Monthly Archives: August 2011

The impact of Gen Petraeus

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Troy| 1 Comment

He is without a doubt the most widely-known and popular military leader of our generation. Today GEN David Petraeus retires from 40 years in uniform. Of course he is not gone for good, as he starts a new job next week as the head of the CIA.

The Washington Post has brought together 4 people that knew the General well to reflect on him and his legacy.

Check  it out at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/the-impact-of-gen-david-petraeus-in-four-takes/2011/08/30/gIQAEc0urJ_blog.html

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Posted in Life in the Military, Military News

Operation Kid Comfort

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Claire| Leave a comment

Here’s a great program my daughter in law told me about.

Operation Kid Comfort provides FREE photo-transfer quilts to children of deployed service men and women. If you wish to receive a quilt, or would like to learn more about how can support military families, please contact: operationkidcomfort@gmail.com.

Source LINK
Operation Kid Comfort creates custom-made quilts for children of deployed military personnel who experience grief from missing their mom or dad.

Created in 2004 at Ft. Bragg/Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, N.C., ASYMCA’s Operation Kid Comfort is designed to address the emotional stress that children of military personnel suffer during a parent’s absence from home, providing free quilts for children ages 6 and under and pillows for children ages 7 and older. To date, the program has been extended to 10 ASYMCA branches/affiliates and over 18,000 quilts/pillows  for children of deployed parents have been distributed.

The Program

ASYMCA volunteers collect photographs from military families to make “photo-transfer” quilts that feature images of the deployed family member. With the help of local quilting artists, volunteers are taught the basic steps of quilt making, how to crop and scan pictures, preparation of the fabric, and use of equipment. Once the quilt is complete, it is given to the child to play with, sleep with, or use to comfort them from the grief of missing their mom or dad.

Request a Quilt

Parents or loved ones of children of deployed parents can request a quilt or pillow by filling out the Operation Kid Comfort Request Form.

Note:  This form is only for those families NOT stationed at one of the military installations currently offering the Kid Comfort program. For a list of those installations, see “Available Locations” below.We ask that you provide six to eight photographs of your children with his or her military parent and/or other family members.

Volunteering

Operation Kid Comfort has been featured on CNN’s American Morning and in numerous trade and military magazines and local newspapers. Due to the publicity of the program, requests for quilts are coming in from all over the country. Volunteers have created nearly 6,000 quilts since the program started, averaging about 1,000 quilts each year. Your participation in Operation Kid Comfort will help to guarantee the continued success of one of ASYMCA’s most popular programs.

To volunteer for the Operation Kid Comfort program, please fill out the Volunteer Quilter Form.

Documents & Information

Available Locations

ASYMCA of Alaska

Camp Pendleton ASYMCA

Southeast Family ASYMCA

Fort Bragg/Pope AFB ASYMCA

Watertown Family YMCA

Killeen ASYMCA

ASYMCA of Missouri

Junction City ASYMCA

Honolulu ASYMCA

San Diego ASYMCA

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Posted in Charities/Contests, Spouse and Family

Tonight on Episode #157 of You Served Radio

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

First up tonight we have Mr. Kevin O’Brien from www.milicruit.com. MILICRUIT.COM was created to address the premise that the traditional recruiting environment of veterans is costly, time-consuming and often times ineffective. Given the large number of veterans currently looking to reenter civilian life, and the large number of employers seeking to hire veterans, we designed milicruit.com in an effort to allow both parties to meet and interact in a 3 dimensional online setting.

Kevin is the vice president of business development for UBM Studios. O’Brien has more than 15 years of expertise in the virtual communications industry. In 2001, O’Brien joined Genesys Conferencing and led the sales efforts in North America. Genesys was ultimately acquired by West Corporation in 2008.

In 2008, O’Brien developed Milicruit and Unicruit aimed at bringing industry leading employers and job seekers together in a fully interactive, virtual environment. O’Brien joined forces with UBM Studios in 2010 to bring his virtual career fair vision to a much wider audience.

Next up is Mr. James F. Christ, who is a past guest and author of a series of books about large, but mostly unknown battles in Afghanistan. James’s books are true, gritty and tell it like it is. A recent review on Amazon for his book The Boneyard stated

Reading James F. Christ’s book helped me better understand what is happening in Afghanistan. I felt like I was there, with research and gritty writing that made this book hard-hitting for me. Christ has interviewed the soldiers who are there fighting the battles and dealing with hte The author has interviewed soldiers, officers and enlisted, who are on the ground doing the fighting. This a great read for learning more about what is happening over there than is being shown on the news channels.

James has several new books out which he will be on the show to talk about. You can see all of James’s books HERE.

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Posted in You Served Radio

Google Introduces Free Gmail Calls Home for All U.S. Service Members

Posted on August 30, 2011 by CJ| 1 Comment

Google understands the sacrifices of our troops and have just introduced a program to provide all U.S. Service Members with FREE calls home using Gmail.

