Editorials
The Editorials category of the Military Truth blog consists of posts written by the site’s founder, Don Chapin, USAF, retired. We may add guest editorials here as well.
Contending
These latest posted articles on active duty military and veterans suicide rates can also, I contend, be a function of the command structure and/or very poor field or “career” assignments. When I joined the USAF, and after going through a technical training school, I...
Military Toxic Exposure – A Personal Example
An Example Of Military Toxic Exposure Generally, the military is slow to recognize other-than-weapon hazards and slower yet to acknowledge them, for example agent orange, Iraqi burn pits, and Gulf War Syndrome, yet military toxic exposure has ruined environments and...
Despite this Website, You’re Still Interested in Joining the Military?
Despite This Website, You're Still Interested in Joining the Military? Keep in mind that the military branches basically have two ways of joining: standard enlistment, in which you sign up and get started immediately, and delayed entry enlistment, in which you can...
The Cost of Loyalty
Three take-aways from ‘The Cost of Loyalty’ by Tim Bakken, a law professor at West Point. An extremely well-researched and documented book which largely dealt with upper-rank military malfeasance with a good deal of the same within the ranks of military academy students, in combination with my own experiences.
You’re Not One of Us
Officers had daily study sessions together, but, of course, being the only enlisted student in the class, I wasn’t invited and did my best to study the material on my own. The very first glance I had of the final test, it all became clear because it was exactly the same “test” the professor had started the course with “to see where we were.” The officer/pilot group wasn’t studying the course material, but reassembling the test and studying THAT, “forgetting” to invite me to their sessions since I was still an enlisted troop, while they were commissioned.
After Pat’s Birthday
“…family and other critics allege that the Department of Defense delayed the disclosure for weeks after Tillman’s memorial service out of a desire to protect the image of the U.S. military.” And I thoroughly agree with that contention! Many war atrocities are covered up to ‘protect the image.’ This characteristic of warfare became obvious during Vietnam’s Operation Phoenix, a CIA-run effort. My contention is that this was no “accident” but Pat was basically murdered over arguments within the ranks. ~ Don Chapin
Letter to Robert Toth
Retired USAF Captain Don Chapin’s personal experience validates Robert Toth’s view that the military promotions process is skewed in a letter to the author
A Spiritual View of Military “Service”
A Spiritual View of Military ‘Service’ “... allow us to examine a concept that you all understand on Earth. The concept I speak of demands a regimented approach to following and obeying orders, even though one's heart does not agree(*). We believe that you call this...
Editorial: Blowback from the School of the Americas
Editorial by Don Chapin, July 4, 2018: The blowback from the School of the Americas activities, its successor and Wall Street economic predators is the stream of asylum seekers that the tRump administration calls ‘animals’ while ripping apart non-white families
DoD Spending Personal Experience & Forecast
Personal Experience & Forecast by Don Chapin, Capt., USAF, Ret’d, Jan 13, 2018 Editor's note, 5/10/18: The original PDF file in this post has been replaced with a new version updated by Don Chapin. As the Senior Engineer/Deputy Program Manager for an Advanced...