• Cancer Care for Heroes: Innovation in Radiation Therapy
    Category: Veteran Healthcare | Keywords: Cancer Treatment, Radiation Therapy, VA Hospitals

    Many veterans face long-term health challenges — including cancer. Radiation therapy is evolving to provide precision-targeted care with fewer side effects and shorter treatment times. Advanced platforms now use real-time imaging, proton therapy, and AI-enhanced dose mapping to treat various cancers more effectively.

    The Cancer Radiation Therapy Market is seeing major investments in VA systems, mobile treatment centers, and rural outreach programs. These innovations aim to ensure no veteran is left behind when it comes to life-saving care.

    Explore the market trends: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/cancer-radiation-therapy-market
    Cancer Care for Heroes: Innovation in Radiation Therapy Category: Veteran Healthcare | Keywords: Cancer Treatment, Radiation Therapy, VA Hospitals Many veterans face long-term health challenges — including cancer. Radiation therapy is evolving to provide precision-targeted care with fewer side effects and shorter treatment times. Advanced platforms now use real-time imaging, proton therapy, and AI-enhanced dose mapping to treat various cancers more effectively. The Cancer Radiation Therapy Market is seeing major investments in VA systems, mobile treatment centers, and rural outreach programs. These innovations aim to ensure no veteran is left behind when it comes to life-saving care. 📘 Explore the market trends: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/cancer-radiation-therapy-market
    WWW.BUSINESSMARKETINSIGHTS.COM
    Cancer Radiation Therapy Market Outlook (2021-2031) by Type, Field Strength, End User
    Cancer Radiation Therapy Market was valued at US$ 57,884.05 Million in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 136,163.16 Million by 2031 with a CAGR of 13.1% from 2025 to 2031 segmented into Type, Field Strength, End User.
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  • Tactical Precision: How Robotics Are Reinventing Military Surgery
    Category: Defense Tech | Keywords: Robotic Surgery, Laparoscopic Systems, Veteran Surgical Care

    Robotic-assisted systems aren’t just for civilian hospitals — they’re rapidly becoming indispensable in military operating rooms and veteran healthcare. These advanced laparoscopic platforms provide precision under pressure, allowing surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures with fewer complications and quicker recovery.

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    Tactical Precision: How Robotics Are Reinventing Military Surgery Category: Defense Tech | Keywords: Robotic Surgery, Laparoscopic Systems, Veteran Surgical Care Robotic-assisted systems aren’t just for civilian hospitals — they’re rapidly becoming indispensable in military operating rooms and veteran healthcare. These advanced laparoscopic platforms provide precision under pressure, allowing surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures with fewer complications and quicker recovery. Robotic systems now support combat medics, mobile surgical units, and VA hospitals handling trauma, orthopedic, and urological conditions. AI-enhanced control, 3D visualization, and remote operation make these systems a tactical advantage in both war zones and peace-time veteran care. 📘 Explore the full study: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/laparoscopic-robot-assisted-systems-market
    WWW.BUSINESSMARKETINSIGHTS.COM
    Laparoscopic Robot Assisted Systems Market Outlook (2021-2031) by Product, Application, End User
    Laparoscopic Robot Assisted Systems Market was valued at US$ 2,387.52 Million in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 5,002.32 Million by 2031 with a CAGR of 11.1% from 2025 to 2031 segmented into Product, Application, End User.
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  • Revolutionizing Military Healthcare: The Power of Modern X-Ray Imaging
    Category: Military Medicine | Keywords: X-Ray Imaging, Veteran Healthcare, Portable Diagnostics

    Timely diagnostics can mean the difference between life and death — especially in combat zones, VA hospitals, or remote deployments. The new generation of digital X-ray imaging devices is changing battlefield and veteran care forever.

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    Revolutionizing Military Healthcare: The Power of Modern X-Ray Imaging Category: Military Medicine | Keywords: X-Ray Imaging, Veteran Healthcare, Portable Diagnostics Timely diagnostics can mean the difference between life and death — especially in combat zones, VA hospitals, or remote deployments. The new generation of digital X-ray imaging devices is changing battlefield and veteran care forever. These systems offer high-speed imaging, cloud-based reporting, and AI-supported diagnosis, ensuring faster, more accurate results even in field environments. Portable X-ray units now enable mobile diagnostics in remote bases, emergency units, and disaster recovery areas. With the growing demand for veteran services and military readiness, this technology is a critical asset for tactical medics, VA professionals, and defense medical contractors. 📘 Learn more in the report: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/x-ray-imaging-devices-market
    WWW.BUSINESSMARKETINSIGHTS.COM
    X-Ray Imaging Devices Market Outlook (2021-2031) by Product Type, Portability, Technology, Application, and Geography
    X-Ray Imaging Devices Market was valued at US$ 5,338.76 Million in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 6,382.7 Million by 2031 with a CAGR of 2.6% from 2025 to 2031 segmented into Product Type, Portability, Technology, Application.
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  • How to Successfully Take Your Online WGU Proctored Exam: A Guide for Students

    If you’re preparing to take my online WGU proctored exam, these strategies can help you feel more in control and focused during the process. Finally, practice self-care. Ensure you get enough sleep, maintain a balanced diet, and engage in physical activity regularly. These practices can help improve your concentration and overall mental health, making you more resilient to stress. Read More - https://medium.com/@onlineclassexpert3/how-to-successfully-take-your-online-wgu-proctored-exam-a-guide-for-students-db9795e80824
    How to Successfully Take Your Online WGU Proctored Exam: A Guide for Students If you’re preparing to take my online WGU proctored exam, these strategies can help you feel more in control and focused during the process. Finally, practice self-care. Ensure you get enough sleep, maintain a balanced diet, and engage in physical activity regularly. These practices can help improve your concentration and overall mental health, making you more resilient to stress. Read More - https://medium.com/@onlineclassexpert3/how-to-successfully-take-your-online-wgu-proctored-exam-a-guide-for-students-db9795e80824
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  • Laparoscopic Entry Systems Market: Evolving Technologies (2025–2031)

    Get Full Report: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/laparoscopic-access-devices-market

    The laparoscopic access devices market size is expected to reach US$ 3,717.16 million by 2031 from US$ 2,100.58 million in 2024. The market is estimated to record a CAGR of 8.5% from 2025 to 2031.

    Get a sample PDF of the report – https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/sample/BMIPUB00031679?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=10640

    Executive Summary and Global Market Analysis:
    The global laparoscopic access devices market is experiencing significant growth driven by growth in ambulatory laparoscopic procedures, advancements in trocar design and safety, and rising demand for reduced-port access. Laparoscopic access devices encompass trocars, cannulas, veress needles, balloon access devices, and optical entry devices. Trocars are also under continual innovations but focused primarily on ergonomics, dexterity, and functionality to develop more graspers, dissectors, scissors and needle holders. Previously, instruments were recycled and reused (autoclaved) during a procedure.

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    Laparoscopic Entry Systems Market: Evolving Technologies (2025–2031) Get Full Report: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/laparoscopic-access-devices-market The laparoscopic access devices market size is expected to reach US$ 3,717.16 million by 2031 from US$ 2,100.58 million in 2024. The market is estimated to record a CAGR of 8.5% from 2025 to 2031. Get a sample PDF of the report – https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/sample/BMIPUB00031679?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=10640 Executive Summary and Global Market Analysis: The global laparoscopic access devices market is experiencing significant growth driven by growth in ambulatory laparoscopic procedures, advancements in trocar design and safety, and rising demand for reduced-port access. Laparoscopic access devices encompass trocars, cannulas, veress needles, balloon access devices, and optical entry devices. Trocars are also under continual innovations but focused primarily on ergonomics, dexterity, and functionality to develop more graspers, dissectors, scissors and needle holders. Previously, instruments were recycled and reused (autoclaved) during a procedure. #LaparoscopicSurgery #MinimallyInvasiveSurgery #AccessDevices #TrocarTechnology #SurgicalInnovation #MIS #MedicalDevices #OperatingRoomTech #HealthcareInnovation #Laparoscopy
    WWW.BUSINESSMARKETINSIGHTS.COM
    Laparoscopic Access Devices Market Outlook (2021-2031) by Product, Application, End User
    Laparoscopic Access Devices Market was valued at US$ 2,100.58 Million in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 3,717.16 Million by 2031 with a CAGR of 8.5% from 2025 to 2031 segmented into Product, Application, End User.
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  • At UK and Europe Pet Taxi, we do not just transport dogs—we care for them. Our Dog Transport Services UK and Europe are designed for safety, comfort, and reliability. From the moment we pick up your pet to the final drop-off, we ensure their wellbeing is our top priority.

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  • Why Do Students Seek Help with Online Psychometric Tests?

    Psychometric tests can feel intimidating, especially for students who are unfamiliar with their format or unsure of their abilities. The pressure to perform well, particularly when the results impact academic or career opportunities, can lead to anxiety. Seeking help from experts who offer guidance on how to Take My Psychometric Test provides students with the tools and strategies to approach the test calmly and confidently. Read More - https://medium.com/@psychometricexpertss/why-do-students-seek-help-with-online-psychometric-tests-9dd3f5674df4
    Why Do Students Seek Help with Online Psychometric Tests? Psychometric tests can feel intimidating, especially for students who are unfamiliar with their format or unsure of their abilities. The pressure to perform well, particularly when the results impact academic or career opportunities, can lead to anxiety. Seeking help from experts who offer guidance on how to Take My Psychometric Test provides students with the tools and strategies to approach the test calmly and confidently. Read More - https://medium.com/@psychometricexpertss/why-do-students-seek-help-with-online-psychometric-tests-9dd3f5674df4
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    Why Do Students Seek Help with Online Psychometric Tests?
    Psychometric tests have become a common tool for assessing students’ abilities, personality traits, and potential. These tests, often used…
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  • Take My Online CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam

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  • Demand Analysis by Healthcare Facility Type in North America 2028

    Get a sample PDF of the report – https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/sample/BMIRE00028454?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=10640

    The North America wound care market is expected to grow from US$ 7,920.27 million in 2022 to US$ 11,178.22 million by 2028. It is estimated to register a CAGR of 5.9% from 2022 to 2028.

    Get Full Report: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/north-america-wound-care-market

    Rising Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Related Wounds Fuels North America Wound Care Market Growth
    Chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and other autoimmune disorders directly impact the body's natural healing ability. Diabetes and immunodeficiency conditions are among the most detrimental conditions that can slow down the speed of the wound repair process. Diabetes is the most identified chronic disease. The disease adversely impacts the immune system, which can complicate wound healing. As per NCBI, as of July 2021, nearly 500 million people are estimated to be suffering from diabetes mellitus (DM), with a predicted startling increase in the coming years.

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    Demand Analysis by Healthcare Facility Type in North America 2028 Get a sample PDF of the report – https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/sample/BMIRE00028454?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=10640 The North America wound care market is expected to grow from US$ 7,920.27 million in 2022 to US$ 11,178.22 million by 2028. It is estimated to register a CAGR of 5.9% from 2022 to 2028. Get Full Report: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/north-america-wound-care-market Rising Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Related Wounds Fuels North America Wound Care Market Growth Chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and other autoimmune disorders directly impact the body's natural healing ability. Diabetes and immunodeficiency conditions are among the most detrimental conditions that can slow down the speed of the wound repair process. Diabetes is the most identified chronic disease. The disease adversely impacts the immune system, which can complicate wound healing. As per NCBI, as of July 2021, nearly 500 million people are estimated to be suffering from diabetes mellitus (DM), with a predicted startling increase in the coming years. #woundcare #woundhealing #healthcare #wound #health #diabetes #wounds #medical #nurse #perawatanluka #homecare #healing #woundcarenurse #lukadiabetes #woundmanagement #firstaid #perawat #education #rumat #perawatanlukamodern #surgery #perawatanlukadiabetes #klinikluka #kesehatan #wundverband #caregiver #wundheilung #wunde #webinar #perawatindonesia
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  • Yearly Taurus Horoscope 2026 - Taurus 2026 Prediction

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    According to the Yearly Taurus Horoscope 2026, this year will bring constant progress and inner transformation for Taurus natives. The influence of Saturn favors long-term planning, making this a strong year for laying lasting foundations in both your career and personal life. Financially, stability will return after a few uncertain cycles, especially if you have been cautious and strategic. Relationships may deepen as you become more emotionally open and willing to let go of old patterns.
    Yearly Taurus Horoscope 2026 - Taurus 2026 Prediction httpsbejandaruwalla.compagestaurus-horoscope-2026 According to the Yearly Taurus Horoscope 2026, this year will bring constant progress and inner transformation for Taurus natives. The influence of Saturn favors long-term planning, making this a strong year for laying lasting foundations in both your career and personal life. Financially, stability will return after a few uncertain cycles, especially if you have been cautious and strategic. Relationships may deepen as you become more emotionally open and willing to let go of old patterns.
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  • Yearly Horoscope 2026 Astrology Prediction

    https://bejandaruwalla.com/pages/horoscope-2026

    According to the Yearly horoscope 2026, this year will bring change, clarity, and steady growth for all zodiac signs. This is a year of finding a balance between ambition and self-care. Career paths may evolve, relationships may deepen or change direction, and creative inspiration may return after past uncertainties. While the first half of the year emphasizes introspection and preparation, the second half encourages adventure and new beginnings. For those who embrace change with patience and faith, 2026 will prove to be an important and empowering year.
    Yearly Horoscope 2026 Astrology Prediction https://bejandaruwalla.com/pages/horoscope-2026 According to the Yearly horoscope 2026, this year will bring change, clarity, and steady growth for all zodiac signs. This is a year of finding a balance between ambition and self-care. Career paths may evolve, relationships may deepen or change direction, and creative inspiration may return after past uncertainties. While the first half of the year emphasizes introspection and preparation, the second half encourages adventure and new beginnings. For those who embrace change with patience and faith, 2026 will prove to be an important and empowering year.
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    Yearly Horoscope 2026: Astrology 2026 by Ganesha Bejan Daruwalla Team
    Yearly Horoscope 2026 for all Zodiac Signs from the house of Bejan Daruwalla. Check yearly astrology predictions and know the effect of the 2026 year in your life.
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  • Silence the Ringing, Hear Life Clearly Again with Audizen

    Living with constant ear ringing or fading hearing? Audizen is the natural solution that supports your ears and restores your peace of mind.

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  • Glow Starts from the Gut – Discover Radiant Skin with Neotonics

    Struggling with dull skin, breakouts, or slow digestion? Neotonics is a breakthrough supplement that combines gut health and skin rejuvenation — because beauty begins within.

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    Neotonics™ supplement is a dietary supplement specifically designed to support healthy and glowing skin. Buy Neotonics for More Radiant and Vibrant Skin, Better Health of the Gut.
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  • Support Healthy Blood Pressure Naturally with Venoplus 8 – Gentle Care for Healthy Aging

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    VenoPlus 8 - USA Official Website
    VenoPlus 8 is Heart health & blood pressure regulation supplement maintain healthy levels. Buy now from Official USA Site at 78% Off. Read VenoPlus 8 Reviews..
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  • A Healthier Gut = A Happier Pup! Try PawBiotix Today

    Is your furry friend dealing with allergies, upset tummy, or constant scratching? PawBiotix is the probiotic supplement for dogs that supports their health from the inside out!

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    Pawbiotix: Unlock vitality in your dog with a natural formula promoting gut health, joint support, and overall well-being. Enriched with probiotics, turmeric.
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  • Palm Reading - Palmistry & Online Palmist Guide

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    If practiced rationally, palm reading helps a person step onto the right path in life. It provides relevant information about important aspects of life, like health, career, marriage, and love, which is why it can be said that you have the key to destiny in your hands, and it provides information about important areas of your life. Reveals. The color, shape, and lines present in one's palm are carefully observed to know the results. The length of fingers is also taken into consideration to get important information about the past, present, and future of a person. Spiral fingerprints are also seen at various places in the field of palmistry.
    Palm Reading - Palmistry & Online Palmist Guide Visit: https://www.chiragdaruwalla.com/astrology-services/palm-reading/ If practiced rationally, palm reading helps a person step onto the right path in life. It provides relevant information about important aspects of life, like health, career, marriage, and love, which is why it can be said that you have the key to destiny in your hands, and it provides information about important areas of your life. Reveals. The color, shape, and lines present in one's palm are carefully observed to know the results. The length of fingers is also taken into consideration to get important information about the past, present, and future of a person. Spiral fingerprints are also seen at various places in the field of palmistry.
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    Online astrology report using astrology services and get an astrological perspective to improve your life with astrology services online.
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  • Discover expert Neuropsychological Evaluation in Minneapolis to better understand cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Ideal for diagnosing ADHD, memory issues, learning difficulties, and more. Personalized assessments by trusted professionals. Get clarity and take control of your mental health today. Serving all ages with compassionate, science-based care in the Twin Cities.

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    Comprehensive Neuropsychological Evaluation services from North Neuropsychology in Minneapolis, MN. Expert care to assess and enhance cognitive health.
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  • Cosmeceuticals Adoption in Urban vs. Rural Europe, 2021–2028

    Get a sample PDF of the report – https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/sample/BMIRE00025247?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=10640

    The cosmeceuticals market in Europe is expected to grow from US$ 12,345.02 million in 2021 to US$ 21,746.39 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% from 2021 to 2028.

    Get Full Report: https://www.businessmarketinsights.com/reports/europe-cosmeceuticals-market

    The European cosmeceuticals market is experiencing significant growth, driven largely by the expanding male grooming industry. Over the past decade, there's been a crucial shift in how men approach self-care, moving away from the outdated idea that it's not masculine to indulge in pampering.
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  • Shaila Viren Merchant is a powerful Indian businesswoman and managing director of Encore Healthcare. She is also widely known as the mother of Radhika Merchant, fiancée of Anant Ambani. This blog explores her background, career, education, family ties, and estimated net worth. From her role in multiple companies to her elegant public appearances, discover how Shaila maintains a strong influence in business and society.

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  • Mangal Yantra - Health & Wealth

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  • Lakshmi Vyaapar Yantra - Good Luck & Fame

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  • Unlocking Career Advancement: How to Pay Someone to Take My Online Job Placement Exam
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  • Evaluating the Dental Ceramics Market Landscape: Key Insights, Competitive Strategies, and Emerging Opportunities in 2031
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    Dental Ceramics Market Size (2021-2031) and Analysis : The Insight Partners
    Dental Ceramics Market analysis includes growth drivers, challenges, and opportunities. Market to grow at a CAGR of 8.0% by 2031.
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  • Microsoft 365 Automation: Smarter Workflows for Smarter Teams

    M365 Automation lets your teams focus on high-value work while the system takes care of routine activities, whether they’re in charge of internal communications, approvals, customer service, or data analytics. We’ll talk about how Microsoft 365 Automation is changing the way businesses work and how your company can start making smarter, more connected workflows in this blog. Read More - https://managedms365.com/microsoft-365-automation-smarter-workflows-for-smarter-teams/
    Microsoft 365 Automation: Smarter Workflows for Smarter Teams M365 Automation lets your teams focus on high-value work while the system takes care of routine activities, whether they’re in charge of internal communications, approvals, customer service, or data analytics. We’ll talk about how Microsoft 365 Automation is changing the way businesses work and how your company can start making smarter, more connected workflows in this blog. Read More - https://managedms365.com/microsoft-365-automation-smarter-workflows-for-smarter-teams/
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  • heart doctor singapore
    In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to overlook our own well-being. We get caught up in the demands of work, family, and social commitments, often forgetting to take care of ourselves. But when it comes to our heart health, neglecting regular screenings can have serious consequences.



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    heart doctor singapore In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to overlook our own well-being. We get caught up in the demands of work, family, and social commitments, often forgetting to take care of ourselves. But when it comes to our heart health, neglecting regular screenings can have serious consequences. ​ In Singapore, the importance of heart health screening cannot be emphasized enough. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country, and early detection is key to preventing further complications. That's why it's essential to prioritize regular check-ups to ensure your well-being. ​ By incorporating heart health screening into your healthcare routine, you can identify potential risk factors and take proactive steps towards better heart health. Whether it's monitoring your cholesterol levels, assessing your blood pressure, or evaluating your overall cardiovascular health, these screenings provide valuable insights that can help you make informed decisions about your lifestyle and health. ​ Take control of your heart health today. Schedule regular screenings and prioritize your well-being. Don't wait for symptoms to arise before taking action. Start prioritizing your heart health now to maintain a healthier, more fulfilling life. Understanding Heart Health Screening Heart health screening refers to a comprehensive evaluation of an individual's cardiovascular health. This process involves a series of tests and assessments that provide valuable insights into the condition of the heart and its associated systems. These screenings are designed to identify potential risk factors, detect early signs of heart disease, and enable timely intervention to maintain optimal heart health. ​ By understanding the importance of heart health screening, individuals can take proactive steps to safeguard their well-being. This screening process often includes various diagnostic tests, such as blood work, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and imaging scans, which help healthcare professionals assess the overall health of the heart and its functioning. Through these screenings, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of their cardiovascular health and make informed decisions about their lifestyle choices and medical treatment, if necessary. Read more : https://www.hhscsg.org
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  • gynaecology and oncology
    Gynecologists in Singapore: A Guide to Women’s Health
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  • 16 Mukhi Rudraksha - Protect from Problems

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  • 13 Mukhi Rudraksha - Welcome Prosperity

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  • 6 Mukhi Rudraksha - Awaken Your Energies

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  • Legislative Victories
    The VFW played an instrumental role in virtually every significant piece of veterans’ legislation passed in the
    20th century, as well as bills enacted in the 21st century. Note: In each case, this is the year an act was
    passed or an institution established.
    For more information, contact the VFW National Legislative Service at vfwac@vfw.org.
    1917 War Risk Insurance Act Amendments
    1918 Vocational Rehabilitation Act (P.L. 178)
    1919 Census Act Rider on Veterans Preference Discharge Allowance
    1920 Widows and Orphans Pension Act (Spanish-America War)
    1921 Veterans Bureau Act
    1923 Veterans Preference Point System
    1924 House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
    World War Adjusted Compensation Act
    1925 Senate Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs
    1926 Spanish-American War benefits
    New Johnson Act (WWI benefits)
    1930 Veterans Administration (VA) World War Service Disability Pension Act (P.L. 522)
    1931 Bacharach Amendment (P.L. 743) allows borrowing on WWI bonus certificates
    1933 Wagner-Peyser Act: Veterans Employment Service
    1934 Pension for widows of WWI vets
    1936 VFW congressional charter signed by President Roosevelt
    Bonus bonds ($2.4 billion) to WWI vets redeemable
    1938 Armistice Day (Nov. 11) legal holiday
    1940 National Service Life Insurance
    Selective Service & Training Act
    1943 Benefits to WWII veterans (P.L. 10)
    Disabled Veterans Rehabilitation Act
    1944 GI Bill of Rights (P.L. 346)
    Veterans Preference Act
    1946 Veteran Emergency Housing Act
    1947 Bureau of Veterans Re-employment Rights (BVRR)
    1950 Vocational Rehabilitation Act
    1951 Servicemen’s Indemnity & Insurance
    1952 Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (Korean War GI Bill)
    1954 Veterans Compensation Act
    Nov. 11 declared as Veterans Day (P.L. 380)
    1962 Veterans Benefits Act (Cold War GI Bill)
    1966 Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act (P.L. 89-358) (Vietnam War GI Bill)
    1970 Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
    1972 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act
    1973 Federal court agrees veterans preference applies to state jobs
    1974 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (vocational rehabilitation)
    1976 Veterans Education & Employment Assistance Act
    1977 Post-Vietnam Era Veterans Educational Assistance Act
    1978 Veterans preference preserved
    Veterans & Survivors Pension Improvement Act
    Veterans Day returned to Nov. 11
    1979 Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program (creates Vet Centers)
    1980 VFW calls for Agent Orange study
    Veterans Rehabilitation & Education Amendments
    1981 Former POW Benefits Act
    Veterans Health Care, Training & Small Business Loan Act
    1982 Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS)
    Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated
    1983 Emergency Veterans Job-Training Act
    1984 Montgomery GI Bill Veterans Dioxin & Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act
    (P.L. 98-542): Agent Orange & Atomic Exposure
    1987 New GI Bill Continuation Act
    1988 Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act
    Department of Veterans Affairs Act
    Veterans Judicial Review Act
    1989 VA becomes a Cabinet department Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
    1990 Agent Orange service-connection
    1991 Agent Orange Act (P.L. 102-4)
    Persian Gulf War Veterans Assistance Act (P.L. 102-25)
    1992 Veterans Health Care Act
    1996 Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act
    1999 Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act
    2003 Concurrent receipt for military retirees rated 50% disabled or more
    2004 Full concurrent receipt for military retirees rated 100% disabled
    Traumatic Injury Insurance supplemental created
    2005 Protestors banned from military funerals
    Stolen Valor Act signed into law
    2006 VFW calls for VA/military health care system review after Walter Reed outpatient debacle
    2008 Record VA discretionary budget approved
    GI Bill for the 21st Century signed into law
    2009 Advance Appropriations for VA becomes law
    2010 Family Caregiver Legislation signed into law
    Ensured all VA and DOD health care programs met minimum health care coverage standards
    2011 VOW to Hire Heroes Act
    VFW stopped TRICARE premiums from increasing annually
    2012 Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act
    Extended USERRA protections to veterans working for TSA
    2013 Reinstated military Tuition Assistance programs
    New Stolen Valor Act signed into law
    Stopped Creation of Distinguished Warfare Medal (Drone Medal)
    2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014
    In-State Tuition for Post-9/11 GI Bill eligible veterans
    Advance Appropriations for VA Benefits
    2015 Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act
    Eliminated 1 percent COLA reduction penalty on future military retirees
    Created government match to military Thrift Savings Plan accounts

    Updated 1/2025
    2016 Toxic Exposure Research Act to evaluate impact on descendants
    Enhanced fertility treatment and adoption services
    2017 Forever GI Bill gives veterans a lifetime to use GI Bill benefits
    Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017
    VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act
    Global War on Terrorism Memorial
    Improved VA hiring and retention authorities
    Veterans Choice Program improvements and expansion
    Declassifying toxic exposure documents
    Prevented significant copayment increases for TRICARE
    2018 Expanded caregiver benefits to veterans of all eras
    Consolidated community care into one improved program
    Established a process to evaluate and improve VA facilities to better serve veterans
    Defeated proposed cuts to Individual Unemployability
    2019 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act
    Elimination of the Widow’s Tax
    2020 Added bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and parkinsonism to VA’s list of presumptive
    conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange
    Changed the statutory definition of Vietnam veterans to include individuals who served in the
    Republic of Vietnam from Nov. 1, 1955, to Feb. 27, 1961
    Deborah Sampson Act
    Elimination of the 12-year limit on using Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits
    2021 Expanded maternity care options from community providers
    PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act
    2022 Honoring our PACT Act
    Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas SERVICE Act
    Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act
    UCMJ reform on sexual assault and harassment
    2024 Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, which
    included the Not Just A Number Act
    Legislative Victories The VFW played an instrumental role in virtually every significant piece of veterans’ legislation passed in the 20th century, as well as bills enacted in the 21st century. Note: In each case, this is the year an act was passed or an institution established. For more information, contact the VFW National Legislative Service at vfwac@vfw.org. 1917 War Risk Insurance Act Amendments 1918 Vocational Rehabilitation Act (P.L. 178) 1919 Census Act Rider on Veterans Preference Discharge Allowance 1920 Widows and Orphans Pension Act (Spanish-America War) 1921 Veterans Bureau Act 1923 Veterans Preference Point System 1924 House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs World War Adjusted Compensation Act 1925 Senate Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs 1926 Spanish-American War benefits New Johnson Act (WWI benefits) 1930 Veterans Administration (VA) World War Service Disability Pension Act (P.L. 522) 1931 Bacharach Amendment (P.L. 743) allows borrowing on WWI bonus certificates 1933 Wagner-Peyser Act: Veterans Employment Service 1934 Pension for widows of WWI vets 1936 VFW congressional charter signed by President Roosevelt Bonus bonds ($2.4 billion) to WWI vets redeemable 1938 Armistice Day (Nov. 11) legal holiday 1940 National Service Life Insurance Selective Service & Training Act 1943 Benefits to WWII veterans (P.L. 10) Disabled Veterans Rehabilitation Act 1944 GI Bill of Rights (P.L. 346) Veterans Preference Act 1946 Veteran Emergency Housing Act 1947 Bureau of Veterans Re-employment Rights (BVRR) 1950 Vocational Rehabilitation Act 1951 Servicemen’s Indemnity & Insurance 1952 Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (Korean War GI Bill) 1954 Veterans Compensation Act Nov. 11 declared as Veterans Day (P.L. 380) 1962 Veterans Benefits Act (Cold War GI Bill) 1966 Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act (P.L. 89-358) (Vietnam War GI Bill) 1970 Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 1972 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act 1973 Federal court agrees veterans preference applies to state jobs 1974 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (vocational rehabilitation) 1976 Veterans Education & Employment Assistance Act 1977 Post-Vietnam Era Veterans Educational Assistance Act 1978 Veterans preference preserved Veterans & Survivors Pension Improvement Act Veterans Day returned to Nov. 11 1979 Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program (creates Vet Centers) 1980 VFW calls for Agent Orange study Veterans Rehabilitation & Education Amendments 1981 Former POW Benefits Act Veterans Health Care, Training & Small Business Loan Act 1982 Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated 1983 Emergency Veterans Job-Training Act 1984 Montgomery GI Bill Veterans Dioxin & Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act (P.L. 98-542): Agent Orange & Atomic Exposure 1987 New GI Bill Continuation Act 1988 Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act Department of Veterans Affairs Act Veterans Judicial Review Act 1989 VA becomes a Cabinet department Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 1990 Agent Orange service-connection 1991 Agent Orange Act (P.L. 102-4) Persian Gulf War Veterans Assistance Act (P.L. 102-25) 1992 Veterans Health Care Act 1996 Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act 1999 Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act 2003 Concurrent receipt for military retirees rated 50% disabled or more 2004 Full concurrent receipt for military retirees rated 100% disabled Traumatic Injury Insurance supplemental created 2005 Protestors banned from military funerals Stolen Valor Act signed into law 2006 VFW calls for VA/military health care system review after Walter Reed outpatient debacle 2008 Record VA discretionary budget approved GI Bill for the 21st Century signed into law 2009 Advance Appropriations for VA becomes law 2010 Family Caregiver Legislation signed into law Ensured all VA and DOD health care programs met minimum health care coverage standards 2011 VOW to Hire Heroes Act VFW stopped TRICARE premiums from increasing annually 2012 Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act Extended USERRA protections to veterans working for TSA 2013 Reinstated military Tuition Assistance programs New Stolen Valor Act signed into law Stopped Creation of Distinguished Warfare Medal (Drone Medal) 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 In-State Tuition for Post-9/11 GI Bill eligible veterans Advance Appropriations for VA Benefits 2015 Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act Eliminated 1 percent COLA reduction penalty on future military retirees Created government match to military Thrift Savings Plan accounts Updated 1/2025 2016 Toxic Exposure Research Act to evaluate impact on descendants Enhanced fertility treatment and adoption services 2017 Forever GI Bill gives veterans a lifetime to use GI Bill benefits Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act Global War on Terrorism Memorial Improved VA hiring and retention authorities Veterans Choice Program improvements and expansion Declassifying toxic exposure documents Prevented significant copayment increases for TRICARE 2018 Expanded caregiver benefits to veterans of all eras Consolidated community care into one improved program Established a process to evaluate and improve VA facilities to better serve veterans Defeated proposed cuts to Individual Unemployability 2019 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act Elimination of the Widow’s Tax 2020 Added bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and parkinsonism to VA’s list of presumptive conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange Changed the statutory definition of Vietnam veterans to include individuals who served in the Republic of Vietnam from Nov. 1, 1955, to Feb. 27, 1961 Deborah Sampson Act Elimination of the 12-year limit on using Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits 2021 Expanded maternity care options from community providers PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act 2022 Honoring our PACT Act Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas SERVICE Act Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act UCMJ reform on sexual assault and harassment 2024 Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, which included the Not Just A Number Act
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  • Troop Support
    • Military Assistance Program (MAP)
    More than 4.1 million service members and their families have been hosted at morale-boosting events
    sponsored by the VFW since 2005.
    • Adopt-a-Unit
    More than 3,700 units and ships have been adopted through VFW Posts since 2007. VFW National
    Headquarters adopted the USS Cole in 2002.
    • Care Packages
    Posts across the country show their support of America’s military by collecting and distributing
    much-needed personal items for adopted units.
    • VFW Financial Assistance
    This program administers financial assistance in the form of grants to active-duty service members to
    include active Guard/Reserves and their families to help cover daily necessities such as residential
    expenses, vehicle expenses, childcare, food, and more. Since 2004, 11,659 grants have been issued
    totaling more than $13 million.
    • VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship”
    Introduced in 2013, this program awards scholarships of up to $5,000 to qualifying veterans and
    service members. The program has provided 3,261 scholarships totaling more than $1.5 million.
    • Student Veteran Support Grants
    Provides financial grants to VFW Posts, Districts, and Departments to assist with outreach and
    services to veterans on college campuses around the country.
    Troop Support • Military Assistance Program (MAP) More than 4.1 million service members and their families have been hosted at morale-boosting events sponsored by the VFW since 2005. • Adopt-a-Unit More than 3,700 units and ships have been adopted through VFW Posts since 2007. VFW National Headquarters adopted the USS Cole in 2002. • Care Packages Posts across the country show their support of America’s military by collecting and distributing much-needed personal items for adopted units. • VFW Financial Assistance This program administers financial assistance in the form of grants to active-duty service members to include active Guard/Reserves and their families to help cover daily necessities such as residential expenses, vehicle expenses, childcare, food, and more. Since 2004, 11,659 grants have been issued totaling more than $13 million. • VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” Introduced in 2013, this program awards scholarships of up to $5,000 to qualifying veterans and service members. The program has provided 3,261 scholarships totaling more than $1.5 million. • Student Veteran Support Grants Provides financial grants to VFW Posts, Districts, and Departments to assist with outreach and services to veterans on college campuses around the country.
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  • Our Core Values:
    Always put the interests of our members first
    Treat donors as partners in our cause
    Promote patriotism
    Honor military service
    Ensure the care of veterans and their families
    Serve our communities
    Promote a positive image of the VFW
    Respect the diversity of veteran opinions
    Our Core Values: Always put the interests of our members first Treat donors as partners in our cause Promote patriotism Honor military service Ensure the care of veterans and their families Serve our communities Promote a positive image of the VFW Respect the diversity of veteran opinions
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  • By virtue of charter granted, this Post shall be known as Owens Crossroads Post 12242, Veterans of
    Foreign Wars of the United States.
    Sec. 2. The location of this Post shall be in the City of Owens Crossroads, County of Madison, State of Alabama.

    ARTICLE II
    SUBORDINATION

    Sec. 1. The supreme power of this association is vested in the National Convention and this Post shall be at all
    times governed by the Congressional Charter and Bylaws of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United
    States, the Bylaws of the Department, orders issued by authority of the National Convention, National
    Council of Administration, the Commander-in-Chief, the Department Convention, Department Council of
    Administration and the Department Commander. Resolutions adopted by the National Convention are
    held to be lawful orders.

    ARTICLE III
    MEETINGS

    Sec. 1. Place: The regular meeting place of this Post shall be at the Meadows of Hampton Cove Clubhouse,
    6099 Goose Ridge Drive, Owens Crossroads, Alabama, 35763.
    Sec. 2. Time: The regular meetings of the Post shall be held on the 3 rd Wednesday of each month, to be called to
    order at 6p.m.
    Sec. 3. The Post may, after at least fourteen (14) days written notice to the Department Commander and the
    members of the Post, change its meeting place, appointed day or time upon a majority vote of the
    members present and voting at a regular or special meeting called for such purpose.
    Sec. 4. Special meetings may be called in accordance with the provisions of the National Bylaws.
    Sec. 5. Quorum: Six (6) members in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
    Sec 6. Post may adopt procedures, in compliance to National Bylaws allowing members to participate in
    meetings using technology that allows all participating members to communicate with each other
    simultaneously.

    ARTICLE IV
    MEMBERSHIP

    Sec. 1. Membership in this Post, eligibility to, application for, acquiring and maintenance of, loss of and discipline
    shall be in accordance with the provisions of the National Bylaws.
    Sec. 2. The admission fee of this Post shall be payable in accordance with the National Bylaws.
    Sec. 3. The dues of this Post shall never be less than the amount required to cover Department and National
    dues.

    2

    Sec. 4. Annual Post membership dues shall be $15 plus Department and National Dues.

    ARTICLE V
    OFFICERS

    Sec. 1. Eligibility to, nomination, election or appointment, installation and term of office shall be in accordance
    with the provisions of the National Bylaws.
    Sec. 2. The Post shall elect the Commander, Senior Vice Commander, Junior Vice Commander, Quartermaster,
    and three Trustees. The Commander shall appoint an Adjutant, Chaplain, and may appoint a Service
    Officer.
    Sec. 3. The duties of all officers shall be those prescribed by Department and National Bylaws, lawful orders as
    the Post may direct and as these Bylaws may provide.
    ARTICLE VI
    COMMITTEES AND DUTIES

    Sec. 1. All Committees and their chairmen, unless otherwise provided shall be appointed by the Commander as
    promptly as possible after election to office, and as such shall serve at his/her will and pleasure. The
    Post Quartermaster, by virtue of office shall be treasurer of all committees handling funds.
    Sec. 2. The Standing Committees of the Post shall be as follows:

    (a) Membership (e) Youth Activities (i) Community Activities
    (b) Relief (f) House (j) Safety
    (c) Poppy (g) Americanism (k) Bingo
    (d) Publicity (h) Ways and Means
    Sec. 3. House Committee/Board of Management (BoM):
    (a) The House Committee/BoM shall be elected by the Post members to manage certain matters
    related to the Post property including the operation of Post Club Rooms and/or Canteen. It shall
    consist of not less than three members, one each of whom shall be elected annually for a three-
    year term. Trustees shall not serve on the House Committee/BoM. In addition, the Post
    Commander and Post Quartermaster by virtue of their offices shall be members of the House
    Committee.
    (b) The Committee shall be responsible for the cleanliness and upkeep of the quarters and the
    equipment therein.
    (c) The Committee shall be in charge of the sub-rental of the Post’s quarters and shall exercise such
    supervision over sub-renters as will ensure the protection of the Post’s name and property.
    (d) The Committee may authorize such expenditures for minor emergency repairs and janitor supplies
    as may be necessary for the preservation and protection of the Post’s quarters and its equipment,
    provided that the total amount so expended between any two regular meetings shall not exceed an
    amount previously established by the Post.
    (e) All monies received by the Committee through the sub-rental of the Post's quarters or other
    sources shall be deposited with the Post Quartermaster.
    (f) All expenditures of the Committee shall be made only by regular voucher and drawn by the
    Quartermaster in accordance to these Bylaws.
    (g) The House Committee/BoM shall keep a record of all its receipts and expenditures and shall, at
    every meeting of the Post, report all monies received and all expenditures made since the last
    meeting.

