Tag Archives: Experiences

No matter what you think you are made of, you are most likely wrong

Posted on February 16, 2017 by psessum

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 | Leave a comment

Random Memory: The Power of the Sham Shield

Posted on November 6, 2015 by psessum

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 | Leave a comment

The Duality of the American Veteran

Posted on October 29, 2015 by psessum

By: Peter Sessum Serving in the military is one of those few jobs that brand you for life. No matter what you do, you will always be a veteran. It is one of the few professions that stays with you … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Kicking Some Knowledge | Tagged Air Force, Army, current-events, Experiences, Life Skills, Marines, Military, Navy, PTSD, Soldier, Veterans, Vets | 1 Comment

I am Going to Cut Brian Williams Some Slack

Posted on September 28, 2015 by psessum

By Peter Sessum The Pope’s visit to America heralded the return of Brian Williams to news. While vets will long remember his statements and liken them to stolen valor, civilians will soon forget. As a vet, I do not take … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged Afghanistan, Brian Williams, Experiences, helicopter, Infantry, Iraq, Military, MSNBC, My Deployment, PSYOP, Service, So There I Was, Special Forces, Stolen Valor, Taliban, Veterans, Vets | Leave a comment

What it Feels Like to be a Veteran: Harry Potter

Posted on September 18, 2015 by psessum

By: Peter Sessum The military experience can be difficult to put into words for civilians to understand. Not that they lack the mental capacity but it is hard to put it in terms that they can relate to. Military life … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Kicking Some Knowledge | Tagged dogtag chronicles, Experiences, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, Leadership, Military, PTSD, Veteran Experience, Veterans, Vets, Voldemort, What is a veteran, What it feels like to be a vet | 1 Comment

Where Were You on 9/11? From Memorial Service to War

Posted on September 11, 2015 by psessum

By: Forrest Parks It was near the end of the day. We were all hanging out in the barracks waiting for the memorial service for one of our buddies that had been found dead in the barracks a few days … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged 9/11, 9/11/01, Army, current-events, Experiences, Germany, Sept 11, September 11, Soldier | Leave a comment

AAR of the Seattle VA After a Five Day Stay

Posted on August 4, 2015 by psessum

By: Peter Sessum The Department of Veterans Affairs, as an organization, gets a bad rap. Every time someone in their leadership does something stupid the entire organization gets attacked. As veteran I know what it is like to be punished … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Kicking Some Knowledge | Tagged Experiences, Geneva Conventions, Seattle VAMC, VAMC, Veterans Affairs | Leave a comment

Random Memory: Sledding in Bosnia

Posted on July 16, 2015 by psessum

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 | Leave a comment

When Hearts and Minds Fail: The Infamous Matchbooks

Posted on July 14, 2015 by psessum

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 | Leave a comment

Random Memory: Shark Attack

Posted on July 10, 2015 by psessum

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 | 1 Comment