Update on a much earlier post ...

(Note: this article was first written in 2022. The updates are posted in red in 2025.)

****************************************************************

There was an interesting article in my most recent issue of Army Times entitled "23 Things Veterans May Carry For Life." The author, Sarah Sicard, may or may not have intended this article as anything more than a "fun things in the service" kind of thing, but she got me on a lot of these points.

The list of 23 things is prefaced with a short lead-in paragraph that says in most Veteran's closets one is likely to find an old uniform or two (guilty), some dirty caps (guilty), a stack of medical, training, and discharge records (guilty - they always told us to never lose any of these), and some old ribbons and/or medals (guilty). It seems she got me on all of these and I know several of my Vet friends who would also fit this bill (right Dave and Dave!).

So, what about the list of 23? Well, I am certainly guilty of the following on the list:

    #2 (bad knees) (Way worse now in 2025)

    #3 (the misguided idea that ibuprofen and fresh socks will cure anything) (I would add that rubbing a little dirt on it will fix it). (Thinking about buying stock in Advil)

    #4 (Tinnitis) (On my second set of hearing aids, have a VA disability rating for this, the tinnitis is now coming in in high-def-stereo!)

    #5 (The ability to sleep anywhere) (I would add - at any time). (These two still very accurate)

    #7 (Old combat boots) (Still have two pairs up in the attic ... you never know )

    #9 (Issues with authority figures) (Not so much now though).

    #10 (back pain) (Yep - still have this...some might even say I'm trending toward a pain in the back- side)

    #12 (a woobie that has seen better days)

    #20 (sleep apnea) (Maybe)

    #23 (a deeply stained coffee mug that I tell everyone is just now "seasoned").

Any Vets checking this post out will undoubtedly agree with these and have a few of their own to add to the list. Some of my additions would be:

    - a strong urge to eat at all times of the day (not much, but more like "grazing") (this goes with #5 above because in the service you never knew when you would get time to do this again). (This might be getting a bit worse with getting older).

    - a lot of Vets I know have a strange habit of blowing their nose in the shower (I don't know why, we just do it). (yep)

    - becoming irate upon seeing cigarette butts on the ground. (Not so much now. Fewer smokers 😌)

    - the breakfast of champions is really a Snickers bar and a diet Coke. (Great lunch on the golf course)

    - orange Gatorade is best !

    - telling and retelling stories from service days (never around non-service people, but always with service buds or "those who were there.") (Yep - still do some of this, but not too much)

    - and finally, a deep sense of pride for our service (a pride that lots of people will never understand). (Always feel a sense of pride for having served and served with such GREAT patriots!!)

So, thanks Sarah for this article.  It brought back some good, old memories.  It also sent me back to the closet to check on those old uniforms!!

Real heroes don't wear capes, they wear dog tags.

Hooah

Just a thought...

"What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin."  (Mark Twain)

 Hooah

 

Just asking a question...

While shopping the other day, I received a quarter in change after paying my bill.  It was a fairy new quarter (2024) and featured a lady on the back -- Patsy Mink Takemoto. I was not familiar with this woman, so I looked her up on Google.  It seems that she was from Hawaii and served in the US House of Representatives for 24 years. She was a democrat, and the first "woman of color and the first Asian-American elected to congress." 

OK.  That's cool. But then I noticed something -- the Google write-up said she was known as a champion for "women's rights and education." I also noticed on the coin that the paper she is holding has a reference to Title IX.

So, my question is ... where would she (as a democrat, as a champion for equal opportunity for women, as a Title IX proponent - see the coin, above) have stood on the question of banning men from competing in women's sports? 

She died in 2002.  If she were alive and serving today, would she have toed the line with others of her party just because she was told to do so? Would she have abandoned her Title IX beliefs of equal opportunity for girls and women to compete fairly only with other girls and women?  Guess we'll never know.

Ms. Takemoto is long since gone, but the answer to my question isn't. 
 

Follow the science. 

Hooah

Just a collection of some thoughts...

Well, the sun is going down, the Reds just gave up an 11-run inning to the A's (after they were leading 7-2 - - aren't spring training games just the greatest) and I got a decent round of golf in today (decent for an old guy).  So what is it that's on my mind?  Well, just a few things...

1.  A few weeks ago, my grandsons, who are both Boy Scouts, had a weekend camping outing.  This particular one was really special for me because one of the training events on tap for the weekend was their shooting qualifications for merit badges. This wasn't a big deal for Q as he is pretty comfortable with shotguns.  He shoots trap and has earned his merit badges and an NRA badge that he can wear on his scouting vest. In fact, he now owns the all-time marksmanship accuracy record for his troop in his trap shooting. He said he hit 49 out of 50 clay birds. Pretty good. 