    3

    (h) The Post may adopt such further rules and regulations governing the conduct of club or canteen
    as, do not conflict with the provisions of this Article. Such rules and regulations shall only become
    effective upon their approval by a majority vote of members present and voting at a regular or
    special meeting called for that purpose; at least thirty (30) days’ notice in writing having first been
    given to all members.

    ARTICLE VII
    CONTROL OF SUBSIDIARY UNITS

    Sec. 1. Any activity, unit or clubrooms sponsored, conducted or operated by the Post, incorporated separately
    from the Post or unincorporated, shall be at all times under the direct control of the Post.
    Sec. 2. All funds derived from any of the above shall be in the custody of the Post Quartermaster.
    Sec. 3. All money, property and assets of every kind as well as all records in connection therewith used, held
    and owned by any of the above activities is the property of the Post and must be placed in the care and
    custody of the Post Quartermaster.
    Sec. 4. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary and Military Order of the Cootie are governed by Articles XI and
    XII respectively of the National Bylaws and Manual of Procedure of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and
    their respective Bylaws, rules and regulations.
    ARTICLE VIII
    EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS

    Sec. 1. Expenditure of funds shall be made only after prior authorization by the Post and on proper voucher
    drawn by the Adjutant and approved by the Commander. All checks for the expenditure of Post funds
    shall be numbered in sequence, the number of each check to correspond with the voucher authorizing
    the same, other expenditures may be made using acceptable banking practices. All disbursements of
    Post funds shall bear the signature of the Quartermaster or other person(s) authorized by the
    Quartermaster. Such other authorized person(s) shall be bonded in accordance with Section 703 of the
    National Bylaws.
    Sec. 2. The adoption of this Article shall constitute authorization by the Post for the payment of bills, when and as
    due, for monthly rental, public utility service, postage, janitor service and for janitor’s supplies and minor
    emergency repairs authorized by the House Committee, provided that the amounts to be paid for monthly
    rental and for janitor service shall have been previously established by the Post.
    Sec. 3. No other payment or expenditure shall be made except on the specific authorization of the Post in each
    and every case.
    Sec. 4. The Post Quartermaster is authorized a debit card on the account of the Post General fund. Use is
    restricted for expenses with VFW National, VFW Department of Alabama, Post purchases through VFW
    Store and charges specifically approved by Post Membership vote. The debt card shall not be used for
    cash withdrawal at any time.
    Sec. 5. A travel expense report will be submitted to the Post for all approved travel expenses prior to
    reimbursement.
    Sec.. 6. The Post Commander is authorized to disapprove any “proper Post authorization” of expenditures in the
    following instances:
    (a) Any expenditure in violation of the National Bylaws.
    (b) Any expenditure that is unlawful.
    (c) Any expenditure that would jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the Post.

    ARTICLE IX

    4
    COMPENSATION

    Sec. 1. No compensation shall be paid to any officer of this Post for their services as such officer, except as
    hereafter may be provided.
    Sec. 2. For services rendered, the Post may, by majority vote, pay the annual dues of the Adjutant and
    Quartermaster for the periods or parts of periods they serve as such, and such other compensation
    commensurate with their duties as may be determined and specified by vote of the Post.

    ARTICLE X

    FUNDRAISING PROMOTIONS/SOLICITATIONS

    Sec. 1. This Post shall solicit funds or donations only by prior vote of the members agreeing to the proposition. It
    shall not solicit funds or donations or otherwise engage in fundraising activities or projects outside the
    immediate geographical area or community of the Post.
    Sec. 2. This Post shall not enter into any agreement with a promoter for the purpose of raising funds unless the
    said promoter shall have first furnished a good and sufficient surety bond in a principal sum sufficient to
    give the Post ample protection in the particular circumstances. The said bond shall be subject to the
    approval of the Post Advocate, bear the endorsement of the Post Commander and be kept in the
    possession of the Post Quartermaster. The bond will be conditioned on the payment to the Post
    Quartermaster of all monies due the Post as a result of the solicitation within thirty (30) days of the close
    of the campaign.
    If the promoter has made satisfactory settlement within the thirty-day period, then surety will be
    determined to be discharged, otherwise the bond will remain in full force and effect.
    Sec. 3. If the bond cannot be furnished, then all collections shall be made by the members of the Post
    sponsoring the campaign or entertainment and said funds shall be paid to a bonded officer of the Post
    who shall hold the funds in their custody pending proper pro rata distribution.
    Sec. 4. Fundraising organizations or individuals conducting solicitations, activities or projects for a profit shall not
    be engaged or used by the Post for such purpose unless such engagement is made by written
    agreement between the Post and the organization or individuals providing those services. The form of
    any such written agreement must be submitted to the Department Commander for review at least thirty
    (30) days prior to any Post entering into any such agreement.
    Sec. 5. No solicitations or ticket sales shall be permitted in the Post quarters or at socials or meetings unless
    such solicitations or ticket sales shall have been approved by the Post.

    ARTICLE XI
    MISCELLANEOUS

    Sec. 1. Every member of this Post shall keep the Post Adjutant and Quartermaster advised of their current
    address by promptly reporting any change of same.
    Sec. 2. One copy of these Bylaws shall be issued to each elected and appointed officer of this Post.
    Sec. 3. In all Post procedures not provided for by the Congressional Charter and Bylaws or these Bylaws,
    Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be the authority, and it shall be the duty of the Judge
    Advocate, in an advisory way, when called upon to do so by the Post Commander to advise the Post
    Commander on the proper rule(s).

    ARTICLE XII
    SPEECHES

    5

    Sec. 1. No member will be permitted to speak on any one subject (Pro or Con) more than twice; and the first time
    no longer than five (5) minutes, and the second time no longer than three (3) minutes, with the exception
    of a committee report and recommendations and visiting guests who have a message to impart.

    ARTICLE XIII
    AMENDMENTS

    Sec. 1. These Bylaws shall become effective after adoption by this Post and after review by the Commander of
    the Department and Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
    Sec. 2. These Bylaws may be amended by the Post by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at a
    meeting, provided each member had been notified at least twenty (20) days in advance and upon request
    provided a copy of the proposed amendments.
    Sec. 3. Wherever these Bylaws or subsequent amendments may be found to be in conflict with the present or
    any future Department or National Bylaws, the latter shall prevail and be binding upon this Post as though
    written herein.

    These Bylaws were adopted, subject to the review of the Department Commander and the Commander-in-Chief of
    the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States on this _________________ day of
    ___________________________, 20______, at a regular meeting of this Post.

    Owens Crossroads Post 12242
    Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States

    ATTEST: OFFICIAL:

    Brett Beatty, Adjutant Alfonso, Nixon,
    By virtue of charter granted, this Post shall be known as Owens Crossroads Post 12242, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Sec. 2. The location of this Post shall be in the City of Owens Crossroads, County of Madison, State of Alabama. ARTICLE II SUBORDINATION Sec. 1. The supreme power of this association is vested in the National Convention and this Post shall be at all times governed by the Congressional Charter and Bylaws of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, the Bylaws of the Department, orders issued by authority of the National Convention, National Council of Administration, the Commander-in-Chief, the Department Convention, Department Council of Administration and the Department Commander. Resolutions adopted by the National Convention are held to be lawful orders. ARTICLE III MEETINGS Sec. 1. Place: The regular meeting place of this Post shall be at the Meadows of Hampton Cove Clubhouse, 6099 Goose Ridge Drive, Owens Crossroads, Alabama, 35763. Sec. 2. Time: The regular meetings of the Post shall be held on the 3 rd Wednesday of each month, to be called to order at 6p.m. Sec. 3. The Post may, after at least fourteen (14) days written notice to the Department Commander and the members of the Post, change its meeting place, appointed day or time upon a majority vote of the members present and voting at a regular or special meeting called for such purpose. Sec. 4. Special meetings may be called in accordance with the provisions of the National Bylaws. Sec. 5. Quorum: Six (6) members in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Sec 6. Post may adopt procedures, in compliance to National Bylaws allowing members to participate in meetings using technology that allows all participating members to communicate with each other simultaneously. ARTICLE IV MEMBERSHIP Sec. 1. Membership in this Post, eligibility to, application for, acquiring and maintenance of, loss of and discipline shall be in accordance with the provisions of the National Bylaws. Sec. 2. The admission fee of this Post shall be payable in accordance with the National Bylaws. Sec. 3. The dues of this Post shall never be less than the amount required to cover Department and National dues. 2 Sec. 4. Annual Post membership dues shall be $15 plus Department and National Dues. ARTICLE V OFFICERS Sec. 1. Eligibility to, nomination, election or appointment, installation and term of office shall be in accordance with the provisions of the National Bylaws. Sec. 2. The Post shall elect the Commander, Senior Vice Commander, Junior Vice Commander, Quartermaster, and three Trustees. The Commander shall appoint an Adjutant, Chaplain, and may appoint a Service Officer. Sec. 3. The duties of all officers shall be those prescribed by Department and National Bylaws, lawful orders as the Post may direct and as these Bylaws may provide. ARTICLE VI COMMITTEES AND DUTIES Sec. 1. All Committees and their chairmen, unless otherwise provided shall be appointed by the Commander as promptly as possible after election to office, and as such shall serve at his/her will and pleasure. The Post Quartermaster, by virtue of office shall be treasurer of all committees handling funds. Sec. 2. The Standing Committees of the Post shall be as follows: (a) Membership (e) Youth Activities (i) Community Activities (b) Relief (f) House (j) Safety (c) Poppy (g) Americanism (k) Bingo (d) Publicity (h) Ways and Means Sec. 3. House Committee/Board of Management (BoM): (a) The House Committee/BoM shall be elected by the Post members to manage certain matters related to the Post property including the operation of Post Club Rooms and/or Canteen. It shall consist of not less than three members, one each of whom shall be elected annually for a three- year term. Trustees shall not serve on the House Committee/BoM. In addition, the Post Commander and Post Quartermaster by virtue of their offices shall be members of the House Committee. (b) The Committee shall be responsible for the cleanliness and upkeep of the quarters and the equipment therein. (c) The Committee shall be in charge of the sub-rental of the Post’s quarters and shall exercise such supervision over sub-renters as will ensure the protection of the Post’s name and property. (d) The Committee may authorize such expenditures for minor emergency repairs and janitor supplies as may be necessary for the preservation and protection of the Post’s quarters and its equipment, provided that the total amount so expended between any two regular meetings shall not exceed an amount previously established by the Post. (e) All monies received by the Committee through the sub-rental of the Post's quarters or other sources shall be deposited with the Post Quartermaster. (f) All expenditures of the Committee shall be made only by regular voucher and drawn by the Quartermaster in accordance to these Bylaws. (g) The House Committee/BoM shall keep a record of all its receipts and expenditures and shall, at every meeting of the Post, report all monies received and all expenditures made since the last meeting. 3 (h) The Post may adopt such further rules and regulations governing the conduct of club or canteen as, do not conflict with the provisions of this Article. Such rules and regulations shall only become effective upon their approval by a majority vote of members present and voting at a regular or special meeting called for that purpose; at least thirty (30) days’ notice in writing having first been given to all members. ARTICLE VII CONTROL OF SUBSIDIARY UNITS Sec. 1. Any activity, unit or clubrooms sponsored, conducted or operated by the Post, incorporated separately from the Post or unincorporated, shall be at all times under the direct control of the Post. Sec. 2. All funds derived from any of the above shall be in the custody of the Post Quartermaster. Sec. 3. All money, property and assets of every kind as well as all records in connection therewith used, held and owned by any of the above activities is the property of the Post and must be placed in the care and custody of the Post Quartermaster. Sec. 4. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary and Military Order of the Cootie are governed by Articles XI and XII respectively of the National Bylaws and Manual of Procedure of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and their respective Bylaws, rules and regulations. ARTICLE VIII EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS Sec. 1. Expenditure of funds shall be made only after prior authorization by the Post and on proper voucher drawn by the Adjutant and approved by the Commander. All checks for the expenditure of Post funds shall be numbered in sequence, the number of each check to correspond with the voucher authorizing the same, other expenditures may be made using acceptable banking practices. All disbursements of Post funds shall bear the signature of the Quartermaster or other person(s) authorized by the Quartermaster. Such other authorized person(s) shall be bonded in accordance with Section 703 of the National Bylaws. Sec. 2. The adoption of this Article shall constitute authorization by the Post for the payment of bills, when and as due, for monthly rental, public utility service, postage, janitor service and for janitor’s supplies and minor emergency repairs authorized by the House Committee, provided that the amounts to be paid for monthly rental and for janitor service shall have been previously established by the Post. Sec. 3. No other payment or expenditure shall be made except on the specific authorization of the Post in each and every case. Sec. 4. The Post Quartermaster is authorized a debit card on the account of the Post General fund. Use is restricted for expenses with VFW National, VFW Department of Alabama, Post purchases through VFW Store and charges specifically approved by Post Membership vote. The debt card shall not be used for cash withdrawal at any time. Sec. 5. A travel expense report will be submitted to the Post for all approved travel expenses prior to reimbursement. Sec.. 6. The Post Commander is authorized to disapprove any “proper Post authorization” of expenditures in the following instances: (a) Any expenditure in violation of the National Bylaws. (b) Any expenditure that is unlawful. (c) Any expenditure that would jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the Post. ARTICLE IX 4 COMPENSATION Sec. 1. No compensation shall be paid to any officer of this Post for their services as such officer, except as hereafter may be provided. Sec. 2. For services rendered, the Post may, by majority vote, pay the annual dues of the Adjutant and Quartermaster for the periods or parts of periods they serve as such, and such other compensation commensurate with their duties as may be determined and specified by vote of the Post. ARTICLE X FUNDRAISING PROMOTIONS/SOLICITATIONS Sec. 1. This Post shall solicit funds or donations only by prior vote of the members agreeing to the proposition. It shall not solicit funds or donations or otherwise engage in fundraising activities or projects outside the immediate geographical area or community of the Post. Sec. 2. This Post shall not enter into any agreement with a promoter for the purpose of raising funds unless the said promoter shall have first furnished a good and sufficient surety bond in a principal sum sufficient to give the Post ample protection in the particular circumstances. The said bond shall be subject to the approval of the Post Advocate, bear the endorsement of the Post Commander and be kept in the possession of the Post Quartermaster. The bond will be conditioned on the payment to the Post Quartermaster of all monies due the Post as a result of the solicitation within thirty (30) days of the close of the campaign. If the promoter has made satisfactory settlement within the thirty-day period, then surety will be determined to be discharged, otherwise the bond will remain in full force and effect. Sec. 3. If the bond cannot be furnished, then all collections shall be made by the members of the Post sponsoring the campaign or entertainment and said funds shall be paid to a bonded officer of the Post who shall hold the funds in their custody pending proper pro rata distribution. Sec. 4. Fundraising organizations or individuals conducting solicitations, activities or projects for a profit shall not be engaged or used by the Post for such purpose unless such engagement is made by written agreement between the Post and the organization or individuals providing those services. The form of any such written agreement must be submitted to the Department Commander for review at least thirty (30) days prior to any Post entering into any such agreement. Sec. 5. No solicitations or ticket sales shall be permitted in the Post quarters or at socials or meetings unless such solicitations or ticket sales shall have been approved by the Post. ARTICLE XI MISCELLANEOUS Sec. 1. Every member of this Post shall keep the Post Adjutant and Quartermaster advised of their current address by promptly reporting any change of same. Sec. 2. One copy of these Bylaws shall be issued to each elected and appointed officer of this Post. Sec. 3. In all Post procedures not provided for by the Congressional Charter and Bylaws or these Bylaws, Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be the authority, and it shall be the duty of the Judge Advocate, in an advisory way, when called upon to do so by the Post Commander to advise the Post Commander on the proper rule(s). ARTICLE XII SPEECHES 5 Sec. 1. No member will be permitted to speak on any one subject (Pro or Con) more than twice; and the first time no longer than five (5) minutes, and the second time no longer than three (3) minutes, with the exception of a committee report and recommendations and visiting guests who have a message to impart. ARTICLE XIII AMENDMENTS Sec. 1. These Bylaws shall become effective after adoption by this Post and after review by the Commander of the Department and Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Sec. 2. These Bylaws may be amended by the Post by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at a meeting, provided each member had been notified at least twenty (20) days in advance and upon request provided a copy of the proposed amendments. Sec. 3. Wherever these Bylaws or subsequent amendments may be found to be in conflict with the present or any future Department or National Bylaws, the latter shall prevail and be binding upon this Post as though written herein. These Bylaws were adopted, subject to the review of the Department Commander and the Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States on this _________________ day of ___________________________, 20______, at a regular meeting of this Post. Owens Crossroads Post 12242 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States ATTEST: OFFICIAL: Brett Beatty, Adjutant Alfonso, Nixon,
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  • Revolutionizing Quality Control with Digital Inspection

    Digital inspection is transforming quality control across various industries by leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and automated imaging systems. This innovative approach enhances accuracy, speeds up the inspection process, and reduces human error, making it an essential tool in manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, automotive, and other industries. Unlike traditional manual inspections, digital inspection utilizes high-resolution imaging, AI-driven analysis, and real-time monitoring to detect defects, inconsistencies, and irregularities with unparalleled precision. Businesses adopting digital inspection solutions experience increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved compliance with industry standards.

    Read More - https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/digital-inspection-market-6141

    The implementation of digital inspection involves integrating smart sensors, cameras, and AI-powered software into the production line or inspection stations. These systems analyze images and data in real-time, ensuring that even minute defects are identified and addressed before products reach the market. In industries like automotive and aerospace, where precision is critical, digital inspection ensures safety, reliability, and compliance with stringent regulations. Furthermore, IoT-enabled inspection tools provide remote access and predictive maintenance capabilities, allowing businesses to identify potential issues before they escalate into costly failures.

    The benefits of digital inspection extend beyond quality assurance, offering a proactive approach to maintenance and process optimization. AI-based inspection tools continuously learn from past data, improving their accuracy and effectiveness over time. This automation minimizes downtime, enhances productivity, and reduces waste, contributing to sustainable manufacturing practices. Moreover, digital inspection solutions are highly adaptable, making them suitable for diverse industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, where high precision and compliance with safety standards are paramount.

    In addition to defect detection, digital inspection also streamlines regulatory compliance by providing digital records and audit trails. Automated documentation ensures traceability, making it easier for businesses to adhere to industry regulations and respond to quality control challenges. As technology advances, innovations such as 3D imaging, machine learning algorithms, and cloud-based inspection platforms continue to enhance digital inspection capabilities. These advancements make quality control more accessible, efficient, and reliable than ever before.
    Revolutionizing Quality Control with Digital Inspection Digital inspection is transforming quality control across various industries by leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and automated imaging systems. This innovative approach enhances accuracy, speeds up the inspection process, and reduces human error, making it an essential tool in manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, automotive, and other industries. Unlike traditional manual inspections, digital inspection utilizes high-resolution imaging, AI-driven analysis, and real-time monitoring to detect defects, inconsistencies, and irregularities with unparalleled precision. Businesses adopting digital inspection solutions experience increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved compliance with industry standards. Read More - https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/digital-inspection-market-6141 The implementation of digital inspection involves integrating smart sensors, cameras, and AI-powered software into the production line or inspection stations. These systems analyze images and data in real-time, ensuring that even minute defects are identified and addressed before products reach the market. In industries like automotive and aerospace, where precision is critical, digital inspection ensures safety, reliability, and compliance with stringent regulations. Furthermore, IoT-enabled inspection tools provide remote access and predictive maintenance capabilities, allowing businesses to identify potential issues before they escalate into costly failures. The benefits of digital inspection extend beyond quality assurance, offering a proactive approach to maintenance and process optimization. AI-based inspection tools continuously learn from past data, improving their accuracy and effectiveness over time. This automation minimizes downtime, enhances productivity, and reduces waste, contributing to sustainable manufacturing practices. Moreover, digital inspection solutions are highly adaptable, making them suitable for diverse industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, where high precision and compliance with safety standards are paramount. In addition to defect detection, digital inspection also streamlines regulatory compliance by providing digital records and audit trails. Automated documentation ensures traceability, making it easier for businesses to adhere to industry regulations and respond to quality control challenges. As technology advances, innovations such as 3D imaging, machine learning algorithms, and cloud-based inspection platforms continue to enhance digital inspection capabilities. These advancements make quality control more accessible, efficient, and reliable than ever before.
    WWW.MARKETRESEARCHFUTURE.COM
    Digital Inspection Market Size, Industry Share - 2032
    Digital Inspection Market size is projected to grow USD 10.2 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.47% during the forecast period 2024 - 2032.
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  • Early Bird Labs is a dynamic startup studio dedicated to transforming innovative ideas into market-ready digital products. Specializing in web and mobile application development, their team leverages modern technologies such as Next.js, React.js, Tailwind CSS, MongoDB, and Node.js to deliver high-quality, scalable, and maintainable solutions.

    Source: https://earlybirdlabs.io/services/app-development

    Services Offered:

    Web Development: Crafting robust web applications with a focus on user experience and performance.

    App Development: Building cross-platform mobile applications using technologies like React Native and Node.js.

    UI/UX Design: Designing intuitive and engaging user interfaces that enhance user satisfaction.

    Product Development: Guiding clients from ideation through to product launch, ensuring alignment with business objectives.

    Client Testimonials:

    Clients have praised Early Bird Labs for their professionalism, timely delivery, and exceptional project management. For instance, a healthcare employment platform highlighted their effective communication and leadership skills, noting the team's energetic and problem-solving approach.

    Team Expertise:

    The leadership team includes professionals like Joe Petrantoni, who leads product development with a focus on technical solutions and user experience, and Matt Tauber, who brings expertise in hardware development and product management.

    Recent Insights:

    Early Bird Labs regularly shares industry insights and trends. Recent topics include avoiding common pitfalls in product development and the future of UX design.

    Engage with Early Bird Labs:

    For businesses and entrepreneurs looking to bring their digital product ideas to life, Early Bird Labs offers a comprehensive suite of services backed by a team of experienced professionals. Their commitment to quality and client satisfaction makes them a valuable partner in the journey from concept to market.

    To learn more or to schedule a consultation, visit their website at earlybirdlabs.io.
    Early Bird Labs is a dynamic startup studio dedicated to transforming innovative ideas into market-ready digital products. Specializing in web and mobile application development, their team leverages modern technologies such as Next.js, React.js, Tailwind CSS, MongoDB, and Node.js to deliver high-quality, scalable, and maintainable solutions. Source: https://earlybirdlabs.io/services/app-development Services Offered: Web Development: Crafting robust web applications with a focus on user experience and performance. App Development: Building cross-platform mobile applications using technologies like React Native and Node.js. UI/UX Design: Designing intuitive and engaging user interfaces that enhance user satisfaction. Product Development: Guiding clients from ideation through to product launch, ensuring alignment with business objectives. Client Testimonials: Clients have praised Early Bird Labs for their professionalism, timely delivery, and exceptional project management. For instance, a healthcare employment platform highlighted their effective communication and leadership skills, noting the team's energetic and problem-solving approach. Team Expertise: The leadership team includes professionals like Joe Petrantoni, who leads product development with a focus on technical solutions and user experience, and Matt Tauber, who brings expertise in hardware development and product management. Recent Insights: Early Bird Labs regularly shares industry insights and trends. Recent topics include avoiding common pitfalls in product development and the future of UX design. Engage with Early Bird Labs: For businesses and entrepreneurs looking to bring their digital product ideas to life, Early Bird Labs offers a comprehensive suite of services backed by a team of experienced professionals. Their commitment to quality and client satisfaction makes them a valuable partner in the journey from concept to market. To learn more or to schedule a consultation, visit their website at earlybirdlabs.io.
    Service Detail | App Development
    Get high-quality, scalable, and maintainable mobile application development services with experiences & specialized teams of react.js & Node.js at Early Bird.
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  • As the number of Vietnam and World War II veterans continues to decline, we are faced with a poignant reminder of the invaluable sacrifices they made to protect our freedoms. This decline highlights the urgency of our commitment to preserve their stories and honor their contributions. Going forward, our primary focus will be to ensure that their legacy remains an integral part of our national consciousness. We pledge to uphold their memory and provide the recognition and care these heroes so richly deserve. Our dedication to this mission is unwavering, and we are committed to keeping their spirit alive for future generations. Please help us by ensuring that we integrate as many of these Veterans and their family members as possible into the platform.






    As the number of Vietnam and World War II veterans continues to decline, we are faced with a poignant reminder of the invaluable sacrifices they made to protect our freedoms. This decline highlights the urgency of our commitment to preserve their stories and honor their contributions. Going forward, our primary focus will be to ensure that their legacy remains an integral part of our national consciousness. We pledge to uphold their memory and provide the recognition and care these heroes so richly deserve. Our dedication to this mission is unwavering, and we are committed to keeping their spirit alive for future generations. Please help us by ensuring that we integrate as many of these Veterans and their family members as possible into the platform.
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  • Exciting News for Transitioning Service Members!

    Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Altitude Career Skills Institute (ACSI) is proud to offer the DoD Skillbridge program, providing transitioning service members with the training and certifications needed to thrive in the civilian workforce.

    Through our comprehensive programs in Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma (LSS), Cybersecurity, Human Resources, and other industry-recognized certifications, we equip you with the skills and knowledge to excel in high-demand industries. At ACSI, we are committed to your success and dedicated to helping you achieve your career goals.

    Learn more about how you can benefit from our DoD SkillBridge program and start your journey toward a successful civilian career today: https://altitudecsi.org/pages/dod-skillbridge-with-acsi

    #ACSI #SkillBridge #VeteranSupport #CareerTransition #PMP #LeanSixSigma #MilitaryToCivilian #VeteranSuccess #Cybersecurity #HumanResources
    🚀 Exciting News for Transitioning Service Members! 🌟 Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Altitude Career Skills Institute (ACSI) is proud to offer the DoD Skillbridge program, providing transitioning service members with the training and certifications needed to thrive in the civilian workforce. Through our comprehensive programs in Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma (LSS), Cybersecurity, Human Resources, and other industry-recognized certifications, we equip you with the skills and knowledge to excel in high-demand industries. At ACSI, we are committed to your success and dedicated to helping you achieve your career goals. 👉 Learn more about how you can benefit from our DoD SkillBridge program and start your journey toward a successful civilian career today: https://altitudecsi.org/pages/dod-skillbridge-with-acsi #ACSI #SkillBridge #VeteranSupport #CareerTransition #PMP #LeanSixSigma #MilitaryToCivilian #VeteranSuccess #Cybersecurity #HumanResources
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  • “Gilding the Eagle” by Norman Rockwell (1928)
    The work originally appeared on the May 26, 1928 cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

    Described by Norman Rockwell as "one of my best of this period," the painting features one of his favorite models of the 1920s, James K. Van Brunt. An ideal model and source of inspiration, Van Brunt posed for Rockwell in a wide variety of narratives and as numerous characters, including a cowboy (Dreams of Long Ago, 1927, Private Collection), and two old ladies gossiping (The Gossips , 1929, Private Collection).

    In Man Painting the Flagpole , Brunt sits near the top of a lofty flagpole, holding himself upright with one arm as he diligently gilds the stately eagle that adorns its pinnacle. A faint, city skyline appears in the distance beneath him. With an extra paintbrush in his pocket and a bucket of gold paint at his side, he methodically completes his work while puffing on a pipe that protrudes from underneath his bushy mustache. The composition emphasizes the patriotic symbolism of the American eagle, while simultaneously portraying a sympathetic view of people at work--a theme Rockwell revisited throughout his career.
    “Gilding the Eagle” by Norman Rockwell (1928) The work originally appeared on the May 26, 1928 cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Described by Norman Rockwell as "one of my best of this period," the painting features one of his favorite models of the 1920s, James K. Van Brunt. An ideal model and source of inspiration, Van Brunt posed for Rockwell in a wide variety of narratives and as numerous characters, including a cowboy (Dreams of Long Ago, 1927, Private Collection), and two old ladies gossiping (The Gossips , 1929, Private Collection). In Man Painting the Flagpole , Brunt sits near the top of a lofty flagpole, holding himself upright with one arm as he diligently gilds the stately eagle that adorns its pinnacle. A faint, city skyline appears in the distance beneath him. With an extra paintbrush in his pocket and a bucket of gold paint at his side, he methodically completes his work while puffing on a pipe that protrudes from underneath his bushy mustache. The composition emphasizes the patriotic symbolism of the American eagle, while simultaneously portraying a sympathetic view of people at work--a theme Rockwell revisited throughout his career.
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  • Pashtun

    Pashtuns (also called Pushtan, Paktun or Pathan) are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Though their exact numbers are uncertain and as with other communities are contested, previous estimates have suggested that they make up around 42 per cent of the population. They live mainly in the south and the east of the country. They have a distinct language called Pashto (an official language since 1936) but also speak Pakhto, which are both Iranian dialects that fall within the Indo-European group of languages. They are generally able to speak Farsi when necessary, often relying on the language in the context of trade dealings in the region. It is speculated that Pashtuns are descendants of Eastern Iranians, who immigrated to the area from Persia. However, there is also an interesting legend, which claims that they actually originate from one of the ancient tribes of Israel. Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims and can also be found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan (about 14 million). They are seen as the historic founders of the Afghan Kingdom, with an apparent predominance in administration power until recently.

    The social structure of the Pashtuns is based on the Pashtunwali (or Pukhtunwali) code, which is a mixture of a tribal code of honour and local interpretations of Shari’a. This requires the speaking of Pashtu and the adherence to established customs. Hospitality, protection of their guests, defence of property, family honour and protection of the female relatives are some of the most important principles for Pashtuns. They rely on the tribal council jirga for the enforcement of disputes and local decision-making, as well as the seclusion of women from all affairs outside the home. A major aspect of the Pashtunwali code emphasizes personal authority and freedom. Women are required to wear full-face and full-length garments known as the burka. Pashtun culture is celebrated for its traditional music, dancing, poetry and storytelling.

    A majority of Pashtuns rely upon agriculture (irrigated wheat) and animal husbandry for their source of income, with some involved in trading in these and other commodities. Population relocation and poverty caused by the chronic lack of stability in Afghanistan has led to a rise in drug trafficking, mainly opium via Pakistan to Europe and North America. The difficult living conditions together with the lack of clean water and health care contributes to a short life expectancy of only about 46 years. Those living in the Kabul area seem to enjoy slightly better living standards.

    Tribal divisions

    Despite their past political dominance, Pashtuns have never formed a homogeneous group, and many have fallen victim to oppression at the hands of the elites from their own community. The power and leadership of individuals are perhaps what divides Pashtuns, not only into different tribes but also into numerous sub-tribes, each isolated within their own borders. Interference in each other’s affairs has caused conflict among sub-tribes throughout their history. Yet despite their infighting, they have generally rallied to form a unified front when challenged by external threats or interference by a central non-Pashtun government.

    Pakistan’s policy has been mainly supportive of the Pashtuns, especially in more recent times, but does not support the claim for self-determination of the 13 million Pashtuns living in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, out of fear of losing part of their territory.
    Pashtun Pashtuns (also called Pushtan, Paktun or Pathan) are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Though their exact numbers are uncertain and as with other communities are contested, previous estimates have suggested that they make up around 42 per cent of the population. They live mainly in the south and the east of the country. They have a distinct language called Pashto (an official language since 1936) but also speak Pakhto, which are both Iranian dialects that fall within the Indo-European group of languages. They are generally able to speak Farsi when necessary, often relying on the language in the context of trade dealings in the region. It is speculated that Pashtuns are descendants of Eastern Iranians, who immigrated to the area from Persia. However, there is also an interesting legend, which claims that they actually originate from one of the ancient tribes of Israel. Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims and can also be found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan (about 14 million). They are seen as the historic founders of the Afghan Kingdom, with an apparent predominance in administration power until recently. The social structure of the Pashtuns is based on the Pashtunwali (or Pukhtunwali) code, which is a mixture of a tribal code of honour and local interpretations of Shari’a. This requires the speaking of Pashtu and the adherence to established customs. Hospitality, protection of their guests, defence of property, family honour and protection of the female relatives are some of the most important principles for Pashtuns. They rely on the tribal council jirga for the enforcement of disputes and local decision-making, as well as the seclusion of women from all affairs outside the home. A major aspect of the Pashtunwali code emphasizes personal authority and freedom. Women are required to wear full-face and full-length garments known as the burka. Pashtun culture is celebrated for its traditional music, dancing, poetry and storytelling. A majority of Pashtuns rely upon agriculture (irrigated wheat) and animal husbandry for their source of income, with some involved in trading in these and other commodities. Population relocation and poverty caused by the chronic lack of stability in Afghanistan has led to a rise in drug trafficking, mainly opium via Pakistan to Europe and North America. The difficult living conditions together with the lack of clean water and health care contributes to a short life expectancy of only about 46 years. Those living in the Kabul area seem to enjoy slightly better living standards. Tribal divisions Despite their past political dominance, Pashtuns have never formed a homogeneous group, and many have fallen victim to oppression at the hands of the elites from their own community. The power and leadership of individuals are perhaps what divides Pashtuns, not only into different tribes but also into numerous sub-tribes, each isolated within their own borders. Interference in each other’s affairs has caused conflict among sub-tribes throughout their history. Yet despite their infighting, they have generally rallied to form a unified front when challenged by external threats or interference by a central non-Pashtun government. Pakistan’s policy has been mainly supportive of the Pashtuns, especially in more recent times, but does not support the claim for self-determination of the 13 million Pashtuns living in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, out of fear of losing part of their territory.
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  • Nuristanis
    Nuristanis arrived in Afghanistan fleeing the eastward spread of Islam. They speak a unique Indo-European-language. Nuristanis were conquered by Amir Abdur Rahman Khan in 1895-96 and were obliged to abandon their ancient religious beliefs in favour of Islam. They reside mainly in the east of the country – between the Pashtun tribes of Kunar, Kalash in Pakistan’s Chitral, and Tajiks of Badakhshan in the north. Nuristan (‘land of light’) is located on the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush mountain range and is spread over four valleys, with each valley having its own distinct language/dialect: Kati, Waigali, Ashkun and Parsun.

    Nuristan has very little arable land, the vast majority of the territory being covered by forest. The main base of the economy is animal husbandry – mostly goat-herding. While maize and barley are grown in small quantities, the Nuristani people survive mainly on subsistence agriculture, wheat, fruit and goats. Very few Nuristanis have had access to education. Yet, among those who have travelled to Kabul and been able to gain access to schools, some have gained prominence as well-known figures in the army and the government in Kabul.

    Historical context

    The Nuristanis’ scattered settlement is another result of Amir Abdul Rahman’s late-nineteenth-century expansionism. During his rule, what was then called Kafiristan (‘kafir’ meaning non-believer as Nuristanis did not convert to Islam until the twentieth century) was renamed as Nuristan (‘land of light’) after the forced Islamization of the community. Nuristanis are still sometimes referred to as ‘Kafir’. Some Nuristanis claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great and his forces.

    Nuristani men and women follow a strict division of labour with the men working in livestock herding, while the women work on grain production or irrigated terraces.

    The province was the scene of some of the heaviest guerrilla fighting during the 1979-89 Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Nuristan is still used as a route by Taliban into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.

    Nuristan’s distinctive cultural heritage was under considerable threat during the period when the Taliban controlled Kabul. A collection of life-size wooden sculptures dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries was smashed by the Taliban in 2001 in their effort to destroy artistic expressions of the human form, as well as evidence that parts of Afghanistan had in fact followed other faiths than Islam until relatively recently. The collection had been brought back by the forces of Amir Abdul Rahman and housed at the National Museum. The statues depict ancestors as well as animistic and polytheistic divinities. Although some remain lost, others were hidden away by museum staff. Fourteen sculptures could be carefully restored and incorporated in an inaugural display at the newly reopened museum in 2004.

    Current issues

    The Constitution recognizes Nuristanis as one of the national minorities entitled to Afghan citizenship. However, Nuristan remains isolated and poverty-stricken, and due to the lack of regional institutions, there is a widespread lawlessness. As a geographically remote region, it has been difficult to establish a central government presence, and after it was virtually abandoned by NATO in 2009, many areas of Nuristan have come under the control of the Taliban. A Nuristani provincial governor commented that Nuristan province has been largely neglected by NATO and the central government as a symptom of long-term neglect and discrimination of the Nuristanis as an ethnic minority, who have not been able to represent themselves adequately in Kabul. In 2017, fighting between Taliban and ISIS erupted in the province, following a concerted effort by ISIS to recruit followers there.

    Neglect from the central government as well as continuing violence and insecurity has produced extremely poor health, maternal health and education indicators. In March 2017, measles outbreaks reportedly killed 70 children in Nuristan province and schools were closed due to fear of an imminent Taliban siege in May. Community members reported a serious lack of qualified teachers and education facilities.
    Nuristanis Nuristanis arrived in Afghanistan fleeing the eastward spread of Islam. They speak a unique Indo-European-language. Nuristanis were conquered by Amir Abdur Rahman Khan in 1895-96 and were obliged to abandon their ancient religious beliefs in favour of Islam. They reside mainly in the east of the country – between the Pashtun tribes of Kunar, Kalash in Pakistan’s Chitral, and Tajiks of Badakhshan in the north. Nuristan (‘land of light’) is located on the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush mountain range and is spread over four valleys, with each valley having its own distinct language/dialect: Kati, Waigali, Ashkun and Parsun. Nuristan has very little arable land, the vast majority of the territory being covered by forest. The main base of the economy is animal husbandry – mostly goat-herding. While maize and barley are grown in small quantities, the Nuristani people survive mainly on subsistence agriculture, wheat, fruit and goats. Very few Nuristanis have had access to education. Yet, among those who have travelled to Kabul and been able to gain access to schools, some have gained prominence as well-known figures in the army and the government in Kabul. Historical context The Nuristanis’ scattered settlement is another result of Amir Abdul Rahman’s late-nineteenth-century expansionism. During his rule, what was then called Kafiristan (‘kafir’ meaning non-believer as Nuristanis did not convert to Islam until the twentieth century) was renamed as Nuristan (‘land of light’) after the forced Islamization of the community. Nuristanis are still sometimes referred to as ‘Kafir’. Some Nuristanis claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great and his forces. Nuristani men and women follow a strict division of labour with the men working in livestock herding, while the women work on grain production or irrigated terraces. The province was the scene of some of the heaviest guerrilla fighting during the 1979-89 Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Nuristan is still used as a route by Taliban into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan. Nuristan’s distinctive cultural heritage was under considerable threat during the period when the Taliban controlled Kabul. A collection of life-size wooden sculptures dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries was smashed by the Taliban in 2001 in their effort to destroy artistic expressions of the human form, as well as evidence that parts of Afghanistan had in fact followed other faiths than Islam until relatively recently. The collection had been brought back by the forces of Amir Abdul Rahman and housed at the National Museum. The statues depict ancestors as well as animistic and polytheistic divinities. Although some remain lost, others were hidden away by museum staff. Fourteen sculptures could be carefully restored and incorporated in an inaugural display at the newly reopened museum in 2004. Current issues The Constitution recognizes Nuristanis as one of the national minorities entitled to Afghan citizenship. However, Nuristan remains isolated and poverty-stricken, and due to the lack of regional institutions, there is a widespread lawlessness. As a geographically remote region, it has been difficult to establish a central government presence, and after it was virtually abandoned by NATO in 2009, many areas of Nuristan have come under the control of the Taliban. A Nuristani provincial governor commented that Nuristan province has been largely neglected by NATO and the central government as a symptom of long-term neglect and discrimination of the Nuristanis as an ethnic minority, who have not been able to represent themselves adequately in Kabul. In 2017, fighting between Taliban and ISIS erupted in the province, following a concerted effort by ISIS to recruit followers there. Neglect from the central government as well as continuing violence and insecurity has produced extremely poor health, maternal health and education indicators. In March 2017, measles outbreaks reportedly killed 70 children in Nuristan province and schools were closed due to fear of an imminent Taliban siege in May. Community members reported a serious lack of qualified teachers and education facilities.
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  • Mothers Day Service
    ------------------------------------
    Momma

    You were there when I was a little boy playing Soldier Momma... and you were there when I came home with scraped knees and bloody noses.

