Citizen Soldier Sojack

In The Words of Dr. Phil...

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 18:08:00 +0000

Note: Many moons have passed since this was originally written so I felt the need to edit it for clarity. Full disclosure: I’m often guilty of the transgressions described herein. The lesson will be repeated until it is learned. Date of original post, Wed, Apr 20, 2011.

"Would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy?" - Dr. Phil

I find that some people enjoy contradicting others. It's like it's a sport to them. It is a compulsive urge; one they cannot control, a constant, obsessive need to be right.

When talking with some people, it does not matter if you are repeating well-known facts or making idle conversation. Your contributions are always met with outright contradiction. It is as if some people have a subconscious need to must prove they are more intelligent than everyone else is. Falling victim to this or witnessing it never leaves me with the impression that the offender is more knowledgeable or wiser. It has the opposite effect on me. I see a sad, outward statement of low self-esteem and their constant need to prove their self-worth to others.

The ability to show others respect when they express their own thoughts and opinions, without being rude and making ad hominem attacks is simply good manners. It is possible to politely disagree with someone without contradicting them. Choosing your words carefully and responding without instigating an argument is about self-control, demonstrating the ability to listen for clarity and understanding, and a statement about your character.

Sadly, some people completely lack the ability to express their thoughts in such a way that it is does not sound rude and disrespectful. Bluntness can be rude, though people will defend it by saying, "I'm just telling you how it is..." or "That's just how I am." In reality, these are just poor excuses for bad behavior. It remains that it is possible to express your opinion or disagree with someone without resorting to inflammatory remarks.

When people speak in absolutes, they are usually just expressing an opinion. Generally, they have no facts or evidence to support their position. When clearly proven wrong, they lack the ability to concede. They would rather instead argue ad infinitum like children. Oh, what fragile egos they have.

Do you really want to be known as the self-righteous, jerk who never thought they were wrong? If you cannot have a discussion or exchange of ideas with someone without contradicting them, interrupting them, or diminishing them in some way, then you will soon find that many people, sans those who sadistically thrive on discourse, will not want to associate with you.

Life is not a never-ending contest. You don't always have to "win." You don’t always have to be right. Regrettably, to win at any cost seems to be a growing theme in today's society and we are passing on rudeness, hyper-competitiveness, bad manners and ineffective life skills to our children. Sooner or later, they are going to lose and how are they going to deal with that loss if they have no practical experience in gracefully admitting defeat.

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles, then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or demons, heaven or hell." - Buddha

"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers." — Socrates

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ..." - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

In life, don't strive to win at any cost. Play hard but play fair. Win or lose, the outcome of the contest should be the satisfaction of a game well played, a better understanding of your opponent, and hopefully a few lessons learned. A little humility is a good thing and exercising it will make you a better person.

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 06:08:00 +0000

So here I am, years after my first post. My body hurts. It just hurts. Do I regret anything? No.

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Mon, 26 May 2014 14:36:00 +0000

A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.

George William Curtis

These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor - and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror.

Michael N. Castle

How Not to Lead

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 18:40:00 +0000

How many toxic leaders have you been exposed to throughout your career?

I've experienced destructive leaders in both my military and civilian careers. It's a constant psychological battle when you encounter one on a daily basis and have to meet their insane and ever changing expectations. I first started reading about this topic after I worked under someone in the military who was borderline "toxic". And then I experienced another, and another. I most recently left a job where I worked for an individual who exemplified many of the traits of toxic leadership. They, and their habits, became easier to recognize over time. I'm happy to learn that the army is interested in this topic and is taking measures to stop this abusive form of leadership.

I highly recommend the book, "The Allure of Toxic Leaders" if you're struggling with this problem.

According to Army Doctrine Publication 6-22, "Toxic leadership is a combination of self-centered attitudes, motivations, and behaviors that have adverse effects on subordinates, the organization, and mission performance. This leader lacks concern for others and the climate of the organization, which leads to short- and long-term negative effects. The toxic leader operates with an inflated sense of self-worth and from acute self-interest. Toxic leaders consistently use dysfunctional behaviors to deceive, intimidate, coerce, or unfairly punish others to get what they want for themselves. The negative leader completes short-term requirements by operating at the bottom of the continuum of commitment, where followers respond to the positional power of their leader to fulfill requests. This may achieve results in the short term, but ignores the other leader competency categories of leads and develops. Prolonged use of negative leadership to influence followers undermines the followers' will, initiative, and potential and destroys unit morale." Read more...

