Tag: Kabul

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There Were Some Stressful Times During Basic Training in the Military

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Military news…

Troops knew ‘an attack was coming’ at Kabul airport but their hands were tied, investigation reveals

‘”If you had been there, you would have seen that an attack was coming.“

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Finding My Calling While Treating a Casualty Inside Friendly Lines

He saw gore and death, but he also saved lives. There are certain things a former Corpsman will never forget or take for granted.

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A Man of Destiny, Molded by Fate: Lloyd Austin Leads in Time of Tremendous Potential

His actions seem to say he has the morale of the troops as his primary consideration. Far too many in those positions haven’t.

Remembering the Service and Sacrifice of Muslim Veterans Among the Crescents and Stars of Arlington National Cemetery

During a trip to Arlington to honor Muslim veterans, an Air Force officer reflects on how her career of military service began as a Pakistani immigrant.

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At Least 1 Million Vets Could Get VA Health Care Under Scaled-Back Exposures Bill

As Congress hand-wrings over the $282 billion price tag of a bill to help veterans exposed to burn pits, two senators are proposing a compromise that would still get VA care to more than 1 million veterans.

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IS Leader Blows Up Self, Family as U.S. Attacks Syria Hideout

The Islamic State’s leader was killed during an overnight raid carried out by U.S. special forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, President Joe Biden said Thursday.

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Seaman Dies After ‘Hell Week’ of SEAL Training, Navy Says

A 24-year-old Navy SEAL candidate died and another was hospitalized after several days of intense training known as “Hell Week” in Coronado, Calif.

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Here is another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. Hope you enjoy it.

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Sometimes the Answers Are Right Under Your Nose

There was one aspect of basic training that made the times hard for a soldier. That was when it came to making your bed for inspection.

We had regular inspections by our drill sergeant. When he came through the barracks, he carried a quarter in his hand. When he passed your bunk he would drop the quarter on the bed. If the quarter didn’t bounce, he tore the bed up and told you to try again. 

I had some real stressful times of making beds at first. I usually failed. But then I learned some tricks about tucking in the sheets, and even the blanket. There was a double tuck you could do that made the bed tight and quarters bounced on it easily.

There were some guys who never caught on to the tricks that were right in front of them. They were too proud to ask others for help.

I have seen that in life after the military. People struggling to keep up with the world, because they are too proud to seek help.

Are you one of those who could benefit from outside help, but have never taken advantage of it?

I have compiled a very extensive military appendix for your use. It is in the back of this book. Feel free to search through it for help in almost every possible way a veteran or current soldier may need.

It is not “giving in,” to seek help. It is finally agreeing that what you are doing may not be working for you, and you want to find other ways to cope in this unfriendly world.

Many of the sources have proven to reach out to those who suffer with anxiety, fear, depression, and hopelessness.

Don’t hide in your own self-pity. Take that first most important step and seek help today. Go to the back of this book and find the right sources for your needs.

IWILL

The lists in the back can be overwhelming. There are hundreds of sources there. Think about your own special needs and concentrate on that section only. Then narrow down your choices while checking out each resource. Most of the sources are websites.  If you don’t have access to the net, go to your local library, or visit a friend who has access.

Think about this

Isn’t it sad how we know we need help, but hide our feelings?

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I am sure many of you had that experience. Come back often to see more excerpts. 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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Checking in on you…How are you doing? Are you struggling with memories?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,825 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If you are battling mentally, because of your love for others, but it isn’t working, 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 no hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255.

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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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General Mark Milley Just May be a Traitor After Just One Phone Call

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Military news…

“I’m not going to tip off any enemy to what the United States is going to do in an actual plan.” That’s from Army Gen. Mark Milley, who told Congress on Wednesday that he called his Chinese counterpart in October to assure Beijing it was mistaken in believing that America was about to launch a surprise attack.

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One little-known military contracting company nearly killed several former contractors, including Afghan interpreters, due to typos in human resources paperwork. It’s so bad that one former interpreter said the company, DynCorp, “left me and my family to the devils.”

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Air Force Lt. Col. John “Karl” Marks is the most experienced A-10 pilot in history. He bombed tanks in Desert Storm, saved Green Berets in Afghanistan, and mentored many young pilots through the years.

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U.S. Special Operations Command has already started delivering the Army’s next-generation sniper rifle to special operations soldiers.

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More than two dozen members of Congress signed a letter demanding that the commandant of the Marine Corps release from the brig Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, the former battalion commander who went viral for criticizing his chain of command.

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A Marine who says he saved a baby in Kabul by lifting the infant over the walls outside Hamid Karzai International Airport is now under investigation for appearing on stage with former President Donald Trump at a recent political rally in Georgia.

