Combing special operations and working K9’s is the marrying of two things I’m most passionate about. In this episode I sit down with Benito Olsen, former K9 handler attached to SEAL team 6 for numerous combat deployments and remarkably harrowing stories of missions he’s conducted with dogs overseas. From being blown up with his K9, to his K9 having a terrorist by the throat, these stories are gripping, raw, and incredible. The emotions brought during this episode managed to overcome us both and I’m very honored to bring this showcasing of how important the dogs are to our special operations troops.
In case you’re confused: This means that wounded warriors with Purple Hearts can transfer their benefits, regardless of their years of total service or ability to complete more obligatory service.
“Secretary Mattis has been clear – we must recognize the sacrifices these service members have made,” said Stephanie Miller, director of accessions policy within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. “This policy reflects our continuing commitment to wounded warriors and their families.”
All other laws and DoD policies concerning the transferability of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits – including the changes from July – remain in effect.
“If you can’t pass the Army Combat Fitness Test, then there’s probably not a spot for you in the Army,” said Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper.
By Meredith Mathis: On Being Raped By My Commander
Vulnerability is terrifying. Sharing our dark struggles leaves us wide open for the masses to throw stones at our strength, or perceived lack of it. But something truly miraculous happens when we allow others the honor of hearing our stories, even the parts we don’t quite understand. Our shame cannot survive being talked about – it dies the moment we share it. And our authenticity frees others to own their stories, too. And that’s where the healing happens.
Meredith Mathis is a medically retired Army logistics-turned-Public Affairs Officer, having served in OEF in 2009-2010 and 2012. She recently published a book titled The Mountain Still Stands: A Young Soldier’s Battle for Peace in a Time of War. Meredith lives with her husband Tyler and owns a photo restoration business.
Today's selection -- from American Contradiction by Paul Starr. Though the country seemed primed for true healthcare reform as Bill Clinton took office, it suffered an ‘unqualified political defeat.’ “The early 1990s were one of those rare historical moments when the world seemed to be moving in a great rush toward democracy, peace, and economic […]
Today's selection-- from The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. Turmoil in the early life of Maryland Governor Wes Moore: “My mother came to the United States at the age of three. She was born in Lowe River in the tiny parish of Trelawny, Jamaica, hours away from the tourist traps that line the coast. […]
This is an excerpt from my latest novel, Slow Fall. SOMEWHERE IN NEBRASKA The Chat-n-Chew on the main square opened at six in the morning as it always did and by seven the counter was full and the coffee was hot and the talk was about the weather turning and whether the Reinholdt boy would […]
Our students have compiled research in three topic areas. Below are the links to their research tables that can be downloaded for searching and viewing. For a state-by-state review of Mandatory Reporter laws, click here. For a state-by-state review of Background Check laws, click...
Our students spend the summer working on the research project of the LDICP. Through their extensive research, massive databases of information on state statutes regarding the abuse of children have been created and will be posted here as their work is finalized. Here are...
found this new gift idea when visiting on of my favorite restaurants now i can get everyone the same thing this year no returns and it will fit all recipients just check the box for the occasion or write in your own you’re good to go. — ‘we buy our own toilet paper even […]
More than a month after Sinlaku hit the Western Pacific, the death toll stands at 17 and many families remain without stable housing or electricity. The post Pacific Islanders slowly recover from the strongest storm of the year appeared first on ICT.
(I have to be honest. It took me a few minutes to remember where this showed up in the series. Back when I first posted this teaser, I put up a different cover than what should have been there. I’m … Continue reading →
The first book today is for the short supernatural story Breathless by Yvette Calleiro… About the story What if the fairy tale kiss that always awakens the damsel in distress takes a sinister turn? What if prince charming’s kiss no … Continue reading →
Myself, along with my 4 daughters, daughter-in-law, and one of my granddaughters formed a book club in January to see who could read the most books in 2024. We stay in touch with a group text every day and Goodreads. As an incentive we all agreed to put $1 a week into a kitty and […]
A boy raised Catholic in Kampala flew to India in 1990 to earn an MBA and returned, seven years later, with a shaved head, brown robes, and a large Buddha statue that customs officials mistook for witchcraft. What Bhante Buddharakkhita built from that improbable homecoming — a meditation hall, a school, a clinic, and a […]
A collection of artwork inspired by the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s Speak Now and Red albums. Check out The Story of You: A Swiftie Journal & Coloring Book for Self-Discovery for Taylor… The post Speak Now & Red Art appeared first on Positively Present - Dani DiPirro.
