Richard Ian Porter

Category: Personal

  • Chris Hrbek

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    Richard
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    Chris Hrbek was almost always smiling. In combat he was a competent and caring leader. He was killed by a secondary IED when he dismounted his MRAP to check on his team in other vehicles after the primary IED exploded. A week earlier we were at a compound right by the strike location Then, he…

  • Chili Palmer

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    Richard
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    This is Chili. I’ve written about him before among others. This is Chili. I didn’t  see LtCol Benjamin “Chili” Palmer smile often. But we all knew beneath his professional veneer he cared about his team. He meant so much to the team that we changed our official callsign to “Chili” in his honor. We were…

  • Disney and Covid

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    Richard
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    We’re doing pretty well on the whole. We all seem to have recovered from our bouts with COVID, most likely. We will keep our eyes out for the possibility of longer lasting effects but so far we seem to have recovered well. This is a big relief, especially for our two year old. Of course,…

  • Why are all the artists men, daddy? (Happy International womens day 2022)

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    Richard
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    “Why are all the artists and composers men, daddy?” “Can I really ask for a starting salary that high?” “Would a man take credit for this work?” Women are wonderful and powerful – first as humans they deserve respect, equality and inclusion. And they do NOT yet get it. It is up to us, all…

  • Ukraine fights for us all

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    Richard
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    It feels very strange to be observing the war that Russia has imposed on Ukraine by its invasion. I am very sorry for the people in Ukraine and I wish them great luck, strength, courage, and success in defending their homes and their people. I don’t have anything earth shattering or new to add to…

  • My memories of Jesse Smock

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    Richard
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    Today I will attend the live stream of a funeral for a friend of mine. Jesse and I met first in elementary school. For half a semester we both went to Crestview elementary school in the 5th grade. We met again at baseline middle school in 7th grade. He walked up to me at the…

  • On the other hand… I’m grateful.

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    Richard
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    I am grateful to have been born, to have become a Marine, to have become a veteran and to have met the fine people in those endeavors that I have. My service in the Marine Corps seems inevitable in retrospect. It is consistent with and core to who I am. I have a lot to…

  • Oh, Happy (X) Day

    Oh, Happy (X) Day

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    Richard
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    My birthday is rapidly approaching, so is the Marine Corps birthday and veteran’s day. This used to be kind of fun. Now it feels very depressing. “Happy birthday! Happy veteran’s day! Happy Marine Corps birthday! Thank you for your service!” When I observe most people saying this I feel they do so from a self-serving…

  • We will never arrive

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    Richard
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    Arrival bias is a powerful thing. It’s that thing in your mind telling you “I just need to get one more thing done. THEN everything will be good. I just need to buy one more object, then life will feel better. I just need to accomplish one more task. I just need to catch up…

  • As Afghans suffer

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    Richard
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    I tweeted this, this morning.  Now I have some time, the baby is in bed, my wife and daughter are watching olympic gymnastics and I’ve hidden myself in the office to write some.  From reports I see linked to from twitter things in Afghanistan have gone from bad to worse. Much worse. It appears a…