May 13, 2013:
Seal Team Six is best known for its very successful mission to get Osama Bin Laden. But it did something equally impressive a little over a year ago in a very different effort. In this case it was to simply to save an American who had been kidnapped by Somali bandits. I saw this story on CBS 60 Minutes last night and felt that is was a story I would like to recount here.
May 10, 2013:
"I still miss my team." David, an Army Recon Vietnam veteran had been wounded and was receiving treatment at a hospital in Vietnam when his team went out on patrol and never came back.
May 8, 2013:
Today, May 8, 2013 is the 68th anniversary of V.E. Day. The long and terrible war was over in Europe. That continent was devastated by the aggressive attempt of Nazi and fascist forces to conquer it under their dark cultures of death. The forces of freedom had won out and the celebrations were immense and fervent.
May 6, 2013:
CBS 60 Minutes presented a very powerful piece last night, May 5, 2013, on traumatic brain injuries (TBI's) as real, and this is important, physical wounds. TBI is not the same as PTSD. It is something completely separate from PTSD, but can be an extremely debilitating factor if both are being experienced by the same person.
May 5, 2013:
It has been 45 years since I left Vietnam. Much has happened during that time, of course. I married, had two daughters and now, two, soon to be three, grandchildren. I got an education and had a career in teaching at both the high school and university levels. And now, I am very pleasantly retired.
May 4, 2013:
This story is being repeated more and more these days. The Joint POW/MIA Command organizes 90-100 missions each year all over the world trying to recover the remains of service members listed as missing from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. Every month they positively identify six to eight of the MIA's and take them off the list.
May 3, 2013:
The private sector has been making commitments to hire veterans for some time now. For example, Walmart, UPS, and others have been doing this for some time. The White House has recently announced a "significant new effort to reduce unemployment and improve job prospects among veterans." They say that they are "enlisting the support" of U.S. companies to hire 435,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years. I am pleased to see a coordinated effort by both the public and private sectors in this effort. All such efforts are to be welcomed, and might I add, encouraged. It is after all, the right thing to do.
May 2, 2013:
This is a powerful video of a wife speaking about her Vietnam veteran husband's struggles to recover from the debilitating effects of PTSD. Her love and understanding, as well as that of fellow veterans brought him to recognize his need for help.
May 1, 2013:
This is a video of an outdoor concert for the Vietnam Veterans of San Diego. The musicians range in age from the Vietnam era to the present, and they know how to jam and have some fun.
Apr 30, 2013:
A lot has transpired in the two weeks that have passed since the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 14, 2013. The cowardly, destructive intent of terrorism made it through the fire walls of our national security and tried, once again, to cause fear and panic among us. Once again, it has failed. The people of Boston showed the world that Americans do not scare easily. That freedom will not be cowed by the cowardly forces of terror.
Apr 25, 2013:
This Army medic veteran says it better than most. He gives as clear an insight into the difficulties of transitioning from war experiences back into civilian life as anyone I've seen in these videos before. He knows the problems, because he has not only experienced them, but he had faced them head-on, looked at them for what they are, and has found the most useful tools to be put to use in handling them in the healthiest, most effective of ways.
Apr 24, 2013:
Eddie Agosto joined the Marines at age 19 to escape the mean streets of Brooklyn. In 1980, President Carter sent a small force into Iran to try to liberate the American Embassy hostages that were being held by revolutionary Iranian element. It ended in a disastrous crash in the desert during a sandstorm. Eddie was on that mission. He was in another helicopter. He and his comrades had to rescue the injured and hastily bag the ruined bodies of the deceased and get out of there before their failed mission was discovered by Iranian revolutionary forces. What he saw and experienced, and what he had to do for his comrades, sent him on a downward spiral into the darkness of PTSD on his return home.
Apr 17, 2013:
This young lady has a lot to say to us about separation from the military and re-entry into civilian life. But she has even more to say about recognizing PTSD and being present to those who are going through it.
Apr 16, 2013:
A few days ago, the Medal of Honor was awarded to a man who stood by his fellow troops through the toughest moments of battles in the Korean war. He was an Army Chaplain who was captured along with others of his unit and died in a Chinese POW camp.
Apr 15, 2013:
This young Marine veteran is a very articulate spokesman for the experience of coming home and leaving the brotherhood of the Corps, and reenter the new environment of civilian life.
Apr 12, 2013:
One-hundred-forty-eight years ago, a union private by the name of Levi Schlegel, who had been serving with the 198th Pennsylvania Regiment, Company G, passed through Fredricksburg, Virginia, on his way home after the cessation of the Civil War.
Apr 7, 2013:
This article is based on and heavily quoted from an article written by Charles W. Sasser for the June 2013 edition of Vietnam Magazine. I had known about this battle when I was in Vietnam. It was legend among the Marines. The article brought the memory back and I found it very moving. So, I thought I would share some of the main elements of it with readers of this blog.
