Standing here typing, listening to Garth Brooks, my mind will not relax to sleep. Reason unknown, but these thoughts seemed to need to be written, so here goes nothing:
- Can a person have too much experience and too varied a resume? I’ve been a Jack-of-all-Trades for so long, but is that damaging my professional brand?
With a tour active-duty Army, a stint in the US Army National Guard, and a tour of duty active in the Navy, my SMART transcripts are thick with experience. Add in the correspondence courses, the moving from state-to-state in the guard, I have collected job specialties/Military Occupational Skills (MOS), and civilian experience to the Nth degree.
In Fourth Grade, I heard about Cracker Jacks, how they were specialists in being Johnny on the spot to fill the needs demanded. I have turned this into project, program, and change management, and supported it with formal and informal education. What is too much? How do I know when I reach that point?
- Garth Brooks sings a song called “Ireland.” The song is more of a saga than a song, and it tells the story of an Irish Army, on the short end of long odds and outmanned. Since I first heard this song, it has struck those chords in my soul, reason unknown. Having been on the receiving end of long odds and understaffed, I understand the sentiment of this song on an almost spiritual level.
I’ve been in professional situations where I was the victim of lies, physical violence, and sexual assaults from both men and women. People who desire to make themselves feel better by making another person worse. I’ve been fighting bullies my whole life; bring it on. You cannot put the “Skeer” on me! Funnily enough, I sure have the Skeer on a LOT of others, mostly without ever trying.
Recently an event from the US Navy came forcibly to mind, one of the few times I put the Skeer on another person, then kept that Skeer up to the day I left the ship. I had a member of my chain of command physically assault me. I stepped toe-to-toe, looked him straight in the eye, and swore to the depths of my eternal soul that if he ever thought of touching me again, I was going to stuff his lifeless body into a saltwater compensated fuel cell, and all they would find of his remains would be atomic molecules as they went through the engines and into the atmosphere. He never looked me in the eye again, touched me, and left the space crying. I never touched him, but I got my point across.
I have carried the injuries from that day to this, and the VA refuses to acknowledge these injuries or their severity. The VBA continues to deny that a male can experience military sexual trauma from another male. But I put the Skeer on the perpetrators, and this comes with no satisfaction. The law refused to support me; UCMJ failed even to acknowledge these issues while punishing me for the smallest of infractions. Where is justice?
I was one of a tiny minority who was sent to Captain’s Mast (UCMJ, Article 15) proceedings, whose NCOER score went up after being sent before the mast. My lowest NCOER score was 3.5/4 during my entire enlisted period US Navy. But I could not get promoted, refused transfers, and was denied everything because I was “Too valuable to the command,” but this did not stop the command from sending me before the mast every six to eight months. I have scars from the bullies, but they never broke me!
- Since June 2022, I have been pleading on my blog, LinkedIn, and Facebook for participants for my dissertation research. Unfortunately, the research participation rate hasn’t exceeded zero—more reasons unknown.
Have you ever sat through company training and a trainer made an impression, for good or ill, on your growth with that organization? Do you train others, hoping you are influencing the students in your classroom? Do your official duties include leading training efforts for your company? Please click on the link to enter the survey/questionnaire:
- Employee: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GCUonlineemployeesurvey
- Trainer and Front-Line Supervisors: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GCUcorporatetrainersurvey
- Senior Trainer: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GCUSeniorTrainer
Have you successfully been coached or been the coach to another? What about mentoring? Have you received mentoring or been a mentor? Your insights are vital to my research, and I want to showcase your insights to other researchers to help improve company training programs. Please, join, and let’s change the world.
- On the topic of the VBA, did you know you can have a VA provider diagnose you with PTSD and be denied VBA benefits? I would never have believed this was possible until it happened to me. The civilian provider doing the PTSD exam claimed a person could not experience PTSD unless they were in combat. If anyone knows how to successfully change the VBA’s mind, don’t hesitate to contact me. I need some help on this claim!
The inconsistencies in my claim baffle and bewilder me to no end. The abuse by the VA’s ineptitude and deleterious attitude leaves me thinking about running for office, if for no other reason than to stop the depredations of the VA. Any lawyers out there looking for a fight, itching to correct a wrong, and want to join?
- I am almost finished with an advanced degree in industrial and organizational psychology (I/O Psych), and I am appalled by many of my colleagues. Not those in I/O Psych, but those in other psychological fields, psychiatry, and the medical field. I am not denying that kids (age 9-18) are often confused about their bodies and have fanciful ideation about being a different gender. Sometimes these thoughts and feelings need professional support to understand and cope. But recommending surgery to mutilate their bodies permanently is morally, ethically, and borderline legally wrong!
In following the gender dysphoria topic, I have read the heartbreaking stories of those who transitioned, mutilated, and then eventually came to themselves and wept for that which has been lost. Related on these blog pages are several stories of people I have known, who have experienced rape, beatings, and tremendous pain due to gender confusion, jealousy, greed, and a compliant medical industry hellbent on doing harm. Why?