    You were there when I was covered in mud and wouldn't eat my vegetables Momma... and you were there when I came to you scared in the middle of the night from the storm. "It's just the wind baby..." you would say as you wrapped your arms around me.

    When I was too tough for your kisses and too proud for hugs...too cool to be seen with you and too manly to be loved...you were there. "You'll always be my baby..." you would say softly.

    When I had a broken heart you held me close and when I went to prom you made sure I looked my best. You fussed over me for hours and I tried to break free. "Sit still and let me help you..." you said so sweetly.

    When I enlisted you wept. When I called home and told you that your boy was now a man, you just smiled on the other end of the line and said: "You'll always be my little boy..."

    When I went to war you stayed quiet and it confused me. I wondered often if you cared; it wasn't until I came home I noticed all the new gray hair. "Welcome home son..." you said through teary sobs.

    I put you through such hell. I called you names and I drank. You made me grow up instead of coddling me. You wouldn't let me come home until I understood that I wasn't defeated, I still had strength and I could still act. You let me fall only to show me that I could get up and keep going...the way you raised me to be. You wouldn't let me give up. You wouldn't let me quit. And when I was finally ready, you were there, waiting with open arms. "I knew you could do it..." you said softly.

    Oh Momma, how can I ever Thank You? How much do I owe you? How can I ever tell you how much your Strong Love has meant to me? "You just did..."

    Happy Mothers Day Momma.

    The Lesson of the Day is from 1 Kings, Ch. 3, v. 16-28:

    Your Majesty, this Woman and I live in the same house. Not long ago my baby was born at home, and three days later her baby was born. Nobody else was there with us.

    One night while we were all asleep, she rolled over on her baby, and he died. Then while I was still asleep, she got up and took my son out of my bed. She put him in her bed, then she put her dead baby next to me.

    In the morning when I got up to feed my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I looked at him in the light, I knew he wasn’t my son.

    “No!” the other woman shouted. “He was your son. My baby is alive!”

    “The dead baby is yours,” the first woman yelled. “Mine is alive!”

    They argued back and forth in front of Solomon, until finally he said, “Both of you say this live baby is yours. Someone bring me a sword.”

    A sword was brought, and Solomon ordered “Cut the baby in half! That way each of you can have part of him.”

    “Please don’t kill my son,” the baby’s mother screamed. “Your Majesty, I Love him very much, but give him to her. Just don’t kill him.”

    The other woman shouted, “Go ahead and cut him in half. Then neither of us will have the baby.”

    Solomon said, “Don’t kill the baby.” Then he pointed to the first woman, “She is his real mother.
    Give the baby to her.”

    Everyone in Israel was amazed when they heard how Solomon had made his decision. They realized that GOD had given him wisdom to judge fairly.

    Here ends the Lesson.

    Happy Mothers Day to all of our mothers who stood silently by and watched as their baby boys went into harms way again and again. And here's to all the mothers who lit the candles that are forever burning for sons and daughters who never returned. May they be reunited some day in the fields of Valhalla on the plains of Heaven.

    Let us pray:
    May The Lord bless you and keep you;
    May The Lord make His Face shine on you and be ever graceful unto you;
    In The Name of The Father, The Son, And The Holy Spirit,
    Amen.
    - Preacher
    Mothers Day Service ------------------------------------ Momma You were there when I was a little boy playing Soldier Momma... and you were there when I came home with scraped knees and bloody noses. You were there when I was covered in mud and wouldn't eat my vegetables Momma... and you were there when I came to you scared in the middle of the night from the storm. "It's just the wind baby..." you would say as you wrapped your arms around me. When I was too tough for your kisses and too proud for hugs...too cool to be seen with you and too manly to be loved...you were there. "You'll always be my baby..." you would say softly. When I had a broken heart you held me close and when I went to prom you made sure I looked my best. You fussed over me for hours and I tried to break free. "Sit still and let me help you..." you said so sweetly. When I enlisted you wept. When I called home and told you that your boy was now a man, you just smiled on the other end of the line and said: "You'll always be my little boy..." When I went to war you stayed quiet and it confused me. I wondered often if you cared; it wasn't until I came home I noticed all the new gray hair. "Welcome home son..." you said through teary sobs. I put you through such hell. I called you names and I drank. You made me grow up instead of coddling me. You wouldn't let me come home until I understood that I wasn't defeated, I still had strength and I could still act. You let me fall only to show me that I could get up and keep going...the way you raised me to be. You wouldn't let me give up. You wouldn't let me quit. And when I was finally ready, you were there, waiting with open arms. "I knew you could do it..." you said softly. Oh Momma, how can I ever Thank You? How much do I owe you? How can I ever tell you how much your Strong Love has meant to me? "You just did..." Happy Mothers Day Momma. The Lesson of the Day is from 1 Kings, Ch. 3, v. 16-28: Your Majesty, this Woman and I live in the same house. Not long ago my baby was born at home, and three days later her baby was born. Nobody else was there with us. One night while we were all asleep, she rolled over on her baby, and he died. Then while I was still asleep, she got up and took my son out of my bed. She put him in her bed, then she put her dead baby next to me. In the morning when I got up to feed my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I looked at him in the light, I knew he wasn’t my son. “No!” the other woman shouted. “He was your son. My baby is alive!” “The dead baby is yours,” the first woman yelled. “Mine is alive!” They argued back and forth in front of Solomon, until finally he said, “Both of you say this live baby is yours. Someone bring me a sword.” A sword was brought, and Solomon ordered “Cut the baby in half! That way each of you can have part of him.” “Please don’t kill my son,” the baby’s mother screamed. “Your Majesty, I Love him very much, but give him to her. Just don’t kill him.” The other woman shouted, “Go ahead and cut him in half. Then neither of us will have the baby.” Solomon said, “Don’t kill the baby.” Then he pointed to the first woman, “She is his real mother. Give the baby to her.” Everyone in Israel was amazed when they heard how Solomon had made his decision. They realized that GOD had given him wisdom to judge fairly. Here ends the Lesson. Happy Mothers Day to all of our mothers who stood silently by and watched as their baby boys went into harms way again and again. And here's to all the mothers who lit the candles that are forever burning for sons and daughters who never returned. May they be reunited some day in the fields of Valhalla on the plains of Heaven. Let us pray: May The Lord bless you and keep you; May The Lord make His Face shine on you and be ever graceful unto you; In The Name of The Father, The Son, And The Holy Spirit, Amen. - Preacher
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  • By Major Mark A. Smith Sr. (ret)
    Note: Some decades ago, a friend in the Pentagon asked me to jot down a few Soldierly thoughts. Through the years I added a couple, but deleted none of the originals. They may not be modern or politically corrected, but they did make the rounds. I stand by them today.
    - Mark
    1. Never accept an officer as competent based on his source of commission.
    2. Your right to influence the battlefield is diminished in ratio to the distance you are from the actual arena of action.
    3. The battlefield selects its own Generals. No school or board can replace it.
    4. Never call fire on your own troops, unless you stand among them.
    5. Leaders are indeed born and no military school can provide what God did not.
    6. Equipment procurement will always be compromised by not only being made by the lowest bidder, but by attempting to make it multi-functional.
    7. Attempting to lighten the soldier’s load by diminishing the weight of any given weapon, will always result in shorter range and less firepower.
    8. Excellent staff officers rarely make good battlefield commanders.
    9. Outstanding commanders will surround themselves with excellent staff officers.
    10. Never make command a reward for good staff work.
    11. Discipline began its decline with the demise of the swagger stick and centralized promotion boards.
    12. Outstanding NCO’s may make good officers. But, rarely will a riffed officer make a good NCO.
    13. Atheists will never be trusted by their troops on the battlefield.
    14. Women can do many things men do, except for a few days every month.
    15. Going through the change, has nothing to do with the female senior officer’s uniform.
    16. Sexual harassment is a two-lane road.
    17. Soldiers tell the truth about good and bad commanders. Their opinion is the ultimate evaluation of an officer.
    18. No commander was ever hated for being too hard. But, many are detested for trying to cultivate that image, without substance.
    19. The maximum effective range of any weapon is that range at which the individual soldier can hit his target and not an inch further.
    20. Pretty females rarely feel harassed by male counterparts.
    21. Plain-looking female soldiers are usually the best performers and fit in.
    22. Endurance should be judged on the bayonet assault course and not on a marathon run.
    23. How far soldiers can run in shorts is unimportant, compared to how far they can speed march with full equipment.
    24. Pregnant females are overweight soldiers. Thus, the US Army Weight Control program is not based on equal enforcement of the rules.
    25. Tears on the cheeks of any soldier, regardless of gender, are only acceptable on the death of a relative or comrade and when “Old Glory” passes by.
    26. Pregnancy is self-inflicted, thus abortions should be paid for by the soldier, as a non line of duty procedure.
    27. Soldiers are not ‘sent into combat,” they are led.
    28. Your worth as an officer should never be judged on how well you ran with a football in college.
    29. West Point is a place of learning, as is any college. Both produce two types of officer; Good and Bad.
    30. The computer will never be able to judge the content of a soldier’s spirit, as his Sergeant can.
    31. Esprit De Corps cannot be attained at the Battalion picnic or Sports Day. It must be instilled by good leadership and belief in one’s fellow soldiers.
    32. No new weapon or tactic will ever instill the same fear in the enemy that one Infantryman with a bayonet can.
    33. He who drinks at lunch is a drunken soldier in the afternoon.
    34. No soldier is so smart that his physical deficiencies can be overlooked in the Infantry.
    35. Painting rocks and serving drinks to officers, have never been soldierly functions. And golf is not a required skill for officers.
    36. Consolidation of all administrative personnel at battalion level has eroded accountability and proper reporting.
    37. Anyone who thinks that future battlefields will not contain Infantrymen knows nothing about war.
    38. Indecision kills more soldiers than any wrong decision. One can command his way out of a wrong decision.
    39. The only mission of the Infantry Soldier is to kill the enemy. “Humanitarian Missions" are someone else’s job.
    40. Only the Infantry and Armor can gain ground. Only the Infantry can hold it alone.
    41. Special Forces are not Rangers or Light Infantry and should never be employed as such.
    42. Rangers are light infantry and are not Special Forces.
    43. Victory is not a limited objective. There is no other reason to engage an enemy, except victory.
    44. Never shower or apply after-shave and cologne, forty eight hours prior to a night attack.
    45. Sweat is the true lubricant of the Infantry fighting machine.
    46. No American Soldier can be managed to victory. He must be led.
    47. The only color in the U.S. Army is green.
    48. Use of chemical weapons and biological weapons are a crime against humanity.
    49. Not training your soldiers to protect themselves from them is a crime against your own troops.
    50. Any tactic written in a book is known to your enemies.
    51. If short hair is truly a matter of hygiene and discipline, then all soldiers must have it.
    52. No member of a soldier’s family is more important than the mission.
    53. No soldier can accomplish his mission if the Army neglects his family.
    54. Any soldier who sleeps with another soldier’s wife or lover cannot be trusted on the battlefield and should be shunned.
    55. Officers are more likely to wear unauthorized awards than any NCO or Private.
    56. Any officer who claims he is accepting an individual award for the entire unit should allow his soldiers to wear it.
    57. There can be no quota for awards.
    58. Any award for Valor is of more value to the Army than any school diploma or certification.
    59. Heroism cannot be taught. But, cowardice is a communicable disease.
    60. The machine gun is too important a weapon to be used as a tool for punishing poor soldiers.
    61. Precision weapons will jam, if the Commander demands communal cleaning.
    62. No officer should be given a command, because, he needs one for his career.
    63. No officer should be denied a command, because, he already had one.
    64. The state of the Army can be evaluated by how its soldiers look in uniform, at any airport in the world.
    65. No reporter can be trusted with operational plans. A reporter who reveals operational plans is a traitor to his country.
    66. A combat veteran of any war should be respected by soldiers.
    67. American soldiers do not lose wars. Leaders lose wars.
    68. What a soldier saw with his own eyes, cannot be ignored or changed by higher headquarters.
    69. If Special Forces are not assigned strategic missions, they are being misused.
    70. The “Hummer” is a vehicle and is the only thing of that name allowed in the Infantry.
    71. If you wish to learn about guerrilla warfare, study Francis Marion and not Westmoreland or Giap.
    72. The one night you don’t dig in, will bring mortars on your position.
    73. Taking the easy way will always get you killed.
    74. Blank ammunition has no place in Infantry training.
    75. The more you restrict Infantrymen possessing live ammunition, the more accidents you will have.
    76. The Air Force and Navy are supporting arms.
    77. Intelligence Officer is usually a contradiction in terms.
    78. Inclement weather is the true Infantryman’s ally.
    79. There is no special duty so important, that it takes the Infantry Soldier away from his squad.
    80. Commanders who use the “Off Limits” authority to deny sex to combat soldiers will have a high V.D. rate.
    81. A Commander’s morals are his own and cannot be imposed on his soldiers.
    82. Chaplains must present themselves when the soldier has time, not because they have a schedule.
    83. An officer must be judged on his ability and not on how many coffees his wife has attended.
    84. Senior officers who allow discussions about a brother officer, not present, are not honorable men.
    85. A Commander who bad-mouths his predecessor will never be truly respected.
    86. Equal opportunity is guaranteed by the law and does not require a separate staff.
    87. If a Sergeant Major suggests a unit watch, he is the supplier.
    88. The quality of food went down, with the initiation of the consolidated mess.
    89. No NCO or Warrant Officer outranks a Second Lieutenant.
    90. Any officer who does not listen to NCO’s and Warrant Officers is a fool.
    91. If you wish your subordinates to call you by your first name, go sell shoes. There is no place for you in the Army.
    92. Any Army man who sneers at a Marine for being sharp and well turned out is no soldier.
    93. Any Infantryman who must call higher headquarters before engaging the enemy has a fool for a commander.
    94. Soldiers respect leaders worth emulating. They cannot be “ordered” to respect anyone.
    95. No man who refused to serve his country in war should be elected or appointed over men and women being sent to fight.
    By Major Mark A. Smith Sr. (ret) Note: Some decades ago, a friend in the Pentagon asked me to jot down a few Soldierly thoughts. Through the years I added a couple, but deleted none of the originals. They may not be modern or politically corrected, but they did make the rounds. I stand by them today. - Mark 1. Never accept an officer as competent based on his source of commission. 2. Your right to influence the battlefield is diminished in ratio to the distance you are from the actual arena of action. 3. The battlefield selects its own Generals. No school or board can replace it. 4. Never call fire on your own troops, unless you stand among them. 5. Leaders are indeed born and no military school can provide what God did not. 6. Equipment procurement will always be compromised by not only being made by the lowest bidder, but by attempting to make it multi-functional. 7. Attempting to lighten the soldier’s load by diminishing the weight of any given weapon, will always result in shorter range and less firepower. 8. Excellent staff officers rarely make good battlefield commanders. 9. Outstanding commanders will surround themselves with excellent staff officers. 10. Never make command a reward for good staff work. 11. Discipline began its decline with the demise of the swagger stick and centralized promotion boards. 12. Outstanding NCO’s may make good officers. But, rarely will a riffed officer make a good NCO. 13. Atheists will never be trusted by their troops on the battlefield. 14. Women can do many things men do, except for a few days every month. 15. Going through the change, has nothing to do with the female senior officer’s uniform. 16. Sexual harassment is a two-lane road. 17. Soldiers tell the truth about good and bad commanders. Their opinion is the ultimate evaluation of an officer. 18. No commander was ever hated for being too hard. But, many are detested for trying to cultivate that image, without substance. 19. The maximum effective range of any weapon is that range at which the individual soldier can hit his target and not an inch further. 20. Pretty females rarely feel harassed by male counterparts. 21. Plain-looking female soldiers are usually the best performers and fit in. 22. Endurance should be judged on the bayonet assault course and not on a marathon run. 23. How far soldiers can run in shorts is unimportant, compared to how far they can speed march with full equipment. 24. Pregnant females are overweight soldiers. Thus, the US Army Weight Control program is not based on equal enforcement of the rules. 25. Tears on the cheeks of any soldier, regardless of gender, are only acceptable on the death of a relative or comrade and when “Old Glory” passes by. 26. Pregnancy is self-inflicted, thus abortions should be paid for by the soldier, as a non line of duty procedure. 27. Soldiers are not ‘sent into combat,” they are led. 28. Your worth as an officer should never be judged on how well you ran with a football in college. 29. West Point is a place of learning, as is any college. Both produce two types of officer; Good and Bad. 30. The computer will never be able to judge the content of a soldier’s spirit, as his Sergeant can. 31. Esprit De Corps cannot be attained at the Battalion picnic or Sports Day. It must be instilled by good leadership and belief in one’s fellow soldiers. 32. No new weapon or tactic will ever instill the same fear in the enemy that one Infantryman with a bayonet can. 33. He who drinks at lunch is a drunken soldier in the afternoon. 34. No soldier is so smart that his physical deficiencies can be overlooked in the Infantry. 35. Painting rocks and serving drinks to officers, have never been soldierly functions. And golf is not a required skill for officers. 36. Consolidation of all administrative personnel at battalion level has eroded accountability and proper reporting. 37. Anyone who thinks that future battlefields will not contain Infantrymen knows nothing about war. 38. Indecision kills more soldiers than any wrong decision. One can command his way out of a wrong decision. 39. The only mission of the Infantry Soldier is to kill the enemy. “Humanitarian Missions" are someone else’s job. 40. Only the Infantry and Armor can gain ground. Only the Infantry can hold it alone. 41. Special Forces are not Rangers or Light Infantry and should never be employed as such. 42. Rangers are light infantry and are not Special Forces. 43. Victory is not a limited objective. There is no other reason to engage an enemy, except victory. 44. Never shower or apply after-shave and cologne, forty eight hours prior to a night attack. 45. Sweat is the true lubricant of the Infantry fighting machine. 46. No American Soldier can be managed to victory. He must be led. 47. The only color in the U.S. Army is green. 48. Use of chemical weapons and biological weapons are a crime against humanity. 49. Not training your soldiers to protect themselves from them is a crime against your own troops. 50. Any tactic written in a book is known to your enemies. 51. If short hair is truly a matter of hygiene and discipline, then all soldiers must have it. 52. No member of a soldier’s family is more important than the mission. 53. No soldier can accomplish his mission if the Army neglects his family. 54. Any soldier who sleeps with another soldier’s wife or lover cannot be trusted on the battlefield and should be shunned. 55. Officers are more likely to wear unauthorized awards than any NCO or Private. 56. Any officer who claims he is accepting an individual award for the entire unit should allow his soldiers to wear it. 57. There can be no quota for awards. 58. Any award for Valor is of more value to the Army than any school diploma or certification. 59. Heroism cannot be taught. But, cowardice is a communicable disease. 60. The machine gun is too important a weapon to be used as a tool for punishing poor soldiers. 61. Precision weapons will jam, if the Commander demands communal cleaning. 62. No officer should be given a command, because, he needs one for his career. 63. No officer should be denied a command, because, he already had one. 64. The state of the Army can be evaluated by how its soldiers look in uniform, at any airport in the world. 65. No reporter can be trusted with operational plans. A reporter who reveals operational plans is a traitor to his country. 66. A combat veteran of any war should be respected by soldiers. 67. American soldiers do not lose wars. Leaders lose wars. 68. What a soldier saw with his own eyes, cannot be ignored or changed by higher headquarters. 69. If Special Forces are not assigned strategic missions, they are being misused. 70. The “Hummer” is a vehicle and is the only thing of that name allowed in the Infantry. 71. If you wish to learn about guerrilla warfare, study Francis Marion and not Westmoreland or Giap. 72. The one night you don’t dig in, will bring mortars on your position. 73. Taking the easy way will always get you killed. 74. Blank ammunition has no place in Infantry training. 75. The more you restrict Infantrymen possessing live ammunition, the more accidents you will have. 76. The Air Force and Navy are supporting arms. 77. Intelligence Officer is usually a contradiction in terms. 78. Inclement weather is the true Infantryman’s ally. 79. There is no special duty so important, that it takes the Infantry Soldier away from his squad. 80. Commanders who use the “Off Limits” authority to deny sex to combat soldiers will have a high V.D. rate. 81. A Commander’s morals are his own and cannot be imposed on his soldiers. 82. Chaplains must present themselves when the soldier has time, not because they have a schedule. 83. An officer must be judged on his ability and not on how many coffees his wife has attended. 84. Senior officers who allow discussions about a brother officer, not present, are not honorable men. 85. A Commander who bad-mouths his predecessor will never be truly respected. 86. Equal opportunity is guaranteed by the law and does not require a separate staff. 87. If a Sergeant Major suggests a unit watch, he is the supplier. 88. The quality of food went down, with the initiation of the consolidated mess. 89. No NCO or Warrant Officer outranks a Second Lieutenant. 90. Any officer who does not listen to NCO’s and Warrant Officers is a fool. 91. If you wish your subordinates to call you by your first name, go sell shoes. There is no place for you in the Army. 92. Any Army man who sneers at a Marine for being sharp and well turned out is no soldier. 93. Any Infantryman who must call higher headquarters before engaging the enemy has a fool for a commander. 94. Soldiers respect leaders worth emulating. They cannot be “ordered” to respect anyone. 95. No man who refused to serve his country in war should be elected or appointed over men and women being sent to fight.
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  • Traces of Texas
    ·
    The Texas Quote of the Day, written by Herman Lehmann, is one of the most interesting I've read in years. Y'all may remember that, in 1870 when he was ten years old, Herman was captured by Apaches just outside of Fredericksburg. He was with the Indians for nine years, six with the Apaches, one on his own, and two with the Comanches (long story there).

    Over time he lost his old life and language and became a full Indian, such that he participated in raids against Anglo settlements, battles with soldiers and Texas rangers etc. He spent a great deal of time with Quanah Parker. He was later discovered by American soldiers and returned to his mother and siblings, though he resisted this. It took a long time for him to adjust back to life among white folks, but he eventually did. In 1927, when he was nearly 70, he wrote "Nine Years Among the Indians 1870-1879." The Texas Quote of the Day comes from that:

    “I am an old man now. I will soon reach the total of three score and ten years allotted to man, if death does not claim me —- seventy years of wonderful experience. I have seen many changes since I came into the world. The ox-cart gave way to the horse-drawn vehicle, and the automobile has surpassed that mode of travel. Speeding railway trains, flying machines, radios, and many other wonders have come to pass. We are living in a fast age. I am glad God has spared my life and permitted me to live to see these wonderful changes. I gave reverence to Him in the only way I knew how when I was an Indian; I worship Him now after the manner of an enlightened white man.

    When I look upon these changes I marvel and wonder how it can be so. Of many of these things I am yet in ignorance; I cannot understand how the human voice can be wafted over the radio thousands of miles without the aid of wires, but it is done, for I have heard it. It is as much a mystery to me as the first telegraph line I ever saw. A party of Indians were coming down into the settlements on a raid when, at a point in the vicinity of Fort Concho [San Angelo], we came upon a newly constructed telegraph line. We stopped and considered it, and wondered what it meant. Each Indian had his own notion about what it was intended for, but we were all wrong.
    The chief said he believed it was to be a fence to be made so high that the Indians could not get through, and so we proceeded to cut it down. Coming on down into the settlement we stole some horses and went back away with the drove, and we found the line had been rebuilt and the wire was in place again.

    And the puffing locomotive and railway train was also an object of wonder when I came back to civilization and beheld them. The first train I ever saw was while I was with the Indians, and of course we did not know what it was, and in consequence got a scare that almost drove us frantic. We had come far down into the settlements on a raid, it may have been near Austin, and one night while we were waiting in a secluded spot in a little ravine, for the moon to come up, a train suddenly came around a curve from behind a mountain and was right on us before we had time to mount our horses. That hideous monster, belching smoke and hissing steam, and with glaring lights bore down upon us at terrific speed, and we ran, scrambling over rocks and through the brush, to get away from it. It followed us for a little ways, but we thought it lost our trail, as it went rushing on away from us. We were somewhat scattered when things became quiet, and I was uneasy for fear the awful thing had caught three of our comrades. But when we gave our agreed assembly signal the Indians came forth from their hiding places and we held a consultation. We decided to leave that region at once and not attempt to steal horses there, for that monster might return and catch us. It was generally agreed among us that it was the Evil Spirit that was abroad, and was seeking to devour all mankind, the white folks included. When we went back to camp and told what we had seen the Indians were greatly alarmed, and the medicine men warned us to stay out of that region.”

    ----- Herman Lehmann, "Nine Years Among the Indians: 1870-1879," published in 1927. Shown here: Herman Lehmann around the time he wrote this book.
    Traces of Texas · The Texas Quote of the Day, written by Herman Lehmann, is one of the most interesting I've read in years. Y'all may remember that, in 1870 when he was ten years old, Herman was captured by Apaches just outside of Fredericksburg. He was with the Indians for nine years, six with the Apaches, one on his own, and two with the Comanches (long story there). Over time he lost his old life and language and became a full Indian, such that he participated in raids against Anglo settlements, battles with soldiers and Texas rangers etc. He spent a great deal of time with Quanah Parker. He was later discovered by American soldiers and returned to his mother and siblings, though he resisted this. It took a long time for him to adjust back to life among white folks, but he eventually did. In 1927, when he was nearly 70, he wrote "Nine Years Among the Indians 1870-1879." The Texas Quote of the Day comes from that: “I am an old man now. I will soon reach the total of three score and ten years allotted to man, if death does not claim me —- seventy years of wonderful experience. I have seen many changes since I came into the world. The ox-cart gave way to the horse-drawn vehicle, and the automobile has surpassed that mode of travel. Speeding railway trains, flying machines, radios, and many other wonders have come to pass. We are living in a fast age. I am glad God has spared my life and permitted me to live to see these wonderful changes. I gave reverence to Him in the only way I knew how when I was an Indian; I worship Him now after the manner of an enlightened white man. When I look upon these changes I marvel and wonder how it can be so. Of many of these things I am yet in ignorance; I cannot understand how the human voice can be wafted over the radio thousands of miles without the aid of wires, but it is done, for I have heard it. It is as much a mystery to me as the first telegraph line I ever saw. A party of Indians were coming down into the settlements on a raid when, at a point in the vicinity of Fort Concho [San Angelo], we came upon a newly constructed telegraph line. We stopped and considered it, and wondered what it meant. Each Indian had his own notion about what it was intended for, but we were all wrong. The chief said he believed it was to be a fence to be made so high that the Indians could not get through, and so we proceeded to cut it down. Coming on down into the settlement we stole some horses and went back away with the drove, and we found the line had been rebuilt and the wire was in place again. And the puffing locomotive and railway train was also an object of wonder when I came back to civilization and beheld them. The first train I ever saw was while I was with the Indians, and of course we did not know what it was, and in consequence got a scare that almost drove us frantic. We had come far down into the settlements on a raid, it may have been near Austin, and one night while we were waiting in a secluded spot in a little ravine, for the moon to come up, a train suddenly came around a curve from behind a mountain and was right on us before we had time to mount our horses. That hideous monster, belching smoke and hissing steam, and with glaring lights bore down upon us at terrific speed, and we ran, scrambling over rocks and through the brush, to get away from it. It followed us for a little ways, but we thought it lost our trail, as it went rushing on away from us. We were somewhat scattered when things became quiet, and I was uneasy for fear the awful thing had caught three of our comrades. But when we gave our agreed assembly signal the Indians came forth from their hiding places and we held a consultation. We decided to leave that region at once and not attempt to steal horses there, for that monster might return and catch us. It was generally agreed among us that it was the Evil Spirit that was abroad, and was seeking to devour all mankind, the white folks included. When we went back to camp and told what we had seen the Indians were greatly alarmed, and the medicine men warned us to stay out of that region.” ----- Herman Lehmann, "Nine Years Among the Indians: 1870-1879," published in 1927. Shown here: Herman Lehmann around the time he wrote this book.
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  • https://veteranscareresorts.com/fb/?fbclid=IwAR0onDEkRAbQeucwT5AHvqwHNZAFIxINcJ4fVAJVXEAlH_Rmmhmc7i58TlI
    https://veteranscareresorts.com/fb/?fbclid=IwAR0onDEkRAbQeucwT5AHvqwHNZAFIxINcJ4fVAJVXEAlH_Rmmhmc7i58TlI
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  • via: The Giant Killer
    ·
    U.S. Army Ranger Captain Kris Kristofferson:

    Country music legend and Army vet Kris Kristofferson has a list of accomplishments so long, it might be faster to list off things he hasn't done.

    He was an Army brat and brother to a naval aviator, so it was only natural that Kristofferson would find himself in the military. But his life both before and after the military has been more than interesting -- it's downright legendary.

    In his younger years, Kristofferson was an accomplished athlete, skilled at rugby and American football. He also was a Golden Gloves amateur boxer. Pretty much anything that required giving or taking a beating, he was up to it.

    For anyone who might be thinking he was a dumb young jock-turned country star, think again. Kristofferson studied literature at California's Pomona College, where he became a Rhodes Scholar. He carried on his literature studies at Oxford's Merton College, where he continued boxing. Upon graduating from college, he joined the U.S. Army.

    Joining the Army in 1960, Kristofferson earned his Ranger tab before becoming a helicopter pilot, which was critical in getting his country music career off the ground (more on that later). He would reach the rank of captain during his service. In the meantime, he was making music and formed his own band while stationed in Germany.

    Kristofferson was offered the prestigious position of teaching literature at West Point in 1965, but turned it down and left the Army. It was a move that caused his family, full of veterans, to disown him. His first wife divorced him four years later, which is some prime country music songwriting fodder.

    It was finally time for Kristofferson to focus on music. He moved to Nashville, where he worked as a janitor and flew helicopters for oil rigs. He also worked in construction and fought forest fires in Alaska, anything he could do to keep focused on the music. It also was good experience from which to draw country music inspiration.

    As he turned 30 years old, he was still moonlighting as a janitor in Nashville recording studios, strategically dropping demo tapes onto desks and hoping they would get into the hands of some of the biggest names in country music. ... also at Johnny Cash's house.

    By now, we know Kristofferson learned to fly helicopters in the Army and ran into financial trouble while trying to make it in country music. In a big gamble, he stole a helicopter, flew to Cash's house and landed on the Man in Black's front lawn.

    In retrospect, Kristofferson admits he's lucky Cash didn't try to shoot him down with a shotgun. Instead, the icon listened to his demo for "Sunday Morning Coming Down." Cash liked it so much, he recorded it, and Kristofferson took the first step toward becoming a country music legend.
    Now "lifted from obscurity" (as Kristofferson puts it), he wrote some of his biggest hits, including "Vietnam Blues," "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee." Later, he would form The Highwaymen, a country music supergroup comprised of himself, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.

    There are few country music stars that Kristofferson hasn't worked with or influenced during his career, even to this day. His music fame led him to the silver screen, where he appeared in 119 roles, including the "Blade" trilogy, the third remake of "A Star Is Born" and the History Channel miniseries "Texas Rising."

    Kristofferson was inducted into the songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1985 and has earned more than 48 different BMI Country and Pop awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and received the Veteran of the Year Award at the American Veteran Awards in 2011, with fellow country legend and vet Willie Nelson presenting the honor.

    #usarmy #Militarylife #kriskristofferson #countrymusic #Army #Military
    via: The Giant Killer · U.S. Army Ranger Captain Kris Kristofferson: Country music legend and Army vet Kris Kristofferson has a list of accomplishments so long, it might be faster to list off things he hasn't done. He was an Army brat and brother to a naval aviator, so it was only natural that Kristofferson would find himself in the military. But his life both before and after the military has been more than interesting -- it's downright legendary. In his younger years, Kristofferson was an accomplished athlete, skilled at rugby and American football. He also was a Golden Gloves amateur boxer. Pretty much anything that required giving or taking a beating, he was up to it. For anyone who might be thinking he was a dumb young jock-turned country star, think again. Kristofferson studied literature at California's Pomona College, where he became a Rhodes Scholar. He carried on his literature studies at Oxford's Merton College, where he continued boxing. Upon graduating from college, he joined the U.S. Army. Joining the Army in 1960, Kristofferson earned his Ranger tab before becoming a helicopter pilot, which was critical in getting his country music career off the ground (more on that later). He would reach the rank of captain during his service. In the meantime, he was making music and formed his own band while stationed in Germany. Kristofferson was offered the prestigious position of teaching literature at West Point in 1965, but turned it down and left the Army. It was a move that caused his family, full of veterans, to disown him. His first wife divorced him four years later, which is some prime country music songwriting fodder. It was finally time for Kristofferson to focus on music. He moved to Nashville, where he worked as a janitor and flew helicopters for oil rigs. He also worked in construction and fought forest fires in Alaska, anything he could do to keep focused on the music. It also was good experience from which to draw country music inspiration. As he turned 30 years old, he was still moonlighting as a janitor in Nashville recording studios, strategically dropping demo tapes onto desks and hoping they would get into the hands of some of the biggest names in country music. ... also at Johnny Cash's house. By now, we know Kristofferson learned to fly helicopters in the Army and ran into financial trouble while trying to make it in country music. In a big gamble, he stole a helicopter, flew to Cash's house and landed on the Man in Black's front lawn. In retrospect, Kristofferson admits he's lucky Cash didn't try to shoot him down with a shotgun. Instead, the icon listened to his demo for "Sunday Morning Coming Down." Cash liked it so much, he recorded it, and Kristofferson took the first step toward becoming a country music legend. Now "lifted from obscurity" (as Kristofferson puts it), he wrote some of his biggest hits, including "Vietnam Blues," "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee." Later, he would form The Highwaymen, a country music supergroup comprised of himself, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. There are few country music stars that Kristofferson hasn't worked with or influenced during his career, even to this day. His music fame led him to the silver screen, where he appeared in 119 roles, including the "Blade" trilogy, the third remake of "A Star Is Born" and the History Channel miniseries "Texas Rising." Kristofferson was inducted into the songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1985 and has earned more than 48 different BMI Country and Pop awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and received the Veteran of the Year Award at the American Veteran Awards in 2011, with fellow country legend and vet Willie Nelson presenting the honor. #usarmy #Militarylife #kriskristofferson #countrymusic #Army #Military
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  • The power of the Bible changes which in turn changes which will ultimately change what comes out of your mouth, which can change everyone.

    For so long I’ve been back and forth with my faith meter full or empty like a tide into a lagoon.

    I’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit and I’ve also been so angry that I thought I would lose my faith.

    But I always kept praying regardless of what I thought. In hopes that I would hear his voice again and have a full on conversation with him driving to work

    The last few years after retirement have been a rollercoaster with my faith, health, marriage and not knowing who I am, an identity crisis. I know who I was but who am I now. Nothing was the same anymore. I was permanently stationed at home now instead of being TDY at home my entire military career.

    But…….. after seeing and listening to Dylan on the podcast with Big Al, I realized that it’s ok for people like me and where I came from to be open about faith. I wish we had leaders like Dylan back then. Don’t get me wrong, I had GREAT leadership. The Overbey’s, the Wilson’s, the Elliot’s, the Bozowskis, the Roses and the list goes on and on. But Dylan awed me. I met him once at BNCOC many years ago but it was a one sided conversation, I basically was saying stuff that wasn’t true through some of my sources and he came and told me in the nicest way to shut the F up. That resonated with me for a long time. He was a professional! I wish I had him as a leader at any point of my career.

    I’ll support @freedom and faith. They are doing things that should’ve been done a long time ago.
    The power of the Bible changes 🧠 which in turn changes ❤️ which will ultimately change what comes out of your mouth, which can change everyone. For so long I’ve been back and forth with my faith meter full or empty like a tide into a lagoon. I’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit and I’ve also been so angry that I thought I would lose my faith. But I always kept praying regardless of what I thought. In hopes that I would hear his voice again and have a full on conversation with him driving to work The last few years after retirement have been a rollercoaster with my faith, health, marriage and not knowing who I am, an identity crisis. I know who I was but who am I now. Nothing was the same anymore. I was permanently stationed at home now instead of being TDY at home my entire military career. But…….. after seeing and listening to Dylan on the podcast with Big Al, I realized that it’s ok for people like me and where I came from to be open about faith. I wish we had leaders like Dylan back then. Don’t get me wrong, I had GREAT leadership. The Overbey’s, the Wilson’s, the Elliot’s, the Bozowskis, the Roses and the list goes on and on. But Dylan awed me. I met him once at BNCOC many years ago but it was a one sided conversation, I basically was saying stuff that wasn’t true through some of my sources and he came and told me in the nicest way to shut the F up. That resonated with me for a long time. He was a professional! I wish I had him as a leader at any point of my career. I’ll support @freedom and faith. They are doing things that should’ve been done a long time ago.
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  • https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-nbycs-15a3e45

    TicToc is saturating our youth.. Does this concern you?

    No mention of Armed Forces, the strength of our Sevice men and women or how we are taking care of those that protect our citizens in emergencies. Is that strange to you?

    Can you hear our cry, “Fall In!”

