Tag: soldiers

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It is Sometimes Hard to Make New Friends in the Military

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Military news…

Navy Separates 23 Active-Duty Sailors for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine

Twenty-three active-duty sailors were separated for their refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The ranks of the sailors were not immediately clear.

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U.S. Air Force Ramps Up Intel Flights, Weapons Shipments to Ukraine

U.S. and allied reconnaissance flights in Eastern Europe have been ongoing since at least Dec. 24, dispatching multiple types of planes to listen in on communications signals and shoot high-altitude images.

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‘We’re Always Ready’—Meet The Soldiers of America’s Go-to Rapid Response Force

The 82nd Airborne Division makes up the core of the Immediate Response Force, a contingent of mostly soldiers tapped to deploy in under a day to respond to crises around the globe. 

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Fort Bragg MP Charged With Dereliction of Duty For Allegedly Moonlighting as a Drug Dealer

A military police soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, faces a general court-martial in May for multiple counts of using and selling Oxycodone while on duty.

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Alexandria VA Unveils New Statue Recognizing Female Veterans

A new statue recognizing female veterans was unveiled Friday at the Alexandria, Louisiana, Veterans Affairs hospital campus.

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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.

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It’s Tough Being the New Kid on the Block

After basic training I was accepted into the Army Security Agency, which is a unit of soldiers who, in my case, monitored radio/teletype transactions to make sure there were no breaches of security.

I was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for my training for that. I was separated from my two buddies there. I began to feel the loneliness again. Yes, there were hundreds of other soldiers just like me, but they weren’t from my home area. They were from all over the United States. They all had their own ways to approach people. Some didn’t want to have anything to do with the people around them.

I didn’t see why it was happening, and went out of my way to “cross the center line,” to the other side to get acquainted with them. I made some good friends on both sides, and didn’t get in trouble for doing it from either side.

Do you have family members, or fellow soldiers that you feel are isolating themselves from you? Are there those who want to be alone, and not mix with others?

I have felt that while I was stationed in Korea. There was a breakdown of short timers, (those with a month to go or less,) new guys who were “outcasts,” until they proved themselves, and the regular group who were in between.

I went through all three stages while I was there. However, I couldn’t let myself treat the new soldiers as outcasts. I learned that my first week there myself.

I was just settling in when two guys came walking up to me in my Quonset hut, (metal shelter.) They were both big and strong looking guys. One was African American, who looked like a linebacker, and the other was “tall drink of water,” from Texas.

I was every worried as they came towards me. Why would they fool around with a “newsikky,” (new guy) like me? They both had smiles on their faces and shook my hand. They greeted me like I was somebody important.

I figured they were the welcoming committee, but they weren’t. They were just two soldiers who had gone through the gauntlet like all new soldiers had to do, and they had decided that they would make sure no one else had to.

That was the one main factor that helped me cope while I was in Korea. I became very good buddies with those two guys. (Besides they were big and tough and they protected me!) They set the pattern that I used the whole time I was there. I felt it was my duty, because of these two men, to make the new soldiers feel welcome.

If you have been through some feelings of rejection in your world, reach out to someone who is in the same boat as you are and help them cope. Be like my two “angels” who came to make me feel welcome, and make others around you feel important and special.

You will not only feel good about what you are doing, but you will help someone who is struggling a great deal.

IWILL

There are times when you have “down time,” in the military. Use that time to get to know some of the soldiers that don’t seem to have any friends. It may seem uncomfortable at first, and they may reject you, but they will never be the same. They will know that someone cares, and they will walk a little taller.

Think about this

Isn’t it great that when we smile at someone they smile back?

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Hope you have been enjoying all these excerpts. There will be a few more, but not many. Keep coming back to see the last of the excerpts. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future post will come directly to your inbox.

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Checking in on you…How are you doing? Are you struggling?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,735 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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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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In the Military Scars Show Where We Have Been, But They Don’t Show Where We Are Going

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Short report on military news today…

Sexual harassment is now officially a crime in the US military

‘Sexual harassment, has for too long, been seen as something you had to deal with as part of the job if you wanted to serve.

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The Army is putting lasers on Strykers powerful enough to shoot down drones and helicopters

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I will share another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, but they are slowly running out.

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Scars Can Show Where We’ve Been, But They Don’t Show Where We Are Going

One of the hardest things for us as veterans and current soldiers is dealing with the scars we have had from the past. It may be a physical scar, or it may be mental or emotional. We can’t keep living in the past. Much of it is too painful to relive again. Yes, the present isn’t exactly rosy sometimes either, but it is here, and we need to deal with it. The one-day-at-a-time thought works for me. I just do what I need to do to make it through each day, and I am thankful when I have made it.

The future is something we can’t always control, but we can help shape it by being eager to take it on and conquering it with our determination and guts.

I feel deeply of those of you who have physical scars. I also feel deeply for those of you who have mental and emotional scars. I have been to the mountain with these kinds of scars.

Strive to never give in to the dark side thought of doom and gloom. Look for the bright side, and share it with others around you who need it as well.

This reminds me of Kris Kyle the sniper who was famous for his accuracy, and how many lives he saved by eliminating the enemy who was about to kill our soldiers. He was a tough and no nonsense kind of guy, and yet he lost his live trying to help a fellow soldier who was battling his own demons. Kris was trying to help others even though he had his own dark times.

Never give up! There may be walls in your way, but you will overcome them with perseverance.

