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Category Archives: So There I Was
Sometimes the Military Does Some Good: Healing Over Hurting
Sometimes the Military Does Some Good: Healing Over Hurting By Peter Sessum Hollywood loves a good war movie. They focus on invasions or combat, but the reconstruction doesn’t make the box office, or headlines. Like many other vets, I can … Continue reading
No matter what you think you are made of, you are most likely wrong
By: Peter Sessum The History Channel recently completed the first season of The Selection, their social experiment where they took 30 civilian through a mock special operations selection course. I know it wasn’t their intention, but my veteran friends and … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, So There I Was
Tagged Air Force, Army, Basic Training, Boot Camp, Burpees, Cross Fit, CrossFit, dogtag chronicles, Experiences, Fun Mudder, Grunt, History Channel, If Only Ranger, Infantry, Life Skills, Military, navy seals, POG, PSYOP, Quit, quitters, So There I Was, Soldier, Spartan, Spartan Run, Special Forces, The Selection, Training, Veterans, Vets
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Sometimes the military does some good
BY: Peter Sessum Every veteran I know has stories about discussions with young, idealistic civilians that didn’t go well. At some point we have all been lectured about all the babies that we are killing, all the countries we are invading … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Kicking Some Knowledge, So There I Was
Tagged Afghan, Afghanistan, Army, Civilian, Combat Zone, dogtag chronicles, Enlisted, Grunt, Hearts and Minds, Infantry, Kandahar, Life Skills, Military, Mission, My Deployment, OEF, Operation Enduring Freedom, PSYOP, reconstruction, So There I Was, Taliban, Veterans, Village
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Random Memory: The Power of the Sham Shield
By Peter Sessum A recent post on social media about the attitudes of the enlisted ranks in the Army prompted me to write this. The breakdown of ranks were pretty accurate but I thought the Specialist one was too limiting … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Kicking Some Knowledge, Military Leadership, Random Memories
Tagged AR 670-1, Army, CSM, dogtag chronicles, E-4, E4, Enlisted, Experiences, Germany, Leadership, Life Skills, Management, Military, Military leadership, Rank, Rnadom Memory, Sergeant Major, Sham Shield, So There I Was, Spec-4 Mafia, Specialist, Veterans, Vets
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Random Memory: Sledding in Bosnia
By: Peter Sessum I started the Dogtag Chronicles because of experiences I had on campus at the University of Washington. Too many people seemed to think people in the military are a bunch of clone troopers waiting to be sent … Continue reading
Posted in Random Memories, So There I Was
Tagged 1-26 INF, Army, Big Red One, Blue Spaders, Bosnia, Camp Dobol, Deployment, dogtag chronicles, Enlisted, Experiences, FOB, Grunt, IFOR, Infantry, Life Skills, Military, Mortars, Mount Vis, My Deployment, NATO, Operation Joint Endeavor, POG, SFOR, So There I Was, University of Washington
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When Hearts and Minds Fail: The Infamous Matchbooks
By: Peter Sessum The hunt for Osama bin Laden took far longer than it should have. For years everyone was wondering how the most famous man in the world stayed hidden in Afghanistan with the might and resources of the … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, So There I Was
Tagged Afghan, Afghanistan, AK-47, al-Qaeda, Army, Combat Zone, Cultural Awareness, dogtag chronicles, Experiences, Kandahar, Leadership, Life Skills, matchbooks, Military, Military leadership, Mission, My Deployment, Osama bin Laden, Pashtun, Psychological Operations, PSYOP, PSYOP product, So There I Was, Soldier, Taliban, Urdu, Village
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Random Memory: Shark Attack
By: Peter Sessum This week is Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and what better way to celebrate than to talk about a real life shark attack. Unfortunately, I don’t have an underwater experience to share, but this should be … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Random Memories, So There I Was
Tagged 1/50, Army, Basic Training, Boot Camp, Cattle car, Charlie Company, dogtag chronicles, Experiences, Fort Benning, Grunt, Infantry, knife hand, Knifehand, Life Skills, Military, Pathfinders, privates, Shark Attack, So There I Was, Soldier, Training
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The Freedom Run, a Run to Remember
By: Peter Sessum Veterans Day is coming up and that means it is time, once again, for the Freedom Run. Many people talk about remembering the fallen but how many actually do anything about it? The brainchild of an FDNY … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, So There I Was
Tagged 500 mile club, Afghan, Afghanistan, Air Force, Army, Club Vet, COB, Combat Zone, dogtag chronicles, Edmonds Community College, Enlisted, Experiences, Freedom Run, GWOT, ISAF, Life Skills, Military, Navy, Officers, Remember the Fallen, run, Run to Remember, running, So There I Was, The Freedon Run, Veteran club
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Where were you on 9/11? Story from Germany
By: Dave James WARNING! These are the random brain-droppings of an old man and the veracity of my recollection is becoming suspect… I DO, however, tell a good story. So any inconsistency from actual occurrences, even in the face of … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, So There I Was
Tagged 2001, 9-11, 9/11, 9/11/01, Anti terrorism, Experiences, Force Protection, Germany, Guard Duty, Harassment, Leadership, Management, Military, Never Forget, Remember the Fallen, September 11, Setember 11 2001, So There I Was, Training, Veterans, Vets, World Trade Center, World Trade Towers, WTC
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The Dogtag Chronicles 
Where Were You on 9/11? From the School House to the Sandbox
By: Peter Sessum It was, admittedly, an inauspicious start to the day the world changed. So, there I was, at the Defense Language School (DLI), no shit. I was on the unit volleyball team, practice had ended and I had … Continue reading →