Show them you care

Soldiers that are fighting overseas and stationed far away from home, try to grasp the little things that remind them of being back home. It helps when families send letters and write about all the moments that their soldier has missed. It allows for them to create their own memory of the event. Now a days, you can send military care packages to your loved one or for others in the military. Not everyone in the military has family to come back home to.  Sending a care can fulfill the soldier with encouragement and appreciation. It can definitely assist and boost one's emotional state and deter soldiers from falling into depression.

When you’re packaging a care package it allows you to feel a sense of closeness to your loved one. Anything that is sent is better than nothing at all. There’s no need to be so extravagant or for that matter go overboard with the contents.  All you need are the little things that a soldier might need or not have easy access to.

Something from home, perhaps a favorite book, magazine or even just a deck of cards can help pass time. When you’re overseas especially, something as little as a picture or something to remind your loved one of home is worth more than any expensive materialistic item.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some essentials that soldiers need while overseas. The proper necessities to help maintain proper hygiene is vital. Deodorant, shampoo, a bar of soap, some cologne, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc are all important things that we take for granted when there not as easy to obtain. There are some things that are not permitted, which is why it is always a good recommendation to find out what those items are so you don’t waste time or money.

Being overseas has its moments but sometimes getting used to the different cultures and their foods are a bit hard. For picky individuals as myself, you tend to stick with what you like. Sweets and treats are always a good thing to have in that care package, enough to share with friends as well so not everything goes in one shot. Again you want to be smart not to package anything that may melt easily or spoil, for example chocolate.

Round about all the things your loved one misses and throw it in a box and ship if off. Sometimes this can get expensive so try to leave it more for the holidays and special events such as a birthday. Show your love and show your support, happy packing!

Iconic imagery

Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. Some of the most iconic images captured during war depict very powerful moments. They have also assisted in shaping modern history. Below are two images that are massively replicated and comes to mind when thinking about the imagery of war.

"The raising of the flag at Iwo Jima is perhaps the most famous war photograph ever. The flag was raised by five US marines and one navy corpsman atop Mount Suribachi in 1945. Iwo Jima was the first piece of Japanese national soil to be captured by the Americans "

  

"This particular photo commemorates the spontaneous event that occurred in Times Square when victory over Japan was proclaimed by President Truman. Since then, the photograph has come to represent VJ Day and the end of WWII "

  There are many photos that you come across that depict vial occurrences while fighting a war. The gruesome pictures of death and defeat encompass an individual’s mind when visualizing combat. But I wanted to focus more on a lighter more blissful note. Too many times we are reminded of the negative effects of war. The pictures above release a sensual feeling of accomplishment and freedom. These images are iconic for a reason. Many like to reflect back on these pictures to hold on to peace and hope.

It is always good to be reminded of the good times while being a soldier. It allows for these strong men and women to embrace the changes that have been made in America, because if it haven't been for them these changes might not even be possible. Every victory is a milestone in American history and something that should be celebrated for many years to come. The way we document these historical moments is through photography. Photography is a essential part of history and reflecting back on our actions. 

Military trivia

Although some military experts have an incredibly in-depth knowledge of the military, no one person can know everything there is to know. I have searched books and the Internet and have come up with 15 military facts I bet you didn’t know. These facts make great dinner conversations.

1. 30 of the 43 Presidents served in the Army, 24 during time of war, two earned the rank of 5-star General (Washington and Eisenhower) and one earned the Medal of Honor (T. Roosevelt)

2. Less than 28 percent of Americans between the ages of 17-23 are qualified for military service, that’s only about 1-in-4.

3. The U.S. Air Force was part of the Army until 1946. It was called the Army Air Corp.

4. Only one President (James Buchanan) served as an enlisted man in the military and did not go on to become an officer.

5. The Department of Defense employs about 1.8 million people on active duty. It is the largest employer in the United States, with more employees than Exxon, Mobil, Ford, General Motors, and GE combined!

