Creator and fellow USAF retiree Gary Stevens assures us this is a real product. Coming soon.
Archive for the ‘Veterans’ Category
Shots Fired
Friday, September 16th, 2016Please Support The Abel Loredos Medical Fund
Friday, September 16th, 2016It’s not often that I make a personal appeal but a tragedy befell the family of one of my friends last weekend and they need our help.
Abel is the victim of a senseless hit-and-run road rage attack which resulted in the amputation of his foot. Fortunately, the attacker is in custody. While we all can take solace in the great work of the Washington State Patrol and Tacoma Police Department for getting this creep off the street, it isn’t going to heal Abel or take care of his bills. Those, are up to him and us.
I have known Abel for many years. He is a Marine Corps Veteran and a former employee of Tactical Tailor. He currently works at Anytime Fitness in Tacoma, WA. If none of that makes a connection, he is also the son of GW Ayers, Vice President of Grey Ghost and GW is one of the most straight up, honest guys in this industry who raised Abel from a tyke to be the man he is today. I look at GW as a brother from another mother. We both served on the IGB (that’s Inter-German Border for those of you who didn’t have the honor of serving in the Cold War) and I am constantly amazed at GW’s demeanor. He still conducts himself like a Platoon Sergeant; praise when it’s warranted and a kick in the ass, when it’s not. Fortunately, Abel is a chip off the old block. He’s going to lick this and that’s why we need to help him out.
One of Abel’s co-workers has created a GoFundMe Page and we encourage everyone to help out if you can. Our family contributed and we hope you will too.
Thanks,
Eric Graves
Beach Chairs and Bug Out Bags: Eden Condominiums salutes wounded military veterans with free vacation on Perdido Key
Tuesday, September 13th, 2016PERDIDO KEY, Fla. (Sept. 13, 2016) — When a roadside bomb tore through two muscles in Ret. 1st Sgt. Gary Powell’s shoulder in 2004, he could have left Iraq and taken a vacation, but he didn’t.
“I didn’t report it,” Powell said in September, from his Deridder, Louisiana home. “I didn’t want to get sent away from my soldiers.”
Instead, Powell served a full year in Iraq and waited seven more, until after he had retired, to go in for surgery. He retired in 2010 and bought a five-acre piece of land in Derrider, a city of 10,000 located an hour north of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
In 2014, Powell finally got the vacation he deserved when he was one of about two dozen wounded veterans selected to receive a free, week-long retreat hosted by Eden Condominiums in Perdido Key.
The event, which will return to the beach for a third year Sept. 17-24, started when a condo owner at Eden offered his unit to a wounded veteran to thank him for his service. Word of the gesture spread, and, soon, other owners were offering to do the same. The retreat has grown every year since.
“The Perdido Area is best known for its beaches,” April Adams, Eden’s rental manager, said, “but we’re a military town through and through. These folks gave everything so we could have the freedom to enjoy our little slice of Paradise. This is just our way of giving back to them a small piece of what they’ve given us.”
Powell, who was referred to Eden by the nonprofit Wounded War Heroes, attended the retreat for a second time in 2015. He won’t be traveling to Perdido Key for this year’s retreat, but said the experience of the first two years had meant a lot to him. “When I got injured and bullets were being shot at me, I found myself asking what I was doing in Iraq,” he said. “Through the help of the Wounded War Heroes program, I’ve come to see what I was fighting for. I found out that I was fighting for the small, hometown folks of America, you know, not the politicians and all the other folks, because, since I’ve been in the program, I’ve seen a lot of people showing their appreciation.”
During the retreat, local businesses rolled out the welcome mats for Powell and his fellow veterans — donating meals, jet skis and even manicures. Eden treated the veterans and their spouses to a free day at their in-house spa during their stay, and Powell — a 30-year Army veteran — had his nails done.
“I got into it,” Powell laughed. “I got into it, man.”
Powell said the time spent with other veterans and the picturesque surroundings were among the highlights of the trip.
“I had never been to Florida,” he said, “and I just fell in love with it. I was trying to talk the wife into moving, but she won’t have no part of it.”
Still, Powell hopes to return soon.
“I keep a bug out bag, just in case,” he said. “I could be gone within 30 minutes.”
Eden is still looking for partners to help make the event as memorable for this year’s attendees as it was for Powell. Thomas said Eden was also accepting donations of household goods so the veterans’ condos would be well-stocked during their stay. Those wishing to help can call Eden at 850-492-336 or send an email to rental@perdido-key.com.
Mount Up: Trails Found
Wednesday, September 7th, 2016This is the first in a special series by our friends at Breach-Bang-Clear on Trails Found and SF Vet Jim Grasky. This is some great stuff.
Around this time in 1965 Jim Grasky was a young Special Forces soldier in Vietnam. About this time in 1970 he was a the squadleader for a team of smoke-jumpers parachuting in to fight remote wildfires. For about a quarter century after that he was a Border Patrolman. In about two weeks he’ll be teaching a small crew of media how to track, ride and maneuver on horseback in the back country of Arizona.
It’s the same thing he’s been teaching to USSOCOM and other organizations for years through his school, Trails Found, which is one reason why we’ll be using this event to promote SOC-F (Special Operations Care Fund). Grasky, who was a combat engineer with 8th SFG half a century ago, is now past 80. Most of his students could be his great grand-children, but few of them can keep pace with him. He is generally considered to be one of the best trackers on the continent, and not surprisingly is as adept a mounted tracker as he is tactically savvy when it comes to mounted operations.
Jim and his students will be working in the Dragoon Mountains and around Cochise’s Stronghold during the event, which was the brainchild of Breach-Bang-Clear. They’ll be providing Soldier Systems Daily with updates, reports and equipment reviews from their time on the ground there.