Health Problems in Veterans Exposed to Toxic Environments

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 17:41:00 +0000

In 1991, as part of Operation Desert Storm, former U.S. Army Spc. Candy Lovett arrived in Kuwait a healthy 29-year-old eager to serve her country. Two decades later, she's accumulated a stack of medical records over five feet high -- none of which relates to injuries inflicted by bullets or shrapnel. "It's just been one thing after another," said the veteran, who now resides in Miami and whose ailments run the gamut from lung disease and sleep apnea to, most recently, terminal breast cancer. "At one point," she said, "I was on over 50 pills." Former Air Force Tech. Sgt. Tim Wymore, who was deployed to Iraq in 2004, suffers from an array of health problems that mirror Lovett's. "Everyone has the same things," said Wymore, who has inexplicably shed 40 pounds in the last few months. "It's just weird." Wymore and Lovett -- and countless others who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the desert region over the past three decades -- have struggled to understand this, but they share one nagging conviction: These ailments are tied to service in a war zone. Read More

TEApublican Senator From Georgia Says Military Rapes Are Caused By ‘Hormones’

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:38:00 +0000

"In a stunning statement that sounded like it came straight from the Todd Akin School of Biology, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said that military rapes are caused by “the hormone level created by nature." Source: Georgia Sen.: 'Hormones' Cause Military Rape

How a Bronze Star-winning Army doctor saved his troops in Iraq, but couldn't save himself | TIME.com

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:53:00 +0000

Dr. Peter Linnerooth spent nearly five years wearing an Army uniform, including the bloodiest 12 months in Iraq at the height of the surge. As a mental-health professional, his top mission was to keep troops from killing themselves. After he returned home, he spent another two years trying to save the vets he loved, working for the VA in California and Nevada.

Read more: How a Bronze Star-winning Army doctor saved his troops in Iraq, but couldn't save himself | TIME.com:

Slowly, Toxic Vets Get Recognition

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:19:00 +0000

"Some two million men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars began in 2001. Little did these individuals know that surviving the improvised explosive devices and insurgent gunfire wouldn't necessarily guarantee their health or survival once they got home." Slowly, Toxic Vets Get Recognition. Read more.

“The End of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” edited by J. Ford Huffman and TammyS. Schultz

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Marine Corp University's book on the end of DADT presents an argument for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

"'The End of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell' is a timely and necessary book...and goes far beyond to articulate and make fully human the toll of DADT on many military service members and their loved ones."

Read More: Opinion on The End of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Natalie Dell: VA Researcher and Olympian

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:27:00 +0000

"VA Employee and Medal Winning Olympian Natalie Dell on Veterans and Never Giving Up:

The Olympics are filled with inspirational stories that bring the country together in celebration of exceptional accomplishment and national pride. And we at VA are very proud to share an inspiring story from one of our own, Natalie Dell—a Bronze Medal winner at the Summer Olympics."

Read more: Natalie Dell: VA Researcher and Olympian

Care for Those Who Risked it All...

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:09:00 +0000

One Shot, One Kill | Carl Prine

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:50:00 +0000

One Shot, One Kill | Carl Prine

"It blew to the right, 2 o’clock from the gun, and I’d just taken out the plug to listen to the patrol leader below, twisting the turret and me away from the steel shavings rising like black fireflies from the shoulder of Route Michigan.

Hours later I held a throbbing skull and my left ear felt like someone jabbed a broken chopstick through the drum."

Personality Disorder-Trashing Our Army for Profit | Veterans Today

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:45:00 +0000

Personality Disorder-Trashing Our Army for Profit | Veterans Today: "In a report today, the New York Times acknowledged the Army’s practice of diagnosing troops with Post Traumatic Stress as having “personality disorders.”
This makes them ineligible for benefits. The number diagnosed as such is unknown, 26,000 at one point years ago, much higher now."

