Politics

[mdwest]

I would disagree, my partner's BIL had severe case of PTSD. He hsouldn't prove his case years later. I don't know how to read the fruit salad and the medals, but I don't think he had time as an MP. Actually, if one of the Marines here could decipher them I'd appreciate it. I think he was in Somalia during the "Black Hawk Down" incident.

View attachment 770184

One of our resident Marines can probably do a whole lot better than I can... but I can get you started..

the stripes on the left are his rank.. he was a Gunnery Sergeant (E7).. the stripes below are service stripes.. I think the USMC awards one for every 4 years of service? so he would have served for 20 years...

The ribbons and medals I can identify are the National Defense Service Medal (pretty common.. awarded to anyone that serves during a period of national emergency).. SW Asia Service Medal.. awarded to anyone that participated in Operation Desert Storm / Desert Shield.. Iraq Campaign Medal.. awarded to someone that served in Iraq during GWOT.. GWOT service medal.. awarded to people that served during GWOT.. Sea Service Deployment Medal.. awarded for someone that does a tour at sea.. Good Conduct Medal (self explainatory.. he was a good Marine that didnt get into trouble).. Marine Corps Achievement Medal.. Marine Corps Commendation Medal.. both of these are awarded when a Marine does something notable that is above and beyond typical service.. Combat Action Ribbon (self explainitory.. he served in combat).. the thing at the top is a "scuba bubble" / Combat Divers Badge.. Im not sure what MOS he served in.. Im guessing there is a USMC job that calls for a divers badge that doesnt call for airborne school? (@Mark A Ouellette can probably answer that better than I can).. most Marines I know with a dive badge come from the reconnisance community, EOD community, or MARSOC.. but they all also have USMC parachutists wings.. so I am assuming he didnt serve in any of those types of units..

the badges underneath the ribbon rack I believe are marksmanship badges.. I think the one on the right with 2 bars on top are "expert" rifle and pistol.. Im not sure about the one on the left..

a couple of patches are from 1/7 Marines.. that would confirm he was likely in Somalia during "Blackhawk Down".. 1/7 I believe was supporting the UN mission on the other side of the city in 1993 when TF Ranger got into the fight..

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Sadly, this has become a stereotypical theme as of recently. I feel like a jerk poking at our enlisted, but they are absolutely f-ing the taxpayer.

There is a podcast that is quite popular called "Financial Audit" with Caleb Hammer. The show is about the most outrageously irresponsible people trying to fix their chaotic finances. 100% of the time if the guest was enlisted, they are milking the government for FULL disability. Not a single one of them had any obvious physical ailment.

I will gladly allow for a fraction of those people having real disability whether mental or physical, but it appears we have created a cottage industry of fraud within the military disability system.

I know a lot of fully disabled veterans up here and its really quite sad. They weren't lifers, they did their 4-6 years as non-com, then milked the system, and now they are doing nothing with their lives because they don't want to get caught doing meaningful work that would prove they did not have a disability. Trying to better themselves would result in loss of benefits, so we are losing a major potential contributor to the US economy all to continue defrauding the military's generous disability benefits.

Sadly, I think we have to DOGE the disability system, strip all veterans of benefits, and force them to reapply using prudent criteria. The fraud is just too big at present and the super-majority of payments are fraudulent.

One of my best friends lost a leg in Vietnam. He only received 30% disability and he started working as soon as he was on his feet. Never stopped working until his retirement a few years ago when he was in his seventies. The VA provides veterans with very generous rehab educational benefits and I've never heard of anyone having their disability reduced because they took advantage, got a degree, and returned to the workforce. Including this writer. I still have the injury and still have to deal with it. Doesn't go away just because I got a job or became wealthy. FYI, my disability cheques are deposited automatically in a Montana bank. Those funds are reinvested in the States buying stuff whenever I return. The money does not come to Canada. Never has.

