However, this battle will be on the Olympic tracks and fields. With the momentum building toward the Olympic Games in Beijing, I wanted to draw your attention to a couple remarkable U.S. Army Soldiers who will represent the nation at the upcoming Olympics.
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Some people come into this world and have no idea the affect they will have on their fellow man. Some people work very hard to be the best they can at something and put everything that have into it. They pick a course in life and don’t give up until they’ve reached their goals. Today, we mourn the passing of one such important American figure. Someone who has done so much for this country. But, I have a feeling most of you probably don’t know of whom I’m speaking…
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Well tomorrow is a very important day in our country, but if course because Hallmark doesn’t make a big stink about it and because the patriotism that used to be alive in this country continues to dwindle, it isn’t recognized like it should be. It is actually a very important day for two reasons. One is that it is Flag Day, and the other is because it is the birthday of the US Army. Two important events on one day, and you barely see mention of it.
No doubt it is important to me and my family as it is to millions of others across the country, but just not everyone. The importance to my family was demonstrated this morning as I attended a Flag Day ceremony at my youngest (6 year old) son’s school. This is the elementary school that my 15 year old also attended and where my wife helps out tutoring, supervises recess, etc. So this morning my youngest son, Hunter, was adamant that he has to wear his ACU camouflage pants and shirt. He knew I was attending in uniform today so he wanted to be in “uniform”.
After I put him on the bus, I came inside to get dressed on don the ACUs for this morning event. When we walked into the school I was glad to see another Dad there in uniform. He is in the Navy Reserves and also came in uniform at the request of the school. The ceremony was very nice and a lot longer with more content then I remember in the past when my 15 year old went to school there. At one point in the middle of the ceremony the principal called anyone forward that is in uniform or is a vet. So I and the other dad went up the front and were recognized, which was good for the kids I guess. I know Hunter loved it as I had to say who my child was and he loved being pointed out like that. As I was talking, I looked over at him and he was ear to ear with a smile. After I walked back to where I was standing, Christine leaned over to another parent and said “if he knew they were going to call him up like that, he would not have worn a uniform”. Oh my wife knows me way too well.
As the ceremony was drawing to a close the principal was saying some last words when I noticed from the corner of my eye that Hunter was up and talking to his teacher. I then saw them walking up to the center where the principal was standing. Christine was filming and did not see them yet, so when I saw that Hunter was carrying a picture of his brother Jon, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan too I knew it was about to be a tissue alert moment. I asked Christine to hand me the camera as I would film, and I think she was thankful for me to do it so she could watch what was left of the ceremony. I don’t think she had seen Hunter yet since she was watching through the viewfinder of the camera with its limited scope of view. As I took the camera from her, she saw Hunter with the picture and so did every other parent and teacher in the gym. The tears started flowing at this moment and many teachers and parents came up afterwards to give Christine and hug and shake my hand.
Since my 15 year old son, Jordan went to 1-5th grades here we know many of the teachers personally and they know about our family history. Jon never went to school here but many of them know him or of him. As Hunter and his teacher approached the principal, she looked puzzled and leaned over to listen to what Hunter’s teacher had to say. The principal then announced that we had one more special person to recognize. With Hunter standing up in front dressed in all ACU camouflage, one of the teachers held of Jon’s photo as high as she could and showed Jon’s picture to the entire gym full of people. The principal then said something to the effect of “well you all just met Hunter’s dad who is in the Army, but Hunter wanted you to also know about his brother who is also in the Army and currently in Afghanistan.” The entire gymnasium of kids, parents, teachers and administrators erupted in applause for Hunter’s brother Jon in Afghanistan. It was a special moment for a little boy who has put up with so much missing out of his life over the last 2+ years with his Dad deployed and now his big brother.
As his Dad it also made me proud to see my six year old son with so much pride and patriotism not only for his Dad and brother, but also for his country. He knows all about the flag, draws flags all the time and always gives them the utmost respect. So regardless of how anyone else in the country feels I know in my household Flag Day will always be remembered and recognized as will the birthday of the US Army.
It’s about time. I’ve written about the need for a USO on my military blog. I’ve also contacted my Congressional and military leaders as well as sent letter to the USO itself. And now, it’s finally a reality:
Dear Friend of the USO:
The USO has opened its first center in Iraq, right in the heart of the combat zone at our big air base near Balad.
General David Petraeus, the Commanding General of Multi-National Forces in Iraq, stood shoulder to shoulder with Ned Powell, the USO’s president and CEO, to open this new center, which will serve our troops right where they need our services the most.
While cutting the ribbon to open the door to the USO’s newest center, General Petraeus remarked, “The troopers at Balad Air Base and LSA Anaconda will flock to this facility to feel a little touch of home and to be in touch with home… USO Balad will enable our troopers to stay connected with those they love at home.” (For more coverage of the Center’s opening ceremonies, click here.)
The new center is located just north of Baghdad, in an area that our soldiers have dubbed “Mortaritaville” because of its history of frequent mortar and rocket attacks. The 2,300 square-foot facility offers our men and women in uniform a comfortable lounge where they can forget about the war for a few precious moments and enjoy entertainment from home, such as video games, DVDs, movies and more.
There’s also a Cyber Café with free Internet and email access, plus telephone service with prepaid phone cards, so our troops can call home for free to hear the delightful sound of their child’s voice or to have a comforting chat with a friend or loved one. There is also a library where they can lose themselves in a book, and supporting it all—a kitchen stocked with goodies… because everyone wants a snack with a movie.
USO Balad is also one of the centers participating in the United Through Reading® Military Program, which helps military families stay connected. (For more information on United Through Reading, click here.)
The USO’s new Balad center was made possible, in large part, by thousands of donations from individual Americans who want to show their support for our troops. And as May is Military Appreciation Month, it’s also a good time to make a tax-deductible contribution to help us supply this new center, plus our 130 other centers around the world. In fact, many donors to the USO celebrate Memorial Day with a gift “in honor of” or “in memory of” a relative or friend who is serving, or has served, our country. It’s a great way to say “Thanks.”
The men and women of our armed forces risk their lives – every day – for us. Please help the USO fulfill our mission to support these magnificent Americans by making a donation of whatever you can afford today.
As Americans, we count on them. They count on us. I hope we can count on you.
Thanks to Anthony, who has also worked tirelessly on this issue for bringing the news to my attention.
I posted this on my military blog, A Soldier’s Perspective, as well.
The title of this post was taken from Jerry White’s book, “I Will Not Be Broken: 5 Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis.” If that sounds familiar, it’s because the book is one of the raffle prizes from the JROTC fundraiser (which we’ve concluded as an early success thanks to YOU).
When I’m finished writing this review, I’m going to email every General I’ve ever talked to, emailed, or can find a contact number for and ask them to give this book as a gift for EVERY Soldier injured in combat and to every family who has lost lost someone in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Jerry White is a recognized leader of the historic International Campaign to Ban Landmines, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace, as well as cofounder of Survivor Corps. During a camping trip in Israel, White stepped on a landmine and had to have his leg amputated as a result. He has visited other victims of landmines and military operations across the globe, particularly in Bosnia-Herzegovena with Princess Diana. If anyone knows the pain and suffering and temptation to give up under extreme circumstances, it’s Jerry.
Today, we have Soldier coming home by the thousands with wounds that are both physical and psychological. Even after the physical wounds have healed, Soldiers must learn to deal with the emotional wounds still needing to be patched up. For many Soldiers, feelings of embarrassment, inadequacy, and remorse overpower their lives as they attempt to deal with these issues alone.
Having been to Walter Reed many times while I was stationed in the DC area, I can tell you that the way Soldiers deal with their life-changing events varies almost to the Soldier. It’s safe to say that you can categorize those Soldiers into one of three groups: those who have accepted their fate and make the best of it, those that are trying to deal with it and may or may not seek help, and finally the victims. I’ve met the victims and I’ve met the heroes. Jerry’s book is the chocolate chip cookie that will make all combat casualties feel better.
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It’s about time I set the record straight - again - about this whole “stop-loss” business since the media, Hollywood, and anti-war advocates like to use it at every opportunity. Many call the stop loss program a “backdoor draft” when that simply isn’t true. Now, Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey has introduced legislation that would pay Soldiers affected by stop loss $1,500 per month beyond their ETS date. This is WRONG!! So, get comfortable, sit back, relax, and prepare to be educated.