Toxic Trash Pits Take Toll on U.S. Soldiers - Wild Green - Utne Reader

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:39:00 +0000

And yet still another article on the subject of burn pits and their affects on Soldiers health.

Toxic Trash Pits Take Toll on U.S. Soldiers - Wild Green - Utne Reader:

'via Blog this'

Toxic Trash: The Burn Pits of Iraq and Afghanistan :: Oxford American - The Southern Magazine of Good Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:59:00 +0000

Billy McKenna and Kevin Wilkins survived Iraq—and died at home. The Oxford American sent filmmaker Dave Anderson and journalist J. Malcolm Garcia to Florida to investigate this deadly threat to American soldiers.

Toxic Trash: The Burn Pits of Iraq and Afghanistan :: Oxford American - The Southern Magazine of Good Writing

What’s Choking U.S. Troops? Feds Have No Idea.

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:45:00 +0000

In a 2010 study of 80 soldiers who struggled to run two miles, half of them were huffing and puffing because of undiagnosed bronchiolitis.

And the feds have no idea why.

The military’s widespread use of open-air burn pits — massive heaps of Styrofoam, human waste and plastic water bottles, in flames around the clock — seemed to be the most obvious answer.

But results of a study published today by the Institute of Medicine, and commissioned by the Department of Veterans Affairs, are frustratingly inconclusive — largely because the military didn’t collect adequate data for researchers to do their jobs.

Read more >>

Lawmaker: Shift Active Duty Troops to Reserves

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:37:00 +0000

An interesting perspective. Lawmaker: Shift active-duty troops to reserves - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Want to Fix the Deficit Problem?

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Then contact your elected officials and pressure them to put an end to fraud, waste and abuse such as this.

DoD IG Blasts Army LMP Program

VA Awards New Contract for Debunked PTSD Drug

Someone is lining their pockets with YOUR hard earned money.

Remembering those we've lost to war and military suicide this Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:23:00 +0000

Our military faces an epidemic of trauma among troops who are sent back into war without treatment for their hidden wounds. At Fort Hood, Texas, 10,000 soldiers each month get mental health evaluation and treatment, and more sit on waiting lists. This is only the tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that 20-50% of those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD.

Congress members who vote to continue spending for these wars don't take into account the full costs that our society will be paying for decades to come.

This summer, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from the Operation Recovery Campaign are at Fort Hood investigating the epidemic of trauma and organizing soldiers there to do something about it. Operation Recovery aims to defend a soldier’s right to heal and calls for an end to redeploying troops who already suffer from PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injuries, and Military Sexual Trauma.

This Memorial Day, let us remember those who have died in Iraq, Afghanistan and past wars. But let's also think of the thousands who have committed suicide as a result of their war trauma, and those for whom we can prevent a similar fate.

Iraq Veterans Against the War has launched the Operation Recovery campaign to stop the deployment of troops suffering from PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Military Sexual Trauma. Thousands of troops are being re-deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq despite suffering from serious trauma from previous combat tours.

Take the Pledge to Stop the Deployment of Traumatized Troops!

Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper!

Note: Copy taken from IVAW material.

Changing the Effective Date of Reserve Early Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:36:00 +0000

Since 9/11/2001 the Reserve Component has changed from a strategic Reserve to an operational Reserve that now plays a vital role in prosecuting the war efforts and other operational commitments. This has resulted in more frequent and longer deployments impacting individual Reservist’s careers. Changing the effective date of the Reserve early retirement would help partially offset lost salary increases, lost promotions, lost 401K and other benefit contributions.

Read an excerpt from The Statement of the Military Coalition (TMC) before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel.

"Operational Reserve Retention and Retirement Reform – Congress took the first step in modernizing the reserve compensation system with enactment of early retirement eligibility for certain reservists activated for at least 90 continuous days served since January 28, 2008. This change validates the principle that compensation should keep pace with service expectations and serve as an inducement to retention and sustainment of the operational reserve force.

Guard/Reserve mission increases and a smaller active duty force mean Guard/Reserve members must devote a much more substantial portion of their working lives to military service than ever envisioned when the current retirement system was developed in 1948.

Repeated, extended activations make it more difficult to sustain a full civilian career and impede Reservists' ability to build a full civilian retirement, 401(k), etc. Regardless of statutory protections, periodic long-term absences from the civilian workplace can only limit Guard/Reserve members' upward mobility, employability and financial security. Further, strengthening the reserve retirement system will serve as an incentive to retaining critical mid-career officers and NCOs for continued service and thereby enhance readiness.

As a minimum, the next step in modernizing the reserve retirement system is to provide equal retirement-age-reduction credit for all activated service rendered since Sept. 11, 2001. The current law that credits only active service since January 28, 2008 disenfranchises and devalues the service of hundreds of thousands of Guard/Reserve members who served combat tours (multiple tours, in thousands of cases) between 2001 and 2008.

The statute also must be amended to eliminate the inequity inherent in the current fiscal year retirement calculation, which only credits 90 days of active service for early retirement purposes if it occurs within the same fiscal year. The current rule significantly penalizes members who deploy in July or August vs. those deploying earlier in the fiscal year.

It is patently unfair, as the current law requires, to give three months retirement age credit for a 90-day tour served from January through March, but only half credit for a 120-day tour served from August through November (because the latter covers 60 days in each of two fiscal years).

In addition, the law-change authorizing early reserve retirement credit for qualifying active duty served after 28 Jan 2008 severed eligibility for TRICARE coverage until the reservist reaches age 60."

Read the full Military Coalition Armed Services Statement: http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2011/04%20April/Strobridge-Barnes-Moakler-Puzon%2004-13-11.pdf

Other Helpful Links

Early Retirement Talking Points: http://www.roa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=early_retirementtalkingpoint

Congress Overlooking Reserve Sacrifice Prior to 2008: http://reserveofficer.blogspot.com/2011/03/data-shows-congress-overlooking-reserve.html

Contact Your Legislatures: http://www.themilitarycoalition.org/contact.htm

More on Meditation

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:34:00 +0000

I had my MBSR class last night and I can honestly say it was quite a challenge -- not physically but mentally. I just found the whole evening to be a pain in my mental butt. Sometimes I felt like I was in Mr. Rodgers neighborhood with this woman quietly talking at the front of the room. “Okay boys and girls, let's get ready to meditate.” Instead of being soothing, it was irritating. I just wanted her to be quiet.

And to complicate matters, people were droning on about this and that after each routine. "Well, during that first stretch I was really hoping I wouldn't fall over which would be really embarrassing and it made me think about when I fell off the bleachers in high school. Then I saw we were changing forms and I can arch my back REALLY WELL. That reminds me of my cat and I am not sure I changed the litter box this morning. It feels good to stretch though. I spend so much time hunched over my desk at work all day... maybe I should stand up and do cat stretches two or three times a day. People might think it was weird but I can tell them it's part of my new class. OH, squats, I can do those but it reeeeeally pulls my hamstrings. Not sure I can block that out... maybe I should just be more mindful of it and work thru it... " and blah blah blah blah blah, etc.

In my mind, I was thinking... "Oh for Christ sake... get over it, lady!"

It's hard to be mindful of your own processes if everyone else in the room is talking about theirs at every opportunity. I think this is because I don't really like to share my inner workings and I'm puzzled (and irritated) by people who do. Most people have a hard time being "mindful" and therefore probably need to verbalize some of it.... or all of it, as the case may be. I guess it is part of the process for them.... but irritating to introverts like myself who don't see "mindful" as necessarily a time for "group sharing."

The military teaches its members to learn to deal with a myriad of distractions, loud noises, fast movements, and ultimately to make good and sound decisions within the midst of utter chaos. In order to achieve that, the brain has to alter the way it processes information, emotions and to suppress our fight or flight, built-in survival mechanisms. Basically, we're taught to ignore the emotional part of our brains and to rely on the parts of our brains that are good at analyzing and planning. But in highly stressful environments, it's difficult for the brain to totally suppress the urge to make snap judgments, like to run if a circus lion leaps into the stands and tries to chew your head off... or to cower and hide if you're shot at.