I repeat my question, only for emphasis, if your actions are so life-affirming and positive for you, why are you so hate-filled, angry, and abusive to others? If the mutilation of healthy tissue is not immoral, unethical, and borderline legal, why the secrecy, silence, and walls of hate when approached on this topic? These are honest questions. The research does not support any conclusions; expect to plead for more research. Science is not settled on any issue, let alone the alteration of young bodies and minds.
Writing these questions and thoughts down is therapeutic. If they help you, I have accomplished my purpose. I close with a thought:
“Ask yourself the hard questions, never stop asking, and allow your answers to change as you do.” Colin Wright
I affirm in the strongest words I am not a victim, I am not the same person I was at 18, and I glory in the ability to continue to change. Ask questions, learn, and change.
© Copyright 2022 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.
Paul Harvey is a hero of mine. I miss his voice on the radio. He exuded a calm demeanor, regardless of the terror, the trials, and the terribleness of the news reported and discussed. I do not have Paul Harvey’s sense of calm. When I heard about the 
Imperative to understanding, Military sexual trauma (MST) experienced while serving in the military affects both women and men with potentially severe and long-term consequences. Psychological trauma, such as MST, also increases the risk of physical health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) requires that each facility has a designated MST Coordinator with at least 20 percent of their time dedicated to protected administrative time. For the record, “protected administrative time” is the time required to be spent on administrative duties, writing clinical notes, ordering supplies, scheduling appointments, administrative responsibilities, and so forth.
Here’s the biggest rub, a veteran can be receiving care from the VA for MST at the VHA and still be denied MST on a VBA claim. I have not heard it working in reverse where a claim is being paid, but the VHA refuses care, but given the failures of the VA as an organization, I would not be surprised to learn this was occurring. How do I know that care can be provided for MST and not be allowed on a claim? I am among a number of MST victims, all-male, who have been regularly denied VBA claims but are receiving care for the psychological harm. Veterans talk to each other. I have heard the stories of fellow veterans being attacked, assaulted, molested, drugged, raped by male and female attackers, and heard how the VBA had revictimized them.
This week, the final three emails from the VA-OIG reflected a VISN wide comprehensive healthcare inspection (CHIp) conducted virtually, a VAMC/VAHCS CHIp conducted in Spokane, Washington, and a program report on the failures in the Veteran-Directed Care Program. The most interesting finding in the CHIps was how short the leadership teams had worked together, a month, and how many open positions for leaders there were, more than half. Talk about glaring symptoms of leadership failure, were the leadership teams broken up from employee turnover? If so, did the employees retire, or were they retired to avoid criminal convictions? With all the investigations for fraud, as discussed on these pages frequently, I can only guess how leaders churn in a VAMC/VAHCS/VISN.
An email in my inbox started me thinking of Johari Windows first thing this morning, and in the process of proving myself wrong, I learned some interesting things and figured I would share my journey of discovery. I am always fascinated when I prove myself wrong; I like it; mainly because it proves I am still human with a lot to learn!
As a kid, I was told to role model John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Colonel Sherman Potter, and even Father Mulcahy. I was told to despise those who weaseled on deals, liars, thieves, cheats, lawyers, and politicians. These people were necessary evils, but I never believed in a necessary evil. If you were evil, then you were not worth my time or support. I maintain that position to this day, and it disgusts me to no end when I have been hoodwinked by politicians I thought had integrity who turned out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. Senator McCain, I am talking about you specifically, and I do not care that you are dead!
I guess it has been a couple of years now, I thought it had only been several weeks, but I had a conversation on the power of religion to improve integrity. I have found just as many atheists as religionists with integrity and just as many religionists as atheists without integrity; thus, I can only conclude that religion is a tool for improving integrity, but individual choice trumps religious flavor and fervor. Yet, religion does play a role in providing a moral background for building a solid foundation under a person with integrity. Seeing as atheism is a religion, I have no problems calling on religionists of the world to unite to provide a moral background to improve integrity where they currently live, work, and reside.
President Biden is utterly bereft of integrity, his children are also utterly bereft of integrity, and Hunter is the worst of the bunch. I do not wish to see how deplorable the grandchildren will be as they will be a millstone around America’s neck for a long time! Vice President Kamala Harris and her spouse are two people utterly bereft of anything approaching integrity, moral uprightness, or even common decency. They are joined by the Obama’s (including the children), the entire Clinton Machine, and the black hole of integrity has many others currently occupying seats in Washington DC for company.
Since we have so many examples of poor integrity, there must be examples of people with integrity. Thankfully the answer is yes, and they are easy to spot. Below are common ways to spot integrity, and I challenge you to look for and vocally support integrity where you find it. One of the best ways to show integrity is to appreciate integrity in others. Catch people doing good and vocally thank them. Send thank you cards. Send thank you emails. Remember them after the incident.
A surprise occurred in this week’s Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) reports; the Boise VAMC in Idaho performed well in their comprehensive healthcare inspection (CHIp). Even though 10 recommendations were left, the VAMC as a whole is performing above average, with no significant complaints found by the VA-OIG. 
