Serenity…

Okay Dave, I got the hint brother. Indeed it is past time for some scribblings…

First off, I am doing a lot better. A couple of weeks now removed from the hospital and well into my outpatient therapy. Thank God none of that involves any IV’s, tubes, wires, and breathing treatments.

All in all I couldn’t be happier with the way the VA and my many providers have and continue to be there, I seemed to of lucked out and have a ‘dream team’ of folks helping me help myself. A good solid treatment plan is in place, peer support, a lot of hand shaking and smiles. I have crossed over to the other side.

My ‘miracles’ are happening now, with the good Lord delivering on all the prayers that have been and continue to be said. That I have no doubt, and I am thankful. Thankful for a second chance at life, you my friends, my family and the starting lineup of top notch providers I’ve been blessed with that have gone to battle with me to provide the effective tools necessary to continue ridding myself of all those haunting demons that nearly defeated me, better known as combat PTSD.

I am in control, no longer is THAT going to control me. It’s about attitude. Improvising, adapting, and certainly overcoming. I still have my daily struggles, but everyday seems to be easier than the day before.

Purpose; I have one.  My goal, or the objective, is to get involved with peer support myself in the not so distant future. To have a ‘positive’ impact as it relates to the recovery of fellow veterans with similar combat related issues as I, but not necessarily limited too only that.

The purpose of the peer support program being:

1. To provide opportunities for veterans to take control of their ‘own’ recovery.

2. To teach and support the learning of skills needed to facilitate one’s recovery.

3. To make veterans aware of available services and choices.

4. To help veterans develop a sense of wellness and self worth.

5. To bring a unique perspective to the treatment teams on which they work.

And that’s what this blog is about as it relates to what I’m looking forward to posting. PTSD awareness, treatment, and HOPE! There is another side, where the grass does grow greener. My postings on the topic will increase here as I continue to get my marbles re-issued and lined up correctly lol. More importantly ‘keeping’ that brain housing group of mine dripping with CLP.

The ongoing adding of links and such to the sidebar that [ hopefully ] can and will be resourceful to anyone that either knows of someone, or someone, that is struggling with it themselves. It has become a cause for myself.

We all need serenity.

For me that proverbial wheel of wellness is turning again. Its been like a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle that are all finally falling into place. Gods miracles are amazing, and I have no shortage of faith in him.

Lastly, a very special gift. A very special woman that has came into my life. Shes absolutely wonderful and has taken great interest in all this and me. I guess one womans ‘junk’ can be another woman’s treasure lol.

All joking aside, she’s been nothing short of amazing in understanding, allowing me to talk, offering to participate in my counseling sessions etc. She runs to the store, gets my groceries, breakfast, med reminders, bandaging my foot that has me temporarily semi crippled. She works in an E.R., so, nursing me back to health kinda comes natural to her.

For ‘her’, I am grateful. Pretty too.

A lot of great chemistry there.

It was one of the best Thanksgivings for me, with my new girlfriend given the stamp of approval. Meeting my family and having dinner with all of them.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and had a great Thanksgiving as well. Again; and in my prayers, I am thankful for all of you that have been, and continue to be, so supportive.

Semper Fidelis.

Undead!

Well, as long as Eric is busy being host to the hottest (well from what I hear) and I am doing the bed spins I thought I post something new and exciting!

Petition for Eric to get busy, or they’ll be more!

“In and out of rivers, streams of death in life, whose banks were rotting into mud, whose waters, thickened with slime, invaded the contorted mangroves, that seemed to writhe at us in the extremity of an impotent despair. Nowhere did we stop long enough to get a particularlised impression, but the general sense of vague and oppressive wonder grew upon me. It was like a weary pilgrimage amongst hints for nightmares.”
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, Part 1

“The reaches opened before us and closed behind, as if the forest had stepped leisurely across the water to bar the way for our return. We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.”
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, Part 2

Happy Thanksgiving!

No worries mates, a Marine has your back while you eat.

Is Glenn Beck Insane?

I think so!

I am mostly in complete agreement with Glenn, but I don’t do plans!

- Education is key, and not just for our children. To that end, we will be conducting a series of conventions. These will be full-day experiences where you will be immersed in learning about topics ranging from self-reliance, community organizing, the economy and how to be a political force in your own neighborhood and country. The first one will be in Orlando at UCF Arena on March 27th. You will also be able to vote to have a convention in your region by clicking here.

- I have begun meeting with some of the best minds in the country that believe in limited government, maximum freedom and the values of our Founders. I am developing a 100 year plan. I know that the bipartisan corruption in Washington that has brought us to this brink and it will not be defeated easily. It will require unconventional thinking and a radical plan to restore our nation to the maximum freedoms we were supposed to have been protecting, using only the battlefield of ideas.

- All of the above will culminate in The Plan, a book that will provide specific policies, principles and, most importantly, action steps that each of us can take to play a role in this Refounding.

- On August 28, 2010, I ask you, your family and neighbors to join me at the feet of Abraham Lincoln on the National Mall for the unveiling of The Plan and the birthday of a new national movement to restore our great country.