    Our message has gravitas, now we need volume. Call the Tribe.
    https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-nbycs-15a3e45 TicToc is saturating our youth.. Does this concern you? No mention of Armed Forces, the strength of our Sevice men and women or how we are taking care of those that protect our citizens in emergencies. Is that strange to you? Can you hear our cry, “Fall In!” Our message has gravitas, now we need volume. Call the Tribe.
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  • I am definitely enjoying this platform. I hope to connect with more of you soon. In the meantime I made a page called Veteran S1. I was in the Army, Infantry - and mostly worked with Iraqi & Afghan military improving their training programs... and pursued HR as a career direction. I'm always looking to help.
    I am definitely enjoying this platform. I hope to connect with more of you soon. In the meantime I made a page called Veteran S1. I was in the Army, Infantry - and mostly worked with Iraqi & Afghan military improving their training programs... and pursued HR as a career direction. I'm always looking to help.
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  • via: TSAF Industries
    ·
    CPL Matthew Commons, 21, of Boulder City, Nevada was killed while fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda during Operation Anaconda in the renowned Battle of Takur Ghar; where US Army Rangers were called upon to rescue and extract a Navy SEAL team under intense enemy fire.

    The MH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying a US Army Ranger Quick-Reaction-Force, including CPL Commons, crash landed due to enemy fire. CPL Commons and two other Rangers were killed by direct enemy fire as they fought their way out of the helicopter.

    The battle would endure for 12 hours, while Army Rangers and the surviving Navy Seals fought to secure and hold the peak of Takur Ghar, later named Roberts Ridge.

    CPL Commons was the youngest of seven American heroes killed in the battle, he proudly served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

    Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Matt moved to Colorado with his family when he was 7 years old.

    He developed a passion for soccer that endured through his high school graduation.

    Matt and his brother also played roller hockey in high school, where Matt spent a lot of time in the penalty box for roughing opponents.

    He said that hockey was the only sport where you could legally fight and only get a penalty for it.

    At home, Matt would enjoy playing video games with his brother and friends.

    His presence in the house was marked by constant noise, music, lively conversations, and laughter.

    In July 2000, Matt joined the Army with the goal of pursuing a career as an Army Ranger, a path he had long aspired to follow.

    His interest in the military had been a consistent aspect of his ambitions growing up.

    In early October 2001 Matt was scheduled to attend Ranger School for leadership training but was pulled to begin training for war.

    By the end of the year, he and 1st Ranger Battalion, A Company would be in Bagram, Afghanistan - Matt would celebrate his 21st birthday just two weeks before his death.

    He is survived by his mother Patricia, his father James and brother Aaron.

    RLTW! - NSDQ!

    #Patriot #Hero #RLTW #suasponte #tsafindustries #tsafnation
    (Ref: suaspontefoundation.org/memoriam/commons/, arits.org; www.arlingtoncemetery.net/macommons.htm)
    via: TSAF Industries · CPL Matthew Commons, 21, of Boulder City, Nevada was killed while fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda during Operation Anaconda in the renowned Battle of Takur Ghar; where US Army Rangers were called upon to rescue and extract a Navy SEAL team under intense enemy fire. The MH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying a US Army Ranger Quick-Reaction-Force, including CPL Commons, crash landed due to enemy fire. CPL Commons and two other Rangers were killed by direct enemy fire as they fought their way out of the helicopter. The battle would endure for 12 hours, while Army Rangers and the surviving Navy Seals fought to secure and hold the peak of Takur Ghar, later named Roberts Ridge. CPL Commons was the youngest of seven American heroes killed in the battle, he proudly served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Matt moved to Colorado with his family when he was 7 years old. He developed a passion for soccer that endured through his high school graduation. Matt and his brother also played roller hockey in high school, where Matt spent a lot of time in the penalty box for roughing opponents. He said that hockey was the only sport where you could legally fight and only get a penalty for it. At home, Matt would enjoy playing video games with his brother and friends. His presence in the house was marked by constant noise, music, lively conversations, and laughter. In July 2000, Matt joined the Army with the goal of pursuing a career as an Army Ranger, a path he had long aspired to follow. His interest in the military had been a consistent aspect of his ambitions growing up. In early October 2001 Matt was scheduled to attend Ranger School for leadership training but was pulled to begin training for war. By the end of the year, he and 1st Ranger Battalion, A Company would be in Bagram, Afghanistan - Matt would celebrate his 21st birthday just two weeks before his death. He is survived by his mother Patricia, his father James and brother Aaron. RLTW! - NSDQ! #Patriot #Hero #RLTW #suasponte #tsafindustries #tsafnation (Ref: suaspontefoundation.org/memoriam/commons/, arits.org; www.arlingtoncemetery.net/macommons.htm)
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  • via: USAF Special Warfare Recruiting
    ·
    This Sunday’s Hero Story…

    The President of the United States of America awarded the Air Force Cross to Captain Barry F. Crawford, Jr., United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an armed enemy of the United States as Special Tactics Officer of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, in action near Laghman Province, Afghanistan, on 4 May 2010.

    On that date, while attached to Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha and their Afghan partner force, Captain Crawford conducted a helicopter assault into Hendor Village. Upon landing, Captain Crawford received reports that multiple groups of armed enemy were maneuvering into prepared fighting positions in the high ground around the village. As the assault force initiated clearance operations, they began to receive a high volume of accurate machine gun and sniper fire from an enemy force well over 100 fighters. As the assault force was attacked, Captain Crawford took decisive action to save the lives of three wounded Afghan soldiers and evacuate two Afghan soldiers killed in action. Recognizing that the wounded Afghan soldiers would die without evacuation to definitive care, Captain Crawford took decisive action and ran out into the open in an effort to guide the helicopter to the landing zone. Once the pilot had eyes on his position, Captain Crawford remained exposed, despite having one of his radio antennas shot off mere inches from his face, while he vectored in the aircraft. Acting without hesitation, Captain Crawford then bounded across open terrain, engaged enemy positions with his assault rifle and called in AH-64 strafe attacks to defeat the ambush allowing the aid-and-litter teams to move toward the casualties. While the casualties were being moved the team's exposed position once again came under attack from two enemy trucks that had moved into the area and were threatening the medical evacuation landing zone. As one of the aid-and-litter teams was pinned down by enemy fire, and the medical evacuation helicopter took direct hits from small arms fire, it departed with only four casualties leaving one wounded Afghan soldier on the ground. Captain Crawford developed, coordinated, and executed a plan to suppress the enemy, enabling the helicopter to return to the hot landing zone to retrieve the last casualty. While Captain Crawford's element exfiltrated the village, the assault force conducted a two-kilometer movement over steep terrain with little to no cover. During this movement the ground force commander and Captain Crawford's element were ambushed and pinned down in the open from multiple enemy fighting positions, some as close as 150 meters away. Without regard for his own life, Captain Crawford moved alone across open terrain in the kill zone to locate and engage enemy positions with his assault rifle while directing AH-64 30-mm. strafe attacks. Continuing to move the team further over 1.5 kilometers of steep terrain with minimal cover, Captain Crawford again engaged the enemy with his assault rifle while integrating AH-64s and F-15E's in a coordinated air-to-ground attack plan that included strafing runs along with 500 and 2,0000-pound bomb and Hellfire missile strikes. Throughout the course of the ten-hour firefight, Captain Crawford braved effective enemy fire and consciously placed himself at grave risk on four occasions while controlling over 33 aircraft and more than 40 air strikes on a well-trained and well-prepared enemy force. His selfless actions and expert airpower employment neutralized a numerically superior enemy force and enabled friendly elements to exfiltrate the area without massive casualties. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Captain Crawford has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
    via: USAF Special Warfare Recruiting · This Sunday’s Hero Story… The President of the United States of America awarded the Air Force Cross to Captain Barry F. Crawford, Jr., United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an armed enemy of the United States as Special Tactics Officer of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, in action near Laghman Province, Afghanistan, on 4 May 2010. On that date, while attached to Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha and their Afghan partner force, Captain Crawford conducted a helicopter assault into Hendor Village. Upon landing, Captain Crawford received reports that multiple groups of armed enemy were maneuvering into prepared fighting positions in the high ground around the village. As the assault force initiated clearance operations, they began to receive a high volume of accurate machine gun and sniper fire from an enemy force well over 100 fighters. As the assault force was attacked, Captain Crawford took decisive action to save the lives of three wounded Afghan soldiers and evacuate two Afghan soldiers killed in action. Recognizing that the wounded Afghan soldiers would die without evacuation to definitive care, Captain Crawford took decisive action and ran out into the open in an effort to guide the helicopter to the landing zone. Once the pilot had eyes on his position, Captain Crawford remained exposed, despite having one of his radio antennas shot off mere inches from his face, while he vectored in the aircraft. Acting without hesitation, Captain Crawford then bounded across open terrain, engaged enemy positions with his assault rifle and called in AH-64 strafe attacks to defeat the ambush allowing the aid-and-litter teams to move toward the casualties. While the casualties were being moved the team's exposed position once again came under attack from two enemy trucks that had moved into the area and were threatening the medical evacuation landing zone. As one of the aid-and-litter teams was pinned down by enemy fire, and the medical evacuation helicopter took direct hits from small arms fire, it departed with only four casualties leaving one wounded Afghan soldier on the ground. Captain Crawford developed, coordinated, and executed a plan to suppress the enemy, enabling the helicopter to return to the hot landing zone to retrieve the last casualty. While Captain Crawford's element exfiltrated the village, the assault force conducted a two-kilometer movement over steep terrain with little to no cover. During this movement the ground force commander and Captain Crawford's element were ambushed and pinned down in the open from multiple enemy fighting positions, some as close as 150 meters away. Without regard for his own life, Captain Crawford moved alone across open terrain in the kill zone to locate and engage enemy positions with his assault rifle while directing AH-64 30-mm. strafe attacks. Continuing to move the team further over 1.5 kilometers of steep terrain with minimal cover, Captain Crawford again engaged the enemy with his assault rifle while integrating AH-64s and F-15E's in a coordinated air-to-ground attack plan that included strafing runs along with 500 and 2,0000-pound bomb and Hellfire missile strikes. Throughout the course of the ten-hour firefight, Captain Crawford braved effective enemy fire and consciously placed himself at grave risk on four occasions while controlling over 33 aircraft and more than 40 air strikes on a well-trained and well-prepared enemy force. His selfless actions and expert airpower employment neutralized a numerically superior enemy force and enabled friendly elements to exfiltrate the area without massive casualties. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Captain Crawford has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
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  • - AFSOC Combat Controller TSgt.John Chapman's family receives his Medal of Honor posthumously today -

    This is the FIRST Medal of Honor for a Special Tactics Airman -- & the 1st Airman since the Vietnam War.

    SUMMARY OF ACTION: BATTLE AT TAKUR GHAR

    Sergeant Chapman enlisted in the Air Force on Sept. 27, 1985, as an information systems operator, but felt called to be part of Air Force special operations. In 1989, he cross-trained to become an Air Force combat controller.

    According to friends and family, Sergeant Chapman had a tendency to make the difficult look effortless, and consistently sought new challenges. Dating back to his high school days, he made the varsity soccer squad as a freshman. Also an avid muscle-car enthusiast, he rebuilt and maintained an old Pontiac GTO.

    Combat control would prove to be another instance of “making it look easy.”

    Combat control training is more than two years long and amongst the most rigorous in the U.S. military. Only about one in ten Airmen who start the program graduate.

    From months of rigorous physical fitness training to multiple joint schools – including military SCUBA, Army static-line and freefall, air traffic control, and combat control schools – Sergeant Chapman is remembered as someone who could do anything put in front of him.

    “One remembers two types of students – the sharp ones and the really dull ones – and Chapman was in the sharp category,” said Ron Childress, a former Combat Control School instructor. Combat Control School is one of the most difficult points of a combat controller’s training program, from completing arduous tasks without sleeping for days, to running miles with weighted rucksacks and a gas mask.

    “During one of his first days at Combat Control School, I noticed a slight smirk on his face like [the training] was too simple for him…and it was,” said Childress.

    Following Combat Control School, Sergeant Chapman served with the 1721st Combat Control Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, where he met his wife, Valerie, in 1992. They had two daughters, who were the center of Sergeant Chapman’s world even when he was away from home – which was common in the combat control career field.

    “He would come home from a long trip and immediately have on his father hat – feeding, bathing, reading and getting his girls ready for bed,” said Chief Master Sgt. Michael West, who served with Sergeant Chapman through Combat Control School, a three-year tour in Okinawa, Japan, and at Pope Air Force Base. “They were his life and he was proud of them…to the Air Force he was a great hero…what I saw was a great father.”

    The Battle of Takur Ghar

    In conjunction with Operation Anaconda in March 2002, small reconnaissance teams were tasked to establish observation posts in strategic locations in Afghanistan, and when able, direct U.S. air power to destroy enemy targets. The mountain of Takur Ghar was an ideal spot for such an observation post, with excellent visibility to key locations. For Sergeant Chapman and his joint special operations teammates, the mission on the night of March 3 was to establish a reconnaissance position on Takur Ghar and report al Qaeda movement in the Sahi-Kowt area.

    “This was very high profile, no-fail job, and we picked John,” said retired Air Force Col. Ken Rodriguez, Sergeant Chapman’s commander at the time. “In a very high-caliber career field, with the highest quality of men – even then – John stood out as our guy.”

    During the initial insertion onto Afghanistan’s Takur Ghar mountaintop on March 4, the MH-47 “Chinook” helicopter carrying Sergeant Chapman and the joint special operations reconnaissance team was ambushed. A rocket propelled grenade struck the helicopter and bullets ripped through the fuselage. The blast ripped through the left side of the Chinook, throwing Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts off the ramp of the helicopter onto the enemy-infested mountaintop below.

    The severely damaged aircraft was unable to return for Petty Officer Roberts, and performed a controlled crash landing a few miles from the mountaintop. Thus began the chain of events that led to unparalleled acts of valor by numerous joint special operations forces, the deaths of seven U.S. servicemen and now, 16 years later, posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Chapman.

    Alone, against the elements and separated from his team with enemy personnel closing in, Petty Officer Roberts was in desperate need of support. The remaining joint special operations team members, fully aware of his precarious situation, immediately began planning a daring rescue attempt that included returning to the top of Takur Ghar where they had just taken heavy enemy fire.

    As the team returned to Petty Officer Roberts’ last-known position, now on a second MH-47, the entrenched enemy forces immediately engaged the approaching helicopter with heavy fire. Miraculously, the helicopter, although heavily damaged, was able to successfully offload the remaining special operations team members and return to base. Sergeant Chapman, upon exiting the helicopter, immediately charged uphill through the snow toward enemy positions while under heavy fire from three directions.

    Once on the ground, the team assessed the situation and moved quickly to the high ground. The most prominent cover and concealment on the hilltop were a large rock and tree. As they approached the tree, Sergeant Chapman received fire from two enemy personnel in a fortified position. He returned fire, charged the enemy position and took out the enemy combatants within.

    Almost immediately, the team began taking machine gun fire from another fortified enemy position only 12 meters away. Sergeant Chapman deliberately moved into the open to engage the new enemy position. As he heroically engaged the enemy, he was struck by a burst of gunfire and became critically injured.

    Sergeant Chapman regained his faculties and continued to fight relentlessly despite his severe wounds. He sustained a violent engagement with multiple enemy fighters, for over an hour through the arrival of the quick reaction force, before paying the ultimate sacrifice. In performance of these remarkably heroic actions, Sergeant Chapman is credited with saving the lives of his teammates.

    The upgrade to MOH

    “John was always selfless – it didn’t just emerge on Takur Ghar – he had always been selfless and highly competent, and thank God for all those qualities,” said Col. Rodriguez. “He could have hunkered down in the bunker and waited for the (Quick Reaction Force) and (Combat Search and Rescue) team to come in, but he assessed the situation and selflessly gave his life for them.”

    Sergeant Chapman was originally awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions; however, following a review of Air Force Cross and Silver Star recipients directed by then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, the Secretary of the Air Force recommended Sergeant Chapman’s Air Force Cross be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

    In accordance with Air Force policy whereby Medal of Honor recipients are automatically promoted one grade on the first day of the month following the award, Sergeant Chapman will be posthumously promoted to the rank of master sergeant on Sept. 1, 2018.

    Although Sergeant Chapman will be awarded the Medal of Honor, family and friends have expressed his humility and how he would react today, if he were here.

    “If John were to find out he received the Medal of Honor, he would be very humbled and honored,” said Chief Master Sergeant West. “He was just doing his job, and that’s what he would say at this moment.”

    His widow, Valerie Nessel, has always known her husband was capable of such greatness, but asserts that John wouldn’t be anxious to be in the spotlight.

    “[John] would want to recognize the other men that lost their lives,” said Valerie. “Even though he did something he was awarded the Medal of Honor for, he would not want the other guys to be forgotten – that they were part of the team together.”

    “I think he would say that his Medal of Honor was not just for him, but for all of the guys who were lost,” she added.

    In total, seven service members lost their lives during the Battle of Takur Ghar:

    Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts – U.S. Navy SEAL
    Technical Sergeant John Chapman – U.S. Air Force combat control
    Senior Airman Jason Cunningham – U.S. Air Force pararescue
    Corporal Matthew Commons – U.S. Army Ranger
    Sergeant Bradley Crose – U.S. Army Ranger
    Specialist Marc Anderson – U.S. Army Ranger
    Sergeant Philip Svitak – U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment

    “John would have, so I’ll say it for him. Every American who set foot on that mountaintop acted with great courage and selflessness, and deserve all of our praise and admiration for the sacrifices they made,” said Col. Rodriguez.
    - AFSOC Combat Controller TSgt.John Chapman's family receives his Medal of Honor posthumously today - This is the FIRST Medal of Honor for a Special Tactics Airman -- & the 1st Airman since the Vietnam War. SUMMARY OF ACTION: BATTLE AT TAKUR GHAR Sergeant Chapman enlisted in the Air Force on Sept. 27, 1985, as an information systems operator, but felt called to be part of Air Force special operations. In 1989, he cross-trained to become an Air Force combat controller. According to friends and family, Sergeant Chapman had a tendency to make the difficult look effortless, and consistently sought new challenges. Dating back to his high school days, he made the varsity soccer squad as a freshman. Also an avid muscle-car enthusiast, he rebuilt and maintained an old Pontiac GTO. Combat control would prove to be another instance of “making it look easy.” Combat control training is more than two years long and amongst the most rigorous in the U.S. military. Only about one in ten Airmen who start the program graduate. From months of rigorous physical fitness training to multiple joint schools – including military SCUBA, Army static-line and freefall, air traffic control, and combat control schools – Sergeant Chapman is remembered as someone who could do anything put in front of him. “One remembers two types of students – the sharp ones and the really dull ones – and Chapman was in the sharp category,” said Ron Childress, a former Combat Control School instructor. Combat Control School is one of the most difficult points of a combat controller’s training program, from completing arduous tasks without sleeping for days, to running miles with weighted rucksacks and a gas mask. “During one of his first days at Combat Control School, I noticed a slight smirk on his face like [the training] was too simple for him…and it was,” said Childress. Following Combat Control School, Sergeant Chapman served with the 1721st Combat Control Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, where he met his wife, Valerie, in 1992. They had two daughters, who were the center of Sergeant Chapman’s world even when he was away from home – which was common in the combat control career field. “He would come home from a long trip and immediately have on his father hat – feeding, bathing, reading and getting his girls ready for bed,” said Chief Master Sgt. Michael West, who served with Sergeant Chapman through Combat Control School, a three-year tour in Okinawa, Japan, and at Pope Air Force Base. “They were his life and he was proud of them…to the Air Force he was a great hero…what I saw was a great father.” The Battle of Takur Ghar In conjunction with Operation Anaconda in March 2002, small reconnaissance teams were tasked to establish observation posts in strategic locations in Afghanistan, and when able, direct U.S. air power to destroy enemy targets. The mountain of Takur Ghar was an ideal spot for such an observation post, with excellent visibility to key locations. For Sergeant Chapman and his joint special operations teammates, the mission on the night of March 3 was to establish a reconnaissance position on Takur Ghar and report al Qaeda movement in the Sahi-Kowt area. “This was very high profile, no-fail job, and we picked John,” said retired Air Force Col. Ken Rodriguez, Sergeant Chapman’s commander at the time. “In a very high-caliber career field, with the highest quality of men – even then – John stood out as our guy.” During the initial insertion onto Afghanistan’s Takur Ghar mountaintop on March 4, the MH-47 “Chinook” helicopter carrying Sergeant Chapman and the joint special operations reconnaissance team was ambushed. A rocket propelled grenade struck the helicopter and bullets ripped through the fuselage. The blast ripped through the left side of the Chinook, throwing Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts off the ramp of the helicopter onto the enemy-infested mountaintop below. The severely damaged aircraft was unable to return for Petty Officer Roberts, and performed a controlled crash landing a few miles from the mountaintop. Thus began the chain of events that led to unparalleled acts of valor by numerous joint special operations forces, the deaths of seven U.S. servicemen and now, 16 years later, posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Chapman. Alone, against the elements and separated from his team with enemy personnel closing in, Petty Officer Roberts was in desperate need of support. The remaining joint special operations team members, fully aware of his precarious situation, immediately began planning a daring rescue attempt that included returning to the top of Takur Ghar where they had just taken heavy enemy fire. As the team returned to Petty Officer Roberts’ last-known position, now on a second MH-47, the entrenched enemy forces immediately engaged the approaching helicopter with heavy fire. Miraculously, the helicopter, although heavily damaged, was able to successfully offload the remaining special operations team members and return to base. Sergeant Chapman, upon exiting the helicopter, immediately charged uphill through the snow toward enemy positions while under heavy fire from three directions. Once on the ground, the team assessed the situation and moved quickly to the high ground. The most prominent cover and concealment on the hilltop were a large rock and tree. As they approached the tree, Sergeant Chapman received fire from two enemy personnel in a fortified position. He returned fire, charged the enemy position and took out the enemy combatants within. Almost immediately, the team began taking machine gun fire from another fortified enemy position only 12 meters away. Sergeant Chapman deliberately moved into the open to engage the new enemy position. As he heroically engaged the enemy, he was struck by a burst of gunfire and became critically injured. Sergeant Chapman regained his faculties and continued to fight relentlessly despite his severe wounds. He sustained a violent engagement with multiple enemy fighters, for over an hour through the arrival of the quick reaction force, before paying the ultimate sacrifice. In performance of these remarkably heroic actions, Sergeant Chapman is credited with saving the lives of his teammates. The upgrade to MOH “John was always selfless – it didn’t just emerge on Takur Ghar – he had always been selfless and highly competent, and thank God for all those qualities,” said Col. Rodriguez. “He could have hunkered down in the bunker and waited for the (Quick Reaction Force) and (Combat Search and Rescue) team to come in, but he assessed the situation and selflessly gave his life for them.” Sergeant Chapman was originally awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions; however, following a review of Air Force Cross and Silver Star recipients directed by then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, the Secretary of the Air Force recommended Sergeant Chapman’s Air Force Cross be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In accordance with Air Force policy whereby Medal of Honor recipients are automatically promoted one grade on the first day of the month following the award, Sergeant Chapman will be posthumously promoted to the rank of master sergeant on Sept. 1, 2018. Although Sergeant Chapman will be awarded the Medal of Honor, family and friends have expressed his humility and how he would react today, if he were here. “If John were to find out he received the Medal of Honor, he would be very humbled and honored,” said Chief Master Sergeant West. “He was just doing his job, and that’s what he would say at this moment.” His widow, Valerie Nessel, has always known her husband was capable of such greatness, but asserts that John wouldn’t be anxious to be in the spotlight. “[John] would want to recognize the other men that lost their lives,” said Valerie. “Even though he did something he was awarded the Medal of Honor for, he would not want the other guys to be forgotten – that they were part of the team together.” “I think he would say that his Medal of Honor was not just for him, but for all of the guys who were lost,” she added. In total, seven service members lost their lives during the Battle of Takur Ghar: Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts – U.S. Navy SEAL Technical Sergeant John Chapman – U.S. Air Force combat control Senior Airman Jason Cunningham – U.S. Air Force pararescue Corporal Matthew Commons – U.S. Army Ranger Sergeant Bradley Crose – U.S. Army Ranger Specialist Marc Anderson – U.S. Army Ranger Sergeant Philip Svitak – U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment “John would have, so I’ll say it for him. Every American who set foot on that mountaintop acted with great courage and selflessness, and deserve all of our praise and admiration for the sacrifices they made,” said Col. Rodriguez.
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  • via: The Giant Killer
    ·
    Pictured are the eight U.S. Marines of the suicide mission "Doom Patrol" to recover the body of a dead Marine, Charlie Company, 7th Marine in Quảng Nam Province, 1968.

    In February 1968, eight Marines volunteered for a suicide mission. After 32 US casualties were incurred during the first 30 hours of Operation Pursuit. The operation was initiated in mid-February 1968 by the 1st Marine Division to search for enemy rocket caches in the mountains west of Da Nang.

    Operation Pursuit began at 11 a.m. on Feb. 14 as Charlie Company crossed the western end of Hill 10 while Delta Company departed from Hill 41, about 2 miles to the southeast. Accompanying them were 1st Division combat correspondent Sgt. Robert Bayer and photographer Cpl. R.J. Del Vecchio.

    The two companies linked up on the approach to Hills 270 and 310. The dense jungle growth at the base of Hill 270 channeled the Marines into a single-file column during the slow, exhausting climb that forced the men to hack out a trail with machetes. By 6:30 p.m., Delta Company had secured Objective 1, the saddle between Hills 270 and 310. Charlie Company had secured Objective 2, the top of Hill 270.

    Pfc. Michael J. Kelly, a member of the point squad who had been with the company for only two months, was hit by an enemy bullet that struck a grenade on his cartridge belt. The detonation killed Kelly, severing a leg in the process.

    Lt. Col. Bill Davis ordered Charlie and Delta companies of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, to get off Hills 270 and 310 and return to their base camps in the flatlands to the east.

    A little later the morning of Feb. 16, the acting commander of Charlie Company, 1st Lt. Dana F. MacCormack, whose men were descending from Hill 270, radioed Davis: “Here come the NVA, Colonel! I’ve got one more KIA that the last helo did not have room for. We are having a hell of a time carrying this body, and the bones are cutting up the body bag.”

    Davis, on Hill 310 with the battalion command group, told MacCormack to get Charlie Company off the mountain immediately to avoid any more casualties. And that meant leaving the body behind.

    Thousands of North Vietnamese Army troops had trekked down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in eastern Laos and moved through South Vietnam’s A Shau Valley before making their way to high ground, including Hills 270 and 310, overlooking an area known as Happy Valley and the Marine positions to the east.

    In early afternoon, out of food and water and low on ammunition, the weary, battle-shocked Marines of Charlie Company arrived at Hill 10 and were met by the actual company commander, Capt. Karl Ripplemeyer, who had been on leave and just returned. Delta Company, meanwhile, had reached its base camp on Hill 41.

    Davis radioed the regimental commander, Col. Ross R. Miner, and told him that the Marines were back at the command posts, but added that a dead Marine had to be left behind. A few hours later, Miner told Davis that a B-52 bombing mission was scheduled to strike Hills 270 and 310 and ordered him to send a team to recover Kelly’s body before the bombing started. Davis, however, did not want to risk any more lives in those mountains before the bombing runs were completed and argued against an immediate recovery mission, but Miner wouldn’t rescind his order.

    Davis discussed Miner’s order with Ripplemeyer, as well as the battalion operations officer and the officer who coordinated air support for the battalion. Davis decided to use Charlie Company volunteers for the recovery since they knew the location of Kelly’s body.

    “It was 100% a suicide mission,” Whittier, the 2nd Platoon lieutenant, would write to his wife on Feb. 17. “This is a point I can’t too heavily emphasize.”

    “Suicide mission” was an unintentionally appropriate term, given Charlie Company’s longstanding nickname: “Suicide Charley.” The unit had earned its nickname during the October 1942 Japanese assault on Guadalcanal, when 1st Battalion was led by Lt. Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, who later became the Corps’ most decorated Marine and finished his career as a lieutenant general. During that battle, Charlie Company held its line against a far larger Japanese force despite suffering heavy losses. The day after the fight, a white flag of parachute cloth with a picture of a skull and crossbones rose over the company’s position. Emblazoned on the flag was “Suicide Charley.”

    The patrol to recover Kelly’s body had only a few hours to prepare for its departure. A runner was sent to Charlie Company seeking the volunteers, including an experienced squad leader. John D. McCreless, then a 20-year-old sergeant, recalled: “When the decision came down to use a squad of volunteers, I got crazy and raised my hand and said I’d lead it.”

    Lance Cpl. Stephen B. McCashin responded similarly: “When I heard they were asking for volunteers, I said anyone who would go back into those mountains again would have to be crazy. I thought it was a suicide mission, but since I’m on my second tour here, I must be crazy, so I decided to go.”

    Pfc. Joseph A. Hamrick signed up because, he said, “I was the only one of the volunteers who knew exactly where the body was, so even though I had only been in the ‘Nam’ for a month and had never walked point, I figured I could go right to it.”

    The other Marines on the eight-man patrol were Pfc. Thomas M. Adamson, Lance Cpl. Tyree Albert Chamberlain, Pfc. Alfred P. Granados, Cpl. Billy R. Ranes and Pfc. Pedro A. Rodriguez. Someone—no one can remember exactly who—dubbed the volunteers the “Doom Patrol.”

    Granados, the radio operator, remembers their preparations. “Our equipment was light for a short recon patrol—no helmets, flak jackets or cartridge belts, and all but one of the men of the Doom Patrol asked to trade their M16s for the more reliable M14, and permission was granted,” he said. “We were to make no enemy contact, travel by stealth in the dark, get the body and return. If we ran into a superior enemy force, we were to abort, split up and get back any way we could.”

    Before the men departed, a senior staff sergeant told McCreless: “None of you will probably return alive, but to increase your chances, if things get hairy you can just bring back the leg.” The eight Marines weren’t totally on their own for the mission. The battalion air officer had arranged for continuous air support for the patrol.

    At 2 a.m. on Feb. 17, McCreless’ squad left Hill 10. A little more than an hour later, near the abandoned village of Phuoc Ninh —military maps distinguished villages with the same name by numbering them—the Marines spotted NVA soldiers moving toward their position. Chamberlain opened fire and killed one of them, but the patrol was now compromised. McCreless faced a difficult decision: abort the mission or stay the course. He spoke to the battalion command center and was told to proceed. No one wanted an empty casket sent to Kelly’s family, and the men on the mission knew the odds when they volunteered.

    On the move again toward the base of Hill 270, the Marines observed another enemy patrol, and McCreless stopped for an hour near another abandoned village, Phuoc Ninh, a precautionary pause in the dark to make sure there was no other NVA activity in the area before continuing their journey.

    By sunrise, around 5 a.m., the patrol had cleared the open rice paddy areas and started into the dense jungle on the side of the mountain—with a long march still ahead, which meant they would have to conduct their “stealth” mission in broad daylight. Three hours later, the men were in a flat area above the bomb crater where Kelly’s body lay, covered with a poncho. There they waited while pilots in O1-Bird Dog propeller-driven planes called in airstrikes.

    One of the pilots radioed McCreless to tell him that napalm drops by F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers would land just forward of the bomb crater. He instructed the patrol members to take cover, take three deep breaths, exhale and hold their next breath. The napalm struck about a 100 yards in front of the patrol.
    Granados still remembers the intense heat and dust being sucked past his face into the inferno. The shock waves from the blast seemed to raise him off the ground.

    After the napalm flames diminished, Granados saw NVA soldiers emerging from bunkers and spider holes.
    McCreless, worried that the enemy troops were about to move against his seriously outnumbered men, yelled: “Get the leg, and let’s get the hell out!”

    Moments later, Ranes and Adamson dashed to the crater. They grabbed the severed leg and quickly strapped it to a backpack that Chamberlain carried. The eight Marines then ran back down the trail, amid the still-smoldering napalm and the enemy fire tearing into trees and brush around them. A final strafing run by F-4 Phantoms silenced the firing.

    After reaching the flatlands, the patrol came upon Charlie Company’s 1st Platoon, sent to assist the squad if any of the men had been wounded or killed. The platoon escorted McCreless’ squad to base camp, and by 2 p.m. all the Marines were back on Hill 10.

    Amid great rejoicing, Davis summoned the men to his quarters and handed them cigars and cold beer to celebrate their incredible accomplishment. (He wasn’t aware at that time that the full body had not been recovered.) As recounted in his autobiography Tet Marine, Davis told the Doom Patrol that he had been a fan of Suicide Charley since the Chosin Reservoir battle during the Korean War. “I’ve been proud of them during all these years, because they did great things at the Reservoir,” he said. “But never did they do anything greater than YOU did, as volunteers, last night and today.”

    McCreless said: “The only reason I can think of why we were able to pull it off is that the NVA just couldn’t believe that we were stupid enough to go in there and do what we did. They must have thought we were bait for some kind of trap.”

    After the celebration, Davis typed a letter to the commander of the 7th Marine Regiment:

    “Dear Colonel Miner, I’ve never been prouder to be a Marine than at this moment! This magnificent squad [from Suicide Charley] went on what appeared to be a suicide mission. I wish you could have heard this young Marine [Pfc. Joseph Hamrick] describe why he volunteered. He just couldn’t imagine that an empty casket would go to a Marine’s parents. He knew they had to do the job, and while he was scared all the way out, and all the way back, he knew that they just had to succeed. I’ve just lived through an experience that I’ll always hold dear to me. Semper Fi.”

    Within 10 hours of the patrol’s return, the B-52s from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam devastated the high ground on Hills 270 and 310. But the NVA would return to Hill 310, and many more Marines were wounded or killed there the following month during Operation Worth and in August during Operation Mameluke Thrust.

    On March 8, Whittier and McCreless were wounded. Later that day, at the Navy hospital in Da Nang, Whittier died from his wounds. A few days later, McCreless was medevaced to Japan for additional surgery. During fighting on May 30, Doom Patrol volunteer Rodriguez was killed.

    Men from E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, found Kelly’s body on March 25 during Operation Worth. A medevac helicopter picked up the remains and took them to the mortuary in Da Nang. A funeral with a casket containing Kelly’s leg was held in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio, in March 1968. A second funeral, with the rest of his remains, was held in April 1968.

    Story by Jack Wells
    — Jack Wells served in Vietnam during 1968-69 as an artillery forward observer with Alpha and Bravo companies, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and later as executive officer of H Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.

