“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” -Hunter S. Thompson
The very reason why I don’t miss the music business in the least!
Today I got the exciting opportunity to meet one of my favorite actors, Dennis Haysbert. Dennis was appearing at Fort Huachuca as a part of his personal visits with U.S. troops and Veterans around the world. In the last few years Dennis has traveled to Iraq twice and most recently Afghanistan as a part of the USO. This year Dennis decided that it was time to show his support and love for our troops and Veterans here at home and is visiting several installations across the country.
Aside from Allstate commercials, where have you seen Dennis? I first appreciated him as an actor when he played Pedro Cerrano in the sports comedy classic Major Legue (Hats for bats…). Dennis is probably best known for his roles as President David Palmer in the hit series 24 and as Sergeant Major Jonas Blane in The Unit. Check out Dennis Haysbert’s credits at IMDB.
Dennis spent his time today meeting with troops and Vets before being introduced and brought on stage. when he took the stage, he took the first couple of minutes to express his heartbreak and condolences for the Army Family in the aftermath of the shootings at Fort Hood. Once he finished his remarks he opened the rest of the time to questions from anyone who came to see him. The questions ranged from humorous, to fan based, to even a female fans request to hear him say….”Are you in good hands?”
Once the Q & A was over Fort Huachuca’s CG Custer came on stage to thank Dennis for his time and then called SSG Jones forward to the stage. SSG Jones is a veteran of three tours in Iraq and a single tour in Afghanistan. SSG Jones is a recipient of two Purple Hearts and the Silver Star for the successful completion of over 300 recovery missions. SSG Jones ceremonially approached the stage bearing a Cavalry Sabre. CG Custer then presented Dennis with the inscribed sword with gratitude for his support of the United States Army.
The festivities didn’t stop there. The Lt. Col. who introduced Dennis reappeared and called for all of the Sergeant Majors on hand to post to the front of the stage. Once the SM’s were in line, Dennis Haysbert became the first person to be promoted to the rank of Honorary Sergeant Major, United States Army. Dennis was pretty intensely moved by all of this. The room erupted with applause and a huge collective “HOOAH!” as everyone rose to their feet. Dennis went on to thank the troops and express his undying support and how humbled he was by the whole affair.
All in all is was a fun way to spend the afternoon as a fan and as a vet. Dennis Haysbert was a pleasure to meet and very obviously had deep affection for ever soldier that he shook hands with and spent time talking to. Very cool.
The Fort Huachuca “Fort Report” on the Dennis Haysbert visit:
Fort Report Dennis Haysbert Visit from U.S. Army Fort Huachuca on Vimeo.
Here are a couple of clips of Dennis in action:
This afternoon United States Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan opened fire on Fort Hood, Texas killing 11 and wounding 31 more. Among the dead are United States Army soldiers and at least one civilian police officer according to various news sources. Major Hasan was reported to have been shot and killed ending his shooting rampage. Two other soldiers were taken into custody and later released, followed by the detainment of an unidentified person of interest.
As an Army Veteran I have been glued to reports on this tragedy and my heart is aching for the soldiers and families at Fort Hood. Like many, I am already trying to make sense of the day’s events and not coming up with much in the way of answers. My mind has run through scenario after scenario trying to come up with some reasoning behind it all.
Some news outlets have reported that Major Hasan was an Army psychiatrist who did his internship, residency, and fellowship at Walter Reed Army Hospital before being stationed at Fort Hood this past Summer. Unknown sources have also supplied the media with information that states that Major Hasan received a negative job performance evaluation prior to being sent to Fort Hood and that he was quite vocal about not wanting to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. Hasan was Jordanian in descent, but he was an American Citizen.
Does a man who doesn’t want to deploy to a war zone start a shooting spree that will surely end in his own demise? Was today the day he was supposed to report to the readiness center for pre-deployment and he just snapped? Did he fear ending up like the soldiers with PTSD that he treated? . Was he acting alone or was it something bigger with others involved; a conspiracy to kill American troops while in their own garrison? What else was going on in Hasan’s life? There is even talk on CNN that local investigators had been looking at Major Hasan for internet postings that referenced suicide bombings and former neighbors who said that Hasan was a Muslim. It should be noted that I am not speculating for any other reason other than to work this out in my own head. I simply don’t know why this happened and right now I’m not sure that anyone else does either.
