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Photo of the Day – Yama Sakura

Yama Sakura is an annual bi-lateral exercise between the US and Japan. The term means “mountain cherry blossom.” The Japanese cherish their cherry blossoms and even donated the ones that are currently located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. When fully bloomed, the cherry blossoms sweeten the air and turn beautiful shades of various colors. They only last a few weeks before the petals fall of the trees. As a dependent I used to love attending all the Japanese festivals when my father was stationed there. The Japanese have a rich and historic cultural heritage that is just so impressive and unique.


Maj. Tanya Klaiber, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard and Maj. Richard M. Dixon, operations officer for the United States Army Pacific participate in a Japanese traditional tea ceremony outside Camp Itami, Japan, Jan. 24. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Oliver.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

VA Benefits Increase From Cost of Living Adjustment

Numerous veterans and their survivors across the nation will be pleased to see a little bit extra in their future payments due to a 3.6% cost of living adjustment that was effective 1 January. Federal law dictates that VA compensation and pensions will increase when Social Security payments receive a cost of living adjustment. This is the first increase in payments for both programs since 2008.

“Veterans, their families and their survivors are entitled to benefits that keep pace with the cost of living,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

Many veterans depend on these benefits to help make ends meet every month. I applaud this increase for those that have given so much for their country, especially when benefits of both the active duty force and veterans are targeted for slashing due to the federal budget problems the country is facing.

Vote for Defending the Blue Line

Several weeks back we had we had Shane Hudella on You Served Radio from the charity Defending the Blue Line (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/youserved/2011/10/05/episode-162-defending-the-blue-line-kerry-kachejian).

Defending The Blue Line (DTBL) a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the spring of 2009 to help military families with the high costs of hockey and help ensure that children of military members are afforded every opportunity to participate in the great sport.

I have personally seen the benefits for military families from this organization. Well they recently announced that they are in the running as one of 20 finalists that help military families. The White House is looking to pick one of the twenty to recognize for the great support they do. They are looking for America to vote and I ask that you take the time to check them out and cast the vote for DTBL. You can learn more about DTBL at their newly revamped website at http://www.defendingtheblueline.org/

Defending The Blue Line was 1 of 20 national finalists in a White House competition to recognize a non profit that supports military families. The White House is leaving it up to America to vote for the winner over the next 30 days, similar to the contest we recently supported for the VA here in MN.

Please log on and vote via the following link, and ask your friends to do the same. Better yet, add it to your Facebook, Twitter, or other social media page. Make sure you go to the site once a day for the next 30 days to vote. When you get to the Joining Forces Community Challenge Website, type Defending The Blue Line in the search box.

Vote here now: http://joiningforces.challenge.gov/submissions?page=1

 

 

 

Oscar Mike: Mission Accomplished

I first wrote about Oscar Mike one week ago asking you dig deep to give support and to tell all your friends. This morning I am happy to say that Oscar Mike is fully funded. Mission complete! Noah says this couldn’t have ever happened if not for people getting the word out and donating. He says he didn’t sleep last night as the final hours ticked down, and this morning is a huge blessing to him and the rest of the Oscar Mike crew.

BUT, the mission doesn’t stop here. You can continue to support Oscar Mike and OMFoundation to keep disabled vets “On the Move” in adaptive and competitive sports by purchasing gear or straight donations to OMFoundation.

Congratulations, Oscar Mike!

Photo of the Day – Presence Patrols

Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, patrol through the desert during the opening phase of Operation Double Check. Fox Company Marines, Afghan National Police and Afghan National Security Force personnel are currently operating in historically-troubled areas of southern Musa Qal’eh, such as Mosulmani, Khwajadad and Surkyan, which had no coalition presence prior to the start of the operation, Jan. 3.

Photo by Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

Loose Lips Sink Ships

The title of this article is borrowed from part of a status update on Facebook from Marcus Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL, in which he said, “I’ll pass along yalls thanks to the guys. I just can’t believe that our mission sets keep making the news. It’s a little disturbing. Lose lips sink ships.” The mission set he is referring to is the rescue of two hostages in Somalia. The rescue of the two hostages is a huge win against the many criminal elements that are running amok in the country, but at what cost?

Continue reading

Photo of the Day – First Snow Fall

Whoda thunk it? We had our first snowfall the other day!

Photo by Lt. Col. Daniel Bohmer.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

Defense Department Launches Website for Military Children

Defense Department Launches Website for Military Children

(National Center for Telehealth and Technology News Release)
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash., Jan. 18, 2012 – The Defense Department launched a new website today for children experiencing the challenges of military deployments.

The highly interactive website, http://www.MilitaryKidsConnect.org, was created by psychologists at DOD’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology here. It helps children of deployed parents cope with the stress, changing responsibilities, and concern for the safety of their parents, officials said.

The center, known as T2, developed the website with informative videos, educational tools, and engaging games and activities for three age groups: 6 to 8, 9 to 12 and 13 to 17. The site features monitored online social network forums for the groups to safely share their experiences with deployments.

MilitaryKidsConnect.org is the first DOD website to connect children in the widely separated active, reserve, and National Guard military communities, officials said.

“Since 2001, an estimated 2 million children have said goodbye to a parent headed to deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, other places around the globe, and on ships at sea,” explained Kelly Blasko, a T2 psychologist. “Military children are deeply affected by the separation of their parent’s deployment. We’ve seen that in their hearts, kids deploy too.”

The website has features that will help children, parents, and educators navigate the wide range of practical and emotional challenges military families must live with throughout the deployment cycle, Blasko said. Continue reading

Win a Dream Date or a Valentine’s Deployment Cake from Sarge’s List

I love contests.

Even if I don’t win it’s exciting to enter and then to watch the person who does win get all excited!

I am not entering this one for obvious reasons, but if my hubby was still in I would drop my name in the box! Check it out!

Operation Sweetheart – Win a Dream Date or a Deployment Cake!

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Sarge

February is around the corner and yes, love is in the air. SargesList is mission ready and

Operation Sweetheart - Win a Date or a Cake!

willing to help with assistance from their battle buddies-in-amore Wire-A-Cake!

Who Can Enter?   Continue reading

AKO Issues ID Theft Warning

Stars and Stripes reports that Army Knowledge Online (AKO) is recommending that users monitor their credit card statements and change online passwords, especially if they used their Stratfor password with other accounts. Hackers recently published hundreds of thousands of registered email addresses and Stratfor usernames online, along with thousands of credit card numbers. If users find fraudulent activity on their credit cards, AKO recommended contacting one of the three main credit bureaus and submitting a fraud alert.  Stratfor is providing 12 months of identity theft coverage to all of its paid customers.  For more tips on avoiding financial and computer scams, visit: http://mnstr.me/A2m9Bk