 

[mdwest]

One of my best friends lost a leg in Vietnam. He only received 30% disability and he started working as soon as he was on his feet. Never stopped working until his retirement a few years ago when he was in his seventies. The VA provides veterans with very generous rehab educational benefits and I've never heard of anyone having their disability reduced because they took advantage, got a degree, and returned to the workforce. Including this writer. I still have the injury and still have to deal with it. Doesn't go away just because I got a job or became wealthy. FYI, my disability cheques are deposited automatically in a Montana bank. Those funds are reinvested in the States buying stuff whenever I return. The money does not come to Canada. Never has.

That is incorrect..

the system for assigning disability percentages has not changed since vietnam... in fact the same system is in place today that was created in 1945, just post WW2..

loss of a leg is an automatic 90% rating.. amputation above the knee is 60-80%.. amputation below the knee is 40-60%... and loss of a foot is an automatic 40%..

Vietnam amputees also recieved SMC (special monthly compensation) which is payment above and beyond their disability rating for the loss of hands, feet, arms, legs, etc..

For a disabled vet.. you dont seem to know much about the disability system...

 

[mdwest]

While looking at those, what struck me the most, was he did all that and was only 21 years old. Sad to lose someone at such a young age.

21 years is the amount of time he served.. those dates on the plaque are when he entered the USMC and when he exited..

 

[LivingTheDream]

21 years is the amount of time he served.. those dates on the plaque are when he entered the USMC and when he exited..

Yeah my fault on that, I saw had in past tense and then the dates, I should have put it together when he said black hawk down. Not to say a 3 year old marine couldnt kick some ass but logically it didnt make sense.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

The dates are years of service. He is alive and just got his Masters in History as he wants to teach.

Masters degree puts him in a difficult "gray zone." Makes him too expensive to start out in most public high schools where pay scales are usually determined by experience and/or education level. My second BA would have made me unhirable except it allowed schools to hire one teacher to do the job for two. And a masters is usually not enough to get on staff at college or university. Not tenure track anyway. He can go on to PhD but that is very expensive and highly competitive (ask me how I know). I might suggest he consider what I did. Working for the Park Service as an interpretive ranger was a blast. It's teaching but to an audience that wants to learn vs high school babysitting (which is MUCH worse today than when you and I were students). Usually lots of travel. Job security can be a problem but with his education and ten point hiring preference he should be able to easily move around if needed. Politics is horrible in the NPS but his career in the Marines obviously gave him a thick skin. The military also has historian positions. But they are not teaching. Mostly desk work, writing, and research. Can be interesting work but maybe not as therapeutic for him. He can drop me a message if he'd like more info. Glad to help another vet ... even if he's a jarhead .

 

[SaintPanzer]

I would disagree, my partner's BIL had severe case of PTSD. He hsouldn't prove his case years later. I don't know how to read the fruit salad and the medals, but I don't think he had time as an MP. Actually, if one of the Marines here could decipher them I'd appreciate it. @Mark A Ouellette? I think he was in Somalia during the "Black Hawk Down" incident.

View attachment 770184

Well, I see a Navy Commendation Medal, what I think is an Air Force Commendation Medal, three Navy Achievement Medals, at least one of which has a V device for Valor, two Combat Action Ribbons, two Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, three Navy Unit Citations, four Marine Unit Citations, seven Good Conduct Medals, two National Defense Service Medals, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, a Southwest Asia Service Medal, an Afghanistan Service Medal, three Iraq Campaign Medals, GWOT Expeditionary Medal, GWOT Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Medal, for Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, one I don't recognize at all, a Saudi Arabian awarded Kuwait Liberation Medal and a Kuwait awarded Kuwait Liberation Medal.

Multiple Rifle and Pistol Expert badges, but the precedence should be corrected. Oh, a SCUBA qualification. Curious about his MOS. It looks like he and I chewed a lot of the same dirt.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

One of our resident Marines can probably do a whole lot better than I can... but I can get you started..

the stripes on the left are his rank.. he was a Gunnery Sergeant (E7).. the stripes below are service stripes.. I think the USMC awards one for every 4 years of service? so he would have served for 20 years...

