SGM Mike Vining @ Blasting Through Official

I'm Mike Vining, SGM USA (Retired). Welcome to my official X account. In the next several months, I'll share EOD and Delta Force memories. And I'll offer info on moral injury and PTSD. I'm calling this account "Blasting Through," because that's the title of my book, a memoir, due for release in August 2026.

As National EOD Association Director & Historian, I always like to share EOD history.

@erik_without It was green.

@BlastingThrough Mike, is that a black beret? What was the protocol for headgear in the unit for non-SF bubbas?

A Memorable Day COL McCabe, my promotion to SGM, December 1993

@MRTs_Haircut To be an Delta Operator, the MOS immaterial. You have to pass Selection and Assessment, and the Operator Training Course. Your MOS remains remains the same. Mine was EOD until I made E-8 and I transferred to Infantry. What I did in the Unit didn't change.

@BlastingThrough So different berets. So not all Delta are Ranger or GB? Right?

@airbournej U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC).

@BlastingThrough What unit crest is that on ur beret SGM?

@walkinyardsale Liberty Ridge is a serious commitment.

@BlastingThrough Liberty Ridge, is serious. For me DC, Emmons, and the Kautz. I don’t have the talent or ability for the Liberty Ridge.

This was a day the mountain allowed me to summit. True mountaineers understand what I mean by this statement. Mt. Rainier, 6 September 1991

18 years ago I signed up for the Army at my local recruiter’s office. I didn’t leave for basic until mid August. I remember sitting there wondering if I made the right choice. For the next several weeks before leaving, I questioned my choice. 18 years later it remains one of the best choices I’ve made.

@ChuckPfarrer Chuck, great photo.

@BlastingThrough With you brother.

@Haydukelives55 Nice. I climbed it six times, by the Disappointment Cleaver Route, Emmons Glacier Route, and Liberty Ridge Route.

@BlastingThrough 👍I have added my name to the summit log book 3 times. All mid 1980’s.

I want to say something that might be controversial. Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT) is just torture with a fancy name. I don't believe torture provides useful intelligence. By doing EIT, the enemy can say it is acceptable and do the same to our POWs. Really, it is against international rules of warfare. I did go through SERE training. COL James "Nick" Rowe ran the course.

It's never too late to do the right thing. One time, I advised a medical retired soldier that he should consider doing an Inspector General (IG) complaint. He thought about it and decided to make the complaint. He told me later that even though nothing came of the complaint, he felt that once he broke his silence that a heavy weight had been lifted from him. Take a look at the following scenario:. The Soldier’s Choice to Stay Silent Private First Class Morales witnesses a senior soldier in his unit use excessive force during the detention of suspected insurgents—actions that go beyond what Morales believes is necessary or humane, even in combat. Morales has a strong personal value around justice and not dehumanizing others. However, he chooses not to intervene or report it, fearing it would undermine unit cohesion, invite retaliation, or complicate an already dangerous deployment. By staying silent, he participates in (and helps sustain) an environment where such behavior can continue. Moral injury refers to the profound psychological, emotional, and spiritual distress that arises when a person perpetrates, fails to prevent, bears witness to, or learns about acts that violate their deeply held moral beliefs and expectations about right and wrong. It differs from PTSD (which centers more on fear and threat). Moral injury centers on suffering long-term guilt, shame, self-condemnation, loss of trust in oneself or others, and a shattered sense of personal goodness. Do you think that PFC Morales’ choice to not say anything will open him up for moral injury later?

@caduse @fromtheashesvet Thanks Rob. I enjoyed the interview.

@BlastingThrough You actually told that story on @fromtheashesvet , well done

@Ripburger Haiti is still a mess.

@BlastingThrough And is Haiti now secure, Sergeant Major?

Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY was the mission to restore order in Haiti. I served as the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Joint Task Force 188. On 8 September 1994, I got on the USS AMERICA from Norfolk, Virginia and disembarked from the carrier back at Norfolk on 22 October 1994. We deployed aboard the carrier with a complete Ranger Battalion (2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment), a partial Ranger Battalion, and a company of Rangers from a third Ranger Battalion, two SEAL Squadrons from SEAL Team Six, helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), “Night Stalkers,” Air Force Combat Controllers, Joint Medical Augmentation Unit (JMAU), and the staff from the JSOC. Altogether we had 64 Army, Air Force, and Navy helicopters aboard the carrier. I talk about the deployment at length in "Blasting Through" from the standpoint of leadership and mentoring. Share a story about one of your deployments that tested your leadership skills. Or share a story about a deployment in which a leader mentored you. I enjoy hearing from you.

@unjustifeyeball @ShawnRyan762 I am coordinating with Shawn Ryan's Executive Producer to be on his podcast.

@BlastingThrough @ShawnRyan762 HOW have you not interviewed this Legend ? WTF MAN

@JohnWQuinn This was the first time Special Operations used Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB). It was a learning curve. The Eisenhower had the 10th Mountain Division.

@BlastingThrough I was on the IKE at the time. I remember we disembarked our regular air wing to embark 58 Army helos and 2000 members of the 1st Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. Only the second time in naval history that Army aircraft flew off a Navy flight deck. the first? COL Doolittle.

@cgeutexas I just figured out that you are Moe's son. I served several years with your father. I just sent you an email.

@BlastingThrough Moe's wife was running air control. His first wife, my mother, was on the ground. I believe you met her at the stockade. I was the lil shit Charlie let run around and then Zumwalt's buddy in ES. Dad says hola.

Oppressors Beware. This is worth working for. Have a great night, everyone.