The American Eagle memorial at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium. Dedicated in 1960, the cemetery contains 5,329 American war dead and covers 91 acres. (Wikipedia Commons)
(Tribune News Service) — A white marble cross marks the grave of Sgt. Verdun Durant Smith of Orangeburg, S.C., one of more than 5,000 Americans who died in World War II and are interred at a cemetery more than 4,000 miles away.
Smith’s ultimate sacrifice is perpetually commemorated in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium. Dedicated in 1960, the cemetery contains 5,329 American war dead and covers 91 acres.
‘It is very heartwarming’
The Netherlands-based Fields of Honor Foundation has for more than a decade had a goal to honor the more than 30,000 American soldiers who have either been buried or listed at the Walls of the Missing at the following American WWII cemeteries in Europe: Ardennes, Epinal, Henri-Chapelle, Lorraine, Luxembourg and Margraten.
The goal of the nonprofit is to honor American World War II servicemen who fought and died for the freedom of others and who have been buried in overseas American cemeteries.
Through a partnership between the South Carolina State Library and the Fields of Honor Foundation, work began to add photographs and other memories to the headstones, including those soldiers from South Carolina such as Smith.
Smith was a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Force and served in the 340th Bomber Squadron, 97th Bomber Group. He died on Sept. 13, 1944, after his B-17 plane was shot down over Blechhammer, Germany, and crashed during World War II.
Sebastiaan Vonk, chairman of the Fields of Honor Foundation, had collected soldiers’ photos and records in an online database but soon began to put a framed photo of them next to their headstones. That process started in 2014 in the Netherlands American Cemetery in the town of Margraten, when the Faces of Margraten program was started.
“The Fields of Honor Foundation is a group of people primarily from the Netherlands and Belgium, but we also have people from the United States who have volunteered their time to further our mission,” Vonk said.
“Our mission is to put a face to each and every soldier either buried in or memorialized at the six cemeteries that our foundation covers. Our key project is the Field of Honor Database, which now has a memorial page for over 30,000 U.S. WWII soldiers.
“Another project is the Faces of Margraten, a biennial tribute at Netherlands American Cemetery. During this tribute, we put photos of the men and woman buried and memorialized there next to their graves and the Walls of the Missing at the cemetery,” he said.
Hannah Majewski, a reference librarian at the S.C. State Library, was contacted by a gentleman from the Netherlands in 2020 about finding a photo of a South Carolina soldier whose grave his family had volunteered to look after.
“The soldier’s name was James Wise. … Once they got the photo, the Faces of Margraten organization reached out to us and wanted to know if we would be interesting in researching the soldiers who are buried over there from South Carolina and try to put a face with a name over there, and we did,” Majewski said.
It was a project she had a vested interest in.
“My father served in World War II, and he was a prisoner of war in World War II. So, of course, this was very interesting to me at the time. So I took on the project and was able to find several photos of soldiers and send them over to the cemetery, where they are now able to actually put a face with a soldier who was buried over there,” Majewski said.
“I first started with Margraten. So they said, ‘Would you mind doing some of the other cemeteries?’ Of course, I was happy to do. Verdun was one of them,” she said.
“I just happened to reach out and did a little bit of research. The research included, first of all, starting to look at newspapers articles. Sometimes back then they would include a picture of a soldier. They would have an article that this person is deceased or died in battle, and they would put a photo. A lot of time, they didn’t because maybe the family couldn’t afford a photo,” Majewski said.
It is not unusual for graves or names the Memorial Wall at the Ardennes and Henri-Chapelle cemeteries to be adopted and cared for by a family in Belgium, with the family encouraged to attend ceremonies to honor the soldiers and conduct research on them.
While Smith’s grave has not yet been adopted, Majewski said reaching out to his and other families has been “an amazing project to work on.”
“Exhilarating is not really the right word, but it’s very heartwarming. It is very heartwarming to me because I am bringing some kind of closure sometimes to these people, or at least letting them know that what their family member sacrificed is not forgotten,” she said.
“I’m happy to help with other soldiers as well. As matter of fact, I’m also helping research soldiers from both Alabama and Georgia who are buried at the Margraten cemetery. This research is something I enjoy, and it really brings some proud and strong emotions to know I’m helping to provide honor and respect to these soldiers who so willingly sacrificed their lives for not only their county, but for the country of others,” Majewski said.
‘It’s great that they honor them’
Smith and two of his brothers, Emmett and Blake, moved to Orangeburg from the Horry County town of Conway and worked at Jeffords Machine Shop.
Billie Smith married Blake’s son, John J. “BoBo” Smith, and worked with other family members to help Majewski gather photos and other information on Verdun.
“Durant and Mr. Blake both served in WWII. Mr. Blake passed away a number of years ago, but always said on one of the missions, he saw a plane go down. When they got back to base, he was informed that his brother was killed when they were shot down and thought all the rest of his years that he saw his own brother die,” Billie said in an email.
She continued, “We are so gratified by the honor being paid to these servicemen who gave their lives. I hope one day my husband and I will be able to travel there to visit the grave. Some family members traveled there a number of years ago to visit his gravesite and said it was well cared for.”
According to its website, the American Battle Monuments Commission administers and maintains 26 permanent American military cemeteries and 32 federal memorials, monuments and markers which are located in 17 foreign counties, the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the British Dependency of Gilbraltar; four of the memorials are located in the United States.
There are 207,621 U.S. war dead from World War I and World War II commemorated at ABMC sites; this includes 30,793 interments and 4,456 memorializations for World War I and 92,958 interments and 78,985 memorializations for World War II.
Smith had one daughter, Carol Ann Harward. He was the grandfather of three, including Trey Hinson of Davidson, North Carolina.
“My mom still lives in Charlotte in the same house she bought when I was born. Basically, my mom’s stepdad would be the gentleman that raised her. … She never knew her real dad. She basically had given me everything she had on him. I have his Purple Heart. There is some kind of air medal that I’m missing,” Hinson said.
“I have some of the letters that he wrote to my grandmother. I have the flag that was presented to my grandmother and a couple of pictures, but that’s about it. To me, I think it’s great that he served his country,” he said.
“We never really talked a lot about him. My mom only knew what my grandmother had told her, and I really don’t know how much my grandmother told her,” Hinson said, noting that he’s pleased that his grandfather’s remains are being kept sacred in Belgium.
“I think it’s great. I honestly wish that he was here on American soil. Since so many Americans were buried over there, it’s kind of considered American soil. I think that it’s great that he is put somewhere with other people, the people that he passed with. I think it’s great that they honor them,” Hinson said. “My plan one day is to go over there if I can ever slow down at work and COVID can ever slow down.”
Vonk said it is important to honor and remember Smith and other soldiers who have given so much of themselves in service to their country. This is why the Fields of Honor Foundation work continues.
“I think what drives us is that we believe that nobody deserves to be forgotten. Everyone has a story. Everyone played their part during the war. So we try to at least find a photo for every soldier, put a face to their name. Hopefully, we can even reconstruct a part of their life story,” he said.