Apr 4, 2013:
In April of 2003 Marines with Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines were among the 'first boots on the ground' at the start of the Iraq war. Marines from the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, played an integral role in the U.S. invasion and the taking of Baghdad.
Apr 3, 2013:
In an article from USA Today, the new Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, announced his intent "...to 'reform and reshape' the military--from paying personnel to buying weapons--to deal with the deep budget cuts the Pentagon faces."
Apr 2, 2013:
This program at the Vale Ski Resort has been going on for ten years now. The number of veterans who are being served in the program has grown dramatically over those years. The volunteer efforts of this program have grown in both importance and value over these past ten years. These volunteers have been helping severely wounded veterans learn that they can still enjoy such things, just differently. it also gives them a freedom that they thought they would never enjoy again. They help these wounded warriors begin to think about the future in ways they thought were gone to them forever.
Mar 25, 2013:
This was sent to me by a friend who is a former Navy fighter pilot. He served in Vietnam about the same time I was there. This is a virtual tour of the Vietnam Memorial and is as in depth as anything I have seen.
Mar 25, 2013:
This veteran had to fight hard to get his life back together. He had to fight through alcohol issues, substance abuse, and the very clear symptoms of PTSD. He was taught to not share his problems. He learned to keep things in and it effected his ability to work, and his relationships.
Mar 25, 2013:
I happened to catch an NBC evening new report tonight and I could not help put sit down and write an article in response to it. According to the report, we currently have over 900,000 post 9/11 war veterans who have applied for disability benefits with the Veterans Administration and are having to wait for those services that they deserve and need for, on average, over 270 days, or almost a full year. In major cities, like New York City, that waiting time skyrockets to over two years.
Mar 25, 2013:
The Air force Academy held a funeral service for its first African-American graduate last Saturday. He was a man of consequence throughout his entire life, as a military man and as a civilian businessman.
Mar 25, 2013:
The video you will see here is a trailer for a new film that will be released soon. It is about a subject that I am intimately familiar with as well. The film is Called, "Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor." It centers on the experiences of the Marines of Bravo Co., 1/26 who were at Khe Sanh for the Tet Offensive of 1968.
Mar 18, 2013:
One of the strange things about PTSD is that it can arise, or be triggered at times quite separate from the events that caused it. This is especially true when the early symptoms are not dealt with properly at the time that they first arise.
Mar 18, 2013:
The Ides of March was a Roman festival, somewhat like the celebration of the New Year. It was the beginning of spring and planting season. But it is also famous for being the day in 44 B.C. on which Julius Caesar, the great general of the Legions who had been victorious in the wars against the Gauls and in the civil war against the rebellious general, Pompey, was assassinated by his friends and Senators, Brutus and Cassius.
Mar 12, 2013:
"Is this the way you want to live?" This is a very important question for any of us, but for a military, combat veteran, it is a life and death question in search of real answers.
Mar 12, 2013:
Working your way back into the family is one of the challenges of returning veterans. This video is from the point of view of one of the counselors who works with families in helping them through the struggles to recover each other. But she is also one who has served in uniform.
Mar 7, 2013:
The poem below is written by Gary Bryson. It is a poetic handling of what it means to be a warrior, both on the battlefield and on your long journey to "get back home." It identifies thoughts and feelings that are going to be familiar to many warriors. The poem honors those who have gone to war, those who have been wounded, and to those who continue the struggles related to the experiences warriors go through.
Mar 5, 2013:
This is a very important reflection on the price that our military families often pay for their service to all of us. Though the costs are great, not just on the battlefield, but at home on their return, there is real hope and healing that happens as well. Those who have been tested and come though are always stronger, more mature, better than they were before. You can see this in this beautiful young woman who talks about her experiences in this video.
Mar 1, 2013:
There is a place called American Lake, near Tacoma, Washington. It is a unique place. There is a golf course there, the only golf course in the United States that was created and designed expressly for disabled veterans. Young and old veterans find this place magical. They find there the mutual support of fellow veterans, and a place where they can forget their problems for a few hours, playing a round of golf, just like any body else.
Feb 25, 2013:
"War is hell." No one knows that better than those who have been to war and survived it, but came home with feelings of guilt, or even shame that were related to the experiences they had in the environment of war. Because war is hell, it can have effects on the warrior that go beyond those of physical, or psychological injuries. The conscience can be injured too.
Feb 22, 2013:
We pay a great deal of attention to the post 9/11 veterans, and rightly so, but there are still some World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, and Desert Storm veterans still with us who need the continued care of the Veterans Administration.
Feb 21, 2013:
This is a story that needs to be told. It is not easy to write about. But imagine how much harder it is for these military women who have been through this to even talk about it. That rape happens to these women is truly troubling, but their stories need to be told, so that the military and the VA can respond to it more readily and more respectfully than they have in the past.