Maybe it’s just me?

The Gulf War and the Battle of Al Khafji.

Eric and I been discussing our memories/experiences in the Gulf War. I thought I’d share some of our conversations.

The Marine Corps, with the support of Navy air power, was tasked with going for the jugular. Afte rperforming their own deception by shifting both Marine divisions some 40 to 50 miles northeast from their original staging area, the Marines stepped off into battle. The 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions, each more than 18,000 strong, and the U.S. Army 1st Brigade (“Tiger Brigade”), 2nd Armored Division, plunged into the attack. They were supported by the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and thousands of combat service support staff from the 1st and 2nd Force Service Support Groups, and by Navy air forces.

On their way, the Marines had to cross two belts of minefields, 12-foot high sand berms, barbed-wire defenses, booby traps and fire trenches, all the while under sporadic attack by Iraqi artillery. These “impenetrable barriers” were quickly breached by the Marine teams. As the two Marine divisions advanced, two Saudi and Qatari task forces moved up Kuwait’s east coast in a similar drive. The initial Marine advance was described by Schwarzkopf in his 27 February briefing as follows:

“It was a classic, absolutely classic military breaching of a very, very tough minefield, barbed wire, fire trench-type barrier. They went through the first barrier like it was water. Then they brought both divisions steaming through that breach. Absolutely superb operation — a textbook, and I think it will be studied for many, many years to come as the way to do it.”

Overhead, Cobras, Harriers and Intruders provided close-air support as the Marines pushed forward meetingoccasional resistance. Navy A-6 Intruders laid down heavy barrages. Marine aircraft attacked in waves as engineers continued to shoot line charges and drop bundles of plastic pipes near trenches so the blade tanks could form makeshift bridges. Even though the 1st Division Marines encountered artillery fire and a mechanized counter-attack, their attack proved unstoppable. Most Iraqis fought for only a few minutes before surrendering. Massive artillery and air support from Navy and Marine aircraft sparked a frenzy of surrender that, at times, slowed the progress of advancing Marine units.

The 2nd Marine Division enjoyed equal success. With the Army’s Tiger Brigade on the west flank, the 8th Marine Regiment to the east, and the 6th Marine Regiment in the center, the division kicked off its attack. Within hours they too had breached both defensive belts. Facing enemy mortar and small arms fire, the 2nd Division drove into Kuwait and took more than 5,000 EPWs by the end of the first day.

As Marines continued their attack the sea-based arm of the Navy-Marine Corps team continued to provide support. The battleships continued rapid, responsive gunfire on targets designated by Navy and Marine spotters on the ground and in the air. The amphibious task force in the Persian Gulf continued to demand difficult decisions from the Iraqi generals. Because of the threat of an amphibious landing and the uncertainty of where and when it [word/words missing in text] to ten divisions, totaling 80,000 men, to the defense of the Kuwait coastline. In addition they garrisoned troops and equipment on Bubiyan and Faylaka Islands which command sea approaches to vital areas.

About 7,500 Marines from the 5th MEB were off-loaded from amphibious ships at Saudi Arabian ports at the beginning of the ground attack to serve as the 1st MEF reserve force. Marine AV-8B Harriers, AH-l Cobra helicopters and special operations units from the 4th MEB aided the Arab forces in the east coast drive. On the second day of the ground war, both Marine Divisions faced sporadic resistance as they pushed further into Kuwait. They fought some intense battles along the way, and by the time Kuwait’s International Airport was secured on the fourth day of the ground war, the two Marine divisions had defeated an Iraqi force of 11 divisions.

Al Khafji

In the early evening of 29 January 1991, Iraqi armor and mechanized infantry in
eastern and southern Kuwait attacked US Marine Forces, Central Command
(MARCENT) and Arab Joint Forces Command-East (JFC-East) units at several points
along the Kuwaiti-Saudi Arabian border. The Iraqi offensive lasted a little over four days,
continuing until 2 February. Known collectively as the Battle of Khafji, the series of
engagements between Iraqi forces and the US-led anti-Iraq coalition represented the first
significant ground action of the Gulf War.
At the time it was fought, the Battle of Khafji was viewed as a small and relatively
inconsequential attack on an abandoned Saudi border town. In fact, Khafji was a very
significant engagement, since described in one highly regarded study as the “defining
moment” of Operation Desert Storm. Other than Scud attacks, Khafji was the only major
Iraqi offensive of the war and its outcome demonstrated the impotence of the Iraqi army
in the face of Coalition (primarily American) airpower.1

Read more: Here and Here

Quotes of the Day…

Heartbreak Ridge - 1986

“It’s just… everybody’s so screwed up. It seems like our country’s in kind of a morbid mood, because of the recession or whatever.”

“The U.S. is becoming more juvenile as a nation. The guys who won World War II and that whole generation have disappeared, and now we have a bunch of teenage twits.”

–Clint Eastwood in an interview with GQ Magazine and a Man of the Year.

Bullseye!
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