Whatever the reason, the unthinkable event that took place at Fort Hood today will have lasting repercussions, if only in the memories of those directly effected by the shootings. Lt. Gen Robert Cone should be holding a press conference within the hour and hopefully we will learn more. In the meantime I will pray for the soldiers and families at Fort Hood and for my Army family who have been touched by this tragedy.
***For information on family and loved ones at Fort Hood please call the Fort Hood Family Hotline: (254) 288-7570 or (866) 836-2751
***Scott & White Memorial Hospital is in need of all blood types for treating Fort Hood victims. Please help if you are able! For Information Call: 254-724-4376
***UPDATE: 1916 HRS 05NOV09: According to Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, Major Hasan was NOT killed and is currently hospitalized and in stable condition. It was also confirmed during Lt. Gen. Cone’s press conference that this is believed to have been perpetrated by Major Hasan acting as a lone gunman.
All major news sources are reporting that there has been a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas leaving 7 dead and 12 wounded. Details are still coming out about this tragedy.
Please pray of for the soldiers, civilians, and families of Fort Hood as we learn more…
**UPDATE: 1405 HRS 05NOV09** MSNBC is now reporting 20 wounded and the possibility of up to three shooters donning military type uniforms. Currently, MSNBC is reporting 1 shooter in custody and as many as two shooters still at large.
Watch Developments LIVE on CNN *Click Here*.
**UPDATE: 1432 HRS 05NOV09** CNN is now reporting 9 dead and 20 wounded in the ongoing shooting tragedy at Fort Hood.**
**UPDATE: 1440 HRS 05NOV09** @KOLD_news13 is echoing reports from KCEN news that 500 soldiers are sweeping across Fort Hood in an effort to secure the post.**
**UPDATE: 1448 HRS 05NOV09** President Obama to address the nation on the situation at Fort Hood amidst fresh reports of continued gunfire on post. Follow the Twitter Fort Hood Stream HERE.
**UPDATE 1500 HRS 05NOV09** CNN now reports that there are 12 killed, 31 wounded. One shooter has been killed and two more are in custody. All shooters are said to be U.S. soldiers.**
Thank God that the immediate danger at Fort Hood appears to be over at this time. We will all learn more in the coming hours, days, and weeks about why and how this tragedy occurred. Please continue to pray for and think of the soldiers and families of Fort Hood, Texas as well as the entire Army Family.
***Scott & White Memorial Hospital is in need of all blood types for treating Fort Hood victims. Help if u can! For Info: 254-724-4376***
**UPDATE: 1536 HRS 05NOV09** According to CNN, Major Malik Nadal Hasan has been identified as a shooter in today’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.**
**UPDATE: 1610 HRS 05NOV09** Per a Twitter post from @BreakingNews alleged Fort Hood shooter Major Malik Nadal Hasan was an Army mental health professional. Check SkyNews for further updates of their coverage.**
**UPDATE: 1714 HRS 05NOV09** As Fort Hood prepares to hold a live press conference here are YouTube reactions from Fort Hood today:
I really dig the Zac Brown Band. I mean, for other than obvious coincidental reasons. These guys are like a mash-up of Jimmy Buffet, Alabama, and Pat Green with a Georgia twist. Check out this music video selection from the Zac Brown Band
called “Toes”
Prepare yourself for the understatement of 2009: As a customer of T-Mobile, I am dissatisfied with my service at the moment. I knew that T-Mobile had some coverage issues, but today was the absolute topper. My wife and I noticed that our T-Mobile service was suddenly shut down. No calls in, no calls out (not even the SOS signal), and no data. I didn’t initially see anything on the newswire and then Twitter
came through in the clutch.
I logged on to Twitter only to see that T-Mobile was ranked second among the trending topics. As I investigated further I discovered an legion of Tweets from users all over the country suffering from the strange T-Mobile outage. Finally T-Mobile’s Twitter Team @TMobile_USA responded with the following:
“All – We’re aware of the current service disruption. Our rapid response teams have been mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible.”
Oh, I forgot to mention that 611 (aka T-Mobile Customer Care) doesn’t even give you the “All Circuits Are Busy” recording any longer…they just disconnect you.
So, for any of you that are trying to reach me, please be patient. I will be checking Email, Twitter, and Facebook regularly until the outage is over. Either that or I will call you all from my shiny new Verizon phone…..that, however, will be decided by T-Mobile’s Customer Service Team in the not so distant future.
|
