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July 16th 2010, the day my life was changed forever. At this time, we were half way through our deployment. The day started off like any other normal day in Afghanistan. At 0500 we would be up getting ready for the day. By 0600 we were at the chow hall eating breakfast. Justus and I would always sit there and chat while we drank some coffee. Justus Bartelt was my Staff Sergeant and the SNOIC, Staff Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, for Marine Corps Regimental Combat Team 2. Justus was one of the few that walked the walk instead of just talking the talk. He actually didn’t have to talk much at all due to our squad knew what he wanted done and would do anything to complete the tasks given. We were lucky to have a leader like him.
At 0730 our squad would meet up in the briefing tent to see our missions for the day. This particular Friday was going to be a night mission. Our squad was assigned to escort a unit across a danger zone to another FOB, Forward Operating Base. As we are
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The success of a business or organization many times comes down to the quality of their leaders. Even the best concepts will fail if there are not enough people to direct the energy to the right places. So you may ask, what makes a great leader? The answer to this question is multi-facetted, and I will be hitting on a few ‘Key Ingredients’ today. The mere fact that you are taking the time to read this is a testament to your ability and likeliness to be a great leader.
Much of the drive and energy that makes someone able to move an organization forward comes from that individual’s desire to make something better than it was. Drive cannot be taught. It is a result of a person taking ownership of their part in the puzzle. It is a result of a person’s belief / commitment to the cause. When a person has that The Heartland Defender Council (HDC) is a 501c non-profit organization comprised of six members of the Ohio Heartland Defenders (OHD). The sole reason for its existence is to act as the fundraising arm for the OHD. Through donations and monthly raffles posted on this website, the council operates to raise money for supporting OHD meetings and events. Donations and raffles are open to the general public, not strictly OHD members.
The previous group we were in barred us from raising funds to pay for our events. It is one of the main reasons we left our former group and started our own. Every penny spent was directly out of a member’s pocket. Our biggest events, the state FTXs, would cost upwards of $900.00 depending on the events planned. Even the smallest events A VISITOR FROM THE PAST
By ; Thelen Paulk I had a dream the other night I didn't understand. A figure walking through the mist with a flintlock in his hand His clothes were torn and dirty as he stood there by my bed. He took off his three cornered hat and speaking low, he said: "We fought a revolution to secure our liberty. We wrote the Constitution as a shield from tyranny. For future generations, this legacy we gave. In this, the land of the free and the home of the brave You buy permits to travel and permits to own a gun. Permits to start a business or to build a place for one. On land that you believe you own, you pay a yearly rent although you have no voice in Minimalist Prepper… Seems to be a bit of a contradiction there. But I’m not really sure how else to describe it so I’ll just go with it for now. In a lot of ways, I consider myself a minimalist. Not in the extreme sense, like you may have seen on TV or online, I just don’t like having too much unnecessary stuff around clogging up my space and distracting my mind. I prefer to have just what I feel I need to be comfortable and nothing more.
This is where the Prepper part comes in. Having grown up with Boy Scouts and made it to the rank of Eagle Scout, the “Be Prepared” motto is one I’ve never let go of. It’s just kind of a way of life. Having certain things on hand at all times or in my home is something I feel like I need to feel comfortable. I can So, what happened, now being a 46-year-old man who has lived all over this Country (Ohio, Wisconsin, Oregon, California, and Arizona) plus I have visited every state but Hawaii and Alaska (which is on the bucket list) I have been wondering a lot lately as to what happened. As a kid I never remember the things that go on today. We respected authority, police officers, teachers, we stood for the pledge in the morning and we didn’t riot in the streets when we disagreed. Yes, even then we all didn’t agree with everything our President said and did, but we respected the office none the less. We didn’t try to burn down cities and beat people up because we disagreed with their political views. That is just insanity, we all loved this Country, even her faults, we embraced them and worked together. Sure, there were “hate groups” of course, but most of us were disgusted by them because we were all Americans. Was everything perfect between races, well no but there was not this deep hatred of each other and lack of pride in
On a rainy night in early October 35 people sat around a fire and discussed the topic of branching out and following our leader on a journey that we didn’t really understand. Although we all had ideas, the reality was… our plan was far out in left field. Would we succeed? Could we become the group that we all wanted? Before the night was over every brain was turning, every thought bubble was exploding as the next one popped up. Our journey was just beginning and yet, one was ending. The positive thing that came from our previous adventure was that it brought those 35 people together for one cause, it brought more friends and for some of us, it brought more family. The bonds that we have created will always be some of the greatest bonds a person could want. And so that night, the framework was beginning to be laid, our leaders had the backing they needed to make the moves that would rid us of tyranny, and blindly following
I was pretty much raised in a conservative household. At the minimum I can say that is where I learned my core values. I grew with the times though. I realized things in societies change. I was taught not to judge others. It was just part of my belief system. At school then later on around “the water cooler” at work I could talk politics, current events and the way things were going in this country with “the other side”. At the end of those conversations we would generally agree to disagree.
Then something started happening. I can’t put an exact timestamp on when. Slowly our country started becoming polarized. The days of the president and majority leader or speaker having a beer together after battling it out on the chamber floor seemed long gone. The agreeing to disagree wasn’t happening anymore. I can for sure say with the left having total control in Washington nine years ago then control only over the It seems like a long time ago that I hit the ‘Join’ button on the Three percenter page. I remember waiting a long time and one day, I was accepted into the group. That was it. I was a Threeper! I went on like that for some time until one day, I saw a Zone Meeting being held. It turned out, I was off work that day. It was a bit of a drive down to the Dayton area (Miami Valley Shooting Grounds), but I made the drive. That was the day my whole opinion of this group changed. There weren’t many of us there that day, I think only 7 people showed up, but I met some INCREDIBLE INDIVIDUALS!!! From that moment, I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of. Not long after that, I heard
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