    SALUTE!
    via: The Giant Killer · Pictured are the eight U.S. Marines of the suicide mission "Doom Patrol" to recover the body of a dead Marine, Charlie Company, 7th Marine in Quảng Nam Province, 1968. In February 1968, eight Marines volunteered for a suicide mission. After 32 US casualties were incurred during the first 30 hours of Operation Pursuit. The operation was initiated in mid-February 1968 by the 1st Marine Division to search for enemy rocket caches in the mountains west of Da Nang. Operation Pursuit began at 11 a.m. on Feb. 14 as Charlie Company crossed the western end of Hill 10 while Delta Company departed from Hill 41, about 2 miles to the southeast. Accompanying them were 1st Division combat correspondent Sgt. Robert Bayer and photographer Cpl. R.J. Del Vecchio. The two companies linked up on the approach to Hills 270 and 310. The dense jungle growth at the base of Hill 270 channeled the Marines into a single-file column during the slow, exhausting climb that forced the men to hack out a trail with machetes. By 6:30 p.m., Delta Company had secured Objective 1, the saddle between Hills 270 and 310. Charlie Company had secured Objective 2, the top of Hill 270. Pfc. Michael J. Kelly, a member of the point squad who had been with the company for only two months, was hit by an enemy bullet that struck a grenade on his cartridge belt. The detonation killed Kelly, severing a leg in the process. Lt. Col. Bill Davis ordered Charlie and Delta companies of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, to get off Hills 270 and 310 and return to their base camps in the flatlands to the east. A little later the morning of Feb. 16, the acting commander of Charlie Company, 1st Lt. Dana F. MacCormack, whose men were descending from Hill 270, radioed Davis: “Here come the NVA, Colonel! I’ve got one more KIA that the last helo did not have room for. We are having a hell of a time carrying this body, and the bones are cutting up the body bag.” Davis, on Hill 310 with the battalion command group, told MacCormack to get Charlie Company off the mountain immediately to avoid any more casualties. And that meant leaving the body behind. Thousands of North Vietnamese Army troops had trekked down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in eastern Laos and moved through South Vietnam’s A Shau Valley before making their way to high ground, including Hills 270 and 310, overlooking an area known as Happy Valley and the Marine positions to the east. In early afternoon, out of food and water and low on ammunition, the weary, battle-shocked Marines of Charlie Company arrived at Hill 10 and were met by the actual company commander, Capt. Karl Ripplemeyer, who had been on leave and just returned. Delta Company, meanwhile, had reached its base camp on Hill 41. Davis radioed the regimental commander, Col. Ross R. Miner, and told him that the Marines were back at the command posts, but added that a dead Marine had to be left behind. A few hours later, Miner told Davis that a B-52 bombing mission was scheduled to strike Hills 270 and 310 and ordered him to send a team to recover Kelly’s body before the bombing started. Davis, however, did not want to risk any more lives in those mountains before the bombing runs were completed and argued against an immediate recovery mission, but Miner wouldn’t rescind his order. Davis discussed Miner’s order with Ripplemeyer, as well as the battalion operations officer and the officer who coordinated air support for the battalion. Davis decided to use Charlie Company volunteers for the recovery since they knew the location of Kelly’s body. “It was 100% a suicide mission,” Whittier, the 2nd Platoon lieutenant, would write to his wife on Feb. 17. “This is a point I can’t too heavily emphasize.” “Suicide mission” was an unintentionally appropriate term, given Charlie Company’s longstanding nickname: “Suicide Charley.” The unit had earned its nickname during the October 1942 Japanese assault on Guadalcanal, when 1st Battalion was led by Lt. Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, who later became the Corps’ most decorated Marine and finished his career as a lieutenant general. During that battle, Charlie Company held its line against a far larger Japanese force despite suffering heavy losses. The day after the fight, a white flag of parachute cloth with a picture of a skull and crossbones rose over the company’s position. Emblazoned on the flag was “Suicide Charley.” The patrol to recover Kelly’s body had only a few hours to prepare for its departure. A runner was sent to Charlie Company seeking the volunteers, including an experienced squad leader. John D. McCreless, then a 20-year-old sergeant, recalled: “When the decision came down to use a squad of volunteers, I got crazy and raised my hand and said I’d lead it.” Lance Cpl. Stephen B. McCashin responded similarly: “When I heard they were asking for volunteers, I said anyone who would go back into those mountains again would have to be crazy. I thought it was a suicide mission, but since I’m on my second tour here, I must be crazy, so I decided to go.” Pfc. Joseph A. Hamrick signed up because, he said, “I was the only one of the volunteers who knew exactly where the body was, so even though I had only been in the ‘Nam’ for a month and had never walked point, I figured I could go right to it.” The other Marines on the eight-man patrol were Pfc. Thomas M. Adamson, Lance Cpl. Tyree Albert Chamberlain, Pfc. Alfred P. Granados, Cpl. Billy R. Ranes and Pfc. Pedro A. Rodriguez. Someone—no one can remember exactly who—dubbed the volunteers the “Doom Patrol.” Granados, the radio operator, remembers their preparations. “Our equipment was light for a short recon patrol—no helmets, flak jackets or cartridge belts, and all but one of the men of the Doom Patrol asked to trade their M16s for the more reliable M14, and permission was granted,” he said. “We were to make no enemy contact, travel by stealth in the dark, get the body and return. If we ran into a superior enemy force, we were to abort, split up and get back any way we could.” Before the men departed, a senior staff sergeant told McCreless: “None of you will probably return alive, but to increase your chances, if things get hairy you can just bring back the leg.” The eight Marines weren’t totally on their own for the mission. The battalion air officer had arranged for continuous air support for the patrol. At 2 a.m. on Feb. 17, McCreless’ squad left Hill 10. A little more than an hour later, near the abandoned village of Phuoc Ninh —military maps distinguished villages with the same name by numbering them—the Marines spotted NVA soldiers moving toward their position. Chamberlain opened fire and killed one of them, but the patrol was now compromised. McCreless faced a difficult decision: abort the mission or stay the course. He spoke to the battalion command center and was told to proceed. No one wanted an empty casket sent to Kelly’s family, and the men on the mission knew the odds when they volunteered. On the move again toward the base of Hill 270, the Marines observed another enemy patrol, and McCreless stopped for an hour near another abandoned village, Phuoc Ninh, a precautionary pause in the dark to make sure there was no other NVA activity in the area before continuing their journey. By sunrise, around 5 a.m., the patrol had cleared the open rice paddy areas and started into the dense jungle on the side of the mountain—with a long march still ahead, which meant they would have to conduct their “stealth” mission in broad daylight. Three hours later, the men were in a flat area above the bomb crater where Kelly’s body lay, covered with a poncho. There they waited while pilots in O1-Bird Dog propeller-driven planes called in airstrikes. One of the pilots radioed McCreless to tell him that napalm drops by F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers would land just forward of the bomb crater. He instructed the patrol members to take cover, take three deep breaths, exhale and hold their next breath. The napalm struck about a 100 yards in front of the patrol. Granados still remembers the intense heat and dust being sucked past his face into the inferno. The shock waves from the blast seemed to raise him off the ground. After the napalm flames diminished, Granados saw NVA soldiers emerging from bunkers and spider holes. McCreless, worried that the enemy troops were about to move against his seriously outnumbered men, yelled: “Get the leg, and let’s get the hell out!” Moments later, Ranes and Adamson dashed to the crater. They grabbed the severed leg and quickly strapped it to a backpack that Chamberlain carried. The eight Marines then ran back down the trail, amid the still-smoldering napalm and the enemy fire tearing into trees and brush around them. A final strafing run by F-4 Phantoms silenced the firing. After reaching the flatlands, the patrol came upon Charlie Company’s 1st Platoon, sent to assist the squad if any of the men had been wounded or killed. The platoon escorted McCreless’ squad to base camp, and by 2 p.m. all the Marines were back on Hill 10. Amid great rejoicing, Davis summoned the men to his quarters and handed them cigars and cold beer to celebrate their incredible accomplishment. (He wasn’t aware at that time that the full body had not been recovered.) As recounted in his autobiography Tet Marine, Davis told the Doom Patrol that he had been a fan of Suicide Charley since the Chosin Reservoir battle during the Korean War. “I’ve been proud of them during all these years, because they did great things at the Reservoir,” he said. “But never did they do anything greater than YOU did, as volunteers, last night and today.” McCreless said: “The only reason I can think of why we were able to pull it off is that the NVA just couldn’t believe that we were stupid enough to go in there and do what we did. They must have thought we were bait for some kind of trap.” After the celebration, Davis typed a letter to the commander of the 7th Marine Regiment: “Dear Colonel Miner, I’ve never been prouder to be a Marine than at this moment! This magnificent squad [from Suicide Charley] went on what appeared to be a suicide mission. I wish you could have heard this young Marine [Pfc. Joseph Hamrick] describe why he volunteered. He just couldn’t imagine that an empty casket would go to a Marine’s parents. He knew they had to do the job, and while he was scared all the way out, and all the way back, he knew that they just had to succeed. I’ve just lived through an experience that I’ll always hold dear to me. Semper Fi.” Within 10 hours of the patrol’s return, the B-52s from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam devastated the high ground on Hills 270 and 310. But the NVA would return to Hill 310, and many more Marines were wounded or killed there the following month during Operation Worth and in August during Operation Mameluke Thrust. On March 8, Whittier and McCreless were wounded. Later that day, at the Navy hospital in Da Nang, Whittier died from his wounds. A few days later, McCreless was medevaced to Japan for additional surgery. During fighting on May 30, Doom Patrol volunteer Rodriguez was killed. Men from E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, found Kelly’s body on March 25 during Operation Worth. A medevac helicopter picked up the remains and took them to the mortuary in Da Nang. A funeral with a casket containing Kelly’s leg was held in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio, in March 1968. A second funeral, with the rest of his remains, was held in April 1968. Story by Jack Wells — Jack Wells served in Vietnam during 1968-69 as an artillery forward observer with Alpha and Bravo companies, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and later as executive officer of H Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. SALUTE!
    Salute
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  • Most people won't take the time to read this all the way to the end. I hope that you will.

    17 INCHES" - you will not regret reading this

    An excellent article to read from beginning to end.

    Twenty years ago, in Nashville, Tennessee, during the first week of January, 1996, more than 4,000 baseball coaches descended upon the Opryland Hotel for the 52nd annual ABCA's convention.

    While I waited in line to register with the hotel staff, I heard other more veteran coaches rumbling about the lineup of speakers scheduled to present during the weekend. One name kept resurfacing, always with the same sentiment — “John Scolinos is here? Oh, man, worth every penny of my airfare.”

    Who is John Scolinos, I wondered. No matter; I was just happy to be there.

    In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching career that began in 1948. He shuffled to the stage to an impressive standing ovation, wearing dark polyester pants, a light blue shirt, and a string around his neck from which home plate hung — a full-sized, stark-white home plate.

    Seriously, I wondered, who is this guy?

    After speaking for twenty-five minutes, not once mentioning the prop hanging around his neck, Coach Scolinos appeared to notice the snickering among some of the coaches. Even those who knew Coach Scolinos had to wonder exactly where he was going with this, or if he had simply forgotten about home plate since he’d gotten on stage.

    Then, finally …

    “You’re probably all wondering why I’m wearing home plate around my neck,” he said, his voice growing irascible. I laughed along with the others, acknowledging the possibility. “I may be old, but I’m not crazy. The reason I stand before you today is to share with you baseball people what I’ve learned in my life, what I’ve learned about home plate in my 78 years.”

    Several hands went up when Scolinos asked how many Little League coaches were in the room.

    “Do you know how wide home plate is in Little League?” After a pause, someone offered, “Seventeen inches?”, more of a question than an answer.

    “That’s right,” he said. “How about in Babe Ruth’s day? Any Babe Ruth coaches in the house?”

    Another long pause.

    “Seventeen inches?” a guess from another reluctant coach.

    “That’s right,” said Scolinos.

    “Now, how many high school coaches do we have in the room?”
    Hundreds of hands shot up, as the pattern began to appear.

    “How wide is home plate in high school baseball?”

    “Seventeen inches,” they said, sounding more confident.

    “You’re right!” Scolinos barked. “And you college coaches, how wide is home plate in college?”

    “Seventeen inches!” we said, in unison.

    “Any Minor League coaches here? How wide is home plate in pro ball?”............“Seventeen inches!”
    “RIGHT! And in the Major Leagues, how wide home plate is in the Major Leagues?

    “Seventeen inches!”

    “SEV-EN-TEEN INCHES!” he confirmed, his voice bellowing off the walls. “And what do they do with a Big League pitcher who can’t throw the ball over seventeen inches?”

    Pause. “They send him to Pocatello!” he hollered, drawing raucous laughter. “What they don’t do is this: they don’t say, ‘Ah, that’s okay, Jimmy. If you can’t hit a seventeen-inch target? We’ll make it eighteen inches or nineteen inches. We’ll make it twenty inches so you have a better chance of hitting it. If you can’t hit that, let us know so we can make it wider still, say twenty-five inches.'”

    Pause.

    “Coaches… what do we do when your best player shows up late to practice? or when our team rules forbid facial hair and a guy shows up unshaven? What if he gets caught drinking? Do we hold him accountable? Or do we change the rules to fit him? Do we widen home plate? "

    The chuckles gradually faded as four thousand coaches grew quiet, the fog lifting as the old coach’s message began to unfold.

    He turned the plate toward himself and, using a Sharpie, began to draw something. When he turned it toward the crowd, point up, a house was revealed, complete with a freshly drawn door and two windows.

    “This is the problem in our homes today. With our marriages, with the way we parent our kids. With our discipline.

    We don’t teach accountability to our kids, and there is no consequence for failing to meet standards. We just widen the plate!”

    Pause.

    Then, to the point at the top of the house he added a small American flag.
    “This is the problem in our schools today. The quality of our education is going downhill fast and teachers have been stripped of the tools they need to be successful, and to educate and discipline our young people.
    We are allowing others to widen home plate! Where is that getting us?”

    Silence.

    He replaced the flag with a Cross. “And this is the problem in the Church, where powerful people in positions of authority have taken advantage of young children, only to have such an atrocity swept under the rug for years. Our church leaders are widening home plate for themselves! And we allow it.”

    “And the same is true with our government. Our so-called representatives make rules for us that don’t apply to themselves. They take bribes from lobbyists and foreign countries. They no longer serve us. And we allow them to widen home plate! We see our country falling into a dark abyss while we just watch.”

    I was amazed. At a baseball convention where I expected to learn something about curve balls and bunting and how to run better practices, I had learned something far more valuable.

    From an old man with home plate strung around his neck, I had learned something about life, about myself, about my own weaknesses and about my responsibilities as a leader. I had to hold myself and others accountable to that which I knew to be right, lest our families, our faith, and our society continue down an undesirable path.

    “If I am lucky,” Coach Scolinos concluded, “you will remember one thing from this old coach today. It is this: "If we fail to hold ourselves to a higher standard, a standard of what we know to be right; if we fail to hold our spouses and our children to the same standards, if we are unwilling or unable to provide a consequence when they do not meet the standard; and if our schools & churches & our government fail to hold themselves accountable to those they serve, there is but one thing to look forward to…”

    With that, he held home plate in front of his chest, turned it around, and revealed its dark black backside, "We have dark days ahead!.”

    Note: Coach Scolinos died in 2009 at the age of 91, but not before touching the lives of hundreds of players and coaches, including mine. Meeting him at my first ABCA convention kept me returning year after year, looking for similar wisdom and inspiration from other coaches. He is the best clinic speaker the ABCA has ever known because he was so much more than a baseball coach.

    His message was clear: “Coaches, keep your players—no matter how good they are—your own children, your churches, your government, and most of all, keep yourself at seventeen inches."
    And this my friends is what our country has become and what is wrong with it today, and now go out there and fix it!

    "Don't widen the plate."
    Most people won't take the time to read this all the way to the end. I hope that you will. 17 INCHES" - you will not regret reading this An excellent article to read from beginning to end. Twenty years ago, in Nashville, Tennessee, during the first week of January, 1996, more than 4,000 baseball coaches descended upon the Opryland Hotel for the 52nd annual ABCA's convention. While I waited in line to register with the hotel staff, I heard other more veteran coaches rumbling about the lineup of speakers scheduled to present during the weekend. One name kept resurfacing, always with the same sentiment — “John Scolinos is here? Oh, man, worth every penny of my airfare.” Who is John Scolinos, I wondered. No matter; I was just happy to be there. In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching career that began in 1948. He shuffled to the stage to an impressive standing ovation, wearing dark polyester pants, a light blue shirt, and a string around his neck from which home plate hung — a full-sized, stark-white home plate. Seriously, I wondered, who is this guy? After speaking for twenty-five minutes, not once mentioning the prop hanging around his neck, Coach Scolinos appeared to notice the snickering among some of the coaches. Even those who knew Coach Scolinos had to wonder exactly where he was going with this, or if he had simply forgotten about home plate since he’d gotten on stage. Then, finally … “You’re probably all wondering why I’m wearing home plate around my neck,” he said, his voice growing irascible. I laughed along with the others, acknowledging the possibility. “I may be old, but I’m not crazy. The reason I stand before you today is to share with you baseball people what I’ve learned in my life, what I’ve learned about home plate in my 78 years.” Several hands went up when Scolinos asked how many Little League coaches were in the room. “Do you know how wide home plate is in Little League?” After a pause, someone offered, “Seventeen inches?”, more of a question than an answer. “That’s right,” he said. “How about in Babe Ruth’s day? Any Babe Ruth coaches in the house?” Another long pause. “Seventeen inches?” a guess from another reluctant coach. “That’s right,” said Scolinos. “Now, how many high school coaches do we have in the room?” Hundreds of hands shot up, as the pattern began to appear. “How wide is home plate in high school baseball?” “Seventeen inches,” they said, sounding more confident. “You’re right!” Scolinos barked. “And you college coaches, how wide is home plate in college?” “Seventeen inches!” we said, in unison. “Any Minor League coaches here? How wide is home plate in pro ball?”............“Seventeen inches!” “RIGHT! And in the Major Leagues, how wide home plate is in the Major Leagues? “Seventeen inches!” “SEV-EN-TEEN INCHES!” he confirmed, his voice bellowing off the walls. “And what do they do with a Big League pitcher who can’t throw the ball over seventeen inches?” Pause. “They send him to Pocatello!” he hollered, drawing raucous laughter. “What they don’t do is this: they don’t say, ‘Ah, that’s okay, Jimmy. If you can’t hit a seventeen-inch target? We’ll make it eighteen inches or nineteen inches. We’ll make it twenty inches so you have a better chance of hitting it. If you can’t hit that, let us know so we can make it wider still, say twenty-five inches.'” Pause. “Coaches… what do we do when your best player shows up late to practice? or when our team rules forbid facial hair and a guy shows up unshaven? What if he gets caught drinking? Do we hold him accountable? Or do we change the rules to fit him? Do we widen home plate? " The chuckles gradually faded as four thousand coaches grew quiet, the fog lifting as the old coach’s message began to unfold. He turned the plate toward himself and, using a Sharpie, began to draw something. When he turned it toward the crowd, point up, a house was revealed, complete with a freshly drawn door and two windows. “This is the problem in our homes today. With our marriages, with the way we parent our kids. With our discipline. We don’t teach accountability to our kids, and there is no consequence for failing to meet standards. We just widen the plate!” Pause. Then, to the point at the top of the house he added a small American flag. “This is the problem in our schools today. The quality of our education is going downhill fast and teachers have been stripped of the tools they need to be successful, and to educate and discipline our young people. We are allowing others to widen home plate! Where is that getting us?” Silence. He replaced the flag with a Cross. “And this is the problem in the Church, where powerful people in positions of authority have taken advantage of young children, only to have such an atrocity swept under the rug for years. Our church leaders are widening home plate for themselves! And we allow it.” “And the same is true with our government. Our so-called representatives make rules for us that don’t apply to themselves. They take bribes from lobbyists and foreign countries. They no longer serve us. And we allow them to widen home plate! We see our country falling into a dark abyss while we just watch.” I was amazed. At a baseball convention where I expected to learn something about curve balls and bunting and how to run better practices, I had learned something far more valuable. From an old man with home plate strung around his neck, I had learned something about life, about myself, about my own weaknesses and about my responsibilities as a leader. I had to hold myself and others accountable to that which I knew to be right, lest our families, our faith, and our society continue down an undesirable path. “If I am lucky,” Coach Scolinos concluded, “you will remember one thing from this old coach today. It is this: "If we fail to hold ourselves to a higher standard, a standard of what we know to be right; if we fail to hold our spouses and our children to the same standards, if we are unwilling or unable to provide a consequence when they do not meet the standard; and if our schools & churches & our government fail to hold themselves accountable to those they serve, there is but one thing to look forward to…” With that, he held home plate in front of his chest, turned it around, and revealed its dark black backside, "We have dark days ahead!.” Note: Coach Scolinos died in 2009 at the age of 91, but not before touching the lives of hundreds of players and coaches, including mine. Meeting him at my first ABCA convention kept me returning year after year, looking for similar wisdom and inspiration from other coaches. He is the best clinic speaker the ABCA has ever known because he was so much more than a baseball coach. His message was clear: “Coaches, keep your players—no matter how good they are—your own children, your churches, your government, and most of all, keep yourself at seventeen inches." And this my friends is what our country has become and what is wrong with it today, and now go out there and fix it! "Don't widen the plate."
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  • OTD via: SIERRA HOTEL AERONAUTICS
    ·
    February 20th, 1962 11:03 UTC; John Glenn boarded the Friendship 7 spacecraft.
    The hatch was bolted in place at 12:10 UTC.
    The gantry was rolled back at 13:20 UTC.

    At 14:47 UTC, after two hours and 17 minutes of holds and three hours and 44 minutes after Glenn entered Friendship 7, engineer T.J. O'Malley pressed the button in the blockhouse launching the spacecraft.
    At liftoff Glenn's pulse rate climbed to 110 beats per minute.

    Thirty seconds after liftoff the General Electric-Burroughs designed guidance system locked onto a radio transponder in the booster to guide the vehicle to orbit. As the Atlas and Friendship 7 passed through Max Q Glenn reported, "It's a little bumpy about here." After Max Q the flight smoothed out. At two minutes and 14 seconds after launch, the booster engines cut off and dropped away. Then at two minutes and twenty-four seconds, the escape tower was jettisoned, right on schedule.

    After the tower was jettisoned, the Atlas and spacecraft pitched over still further, giving Glenn his first view of the horizon. He described the view as "a beautiful sight, looking eastward across the Atlantic."

    Glenn received word that the Atlas had boosted the MA-6 into a trajectory that would stay up for at least seven orbits. Meanwhile, computers at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland indicated that the MA-6 orbital parameters appeared good enough for almost 100 orbits.

    John Glenn and "Friendship 7" made three orbits of the Earth, making Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth.

    After four hours and 56 minutes in flight the spacecraft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean and was safely taken aboard the USS Noa.

    On a side note, earlier in his flying career, Glenn was next assigned to VMF-311 flying the new F9F Panther jet interceptor. He flew his Panther for 63 combat missions during the Korean War, gaining the dubious nickname "magnet ass" from his apparent ability to attract enemy flak.

    Twice he returned to base with over 250 flak holes in his aircraft.

    www.Sierrahotel.net
    OTD via: SIERRA HOTEL AERONAUTICS · February 20th, 1962 11:03 UTC; John Glenn boarded the Friendship 7 spacecraft. The hatch was bolted in place at 12:10 UTC. The gantry was rolled back at 13:20 UTC. At 14:47 UTC, after two hours and 17 minutes of holds and three hours and 44 minutes after Glenn entered Friendship 7, engineer T.J. O'Malley pressed the button in the blockhouse launching the spacecraft. At liftoff Glenn's pulse rate climbed to 110 beats per minute. Thirty seconds after liftoff the General Electric-Burroughs designed guidance system locked onto a radio transponder in the booster to guide the vehicle to orbit. As the Atlas and Friendship 7 passed through Max Q Glenn reported, "It's a little bumpy about here." After Max Q the flight smoothed out. At two minutes and 14 seconds after launch, the booster engines cut off and dropped away. Then at two minutes and twenty-four seconds, the escape tower was jettisoned, right on schedule. After the tower was jettisoned, the Atlas and spacecraft pitched over still further, giving Glenn his first view of the horizon. He described the view as "a beautiful sight, looking eastward across the Atlantic." Glenn received word that the Atlas had boosted the MA-6 into a trajectory that would stay up for at least seven orbits. Meanwhile, computers at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland indicated that the MA-6 orbital parameters appeared good enough for almost 100 orbits. John Glenn and "Friendship 7" made three orbits of the Earth, making Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth. After four hours and 56 minutes in flight the spacecraft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean and was safely taken aboard the USS Noa. On a side note, earlier in his flying career, Glenn was next assigned to VMF-311 flying the new F9F Panther jet interceptor. He flew his Panther for 63 combat missions during the Korean War, gaining the dubious nickname "magnet ass" from his apparent ability to attract enemy flak. Twice he returned to base with over 250 flak holes in his aircraft. www.Sierrahotel.net
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  • Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids/grandchildren because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be.

    God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident anymore, or less, than yours.

    Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God.

    Train them up in the authority of His Word.

    Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

    Empower them to know they can change the world.

    Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world, but hopeful that they can do something about it.

    Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan.
    He knew Daniel could handle the lions den.
    He knew David could handle Goliath.
    He knew Esther could handle Haman.
    He knew Peter could handle persecution.

    He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it!

    Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.

    Rise up to the challenge.

    Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers, and Peters!

    God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world.

    He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth.

    Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.
    ~ Alex Cravens

    #CarryTheLight
    Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids/grandchildren because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident anymore, or less, than yours. Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. Train them up in the authority of His Word. Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control. Empower them to know they can change the world. Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world, but hopeful that they can do something about it. Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan. He knew Daniel could handle the lions den. He knew David could handle Goliath. He knew Esther could handle Haman. He knew Peter could handle persecution. He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it! Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime. Rise up to the challenge. Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers, and Peters! God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world. He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth. Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this. ~ Alex Cravens #CarryTheLight
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  • LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP: From a Janitor
    By Colonel James E. Moschgat, Commander of the 12th Operations Group, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas

    William “Bill” Crawford certainly was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor.

    While we cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Saturday morning parades and room inspections, or never-ending leadership classes, Bill quietly moved about the squadron mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory. Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, “G’morning!” in his direction as we hurried off to our daily duties.

    Why? Perhaps it was because of the way he did his job-he always kept the squadron area spotlessly clean, even the toilets and showers gleamed. Frankly, he did his job so well, none of us had to notice or get involved.

    After all, cleaning toilets was his job, not ours. Maybe it was is physical appearance that made him disappear into the background. Bill didn’t move very quickly and, in fact, you could say he even shuffled a bit, as if he suffered from some sort of injury. His gray hair and wrinkled face made him appear ancient to a group of young cadets. And his crooked smile, well, it looked a little funny. Face it, Bill was an old man working in a young person’s world. What did he have to offer us on a personal level?

    Finally, maybe it was Mr. Crawford’s personality that rendered him almost invisible to the young people around him. Bill was shy, almost painfully so. He seldom spoke to a cadet unless they addressed him first, and that didn’t happen very often. Our janitor always buried himself in his work, moving about with stooped shoulders, a quiet gait, and an averted gaze. If he noticed the hustle and bustle of cadet life around him, it was hard to tell. So, for whatever reason, Bill blended into the woodwork and became just another fixture around the squadron. The Academy, one of our nation’s premier leadership laboratories, kept us busy from dawn till dusk. And Mr. Crawford...well, he was just a janitor.

    That changed one fall Saturday afternoon in 1976. I was reading a book about World War II and the tough Allied ground campaign in Italy, when I stumbled across an incredible story. On September 13, 1943, a Private William Crawford from Colorado, assigned to the 36th Infantry Division, had been involved in some bloody fighting on Hill 424 near Altavilla, Italy. The words on the page leapt out at me: “in the face of intense and overwhelming hostile fire... with no regard for personal safety... on his own initiative, Private Crawford single-handedly attacked fortified enemy positions.” It continued, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, the President of the United States...”

    “Holy cow,” I said to my roommate, “you’re not going to believe this, but I think our janitor is a Medal of Honor winner.” We all knew Mr. Crawford was a WWII Army vet, but that didn’t keep my friend from looking at me as if I was some sort of alien being. Nonetheless, we couldn’t wait to ask Bill about the story on Monday. We met Mr. Crawford bright and early Monday and showed him the page in question from the book, anticipation and doubt in our faces. He starred at it for a few silent moments and then quietly uttered something like, “Yep, that’s me.”

    Mouths agape, my roommate and I looked at one another, then at the book, and quickly back at our janitor.

    Almost at once we both stuttered, “Why didn’t you ever tell us about it?” He slowly replied after some thought,

    “That was one day in my life and it happened a long time ago.”

    I guess we were all at a loss for words after that. We had to hurry off to class and Bill, well, he had chores to attend to. However, after that brief exchange, things were never again the same around our squadron. Word spread like wildfire among the cadets that we had a hero in our midst-Mr. Crawford, our janitor, had won the Medal! Cadets who had once passed by Bill with hardly a glance, now greeted him with a smile and a respectful, “Good morning, Mr. Crawford.”

    Those who had before left a mess for the “janitor” to clean up started taking it upon themselves to put things in order. Most cadets routinely stopped to talk to Bill throughout the day and we even began inviting him to our formal squadron functions. He’d show up dressed in a conservative dark suit and quietly talk to those who approached him, the only sign of his heroics being a simple blue, star-spangled lapel pin.

    Almost overnight, Bill went from being a simple fixture in our squadron to one of our teammates. Mr. Crawford changed too, but you had to look closely to notice the difference. After that fall day in 1976, he seemed to move with more purpose, his shoulders didn’t seem to be as stooped, he met our greetings with a direct gaze and a stronger “good morning” in return, and he flashed his crooked smile more often. The squadron gleamed as always, but everyone now seemed to notice it more. Bill even got to know most of us by our first names, something that didn’t happen often at the Academy. While no one ever formally acknowledged the change, I think we became Bill’s cadets and his squadron.

    As often happens in life, events sweep us away from those in our past. The last time I saw Bill was on graduation day in June 1977. As I walked out of the squadron for the last time, he shook my hand and simply said, “Good luck, young man.” With that, I embarked on a career that has been truly lucky and blessed. Mr. Crawford continued to work at the Academy and eventually retired in his native Colorado where he resides today, one of four Medal of Honor winners living in a small town.

    A wise person once said, “It’s not life that’s important, but those you meet along the way that make the difference.” Bill was one who made a difference for me. While I haven’t seen Mr. Crawford in over twenty years, he’d probably be surprised to know I think of him often. Bill Crawford, our janitor, taught me many valuable, unforgettable leadership lessons. Here are ten I’d like to share with you.

    1. Be Cautious of Labels. Labels you place on people may define your relationship to them and bound their potential. Sadly, and for a long time, we labeled Bill as just a janitor, but he was so much more. Therefore, be cautious of a leader who callously says, “Hey, he’s just an Airman.” Likewise, don’t tolerate the O-1, who says, “I can’t do that, I’m just a lieutenant.”

    2. Everyone Deserves Respect. Because we hung the “janitor” label on Mr. Crawford, we often wrongly treated him with less respect than others around us. He deserved much more, and not just because he was a Medal of Honor winner. Bill deserved respect because he was a janitor, walked among us, and was a part of our team.

    3. Courtesy Makes a Difference. Be courteous to all around you, regardless of rank or position. Military customs, as well as common courtesies, help bond a team. When our daily words to Mr. Crawford turned from perfunctory “hellos” to heartfelt greetings, his demeanor and personality outwardly changed. It made a difference for all of us.

    4. Take Time to Know Your People. Life in the military is hectic, but that’s no excuse for not knowing the people you work for and with. For years a hero walked among us at the Academy and we never knew it. Who are the heroes that walk in your midst?

    5. Anyone Can Be a Hero. Mr. Crawford certainly didn’t fit anyone’s standard definition of a hero. Moreover, he was just a private on the day he won his Medal. Don’t sell your people short, for any one of them may be the hero who rises to the occasion when duty calls. On the other hand, it’s easy to turn to your proven performers when the chips are down, but don’t ignore the rest of the team. Today’s rookie could and should be tomorrow’s superstar.

    6. Leaders Should Be Humble. Most modern day heroes and some leaders are anything but humble, especially if you calibrate your “hero meter” on today’s athletic fields. End zone celebrations and self-aggrandizement are what we’ve come to expect from sports greats. Not Mr. Crawford-he was too busy working to celebrate his past heroics. Leaders would be well-served to do the same.

    7. Life Won’t Always Hand You What You Think You Deserve. We in the military work hard and, dang it, we deserve recognition, right? However, sometimes you just have to persevere, even when accolades don’t come your way. Perhaps you weren’t nominated for junior officer or airman of the quarter as you thought you should - don’t let that stop you.

    8. Don’t pursue glory; pursue excellence. Private Bill Crawford didn’t pursue glory; he did his duty and then swept floors for a living. No job is beneath a Leader. If Bill Crawford, a Medal of Honor winner, could clean latrines and smile, is there a job beneath your dignity? Think about it.

    9. Pursue Excellence. No matter what task life hands you, do it well. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “If life makes you a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper you can be.” Mr. Crawford modeled that philosophy and helped make our dormitory area a home.

    10. Life is a Leadership Laboratory. All too often we look to some school or PME class to teach us about leadership when, in fact, life is a leadership laboratory. Those you meet everyday will teach you enduring lessons if you just take time to stop, look and listen. I spent four years at the Air Force Academy, took dozens of classes, read hundreds of books, and met thousands of great people. I gleaned leadership skills from all of them, but one of the people I remember most is Mr. Bill Crawford and the lessons he unknowingly taught. Don’t miss your opportunity to learn.

    Bill Crawford was a janitor. However, he was also a teacher, friend, role model and one great American hero. Thanks, Mr. Crawford, for some valuable leadership lessons.

    Dale Pyeatt, Executive Director of the National Guard Association of Texas, comments: And now, for the “rest of the story”: Pvt William John Crawford was a platoon scout for 3rd Platoon of Company L 1 42nd Regiment 36th Division (Texas National Guard) and won the Medal Of Honor for his actions on Hill 424, just 4 days after the invasion at Salerno.

    On Hill 424, Pvt Crawford took out 3 enemy machine guns before darkness fell, halting the platoon’s advance.
    Pvt Crawford could not be found and was assumed dead. The request for his MOH was quickly approved.

    Major General Terry Allen presented the posthumous MOH to Bill Crawford’s father, George, on 11 May 1944 in Camp (now Fort) Carson, near Pueblo. Nearly two months after that, it was learned that Pvt Crawford was alive in a POW camp in Germany. During his captivity, a German guard clubbed him with his rifle. Bill overpowered him, took the rifle away, and beat the guard unconscious. A German doctor’s testimony saved him from severe punishment, perhaps death. To stay ahead of the advancing Russian army, the prisoners were marched 500 miles in 52 days in the middle of the German winter, subsisting on one potato a day. An allied tank column liberated the camp in the spring of 1945, and Pvt Crawford took his first hot shower in 18 months on VE Day. Pvt Crawford stayed in the army before retiring as a MSG and becoming a janitor. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan officially presented the MOH to Bill Crawford.

    William Crawford passed away in 2000. He is the only U.S. Army veteran and sole Medal of Honor winner to be buried in the cemetery of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
    LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP: From a Janitor By Colonel James E. Moschgat, Commander of the 12th Operations Group, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas William “Bill” Crawford certainly was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor. While we cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Saturday morning parades and room inspections, or never-ending leadership classes, Bill quietly moved about the squadron mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory. Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, “G’morning!” in his direction as we hurried off to our daily duties. Why? Perhaps it was because of the way he did his job-he always kept the squadron area spotlessly clean, even the toilets and showers gleamed. Frankly, he did his job so well, none of us had to notice or get involved. After all, cleaning toilets was his job, not ours. Maybe it was is physical appearance that made him disappear into the background. Bill didn’t move very quickly and, in fact, you could say he even shuffled a bit, as if he suffered from some sort of injury. His gray hair and wrinkled face made him appear ancient to a group of young cadets. And his crooked smile, well, it looked a little funny. Face it, Bill was an old man working in a young person’s world. What did he have to offer us on a personal level? Finally, maybe it was Mr. Crawford’s personality that rendered him almost invisible to the young people around him. Bill was shy, almost painfully so. He seldom spoke to a cadet unless they addressed him first, and that didn’t happen very often. Our janitor always buried himself in his work, moving about with stooped shoulders, a quiet gait, and an averted gaze. If he noticed the hustle and bustle of cadet life around him, it was hard to tell. So, for whatever reason, Bill blended into the woodwork and became just another fixture around the squadron. The Academy, one of our nation’s premier leadership laboratories, kept us busy from dawn till dusk. And Mr. Crawford...well, he was just a janitor. That changed one fall Saturday afternoon in 1976. I was reading a book about World War II and the tough Allied ground campaign in Italy, when I stumbled across an incredible story. On September 13, 1943, a Private William Crawford from Colorado, assigned to the 36th Infantry Division, had been involved in some bloody fighting on Hill 424 near Altavilla, Italy. The words on the page leapt out at me: “in the face of intense and overwhelming hostile fire... with no regard for personal safety... on his own initiative, Private Crawford single-handedly attacked fortified enemy positions.” It continued, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, the President of the United States...” “Holy cow,” I said to my roommate, “you’re not going to believe this, but I think our janitor is a Medal of Honor winner.” We all knew Mr. Crawford was a WWII Army vet, but that didn’t keep my friend from looking at me as if I was some sort of alien being. Nonetheless, we couldn’t wait to ask Bill about the story on Monday. We met Mr. Crawford bright and early Monday and showed him the page in question from the book, anticipation and doubt in our faces. He starred at it for a few silent moments and then quietly uttered something like, “Yep, that’s me.” Mouths agape, my roommate and I looked at one another, then at the book, and quickly back at our janitor. Almost at once we both stuttered, “Why didn’t you ever tell us about it?” He slowly replied after some thought, “That was one day in my life and it happened a long time ago.” I guess we were all at a loss for words after that. We had to hurry off to class and Bill, well, he had chores to attend to. However, after that brief exchange, things were never again the same around our squadron. Word spread like wildfire among the cadets that we had a hero in our midst-Mr. Crawford, our janitor, had won the Medal! Cadets who had once passed by Bill with hardly a glance, now greeted him with a smile and a respectful, “Good morning, Mr. Crawford.” Those who had before left a mess for the “janitor” to clean up started taking it upon themselves to put things in order. Most cadets routinely stopped to talk to Bill throughout the day and we even began inviting him to our formal squadron functions. He’d show up dressed in a conservative dark suit and quietly talk to those who approached him, the only sign of his heroics being a simple blue, star-spangled lapel pin. Almost overnight, Bill went from being a simple fixture in our squadron to one of our teammates. Mr. Crawford changed too, but you had to look closely to notice the difference. After that fall day in 1976, he seemed to move with more purpose, his shoulders didn’t seem to be as stooped, he met our greetings with a direct gaze and a stronger “good morning” in return, and he flashed his crooked smile more often. The squadron gleamed as always, but everyone now seemed to notice it more. Bill even got to know most of us by our first names, something that didn’t happen often at the Academy. While no one ever formally acknowledged the change, I think we became Bill’s cadets and his squadron. As often happens in life, events sweep us away from those in our past. The last time I saw Bill was on graduation day in June 1977. As I walked out of the squadron for the last time, he shook my hand and simply said, “Good luck, young man.” With that, I embarked on a career that has been truly lucky and blessed. Mr. Crawford continued to work at the Academy and eventually retired in his native Colorado where he resides today, one of four Medal of Honor winners living in a small town. A wise person once said, “It’s not life that’s important, but those you meet along the way that make the difference.” Bill was one who made a difference for me. While I haven’t seen Mr. Crawford in over twenty years, he’d probably be surprised to know I think of him often. Bill Crawford, our janitor, taught me many valuable, unforgettable leadership lessons. Here are ten I’d like to share with you. 1. Be Cautious of Labels. Labels you place on people may define your relationship to them and bound their potential. Sadly, and for a long time, we labeled Bill as just a janitor, but he was so much more. Therefore, be cautious of a leader who callously says, “Hey, he’s just an Airman.” Likewise, don’t tolerate the O-1, who says, “I can’t do that, I’m just a lieutenant.” 2. Everyone Deserves Respect. Because we hung the “janitor” label on Mr. Crawford, we often wrongly treated him with less respect than others around us. He deserved much more, and not just because he was a Medal of Honor winner. Bill deserved respect because he was a janitor, walked among us, and was a part of our team. 3. Courtesy Makes a Difference. Be courteous to all around you, regardless of rank or position. Military customs, as well as common courtesies, help bond a team. When our daily words to Mr. Crawford turned from perfunctory “hellos” to heartfelt greetings, his demeanor and personality outwardly changed. It made a difference for all of us. 4. Take Time to Know Your People. Life in the military is hectic, but that’s no excuse for not knowing the people you work for and with. For years a hero walked among us at the Academy and we never knew it. Who are the heroes that walk in your midst? 5. Anyone Can Be a Hero. Mr. Crawford certainly didn’t fit anyone’s standard definition of a hero. Moreover, he was just a private on the day he won his Medal. Don’t sell your people short, for any one of them may be the hero who rises to the occasion when duty calls. On the other hand, it’s easy to turn to your proven performers when the chips are down, but don’t ignore the rest of the team. Today’s rookie could and should be tomorrow’s superstar. 6. Leaders Should Be Humble. Most modern day heroes and some leaders are anything but humble, especially if you calibrate your “hero meter” on today’s athletic fields. End zone celebrations and self-aggrandizement are what we’ve come to expect from sports greats. Not Mr. Crawford-he was too busy working to celebrate his past heroics. Leaders would be well-served to do the same. 7. Life Won’t Always Hand You What You Think You Deserve. We in the military work hard and, dang it, we deserve recognition, right? However, sometimes you just have to persevere, even when accolades don’t come your way. Perhaps you weren’t nominated for junior officer or airman of the quarter as you thought you should - don’t let that stop you. 8. Don’t pursue glory; pursue excellence. Private Bill Crawford didn’t pursue glory; he did his duty and then swept floors for a living. No job is beneath a Leader. If Bill Crawford, a Medal of Honor winner, could clean latrines and smile, is there a job beneath your dignity? Think about it. 9. Pursue Excellence. No matter what task life hands you, do it well. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “If life makes you a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper you can be.” Mr. Crawford modeled that philosophy and helped make our dormitory area a home. 10. Life is a Leadership Laboratory. All too often we look to some school or PME class to teach us about leadership when, in fact, life is a leadership laboratory. Those you meet everyday will teach you enduring lessons if you just take time to stop, look and listen. I spent four years at the Air Force Academy, took dozens of classes, read hundreds of books, and met thousands of great people. I gleaned leadership skills from all of them, but one of the people I remember most is Mr. Bill Crawford and the lessons he unknowingly taught. Don’t miss your opportunity to learn. Bill Crawford was a janitor. However, he was also a teacher, friend, role model and one great American hero. Thanks, Mr. Crawford, for some valuable leadership lessons. Dale Pyeatt, Executive Director of the National Guard Association of Texas, comments: And now, for the “rest of the story”: Pvt William John Crawford was a platoon scout for 3rd Platoon of Company L 1 42nd Regiment 36th Division (Texas National Guard) and won the Medal Of Honor for his actions on Hill 424, just 4 days after the invasion at Salerno. On Hill 424, Pvt Crawford took out 3 enemy machine guns before darkness fell, halting the platoon’s advance. Pvt Crawford could not be found and was assumed dead. The request for his MOH was quickly approved. Major General Terry Allen presented the posthumous MOH to Bill Crawford’s father, George, on 11 May 1944 in Camp (now Fort) Carson, near Pueblo. Nearly two months after that, it was learned that Pvt Crawford was alive in a POW camp in Germany. During his captivity, a German guard clubbed him with his rifle. Bill overpowered him, took the rifle away, and beat the guard unconscious. A German doctor’s testimony saved him from severe punishment, perhaps death. To stay ahead of the advancing Russian army, the prisoners were marched 500 miles in 52 days in the middle of the German winter, subsisting on one potato a day. An allied tank column liberated the camp in the spring of 1945, and Pvt Crawford took his first hot shower in 18 months on VE Day. Pvt Crawford stayed in the army before retiring as a MSG and becoming a janitor. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan officially presented the MOH to Bill Crawford. William Crawford passed away in 2000. He is the only U.S. Army veteran and sole Medal of Honor winner to be buried in the cemetery of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
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    https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3651970/for-service-members-access-to-mental-health-care-streamlined-under-brandon-act/
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    For Service Members, Access to Mental Health Care Streamlined Under Brandon Act
    The Brandon Act has greatly simplified and sped up the process of helping service members get mental health treatment if they need it.
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  • Pilgrim’s Progress
    By MATT GALLAGHER

    Home Fires features the writing of men and women who have returned from wartime service in the United States military.

