Saturday, April 11, 2009
Winding down (continued)
Spent a couple hours with SGT Mark yesterday...at a sports bar watching the Masters. It's been a long time since we were able to do this and it was wonderful. I am thinking it's going to be fun having him around this summer.
Friday, April 10, 2009
tahoe v. malibu
I was having a chat with SGT Mark other day about some medical issues and I made the crack that I had sent the U.S. Army a brand new Chevy Tahoe four years ago and that I was getting back a broken down Malibu. He took immediate offense and said, "What the hell do you mean by that? I'm still a Tahoe. I've just got a few more miles on me."
Enough said. He's right.
Enough said. He's right.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Say what?
From the Fayetteville Observer on Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Ft. Bragg:
“I am absolutely confident the Iraqis are in a much better place to take care of their own nation,” Biden said. “It’s amazing to me as I go out into these battle spaces, how you just look at it like, ‘This is my job, sir. Mr. Vice President, or senator, this is my job,’ like you’re showing up to the bakery that morning to make sure the muffins get put out.”
I know what he was trying to say but when my son was deployed to Iraq during the surge I didn't feel he was over there putting out muffins.
What a lot of politicians don't understand is the military parlance has changed over the years. When I was in the Army decades ago, when the day was done I would say that I was off duty. Now they say they are off work. Duty = work these days. But the tasks are the same.
“I am absolutely confident the Iraqis are in a much better place to take care of their own nation,” Biden said. “It’s amazing to me as I go out into these battle spaces, how you just look at it like, ‘This is my job, sir. Mr. Vice President, or senator, this is my job,’ like you’re showing up to the bakery that morning to make sure the muffins get put out.”
I know what he was trying to say but when my son was deployed to Iraq during the surge I didn't feel he was over there putting out muffins.
What a lot of politicians don't understand is the military parlance has changed over the years. When I was in the Army decades ago, when the day was done I would say that I was off duty. Now they say they are off work. Duty = work these days. But the tasks are the same.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Changed forever
Madeleine is the founder of our Military Support Network. The following ran in U.S. Today.
My son's home from Iraq, but still I worry
Commentary By Madeleine Tavares
Three months have passed since my son's squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment returned from Iraq. But my son is different from the "man cub" who went off to war 15 months before.
When he left for Iraq, my son was a well-trained but innocent 25-year-old. When he returned home, his walk was more confident, evidence I'm sure of the difficult tasks he had undertaken. But behind that ever-present wry smile was now a sad and soulful look. Oh, he was jubilant to be home, yet I'd see a level of detachment etched on his face, mixed with a sense of loss for friends who did not make this return journey.
The sad stories of his experience have come out very slowly, surfacing from somewhere deep in his soul. In sporadic intervals, he has confided to me his grief when his driver was lost to an IED in Balad. Or the time when he was packing up the effects of a fellow captain killed in combat and how he could still smell the personal scent of his friend in the room. Or the harrowing experience of rocket attacks on Christmas Day 2008, which killed a newly arrived ER surgeon.
Events like these were everyday occurrences for him and his fellow soldiers. And each day brought a new challenge. One day he'd be sleeping in the desert on the firing line with the howitzer guns of his field artillery battery. On another day he'd be talking business with local sheikhs as part of a civil affairs unit. Or capturing al-Qaeda insurgents from irrigation ditches.
Iraq has changed my son and others like him forever. He finds it hard to tolerate whining, and many little things are not as important as they once might have been. Families have been changed forever, too, as I was so profoundly reminded by accounts of the dedication ceremony last week of their regiment's Iraq war memorial at Fort Hood, Texas. Families of the fallen heroes, 15 from my son's squadron alone, came to honor their lost loved ones. It was a grim reminder of the realities of war. For 15 months, I had prayed that my family would not be asked to make that same sacrifice. Because my son's service is finished later this year, I am relieved beyond measure that his duty is done.
I am grateful as I listen at church each week to the reading of the military prayer list that his name is no longer there. While the fear for his safety has ebbed away, my vigilance is not yet over. For him, the war in Iraq is finished, but I now watch for the signs of emotional turmoil and a war within.
My son's home from Iraq, but still I worry
Commentary By Madeleine Tavares
Three months have passed since my son's squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment returned from Iraq. But my son is different from the "man cub" who went off to war 15 months before.
