The hosts and producer of You Served radio show, CJ, Troy, and Marcus, are issuing a challenge to the MilBlogosphere in a charity fundraising event with bald heads at stake.

Marcus has already lost a bet to shave his head bald from a bet on the second coin!

The new challenge is two-tiered with a third bonus tier added this evening during the You Served radio show.

The first tier is to raise $100 cumulative on the engravable memorial medallions we are auctioning in the You Served eBay Store (http://stores.ebay.com/userved). All proceeds will be donated to Soldiers Angels. The kicker and incentive on that cumulative total is that we have a generous anonymous donor who will donate $1,000 to Soldiers Angels if we can meet that $100 total. In addition to a donation of $1,000, CJ will shave his head along with Marcus! We currently have 2 coins auctioned with a total of $37.50, so we will need to raise $62.50 over the next 4 weeks (including this one). We will put up one coin a week to be auctioned.

The second tier is that if we can meet $250 cumulative total, not only will we garner that $1,000 donation, CJ and Marcus will allow Troy to shave their heads in Washington, DC during the Milblog Conference. It will be video recorded also, for all the listeners and donors to see! Imagine the fun and hilarity THAT would be.

The bonus challenge is if another person or organization donates an addtional $1,000 to the first tier, the Hero Maker Clayton Murwin, a regular listener of our show, will produce an orignal 16×20 military themed oil painting of the person or organization’s choosing!

This challenge is issued to all who enjoy a bit of good fun with a bit of humiliation mixed in. The You Served crew hopes everyone enjoys this bit of excitement for a good cause and that you don’t forget the real reason behind all of this; Soldier’s Angels!

On behalf of the entire You Served Radio Team,
Marcus

This is the first in a series of mini-podcasts that will address the many facets of post-deployment challenges. This first one deals with depression. It’s about 10-minutes in length and is focused on education and encouragement. Other parts to the series will include post-traumatic stress, anger management, sleep problems, and relationship issues.

Podcast Series Addresses Post-deployment Challenges

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2010 – Servicemembers and their families can get help coping with post-deployment stress through a new series of podcasts profiling the personal stories of those who have lived it.

“Combat brings individuals face-to-face with the harshest demands imaginable. In fact, it’s impossible to be unaffected by these experiences. Stress reactions, family and relationship difficulties, and work conflicts can affect an individual’s emotional well being.”

These words set the stage for the premiere episode of “There and Back,” an audio podcast series developed by afterdeployment.org, a Defense Department Web site developed by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology and the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. 

The podcast series is directed to the entire military community to help manage some of the challenges faced by servicemembers and their families following a deployment, defense officials said. 

“Learning About Depression,” the initial ten minute podcast in the “There and Back” series is a tapestry woven of education, encouragement and emotional intimacy. 

Dr. Jenifer Alford, a clinical psychologist and afterdeployment.org’s functional director, guides listeners through the world of depression. “Depression can happen to just about anyone given the right set of circumstances,” Alford says. “Taking no action, or believing that time will heal the depression, could result in the depression getting worse or lasting longer.” 

The podcast is punctuated by servicemembers and their families telling their personal stories, allowing listeners to know that they are not alone in their struggles. 

Listen to:  “There and Back: Learning about Depression”

 

Don’t forget to join us tonight at 8:00pm (EST) to hear from the authors of Battlefields and Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You can find the You Served Spouse and Family Highlights showpage HERE. Log on to have a reminder sent to you automatically.

This coming Monday, January 18th at 8:00pm (EST) I will interview three  co-authors of the new book in the series, Stories of Faith and Courage from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Take a moment and read about the authors below. Their backgrounds are very diverse.

Jocelyn is a former military wife and award winning author. Jane Hampton Cook worked in the George W. Bush Administration for 5 years.  For two of those years she served as White House deputy director of Internet news services. Dr. John Croushorn served as command surgeon of Task Force 185, Army Combat Aviation, in Iraq in 2004.  He was active in combat operations throughout the region in the second year of Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as functioning as crew and door gunner on Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters for just over 100 combat hours. — there is more information on the authors below!

The authors have all agreed to come onto the show and share about the book, what inspired them most, their favorite stories and what is next in this wonderful series! Please join us!

