"War is a nightmare. War is awful. It is indifferent, and devastating, and evil. War is hell.”
-Jocko Willink
”Our government's got a war on drugs. That's certainly better than no drugs at all.”
-Kurt Vonnegut
Bco 3rd INF (TOG) Tomb Mission 2002
I served in the Army as an Infantryman. I was stationed in Fort Meyer in the 3rd Infantry. The Honor Guard. On September 11th 2001 our nation was attacked. The Old Guards primary mission is to protect the nation's capital. My company was deployed immediately to the Pentagon. Once the building was secure and the fires were reasonably put out, our unit was tasked with a Search and Recovery Mission that went on for 20 days.
They were not supposed to see death this soon. Young soldiers from the Army's Old Guard — based at Fort Myer in Arlington — typically serve as honor guards. But they have been at the Pentagon since Tuesday, and have now seen the carnage and devastation left in the wake of a terrorist attack.
Bco 3rd INF (TOG) Tomb Mission 2002
We entered a burning burning building wearing none of the protective gear which was later deemed required(Tyvek suit sealed with full face mask respirator). Not knowing if the plane carried a payload of chemical or biological weapons. With zero training to prepare an individual for the horrors inside.
For Pfc. Daniel Cooper, 21, whose normal job it is to be part of high-visibility ceremonies as a member of the Presidential Marching Platoon, aiding in the Pentagon recovery operations came as a shock.
"It doesn't seem real. This is the Pentagon and this isn't supposed to happen," he said. "Everything is torn down and in shambles."
Another member of the platoon, 20-year-old Spc. Joshua Lee Behrens, was also taken aback by the results of the terrorist attack.
"It's a mess inside. It's like hell on earth. You can't see anything. It's dark and dusty, there's asbestos, and it
smells real bad," Behrens said. "Everything's drenched in water, everything is charred."
I'm proud of my service. I became brothers with some of the finest men the country has to offer. Looking back through old photos to put this post together I see many of them are in Valhalla. We who remain endure with scars you cannot see. Living with demons both physical and mental. I have watched my brothers fall out from the pain. I have watched their families suffer. Through it all I have found relief in a single source. I have spent the last decade researching, preparing, and testing. I want to share the formulations I've found with fellow veterans who suffer. A portion of every subscription will go towards providing free wellness products to Veterans that need it most.