Cry for help!

The world for me has changed dramaticly from when I started writing this blog.  After many injuries and many times I toughed it out (for some macho idea) without seeing a doctor when getting injured at the time.  Some advice to the younger alpha males, there is no shame seeing help when injured. Even if someone insists you are only "hurt" not injured. Putting mud on it or using duct tape never works.

I do not cry wolf, in fact, I was literally dragged in to see a doctor.  I have many injuries ranging from loss of dexterity to seeing things that no one else sees.  At the VA's count 40 plus injuries, 14 for the Marine Corps.  What I have cried for is help.  The hope was my brothers would take care of me if it gets bad, that is not the truth.  But that is another story, I'll tell it some other day.

I need AACs, Augmented and Alternative Communication devices.  I'm using a voice to text currently, but it sucks.  It takes me 5 to 10 minutes to "write" a sentence they way I just said it, and don't get me started on punctuation. My wife types most of my things for me nowadays.

I need work done to my home and I don't need to tell you that the money fairy doesn't visit me and my wife.  I can't work, she can't leave me for long periods to work.  She does my ADLs, activities of daily living.  For those layman's out there, eating, bathing, peeing, number 2s, brushing my teeth, shaving my face, I think you get the idea( I hope.).  

We live in a home built in the 40s, so we have old home problems.  I can only using my motorized wheelchair in half the house, in the rest my wife transfers me to a small stool with wheels and hope for the best.  Doesn't always work as planned.  We have roof that should have been replaced 8 or so years ago, we have electrical problems in two rooms, we have plumbing issues, and many others.  I listed the big ones for your reading pleasure.

Now, getting help.  It would easier if (these are all and/or situations, I listed this way for ease)  we made less than 20 grand,  not white, civilian, lived on a farm, bought the house after 2009 but before 2011, lived in a crappy neighborhood, blind, deaf, missing (visible) limbs,  have parents that are dead, came from a broken home or couldn't pay the mortgage.  Again, those are the big ones.

Now let's say my long lost uncle died and gave me 10 large ones.  Do we spend it on a new roof or get a new wheelchair (which we need also)? Or save it because hoping for the best has not worked out for us either.  Getting someone else to do a job, that could have done prior to injury, is horribly expensive.   And my wife could probably do most of it, if she didn't have care for me. On to itself is a double edged sword, if she is injured then we're both screwed twice as hard.

Now here is the kicker, everytime we have asked for help it backfired on us.  I have been threatened several times, my wife has been threatened and I have been warned if I keep asking for help I may lose my rank or worse administratively separated.  Everytime I think I we should go to the IG (inspector general) we are reminded of the incident in my last unit, nothing happened to the bad guys and we were sent away to this unit with no result. 

The only good part of my unit is the Wounded Warriors.  Not the staff or the officers or the civilian horde.  Only the injured Marines.  We have recieved more help and heart via my injured brothers.  Got to think that's funny, if you weren't injured.
 
As far as Organizations go,  the Semper Fi Fund has been awesome!  The DAV has helped!  That's it. 

The Wounded Warrior Project is a Ponzi scheme.  As much money that is funneled to them, you would think they would help, NOPE, got a T-shirt and once a year we get stickers.  Not that we haven't asked.  And if they do return our call it'll be an email 6 months later, but no help just lip service.  If you look at their Financials you can see the top 6 get millions a year, and the top 20 get hundreds of thousands.  Not a one of them are in a wheelchair or missing an arm or missing a lung.  It pisses me off!  

So long story short, don't give in to the peer pressure and give to an organization that doesn't really help.  You don't have to take my word, do your own research.  That's what Google is for.  My advice is to go to Charity Navigator. Lots of information, lots of reviews and lots of insight.

Pride

Pride can be deadly.  We (my wife and I) have a Eagle Globe and Anchor door knocker on my steel reinforced door to our home on a hill that has clear envelopes of fire on both laterals.  We have yellow footprints entering our home and we still have our magnetic "Parent's Pride" Emblem on our truck with Marine Corps personalized plates.  We wear red on Fridays and we donate the time we can to those you need it.   The pride we have, if you could contain it in a jar, would be enough to shine bright until everyone came home.

A Version of Genesis

In the beginning was the word, and the word was God.

