Not Another Weekend Drill...

I felt realllly lucky not showing up to drill at 0645...On Saturday, I had to show up at 0800 for formation but really it's more like 0745. If you're not 15 minutes early, you're late. Some other guys were not so lucky. They, on the other hand, had to show up no later than 0645 and get on a bus for Orlando. Some of the other soldiers were going to have to partake in a Pre Health Assessment (PHA), pretty much a physical. They were going to be at our Headquarters in Orlando all day, but not I.

Well, I took care of my PHA like six months ago but it didn't mean that I was exempt from work this weekend. I had counselings to wrap up, inventory new equipment, make sure old equipment had maintenance records up to date, and prepare for our company's Christmas party that was being held on Sunday. Every year each company puts on some sort of Christmas party for their friends and family come into our armory. It's kind of like an open house. We have a myriad of different weapon systems set up in what we call a "static display." A static display is defined as a fixed, stationary position. It gives the families an idea of what we train on, how weapon systems work, and a person there will give them more in depth information on that particular piece of equipment.

50 cal. machine gun

60mm Mortar system

 



Sunday, early morning 0645, we all were standing in formation waiting for the First Sergeant, well, the majority of us. There are still a couple dirt-bags who think they can show up when they want to but the Army will process them out. Some soldiers were taking a physical fitness test due to their poor performance in October when they failed it. Absolutely ridiculous to not be able to meet the Army standard, a civilian could probably pass first time go. The rest of us were going to do some sort of physical activity (PT). It's kind of our way to see if the lower enlisted soldiers are keeping up with fitness on their own time.

Just when I thought we were getting ready to start PT, monkey wrench in the equation, the commander has everyone go back indoors for a briefing. Being in for many years, I knew what was about to take place. The younger guys hadn't a clue. The commander begin to start with, "the company will be conducting a 100% urinalysis." A "piss test" what we called it. It didn't really bother me, my body is clean, but some looked a little perturbed. Ok, I was a little upset that I might miss my PT session; however, I understand that this has to be accomplished to weed out the druggies, no pun intended.

Well, It only took about one and a half hours so it was off for a two-mile run. I wanted to run the two mile portion of the PT test to pace fellow soldiers. You cannot drag, pull, carry or help in anyway except for yell and motivate. When my soldier came in at 17:36, I was very distraught. I tried to yell and motivate but he was completely incoherent. This was not the first or second time he had failed either. How can a 20 year old, so called man, not meet the Army minimum standard. All he has to do is make this two mile run in 15:54. It's really close to an 8 minute mile, which is not hard by any means. Needless to say, he will be taking it again next month...

Pt run

 



All in all, the company Christmas party went extremely well. There were plenty of toys to hand out to the kids, Santa even made a visit. Our lunch was contracted from Boston Market, what more could you ask for. I told everyone, "see ya next year" as I only see these guys once a month and will not make my over 2 hour trek till January. So, with that being said, until next year...

Workout of the WEEK

I'm sorry that I must have been busy studying for final exams and did not post a workout of the week for last week. Yeah, I know you've been dying for one... Well, to be honest, this past week I didn't have time for much at all. Thanksgiving week, I absolutely crushed it and was walking funny on Friday and Saturday because of it. I wanted to make sure I could eat what I wanted without gaining all those holiday lbs. I would like to give you a run-down of some things I did that week:

 

 

 



Burpee pull-ups

Over-head squats with 20lb ball

Rope climbs

Air squats

Tire flips

5 mile road march w/ Ruck 40 lbs

Sprints

Paddleboard 45 mins

Power-cleans

Dead-lifts

Shoulder-press

Push-ups

Pull-ups

Crunches

 

 

 

 

Anyone that is somewhat new to fitness and working out should try and pick three of these exercises. Example: Burpee pull-ups, air squats, & dead-lifts. Pick a set number of reps you want to do each one at. Like burpee pull-ups-5; air squats-25; dead-lifts say 125lbs at 10 reps. Once you do this, you can either set a timer and rotate through each exercise for 15 minutes, or maybe you want to do five rounds of this. A lot of these exercises are a total body workout and will get your heart-rate going fast. They will not only challenge your body but also your mind. So, get outside, grab a partner or be solo, pick a few from the list and see what you got. Challenge yourself TODAY!

 

My next training event I will sign up for is Here, check it out. I did one a couple of years ago and had the some of the best times of my life. There is also a video shown below of the event I'm talking about.

 

 

 

 

*Many of the exercises mentioned I have posted a brief description of or posted a video in the past.

 Check out my archives for the other Workout of the Weeks, thanks.

 

 



Defense Tech and Intel Career Fair

WHO: All Job seekers Military, Civilians & contractors with backgrounds

and experience in the following are invited:

Information Technology, Software Engineer, Aerospace, Logistics,

Acquisition, Electrical Engineering, Communications, Intelligence,

Finance, Analysts, Counter Intelligence, Cyber Security,

Project Management, Network Administrator, Linguists,

Systems Administrator, Human Intelligence

 

WHAT: MacDill Air Force Base Defense Tech & Intel Career Fair

WHEN: Tuesday December 11th, 2012, from 10am-2pm

 

 

WHERE: Surf's Edge Club

7315 Bayshore Blvd., Bldg. 499

MacDill AFB, FL 33621

 

WHY: To find a very promising job with great benefits that will be in a career

you will enjoy. Don't forget to bring plenty copies of your resume

to hand out to many employers.

 





 

*the career fair will be open to all those who can already get onto the military installation. Military or CAC ID holders. For more information and to pre-register click HERE.

Hiring Our Heroes

There is a very special event coming up in Orlando December. On Tuesday the 18th, from 9am to 12pm, Hiring Our Heroes, a job fair for veterans, active duty service men and women, Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses are invited to attend at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 7800 Universal Blvd. Orlando, FL.