    I’m one of the lucky ones.

    War destroys without regard to what’s fair or just. This isn’t a new or terribly profound revelation, but witnessing it, and sometimes participating in it, makes it seem like both. In a professional military, the entire point of training is to minimize the nature of chance in combat. But all the training in the world will never eliminate happenstance in war, or even render it negligible.

    I returned from Iraq with all of my limbs, most of my mental faculties and a book deal. I wake up every morning in an apartment in New York City. I’m working toward a graduate degree. I have a beautiful fiancée who reminds me to slow down when I’m drinking. And every day I feel more and more detached and removed from the Iraq dustlands I promised myself I’d shed like snakeskin if I ever got back home.

    Like I said, one of the lucky ones.

    I didn’t really appreciate the concept of becoming ‘unstuck’ in time until I returned from war.

    Meanwhile, the black bracelet on my wrist carries the names of four individuals who weren’t so lucky. One got shot through the armpit with a ricocheting bullet and bled out on an outpost roof. Two drove over the wrong piece of street at the wrong time and likely didn’t even know it was a roadside bomb that ended it all. The last one made it through 15 months of war only to get drunk one night back in the States and shoot himself in the face during an emotional breakdown.

    In Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel “Slaughterhouse-Five,” the protagonist Billy Pilgrim becomes “unstuck in time.” Much of the novel focuses on Pilgrim’s experience of the fire bombing of Dresden in World War II, something Vonnegut himself survived as an American prisoner of war. Like many American literature students, I was required to read “Slaughterhouse-Five” in high school, and if memory serves, I even enjoyed that assignment at 16. But I didn’t really appreciate the concept of becoming unstuck in time until I returned from war. Just like anyone who poured blood, sweat and tears into missions in faraway foreign lands, I left part of myself over there, and it remains there, while the rest of me goes about my business 6000 miles away — a paradox of time and space Vonnegut captured all too brilliantly.

    I’ve walked by manholes in New York City streets and smelled the sludge river I walked along in north Baghdad in 2008. I’ve stopped dead in my tracks to watch a street hawker in Midtown, a large black man with a rolling laugh and a British accent, who looked just like my old scout platoon’s interpreter. And I’ve had every single slamming dumpster lid — every single damn one — rip off my fatalistic cloak and reveal me to be, still, a panicked young man desperate not to die because of an unseen I.E.D.

    Despite these metaphysical dalliances with time travel the names on my black bracelet are, in fact, stuck in time. Or, more accurately, stuck in memory, where they’ll fade out and disappear like distant stars before becoming shadows of the men we served with and knew.

    So it goes.

    So it went for my friend Rob. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003 his unit drove through a neighborhood near Baghdad airport in doorless Humvees. A civilian vehicle pulled out in front of them, temporarily blocking their path. A group of teenage boys stood aimlessly on the street, and one exchanged nods with Rob, who sat in the front passenger seat. Rob glanced away quickly, to see if the civilian vehicle had moved yet, and then, suddenly, a grenade bounced off of the inside of the windshield and into the vehicle. Rob followed the small plume of smoke and rattling noises, grabbing the grenade from behind the radio to his left. He picked it up, intending to throw it back out of the vehicle, but it slipped out of his hand and dropped, landing between his feet. He reached back down for it, fingers just meeting casing when it exploded. He lost a hand and suffered severe nerve damage in his right leg as a result.

    Back from Iraq, I carried my self-righteousness around in the form of a portable soapbox.

    Recounting the story over drinks one night Rob said he wished he and the other soldiers in his Humvee hadn’t taken their eyes off of the Iraqi teens. Then he added that “luck was for sure on our side that day,” because had he not dropped the grenade but tossed it away as planned, it would’ve exploded at head level, likely killing him and possibly the Humvee’s driver, as well. He laughed deeply, and clinked his prosthetic hook against my pint glass.

    Everything’s relative, I guess. Especially luck.

    If chance is war’s dirty little not-so-secret, self-righteousness is the veterans’. Upon returning to American society, it’s all too easy to fall into pitfalls about what civilians get or don’t get. Nine years of war fought by an all-volunteer force that constitutes less than 1 percent of the total population has augmented this disconnect between soldier and citizen; in many ways, a separate warrior caste has evolved into being. The impact on our republic of fighting protracted, landlocked wars with an all-volunteer force can be debated. The impact of it on those actually fighting can’t be.

    After returning from Iraq and separating from active duty, I carried my self-righteousness around in the form a portable soapbox for many months. Occasionally this proved necessary — sometimes the pejorative “they” really didn’t get it. There was the drunk Wall Street-type who told me, without a trace of irony but with plenty of faux-jingoist twang, “it must be awesome to kill hajjis.” And there was the too-cool-ultra-progressive who couldn’t help but smirk condescendingly while pointing out that “we” signed on the dotted line, after all, so “we” should’ve been ready for anything and everything before we departed for Iraq. Then, as passive-aggressively as possible, he analogized modern American soldiers to mercenaries.

    Though I’m certainly no tough guy, the primal urge to put both of these guys’ faces through the nearest window was very real and very pointed. I didn’t do that though, for better or worse. Instead, I told the former that some of my best friends were Muslim and that such a black-and-white understanding of the war is what got us into so much trouble over there in the first place. For the latter, I nodded and smiled, telling him that for someone who hadn’t left the borough of Brooklyn in over a decade, he certainly possessed one hell of a world view.

    Neither talked to me again. So it goes.

    Most of the time though, my soapbox and self-righteousness and sardonic wrath were unnecessary. Not because people didn’t get it, but because I finally realized it wasn’t their fault they didn’t get it. They’re not supposed to get it — this isn’t Sparta, nor is it even post-World War II America. Sometimes — many times, actually — they wanted to get it. Slowly and surely, I found the all too obvious solution of simply answering people’s questions as considerately as I could, careful not to ascribe my experiences as universal to all of Iraq or all of Afghanistan. I’d rather ramble, I reasoned, and provide nuance and opinion than serve as the representational hollow caricature born only to sacrifice for fast food and online shopping and general postmodern excess.

    Just one man’s solution to a litany of complexities, I guess.

    I got unstuck in time again last month, right when winter graced the Eastern seaboard with its presence. I was getting out of the Union Square subway station, headphones in, mind tuned out, stomach craving a cheeseburger. I don’t qualify as a full-fledged New Yorker yet, but I’ve lived here long enough not to be disturbed by the sight of a cold and decrepit-looking homeless person. So, coming up the subway steps, I strolled by a young man with a scraggly yellow beard wrapped in an urban camo jacket without anything more than a passing glance. He held a cardboard sign marked in black marker with the words “IRAQ VET, HOMELESS, PLEASE HELP.” I didn’t help, nor did I give the man a second thought until two blocks later, when I cynically scolded him in my head for using the veteran title to his advantage.

    Coming to terms with this permanent state of combat readiness has made me realize just how much I miss war (or parts of it).

    “But what if he really is an Iraq vet?” I asked myself. I’d read the statistics — according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 100,000 veterans are homeless on a given night in America; the figure is twice that over the course of the month. Not all of the unlucky ones are dead, after all. So the old platoon leader in me kicked in, and I turned back around, to see if I could verify any of this. Certainly a legitimate vet would remember names, units, places … something. And then? And then I’d help. Or I’d bring him to the people or organizations who could help. Maybe, if he seemed legit and came across as relatively stable, I could talk my fiancée into letting him sleep on the couch for a night or two. Just to get him back on his feet, of course.

    He was no longer there. Or anywhere nearby. Maybe someone else had helped him. But probably not. I initially breathed out a sigh of relief, and then a sigh of shame. I thought about how these wars may be coming to some sort of end, but veterans’ issues for my generation are really just beginning. I only deployed for 15 months, and had all kinds of support systems in place upon my return. What about the men and women who have done nothing but deploy, redeploy, rinse and repeat since 9/11? What about those soldiers who return to broken homes, mountains of debt, no professional goals beyond not going to war again? What about them?

    I smacked my lips and tasted guilt. Then I walked to a restaurant and ate a cheeseburger.

    Like the veterans who came before and the ones who will come after, I walk the streets of New York City forever the soldier I no longer am. Oh, I’m no longer lean, hungry, or clean-cut — I’ve put on a little weight, grown my hair out and sport a patchy beard that can best be described as pirate-fashionable. But I still scan crowds for suicide vests, seek out corner vantage points like a bloodhound and value competency in a human being above all else. Jumping back into civilian life headlong, like I originally attempted, proved both disastrous and shortsighted. And coming to terms with this permanent state of combat readiness has made me realize just how much I miss war (or parts of it), and how lucky — and twisted — I am to be able to even write those words. I miss the camaraderie. I miss the raw excitement. I miss the Iraqi locals, from the kids who walked our daytime patrols with us to the frightened mothers who just wanted us to go away. I miss the soldiers, the N.C.O.’s, and even some of the officers. I miss that daily sense of purpose, survive or die, that simply can’t be replicated in everyday existence. I miss standing for something more than myself, even if I never figured out just what the hell that something was supposed to be.

    I don’t miss all of it, of course. I got out of the Army for some very good reasons. Love. Sanity. Bureaucracy. A Holy Trinity for our time. But there is a messy ambiguity at the core of this that must be conveyed, if not necessarily understood.

    I’m one of the lucky ones. Unstuck in time. Stuck with chance. Stuck at war. Considering the alternatives, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
    Pilgrim’s Progress By MATT GALLAGHER Home Fires features the writing of men and women who have returned from wartime service in the United States military. I’m one of the lucky ones. War destroys without regard to what’s fair or just. This isn’t a new or terribly profound revelation, but witnessing it, and sometimes participating in it, makes it seem like both. In a professional military, the entire point of training is to minimize the nature of chance in combat. But all the training in the world will never eliminate happenstance in war, or even render it negligible. I returned from Iraq with all of my limbs, most of my mental faculties and a book deal. I wake up every morning in an apartment in New York City. I’m working toward a graduate degree. I have a beautiful fiancée who reminds me to slow down when I’m drinking. And every day I feel more and more detached and removed from the Iraq dustlands I promised myself I’d shed like snakeskin if I ever got back home. Like I said, one of the lucky ones. I didn’t really appreciate the concept of becoming ‘unstuck’ in time until I returned from war. Meanwhile, the black bracelet on my wrist carries the names of four individuals who weren’t so lucky. One got shot through the armpit with a ricocheting bullet and bled out on an outpost roof. Two drove over the wrong piece of street at the wrong time and likely didn’t even know it was a roadside bomb that ended it all. The last one made it through 15 months of war only to get drunk one night back in the States and shoot himself in the face during an emotional breakdown. In Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel “Slaughterhouse-Five,” the protagonist Billy Pilgrim becomes “unstuck in time.” Much of the novel focuses on Pilgrim’s experience of the fire bombing of Dresden in World War II, something Vonnegut himself survived as an American prisoner of war. Like many American literature students, I was required to read “Slaughterhouse-Five” in high school, and if memory serves, I even enjoyed that assignment at 16. But I didn’t really appreciate the concept of becoming unstuck in time until I returned from war. Just like anyone who poured blood, sweat and tears into missions in faraway foreign lands, I left part of myself over there, and it remains there, while the rest of me goes about my business 6000 miles away — a paradox of time and space Vonnegut captured all too brilliantly. I’ve walked by manholes in New York City streets and smelled the sludge river I walked along in north Baghdad in 2008. I’ve stopped dead in my tracks to watch a street hawker in Midtown, a large black man with a rolling laugh and a British accent, who looked just like my old scout platoon’s interpreter. And I’ve had every single slamming dumpster lid — every single damn one — rip off my fatalistic cloak and reveal me to be, still, a panicked young man desperate not to die because of an unseen I.E.D. Despite these metaphysical dalliances with time travel the names on my black bracelet are, in fact, stuck in time. Or, more accurately, stuck in memory, where they’ll fade out and disappear like distant stars before becoming shadows of the men we served with and knew. So it goes. So it went for my friend Rob. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003 his unit drove through a neighborhood near Baghdad airport in doorless Humvees. A civilian vehicle pulled out in front of them, temporarily blocking their path. A group of teenage boys stood aimlessly on the street, and one exchanged nods with Rob, who sat in the front passenger seat. Rob glanced away quickly, to see if the civilian vehicle had moved yet, and then, suddenly, a grenade bounced off of the inside of the windshield and into the vehicle. Rob followed the small plume of smoke and rattling noises, grabbing the grenade from behind the radio to his left. He picked it up, intending to throw it back out of the vehicle, but it slipped out of his hand and dropped, landing between his feet. He reached back down for it, fingers just meeting casing when it exploded. He lost a hand and suffered severe nerve damage in his right leg as a result. Back from Iraq, I carried my self-righteousness around in the form of a portable soapbox. Recounting the story over drinks one night Rob said he wished he and the other soldiers in his Humvee hadn’t taken their eyes off of the Iraqi teens. Then he added that “luck was for sure on our side that day,” because had he not dropped the grenade but tossed it away as planned, it would’ve exploded at head level, likely killing him and possibly the Humvee’s driver, as well. He laughed deeply, and clinked his prosthetic hook against my pint glass. Everything’s relative, I guess. Especially luck. If chance is war’s dirty little not-so-secret, self-righteousness is the veterans’. Upon returning to American society, it’s all too easy to fall into pitfalls about what civilians get or don’t get. Nine years of war fought by an all-volunteer force that constitutes less than 1 percent of the total population has augmented this disconnect between soldier and citizen; in many ways, a separate warrior caste has evolved into being. The impact on our republic of fighting protracted, landlocked wars with an all-volunteer force can be debated. The impact of it on those actually fighting can’t be. After returning from Iraq and separating from active duty, I carried my self-righteousness around in the form a portable soapbox for many months. Occasionally this proved necessary — sometimes the pejorative “they” really didn’t get it. There was the drunk Wall Street-type who told me, without a trace of irony but with plenty of faux-jingoist twang, “it must be awesome to kill hajjis.” And there was the too-cool-ultra-progressive who couldn’t help but smirk condescendingly while pointing out that “we” signed on the dotted line, after all, so “we” should’ve been ready for anything and everything before we departed for Iraq. Then, as passive-aggressively as possible, he analogized modern American soldiers to mercenaries. Though I’m certainly no tough guy, the primal urge to put both of these guys’ faces through the nearest window was very real and very pointed. I didn’t do that though, for better or worse. Instead, I told the former that some of my best friends were Muslim and that such a black-and-white understanding of the war is what got us into so much trouble over there in the first place. For the latter, I nodded and smiled, telling him that for someone who hadn’t left the borough of Brooklyn in over a decade, he certainly possessed one hell of a world view. Neither talked to me again. So it goes. Most of the time though, my soapbox and self-righteousness and sardonic wrath were unnecessary. Not because people didn’t get it, but because I finally realized it wasn’t their fault they didn’t get it. They’re not supposed to get it — this isn’t Sparta, nor is it even post-World War II America. Sometimes — many times, actually — they wanted to get it. Slowly and surely, I found the all too obvious solution of simply answering people’s questions as considerately as I could, careful not to ascribe my experiences as universal to all of Iraq or all of Afghanistan. I’d rather ramble, I reasoned, and provide nuance and opinion than serve as the representational hollow caricature born only to sacrifice for fast food and online shopping and general postmodern excess. Just one man’s solution to a litany of complexities, I guess. I got unstuck in time again last month, right when winter graced the Eastern seaboard with its presence. I was getting out of the Union Square subway station, headphones in, mind tuned out, stomach craving a cheeseburger. I don’t qualify as a full-fledged New Yorker yet, but I’ve lived here long enough not to be disturbed by the sight of a cold and decrepit-looking homeless person. So, coming up the subway steps, I strolled by a young man with a scraggly yellow beard wrapped in an urban camo jacket without anything more than a passing glance. He held a cardboard sign marked in black marker with the words “IRAQ VET, HOMELESS, PLEASE HELP.” I didn’t help, nor did I give the man a second thought until two blocks later, when I cynically scolded him in my head for using the veteran title to his advantage. Coming to terms with this permanent state of combat readiness has made me realize just how much I miss war (or parts of it). “But what if he really is an Iraq vet?” I asked myself. I’d read the statistics — according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 100,000 veterans are homeless on a given night in America; the figure is twice that over the course of the month. Not all of the unlucky ones are dead, after all. So the old platoon leader in me kicked in, and I turned back around, to see if I could verify any of this. Certainly a legitimate vet would remember names, units, places … something. And then? And then I’d help. Or I’d bring him to the people or organizations who could help. Maybe, if he seemed legit and came across as relatively stable, I could talk my fiancée into letting him sleep on the couch for a night or two. Just to get him back on his feet, of course. He was no longer there. Or anywhere nearby. Maybe someone else had helped him. But probably not. I initially breathed out a sigh of relief, and then a sigh of shame. I thought about how these wars may be coming to some sort of end, but veterans’ issues for my generation are really just beginning. I only deployed for 15 months, and had all kinds of support systems in place upon my return. What about the men and women who have done nothing but deploy, redeploy, rinse and repeat since 9/11? What about those soldiers who return to broken homes, mountains of debt, no professional goals beyond not going to war again? What about them? I smacked my lips and tasted guilt. Then I walked to a restaurant and ate a cheeseburger. Like the veterans who came before and the ones who will come after, I walk the streets of New York City forever the soldier I no longer am. Oh, I’m no longer lean, hungry, or clean-cut — I’ve put on a little weight, grown my hair out and sport a patchy beard that can best be described as pirate-fashionable. But I still scan crowds for suicide vests, seek out corner vantage points like a bloodhound and value competency in a human being above all else. Jumping back into civilian life headlong, like I originally attempted, proved both disastrous and shortsighted. And coming to terms with this permanent state of combat readiness has made me realize just how much I miss war (or parts of it), and how lucky — and twisted — I am to be able to even write those words. I miss the camaraderie. I miss the raw excitement. I miss the Iraqi locals, from the kids who walked our daytime patrols with us to the frightened mothers who just wanted us to go away. I miss the soldiers, the N.C.O.’s, and even some of the officers. I miss that daily sense of purpose, survive or die, that simply can’t be replicated in everyday existence. I miss standing for something more than myself, even if I never figured out just what the hell that something was supposed to be. I don’t miss all of it, of course. I got out of the Army for some very good reasons. Love. Sanity. Bureaucracy. A Holy Trinity for our time. But there is a messy ambiguity at the core of this that must be conveyed, if not necessarily understood. I’m one of the lucky ones. Unstuck in time. Stuck with chance. Stuck at war. Considering the alternatives, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
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  • “We're devastated by the loss of Chris and Gage. Their families are in our thoughts and prayers, today and always. The entire Naval Special Warfare community has our full support as they care for the Chambers and Ingram families, which is our sacred obligation for our teammates.” – Gen. Bryan Fenton and Command Sgt Maj. Shane Shorter

    Press release from Naval Special Warfare Command - Navy SEAL & SWCC Teams: https://lnkd.in/g3DHPdxZ
    “We're devastated by the loss of Chris and Gage. Their families are in our thoughts and prayers, today and always. The entire Naval Special Warfare community has our full support as they care for the Chambers and Ingram families, which is our sacred obligation for our teammates.” – Gen. Bryan Fenton and Command Sgt Maj. Shane Shorter Press release from Naval Special Warfare Command - Navy SEAL & SWCC Teams: https://lnkd.in/g3DHPdxZ
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  • “We're devastated by the loss of Chris and Gage. Their families are in our thoughts and prayers, today and always. The entire Naval Special Warfare community has our full support as they care for the Chambers and Ingram families, which is our sacred obligation for our teammates.” – Gen. Bryan Fenton and Command Sgt Maj. Shane Shorter

    Press release from Naval Special Warfare Command - Navy SEAL & SWCC Teams: https://lnkd.in/g3DHPdxZ
    “We're devastated by the loss of Chris and Gage. Their families are in our thoughts and prayers, today and always. The entire Naval Special Warfare community has our full support as they care for the Chambers and Ingram families, which is our sacred obligation for our teammates.” – Gen. Bryan Fenton and Command Sgt Maj. Shane Shorter Press release from Naval Special Warfare Command - Navy SEAL & SWCC Teams: https://lnkd.in/g3DHPdxZ
    LNKD.IN
    Naval Special Warfare Releases Names of Lost Teammates at Sea
    The search and rescue efforts to locate Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram concluded Jan. 21.
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  • Get a Job
    Get A JOB https://a.co/d/aM4HvHQ
    Books
    A soldier, husband, and father searching for answers in his quest to help his family find peace while dealing with a rare, deadly disease. This journey and his career takes him around the world while trying to care for his family, both physically and spiritually. Along the way, life continuously and brutally shows him how little he knows about his own religious beliefs. He will be forced into positions requiring him to solidify his faith and his personal relationship with Christ before leading others in their walk. God, as always, has a plan. One that involves messages, miracles, and literal writing on a wall that leads him in the right directions to answer questions he didn't know he had, and lead his family to salvation.
    A soldier, husband, and father searching for answers in his quest to help his family find peace while dealing with a rare, deadly disease. This journey and his career takes him around the world while trying to care for his family, both physically and spiritually. Along the way, life continuously and brutally shows him how little he knows about his own religious beliefs. He will be forced into positions requiring him to solidify his faith and his personal relationship with Christ before leading others in their walk. God, as always, has a plan. One that involves messages, miracles, and literal writing on a wall that leads him in the right directions to answer questions he didn't know he had, and lead his family to salvation.
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  • https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-provides-free-emergency-suicide-prevention-care-to-nearly-50000/
    https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-provides-free-emergency-suicide-prevention-care-to-nearly-50000/
    NEWS.VA.GOV
    VA provides free emergency suicide prevention care to nearly 50,000 Veterans and former service members in first year of new policy
    VA provides free emergency suicide prevention care to nearly 50,000 Veterans and former service members in first year of new policy
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  • Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation:

    In this colorized photo taken on the evening of June 5th, 1944, Soldiers from Fox Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division are pictured waiting for their C-47 to take off to Normandy.

    Robert “Bob” Noody is pictured second from right with the bazooka. Looking back, Noody said he must have weighed at least 250 lbs., encumbered with his M-1 rifle, a bazooka, three rockets, land mines, and other assorted "necessities".

    Fifty feet of rope hung from his chest, which he later used to lower his leg bag to the ground, easing his fall and ensuring he was ready to fight. He landed behind the mayor’s house at Ste. Mere-Eglise. In the ensuing days, Noody utilized his bazooka to destroy a German tank that threatened his unit outside of Carentan. For this action, Robert Noody received a Bronze Star with Oakleaf Cluster. It was his first and last bazooka usage, as he expended the three rockets he carried into battle. A leg wound at Carentan ended his Normandy adventure.

    He was only 20 years old on D-Day, and later in the war, Noody made the Operation Market Garden jump and fought with Fox Company from Eindhoven to the Rhine. Noody was discharged from the Army in November 1945 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and received two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star for his actions in Carentan, two Presidential Unit Citations, and the French Croix de Guerre.

    What a hero!
    #FlashbackFriday #militaryhistory #airborne #WWII #DDay
    Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation: In this colorized photo taken on the evening of June 5th, 1944, Soldiers from Fox Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division are pictured waiting for their C-47 to take off to Normandy. Robert “Bob” Noody is pictured second from right with the bazooka. Looking back, Noody said he must have weighed at least 250 lbs., encumbered with his M-1 rifle, a bazooka, three rockets, land mines, and other assorted "necessities". Fifty feet of rope hung from his chest, which he later used to lower his leg bag to the ground, easing his fall and ensuring he was ready to fight. He landed behind the mayor’s house at Ste. Mere-Eglise. In the ensuing days, Noody utilized his bazooka to destroy a German tank that threatened his unit outside of Carentan. For this action, Robert Noody received a Bronze Star with Oakleaf Cluster. It was his first and last bazooka usage, as he expended the three rockets he carried into battle. A leg wound at Carentan ended his Normandy adventure. He was only 20 years old on D-Day, and later in the war, Noody made the Operation Market Garden jump and fought with Fox Company from Eindhoven to the Rhine. Noody was discharged from the Army in November 1945 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and received two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star for his actions in Carentan, two Presidential Unit Citations, and the French Croix de Guerre. What a hero! #FlashbackFriday #militaryhistory #airborne #WWII #DDay
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  • I have older kiddos in their 20’s and missed them growing up because I was a work first type of guy. TDY, Deploy, School, TDY, deploy rotation after rotation for 20 years. I hardly know my oldest two. But my young ones, I make it my priority to be there. School plays and functions, just showing up and seeing them look for you in the crowded lunch room and when they see me it just melts my heart and I hold back tears. I often apologize to my oldest ones for not being there and they just say, “dad, we understand.” So moments like these pics, I didn’t care if we caught anything, it was just passing down knowledge that was passed down to me.
    I have older kiddos in their 20’s and missed them growing up because I was a work first type of guy. TDY, Deploy, School, TDY, deploy rotation after rotation for 20 years. I hardly know my oldest two. But my young ones, I make it my priority to be there. School plays and functions, just showing up and seeing them look for you in the crowded lunch room and when they see me it just melts my heart and I hold back tears. I often apologize to my oldest ones for not being there and they just say, “dad, we understand.” So moments like these pics, I didn’t care if we caught anything, it was just passing down knowledge that was passed down to me.
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  • MADDOX_UXO, our esteemed President, gave some solid advice last night that alot of "us" need to hear.

    "If you lack purpose, get off the couch and go find it". This has been on my mind all day...the leadership aspect of taking care of people truly doesnt change. The WAY you may do that should be extremely adaptive to each man/woman you cross paths with.

    None of us are exempt from problems but not everyone is fortunate enough to have someone care about them and offer assistance with solving them. Be that kind of human. After all, all of the answers were never in the book anyway.

    [MADDOX_UXO], our esteemed President, gave some solid advice last night that alot of "us" need to hear. "If you lack purpose, get off the couch and go find it". This has been on my mind all day...the leadership aspect of taking care of people truly doesnt change. The WAY you may do that should be extremely adaptive to each man/woman you cross paths with. None of us are exempt from problems but not everyone is fortunate enough to have someone care about them and offer assistance with solving them. Be that kind of human. After all, all of the answers were never in the book anyway.
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  • If someone comes into Fall In Veteran, I want them to know two things.

    #1 - ALL Veterans, First Responders, and Gold Star Family Members you are WELCOME HERE! Industry partners and Patriots are WELCOME HERE. Dissenters are WELCOME HERE. Free speech is WELCOME HERE. As well as someone responding to your free speech. Don’t be shocked. Be a Warrior. State your case, and stand your ground. Your feelings are not a deciding factor. Disciple, Values, Virtues, Merit, Logic, Reason and HARD WORK are what win the day.

    The Fall In Staff is HERE to provide you with the tools you need to take care of your Tribe.

    #2 - You are WELCOME as long as you are engaged in the good fight. -GET IN THE ARENA. Write, speak, video, organize, care and contribute to the safeguarding of your Legacy with the gifts you have been given. Shame on those sitting idly by when you have been called into the ring.

    Living the Warrior Ethos is a contact sport. Lower your shoulder, drive the darkness back and pull your Brothers and Sisters into the ring, shoulder to shoulder.

    Some are hurting and need you to CHECK UP on them. If YOU are hurting CHECK IN with your Tribe. Don’t sit on the bench. Get up, and GET SOME. Do Work!

    NSDQ! & LLTB!
    If someone comes into Fall In Veteran, I want them to know two things. #1 - ALL Veterans, First Responders, and Gold Star Family Members you are WELCOME HERE! Industry partners and Patriots are WELCOME HERE. Dissenters are WELCOME HERE. Free speech is WELCOME HERE. As well as someone responding to your free speech. Don’t be shocked. Be a Warrior. State your case, and stand your ground. Your feelings are not a deciding factor. Disciple, Values, Virtues, Merit, Logic, Reason and HARD WORK are what win the day. The Fall In Staff is HERE to provide you with the tools you need to take care of your Tribe. #2 - You are WELCOME as long as you are engaged in the good fight. -GET IN THE ARENA. Write, speak, video, organize, care and contribute to the safeguarding of your Legacy with the gifts you have been given. Shame on those sitting idly by when you have been called into the ring. Living the Warrior Ethos is a contact sport. Lower your shoulder, drive the darkness back and pull your Brothers and Sisters into the ring, shoulder to shoulder. Some are hurting and need you to CHECK UP on them. If YOU are hurting CHECK IN with your Tribe. Don’t sit on the bench. Get up, and GET SOME. Do Work! NSDQ! & LLTB!
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  • So long as they continued to work and breed, their other activities were without importance. Left to themselves, like cattle turned loose upon the plains of Argentina, they had reverted to a style of life that appeared to be natural to them, a sort of ancestral pattern. Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbors, films, football, beer and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.
    ~ George Orwell, 1984

    (Art: Photograph by Francisco Ontañón)
    So long as they continued to work and breed, their other activities were without importance. Left to themselves, like cattle turned loose upon the plains of Argentina, they had reverted to a style of life that appeared to be natural to them, a sort of ancestral pattern. Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbors, films, football, beer and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult. ~ George Orwell, 1984 (Art: Photograph by Francisco Ontañón)
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  • The incredible story of POW Navy Pilot Dieter Dengler and his escape from a prison camp in Laos.

    Dieter Dengler (May 22, 1938 – February 7, 2001) was a German-born United States Navy aviator during the Vietnam War and, following six months of imprisonment and torture, became the first captured U.S. airman to escape enemy captivity during the war. Of seven prisoners of war who escaped together from a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos, Dengler was one of two survivors (the other was Thailand citizen Phisit Intharathat). Dengler was rescued after 23 days on the run.

    Dieter Dengler was born and raised in the small town of Wildberg, in the Black Forest region of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. He grew up not knowing his father, who had been drafted into the German army in 1939 and was killed during World War II on the Eastern Front during the winter of 1943/44. Dengler became very close to his mother and brothers. Dengler's maternal grandfather, Hermann Schnuerle, claimed he refused to vote for Adolf Hitler in the 1934 elections. Subsequently he was paraded around town with a placard around his neck, was spat upon, and was then sent to labor in a rock mine for a year. Dengler credited his grandfather's resolve as a major inspiration during his time in Laos. His grandfather's steadfastness despite the great risks was one reason Dengler refused a North Vietnamese demand that he sign a document condemning American aggression in Southeast Asia.

    Dieter grew up in extreme poverty but always found ways to help his family survive. Dieter and his brothers would go into bombed-out buildings, tear off wallpaper, and bring it to their mother to boil for the nutrients in the wheat-based wallpaper paste. When members of the small group of Moroccans who lived in the area would slaughter sheep for their meals, Dieter would sneak over to their lodgings to take the scraps and leftovers they would not eat and his mother would make dinner from them. He also built a bicycle by scavenging from dumps. Dieter was apprenticed to a blacksmith at the age of 14. The blacksmith and the other boys, who worked six days a week building giant clocks and clock faces to repair German cathedrals, regularly beat him. Later in life Dieter thanked his former master "for his disciplined training and for helping Dieter become more capable, self-reliant and yes, 'tough enough to survive'".

    After seeing an advertisement in an American magazine, expressing a need for pilots, he decided to go to the United States. Although a family friend agreed to sponsor him, he lacked money for passage and came up with a plan to independently salvage brass and other metals to sell.

    In 1956, when he turned 18 and upon completion of his apprenticeship, Dengler hitchhiked to Hamburg and spent two weeks surviving on the streets before the ship set sail for New York City. While on the ship he saved fruit and sandwiches for the coming days and when going through customs the agent was astonished when the food tumbled out of his shirt. He lived on the streets of Manhattan for just over a week and eventually found his way to an Air Force recruiter. He was assured that piloting aircraft was what the Air Force was all about so he enlisted in June 1957 and went to basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. After basic training, Dengler spent two years peeling potatoes and then transferred to a motor pool as a mechanic. His qualifications as a machinist led to an assignment as a gunsmith. He passed the test for aviation cadets but was told that only college graduates were selected to be pilots and his enlistment expired before he was selected for pilot training.

    After his discharge Dengler joined his brother working in a bakery shop near San Francisco and enrolled in San Francisco City College, then transferred to the College of San Mateo, where he studied aeronautics. Upon completion of two years of college he applied for the US Navy aviation cadet program and was accepted.
    Dengler would do whatever it took to become a pilot. In his inaugural flight at primary flight training, for example, the instructor told Dengler that if he became airsick and vomited in the cockpit that he would receive a "down" on his record. Students were only allowed three downs then they would wash out of flight training. The instructor took the plane through spins and loops causing Dengler to become dizzy and disoriented. Knowing he was about to vomit and not wanting to receive a "down", Dengler took off his boot, threw up into it and put it back on. At the end of the flight the instructor checked the cockpit and could smell the vomit, but couldn't find any evidence of it. He didn't get a "down".

    After his completion of flight training Dengler went to the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas for training as an attack pilot in the Douglas AD Skyraider. He joined VA-145 while the squadron was on shore duty at Naval Air Station Alameda, California. In 1965 the squadron joined the carrier USS Ranger. In December the carrier set sail for the coast of Vietnam. He was stationed initially at Dixie Station, off South Vietnam then moved north to Yankee Station for operations against North Vietnam.

    On February 1, 1966, the day after the carrier began flying missions from Yankee Station, Lieutenant, Junior Grade Dengler launched from the Ranger with three other aircraft on an interdiction mission against a truck convoy that had been reported in North Vietnam. Thunderstorms forced the pilots to divert to their secondary target, a road intersection located west of the Mu Gia Pass in Laos. At the time, U.S. air operations in Laos were classified "secret". Visibility was poor due to smoke from burning fields, and upon rolling in on the target, Dengler and the remainder of his flight lost sight of one another. Visibility was poor, and as Dengler rolled his Skyraider in on the target after flying for two-and-a-half hours into enemy territory, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire.

    "There was a large explosion on my right side," he remembered when interviewed shortly before his death in 2001.

    It was like lightning striking. The right wing was gone. The airplane seemed to cartwheel through the sky in slow motion. There were more explosions—boom, boom, boom—and I was still able to guide the plane into a clearing in Laos.
    He said: "Many times, people have asked me if I was afraid. Just before dying, there is no more fear. I felt I was floating."

    When his squadron mates realized that he had been downed, they remained confident that he would be rescued. Immediately after he was shot down, Dengler smashed his survival radio and hid most of his other survival equipment to keep Vietnamese or Lao search parties from finding it. The day after being shot down Dengler was apprehended by Pathet Lao troops, the Laotian equivalent of the Viet Cong.

    He was marched through the jungle, was tied on the ground to four stakes spreadeagled in order to stop him escaping at night. In the morning his face would be swollen from mosquito bites and he was unable to see.

    After an early escape attempt he was recaptured while drinking from a spring. According to Dengler he was tortured in retaliation:

    I had escaped from them, [and] they wanted to get even. He was hung upside down by his ankles with a nest of biting ants over his face until he lost consciousness, suspended in a freezing well at night so that if he fell asleep he might drown. On other occasions he was dragged through villages by a water buffalo, to the amusement of his guards, as they goaded the animal with a whip. He was asked by Pathet Lao officials to sign a document condemning the United States, but he refused and as a result he was tortured as tiny wedges of bamboo were inserted under his fingernails and into incisions on his body which grew and festered.

    "They were always thinking of something new to do to me." Dengler recalled. "One guy made a rope tourniquet around my upper arm. He inserted a piece of wood, and twisted and twisted until my nerves cut against the bone. The hand was completely unusable for six months."

    After some weeks Dengler was handed over to the Vietnamese. As they marched him through a village, a man slipped Dengler's engagement ring from his finger. Dengler complained to his guards. They found the culprit, summarily chopped off his finger with a machete and handed the ring back to Dengler.

    "I realized right there and then that you don't fool around with the Viet Cong", he said.
    Dengler had trained in escaping and survival at the Navy SERE survival school, where he had twice escaped from the mock-POW camp run by SERE instructors and Marine guards and was planning a third escape when the training ended. He had also set a record as the only student to gain weight (three pounds) during the SERE course; his childhood experiences had made him unafraid of eating whatever he could find and he had feasted on food the course instructors had thrown in the garbage.

    Dengler was eventually brought to a prison camp near the village of Par Kung where he met other POWs. The other six prisoners were:
    Phisit Intharathat (Thai)
    Prasit Promsuwan (Thai)
    Prasit Thanee (Thai)
    Y.C. To (Chinese)
    Eugene DeBruin (American)
    Duane W. Martin (American)

    Except for Martin, an Air Force helicopter pilot who had been shot down in North Vietnam nearly a year before, the other prisoners were civilians employed by Air America, a civilian airline owned by the Central Intelligence Agency. The civilians had been held by the Pathet Lao for over two and a half years when Dengler joined them.

