Category: Uncategorized

The Folly of Faith

For those who got scared off and thought I would be quoting Bible scriptures, have no fear. This installment is talking about faith, not religion. Faith has many forms in our life. In Chapter 2, faith was everywhere. Faith in friends, family, the car starting when it needs to, our POTUS will make the right decision, in our brethren, in our relationships. So, why is it we threw it all away in Chapter 3 of our lives until we hit rock bottom and then demand that which we have faith in to stand up and fight for us? Where the hell did it go?

Let’s start with faith in Chapter 1 of our lives, before our service to this beautiful country we live in. As children, most of us were given our faith by our parents. In my generation (insert, ok boomer, here) our parents handed to us faith in some God or idol or prophet. We were told that it was important so we blindly followed along until we were capable of making our own decision. Many of us were also told to have faith in law enforcement, our teachers, our religious purveyors, and our family. And we did, maybe naively, maybe out of our faith in our parental units. It was likely by rote. Just trusting because we were told to, which isn’t real faith, it’s following. More of a socialist-type faith than a democratic faith, to inject the only politics you will ever see me do.

So, then, we made the decision to join our Nation’s Armed Forces. Again, on rote faith that it “would change your life” or “its what you should do” or “it worked for your father, so it will work for you” or “do it or go to jail, boy” (totally different article for later). In basic training, or as you Air Force peeps call it, summer camp, we were taught to be trustworthy and to trust in our brethren, first by rote, then by deeds. As they say, fake it until you make it. And that is what we did. We weren’t sure about that kid from New Jersey or the farm boy from the mid-west. Hell, I wasn’t sure about myself. Slowly, but surely, we started to believe in something; the process. We believed that this training and spending 24/7 with like-minded soon-to-be Warriors would yield an unbreakable bond.

And then we went to our first duty station. And our next. I remember my second duty station as a young and dumb Private First Class. An aircraft rappelling accident had caused the severe, paralyzing injuries of a young Warrior and we were part of the accident investigation. Our task? Recreate the accident to determine what went wrong. “PFC Bean, grab your gear and meet us at the rappel tower.” So, down we went to the tower. The concept? Throw PFC Bean off the rappel tower in various possible screwed up ways to see if we could recreate it. Cool. Wait, what? You want to do what? Trust me, said then SSG Stone, someone who would be my best friend and big brother to my daughter, and then later be killed in action by friendly fire in some country called Crapistan or something. So, I looked into his eyes and trusted him, over and over again as I launched myself off and inverted so many times I became violently sick. But, I wasn’t scared. I trusted him, and so, it began.

And so, I spent 23 years implicitly trusting my brethren. Ridiculous amounts of time on the range with newer Warriors handling machine guns, live fire exercises, rock climbing, scaling Mt McKinley tied to two brothers with thousands of feet of death on both sides of a two foot wide summit ridge. Never a flinch. These are only a few stories that we can all share. Many people reading this have multiple deployments in multiple theaters trusting their brethren. Along with that faith in the Warrior’s beside us, we had faith in so many things. Faith that our spouse was taking care of the household, our children, our very existence in the outside world. We trusted in our immediate and distant leadership that what we were doing was for good reason and well planned. We trusted that Uncle Sugar would take care of us if something bad happened like an injury or worse, like if we had to travel home under a red, white, and blue draped coffin. We just had faith. Some would call it reckless trust. Sure, I can see that. When I gather with my brethren, we tell these war stories as if to challenge the other’s faith to see who believed more, like two vestil virgins on the edge of the volcano wanting to outdo each other. Those who aren’t around to tell their story were the first virgins to jump, and the winner of the faith challenge that nobody wants to win but will take that trophy any day of the week, still. Summing it all up, we had faith in so many things.

Then, we put down our right hand, took off our uniform, and threw our equipment, and our faith, at some idiot civilian at the CIF who we later realized was one of us, a retired Warrior. And when we went back to Fort Living Room, faithless, we had no idea what we had done. We had turned in our faith like a dirty canteen. We had zero faith in our employer, our family to understand what we were going through, our new “friends”, or any of our local and National leaders we once answered to. We now questioned everything we had faith in, everything. We questioned if we had done the right thing, had served a good cause. And the first time we opened the door of faith to folly, folly jumped in and refused to budge like a Sherman tank. Was ANYthing we did worth it? Is anything in this stupid new job of any value? Are any of my co-workers worth the $20 an hour they are paid? Is the Nation worth saving?

