Military Matters
Welcome to Military Matters with Sergeant J. Hello, my name is Sergeant First Class Lawrence Jefferson II, but in the armed services everyone is pretty much known by their last name; so, I am known as Sergeant Jefferson. You can call me Sergeant (SGT) J. I am part of the wonderful community of Bonners Ferry located in the upper Panhandle of Idaho.
This column serves two purposes. First it is a column to keep the military community of Bonners Ferry informed of various military issues and respond to any issues that the veterans would like to discuss; military matters. Second this column is a window for the non-military citizen to become a little more acquainted with the military and veteran citizens beyond what is normally known; the military does matter.
I am a United States Army and Army National Guard veteran. I first joined the Army in 1989. I had a three year break in service from 2001 to 2004. During my time in the Army and Army National Guard
I have traveled to many different countries and served combat tours in Operation Desert Shield/Storm-Saudi Arabia/Iraq/Kuwait(1990-1991), Operation Iraqi Freedom-Iraq/Kuwait (2004-2005), and Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan (2008-2009). I am by no means an expert on military culture, but I do understand it pretty well since I have been a member of it my entire adult life.
Before I go any further, I would ask that we take a moment and say thanks to all the service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our country, those service members who have passed on after a honorable service, and to remember those service members who are still missing or are prisoners of war.
Rules of Engagement:
There are a few ground rules that I need to present. This and future discussions are for things military. This discussion is for everyone. If I offend anyone or get some information wrong, please shoot me an email and I will work the issues and respond in kind.
Matters: What is Happening in the Military World.
In this article I would like to give you a few links to some military news sources. On the sites you will find a lot of interesting news about what is happening in military and veteran community.
Military and Veteran News Sites:
The American Legion Burn Pit: http://www.burnpit.us/
VFW News: http://www.vfw.org/News-And-Events/Press-Room/Press-Releases/
Military.com News: http://www.military.com/news
VA Media Room: http://www.va.gov/landing2_media_room.htm
Department of Defense American Forces Press Service: http://www.defense.gov/news/
Calling all local veterans!
Service members are a unique culture that are a critical part of American society; especially here in our community of Boundary county, Idaho. To continue my efforts in exploring this culture I would like start to introducing some of our local veterans in future articles. If there are any veterans that are interested or you know of any veterans that you would like to see introduced please send me an email at: sergeantj@newsbf.com
Please Send in Your Matters:
You Matter!
Please send me any military matters that you would like discussed and I'll try and get them in our pages. Also please send me any useful links that you want posted. Thanks. You can email me at: sergeantj@newsbf.com
