It is getting to be that time. Well actually it is not the normal time for the Valour-IT fundraiser, but starting his year it has been moved to July instead of the typical November timeframe. November is a tough month as people get ready for Christmas and so on. Since it was normally done in November to correspond with Veteran’s Day, now Soldiers’ Angels is going to run it around Independence Day.
So take a moment and read the Press Release below.
Posted in Charities/Contests, Veteran Benefits
I found the following website in a post at Faith Deployed.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I don’t know who ‘they’ are, but I do agree. Not only do pictures capture for us a story but also the emotion that is present when the image is captured. There are few moments in life that generate such raw and honest emotions as a deployment good-bye or a reunification hello of a military family.
This is a great resource for military families. If you have used their services please let us know about your experience. I would love to hear more!
From their website:
About:
Operation: Love ReUnited is a non-profit, fully volunteer organization that offers professional photography sessions to military families and members who are getting ready to deploy, who are currently deployed, or those who are coming home.
Qualifiations to Participate & The Gift of Photography:To start the qualification to participate in our program you must be an immediate family member of or a member of the military. The military member must have orders to deploy or a letter of command. Unaccomanied tours are not qualified at this time, this includes Korea.
The orders shall be a departure period of 4 or more months overseas and at least 3 months prior to returning to the United States.
The Sessions:Each participating family or member may receive two sessions per year. The session choices are Pre-Deployment (with the service member), Saying Goodbye (documentary style at the farewell location), Already Deployed (service member has already deployed), and Homecoming (documentary style at the homecoming location.) Post-Homecoming sessions are not allowed. ALL sessions shall follow a patriotic theme. Pre-Deployment sessions shall include a uniformed service member with the option to change clothes later in the session.
The Gift:2 Waived Session Fees per calendar yearIf a Pre-Deployment or Deployment Session was done a 4×6 album of at least 15 images will be sent overseas to the deployed service member for an extra special boost of moral. If a Saying Goodbye session was done a CD of final documentary style of at least 15 images will be given to the family for them to decide what to do with the images since these images can be very emotionally draining. If a Homecoming session was done, the service member and/or family will receive either a 4×6 album of at least 15 images -or- a CD of at least 15 final documentary style images will be given. It is the photographers choice what to offer here.
Posted in Charities/Contests, Spouse and Family
Epitomizing the warrior ethos of “I will never quit” and “I will never accept defeat,” Sgt. 1st Class Ray Castillo still serves his country, even after being critically wounded in Iraq. Throughout an extensive recovery process, he remained focused on eventually returning to his fellow Rangers-and two years later, he did just that.
“Just because I lost my limbs doesn’t mean I can’t give my experience and my knowledge to other guys, (but) I understood eventually I was going to be behind a desk,” he said. “There’s nothing I could’ve done about that. I still wanted to be in the military, I still wanted to contribute.”
In early 2009, Castillo was serving as a platoon sergeant in Iraq with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He and his platoon were pursuing a high-value enemy target, when the dismounted platoon was ambushed by insurgents. During the skirmish, a command-detonated improvised explosive device (IED) hit Castillo.
“It was real quick. [The enemy] hid it really well in the ground. I got to that location, and it just went off. … I blacked out for a short period of time, but I remember the explosion going off and flying through the air,” he said, recalling the incident.”
Castillo was immediately evacuated to the hospital, where he was treated for multiple injuries, including a punctured lung and lacerations to his liver, spleen, intestines and right kidney. In addition to the internal damage, he lost his right foot during the blast.
When Castillo awoke from a medically-induced coma several weeks later, he learned that he had been transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and that both of his legs had been amputated above the knee.
“I wasn’t expecting to see 70 percent of my legs gone,” he said.
Although he faced an uphill recovery battle, his dedication to the Army never wavered. While recuperating at Walter Reed, he took the oath of enlistment from his hospital bed, surrounded by his family.
Castillo was later transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he was fitted for prosthetics and began intense rehabilitation.
“My focus was just to get back to my unit,” he said. “I worked really hard every day as much as I could because that was my main focus – recovery and getting better so I could get back to my unit and continue working.”
In early 2010, he returned to his unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., but he still had to pass a medical evaluation board to stay in the Army. He successfully cleared that hurdle, and he plans to continue to serve in the Army for many years to come.
As he continues the healing process, he has learned to appreciate everyday victories.
“Even when it snowed in Washington, just going through the snow and it being slippery, I don’t feel where I step until I put my weight on it,” he said. “I drive, too, and that’s a learning curve. … My endurance and balance are getting much better. Being able to do random chores around the house or just doing stuff at work is getting better. It’s gotten easier, with time.”
Castillo is currently an operations sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. In the future, he hopes to serve as an Army instructor.
Posted in Military Life, soldier of the week
Tagged Hometown Story, OIF/OEF, Ranger Story, wounded warrior
“Protection for your privates, both literally and figuratively.” That’s the motto of the British company that has developed ballistic underwear for troops. But, it’s not like they can stop bullets. They have little panels that protect the femoral artery and other sensitive areas from debris and flames accompanying a blast. The blast itself, my hurt the family jewels a little, but the purpose is to at least keep them there!