The ribbons and medals I can identify are the National Defense Service Medal (pretty common.. awarded to anyone that serves during a period of national emergency).. SW Asia Service Medal.. awarded to anyone that participated in Operation Desert Storm / Desert Shield.. Iraq Campaign Medal.. awarded to someone that served in Iraq during GWOT.. GWOT service medal.. awarded to people that served during GWOT.. Sea Service Deployment Medal.. awarded for someone that does a tour at sea.. Good Conduct Medal (self explainatory.. he was a good Marine that didnt get into trouble).. Marine Corps Achievement Medal.. Marine Corps Commendation Medal.. both of these are awarded when a Marine does something notable that is above and beyond typical service.. Combat Action Ribbon (self explainitory.. he served in combat).. the thing at the top is a "scuba bubble" / Combat Divers Badge.. Im not sure what MOS he served in.. Im guessing there is a USMC job that calls for a divers badge that doesnt call for airborne school? (@Mark A Ouellette can probably answer that better than I can).. most Marines I know with a dive badge come from the reconnisance community, EOD community, or MARSOC.. but they all also have USMC parachutists wings.. so I am assuming he didnt serve in any of those types of units..

the badges underneath the ribbon rack I believe are marksmanship badges.. I think the one on the right with 2 bars on top are "expert" rifle and pistol.. Im not sure about the one on the left..

a couple of patches are from 1/7 Marines.. that would confirm he was likely in Somalia during "Blackhawk Down".. 1/7 I believe was supporting the UN mission on the other side of the city in 1993 when TF Ranger got into the fight..

Dave West, you beat me to this task

The subject Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant (Gunny) served at least 20 years indicated by the five Hash Marks, each for four years of enlisted service.

The five rows of ribbons represent medals received displayed in the lower center. Some ribbons are independent without medals such as the Combat Action Ribbon and Presidential and Unit Citations.

The ribbons being most complete and visible, lets start there from top and left.

1st (Top) Row: Navy Commendation Medal, awarded for something or a period of somethings performed way above and beyond their normal duties.

2nd Row from Top

• Other service or foreign award, junior to Navy Comm and Senior to Navy Achievement Medal
• Navy Achievement Medal, three awards, with at least one award with V device for Valor.
• Combat Action Ribbon, two awards
• Joint Merit Unit Award (Joint service operation would explain the first ribbon in this row

3rd Row from Top

• Navy Unit Citation, three awards
• Meritorious Unit Citation, four awards
• Good Conduct Ribbon, seven awards (ribbon + silver star for five awards, plus bronze star for one award
• National Defense Ribbon, two awards

4th Row from Top

• Armed Forces Expeditionary Ribbon, three awards
• Southwest Asia Service
• Afghanistan Campaign
• Iraq Campaign

5th Row from Top

• GWOT Expeditionary
• GWOT Service
• Humanitarian Service
• Military Outstanding Volunteer Service

6th Row from Top

• Sea Service Deployment
• Unite Nations ?
• Kuwait Liberation Saudi Arabia
• Kuwait Liberation

The patches include those from Marine Air Control Squadron One and Four (air defense units), Marine Corps Communications and Electronics Schools (electronic systems technician and operations training to include systems deployed by MACS units), Aviation Units, and 1st Battalion 7th Marine Regiment.

The Scuba Qualification Badge is from gosh knows where. This Marine has been around!!

If the ribbons and medals cards in a game, the V device for Valor trumps everything else!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

That is incorrect..

the system for assigning disability percentages has not changed since vietnam... in fact the same system is in place today that was created in 1945, just post WW2..

loss of a leg is an automatic 90% rating.. amputation above the knee is 60-80%.. amputation below the knee is 40-60%... and loss of a foot is an automatic 40%..

Vietnam amputees also recieved SMC (special monthly compensation) which is payment above and beyond their disability rating for the loss of hands, feet, arms, legs, etc..

For a disabled vet.. you dont seem to know much about the disability system...

Sorry. I did not mean he lost the whole leg. Just below the knee. Eddy was water skiing on one leg the following summer before they had him fitted with proper prosthetic. He told me he only received 30%. I thought he should be entitled to more and told him so but he didn't care. Wonderful guy. He died suddenly last year just two months after his wife (married in HS) succumbed to cancer. Broken heart syndrome. It's real. A form of cardiomyopathy. The landmine and subsequent infection nearly took him out in Vietnam but he was tough enough to fight it off. Grief can wound much more severely. People who poopoo PTSD don't have a clue.