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I am through showing you all the table of contents from my upcomng book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.

If you missed the list, you can go back into the archives to check it out. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on subscribe.

When you do, you will get all future posts delivered directly to your inbox.

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Checking up on my brothers and sisters. How are you doing? Do you fear sleeping at night? Do you feel lost now that you are a civilian? Is it rough being a current service member?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,125 fellow veterans here who have your back.

However, if the rat race is catching up to you, GET HELP!!

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

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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Thirteen Soldiers Died in Afghanistan, and it Shouldn’t Have Happened

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Military news…

Speaking of Afghanistan: after two decades of war, American service members and Taliban militants have been standing within an arm’s length of one another outside the airport in Kabul.

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Thirteen American service members were killed on Thursday in suicide bombings at Kabul’s international airport in Afghanistan. The toll includes 11 U.S. Marines, a Navy corpsman and an Army special operations soldier. They came from Texas, California, Utah, Tennessee, Wyoming and many other places and walks of life, and they died helping strangers in a far-off country.

A horrific suicide bombing on Thursday near the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan killed hundreds of Afghan civilians, 11 U.S. Marines, a Navy corpsman, and an Army special operations soldier. Eighteen American military service members and many more Afghans were wounded in the attack, which took place at a crowded entry gate where U.S. troops were working day and night to rescue Americans and Afghans fleeing the Taliban.

“Terrorists took their lives at the very moment these troops were trying to save the lives of others,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “We mourn their loss. We will treat their wounds. And we will support their families in what will most assuredly be devastating grief.”

However, Austin added, “we will not be dissuaded from the task at hand. To do anything less — especially now — would dishonor the purpose and sacrifice these men and women have rendered our country and the people of Afghanistan.”

Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, attributed the attack to the Islamic State terrorist group operating in Afghanistan. Described as a “complex attack,” it was initiated by a suicide bombing outside of the Abbey Gate where U.S. troops manned checkpoints as Afghan civilians attempted to flee the country.

“The attack on the Abbey Gate was followed by a number of ISIS gunmen, who opened fire on civilians and military forces,” McKenzie told reporters.

The fallen service members were part of Operation Allies Refuge, the mission to evacuate American citizens and Afghans who assisted the U.S. and its allies during their 20-year war in Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, the Afghan security forces collapsed, and the Taliban quickly took Kabul. Withdrawing U.S. forces and the Taliban then entered into an uneasy truce in Kabul, with Taliban fighters cordoning off the streets leading to the airport as American troops manned checkpoints leading inside.

Prior to Thursday, the last U.S. service members to die in Afghanistan by hostile fire were Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rodriguez and Sgt. 1st Class Javier Gutierrez, two Army Special Forces soldiers who were killed by Afghan soldiers in a green-on-blue incident in Nangarhar Province on Feb. 8, 2020. For the Marine Corps, Thursday’s attacks represent the first loss of life in Afghanistan in two years. The last occurred on April 8, 2019, when three Marine reservists were killed by a roadside bomb in Bagram.

“These fallen heroes answered the call to go into harm’s way to do the honorable work of helping others,” said. Gen. David H. Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps. “We are proud of their service and deeply saddened by their loss. As we mourn, we also keep those who are still over there protecting Americans and our Afghan partners at the forefront of our thoughts. Our Marines will continue the mission, carrying on our Corps’ legacy of always standing ready to meet the challenges of every extraordinary task our Nation requires of her Marines. I am continually humbled by the courage and warrior spirit exhibited every day by Marines across the globe. The sacrifices Marines make on behalf of freedom must never go unnoticed or unappreciated. I ask that you keep these Marines and service members, and especially their families, in your thoughts and prayers.”

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My view….

I am grieving as if I lost a family member. The oldest soldier was only 25. The youngest 20. Two were women. This shouldn’t have happened. We knew long before the disaster that we needed to get people out. As far back as July.

If we would have started then, we would have been able to get all the afghan people out that wanted to go, and all the Americans as well.

Now thousands of people will be stranded. They will face horrendous times with the Taliban. Many shootings and killings. One women was burned alive because she didn’t fix a meal they way the Taliban wanted her to.

We were way too late to start evacuating people.

Our leadership totally failed.

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Book coming out soon…

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

You can search the archives for some previous excerpts. My publisher has asked me not to share too much of the book.

You can still catch some I “slip,” in during the coming weeks. All you have to do is go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.”

When you do that all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

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Bed check…

How are you doing? Do the days seem dim, and the nights long?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 12, 900 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If the long nights are 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 now 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 ll…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.