Watch for #trailsfound16 in your social media feed for additional details.
More to follow.
Veterans Family of Brands Outdoor Expo
Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
Supporting the right veteran based nonprofit organizations has become a crapshoot lately. An organization of veteran owned and supporting companies have discovered the answer to this. This group formed “Veterans Forward Operating Base/Family of Brands (VFOB),” which answered the problem this, way:
What if every time you purchased a product you were directly supporting military and first responder veterans and their families?
Many residents and guests of the Flathead Valley in Montana did just that on July 23, 2016, at the first annual “Veterans Family of Brands Outdoors Expo,” and raised over $42,000. The proceeds from this event went to support the Special Operations Wounded Warriors and the Lone Survivor Foundation. Both of these organizations give over 95% of their donated money to the veterans they support.
The Expo was the creation of VFOB companies to showcase the veteran owned and supporting products from this group and other local outdoor industries.
The event had 40 vendors in attendance and was hosted at the Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork, MT. The backdrop to the show was the Benghazi Memorial, the only memorial in the nation dedicated to those who died in Benghazi. This memorial is located at the Flathead Lake Lodge and was paid for and located by the generosity of the people of the Flathead Valley and other Americans.
Targeting Special Operations Wounded Warriors, and the Lone Survivor Foundation for their donations was an easy decision. The Special Operations Wounded Warriors (SOWW) is a foundation, not affiliated with Wounded Warrior Project, that is dedicated to the American warriors collectively known as Special Operations. These are the warriors who do not receive recognition because of the secretive nature of their missions. This foundation provides funds for scholarships of their dependents and recovery of their wounded soldiers.
Additionally funds were earmarked for the Lone Survivor Foundation, Marcus Luttrell’s foundation, whose mission is to restore, empower, and renew hope for our service members and their families.
While both of these nonprofits are reputable, they are just two of the ones that Veterans Family of Brands supports. There is a strict qualification process for the group to be able to add a non-profit to their list. The first of which is that they must be veteran supporting. The second, and just as important, is that they must give 95% or more of their budget back to their charitable mission. The 2017 event will be focused on making the funds raised for veterans living in the Flathead Valley.
A host of Special Operations Warriors and Televisions Hunting Show Celebrities were in attendance to include,
Ron Bellan (Seal) Host of Reaper Outdoors
John “Tig” Tiegan, Hero of Benghazi
Jack Hanna, World Renowned Zoologist
Jana Waller, Host of Skull Bound TV
Laramie, “Sasquatch” Miller, Host of Sasquatch Mountain Man
Tom and Olivia Opre Host of Eye of the Huntress
John “Tig” Tiegan, mesmerized the crowd at a charity dinner for the event with the true and accurate story of what truly happened in Benghazi. Tig told the story in a way that only soldiers who have walked in that shadow could. As a surprise gift, Tig was given a NEMO Omen //Recon in .300 Win Mag by Karen Gerrard, one of the dinners guests who purchased the rifle at the Live Auction during that night.
There were also many veterans in attendance to included Navy Seals, Green Berets, Army Rangers, Marine Recon, and many others. These veterans came from many different wars from Viet Nam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan deployments. The dedication of these veterans and the other volunteers are determined to make this annual show a success and plan to enlarge the 2017 show from 40 to over 200 exhibitors, including live fire demonstrations and shooting competitions.
The second annual Expo is currently being scheduled for August 4 – 6, 2017.
The Leaf- Chronical Presents – VETERANS: Parachutists have special evidence for claims
Thursday, August 25th, 2016Normally, I wouldn’t link to an article from a site owned by Gannett, but this op-ed is some good advice for US military Veterans who are seeking VA compensation for injuries arising from parachute duties. I served on jump status in both the Army and Air Force and the AF took it much more seriously from a medical viewpoint because parachutist duties were considered flight status. Consequently, parachutist were more likely to hide or at least downplay medical conditions in order to remain in status. After a career, they take their toll. If you’re in the same boat, this article by Sandy Britt For The Leaf-Chronicle is worth the read.
Many veterans who were on jump status avoided going to sick call while on active duty so as not to be taken off of jump status, or because it was frowned upon by their command….For example, veterans who were on jump status and earned one of the parachutist badges have concrete evidence of the number of jumps they completed. It’s a known medical fact that parachuting puts abnormal, traumatic pressure on joints, especially knees, feet, ankles, hips and spine, and as a result, chronic joint disabilities usually follow….read the rest at www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2016/07/16/veterans-parachutists-special-evidence-claims.
Breach Bang Clear Talks Citizenship Through Service, The Starship Troopers Way
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016Right up front I’ll tell you I love Heinlein. I haven’t read everything he wrote but I’ve done my fair share. ‘Starship Troopers’ is by far my favorite and I’ve read it over and over. At first reading, it was an amazing book for a young man and still holds up the older I get. One of the concepts set forth in the book is the idea that after a rather destructive world war, the Veterans set about putting society back together and decided that in order to vote, you’d have to have had some skin in the game. The idea is central to the book so naturally it made it into the movie by the same name. Unfortunately, the movie and its sequels, didn’t quite live up to the mentality, or the tech, of the book.
Okay, the movie is a fun romp, but only a Philistine prefers the movie over the book. At any rate, go check out the argument for, or is it against? earning the franchise through federal service.
www.breachbangclear.com/starship-troopers-21st-century-veteran
Introducing ‘Greyman’, a New Webseries
Friday, August 12th, 2016My friend Tyler Grey has a new series called, ‘Greyman’. It is presented by CCW Safe and produced in conjunction with Larry Vickers. Below, he talks about what you can expect.
