Monthly Archives: March 2010

Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Claire| Leave a comment

If you are a Veteran who needs someone to talk with, here’s a great resource. If you are a family member of a Veteran who you fear is suicidal call this number for advice on how best to support and help him/her. Loving and informed family members are a lifeline for struggling Veterans.

Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline

1-800-273-TALK, Veterans Press 1

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has founded a national suicide prevention hotline to ensure veterans in emotional crisis have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. To operate the Veterans Hotline, the VA partnered with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Veterans can call the Lifeline number, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), and press “1″ to be routed to the Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline.

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Posted in Spouse and Family

Raising the Arches Over Iwo Jima

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Marcus the Redshirt| Leave a comment

What does the image above mean to you? Something isn’t right with it and it should be fairly obvious immediately.

At “A” High School, the English and History classes coordinate their coverage of the same subjects, in this case the Depression. Today’s “graded discussion” turned on how McDonald’s is taking over the world. It was not positive, as you can imagine. Then our lovely English teacher offered up the above image, coaxing from the kids the desired response that our service people are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for big business and consumerism, in this case, on behalf of the especially evil McDonald’s.

I don’t want to get into defending McDonald’s, they can do that on their own.

Why are we allowing teachers to continually push a radical agenda in the classroom especially when that agenda routinely targets this nation’s military? What have we personally done that has turned us into such horrible people that we are not fighting for the freedom of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, but for the interests of American corporations such as McDonald’s?

Perhaps another question begging to be asked is the origin of the image used and the motivation behind it’s creation. Those opposed to the war seem to think we invaded both Iraq and Afghanistan not in search of Bin Laden, to topple the Taliban and Saddam, to search for WMD, and spread democracy across the middle east, but to spread western civilization. I must have missed that in my pre-deployment briefs in 2007, because that was never once mentioned.

CJ has contact information on ASP if you so feel inclined to contact the school in an attempt to put a stop to the English teacher’s radical agenda. I don’t want to make you feel like it a lost cause, but I have a feeling you won’t reach anyone willing to listen. Instead focus on teaching your children what radical teachers tend to forget.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Sikhs Given Preferential Treatment

Posted on March 25, 2010 by CJ| 6 Comments

AR 670-1, the Army regulation on the wear and appearance of Army uniforms, states the following:

(2) Soldiers may wear religious headgear while in uniform if the headgear meets the following criteria.
(a) It must be subdued in color (black, brown, green, dark or navy blue, or a combination of these colors).
(b) It must be of a style and size that can be completely covered by standard military headgear, and it cannot
interfere with the proper wear or functioning of protective clothing or equipment.
(c) The headgear cannot bear any writing, symbols, or pictures.
(d) Personnel will not wear religious headgear in place of military headgear when military headgear is required
(outdoors, or indoors when required for duties or ceremonies).

The regulations also states that “personnel may not wear religious items if they do not meet the standards of this regulation, and requests for accommodation will not be entertained.” So, after reading the above REGULATION, what is wrong with this picture?

sikh headgear army

If requests for accommodation will not be entertained, why is the Army relaxing its standards and violating its own regulations on religious headgear?

I have no problem with the Sikh faith or any faith! But, it’s quite obvious that the military has some clear (or used to have) guidelines on appearance that don’t jive with the Sikh faith. Men are required to be clean shaven except in certain situations. Even in those situations, though, beards are required to be no longer than a quarter of an inch. So, could Muslim men now contend and demand that they should be allowed to have long beards? It would be an equal opportunity violation if it didn’t.

I understand the desire for one to join the military. I knew coming in that the Army did a lot of things contrary to my faith. For example, we strongly discourage working on Sundays, but the Army has required me to work many a Sunday. If I begin insisting that I don’t work on Sundays, what do you think the response would be? After all, I’m a Christian.

I think the Army has made a huge mistake bending the rules for TWO individuals. There is a reason the military has standards. The Army is not a faith-based organization, it’s a well-oiled combat machine! If your religious beliefs contradict with our doctrine, standards, and/or regulations I say find another job! In this economy, we aren’t hurting for people wanting to serve.