Sharona struggled with being a mother, her boss was driving her crazy, and her mental health issues stemmed from both her boss and her nursing responsibility. Sharona plays a problematic role; does she provide nursing care for Monk or provide living assistance as a counselor? Concluding that stress can be a mental health issue when taken to extremes. Natalie Teager struggled with loneliness and a desire to be her own person outside of her family. Both mental health challenges that many people struggle with silently. Other supporting characters had substance abuse issues stemming from mental health concerns and personal choices, thus Monk’s subtlety and genius.
Hetro- or Homo- sexual, I do not care. If you and your partner are over the age of consent, generally accepted as 18 years, you may do as you like. All I ask is that you keep your bedroom theatrics in the privacy of your own home.
We can find the same family organizations, the same risks, and the same problems with abuse throughout history. Nothing in the modern family is new or unique. Greece, Rome, Egypt, Babylon, Israel, all communities of ancient date report the same problems in family dynamics, mainly to the detriment of the society practicing any family relationship except nuclear families. I am not the morality police, I am not the thought police, and I am not going to tell you how to live your life and handle your consequences. Heck, I have enough trouble just keeping my consequences dealt with; you may do as you see fit.
Childhood depression is up, anxiety, 
To fully understand the sexualization of children, one must first cut through the hype. The Centers for Disease Control (
I have reports from 
In Proverbs, Old Testament, we find an oft-quoted aphorism, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” If we first accept this aphorism as truth, then the following from James Allen, from “As a Man Thinketh (1903)” can also be presumed truthful. “A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. As the plants springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them.” Bringing into sharp reflection the connection between how a person thinks and their character.
I once met a professional soccer player; we shared a bus trip from Salt Lake City to Vernal, Utah, as he traveled to catch a plane in Denver, Colorado. While I do not envy him, his travel scheduler, we had a very interesting conversation on how thinking builds character. Professional sports players have similar mental walk-throughs as a regular part of their daily exercises. Here I had always been under the impression this was for non-professional sports players and was pleasantly surprised to hear his experiences.
The tools of education became the chains of bondage and weapons that left him without passion. His thoughts had turned his desires in his chosen field into a trap, where he thought his only way out was doing something radical and “out of character.” Except for those who knew him, his character was always bent towards being a soldier, but he had not thought thru this character aspect himself. His thoughts had already revealed his character, but he had not become cognizant of this aspect of himself. How many times has this happened to you?
How did I finally kick the cigarette habit, so the mental addiction could no longer tempt me to smoke; I change my thinking. Instead of allowing myself to find second-hand smoke delightful, I began seeing it as something to avoid. As I changed my thinking, my body stopped reacting in a manner to claim a need for the cigarettes. It was not easy, but I had physically quit smoking 10-years before my mental processes, and mental addictions were finally conquered. The power to correct my body’s behavior towards cigarettes was always mine to claim and apply, but first, I had to change how I think about cigarettes, then my mental needs changed, and then I was free of the mental addiction. Changing thoughts and time, experience, was required, and slowly my body obeyed.
The New Testament records, “He that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” To which James Allen has added, “… for only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the Door of the Temple of Knowledge.” I remember reading about a famous diamond mine in Africa, the largest diamond mine in the world, and how even with technology, the mining process continues to be one of patiently gathering, carefully digging, and unending repetition to haul diamonds from the dirt. In L. Ron Hubbard’s book, “Battlefield Earth,” one finds the same pattern in digging for gold. Patience, careful gathering, unending repetition, and still the results are teaspoons of gold for the tons of rock and dirt shifted.
Why are the causes of the problems considered designed incompetence, because they never change! At the VBA, the processors all need constant training to remain current in their positions; but never receive the training. The VBA never holds value-added training sufficient to train the employees on their jobs, but this remains the number one excuse to justify poor performance in VA-OIG inspections. Failure to perform the job is also not a new excuse, where the VA-OIG reports are concerned. Not understanding how to ask for help is also not new, and frankly astounds and mystifies observers that those hired remain employed when their performance clearly remains insufficient to the job expectations. While it is unique to the VA to see a procedure manual, it is only natural and expected that the manual is poorly organized, poorly executed, hard to follow, difficult to find, and generally useless. The VA is famous for this designed incompetence trick.
Congress mandates VBA claim error rates; there is supposed to be a quality assurance check to reduce the error rates. Yet, with all the checks, the balances, and the quality assurance programs, the VBA continues to surpass the error rates and physically harms veterans due to their inefficiencies. Yes; a failure rate of 16% is a “Big Deal!”
For the first time in more than a decade of chronicling the VA-OIG reports, I am mentioning a 
Worst of all, this condensed version did not even scratch the surface of the issues reported in just three VA-OIG reports. Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame on the elected officials, Republican, Independent, and Democrat, who have allowed this problem to grow and done nothing! Shame on the myriad of presidents who have done nothing but throw good money after bad, without demanding progress and holding real people responsible for real results! Shame on every single VA employee who shirks their job for easiness to the pain and suffering of a veteran, dependent, or spouse!
DNC-Consulting 