Feb 21, 2013:
The risk to our nation will go up precipitously. Our ability to field troops, and to supply them with the necessary equipment will be reduced severely. The National Guard's ability to respond to national disasters here at home, or to respond to call-ups in support of anti-terrorism efforts will be reduced to such a degree that it will be crippled. The VA will have to cut back on its services to our veterans. Our abilities in all of these areas would be called into doubt here at home and abroad.
Feb 20, 2013:
These videos, one from the wife's perspective alone, the other from the perspective of both and other family members, are very powerful statements about the effects of PTSD on the warrior as well as those around him. It shows the power of relationships to heal, even though the process is difficult for all involved. These videos are examples of the efforts involved in recovery from the devastating realities of war.
Feb 11, 2013:
The video today is by a young veteran Tank gunner who, like so many, has struggled mightily with PTSD. He found a different way to deal with it. He is a Hip-Hop singer and writer. He has written a song that has become very popular among young veterans and their families.
Feb 7, 2013:
Leon Panetta gave a speech at Georgetown University today, one of his last acts before leaving his Defense Department leadership position. Panetta served his California district in Congress for eight terms, 16 years before he was called to be the Defense Secretary.
Feb 1, 2013:
It was all over the news yesterday, on every network and cable outlet, in all of he papers, and for the best of reasons. It is a story that shows us all the character and courage of one young man, but more too. It shows us that our humanity is greater than our failures, more powerful than our losses, more noble than we usually imagine.
Jan 28, 2013:
I received this in a forwarded message from a friend. He says that this "gesture" was started by someone in Seattle, Washington and that it is becoming a universal way to communicate our thanks to our servicemen and women when we see them in public.
Jan 23, 2013:
How many of our veterans have PTSD, in mild, yet enduring forms for many years after their time in a war zone? Of course, it would be hard to know this for sure, because these veterans have gone into civilian life and managed to make somewhat meaningful and valuable lives for themselves and their families despite their unacknowledged symptoms of PTSD.
Jan 16, 2013:
One of the great elements of the GI Bill is the financial support it affords to veterans who wish to further their education at the college level. According to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the federal government will pick up the full in-state cost for any honorably discharged service member to attend a public college or university.
Jan 15, 2013:
It's been a while since I've posted welcome home videos. They are always a thrill and I always end up with tears of joy in my own eyes. So, It's time to show some of those great moments again.
Jan 11, 2013:
"It was a matter of inches." This geometric view of war and the realities of injury and death is often thought about and talked about by those who have been to war. They talk about it in real terms, "If it hadn't been for the inch of body armor, or for that tree deflecting the bullet by an inch, I might not be here." Or, "That shrapnel that got my friend went through my shirt first." Or, "I was so close, it could have been me."
Jan 8, 2013:
The video in this article is very important for veterans who are experiencing one of the more difficult elements of PTSD, depression. If you are a friend, or a family member of a veteran who is struggling with this issue, this is something that you will want to look at and understand, in order to help your service member, or veteran, get through this often temporary, but deeply troubling and disabling reality.
Jan 4, 2013:
This is a great video about the meaning of service to the nation. In reality, we all owe the country service, but only the few answer that call. Even fewer are those who have won the Medal of Honor. Two of those MOH winners are Major General Pat Brady and Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall.
Jan 2, 2013:
We spend a great deal of time here thinking about, and reflecting on the sacrifice and the valor of our troops in the battlefields of Afghanistan. We do so because it is important to keep them in our minds, to honor them for their courage and sacrifice, to give them our respect. They deserve that and more.
Dec 31, 2012:
Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1934. He graduated from West Point in 1956, 43rd in his class.
Dec 27, 2012:
Marine combat veteran Jon Hammar Jr. who has been held in a Mexican prison since August is finally out of that prison and home in Florida just in time for Christmas.
Dec 27, 2012:
This is how a unit of our military on the front lines in Afghanistan celebrated Christmas. They are at Out Post Mustang and the war is never far away. In fact, their brief, simple celebration is broken up by a minor exchange of fire with the Taliban.
Dec 13, 2012:
Recently I received an email from a fellow member of the 3rd Recon Association that got my attention. Why? Well, because it was about a fellow Recon Marine serving with 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marines in Afghanistan. While on a patrol in the Upper Sangin Valley of Helmund Province, Afghanistan, Sgt David Gerardi and his Recon Team, was ambushed and came under heavy machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire from four different enemy positions. The article covered the award ceremony where Sgt. David Gerardi, 22, was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on that day, June 6, 2010.
Dec 3, 2012:
In April of 1966 I entered Hospital Corps School at Naval Station Great Lakes, after completing boot camp at the Naval Training Center there. I had entered the Navy with the guarantee that I could get into Hospital Corps School and I was happy to be there. The schooling was focused and intense and I enjoyed the challenge it gave me intellectually and skill-wise. I knew, too, that my eventual destination would be with the Fleet Marine Force to serve with the Marines, most likely in Vietnam.
Dec 3, 2012:
The Silver Star is being awarded posthumously to a Marine and in person to a Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class for conspicuous bravery in the line of fire in Afghanistan. It speaks for itself. It shows the unique relationship between Marines and the Navy Hospital Corpsmen who serve with them in combat.