The areas most affected in the brain by prolonged, stressful stimuli are the hippocampus and the amygdala. The hippocampus records new sensory experiences and tries to place them into long-term memory and our belief systems. The amygdala senses input from the eyes, ears, nose -- our sensory organs. The amygdala is the part of the brain which sets our "triggers", our reflex behaviors. It's what causes us to freeze or to react dramatically when we are startled. It doesn't take a lot of exposure to stressful stimuli to alter the neurocircuitry of the amygdala. Under severe and prolonged stress, these systems can become altered to the point that the result is often depression, anxiety and PTSD.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH),"Practicing meditation has been shown to induce some changes in the body...Some types of meditation might work by affecting the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system." The sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system are two divisions of the autonomic nervous system of the body. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for our reaction to stress or fear and is colloquially known as the "fight-or-flight" system. The parasympathetic nervous system is active during times of rest and associated with "rest and digest". The NIH goes on, "It is thought that some types of meditation might work by reducing activity in the sympathetic nervous system and increasing activity in the parasympathetic nervous system."

Translation: Meditation may be able to help reverse some of the long term negative effects of exposure to combat, other stressful, traumatic stimuli and the resulting changes in brain function/chemistry.

So... I'm going to stick with it... even though it is irritating and frustrating at times.

To my friends in the medical field, I apologize for the gross over-simplification of the brain and its inner workings.

Thanks to my friend Melissa B. for her contribution to this article.

Recommended reading:

Combat Stress Injury: Theory, Research, and Management, by Charles R. Figley, William P. Nash

On Killing, by Grossman, Lt. Col. Dave

Veterans and Suicide - We Must Overcome

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Mindfulness Training Helpful for the Military

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:19:00 +0000

Mindfulness based stress reduction is a combination of meditation and yoga and it's something I've decided to try. It's an 8 week course which focuses on the way that unconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviors influence emotional, physical, mental and spiritual health. It also combines some martial arts type movements which serve to strengthen all those muscles that have become out of shape due to our largely sedentary, couch potato, American lifestyles.

"The MBSR program started in the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979 and is now offered in over 200 medical centers, hospitals, and clinics around the world, including some of the leading integrative medical centers such as the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine, and the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine. Many of the MBSR classes are taught by physicians, nurses, social workers, and psychologists, as well as other health professionals who are seeking to reclaim and deepen some of the sacred reciprocity inherent in the doctor-caregiver/patient-client relationship. Their work is based on a need for an active partnership in a participatory medicine, one in which patient/clients take on significant responsibility for doing a certain kind of interior work in order to tap into their own deepest inner resources for learning, growing, healing, and transformation."

The University of Pennsylvania recently led a study in which MBSR training was provided to Soldiers preparing for deployment to Iraq. The study demonstrated a positive link between mindfulness training and improvements in mood and working memory. Here is a link to an article which describes the study and it's results, Mindfulness Training Helpful for the Military.

For me, the jury is still out. It's still early in the training and I'm finding that I have trouble disconnecting my mind from the myriad of thoughts that are constantly going on in my hyper-active psyche. I plan to stick with it though because I realize that I need an alternative method to calm my mind instead of the current methods I use like watching hours of mindless t.v., absorbing myself in silly online games, or chugging down a few beers after work. What I have learned so far is that there are lots of ways to meditate (or if you don't like that word, I'll call it "relaxing") and if one isn't comfortable with sitting cross-legged on the floor, there are other methods.

Many Episcopal and other Christian churches have labyrinths. Walking a labyrinth can be used for meditation or as a spiritual practice. I find that the ceremony of my Episcopal church service is very relaxing and meditative for me. I also enjoy hiking and the simple practice of being quiet while bird watching and appreciating nature. It is very calming to me. When I had knees, I jogged. Boy do I miss that!

Military service is stressful... and that is a gross understatement. It's critical that service members find ways to de-stress from the rigors of military life, deployments, combat action and family separation. The traditional way for military members to unwind was to head to the club and throw back a few drinks. Thankfully the military establishment has put the kibash on that practice... somewhat. At least it is discouraged. It is my hope that the military will adopt more healthful practices such as MBSR. But as we all know, the military machine moves slowly.

Mike Corrado, "Stand"

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Smart Phones Offer Soldiers an ISR Edge - Military Times

noreply@blogger.com (Sojack.blogspot.com) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:45:00 +0000

Smart phones offer soldiers an ISR edge - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times