In the beginning was God, and all else was darkness and void, and without form. So God created the heavens and the Earth. He created the sun, and the moon, and the stars, so that light might pierce the darkness. The Earth, God divided between the land and the sea, and these he filled with many assorted creatures.
And the dark, salty, slimy creatures that inhabited the murky depths of the oceans, God called sailors. And He dressed them accordingly. They had little trousers that looked like bells at the bottom. And their shirts had cute little flaps on them to hide the hickeys on their necks. He also gave them long sideburns and shabby looking beards. God nicknamed them "squids" and banished them to a lifetime at sea, so that normal folks would not have to associate with them. To further identify these unloved creatures, He called them "petty" and "commodore" instead of titles worthy of red-blooded men.

And the flaky creatures of the land, God called soldiers. And with a twinkle in His eye, and a sense of humor that only He could have, God made their trousers too short and their covers too large. He also made their pockets oversized, so that they may warm their hands. And to adorn their uniforms, God gave them badges in quantities that only a dime store owner could appreciate. And He gave them emblems and crests... and all sorts of shiny things that glittered... and devices that dangled. (When you are God you tend to get carried away.)

On the 6th day, He thought about creating some air creatures for which he designed a Greyhound bus driver's uniform, especially for Air Force flyboys. But He discarded the idea during the first week, and it was not until years later that some apostles resurrected this theme and established what we now know as the "Wild-Blue-Yonder Wonders."

And on the 7th day, as you know, God rested.

But on the 8th day, at 0730, God looked down upon the earth and was not happy. No, God was not happy! So He thought about His labors, and in His divine wisdom God created a divine creature. And this He called Marine. And these Marines, who God had created in His own image, were to be of the air, and of the land, and of the sea. And these He gave many wonderful uniforms. Some were green; some were blue with red trim. And in the early days, some were even a beautiful tan. He gave them practical fighting uniforms, so that they could wage war against the forces of Satan and evil. He gave them service uniforms for their daily work and training. And He gave them evening and dress uniforms...sharp and stylish, handsome things…so that they might promenade with their ladies on Saturday night and impress the hell out of everybody! He even gave them swords, so that people who were not impressed could be dealt with accordingly.

And at the end of the 8th day, God looked down upon the Earth and saw that it was good. But was God happy? No! God was still not happy! Because in the course of His labors, He had forgotten one thing: He did not have a Marine uniform for Himself. He thought about it, and thought about it, and finally God satisfied Himself in knowing that, well....

Not everybody can be a Marine!

A Fan of WSJ's Mackubin Thomas Owens

The Wall Street Journal's Mackubin Thomas Owens has been inpressing me for quite some time now.  He is  a professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College, editor of Orbis, the quarterly journal of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and author of "US Civil-Military Relations After 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain" (Continuum, 2011).

He writes quite fluently with his military topics and is "top on" with his audience.  Here is a copy of what he worte on May 2, 2011:

Why We Still Need the Marines

Their unique combination of sea, land and air capabilities makes them an indispensable rapid response force.

In Washington these days, the Defense Department is looking to cut its budget and the Marine Corps especially is reviewing its future role. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has spoken of "anxiety" that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have turned the Corps into a "second land army," and he has cancelled major Marine weapons systems, such as the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. No institution is sacrosanct, so it's worth asking: Why should we maintain the Marine Corps in the future?

The utility of any institution must be balanced against the opportunity cost of maintaining it. In arguing against maintaining a Marine Corps in the future, one must prove either that what the Marines do isn't necessary, or that it is necessary but that another organization can do it more efficiently and effectively.

In 1954, the political scientist Samuel Huntington argued that each service was built around a "strategic concept"-"the fundamental element of [a] service . . . its role or purpose in implementing national policy." A service's strategic concept answers the "ultimate question: What function do you perform which obligates society to assume responsibility for your maintenance?"

The current Marine Corps strategic concept envisions an expeditionary force in readiness capable of responding rapidly to the full range of crises and contingencies, primarily but not exclusively from the sea, with integrated and balanced air, ground and logistics teams. To this end, the Marines provide a responsive and scalable "middleweight" force that is light enough to get to where it is needed quickly but heavy enough-and with sufficient logistics support-to prevail against an adversary upon arrival.

Due to the proliferation of high-tech defensive weapons, the most controversial element of the Marines' strategic concept are amphibious assaults against defended littorals. What most people envision when they think of an amphibious assault is a World War II scenario with landing craft churning toward a defended beach. But today's amphibious assaults seek to avoid the strength of the enemy's defenses, exploiting seams and gaps in those defenses in order to achieve surprise.

For example, in October 2001, Naval Task Force 58-commanded by then-Brig. Gen. James Mattis, who is now commander of U.S. Central Command-conducted an amphibious assault to seize the airfield at Kandahar, Afghanistan. Gen. Mattis's force of two infantry battalions, along with fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and logistics support, thrust 450 nautical miles from ships off the coast of Pakistan to Kandahar in only 48 hours.

In addition to conducting amphibious operations and providing forces for two wars, over the past decade the Marines have also been engaged in the Caucasus, Africa, the Pacific and Latin America. They have provided training and support for friends and allies and have responded to numerous crises: noncombatant evacuation operations in Liberia (2005) and Lebanon (2006), as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Indonesia, the U.S. Gulf region (2005), Haiti (2008 and 2009), Pakistan (2010) and Japan (2011).

Marines routinely split amphibious ready groups into smaller packages to provide a variety of capabilities over a wider geographic area, reassembling to conduct larger operations. Marine assets are currently involved in aircraft-recovery operations in support of NATO forces in Libya.

So it would seem that what the Marines do is of value to the United States. But could another service do what the Marines do? The answer, of course, is yes. But the opportunity cost would be very high.

All of the U.S. military services are carrying out missions in support of their own strategic concepts. Asking another service to do what the Marines do risks crowding out what they already do. Each of the other services operates primarily in one "domain": the Army on land, the Navy on water, and the Air Force in air and space. The Marines operate in a "lane" that intersects all three domains. In that lane, the Marines possess what economists would call comparative advantage.

What about the charge that the Marines have become a second land army in Iraq and Afghanistan? As the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Joseph Dunford, recently remarked, the Marines have no reason to apologize for sustained operations ashore.

Such operations, he observed, are part of the basic "sticker price" of the Marines: the requirement to carry out missions as directed by the president, an obligation Marines have met in Korea and Vietnam as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, an important part of Marine Corps tradition has been to prepare to fight the kind of small-unit wars we have confronted over the past decade.

The Marines are an expeditionary force with a maritime soul. Of course, the current security environment requires all services to become more expeditionary than was the case during the Cold War. But as former Marine Commandant Gen. Carl Mundy was fond of saying, "'Expeditionary' is not a mission. It's a mindset." The Marines have developed this expeditionary mindset over decades, and it is something that will serve the nation well in the future.

 

Comments

I had used Haloscan for years for my commenting on this blog.  As the times have changed, Haloscan is no more.  And with that, I have lost all of those years worth of comments.  I never downloaded them to keep them and my attempts to get them back from the company (Echo) seems futile.

So I am starting a leaf by using the blogger's version and I hope that this will still be an enjoyable website with comments.

Things I am Going to Miss

This is some of the cadences that I will miss saying and hearing in return 20 fold.
(The authors are unknown, these have been passed by word of mouth for many generations.)

1775

BACK IN 1775,

MY MARINE CORPS CAME ALIVE.

1^ST THERE CAME THE COLOR GOLD,

SHOWED THE WORLD THAT WE ARE BOLD.

NEXT THERE CAME THE COLOR BLUE,

SHOWED THE WORLD THAT WE ARE TRUE.

THEN THERE CAME THE COLOR GREEN,

SHOWED THE WORLD THAT WE ARE MEAN.

THEN THERE CAME THE COLOR RED,

SHOWED THE WORLD THE BLOOD WE’VE SHED.

(CAN BE SUNG AS A ROUND OR BY THE LEADER WITH THE PLATOON SINGING “MARINE CORPS” IN BETWEEN LINES.)

HORSE MARINE

MY GRAND DADDY WAS A HORSE MARINE

EVERYTHING HE WORE WAS MARINE CORPS GREEN

HE ATE STEAKS 8 INCHES THICK

HE PICKED HIS TEETH WITH A GUIDON STICK

HE LIVED EVERYDAY OF HIS LIFE IN THE CORPS

TILL THEY SENT HIM OFF TO WAR

THEY SENT HIM TO A PLACE CALLED VIETNAM

TO FIGHT PEOPLE CALLED THE VIETCONG

TILL ONE DAY IN A FIRE FIGHT

HE COME HOME ON A MEDIVAC FLIGHT

NOW HE SITS ON THE PORCH AND STARES

MARKING TIME IN HIS ROCKING CHAIR

EVERYWHERE WE GO

EVERYWHERE WE GO

PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW

WHO WE ARE

SO WE TELL THEM

WE’RE THE BOY’S FROM * (INSERT YOUR PLATOON #) YOU’VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT

THE MOTHERS TAKE THEIR DAUGHTERS IN WHEN EVER WE GO OUT!

PEOPLE SAY WE’RE CRAZY FOR THE CRAZY THINGS WE DO

WE’RE THE BOYS FROM *, WHO THE HECK ARE YOU!