[Author's Note: The OPINIONS expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of any agency of the United States Government, expressly including, but not limited to, the Department of Defense or the United States Army. This site is not designed, authorized, sanctioned, or affiliated, by or with, any agency of the United States Government, expressly including, but not limited to, the Department of Defense or the United States Army. This post is in accordance with DODD 1344.10, which expressly permits me to "express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues, but not as a representative of the Armed Forces." Therefore, I hereby declare that I do not write this post as a representative of the Armed Forces. Since I no longer own this site, consider this post also in compliance with the provisions of paragraph 4.1.1.6 of DODD 1344.10.]

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Posted in Military News

Tagged ,

OPSEC, Facebook, Twitter, et al, and Why it Matters

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Claire| Leave a comment

A little over a week ago Michael Yon posted the following article on his Facebook account. I “liked” it and set it aside, but I wanted to make sure I went back and grabbed it to share it here and elsewhere. I see a lot of OPSEC violations on Facebook. I don’t mean updates saying “He’s leaving soon.” I mean updates saying “Well, they just left McChord Airforce Base and are on their way to XYZ destination. They should arrive in Iraq no later than Thursday.” It makes me cringe everytime — and sometimes these kinds of things are said on Battalion pages! Here’s a good reminder that OPSEC is just as important now as it has always been. Just because things have calmed down in Iraq, doesn’t mean we can let our guard down on the home front. – Claire

From the Media Line

New Media: A Formidable Foe for Modern Armies
Written by Arieh O’Sullivan & Felice Friedson 
Published Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Modern armies grapple with leaks of classified intelligence on the plethora of new social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The Israeli army was planning a night raid into a hostile Palestinian village in the West Bank to arrest suspected terrorists. Troops were in place and back-up units were deployed. But unexpectedly, they came upon a formidable foe – Facebook.

The operation was scrubbed when it became known that one of the soldiers in the raiding unit had uploaded details of the impending sweep onto his Facebook account. The army says the leaking of classified information put its troops at risk. The soldier was court-martialed and jailed for 10 days. He was also kicked out of his combat unit.

“The operation was postponed because of this,” Lt.-Col. Avital Leibovitz, an IDF Spokesperson, tells The Media Line. “Since the soldier specified the name of the village and the time. He also specified that after the operation there would be another two raids. We had no choice but to postpone the operation because we were not sure whether it had been leaked to the people in that village.”

Information security has always presented a potential for leaks. In the past, military censors would monitor telephone calls or letters home from troops. But with the plethora of new social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the task has become much harder and stemming the flow of information that much more daunting.

Whether in Israel, Iraq or Afghanistan, modern armies are more vulnerable than before and hostile intelligence agents scan the Internet to collect information that could undermine their operations.

Jeff Hochman, a former security officer in Iraq, says US forces routinely use social media to keep in touch with friends and family half way around the world.

“Facebook is extremely popular,” Hochman says. “It is a big morale booster to be able to see your friends on Facebook and to be able to chat with them and things like that. But I think your younger soldiers are a little more naive about what is fun and cool looking on the Internet compared to your older officers and senior enlisted.” Click here for more of the article

Here’s are the 5 threats outlined on Wikipedia. The best rule of thumb is… when in doubt put a cork in it and wait. I know deployment is tough and you need support, but it’s better to call a close and trusted friend — even then, however, do not spill all the beans. No one really needs to know exactly when, where and who left at any time. Wait until all are safe and settled and then you can say when he left. Don’t do it when he’s in transport.

OPSEC

1) Identification of Critical Information: Identifying information vitally needed by an adversary, which focuses the remainder of the OPSEC process on protecting vital information, rather than attempting to protect all classified or sensitive unclassified information.

2) Analysis of Threats: the research and analysis of intelligence, counterintelligence, and open source information to identify likely adversaries to a planned operation.

3) Analysis of Vulnerabilities: examining each aspect of the planned operation to identify OPSEC indicators that could reveal critical information and then comparing those indicators with the adversary’s intelligence collection capabilities identified in the previous action.

4) Assessment of Risk: First, planners analyze the vulnerabilities identified in the previous action and identify possible OPSEC measures for each vulnerability. Second, specific OPSEC measures are selected for execution based upon a risk assessment done by the commander and staff.

5) Application of Appropriate OPSEC Measures: The command implements the OPSEC measures selected in the assessment of risk action or, in the case of planned future operations and activities, includes the measures in specific OPSEC plans.

