Episode 97 – New England 69th Irregulars

Episode 97 – New England 69th Irregulars

Episode 97 – Scott Libby – Founder of the New England 69th Irregulars’ Outdoor Adventure Group

Scott talking for the podcast

Scott Libby is a Navy Veteran from New Hampshire. I started talking with Scott about a year ago. He likes being outdoors and it was clear that he loves New Hampshire. We kept trying to meet up, but it never worked out until now. Now I was going to get to meet the founder of the Irregulars. Or, the New England 69th Irregulars’ Outdoor Adventure Group.

I had the opportunity to talk with him at White Lakes State Park in Tamworth, NH. It was a sunny day so I thought I would double down and ride my motorcycle up to meet him. It was a beautiful ride. I pulled into the campground, found his spot and said hello.

Scott looked liked something out of a LL Bean or EMS Catalog. The classic tour guide, outfitter, and expedition expert. His setup at the campsite was top notch.

We sat at the picnic table and started talking. Scott has this cool idea. There are many Veterans and Military people who are alone or want to socialize with other military types. Scott created this Outdoor Adventure Group to give Vets some experiences that would make for great memories. Memories that last longer than time at a bar.

Scott told me about riding ATVs. I had seen pictures of this thing below. I am calling it the Warthog. This thing is the ultimate off road SUV.

The point is there are all kinds of things that Scott is planning for us. If you are in the military or a veteran there will be something outside for someone looking for adventure if you are a member of this group. Check out the link below and join the group for a different kind of experience.

I this the Warthog. Scott’s side by side is bad to the max.

 


New England 69th Irregulars Facebook Group Site

 


 

Episode 96 – Heath Phillips – 49x

Episode 96 – Heath Phillips – 49x

Episode 96 – Heath Phillips – 49x

I had another podcast lined up for this week. However, I saw this story on the Washington Post website (He went AWOL after being sexually assaulted….) and felt this was more important in an age of #metoo and increased awareness around sexual assault. I decided to talk about Heath and his story and what I felt was a failure of leadership.

In 1988 Heath was 17 years old and serving on the USS Butte. It was on this ship that he started being sexually assaulted by 6 other male crew members. After filing a complaint 49 days in a row, Heath went AWOL. I couldn’t believe it either, he filed a complaint 49 straight times and nothing was done. Upon review of his case, he received a Other than Honorable Discharge, and was kicked out of the Navy.

Heath faced challenges from PTSD as a result of what happened to him, go into alcoholism and kept fighting to clear his name. Three times the Navy review board looked at his plea to upgrade his discharge to honorable, and three times he was denied.

30 years later, after the fourth time presenting his case to the Navy review board, Heath got the news last week that his discharge was upgraded to Honorable.

I still can’t get over how this happened. I don’t understand what the mind set was of the Captain of the USS Butte and other Petty Officers that allowed this to happen and did nothing to defend this Sailor. They aren’t fit to wear the uniform, much less call themselves Naval Officers.

Heath does talks across military installations advocating for those who have been a victim of sexual harassment and assault in the military. I am glad he kept fighting and did not give up or go into the abyss. There are some links below about Heath’s story and the Military’s SAPR Office.


LINKS

 


Heath’s Story


Episode 91 – Dirty VA Hospital Room

Episode 91 – Dirty VA Hospital Room

Episode 91 – Dirty VA Hospital Room

Question of the Week

Question of the Week is why do I crochet? Simply put, I crochet because I made a promise. A listener needed yarn to make hats and gloves for Veterans. I asked a group with Project Linus if they had yarn they could donate.

The group leader said yes if I learned to crochet. The image on the left will be my next blanket. It is a corner to corner blanket. I like doing this because it is something to do with my hands. Also the finished product goes to Project Linus (http://projectlinus.org/). I will keep them coming.

 


The Word

I was interested in the story that broke about a veteran’s father who took pictures of a hospital room that was, in a word, filthy. It is my understanding that hospital rooms are supposed to clean. Looking at the photos it seems that this room was dirty for a while. Stephen Wilson – The Father’s Twitter Page

My question is this. After all the outrage over a Master Sergeant who re-enlisted with a sock puppet on her hand, where is the outrage over this room? Where is the brass coming down hard on this? Where are all the Facebook Veterans who rail against the injustices of the world? Where are they? What are they doing? They would rather make noise over a sock puppet and get two people kicked out of the military than keep the heat on a VA Hospital that services Veterans. I don’t get it. But by all means, get angry over things that don’t really matter.


Upcoming Events

  • June 10th, 2018 – #teamdarrah is having a cornhole tournament at the Avon VFW. This is to raise money for Veteran’s Causes
  • July 28th, 2018 – Burnouts 4 Veterans will be at it again on July 28th at the Brockton VFW.
Episode 89 – Jody Part 3 – Norman Early

Episode 89 – Jody Part 3 – Norman Early

Episode 89 – Jody Part 3

Norma Early III After 3 Marines worked this Jody over….

Take a good look at the image on the left. This is Norman Early III. Norman is a Jody who was having an affair with Diana Reyes, who was the wife of Marine Lance Cpl. Sergio Medina. When he found out is wife was having an affair he and two of his fellow Marines beat up Norman. You can read about the story here in the Washington Post Article – (Marine Veterans Sentenced).

Wes and I want to be clear. We can certainly understand how this Marine felt, and we can empathize with his situation. Jody was doing what used to be a crime, and got caught. If you read the article, you will see that Norman got a beat down. There is no sympathy from us for what happened to this guy. Married women are never a good risk for a fling. However, we simply cannot condone using violence to resolve a situation like this one. It never works.

Here are somethings we feel you should not do if you find out that Jody has been coming around like the cockroaches they are. I say they and cockroaches, because we understand this affects both men and women in the service.

1. Do not use physical violence to retaliate. These Marines destroyed their lives in 30 minutes.

2 . Do not speak, text or email threats of any type to Jody or your X. No soon to be X, just X. They are gone, goodbye

3. Do not try to take this out on Jody. As messed up as it seems, your significant other betrayed your trust. Jody was there to help.

That is about as K.I.S.S as we can make it for this month. Next month, we will go over what you should do. Thanks for listening.


Contact Emails

If you have comments, questions, or think we are just plain wrong, contact us.

  • Wes – wesley.mullings@gmail.com
  • Travis – travis@oscarmikeradio.com

Jody and Jodie Podcast Links

I will add the episode links so you can get caught up. This is a year long series, so buckle up

Links to Jody/Jodie Past Podcasts

  1. Episode 81 – Jody Part 1
  2. Episode 85 – Jodie Part 2
Episode 87 – Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes 2018

Episode 87 – Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes 2018

Episode 87 – Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes 2018

Horses. Beautiful, majestic, peaceful creatures that most people do not know can help Veterans with PTSD. I talked to Julie Lovely last year, check out Episode 52 here – (Oscar Mike Radio Episode 52).

I met Julie on her farm and set up to begin talking with her. Note to self: Make sure I have headphones whenever I go remote. Snow had made scheduling challenging:)

We were in her barn, and to me this is the best part of doing this episode. Here we are sitting in a barn, outside on a cool spring day talking about what Julie is doing with Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes in 2018.

There is a lot coming up this year. First there is the Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes 2018 Benefit Dinner on April 21st at the Easton, MA Country Club. This benefit dinner and silent auction is to raise funds that Wild Hearts will use to provide equestrian therapy classes to Veterans.

2018 marks the first year that there will be two sessions for the Veterans. There is the Spring Healing through Horsemanship Veterans Program. Based on the need, Julie decided to have a fall session.  Her program is growing, and I am happy that Veterans find this valuable.

Talking with Julie, I could see the excitement in her eyes as she was talking about working with Veterans. Even with all the work required to get the paddocks, barn, and training area ready all while preparing for the benefit diner, there was this undercurrent of energy that is contagious. I  can’t wait to come back and talk with her and the whole crew this summer.  I can’t say this enough, people who serve in this way deserve our support.



Information

 


Contest!!!!

I have two tickets for the 2018 Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction. Here the rules:

  1. Drop me an email – travis@oscarmikeradio.com or a Facebook Book Message and tell me how I met Julie.
  2. I will put all the people who put in the proverbial bowl.
  3. I will do a drawing on Facebook Live on Sunday, April 15th, 2018.
  4. The winner will receive two tickets at Will – Call if needed to come to the event.