And then folly starts to infiltrate our self-worth. Do we have faith in ourselves? Do we have faith in our newly-refined meaning of life? Do we faith in our spouse? It’s not paranoia like many think. I have spoken with countless Veterans whose family think they are paranoid or don’t understand them. NEWS FLASH fo my brethren: you don’t understand you either. You think you know you and your reactions to certain things but if I were a betting man, and I am, I am betting that in your rediscovery of who you are and who everyone else is, you are portraying yourself as someone different than who you really are. It is only natural to think that we are still that cold-steel killer of commies, lover of women, beer-cooled, MRE-fed, barrel-chested, freedom fightin’ SOB we once were. Oh oh oh my brethren, well, no. If you have been following this blog at all, you would understand why Chapter 3 is very different than Chapter 2, for good reason. THIS is where we grow my brothers and sisters.

Seriously SGM, you couldn’t have just told me this crap up front? Nope. You wouldn’t have bought to it in without the reason behind it. We grow by understanding the levels of faith we have in things, the trust we let out, and the belief that anything can have meaning. So, it is time to gain back our faith, in anything. Time to fake it until we make it, like in Chapter 1. Listen, it is not going to be easy. Our faith will be tested and it may be disappointed. But, if we don’t have faith in something or in ourselves then we are going to struggle. The faith doesn’t have to be absolute, life or death. But when we have faith, we have hope. When we have hope, we have perseverance. When we have perserverance, we have success. If we are to have success in our transition from Chapter 2 to Chapter 3, we must start with faith.

So have faith my Warrior brethren. Believe in your family, the VA, your coworkers, your new friends, your boss, our neighbors, your local and National leaders. When you have faith, even a little, you let people in a little. When you let people in, you share some of you. Sharing some of you helps others understand you, understand our Warrior ways and makes Chapter 3 much easier and better for all of us. I have faith in you.

—SGM DTB—

The Rhetoric of PTSD(I)

It is quite surprising that after studying war and its effects for hundreds of years, we have nothing but rhetoric to spout about Post Traumatic Stress. There is so much wrong with how we talk about it as a society, by our own Veterans’ Administration, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and by Veterans ourselves, just so we pretend we are talking and doing something about it.

First, let’s discuss what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is and why it is dangerous to the survival of our Veterans in ways most don’t understand. We know what the DSM-5 says; it is a psychiatric disorder, dysfunction. They are saying your mental faculties are not working properly, which is a complete farce. It is a natural response to an unnatural event. While the symptoms of PTSD are damaging enough and can be confused with moral injuries, Survivor Guilt, and Adjustment Disorder in many cases, in fact probably a lot of cases, the diagnosis by this definition is far more damaging. What? How can being diagnosed with something be more damaging than the injury, illness, or disease?

The first, and likely most damaging, is the societal- and Service-imposed stigma that is attached with having a disorder. Break a leg in combat and you are a tough Warrior; break your brain and you are weak, can’t hang, broken, damaged, unfixable. If it were a traditional injury, you wouldn’t have a problem seeking medical attention. But, alas matey, it’s a problem with you. So, you can seek help, but we may mock you, despite the courage it takes to seek help to make yourself better. Paraphrasing what SMA Grinston recently stated; we don’t pick on you for going to the gym to make yourself stronger, or a financial advisor to make you financially stronger, why would we chastise you for making yourself emotionally stronger? We shouldn’t. And to all my brethren still serving who would do this, shame on you for letting your troops do that or on you for questioning “what is wrong with you?” or “suck it up troop.” Is that how you want your leadership to treat you? If it were a leg injury, you would get a profile and given time to rehab. Nope, not here. “Go to your appointment and meet us out at the MOUT Site.”