You can find the You Served Spouse and Family Highlights showpage HERE. Log on to have a reminder sent to you automatically.

Here is some information on the book and on each of the authors taken from Jocelyn’s Faith Deployed site.

Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq/Afghanistan, part of the Battlefields & Blessings series, is a 365-day collection of inspiring stories of courage perseverance and faith-based on firsthand accounts of more than seventy who have served in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.Through multiple, never-before-told stories, readers will uncover the personal challenges of the battlefield. You’ll hear about the experiences and perspectives of deployed soldiers; chaplains; military wives, widows, parents and siblings; organizers of humanitarian efforts; veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; missionaries to the Middle East and more.

The book was co-authored by Jocelyn Green, Jane Hampton Cook and John Croushorn, and was released by AMG Publishers in November 2009.

About the Authors:

Jocelyn Green

Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer who pens articles for dozens of magazines, including Christianity Today, Today’s Christian, Today’s Pentecostal Evangel, Baptist Bulletin, EFCA Today, InSite and more. She also writes for nonprofits, universities and corporations such as Juicy Juice, Nestle, Publix and General Mills. Wife of a former Coast Guard officer, she authored Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives(Moody Publishers 2008). She also edited and contributed toStories of Faith and Courage from World War 2 by Larkin Spivey, a 2009 Military Writers Society of America Silver Medal Winner. She’s a member of the Evangelical Press Association, the Christian Authors Network and the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She and her husband have two children, a dog and a cat, and reside in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Jane Hampton Cook

Cook is the author of Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War (2007), the second in the Battlefields & Blessings series,  and The Faith of America’s First Ladies(2006). Not long after the explosion of the World Wide Web, Cook became a pioneer in political Internet development as webmaster to President George W. Bush. She served five years, including two years as White House deputy director of Internet news services (2001-03) and three years in the Texas governor’s office (1998-01). In the White House, she redesigned whitehouse.gov and created the first stand-alone White House website for children, whitehousekids.gov. Cook directed Bush’s first expansive gubernatorial website in 1998 and designed his first presidential campaign website in 1999. She also received a history fellowship from the White House Historical Association in 2003 to conduct research on the White House and its heroic occupants. She and her husband, Dr. John Kim Cook, a U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security official, live with their two young sons in Vienna, Virginia.

John Croushorn, M.D.

Dr. John Croushorn is a residency-trained, board certified emergency medicine physician and Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Croushorn’s experience with emergent care extends beyond the hospital in several ways. He served as command surgeon of Task Force 185, Army Combat Aviation, in Iraq in 2004. Dr. Croushorn was active in combat operations throughout the region in the second year of Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as functioning as crew and door gunner on Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters for just over 100 combat hours.

Dr. Croushorn currently works with several federal agency special operations teams supporting the Global War on Terrorism as well as special operations assets in the Department of Defense (DoD). He consults for the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Center of Operational Medicine and National Tactical Officers Association. He has designed products for use in tactical medicine as well as enhanced capability body armor and is involved with research at the Clinical Investigations Lab at Ft. Gordon, Georgia. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and is husband to Julie and father to Caleb and Katie.

Coming up on the next You Served Spouse and Family Highlights radio program, I will be talking with co-authors Jocelyn Green, Jane Hampton Cook and John Croushorn. They will be discussing their book Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq/Afghanistan, part of the Battlefields & Blessings series.

Here is an excerpt from the book and a peek at some of what we will be discussing. Look for the announcement this week for the show’s airing date and time!

From Battlefields and Blessings website:

Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq/Afghanistan, part of the Battlefields & Blessings series, is a 365-day collection of inspiring stories of courage perseverance and faith-based on firsthand accounts of more than seventy who have served in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.Through multiple, never-before-told stories, readers will uncover the personal challenges of the battlefield. You’ll hear about the experiences and perspectives of deployed soldiers; chaplains; military wives, widows, parents and siblings; organizers of humanitarian efforts; veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; missionaries to the Middle East and more.

The book was co-authored by Jocelyn Green, Jane Hampton Cook and John Croushorn, and was released by AMG Publishers in November 2009.

For more information, click on the links below:

Excerpts

Reviews

About the Authors

Purchase the book at Amazon.com.

Tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM, on You Served Spouse and Family Highlights I will air an interview I conducted with Derek and Andrea McGinnis. You can listen to the interview HERE.

Derek and Andria McGinnis started off as a dual military family. They both served in the military until after they married and Andrea became pregnant with their first child. Shortly after finding out they were going to have a baby, Derek deployed to Iraq. He was a Corpsman serving in Fallujah when the ambulance he was driving was hit by a vehicle born IED.

Derek and Andrea’s lives were drastically changed in that moment. They have traveled a very long and challenging path as a married couple and as new parents, but their determination seems tireless. Derek has since worked with the National Pain Foundation and he has written a book about his experience with pain — a book he hopes will help returning Veterans who suffer with chronic pain. His book is called Exit Wounds and can be found at painfoundation.org click on the link to the left for military veterans with pain.

In this interview Andrea shares how she was able to face the worst times and how much the support of her family and her military family meant to her along the way.

Tonight on You Served Radio, we are very lucky to have my old Company Commander and current Commander of the National Training Center in Ft. Irwin CA, BG Robert “Abe” Abrams as our first guest. Rather than me trying to explain what a warrior he is, I have included his official BIO below. Be sure to join us on You Served Radio tonight at www.blogtalkradio.com/youserved at 7:00 PM EST to listen in.

Brigadier General Robert B. “Abe” Abrams is the Commanding General of the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. He is an Army Brat who received his commission from the United States Military Academy in 1982. His initial duty assignment was with the 3d Armored Division’s Cavalry Squadron, the 3d Squadron 12th Cavalry Regiment headquartered in Budingen, Germany. He served in successive assignments as an Armored Cavalry Platoon Leader, Troop Executive officer and as the Squadron Adjutant.

Following attendance at the Armor Officer Advanced Course, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He served as the Battalion Maintenance Officer; Commander, Delta Company; and Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, where he deployed the company in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Following redeployment from Operation Desert Storm, he was reassigned to the Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky where he served in successive assignments as a Platoon tactics instructor for the Armor Officer Basis Course, doctrine writer and Armor School subject matter expert for the M1A2 Tank Program, and Chief of Training Development.

Following attendance at the US Army Command and General Staff College, he was assigned as the Squadron Operations Officer, 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Bliss, Texas. He was later selected as the Regimental Operations Officer, 3^rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and moved the Regiment to Fort Carson, Colorado. He was than selected to serve as a CJCS Strategic Planner in the Conventional War Plans Division, J7, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.

Brigadier General Abrams commanded the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, “MUSTANGS,” of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. He subsequently served as the G3 of the First Cavalry Division. Following attendance at the US Army War College, he commanded the 1st Brigade Combat Team, “IRONHORSE”, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed the BCT to East Baghdad, Iraq, from March 2004 to March 2005. Following command of 1^st BCT, Brigadier General Abrams served as the Chief of Staff, 1^st Cavalry Division.

He was subsequently reassigned as the Executive Officer to the Commanding General US Army Europe and 7^th Army. Prior to his current assignment, he served as the Deputy Commanding General, Combined Arms Center-Training, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Brigadier General Abrams holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York; a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan; and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His military schooling includes the Armor Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne School, Ranger School, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the US Army Command and General Staff College, and the US Army War College.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Valorous Unit Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Ranger Tab, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge.

Brigadier General Abrams is married to the former Connie Clevenger, and has a son Robert II and a daughter Carolyn.

The great crew at VAMC is stepping up again and showing how much they support the troops and more importantly showing how much they support getting the word out via milblogs. They are sponsoring CJ and myself at Blog World Expo in Las Vegas where both of us are speaking on a panel Thursday afternoon. We will be conducting a lot of interviews (both audio and video) with people, talking with many in the milblog community, and rubbing elbows with the who’s who of the blogging world (which I think will all be milbloggers or milblog fans, but I could be biased). I must say however that we will miss our “red-shirt” producer Marcus who won’t be able to attend this year. We will do our best to carry on the tradition of the You Served crew from last year.

In addition to getting CJ and myself to Blog World Expo, VAMC is also sponsoring the milblog track of panels which happen all day on Thursday. Through the contributions of VAMC, there will be refreshments available all day for the milblog track. This great contribution has earned VAMC publicity on at Blog World Expo and on their website. It has also earned VAMC kudos and thanks from the most popular milblog on the internet, Blackfive (http://www.blackfive.net/main/2009/10/thank-you-va-mortgage-center.html).

