This week, our ongoing spotlight on female milbloggers finds us talking with Brenda from Hello Iraq. Thanks for taking the time to talk Brenda, and we hope our readers enjoy.
You Served: What led you to be a Military Blogger?
Hello Iraq: When my nephew was killed in Kuwait March 5, 2004, I used to go to the DOHA website for support. One day I found my first milblog while looking over the site. I was entranced. That blog led me to others. I started visiting different milblogs of deployed soldiers and offering my support on their blogs. Shortly thereafter, I started my own blog, Hello Iraq, to support the troops and the War effort.
YS: Do you feel that being a female Military Bloggers adds a unique perspective to your blog? If yes, how so?
HI: Yes. Most people think don’t think of women when they think about the military, especially with regards to combat. Even though women are not officially assigned to combat, they are facing death every day side by side with our male troops and doing as well as the men. I read today that a women in Afghanistan was awarded the Silver Star.
But aside from combat, many of those who consider women in the military have a jaded view of us as muscular or gay jock types. That simply isn’t true.
The milblogs show Americans that we are just every day women who, like the men, have a strong sense of service to our country. But, otherwise, we are really no different than they are. Many of us are spouses and or mothers. As far as our everyday wants and needs, we are really no different. We’re just women!
YS: What impact has your blog had on you and those who are part of your blogging community?
HI: My blog has helped me grieve my nephew’s death and feel like I am helping our troops in some small way. My nephew died before we even had a chance to write him.
I know what type things the soldiers want to hear from home and what those of left behind need to hear. I use this to guide me on my blog.
I am not a great blogger like CJ at A Soldiers’ Perspective or some of the other well known bloggers. So I am not really sure that I have made any impact personally. But, I do try to make a difference any way I can in support of our troops and in the battle here at home.
YS: What is the best part about being a MilBlogger?
HI: I get a feeling of belonging to something larger than myself that I have not had since my days in the Corps in the late 60’s. I have also had the satisfaction of knowing that I helped two suicidal soldiers get help. I picked up something on their blogs that was not recognized by them or their fellow buddies. That alone has made my blogging satisfying and worthwhile.
At times, because I have PTSD, I have been able to help others in the military family, be it friend, spouse, or soldier with PTSD related issues in some small way. After all, besides educating and informing the public, isn’t that what blogging is all about, helping ourselves cope, helping the troops cope, and providing the public with the news they so desperately want and can’t find any where else?
YS: What advice would you give to a woman who wants to start her own MilBlog?
I would tell her to go for it. To first find out what regs she needs to know so she doesn’t accidentally violate security protocols. Next I would suggest she find her own style, not try to write like someone else. If she is a family member of a service member, blogging is a good way to stay in touch with other women in like situations for support and friendship. As a soldier, blogs are a great way to ease the loneliness of deployment on any front, especially combat, and get support. It is also a great way to help cope with the stress of deployments. They have an excellent therapeutic value!
In an ongoing series spotlighting military blogs maintained by female bloggers, the You Served staff recently sat down with Deb from YankeeMom.com to learn more about the woman behind the popular milblog. She generously took time out of her day to participate. Enjoy!
You Served: What led you to be a Military Blogger?
Yankee Mom: My daughter decided to enlist in the Army in her senior year of High School. I had been reading everything online I could about the military and the wars and through this online searching, discovered the milblogs.
Finding a military community online was a godsend because I was then living in a town that wasn’t very pro-military. I was prodded to start my own blog by some folks at the troop support organization I was involved in. I wasn’t so sure I was the blogger type, but then my daughter left for Basic and I was mostly alone in dealing with it.
I found little understanding with the people I knew in town. Blogging was a great outlet for my rollercoaster emotions and I also received so much support from other military family members and soldiers online.
YS: Do you feel that being a female Military Bloggers adds a unique
perspective to your blog? If yes, how so?
YM: As far as being female actually meaning “Military Mom” in my case.
