Petter Blindheim, an ailing, 94-year-old veteran’s denial of a bed in Camp Hill Veterans’ Memorial Hospital in Halifax, Canada where he wants to spend his last days, is the focus of Rex Murphy‘s recent CBC TV commentary: Point of View.(3 min)
As the last living Norwegian Vet living in Canada and as a citizen at that for 61 years (since 1945) his plight has gained national and international attention. (see background text on all this) [Read more…]
Colonel James Moschgat, USAF (Ret.), wrote this post about an unusual discovery that transformed both the janitor and the students who learned of his MOH status and meritorious service.
It appeared first in the Fall 2010 issue of the magazine of the USO. Find it in it’s entirely in that issue of On Patrol.
At the writing, Col Moschgat was the associate dean of operations at the National Security Space Institute (NSSI) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (His CV )
William “Bill” Crawford was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor.
(In this photo, Army Master Sergeant William J. Crawford (Ret.), poses for a snap by a Denver Post photographer shortly before a Fourth of July parade in Denver, Colorado. Photo courtesy of Beverly Crawford-Kite.)
Make a new plan for 2016 Stan!
Did you get slammed in the season for reflection?
That push to review is strong, especially as everyone around you celebrates endings and beginnings. Our email, the sites we subscribe to, the magazines you pick up and the social media posts to name just a handful of sources – feature lists. A lot of it is designed to sell you on change, to get you to set goals.
It can keep us swinging from one idea branch to the other.
So much to decide, do, deliver on! It kind of needs its own theme song… and system. So, Team MilSuccessNet is offering this gentle 5 point plan based on the editorial team’s recent and collective experience. We want to hear what YOURS is in the comments below.. [Read more…]
Why is military to civilian transition like a white Christmas? And by that we mean THE White Christmas, the largest grossing American movie musical of its day in 1954.
The consensus of the military members MilSuccessNet asked to reflect on the perennial favorite is summed up as follows: [Read more…]
One, super successful, already unafraid to shake things up American male, Jesse Itzler, felt he needed a clarion call to change in his life. So he hired a U.S. Navy SEAL to live with him-for a month. Oh, yeah. He got the expected early get your butt out of bed call plus 7 more big life tips share here as part of MilSuccessNet’s WoW – Words on Wednesdays.
The article posted by Inc. writer @BillMurphyJr is found below.
‘The SEAL’ as our warrior trainer is referred to, remains anonymous and was in transition out of military service at the time of his newly contracted 31 day duty.
The average reader of humorous, lifestyle and fitness books should be forewarned just by the headline, what is expected of a person committed to following the advice of a Navy SEAL. (HK)
Want to Lead a Truly Exceptional Life? A Navy SEAL Says Always Do These Things [Read more…]
Rising in the ranks can create changes in the team dynamics. Today’s Q & A presents a civilian who’s earned added ‘stripes’ by taking on a new, leadership role supervising former colleagues.
Stress can rear its head for the team and for the one bestowed with new duties and perceived status. You’ll find this insight from both Pamela and from Shaun Collins useful. Their response to a query posted in their regular He Said She Said column was featured first in Ft. Leonard Wood‘s My Guidon and is reprinted with a light edit here for our community:
The Q: I’m a Department of the Army civilian employee and have recently taken on a team leadership role at work. Two of the women in my section, whom I consider to be very good friends, have had trouble accepting this change. They refuse to help when I ask for their support, so I end up doing the work myself. My supervisor told me that I should not be doing their work for them. How can I convince my co-workers to give me a break? [Read more…]
For a soldier, as for any citizen who is leading a whole life there are seasons of growth, study, work and family. At each stage, there is reflection and there are decisions and hopefully support for them.
Advice columnists
A soldier seeks an answer on how to stay true to his identity as a gay man and also to share this with his unit. A timely question, it is answered here by Shaun and Pamela Collins in their He Said She Said column. It appeared at Ft. Leonard Wood‘s publication, the Guidon under the original title: Soldier considers ‘coming out’ as partner moves here.
MilSuccessNet is reposting it given that USA now has the Marriage Equality Act and it’s the season of Pride events across the country.
Here in their own words, including the soldier who wrote in:
Ever since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed I have wanted to be more honest with my unit about my sexuality. [Read more…]
Readers of The Art of Manliness, from within the Military Success Network community brought this timely post to our attention. It’s the lessons from a D-Day fighter on leading a warrior life.
Major Dick Winters suggested this as a personal plan.
As a Monastic Warrior, his advice is just as relevant now in the din of all we do, post, read, hear, feel as it was in the solace of quiet and calm post World War II veterans sought. It meant not only “cultivate sharp minds and fighters’ bodies, but to develop themselves into men of the highest moral caliber.”
Winters believed that the cornerstone of character was: Honesty.
From there you worked to develop a moral compass that was guided by the virtues of:
Winters felt that integrity was paramount. “It’s easier to do the right thing when everyone is looking,” but “more difficult to do what you should do when you are alone.”
And because Winters added to these core values, his own ascetic precepts such as choosing to abstain from canoodling with women, drinking alcohol (he was a lifelong teetotaler), and swearing…… we now move to share the comprehensive and eminently comprehensive and well written original piece our post is taken from today… and Brett and Kate Mckay’s own words: [Read more…]