Nov 26, 2012:
A recent story on the local NBC news affiliate KING 5 News, by Zahid Arab, covered the efforts of two wounded veterans to bring more public attention to the lack of services available to our returning veterans.
Nov 21, 2012:
This is the kind of event that truly breaks our hearts. We are overwhelmed with the terrible irony that this celebration, in the American tradition of a parade, with all the pride, and joy, and relief that we naturally associate with such events, ended so suddenly and terrifyingly, as the result of a bizarre accident.
Nov 19, 2012:
Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen and Marines who have been deployed know the feeling of great longing to return to that place we call 'home.' Home means more than a house, a particular street, or group of family and friends. It's all of that, of course, and so much more
Nov 14, 2012:
This film is about George Washington' s escape, with his army of 9,000 men, their cannons, horses and supplies, across the East River after being defeated in battle in Brooklyn. This escape may very well have been the most important action of the Revolutionary War.
Nov 13, 2012:
A few days before Veterans Day, I wrote and article about it and suggested some things that you might do this holiday weekend to remember our veterans beyond the rest and relaxation of a three day weekend. I took up the challenge myself and for the first time since I left Vietnam and active duty service, I attended a Veterans Day ceremony at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery here in Seattle, Washington.
Nov 7, 2012:
In November of 1919 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of what was called Armistice Day back then. Wilson said, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations..."
Nov 6, 2012:
This Saturday, November 10, 2012, the United States Marine Corps will celebrate its 237th birthday. They were founded as the Continental Marines on November 10th, 1775, nine months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to conduct ship-to-ship fighting, to provide shipboard security, and to assist in landing forces.
Nov 2, 2012:
This old aphorism captures the true meaning of American military service. We have never fought for what we hated before us, but for all those people and values behind us that depended on our courage and commitment to defend and protect them from those who would want to harm, or even destroy them. This was as true for the Revolutionary soldier, as it is for those who fight today in Afghanistan.
Oct 31, 2012:
I live in a community that looks down on Puget Sound near Whidbey Island. We watch the usual comings and goings of the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry every day, all day long and well into the evening. We can also see the ferries going back and forth between Mukilteo on the mainland to Clinton on Whidbey Island to our north. Nothing could be more regular, except maybe the Sounder commuter trains in the morning and evening.
Oct 26, 2012:
At last night's second game of the 2012 World Series in San Francisco there was a tribute to all of our servicemen and women before the game. The people in the stadium and the TV audience were treated to something very special too.
Oct 25, 2012:
Nick Staback is a young man from Scranton, Pennsylvania. He's also an Army veteran of the Afghanistan War. Nick is also Maria Stabacks son. This is their story. I heard about Nick and his mother through a recent NPR story.
Oct 18, 2012:
Oct 15, 2012:
Oct 1, 2012:
The one, overriding reason to watch this video, especially for those who have not experienced the daily environment of war, is to at least see how vastly distant it is from daily life back here at home. War, for most Americans, is "over there". For most, war has a kind of fictional quality to it. They are not touched by it at all, save for a brief story on the news, or the internet. Given a choice they would rather watch something that amuses them, than to deal with the very real threat that is terrorism.
Sep 28, 2012:
For those of us who have fought in war, the greatest fear was not so much getting injured, even killed, but rather being captured and possibly killed or tortured by the enemy, never to be seen or heard from again--dead, or alive.
Sep 27, 2012:
Though the battlefield part of the war in Afghanistan is coming to a close, there is still much to be done. Certainly there is much left to do in terms of training the Afghan military to be able to defend itself, but there is also the immense complexity of the logistics necessary to repatriate, not just our troops, but all of our equipment and supplies. They are almost incomprehensible.
Sep 26, 2012:
This story is about character. It is an untold story in many ways, because it is not just about the wounded warrior, the soldier's sacrifice for the nation, it's also about the character of those who our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines come home to.
Sep 20, 2012:
These words are simple, yet strong. They offer a picture of the ethics and the commitment that our soldiers learn and appropriate to themselves through their training. These are noble ideals and we can see that they are the product of common sense and an awareness of what a soldier commits his or her life to in service of a higher cause than their individual selves.
Sep 19, 2012:
Idealism is a profound human reality. It is rooted in hope, and in the faith that things, not only can be better, but should be better. The truth is that ideals are possible, but they are much more difficult than they appear. The other truth to remember here is that ideals must be approached through the realm of reality.
Sep 12, 2012:
The injuries of war are always devastating, physically and emotionally. The kinds of wounds caused by bullets, shrapnel, and heavy explosives often change the lives of injured warriors dramatically and for the rest of their lives. As a result, medicine and medical practices often advance very rapidly because of the immediate needs and realities of the wounded servicemen and women returning home from war with these devastating injuries.
