So apparently the person who stabbed the New York City cab driver, Michael Enright.  Is a fan of Mass Casualties.  A year ago I received an email from Michael Enright, and in the email Enright told me he had read Mass Casualties and was a fan of the book.

Here's Enright's original email, and review of Mass Casualties:

Hello Mike,

     My name is Michael Enright, I am going into my third year as a Cinematography major at the School Of Visual Arts in New york City. Last night I finished reading your book Mass Casualties that [Redacted]let me borrow. He is a good friend and we've collaborated on multiple short films concerning veterans affairs, and P.T.S.D. I really enjoyed your story. It was true and un-relenting. I found your characters, even though they were real people to be developed, and hold specific meanings in your journey. I now understand the meaning behind your title, and as a reader appreciate it immensely. As a fellow young artists I would like to extend to you my greatest compliments on such a work so soon after your life changing experience, and wish you all the more success. I would also like to extend to you some of my work and get some feed back on what you think and feel needs improving upon.  Thanks for your time, and I look forward to hearing back from you, best, Mike.



I  think the crazy thing is that Enright and I had plenty of conversations through email and the telephone.  And in all our conversations, there was zero hint of any bigotry or prejudice.  One of the man things we talked about, when we talked, was about how to help veterans with PTSD.  When Enright had origionally contacted me, he had also wanted to start filming a short video based on part of Mass Casualties. The video was going to be a way to help veterans with PTSD and to let them know that it's ok for them to talk about what's going on, and to seek help.

Then, I get a phone call from Enright telling me that he's going to go to Afghanistan and embed with some Marines.  Then, when he gets back, he leaves a voicemail telling me that he's back from Afghanistan and that he wants to start filming (I still have the voicemail!).  Next thing I know, I'm reading about him in the newspaper for stabbing a cab driver.

Tragic story.  Never saw it coming.  Before he went to Afghanistan he was all about helping the troops.  Now it seems as though he's the one who needs help.




Michael Anthony, author of Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq.

My buddy Tito's awesome music video.  He's a good guy and the video/song is great!

I taught him everything he knows, just kidding, but the video is definitely worth a look, and then another look.

In case you haven't already seen the remake of Lady Gaga's song Telephone.  Here it is by a bunch of troops over in Iraq.  It's only been up a few months and already has several million views.  It's pretty funny.







Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq.

The Case: General McChrystal the commander of troops in Iraq, in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine made derogatory comments about President Obama and his presidential cabinet.

 

(It's important to follow the link and read the whole article to be adequately informed on the comments made.)

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236

 

Here's the problem: Four star generals from time to time seem to forget that even they have a commander to report to, and that even they have to act within the realm of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

 

If a low grade soldier where under the command of General McChrystal and if said soldier had seen errors in his command and instead of discussing the issues or bringing them up the chain of command or to the Inspector General, and if instead, the soldier had an interview with Rolling Stone magazine--while in uniform.  The soldier would without a doubt be giving an Article 15 (loss of pay and extra duty for between 45-90 days) and depending on the comments and the scope of the situation the soldier may even be kicked out of the military with a dishonorable discharge--which can follow you around like a felony.

 

When the story about the Walter Reed Army Medical Center broke and it turned out that it was because a soldier had contacted the outside media, the soldier was crucified by his command.

 

(One of the soldiers who broke the story about Abu Ghraib had to go into a type of military witness protection.)

 

So now we have commander McChrystal who is in a similar situation, he went outside his chain of command and brought his issues up with the media; a lower enlisted soldier would be receiving a far worse punishment.

 

Forget what all civilians say, forget what all reporters and journalists say, they have no idea what military life entails.  This isn't about freedom of speech; this is about the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  UCMJ theoretically should be no different for a four star General or a lowly private. 

 

Verdict: General Petraeus is IN and McChrystal should feel lucky to have been allowed to resign.

American Soldier

 

When I say... "I am an American

Soldier"

I'm not shouting I'm better than you.

I'm whispering, I was a boy, and now

find myself a man.

 

When I say... "I am an American

Soldier"

I don't speak only of this with pride

I'm also confessing that I stumble,

make mistakes,

And need competent leadership to

help guide me,

So I in turn,

can be a competent leader.

 

When I say... "I am an American

Soldier"

I'm not trying to be strong,

I'm professing that I am weak and

need the strength of my peers and

country,

To help carry me on.

 

When I say... "I am an American

Soldier"

I'm not bragging of past successes

I'm admitting I have failed in the past

Admitted the mistakes and tried to

right the wrongs.

 

When I say... "I am an American

Soldier"

I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible

But my country needs me,

and I soldier on.

 

When I say... "I am an American

Soldier"

I can still feel the sting of pain, from

seeing those that I care about die,

While we fight for those that we love.

I have my share of heartaches,

So I call upon the American People to

help guide our soldiers, when home

 

When I say... "I am an American

Soldier"

I'm not better than thou,

I'm just a simple man,

Who was called upon by his country

to fight.

 

By: Michael Anthony, Author of: Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq. (Available at your local bookstore or online at: www.MassCasualties.com)

[Originally inspired by a Carol Wimmer poem.)

Worst article that I have ever read, but a must read:

Disposable Soldiers
By: Joshua Kors

The mortar shell that wrecked Chuck Luther's life exploded at the base of the guard tower. Luther heard the brief whistling, followed by a flash of fire, a plume of smoke and a deafening bang that shook the tower and threw him to the floor. The Army sergeant's head slammed against the concrete, and he lay there in the Iraqi heat, his nose leaking clear fluid.

"I remember laying there in a daze, looking around, trying to figure out where I was at," he says. "I was nauseous. My teeth hurt. My shoulder hurt. And my right ear was killing me." Luther picked himself up and finished his shift, then took some ibuprofen to dull the pain. The sergeant was seven months into his deployment at Camp Taji, in the volatile Sunni Triangle, twenty miles north of Baghdad. He was determined, he says, to complete his mission. But the short, muscular frame that had guided him to twenty-two honors--including three Army Achievement Medals and a Combat Action Badge--was basically broken. The shoulder pain persisted, and the hearing in his right ear, which evaporated on impact, never returned, replaced by the maddening hum of tinnitus.

Then came the headaches. "They'd start with a speckling in the corner of my vision, then grow worse and worse until finally the right eye would just shut down and go blank," he says. "The left one felt like someone was stabbing me over and over in the eye.

Continue reading:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100426/kors

Came Across this article at: http://blog.recruitmilitary.com/journal/2010/3/30/recruitmilitary-is-proud-to-promote-mcgraw-hill-professional.html

Job hunting, resume building and networking skills for veterans

Taking place throughout the month of April, McGraw-Hill Professional will offer four live career and job search Webinars free to U.S. veterans. Presented by leading career experts and authors on topics ranging from job search to resume writing to career management, these Webinars provide returning service members with the knowledge and skills they need to begin a successful civilian career.

Register now for one or more Webinar at http://www.mhprofessional.com/getpage2.php?c=webinar-veterans.html  Each Webinar is free to veterans and limited to 100 participants. 

Friday, April 02, 2010 at 1pm ET - Approaching & Managing Your Job Hunt (Jay Block).  Are you serious about landing a quality job quickly? In this webinar Jay Block, author of 101 Best Ways to Land a Job in Troubled Times will introduce you to an easy five-step process that will help you approach your job transition strategically. You will learn how to manage fear and negative emotions, define clear job and career goals, create effective self-marketing tools, develop action plans and take action to land a job.

Friday, April 09, 2010 at 1pm ET - Putting together a Fearless Resume (Marky Stein).  What's your edge in this competitive job market? Marky Stein author of Fearless Resumes will help you transform your résumé from words on paper into a vibrant self-presentation that tells prospective employers what they want to hear. You will learn how to craft a résumé that hooks prospective employers' attention, turns boring past duties into dynamic personal statements, transforms weaknesses into strengths--and gets your name on top of the résumé heap in any HR office. 

Monday, April 26, 2010 at 1pm ET - Wingmen values in workplace and beyond (Waldo Waldman).  Lt Col Rob 'Waldo' Waldman is a former comb at decorated veteran and the NY Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Never Fly Solo. In this content packed webinar, Waldo will share Top Gun tactics to compete against your civilian counterparts in a highly saturated job market. Topics covered will how to leverage your technical skills and military leadership to get recruiters banging down your door, unique ways to network and be heard above the noise, handling job search rejection, and how serving in your community can be your most important use of your free time. Prepare for an extremely valuable program that will dramatically change the way you prepare for your job search.

Weird Story.  I was at Book Expo America (BEA) about a year ago in New York, it was a Saturday and I was doing a book signing there.  The publisher had a bunch of paperback galleys printed up and I signed all the copies and we handed them all out for free.  The next day (Sunday) I had driven back to Massachusetts and the publisher gave away the last few remaining copies.  One of the people who had picked up a remaining copies was Damon Dimarco, a famous actor, and author of: Heart Of War (which is a great book about soldiers in Iraq).  Well, as fate would have it, Saturday night when I got back from New York,I was up all night emailing authors who I was fan of and who had written military themed books.  That night Damon comes back from BEA and low and behold, there is also an email waiting for him, from me.  Very serendipitous indeed.  Damon is a great writer and actor, and he just posted up a review of Mass Casualties on his blog:

http://www.damondimarco.com/author/?p=94

My favorite war story is The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien.  Even though it's fiction, it is the most well written portrayal of war.

Here is one of the best passages, it is a beautiful description of war:

"War is hell, but that's not the hell of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love.  War is nasty; war is fun.  War is thrilling; war is drudgery.  War makes you a man; war makes you dead."