I’m probably the last person on the planet to see the final part of the last Mission Impossible movie starring Tom Cruise. I guess it’s the last.After all, Mr. Cruise is now officially a senior citizen, but 63 isn't as old as it used to be. Ask any of the people I know who are […]
Exclusive interview with Fredrik Persson of, "The Greek Theatre". Interview By: Stewart F. Brennan Recently, I caught up to Fredrik Persson of, “The Greek Theatre”, to ask him some personal and pointed questions on his creative passion and music journey. But before we get to the interview, let’s first shed a little light on the Greek […]
All-American patriot, artist, designer, entrepreneur, flower arranger, chef, and joyful servant, Sunny Lou Starling, was carried on the wings of angels to the arms of her savior, Jesus Christ, on Friday, January 6, 2023. She once said her mission was to “Gather and feed all you can, as often as you can, because you never know if […]
WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish, 44-W-4"Failure isn't failure unless you let it be. It's simply a change in direction. Just count your many blessings move on. With God's help, anything is possible!"Deanie Bishop Parrish passed away peacefully in her home in Waco, Texas, on February 24, 2022, just one day shy of her 100th birthday. She met every challenge […]
Editors Note: After posting over five thousand features and twenty five thousand images over the last thirteen years, the time has come to end posting weekly features here on The Old Motor. At this point, the site’s future hasn’t been decided, although it will remain online for the foreseeable future. There may be future updates...
In this weekly series, we ask our readers to tell us the year, make, and model of all of these vehicles along with the location where the image was taken and anything else you find of interest in the photos. You can look back on all the earlier parts of this series here. The photos are via Americar....
New Kindle and Audiobook Releases, Sales and Freebies Are you in our FB Group, Ana’s Attic After Dark? If you use this list, please consider sharing it with friends or on social media! See my May Recap here with over 250 new book and audiobook releases, and 4 reviews! It’s my birthday week! And I […]
New York City circa 1911. "Fifth Avenue looking south from 60th Street." 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Philadelphia, 1959. "West and north elevations, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, southwest corner, 24th and Chestnut Streets." 5x7 inch acetate negative by Cervin Robinson for the National Park Service's Historic American Buildings Survey. View full size.
My great-grandfather was a Textile League ball player in the little mill village of Tucapau, South Carolina, in probably the late aughts. He didn't care what the mill job was as long as he could play on their team. The story in the family is that one of his upcountry cousins was also a Textile […]
In reply to Downtown: 1962: The smokestack at left is on the New York Steam Company plant on the west corner of Water St and Burling Slip/John St. The original Edison plant was on the west side of Pearl St, a block away; the plaque is now at the corner of Pearl and Fulton. In […]
Buying something you want is easy. Paying for it in a way that still lets you sleep at night is the tricky part. […] The post From Checkout to Career Change: Using Pay-Over-Time Thinking Without Stress appeared first on Shopping Kim.
Here’s an old Italian recipe for canning peppers, one of my husband’s favorites. Searching the internet, you’ll come across many variations — all probably good — but here’s a basic recipe to start you on your course. The kids and I canned these using the boiling method, though pressure canners might make the process easier. Not sure how, […]
Microgreens seem to be all the rage these days and for good reason: they are packed with nutrients and easy to grow! The USDA and University of Maryland found that leaves from microgreens had more nutrients than the mature leaves of the same plants. And great flavor. Plus, you don’t need a lot of space […]
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details. Tender, juicy, flaky fish with a lemon-garlic sauce that will knock your socks off. A 20 minute dinner recipe – so fast, so easy, so good! Why you’ll love this lemon butter fish recipe key ingredients in lemon butter fish Butter Use […]
We rounded up appetizers, sides, mains, desserts and cocktails. All of the crowd favorite recipes you need for your next cookout or barbecue! Summer, we’ve missed you! It’s finally that time of year where we dust off the grill for all the backyard get togethers, family cookouts and barbecues. We have sides, mains, salads, drinks, […]
A congressionally mandated report reviewed the Department of Veterans Affairs' disability claims process for military sexual trauma injuries. The post VA denies military sexual trauma claims more often than combat injuries appeared first on Task & Purpose.
Residents say a turnover in landscaping contractors left grass and weeds in base housing unkempt for over a month. The post Families at a Texas Air Force base say neighborhoods overrun by weeds appeared first on Task & Purpose.