Sep 10, 2012:
A recent article by Robert Burns, for the Associated Press, points out a very troubling fact concerning the nation's "war weariness" in relation to the continuing casualty counts coming out of Afghanistan. He suggests that we are no longer paying attention, that we have grown "numb to the sting of losing soldiers..." in Afghanistan.
Sep 6, 2012:
Sep 5, 2012:
Thousands of our troops who have been in harm's way, especially in the most recent wars with the ubiquitous IED, have been injured, but have not received Purple Hearts for their injuries. Why is this? It's because the injuries received are not the commonly accepted injuries whose results can be seen visibly.
Aug 29, 2012:
Can you imagine being a military veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, having served your country with distinction, finding yourself back home in the land of the free and the brace, the land of opportunity and equality for all, "diving" daily into the dumpsters of grocery stores near where you sleep in the bushy corners of a local park, for your daily bread? Well this is the reality for an impossible to believe number of American war veterans.
Aug 21, 2012:
Aug 20, 2012:
Aug 14, 2012:
Some 20,000 Army and Marine veterans of the Iraq and Afghan Wars are finding themselves in a kind of limbo in terms of being able to receive medical care from the Veterans Administration. Many are being denied the right to obtain Veterans Administration healthcare outright.
Aug 13, 2012:
Jul 23, 2012:
Jul 18, 2012:
You will meet a remarkable individual in this video. His name is Ken Pridgeon and he is a painter. He is also a Texan. In his retirement he has taken on a job like no other, a job that he loves and to which he dedicates as many as 14 hours a day.
Jul 13, 2012:
A new project is underway at this time designed to tell the story of U.S. women veterans who have been in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It is called, The Lady Warrior Project.
Jul 12, 2012:
When I arrived in country in January of 1968, Vietnam was on the verge of the Tet Offensive. I was in Quant Tri awaiting a flight to a Marine forward air base called Khe Sanh. The night before I left for Khe Sanh I saw "Spooky" in operation for the first time and I found that its name was very apt.
Jul 11, 2012:
Those who have been to war know this intimately. In the heat of battle, when a soldier acts courageously, it is not for reward, nor is it for country, nor is it for the Constitution, but it is for something more intimate, more innate, more basic; it is out of love for the friends who are under fire beside him or her.
Jun 18, 2012:
Jun 12, 2012:
Jun 4, 2012:
Jun 1, 2012:
May 30, 2012:
May 30, 2012:
May 17, 2012:
First Lady Michelle Obama has called on America's nurses to offer world-class care our returning veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, and post-combat depression. This is wonderful news.
May 16, 2012:
On May 16, 2012 President Obama presented a posthumous Medal of Honor to Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo. Accepting the award, his wife Rose Mary said "A piece of metal won't bring back my husband, but my heart beams with pride."
May 16, 2012:
Who are the real 1%? The ones who really matter? Every American needs to support the true elite, the men and women who have fought for our freedom over the last ten years.
May 15, 2012:
"Troops to Teachers" is a program sponsored by the Department of Defense aimed at assisting eligible military personnel in achieving their goals of becoming teachers in the public schools, from grades K-12. It's a great program for our veterans, utilizing the skills, the discipline and the desire to serve that they already have.
May 11, 2012:
Many homeless are veterans who have fallen through the cracks. Most are Vietnam era veterans, but many are veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They are men and, for the first time in our history, too many of these homeless veterans are women. It's a shame that we haven't found a way to care for them.
May 10, 2012:
A stirring poem by Dan Doyle.
May 9, 2012:
"Stand down." This is the order every soldier, sailor, Marine, and airman waits to hear after a long hard battle. But it isn't always easy for veterans to stand down when they've finished their military service. Veterans Village was founded to provide homeless vets with rehabilitation centers, housing units, sober living centers, and apartments to help them re-enter civilian life.
May 8, 2012:
Sgt. Nicholas Dickhut died last Monday from wounds received in an enemy attack in Afghanistan.
May 8, 2012:
Today, May 8th, 2012, is the 77th anniversary of the allied victory over fascism in Europe. Let's remember those who fought and died to end the horror of that war. Let us also thank those who survived, who shaped the America we know today. They were the Greatest Generation, and we owe them more than we can repay.
May 7, 2012:
May 4, 2012:
Unscrupulous "advisers" are convincing veterans to transfer assets from their bank accounts, or retirement investments, into an "irrevocable trust" in order to "appear impoverished" and qualify for that VA, in-home assistance benefit. But such a move could tie up assets for a decade or more.
May 4, 2012:
The U.S Marines' Darkhorse Battalion was "literally in a race for their lives. They were trying to adjust their tactics to outwit Taliban fighters, who had killed more coalition troops here than in any other area of Afghanistan." In one month, the battalion lost 15 Marines, and 50 were wounded.
May 3, 2012:
May 3, 2012:
Our returning troops need us now more than ever. We will have to continue to fund veterans programs at the highest levels possible in order to avoid the problems that Vietnam era veterans encountered after their war.
