by Sharon Rondeau (Oct. 9, 2023) — Our late-August interview with former U.S. Army Captain, Reverend Dr. Gary Mason, II, was prompted by a CNN article of August 8, 2023 regarding the U.S. Coast Guard’s concealment of a lengthy string of sexual assault reports within its ranks dating back to the 1980s. CNN has been […]
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Will Congress Finally Take Action on Military Sexual Assault?
by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 25, 2023) — In a series of articles beginning early this year and in particular, an August 8, 2023 report, CNN exposed the U.S. Coast Guard’s attempts to conceal its investigation into reported sexual assaults about which, once exposed, members of Congress began to ask questions. “The then-leader of the US […]
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Dr. Gary Mason II Launches Website amid Book Release
by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 21, 2022) — Former U.S. Army Capt. and recently-awarded Doctor of Military Ministry (DMM) Gary Mason II has just launched a website and released a book on his military career which The Post & Email covered in a series of 49 articles beginning in spring 2018. Our conclusion of Mason’s story […]
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The Gary Mason Story Concludes with “A Divine Solution”
by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 23, 2022) – Over more than three years, The Post & Email released 49 articles, each its own chapter, relating the experiences of former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason, II who in 2000 entered military service with high hopes of a lifetime commitment serving his country, as many in his family […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 49
by Sharon Rondeau (Jul. 9, 2021) – In Part 48, former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason described how after he became an inpatient in a program designed to assist members of the military to overcome various forms of trauma, his chain of command at Ft. Lee, VA responded by permanently assigning him to Walter Reed […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 48
by Sharon Rondeau (Jul. 7, 2021) – This segment of former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason’s story describes the ongoing difficulties he encountered while at Fort Lee, VA as his chain of command attempted, in various ways, to administratively end his career even as a congressional inquiry Mason filed with the office of Maryland Sen. […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 47
by Sharon Rondeau (Dec. 17, 2020) — Continuing from Part 46, former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason elaborated on the Army’s efforts to demonstrate that he was unfit for duty after more than a decade of exemplary service, invoking the specter of mental illness or suicidal “ideation” as justification. Enlisting in 2000 in the infantry, […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 46
“WE WERE RECEIVING DEATH THREATS” by Sharon Rondeau (Oct. 2, 2020) — In the previous section of this story, former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason described how the relationship with his command at Fort Lee, VA became increasingly strained even as he continued to excel in the Captain’s Career Course in preparation for promotion to […]
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Why is Senator Cardin’s Office Responding Now?
“I AM STILL SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE WITH MY CASE” by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 31, 2020) — On Sunday evening, former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason sent an email to the office of U.S. Senator for Maryland Ben Cardin which garnered an unusually rapid response. The email was sent as a follow-up to Mason’s 2013 request […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 45
“STAY HERE AND WAIT” by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 31, 2020) — This part of former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason’s story unfolds as he was awaiting a response from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department and the office of Maryland U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin regarding complaints he filed against his command in […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 44
“THEY’RE DOING SOMETHING ILLEGAL” by Sharon Rondeau (Jul. 3, 2020) — This section of former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason’s story continues at the point in early June 2012 when two 130th Engineer Brigade command officers attempted to stop Mason from leaving Hawaii for Ft. Lee, VA, where he had been reassigned from the 130th, […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 43
“YOU HAVE BEEN PLACED ON AWOL” by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 22, 2020) — This section of former Capt. Gary Mason’s story continues at the point when he was departing Hawaii’s Schofield Barracks for Ft. Lee, VA to continue his Army career after several years of discriminatory treatment and his filing of both congressional and Equal […]
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Wiping Out Racism With Love, Education & Action
“WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER” by Shahnaaz Mason, ©2020 (May 31, 2020) — God loves Derek Chauvin. Two days after he killed George Floyd by crushing his trachea with his knee for more than eight minutes, it is extremely difficult to admit that fact. Nevertheless, the fact that God loves him is as true as the […]
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Former U.S. Army Soldier’s Wife Invited, then Disinvited to Accompany Michelle Obama on Overseas Trip
“WE HAD A TARGET ON OUR BACKS” by Sharon Rondeau (May 18, 2020) — Less than a year after former Capt. Gary Mason received a “medical” discharge from the Army under duress, his wife, Shahnaaz, also an Army veteran, was informed she had been selected for consideration to join then-First Lady Michelle Obama on a […]
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Approached with Alleged Military Abuses, Biden Failed to Respond, Part 2
“NO ONE WOULD FOLLOW UP” by Sharon Rondeau (May 8, 2020) — In Part 1 of this title, a subsection of the larger story of former Army Capt. Gary Mason, Mason related how separate face-to-face encounters in 2014 with then-President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden failed to change the Army’s trajectory of discharging […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 42
“HAVE A NICE DAY” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 28, 2020) — The following continues the narrative of former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason from our previous section, which brought the reader to the point of Mason’s having approached U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye‘s office for assistance concerning the treatment he experienced as a service member over […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 41
“THEY WERE TRYING TO GET RID OF ME” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 26, 2020) — As reported in Part 40 and earlier sections of our series, in late 2010, following three overseas deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Capt. Gary Mason experienced retaliation from the 25th Infantry Division and its 8th Theater Sustainment Command division, apparently […]
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U.S. Army Veteran Shares Painful Experiences of Military Racism, Part 40
“AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 24, 2020) — This section of former Army Capt. Gary Mason’s story continues at the point where on the advice of his doctor, he reported to the ER following a verbal exchange with a Major in his chain of command which left him feeling threatened. As The […]
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Dark Night of the Soul
“ADVERSITY STRENGTHENS RESOLVE” by former Army Captain Gary Mason, ©2020 (Feb. 7, 2020) — [Editor’s Note: The following essay was written for a course titled, “Leading Spiritual Renewal” as part of former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason’s Doctor of Ministry in Military Ministry curriculum at Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA.] My question is, “How […]