Bill reached out to me on Facebook Messenger about coming on Oscar Mike Radio. He asked me if I would come out and talk to him at his headquarters in Worcester, MA. I headed up on cold morning in February and found the office pretty easily.
I met Bill and said introduced myself. The first thing that stood out were all the coats and toys in his office. He explained that they were a donation from UNUM Insurance Company https://www.unum.com/ and would be given to children of Veterans in need.
Bill got a laugh out of me with some good natured ribbing about me being a Marine. I had learned about Bill’s Air Force Career and gained a massive amount of respect for what he did when he served.
We moved the conversation to how Bill got Project New Hope off the ground. There is this desire that Bill has to serve and be of service. Meeting the other volunteers who popped in and out to work the mission was one of the highlights of the day.
There is also a Project New Hope Office in Westfield, MA. By car is it 60 miles one way to Westfield. That is a lot of ground to cover for any non profit organization. Bill and his team are committed to Veterans and I was glad to make the trip to meet everyone. A big shout out to BOSE for supplying headphones to troops. Thanks for my pair Bill, they sounded great!
500. 500 times 22 equals 11,000. Jim Tough actually does 25 per day because he gives a pushup to the Infantry, the Airborne Ranger in the Sky, and all other military. So Jim has actually done 12,500 pushups over the course of 500 days.
I want you all to watch Jim’s Day 500 video here (Like and Subscribe while you are at it!). What really stood out is how Jim articulated the scope of the problem of Veteran’s Suicide. He described what was lost as a result in a way that few people understand.
I believe is Jim’s desire that one day he will not have to do pushups. Wouldn’t that be great? The need to talk about someone killing themselves will no longer be a priority. I want to be there when that day happens. Jim talks about some of his battles with PTSD. This is honest talk where Jim does not hold back on what is needed to step away from the abyss.
I thought about how much effort it takes to provide an insightful message and 22 – 25 pushups over the course of 18 months. Creating any kind of content and sustaining the necessary energy to do so is impressive. What is more impressive in the Day 500 video, Jim doesn’t make it about him doing the pushups.
Usually, it would be good for one of these types of situations and podcasts to talk about a bright future after an amazing accomplishment that someone like Jim did. The future will be bright when Jim doesn’t need to do anymore pushups. However, as long as he is able, Jim will be telling us to stay in our fight and don’t quit.
You can listen to “My Journey” by Mugzy Brady. He is a rapper and hip hop artist from Australia. Mugzy was on #128. I am dropping his track, “My Journey”, at the end of this podcast. Go to https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMugzy/
What did I did I do for New Years? I did nothing exciting which was great! I worked on the blanket I am making for a friend with cancer. This was also a year I was happy to do Dad’s Taxi. A service which beats Uber and LYFT. I finished podcast 128 for Mugzy Brady, and just hung out. It was a fantastic New Year’s Eve!
“The military divorce rate is calculated by comparing the number of troops listed as married in the Pentagon’s personnel system at the beginning of the fiscal year with the number who report divorces over the year. The information is managed and compiled by the Defense Manpower Data Center.” (Military.com article by Amy Bushatz ). Interesting viewpoint on divorce among female servicemembers. It would appear that female Marines have a hard time. I believe there are a couple reasons for that, but I don’t blame the Marine Corps.
My SNCOs and Officers were right. E-4s and below should not get married during their first tour.
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
You can listen to “My Journey” by Mugzy Brady. He is a rapper and hip hop artist from Australia. I am dropping his track at the end of this podcast. Go to https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMugzy/
Be advised this is a Merry Christmas Zone. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to listen. PDAWG sends.
So what does PDAWG (that’s me) want for Christmas? What would I ask Santa for to celebrate the birth of Jesus? I thought about it and here are three things I want for Christmas.
1. Yellow PT Belt
I can’t understand this. I mean seriously? What is the need or point for wearing this thing? My first wish is to have these sent to the trash heap of military history. We don’t need them to PT or win wars. At $10.00 a pop someone is making money off these bright, non-tactical pieces of plastic. Check this link out – https://www.armyproperty.com/nsn/8465-01-444-1493
What would Chesty think?
2. Weapons
I was thinking about the M1, M16 and M4. All weapons used in different wars. However, if you strip away all the things that set them apart, they are the same. They fire a shell from a casing with propellent inside at target 500 – 700 yards away. I want some kind of different weapon system developed. I don’t know what exactly, but something that won’t fail when dropped in sand. I want a system that ensures we will win fights before they start.
3. Power Armor
Those who know me, know that I am huge Warhammer 40K fan. That is not where this thought came from though. Reading about Afghanistan and IEDs, I thought about how a simple weapon was so effective against an army that is widely considered one of the best in history. I would like to have power armor that not only allowed soldiers to carry more into battle, but also protected them from harm. What if power armor could detect IEDs and neutralize them before into an AO?
I was doing a livecast at Veteran Owned Veteran Operated in Abington, MA. Jonathan Gosselin asked me to talk about South Shore Veterans Assistance during the livecast. SSVA is a local group from the South Shore area of Massachusetts who support Veterans. Many of these individuals are civilians.
Jonathan said it would be a good idea to reach out to SSVA Inc. after the livecast to learn more about the good work they are doing. It is also a good idea if you need custom screen printing or promotional materials to go to VOVO Inc on 1540 Bedford Street in Abington. Check out Jonathan’s website – https://vovoprints.com/ to learn more.
So I got on Facebook and sent a message on the South Shore Veterans Assistance Page – https://www.facebook.com/SouthShoreVeteransAssistance/ and Cindy got right back me. SSVA would be putting together gift bags for Veterans that Monday night, would I come down and check it out?
Whitman VFW Post 697 is located about 40 minutes south of Boston, depending on traffic:) The VFW has several events and a friendly bar. Walking into the room, there crew was already in motion assembling the gift bags. Cindy introduced me to me to Dave Andrews who is the treasurer for SSVA. Since SSVA is a registered 501c3, they are creative in how the advocate veterans. Dave told me that the majority of the members of SSVA are civilians. A civilian himself, Dave came from a military family wanted to serve Veterans in a meaningful way. You can watch my conversation with Dave here – Facebook Livestream with Dave Andrews of SSVA .
I wanted to leave you with this. You can make change right where you if look hard enough. SSVA has been doing this for many years, and is always looking for help. Can’t wait to come back and find out more. Thanks for all you do, Merry Christmas!
This is the amazing crew that put together the gift bags for Veterans