Let someone pile expectations on and then exceed them. Your biggest goals in life become your biggest achievements. If you have discipline and drive, you don’t lose. You cannot lose. New ideas are sometimes scary, but can end up something special. Walls: They separate, divide, and isolate. But walls can always fall.

What we have to remember is that we have to go through the pains of life to achieve the joys. Pains actually inspire growth. 

I saw those words recently and at first I thought, Easy for you to say! Most people don’t know what real pain is. My neighbor recently complained she had double abscessed teeth. Knowing how painful that is, since I have had abscessed teeth myself, I thought about those military servicemen and women have lost their legs, arms, or are going to be in a wheelchair the rest of their lives. The level of pain is relevant to only what you are really going through.

We must always remember: With God on Our Side, who can be against us? No one!

IWILL

It is hard enough to exist in this cruel world without adding pain and mental strain to our lives. We need to battle the elements that attack us with vigor and valor, just like we would on the front lines, in the trenches, as we face the enemy. Stand strong and be brave.

Think about this

Isn’t it interesting how it takes bravery to face this world, but it takes even more bravery to give it all up to God?

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Hope you have been enjoying all these excerpts. There will be a few more, but not many. Keep coming back to see the last of the excerpts. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future post will come directly to your inbox.

________________________________________

Checking in on you…How are you doing? Are you struggling?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,6675 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.

___________________________________________

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

Parents in Korea Were Throwing Their Children in Front of Our Trucks

+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…

A staff sergeant with the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division was sentenced to 70 years in prison for murdering his wife after poisoning her with a deadly toxin found in puffer fish.

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As a water contamination emergency affects thousands of families in Hawaii, the Army has given a master class in how to respond to the crisis, while the Navy has fallen flat on its face.

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From a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to a botched response to the Jan. 6, 2021 coup attempt, the Pentagon’s report card for 2021 is dismal.

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Afghan evacuees remain at base in Kosovo for additional screening 
Several hundred Afghan evacuees, some of whom were flagged for security concerns, still reside at a NATO base in Kosovo where they are being processed by U.S. personnel, multiple government officials said this week.

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Biden to speak with Ukraine president amid fears that Russia may once again invade Ukraine

Following his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Joe Biden plans to speak by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday amid growing alarm over Russia’s military buildup near its border with Ukraine.

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Iran launches rocket into space amid Vienna nuclear talks

Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities announced Thursday, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth’s orbit.

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Jan. 6 committee prepares to go public as findings mount

In the coming months, members of the panel will start to reveal their findings against the backdrop of former President Donald Trump and his allies’ persistent efforts to whitewash the riots and reject suggestions that he helped instigate them.

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I am sharing another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military; In and Out of the Trenches of Life. This excerpt was very hard from em to write because of the lack of love for humanity.

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Can’t we All Just Get Along?

During my time in Korea, we had reason to travel through Seoul, Korea for courier duties. What I saw as we traveled tore at my core of values, and caused me to spiral out of control at times in my battle with depression.

We had to drive very slowly through the city because parents were often throwing their children in front of the trucks so they could get compensation from the Military for the damages. I couldn’t grasp the desperation of a mother to let her child be killed just for money, but then I saw other signs that showed me why that may have been the only choice.

Another time we drove through Seoul, I saw this little old lady lying on the street begging for people to give her some food. No one was giving her anything. We came back through the same area a couple of hours later, and the woman was dead. Again, no one was paying any attention to her.

How could humanity allow this? Why didn’t the people help her, and why did the people need to sacrifice their own children to get food? 

The world today isn’t much different. In the Middle East I am sure there have been many times when you, as a soldier, saw horrific things happening to the innocent. You may have seen people killing for no apparent reason. People desperately seeking help from you, and there was not much you could do.

You may think God has disappeared during these times. Why would He allow such hardship and sorrow to go on?

God hasn’t disappeared.  As a matter of fact it hurts Him badly to see all the turmoil and death in this world. So, why allow it?

The reason is that God gave us choices. He lets us choose our paths. He allows good people to live, but He also allows bad people to live.

The proof is when we see people like, Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Pharaoh, and other dictator-type leaders to thrive.

He gives them choices. He doesn’t like what many of them do in their lives, but he doesn’t like many things we do in our own lives as well.

He even gave Jesus Christ choices. Jesus could have stopped all the pain and torture He was going through. He had the power to do that. His choice was to follow through with what He was sent down to the earth to do, and He went to the cross for you and me to complete His journey.

We have a hard time accepting some of the trials and storms that God allows us, and many other people, to face in this world, but the bottom line is that everything has a purpose. Everything is leading to a big climax, and that climax will free all of us who believe. I know, I read the last chapter ahead of time. It has a very happy ending.

IWILL

We can see how horrific it is in some places in the world. It doesn’t seem fair to allow such harm and destruction to go on. We can do something in our own back yards though. We don’t have to let these kinds of things happen around us in our neighborhoods, and cities.

As soldiers and veterans we know the meaning of freedom, so we should make sure all people are free of fear, intimidation, and harm. We need to speak up and tell the bully-type people that they are not acceptable in our area. If all of us unite we can make a point that will be understood very clearly.

Think on this

Isn’t it encouraging that when we stick together we can conquer anything?

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I may have other excerpts coming up, so check back. 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.

____________________________________________

Checking in on you…How are you doing/ Have you lost faith in our world?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,610 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.

______________________________________________

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.