Vonk continued, “While we primarily do this to honor the soldiers ourselves, it also helps the public both here in Europe and in the United States to connect with them on a very powerful, emotional level. So ultimately, it helps to pass on the stories to others.”
As foundation chairman, he said his work involves much coordination, “but we have over 25 people regularly devoting their time to the foundation.”
“It is probably not a surprise that for most of them, a lot of time is spent on researching — including reaching out to the soldiers’ families — and adding the fruits of that research to the database. It is probably a never-ending process. New information continues to become available now more and more archives are being digitized,” Vonk said.
“Moreover, we are revisiting soldiers we have researched years ago to not only see what new information has been put online since, but also to make another attempt to locate the family if we did not succeed before. Many thousands of soldiers have not even been researched yet by us at all,” he said.
Vonk said the mission is meaningful.
“I think we all feel that we are able to do something meaningful here, not just for the soldiers themselves, but also for the loved ones they left behind,” he said.
An Army contractor accidentally published “pre-decisional” information to the internet about potential changes to the Army Combat Fitness Test as April 1 — the date previously set for record fitness test implementation — draws nearer.
Army spokesperson Col. Cathy Wilkinson said in a statement to Army Times that the mistake happened “in the course of working a refresh to an Army.mil microsite,” emphasizing that the inadvertently leaked plan has “not been approved by the Secretary of the Army” yet.
Sometime during the weekend, the Army’s official ACFT website was updated to remove the leg tuck event and replace it with the plank. The information was posted sometime after Friday morning, according to the Internet Archive, and was removed on Sunday morning.
The site also said the ACFT would become the service’s official test of record on April 1, with it counting for active duty and Active Guard Reserve personnel actions effective October 1. Traditional part-time Reserve and Guard troops would have until April 1, 2023, to complete a record ACFT, the site said.
Moving forward, active duty troops would be required to pass two tests per fiscal year, and Guard and Reserve members would have to pass one.
An Army contractor accidentally updated an Army website with this timeline for Army Combat Fitness Test implementation. Army officials said the timeline was a pre-decisional draft and took it down Sunday morning. (Screenshot)
Lawmakers had previously directed the service to halt its implementation of the fitness test and conduct an independent review, which was recently completed by RAND.
Members of Congress were concerned about the test’s potential impact on women’s career advancement, in addition to the impact on reservists and those in far-flung geographic areas.
As a result, the ACFT, which has been in pilot form since early 2019, has been in limbo for more than a year, while the service has lacked a record fitness test.
“Army senior leaders are reviewing the report’s findings and recommendations and will announce a final decision on the ACFT and release the report at the appropriate time,” Wilkinson said.
She apologized for any confusion caused by the accidental website update.
“Once the Secretary of the Army makes the final decision on the Army’s fitness test, the Army’s priority is to clearly communicate the test of record and the timeline for implementation to the Total Force,” Wilkinson added.
Davis Winkie is a staff reporter covering the Army. He originally joined Military Times as a reporting intern in 2020. Before journalism, Davis worked as a military historian. He is also a human resources officer in the Army National Guard.
MELBOURNE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has been selected by the U.S. Space Force to continue efforts to upgrade and modernize its space domain awareness, which is used to help combat anti-satellite threats.
The U.S. Air Force began work in 2018 to replace the Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC) with the Advanced Tracking and Launch Analysis System (ATLAS). L3Harris has been developing applications in a new architecture that will allow ATLAS to scale and handle the exponential growth of commercial constellations, increased debris, anti-satellite tests and adversarial threats. Now, L3Harris has been selected to integrate the government’s equipment and oversee ATLAS application deployment.
“Anti-satellite threats have increased and require attention now,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “We are responding to the urgency by partnering with the Space Force to modernize space domain awareness assets that are key to understanding and acting on those threats.”
SPADOC became operational in the 1990s to monitor space objects, process space events like anti-satellite launches, and support safety of flight operations.
L3Harris space superiority capabilities provide the foundation for space domain control, protecting assets and preserving strategic advantages. A trusted partner of the Space Force and other agencies, L3Harris has served the space superiority mission for more than 30 years.
About L3Harris Technologies
L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers’ mission-critical needs. The company provides advanced defense and commercial technologies across space, air, land, sea and cyber domains. L3Harris has approximately $17 billion in annual revenue and 47,000 employees, with customers in more than 100 countries. L3Harris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management’s current expectations, assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Such statements are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future trends to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements about the value or expected value of orders, contracts or programs or about system or technology capabilities are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. L3Harris disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
There is pain when it comes to riding a motorcycle. On a bike, exposed to the elements, the little things are painful. At 75 miles per hour, raindrops batter exposed skin. A piece of road gravel kicked up by a passing car feels like a pellet fired straight into your nipple. On a motorcycle, the world hurts — sore butt, aching back, fingers cramping from gripping the constantly vibrating clutch and throttle. From frigid conditions to scorching heat to random gusts of wind trying to knock you off of the bike, everything is trying to kill you.
Maybe that’s why riding more than 1,000 miles on a motorcycle is good for the mental health of combat veterans. The possibility of death at any moment was our normal. Insurgent IEDs, mortar and rocket fire, the distinct sound of an AK-47. On a bike it’s the gravel in the next bend of the highway that could make the rear tire slip. It’s the heat of the day. It’s the ice on the road. Isolated within the helmet, listening to the road noise and wind and living in the seconds as they slap your helmet like Texas grasshoppers is a strange catharsis.
That’s motorcycle therapy.
The author on his loaner Indian Springfield Dark Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Photo by Ryan Lundbohm/Coffee or Die Magazine.
While many American veterans have surely practiced something along the lines of “motorcycle therapy” for decades, taking to the open road with a tribe in search of a better tomorrow is a practice whose treatment potential Army veteran Dave Frey and his wife, Sue, realized in 2014 on the road to South Dakota for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the mecca of biker pilgrimages.
After meeting a fellow paratrooper in Wyoming in 2014, Dave learned the man was in need of lodging for the night. Dave called Sue, a logistics maven, who found the vet the last room available in a hotel full of Hells Angels in Cody, Wyoming. Crossing paths with the soldier was the genesis of the Veterans Charity Ride, the Moab, Utah-based nonprofit the Freys run.
Since 2015, the Veterans Charity Ride has provided motorcycle therapy to veterans living with physical and psychological wounds, such as traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, and other combat-related injuries and illnesses. Every summer, Dave and Sue bring a small group of veterans to southern Utah for an all-expenses-paid two-week retreat that culminates with the ride to Sturgis.
Army veteran Dave Frey co-founded the Veterans Charity Ride with his wife, Sue, in 2015. Photo courtesy of J.E. McCollough.
I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was 18, and Sturgis had been a dream of mine for years. When a friend connected me to Dave and Sue, I never thought they’d pick me to join the 2021 Veterans Charity Ride.