    "I had hoped to see other pilots. What I saw horrified me. The first one who came out was carrying his intestines around in his hands. One had no teeth - plagued by awful infections, he had begged the others to knock them out with a rock and a rusty nail in order to release pus from his gums". "They had been there for two and a half years," said Dengler. "I looked at them and it was just awful. I realized that was how I would look in six months. I had to escape."

    The day he arrived in the camp, Dengler advised the other prisoners that he intended to escape and invited them to join him. They advised that he wait until the monsoon season when there would be plenty of water.

    Shortly after Dengler arrived, the prisoners were moved to a new camp ten miles away at Hoi Het. After the move, a strong debate ensued among the prisoners with Dengler, Martin and Prasit arguing for escape which the other prisoners, particularly Phisit initially opposed.

    As food began to run out, tension between the men grew: they were given just a single handful of rice to share while the guards would stalk deer, pulling the grass out of the animal's stomach for the prisoners to eat while they shared the meat. The prisoners' only "treats" were snakes they occasionally caught from the communal latrine or the rats that lived under their hut which they could spear with sharpened bamboo. At night the men were handcuffed together and shackled to wooden foot blocks. They suffered chronic dysentery and were made to lie in their excrement until morning.

    After several months, one of the Thai prisoners overheard the guards talking about shooting them in the jungle and making it look like an escape attempt. They too, were starving and wanted to return to their villages. With that revelation, everyone agreed and a date to escape was set. Their plan was to take over the camp and signal a C-130 Hercules flare-ship that made nightly visits to the area. Dengler loosened logs under the hut that allowed the prisoners to squeeze through. The plan was for him to go out when the guards were eating and seize their weapons and pass them to Phisit Intharathat and Promsuwan while Martin and DeBruin procured others from other locations.

    "I planned to capture the guards at lunchtime, when they put down their rifles to get their food. There were two minutes and twenty seconds in the day when I could strike." In that time Dengler had to release all the men from their handcuffs.

    Escape
    On June 29, 1966 while the guards were eating, the group slipped out of their hand-cuffs and foot restraints and grabbed the guards' unattended weapons which included M1 rifles, Chinese automatic rifles, an American carbine and at least one sub-machine gun as well as an early version of the AK47 automatic rifle, which Dengler used during the escape from the POW camp. Dengler went out first followed by Martin. He went to the guard hut and seized an M1 for himself and passed the American carbine to Martin. The guards realized the prisoners had escaped and five of them rushed toward Dengler, who shot at least three with the AK47. Phisit killed another guard as he reached for his rifle. Two others ran off, presumably to get help, although at least one had been wounded. The seven prisoners split into three groups. DeBruin was originally supposed to go with Dengler and Martin but decided to go with To, who was recovering from a fever and unable to keep up. They intended to get over the nearest ridge and wait for rescue. Dengler and Martin went off by themselves with the intention of heading for the Mekong River to escape to Thailand, but they never got more than a few miles from the camp from which they had escaped.

    "Seven of us escaped," said Dengler. "I was the only one who came out alive."
    With the exception of Phisit, who was recaptured and later rescued by Laotian troops, none of the other prisoners were ever seen again. DeBruin was reportedly captured and placed in another camp, then disappeared in 1968.

    Rescue
    Escape proved to be hazardous. Soon, the two men's feet were white, mangled stumps from trekking through the dense jungle. They found the sole of an old tennis shoe, which they wore alternately, strapping it onto a foot with rattan for a few moments' respite. In this way they were able to make their way to a fast-flowing river.

    "It was the highway to freedom," said Dengler, "We knew it would flow into the Mekong River, which would take us over the border into Thailand and to safety."

    The men built a raft and floated downstream on ferocious rapids, tying themselves to trees at night to stop themselves being washed away in the torrential water. By morning they would be covered in mud and hundreds of leeches. When they thought they were on their way to the Mekong, they discovered that they had gone around in a circle. They had spotted several villages but had not been detected. They set up camp in an abandoned village where they found shelter from the nearly incessant rain. They had brought rice with them and found other food, but were still on the verge of starvation. Their intent had been to signal a C-130 but at first lacked the energy to build a fire using primitive methods of rubbing bamboo together. Dengler finally managed to locate carbine cartridges that Martin had thrown away and used their powder to enhance the tinder and got a fire going. That night they lit torches and waved them in the shape of an S and O when a C-130 came over. The airplane circled and dropped a couple of flares and they were overjoyed, believing they had been spotted. They woke up the next morning to find the landscape covered by fog and drizzle, but when it lifted, no rescue force appeared.

    Martin, who was weak from starvation and was suffering from malaria, wanted to approach a nearby Akha village to steal some food. Dengler knew it was not a good idea, but refused to let his friend go near the village alone. They saw a little boy playing with a dog and the child ran into the village calling out "American!" Within seconds a villager appeared and they knelt down on the trail in supplication, but the man swung his machete and struck Martin in the leg. With the next swipe, Martin's head came off. Dengler jumped to his feet and rushed toward the villager, who turned and ran into the village to get help.

    I reached for the rubber sole from his foot, grabbed it and ran. From that moment on, all my motions became mechanical. I couldn't care less if I lived or died.

    Dengler recalls, it was a wild animal who gave him the mental strength to continue.
    "I was followed by this beautiful bear. He became like my pet dog and was the only friend I had."
    These were his darkest hours. Little more than a walking skeleton after weeks on the run, he floated in and out of a hallucinatory state.

    "I was just crawling along," he said. "Then I had a vision: these enormous doors opened up. Lots of horses came galloping out. They were not driven by death, but by angels. Death didn't want me."

    Dengler managed to evade the searchers who went out after him and escaped back into the jungle. He returned to the abandoned village where the two had been spending their time and where he and Martin had signaled the C-130. That night when a C-130 flare-ship came, Dengler set fire to the huts and burned the village down. The C-130 crew spotted the fires and dropped flares, but even though the crew reported their sighting when they returned to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, the fires were not recognized by intelligence as having been a signal from a survivor.

    Deatrick has long marvelled at the fact that had he stuck to his original flight schedule on the morning of July 20, 1966, Dieter would not have been at the river to be sighted at that earlier hour. "If God put me on the earth for one reason," Deatrick says, "it was to find Dieter over there in the jungle." As it was, Deatrick describes it as "a million-in-one chance."
    -Excerpt from Dengler biography regarding the role of pilot Eugene Deatrick

    When a rescue force again failed to materialize, Dengler decided to find one of the parachutes from a flare for use as a possible signal. He found one on a bush and placed it in his rucksack. On July 20, 1966, after 23 days in the jungle, Dengler managed to signal an Air Force pilot with the parachute. A 2-ship flight of Air Force Skyraiders from the 1st Air Commando Squadron happened to fly up the river where Dengler was. Eugene Peyton Deatrick, the pilot of the lead plane and the squadron commander, spotted a flash of white while making a turn at the river's bend and came back and spotted a man waving something white. Deatrick and his wingman contacted rescue forces, but were told to ignore the sighting, as no airmen were known to be down in the area. Deatrick persisted and eventually managed to convince the command and control center to dispatch a rescue force. Fearing that Dengler might be a Viet Cong soldier, the helicopter crew restrained him when he was brought aboard.

    According to the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly Dengler said one of the flight crew who was holding him down pulled out a half eaten snake from underneath Dengler's clothing and was so surprised he nearly fell out of the helicopter. Dengler was stripped of his clothes to ensure he was not armed or in possession of a hand grenade. When questioned, Dengler told Air Force pararescue specialist Michael Leonard that he was a Navy Lieutenant JG who had escaped from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp two months earlier. Deatrick radioed the rescue helicopter crew to see if they could identify the person they had just hoisted up from the jungle. They reported that they had a man who claimed to be a downed Navy pilot who flew a Douglas A-1H Skyraider.

    It wasn't until after he reached the hospital at Da Nang that Dengler's identity was confirmed. A conflict between the Air Force and the Navy developed over who should control his debriefing and recovery. In an apparent attempt to prevent the Air Force from embarrassing them in some way, the Navy sent a team of SEALs into the hospital to steal Dengler. He was brought out of the hospital in a covered gurney and rushed to the air field, where he was placed aboard a Navy carrier delivery transport Grumman C-2A from VR-21 and flown to the Ranger where a welcoming party had been prepared. At night, however, he was tormented by awful terrors, and had to be tied to his bed. In the end, his friends put him to sleep in a cockpit, surrounded by pillows. "It was the only place I felt safe," he said.

    Dengler's deprivation from malnutrition and parasites caused the Navy doctors to order that he be airlifted to the United States.

    Later life and death
    Dengler recovered physically, but never put his ordeal behind him. As Werner Herzog described it in his documentary about Dengler, "Men are often haunted by things that happen to them in life, especially in war Their lives seem to be normal, but they are not."

    He remained in the navy for a year, was promoted to Lieutenant, and was trained to fly jets. When his military obligation was satisfied, he resigned from the Navy and applied for a position as an airline pilot with Trans World Airlines (TWA). He continued flying and survived four subsequent crashes as a civilian test pilot.

    In 1977, during a time when he was furloughed from TWA, Dengler returned to Laos and was greeted as a celebrity by the Pathet Lao. He was taken to the camp from which he had escaped and was surprised to discover that at one point he and Martin had been within a mile and a half of it.

    His fascination with airplanes and aviation continued for the remainder of his life. He continued flying almost up until his death. He took an early-retirement as a pilot for TWA sometime prior to 1985, but continued flying his meticulously restored Cessna 195, putting it on static display at numerous California air shows.

    In 2000, Dengler was inducted into the Gathering of Eagles program and told the story of his escape to groups of young military officers. Dengler was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neurological disorder; on February 7, 2001, he rolled his wheelchair from his house down to the driveway of a fire station and shot himself. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A Navy honor guard was present at the burial as well as a fly-over by Navy F-14 Tomcats.
    The incredible story of POW Navy Pilot Dieter Dengler and his escape from a prison camp in Laos. Dieter Dengler (May 22, 1938 – February 7, 2001) was a German-born United States Navy aviator during the Vietnam War and, following six months of imprisonment and torture, became the first captured U.S. airman to escape enemy captivity during the war. Of seven prisoners of war who escaped together from a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos, Dengler was one of two survivors (the other was Thailand citizen Phisit Intharathat). Dengler was rescued after 23 days on the run. Dieter Dengler was born and raised in the small town of Wildberg, in the Black Forest region of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. He grew up not knowing his father, who had been drafted into the German army in 1939 and was killed during World War II on the Eastern Front during the winter of 1943/44. Dengler became very close to his mother and brothers. Dengler's maternal grandfather, Hermann Schnuerle, claimed he refused to vote for Adolf Hitler in the 1934 elections. Subsequently he was paraded around town with a placard around his neck, was spat upon, and was then sent to labor in a rock mine for a year. Dengler credited his grandfather's resolve as a major inspiration during his time in Laos. His grandfather's steadfastness despite the great risks was one reason Dengler refused a North Vietnamese demand that he sign a document condemning American aggression in Southeast Asia. Dieter grew up in extreme poverty but always found ways to help his family survive. Dieter and his brothers would go into bombed-out buildings, tear off wallpaper, and bring it to their mother to boil for the nutrients in the wheat-based wallpaper paste. When members of the small group of Moroccans who lived in the area would slaughter sheep for their meals, Dieter would sneak over to their lodgings to take the scraps and leftovers they would not eat and his mother would make dinner from them. He also built a bicycle by scavenging from dumps. Dieter was apprenticed to a blacksmith at the age of 14. The blacksmith and the other boys, who worked six days a week building giant clocks and clock faces to repair German cathedrals, regularly beat him. Later in life Dieter thanked his former master "for his disciplined training and for helping Dieter become more capable, self-reliant and yes, 'tough enough to survive'". After seeing an advertisement in an American magazine, expressing a need for pilots, he decided to go to the United States. Although a family friend agreed to sponsor him, he lacked money for passage and came up with a plan to independently salvage brass and other metals to sell. In 1956, when he turned 18 and upon completion of his apprenticeship, Dengler hitchhiked to Hamburg and spent two weeks surviving on the streets before the ship set sail for New York City. While on the ship he saved fruit and sandwiches for the coming days and when going through customs the agent was astonished when the food tumbled out of his shirt. He lived on the streets of Manhattan for just over a week and eventually found his way to an Air Force recruiter. He was assured that piloting aircraft was what the Air Force was all about so he enlisted in June 1957 and went to basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. After basic training, Dengler spent two years peeling potatoes and then transferred to a motor pool as a mechanic. His qualifications as a machinist led to an assignment as a gunsmith. He passed the test for aviation cadets but was told that only college graduates were selected to be pilots and his enlistment expired before he was selected for pilot training. After his discharge Dengler joined his brother working in a bakery shop near San Francisco and enrolled in San Francisco City College, then transferred to the College of San Mateo, where he studied aeronautics. Upon completion of two years of college he applied for the US Navy aviation cadet program and was accepted. Dengler would do whatever it took to become a pilot. In his inaugural flight at primary flight training, for example, the instructor told Dengler that if he became airsick and vomited in the cockpit that he would receive a "down" on his record. Students were only allowed three downs then they would wash out of flight training. The instructor took the plane through spins and loops causing Dengler to become dizzy and disoriented. Knowing he was about to vomit and not wanting to receive a "down", Dengler took off his boot, threw up into it and put it back on. At the end of the flight the instructor checked the cockpit and could smell the vomit, but couldn't find any evidence of it. He didn't get a "down". After his completion of flight training Dengler went to the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas for training as an attack pilot in the Douglas AD Skyraider. He joined VA-145 while the squadron was on shore duty at Naval Air Station Alameda, California. In 1965 the squadron joined the carrier USS Ranger. In December the carrier set sail for the coast of Vietnam. He was stationed initially at Dixie Station, off South Vietnam then moved north to Yankee Station for operations against North Vietnam. On February 1, 1966, the day after the carrier began flying missions from Yankee Station, Lieutenant, Junior Grade Dengler launched from the Ranger with three other aircraft on an interdiction mission against a truck convoy that had been reported in North Vietnam. Thunderstorms forced the pilots to divert to their secondary target, a road intersection located west of the Mu Gia Pass in Laos. At the time, U.S. air operations in Laos were classified "secret". Visibility was poor due to smoke from burning fields, and upon rolling in on the target, Dengler and the remainder of his flight lost sight of one another. Visibility was poor, and as Dengler rolled his Skyraider in on the target after flying for two-and-a-half hours into enemy territory, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire. "There was a large explosion on my right side," he remembered when interviewed shortly before his death in 2001. It was like lightning striking. The right wing was gone. The airplane seemed to cartwheel through the sky in slow motion. There were more explosions—boom, boom, boom—and I was still able to guide the plane into a clearing in Laos. He said: "Many times, people have asked me if I was afraid. Just before dying, there is no more fear. I felt I was floating." When his squadron mates realized that he had been downed, they remained confident that he would be rescued. Immediately after he was shot down, Dengler smashed his survival radio and hid most of his other survival equipment to keep Vietnamese or Lao search parties from finding it. The day after being shot down Dengler was apprehended by Pathet Lao troops, the Laotian equivalent of the Viet Cong. He was marched through the jungle, was tied on the ground to four stakes spreadeagled in order to stop him escaping at night. In the morning his face would be swollen from mosquito bites and he was unable to see. After an early escape attempt he was recaptured while drinking from a spring. According to Dengler he was tortured in retaliation: I had escaped from them, [and] they wanted to get even. He was hung upside down by his ankles with a nest of biting ants over his face until he lost consciousness, suspended in a freezing well at night so that if he fell asleep he might drown. On other occasions he was dragged through villages by a water buffalo, to the amusement of his guards, as they goaded the animal with a whip. He was asked by Pathet Lao officials to sign a document condemning the United States, but he refused and as a result he was tortured as tiny wedges of bamboo were inserted under his fingernails and into incisions on his body which grew and festered. "They were always thinking of something new to do to me." Dengler recalled. "One guy made a rope tourniquet around my upper arm. He inserted a piece of wood, and twisted and twisted until my nerves cut against the bone. The hand was completely unusable for six months." After some weeks Dengler was handed over to the Vietnamese. As they marched him through a village, a man slipped Dengler's engagement ring from his finger. Dengler complained to his guards. They found the culprit, summarily chopped off his finger with a machete and handed the ring back to Dengler. "I realized right there and then that you don't fool around with the Viet Cong", he said. Dengler had trained in escaping and survival at the Navy SERE survival school, where he had twice escaped from the mock-POW camp run by SERE instructors and Marine guards and was planning a third escape when the training ended. He had also set a record as the only student to gain weight (three pounds) during the SERE course; his childhood experiences had made him unafraid of eating whatever he could find and he had feasted on food the course instructors had thrown in the garbage. Dengler was eventually brought to a prison camp near the village of Par Kung where he met other POWs. The other six prisoners were: Phisit Intharathat (Thai) Prasit Promsuwan (Thai) Prasit Thanee (Thai) Y.C. To (Chinese) Eugene DeBruin (American) Duane W. Martin (American) Except for Martin, an Air Force helicopter pilot who had been shot down in North Vietnam nearly a year before, the other prisoners were civilians employed by Air America, a civilian airline owned by the Central Intelligence Agency. The civilians had been held by the Pathet Lao for over two and a half years when Dengler joined them. "I had hoped to see other pilots. What I saw horrified me. The first one who came out was carrying his intestines around in his hands. One had no teeth - plagued by awful infections, he had begged the others to knock them out with a rock and a rusty nail in order to release pus from his gums". "They had been there for two and a half years," said Dengler. "I looked at them and it was just awful. I realized that was how I would look in six months. I had to escape." The day he arrived in the camp, Dengler advised the other prisoners that he intended to escape and invited them to join him. They advised that he wait until the monsoon season when there would be plenty of water. Shortly after Dengler arrived, the prisoners were moved to a new camp ten miles away at Hoi Het. After the move, a strong debate ensued among the prisoners with Dengler, Martin and Prasit arguing for escape which the other prisoners, particularly Phisit initially opposed. As food began to run out, tension between the men grew: they were given just a single handful of rice to share while the guards would stalk deer, pulling the grass out of the animal's stomach for the prisoners to eat while they shared the meat. The prisoners' only "treats" were snakes they occasionally caught from the communal latrine or the rats that lived under their hut which they could spear with sharpened bamboo. At night the men were handcuffed together and shackled to wooden foot blocks. They suffered chronic dysentery and were made to lie in their excrement until morning. After several months, one of the Thai prisoners overheard the guards talking about shooting them in the jungle and making it look like an escape attempt. They too, were starving and wanted to return to their villages. With that revelation, everyone agreed and a date to escape was set. Their plan was to take over the camp and signal a C-130 Hercules flare-ship that made nightly visits to the area. Dengler loosened logs under the hut that allowed the prisoners to squeeze through. The plan was for him to go out when the guards were eating and seize their weapons and pass them to Phisit Intharathat and Promsuwan while Martin and DeBruin procured others from other locations. "I planned to capture the guards at lunchtime, when they put down their rifles to get their food. There were two minutes and twenty seconds in the day when I could strike." In that time Dengler had to release all the men from their handcuffs. Escape On June 29, 1966 while the guards were eating, the group slipped out of their hand-cuffs and foot restraints and grabbed the guards' unattended weapons which included M1 rifles, Chinese automatic rifles, an American carbine and at least one sub-machine gun as well as an early version of the AK47 automatic rifle, which Dengler used during the escape from the POW camp. Dengler went out first followed by Martin. He went to the guard hut and seized an M1 for himself and passed the American carbine to Martin. The guards realized the prisoners had escaped and five of them rushed toward Dengler, who shot at least three with the AK47. Phisit killed another guard as he reached for his rifle. Two others ran off, presumably to get help, although at least one had been wounded. The seven prisoners split into three groups. DeBruin was originally supposed to go with Dengler and Martin but decided to go with To, who was recovering from a fever and unable to keep up. They intended to get over the nearest ridge and wait for rescue. Dengler and Martin went off by themselves with the intention of heading for the Mekong River to escape to Thailand, but they never got more than a few miles from the camp from which they had escaped. "Seven of us escaped," said Dengler. "I was the only one who came out alive." With the exception of Phisit, who was recaptured and later rescued by Laotian troops, none of the other prisoners were ever seen again. DeBruin was reportedly captured and placed in another camp, then disappeared in 1968. Rescue Escape proved to be hazardous. Soon, the two men's feet were white, mangled stumps from trekking through the dense jungle. They found the sole of an old tennis shoe, which they wore alternately, strapping it onto a foot with rattan for a few moments' respite. In this way they were able to make their way to a fast-flowing river. "It was the highway to freedom," said Dengler, "We knew it would flow into the Mekong River, which would take us over the border into Thailand and to safety." The men built a raft and floated downstream on ferocious rapids, tying themselves to trees at night to stop themselves being washed away in the torrential water. By morning they would be covered in mud and hundreds of leeches. When they thought they were on their way to the Mekong, they discovered that they had gone around in a circle. They had spotted several villages but had not been detected. They set up camp in an abandoned village where they found shelter from the nearly incessant rain. They had brought rice with them and found other food, but were still on the verge of starvation. Their intent had been to signal a C-130 but at first lacked the energy to build a fire using primitive methods of rubbing bamboo together. Dengler finally managed to locate carbine cartridges that Martin had thrown away and used their powder to enhance the tinder and got a fire going. That night they lit torches and waved them in the shape of an S and O when a C-130 came over. The airplane circled and dropped a couple of flares and they were overjoyed, believing they had been spotted. They woke up the next morning to find the landscape covered by fog and drizzle, but when it lifted, no rescue force appeared. Martin, who was weak from starvation and was suffering from malaria, wanted to approach a nearby Akha village to steal some food. Dengler knew it was not a good idea, but refused to let his friend go near the village alone. They saw a little boy playing with a dog and the child ran into the village calling out "American!" Within seconds a villager appeared and they knelt down on the trail in supplication, but the man swung his machete and struck Martin in the leg. With the next swipe, Martin's head came off. Dengler jumped to his feet and rushed toward the villager, who turned and ran into the village to get help. I reached for the rubber sole from his foot, grabbed it and ran. From that moment on, all my motions became mechanical. I couldn't care less if I lived or died. Dengler recalls, it was a wild animal who gave him the mental strength to continue. "I was followed by this beautiful bear. He became like my pet dog and was the only friend I had." These were his darkest hours. Little more than a walking skeleton after weeks on the run, he floated in and out of a hallucinatory state. "I was just crawling along," he said. "Then I had a vision: these enormous doors opened up. Lots of horses came galloping out. They were not driven by death, but by angels. Death didn't want me." Dengler managed to evade the searchers who went out after him and escaped back into the jungle. He returned to the abandoned village where the two had been spending their time and where he and Martin had signaled the C-130. That night when a C-130 flare-ship came, Dengler set fire to the huts and burned the village down. The C-130 crew spotted the fires and dropped flares, but even though the crew reported their sighting when they returned to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, the fires were not recognized by intelligence as having been a signal from a survivor. Deatrick has long marvelled at the fact that had he stuck to his original flight schedule on the morning of July 20, 1966, Dieter would not have been at the river to be sighted at that earlier hour. "If God put me on the earth for one reason," Deatrick says, "it was to find Dieter over there in the jungle." As it was, Deatrick describes it as "a million-in-one chance." -Excerpt from Dengler biography regarding the role of pilot Eugene Deatrick When a rescue force again failed to materialize, Dengler decided to find one of the parachutes from a flare for use as a possible signal. He found one on a bush and placed it in his rucksack. On July 20, 1966, after 23 days in the jungle, Dengler managed to signal an Air Force pilot with the parachute. A 2-ship flight of Air Force Skyraiders from the 1st Air Commando Squadron happened to fly up the river where Dengler was. Eugene Peyton Deatrick, the pilot of the lead plane and the squadron commander, spotted a flash of white while making a turn at the river's bend and came back and spotted a man waving something white. Deatrick and his wingman contacted rescue forces, but were told to ignore the sighting, as no airmen were known to be down in the area. Deatrick persisted and eventually managed to convince the command and control center to dispatch a rescue force. Fearing that Dengler might be a Viet Cong soldier, the helicopter crew restrained him when he was brought aboard. According to the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly Dengler said one of the flight crew who was holding him down pulled out a half eaten snake from underneath Dengler's clothing and was so surprised he nearly fell out of the helicopter. Dengler was stripped of his clothes to ensure he was not armed or in possession of a hand grenade. When questioned, Dengler told Air Force pararescue specialist Michael Leonard that he was a Navy Lieutenant JG who had escaped from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp two months earlier. Deatrick radioed the rescue helicopter crew to see if they could identify the person they had just hoisted up from the jungle. They reported that they had a man who claimed to be a downed Navy pilot who flew a Douglas A-1H Skyraider. It wasn't until after he reached the hospital at Da Nang that Dengler's identity was confirmed. A conflict between the Air Force and the Navy developed over who should control his debriefing and recovery. In an apparent attempt to prevent the Air Force from embarrassing them in some way, the Navy sent a team of SEALs into the hospital to steal Dengler. He was brought out of the hospital in a covered gurney and rushed to the air field, where he was placed aboard a Navy carrier delivery transport Grumman C-2A from VR-21 and flown to the Ranger where a welcoming party had been prepared. At night, however, he was tormented by awful terrors, and had to be tied to his bed. In the end, his friends put him to sleep in a cockpit, surrounded by pillows. "It was the only place I felt safe," he said. Dengler's deprivation from malnutrition and parasites caused the Navy doctors to order that he be airlifted to the United States. Later life and death Dengler recovered physically, but never put his ordeal behind him. As Werner Herzog described it in his documentary about Dengler, "Men are often haunted by things that happen to them in life, especially in war Their lives seem to be normal, but they are not." He remained in the navy for a year, was promoted to Lieutenant, and was trained to fly jets. When his military obligation was satisfied, he resigned from the Navy and applied for a position as an airline pilot with Trans World Airlines (TWA). He continued flying and survived four subsequent crashes as a civilian test pilot. In 1977, during a time when he was furloughed from TWA, Dengler returned to Laos and was greeted as a celebrity by the Pathet Lao. He was taken to the camp from which he had escaped and was surprised to discover that at one point he and Martin had been within a mile and a half of it. His fascination with airplanes and aviation continued for the remainder of his life. He continued flying almost up until his death. He took an early-retirement as a pilot for TWA sometime prior to 1985, but continued flying his meticulously restored Cessna 195, putting it on static display at numerous California air shows. In 2000, Dengler was inducted into the Gathering of Eagles program and told the story of his escape to groups of young military officers. Dengler was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neurological disorder; on February 7, 2001, he rolled his wheelchair from his house down to the driveway of a fire station and shot himself. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A Navy honor guard was present at the burial as well as a fly-over by Navy F-14 Tomcats.
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  • Good friend of mine who recommended Ibogaine and 5MEO/DMT as a reset treatment for years of accumulated Combat Trauma.


    I’m thankful for my Veteran friend reaching out, recommending care to me. In so many ways it made all the difference in a world seemingly without choices anymore.

    #endveteransuicide #mentalhealthawareness #ibogaine #youdeservelove

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-rated-science-podcast/id1644552336?i=1000581515269
    Good friend of mine who recommended Ibogaine and 5MEO/DMT as a reset treatment for years of accumulated Combat Trauma. I’m thankful for my Veteran friend reaching out, recommending care to me. In so many ways it made all the difference in a world seemingly without choices anymore. #endveteransuicide #mentalhealthawareness #ibogaine #youdeservelove https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-rated-science-podcast/id1644552336?i=1000581515269
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    ‎R Rated Science Podcast: EP3: REAL TALK: Healing Through Poetry, The Dan Orth Story on Apple Podcasts
    ‎Show R Rated Science Podcast, Ep EP3: REAL TALK: Healing Through Poetry, The Dan Orth Story - Oct 4, 2022
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  • Today is Walt B's Funeral/Memorial Service, info as follows:
    All family and friends are welcome to attend his service on January 6th, 2024, at 1:00p, at Forest Lawns Memory Garden in Savannah, GA. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

    Obituary info:
    Walter C Battisti, 70, of Savannah, GA, passed away on December 15th, 2023 after a battle with a brief illness.

    Walter was born on October 23rd, 1953 to Saturno and Angela Battisti in San Juan, PR. He joined the US Army in 1973 where he worked as a CH-47 Mechanic. Walter had an extensive and successful military career. He was incredibly proud of being in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which made a significant impact on his life. He carried this achievement with pride until his final days. Walter retired from the military in 1997.

    His love for aviation inspired him to become a contractor for the 224th Military Intelligence Battalion. Adopting the name Waldo, he went on many deployments and met many friends during his time spent there. In his personal life, Walter was a man of few words. Although he was a quiet man, you could always see when he was deep in thought. Whenever something needed to be said, he always made his loved ones laugh with his quick wit.

    Behind that sometimes old grumpy man persona, he had the biggest heart. Walter was a big animal lover as he leaves behind his three dogs Sophie, Lulu, and Abby. Walter also seemed to be a turtle magnet as he would rescue any turtle he found. He was a very doting grandfather who loved his grandson, Anthony, and would get excited with the smallest things he would do.

    Walter will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and pets. He is predeceased by his parents and his son, Kenneth. He is survived by his wife, Nilsa Battisti, his two daughters, Angela Battisti, Barbara Battisti Bell, son in law Richard Bell, and his grandson, Anthony Bell.

    Rest Easy, Brother Thank You for all provided, yours was A Life Well-Spent in the Service of Others.
    We shall freshly Remember and Honor You today - Prayers Outbound for your Family!
    Never Forget! - Never Quit!
    NSDQ!
    Today is Walt B's Funeral/Memorial Service, info as follows: All family and friends are welcome to attend his service on January 6th, 2024, at 1:00p, at Forest Lawns Memory Garden in Savannah, GA. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. Obituary info: Walter C Battisti, 70, of Savannah, GA, passed away on December 15th, 2023 after a battle with a brief illness. Walter was born on October 23rd, 1953 to Saturno and Angela Battisti in San Juan, PR. He joined the US Army in 1973 where he worked as a CH-47 Mechanic. Walter had an extensive and successful military career. He was incredibly proud of being in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which made a significant impact on his life. He carried this achievement with pride until his final days. Walter retired from the military in 1997. His love for aviation inspired him to become a contractor for the 224th Military Intelligence Battalion. Adopting the name Waldo, he went on many deployments and met many friends during his time spent there. In his personal life, Walter was a man of few words. Although he was a quiet man, you could always see when he was deep in thought. Whenever something needed to be said, he always made his loved ones laugh with his quick wit. Behind that sometimes old grumpy man persona, he had the biggest heart. Walter was a big animal lover as he leaves behind his three dogs Sophie, Lulu, and Abby. Walter also seemed to be a turtle magnet as he would rescue any turtle he found. He was a very doting grandfather who loved his grandson, Anthony, and would get excited with the smallest things he would do. Walter will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and pets. He is predeceased by his parents and his son, Kenneth. He is survived by his wife, Nilsa Battisti, his two daughters, Angela Battisti, Barbara Battisti Bell, son in law Richard Bell, and his grandson, Anthony Bell. Rest Easy, Brother Thank You for all provided, yours was A Life Well-Spent in the Service of Others. We shall freshly Remember and Honor You today - Prayers Outbound for your Family! Never Forget! - Never Quit! NSDQ!
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  • Awesome read; if it doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you're not human; I am so proud to have been in an organization that instilled the values described in LTC Lofaro's speech below:

    Dining-in speech at U.S. Military Academy
    by LTC Guy Lofaro:

    "Let me say before beginning that it has been my pleasure to attend several dinings-in here at West Point and hence I have some basis for comparison. You people have done a fine job and you ought to congratulate yourselves. In fact, why don't we take this time to have the persons who were responsible for this event stand so we can acknowledge them publicly.

    I guess I am honored with these invitations because there exists this rumor that I can tell a story. Cadets who I have had in class sometimes approach me beforehand and request that, during my speech, I tell some of the stories I've told them in class. For the longest time I have resisted this. I simply didn't think this the right forum for story-telling, so I tried instead, with varying degrees of success, to use this time to impart some higher lesson - some thought that would perhaps stay with one or two of you a little longer than the 10 or 15 minutes I will be standing here. I tried this again last week at another dining in and I bombed. Big time. Of course, the cadets didn't say that. They said all the polite things- "Thank you, sir, for those inspiring words" - "You've provided us much food for thought" - "We all certainly learned something from you tonight, sir." And I'm thinking - yeah - you learned something all right. You learned never to invite that SOB to be a dining in speaker again.

    So in the interim I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I would say to you to night. What can I say that will stay with you? And as I reflected on this I turned it on myself - what stays with me? What makes a mark on me? What do I remember, and why? How have I learned the higher lessons I so desperately want to impart to you? Well - I've learned those higher lessons through experience. And as I thought further, I realized that there's only one way to relate experience -that is to tell some stories. So I'm going to try something new here this evening. I'm going to give you your stories and attempt to relate what I've learned by living them. I'm going to let you crawl inside my eye-sockets and see some of the things I've seen these past 18 years.

    Imagine you are a brand new second lieutenant on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula. You are less than a year out of West Point, and only a few weeks out of the basic course. You are standing at a strict position of attention in front of your battalion commander, a man you will come to realize was one of the finest soldiers with whom you've ever served, and you are being questioned about a mistake - a big mistake - that you've made. You see, your platoon lost some live ammo. Oh sure, it was eventually found, but for a few hours you had the entire battalion scrambling. Your battalion commander is not yelling at you though, he's not demeaning you, he's simply taking this opportunity to ensure you learn from the experience. And you do- you learn that people make mistakes, that those mistakes do not usually result in the end of the world, and that such occasions are valuable opportunities to impart some higher lessons. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you see your platoon sergeant emerge from behind a building. He's an old soldier - a fine soldier though - whose knees have seen a few too many airborne operations. He sees you and the colonel - and he takes off at a run. You see him approaching from behind the colonel and the next thing you see is the back of your platoon sergeant's head. He is now standing between you and your battalion commander - the two are eyeball to eyeball. Your platoon sergeant says, a touch of indignance in his voice "Leave my lieutenant alone, sir. He didn't lose the ammo, I did. I was the one who miscounted. You want someone's ass, you take mine."

    And you learn another lesson - you learn about loyalty.

    It's a few months later and you are one of two soldiers left on a hot PZ on some Caribbean island. There's been another foul up - not yours this time, but you're going to pay for it. It's you and your RTO, a nineteen-year-old surfer from Florida who can quote Shakespeare because his Mom was a high school literature teacher and who joined the army because his Dad was a WWII Ranger. The last UH-60 has taken off on an air assault and someone is supposed to come back and get you guys. But the fire is getting heavy, and you're not sure anything can get down there without getting shot up. You're taking fire from some heavily forested hills. At least two machineguns, maybe three, maybe more, and quite a few AKs, but you can't make out anything else. You and your RTO are in a hole, hunkered down as the bad guys are peppering your hole with small arms fire. Your RTO is trying to get some help - another bird to come get you, some artillery, some attack helicopters - anything. But there are other firefights happening elsewhere on this island involving much larger numbers.

    So as the cosmos unfold at; that particular moment, in that particular place, you and that RTO are well down the order of merit list. You feel a tug at your pants leg. Ketch, that's what you call him, Ketch tells you he got a "wait, out" when he asked for help. The radio is jammed with calls for fire and requests for support from other parts of the island. "What we gonna do, sir?' he asks. And all of a sudden, you're learning another lesson. You're learning about the weightiness of command, because it's not just you in that hole, it's this kid you've spent every day with for the last five months. This kid you've come to love like a kid brother. There is only one way out and that's through the bad guys. You see, you are on a peninsula that rises about 100 feet from the sea. The inland side is where the bad guys are. You figure you are safe in this hole, so long as they don't bring in any indirect fire stuff, but if they come down off those hills, onto the peninsula, then you're going to have to fight it out. And that's what you tell your RTO. We either get help or, if the bad guys come for us, we fight. He looks at you. You don't know how long. And he says only four words. Two sentences. "Roger, sir. Let's rock." Appropriate coming from a surfer. Then he slithers back down to the bottom of the hole. Staying on the radio, your lifeline, trying to get some help. You are peering over the edge of the hole, careful not to make too big a target. You're thinking about your wife and that little month-old baby you left a few days ago. It was two o'clock in the morning when you got the call. "Pack your gear and get in here." You kissed them both and told them to watch the news. Hell, you didn't know where here you were going or why, but you were told to go, and you went.

    Then all of a sudden it gets real loud, and things are flying all around and then there's a shadow that passes over you. You look up and find yourself staring at the bottom of a Blackhawk, about 15 feet over the deck, flying fast and low, and as it passes over your hole you see the door gunner dealing death and destruction on the bad guys in those hills. It sets down about 25 meters from your hole, as close as it can get. You look up and see the crew chief kneeling inside, waving frantically to you, the door gunner still dealing with it, trying to keep the bad guys' heads down, who have now switched their fire to the bird, a much bigger, and better, target. You look at Ketch and then you're off - and you run 25 meters faster than 25 meters have ever been run since humans began to walk upright. And you dive through the open doors onto the floor of the Blackhawk. There are no seats in the bird since this is combat and we don't use them in the real deal. And you are hugging your RTO, face-to-face, like a lover, and shouting at him "You OKAY? You OKAY? You OKAY?" but he doesn't tell you he's OKAY since he's yelling the same thing at you -- "You OKAY? You OKAY? You OKAY?" And then the pilot pulls pitch and executes a violent and steep ascent out of there and had you not been holding on to the d-rings in the floor and the crew chief not been holding your legs you might have fallen out. Then you're over the water, you're safe, and the bird levels out, and you roll over to your back and close your eyes - and you think you fall asleep. But then you feel a hand on your blouse, and you open your eyes and see the crew chief kneeling over you with a head set in his hand. He wants you to put it on so you do. And the first thing you hear is "I-Beamer, buddy boy. I Beamer." You were in I-4 while a cadet, and that was your rallying cry. And you look up to where the pilots sit and you see a head sticking out from behind one of the seats. He's looking at you and it's his voice you hear, but you can't make out who it is because his visor is down. Then he lifts it, and you see the face of a man who was 2 years ahead of you in your company. He tells you that he knew you were there and he wasn't going to leave an I-Beamer like that. And you learn about courage, and camaraderie. And friendship that never dies.

