“IT GOT NASTIER AND NASTIER” by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 5, 2019) — In Part 33, former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason recounted his composition of a memorandum for his records after he became the target of an unwarranted and shocking verbal dressing-down by then-Col. Jeffrey Milhorn of the 130th Engineer Brigade. Mason was assigned to […]
“UNLAWFUL COMMAND INFLUENCE” by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 14, 2019) — A newsletter issued on September 7, 2019 by United American Patriots (UAP) announced that a group of congressmen will be traveling to the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth, KS to meet with four service members sentenced to lengthy terms for alleged misconduct on the battlefield […]
“JUST IN CASE SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED” by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 1, 2019) — The following is former Army Captain Gary Mason’s continued narrative from Part 32. I went to Afghanistan again; I hooked up with task forces, all of the elite Special Forces units from NATO. I worked with Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, […]
“I DECIDED TO GO” by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 21, 2019) — In Part 31, former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason told of his return to Hawaii at the end of 2010 from an individual assignment to Afghanistan which was cut short due to an allergic reaction and medivac back to the U.S. Mason experienced a […]
“YOU’RE TRYING TO PROVOKE ME TO ANGER” by Sharon Rondeau (Jul. 31, 2019) —This segment continues former Captain Gary Mason’s story at the point where in late 2010, he returned to Hawaii from Afghanistan for medical reasons and was immediately assigned a press briefing to an international military audience with virtually no preparation time. While […]
“YOU WEREN’T ON ANYBODY’S RADAR” by Sharon Rondeau (Jul. 14, 2019) — In our last segment, Capt. Gary Mason told of how he was returned to the United States for the second time as a result of having suffered an allergic reaction from exposure to a burn pit, this time in Afghanistan. After his face […]
“THESE ORDERS WERE NOT APPROVED” by Sharon Rondeau (Jul. 5, 2019) — Our previous installment in this series detailed former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason’s successful ordination as a military chaplain, obtained after more than seven years of combined full- and part-time study amidst overseas deployments, Public Affairs school, and full-time service in Public Affairs […]
“IF ANYONE CAN MESS WITH YOUR EMOTIONS, JOIN THE ARMY!” by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 21, 2019) — Continuing from Part 27 of our series, U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason found himself on a huge Army base in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, where he was sent to acquire his ordination into the military Chaplain Corps. Encountering a […]
“IT DIDN’T MAKE ANY SENSE” by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 12, 2019) — The Post & Email’s previous chapter of this story detailed Captain Gary Mason’s 2010 deployment to Afghanistan and ordination as a U.S. Army chaplain, a goal to which he had aspired for nearly seven years between deployments and attending Public Affairs school at […]
ON TO ORDINATION by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 10, 2019) — This part of former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason’s journey takes the reader through the perils of service in Afghanistan during time of war. While Mason mentored and taught others in the field of Public Affairs, he continued to work toward completing the ordination […]
“IT WAS ABOVE MY PAY GRADE” by Sharon Rondeau (May 7, 2019) — Our last installment of the story of former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason recapped a number of “bizarre” overseas assignments he was given following his successful completion of Public Affairs school at Ft. Meade in the spring of 2010 while serving with […]
“THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES IN LIFE” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 25, 2019) — On April 17, the former power of attorney (POA) of a former U.S. Army soldier from whose bank account tens of thousands of dollars were stolen between November 2016 and early January 2017 testified by telephone during a plea agreement for the perpetrator. […]
WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE “LEADER?” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 14, 2019) — In Part 23 of our series, former Army Captain Gary Mason told of his 2010 deployment to Afghanistan, independent of his unit in Hawaii, while working in the field of Public Affairs for the 8th Theater Sustainment Command. Mason’s military career began in […]
“THOSE ORDERS WERE NOT LEGITIMATE” by Sharon Rondeau (Mar. 19, 2019) — Part 22 of our series about the military experiences of former Capt. Gary Mason concluded with Mason’s having returned to Hawaii from a strange temporary assignment in South Korea, where his accommodations, to his surprise, proved to be “a Korean whorehouse” rather than […]
“WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 8, 2019) — In our last segment, former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason described a surprise assignment to South Korea and again to Japan shortly after he completed Public Affairs school in May 2010. While he expected to be leaving for the Defense Information School in […]
“THEY NEED A CAPTAIN” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 6, 2019) — In the previous installment of this story, then-U.S. Army Lieutenant Gary Mason had written a letter to the general of his unit, the 8th Theater Sustainment Command, expressing concern for the safety of a number of soldiers from his former unit, 3/4 Cav., who […]
“IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THAT WAY” by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 10, 2019) — This section of the military story of former Army Captain Gary Mason expounds on the dilemma he faced after members of his former combat unit, 3/4 Cav., told him upon their return from Iraq to Hawaii that pressure was placed on […]
“MAN, WE CAN’T TALK WITH YOU” by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 5, 2019) — This chapter of the story of former U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason details his transition from the bad experiences he had in the Infantry’s 3/4 Cav. Unit in Iraq to his position as a public affairs officer with the 8th Theater Sustainment […]
“THAT’S WHEN THE FIREWORKS BEGAN” by Sharon Rondeau (Dec. 14, 2018) — In our last segment on the story of former Army Captain Gary Mason, he described how he continued his Army career after returning from Iraq in late 2008 with the knowledge that the commander of his unit, 3/4 Cav., wanted him discharged from […]
“DOES SOMEONE IN THE MILITARY GET AWAY WITH THIS?” by Sharon Rondeau (Dec. 9, 2018) — On February 3, 2017, The Post & Email reported that a former disabled U.S. Army soldier who became a victim of electronic bank theft received “full restitution” for close to $100,000 from Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) following confirmation […]