We understand that it’s not always easy or affordable for our troops serving overseas to call friends and family at home, so starting today we’re making it completely free for all uniformed military personnel with valid United States Military (.mil) email addresses to call the United States, right from Gmail.

To start making free calls, follow these 2 steps:

Step 1: Add your .mil address to your Google Account:

Sign in on the Google Accounts homepage.
Click Edit next to ‘Email addresses.’
Add your .mil email in the ‘Add an additional email address’ field.
Click Save. You will receive an email at your .mil address.
Open the verification email and click the verification link.
Step 2: Click the ‘Call phone’ link in your chat roster and use the dialpad to make calls. You may be prompted to install the Voice & Video Chat plugin.


Now, obviously, you have to be a user of Gmail’s free services to use them. I’ve been using Gmail for years thanks to the superb security it offered over my previous Yahoo emails. I’ve since completely ceased using Yahoo for anything since it’s nothing but a hotbed of viruses, spam, and scams.

Even better than free calling back home, family and friends can call us for a mere $.02 per minute! Which shouldn’t cost much because once they call us, we can just call back for free so in the end it doesn’t really cost much and helps bring the troops that much closer to home.

And don’t forget that for friends and family at home in the U.S., calling troops abroad is as little as $.02/minute.

Similar to free calling within the U.S., free calling to the U.S. for service members will be available for at least the rest of 2011.

We recognize and appreciate the sacrifices U.S. troops make when they serve abroad, and we’re proud to help make it a little bit easier for them to stay connected and hear a familiar voice.

I’m hoping they expand this program until we come home, but in the meantime we have the next three months!

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Posted in Military News

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Photo of the Day – Joint Recognition

Posted on August 30, 2011 by CJ| Leave a comment

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. David Allvin, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Commander, pins the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor on Capt. Michael Bradley at Kabul International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 25, 2011. Bradley, a maintenance adviser at the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, was awarded the medal for actions taken in the line of fire April 27, 2011.

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Posted in Photo of the Day

SEARS GRANTS HEROES’ HOLIDAY WISHES EARLY

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Troy| 3 Comments

Sears and some of their personnel have been guests on You Served Radio before and we have written about the Heroes at Home program several times on here.

In the past we didn’t find out about this program until it was to late. This year we have a heads up. So on Wednesday, if you are a qualifying active-duty family, be sure and stop by their website to register.

Registration for Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry Opens on Wednesday, Aug. 31

WHAT: Continuing its long-standing tradition of support for military members and their families, Sears will open its fourth annual Heroes at Home Wish Registry at the end of August. The earlier time frame will allow families to register for participation before the holidays and enjoy the gift-card donations during the Christmas season.

WHEN: From 1 to 3 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, Aug. 31 active-duty military members and their families who comply with program guidelines can register for the Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry. Registration is on a first- come, first-serve basis.

From Sept. 4 through Nov. 19, 2011, Sears will invite Americans to donate to the Heroes at Home Wish Registry, which provides military families with Sears gift cards for the holidays.

WHERE: Active military members and their families can register for the Heroes at Home Wish Registry by visiting http://www.sears.com/heroesathome.

WHO: To be eligible for the program, registrants must be serving on active duty.

BACKGROUND: The Heroes at Home Wish Registry enables Sears’ customers to thank America’s military heroes for the sacrifices they make for our country. Through the Heroes at Home Wish Registry, Sears continues its long-standing tradition of support for the military, and especially their families, whose sacrifices also deserve much recognition and reward.

Through its numerous Heroes at Home initiatives, which include helping rebuild homes for military veterans and their families, Sears Holdings has a long and rich history of support for military families and Sears associates who are active or retired servicemen and women. The Heroes at Home program, which also provides Sears gift cards to active servicemen and women during the holidays through its Wish Registry program, has raised more than $23 million over the past four years and helped more than 62,000 families.

Donations made to the Wish Registry are not tax deductible. Wish Registry donations will be distributed equally to Registry members in the form of Sears gift cards. To find out more about Sears’ Heroes at Home Wish Registry, visit www.sears.com/heroesathome.

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Posted in Charities/Contests, Spouse and Family, Veteran Benefits

Soldiers stepping up to do it

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

Even though this whole mess at Arlington is heart-breaking and stomach-turning, it is very encouraging to at least see the soldiers of the “Old Guard” stepping up in the evening hours to try and make things right.

Night after night this summer, troops from the Army’s historic Old Guard have left their immaculately pressed dress blues, white gloves and shiny black boots at home to slip into Arlington National Cemetery in T-shirts and flip-flops to photograph each and every grave with an iPhone.
The sometimes eerie task to photograph more than 219,000 grave markers and the front of more than 43,000 sets of cremated remains in the columbarium is part of the Army’s effort to account for every grave and to update and fully digitize the cemetery’s maps. The Old Guard performs its work at night to escape the summer heat and to avoid interrupting funerals.

