources to get them moving sooner.
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American citizens and Afghans who worked with Americans are on their own if they want to get past the Taliban’s many checkpoints outside of Kabul’s airport. That’s because the U.S. military, the most powerful armed force in the world, isn’t prepared to send any of the 4,500 troops at the airport into the city to do it.

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It has been a tough week for me. I am so saddened by what is happening in Afghanistan. I feel helpless, and I am sure the people stuck there do to.

I see visions of Vietnam in my head constantly, only this is much worse. Our president struck out on his leadership. Not much of support from him.

We need a leader who won’t take what is happening there lightly, and go there NOW to help more.

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A reminder that I have slowed down my sharing of excerpts from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

A whole section of the book will be interviews with veterans who have been in the trenches. Some share about losing friends. Many had near death experiences. One WWII veteran had not one, but three near death experiences. Amazing story.

The book will come out soon.

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How is your life going? Do you remember lost friends from the military?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12,820 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If it’s just too much for you, 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.

Do not live the death of your friends alone.

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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Stories of Near Death Experiences and Some very Funny Moments

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Some military news:

“We’ve got to keep pushing on this” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston talked about the branch’s efforts to prevent more soldiers like Spc. Vanessa Guillén from being sexually harassed and murdered. Thursday marked exactly a year since Guillén first went missing: and her death forced a reckoning within the Army on how it treats its lower enlisted soldiers, particularly women.
“They leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could” was how Marine Gen. John Kelly described the last moments of Cpl. Jonathan Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, two Marine grunts who died exactly 13 years ago Thursday while trying to stop a truck carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives as it barreled toward their post in Ramadi, Iraq. Marine veteran and Task & Purpose deputy editor James Clark remembered the fallen infantrymen and the lives they led in a moving story. Both Marines were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for their actions that day.

Speaking of sacrifice, Navy vet Stephanie Kroot is one of only 50 or so Americans to have donated two of her organs to two separate people, literally giving parts of herself to save the lives of strangers. But those donations are only the latest episodes in Kroot’s long life of service, which includes stints as a police officer, a Navy intelligence specialist, and a critical care nurse. Yeah, she’s good people.

There’s a first time for everything, like sending a general officer to court-martial, as the Air Force found out on Wednesday when it referred a sexual assault charge against Maj. Gen. William T. Cooley to a general court-martial.The former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Cooley is the first Air Force general in the branch’s 73-year history to be court-martialed, though he’s far from the first to be accused of sexual misconduct.

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There are many soldiers who aren’t happy with the way our country is going. Many have joined ranks and formed their own groups. This is not good. We need to stand together and correct the problem. We do not need hundreds of splinter groups.

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Update on my upcoming book, Signs of Hope of the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.

It has been a long time since I last shared the outline of my book. I think it is very helpful to share this to let our kow what is coming.

This is the order that it is written:

  1. Basic training. Lots of funny stuff happened plus some good stuff happened.
  2. Mos training- FT Gordon, GA. Got hit with a hurricane. Fast and furious training.
  3. Korea- Here is where I learned about life. Just a teenager, and facing the dark side of life. Lost two buddies there as well.
  4. FT Bragg, NC. Got a huge scare with the Bay of Pigs incident.

Each section of the main book, will have many pages of things I faced and how I faced them. Some were life threatening. Some were embarrassing. Some were as stupid is and stupid does.

Another section will be interviews with soldiers who were actually in the field. Like WWII, Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, etc.

Many of the interviews will have life threatening stories. Too many of the interviews were with buddies fighting PTSD, TBI, war wounds, etc.

The third section will Appendix #1.

Appendix #1 will have pages and pages of help for you and how to use them.

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How are you doing? Is the mile you walk in life, seem more like a marathon? Is it too difficult to continue the battle?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 11,880 fellow veterans here who have your back. Many of them are people I have met and are sharing some of their lives.

Please know, that if it is just to much for you right now, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number that is 24/7.

There are highly trained counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

Never, ever, face 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 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.