I know that reading other Soldiers Moms’ blogs has really helped me in adjusting to having a soldier daughter. It’s important to connect with others who are going through the same thing. Having a child in the military during war is something few non-military people can understand.
YS: What impact has your blog had on you and those who are part of your
blogging community?
YM: I have gained so much from having a blog. I have been able to connect with many, many wonderful people I would never had the chance to meet otherwise. It has opened up a whole new world of information and support. I’m much more aware of what’s happening in the country and world and how it affects me and mine. And it’s allowed me to be more proactive as a citizen.
I hope that I have been able to help others in the same way.
YS: What is the best part about being a MilBlogger?
YM: The best part is the getting to know other bloggers and the people who come by my blog and leave comments. The support network is outstanding, whether it’s for me, my daughter or one of my adopted soldiers. The other best thing is it’s an outlet for my emotions. My husband appreciates me blogging so he doesn’t have to listen to my rantings all the time.
YS: What advice would you give to a woman who wants to start her own MilBlog?
YM: DO IT!! And don’t hesitate to ask other bloggers for advice or help. We love to help other voices get out there.
We are proud to be releasing our first video here on VA Mortgage Center.com, geared towards explaining some of the benefits on the VA Home Loan Program. Mostly we just wanted to create something that was unique and might help raise awareness of the benefits afforded to Vets and Active-Duty military in purchasing or refinancing their home.
Here it is, in all its glory. We hope you enjoy it.
February 15, 2008 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in News
Today marks the release of the You Served Widget, a small include that readers can place on their website or blog that shows the 2 most recent posts from You Served.
It has a sleek look and patriotic design (this is a Military and Veterans blog after all!). We just thought it would nice for some of our readers to be able to drop it on their own sites and stay up to date with You Served.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day (or perhaps a belated Valentine’s Day gift), word has made it to You Served that there is a new initiative turning old military uniforms and fatigues into custom handbags for military spouses. The company is called Maeva Design and you can see an example of their product below. 10% of all profits benefit organizations associated with the military. Check ‘em out!
Thanks to our pals at VA Joe for sending this our way :-).
January 21, 2008 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Charities/Contests
To wrap up “Honor Your Hero,” we’ve put together a Q & A with our winner, Sergeant Brian Horn.
You Served: What was your inspiration for AnySoldier.com? Brian Horn: The inspiration for Anysoldier.com was a simple need to take care of my team in a tough situation. A few of my guys weren’t getting anything in the mail, and here I was getting excessive amounts of food, etc from my parents to supplement a less than ideal feeding situation. As I requested more and more support from my parents to help more and more soldiers, the idea of anysoldier.com came through a rare, chance phone call home to my Dad. We believed that as many troops needed help, there had to be some way of getting them connected to the outstanding supporters who had no idea just how to send their support. Seeing as how my parents financially couldn’t support our entire fighting force, we needed to come up with a vehicle to connect the supporters to our troops. Thus, Anysoldier.com was born.
You Served: What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment through AnySoldier.com? Brian Horn: My greatest accomplishment through the duration of Anysoldier.com is simply knowing that my Dad and I have had a lasting impact on so many lives, be it soldier or civilian. Thanks to the tireless supporters, Any Soldier has become a true force multiplier. And to think that we’ve really only just begun…
You Served: What was your most memorable experience as a Soldier? Brian Horn: I had alot of memorable experiences as a soldier, but in the end there is really only one true goal of any war or deployment. Ask anyone in a leadership position and they should tell you the same. It is to bring all of your men home safely. No matter the cost, it was not an option to ensure that everyone found their way home.
You Served: What are your plans for the future? Brian Horn: My future plans are to complete my degree in business while continuing to further promote and establish the Anysoldier.com organization. A book is also in the works!
You Served: Any plans for your award? Brian Horn: I plan on donating a portion of this award money to anysoldier.com, as this organization is a non-profit website and stays alive strictly on donations alone.