According to Edward Schmitt, of BCB International, which makes the protective gear, ““It’s designed to stop low-mass but high-velocity particles from penetrating the human body, like what’s typically encountered when an IED explodes [and] gives the same level of ballistic protection to those regions of the body as what you’d normally get from a set of U.S. standard safety goggles that are issued to our people.”
Now, you may not believe me, but the Marines in this photo by CPL Marco Mancha are wearing said ballistic underwear. Use your imagination!
Posted in Military Life, Photo of the Day
Tagged Afghanistan, ballistic underwear, Marines
I recently helped with a departure ceremony for troops heading to Afghanistan. At these departure ceremonies, families have the opportunity to spend their last minutes with their troops before they board a plane bound for a combat zone.
The emotions at these ceremonies is wide-ranging, from utter elation to finally getting deployed after months of preparation and training to sadness at the separation of their loved one for an extended period of time. One Soldier’s wife was carrying a small, 7-pound baby that was only a month old (it was a premie). The tiny baby will be probably three times his size when the Soldier returns.
Throughout the evening, I walked around taking snapshots of the troops with their families. As the hour approached where the families needed to leave the gym and the Soldiers lined up to board the plane, the mood changed. I shot this photo that really captures the difficulty our troops face letting go of their families. The little girl had just been told that she needed to say goodbye to her dad that she probably won’t see for at least six more months – and then for only 2 weeks when he must return to the combat zone.
The Senate Committee on Armed Services unanimously approved the defense authorization bill for fiscal 2012 last week.
The legislation mirrors the House version in that it would allow DoD to increase TRICARE fees for under-65 retirees and caps the department’s ability to increase fees in the future.
Specifically, the Committee approved DoD’s request to increase the TRICARE Prime enrollment fee by $2.50 a month for individuals (from $230 to $260) and $5 a month for families (from $460 to $520). It also prohibited the Defense Department from proposing substantial annual increases in the future by ensuring the percentage increase can not exceed the percentage increase in military retired pay. Since this provision is included in both the House and Senate versions of the authorization bill, it is likely it will be included in the final version. How would indexing the fees to the COLA work?
The index is a percentage change, not a dollar amount change. Therefore, in 2012, the proposed TRICARE Prime enrollment fee for a family is $520 per year. If the 2013 COLA is 3 percent, the TRICARE Prime enrollment fee increase would be 3 percent of $520 = $15.60 for the year. In contrast, a 3 percent COLA would increase average retired pay by $900 a year.
The bill also:
* Authorizes $142.4 billion for military personnel, including costs of pay, allowances, bonuses, death benefits, and permanent change of station moves.
* Authorizes a 1.6 percent across-the-board pay raise for all members of the uniformed services, consistent with the President’s request.
* Requires that individuals newly enrolled in the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan after September 30, 2011, transition to TRICARE for Life once they become Medicare-eligible due to age.
* Prohibits the denial of reenlistment of a service member who has been determined by a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) to be fit for duty but who is subsequently determined to be unsuitable for continued military service for conditions considered by the PEB.
* Amends Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) relating to the offenses of rape, sexual assault, and other sexual misconduct, to create three separate articles of the UCMJ to correct deficiencies in existing law. Also repeals Article 125 of the UCMJ, relating to the offense of sodomy.
* Authorizes $25 million in supplemental impact aid to local educational agencies with military dependent children and $5 million in impact aid for schools with military dependent children with severe disabilities.
* Requires hostile fire and imminent danger pay be prorated according to the number of days spent in a qualifying area rather than be paid on a monthly basis.
* Funds fully ($3.2 billion) DOD’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) fund, which provides for the sustainment and procurement of MRAPs and M-ATVs.
* Authorizes $10.4 billion for U.S. Special Operations Command, an increase of 6 percent above fiscal year 2011 levels.
* Fully supports the budget request of $633 million to procure 100 Stryker vehicles especially designed and built for the detection of nuclear, chemical, and biological agents.
* Fully supports the budget request of $884.4 million for the Army’s next-generation armored Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) development.
* Cuts more than $1 billion from the President’s budget for military construction and family housing projects.
* Cuts $192.3 million from related Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) projects due to Early-Infantry Brigade Combat Team program termination.
Next action: The bill is headed to the full Senate for a vote, which is expected next month.
I never thought I would say that but in this case I am glad they are on the side of right instead of wrong. I am surprised it took this long for this lawsuit to come up.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday, 8 June, accuses the federal government of misusing a 390-acre plot of land in Los Angeles that was donated approximately 130 years ago by gold-miner-turned-U.S. Sen. John P. Jones and wealthy landowner, Arcadia Bandini de Baker in 1888, for facilities to house veterans who need care after traumatic military experiences. The suit claims the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) leased much of the property at its West Los Angeles facility to private entities instead of using it for veterans’ permanent supportive housing. It was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and other public interest lawyers on behalf of disabled, homeless veterans. To learn more about this topic, click http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/06/ap-veterans-affairs-misusing-land-meant-for-homeless-vets-060811/ for the full article.