When he left for Iraq, my son was a well-trained but innocent 25-year-old. When he returned home, his walk was more confident, evidence I'm sure of the difficult tasks he had undertaken. But behind that ever-present wry smile was now a sad and soulful look. Oh, he was jubilant to be home, yet I'd see a level of detachment etched on his face, mixed with a sense of loss for friends who did not make this return journey.
The sad stories of his experience have come out very slowly, surfacing from somewhere deep in his soul. In sporadic intervals, he has confided to me his grief when his driver was lost to an IED in Balad. Or the time when he was packing up the effects of a fellow captain killed in combat and how he could still smell the personal scent of his friend in the room. Or the harrowing experience of rocket attacks on Christmas Day 2008, which killed a newly arrived ER surgeon.
Events like these were everyday occurrences for him and his fellow soldiers. And each day brought a new challenge. One day he'd be sleeping in the desert on the firing line with the howitzer guns of his field artillery battery. On another day he'd be talking business with local sheikhs as part of a civil affairs unit. Or capturing al-Qaeda insurgents from irrigation ditches.
Iraq has changed my son and others like him forever. He finds it hard to tolerate whining, and many little things are not as important as they once might have been. Families have been changed forever, too, as I was so profoundly reminded by accounts of the dedication ceremony last week of their regiment's Iraq war memorial at Fort Hood, Texas. Families of the fallen heroes, 15 from my son's squadron alone, came to honor their lost loved ones. It was a grim reminder of the realities of war. For 15 months, I had prayed that my family would not be asked to make that same sacrifice. Because my son's service is finished later this year, I am relieved beyond measure that his duty is done.
I am grateful as I listen at church each week to the reading of the military prayer list that his name is no longer there. While the fear for his safety has ebbed away, my vigilance is not yet over. For him, the war in Iraq is finished, but I now watch for the signs of emotional turmoil and a war within.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Condolences
On Tuesday, ABNMOMMA, a frequent visitor here, passed away. Her husband ABNPOPPA has a written a very touching tribute, which can be found here.
We've never met except through the Internet but her son Jacob and mine serve in the same combat brigade in the 82nd Airborne and were in Baghdad at the same time (they've never met either.)
POPS, our thoughts and prayers are with your family.
We've never met except through the Internet but her son Jacob and mine serve in the same combat brigade in the 82nd Airborne and were in Baghdad at the same time (they've never met either.)
POPS, our thoughts and prayers are with your family.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
General share their feelings on PTSD
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Army generals aren't known for talking about their feelings.
Brig. Gen. Gary S. Patton says he wants the military to change the way it views post-traumatic stress disorder.
But two high-ranking officers are doing just that, hoping that by going public they can remove the stigma that many soldiers say keeps them from getting help for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Brig. General Gary S. Patton and Gen. Carter Ham have both sought counseling for the emotional trauma of their time in the Iraq war.
"One of our soldiers in that unit, Spec. Robert Unruh, took a gunshot wound to the torso, I was involved in medevacing him off the battlefield. And in a short period of time, he died before my eyes," Patton told CNN in an exclusive interview. "That's a memory [that] will stay with me the rest of my life."
Ham was the commander in Mosul when a suicide bomber blew up a mess tent. Twenty-two people died.
"The 21st of December, 2004, worst day of my life. Ever," Ham said. "To this day I still ask myself what should I have done differently, what could I have done as the commander responsible that would have perhaps saved the lives of those soldiers, sailors, civilians."
Both generals have been back from Iraq for years, but still deal with some of the symptoms of the stress they experienced.
"I felt like that what I was doing was not important because I had soldiers who were killed and a mission that had not yet been accomplished," Ham said. "It took a very amazingly supportive wife and in my case a great chaplain to kind of help me work my way through that."
Ham and his wife drove from Washington State to the District of Columbia right after he returned from combat.
"I probably said three words to her the whole way across the country. And it was 'Do you want to stop and get something to eat?' I mean, no discussion, no sharing of what happened," he explained.
Ham still can't talk to his wife about much of what he saw.
For Patton the stress hits him in the middle of the night.
"I've had sleep interruptions from loud noises. Of course there's no IEDs or rockets going off in my bedroom, but the brain has a funny way of remembering those things," Patton said. "Not only recreating the exact sound, but also the smell of the battlefield and the metallic taste you get in your mouth when you have that same incident on the battlefield."
The rest of the story can be found here.