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Posted in Spouse and Family

If Mama Ain’t Happy…

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Claire| Leave a comment

The article below was written by the founder of Wings for Women, Alane Pearce, and reprinted here with her permission. Alane founded Wings for Women as a way to support military spouses during this stressful time of war, multiple deployments and times of uncertainty. Please check out the article below and then visit Wings for Women. If you are a spouse and want to attend, contact Alane (even if you can’t attend but would like to know more about how to get an event closer to where you are). If you know a spouse who would benefit, let her know about the conference. — Claire

By Alane Pearce Military Spouse and Founder of Wings for Women Military Spouse Conferences

Military life can be hard. Our military personnel make great sacrifices to protect our country and others around the world. They work long hours and spend extended periods of time away from their families to fight for the freedoms that allow us to enjoy an American lifestyle. What many don’t realize is the stress and strain that this puts on the military spouse.

Military spouses are strong, but they can’t bear the burden of military life alone. The pressures of deployment, single parenting while married, tight budgets, lack of continuity and other stresses bear down on this strong woman’s soul.

This is why I founded Wings for Women Military Spouse Conferences–to help military spouses deal with the stresses of military life. The Wings for Women Conferences–two-day events that will run in military cities across the nation (as soon as we have funding for them) feature general sessions, dynamic speakers and military lifestyle breakout workshops designed to inspire and encourage military spouses towards emotional healing.

In 1967, Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe, from the University of Washington, did a study on the connection between significant life events and illness. As part of the study, they compiled a chart of 43 major causes of stress. In 2006, that chart was updated to include 55 major stressors. Here is a list of the top seven.

•  Finances (having enough to get by)

•  Work (overwork, a spouse working too much, or the inability to find work)

•  Family (health and family changes such as adoption, relocation, and job changes for just one family member can cause stress for all)

•  Personal Concerns (such as how the workload at home is shared)

•  Personal Health and Safety (affected by being alone and PTSD in a loved one)

•  Personal Relationships (friendship, marriage)

•  Death

In any given moment of any given day, the military family is dealing with not just one of these top stressors, but many. They:

•  Struggle with finances because of low pay

•  Get passed on much-needed employment because of a resume filled with time gaps from frequent moves

•  Feel the burden of managing the home and the children alone because of the military member’s long hours and/or deployments.

A deployed military member leaves behind a family who is stressed by being home alone and a spouse dealing with long distance marriage, a lack of close friendship bonds and the constant fear that her husband may not return from war. When the military member finally comes home, the spouse and family are greatly affected by the military member’s new personality traits because of war and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Imagine how you or your spouse might feel if put into one of these situations; yet the military spouse deals with these high stress triggers all the time. Every year. Every month. Every day. 

These are the facts in the life of a military family.

A study published in January (2010) in the New England Journal of Medicine reinforces Holmes’ and Rahe’s theory of stress leading to illness by specifically looking at military families. The Journalstudy reviewd electronic medical data for almost 85 percent of the nearly 300,000 women whose active-duty husbands were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan from 2003-2006. They found that 36.6 percent of those women had at least one mental-health diagnosis such as depression, anxiety or a sleep disorder. And this only counts those who reported problems.

“My husband is in Iraq for the 4th time,” says one military spouse on Facebook. “You are right, it doesn’t get any easier. In fact, this deployment (my third) was the hardest for me so far…It’s nice to be among those who understand and can relate to what you’re going thru.”

Jacey Eckhart of Military Money Magazine shares about the life of a Navy spouse: “But spouses? Man, they rip the veil off your head, ship you off to a city where you may not know a soul and expect you to be able to handle a deployment, say, a week later. Spouse boot camp often is self-taught. We manage. More importantly, we adapt.”

Wings for Women Military Spouse Conferences is addressing this and more by providing an opportunity for military spouses to be with those who understand and can relate to military life. Even more, the conferences will provide tools and resources to help spouses deal with these issues to improve their lives and subsequently the lives of the military family. We know from experience that as long as women have a place to gather these things will happen.

Our conferences kick off this year in Colorado Springs, CO May 14–15th with nearly 300 participants–many of whom are coming to Colorado from New York, North Carolina, Alabama and Texas.

The conferences will help spouses improve their relationships with themselves, their husbands and their children and increase their self-worth. We will provide valuable military and community resources to ensure that the spouse becomes engaged and supported by those around her after the conference concludes. As a result the spouses will be more aware of her purpose and mission, more connected with others like her and also with those who want to help. She will be refreshed and energized about her military lifestyle.