Posted in News, Veteran Benefits
When I was stationed at Fort Meade, MD, I had a few opportunities to ride with the Patriot Guard Riders. It’s a group of motorcycling American patriots that formed back in 2005 initially in response to the bastard false Christians from Westboro “Baptist” Church (even though the Baptists have excommunicated the sect) and their protests against Soldier funerals. The Riders create a patriotic barrier between the truly honorable families of our fallen and the despicable human scum from WBC.
They have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. One of their main missions is to show “sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.” Besides shielding grieving families from human filth, the group also escorts the fallen as they return home and to their final resting place.
In this photo, motorcycle riders, including many veterans, pay their respects to Pfc. Matthew England and his family by providing an escort from the regional airfield on Fort Leonard Wood to Waynesville Memorial Chapel. England, age 22, of Gainesville, Mo., was a soldier in the U.S. Army serving in support of Operation New Dawn in Iraq. A memorial service is set for 3 p.m. June 19 at the First Christian Church in Gainesville, Mo.
Eight, yes EIGHT combat tours. It just goes to show you that despite all the best training in the world, combat is ugly and dangerous and sometimes the odds catch up with you. God Bless his family and God Speed SSG Katzenberger (to the front of the line in Heaven). I am sure he died doing what he loved doing, leading his Rangers in combat.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, June 15, 2011) – A U.S. Army Ranger was killed in action on June 14 during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Jeremy Andrew Katzenberger was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
He was killed by direct fire from enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Paktika Province.
A native of Weatherby Lake, Mo., Katzenberger enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 2004. For more than six years, Katzenberger served as a rifleman, automatic rifleman, team leader and Ranger squad leader in 1st Bn., 75th Ranger Regt.
The 75th Ranger Regt. has been continuously deployed to Afghanistan since October 2001.
“Staff Sgt. Katzenberger was a phenomenal Ranger who died while leading his men in an assault against our enemies. He died while protecting our Nation and we will not forget his sacrifice,” said Col. Michael Foster, commander, 1st Bn., 75th Ranger Regt. “He was universally respected by every member of this command and was a devoted, loving husband and proud father. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Katzenberger family.”
Katzenberger previously served on four deployments to Iraq and this was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.
“I wish the American people could truly understand the dedication and sacrifice that Staff Sgt. Jeremy Katzenberger made for his country. Since early 2005, Jeremy has either been in combat or training for combat. This was his eighth combat deployment,” said Col. Michael E. Kurilla, commander, 75th Ranger Regt. “Jeremy was the epitome of a Ranger squad leader; he is a hero to our Nation, the Army and his family.”
Katzenberger is survived by his wife Colleen A. (Montgomery) Katzenberger, son Everett James both of Richmond Hill, Ga., and his parents Robert and Peggy Katzenberger of Weatherby Lake, Mo.
For further information, media should contact the U.S. Special Forces Command Public Affairs Office during duty hours at 910-432-6005, or after duty hours at 910-432-8650.
Posted in Patriotism, Wall of Honor, Why We Serve
I’m uber excited about the Green Lantern movie coming out tomorrow. I’ve been a GL fan for years, beginning with the Zero Hour storyline in which Kyle Rainer took over the ring from Hal Jordan. Of course, I’m also just a big comic book fan and have absolutely enjoyed the past few decades since Batman proved that the super-hero genre can be profitable.
Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, a cocky test pilot who comes into possession of a mystical ring after its original bearer dies defending the galaxy. When he dons the ring, Hal Jordan becomes the Green Lantern.
But, in real life, Ryan Reynolds knows who the real heroes are, as these photos from Cpl. Alexandra Vazquez show from Ryan’s visit to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
Ryan Reynolds laughs with Col. Frank A. Richie, the commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., before introducing the screening of his recent movie, “The Green Lantern,” at the Bob Hope Theater here June 16. Reynolds also met with Marines and sailors at the Veterans of Foreign Wars annual barbeque while visiting the air station.
Ryan Reynolds poses for a photo during the screening of his upcoming movie, “The Green Lantern,” at the Bob Hope Theater aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. Reynolds also met with Marines and sailors at the Veterans of Foreign Wars annual barbeque while visiting the air station.
Ryan Reynolds poses for a photo with a group of Marines during the Veterans of Foreign Wars annual barbecue aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. Afterward, Reynolds visited the Bob Hope Theater to introduce the screening of his recent film “Green Lantern.”
Posted in Military Life, Photo of the Day
Tagged green lantern, hal jordan, marine corps, miramar, ryan reynolds, support the troops
You Served's Claire talks about the life of a military spouse - the hardships, the joys, and everything in between.
Join the discussion in our new Spouse and Family section!
