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Tag Archives: PSYOP
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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I am Going to Cut Brian Williams Some Slack
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
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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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Be Grateful for the Support or it Will Go Away
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
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What it Feels Like to be a Veteran
By: Peter Sessum Looking at pictures of a military airplane bone-yard I couldn’t help but think that is what it felt like to be a veteran. Made for a specific purpose and once the purpose is served, discarded and left … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary
Tagged Air Force, Army, Discharge, Experiences, featured, Grunt, Infantry, Life Skills, Marines, Military, Navy, PSYOP, Sailor, Soldier, Training, Vet, Veteran, Veterans, Vets, What being a vet feels like, WWII
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Sometimes You Just Gotta Dance a Jig
By: Peter Sessum So there I was, smoking a cigar and dancing on a bunker in Afghanistan, no shit. Why am I dancing on a bunker in Afghanistan? From an existential perspective, why is anyone anywhere doing anything? In truth, … Continue reading
Posted in So There I Was
Tagged Afghanistan, Army, BAF, Bagram, Blue Falcon, Brothers in Arms, Bunker, Cigar, Combat Zone, dogtag chronicles, Experiences, funny, General Order #1, good times, Military, Military friends, My Deployment, PSYOP, PSYOP reclass, So There I Was, Veterans, Vodka
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The Infamous Dump Truck Mission
By Peter Sessum So there I was, in Afghanistan, no shit. We were on a mission in the middle of nowhere. Normally, it can be nice to watch the sun rise, but being up since 0200 made it difficult to … Continue reading
Posted in So There I Was
Tagged Afghan, Afghanistan, Army, Experiences, FOB, Military, Mission, My Deployment, Psychological Operations, PSYOP, So There I Was, Speaker Monkey, Special Forces, Vets, Village
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The Dogtag Chronicles 
Hero’s Journey Home Step 4: Mentors, Challenges, Trials and Descent
By Peter Sessum Week four of the Veterans Administration therapy program. So far in our Hero’s Journey we have answered the call to adventure, crossed the threshold and now found mentors. Using the Matrix example, as the book often does, … Continue reading →