Red Bull Rising

12/02/2024

10/02/2024

Former citizen-soldiers Charlie Sherpa “Welcome to FOB Haiku” & Paul Crenshaw “This We’ll Defend” & “Melt with You”—the latter essay collection recently from The Ohio State University Press’ Mad Creek Books (booth 1407, )!

cc: The Aiming Circle

06/02/2024

23/01/2024

17/01/2024

"Attack! Attack! Attack!" the snow!!!

20/12/2023

"Service is a continuum; as service members, we honor the past by carrying the torch forward."

Senior enlisted leaders of the Iowa National Guard, including our own command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Joshua Luck, visited the Iowa Veterans Home Dec. 14, 2023. Luck gave the lively 95-year old her first coin.

Giving gratitude is not limited to Veteran's Day.

18/12/2023

Merry “Attack! Attack! Attack!”

'Twas a week before Christmas and all through the drill hall...
Not a specialist to be found, not even a low-crawl.
The flag was hung by the garage door with care...
In hopes that Sgt. Maj. Nicholas would soon be there.
The Soldiers would be sound asleep in their cots...
With sweet dreams of CQ duty, they had not.

Photo by HHC 1-133 Infantry

15/12/2023

Gotta thoughtful war-poetry-and-movie-lovin' veteran on your gift list? Well, "tally ho"!

In print: amzn.to/3ShSDCr
On Kindle e-book: amzn.to/3BMDa87

cc: Middle West Press; The Aiming Circle; Welcome to FOB Haiku; Red Bull Rising

13/12/2023

NEW TAG-LINE?! "Serving in nearly every ZIP code ..."

Happy Birthday, U.S. National Guard!

Pretty nifty motivational video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFNzqtjBO30

cc: Red Bull Rising

13/12/2023

"STAND-BY FOR MOTIVATIONAL VIDEO!!!"

09/12/2023

In a display of precision and skill, “Lethal Battalion's" Staff Sgt. Austin Fier and Sgt. Aaron McAndrews of the Iowa National Guard's 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division made their mark at the 2023 Winston P. Wilson Sniper Competition, embodying excellence in marksmanship.

Congratulations on the outstanding achievements by Staff Sgt. Fier and Sgt. McAndrews! Securing 1st Place in Carbine/Pistol and an impressive 2nd Place overall in the Sniper category speaks volumes about their skill and commitment.

08/12/2023

"Red Bull" citizen-soldiers and veterans and family, doing what they can to commemorate fallen brothers and sisters, by offering scholarships to today's young people!

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

The Titan Project is sponsoring six $1,000 scholarships this year. We are accepting applications until March 1st.

The following memorial scholarships are available for the class of 2024 high school seniors:

- Scott Baraibar, this scholarship is open to graduating seniors from Okoboji High School.

- Joseph J. Hamski, this scholarship is open to graduating seniors from Ottumwa High School.

- Brent Maher, this scholarship is open to graduating seniors from Iowa high schools in Fremont and Page Counties. *Preference will be given to students planning to go to a trade school.

- Carlos Puente-Morales, this scholarship is open to graduating seniors from AGWSR high school.

- Dan Sesker, this scholarship is open to graduating seniors from Ogden high school.

**New for 2023-2024**
- Aaron Sissel, this scholarship is open to graduating seniors from Iowa high schools in Cedar County (Tipton, West Branch, North Cedar, Wilton, and Durant schools).

For more information, elgibility, and to apply please go to our website:

thetitanproject.org/scholarships

06/12/2023

04/12/2023

Jim Burns died earlier today, Dec. 4, 2023. He was living in an assist-living apartment in Colorado Springs, Co. I last saw him in-person at the War, Literature & the Arts conference at the Air Force Academy in 2018.

Jim was a long-time supporter of writers on military themes and topics. (He was the very first financial sponsor of my original "Red Bull Rising" blog.) He was a particular role model in his devotion to his wife Beth, his loyalties to cats, and his constant desire to solve some of the world's wicked problems.

As I recall, he grew up in a military family, had a brief stint in uniform himself, and was a lifelong poet—in retirement, he published his collected hand-written journals in some 38 chapbooks! Check them out here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/James-Burns/author/B01BC4JMTW

In 2012, he and his brother William were the impresarios behind a large-scale war-writing conference in downtown Denver. They called it "The Sangria Summit." I first met Ron Capps there, J.F. Holmes, Helena Kaufman, Isaac Cubillos and others.