The plan was to drive to Stockbridge, MA and tour the Norman Rockwell Museum.No issues driving along the NY Thruway and then onto the Mass Pike.We got to the NRM, Norman Rockwell Museum, shortly after opened at 10:00 a.m. after disconnecting The CRV so I could back the motorhome into a bus spot, we went […]
Friday, Jun 5Martha and I drove into Philadelphia to visit with Thing 2 at her apartment near the city's downtown. Thing 2 moved to Philly for work and resumption of nursing school about 3 months ago.We went to lunch at the large eatery complex known as Reading Station. We went for cajun food but ordered […]
Hi all, I should have posted this a while ago—I’m now on Substack. I love the platform and respect and appreciate the company’s adherence to principles of free speech.You can find The Heart of the Matter—my ruminations on politics, geopolitics, and media, plus the odd book and movie review—here. My author newsletter—only about my new book […]
Wow.As Blade said in the eponymous movie, “The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping. There is another world beneath it—the real world.”American Exception is about the real world.It is deeply researched, coherently presented, cogently argued. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll wonder how you ever could have believed that things are […]
Long before we were a sailing family, Alisa and I were a young couple in love with adventuring in Alaska. The opportunity to introduce Eric and Elias to the delights of outdoor living in the Great Land was one of the big bright sides of our return to Alaska. Earlier this winter, the boys and […]
So...this beautiful island is our home. See the barky? The boys just had their spring break. A week off from school and nothing to keep us from buggering off in Galactic. The weather was generally poor - nothing like the pics above for the most part - so we just snuck off to the west […]
If only life were normally this undemanding. I didn’t post anything in 2025, and here I find this blog at #30 on a List of the 60 top Parkinson’s blogs Web-wide, compiled by aggregator FeedSpot. This recognition of my awesome blogging skills suggests that the less I publish, the better my blog will be. So I probably […]
Here is a link to a story about my struggle to draw with Parkinson's Disease. the story is from "The Daily Cartoonist" a Web journal concerning the world of professional cartooning. It was occasioned by the release of the documentary "Matters of Mind, My Parkinson's" which follows three families and their efforts to cope […]
It’s a little warm in Italy this month. After all, it’s June. But that hasn’t stopped us from exploring some of the tiny kingdoms in Puglia (pron. POO-lia). Come along ... The post TRIP REPORT: On the road in southern Italy appeared first on Alaska Travelgram.
Devil’s Club is a common wild plant in Alaska that’s large & covered in hidden sharp thorns, growing everywhere from remote forests to even well-groomed Anchorage city trails. Just because you’re “in town” doesn’t mean you won’t run into devil’s club. It’s smart to stay on the trails, particularly if you’re not confident spotting it. […]
Here’s a delicious fall-time spin on classic blueberry muffins. If you’re a solo adult who likes good food, this recipe is for you. Or if you’ve got extra kitchen “helpers” around (read: kids who need entertainment), turn baking these Halloween muffins into a fun toddler snacktivity. Pumpkin BOO-berry Muffin Recipe Ingredients: 2 boxes Jiffy brand […]
These homemade gluten-free graham crackers are crisp, naturally sweetened, and made with clean, nourishing ingredients—and yes, they taste even better than the originals! Whether you’re whipping up a snack for your kids or prepping ingredients for the perfect s’mores night, these traditional graham crackers are a total crowd-pleaser. Is there anything more nostalgic than snapping... […]
I’m home now. I’m looking at the flea market couch I brought up from California; I had cushions made three times over the years till I got it just right. Now it’s just right. It’s been in my life 42 years. Tim has been in my life 34 years, but he had to be out of […]
I’m saying my goodbyes to Toronto. I’ve seen my last Hot Docs Festival film, and I’m just back from my last author program. I’ve probably had my last roti, checked out my last book at my local branch library, gone to my last art workshop. Horror of horrors, I’ve even watched my last play. The thing […]
And a lot of questions A news analysis On a mountain where skis have, over the years, increasingly replaced snowshoes as the tool of choice for glacier travel, a National Park Service […]
A lesson from the pandemic A study published this week by the Journal of the American Medical Association’s (JAMA) Open Network is reporting that the rollout of the first Covid-19 vaccines in […]
It’s here. The big day. My memoir, the one I spent 15 years struggling over, launches today from Raised Voice Press. I’m feeling very exposed, very vulnerable. This is not at all similar to when Dolls Behaving Badly launched from Hachette Book Group. That was a novel, and while some of it was based on… […]