Over the phone, I shared some details of my combat experience — getting blown up in Ramadi, my time as a Marine interrogator and military intelligence analyst. I talked about drinking too much and some of the nights and days I’ve sat on the couch with a Glock in my mouth.
“We’d like you to come out to Utah,” Dave said after listening intently and asking a few questions. Later, Sue would tell me she and Dave knew almost immediately that I needed motorcycle therapy.
I arrive in Moab July 28. Taking in the landscape, I realize photos and other media do no justice to the breathtaking scale and natural beauty of the surrounding cliffs and red rock formations carved over thousands of years by wind and water. The neatly sliced landscape would make a master chef proud — if God were a chef. Boulders the size of warehouses are casually strewn along the canyons. Some spill into rivers while others teeter on tomorrow’s edge, waiting to be called down into a valley or the mighty Colorado.
The view from Needles Overlook in Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Photo by J.E. McCollough.
About 20 miles northwest of Moab, the Colorado River meanders past the aptly named Red Cliffs Lodge just outside Castle Valley, Utah. At the lodge, I meet Dave and Sue and the seven other veterans they’ve brought out for the 2021 Veterans Charity Ride.
Among the crop of first-time riders forming our proud band of merry misfits is a former Army medic with a penchant for sarcastic jokes and flamboyant flair, an Air Force veteran left paralyzed by what should have been a simple medical treatment, a Navy vet who proudly describes how she often FaceTimes with her cats, and a Marine vet who lost his left arm in a motorcycle wreck and now flaunts his preferred nickname: Lefty.
After some brief introductions and the traditional veteran butt-sniffing routine, a brown-eyed brunette greets me with a warm smile and keys to the bike I’ll be riding. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Katie Harrington made her first ride from Utah to Sturgis with VCR in 2018. One of several VCR alums who return each summer as volunteer mentors for the new class of vets, the nurse and South Dakota National Guard soldier easily infects those around her with her persistent positive energy.
Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Katie Harrington made her first ride from Utah to Sturgis with the Veterans Charity Ride in 2018. Photo by Ryan Lundbohm.
Outside I mount a low-slung, sagebrush green Springfield Dark Horse provided by Indian Motorcycles and wonder what I’ve done to deserve such a beautiful bike. The black-on-green matte finish practically begs for a pinup detail on the tank with the name Dolly or Mary-Sue. It’s a war machine. The only things missing are a machine gun mounted on a swing arm and a shotgun in a leather scabbard.
Indian Motorcycles has sponsored the Veterans Charity Ride since the organization’s first ride in 2015. Sue says Dave earned the nickname “The Tenacious Bastard” around Indian’s corporate offices. No matter how many times Indian initially turned down Dave’s pitch to help him put a bunch of wounded veterans on motorcycles and ride to Sturgis, he kept coming back, unironically begging the question, What could go wrong?
Turns out, nothing. So now, every summer, Indian enthusiastically provides brand-new loaner bikes for the veterans making the ride to Sturgis with VCR for the first time.
Indian Motorcycles has sponsored the Veterans Charity Ride since the organization’s first ride in 2015. Photo by Chris Wolff.
It’s been a few years since I’ve been on two wheels, so I join the other vets for a quick ride to shake off the rust. The Springfield’s weight and riding position are much different from those of the sport bikes I’m used to, but after leaning into a few curves on the open road, I settle into the bike like it’s an old pair of jeans. The Springfield growls and shakes, eating up the asphalt until we roll back into the parking lot at the lodge and drop kickstands. Lightning cracks over the plateaus as a light drizzle falls, kicking up little eruptions of dust from the red dirt all around as the smell of wet sage and cottonwoods fills the air.
On our second night in Moab, we gather for dinner in the ballroom at the lodge and sit at a round dining table. My attention is immediately drawn to the gaudy Hawaiian shirt next to me and all the ways its wearer — a former Army medic named Cameron High — has invited a barrage of ribbing. It’s like blood in the water for those of us programmed to establish dominance quickly in the veteran-humor hierarchy.
“Pretty cool shirt, bro,” I say. “It would be better if it had dicks on it.”
“Actually,” he replies, “that’s a great idea!
Katie Harrington photo bombs Marine veteran and photographer Ryan Lundbohm, Army veteran Cameron High, Joe “Lefty” Martinez, and the author. Photo courtesy of J.E. McCollough.
I wonder if anyone sells those?”
Several vets immediately whip out their cell phones and consult Google to discover that dick-patterned Hawaiian shirts are in fact readily available online. Cam orders one on the spot, and Ryan Lundbohm, a Marine Corps veteran and photographer, quickly discovers a website that will print hidden dicks on pretty much anything, including a wingsuit.
“Did we just become best friends?” I say, grinning. Because nothing brings vets together quite like dick jokes.
We immediately fall into the familiar pattern of trading playful insults and constantly trying to one-up each other for ever bigger laughs. It’s like being back in the smoke pit, joking and telling stories, delivering sarcastic one-liners. As we earn our badge of honor as “the rowdy table,” it soon becomes obvious that Navy vet Khara Adams has the foulest mouth and the dirtiest jokes of the bunch.
Laughing and happy in a way I haven’t felt in a long time, I’m struck briefly by a thought: This feels like home. This is why we’re here.
Veterans Charity Ride founder Dave Frey rides with the pack, leading the motorcycle therapy he and Sue Frey provide each year. Photo by Ryan Lundbohm.
The Red Cliffs Lodge remains our base of operations for several days as Dave and Sue provide a world-class retreat. We ride horses on trails that snake around the lodge’s vast property. We spend a day offroading around Hells Gate outside Moab. We swim and lounge endlessly around the pool. And we raft lazily down the Colorado River, spraying water at each other from rifle-sized squirt guns and rediscovering the joy and camaraderie we found in the service.
One morning, Khara, the endearingly foul-mouthed former sailor, climbs into a sidecar attached to Katie Harrington’s baby-blue Indian. VCR sponsor Champion Sidecars provides the means to ride to Sturgis for amputees, paralyzed riders, and veterans who — like Khara — simply don’t have a motorcycle license (not yet, anyway!).
We start our bikes, and the rumbling, torquing machines roar to life. We set out for Canyonlands National Park on Highway 191. As I ride, the brutal desert air and searing sun suck the life out of me. I quickly become heat-sick and nauseated. When riding a bike with skin exposed to the sun, hydration is key. Even the experienced riders from the area, already accustomed to the fiery climate, seem to struggle with the heat. But the vistas are worth it. From Needles Point Overlook, the expanse of the gash carved in the earth by the Colorado River spreads out for hundreds of miles, all visible from the outcropping of red rock.
South Dakota National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Katie Harrington pilots Navy veteran Khara Adams toward the front of the pack on the highway between Rapid City and Sturgis. Photo by Ryan Lundbohm.
After taking in the view, we make our way back to the 191 and head south to Newspaper Rock, one of the most famous rock art sites in the western US. Native Americans have been engraving and drawing on the rock for more than 2,000 years.
