Joe Gould

Need help with PT, finance, leadership or public speaking? Former Capt. Lee Kind offers up some 'kind' advice

By Joe Gould on July 29, 2014 Outside the wire

Former Capt. Lee Kind has worn many hats — he’s a former Army officer, master jumpmaster, real estate agent, PT guru and author with an MBA from George Mason University — and he wants to use them all to help service members. His passion for it has yielded five books, which address physical fitness, finance, public speaking, leadership and a how-to guide to becoming a jumpmaster, respectively. He spent six years in the 82nd Airborne Division. “It doesn’t matter what branch they’re in,” Kind said, taking a break from a recent book signing at the Pentagon. “Unfortunately most folks don’t know the…

NSFW safety brief singer's superiors definitely in on the joke

By Joe Gould on April 2, 2014 Outside the wire

[HTML1] Don’t worry, the singer of the salty safety brief is safe–from punishment. Superiors at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, were in on the joke when Pfc. Michael Davis sang an acoustic anti-drunk-driving song, in spite of the foul language. In fact, 1st Sgt. Travis Cook said Davis — a Christian singer-songwriter — is “straight-laced as they come,” and was simply adapting how Cook curses for emphasis while delivering the weekly briefings. The NCO was grateful Davis’ creative take grabbed the attention of his 130-plus battle buddies, helping the safety message sink in. “Like the whole Army, we’re confronting DUI’s, and when…

Soldier sings salty song of safety

By Joe Gould on April 1, 2014 Outside the wire

[HTML1] Why can’t all safety briefs be like this? A guitar strumming soldier at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson spiced up his safety brief with an acoustic number that cautioned, “Alaska will f—ing get you, if you drink and drive.” Wear condoms, avoid falling for strippers and not to mess with wildlife, crooned the soldier, identified in the comments at U.S. Army WTF! moments as a member of Comanche Company 1-501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. Though most of the lyrics are unprintable on this family blog, it’s grabbier than the average safety brief, and the nearly three-minute clip elicits peals of laughter from…

UK sniper get six Afghan insurgents with a single round

By Joe Gould on April 1, 2014 Outside the wire

A British sharpshooter in Afghanistan has redefined the term, “badass.” The sniper killed killed six insurgents with a single bullet after hitting the trigger switch of a suicide bomber whose device then exploded, The Telegraph reported. The 20-year-old marksman, a lance corporal in the Coldstream Guards who was not named, reportedly hit his target from 930 yards away, killing the suicide bomber and five others around him caught in the blast. “The guy was wearing a vest. He was identified by the sniper moving down a tree line and coming up over a ditch,” said Lt. Col. Richard Slack, commanding…

Vets among the guests at tonight's State of the Union

By Joe Gould on January 28, 2014 Outside the wire

State of the Union addresses are by many accounts a political kabuki play and have been for years. President Obama’s highly observed and analysed speech will feature planned applause lines and choreographed nods, all while he highlights his priorities and signature achievements. He will do the talking, and members of Congress will clap, stand, grimace — or use their choice of guests — to speak for them. And tonight, veterans and family members of fallen service members will be among these honored guests, symbolically emphasizing legislators’ key issues. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is bringing Staff Sgt. Sandra Lee, who endured a…

Blinded Iraq vet headed to State of the Union

By Joe Gould on January 22, 2014 Outside the wire

He’s a vet who gives a voice to other vets — and now he’s headed to the State of the Union address next week. Eric Marts, a blind Iraq war vet who hosts a radio talk show about veterans issues, is going as a guest of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, next week. His program is called “Heroes of the Heartland.” Heitkamp met former Master Sgt. Marts last summer when she traveled the state to listen to the issues facing North Dakota veterans, she said in a press release. “Each year, I ask someone special, someone who represents the very best from…

WWII widow gets back class ring, 70 years later

By Joe Gould on January 17, 2014 Outside the wire

[HTML1] Seventy years ago, Betty McAleenan sent her husband off to war with her high school class ring. When Staff Sgt. Robery Greebull died in the Pacific, it was lost with him. That is, until this week. McAleenan, 94, of Cheyenne, Wy., was reunited with the ring after it was found in New Guinea, amid the wreckage of the plane crash that killed her husband. Greebull and the ring had made it through 38 successful missions over the South Pacific, but both lost during the 39th. With the memento of their love in her hands, McAleenan said she finally has…

Recalling the U.S. sacrifice in Fallujah as al-Qaeda captures it

By Joe Gould on January 6, 2014 Outside the wire

The headlines about Fallujah spell gloom and doom for the Iraqi city recently taken over by al-Qaeda affiliates, raising tough questions about Iraq’s overall stability, whether the same will happen in Afghanistan after the U.S. leaves and, well, what the heck was it all for? In a case of curious timing, the homepage of the Combat Studies Institute calls to mind a triumphant time in Fallujah: November 2004. CSI offers a four-hour virtual tour about the one-time, ahem, two-time insurgent stronghold that examines the U.S.-led coalition operation to take the city. (The tour is available by request because perhaps it…

Welcome to your top five 'Go Army, Beat Navy' spirit videos …and the one Naval Academy video that blows them all away

By Joe Gould on December 6, 2013 Outside the wire

[HTML1] [HTML2] [HTML3] [HTML4] [HTML5] Okay, now watch this U.S. Naval Academy video. Does Army need to up it’s game on the spirit videos or what? [HTML6]

Christmas in the air and so is "Army wife" pepper spray

By Joe Gould on December 3, 2013 Outside the wire

It’s the sort of Army pride that just makes you want to cry. An Ohio self-defense company Rose Guardian has launched three patriotic new pepper-sprays just in time for Christmas, two that say “Army Wife” and one that says “Military Wife.” The “Army wife” sprays, that feature either a pin-up or a woman in a camo cap, were inspired by the company’s growing market of women whose spouses are deployed overseas, Rose Guardian’s owner Carlos Crespo told Army Times. “Their husbands are away, they’ve by themselves home alone and they’re looking to feel a little safer,” Crespo said. Crespo said…

Author Joe Gould