2.  The other really cool thing was the younger grandson, H, earned his merit badge with the .22 rifle. This was clearly a remarkable accomplishment because he was really apprehensive about guns. He, Q and I went to the range a couple of weeks before the camp-out and we (Q and I) worked with him shooting the .22 (loading, maintaining a sight picture, breathing, pulling the trigger as opposed to jerking it, etc.). I saw his targets pinned up on his bulletin board in his bedroom.  I was proud of him, Q was proud of his little brother, and I think H was pretty proud of himself.

3.  One of the things that has come out this time of year is the Southern pine pollen and the trees are full of those yellow pods, just waiting to release that sinus-killing powder. When I lived in Ohio, I don't recall having an issue with pollen, but boy do I have an issue with it. 

 

 

Can't you just hear those little rascals..."We're coming for you!! Get ready!!"

4.  BUT -- it may not be for long, as it seems all they know how to do down here these days is cut down trees to clear land for housing developments.

Every week sees a new plot of pines cut down.  When we moved here, there were trees everywhere and the forests really made this area special. Not so much now.  In fact, if things keep going as they are now, the town of Wake Forest will soon just be called Wake as there will be no more Forests. I have never been classified as a tree-hugger, but some of these places look pretty bare. If they were just harvesting trees, that would be one thing, but they are putting up condos all over the place. Where are all of these people coming from, and why are they coming here. 

Just one question for the town planners -- When is enough enough?

  

5.  Oh well, there's nothing I can do about all of that.  So I'm concentrating on something I can influence. Have to start getting ready for the 17th Annual Man Trip coming up in September.  After looking at this clip, I think it's a good thing I've started already.

6. Well, one last thing. The trees and flowers are starting to come out this week. Really looks nice. 

So that it for now. Gotta go clean my clubs.

Spring: The season where the grass grows faster than your weekend plans. (Anon)

 Hooah 

A stroll down memory lane...

My old CSM, (CSM Dave B. Ret.), sent me a whole shoe box of old pictures from our Army days together. I spent an afternoon going thru them, and stopped when I came across this one. This is one of those pictures that unlocked my memory bank and flooded me with story after story.

Below is a picture of the MP battalion I had the privilege of commanding for 4 years (1994-1998). Due to the perspective of the picture, you don't see the whole battalion, but if my memory serves me well, there could have been about 425-450 troops in this formation (The battalion consisted of the Headquarters Company and 3 subordinate companies.).  During my command time, we were required to go maintain our "present for duty" strength at 125% of authorized strength. That's a lot of military word salad meaning we had a whole lot of people in our units. Most other units in the MP Corps were hanging tough at 100-125 Soldiers.

Maintaining those strength levels was quite a challenge. The command staff did a terrific job of supervising all of the "stuff" needed to field a unit of this size. We also had some of the best NCOs whose job it was to train the Soldiers, maintain acceptable logistical levels, feed and pay them. Training was always my number 1 job and I often got in trouble with my superiors who thought there were other priorities that needed more attention. It all worked out. Our subordinate companies were also top notch. I'm sure others may take exception to this, but I don't know if there was a better collection of officers and NCOs, civilian techs and full-time AGRs in the USAR.

During those 4 years, there were some unbelievable stories generated and we had some "unique" characters in the battalion. We had great fun at our Dinings-Out and family days, and our Muta-5s and Muta-6s in the field were outstanding (even the ones in blinding snow storms).

Well, so much for that.  I think there will be some other stories in that old shoe box and I can hardly wait to see what the CSM sent me.

 Not all brothers and sisters are born of the same mother.

Hooah

Point of view ...

I don't know about you, but I've been up to my belt loops in crap before and I was serving myself a heaping helping of "woe is me" when I realized that where I was and what I was experiencing was just a matter of perspective. 

"Once you've seen there is another perspective, you can never not see that there's another point of view." (Ellen Langer)
 Hooah

One of life's ironies...

February 23, 1945.  

Does that date ring a bell? I think it does for a lot of Marines -- it was the day that the US Flag was raised on Iwo Jima in World War II. 

                      

 Three divisions of Marines (about 10,000 troops per division) landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945 and gradually fought their way inland.They faced heavy resistance, but captured the island on February 23 and succeeded in raising the flag on top of Mount Suribachi. True, this was only the capture of the southern tip of the island and the Marines continued the fight, often foot at a time, until the island was finally secured. Approximately 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed in this fight, and the Marines suffered 6,000 killed and approximately 25,000 wounded.

So what did I mean by this being ironic? Well, guess who owns the island today -- of course -- Japan.  It was returned to the Japanese in 1968 by Lyndon Johnson as a gesture of good will.

It is pretty much a closed island today and Americans can only visit the island as part of a scheduled tour. Japan is looking to return it to its ancient fishing village heritage.

"There’s something ironic about war. You’re willing to give your life to fight for something you cannot own and may not even understand."

Hooah