So, what does the simple act of calling this a disorder do? It prevents the already confused or scared Warrior from seeking help because of the stigma. The next damming action is by the VA. The VA compensates you forever for PTSD. Aka, you are screwed forever, so here is some money because we don’t believe you can be fixed. PTSD and all its symptoms are treatable, even curable in some cases with certain treatments. But, if the Warrior never seeks help, treatment never comes. But, the DSM-5 and VA says you are stuck with this insideous malfunction. So, Warriors in Chapter 3 of their lives lose hope.

If the DSM-5 would change Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Post Traumatic Stress Injury, recognizing that there is treatment and potentially the ability to cure it, it would be a major shift in Warrior and societal attitude. It would also morally demand treatment by the VA. I have seen many cases where Warriors are told that they are untreatable, and, like some secluded Warrior tribes in Africa, are sent off to die alone, basically. What other illness, injury, or disease do they simply stop treatment unless it is physiologically hopeless? None. So, what you are telling the Warrior, in the prime of his life, is that their existence is hopeless. And along with this hopelessness comes a giant financial cost to our VA Healthcare system that could be spent finding a more overarching cure. Some numbers say that up to 30% of Warriors returning from The Forever Wars have filed claims for PTSD. Do the permanent financial math for that.

If Warriors who have true signs and symptoms were given a chance at treatment, with a chance of at least reducing all symptoms, they would have more hope. If the VA could make a larger investment in finding that one test that could verify PTS vs Survivor Guilt or a Moral Injury, they could better treat the Warriors. Currently, PTSD is self-diagnosing, basically. During the initial session, a series of questions are asked and if you answer a certain number positively in a few different categories, you have PTSD. So, it is diagnosed through self-reported symptoms only, no signs that a doctor can truly measure. This also leads to some who might take advantage of this flawed system of compensation.

I have mentioned Survivor Guilt and Moral Injury a few times now. Survivor Guilt, which I am all too familiar with, can manifest itself very similar to PTS. Nightmares, dangerous behavior, heavy drinking, hypervigilance, etc. The symptoms can be, as the lawyer in My Cousin Vinny said, “iiidentical” to PTS. A group of doctors at an esteemed facility for brain injuries and PTS diagnosed me with PTS. Yet, two other doctors, given the same information said they thought it was Survivor Guilt. Again, no measurable test, no way to tell, unless you go through counseling, which the VA doesn’t mandate if they feel you won’t get better. So, no counseling, no real prognosis or treatment, no resolution, no hope GI. Oh, wait, take all these pills to mask the symptoms. Back to the broken leg situation. If I broke my leg, would the doctor just give me motrin and send me home? Well, an Army medic would (love you guys, except the dick who lost my shot records, twice. You know who you are.)

Next, let’s talk about Adjustment Disorder and how it mirrors PTS. During Chapter 2 of our lives, our military service, we were taught to be vigilant, cautious, independent, logical not emotional, rehearsed, prepared to train hard every day, always conducting an After Action Review of our actions. I spent 23 years in our great Army. Do you think I could turn those things off the day I walked the stage? Those things still rage in my mind. I am going to list the symptoms of PTSD. Let’s see who can draw an arrow from the behaviors in Chapter 2 to symptoms in Chapter 3. Reliving, hypervigilience, flat affect, negative thoughts, hyperarousal, withdrawal. Maybe many of us who have been labeled with PTSD are actually just well trained and haven’t been able to find the switch they installed to turn this shit off. So, now, with no reason to have most of those behaviors but also no way to turn them off, they rise to the forefront of our mind and behavior and manifest as PTSD. But, again, if the VA deems you hopeless, stuck with this truly unknown malfunction of the brain, you won’t go to counseling and find out whether it is PTSI or just an Adjustment Disorder.