We believe that supporting the military spouse allows her to support her husband and children in a way that only she can. When the military spouse has the tools and resources she needs to thrive in the military lifestyle, the warrior has less stress as he does his job in the field and the children are more confident in the absence of their fathers.

In short, helping the military spouse helps everyone.

For more about Wings for Women, please visit our blog or go to the  Wings4Women website To donate to Wings for Women, or to sponsor our conferences please contact Alane Pearce atwings4women@gmail.com.

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Posted in Spouse and Family

Combat veteran sworn in as top Army Reserve NCO

Posted on March 24, 2010 by CJ| Leave a comment


Command Sgt. Maj. Michael D. Schultz is sworn in by Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve, as the 11th command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Reserve. Schultz’s wife, Denise, holds the Bible as his daughters and his parents look on. As the Army Reserve’s top noncommissioned officer, Schultz represents the interests of more than 150,000 enlisted Soldiers and serves as Stultz’s personal adviser on all enlisted matters, particularly in areas that affect Soldier training and quality of life. (Army photo by Jerome Howard)

A veteran of three deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism – to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait – was sworn in today as the Army Reserve’s top noncommissioned officer.

Command Sgt. Maj. Michael D. Schultz was appointed by Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve, as the 11th command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Reserve.

“I wanted someone who lives leadership, someone I have ultimate trust in, someone who will represent me and the Army Reserve well,” Stultz said. “I went with my gut. He does what is right for the Soldier.”

As the Army Reserve’s senior enlisted Soldier, Schultz represents the interests of more than 150,000 enlisted Soldiers and serves as Stultz’s personal adviser on all enlisted matters, particularly in areas that affect Soldier training and quality of life.

As command sergeant major, Schultz will spend much of his time traveling to observe training and to provide counsel and guidance to NCOs, enlisted Soldiers and their Families. He will be a part of councils and boards that make decisions that affect enlisted Soldiers and their Families and will routinely be invited to testify before Congress.

During the ceremony, Schultz vowed to give one hundred percent while he serves as command sergeant major, and he hinted at his priorities in the years ahead. “I want to refocus our enlisted leaders on living the NCO Creed and being the backbone of the Army,” Schultz said.

While serving in the position, Schultz will be on a leave of absence from his civilian job with the Tampa Police Department. His 14-year career with the force has included assignments with the Tactical Response Team (SWAT), the Street Anti-Crimes Unit (Plain Clothes Narcotics/Prostitution Enforcement), the Community Policing Unit and the Tampa Police Mounted Patrol (Reserve).

Command Sgt. Maj. Schultz replaced Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, who served since Aug. 29, 2006, and retired Jan. 22.

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Posted in Military Life, Military News

Tagged

Free Leave for Troops

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Troy| Leave a comment

Well it appears the Army has made another major change in regards to the R&R leave for troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Besides giving troops the leave, and flying them all the way home for free, now he soldiers are no longer going to be charged for that leave.

Effective yesterday troops will no longer burn their leave when coming home on R&R. I have no idea and have heard if any of this will be made retroactive or not, but I would assume not.

In a statement, Sam Retherford, director of officer and enlisted personnel management, called the move “an additional benefit specifically for those servicemembers deployed to the most arduous combat areas.”

Currently troops who take rest and recuperation leave in Iraq or Afghanistan must use their accumulated vacation time. Troops accrue leave based on how long they have been in the service, meaning junior servicemembers don’t have much leave to use, department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said.

 

Head over to Stars and Stripes at http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=68837&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+starsandstripes%2Fgeneral+%28Stars+and+Stripes%29 to read the entire story.

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Posted in Military Life, News, Veteran Benefits

Citizen Service Above Self Honors 2010 Recipients to Be Honored

Posted on March 24, 2010 by CJ| Leave a comment

WHAT: The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to host its third annual Citizen Service Above Self Honors press conference to announce and nationally recognize three ordinary Americans who have become extraordinary through their indomitable courage and selflessness.

Citizen Service Above Self Honors will be presented to Dr. Jordy Cox of Phoenix, Ariz. and Jeffrey Michael Ross of Roseville, Calif., and posthumously presented to Dylan Nelson of Madison, S.D. on National Medal of Honor Day at the Tomb of the Unknowns by our nation’s most honored heroes—the fewer than 100 living Medal of Honor recipients.