It should not have taken this, but Thank God our Soldiers are doing it, even if a bunch of Government civilians and millions of dollars couldn’t. Even though it is a sad duty, it is also a very honor. Not sure when they raised their hands to volunteer in the Army that they would have done it if the recruiter told them they may have to walk through a cemetery at night.

Using head lamps to light their way, they’ve tripped in shallow holes and brushed aside countless spider webs. They’ve paused at seeing freshly dug graves prepared for the next day’s funerals.

One soldier, Spc. Raymond Piron, 22, of Detroit, says he was working one night in an old section of the cemetery when he felt something tap him on the shoulder. He turned around, but he was alone.

Before this summer, Spc. Craig Green, 21, of Dover, Del., a broad-shouldered, tough-looking Iraq war veteran, says that when it came to walking cemeteries at night, “you couldn’t pay me to do it.”

Read more:http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2090594,00.html#ixzz1WRsB0MmU

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Posted in Life in the Military, Wall of Honor

Photo of the Day – Target Practice

Posted on August 29, 2011 by CJ| Leave a comment

Sometimes I wonder if all we do is shoot ourselves in the foot. Having survived several RPG attacks and close calls, I just get nervous when I see photos of our troops training people how to use their weapons more accurately. I recognize that it’s a trust issue, but we also trained the Taliban back in the day against the Russians and look where we are now. It’s a major conflict within myself because I know WHY we’re doing it. It needs to be done. Afghans have to be able to defend themselves and we can’t expect them to do it with slingshots and bb guns. I just can’t help but wonder if we’re just training folks to kill us later.

With that said, I’m glad that the ANA is getting good training to defeat the real enemy right now – the Taliban. If they can’t stem the flow of combatants violating their sovereignty alone, we’ll never be able to leave. Firing an RPG aimlessly does no one any good. And we’re not just teaching them to shoot straight. Our trainers are teaching Afghans what the proper use of force looks like against targets and minimizing collateral damage.

An Afghan National Army soldier fires a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) during a live-fire operational training shoot at Joint Sustainment Academy Southwest, Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Aug. 24. Students in the Small Arms Weapons Instructors Course learn a range of different weapon systems, from as small as a 9 mm pistol to as large as the RPG, a shoulder-launched, anti-tank weapon.

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Posted in Photo of the Day

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Army To Cut 8,741 Civilian Employees

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

Army Secretary John McHugh on 11 July ordered leaders throughout the Army to immediately start cutting their staffing to help meet former Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ mandated efficiency initiatives. The Army is losing $834 million in operations and maintenance funding as part of those cuts as the Army plans to cut 8,741 civilian jobs by October 2012.  An execution order issued 4 August said agencies would have 30 days to brief Army leaders on how they plan to achieve these cuts, and what progress they have made.  There are many people that appose these job cuts to include Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-MD and The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents Defense Department civilian employees.  To learn more about these job reductions, please go to: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110804/PERSONNEL02/108040304/1001

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Posted in Military News

Poker tourney to benefit Vietnam Education Center

Posted on August 29, 2011 by CJ| Leave a comment

Spurs Sports & Entertainment Chairman and CEO Peter Holt and Al Frakes, CEO/President SAF Studios & Event Co-Chairman recently announced The Education Center at the Wall, Celebrity-Charity, Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament coming to the AT&T Center on Sept. 23, 2011 to benefit The Education Center at The Wall.

The poker tournament, to be hosted by Vince Van Patten of World Poker Tour, endeavors to honor and support the memories of our Veterans while providing an entertaining event venue of national and international notoriety.

There are courageous men and women all around the globe who, day by day, minute by minute put your future ahead of their own. They are the brave warriors of the United States military. And for their service, it’s now time for us to recognize them.

Join them September 23rd at the AT&T Center for the “Education Center at the Wall…Celebrity-Charity Share Your Story” event. This event is open to the public; admission is free.

Bring pictures of friends and loved ones that sacrificed their all for our freedom. The photos will be scanned and put on display at The Education Center at the Wall in Washington DC. The goal is to put a face with every name on the Vietnam Wall and tell the stories of those who have served and sacrificed.

And perhaps most importantly, the Center will provide a place for closure for the families and friends of those who served our country with courage and bravery. Share your Story September 23rd at the AT&T Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.Watch the Video Here.

The Education Center at The Wall is a collaborative effort between the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). Construction for The Center is planned for 2012, and will be located in Washington D.C at the National Mall site adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial.

The Education Center at The Wall will be a place to educate and celebrate the values exhibited by America service members, including Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Service, Honor, Integrity and Courage. The Education Center at the Wall will endeavor to honor and put a face with every name and tell the stories of those who have ‘served and sacrificed’.

To learn more about the tournament, click here.

To help support the Education Center at The Wall, click here.

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Posted in Charities/Contests