Maj. Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen
53 years old from Royal, Iowa
354th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing
June 29, 1934 – December 14, 1987

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Major Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen, United States Air Force, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, near Thai Nguyen, North Vietnam, on 10 March 1967. Major Dethlefsen was one of a flight of F-105 aircraft engaged in a fire suppression mission designed to destroy a key anti-aircraft defensive complex containing surface-to-air missiles (SAM), an exceptionally heavy concentration of anti-aircraft artillery, and other automatic weapons. The defensive network was situated to dominate the approach and provide protection to an important North Vietnam industrial center that was scheduled to be attacked by fighter bombers immediately after the strike by Major Dethlefsen’s flight. In the initial attack on the defensive complex the lead aircraft was crippled, and Major Dethlefsen’s aircraft was extensively damaged by the intense enemy fire. Realizing that the success of the impending fighter bomber attack on the center now depended on his ability to effectively suppress the defensive fire, Major Dethlefsen ignored the enemy’s overwhelming firepower and the damage to his aircraft and pressed his attack. Despite a continuing hail of anti-aircraft fire, deadly surface-to-air missiles, and counterattacks by MIG interceptors, Major Dethlefsen flew repeated close range strikes to silence the enemy defensive positions with bombs and cannon fire. His action in rendering ineffective the defensive SAM and anti-aircraft artillery sites enabled the ensuing fighter bombers to strike successfully the important industrial target without loss or damage to their aircraft, thereby appreciably reducing the enemy’s ability to provide essential war material. Major Dethlefsen’s consummate skill and selfless dedication to this significant mission were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

Maj. Dethlefson retired from the Air Force in 1977 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He died in 1987 of natural causes and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

This post is part of Wednesday Hero. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

It’s not quite what she was doing in the Army as a medic but it’s the closest thing she could find. The 12 hour days aren’t too awful bad either.

The best part is that she isn’t smoking much at all. The hospital does not allow it’s employees to smoke anywhere on the hospital grounds.. even in their own cars.

Benton has gotten used to her and Drew not being here for hours and hours and is almost a pleasure to be with all day long.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

Most states do allow the ownership of silencers but 8 states, including New Jersey, do not allow ownership of suppressors/silencers.

The public is under the mistaken impression that people who use silencers are bad people and are more likely to commit a crime using a firearm or be associated with the mob. Silencers allow increased accuracy because of the reduced muzzle report, reduced recoil, and decreased muzzle flip. Silencers also would protect the hearing of the person firing the gun since the noise, especially in a small room, would be so loud it could cause hearing loss in a situation where you are trying to protect your home and family from an intruder. Silencers would also help when you are hunting so you are not disturbing people who live near the area you are hunting in and again will save your hearing because it cuts down the noise of the gunshot dramatically.

Also if you cannot hear you cannot be aware of your surroundings which could be very dangerous to you and your family if you are trying to protect your home and loved ones. If you were to wear hearing protection (which you would probably not have time to locate if an intruder broke into your home) you would not be able to hear the intruder and locate his/her position in your home.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

Touch screens have become tougher and can withstand more harsh conditions better than their predecessors could. Some come with superior scratch resistant coatings that would enable them to be used in desert combat conditions. The equipment wouldn’t have to be replaced as often.

Soldiers could use smart phones to thumb through critical information on an upcoming mission, and commanders could use electronic “sand tables” to plan and analyze their battles. Touch screens could become the way of the future for collaboration and battle command on-the-move.

Touch screens could improve the abilities of unmanned air and ground vehicles to collect information in urban environments. They could have a tool that would display a map of the battlefield that can be populated with position reports generated by a different application. A time line tool can then be layered in to illustrate changes and historical trends as users scroll back and forth using a touch screen. Unlike a paper map, the electronic version can store all of the information for future use.

The keyboard and mouse operations would become obsolete with the use of touch screens in the military. This would be much better than the old way of writing things down on paper and running the risk of these papers, coded or not, falling into the wrong hands.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

Capt. Eddie S. Ray
57 years old from Seattle, Washington
Company B, 1st Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Task Force Shepherd, 1st Marine Division