So, SGM, where do we go from here? Here are some thoughts. Holistically, we have to bring back hope. That is the best way to potentially solve the issue of long term suffering and ultimately prevent the almost 17 Warriors a day who have given up all hope and have chosen to take their own lives. (yes, it is not “22 a day” like all the slogans say. Google the 2019 VA report on Veteran suicide and correct your rhetoric, my brethren). How do we bring back hope and find a cure? Change the term to PTSI in the DSM-6 when it comes out. Research has shown a physical rewiring of the brain in patients with PTS. Stop giving permanent compensation without mandatory treatment. Make treatments like Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) more available for Warriors. Senior Leadership in our military, likely many suffering from PTSD, need to come forward and have honest discussions about having it. There is no way that 30% of your troops have it and some of you don’t. If you say it’s ok for them to come forward and it won’t affect their career, prove it. SMA, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Chiefs, Division Commanders and CSMs, I am calling you out to call yourself out. Then Brigade and Battalion leadership, then your troops will seek treatment without fear. Show us why you are a senior Leader. Stop condemning it while in Chapter 2 and then joking about it in Chapter 3.

And to my brothers and sisters, it’s time to work on your injury and stop just living with it. Whether I have PTSD, Survivor Guilt or have Adjustment Disorder, I am openly telling you I have something and receive treatment for the sometime overwhelming symptoms. I tell you this so you know there is no shame, no reason to not seek help, no reason to judge those who suffer, sometimes in silence, sometimes in a bottle. The more of us who do this, the more of us who will seek help. And when we destigmatize this phantom, like we have destigmatized over drinking in the ranks, we will be able to move forward.

—SGM DTB—

Free Chicken Found To Have Ebola

I’m betting that title really turned some heads. Yet, the content of this will likely turn some heads and anger at the same time. Ready? And before you get your Ranger panties in a bunch, read the content, understand the message.

In Chapter 2, when we talked of free chicken, we referred to the insatiable drive of the younger Soldiers to want more, free, without necessarily working for it. Give them a 4-day weekend, they want to leave at noon the day before. In today’s battle of generations, we would refer to it as an entitlement. It is interesting that this term, one I use often, particularly after hearing ok boomer, has actually devolved into a negative term. Being entitled means being rightfully owed something. This would infer that you did something, belonged to something, or paid for something to receive this entitlement. Keep that in mind as we meander through this sensitive topic.

I spend hours each day in research and communications with Warriors and on Warrior subjects, world politics, and cultures. One thing I have learned is that when you give something to someone, it can lessen its value and not always help the receiver. Let’s take this example. Many Warrior nonprofits, including the one I founded back in 2010, provide financial assistance for those in need. Most are no questions asked once their military status is verified. Most come with zero conditions, just a check. We didn’t do that.

We received hundreds of requests for financial assistance, sometimes ten a month. Not all were approved. In fact, less than half were likely approved. Why? Was I a heartless jerk? Well, yes, I am, but that isn’t the reason. Simply giving assistance only hides the symptoms, not the illness. When you break your leg, does a Dr just give you a Motrin? Well, military medics do that, but no. They realign the bone, figure out why it broke in the first place, like low calcium, abuse, neglect, negligent workplace safety, etc, then give you pain meds and a plan for recovery. So, if a Warrior asks for financial assistance, shouldn’t the nonprofit work to realign the financials, find out the cause of the financial issue and work to fix that? Yes.

So, that is what we did. We reviewed their finances, recommended a course of action and put them in touch with a financial advisor to help get well. I communicate with Warriors all the time who are pissed because “I applied for financial assistance at 4 different places and was turned down.” That’s because they know that just giving you money without providing any assistance in helping you fix the problem is really just throwing good charitable donations down the proverbial crapper. Sorry. Everyone who donated to our foundation, over $500,000 worth, worked hard for that money and trusted me and the Board of Directors to use it to help Warriors. Covering up the symptoms and not addressing the cause is not helping. We don’t combat poverty around the world by just giving people money. We provide them with job opportunities, education, and training, daycare so they can work, proper health care so they can work, housing, etc.

So, why is this so hard and such a sensitive subject? I am sure just hearing that I denied my brothers and sisters financial aid in their darkest hour has made you a little peeved at me. Don’t our men and women who have served deserve the best of everything that we can give them? Hmm. (I hear Ranger panties bunching). In a sense. yes. In a sense, no. I want to remind my brethren that we signed up for a noble cause, correct? To serve our country, protect our freedoms, follow in parent’s footsteps, be the change we wanted to see, etc.? And after that service, because of that service, some are unable to easily transition back to the community from whence we came due to injuries or illnesses. Some, unfortunately, are a product of Learned Helplessness. This is the ebola-ridden free chicken.

So, how does Learned Helplessness equate to this subject? Well, what does our society teach our men and women who serve and what do they teach others in their situation? First, our Nation is wonderful at offering free-chicken for our men and women in uniform, awesome. Well, not completely. This continues the process of Learned Helplessness. We learn that we should be getting discounts at Home Depot, no, Lowes is better, free airline tickets, free ball game tickets, and half off an appetizer at our local pub. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great attempt by our Nation to help those who have served. The problem is, we think we are entitled to that stuff as time goes on because that is all we know and think we have no control over it. In a forum the other day, I heard someone indicate you should write your Congressman because Home Depot didn’t give him a discount when he self-checked out. What? Another brother went to a manager because they didn’t give a discount because he didn’t have any ID to verify it. Part of pretty much everyone’s policy. Duh?

We know that there are huge holes in the VA system from the initial determination to compensation to the medical care provided. So, we as a Nation have decided to throw more money at the problem. Eventually, some of the symptoms that the service member has, go away with this assistance. But, it is not the right way to address or fix the problems and provide sustainability for our Warriors. In flush times, when donors and the VA can afford to throw money at the problem, no problem. But when times turn tough, and that money dries up, the Warrior is now doubly in danger, not able to provide on their own and no longer receiving external support. Free chicken can also create perverse incentives, where your efforts are better spent seeking to receive something like a charitable gift rather than obtaining something on your own work. If we don’t empower Warriors to stand on their own, we create a divide between us, something neither side of the equation wants.

When I signed my enlistment papers, and every reenlistment thereafter, I didn’t see the promise of discounted lumber or chicken wings. So, can we as Veterans, despite our Nation offering this stuff, PLEASE stop demanding it? We are not entitled to it. We earned and are entitled to a pension, VA compensation, health care and some other things based on our service and disabilities. We earned a holiday, some earned two. We, ourselves are teaching ourselves Learned Helplessness. If we don’t get that free airline ticket to go to a Packers game, we are beside ourselves and slam the airlines. Then, we don’t work enough on learning how to pay for our own airline ticket so we falter, then we NEED financial assistance. It’s not quite that simple and quick, but this blog is only so long. The bottom line, people offer, we demand, we falter. The more you are given, the more you expect to be given, the less you will work for it yourself. Then, when you can’t work for it yourself, you develop other co-morbid issues like depression and it gets worse.

Where else do we learn this? Well, in Chapter 2, the military provides almost everything you need. Food, clothing, housing, training, education, guidance, money, 401k, along with shitty vacations to foreign lands and a bunch of missed birthdays and lost relationships. If the Army wanted you to have that, we would have issued it to you. We work hard for it. I mean hard. Stupid long hours, stupid hard work, stupid environmental conditions. But, we learned that they will provide. What they didn’t teach us as we transitioned into Chapter 3, is that you now have to provide all this yourself. Too many get caught up in seeking their life through charity and the system. I read a half dozen comments in forums per day saying, I am 70% disabled, can’t afford to live, how do I get them to make me 100%? Yikes. Or, “I am P&T IU (permanent and total individually unemployable) have a job and they want to remove some of my benefits, why are they doing that?” See the problem here?

So, if you are still reading and not picketing outside my door because you are missing the intent, how do we fix this? First, the Transition Assistance Program offered in Chapter 2 needs to be aligned to self-sufficiency in Chapter 3. The military does not teach financial planning or accountability. Here is food allowance, housing allowance, and clothing allowance, with no checks on whether the service member is using it correctly on those things. More often than not, not. It’s a cool stereo, fast car or jacked up truck, a couple of guns and ramen noodles. I loved ramen noodles and had a banging stereo system. Leadership at all levels needs to teach how to budget, plan and obligate funds and minimize expenses.

Next, we as Veterans MUST stop thinking that the worlds owe us for our service. It doesn’t. I raised my own hand of my own free will for my own reasons, repeatedly, willingly, without the thought of free chicken. So did you. Just stop. I get what we all went through, although everyone is different. But I know I NEVER expected nor do I ever ask for a Veteran’s discount. Many notices because I have a USAA card and offer, and I accept, graciously. You managed to make it through the hell of military service, you can make it through the self-stated easier civilian life. We claim that civilians have a life so much easier, yet so many of us are failing at it when it is our turn.

What can the rest of our community do to help? Keep offering free wings with a side of blue cheese, I love wings, hotter the better. No, wait. Offering discounts on stuff is great, I honestly thank you from the bottom of my obviously cold, steel heart. It does make us feel better and I know it makes you feel good too. Kudos to you. I know you work hard for your money and sharing that with us is most honorable and appreciated. Just make sure that if you are donating to charities, they are doing good with it. And if you are one of the awesome people running a nonprofit out there, make sure you are empowering Veterans with your assistance, not causing Learned Helplessness.

This installment likely pissed off a bunch of Warriors and confused a bunch of civilians. Again, the intent is to enable Veterans to sustain in Chapter 3, thrive in the community. Some can’t due to the devastating injuries the military service provides occasionally. Many can but are caught up in the cycle of Learned Helplessness. Some will just ride those glory days to the VA grave. Most will survive, sustain and thrive, particularly if given the tools. Can’t build a house on charity. You need a hammer and nails and stuff. Drop the free chicken, grab your hammer and nails boys and girls!!

—SGM DTB—

Transitional Fitness

The whole of fitness is underdescribed in its entirety when we transition from Chapter 2 to Chapter 3. We are told to stay in shape; use it or lose it. A lot of us stay in shape. Pear is a shape, right? But are we doing everything we can to maintain our health? We don’t need to be able to pass the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) or start up a Combat Fitness Gym, but we do need to take care of our whole health.

An article in Medical News Today describes health as “… physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and as a resource for living a full life.” Nutrition, exercise, proper medical screenings, hydration, proper use of prescribed medicines and supplements, mental health, hygiene, and social engagement are all part of this. In Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, we are taught all these things so it should be easy to maintain them in Chapter 3. If we don’t, why?

In Chapter 1, our parents, teachers, coaches, and clergy teach us the basics of what we need to know. Parents teach us about proper hygiene and health. Shower every day, brush your teeth after every meal, clean under your fingernails, wash your clothes, pick up your room, put on a hat and coat if it’s cold outside, etc. All these things, which we ignore, until they yell at us, form the basis which gets built upon by others in this and Chapter 2.

Coaches teach us how to build muscle and endurance through instruction and competitive sports. They reinforce hygiene making us change our clothes before and after the gym and have us shower so we dont funkify the hallways. Clergy help us with our mental health, teaching us about faith, calm, love thy neighbor but not his wife, be honest, have integrity, be good, help others. Teachers tell us about biology, the health of the human body, what food and water does for us and about illness and disease.

What do we learn in Chapter 2? Get off my grass! That’s what you should have learned Warrior breed. We take the basics we learned in Chapter 1 and fine-tune them, make them all mesh together to make us a high-speed, low-drag, MRE-fueled, beer-cooled, lover of two(men) and killer of commies. We learn that to be a good Warrior we must apply all these things with vigor or jeopardize the mission. Don’t shower and the enemy will smell you. Don’t pick up after yourself and the enemy will track you. Don’t maintain your endurance and the enemy will catch you. Don’t maintain your strength and the enemy will kill you. Don’t love thy neighbor and your troops won’t follow you. Take a knee, face out, drink water, change your socks.

Phew, that’s done. No more early morning PT. I love PT but the military sure has a way to suck the joy out of fun things. So, we work out a bunch less, celebrate with adult beverages while swapping war stories with fellow Warriors and think we are in the clear, maybe with some bumps and bruises. But hey, we are still young…right now. Eventually, we are in damage control mode wondering how we got this beer belly, can only do 20 painful pushups, creek and moan when we get out of the chair, and wonder why people at the bar laugh at us before we tell the funny story. Ouch, MEDIC!

What we haven’t done is use all of our skills, maybe at a slower pace, to maintain our health. So, what to do? Keep moving the day we get out, set up and maintain regular medical appointments, understand we won’t burn as many calories as before and can eat less, continue to help others, be kind and find something that occupies our mind when not working or with family. Let’s break each one down.