Brig. Gen. Gary S. Patton says he wants the military to change the way it views post-traumatic stress disorder.
But two high-ranking officers are doing just that, hoping that by going public they can remove the stigma that many soldiers say keeps them from getting help for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Brig. General Gary S. Patton and Gen. Carter Ham have both sought counseling for the emotional trauma of their time in the Iraq war.
"One of our soldiers in that unit, Spec. Robert Unruh, took a gunshot wound to the torso, I was involved in medevacing him off the battlefield. And in a short period of time, he died before my eyes," Patton told CNN in an exclusive interview. "That's a memory [that] will stay with me the rest of my life."
Ham was the commander in Mosul when a suicide bomber blew up a mess tent. Twenty-two people died.
"The 21st of December, 2004, worst day of my life. Ever," Ham said. "To this day I still ask myself what should I have done differently, what could I have done as the commander responsible that would have perhaps saved the lives of those soldiers, sailors, civilians."
Both generals have been back from Iraq for years, but still deal with some of the symptoms of the stress they experienced.
"I felt like that what I was doing was not important because I had soldiers who were killed and a mission that had not yet been accomplished," Ham said. "It took a very amazingly supportive wife and in my case a great chaplain to kind of help me work my way through that."
Ham and his wife drove from Washington State to the District of Columbia right after he returned from combat.
"I probably said three words to her the whole way across the country. And it was 'Do you want to stop and get something to eat?' I mean, no discussion, no sharing of what happened," he explained.
Ham still can't talk to his wife about much of what he saw.
For Patton the stress hits him in the middle of the night.
"I've had sleep interruptions from loud noises. Of course there's no IEDs or rockets going off in my bedroom, but the brain has a funny way of remembering those things," Patton said. "Not only recreating the exact sound, but also the smell of the battlefield and the metallic taste you get in your mouth when you have that same incident on the battlefield."
The rest of the story can be found here.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Signs
Here is one of the first signs that someone's career in the Army may be drawing to some kind of conclusion. His name is Glider and he was born March 5. He is an Australian shepherd pup and currently resides in Polk County, FL. We expect him to drop by The One Percenters HQ around May 1.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wall Street Journal: A General's Personal Battle
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
Fort Carson, Colo.
Maj. Gen. Mark Graham is on the frontlines of the Army's struggle to stop its soldiers from killing themselves. Through a series of novel experiments, the 32-year military veteran has turned his sprawling base here into a suicide-prevention laboratory.
[Suicide] Photo illustration by John Kuczala
One reason: Fort Carson has seen nine suicides in the past 15 months. Another: Six years ago, a 21-year-old ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky killed himself in the apartment he shared with his brother and sister. He was Kevin Graham, Gen. Graham's youngest son.
After Kevin's suicide in 2003, Gen. Graham says he showed few outward signs of mourning and refused all invitations to speak about the death. It was a familiar response within a military still uncomfortable discussing suicide and its repercussions. It wasn't until another tragedy struck the family that Gen. Graham decided to tackle the issue head on.
"I will blame myself for the rest of my life for not doing more to help my son," Gen. Graham says quietly, sitting in his living room at Fort Carson, an array of family photographs on a table in front of him. "It never goes away."
Suicide is emerging as the military's newest conflict. For 2008, the Pentagon has confirmed that 140 soldiers killed themselves, the highest number in decades.
At a Senate hearing last week, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, told lawmakers that 48 soldiers have already committed suicide in 2009. The figure puts the Army on pace for nearly double last year's figure. "I, and the other senior leaders of our Army, readily acknowledge that these current figures are unacceptable," Gen. Chiarelli said at the hearing.
The rest of the story can be found here.
Fort Carson, Colo.
Maj. Gen. Mark Graham is on the frontlines of the Army's struggle to stop its soldiers from killing themselves. Through a series of novel experiments, the 32-year military veteran has turned his sprawling base here into a suicide-prevention laboratory.
[Suicide] Photo illustration by John Kuczala
One reason: Fort Carson has seen nine suicides in the past 15 months. Another: Six years ago, a 21-year-old ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky killed himself in the apartment he shared with his brother and sister. He was Kevin Graham, Gen. Graham's youngest son.
After Kevin's suicide in 2003, Gen. Graham says he showed few outward signs of mourning and refused all invitations to speak about the death. It was a familiar response within a military still uncomfortable discussing suicide and its repercussions. It wasn't until another tragedy struck the family that Gen. Graham decided to tackle the issue head on.