This is a great opportunity for veterans, service men and women, spouses to take advantage of that are seeking employment. The best thing about it all, it's Free. Free for jobseekers and Free for employers too.

The Hiring Our Heroes event is being held by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Office of the Mayor, and many other national and local partners. The link to sign up for jobseekers is Here. The link to sign up for employers is Here. This will be the perfect chance to get your resumes together and head over to Orlando while you have the time during the Christmas break.

Or for further registration questions, contact at hiringourheroes@uschamber.com or call 202-463-5807.

 

Interesting Veteran Facts that May Shock You

I was reading one of my fellow blogger's site at Bouhammer's Afghan and Military Blog and wanted to share these very alarming facts about Veterans. Many of these facts that I did not even know about as being a Veteran too, I was shocked. I would like you to take the time to read over some of these facts and you might just be shocked as well.




I was very alarmed by the statistics here as I am sure you are. A countless number of Veterans who return from combat zones, whether it be Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan, no matter what will feel left out and as if they can only relate to other soldiers. Soldiers returning from those eras will go through a phase that might not be the best in anyone's mind. Some may resort to drinking heavily, drugs, depression and even suicide as the graphic shows that 18 Veterans commit suicide a day. I have been in almost all the situations above and know first-hand what it's like. Some will fall into a slump that could take a year to adjust and others will find that they cannot adjust to what civilians will call their "normal" everyday life.

If you have never thanked a Veteran; do it, If you have never volunteered at a Veterans Hospital; do it, If you have never donated the slightest amount of money to a Veterans organization; do it. If you cannot donate money because your a broke college student, the first and best thing is a donation of your time. You could spend it helping out or even talking to Veterans at the Veterans Hospital. Wait a minute... James A. Haley, Veterans Hospital is like 2-5 minutes from USF. You might be shocked that a little bit of your time, will last a life-time in a Veterans' eyes. I would like to thank Bouhammer's Afghan and Military Blog and thank everyone who supports our Vets.



Don't Ask Don't Tell Not Issue Anymore

Occasionally, I have people ask me how I feel about the policy that was initially Don't ask, don't tell, which was put in effect by Bill Clinton in December, 1993. I tell them that I have knowingly served on the side of gay men and women and it did not affect my performance or theirs in any way. I have also had fellow soldiers in the military still make derogatory comments in reference to the repeal in 2010 to Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, this past couple of years, by President Barrack Obama.

The old policy, from former President Bill Clinton, would let gay and lesbian soldiers serve; however, they would not be able to serve openly and military personnel would not be able to discriminate against closeted homosexual or bisexual service members. The policy also stated, if members showed acts of homosexuality they would no longer be able to serve because it would create an unacceptable environment for morale and unit cohesion, which are key concepts of military readiness. I remember when I was in the active Army during the Clinton administration and thought this policy was absurd. We suspected some members being gay but it did not affect our unit cohesion in a negative way. Here is a training guide for homosexuality in 2001:

It basically stated that a reliable person could turn someone in if they saw a member engaging in a homosexual act. Also, it stated that if a reliable person heard a member say they were a homosexual or the member themselves came out, it would be grounds for discharge. They spoke as if a homosexual was an extraterrestrial being and was not a reliable person. It's absolutely amazing isn't it?

One of the things that I am proud to say of our current President is his repeal of DADT in 2010, and ultimately ended the DADT policy for good in July 2011. We are in the 21st century and to have such a law is really unjust. I mean, to discriminate a soldier on their sexual preference is wrong. I believe the majority of the soldiers present and future have no problem serving with homosexuals openly. It is not like homosexuals have not been serving until now. Furthermore, fellow service members may or may not suspect this but it hasn't affected any major changes in the past and thus will not change a thing in the future. President Obama said it best, "As of September 20, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country." After all, It is 2012 and if people do not agree then they need to get over it, and move on.



President Obama signing the Don't ask, don't tell Repeal Act of 2010.

Veterans Lose Lives in Tragic Accident

Could you imagine going on a couple of combat tours, making it home safe, then to die in a train accident in the United States? Yes, this really happened. A float that was heading to a parade on Thursday in Midland, Texas was hit by a freight train.

It was the second float carrying Vets that ignored the warning signs of the railroad crossing. Lead investigator Robert Accetta with the National Transportation Safety Board said, "Once the crossing becomes active, people should stop," this was stated at a news conference Saturday afternoon. The accident is still under investigation stated by Mark Rosekind, another member of the NTSB.

This crucial mistake by the driver cost the lives of four Veterans and 16 others injured. The only good thing about this was that the other float with more Veterans on it took immediate action and began working on the injured. If they had not been there, the chance of more deaths could have been imminent. Sometimes just reassuring an injured person while you wait on rescuers could be the difference between life and death.

This parade has been going on for nine years and the Veterans were to be honored for their sacrifices they made for our country. There was a crowd of people waiting on their arrival waving American flags. This ended up being a terrible and emotional event for all parties involved; the community and the families especially. 

The soldiers who were lost in the accident were: Marine Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Stouffer, 37; Army Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, 47; Army Sgt Joshua Michael, 34; and Army Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers, 43.

I read about soldiers all the time who lose their lives to accidents in the states even after numerous combat deployments. This is such a shame and it makes me think twice about how fragile life is. It is not predictable when we will leave this earth for good thus why I never take my life for granted. I have been on numerous deployments overseas and felt as if I have escaped death on more than one occasion. I encourage everyone who reads this to take a moment and think.  Never take your life for granted because it can be stripped away at any moment and live your life to its fullest.

Read more on this article at: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/18/lights-flashed-before-truck-entered-crossing-in-train-crash-officials-say/