Keep moving. You don’t need to be Ranger Joe anymore, doing 2 PT sessions every day lifting massive weights and running so hard you blow snot bubbles down to your knees. But you need to work your cardio and keep your muscles working. Walk your dog a couple of miles every day. If you don’t have one, rescue one. Doing a good thing, saving money by rescuing vs buying, and is great for your mental health. Bam, 3 dead birds. Buy a used treadmill on Craigslist. It doesn’t have to be the top of the line and neither do you. Walk the neighbor’s dog, being kind and fit all at once. Work your muscles by doing your own landscaping. It will save money and use muscles that are more than just pushing weights in a gym. Volunteer at a food shelf. Moving cases of food around while helping thy neighbor who really needs it, win-win.

Medical screening. Don’t start on how the VA sucks, I get it. Comp and Pen sucks and so do some clinics. But some are good, too. The point…document your health, get screening for your ailments, referrals for specialist stuff. Seek a job with health benefits so you don’t have to rely on VA. Use TRICARE if you can. I know, the Marine Corps broke me, they should fix me. But going down the road of righteousness at the expense of your health may be a plan worth re-thinking. Don’t give up, but don’t throw the big fat baby out with the bathwater.

Mental health. This needs an entire subdivision (installment). Treat it like physical health if it is broken. Stop thinking civilian Doctors can’t help you. They can and will; trust my crazy and counseled brain. But it is more than treating PTSD etc. It is about being positively, socially engaged with other humans, having a job to motivate us and challenge our brains, loving another human or dog or stupid cat, helping our fellow man to give us faith in ourselves and others. It is so many things, easily done. It is not ruminating that Chapter 3 sucks, non-Warriors don’t understand, Chapter 3 is meaningless, I am meaningless. Sounds kind of dumb when you see it written down, doesnt it.

So, let’s maintain our health, wholly. It’s not just pushups, situps, and a 2-mile run. It is maintaining the whole of our self.

Sergeant Major is done talking now. You can open your soup cooler and help your fellow Warriors with examples of what you do.

—SGM DTB—

Introduction to The Warrior Chapters

I decided to start writing this blog to help my brothers and sisters in arms make their way through the next chapter in life. I will explore the life of the Warrior during his (the term his/he etc. are intended to refer to the Warrior, both male, and female, as both are, to simplify the writing) time in Service and after, referring to these different periods as different chapters. Chapter 1 is the Warrior’s youth, before military service. Chapter 2 is the Warrior’s service. Chapter 3 will focus on the Warrior’s life after Service.

This comes from decades of experience as a) the son of a Warrior b) 23 years in service, c) running a Veteran nonprofit for 10 years, and d) being a study of the soul, psyche and interrelationships with the pillars of life; family, fun, faith, friendships, fitness, employment, and community.

I will explore, as my muse, the Veteran, strikes me, how childhood is now compared to 40 years ago and more; the many phases of a Warrior’s career (initial entry, follower, leader) in and out of combat; and the growth as a Veteran taking their continued and proper place back into society as a whole.

This blog is intended to help others as a conversation to have with those who would embark on this life. A conversation can only happen if more than one person speaks, so I ask for the insights, comments, questions, and suggestions from those who would read these words.

It is also intended as an insight into the life of those who choose this path for those who to choose to support them. Our Nation and it’s people generally support those who serve, regardless of the politics, persuasions, and propensities of those who we may not agree with. What we can agree with us that the Warrior who would risk his life is worth understanding.

As the Warrior enters his service, he swears to never leave his brethren behind. The word never is absolute, not variable by nature. This means regardless of your term of service, regardless of your branch, your rank or your religion, race, creed or gender you will not cease in your support. So, in that vein and the words tattooed above my veins “Soldier for Life, ” I will, and I implore you to join in to continue your path, do my best to continue to help those who would choose this life.

This is designed to be a helpful, insightful delve into the Warrior world. It is NOT a place for Facebook rants, slants, divisiveness, slander or general foolishness. This is a place to properly communicate to discuss honorably, fairly and without judgment.

Enjoy,

SGM DTB