Tag Archives: Experiences

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 | 3 Comments

The Vet Fireworks Courtesy Compromise

Posted on July 3, 2015 by psessum

This comes up every year, but since 2015 seems to be the year of the butthurt it has blown way out of proportion. Some people are complaining that they are asked to not be American on the most American day … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Kicking Some Knowledge | Tagged Air Force, Army, Boom, current-events, Experiences, Fireworks, Fourth of July, July 4th, Life Skills, Marines, Military, Navy, Post Traumatic Stress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, Veterans, Vets | Leave a comment

Be Grateful for the Support or it Will Go Away

Posted on February 26, 2015 by psessum

By Peter Sessum In a recent New York Times (NYT) article veterans weighed in on how they felt about civilians thanking them for their service. I have talked to a number of vets about this and while we all agreed, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged Afghanistan, Army, Blue Falcons, Civilians, Combat Zone, current-events, dogtag chronicles, Experiences, Marines, Military, politics, PSYOP, Service, Thank you, Veterans, Vets | 2 Comments

Iraq and Back – One year later

Posted on August 4, 2014 by psessum

This post was written by an outside author and posted for him by a DTC editor. The post has been deleted due to evidence that the original author does not live up to the standards that we have here at … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged Army, Combat deployment, Combat Zone, current-events, Deployment, dogtag chronicles, Experiences, hypervigilance, Iraq, Leadership, Life Skills, Military, Military leadership, My Deployment, National Guard, Officers, PDHA, Post Deployment Health Assessment, PTSD, Redeployment, transition home, Veterans, Vets | Leave a comment

Profiles of Service: Buck Weaver

Posted on June 29, 2014 by psessum

By: Fred Apgar Robert “Buck” Weaver was born in 1918 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the fourth child in a family of two brothers and a sister, who spoiled “little Buck” as they grew older. Buck’s father, John P., was … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Profiles of Service, Real Heroes | Tagged 41st Fighter Squadron, Air Force, airacobra, Army Air Corps, Buck, Buck Weaver, Combat Zone, Edmonds, Experiences, Greatest Generation, Island Hopping, Island Hopping Campaign, Leadership, little Buck, Military, New Guinea, Officers, P-39, P-40 Warhawk, pilot training, Veterans, Vets, VFW, WWII | Leave a comment

Not Everything Bad Can be Compared to War

Posted on May 30, 2014 by psessum

Minor Inconveniences in Your Life are not War When people make comparisons they look for something obvious to make their point. Often, someone looks for something that is universally recognized as bad and doing that diminishes the life and experiences … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged Afghanistan, Celebrity, Combat Zone, current-events, dogtag chronicles, Experiences, Gweneth Paltrow, Military | Leave a comment