“Just looks like graffiti,” Cam quips irreverently.
“They’re not even good at it,” I reply, riffing along. “What deer has five legs?”
“That foot has four toes,” Joe adds. “I guess they took Math for Marines.”
We are philistines.
Katie Harrington, Chris Wolff, and Jared Thomas at Newspaper Rock, one of the most famous rock art sites in the western US. Photo by J.E. McCollough.
“Well, that’s clearly an alien. Look at the head — and the eyes,” says Ryan.
“How is this not on Ancient Aliens already?” I say.
As Lefty and I walk to a picnic area VCR’s support team has set up for lunch, I learn the 48-year-old Michigander runs his own veterans charity called Ascend Empowerment, can ride a snowmobile one-handed, and is determined to figure out how to do the same on motorcycles.
At the picnic area, VCR volunteers Sharry Billings — a heavily tattooed professional chef — and Annette Dearth have prepared impressive sandwiches for us. Who knew tuna fish could be gourmet? Billings and Dearth are members of the Litas, an all-women motorcycle group.
Katie Harrington soaks up some sun at a rest point on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Photo by J.E. McCollough.
Lefty and I take our sandwiches and find a table to enjoy our lunch. As she saunters past, Katie flashes one of her brilliant grins and throws up her hand in what looks like a high-five but may be a wave.
“Uh, did you just try to give me a left-handed high-five?” Lefty asks playfully.
I snicker as a half-second look of embarrassment briefly disrupts Katie’s signature smile, which Lefty and I can’t help but reflect.
Back at the lodge, we all gather at the pool for drinks, cannonball competitions, and conversation. I learn that Jared Thomas — our beardy road captain whose cascading locks give him a Jason Momoa look — is a mechanic who’s starting his own shop. Cam does cybersecurity. Ryan (who looks dead sexy in a Stetson and cutoffs) is living the van life and working as a ranch hand in Moab. Chris Wolff, a paraplegic who was told he’d never be able to walk again, moves around in the water and at least pretends he’s walking.
As I sip my drink, surrounded by comrades who have all chewed some of the same sand at one time or another, life feels … normal again. I’m a fish in water, with people who can relate to my experiences — even the stuff I don’t usually share with others. All of us talk openly about things we aren’t usually comfortable saying out loud. This is our safe space, as the kids say these days. It feels good.
Veterans Charity Ride participants raft the Colorado River through Moab. Photo by Ryan Lundbohm.
On Tuesday, we set out for Sturgis, pulling out of Red Cliffs Lodge in a staggered column. We follow the Colorado River out of Utah, eschewing the interstate and sticking to highways and byways as much as possible as we wind through the seemingly endless desert. On a broken road outside the ghost town of Cisco, a tiny mule deer in the road stares at us as our bikes roar past. We are a column of leather-clad cavalry on iron horses. Our engines sing a guttural harmony as riders change gears and twist throttles.
Group riding requires organization. We’re all in our helmets, focused on the bike and the road — alone, together. Hand and arm signals become instinctive. We watch those ahead of us as they lean into turns or approach a stop — same as we would a point man on a patrol through Ramadi or Sangin. What one person does is relayed and communicated to all.
On the outskirts of Grand Junction, Colorado, a police escort and members of Patriot Guard Riders — the organization that provides funeral support and other services for veterans — join our column as we make our way to the Indian Motorcycles dealership, where the owners and community members treat us like kings and queens for a couple of hours.
Jared Thomas and Milt, members of Combat Vets Motorcycle Association, and other Veterans Charity Ride riders near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Photo courtesy of J.E. McCollough.
From Grand Junction we fight intermittent rain showers on our way to Steamboat Springs, where we bed down for the night at the Rabbit Ears Motel before rolling on the next morning through western Colorado toward the Rocky Mountains.
We take Cameron Pass over the Rockies and down the Eastern Slope, which is still scarred by the recent wildfires, landslides, and flash floods that savaged cabins and bridges on the Poudre River.
As I ride, it occurs to me I’m seeing the American landscape with a fresh perspective. It’s dairy farms and sheep ranches. It’s the sweet smell of wet grass in the morning and the windswept cornfields. It’s the tiny towns and sacred war memorials that tell the story of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that others could live in peace.
From Fort Collins, Colorado, through Cheyenne, Wyoming, to La Grange, time doesn’t seem to matter. The road, the miles, and the countryside slip by — tall grass bending away as our herd roars past.
Veterans Charity Ride riders on their way to Sturgis. Photo courtesy of J.E. McCollough.
Traversing the Great Plains, I come to understand why the largest of the covered wagons that crossed these lands were called “prairie schooners.” Through eastern Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and north into South Dakota, the terrain isn’t perfectly flat. It rolls and roils — each long hill a solidified wave of earth and grass. The road ahead rises to a crest, falls into the trough behind, and crawls up the next crescendo only to fall again.
As we sail across the prairie waves, the wind picks up, and thick raindrops fall as we pull into a hotel parking lot in Fort Robinson, the old Army cavalry post where Crazy Horse died.
We’re all a little stiff. Chris Wolff moans from his sidecar as his pilot, Pat, retrieves Chris’ wheelchair from the back of the bike.
“Aarrgh! I can’t feel my legs!” Chris cries sardonically.
We all chuckle as Pat yells playfully, “Shut up, monkey!”
The column of VCR riders in the Black Hills of South Dakota toward the front of the pack. Photo by Chris Wolff.
On Aug. 6, we finally arrive in Sturgis, the tiny town at the foot of the Black Hills that’s home to about 6,000 South Dakotans. Over the next week, an estimated 700,000 people and more than 250,000 vehicles will converge on the town for the 81st Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Most will stay at nearby campgrounds and small towns, such as Deadwood, Lead, and Spearfish.
The rally is a major logistical undertaking. Security is a nightmare, and the city has to pay to bring in extra cops from all over the country. Since the Sturgis Police Department doesn’t have vehicles for the thousands of extra officers, they patrol on foot through the town and surrounding events.
The Hells Angels, Sons of Silence, Gypsy Joker, and other infamous motorcycle clubs are all present at Sturgis. Grandpas sporting club patches on their cuts (the vests club members wear to identify their affiliation) roll in with their grandkids on bikes. The rally is tamer than it was in the wild days of the 1970s and ’80s, but it’s still Sturgis. Violence among rival clubs as they compete for drug pipelines and territory remains an issue. Police will make 112 felony drug arrests before the 2021 rally concludes.
Members of the 2021 Veterans Charity Ride roll through Sturgis Aug. 6, 2021. The Sturgis Police Department gave the veterans a warm welcome, providing a personal police escort through town. Photo by Ryan Lundbohm.
At the Mystic Hills campground about 40 minutes south of Sturgis, we check into the cabins we’ll be staying at. We’re closer to Mount Rushmore than Sturgis, and for good reason. While the journey to the rally is a big component of motorcycle therapy, group bonding is the real medicine. Our cabin retreat among the hills and towering ponderosa pines is the perfect final destination for a bunch of American veterans in search of our Zen. Over the next few days, we ride through the Black Hills and strengthen the new friendships we’ve made.