"I will blame myself for the rest of my life for not doing more to help my son," Gen. Graham says quietly, sitting in his living room at Fort Carson, an array of family photographs on a table in front of him. "It never goes away."
Suicide is emerging as the military's newest conflict. For 2008, the Pentagon has confirmed that 140 soldiers killed themselves, the highest number in decades.
At a Senate hearing last week, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, told lawmakers that 48 soldiers have already committed suicide in 2009. The figure puts the Army on pace for nearly double last year's figure. "I, and the other senior leaders of our Army, readily acknowledge that these current figures are unacceptable," Gen. Chiarelli said at the hearing.
The rest of the story can be found here.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
LAR remains expeditionary throughout deployment
One of the members of our Military Support Network has a son who is still in Iraq. His name is John Heald and he is quoted in the story below. Both of his grandfather's have died while he was on deployment.
3/25/2009
By Sgt. Dean Davis,Unit Regimental Combat Team 8
NINEWA PROVINCE, Iraq — Since the Marine Corps is known for its expeditionary prowess, maybe one of the best examples of this trait can be found in Iraq’s Ninewa province. Patrolling the terrain of northern Iraq, the Marines of 3rd Platoon, Company D, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 8, have spent the bulk of their deployment staying true to this expeditionary mindset by remaining ‘outside the wire’ to interdict smuggling.
“The work these Marines do is tough and they do a phenomenal job every time,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Lepper, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon. “The highlight of this deployment has been seeing the Marines out in the field for 75 days at a time with no complaints and happy to do the job they are assigned. I couldn’t ask for a better platoon of Marines.”
Occasionally the platoon returns to Sahl Sinjar Airfield, a remote airstrip here, but ask 1st Lt. John W. Heald, commander of 3rd Platoon, and he will tell you, that like the rest of the Marines in his platoon, he would rather be out operating in the desert and villages.
“It has been rough at times, but this platoon is very tight, which improves any situation,” said Heald. “Being out for this long and living out of the vehicles like this forced us to adapt.”
The rest of the story can be found here.
3/25/2009
By Sgt. Dean Davis,Unit Regimental Combat Team 8
NINEWA PROVINCE, Iraq — Since the Marine Corps is known for its expeditionary prowess, maybe one of the best examples of this trait can be found in Iraq’s Ninewa province. Patrolling the terrain of northern Iraq, the Marines of 3rd Platoon, Company D, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 8, have spent the bulk of their deployment staying true to this expeditionary mindset by remaining ‘outside the wire’ to interdict smuggling.
“The work these Marines do is tough and they do a phenomenal job every time,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Lepper, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon. “The highlight of this deployment has been seeing the Marines out in the field for 75 days at a time with no complaints and happy to do the job they are assigned. I couldn’t ask for a better platoon of Marines.”
Occasionally the platoon returns to Sahl Sinjar Airfield, a remote airstrip here, but ask 1st Lt. John W. Heald, commander of 3rd Platoon, and he will tell you, that like the rest of the Marines in his platoon, he would rather be out operating in the desert and villages.
“It has been rough at times, but this platoon is very tight, which improves any situation,” said Heald. “Being out for this long and living out of the vehicles like this forced us to adapt.”
The rest of the story can be found here.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Busy, busy, busy
My associate, Maria, and I have been on the road a lot this week working with the Florida Legislature to - we are hopeful - pass a bill establishing a St. Johns River license tag. Florida has more than 100 of these specialty tags and this one will help the St. Johns River Alliance, a 13-county coalition, to pursue its river research and restoration goals.
With all the road trips to Tallahassee (six hours round trip), there hasn't been much time to post.
News from Ft. Bragg
The news still remains positive. Paperwork is being circulated but no orders cut for establishing an ETS date (expiration of term of service) for SGT Mark. With all the talk of the 82nd Airborne being the backbone of the upcoming operations in Afghanistan, we, the parental units, are hoping this is resolved soon.
Get it right media
Both NBC and PBS referred to the soldiers heading over to Afghanistan as "trainers."
I'm sorry, the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne are not trainers. They are infantry. Their new mission may be training but they are not trainers. It's a subtle distinction but an important one.