6. The Department of Defense owns 29,819,492 acres of land worldwide.

7. The United States has 737 military installations overseas alone.

8. The Navy’s bell-bottom trousers, are commonly believed to be introduced in 1817 to permit men to roll them above the knee when washing down the decks and to make it easier to remove them in a hurry when forced to abandon ship or when washed overboard. In addition the trousers may be used as a life preserver by knotting the legs and swinging them over your head to fill the legs with air.

9. The Coast Guard seizes 169 pounds of marijuana and 306 pounds of cocaine worth $9,589,000.00 on a daily basis.

10. The Coast Guard is smaller than the New York City Police Department.

11. The Marine Corps motto, "Semper Fidelis,” was adopted in 1883 as the official motto. It is Latin for Always Faithful.

12. The nickname “Leatherneck” originates from the stiff leather stock that early Marines wore around their necks, probably to protect their jugular vein against saber blows.

13. The English Bulldog, also known as "Teufel-hunden,” or "Devil Dogs,” is the unofficial mascot that symbolize the ethos of the Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines. The U.S. Marine Corps earned this unofficial mascot during World War I, when many German reports called the attacking Marines "teufel-hunden," meaning Devil-Dogs. “Teufel-hunden” were the vicious, wild and ferocious mountain dogs of German Bavarian folklore.

14. The U.S. Army was in charge of exploring and mapping America. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was an all Army affair. Army officers were the first Americans to see such landmarks as Pike's Peak and the Grand Canyon.

15. The Air Force's F-117 fighter uses aerodynamics discovered during research into how bumblebees fly.

So there they are, 15 facts you didn’t know, but now you do. Now you can amaze your friends and family with your knowledge of military trivia.

Surprise!

There's nothing  more heartwarming and exciting than watching videos of soldiers returning home and surprising there family. Nowadays many share this experience with the rest of the social media world. It's a humbling occurrence and your heart gleams with pride and happiness for these families that are able to be reunited with their loved ones. Look at one for yourself and tell me you didn't either smile or tear up.

Now that you have watched this, the next time you see a military soldier in uniform you can respect the sacrifice of what it takes to put on those uniforms. With each minute a soldier is fighting for our peace, so we can be at home with our family safe and sound, never forget they do it while there far apart from theirs. 

If perhaps you didn't get enough view more at <http://welcomehomeblog.com/>. This is also another interesting blog that has videos of families reuniting. The emotional roller-coaster that family members experience can be heart wrenching. They constantly fear their soldier will get hurt and possibly never be able to return home.  These videos allow us to emotionally relate and connect to military members

My rifle is my bestfriend

During military training you are introduced and trained to use many different weapons. As a Marine you enter into a weapons training course where you find out all about the M-16A2 rifle. You're even required to memorize your particular rifle's serial number. You spend a considerable amount of time taking your rifle apart, cleaning it, and putting it back together. You're also required to memorize the four rules of Marine Corps rifle safety:

• Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
• Never point your weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot.
• Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire.
• Keep your weapon's safety on until you intend to fire.

You will also learn another weapons safety rule when you get out of basic training: Be absolutely sure of your target and what is behind it.

During Marine Corps basic training, you must never refer to your M-16 as a gun. Doing so will result in a massive tirade from your drill instructor. Marine Corps M-16s are always called your weapon or your rifle. You’ll also receive several hours of classroom instruction on proper marksmanship techniques and you get a chance to fire on the actual qualification course. If you don't pass you will be forced to stay back as your platoon graduates with out you.

Once you've passed this course, you are given your own rifle.  You are responsible for memorizing a special chant. It reads as follows:

This creed becomes ingrained in your head. You learn to live by it's meaning. This creed serves to remind soldiers the power of one's rifle as well as it's importance. Never take your rifle for granted because it can save your life. You have to understand that a rifle is just as important as the person who is holding it. You have a means to bear arms and protect yourself, that is truly the purpose of the rifle.