In closing, I would just like to send a very heartfelt THANK YOU to all who voted for me and to the VA Mortgage Center for holding such an honorable ordeal! Thanks again guys, and please be sure to check out www.anysoldier.com if you haven’t already. All you have to do is try the site once, and I promise you will be hooked, and know that you are doing a great thing.
We also wanted to share this statement from Brian’s proud father, Marty Horn:
WOW! Thank you!!!!
It is really hard for me to put into words the pride we have in what Brian is and has done. His time in the military was full of action. He experienced a wide range of events, from terribly horrible to the very touching.
He has grown a lot and we appreciate every day that he is with us.
Our hearts go out to all the families who have lost a loved one. We are the fortunate ones, and we know it. We pray that this continues as Brian now has a sister in the war. She has a tough act to follow, and she knows it, and we do believe she is up to that challenge.
We thank everyone who shared their pride in Sergeant Horn and voted for him.
January 14, 2008 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Charities/Contests
When we were in the planning stages of the American Hero Award, we decided it would be perfect to have our theme be “Honor Your Hero.” We called on visitors to the site to honor their heroes by nominating them for the award. Nominations came flooding in and with each story we read, we knew our task of choosing ten finalists would be a difficult one. Not only were the nominees’ stories inspiring, but so was the support and pride shown by those who had nominated them. Some soldiers were nominated by friends and families, others by people they had never met in person.
After a lot of reading, thought and discussion, we selected our ten finalists. Our staff can’t express enough how hard this part was. In the end, we chose ten Veterans whose stories, deeds, and courage stood out to us. Here is a quick recap of our finalists:
• Gregory Anton – an Iraq Veteran raising a family, working full time, and completing college
• Daniel Ashe – an Iraq Veteran who now cares for his young children while his wife is away at basic training
• Steve Clark – an Iraq Veteran who has spearheaded grassroots efforts to arrange a “Small Town Send-Off” for troops and sends 15-20 packages a month to the troops
• CJ Grisham – an Iraq Veteran who runs the blog “A Soldier’s Perspective” as well as the site “They Have Names,” which is devoted to honoring fallen soldiers
• Brian Horn – an Iraq Veteran who started the site “Any Solider.com,” which has provided support for nearly 1 million troops in 4 years
• Todd Parisi – an Iraq Veteran who is the youngest Sniper Instructor in the history of the Marine Corps and has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service to the Marine Corps and country.
• Brandon Rork – an Iraq Veteran who disarmed an attempted suicide bomber planning to detonate a dump truck filled with enough explosives to blow up his entire base
• Eddie Ryan – an Iraq Veteran who survived two gunshot wounds to the head and continues to defy the odds with his amazing recovery
• Steve Stephens – an Iraq Veteran who founded “Soldiers Helping those in Need,” who, along with Blankets.com, provided Iraqis with over 3,000 blankets
• Richard Tibbetts, Jr. – an Iraq Veteran with more than 25 years of military service to the United States through the Marine Corps
It’s clear that we had ten remarkable finalists on our hands and each was awarded a finalist prize of $500. There have been few personal or professional situations that can compare to the wonderful experience we had contacting the soldier’s and those who had nominated them.
Individuals who submitted nominations were thrilled to hear their heroes were being honored and each were ready to heap more praise on their nominees. Even though they were not receiving a prize, it was clear that having the Veterans they knew recognized was a prize in and of itself. As for the Veterans themselves, their stories were touching and their gratitude and humility was the most genuine we’ve ever witnessed.
These men, many who had no idea they had been nominated, expressed surprise that they had been chosen. One even called our offices to see if it was a joke. No, we assured him, no joke. Each of them deserves this prize more than they will know and we hope this inspires others to honor their heroes.
As wonderful as all of our finalists are, only one could be named the VA Mortgage Center.com American Hero. Visitors to the site voted once per day online from December 21, 2007 – January 11, 2008. We are proud to announce the $5,000 winner as…
Brian Horn Founder of AnySoldier.com
Congratulations to Brian and all of our finalists! Thank you to all who participated.