    It's a few years later and you've already had your company command. You're in grad school, studying at Michigan. You get a phone call one night, one of the sergeants from your company. He tells you Harvey Moore is dead, killed in a training accident when his Blackhawk flew into the ground. Harvey Moore. Two time winner of the Best Ranger Competition. Great soldier. Got drunk one night after his wife left him and took his son. You see, staff sergeants don't make as much money as lawyers, so she left with the lawyer. He got stinking drunk, though it didn't take much since he didn't drink at all before this, and got into his car. Then had an accident. Then got a DUI. He was an E-6 promotable when this happened, and the SOP was a general-officer article 15 and a reduction one grade, which would really be two for him because he was on the promotion list. But Harvey Moore is a good soldier, and it's time to go to bat for a guy who, if your company command was any sort of a success, played a significant part in making it so. And you go with your battalion commander to see the CG, and you stand at attention in front of the CG's desk for 20 minutes convincing him that Harvey Moore deserves a break. You win. Harvey Moore never drinks again. He makes E-7. And when you change command, he grabs your arm, with tears in his eyes, and thanks you for all you've done. Then the phone call. And you learn about grief.

    And then you're a major and you're back in the 82d - your home. And one day some SOB having a bad week decides it's time to take it out on the world and he shoots up a PT formation. Takes out 20 guys. You're one of them. 5.56 tracer round right to the gut. Range about 10 meters. And you're dead for a little while, but it's not your time yet - there are still too many lessons to learn. And you wake up after 5 surgeries and 45 days in a coma. And you look down at your body and you don't recognize it - it has become a receptacle for hospital tubing and electronic monitoring devices. You have a tracheotomy, so there's a huge tube going down your throat and you can't talk, but that thing is making sure you breathe. And there's a tube in your nose that goes down into your stomach - that's how you eat. And there are four IVs - one in each arm and two in the veins in the top of your feet. There is a tube through your right clavicle - that's where they inject the high-powered antibiotics that turns your hair white and makes you see things. But disease is the enemy now and it's gotta be done. And there are three tubes emerging from three separate holes in your stomach. They are there to drain the liquids from your stomach cavity. It drains into some bags hanging on the right;side of your bed. And they've shaved your chest and attached countless electrodes to monitor your heartbeat, blood pressure, and anything else they can measure. They have these things stuck all over your head as well, and on your wrists and ankles. And your family gathers around, and they are like rocks, and they pull you through. But there's also a guy, dressed in BDUs, with a maroon beret in his and, who stands quietly in the corner. Never says anything. Just smiles. And looks at you. He's there every day. Not every hour of every day, but he comes every day.

    Sometimes he's there when you wake up. Sometimes he's there when you go to sleep. He comes during his lunch break. He stays an hour, or two, or three. And just stands in the corner. And smiles. No one told him to be there. But he made it his place of duty. His guard post. You see, it's your sergeant major, and his ranger buddy is down, and a ranger never leaves a fallen comrade. And you learn, through this man, the value of a creed.
    (Note from Guy): if you've never read the Ranger Creed, Google it. The men of the Ranger Regiment live this creed every day. It is probably more powerful than wedding vows, and once you've lived by it, it's part of your life forever)

    And every four hours two huge male nurses come in and gently roll you on your side. The bullet exited through your left buttock and made a hole the size of a softball. The bandages need to be changed. Take the soiled wads out and put clean ones in. And a second lieutenant comes in. She seems to be there all the time. She's the one changing the bandages. And it hurts like hell, but she, too, is smiling, and talking to you, and she's gentle. And you know you've seen her before, but you can't talk - you still have that tube in your throat. But she knows. And she tells you that you taught her Military Art History, that now it's her turn to take care of you, that she's in charge of you and the team of nurses assigned to you, and she won't let you down. And you learn about compassion.

    And then it's months later and you're still recovering. Most of the tubes are gone but it's time for another round of major surgeries. And you go into one of the last, this one about 9 hours long. And they put you back together. And you wake up in the ICU one more time. Only one IV this time. And when you open your eyes, there's a huge figure standing over your bed. BDUs. Green beret in his hand. Bigger than God. And he's smiling. "It's about damn time you woke up you lazy bastard" he says. And you know it's your friend and former commander and you've got to come back with something quick - something good. He's the deputy Delta Force commander, soon to be the commander. And you say "Don't you have someplace else to be? Don't you have something more important to do?" And without skipping a beat, without losing that smile he says "Right now, I am doing what I consider the most important thing in the world."

    And you learn about leadership.

    So there you have them. Some stories. I've tried to let you see the world as I've seen it a various points in time these 18 years. I hope you've learned something. I certainly have."

    For the record, I know these men personally, and I served during these times the writer is describing, I was there @ Hill AFB that dark night on 29 Oct '92 during the final hit of Operation Embryo Stage when RANGER Moore departed this rock, he was my buddy... I also recall very clearly that damn sniper doing his evil down @ Bragg... this world just never quits jackin with the good folks seems like. My point of all of this is while you are in the middle of it all, this Serving stuff, pay attention to those around you, that is what is Truly of most importance, gubmints will come and go, Honor, Courage, being Solid under extreme pressure and circumstance will be your test... make this world a little better of a place while you are among the living... and Never Forget the RANGER Harvey Moore's that you will meet along the way...

    HOOAH!
    RLTW! - NSDQ!
    Awesome read; if it doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you're not human; I am so proud to have been in an organization that instilled the values described in LTC Lofaro's speech below: Dining-in speech at U.S. Military Academy by LTC Guy Lofaro: "Let me say before beginning that it has been my pleasure to attend several dinings-in here at West Point and hence I have some basis for comparison. You people have done a fine job and you ought to congratulate yourselves. In fact, why don't we take this time to have the persons who were responsible for this event stand so we can acknowledge them publicly. I guess I am honored with these invitations because there exists this rumor that I can tell a story. Cadets who I have had in class sometimes approach me beforehand and request that, during my speech, I tell some of the stories I've told them in class. For the longest time I have resisted this. I simply didn't think this the right forum for story-telling, so I tried instead, with varying degrees of success, to use this time to impart some higher lesson - some thought that would perhaps stay with one or two of you a little longer than the 10 or 15 minutes I will be standing here. I tried this again last week at another dining in and I bombed. Big time. Of course, the cadets didn't say that. They said all the polite things- "Thank you, sir, for those inspiring words" - "You've provided us much food for thought" - "We all certainly learned something from you tonight, sir." And I'm thinking - yeah - you learned something all right. You learned never to invite that SOB to be a dining in speaker again. So in the interim I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I would say to you to night. What can I say that will stay with you? And as I reflected on this I turned it on myself - what stays with me? What makes a mark on me? What do I remember, and why? How have I learned the higher lessons I so desperately want to impart to you? Well - I've learned those higher lessons through experience. And as I thought further, I realized that there's only one way to relate experience -that is to tell some stories. So I'm going to try something new here this evening. I'm going to give you your stories and attempt to relate what I've learned by living them. I'm going to let you crawl inside my eye-sockets and see some of the things I've seen these past 18 years. Imagine you are a brand new second lieutenant on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula. You are less than a year out of West Point, and only a few weeks out of the basic course. You are standing at a strict position of attention in front of your battalion commander, a man you will come to realize was one of the finest soldiers with whom you've ever served, and you are being questioned about a mistake - a big mistake - that you've made. You see, your platoon lost some live ammo. Oh sure, it was eventually found, but for a few hours you had the entire battalion scrambling. Your battalion commander is not yelling at you though, he's not demeaning you, he's simply taking this opportunity to ensure you learn from the experience. And you do- you learn that people make mistakes, that those mistakes do not usually result in the end of the world, and that such occasions are valuable opportunities to impart some higher lessons. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you see your platoon sergeant emerge from behind a building. He's an old soldier - a fine soldier though - whose knees have seen a few too many airborne operations. He sees you and the colonel - and he takes off at a run. You see him approaching from behind the colonel and the next thing you see is the back of your platoon sergeant's head. He is now standing between you and your battalion commander - the two are eyeball to eyeball. Your platoon sergeant says, a touch of indignance in his voice "Leave my lieutenant alone, sir. He didn't lose the ammo, I did. I was the one who miscounted. You want someone's ass, you take mine." And you learn another lesson - you learn about loyalty. It's a few months later and you are one of two soldiers left on a hot PZ on some Caribbean island. There's been another foul up - not yours this time, but you're going to pay for it. It's you and your RTO, a nineteen-year-old surfer from Florida who can quote Shakespeare because his Mom was a high school literature teacher and who joined the army because his Dad was a WWII Ranger. The last UH-60 has taken off on an air assault and someone is supposed to come back and get you guys. But the fire is getting heavy, and you're not sure anything can get down there without getting shot up. You're taking fire from some heavily forested hills. At least two machineguns, maybe three, maybe more, and quite a few AKs, but you can't make out anything else. You and your RTO are in a hole, hunkered down as the bad guys are peppering your hole with small arms fire. Your RTO is trying to get some help - another bird to come get you, some artillery, some attack helicopters - anything. But there are other firefights happening elsewhere on this island involving much larger numbers. So as the cosmos unfold at; that particular moment, in that particular place, you and that RTO are well down the order of merit list. You feel a tug at your pants leg. Ketch, that's what you call him, Ketch tells you he got a "wait, out" when he asked for help. The radio is jammed with calls for fire and requests for support from other parts of the island. "What we gonna do, sir?' he asks. And all of a sudden, you're learning another lesson. You're learning about the weightiness of command, because it's not just you in that hole, it's this kid you've spent every day with for the last five months. This kid you've come to love like a kid brother. There is only one way out and that's through the bad guys. You see, you are on a peninsula that rises about 100 feet from the sea. The inland side is where the bad guys are. You figure you are safe in this hole, so long as they don't bring in any indirect fire stuff, but if they come down off those hills, onto the peninsula, then you're going to have to fight it out. And that's what you tell your RTO. We either get help or, if the bad guys come for us, we fight. He looks at you. You don't know how long. And he says only four words. Two sentences. "Roger, sir. Let's rock." Appropriate coming from a surfer. Then he slithers back down to the bottom of the hole. Staying on the radio, your lifeline, trying to get some help. You are peering over the edge of the hole, careful not to make too big a target. You're thinking about your wife and that little month-old baby you left a few days ago. It was two o'clock in the morning when you got the call. "Pack your gear and get in here." You kissed them both and told them to watch the news. Hell, you didn't know where here you were going or why, but you were told to go, and you went. Then all of a sudden it gets real loud, and things are flying all around and then there's a shadow that passes over you. You look up and find yourself staring at the bottom of a Blackhawk, about 15 feet over the deck, flying fast and low, and as it passes over your hole you see the door gunner dealing death and destruction on the bad guys in those hills. It sets down about 25 meters from your hole, as close as it can get. You look up and see the crew chief kneeling inside, waving frantically to you, the door gunner still dealing with it, trying to keep the bad guys' heads down, who have now switched their fire to the bird, a much bigger, and better, target. You look at Ketch and then you're off - and you run 25 meters faster than 25 meters have ever been run since humans began to walk upright. And you dive through the open doors onto the floor of the Blackhawk. There are no seats in the bird since this is combat and we don't use them in the real deal. And you are hugging your RTO, face-to-face, like a lover, and shouting at him "You OKAY? You OKAY? You OKAY?" but he doesn't tell you he's OKAY since he's yelling the same thing at you -- "You OKAY? You OKAY? You OKAY?" And then the pilot pulls pitch and executes a violent and steep ascent out of there and had you not been holding on to the d-rings in the floor and the crew chief not been holding your legs you might have fallen out. Then you're over the water, you're safe, and the bird levels out, and you roll over to your back and close your eyes - and you think you fall asleep. But then you feel a hand on your blouse, and you open your eyes and see the crew chief kneeling over you with a head set in his hand. He wants you to put it on so you do. And the first thing you hear is "I-Beamer, buddy boy. I Beamer." You were in I-4 while a cadet, and that was your rallying cry. And you look up to where the pilots sit and you see a head sticking out from behind one of the seats. He's looking at you and it's his voice you hear, but you can't make out who it is because his visor is down. Then he lifts it, and you see the face of a man who was 2 years ahead of you in your company. He tells you that he knew you were there and he wasn't going to leave an I-Beamer like that. And you learn about courage, and camaraderie. And friendship that never dies. It's a few years later and you've already had your company command. You're in grad school, studying at Michigan. You get a phone call one night, one of the sergeants from your company. He tells you Harvey Moore is dead, killed in a training accident when his Blackhawk flew into the ground. Harvey Moore. Two time winner of the Best Ranger Competition. Great soldier. Got drunk one night after his wife left him and took his son. You see, staff sergeants don't make as much money as lawyers, so she left with the lawyer. He got stinking drunk, though it didn't take much since he didn't drink at all before this, and got into his car. Then had an accident. Then got a DUI. He was an E-6 promotable when this happened, and the SOP was a general-officer article 15 and a reduction one grade, which would really be two for him because he was on the promotion list. But Harvey Moore is a good soldier, and it's time to go to bat for a guy who, if your company command was any sort of a success, played a significant part in making it so. And you go with your battalion commander to see the CG, and you stand at attention in front of the CG's desk for 20 minutes convincing him that Harvey Moore deserves a break. You win. Harvey Moore never drinks again. He makes E-7. And when you change command, he grabs your arm, with tears in his eyes, and thanks you for all you've done. Then the phone call. And you learn about grief. And then you're a major and you're back in the 82d - your home. And one day some SOB having a bad week decides it's time to take it out on the world and he shoots up a PT formation. Takes out 20 guys. You're one of them. 5.56 tracer round right to the gut. Range about 10 meters. And you're dead for a little while, but it's not your time yet - there are still too many lessons to learn. And you wake up after 5 surgeries and 45 days in a coma. And you look down at your body and you don't recognize it - it has become a receptacle for hospital tubing and electronic monitoring devices. You have a tracheotomy, so there's a huge tube going down your throat and you can't talk, but that thing is making sure you breathe. And there's a tube in your nose that goes down into your stomach - that's how you eat. And there are four IVs - one in each arm and two in the veins in the top of your feet. There is a tube through your right clavicle - that's where they inject the high-powered antibiotics that turns your hair white and makes you see things. But disease is the enemy now and it's gotta be done. And there are three tubes emerging from three separate holes in your stomach. They are there to drain the liquids from your stomach cavity. It drains into some bags hanging on the right;side of your bed. And they've shaved your chest and attached countless electrodes to monitor your heartbeat, blood pressure, and anything else they can measure. They have these things stuck all over your head as well, and on your wrists and ankles. And your family gathers around, and they are like rocks, and they pull you through. But there's also a guy, dressed in BDUs, with a maroon beret in his and, who stands quietly in the corner. Never says anything. Just smiles. And looks at you. He's there every day. Not every hour of every day, but he comes every day. Sometimes he's there when you wake up. Sometimes he's there when you go to sleep. He comes during his lunch break. He stays an hour, or two, or three. And just stands in the corner. And smiles. No one told him to be there. But he made it his place of duty. His guard post. You see, it's your sergeant major, and his ranger buddy is down, and a ranger never leaves a fallen comrade. And you learn, through this man, the value of a creed. (Note from Guy): if you've never read the Ranger Creed, Google it. The men of the Ranger Regiment live this creed every day. It is probably more powerful than wedding vows, and once you've lived by it, it's part of your life forever) And every four hours two huge male nurses come in and gently roll you on your side. The bullet exited through your left buttock and made a hole the size of a softball. The bandages need to be changed. Take the soiled wads out and put clean ones in. And a second lieutenant comes in. She seems to be there all the time. She's the one changing the bandages. And it hurts like hell, but she, too, is smiling, and talking to you, and she's gentle. And you know you've seen her before, but you can't talk - you still have that tube in your throat. But she knows. And she tells you that you taught her Military Art History, that now it's her turn to take care of you, that she's in charge of you and the team of nurses assigned to you, and she won't let you down. And you learn about compassion. And then it's months later and you're still recovering. Most of the tubes are gone but it's time for another round of major surgeries. And you go into one of the last, this one about 9 hours long. And they put you back together. And you wake up in the ICU one more time. Only one IV this time. And when you open your eyes, there's a huge figure standing over your bed. BDUs. Green beret in his hand. Bigger than God. And he's smiling. "It's about damn time you woke up you lazy bastard" he says. And you know it's your friend and former commander and you've got to come back with something quick - something good. He's the deputy Delta Force commander, soon to be the commander. And you say "Don't you have someplace else to be? Don't you have something more important to do?" And without skipping a beat, without losing that smile he says "Right now, I am doing what I consider the most important thing in the world." And you learn about leadership. So there you have them. Some stories. I've tried to let you see the world as I've seen it a various points in time these 18 years. I hope you've learned something. I certainly have." For the record, I know these men personally, and I served during these times the writer is describing, I was there @ Hill AFB that dark night on 29 Oct '92 during the final hit of Operation Embryo Stage when RANGER Moore departed this rock, he was my buddy... I also recall very clearly that damn sniper doing his evil down @ Bragg... this world just never quits jackin with the good folks seems like. My point of all of this is while you are in the middle of it all, this Serving stuff, pay attention to those around you, that is what is Truly of most importance, gubmints will come and go, Honor, Courage, being Solid under extreme pressure and circumstance will be your test... make this world a little better of a place while you are among the living... and Never Forget the RANGER Harvey Moore's that you will meet along the way... HOOAH! RLTW! - NSDQ!
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  • Hello brothers and sisters.

    There are many silent sufferers out there dealing with their own internal storms with regard to combat and/or any/all trauma.

    I was a pretty high functioning dude. At some point, I dropped a fill somewhere and the internal Comms stopped transmitting properly.

    I went to Mexico and received Ibogaine and 5MEO/DMT treatment.

    I won’t bore you, you can read the article below, published by Stanford University of 30 SOF veterans who went to the same place I did.

    Changed my life. If you are interested in treatment, check out the Non-profit : VETS (veterans exploring treatment solutions)

    They give grants to SOF to participate.

    Take care of each other this year, kind words and helpful moments.

    #mentalhealth #TBI #ptsd #psychedelictherapy #endveteransuicide #nsdq

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02705-w.pdf
    Hello brothers and sisters. There are many silent sufferers out there dealing with their own internal storms with regard to combat and/or any/all trauma. I was a pretty high functioning dude. At some point, I dropped a fill somewhere and the internal Comms stopped transmitting properly. I went to Mexico and received Ibogaine and 5MEO/DMT treatment. I won’t bore you, you can read the article below, published by Stanford University of 30 SOF veterans who went to the same place I did. Changed my life. If you are interested in treatment, check out the Non-profit : VETS (veterans exploring treatment solutions) They give grants to SOF to participate. Take care of each other this year, kind words and helpful moments. #mentalhealth #TBI #ptsd #psychedelictherapy #endveteransuicide #nsdq https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02705-w.pdf
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  • The Foundation for Exceptional Warriors - The FEW
    - 4 Jan, 2022

    He was the first.
    On this day in U.S. Army SF history, 04-January, 2002:
    US Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Ross Chapman was killed by enemy fire near Khost, Afghanistan. He became the first US military service member to be Killed In Action by enemy fire after 9/11.

    Chapman's military career spanned 13 years and included combat service in Haiti, Panama and the Persian Gulf War. In 1989, he parachuted into Panama during the invasion of that country. He also served in Operation Desert Storm and later attended the U.S. Army Special Forces School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group following the 11 September attacks, Chapman was directing troop movements from the back of a flatbed truck when he was shot. He did not die instantly from the attack, which also saw a CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer from Special Activities Division wounded.

    Rest Easy, Brother - We Remember...
    DOL

    #exceptionalwarriors #TheFEW #purpleheart #SOF #Valor #Heroes #warfighter #America #armyranger #navySEAL #MARSOC #JSOC #SOCOM #greenberet #ranger #PJ #jtac #deltaforce #OGA
    The Foundation for Exceptional Warriors - The FEW - 4 Jan, 2022 He was the first. On this day in U.S. Army SF history, 04-January, 2002: US Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Ross Chapman was killed by enemy fire near Khost, Afghanistan. He became the first US military service member to be Killed In Action by enemy fire after 9/11. Chapman's military career spanned 13 years and included combat service in Haiti, Panama and the Persian Gulf War. In 1989, he parachuted into Panama during the invasion of that country. He also served in Operation Desert Storm and later attended the U.S. Army Special Forces School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group following the 11 September attacks, Chapman was directing troop movements from the back of a flatbed truck when he was shot. He did not die instantly from the attack, which also saw a CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer from Special Activities Division wounded. Rest Easy, Brother - We Remember... DOL #exceptionalwarriors #TheFEW #purpleheart #SOF #Valor #Heroes #warfighter #America #armyranger #navySEAL #MARSOC #JSOC #SOCOM #greenberet #ranger #PJ #jtac #deltaforce #OGA
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  • https://news.va.gov/127266/safe-settings-trusted-care-for-women-veterans/
    https://news.va.gov/127266/safe-settings-trusted-care-for-women-veterans/
    NEWS.VA.GOV
    Safe settings and trusted care for women Veterans
    VA understands that trauma may affect the lives and health of many women Veterans. Our staff are specifically trained to help you feel comfortable and safe.
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  • Commo:
    You can talk about us,
    But you can't talk without us.
    Take Good Care of your Commo Dudes!
    NSDQ!
    Commo: You can talk about us, But you can't talk without us. Take Good Care of your Commo Dudes! NSDQ!
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  • Lông Trắng, aka "White Feather Sniper"

    After the Vietnam War
    After returning to active duty, Hathcock helped establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School, at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia. Due to his extreme injuries suffered in Vietnam, he was in nearly constant pain, but he continued to dedicate himself to teaching snipers.

    In 1975, Hathcock's health began to deteriorate, and he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He stayed in the Corps, but his health continued to decline, and was forced to retire just 55 days short of the 20 years that would have made him eligible for full retirement pay. Being medically retired, he received 100% disability. He would have received only 50% of his final pay grade had he retired after 20 years. He fell into a state of depression when he was forced out of the Marines, because he felt as if the service had kicked him out. During this depression, his wife Jo nearly left him, but decided to stay. Hathcock eventually picked up the hobby of shark fishing, which helped him overcome his depression.

    Hathcock provided sniper instruction to police departments and select military units, such as SEAL Team Six.

    Civilian life
    Hathcock once said that he survived in his work because of an ability to "get in the bubble", to put himself into a state of "utter, complete, absolute concentration", first with his equipment, then his environment, in which every breeze and every leaf meant something, and finally on his quarry. After the war, a friend showed Hathcock a passage written by Ernest Hemingway: "Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and like it, never really care for anything else thereafter." He copied Hemingway's words on a piece of paper. "He got that right", Hathcock said. "It was the hunt, not the killing." Hathcock said in a book written about his career as a sniper: "I like shooting, and I love hunting. But I never did enjoy killing anybody. It's my job. If I don't get those bastards, then they're gonna kill a lot of these kids dressed up like Marines. That's the way I look at it."

    Hathcock's son, Carlos Hathcock III, later enlisted in the Marine Corps; he retired from the Marine Corps as a Gunnery Sergeant after following in his father's footsteps as a shooter, and became a member of the Board of Governors of the Marine Corps Distinguished Shooters Association.

    Carlos Hathcock died on February 23, 1999, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, from multiple sclerosis.

    Hathcock was awarded a Silver Star in 1996 not for his sniping, but for his act in 1969 of saving the lives of seven fellow Marines after the amphibious tractor (AMTRAC) on which they were riding struck a landmine. Hathcock was knocked unconscious, but awoke in time to race back through the flames to rescue his injured comrades.
    Lông Trắng, aka "White Feather Sniper" After the Vietnam War After returning to active duty, Hathcock helped establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School, at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia. Due to his extreme injuries suffered in Vietnam, he was in nearly constant pain, but he continued to dedicate himself to teaching snipers. In 1975, Hathcock's health began to deteriorate, and he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He stayed in the Corps, but his health continued to decline, and was forced to retire just 55 days short of the 20 years that would have made him eligible for full retirement pay. Being medically retired, he received 100% disability. He would have received only 50% of his final pay grade had he retired after 20 years. He fell into a state of depression when he was forced out of the Marines, because he felt as if the service had kicked him out. During this depression, his wife Jo nearly left him, but decided to stay. Hathcock eventually picked up the hobby of shark fishing, which helped him overcome his depression. Hathcock provided sniper instruction to police departments and select military units, such as SEAL Team Six. Civilian life Hathcock once said that he survived in his work because of an ability to "get in the bubble", to put himself into a state of "utter, complete, absolute concentration", first with his equipment, then his environment, in which every breeze and every leaf meant something, and finally on his quarry. After the war, a friend showed Hathcock a passage written by Ernest Hemingway: "Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and like it, never really care for anything else thereafter." He copied Hemingway's words on a piece of paper. "He got that right", Hathcock said. "It was the hunt, not the killing." Hathcock said in a book written about his career as a sniper: "I like shooting, and I love hunting. But I never did enjoy killing anybody. It's my job. If I don't get those bastards, then they're gonna kill a lot of these kids dressed up like Marines. That's the way I look at it." Hathcock's son, Carlos Hathcock III, later enlisted in the Marine Corps; he retired from the Marine Corps as a Gunnery Sergeant after following in his father's footsteps as a shooter, and became a member of the Board of Governors of the Marine Corps Distinguished Shooters Association. Carlos Hathcock died on February 23, 1999, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, from multiple sclerosis. Hathcock was awarded a Silver Star in 1996 not for his sniping, but for his act in 1969 of saving the lives of seven fellow Marines after the amphibious tractor (AMTRAC) on which they were riding struck a landmine. Hathcock was knocked unconscious, but awoke in time to race back through the flames to rescue his injured comrades.
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  • On this day in U.S. Army SF history, 31 Dec 1968
    – (then) 1st Lt. James N. “Nick” Rowe escaped Viet Cong captivity.

    Prisoner of war:
    On October 29, 1963, after only three months in country, Rowe was captured by Viet Cong elements along with Captain Humberto "Rocky" R. Versace and Sergeant Daniel L. Pitzer while on an operation to drive a Viet Cong unit out of the village of Le Coeur. Rowe states that the VC were a main force unit due to his observations of their equipment.

    Rowe was separated from his fellow Green Berets and spent 62 months in captivity with only brief encounters with fellow American POWs. Rowe was held in the U Minh Forest, better known as the "Forest of Darkness," in extreme southern Vietnam. During most of his five years in captivity Rowe was held in a 3 by 4 by 6 feet (0.91 m × 1.22 m × 1.83 m) bamboo cage.

    As an intelligence officer, Rowe possessed vital information about the disposition of defenses around the CIDG camps, the locations of mine field, names of friendly Vietnamese, and unit locations and strength. Rowe had left his West Point ring at home in the United States, and he told his captors that he was a draftee engineer charged with building schools and other civil affairs projects. The Viet Cong interrogated him unsuccessfully. They gave him some engineering problems to solve and Rowe, relying on the basic instruction in engineering he'd received at West Point, successfully maintained his deception.

    However, Rowe's deceptive cover was blown when the Viet Cong managed to obtain a list of American high-value prisoners-of-war (POWs), and his name was in the list, identifying him as an intelligence officer. This enraged the VC, prompting them to order his execution.

    Rowe was then led deep into the jungle to be shot. When his would-be executioners were distracted by a flight of American helicopters, he overpowered his guard, escaped and flagged down a UH-1 helicopter. He was rescued on December 31, 1968. Rowe had been promoted to Major during captivity.

    In 1971, he authored the book, Five Years to Freedom, an account of his years as a prisoner of war. In 1974, he continued his military career the U.S. Army Reserve.
    -Special Forces Association Chapter LX
    On this day in U.S. Army SF history, 31 Dec 1968 – (then) 1st Lt. James N. “Nick” Rowe escaped Viet Cong captivity. Prisoner of war: On October 29, 1963, after only three months in country, Rowe was captured by Viet Cong elements along with Captain Humberto "Rocky" R. Versace and Sergeant Daniel L. Pitzer while on an operation to drive a Viet Cong unit out of the village of Le Coeur. Rowe states that the VC were a main force unit due to his observations of their equipment. Rowe was separated from his fellow Green Berets and spent 62 months in captivity with only brief encounters with fellow American POWs. Rowe was held in the U Minh Forest, better known as the "Forest of Darkness," in extreme southern Vietnam. During most of his five years in captivity Rowe was held in a 3 by 4 by 6 feet (0.91 m × 1.22 m × 1.83 m) bamboo cage. As an intelligence officer, Rowe possessed vital information about the disposition of defenses around the CIDG camps, the locations of mine field, names of friendly Vietnamese, and unit locations and strength. Rowe had left his West Point ring at home in the United States, and he told his captors that he was a draftee engineer charged with building schools and other civil affairs projects. The Viet Cong interrogated him unsuccessfully. They gave him some engineering problems to solve and Rowe, relying on the basic instruction in engineering he'd received at West Point, successfully maintained his deception. However, Rowe's deceptive cover was blown when the Viet Cong managed to obtain a list of American high-value prisoners-of-war (POWs), and his name was in the list, identifying him as an intelligence officer. This enraged the VC, prompting them to order his execution. Rowe was then led deep into the jungle to be shot. When his would-be executioners were distracted by a flight of American helicopters, he overpowered his guard, escaped and flagged down a UH-1 helicopter. He was rescued on December 31, 1968. Rowe had been promoted to Major during captivity. In 1971, he authored the book, Five Years to Freedom, an account of his years as a prisoner of war. In 1974, he continued his military career the U.S. Army Reserve. -Special Forces Association Chapter LX
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  • via Stars & Stripes Museum:

    We invite you to visit our museum and explore the extraordinary experiences of Frank Praytor during the Korean Conflict.

    Frank Praytor, a U.S. Marine, gained fame for a photograph taken during the Korean War where he was captured nursing a kitten. This heartwarming moment not only showcased humanity amidst the brutality of war but also saved him from a potential court-martial.

    While serving as a combat correspondent with the 1st Marine Division in Korea in 1952, Praytor took two orphaned newborn kittens under his care. A widely distributed photograph of him gently feeding one of the kittens named "Mis Hap" touched the hearts of millions and appeared in 1,700 newspapers worldwide.

    The image of a compassionate Marine caring for a tiny animal resonated deeply with the public, resulting in an outpouring of letters and even marriage proposals. Praytor's fame grew, but he soon faced potential court-martial for violating regulations by publishing photos without military clearance.

    However, thanks to his newfound celebrity status and the commandant's decision to let him off the hook, Praytor was spared from charges. He attributed his fortunate outcome to the kitten that had become his companion in Korea.

    After narrowly escaping court-martial, Praytor returned to Korea as a writer for Stars and Stripes. He covered significant events like the truce-signing at Panmunjom and had a reunion with "Mis Hap," who had become the Division's mascot. His reporting continued in Tokyo for two years.

    Come to our museum and delve into Frank Praytor's captivating story. Witness his remarkable photos taken during Korea and learn how a small kitten played a significant role in shaping his fate.

    #FrankPraytor #KoreanConflict #WarPhotography #History #MuseumExhibit
    via Stars & Stripes Museum: We invite you to visit our museum and explore the extraordinary experiences of Frank Praytor during the Korean Conflict. Frank Praytor, a U.S. Marine, gained fame for a photograph taken during the Korean War where he was captured nursing a kitten. This heartwarming moment not only showcased humanity amidst the brutality of war but also saved him from a potential court-martial. While serving as a combat correspondent with the 1st Marine Division in Korea in 1952, Praytor took two orphaned newborn kittens under his care. A widely distributed photograph of him gently feeding one of the kittens named "Mis Hap" touched the hearts of millions and appeared in 1,700 newspapers worldwide. The image of a compassionate Marine caring for a tiny animal resonated deeply with the public, resulting in an outpouring of letters and even marriage proposals. Praytor's fame grew, but he soon faced potential court-martial for violating regulations by publishing photos without military clearance. However, thanks to his newfound celebrity status and the commandant's decision to let him off the hook, Praytor was spared from charges. He attributed his fortunate outcome to the kitten that had become his companion in Korea. After narrowly escaping court-martial, Praytor returned to Korea as a writer for Stars and Stripes. He covered significant events like the truce-signing at Panmunjom and had a reunion with "Mis Hap," who had become the Division's mascot. His reporting continued in Tokyo for two years. Come to our museum and delve into Frank Praytor's captivating story. Witness his remarkable photos taken during Korea and learn how a small kitten played a significant role in shaping his fate. #FrankPraytor #KoreanConflict #WarPhotography #History #MuseumExhibit
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  • For a singer born in Mount Olive, Alabama, it all started with a song he wrote for himself!

    King Hiram "Hank" Williams was born, September 1923 in rural Alabama, very rural. Never one much for attending school or "book learning", a young Mr. Williams was on the road to being a country music entertainer in his early teens. With his Mother's help and blessing, a very young Hank Williams played beer joints, "skull orchards", and various types of other night clubs of, shall we say, “dubious repute”.

    Hank Williams also started writing songs when he was in his teenage years. As a teenager, Mr. Williams won a talent contest in the late 1930's performing a song he in fact wrote, one called the "WPA Blues". A young Hank Williams was also a regular guest and performer on local country radio stations as well.

    At one point during World War II, Mr. Williams, growing tired of the struggle of trying and trying to become a successful country music singer and musician, briefly worked at a shipyard. His mother could tell, and realized the young Hank was unhappy, discontented and unbeknownst to the young Hank, his mother booked him a couple of months of shows causing Hank to tell his mother she had made him “the happiest boy in the whole wide world”.

    After getting married to a beautiful young lady named Audrey, Hank Williams' wife, the Ms. Audrey pushed him to audition for Acuff-Rose publications of Nashville, Tennessee in 1946.

    Fred Rose and his son Wesley were playing ping pong one day at lunch when Ms. Audrey and Hank Williams showed up. After sitting, listening and hearing a few of Hank's songs, they quickly signed him to a songwriting contract. Then, quickly placed his songs with the then-popular Molly O'Day on the Columbia Records label.

    When a small record label in New York City, the Sterling Records label, wanted to make some country music records, Acuff-Rose Publishing placed Hank Williams and the Oklahoma Wranglers (better known today as the Willis Bros.) with this small record label. Hank made 4 records for them and while they were not officially hits, they paved the way for a better, more lucrative contract with the new MGM Records label.

    Hank's 1st record, "Move It On Over" was an immediate hit. The record climbed to #4 on the Billboard music charts in the fall of 1947. 3 more hits followed before Hank Williams hit #1 in early 1949 with the mega hit “Lovesick Blues". “Lovesick Blues” was #1 for 10 weeks and stayed on the country music charts a remarkable 42 weeks! It’s a really good chance that we think all of you know the Hank Williams story from there!!!!

    Hank Williams placed 42 singles on the Billboard Music charts between 1947 and 1999. 33 of those songs came during his lifetime with the last 9 posthumously. They included a produced, “electronic" duet in 1999 with his son, Hank Williams Jr. “There's a Tear In My Beer", a song written for Big Bill Lister. Mr. Lister found the original demo in his attic, forwarded it to Bocephus and the rest is history as they say! #Legendary #hank

    The iconic, the bigger than life, the legendary Hank Williams scored 37 top 10 records with 11 of those hitting #1. Hank Williams passed away in the back of his Cadillac in the early morning hours of January 1st, 1953 on the way to a live engagement. His death, at the highest peak of his popularity, left many to wonder what his career could have been had he lived.

    Most fans of real, traditional, classic country music pause and reflect on the life and career of Hank Williams, Sr. at the end of each year.

    January 1st marks 71 years since his death but let not your heart be troubled, without a doubt, Hank Williams continues to be a major influence on so many in the country music industry and the country music community!

    And it all started with a song he wrote about being in the dog house!
    For a singer born in Mount Olive, Alabama, it all started with a song he wrote for himself! King Hiram "Hank" Williams was born, September 1923 in rural Alabama, very rural. Never one much for attending school or "book learning", a young Mr. Williams was on the road to being a country music entertainer in his early teens. With his Mother's help and blessing, a very young Hank Williams played beer joints, "skull orchards", and various types of other night clubs of, shall we say, “dubious repute”. Hank Williams also started writing songs when he was in his teenage years. As a teenager, Mr. Williams won a talent contest in the late 1930's performing a song he in fact wrote, one called the "WPA Blues". A young Hank Williams was also a regular guest and performer on local country radio stations as well. At one point during World War II, Mr. Williams, growing tired of the struggle of trying and trying to become a successful country music singer and musician, briefly worked at a shipyard. His mother could tell, and realized the young Hank was unhappy, discontented and unbeknownst to the young Hank, his mother booked him a couple of months of shows causing Hank to tell his mother she had made him “the happiest boy in the whole wide world”. After getting married to a beautiful young lady named Audrey, Hank Williams' wife, the Ms. Audrey pushed him to audition for Acuff-Rose publications of Nashville, Tennessee in 1946. Fred Rose and his son Wesley were playing ping pong one day at lunch when Ms. Audrey and Hank Williams showed up. After sitting, listening and hearing a few of Hank's songs, they quickly signed him to a songwriting contract. Then, quickly placed his songs with the then-popular Molly O'Day on the Columbia Records label. When a small record label in New York City, the Sterling Records label, wanted to make some country music records, Acuff-Rose Publishing placed Hank Williams and the Oklahoma Wranglers (better known today as the Willis Bros.) with this small record label. Hank made 4 records for them and while they were not officially hits, they paved the way for a better, more lucrative contract with the new MGM Records label. Hank's 1st record, "Move It On Over" was an immediate hit. The record climbed to #4 on the Billboard music charts in the fall of 1947. 3 more hits followed before Hank Williams hit #1 in early 1949 with the mega hit “Lovesick Blues". “Lovesick Blues” was #1 for 10 weeks and stayed on the country music charts a remarkable 42 weeks! It’s a really good chance that we think all of you know the Hank Williams story from there!!!! Hank Williams placed 42 singles on the Billboard Music charts between 1947 and 1999. 33 of those songs came during his lifetime with the last 9 posthumously. They included a produced, “electronic" duet in 1999 with his son, Hank Williams Jr. “There's a Tear In My Beer", a song written for Big Bill Lister. Mr. Lister found the original demo in his attic, forwarded it to Bocephus and the rest is history as they say! #Legendary #hank The iconic, the bigger than life, the legendary Hank Williams scored 37 top 10 records with 11 of those hitting #1. Hank Williams passed away in the back of his Cadillac in the early morning hours of January 1st, 1953 on the way to a live engagement. His death, at the highest peak of his popularity, left many to wonder what his career could have been had he lived. Most fans of real, traditional, classic country music pause and reflect on the life and career of Hank Williams, Sr. at the end of each year. January 1st marks 71 years since his death but let not your heart be troubled, without a doubt, Hank Williams continues to be a major influence on so many in the country music industry and the country music community! And it all started with a song he wrote about being in the dog house!
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  • https://news.va.gov/127156/creating-tech-that-improves-veteran-care/
    https://news.va.gov/127156/creating-tech-that-improves-veteran-care/
    NEWS.VA.GOV
    Creating tech that improves Veteran care
    A VA project manager's tech work is inspired by her drive to look for solutions that impact Veteran health care.
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  • What was the highlight of your military career?
    What was the highlight of your military career?
    Salute
    1
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