My associate, Maria, and I have been on the road a lot this week working with the Florida Legislature to - we are hopeful - pass a bill establishing a St. Johns River license tag. Florida has more than 100 of these specialty tags and this one will help the St. Johns River Alliance, a 13-county coalition, to pursue its river research and restoration goals.
With all the road trips to Tallahassee (six hours round trip), there hasn't been much time to post.
News from Ft. Bragg
The news still remains positive. Paperwork is being circulated but no orders cut for establishing an ETS date (expiration of term of service) for SGT Mark. With all the talk of the 82nd Airborne being the backbone of the upcoming operations in Afghanistan, we, the parental units, are hoping this is resolved soon.
Get it right media
Both NBC and PBS referred to the soldiers heading over to Afghanistan as "trainers."
I'm sorry, the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne are not trainers. They are infantry. Their new mission may be training but they are not trainers. It's a subtle distinction but an important one.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
This sounds familiar
From the Fayetteville Observer:
Obama to unveil new war strategy next week
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The United States will change the way its forces are arrayed in Afghanistan as part of an overhaul of U.S. strategy in the flagging war, a senior defense official said Friday.
President Obama is expected to unveil a revamped plan for fighting insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan next week. The official , who spoke on condition of anonymity because the review is not complete, said it would call for new garrisons in far-flung Afghan communities.
That would help the U.S. hold ground against a resurgent Taliban-led insurgency, the official said. Under today’s hub-and-spoke system, U.S. forces leave protected bases to conduct anti-insurgent operations. When they leave, insurgents come back.
The forthcoming plan also places an onus on Pakistan to confront the threat of insurgents who use its territory as a sanctuary from attack by U.S. and allied forces, officials familiar with the program have said.
The emerging plan contemplates a large build-up of Afghan armed forces and security services, to as many as 400,000, other defense officials said. That would be more than twice the number Afghanistan now has.
U.S. military leaders have said an able Afghan military is the key to allowing U.S. and allied forces to leave.
Obama to unveil new war strategy next week
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The United States will change the way its forces are arrayed in Afghanistan as part of an overhaul of U.S. strategy in the flagging war, a senior defense official said Friday.
President Obama is expected to unveil a revamped plan for fighting insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan next week. The official , who spoke on condition of anonymity because the review is not complete, said it would call for new garrisons in far-flung Afghan communities.
That would help the U.S. hold ground against a resurgent Taliban-led insurgency, the official said. Under today’s hub-and-spoke system, U.S. forces leave protected bases to conduct anti-insurgent operations. When they leave, insurgents come back.
The forthcoming plan also places an onus on Pakistan to confront the threat of insurgents who use its territory as a sanctuary from attack by U.S. and allied forces, officials familiar with the program have said.
The emerging plan contemplates a large build-up of Afghan armed forces and security services, to as many as 400,000, other defense officials said. That would be more than twice the number Afghanistan now has.
U.S. military leaders have said an able Afghan military is the key to allowing U.S. and allied forces to leave.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Off topic: Spring has sprung
Now that it's officially Spring, Floridians can change their footwear.
From bottom to top:
Office flops,
Beach flops,
Yard flops (last year's office flops).
This for all you expatriate Floridians out there.
But, of course, for working in the woods, year-round snake boots are still mandatory. These things are so ugly that no self-respecting snake would try to bite them.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
NY Times: Gates would pay family travel to Dover
Pentagon Will Help Families Travel to Dover
By Katharine Q. Seelye
Updated | March 19
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that the Pentagon would pay for families to travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware if they want to be present when the body or remains of a loved one is returned from war.
Mr. Gates announced last month that the Pentagon was reversing its longstanding policy of barring media coverage during the repatriation of fallen soldiers at Dover. He said then, and reiterated today at a news conference, which the Pentagon’s Web site streamed live, that the decision about media coverage would be up to each family.
The rest of the story can be found here.
By Katharine Q. Seelye
Updated | March 19
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that the Pentagon would pay for families to travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware if they want to be present when the body or remains of a loved one is returned from war.
Mr. Gates announced last month that the Pentagon was reversing its longstanding policy of barring media coverage during the repatriation of fallen soldiers at Dover. He said then, and reiterated today at a news conference, which the Pentagon’s Web site streamed live, that the decision about media coverage would be up to each family.
The rest of the story can be found here.
for our friends in the 82nd Airborne
Mark sent this over yesterday. I hadn't seen it before. You have to click on it to read it.
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