On Aug. 8, Cam buys a 24-pack of Natural Light Beer, and we make Chris carry it on his lap for the ride to the Sturgis Buffalo Chip campground where Kid Rock is performing live. We tear through some beers and get a nice buzz going before heading inside, where we push Chris in his wheelchair like an unstoppable tank through the crowd as we keep repeating, “Sorry, folks. Fuckin’ lazy-ass veteran coming through.”
The 2021 Veterans Charity Ride cohort relax around the fire at the Mystic Hills campground Aug. 10, 2021. Photo by J.E. McCollough.
After a raucous and unforgettable concert, we head back to our cabins for some late-night poker, drunken zip lining, and general debauchery.
Dipping his hand into a bowl of Sharry Billings’ homemade whipped cream, Lefty calls out to get Cam’s attention, and when the Army vet turns, the Marine smothers a handful of whip cream in Cam’s face as the rest of us let out a collective “Oooooooh!” With cream dripping down his face, Cam casually takes another sip of his beer and shrugs.
I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy.
2021 Veterans Charity Ride members at the base of Mount Rushmore. Photo courtesy of J.E. McCollough.
The next day, we leave the cabin for our last group ride. We set out for Mount Rushmore early enough to have the road mostly to ourselves. We ride through the hills to Needles Highway and on to Iron Mountain Road and finally to that colossal mountain sculpture.
Taking in the marvel of American achievement is bittersweet. Our time together is almost over. After the ride back to the cabins, we’ll part ways.
Back at our bikes, kickstands go up, and we take to the road — alone, together, for one last ride. The familiar smell of pine trees mixes with motorcycle exhaust as we wring the sweetness out of every sweeping curve, hugging the turns like children clinging to our favorite toys and the hope that the comfort they bring will never leave us. Wild bison graze in grassy meadows, and gray granite boulders complement the vibrant, dancing leaves of elm, spruce, and birch trees. Time slows as the cool Black Hills air washes over us — flowing together on a river of asphalt.
The author takes a turn on the final ride of the trip. Photo courtesy of J.E. McCollough.
Turning in my Dark Horse hurts. After almost 1,500 miles, I feel like the bike is part of me. As I hand the keys to the Indian rep,
I struggle to suppress the tears forming in my eyes. Walking away, I try and fail to not look back at the bike. And from the matte-green metal of the machine, my mind wanders further back, to the sandbox and beyond — to the times and places when camaraderie and brotherhood were all around. Getting that feeling back is a gift I will cherish for all of my days.
Dave and Sue Frey’s motorcycle therapy did more for my mental health in two weeks than any clinical treatment or pharmaceuticals ever could. It provided the opportunity to break out of old, self-destructive patterns and build healthy relationships with others who don’t need an explanation for the whys and hows of a particular vet’s history. Where before I only saw darkness, the road ahead looks bright and open now. Next year, I hope to return and pay forward what’s been given and to bathe again in the brotherhood and brilliance of the Veterans Charity Ride.
This article first appeared in the Winter 2022 edition of Coffee or Die’s print magazine as “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Therapy: Finding Family on the Road to Sturgis With the Veterans Charity Ride.”
Read Next:Frozen Trident: A Navy SEAL’s Sled-Dog Operation on the Icy Edge of the Yukon
The Navy must review thousands of general and other-than-honorable discharges awarded to sailors and Marines over the past decade for behavioral problems that may have stemmed from a military-related mental health condition or sexual assault.
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Haight approved a settlement Monday in a class-action suit known as Manker v. Del Toro, which alleged that the Navy and Marine Corps wrongly discharged members for behavior that may have been related to trauma or an injury they endured while serving.
Under the settlement, the Navy will be required to review and reconsider all discharge upgrade requests made from March 2, 2012, to Feb. 15, 2022, that were partially or fully denied.
Read Next: VA to Overhaul Disability Evaluations for Mental Health, Other Conditions
The review of these cases will be automatic; service members will not need to request one.
But the settlement also gives those who were discharged and denied an upgrade from Oct. 7, 2001, through March 1, 2012, the opportunity to reapply for a change in their status with the Naval Discharge Review Board.
The suit stemmed from the case of former Marine Cpl. Tyson Manker, who was dismissed from the service with an other-than-honorable discharge after he was caught using marijuana. Manker told The New York Times that he turned to the drug after being exposed to a series of traumatic experiences in Iraq in 2003.
Manker applied for an upgrade in 2016 but was denied, as have roughly 85% of requests filed to the Naval Discharge Review Board by sailors and Marines.
A general discharge under honorable conditions precludes a veteran from accessing their GI Bill benefits. An other-than-honorable discharge, also known as a “bad paper discharge,” prevents veterans from receiving medical care, disability compensation and education benefits through the GI Bill at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
These discharges also can affect a veteran’s long-term earning power, since many employers will not hire anyone with less than a good conduct discharge.
Monday’s ruling, in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut, follows Haight’s ruling in April 2021 that required the Army to review its other-than-honorable discharges dating back to April 17, 2011.
The Army already had initiated the review of an estimated 3,500 discharges, but the settlement in that case, Kennedy v. McCarthy, also required the service to notify soldiers given bad paper discharges from Oct. 7, 2001, to April 16, 2011, that they could apply for an upgrade or appeal a previous decision.
More than 51,400 discharges under other-than-honorable conditions were issued for active-duty personnel from fiscal 2010 through 2020, according to the Defense Manpower Data Center.
Under the Manker settlement, the Navy will allow veterans to appear before the Naval Discharge Review Board by video teleconference — a change from the requirement that they travel to Washington, D.C., for their hearings. The service also will be required to increase training for board members.
Navy and Marine Corps veterans, including members of the reserve component, who were discharged under general or other-than-honorable conditions and who also have a diagnosis of — or symptoms of — post traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain injury, mental health conditions or were victims of military sexual trauma may be eligible for the review.
Status upgrades will be decided on a case-by-case basis and are not guaranteed, noted Manker’s legal team, which included the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School and Jenner & Block LLP in a press release.
In granting approval of the settlement, Haight called it “an impressive example of the manner in which a class action can be made the vehicle for doing substantial justice.”
Brandon Baum, with the Veterans Legal Services Clinic, could not provide an exact number of veterans who may be affected by the ruling but said in an email that it could be in the “tens of thousands.”
Garry Monk, executive director of the clinic, said the settlement “helps bring accountability and justice for thousands of veterans suffering every day from the invisible wounds of war.”
“It is a recognition of their service, their value, and their dignity, and we look forward to the impact it will have on the lives of so many service members,” Monk said in a press release.
More information is available at the Manker Settlement website.
— Patricia Kime can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.