MOMMA MOMMA

MOMMA MOMMA CAN’T YOU SEE

WHAT THE MARINE CORPS HAS DONE TO ME?

PUT ME IN A BARBER’S CHAIR,

I TURNED AROUND AND HAD NO HAIR

THEY PUT ME IN SOME CAMMIE GREEN

 THEY TRAINED ME HARD THEY MADE ME MEAN

THEN THEY SHIPPED ME OFF TO WAR

PUT ME ON A FOREIGN SHORE

THEY PUT A RIFLE IN MY HAND

 TOLD ME TO DEFEND OUR LAND

BUT IF I DIE IN A COMBAT ZONE

BOX ME UP AND SHIP ME HOME

PUT ME IN A SET OF DRESS BLUES

COMB MY HAIR AND SHINE MY SHOES

PIN THE MEDALS UPON MY CHEST

AND TELL MOMMA I DID MY BEST

BUT MOMMA MOMMA DON’T YOU CRY

MARINE CORPS MOTTO IS TO DO OR DIE

SAYING, “LEFT RIGHT A LOW RIGHT LEFT”

“LEFT RIGHT A LEFTY RIGHT LEFT”

IF I DIE, BURY ME DEEP

2 M16’S, BENEATH MY FEET

AND BY MY SIDE, PLACE MY 9MM THERE

BUT DON’T FORGET TO PACK MY PT GEAR,

BECAUSE EARLY ONE MORNING, AROUND ZERO-FIVE

THE EARTH’S GONNA SHAKE, THERE WILL BE LIGHTNING IN THE SKY

BUT DON’T YOU WORRY, DON’T COME UNDONE

IT’S JUST ME AND CHESTY PULLER ON A PT RUN.

Physical Evaluation Board

Time has come that my Fun with Navy Medicine will come to a close. I have been on a PEB since January and according to the Magic timeline that was given to me by December I could be on the way out of the Marine Corps. I wrote briefly about the Worst Case Scenarios once before but now that it seems to be reality I have been pinching myself on a regular basis.

The following is what I have learned so far:

During the VA appointment process each member will be assigned a code that is part of the VASRD and the reference for that is 38 CFR part 4. The codes will later translate into the VA's disability rating and has nothing to do with the military's rating. The military rating comes from the unfit condition that is preventing the member from doing his/her job. There can be multiple issues but after the initial is submitted, an addendum for each other unfit condition must be submitted otherwise it doesn't count. Of course the magic number for permanently disability retirement listing (PDRL) is 30 percent or higher. Anything less than that and the member is under 20 years will get a severance package. The math for that is 2 x base pay x # years, if combat related the number of years is 6. Obviously that doesn't help the more senior Marines.
(The unfit condition is anything that stops the Marine from performing ITSS/MOS/PFT/CFT.)

Before a package is sent to MEB the Marine is going to sign it and receive a copy. It was reiterated that the Marine must pay attention for any discrepancies since this will delay the process or give an undesired result from the board.

Right now, I am about halfway through the VA appointment process and have not seen my doctor for my unfitting condition as of yet.

I am going to have to find another theme to right about. Maybe I will write about the squirrels that make my clothes for me and the birds that make my bed.

Blogs and the Tools That They Are

My original idea was to use this blog as a communication tool with my family. At one time, it grew into a stress reliever. After the many rants and raves, time came when I thought I didn't need this outside opinion anymore. Since my absence, I have mulled over the point of posting more regularly again.

Whether or not anyone being outside my opinion headquarters, my wife and I, gives me an opinion I really do not care.

After saying that and you are still here reading. Then to me you are either very thick in the head or you know me better than you know yourself.

My wife is trying this thing we call a blog. It would do me well if you have poor opinions to either leave it in your head or write them here on my blog. ( Yes, the armor is still shiny.) Her blog address is: http://inconceivably40.wordpress.com/.
(Those that know me know that it took me 5 times to figure out how it was spelled.)

Happy toolbox hunting.

Absence with Navy Medicine

I have been home for about a month recovering from another surgery. My right shoulder has been decreasing in strength and agility for about a year or so. The surgeon discovered it as worse than predicted and had to sever and reattach my bicep tendon and fix some tears in two other muscles.

My left arm has increasingly been the strong arm. And life couldn't go on without my wife.

It will be back to work in a few days.

Fun With Navy Medicine, Continued...

