Free Flu Shots for Veterans

The Department of Veteran Affairs is urging all veterans to get their annual flu shot. If you are veteran you can go to your nearest VA medical facility to receive the flu shot. If you are unsure of where your nearest VA facility is, then check this link to locate one.

Veteran's Medical Center Locator

What is a veteran?

I remember going to a recent family function a few years ago in Ohio. I was there with my uncle and he is probably the biggest fan of my military service. He was introducing me to some people we didn't know. He said to one couple, "This is my nephew and he is a vet!" The man asked my uncle, "Oh that's great! What is his specialty? Dogs or Cats?" We nearly rolled on the floor laughing at this. I couldn't tell if the guy was being serious in his question or not. My Uncle recovered and finally said, "He is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan."



So this brings me to the question of this blog post today. What is a veteran? I will give you my answer but your answers to the question might differ.

An American veteran is a man or a woman that served in the Armed Forces. This person could have been a Navy SEAL, an airplane mechanic, a cook, a sailor that cleans a ship all day, and accounting clerk in the army. These are all examples of veterans.

A veteran may have gone to war. The war experience is different for all veterans. A veteran may have kicked down doors in Iraq and may have search buildings room to room for the enemy. A veteran may have killed many enemy troops during a war but may not ever talk about it. Likewise, a veteran may have gone to battle, with rifle in hand and eyes wide open, only to find that there was no fight, that the enemy surrendered, or that the enemy was no where to be found. A veteran may have provided medical care to wounded troops, or may have typed on a computer during a war instead of pulling a trigger.


Despite what the veteran did, no matter what the job, they participated in actions that led towards a mission being accomplished. The cook, the mechanic and the truck driver were all heros of war. Even if these people never fired a weapon at the enemy, they are still heros worthy of respect. Without that cook, mechanic or driver the mission cannot be accomplished as they are all elements of a big team.

Some veterans come home injured from war or training. These are called "disabled veterans." A disabled veteran is a person that was injured and that injury was connected to their military service. They are also called "service connected disabled veterans" by Veteran's Affairs. The injuries of the disabled veteran may be visible and obvious. They might be limbless, confined to wheelchair for life. Some may appear normal and healthy but emotionally they are broken and lifeless.

No matter what of veteran you may meet in your day to day activities, they should be sincerely thanked for sacrificing their body, mind and spirit to keep us Americans safe. Whether or not you agree with the current wars, you should still be thankful of the sacrifice of veterans. Consider this quote in closing:

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

What is it like to have PTSD?

I thought I would write a personal entry today on what post traumatic stress disorder is like for me. We all have our own unique experiences in life so my example may not be like others. Besides, I don’t just have PTSD. I have agoraphobia and depression alongside with complex PTSD. My story might be very different from your own. If it is the same as your own, I would like to hear from you.

When I get up in the morning, my goal is to not leave the apartment. I feel safe inside, I have established my own safe house in what appears to be a combat zone outside of my door. I know where my trusty knife is, I know where people will exit and enter the apartment. I will not be surprised by people coming and going. If the shit goes down, I am in a good position to defend myself because this is my turf.

Applebee's Restaurant to offer Free Meals to Veterans on Veteran's Day

Applebee's restaurant will be offering free meals to veterans on Veteran's Day. If you are a veteran looking to eat out on Veteran's Day, consider going to Applebee's to take advantage of this terrific offer. Bring some sort of Veteran's identification with you. A VA identification card should be sufficient, just don't expect them to take your word for being a veteran, although they might!




I will be featuring other great deals for veteran's leading up to Veteran's Day so stay tuned to this blog. If you know of any businesses that are offering free deals or discounts to veterans then please let me know and I will be sure to feature that information on the blog.

Connect with the Veteran's Guide on Facebook.

Perhaps some of my readers did not notice this but we now have a facebook fan page dedicated to the Veteran's Guide. I would appreciate all my readers to just take the extra second that it takes to hit like on the facebook widget in the sidebar of this blog. The page does not feature any new content yet but will be updated alongside the blog in the coming weeks.

So if you find the information in this blog valuable please do me the favor of liking this effort in facebook. If you do not find the posts contained in this website useful, then just leave! I'm just kidding people, don't get all worked up. If you ever have any suggestions for topics, articles and etc...feel free to comment on any posts or message me on facebook. With your input, I can make this website better.

Like the Veteran's Guide here

Images of War: The Marines land in Afghanistan.

This photo features Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 15th MEU was the first combat force in Afghanistan after Charlie Company, First Battalion, First Marines participated in the longest amphibious raid in the history of the Marine Corps. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit established the first forward operating base in the country of Afghanistan in November 2001.