by SGT Strike | Jan 17, 2017 | Vision Strike Wear
Long ago it was established that the leader of the United States of America would also have the role as Commander and Chief of the military and as inauguration day quickly approaches this will be one of the most important roles that Donald Trump will take the reins of. Donald Trump is many things, and I don’t think most people would agree on any one description of him except for maybe controversial. He has a flare for saying and doing things that either create a fire inside someone as a patriot or as someone who thinks the United States is taking a major step in the wrong direction.
He repeated during his campaign over and over again that his goal was to make America great again. I think maybe this slogan should be ratified. Not because I agree or disagree with his politics, but simply because I know and believe that certain things in this country have never stopped being great. Of course I am referring to the US military when I speak of this. We are the greatest fighting force on Earth. Not because we have the largest numbers, or because we are technologically advanced in every way, but because of the United States Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines that defend this great nation against all enemies foreign and domestic.
As the 45 th President of the United States, he will be our 45 th Commander and Chief. He will have his advisors and detractors, but one of the things we love in the United States is that at the end of the day the buck stops with him. He will either serve in this position with honor and dignity, or he will continue to erode the military until we can no longer make the claim that we are the greatest fighting force on this planet. To be honest with you I think he will do a good job in this regard, so long as he isn’t tweeting attack strategies and troop locations in the middle of an operation. He has pledged to put the troops first, and to take care of all of the veterans who have given so much for this great nation. We all know that only time will tell what type of Commander and Chief or President Trump will be but As a soldier we all hope that he can keep the military great now, and for the foreseeable future by taking care of its greatest resource; the men and women who wear the uniform or have worn the uniform at some point in their life.
Get your own Trump Commander and Chief Coin at the link below:
http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/Donald-J-Trump-Commander-In-Chief-Presidential-Coin.html
Keeping the Military Great
by SGT Strike | Jan 17, 2017 | Active Duty, Military News & Press, Vision Strike Wear, Vision Strike Wear Blog Categories, Vision Strike Wear Products, Vision-Strike-Coins.Com
Popeye is a character that every red blooded American relates to in one way or another and even though I am an Army guy myself I have to admit that he did make the Navy (or Coast Guard depending on your particular depiction of the character) loo pretty cool. I mean this guy has it all. Popeye is Patriotic, strong, intelligent in a way that can’t be measured by books or tests and possesses the iron will that most Americans would love to say is inside each and every one of us.
From the male perspective this goes even further. Popeye is an extremely strong character who has strong morals and will do anything for the woman that he loves. Olive Oyl on the other hand just seems to be that woman who likes to make Popeye’s life difficult even though he can’t help but fall for her even more in every strip or cartoon that you see. But by far the greatest appeal of Popeye to males is the fact that he is a simple, tattooed, sailor who remains polite until you push him over the edge.
Once things get to this point you can expect 2 things. Firstly Popeye is going to spout his favorite phrase, “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more”, and then you expect him to down a can of spinach and kick the snot out of everything and anything that stands in his way or somehow offends him to the point that he feels it needs to be corrected.
All of this just wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have his arch nemesis Bluto to antagonize our beloved hero. He can represent a lot of things to a lot of people. That bully that wouldn’t leave people alone, the guy who always seemed to get the girl and didn’t deserve it, or depending on the period of time that you followed the comic it could be looked at in a much larger context.
If Popeye represents everything that it is to be an American than in the Cold War era it would be easy to see how Bluto could represent everything that is or was the former Soviet Union. In this much larger context (which has never been officially supported by the creators of the Popeye character) you could see how the United States tries to be as tolerant as possible until we are pushed to the edge. Once this happens “That’s all we can stands, we can’t stands no more” and we move into action as a country fighting the evils of communism. Our spinach is ingenuity, and our strength is the United States military. The greatest fighting force ever assembled on this Earth (outside of the Avengers of course). We kicked doors down, and corrected all of the things we saw that were wrong with a given situation, or at least as much as politics would allow us too anyway.