Not sure which part I am on, seems to have been going on for quite some time now. I have had my left ulna nerve moved to fix another problem that was unforeseen before. I believe I am on day 3 of recovery since the surgery. Hopefully, and God willing, this will be that last surgery on my left arm.
I reenlisted for the last time on Monday, this will bring me to 19 years and change. Which is enough to get me to retirement.( Application for retirement can happen 14 months out from the desired date.) It was noted that I had several officers at the ceremony, which I only formally invited two. I reenlisted at the Aviation Memorial at MCAS New River in front of the CH-46 Sea Knight.

What We Have Been Up To

I know I have been MIA for a bit. Medical issues have been plaguing us for a little bit and I haven't been up to writing on the blog. My website is in disarray and I am aware of it, so no need to let me know that you are getting page errors. When I have some more time, I am planning a complete overhaul. We spent about 3 weeks in Arizona fixing our house there after a bad tenant and even worse property manager. Here is some finished pictures:









We laid the floor, painted the interior, replaced fixtures, and resurfaced the cabinetry.




We painted the outside, poured concrete steps, stained the concrete, landscaped 55 tons of rock, planted new vegetation, and Kim made a new house sign with the address.

Without listing everything we did, imagine a complete overhaul, so now our new tenants are basically moving into a new house.

1st P

I received my first pass of a maximum of 2 as a Staff Sergeant. Basically, if I don't get gunny next year then I will retire as a Staff Sergeant.

All that stuff I wrote about when I as a sergeant trying to get staff still applies. At least my combat is out of the way.

House Remodel - The May Update

Quit Smoking, The Sequel

Kim and I have been nicotine free, each, for about a week now. She is doing a little better than I, time wise.

We also just returned from a trip to see my parents in Wisconsin. No one died so I count that as a successful trip. Kim and my parents got along very well, a lot better than I got along with my parents.

Since we went through that stressful situation while quitting and the 24 hour drive to and 19 hour drive back(detour for the better), we should not have to worry about a relapse.

I know I could not have quit without my wife.

Quit Smoking, The Sequel, Day Three

So far so good. I haven't had a cigarette in about 68 hours and as far as I know Kim hasn't either. The coworkers are not helping at all, but I am doing what I said so far. Keep in mind I have a 21mg patch and Kim is using a 14mg.

The weekend is coming up that is usually the biggest test.

Quit Smoking, The Sequel, Day One

If you have been following my bad habits then you know that I started smoking again last summer. Well, today is day one of Kim and I quitting.

If I remember correctly, I gained about twenty pounds last time around. I lost it all when I started again but there are 2 major factors that play into that. My injury and my recovery. Not that gaining weight is any priority for me.

They say the average person gains (or loses) a habit after 21 straight days. So May should be nicotine and smoke free for us.

During my shift the worst part is my Corporal asking if I want to smoke every thirty minutes or so. Or it could be that my truck smells of smoke. Yep, you guessed it. It is on the list for cleaning this weekend.

Last go around day three was the worst. We shall see.

Fun with Navy Medicine, Part XXIII

My wrist is doing better and have a followup with the hand surgeon coming up in about a week. My career is holding on the facts that I have to have at least seventy-five percent mobility and strength in my left arm(compared to the right) before returning to full duty.

I have been having some problems in the lower abdominal area for the last month or so. I am fix'n to go to Duke to see the Endocrinology department. I have been diagnosed with orchitis and epididymitis. Plus, it seems that I have Staphylococcus aureus in an odd spot. The urologist says I have an unusual problem.

World News Report!!

Kim and I will be getting hitched today. Nothing extravagant, but the important parts.

For curiosity sake this is what her ring looks like:










Sorry don't have a picture of what mine looks like, but it is something I wanted.


I do have pictures of her, but she would kill me if I posted them. And that would be bad.


See you all on the flip-side.

Closing Time

I am in debate to end this blog.

Give me your vote:
yea or nay

Rev Gals Friday Five: Pets

In honor of all the beloved animal companions who bless our lives: tell us about the five most memorable pets you have known.

1) Cuddles - an attack toy poodle with a heart condition, Everyone I knew was afraid of this ankle biter, put to sleep in late eighties.

2) Sturgis - Only dog on my street to open the frig and grab a can without breaking it and bringing it to you; died by way of UPS truck 13 years ago.

3) Knuckles - Tree frog, feared by many answered to a few. Lived in a drawer on the USS Nassau ('96), set free in Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico.

4) Lady - Farm dog of my uncle's, she hated cows. Played too hard and was rested after ten years.

5) Sammy - Farm dog of my uncle's, given to neighbor after my uncle's passing.