Related: Bill Would Give Vets With ‘Bad Paper’ Discharges Better Appeal Options
Eye-opening NOAA report on rising sea levels ‘a global wake-up call’
Updated: 10:27 AM EST Feb 19, 2022
SNOW TODAY BUT GOVERNMENT RESEARCHSER ARE FOCUSING ON THE COAST, CALLING A NEW ROREPT ON RISING SEA LEVELS A GLOBAL WAKE-UP CALL. BOSTON HARBOR IS EXPECTED TO RISE ABOUT A FOOT AND A HALINF THE NEXT 30 YEARS. THAT’S THE FINDING OF A NEW REPORT RELEASED BY THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION THIS EKWE. WE ARE TARGETING OUR CHANGING CLIMATE AS PART OF A NEW INITIATIVE CALLED FORECASTING OUR FUTURE. SO LET’S BRING IN PROFESSOR ROB DECONTO. GOOD MORNING. YOU ARE A CLIMEAT SCIENTIST EXRTPE AND YOU ARE FOCUSING ON SEALEVEL RISE. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. HE IS JOINING US FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS-AMHERST. AN EYE-OPENING REPORT. HOWIW LL THAT RISE IMPACT US? >> A FOOT HIGHER SEA LEVEL THEN TODAY MEANS THAT EVERYIM TE THERE’S A VERY HIGH TIDE ORE W HA AVE VERY BIG NOR’EASTER EVENT OR TROPICAL SYSTEM, STORM SURGE WILL BE MUCH WORSE. THERE WILL BE MORE LAND THAT BECOMES INUNDATED, AND IT IS NOT JUST THE MAGNITUDEF O THE FLOOD EVENTS BUT THEY WILL HAPPEN MORE FREQUENTLY. >> HOW FAST IS THE SEA LEVEL RISING? >> THE TREND IS SOMEWHAT ALARMING.IT IS ACCELERATING . SO SEA LEVEL IS RISING IN BOSTON HARBOR ABOUT 5.5 MILLIMETERS PER YEAR, ABOUT .2 INCHES PEREA YR, SO A COUPLE INCHES PER DECADE. THAT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH, BUT THAT’S TCEWI THE PACE OF SEA LEVEL RISE THAN 100 YEARS AGO, FOR EXAMPLE, D,AN AGAIN, EVERY YEAR THAT ESGO BY, THAT IS INCREASING FASTER AND FASTER. >> THAT IS UNFORTUNATE. A LOT OF PEOPLE ASSOCIATE COASTAL FLOODING WITH STORMS, BUT WE SEE THAT SOMETIMES ALREADY THAT WE GET COASTAL FLOODING WITHOUT STORMS, FAIRWEATHER FLOODING. DOES THIS SUGGEST WE WILL SEE MORE OF THIS ISSUE? >>OR F SURE. IT WAS AROUND 2011 WAS THE FIRST TIME WE HAD A DOCUMENTED CLEAR SKY FLOOD EVENT ALONGHE T WHARF, THE AQUARIUM AREA. BY 2017, I THINK, IT HAPPENED MORE THAN 20 TIMES IN ONE YEAR, SO THERE’S GOING TO BE AN ACCELERATION IN THE NUMBER OF THEES EVENTS, AND THAT IS IMPACTFUL NOT JUST THE DIRECT IMPACTS OF THE FLOODING BUT THERE NCA BE OTHER CASCADING EFFECTS. FOR EXAMPLE, EVERY TIME SALTWATER FLOODS LAND AREAS, IT IMPACTS GROUNDWATER, DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES. IT IMPTSAC WASTEWATER. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF IMPACTS THAT ARE NOT JUST THE OBVIOUS FLOODING WE THINK OF WHEN WE THINK OF A BIG STORM SURGE A HIGH TIDE FLOOD. >> IT IS SO TRUE. IT IS BEYOND WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SURFACE. WITH ALL THIS SAID, WHATRE A COASTAL COMMUNITIES GOING TO HAVE TO DO TO HANDLE THIS RISING WATER? >> YOU KNOW,T IIS VERY TRICKY BECAUSE, ON A 30 YEAR TIMEFRAME, THE SCIENCE HAS BECOME SETTLED. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL REPORTS PUBLISD INHE THE LAST FEW YEARS HONING IN ON THAT ROUGHLY ONE FOOT NUMBER FOR 2050. WHEN WE GO BEYOND 2050, WHICH IS STILL WITHIN THE LIFESPAN OF INFRASTRUCTURE, BUILDINGS, DEVELOPMENTS, THE NUMBERS BECOME VERY, VERY UNCERTAIN. THE RANGES CAN BE VERY, VERY HIGH. THE TOP END ESTIMATES, FOR EXAME,PL IN THE YEAR 2100, SO NOT THAT LONG AWAY FMRO NOW, ABOUT 80 YEARS, ARE AS MUCH AS 18 FEET IN SOME CASES, SO BECAUSE OF THAT HUGE UNCERTAINTY, I THINK WE NEED TO BE THINKING ALONG TWO LINES. ONE, THERE’S A FOOT OF SEALEVEL BAKED INTO THE NEXT FEW DADECES. WE NEED TO PLAN FOR THAT NOW. BEYOND 2050,E W NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADAPT TO THE POTENTIAL FOR MUCH, MUCH HIGHER ASE LEVELS, SO WHATEVER PLANNING WE DO, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE BUILD, IT NEEDS TO BE ADAPTAB,LE YOU KW,NO WITH THE CONSIDERATION THAT SEALEVEL COULD BE VERY, VERY HIGH. >> WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU BROUGHT A LOT OF INFORMATIO
Eye-opening NOAA report on rising sea levels ‘a global wake-up call’
Updated: 10:27 AM EST Feb 19, 2022
The new report from NOAA finds that Boston Harbor is expected to rise by about a foot-and-a-half in the next 30 years.
BOSTON —
The new report from NOAA finds that Boston Harbor is expected to rise by about a foot-and-a-half in the next 30 years.
Jorge Mercado is the 405th Army Field Support Brigade’s Logistics Readiness Center Benelux Supply and Services Division chief. He said LRC Benelux will stop at no lengths to ensure their community members in the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux footprint have what they need when they need it. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army courtesy photo)
VIEW ORIGINAL
Name: Jorge Mercado
Job title: Supply and Services Division Chief
Assigned: Logistics Readiness Center Benelux, 405th Army Field Support Brigade
Location: Chievres Air Base, Belgium
Experience: I arrived at LRC Benelux in December 2021, and have served as its Supply and Services Division chief for about two months. I came here from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, where I worked at the Program Executive Office for Aviation as the acquisition logistics lead for two years. Before that I was the Supply and Services Division chief at LRC Dix for about two years, and before that I was stationed in Busan, South Korea, for three years where I served as the director for the Busan Storage Center, U.S. Army Materiel Support Command – Korea.
Other Service: I’m a retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 who served on active duty for 20 years in the logistics field as a supply systems technician and manager.
Hometown: Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Family: In two weeks my wife, Lily, and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. I have a 31-year-old daughter, Julissa, and a granddaughter, Gaby, who is four. I also have a 21-year-old stepson, Hans, who is currently serving on active duty in Hohenfels, Germany, and Lily and I have 11-year-old twin daughters. Their names are Lea and Sofia.
Q: Can you explain what your duties are as the chief of the Supply and Services Division at LRC Benelux, 405th AFSB?
A: Here in the Supply and Services Division, we have the Central Issue Facility mission, which supports our Soldiers with all the organizational clothing and issue equipment they need for their missions. We also have the Supply and Support Activity, which supports our customers here in the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux footprint with various classes of supplies. For example, we handle all the information technology and computer equipment for USAG Benelux. We are also responsible for the hazardous material program, and our property book office handles property accountability for the garrison, LRC Benelux and all the outlying stations. I have about 25 personnel in the Supply and Services Division who provide logistical support to Soldiers, Army civilians, local national employees, contractors and all their families in Belgium and the Netherlands as well as places like France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Q:Why is the Supply and Services Division mission at LRC Benelux so important?
A: First and foremost, we provide logistical support to the Soldiers and the warfighters. That’s the bottom line and why we are here. We make sure they have what they need to successfully accomplish their missions. We also have families here who are accompanying their service members, Army civilians and contractors so we provide support to them, as well. What we do for our community in the USAG Benelux area of responsibility is very rewarding. We are force enablers and service providers, and we directly affect readiness.
Q: What do you enjoy about your job, and what motivates you?
A: Being a former Soldier and having a stepson in the Army, I’m very passionate about taking care of Soldiers. I will do everything in my power to support them. It’s something I’ve been doing for over 38 years, and it’s my passion. I can’t think of myself doing anything else but this. Being a retired Soldier, I understand the concept and philosophy of support – you have to provide support the way you’d like to be supported. Not only myself – but the entire LRC Benelux – we all have the same extreme passion and drive to provide the highest level of customer support to our community members. We will stop at no lengths to ensure our community members in the USAG Benelux footprint have what they need when they need it.
LRC Benelux and 405th AFSB: LRC Benelux is one of seven LRCs under the command and control of the 405th AFSB. LRCs execute installation logistics support and services to include supply, maintenance, transportation and food service management as well as clothing issue facility operations, hazardous material management, personal property and household goods, passenger travel, and non-tactical vehicle and garrison equipment management. When it comes to providing day-to-day installation services, LRC Benelux directs, manages and coordinates a variety of operations and activities in support of USAG Benelux. LRC Benelux reports to the 405th AFSB, which is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and under the operational control of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The brigade is headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. Forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging U.S. Army Materiel Command’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Air Force boxing team capped the regular season with an impressive 6-2 finish at the Bearcat Brawl in Cincinnati on Saturday, Feb. 19. Freshman Luke Kohout earned the team’s Boxer of the Week award after forcing the referee to halt his 160-pound bout with Ohio State’s Matt Corso in the second round.
Kohout was one of two Falcons to claim referee-stopped victories on Saturday, as junior Walker Morris won his 185-pound bout against Strongstyle Boxing’s Jordan Gruszewski before the first round ended. Jacob Mendoza also picked up a 185-pound title, as he earned a split decision over Miami’s Max Brenner.
Freshman Andrew Lu opened the competition for Air Force with a 130-pound victory over Ohio State’s Giaminh Nguyen, while junior Tyler Dalzell and sophomore Leo Camacho rounded out the Falcons’ list of winners with a pair of victories over opponents from Army West Point. Dalzell earned a 6-3 win over Zeke Mercado in a 150-pound bout, while Camacho decisioned Dylan Sheriff in a 124-pound contest.
Sophomore Joe Wilson and Victor Benitez also competed at the Cincinnati Fitness and Boxing Club, but dropped their respective bouts as Wilson dropped his 179-pound bout to Miami’s Wade Browning and Benitez fell in a heavyweight contest with Army West Point’s Matthew Beason.
Air Force and Army West Point both finished with 6-2 records on the overall card, but the Falcons broke the tie with a 2-1 advantage in head-to-head contests. The two academies separated themselves from the rest of the field, as Miami (2-3), Cincinnati (1-1), Ohio State (0-3) and a trio of unattached boxers (0-3) rounded out the field of the Bearcat Brawl. With the regular season complete, Air Force turns its attention to the postseason, which begins on Feb. 25, with the semifinals of the Wing Open Tournament.
RESULTS
130-lbs.: Andrew Lu (Air Force) dec. Giaminh Nguyen (Ohio State)
150-lbs.: Tyler Dalzell (Air Force) dec. Zeke Mercado (Army West Point)
185-lbs.: Walker Morris (Air Force) rsc-1 Jordan Gruszewski (Strongstyle Boxing)
185-lbs.: Jacob Mendoza (Air Force) dec. Max Brenner (Miami)
160-lbs.: Luke Kohout (Air Force) rsc-2 Matt Corso (Ohio State)
124-lbs.: Leo Camacho (Air Force) dec. Dylan Sheriff (Army West Point)
179-lbs.: Wade Browning (Miami) dec. Joe Wilson (Air Force)
Hywt.: Matthew Beason (Army West Point) dec. Victor Benitez (Air Force)
A Navy SEAL candidate died after completing the selection course’s “Hell Week” in early February.
The Navy has procedures for medical emergencies, but deaths during SEAL training are not unheard of.
The risks in their training reflect the danger of the missions they are tasked with, current and former SEALs say.
On February 4, US Navy Seaman Kyle Mullen died after completing “Hell Week,” a notoriously difficult part of the training for US Navy SEAL candidates. Another candidate was hospitalized on the same day.
In a press release, Naval Special Warfare Command said that Mullen and his Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) classmates successfully completed Hell Week earlier that day and that he “was not actively training at the time of his death.”
The command said that Mullen’s cause of death was unknown and an investigation was underway. The unfortunate event again highlights the inherent dangers of special operations, where the risk of death or serious injury is present both on the battlefield and in training.
Death in Hell Week
Navy SEAL candidates during a Hell Week exercise.
Richard Schoenberg/Corbis via Getty Images
Hell Week is probably the most well-known part of any special-operations training regime in the world.
The six-day ordeal, beginning on Sunday evening and ending Friday morning, usually takes place at the end of First Phase of BUD/S. During this period, students’ physical and mental endurance is rigorously tested with runs totaling over 200 miles, hours of physical training, and swims in the frigid waters of the Pacific.
During all BUD/S evolutions, there is an ambulance on standby near the students in the event of a medical emergency. Navy SEAL corpsmen are ready to provide medical assistance if needed. Insider understands that instructors and staff work together closely and students go through a medical check every day during Hell Week.
“All instructors are thoroughly educated in risk and injury prevention during Hell Week. There are medical personnel present 24 hours a day and doctors conduct regular full-body checks periodically to evaluate for
pneumonia
, cuts that are infected, and signs of disease,” Bob Adams, a retired Navy SEAL officer and doctor, told Insider.
