“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 […]
CLAIMS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE “SOLD OUT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 26, 2020) — On Saturday night’s “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” Trump personal attorney and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani made striking claims about former putative Vice President Joe Biden when he was Barack Obama’s “point man” to several countries, […]
“FROM IRANIAN TERRITORY” by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 7, 2020) — Just before 6:30 p.m. EST, Jennifer Griffin of Fox News tweeted that a “senior US military source in Iraq” informed her that U.S. interests there are “Under missile attack from Iran. These are either cruise missiles or short range ballistic missiles. All over the country.” […]
FOLLOWING KILLING OF IRANIAN GENERAL by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 5, 2020) — At approximately 10:12 a.m. ET on today’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo announced that the Iraqi Parliament voted to expel all foreign military forces from the country. The hastily-scheduled resolution vote came after U.S. forces struck and killed Iranian military commander Qasem […]
“PEOPLE ARE THREATENING YOU” by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 4, 2020) — In the following section, former U.S. Army Capt. Gary Mason further details the fallout he experienced after filing an Equal Opportunity (EO) complaint and request for a congressional inquiry into a 2008 assault against his person in Iraq on the part of an enlisted […]
ADDRESSES EVENTS IN IRAN, IRAQ, ISRAEL, HONG KONG by Sharon Rondeau (Nov. 18, 2019) — At 2:30 p.m. EST, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo began a press conference by speaking about recent violence in Iran on the part of the dictatorial government against it citizens. Pompeo additionally expressed concern for Iran’s reported continued enrichment […]
“THE WISHES OF THE ELECTORATE” by Jeff Crouere, ©2019 (Oct. 27, 2019) — After the longest war in the history of our country, it is time for our troops to return home. In 2001, the United States responded to the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11 by sending our military to Afghanistan on a mission to […]
IS THIS TRUMP’S “BIG SUCCESS”? by Sharon Rondeau (Oct. 27, 2019) — The leader of the terrorist group ISIS, also known as ISIL and the Islamic State, Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi, is “confirmed” dead on Sunday morning by Fox News. President Trump is scheduled to speak on the development at 9:00 a.m. EDT. ISIS organized in […]
“WE HAVE NO SKIN IN THIS GAME” by “Old Frank,” ©2019 (Oct. 18, 2019) — Editor’s Note: On Friday morning, an acquaintance of the author, “Old Frank,” contacted him in regard to an article published Thursday in The New York Times titled, “Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President” by Adm. William H. McRaven, […]
“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 […]
“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 […]
“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 […]
“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO OUR CHRISTIAN CITIZENS” by Sharon Rondeau (Dec. 25, 2018) — On Monday the government of Iraq tweeted that Christmas is now an “official holiday” throughout the country, once under the control of brutal dictator Saddam Hussein. “Happy Christmas to our Christian citizens, all Iraqis and to all who are celebrating around the […]
“PROBLEMS ON THE HOME FRONT” by Jeff Crouere, ©2018 (Dec. 21, 2018) — In November of 2016, the American people elected Donald Trump to be our nation’s 45th President. He campaigned on a platform of bringing our troops back home from Syria and Afghanistan and focusing on an “America First” foreign policy. By announcing he […]
“THAT’S NOT THE BATTLE YOU WANT TO FIGHT” by Sharon Rondeau (Oct. 15, 2018) — In the last installment of the story of former Army Capt. Gary Mason’s military experience, gleaned between 2000 and 2015 in the U.S. Army, he described officers in his command unit within the Iraq Sunni Triangle war zone as having […]
“WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT QUESTION WHAT’S GOING ON” by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 21, 2018) — In Part 14, former Army Captain Gary Mason brought us to the point in his story where he was sent back to Hawaii, purportedly on medical grounds, from Joint Base Balad in Iraq. Mason had arrived in-country just days […]
“IT WAS GOING TO BE ME OR THEM” by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 14, 2018) — This part of former Army chaplain and Capt. Gary Mason’s story focuses on his sense of frustration, anger, despair, and fear of persecution from within after he filed a formal complaint against an enlisted soldier who physically assaulted him at […]
“A REFLECTION OF YOUR LEADERSHIP” by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 3, 2018) — In the last installment in this series, former U.S. Army Captain and chaplain Gary Mason described how a physical assault by an enlisted soldier at FOB Paliwoda in Iraq went unaddressed and his subsequent discovery that the command in the 3/4 Cav unit […]
“A PROBLEM WITH AFRICAN-AMERICANS” by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 19, 2018) — In Part 8 of our series, former Army Captain and Chaplain Gary Mason took readers to Iraq’s Sunni Triangle, where he was deployed in 2008 with the 3/4 Cavalry on a mission to retake the region from insurgents and set the stage for peace. […]
“NOT READY FOR A BLACK MAN” by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 14, 2018) — Part 7 of our series of former Army Capt. Gary Mason’s story brought readers to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Poliwoda in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle, where Mason was stationed in late 2008 with the 3/4 Cavalry unit after re-entering active duty. For the […]