So on this Popeye’s birthday, remember the character with fondness and get yourself a can of spinach handy for the next challenge that faces our nation. You can also get your official Popeye challenge coin at:
http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/Popeye-Bluto-Flip-Coin.html
Was into Olive Oyl Before it was Cool
by SGT Strike | Nov 30, 2016 | Vision Strike Wear
Battle Rattle Shirts from Vision Strike Wear offer military service members, veterans, and family members over a billion possible combinations of t-shirts to ensure that your shirt stands apart from every other shirt that you will see. While they do not guarantee that your shirt design will be 100% unique, the odds of 2 people selecting the exact same combination of designs is over a billion to one. Just so that you can understand the true likelihood of that number let me add a few probabilities into this equation for comparison. According to a professor from Tulane University the odds of getting struck by an asteroid or comet in your lifetime are 1 in 1.6 million, the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 135,000, and the odds of being involved in a shark attack are 1 in 8 million.
If you were curious about the likelihood of being struck by an asteroid or comet and being attacked by a shark in your lifetime ignoring lifestyle inputs it’s about 1 in 12.8 trillion. All this is just to say that your design will truly stand out, and you can show some individualism while still displaying your pride in the Armed Forces.
Battle Rattle products can be created for any branch of service. They have Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, and even Coast Guard products for the Active Duty, Veteran, or family member in need. With Christmas right on our heels, now could be a great time to combine their veteran pride with your creative skills. Since every design is an original work of art and there are so many different options and combinations of designs you get a chance to be an artist even if the most artistic thing you can draw is a stick figure with one of your kid’s crayons. (I say this because this is about the range of my artistic skills, not to offend any of you great people reading this article.)
You can choose short sleeve, long sleeve, sleeve art, no sleeve art, a design on the front, or the back, or both, you can customize, you can personalize, basically what I am telling you is this is your chance to go to a site that has all of the tools necessary to let your imagination run wild. In the first paragraph I mentioned that there are over a billion possible combinations, the fact of the matter is there are many more than that. Once the math and possibilities got to a billion I just said enough is enough and moved on. As a challenge if anyone would like to go to the site and calculate the exact number of combinations, I will go back and do the same and I would like you to post your answer in the comments. If you are correct I will inform you by responding to your comment. Have fun and get your calculators out!
by SGT Strike | Oct 26, 2016 | Vision Strike Wear
It’s a major focus in the first paragraph of the NCO Creed:
No one is more professional than I. I am a noncommissioned officer, a leader of Soldiers. As a noncommissioned officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army“. I am proud of the Corps of noncommissioned officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the military service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.
But what does this really mean? Well in clinical terms the spine or backbone is the pillar of support for the body’s weight and it protects the lines of communication from the brain to the rest of the body. That seems like an extremely accurate description for what the NCO Corps in the Army strives to do.
Number one we provide support, not just to the officers appointed over us but also to the Soldiers who are placed under us. We support the chain of command by ensuring the mission intent is met utilizing the current manpower and resources available. Platoon Leaders or commanders need to remember this concept. Too many commanders have made a habit of micro-managing the NCO Corps, which not only makes them less effective, but also depletes them of the chance to grow and develop lower level or future NCOs. If the task is as simple as take that hill give an NCO the order and watch him/her go to work.
Officers in the Army have been taught not to trust NCOs, and lack faith in their competence and ability to accomplish the mission. You may ask why this has happened, well there is no simple answer but one of the contributing factors was retention during the height of the war. The Army was so concentrated on keeping the right number of soldiers to fill positions, that they stopped caring about whether they were the right kind of soldiers to fill the positions. And since the Army needed more soldiers, they also needed more leaders. Big Army didn’t care if they were quality leaders just as long as you had the right leader to soldier ratio.
It was almost impossible to get a soldier or NCO out of the Army from 2003 to around 2009. Not only that but the Army would also stop-loss soldiers who wanted to transition out, further complicating the problem. If a leader denied someone a promotion who had enough time in grade then they had to personally answer for why they were failing the soldier (really why they were failing to help the Army show the proper numbers). People who weren’t ready and didn’t care were then promoted.
So some of the criticism received is the fault of the NCO corps, we did it to ourselves. But now that the Army is utilizing QSP and lowering the retention control points to keep only the most qualified individuals we need to take back the reigns. We need to show pride in our profession, and prove that we are the Backbone of the Army again. We need to tell our officers that if it involves training, discipline, or standards we got this. We also need to show them our innovative thinking and let them know we just need the task or intent and we can carry out the rest. They shouldn’t do our jobs for us, and we should train the ones below us to the standard.
Below is a link you can follow if you would like to purchase a shirt that displays our place as the Backbone of the Army.
http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/NCO-Backbone-of-the-Army-Shirt.html
by SGT Strike | Oct 19, 2016 | Vision Strike Wear
Every Christmas I get told the same thing from all of my close family and friends. They inform me that I am one of the toughest people that they have ever met to try and shop for. In some ways I understand this completely, most people aren’t going to spend the money on a new AR-15 and a new Berretta just doesn’t seem to mail that easily. Friends and family are also sure to inform me that they really don’t know my interests that well and they don’t want to buy me a tie that I will never wear.
So with another holiday season approaching fast, I thought I would make Christmas as easy as I possibly could for those that I love, while ensuring that I get some things that I love. I thought about what I would like to open up for Christmas and what message I could send to all of these people for the future that would make their lives easier and mine more enjoyable.
The message that I settled on is I want them to know that I am a proud patriot who takes the most pride in my military service. My time in the Army has taught me discipline, respect and most importantly comradery for my fellow soldiers in all of the Armed Services. At this point I opened up my laptop and opened my internet browser. I then opened up my favorites and clicked on www.vision-strike-wear.com. This is my favorite site to visit to purchase military shirt, signs, coins and much more, but enough about that. I thought I would make a top 10 list for me and guys like me and put it out there for other people who are having trouble finding gifts for their loved ones who are currently in or are former members of the Armed forces.
So, lets have a look at the list:
10. US Veteran T-Shirt (It can not be inherited) http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/US-Veteran-It-Can-Not-Be-Inherited-Shirt.html
This design speaks to me because it says something that this generation seems to not understand, and that is that there are some things that you must earn through dedication that most people are unwilling to contribute.
9. ISIS Hunting Club T-Shirt http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/ISIS-Hunting-Club-Member-Shirt.html
This one should be self-explanatory. I love the statement and it’s a really cool design with 2 sickles crossed behind a sick skull design looking down.
8. New Army challenge coin http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/ARMY-MILITARY-COINS.html
Now I didn’t put one particular coin up here because there are quite a few that I would like to add to my collection. They even have a National Guard coin for all you weekend warriors. I have never been in the National Guard but wouldn’t mind carrying the coin at all.
7. Army Rank Hoodie http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/US-Army-Rank-Hoodie.html
Here is an item that will be both stylish and necessary as we plunge into the colder seasons of the year. The three skull design and customizable rank make this something that is stylish and functional. This could also be a nicely updated item if and when I get promoted.
6. Army Rank coffee mug http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/army-rank-military-coffee-mug.html
Let’s get one thing straight, yes I am a Senior NCO and yes I do seem to have a coffee mug attached to my arm at all times. This is because I am no longer young in age and need caffeine to get me through the day without putting a PVT through a wall.
5. OIF/OEF Combat Veteran License plate http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/OIF-OEF-Combat-Veteran-Military-License-Plate.html
If you happen to live in a state like I do that allows decorative license plates on the front of the vehicle, or you just want to hang something with a cool design on the wall that commemorates your time in service this is a great gift.
4. Al Qaeda Hunting Club Coffee Mug http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/Al-Qaeda-Hunting-Club-Drinkware_p_17063.html
As you may be able to tell I am a bit of a coffee lover, and everyone around me is much happier when I have my daily cup of Joe, trust me. This mug combines my love of coffee with my disdain for terrorists.
3. Al Qaeda Hunting Club T-Shirt http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/Al-Qaeda-Hunting-Club-Shirt.html
This gift allows me to advertise my hate for the terrorists who orchestrated the largest scale attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor in another form. The skull design with crosshairs lets everyone what would happen if I came across one of these sorry excuses for a human being.
2. US Army War Eagle Coin http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/US-Army-War-Eagle-Coin.html
I have collected a lot of coins over my career in the Army and I have them all displayed with pride. I would just love to add the Army War Eagle Coin to my collection. The Eagle with Arms crossed in uniform stands with pride in front of the American flag. Surrounding this image are phrases like Army Strong, and the Army’s birthday is there for all to see.
1. US Army Veteran Hoodie http://www.vision-strike-wear.com/US- Veteran-It-Can-Not-Be-Inherited-Hoodie.html
Tis the season to stay warm until your girlfriend or wife steals yet another one of your hoodies. I don’t think she will steal this one as she would like a little strange sporting a hoodie that represents my time in the service. This hoodie has crossed M-4’s below a bald eagle with the phrase it can not be inherited, I have earned it. Maybe you should buy this one for me before Christmas that way I can get the most use out of it this season.
So, there it is friends and loved ones, 10 things you can purchase for the holidays and put under the tree that me or any veteran will love.