Following 12 years in the SEAL Teams, Adams went to medical school and became an Army doctor and eventually the command surgeon of the Army’s elite Delta Force. Adam’s details the incredible pressures that Hell Week puts on the body in his 2017 book, “Six Days of Impossible: Navy SEAL Hell Week — A Doctor Looks Back.”
BUD/S students train with logs during Hell Week, in Coronado, June 22, 2003.
Handout/Getty
Hell Week can leave lasting effects on those who go through it, Adams said.
“Of greatest interest to me as a doctor looking back—our core body temperatures at times dropped below 90 degrees (98.6 is normal), and now many years later, all of us have core body temperatures below normal,” Adams added. “This matters because our brain (the hypothalamus) was permanently reset to a lower ‘normal,’ and when exercising or even sleeping, our sweating is greater than others as the body tries to cool itself to the new set point.”
Navy SEAL students are geared to overcome adversity and push through, often against odds and reason.
“It is in the BUD/S mentality to ‘suck up the pain’ and move on with your job. Students are encouraged, and often forced by the realities of the training regime, to hide or deal with injuries while in training,” a former Navy SEAL officer told Insider.
Those were not “life-threatening injuries,” the former officer said, “but pneumonia, broken legs, ankles, hands, what have you, are happening, and the training is not stopping because of them, so students who do not want to get rolled back and repeat the training have to push through.”
A dangerous profession
SEAL candidates during BUD/S training in Coronado, January 23, 2018.
US Navy/PO1 Abe McNatt
The risks doesn’t end with Hell Week. In Second Phase, students spend most of their time in the pool learning the basics of combat diving.
It’s a stressful time. The “Pool Competence” event at the end of Second Phase typically forces several students in each class to start over or drop out. Shallow-water blackouts are common throughout Second Phase. In Third Phase, students get to handle live ammunition and explosives while sleep-deprived.
“You’ll be colder, hungrier, and more tired in the [SEAL] Teams than in BUD/S — way more,” a former enlisted Navy SEAL told Insider.
“Students will hear that a lot during training but you don’t really believe it — how can you fathom being colder when you’ve just spent 10 minutes in the freezing Pacific in the middle of the night and you have to literally pie yourself to get a little warm? But it’s true and accurate. Life in the [SEAL] Teams sucks way more than BUD/S,” the former enlisted SEAL said.
This is the second fatal training incident for the Naval Special Warfare community in four months. In November, Cmdr. Brian Bourgeois, commanding officer of SEAL Team 8, died of injuries he suffered during a nighttime fast-rope exercise in Virginia Beach.
For the Navy SEAL community, training deaths aren’t common, but they aren’t rare.
“At the end of the day, it is a dangerous profession. Training for it is dangerous and doing it is dangerous, and they are dangerous because the demands and mission-sets are high,” the former SEAL officer said.
SEALs are the dedicated maritime component for US Special Operations Command and are the ones called on when there’s a maritime contingency, the officer added. “There is no room for error or failure downrange. So the training must be hard.”
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.
NORTHAMPTON — The Veterans Council of Northampton is gauging interest among the city’s veteran community for an overnight, all-expenses paid bus trip to Washington, D.C., this November to visit memorials and other sites in the capitol region.
The council, in partnership with Central Hampshire Veteran Services, is asking interested Vietnam veterans to contact them so that planners can determine the level of interest and how much the trip would cost.
Veterans could bring a spouse or a caregiver. The trip would include a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the 40th anniversary of its dedication on Nov. 13, 1982.
“This trip will honor their service and will also be a trip of a lifetime for many Veterans from our city who perhaps have never visited the nation’s capitol or seen the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” Steven Connor, director of Central Hampshire Veterans, said in a statement. “Even for those who have already seen the memorial, this will be a wonderful opportunity for them to revisit Washington and to join with fellow Veterans to reflect on their service and to remember those who they served with, particularly those whose names appear on the Wall.”
Eligible veterans are those “who served boots on the ground in Vietnam during the Vietnam era” and have Northampton as their home of record on their DD214 form, and those “who are considered ‘Blue Water Navy Veterans’ who served during the Vietnam conflict,” according to a statement from the Veterans Council.
Federal regulations define the Vietnam era as the period from Feb. 28, 1961, through May 7, 1975. Blue Water Navy Veterans are those who served on open sea ships off the shore of Vietnam during the war.
Eligible veterans, their spouse or a caregiver should contact the Veterans Council to express interest, and be prepared to show a copy of the veteran’s DD214 form, the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, as well as the veteran’s current Northampton address.
Documents can be emailed to [email protected]. Central Hampshire Veteran Services can be reached at (413) 587-1299.
Local businesspersonof the year
Judy Herrell, owner of Herrell’s Ice Cream at 8 Old South St., was voted Northampton’s 2022 Local Businessperson of the Year in a poll by the business referral website Alignable.com.
The website describes itself as the largest online referral network for small businesses, with more than 7 million members throughout North America.
Alignable.com announced the award last week after a month-long contest that aimed to elevate small business owners who have helped other businesses and the community during the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In our tight-knit community, you almost always get back what you give,” Herrell said in a statement. “And the challenges we’ve all encountered have compelled many of us to offer counsel and other support to peers struggling to keep their businesses afloat.”
Herrell’s has been in business for 42 years. The company donates to a wide variety of local charities and nonprofit organizations, including Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Northampton Public Schools, Girl Scouts of America and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA).
“While I’m thrilled to receive this award, it’s really a testament to our entire community,” Herrell said. “And it reinforces my resolve to push toward a full recovery for everyone here in Northampton by the end of 2022, if not earlier.”
Herrell won the Local Businessperson of the Year award in 2021, as well, and earned the Small Businessperson of the Year award in 2018.
Senior Center slowly reopening
The Senior Services Department has announced that the Senior Center will reopen to the public with limited offerings on Monday, Feb. 28, and more services are scheduled to be restored over the coming months.
Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, including a booster shot if eligible, is required to enter the building at 67 Conz St. The center has been closed for all but essential services since last month because of a regional surge in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant.
“Activities that cannot be done six feet apart will likely be able to start in April if all continues to look good with transmission rates,” the department said in a statement. “The Bistro and Coffee Shop will not reopen just yet. Once the mask mandate is lifted we will announce a date when food and drink will again be served on-site (it looks like this may happen soon, definitely sometime this spring).”
All returning members and those seeking membership are required to have a 15-minute orientation appointment with staff before using the center and attending programs. Appointments are available daily and can be arranged by calling (413) 587-1228 or emailing [email protected].
The building will be open to small groups only between Feb. 28 and March 4. The fitness center and game room will be open with restrictions, and movies will be shown and some classes will be held with social distancing requirements in place. Food distribution programs and lunch pick-up will remain curbside.
Reiki resumes on March 14 and foot clinics will return on March 15. Most classes and services require pre-registration or an appointment, and some classes may remain virtual for now.
Belgium, Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, orangeburg, sc, Sgt. Verdun Durant Smith, world war ii veterans, wwII veteran
0 Comments