10 reasons to join the military

There are many reasons why an individual decides to join the military. The majority of applicants enter straight after high school in the hopes of guiding their future into the right direction and to create financial stability.  Embarking on this journey takes a lot of thought and reasoning. Sometimes a little encouragement can help assess whether one should join the military. The top 10 reasons to join the military are listed below:

1. Serving the country is not  for everyone. You have to be brave enough to serve your country. 
2. Great health and life insurance benefits.
3. Earn a competitive income for your one weekend per month and two weeks per year and additional pay for extra days you elect to work and train. 
4. Ride on a military aircraft. 
5. 100% tuition paid for college. You may be eligible to receive university tuition assistance through the Montgomery GI Bill and the Reserve Tuition Assistance Program. 
6. Good career without worry about job loss.
7. Free travel anywhere in the United States including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico whenever space is available on military aircraft. 
8. Promotions mean increases in pay, authority, prestige, responsibility and a bigger retirement check. 
9. Educational benefits.
10. And lastly because every so often you will go out and make a difference. 

Everyone doesn't decide to join for the same reason,, but they do all share the same sacrifice. Ultimately you have to choose for yourself to make that life altering choice to join. Every experience will be different and the jobs can be very dangerous but there are also great opportunity's that derive from it as well.

My Wikipedia adventure

Being a former Marine and current veteran, I've been interested in knowing the true benefit programs the government has for individuals such as myself. It it highly important to understand the resources that are available to you once your released from service. Usually Veterans come home with no immediate source of income or family to fall back on for that matter. These benefit programs that are created to service veterans to help get back on their feet and keep them stable coming out of service, is truly imperative. These programs assure that our veterans will not be abandoned and will be taken care of. So in my search of Veterans benefits I was discouraged to see that all Wikipedia had under this section was:

  Many veterans rely on this information and The VA, through its Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), provides a variety of services for veterans including disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational, rehabilitation, survivors’ benefits, health care, and burial benefits.

In my journey I've come across many non-profit organizations that sponsor and hold veteran  assistance and benefit programs that unfortunately don't receive a lot of recognition and are unfamiliar in the veteran world.The Department of Labor as well works closely with veterans and uphold a priority policy for veterans when issuing government grants for educational purposes. They get to work closely with a veterans representative, someone who is just like them who's experienced what they've gone through and can assist them in merging back into the civilian world. There is a not for profit agency that is derived from the Department of Labor called New Opportunities. They open there resources to all individuals and have exemplary veteran programs which include additional resources such as  home visits for the ill, disabled, or otherwise healthy veterans, and the list continues. I recommend all veterans regardless of their age to check out this agency, it is very informative.  I decided to add to the Wikipedia page in reference to this important matter and the information I have humbly gained:

The Department of Labor(DOL) provides job development and job training opportunities for disabled and other veterans through contacts with employers. A subsidiary agency associated with the Department of Labor called New Opportunities has a division solely for Veterans. Programs include:

The “Good Neighbor Program” (GNP) provides visits to home bound, ill, or otherwise isolated veterans. GNP is a cooperative effort between the Veterans Administration and RSVP. While training of the volunteers, who will be visiting with referred veterans in their homes, will be conducted by the VA, volunteer administrative support will be provided by RSVP staff. Volunteers wishing to work in the GNP will be required to complete a Veterans Administration Volunteer application, attend a one time VA volunteer orientation session, be finger printed, and pass a background check. “Outreach” - Volunteers for this part of this program will attend “stand downs”, Veteran Service Organizations events, or general community events to provide information to veterans and examine possible assistance for their needs. Volunteer will assess veteran needs and direct veterans to programs and services (government or civilian) that can meet those needs. Volunteer may also assist with the application process and/or following up on an application.

“Job Skill Mentoring” Volunteers working on this part of our program will take advantage of the volunteer’s career and job search experience and skills. Volunteers will provide coaching to veterans in the preparation of resumes, interviewing skills, networking, etc. to prepare the veteran to have a more positive experience when getting ready for job searching. Volunteers will also be able to refer the veteran to the career development programs (e.g.job placement, resume writing, etc.) at the CT Department of Labor (CTDOL). ^[16]

In creating this new addition I also created an account with Wikipedia to check for other areas I can add to with fundamental information. I encourage others who read this blog to do the same. This was an enlightening experience.

