Tag: searching

Posted on

Searching for Gold Star Families to Interview for my Upcoming Book

+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.

__________________________________________

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.

_______________________

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.

_______________________


 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.
________________________

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.

_________________________

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.

___________________________

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.

_______________________________________

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.

___________________________________________

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

____________________________________________

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.

Posted on

Do Not forget Our Military Who are Deployed. They Are Without Close Family

+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.

___________________________________

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.
  3. ____________________________________

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.

___________________________________

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.
__________________________________________

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
____________________________________________
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.

Posted on

I Wanted to Check out of this Hotel Called Earth

I will be changing the format on my author site. I need to get back to sharing with you about my book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.

In about two weeks the book will be officially in the marketplace.

It has been a hard, long road I have traveled to get to this point. I started writing, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, almost ten years ago. It will be ten years next March.

Why did I start writing the book? I am glad you asked.

I was at the end of my rope. I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt the ship sinking and I didn’t have a life jacket.

I was having weekly pity parties, and no one was showing up to help me celebrate.  I was fighting self-doubt, anxiety, fear, failure, depression, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

I was ready to check out of the hotel called earth.

I was in a school parking lot on March 31st 2001 sitting in my Ford Explorer considering suicide. I didn’t want to face the trails of life any more.

I had retired from teacher, and was going from one job after another searching for something that I could feel good about after retirement. Nothing was working for me. I failed at each job I partook in. I even started my own business of find funds for businesses when they needed some while waiting for their invoices from costumers to come in. That failed because I couldn’t see taking money from them when they desperately needed cash at that time.

Every job I tried I needed to try to convince people of getting something they may not need. I worked at a department store in the housewares department. I sold pots and pans, coffeemakers, knifes, etc. I was pretty good at it. I even earned a seven day free trip to a health spa for me and my wife because of my efforts.

One Christmas Eve, I was working the late shift. I noticed that there weren’t any women shopping in my area. It was all guys desperately looking for something for their wives at the last minute. I had a field day. I came up to a guy and asked him if I could help him, and he said, Yes! please find something for my wife for christmas. I can’t think of anything! I saw dollar signs in my head, and directed him to the sets of pans. I convinced him his wife would love a $500.00 set of new pans.

There were several men just like him wandering around, lost in my section. I sold something to eveyone of them. I set a record for sales that night. They bought from me because I was  a man and they trusted me.

I went home that night and wondered, What have I done? I sold a bunch of men something their wives probably didn’t need just so I could make another sale. I was very upset with myself, and quite the job a couple of weeks later.

( Men…never buy your wife something for the kitchen at Christmas. Go down to the jewelry department. You will be rewarded much more if you do that.)

So I went on like this, going from one job after another in sales. The last sales job I had was in leasing, and the same nightmare was forming while doing that. I was trying to have someone lease something when it may be better to buy it outright.

I hit rock bottom on March 31st. I drove to that parking lot I told you about. I was sobbing so much I could hardly see out the window of the rig. I stopped and parked, and was on verge of doing something very drastic.

I finally cried out to God, “I can’t take this anymore!” There was a sudden calmness inside my rig, and in me. The air even seemed different. It was as if God was saying, “It is about time you came back to me. Now let me carry you the rest of the way.”

The rest is history. I started writing Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, a couple of weeks later.

It took me almost ten years to get my thoughts down, and organized. There were doubts along they way. Satan did every he could to stop me, but I prevailed, and now you have to chance to read my story and learn for yourself how to survive in a not so friendly world.

I hope you will read it and let me know what you think of it. I have been blessed with some very impressive endorsements written in the book. I have had many authors and important people in the publishing world recommend the book.

You can preorder Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, and save 27% by going to www.winepresspublishing.com. Go to the top and click on “bookstore.” Write in the search area, “Signs of Hope.” That will take you right to my book page. The book will only cost $14.59 there for a short time, and then it will be $19.99 once it is public. Take advantage of that now.

God bless you nad NEVER give up. Fight back the attacks of Satan and turn to God to supply you with all the armor you need to survive.