WHO: – The Honorable James B. Peake (Ret.), M.D., Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs

– Martha Raddatz, Chief White House Correspondent, ABC News

– Medal of Honor recipients (more than 30 recipients)

WHEN: Thursday, March 25, 2010

2:15 p.m. EDT—National Medal of Honor Wreath Laying Ceremony

2:45 p.m. EDT—Citizen Service Above Self Honors Ceremony

WHERE: Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

All media should check in with the security guard on Memorial Drive (main entrance) and arrive no later than 1:45 p.m. EDT. All media will be escorted to the ceremony and wreath laying.

WHY: Citizen Service Above Self Honors recipients represent the values of courage, sacrifice and selfless service. After considering all nominations, a panel, including Medal of Honor recipient representation, considered all nominations and selected national finalists. From among the 20 finalists, a second panel of Medal of Honor recipients selected three individuals to receive one of the highest civilian honors, Citizen Service Above Self Honors. A complete list of the 20 finalists is available on the Web site, http://citizenserviceaboveselfhonors.org/.

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Posted in News

Military Channel Opens Voting for Viewer’s Choice

Posted on March 23, 2010 by CJ| Leave a comment

Ever wish you could decide what kinds of programming is shown on TV? I’m an avid watcher of the Military Channel (when I have it) and sometimes wish I could dictate what kind of programming they show. Well, now is your chance to at least have a vote!

The Military Channel is opening its doors to viewers to vote on the kinds of programming they’d like to see on the channel. The event kicks off on April 1st and takes place every Thursday throughout the month.

Vote now for programming that will be played about a specific branch of service on April 1st.. The Service with the most votes, gets to be the branch of the day with programming specific to it. I, naturally, voted for the Army.

The following week, on April 8th, viewers will decide on their favorite weapon. The Channel will then devote three hours of programming to the weapon system with the most votes. You do not have to wait until that week to vote. You can it right now. This was a difficult choice for me between tanks, guns, and aircraft carriers. I ultimately chose guns since there is no way I’ll ever own an aircraft carrier or tank.

Next, was my favorite choice: The Battle of the Battles. I’m a history nut, but I also participated in one of the campaigns. So, I chose Baghdad to relive the very battle I took part in. It’s always interesting to watch what my brothers and sisters fighting alongside me were doing while I was focused on my particular target. The tactics were amazing. But, I’m also a huge fan of the Civil War, so it was difficult for me to choose Baghdad. The winner will also get three hours of devoted programming on April 15th.

The Battle of the Wars category was no contest for me. I chose Vietnam. I’m utterly interested in that conflict. Until today, it was the longest conflict we engaged in. It was also very controversial. Three hours of programming would not do justice to covering this great war, but the fact that I can still talk to Vietnam Veterans about it is what does it for me. The winner will be broadcast on April 22nd.

Finally, is the Battle of the Shows. The Military Channel is host to a plethora of great shows about military topics. But, this one wasn’t even a “battle” for me. My vote goes to “Special Ops Mission.” As you know, we interviewed Will Willis on our show last year and he’s a great guy. So, this wasn’t a contest either. I would LOVE to be able to watch three hours of straight Special Ops Mission on April 29th if this wins!!

So, get out there and vote!! Voting will remain open until the Monday before each air date, and we invite you to vote for your branch and to spread the word!

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Posted in Military History

Tagged , ,

Build-A-Sign still giving to troops

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Troy| Leave a comment

I think CJ or I wrote about Build-A-Sign a while back and how they were giving free custom banners or jumbo cards to families of returning troops as their way as a company to say Thank You to the families and the troops. Well they are now also giving free custom Bumper magnets to the families and they are still offering this entire deal to the families. They have kept this going for some time and it is truly a great deal.

We got one made when my son came home from Afghanistan in January 2009 and I was impressed by the quality. It is a professionally made sign like you see any business put up. I am amazed that the company can still offer this to families, so I am glad to keep spreading the word for them. To date, they have given away over 80,000 free banners and jumbo cards.

Let me state and be clear they did not even ask me to do this, I just happened across their site again and saw it was still going on.

So if you are a family member or friend of a deployed service-member, head over to http://www.buildasign.com/Troops and check out what they have for you, for FREE!


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Posted in Patriotism, Spouse and Family, Veteran Benefits