American Sniper : movie review

There are plenty of war movies that try and depict the actions and causalities of war. I think the most recent film to come out that was the closest to legitimacy and realism concerning a soldier's experience was American Sniper. 

It focused on the life of Chris Kyle who is internationally known for his sharp shooting and 160 confirmed kills. This film contains some of the more intense battle scenes in recent memory. It’s deafening, explosive, and uncomfortably intimate. It does its best to serve a plate of honesty about the whole thing from the main character's point of view to the American military in Iraq to the vets who come home severely wounded, and try to rebuild their lives after seeing combat.

This movie focuses almost exclusively on Kyle’s four tours in Iraq, and his often strained marriage. It is not just the prolonged absences that cause the problems, but the when these guys return home they are scarred, and often mad at our first-world problems while their friends are off fighting a war that so often we pay no attention to on a daily basis. An underlying message of the film is the reality that what so many of these vets hate about combat is the same thing that keeps pulling them back in.

This film was derived and based on Kyle’s best-selling book,  he collaborated with Bradley Cooper, who played him in the film, and he also served as a producer on the movie before his death. This movie is portrayed through Kyle's perspective, but it does not put him on a pedestal. He was not some Super Dad or Super Husband, and he was not easy to deal with upon his return home from any of his tours. But he was good at his job, and it makes no apologies for it.

The most moving part of this movie was that it was based on real life events and the unfortunate events soldiers endure.  Kyle decided to dedicate his life to helping vet's adapt back into society and live as a civilian, unfortunately his life was taken in the processing of assisting a former soldier who suffered psychologically effects from being deployed and killed Kyle while they were at a gun range. 

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/the-big-mac-blog/article7548743.html#storylink=cpy

Freedom isn't free

I think we should be very grateful to the people who go somewhere prepared to fight for our freedoms. And supportive of their families who worry about their safety.

Our forces may well go somewhere knowing that with that posting comes risk, but should their death or injury mean less because they went into a situation knowing it was possible. I don't think it's wrong for us to see processions for coffins and grieving families - can you really expect them not to be distraught because they were in an environment where they could get hurt. (you could say the same of people who get hit by cars crossing roads, hope their family's not too upset.)

The armed forces don't choose to go to war, they offer to serve so that we can be kept safer. Politicians send them to war, rightly or wrongly, with or without the correct equipment, and with the possibility that the truth about what they do may never be told.

Remember to show your support.

The hardest part of going to war is coming home!

Coming home seems to be the easy part, but as strong as we train to sustain the emotional and mental barriers, more often than not, soldiers have difficulty adjusting back to civilian life. Many encompass a feeling of social isolation and feel that it is difficult to adjust back into society. Isolation turns into confusion, confusion turns into stress and stress can turn into anger. You become so accustomed to always having to be on your toes, watch over your back, and living on high alert that being back home and trying to relax becomes foreign. 

War is glamorized in the film industry but many fail to realize the true aftermath and toll it causes upon the mental stability of veterans, even more so on these soldiers that enroll right out of high school. Many suffer strains in their relationship with significant others.

Transitioning can be very difficult and impose mental disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is the most common illness that plagues soldiers returning home today. So when ever you come across a veteran, say thank you, it not only shows your gratitude but it encourages and solidifies the purpose of their sacrifice in the first place. 

Welcome home soldier!

Three simple words which are ingrained with pride, integrity, sacrifice and long awaited patience to be reunited with your family. These were the words that kept my hope alive as I was deployed overseas various times in various countries but all for the same purpose. Not every military member is lucky enough to return back to their long awaited loved ones and even if they do they don't always come back the same.

 I was a former Marine and served in the military and know firsthand how it can alter one's life in many aspects. This blog is dedicated to those individuals who have served in the armed forces and the purpose of my blog is to depict the obstacles, and sacrifices that come along with being a soldier whether actively serving or not.