 

[Goopy]

For fk sake....my jaw hit the floor at the shit coming out of these politicians mouths, about the attempted beheading in Northern Ireland

Friggin crazy what is happening/being allowed to happen there…

 

[spike.t]

Here we go again.....cancelled....

Trump says he has 'cancelled' strikes against Iran after threatening 'very hard' attack tonight

Trump says discussions with Iran have been "brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved".

www.bbc.com

 

[KJE81]

View attachment 770166

Allready cancelled it would seem: https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/us-iran-war-trump-israel-june-11

 

[Brent in Az]

Meanwhile.....Donald J. Dumbass keeps getting played by the Iranian's.
I'm so looking forward to paying $7.00 a gallon for gas, and losing the midterms, while these fuktards keep screwing around.

 

[KJE81]

My "Ignore List" has 19 entries by now.

All of the entries are due to the "Politics thread"

10 out of those 19 have more than "5000 Messages", only 1 have less than 1000. This indicates a correlation between "too much free time" and "bad online behavior".

I have none on my ignore list, It just makes the thread hard to read in my opinion...however I must confess I have a few that I simply just scroll by instead of reading or engaging with

 

[318AE]

He can drop me a message if he'd like more info.

Something gives me the sense you’re not really going to need to check your PMs.

 

[Tex .416]

… . People who poopoo PTSD don't have a clue.

I will back you on this 101%. About 5%+ of females and 1.8% of males of the US population now has PTSD to some degree. A large share of that is vets, but there are many who have it from other life events. As with many health issues, there is mild, moderate, and severe. Of those with PTSD, 0.5% have a more severe and much harder to treat form known as Complex PTSD, “CPTSD.”.

There is no way to tell from looking at someone what deep scars they carry in their psyche and soul.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Meanwhile.....Donald J. Dumbass keeps getting played by the Iranian's.
I'm so looking forward to paying $7.00 a gallon for gas, and losing the midterms, while these fuktards keep screwing around.
View attachment 770206

Agreed. Same old Trump BS. Not sure who's playing who but definitely some game playing going on. I wonder how much longer the US troops in the Middle East will put up with this. At some point someone in charge over there is going to have to take the phone off the hook.

Clearly Trump didn't write that post. WAY too many syllables! And not one "very bad" or "crooked" or "great" (the latter adjective usually in reference to himself of course).

 

[pilar]

I’m kinda glad we abandon the idea of taking over Kharg island, it’s just roughly 16 miles from mainland Iran and 400 miles from the embargo/ blockade line .
Iran has proven to be very unstable, and that island would turn into a drone attack zone.and would be indefensible. IMHO concentration on opening the straight of Hamuz &
Completions of the pipeline through UAE to avoid the strait for the western flow of oil,
Bombing the pipes to China seems like a better bargain chip?

 

[Hunt anything]

IN NO WAY am I comparing this experience to combat related PTSD but I feel anxiety whenever I’m out on the water and another boat is approaching.

Years ago I was anchored along a river bank doing some post work paperwork and another boat came tear assing down the river and hit my boat head on. I abandoned ship just in time and only received prop gashes down one leg as his boat literally jumped my boat like it was a ski ramp. My wife always wants to boat ride up the river and I flatly refuse, I’ll ride all day in the Gulf but on confined waterways I get in and out as fast as I can. This was pretty tough as at the time I was spending 40+hrs a week on the water doing recreational boating and fish consumption surveys for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

PTSD is a real thing and should be taken seriously and anyone that experiences it has my devoted admiration.

 

[rookhawk]

My first postgraduate work was in sciences. I essentially have a second BA in biology.

If his grades are so spectacular and genius-ish as he consistently claims, why has he refused to release them (after he promised to release them) and threatened Wharton if they don't keep them secret? Certainly implies he's got something to hide. And I'm sure he does. His actions and his mouth demonstrate an intellectual capacity inconsistent with any university graduate I've ever met ... and I've known some really dumb ones!

If his grades truly sucked, leftists which outnumber conservatives in the Ivy league faculty by 300:1 would have illegally leaked his transcripts.