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Check the news lately and you will see it. Afghanistan is a war zone in case anyone did not realize it. The man himself, The Chairman of the JCS whom I met with back in December is asking and looking for more embedded trainers to be with the Afghan Army and Police. You can read the story at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004468688_apusafghanistan.html. In addition to that, there are now daily reports of all types of actions going on. From my experience only 1 in 75 TICs (aka firefights) between Coalition Forces and the enemy is reported in the news. If you head over to http://www.afghanistansun.com you will see the a better scope of all that is happening in country right now.
One of the latest stories to come out is this one, http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/211642,us-airstrikes-kill-33-civilians-says-afghan-lawmaker–summary.html which talks about a US airstrike that killed 33 people. Of course the media is pushing the Taliban propoganda and saying it is all civilian. Let me reassure you that every control measure is taken to positively ID any enemy before calling in something as destructive as an airstrike. In fact, it would get most Americans pissed off to know what we have to go through in order to call in an airstrike (something just short of a congressional act and permission from God himself). What caught my attention about this airstrike is that it is in Mata Khan District which is a place that I was in a lot. The boundary of Mata Khan is only a few miles from the FOB I stayed in and was a place I conducted many, many missions of my tour.
Many at higher levels considered this a “safe” place because they never got shot at there, and took safety in stride when sending soldiers into this area. See, even military members in country don’t even know there is a war going on half the time….and they are stationed there.
This is a cool idea and I love the shirts. I wish they weren’t so expensive. I hate spending more than $10 -$12 for a t-shirt. I love Old Navy, but I never buy anything that isn’t at least 25% off, but usually I wait until they go on sale for 50% off.
TakePride is a grassroots effort started by young artists and former members of the military to re-define what it means to support the troops by using art, style and the stories of real-life Americans at war. Their line of contemporary t-shirts has received more nationwide media attention and motivated more young Americans to be involved in this cause than any other symbol of support. TakePride donates a minimum of 20 percent of its profits to the Wounded Warrior Project.
My favorite shirts are the “1776″ and “a boy, a bear, & a Soldier” t-shirts. Today they launched the “a boy, a bear, & a Soldier” t-shirt - inspired by an amazing story told by Mike Geary, a 23-year-old Army Sergeant stationed in Iraq.
In 2005, when he was 20-years-old, Mike’s life, and the life of every member of his squad, was saved by a young Iraqi child. At the time, Mike was serving his first tour in Iraq, running combat patrols in Tikrit. A day after handing out stuffed animals to Iraqi children gathered in front of his base, Mike was traveling down a nearby highway when he noticed one of the young boys from the previous day standing with his hand raised in the middle of the road directly ahead of his Humvee convoy. Mike’s squad leader decided to pull over and dismount to investigate. The young boy grabbed the squad leader’s hand, walked him down to a spot in the road where they had been about to drive and dusted off a 155mm roadside bomb buried in the sand. It turned out to be one of three IEDs that were daisy-chained together at the distance that their Humvees traveled apart. As Mike watched the bombs being safely detonated from the side of the road, he reflected on how this little boy who he tossed a stuffed animal to just a day earlier had saved the life of every member of his squad.
“A boy, a bear & a Soldier” was designed by a phenomenally talented young illustrator named Aya Kakeda who has done projects for Nike, The New York Times & Nickelodeon. It is available in men’s and women’s sizes for $25 exclusively at www.takepride.com.
This is pretty cool and I hope it passes. I guess if you agree that the Infantry needs to be honored and want to help build the Infantry Museum while investing at the same time, this is for you. I’d buy a few:
The U.S. House passed legislation Tuesday authorizing a commemorative silver dollar to honor the U.S. Army infantry and help fund the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center at Georgia’s Fort Benning.
The legislation was introduced by Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Grantville and co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop of Albany. It still needs approval from the Senate and faces competition from other commemorative coin proposals.
The infantry coin would sell for $10, with some proceeds going to create an endowment for the Fort Benning museum, which is under construction.
The bill calls for the coin design to demonstrate the courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty and history of the Army infantry.
General William Wallace has always been my favorite General. Partly because I’m a huge fan of Braveheart and partly because when we were sitting on the border of Kuwait prior to the US invasion, Gen. Wallace visited our Troop and gave an uber-motivating speech. I wish I had a voice recorder, because that thing would have gone down as one of the most famous battle speeches in history! Landing and taking off in his helicopter topped the whole experience.
And six years later, Gen Wallace is still talking straight. He recently wrote an op-ed that I wanted to make sure you got to read:
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You Served's Claire talks about the life of a military spouse - the hardships, the joys, and everything in between.
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