December 19, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Veteran Benefits
The House of Representatives Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, Rep. Bob Filner, a Democrat from California, called the current VA loan program “irrelevant” for a number a reasons including the loan caps, high fees and strict underwriting and appraisal requirements all of which discourage homebuyers, real estate and mortgage brokers and sellers from using the program.
That’s why he and other members of his committee are working on legislation that would raise loan rates and possibly cut through some of that red tape in order to encourage use of the program.
Filner’s plan has yet to be completed but he says the maximum loan limit in his plan would be $620,000, up from the current $417,000. He is also considering a provision that would prevent lenders from foreclosing on the home of anyone on active duty.
Rep. Steve Buyer, an Indiana Republican, and Mike Michaud, a Democrat out of Maine, introduced their bill last week would raise the maximum loan amount the Department of Veterans Affairs can guarantee. While their proposed limit is not as high as Filner’s uncompleted plan, theirs is still worth paying attention to. Buyer and Michaud’s bill would raise the maximum from $417,000 to $521,250.
Buyer was the former committee chairman and cites the low maximum loan limit as the primary reason the veterans are straying away from the program. In high cost areas of the country the $417,000 cap is much to low and forces service members and veterans from using the program.
Buyer says, “Rising housing costs are keeping many veterans out of the market. And those who are able to purchase the American Dream are paying significantly higher closing costs.”
Buyer and Michaud hope to increase some of the guaranty of the program, making refinancing using the VA loan program a viable option. Right now it isn’t really an option. “With affordable housing so scarce in many areas of the nation,” says Michaud, “the increased guaranty and closing cost assistance should be very advantageous to both our nation’s veterans and home builders.”
December 17, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in News
In our efforts to be a contributing member of the Military and Veteran community, VA Mortgage Center.com has become a corporate sponsor of National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Other NCHV sponsors include Harley-Davidson Motor Company and Lilly Pharmaceuticals.
Under our $17,000 grant, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) will be working with several partners to create housing opportunities for low-income and homeless veterans, including National Guard and Reserve troops now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other priorities include ensuring access to health care and employment services, as well as peer counseling and community support systems for veterans returning home from combat operations.
The corporate sponsorship, a first for us, was inspired by recent reports of the high numbers of homeless veterans. In particular, a story in the Kansas City Star about homelessness levels in Missouri prompted action.
November 29, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Charities/Contests
Keeping with our “Honor Your Hero” theme of the American Hero Award Contest, we are profiling Veteran organizations and their heroic work. If you’re interested in having your organization featured, please contact Katherine@vamortgagecenter.com
Veterans For Peace is a 22-year-old organization with 7,000 members. Veterans For Peace delivered 24,000 phone cards to patients in 149 VA hospitals last Christmas. This year the organization is planning a larger effort, raising $90,000 to do so. Veterans for Peace also helps 80,000 Iraqis get safe drinking water, supports orphanages in Vietnam and Afghanistan, and has an NGO seat in the United Nations. As part of the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines, Veterans for Peace shares a part of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Northern New York chapter of Veterans for Peace helped pass the New York State depleted uranium (the “new Agent Orange”) GI/vet coverage law, which has served as a legal precedent for other states. The chapter also informed the VA headquarters of 4,000 nationwide free support groups that provide help for individuals suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The chapter has also begun assisting the Gandhi Institute on how to help America heal after the conflict in Iraq, including ensuring that troops aren’t passively blamed by neglecting their needs.
We would like to offer our thanks to Roland Van Deusen, US Navy 1967-8, Naval Reserve 1962-72, a Vietnam era Veteran who provided us with information about the achievements of Veterans for Peace, nationwide and in New York. To learn more about the Northern NY Chapter (Chapter 121) please visit www.vfp-northcountry.org or contact info@vfp-northcountry.org. To learn more about Veterans for Peace nationwide, please visit http://www.veteransforpeace.org.
