Free Postage

Pack light!

Only bring the essentials. It’s about surviving and staying mission ready.

Only bring what you can carry,

or risk throwing away meaningful mementos or other incidentals when the weight of your pack becomes too heavy.

Offload anything that’s not critical,

Including writing materials,

But keep a pen just in case you want to mail an MRE postcard back to the States.

One of the benefits of being deployed to a combat zone is the free postage for personal correspondence sent home.

This isn’t a joke. Be prepared to cope with some crazy shit. The war against terrorism requires servicemen and women to commit to doing whatever it takes to stay operational and not buck the system when given instructions that seem irrational or insignificant.

The devil is in the details,

So pay attention fuckers!

And don’t get killed.

At least not on my watch

because I don’t want to write your parents or dependents after the fact. I don’t care if it’s free or not!

Your life & contributions to the cause are more valuable than a stamp or anything else you’re afraid to let go of- it’s just stuff.

Now gear up!

__________________________

Lori Butierriesis a full-time caregiver to two children with disabilities. She uses her life experiences and the medical knowledge she gained from serving as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy to help others facing similar hardships. Lori is an author for The Havok Journal, an official columnist for AwareNow Magazine, and a contributor to The Mighty. Likewise, other news sites like MSN and Yahoo! News have also republished select articles Lori  has written. Lori’s writing extends to children’s literature. Her debut picture book, GIFT FROM GOD, was self-published at the beginning of 2021 and placed as a finalist in two categories in the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Lori’s long-term goals are to use her writing to educate others about, advocate for, and dismantle negative stereotypes regarding disability, mental health, and the military/veteran community.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.