Operation Gratitude is at it again! Is there no end to their persistent and tireless efforts to support our troops? I hope not! They do so much, and they want to do more! Let’s see what we can do to help them out! The contest below is sponsored by Pepsi. Operation Gratitude founder and volunteers were on our spouse and family podcast last year. It’s a great organization!

Operation Gratitude’s goals are clear and simple:

• To put smiles on the faces of our warriors in harm’s way
• To express to our troops the appreciation of the American people
• To give every American a way to say “Thank You” to our Military

VOTE NOW!

‘Enuff Said…..

The great folks at Jim Beam, whom we have interviewed before on You Served Radio, are back at it in trying to find other ways to recognize and support the troops.

Dear Friend of the Red Stag by Jim Beam™, At Jim Beam®, we have a ton of respect for America’s military and their families—and we know that you do too. In fact, like us, you probably even have friends and family who are committed service members, and we’re guessing that you’d like to find a way to show your appreciation to them.

Jim Beam® is all about bringing guys together to bond over legendary experiences and create stories to last a lifetime. That’s why we’re kicking off “Salute Soldiers with the Spirit of America “, a contest designed to welcome home the returning troops, support those still on duty overseas, and provide service members and their friends amazing, all-American experiences throughout the year.

We’re giving you three easy ways to get involved.

1. Nominate a service member or family member at www.jimbeam.com or www.facebook.com/jimbeam for an opportunity to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a high-profile sporting event or live music concert. Four winners will find themselves and their military buddies with exclusive experiences at some of the most extraordinary events of the year—from the famous thoroughbred stakes race at Churchill Downs to a live Kid Rock concert.

2. Toast the troops virtually at www.facebook.com/jimbeam .

3. Text the word SALUTE to 90999 to donate $5 to Operation Homefront®, a nonprofit organization providing support and morale to troops, to the families they leave behind while they serve, and to wounded warriors when they return home.

When prompted, reply with YES to confirm your gift.

A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. You will also receive up to 1 message per day from Operation Homefront Alerts. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of Operation Homefront by the mGive Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.mGive.com/A . To unsubscribe text STOP to 90999, for help text HELP to 90999.

Of course we are not sure which one of these lovely ladies will be crowned Ms. America, but in the end it will be one of these ladies that is wearing a brand new pair of Rocky Combat Boots.

You know as a result of my blogging, co-hosting the You Served Radio show, etc. I have been blessed with many opportunities to travel, meet wonderful Americans (both famous and regular Joes and Janes) and learn a lot about media, etc. I am very grateful of all of that, but I have to say my good buddy Uncle Jimbo over at Blackfive landed a pretty nice gig here. I mean VEGAS!! with all the Ms. America contestants? Jeez man what a nice trip.

He put together a nice video of his trip out to Vegas as a representative of the Warrior Legacy Foundation’s participation in the “When they come back…we give back” awareness campaign. This campaign is a result of past You Served Radio guest Derek Sholl. Derek was a great guest and a guy that has a true passion in making sure our servicemembers coming back from combat and re-integrating into American society get some assistance when they need it.

This video is a tissue grabber, that is for sure. It is from Aaron Cormack from the U.K. It is a beautiful song that they recently put together with pictures to make a great video. Now that we have been made aware of it, we here at You Served will be working to get Aaron on You Served Radio soon.

The other day I put up a posting with a link to the 1st video in a series of them from PJTV. Bill Whittle from PJTV went to Gitmo with the frequent You Served Radio guests, Bridge of Sighs. You can see that posting here, http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2009/11/24/you-served-represented-in-gitmo/

Below is the 2nd video in the series. It has more great footage of the band and those that came with them to Gitmo jamming out, and enjoying some free time down in the sand and the sun. Check it out at,

http://www.pjtv.com/v/2790

It has been my honor and pleasure to be a part of the VA Mortgage Center team through my involvement with the You Served blog as a writer and You Served Radio as a host.

We’ve raised thousands of dollars through the You Served eBay store and this blog for very worthy causes, including Fisher House and Soldiers Angels’ Valour-IT project. All of the proceeds go directly to a military charity.

While I have no problem asking for money to support these efforts, I’ve always been very bashful about asking for anything for myself. However, I feel like I must humble myself and ask for help on my own behalf in this instance.

In September, my kids brought home a note from their school stating that the school would transition to uniforms beginning in January — midway through the school year. Naturally, this concerned me as the cost for each kid (I have two who would be affected) would be at least $400. A note home to parents assured us that the principal would entertain concerns during the upcoming “uniform fashion show.” However, the principal ended that meeting without answering a question, even though numerous hands were up. After that meeting, I organized parents with concerns and began a letter-writing and phone-calling campaign to members of the school board and media. We succeeded in getting the uniform issue tabled until next year. But parents still weren’t given a voice about whether we even wanted uniforms.

Instead of deal with me and other parents who disagreed with her new policy, the school’s principal began contacting the Army with fictitious complaints that I had threatened her. She pointed to posts on my personal blog about her behavior at the meeting as proof. However, after being referred to military investigators, they concluded that I had never issued any threats through email, blog or otherwise. I collected letters from other parents attesting to my behavior at the meeting.

Unfortunately, the Army took what the principal was saying at face value and formally counseled me. Suddenly, I was a trouble maker after 15 years of honorable service. The Army practically forced me to shut down my blog, though the decision was mine alone and no orders were given to do it.

At a PTA meeting a few weeks later, I again tried to present a motion to discuss the school uniform issue with the members of the association. It was shot down by the principal and the PTA president. I was harassed the entire evening by school security officials. Thankfully, I decided it would be prudent to record that meeting. When school officials again began contacting the Army about my supposedly threatening and disrespectful behavior at the meeting, I published the video on my blog to clear my name. This didn’t sit well with school officials and only emboldened them to step up their claims and use the military to force me to take down the videos — the only piece of evidence I had to prove my innocence.

The principal even used my PTSD to try and bolster her claims that I was a dangerous menace to her and her goals.

Because of these actions, I am pursuing a lawsuit to clear my name and force the school system to admit they overstepped their bounds by denying my right to participate in my children’s education and attempt to ruin my career. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to tackle this sort of lawsuit on my own. Because of this situation, my wife and I felt the need to relocate our kids after being singled out on more than one occasion by teachers and school staff. We took our kids to live with their grandparents until my orders allowed me to relocate in December. That trip cost us over $1,400, plus another $1,500 in maintenance on our elderly van, which completely wiped out our savings.

So, I’m asking if you’ll help me. I need to raise $7,000 just to pay for the retainer and initial filing of the lawsuit.

I am reaching out through various avenues to help raise the money. I’ve enlisted the help of local media, talk shows and blogs to help me raise the money. Fellow milbloggers are reaching into their pockets and tapping their readers as well. My neighbors and local Huntsville citizens are donating to a local fund at a bank where I’m stationed.

In one week, I move to Fort Hood for the next stage of my military service. I need to at least have the retainer and initial fees raised before I leave. Anything you can do is much appreciated no matter how small.

There are a few ways you can help. On my blog, there is a Paypal link that can used to send money instantly through a debit or credit card. All money sent through that link will go into this fund. You can also mail checks or money orders to:

Grisham Legal Fund
c/o Redstone Federal Credit Union
220 Wynn Drive
Huntsville, AL 35893

Please write “Grisham Legal Fund” in the memo line if you use this option.

This has been an especially difficult time for my family as we’ve been separated from our kids for over a month. We look forward to reuniting with them for Christmas. This case is not about me versus the school district. It’s about parental rights and the limits of our educators in dealing with parental concerns, especially when those parents are in the military.

Thank you in advance and God bless you all during this holiday season.

This is a great video from Bill Whittle of PJTV. Bill went down with our frequent You Served Radio guests, the band Bridge of Sighs (www.bosband.com).Bill accompanied BOS during their 3rd and most recent trip to Gitmo to play for the troops. Bill is putting together a video diary series of the trip with audio recordings, pictures and video in order to capture all parts of the experience.

Be sure and look for our buddy Tom Neely sporting his You Served Radio and Blog T-shirt in this clip. Just a few weeks ago we talked to Tom live while they were on the trip and he mentioned wearing that shirt and that some servicemember recognized it and said he was a listener to the show.

Again, please take a few moments to check out this first of several parts of Bill Whittle’s Gitmo Video Diary by clicking below.

http://www.pjtv.com/v/2747

USA Cares has established the Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund in response to the tragic events that occurred last Thursday afternoon on the base of the Army’s largest installation. The fund, which serves to assist the immediate families of those wounded and killed, will provide for travel, housing and meals.

Bill Nelson, USA Cares Executive Director remarked, “Our goal is to ensure that victim’s family members do not have to worry about the financial hardships of travel at this time—we encourage them to visit our website for information on eligibility and benefits. Further, we ask Americans everywhere to go to www.usacares.org and donate in light of this tragedy.”

Family Resource Coordinator Forest Bruner, a 20-year Army veteran is directly fielding these requests. Visit www.usacares.org for more information or to donate to USA Care’s Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund.

Soldiers’ Angels Volunteers Vow to Shave Heads for $100,000

Pasadena, CA November 3, 2009 – Members of Soldiers’ Angels’ volunteer leadership have raised the stakes on this year’s online Valour-IT Veterans Day fundraising competition, which helps provide America’s wounded soldiers with voice-controlled laptops and other technology that supports their physical and psychological recovery.

Divided among four “virtual teams,” a wide variety of bloggers and other New Media mavens have been competing online since October 26 to inspire the most donations to help wounded troops by Veterans Day, November 11. If the teams of online fundraisers can blast through their collective goal of $140,000 and bring in an additional $100,000 in donations, founder Patti Patton-Bader and National Communications Director Shelle Michaels have promised to shave their heads in honor of the achievement.

In just over four years, Project Valour-IT has given 4,100 voice-controlled laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, and has supplied additional items that may be a surprising fit in a recovery regimen–Wii game systems and handheld GPS devices.

“This project changes lives,” says Patton-Bader. “Wounded heroes say that being able to use a laptop helps them feel whole again. Physical therapists are actually designing therapy sessions around Wii Sports! And something as normal as a handheld GPS reduces stress and helps a hero cope. With all that this project can do for our heroes, I’m happy to shave my head if it will motivate donations!”

Each of the devices Valour-IT supplies helps restore confidence and independence. Voice-activated laptops reconnect the wounded with the world and develop self-confidence by showing soldiers they can continue to be engaged and productive despite their injuries. Physical therapists report Wii Sports and similar programs are extremely beneficial when used in physical therapy settings. Wounded personnel with short-term memory loss due to TBI and severe PTSD use GPS systems to keep from getting disoriented when they move on to more independent living.

Details of the current fundraising competition are available at www.soldiersangels.org and www.valour-it.blogspot.com. Donations can be made online at Soldiers’ Angels, or by sending checks or money orders to Soldiers’ Angels, Valour-IT Fund, 1792 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104.

Established in 2003, Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing aid and comfort to the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, veterans and military families. For more information, www.soldiersangels.org or 623-570-3903.