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Eddie S. Ray, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as Commanding Officer, Company B, First Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Task Force Shepherd, FIRST Marine Division, in the Emirate of Kuwait on 25 February 1991. During the early morning hours of G+1 of Operation Desert Storm, an Iraqi mechanized division counter-attacked elements of the FIRST Marine Division in the vicinity west of the flame and smoke engulfed Burgan Oil Fields in Southeastern Kuwait. As dense black smoke shrouded the battlefield, an Iraqi mechanized brigade engaged the FIRST Marine Division Forward Command Post security forces. During the ensuing intense ten hour battle, Captain Ray repeatedly maneuvered his Light Armored Vehicle Company in harm’s way, skillfully integrating his Light Armored Infantry weapons, reinforcing TOW’s, and AH-1W Attack Helicopters to decisively defeat main Iraqi counter-attacks. Leading from the front and constantly exposed to large volumes of enemy fire, Captain Ray led swift, violent attacks directly into the face of the vastly larger enemy force. These attacks shocked the enemy, destroyed 50 enemy Armored Personnel Carriers, and resulted in the capture of over 250 Iraqi soldiers. Operating perilously close to the attacking enemy, Captain Ray’s courage, composure under fire, and aggressive war fighting spirit were instrumental in the defeat of a major enemy effort and the successful defense of the Division Forward Command Post. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, Captain Ray reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

This post is part of Wednesday Hero. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve been out of work for just over 3 years with not much luck finding anything and had to resort to getting food stamps and public assistance. The good thing that came out of that is I got a lot of help with my electric bill. I was way behind and in serious danger of having my electric shut off. The last amount I had to pay, because of the credits I get, was only $7.00! I can afford that with no problem at all.

Some states have multiple energy companies you can choose from to get your electric, but New Jersey (at least where I live) there is only one company to choose from. I know when Andi lived in Texas she had at least 2 Texas energy companies to choose from. I think we should be able to shop around and compare rates when it comes to utilities just like we do when we go grocery shopping or car shopping.

But I’m feeling confident that things will continue to get better as time goes on and I will have a job sometime this year. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

Getting Benton to sleep tonight was so much easier than I thought it would be. We started with snuggle time, which involves a cup of milk, his blankie, binkie and “big blankie”. Usually Andi has to have some piano music ready to play (which puts him out within a song or two) but I didn’t need that because he was out like a light within 5 minutes of starting snuggle time.

Andi works tomorrow and Thursday then she’s off for 3 days. It’s 3 12 hour shifts a week. She’s thrilled to be working in the ER because it’s the closest thing to what she did when she was deployed in Iraq.

Now I have some time to myself before she gets home from work. Benton is sound asleep, Drew and Andi are at work and I can get some posts and other things done. I’ll probably get off the computer after the posts are done and just read and watch TV.

This is going to be nice!!

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

You can go to the Military Cruise Deals website and check it out for yourself. They will get you a discount on every ship and every cabin (this is what it says on their website). There are a lot of cruise lines to choose from also.

Our returning soldiers and their families could use a cruise to help them de-stress and get to know each other again and the discounts will help them enjoy their time together and not worry about the expense of a cruise.

This might be something my daughter and her fiancee could use when they finally get married and go on their honeymoon. I almost wish I had joined the military when I was younger.

My daughter was a medic in the Army for just about 4 years and her fiancee was in the Army too. After the Army my daughter was in the Reserves for a year. Now she’s done with it all and about to start her new career working in the ER at our local hospital.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

1st Lt. Loren Douglas Hagen
25 years old from Fargo, North Dakota
U.S. Army Training Advisory Group
February 25, 1946 – August 7, 1971

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant Loren Douglas Hagen, United States Army (Reserve), for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the team leader of a small reconnaissance team with the U.S. Army Training Advisory Group, in action against enemy aggressor forces while operating deep within enemy-held territory in the Republic of Vietnam, on 7 August 1971. At approximately 0630 hours on the morning of 7 August 1971 the small team came under a fierce assault by a superior-sized enemy force using heavy small arms, automatic weapons, mortar, and rocket fire. First Lieutenant Hagen immediately began returning small-arms fire upon the attackers and successfully led this team in repelling the first enemy onslaught. He then quickly deployed his men into more strategic defense locations before the enemy struck again in an attempt to overrun and annihilate the beleaguered team’s members. First Lieutenant Hagen repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire directed at him as he constantly moved about the team’s perimeter, directing fire, rallying the members, and resupplying the team with ammunition, while courageously returning small arms and hand grenade fire in a valorous attempt to repel the advancing enemy force. The courageous actions and expert leadership abilities of First Lieutenant Hagen were a great source of inspiration and instilled confidence in the team members. After observing an enemy rocket make a direct hit on and destroy one of the team’s bunkers, First Lieutenant Hagen moved toward the wrecked bunker in search for team members despite the fact that the enemy force now controlled the bunker area. With total disregard for his own personal safety, he crawled through the enemy fire while returning small-arms fire upon the enemy force. Undaunted by the enemy rockets and grenades impacting all around him, First Lieutenant Hagen desperately advanced upon the destroyed bunker until he was fatally wounded by enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire. With complete disregard for his personal safety, First Lieutenant Hagen’s courageous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon him and the United States Army.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.

I hope all of my readers had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all have a fantastic New Year.

©2012 Life After The Army. All Rights Reserved.