Inspired by of Hemingway and bullfighters, I told the brothers I thought event's name was a play on "sangre"—blood. "That's pretty clever," they replied, "but, no, we just like sangria!" We drank a sangria toast at a reception they hosted at the Denver Press Club.

In more-recent years, Jim and other friends converted the Sangria Summit concept/project into a non-profit literature-promotion organization called Sangria Summit Society.

The organization was/is best known for $500 "Poetry of Modern Conflict" and "Pulp Fiction" awards to individual writers. While the judging criteria of these awards were never quite clear—Jim liked to work in mysterious ways—I know from both my own experience, and those of others, these grants were always appreciated and put to good use.

In my case, for example, I was able to help bankroll publishing the 2022-2023 season of Middle West Press poetry collections due to his organization's generosity.

I understand an obituary will soon be posted at Military Reporters & Editors Public Group and/or the MRE website. I will post updates and information as able.

In the meantime, please join me in raising a glass, saying a prayer, and remembering friends and fellow travelers.

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

01/12/2023

Soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division “Red Bulls” are scheduled to depart in early February 2024 and not return home until December 2024.

29/11/2023

"Ho, Ho, Ho!" and "Attack! Attack! Attack!"

Join us at the beautiful, historic Hoyt Sherman Place on Wednesday, December 13th for their Holiday Open House!

The mansion will be decorated for the holidays by the Des Moines Women's Club.

There will be a reception at 5pm featuring festive music by two of the 34th Army Band’s small groups, followed by a formal concert band performance on the main stage at 6pm. 🎶

The narrator for the evening’s festivities will be former 34th Army Band First Sergeant Don Samuelson.

(Event is free to the public, no tickets required)

Event link:
https://facebook.com/events/s/holiday-open-house/379785471062817/

Iowa National Guard

23/11/2023

Happy thanksgiving from our family to yours ♥️🤝

We hope you get a chili mac MRE the next time you have the opportunity 🥰

20/11/2023

Two units. Same mission. 🤝

The C Troop 1-113th CAV and the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment share a goal of proficiency through collaboration by shooting side by side while zeroing and truing weapon systems in Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minnesota, Nov. 4, 2023.

The joint training includes preparation for annual weapons qualifications, as well as preparation for National Guard Marksmanship Training Center's Winston P. Wilson Sniper Competition in December. 🎯

The Iowa National Guard will be sending two Soldiers to compete in the WPW championship this year. Stay tuned for updates on our red bulls!🙌

17/11/2023

Herb says: “Everything is easy!”

10/11/2023

I would like to buy
whoever wrote this caption
a free cup of Joe

Searching for all the best Veteran's Day deals...

Soldiers assigned to C Troop 1-113th CAV, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa National Guard, were indeed NOT looking at free Texas Roadhouse steaks or a hot HyVee breakfast, but saw long-range targets before qualifying their M110 sniper rifles at Camp Ripley, Minnesota, Nov. 4, 2023.

If you see any deals through your scope, though, let us know.

09/11/2023

Beautiful photography! "We Maintain"!

08/11/2023

"Superior Performance!"

Gathering at the Iowa National Guard Readiness Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Nov. 3, the Signal teams across the 2nd / 34th Infantry Division Brigade Combat Team (2/34th IBCT) assembled for the Brigade (BDE) three-day long Network Exercise (NETEX)

31/10/2023

Waiting for the Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army to approve beards in uniform 💀

Have a safe & spooky Halloween, everyone 👻

02/10/2023

In this month's edition of The Wrath-Bearing Tree, former Embedded Training Team (ETT) member Peter Molin reviews two recent memoirs that touch upon his circa-2009 experiences in Afghanistan's Paktika, Paktiya, and Khost provinces.

Reviewed are Chad Rickard's "Mayhem 337" and Lauren Kay Johnson's "The Fine Art of Camouflage."

https://www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2023/10/peter-molins-strike-through-the-mask-memory-and-memoir-in-afghanistan/

22/09/2023

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

19/09/2023

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

19/09/2023