May 1, 2012:
May 1, 2012:
May 1, 2012:
We often make the mistake of using a particular expression to categorize an entire group of people. It’s called stereotyping, or prejudice. It’s something we are all capable of and often do.
May 1, 2012:
The U.S. Marine Corps has begun reducing troop numbers in Okinawa, Japan. History has shown that onetime enemies can become lasting friends.
May 1, 2012:
Online for-profit diploma mills are targeting veterans who want to use their GI Bill funds to earn a college degree. Thanks to the Obama administration, measures have been taken to safeguard veterans and their families against these predatory schools.
May 1, 2012:
Many returning service members who have come home with varying levels of PTSD as a result of multiple tours of duty are finding it difficult to get the medical and psychological care that they need at our Veterans Administration Hospitals. This must change.
Apr 25, 2012:
Apr 25, 2012:
Most people probably haven’t a clue about the fact that the National Guard and Reserves make up almost one half of our national military forces. National Guard and Reserve troops are our modern Minutemen, our Citizen Soldiers.
Apr 23, 2012:
The history of the Civil War and its importance in the shaping of this country remains for most of us a distant, if sometimes interesting event that happened a long time ago.
Apr 19, 2012:
Apr 19, 2012:
I heard about this organization through a conversation with an active duty soldier while on a recent trip. It struck me that this concept bore all of the marks of an American sense of what is right.
Apr 16, 2012:
Apr 16, 2012:
It has taken me a long time to come to some peace about my Vietnam experience; forty-four years to be exact. Surprisingly, it was a matter of serendipity that began the transition for me.
Apr 2, 2012:
On March 22, 2012, a twenty-nine-year old soldier from Providence, Rhode Island, Spc. Dennis Weichel, Jr., died in Afghanistan. But it was the way that he died that makes us proud of him, and of the person he was.
Apr 1, 2012:
On a recent weekend, I attended my brother-in-law's wedding in Fort Walton Beach, FL. The ceremonies took place on Hulburt Air Force Base near there. Most impressive to me was the genuine welcome we experienced, and the hospitality of both the base chapel and of the hotel personnel. Everyone on base looked you in the eye and offered a greeting of one kind or another.
Mar 26, 2012:
An awful thing happened in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, and now we must muddle our way through the horror of it to try to find answers, and the possibility of some kind of reconciliation for all the parties involved.
Mar 9, 2012:
I want to focus on a book I just finished entitled Band of Sisters, by Kirsten Holmstedt. It brings the reader into the real lives and experiences of some dozen or so women who fought with a variety of military units during the Iraq War.
Feb 28, 2012:
Life is a constant struggle with paradox. One of the greatest of these paradoxes is the ever present threat of war. The paradox of war is that while we are engaged in it, those who fight the wars are expected to remain moral.
Feb 22, 2012:
Feb 22, 2012:
I was at my local Starbucks with my granddaughter. As I sat there with her, I partially overheard a conversation between a couple of gentlemen about veterans issues. When one left, I initiated a brief conversation with the other. And I'm glad I did.
Feb 13, 2012:
Feb 13, 2012:
I am moved deeply by this young Marine. Watch Survive. Recover. Live. (The Rob Jones Story). Do it. You, too, will come away from it with a better sense of life and how to live it.
Feb 3, 2012:
It was written to a Mrs. Bixby, living in Boston, Massachusetts on November 21, 1864 to acknowledge the deaths of her five sons while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. Let it speak to you in our time and to those who have lost members of their families in the wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Jan 30, 2012:
Jan 30, 2012:
We will have to watch what happens over the coming weeks in the debate about military budget cuts. It is hoped that when the final decisions in this matter are fully and honestly debated that our active military, our military retirees and their families will not find themselves rejected by those they so willingly served at war and at home.
Jan 26, 2012:
When the firefighters arrived they found the frightened mother and her children suspended in the seriously mangled car that was unbelievably hanging precariously from the bridge. Well, along comes a unit of U.S. Navy Seabees...
Jan 24, 2012:
Jan 24, 2012:
On this winter morning, I am thinking about our servicemen and women in Afghanistan, many of whom are enduring the winter fierceness of the Afghan mountains where the Al Qaida and Taliban fighters hide, plan, and initiate their strikes against the NATO forces.
Jan 17, 2012:
The title of this article has two levels of meaning. The first, of course, is that sense that all who fight the enemy on the front lines are brothers-in-arms, caring for each other and watching each other's back. The other is the reason for this article.
Jan 6, 2012:
This is not the usual military story. This is about a one-of-kind soldier, an officer, who wears the fatigues of a combat warrior, who enters the danger zone with his troops – unarmed: the military chaplain.
Jan 4, 2012:
Jan 4, 2012:
A new year has come, as it must in the passage of time. Our troops have left Iraq after a nine-year involvement. Many are still in harm's way in Afghanistan...
Dec 30, 2011:
Dec 30, 2011:
The number of women serving in the armed forces in the last decade has increased dramatically. There are some 1.9 million women veterans today, many of whom, like no other time in our history, are also counted as combat veterans
Dec 22, 2011:
Dec 22, 2011:
Today, Dec. 22, 2011 is the day that the sun begins its journey north again, bringing more length and light to our days. It is also the time to celebrate the festival of lights, Hanukkah, and Christmas...
Dec 21, 2011:
Dec 21, 2011:
There are so many good things being done on behalf of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines these days. One of these good things is a program called Operation Gratitude.
Dec 19, 2011:
Sometimes strange, unaccountable things happen, and because of them, the course of history is changed. This is the story of a natural disaster that helped stop a potential tragedy.
Dec 16, 2011:
Dec 16, 2011:
The news out of Dover Air Force Base this month has really caught me up short. According to a variety of news sources, it has recently come out that some of the cremated remains of some 274 of our fallen heroes were unceremoniously disposed of in a landfill in Delaware.
Dec 8, 2011:
It is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the infamous surprise attack on the Pacific Fleet then anchored at the huge Naval base outside of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Dec 6, 2011:
Dec 6, 2011:
I stopped at my local Starbucks for coffee and the morning paper, but I was not be able to enjoy the solitude of that morning cup of Joe and the leisure of reading the news of the day...
Dec 2, 2011:
What makes a young man or woman today want to serve in the military? That question has probably been asked in every generation since the founding of the city-state, if not earlier.
Nov 29, 2011:
With the national unemployment rate hanging around 9% and the economy acting like a drugged three-toed sloth, barely moving at all, the immediate prospects for employment are challenging for everybody, but particularly for our returning veterans.
Nov 29, 2011:
Nov 10, 2011:
President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day to be celebrated on November 11, 1919. He declared, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and the gratitude for the victory...
Nov 7, 2011:
Nov 7, 2011:
Since 2003, American troops have fought, suffered, died, and built infrastructure in Iraq, in an effort to help create something the Iraqi people have never experienced: political freedom. It is up to the Iraqi people to do the rest now.
Oct 31, 2011:
On Saturday October 22, 2011 Sgt. First Class Kristoffer Domeij, 29, was killed by an IED, along with two others, First Lieutenant Ashley White, 24 and Ranger Private First Class Christopher A. Horns, 20, who was on his first combat deployment.
Oct 24, 2011:
On November 11, 1921, an unidentified soldier was laid to rest in the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, and The Tomb of the Unknowns was created. The ceremonies you may have been privileged to witness at that site have been going on there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year ever since 1937.
Oct 19, 2011:
Oct 19, 2011:
These are hard times for everybody. The economy is tenuous, the unemployment rates, the numbers of people on food stamps have grown to unprecedented highs, and there is political gridlock in Washington, D. C.
Oct 13, 2011:
On September 15th, 2011 Sergeant Michael Prince gave his all for each and every one of us. He was serving with his Oklahoma National Guard Unit in Afghanistan when he was felled by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Oct 4, 2011:
On Friday, Oct. 30, 2011, Admiral Mike Mullen retired as the seventeenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He served both Presidents Bush and Obama, and under two Secretaries of Defense, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta.
Sep 28, 2011:
Sep 28, 2011:
Sep 20, 2011:
National POW/MIA Recognition Day was last Friday, the 16th of September. Of course I've known about the POW/MIA issue and have seen its flag flying beneath the Stars and Stripes on many occasions, but I did not know the history of the movement, or of its flag...
Sep 15, 2011:
In two years we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought in the fields and hills outside of a small southern Pennsylvania town. One event began on the heights of a knoll called Little Round Top.
Sep 9, 2011:
On September 11, 2011 the new 9/11 Memorial will be publicly dedicated. That place is now, and will from here on be sacred ground.
Sep 7, 2011:
I went to a funeral last spring for a woman of great humility, culture, and generosity. During the funeral mass I learned some things about this wonderful woman that I had never known before. Among these I found out that she was a WWII veteran, a unique veteran, in more ways than one.
Sep 5, 2011:
Sep 5, 2011:
Aug 9, 2011:
Sadness is deep in us today, but we are not bowed. We are not broken. We hurt, and we sorrow, but we are proud of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. And we hope from the deepest well of our hearts that the day will come when this kind of sacrifice will no longer be needed.
Aug 8, 2011:
Aug 8, 2011:
I am so glad to see that the returning veterans of this generation are being welcomed home so openly, so positively, and so sincerely. It is going to be just as tough for them to re-enter civil society as it was for my generation of warriors, but they are coming home to the respect and care that they deserve.
Aug 4, 2011:
Aug 4, 2011:
We are about to say goodbye to a venerable military icon. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been in service and on duty for over a century, but will soon be closing its doors due to its age and deteriorating conditions.
Jul 29, 2011:
Jul 29, 2011:
The way this project is structured at every stage is, to my mind, a model for how to both care for those who have temporarily gotten lost on the road of life, and how to empower them to make themselves into the persons they were meant to be. This program is about freedom.
Jul 18, 2011:
The annual Stand Down event to give veterans a three-day weekend chance to get cleaned up, have a few good meals, get basic medical and dental health care, and maybe get into rehab programs, or find work. A Stand Down occurred this weekend, from July 15th through 17th.
Jul 15, 2011:
On June 30, 2011 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates retired from one of the most storied careers of public service in modern times. Secretary Robert Gates is a leader of exceptional character, who held the men and women who serve this nation with their lives close to his heart.
Jul 13, 2011:
Eugene Krueger is an unusual veteran of two wars, the Vietnam war and the War on Terror in Afghanistan. His admirable four decades of service have more than earned the thanks of a grateful nation.
Jul 12, 2011:
Jul 12, 2011:
One Tuesday evening I happened to watch the PBS program Frontline. One of the issues covered was a story about the proliferating for-profit, online colleges and universities and their relationship to our returning veterans. It was a very disturbing piece.
Jun 28, 2011:
As I write this blog article this morning, some 250 women and men wearing blue are running together in the Seattle "Rock 'n' Roll" Marathon. These brave Americans run, not just to prove themselves, but to honor and remember their fallen heroes, and to support one another through another day.
Jun 17, 2011:
On July 12, 2011, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry will be awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barak Obama at the White house. He is one of nine who have been awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Iraq-Afghanistan campaigns.
Jun 8, 2011:
It took me four days to get up the nerve to approach that wall. As I finally drew near and saw "The Wall" for the first time, tears, tears that I had held back for two decades, came suddenly and uncontrollably.
Jun 6, 2011:
On May fourth, two families, the nation, the State of Washington, the Yakama Tribe of White Swan, WA, and the Gila River Tribe of Blackwater, AZ, buried yet another son and veteran killed in Afghanistan.
May 26, 2011:
This Memorial Day, let us honor all of the sacrifices made in service to the Constitution of the United States with a renewed vigor.
May 23, 2011:
Today, we have a distinguished guest at Notes from a Veteran to share her thoughts: Senator Patty Murray, the first woman to chair the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and a national advocate for the rights of veterans.
May 23, 2011:
May 4, 2011:
On September 11, 2001, the world changed for all of us. Since that day we have been at war with the mindless, irrational terrorism initiated by Osama bin Laden.
Apr 29, 2011:
Apr 29, 2011:
Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington State signed a bill that allows private businesses to give hiring preference to veterans. With the current unemployment rate for Gulf-War era veterans standing at 10.9 percent (the average is 8.8 percent), this is good news for veterans in Washington...
Apr 25, 2011:
Apr 25, 2011:
This is a project that finds its foundations in the love that veterans, who have seen the worst of war, have for one another.... It is clear what it has meant and continues to mean to the families that get these portraits, but for Mike, it has welcomed him home to himself.
Apr 15, 2011:
Apr 15, 2011:
The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. We can no longer afford to be indifferent to the suffering of those who are poor, homeless, and lost among us. So many of them are veterans...
Apr 8, 2011:
Apr 8, 2011:
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been going on for a 8 and 10 years now. With the media's attention concentrated on more sensational current events, we can lose sight of the fact that our young veterans are still serving, getting wounded, and, sadly, dying in those countries.
Mar 26, 2011:
Letters from home were a life-line to what was real for us. They connected us to sanity when we were so often caught in the midst of insanity.
Mar 17, 2011:
There are two kinds of heroes: those who go and offer their lives, and those who stay behind, faithful, hopeful and strong. We know and honor the heroism of our warriors, but we too often forget about those who stay at home, who sacrifice with their fear, their longing, and their loneliness.
Mar 8, 2011:
Let's face it. We all want to be seen as courageous, but courage is a virtue. It must be practiced over and over again until it becomes a habit, something you no longer have to think about, you just do. Even then...
Mar 4, 2011:
We who have fought, who have known the incomprehensible sacrifice of war, will remember Captain Freeman's actions and devotion to duty as long as we take breath. The nation must not forget either.
Mar 2, 2011:
Frank Buckles was a Missouri, Oklahoma farm boy looking for adventure in 1917. Or, as he said himself in an NPR interview three years ago, "Adventure was looking for me." The Great War was going on and he'd followed its progress, itching to go to the war that the whole world was involved in. He wanted, in his youthful idealism, to be a part of that world.
Feb 28, 2011:
Feb 28, 2011:
The idea of going home was never too far from the thoughts of those fighting in war zones. The desire to get home was understandable, but there was a fear that was associated with our coming home too.
Feb 22, 2011:
Please join us in this effort to make a small but meaningful difference in the lives of homeless veterans. In helping others we help ourselves.
Feb 22, 2011:
Dan Doyle is a husband, father, grandfather, Vietnam veteran, and soon-to-be-retired professor of Humanities at Seattle University in Seattle, WA.
Feb 22, 2011:
