Unintended consequences...those consequences we don't foresee when we put what we believe is a well thought-out plan in place. Consequences that we should have perhaps been able to foresee if we would have thought a bit longer about what we thought was our well thought-out plan. The recognition of unintended consequences is often slow in [...]
Tag: military
The 12 Days Before Christmas – 216 Veteran Suicides.
As we all go about merrily this holiday season I want to remind everyone of an unpleasant reality that will forever mar this season for an untold number of veterans' families - the veteran suicide epidemic continues unabated. In these 12 days before Christmas, 216 more veterans will commit suicide. On Christmas Day that number [...]
Sean Alexander Dacus
A 31 year old veteran committed suicide Tuesday outside Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He was a member of the 10th Mountain Family - he had served two tours in Iraq in his early twenties. The veteran's name - Sean Alexander Dacus. Sean's funeral service is tomorrow, Saturday, at 2 PM at the Amundson [...]
Ten years.
Ten years. 520 weeks. 3,650 days. 67,600 hours. Ten years ago something was taken from us as a country. Ten years ago families unexpectedly and horrifically lost loved ones. Ten years ago a whole generation of first responders were forever changed by the catastrophic loss of too many of their brethren. Ten years ago the burden on [...]
For the boys…
I never cease to be amazed when I hear about some of the places people reading my blog are. I often forget that the reach of the internet is essentially everywhere. That access is magnified by the notion of six degrees of Kevin Bacon (which essentially speaks to how small the world is when we start examining [...]
DO SOMETHING!
I am angry and getting more angry by the minute. The source of my anger is the research I have been doing on veteran suicides. I cannot find an end to the horror. I am ashamed that I have only come recently to appreciate the scourge this epidemic is on the character of our country. [...]
Today I write…
On this day when we celebrate the anniversary of our independence as a country I am reminded of the enduring cost of that freedom. Freedom is not a static state that once arrived at can be ignored. It is a commitment to a way of life that bears significant costs and these costs must be paid to [...]
THE NEW FORTY 