I had had Alaska writer Dan Walker’s YA novel SECONDHAND SUMMER on my list for a long time, and two weeks ago finally had the chance to dive in. I wasn’t disappointed. Walker’s book, geared for middle school readers (but still immensely enjoyable for adults), follows 14-year-old Sam’s move to Anchorage from the small fishing… […]
When I first found this fun little recipe, I had doubts about its success. However, because it was one of those "I seriously need chocolate" days, I gave it a try. Boy, I'm glad I did because they are VERY tasty!! This recipe only makes 6 small cookies, which is PERFECT better for my perpetual […]
My list of 10 Best Gifts for Cooks and Food Lovers helps last minute shoppers buy great presents for the food obsessed; most of the items on the list I’ve used and loved for years. Most importantly, if you act quickly, there’s still time to order most of my recommended gifts and have them arrive […]
Okay y'all, I was not going to post this recipe because it was a spur of the moment "What do we have on hand?" thing that I jotted down and then we tried it. But! It's so very, very good. We know that fruit/pistachio cream and chocolate work well together and I love cheesecake flavors. I don't know […]
All about insects is the theme for the next session of Sitka Sprouts on Tuesday, April 30. This is the last Sitka Sprouts session before summer. “We’re going to wrap up Sprouts this spring with a program about insects,” Sitka … Continue reading →
I LOVE my grandmother’s navy bean soup, but it takes forever to make with soaking the beans overnight and then slow cooking the soup all day. I decided to try it in my Instant Pot and it was a success! Not only that, but my kids loved it…score! Ingredients: 1-2 Tbs. olive oil 1 onion, diced 3 […]
Download Radio Show The February 22nd show featured a conversation with Starling Birch, videographer and mountain adventurer. Originally recorded and aired in August 2023, we talked about the pleasure and pain of adventuring into the mountains. We also considered the motivations that drive us to put ourselves in often unpleasant and potentially regretful circumstances when […]
Download Radio Show The February 8th show featured a conversation with Lauren /Bell, Lauren Wild, and Ellen Chenoweth, organizers of the first (annual?) State of the Sound community event scheduled for later this month. We talked about the intentions for the event, what is planned, and how folks can participate. If you have questions or […]
In May 2024, the most intense solar storm in a two decades brought intense and colorful auroras to, it felt, everyone in the world. A G5 solar storm (the most intense class of storm) and clear skies in the United State gave millions of peoples a show and images were flooding in from latitudes as […]
At the end of July we took the boat over to Halibut Cove to hike the Saddle Trail with the kids to picnic at Grewingk Glacier Lake. It's a great trail for kids to master themselves, and Riggs hiked the whole way himself. Raina was in the backpack, but more because we wanted to hike […]
A man who just moved to Homer about a year ago from Chicago has started a podcast interviewing people from the Homer community. He called up my husband a few months ago and asked him if he would be willing to be interviewed. My husband said sure, so the second episode of Alex's podcast features […]
Well, 2017 was not a good garden year in my area, even for those of us with greenhouses/high tunnels. I'm sure I didn't help my chances at all; we had a month between returning home from the States and getting the roof on the high tunnel, and I didn't start any seeds or work the […]
Grilled Carne Asada is one of those recipes that delivers big flavor with very little effort. My recipe for easy carne asada is not an authentic recipe, I’m of French-Canadian heritage living in Alaska, but it IS a great way to grill up flavorful beef for a group of friends or your big extended family.... […]
Mountain View is in for a treat — a whole new store full of treats, in fact. Packed with dozens of varieties of handmade custom candies, classic favorites, and assorted other sweets, Sweet Creations Lollipop Boutique is one of the latest businesses to open doors in the neighborhood. Owner Missy Simms made it for the […]
During our time in Washington we also took some time to drive over to Kennewick to visit some of my family in that area. We camped in my aunt and uncle's driveway and visited them and some of my cousins. The highlight for the girls was the nerf war for sure (pictures here). It was […]
INGREDIENTS3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon active yeast (not rapid or instant)1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt1-1/2 cups slightly warm water (tepid)--2 teaspoons canola oil (For top and bottom of dough ball so it doesn't stick or form crust while rising)-2 TB butter melted in ramekin, with brush (set aside)--10” Seasoned Cast Iron SkilletMETHODAdd flour to bowl. Add yeast […]
My husband loves this cakeso much he had two pieces 'after' eating lunch...Ingredients2 Eggs1 ½ cup Canola Oil2 cups Granulated Sugar3 cups A-P Flour2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg½ teaspoon Kosher Salt1 ½ teaspoons Baking Soda4 cups Chopped Apples (peeled and cored): measure after chopping1 cup chopped Pecans: measure after chopping1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract⅔ […]