If you are in the Vegas area starting on Thursday, be sure to stop by or drop a line to blake@blakepowers.net and he can set you up with a free membership to the milblog track. This gets you in to the milblog panels and to the exhibit hall for the entire conference. If you want to see a schedule for the conference, go here.

Troy, CJ and Marcus are so happy to be celebrating our 1 year anniversary of You Served Radio tonight and we really hope you join us for this awesome event. Troy has been testing different microphone screens to cut down on the heavy breathing, Marcus has been sleeping since yesterday so he can be super-quick on the switchboard and CJ may have actually read the script so he knows what is going on.

We have three great guests tonight and if we could add another hour, we would have added a couple more guests to the line-up. First up is Air Force Reserves Major Eric Egland who was a former Republican candidate in a 2008 congressional run. Eric is a counter-terrorism consultant to the Department of Defense and is an active military reservist. His experience in national security includes working to defeat terrorism, insurgency and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in operational, analytical, and advisory roles.  He was in Saudi Arabia on September 11th, 2001 and has since served in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.  His experiences in the Middle East are featured in a Fox News documentary on Iran.
He is the founder of Troops Need You, a non-profit organization that continues the American tradition of mobilizing citizens to directly support the troops in Iraq, bypassing the bureaucracies in Washington and Baghdad. The project is part of a plan for victory in Iraq detailed in a book authored by Major Egland, titled The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help Them Win.(www.troopsneedyou.com)

After Eric we will have Gary Winkler who is the author of the new book about Abu Ghraib and Lynndie England "TORTURED: Lynndie England, Abu Ghraib and the Photographs that Shocked the World" – LYNNDIE ENGLAND’S ONLY AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY. In addition to revealing the young Army Reservist’s thoughts and feelings about her role in the abuse, Gary delves deeper into England’s twisted relationship with Corporal Charles Graner, the questionable conduct of the war and the Bush-era torture policies that contributed to the culture of abuse that came to exist at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

And Last but in no way least, we have Country Superstar Mark Wills. Mark has released six studio albums and six compilation albums. He has also received an Academy of Country Music award for Top New Male Vocalist, as well as three Country Music Association nominations. We will talk about his new album, "2nd Time Around" and his support of USA Cares. USA Cares exists to provide military families with financial support and other critical resources in their time of need. www.usacares.org

Back in May, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ruth. Ruth is a recent recipient of President Bush’s Volunteer Service Award. She is a life long volunteer and troop supporter extraordinaire. In the interview linked above, Ruth shares her memories of being a little girl during World War II, and watching the changes in culture through the years.

Ruth’s love for our soldiers is contagious and inspiring.

Ruth received her service award in a ceremony where she had asked some Vietnam Vetearns to participate. Below is an excerpt of her award ceremony and some pictures:

Local volunteer honored
By Dustin Pangonis
Monday, June 22, 2009 9:27 AM

EDTSCHUYLKILL HAVEN — When Ruth Ray, 71, of Port Carbon, was given the President’s Volunteer Service Award on Sunday, she held it for just a few seconds before changing the focus and presenting a gift of her own.

“Thank you for serving, Vietnam vets,” Ray said as she handed a statuette of an American flag and a bald eagle to the Veterans of the Vietnam War Post 29.

Ray, whose history of volunteer work on behalf of U.S. troops stretches back to World War II, was honored in a short ceremony at the Schuylkill County Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

She said her first priority, even when accepting the award, was to thank the troops. Her second priority: to spread the message of volunteerism.

Most recently, Ray has been sending small care packages to soldiers. She gave a “shout-out” to the Pottsville and Port Carbon post offices, which must fill out five pages of customs paperwork for each package.

David Fessler, of both the Veterans and the Schuylkill County Veterans Affairs Office, presented Ray with the award, which is given through the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation established by President George W. Bush.

“One of the reasons we’re having it at the Vietnam Memorial is because this leads to what we’ve been saying all along,” Fessler said. “We’re not going to let the troops go through what we did. We’re going to take care of them.” LINK to entire story

Here are a few pictures: