Ladies of Liberty

2011-04-18T16:23:00.002-05:00

Ladies of Liberty Team Angels, take a bow! Here are the Team's support numbers for the last 3 months: January -- 724 letters/cards sent and 122 packages sent February -- 1097 letters/cards sent and 159 packages sent March -- 1445 letters/cards sent and 226 packages sent WOW! Fantastic job, Angels! You brought literally THOUSANDS of smiles to our ladies' faces in the last few months -- THANK YOU!

National Women's Health Week kicks off on Mother's Day

2011-04-15T20:04:00.001-05:00

National Women's Health Week kicks off on Mother's Day, May 8th, a day when we are already focusing on the important women in our lives. This year, help empower women nationwide to make their health a priority by celebrating National Women's Health Week and holding events in your local community. Don't forget to register your activities on the National Women's Health Week website and order free educational materials to distribute — including posters, bookmarks, prevention guides, brochures, and more! It's easy — just go to http://www.womenshealth.gov/whw/my-account/register.cfm and follow the steps.

Angels-- lets get busy helping our Ladies of Liberty get as healthy as possible.

DOD Launches New Helpline to Support Victims of Sexual Assault

2011-04-15T15:13:00.000-05:00

2011-04-14T09:51:00.002-05:00

Ladies of Liberty Team is proud to be supporting female sailors aboard the USS Enterprise, often called our first and finest aircraft carrier. One of these ladies was assigned to an angel team leader, Angel Michele R., who opened up communication with the lady and very quickly discovered a much greater need. The carrier had not made a port call in some time, and support was needed. "How many ladies with you?" we asked. The reply came: "500!" With that, the call for support went out to all the teams within Ladies of Liberty for support, and so far, we have had over 30 Angels step up to assist! Our Angel wings are strong, and stronger still when we fly wingtip-to-wingtip, landing on an aircraft carrier with our support!

A note from a special LoL Angel -- Sheri W.

2011-04-11T17:33:00.002-05:00

Below is a note I received from Ladies of Liberty Angel, Sheri W. -- In March, I coordinated a morning of writing letters and coloring designs for 40 Ladies of Liberty (female deployed soldiers). Eight women from my church participated and made a pot-luck lunch for the residents and staff of Rainbow Children's Home in Dahlonega, GA. The home is small and holds 7 girls. The home exists to provide hope, security, and opportunity to girls, ages 12-17, who have suffered abuse and/or neglect. The residents stay a few weeks or months until it is safe to return to their family; in some cases Mom is going through drug rehab. Or they go live with a relative, foster home, or adoptive family. Our church provides financial support as the home is one of our missions and some of the women volunteer to be a one-to-one mentor. You treat the teen like your daughter and do fun things with her, and mainly listen to her. I'm also working with a Sunday School class of 13-year-old girls who wanted to write to female soldiers. Last summer I was the Vacation Bible School craft coordinator for our church, so during free time, I had the 30 kids color pictures each of the five days and we mailed them to Ladies of Liberty! The ladies love hearing from the kids and the kids love it when they get a letter back. My grandkids, ages 8 and 5, are corresponding with a Lady of Liberty, Myranda, deployed to Afghanistan. They think it is so cool to hear from her. A couple of years ago we celebrated Flag Day and wrote letters. I want the kids to appreciate their flag, their country, and the soldiers who serve it. The Ladies of Liberty tell me how special it is to get mail from a stranger. But when they write back to me, I am the one who feels really special that THEY would take the time to write back. Thanks to Angel Sheri for her wonderful work with children, teen girls AND Ladies of Liberty!

Women in Uniform

2011-03-22T08:50:00.001-05:00


DOD Launches New Helpline to Support Victims of Sexual Assault The Department of Defense today launched its newest initiative to support victims of sexual assault. Using DoD Safe Helpline, service members can "click, call or text" for victim support services for themselves or others. The free, anonymous and confidential resource can be accessed worldwide, 24-hours a day, every day, to connect with live sexual assault support professionals. In addition to improving victim care, secure and confidential access to Safe Helpline was developed to encourage victims to come forward when they might not otherwise. "The underreporting of sexual assault poses a serious challenge to military readiness," said Clifford L. Stanley, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "We believe the Safe Helpline will provide DoD sexual assault victims with a variety of support outlets, which will lead victims to report sexual assault, seek needed information, and receive care." Safe Helpline offers three access options designed for service members. Users can log on to http://www.SafeHelpline.org to receive live, one-on-one confidential help with a trained professional through a secure instant-messaging format. The website also provides vital information about recovering from and reporting sexual assault. A second option is to call the telephone hotline at 877-995-5247 to speak with Safe Helpline staff for personalized advice and support. Safe Helpline staff can also transfer callers to installation-based sexual assault response coordinators (SARC), on-call victim advocates, civilian rape crisis centers, or to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The third option is for users to text their location to 55247 inside the United States or 202-470-5546 outside of the United States to receive automated contact information for the SARC at their installation or base. Further information on Safe Helpline can be found on http://www.SafeHelpline.org or at http://www.sapr.mil .

We thank our women in uniform for their service and sacrifice.

Photo Collection: Women in Uniform, WWII – Present

In honor of Women's History Month, VA is celebrating the accomplishments of female service members. In doing so, we used Facebook, Twitter,

and the VA blog to collect 170 photos of women in uniform. View the photos

Caring for Women Vets: A Response to “My VA Care”

2011-03-18T09:29:00.001-05:00

Veterans Health Administration Update
VAntage Point Blog

Chief Consultant for Women Veterans Health: I worried that a woman might come to a VA facility, have a negative experience, and be instantly turned off and go away; that she would never receive the excellent health care she deserves. The story that Staff Sergeant Jennifer Hunt shared in her guest post is what my colleagues and I are working every day to change.

To read this blog entry as well as previous blog posts visit VAntage Point:

OPERATION TENSHI (operation angel)

2011-03-13T11:21:00.001-05:00

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS/families and friends in Japan:

OPERATION TENSHI (operation angel)

Soldiers' Angels is collecting the following products for our troops, families and friends in Japan:

BLANKETS
Small NEW (not used) toys for the children
International calling cards

All types of hygeine, easy to ship care products- NEW UNOPENED ONLY

Shampoo/conditioner
Soap
Deordorant
Chapstick
Lotions
Female Personal Hygeine
Facial cleansing pads
Wet Wipes
Eye drops
Toothpaste/Toothbrushes

Ship these items to the Soldiers' Angels Warehouse:
Soldiers' Angels
4408 N PanAm Exprwy
San Antonio, TX 78218

Giftcards:
Walmart, Visa or Mastercard (etc) giftcards so we can use them to fulfill requests.

Ship Giftcards to our Soldiers' Angels Warehouse
Soldiers' Angels
4408 N PanAm Exprwy
San Antonio, TX 78218
We also need financial donations again to fulfill requests coming in.

All our donation options are listed here:
http://soldiersangels.org/donate.html

Military members in Japan: Roughly 35,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan, and another 5,500 American civilians employed there by the Department of Defense. ALONG WITH THEIR FAMILIES. The United States Seventh Fleet is based in Yokosuka. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is based in Okinawa. 130 USAF fighters are stationed in the Misawa Air Base and Kadena Air Base.

The USFJ headquarters is at Yokota Air Base, about 30 km west of central Tokyo.

The U.S. military installations in Japan and their managing branches are:

Air Force:

Camp Chitose, Chitose, Hokkaido
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Prefecture
Kadena Ammunition Storage Area, Okinawa Prefecture
Okuma Recreational Facility, Okinawa Prefecture
Yaedake Communication Site, Okinawa Prefecture
Misawa Air Base, Aomori Prefecture
Yokota Air Base, Fussa, Tokyo
Fuchu Communications Station, Fuchu, Tokyo
Tama Service Annex, Inagi, Tokyo
Yugi Communication Site, Hachioji, Tokyo
Camp Asaka AFN Transmitter Site, Saitama Prefecture
Tokorozawa Transmitter Site, Saitama Prefecture
Owada Communication Site, Saitama Prefecture

Army:

Fort Buckner, Okinawa Prefecture
Army POL Depots, Okinawa Prefecture
White Beach Area, Okinawa Prefecture
Naha Port Facility, Okinawa Prefecture (return after relocation to the Urasoe Pier area)
Torii Station, Okinawa Prefecture
Tengan Pier, Okinawa Prefecture
Camp Zama, Zama, Kanagawa
Yokohama North Dock, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Sagami General Depot, Sagamihara, Kanagawa
Sagamihara Housing Area, Sagamihara, Kanagawa
Akizuki Ammunition Depot, Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiro Ammunition Depot, Hiroshima Prefecture
Kawakami Ammunition Depot, Hiroshima Prefecture
Hardy Barracks, Minato, Tokyo

Marine Corps:

Camp Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefectures. (Although these camps are dispersed throughout Okinawa and the rest of Japan they are all under the heading of Camp Smedley D. Butler):
- Camp McTureous, Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Courtney, Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Foster, Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Kinser, Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Hansen, Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Schwab, Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Gonsalves (Jungle Warfare Training Center), Okinawa Prefecture
- Kin Blue Beach Training Area, Okinawa Prefecture
- Kin Red Beach Training Area, Okinawa Prefecture
- NSGA Hanza
- Higashionna Ammunition Storage Point II
- Henoko Ordnance Ammunition Depot
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa Prefecture (return after the MCAS Futenma relocates to Camp Schwab)
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
Camp Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture
Numazu Training Area, Shizuoka Prefecture
Ie Jima Auxiliary Airfield, Okinawa Prefecture
Tsuken Jima Training Area, Okinawa Prefecture

Navy:

Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Ayase, Kanagawa
United States Fleet Activities Sasebo, Sasebo, Nagasaki
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Yokosuka, Kanagawa
Urago Ammunition Depot, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
Tsurumi POL Depot, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Naval Housing Annex Negishi, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Naval Transmitter Station Totsuka, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Naval Support Facility Kamiseya, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Tomioka Storage Area, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Naval Housing Annex Ikego, Zushi, Kanagawa
White Beach Area, Okinawa Prefecture
Camp Shields, Okinawa Prefecture
Camp Lester, Okinawa Prefecture (return after the Naval Hospital relocates to Camp Foster)
Awase Communication Station, Okinawa Prefecture
New Sanno Hotel, Tokyo

JSDF–USFJ Areas:

Tori Shima Range, Okinawa Prefecture
Kume Jima Range, Okinawa Prefecture
Kisarazu Auxiliary Landing Field, Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture
Camp Hansen (small portion in central area of Camp Hansen), Okinawa Prefecture
Ukibaru Jima Range, Okinawa Prefecture
Kadena Air Base (small areas outside of the base that are supported by Kadena—these areas are located on the southern portion of Okinawa), Okinawa Prefecture
Jungle Warfare Training Center (formerly known as Northern Training Area—four thin elongated areas embedded and distributed evenly within JWTC), Okinawa Prefecture

In Okinawa, U.S. military installations occupy about 10.4 percent of the total land usage. Approximately 74.7 percent of all the U.S. military facilities in Japan are located on the island of Okinawa.

Free E- Cards for Valentine's Day benefits Soldiers' Angels..

2011-02-10T07:57:00.001-06:00

If EVERYONE sent TEN E-CARDS................. what an amazing donation that would be for Soldiers' Angels.

http://www.photocardsdirect.com/soldiersangels

Love the Troops with Free E-cards!

Thanks to PhotoCardsDirect.com, patriotic Americans can send a free Valentine's Day e-card to anyone and make money for Soldiers' Angels care packages at the same time! Keep reading for more info...

America appreciates and remembers our troops on Valentine's Day, and now Americans across the country can send a free e-card making sure those troops hear that message loud and clear. PhotoCardsDirect.com and Soldiers' Angels are expanding their partnership in support of America's Armed Forces with free Valentine's Day photo e-cards for the troops that also generate donations for care packages.

Anyone can thank and support the troops with a free Valentine's Day e-card from PhotoCardsDirect.com. For every 10 cards created, Soldiers' Angels will receive $1 towards care packages for deployed military personnel.

Soldiers' Angels Founder Patti Patton-Bader explains, "There's nothing like being able to put a face to the name of a supportive American back home. With these photo e-cards, we can ensure our motto 'May No Soldier Go Unloved' becomes a reality this Valentine's Day."

Combat veteran and Soldiers' Angels Executive Director Toby Nunn adds, "If half your heart is in Iraq or Afghanistan this Valentine's Day, you can bridge that gap and make it whole for a moment with an e-card. With just a couple of mouse clicks, every patriotic American can let the troops know how much they are loved and appreciated, that they are not forgotten."

The free Valentine's Day e-cards can be sent to any email address. Americans who do not have the email address of a service member can send their cards to Valentines2011@soldiersangels.org and Soldiers' Angels will pass the Valentine to a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who needs a boost.

Shelle M. Michaels / Professional Education Manager
Rasmussen College - Bismarck Campus

Office: 701-221-8810

Mobile: 701-214-8869
Fax: 877-307-4921

Shelle.Michaels@Rasmussen.edu

www.Rasmussen.edu

Support the Red, White and Blue. Give Love, Give Blood.

2011-02-08T14:20:00.001-06:00

January was Blood Donor Month. We salute everyone that gave blood during this campaign. Soldiers' Angels encourages everyone to give blood surrounding the weeks of Valentine's Day, as blood is needed every hour of the day. Support the Red, White and Blue. Give Love, Give Blood.

Armed Services Blood Program Newsletter	February 8, 2011

From the Desk of: COL Francisco Rentas, Director, ASBPO

National Blood Donor Month has come to an end, and what a great start to a new year it was! Thank you to all those who shared stories, videos and pictures, and to all the loyal donors who continued to give blood to support our service members worldwide. A very good example of this support was our annual West Point blood drive which saw over 2,100 units collected!

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we highlight blood compatibility, couples that volunteer and donate together and a heart clinic filled with faithful donors.

Thanks to everyone who make the ASBP a success. Let's keep up the good work to ensure that injured and ill service members, veterans and their families will get to spend this and many future Valentine's Days together.

Warm regards,

COL Francisco Rentas

What Gets Your Heart Pumpin'?

It is all about the heart this month! Did you know:

Your heart beats about 100,000 times a day and circulates the body's blood supply about 1,000 times per day.

Joined end-to-end, all the blood vessels in your body would stretch about 60,000 miles. (That's 2 1/2 times around the Earth!)

Each minute, an adult heart (which is about the size of a clenched fist, or about 8 ounces for women and 10 ounces for men) pumps about 5 quarts of blood a day, that's almost 2,000 gallons!

It takes about 20 seconds to circulate blood through the entire human body.

Find these and more heart and blood facts from Portage Health or Saint John's Health Center.

Blood, Sweat and Steel Girders

Donating blood may not rank high on the to-do list after a day of laying concrete, placing steel beams and tacking dry wall. But for the Balfour Beatty Construction and Clark Construction companies giving blood for the troops is an honor.

So, in the midst of construction and heavy equipment, workers from the two companies made a point to stop by the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to donate blood and platelets to the Armed Services Blood Program.

At the center, each military blood drive is dedicated to a service member. The first drive honored fallen Sgt. Forest Dane Cauthorn. The turnout was so great, that additional blood drives were held, and by the end of the fourth drive on Jan. 4, 2011, the National Naval Medical Center collected 214 whole blood units, which will be shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan ready to save the lives of those in need.

Read the entire article on the ASBP website.

Photo: Clark Construction employee, Mitch Vowler, makes his second donation to the ASBP at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Are You My Type?

Compatibility: Capable of existing together in harmony.

When most of us hear that word this time of year we think of Valentine's Day. A holiday for those in love and those searching for love. But, the ASBP encourages all of its donors to think about compatibility in a new way this year: blood type compatibility.

Blood types are determined by the presence or absence of the Rh antigen in addition to the person's blood group (A, B, AB or O). In order for a transfusion to be successful, blood types must be matched between the donor and the recipient. Blood can be needed at any time, and since compatibility is such an important factor in a successful transfusion, it is important to know which blood types are compatible.

Learn more about the perfect match for your blood type here.

Check Out the New ASBP You Tube Channel!

The ASBP debuts its new You Tube channel featuring the latest videos, interviews, public service announcements and more!

Stay tuned with the ASBP by subscribing to our channel.

Picture This!

The ASBP Focal Point picture of the month

These great couples are donating and working together to save lives!

Gunnery Sgt. Jim Joint and his wife, Staff Sgt. Jhomara Joint, always find a way to volunteer, so it is no surprise that the married couple decided to donate blood at the ASBP blood drive at Camp Pendleton, Calif. After meeting at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., in 2002, Jim and Jhomara Joint have been married for eight years. The couple has spent a combined 19 years in the military and both continue to find ways around their busy schedules to volunteer to help others. Read the entire article on the ASBP website.

Staff Sgt. Brian VanBruggen spent two days of hard-earned vacation in the ASBP's military blood donor center at Fort Hood, Texas, helping to run a blood drive because of his wife. For three days, the pair assisted with donor registration and recruited more donors to support the military blood drive held in the Robertson Blood Center at Fort Hood, Texas. Read the entire article on the ASBP website.

Photos: (Top Left) Spouses Staff Sgt. Jhomara Joint (left) and Gunnery Sgt. Jim Joint (right), proudly volunteer to donate blood to the ASBP at the Camp Pendleton Blood Donor Center, Calif.

(Bottom Right) Staff Sgt. Brian VanBruggen and his wife, Margaret, host an ASBP blood drive at the Robertson Blood Center at Fort Hood, Texas.

Caring from the Heart Clinic

Many employees of the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, take their motto, "Caring from the heart," well... to heart. The team has been known to donate blood to care for their patients and support troops downrange. Carol Cox, a cardiac sonographer in the cardiology clinic, is no exception. She has been a faithful blood donor since college, and recently reached a milestone-her 50th blood donation at Fort Gordon, Ga.

Army Maj. Warren Brown, officer-in-charge of the Kendrick Memorial Blood Center at Ft. Gordon, presented Cox with a special ASBP coin to mark the occasion.

Read the entire article on the ASBP website.

Photo: Maj. Warren Brown, officer-in-charge of the Kendrick Memorial Blood Center at Fort Gordon, Ga., presents Carol Cox, a cardiac sonorgrapher in the cardiology clinic of the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, with an ASBP coin for accomplishing the milestone of 50 blood donations.

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Armed Services Blood Program | 5109 Leesburg Pike | Rm 698 | Falls Church | VA | 22041-3258

New VA Support Line Provides Important Assistance to Caregivers

2011-02-08T14:10:00.001-06:00

New VA Support Line Provides Important Assistance to Caregivers

Benefits and Support Information a Phone Call Away

WASHINGTON (Feb. 8, 2011)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is
increasing its support to caregivers with a new, toll-free telephone
line for the caregivers of Veterans of all eras.

"The families and loved ones who care for severely injured Veterans
deserve the highest level of support," said Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "At VA, we consider them important partners in
our efforts to care for and rehabilitate our nation's heroes."

The National Caregiver Support Line -- 1-855-260-3274 -- will serve as
the primary resource and referral center to assist caregivers, Veterans
and others seeking caregiver information.

The line unofficially started Feb. 1, and in its first week logged
nearly 600 calls, including 134 referrals to local VA caregiver support
coordinators and 233 calls from caregivers themselves.

"VA has been providing support for the caregivers of Veterans for more
than seven decades," Shinseki added. "We already have more than two
dozen successful programs, policies and services that support the
caregivers of Veterans of all ages."

The support line will provide information regarding new caregiver
benefits, referrals to local caregiver support coordinators as well as
emotional support to those concerned with their ability to provide care
to loved ones who are Veterans.

The National Caregiver Support Line will be open Monday through Friday.
8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Eastern time; and Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Eastern time. Licensed VA social workers and health technicians will
staff the support line.

Local caregiver support coordinators are available to assist Veterans
and their caregivers to understand and apply for VA's many caregiver
benefits. VA also features a Web page, www.caregiver.va.gov
<http://www.caregiver.va.gov/> , with general information on other
caregiver support programs available through VA and the community.

Access to the National Caregiver Support Line was also identified as a
significant need in a November 2010 study on caregivers of Veterans
published by the National Alliance for Caregiving.

For an opportunity to get to know a few of today's remarkable caregivers
of Veterans, go to
http://www.youtube.com/user/veteranshealthadmin#p/u/0/XRmAwZHYRFE.

Doctor Emphasizes Prevention in Cancer Fight

2011-02-03T14:32:00.001-06:00

Doctor Emphasizes Prevention in Cancer Fight

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2011 - Smoking cessation, annual physicals and routine screenings are the best ways to decrease the risks of cancer, said a Navy doctor who routinely sees active-duty and retired military personnel and family members for chemotherapy.

"We see a lot of lung cancer patients who have never smoked in their lives," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Erin Larkins, an oncologist and hematologist at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. "But it's known that smokers, especially heavy smokers, are definitely at increased risk for lung cancer."

And cancers of the head, neck, mouth, throat and voice box -- and the numbers of those cases thought to be linked to smoking -- have increased, Larkins said.
"When [smoking is] combined with drinking the numbers go even higher," she added.

The most common cancers in the United States, Larkins said, are breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Colon cancer rates No. 2 for men and women, she added.

"Lung cancer has been No. 3 for a long time," she said, noting lung cancer has the highest death rate of any cancer.

"We're expanding treatments, but it's still an aggressive cancer usually found in advanced cases, which makes it difficult to treat," Larkins said.

Routine preventive screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, have created high rates of early cancer detection, Larkins said, adding that treatment at early stages increases chances of survival.

When to start getting mammograms is a decision usually made between the doctor and the patient, the doctor said. "There's some debate now about whether to start mammograms at 40 years old or 50 years old," she explained. "The opinions are varied throughout the medical field right now."

Women with a mother or sister who had breast cancer at age 40 should start getting mammograms 10 years earlier, Larkins added.

Colonoscopies are recommended after age 50 and are known to be a very effective screening for colon cancer, Larkins said.

Another procedure for detecting colon cancer is the "virtual colonoscopy." Similar to a CAT scan, she said, this procedure can detect tiny polyps and other concerns.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer that occurs in men, Larkins said. A test for prostate-specific antigen molecules in the blood -- commonly known as "PSA screening" -- is recommended for men older than 50, Larkins said, and studies indicate that African-American men should start PSA tests at 40.

Cervical cancer in women has become relatively rare, the doctor said, thanks to early detection by Pap smears. No screenings exist for pancreatic and ovarian cancers, she said, but "studies are being done all the time to finds screens" for those cancers and others that are difficult to treat because a patient often has no symptoms until the cancer is advanced.

Vaccine therapies are under study, Larkins said, but are not in common use to prevent certain cancers. "The main thing is be aware of screening and know it's something you should do, based on your age [or] family history," she said. "Be aware of your own health."

Meanwhile, studies and trials to detect and treat different cancers remain an ongoing process, the doctor said.

"One of the biggest changes in the last several years has been looking at tumors individually as much as we can," she said. "We know not all breast tumors behave the same -- some are much more aggressive than others."

World Cancer Day is observed Feb. 4. It was established by the International Union Against Cancer to raise awareness and encourage cancer prevention, detection and treatment. The IUAC is a global consortium of 350 cancer-fighting organizations in more than 100 countries.

The World Health Organization estimates that without treatment, 84 million people will die of cancer between 2005 and 2015.

"If cancer spreads," Larkins said, "it is mostly still incurable. If we can prevent it, rather [than] treat it, that's a much better option."

Larcenous little ones swarm Marine Female Engagement Team

2011-01-28T12:11:00.001-06:00

MARJAH, Afghanistan — She was about 5, adorable if grimy, and all smiles as she walked over to the interpreter. She darted a small hand into the interpreter's pack and sped off with a bottle of water.

"Did you see that?" said an unamused Heela Nasseri, part of a Marine Female Engagement Team, an Afghan by birth but American at heart and by citizenship. "She stole my [expletive] water."

That was just foreshadowing.

The inner door to the elder's compound opened, and its secret world lay revealed. But there were only seconds to take it in — the old woman washing pots, the clothes hanging on overhead lines, all the women laughing and chattering in their dusty velvets and sequined scarves, two headless chickens — before chaos descended.
Scores of children of all ages crowded around the FET and a reporter.

FULL STORY:
http://www.stripes.com/news/larcenous-little-ones-swarm-marine-female-engagement-team-1.133128

American interpreter takes a stand in Afghanistan

2011-01-28T12:10:00.001-06:00

American interpreter takes a stand in Afghanistan

MARJAH, Afghanistan — Maybe the last person you'd expect to see arguing with an Afghan soldier in a goat-filled bazaar is the former manager of a Los Angeles-area Victoria's Secret.

But there was Heela Nasseri, in full battle rattle and mad as hell.

"I'm not going on this [expletive] mission if that [expletive] guy goes," she told the Marines she was accompanying as their translator.

Female Engagement Team leader Cpl. Kimberly Martin and Sgt. Ryan Kirkham, the squad leader providing security, asked Nasseri what was wrong. Only seconds before, she had been laughing and talking, in Pashto and Dari, with clearly delighted Afghan children, asking them their ABCs and giving them candies — just as she had on many other missions.

SEE FULL STORY.

http://www.stripes.com/news/american-interpreter-takes-a-stand-in-afghanistan-1.133124

WARNING from the VA about VAS

2011-01-24T11:42:00.001-06:00

Forwarded by Kevin Secor, VSO Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

An organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS) is providing benefit and general information on VA and gathering personal information on veterans. This organization is not affiliated with VA in any way

[Websites with the name "vaservices" immediately after the "www" ARE NOT part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the US Government agency. D o not go to them or if approached or called, do not offer them any information concerning yourself or data on other veterans.

Keep in mind that the real VA website ends in .gov. Also, be aware that the Department of Veterans Affairs does not randomly call veterans, nor does it ask veterans for information which it does not already have--like Social Security Numbers. In particular, if you have not dealt with the VA previously--and in person--and all of a sudden, you receive a call from someone saying they are with the VA or something similar sounding, hang up the phone. Also, do not respond to emails which suggest that they are from the VA. The VA never conducts official business nor asks for personal information by email. Mike]

VAS may be gaining access to military personnel through their close resemblance to the VA name and seal. Our Legal Counsel has request ed that we coordinate with DoD to inform military installations, particularly mobilization sites, of this group and their lack of affiliation or endorsement by VA to provide any services.

In addition, GC requests that if you have any examples of VAS acts that violate chapter 59 of Title 38 United States Code, such as VAS employees assisting veterans in the preparation and presentation of claims for benefits, please pass any additional information to Mr.Daugherty at the address below.

Michael G. Daugherty

Staff Attorney

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of General Counsel (022G2)

810 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20420

Living Legends: Why We Do What We Do......

2011-01-23T11:46:00.001-06:00

An article about Soldiers' Angels support via our Living Legends team. What is Living Legends?

The Living Legends team conducts one of the most delicate and demanding missions of Soldiers' Angels: comforting the loved ones left behind when a warrior falls on the battlefield. Our goal is to make sure families and friends of America's fallen heroes know that they are supported and that their loved ones' sacrifices are honored and respected.

JOIN THE TEAM: http://soldiersangels.org/living-legends.html

Within days after Army Spc. Shane (Hasan) Ahmed was killed in war in Afghanistan, Bedford North Lawrence High School Director of Guidance Becky Sprinkle was surprised by the mail she began receiving. Sprinkle had been quoted in the Times-Mail in November as part of a story reporting on Ahmad's death just a few days earlier.

"After the article came out, I started to receive these cards and letters from all over the United States," Becky told me, explaining she had received about a dozen pieces of mail.

"Because I was quoted as a friend of the family, I started to receive these. ... I knew it had to be an Internet or a Facebook kind of situation."

The cards and letters have come from an organization called Soldiers' Angels.

"According to what I found on their website, they send packages to active military (members)," Becky said. "A small part of what they do is send letters and cards to families of fallen soldiers. ... They were sent to me, and I'm hoping they were also sent to his family."

But, Becky hasn't been able to talk to Ahmed's family and is hoping to reach them.

Ahmed graduated from BNL in 1997 and then went to Purdue University. He joined the Army in April 2007. But, along the way, the family had moved to Michigan.

Becky and many others who knew the family lost contact.

Becky's interest in talking to Ahmed's family isn't limited to wanting to make sure they see the Soldiers' Angels correspondence. She also wants to let them know of her hopes to see a local tribute established, not only for Ahmed, but also for U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Lane, the other former BNL student killed in active duty.

Becky said she hopes to create a wall of fame at the high school to honor Ahmed and Lane.

Her effort coincides with the approaching 20th anniversary of Lane's death in Iraq. He was killed in the ground war on Feb. 25, 1991. His parents didn't learn of his death until the night of Feb. 27, which was the same night President George Bush announced a cease fire.

On March 8, Day & Carter Mortuary was filled to overflowing with more than 400 people who came to pay their respects and say farewell to Brian Lane. Marines in full dress uniform — white caps, brass-buttoned black jackets and blue trousers — stood at parade rest along one wall of the mortuary as did 150 mourners who could not find seats. A Bedford city street later was named for him.

"I knew both soldiers personally through school," Becky said. "I just felt like there needed to be a tribute of some kind."

As Sprinkle works toward establishing that tribute, she also hopes to communicate with Ahmed's family to pass along the Soldiers' Angels cards and letters. "I have been holding on to these and I plan to forward them to the family as soon as they get in touch with me," Becky said. She has approached the funeral home that served the Ahmed family about helping her connect with his parents or his widow, Eva Vasquez of Lebanon, Tenn.

The cards Becky are intended to comfort the family.

One Soldier's Angel, Dr. Chris Knowles, wrote, "Know (that) Spc. Ahmed will always be remembered as an American hero for his sacrifice while serving his nation."

Casey Cloud wrote, "I cannot imagine what you must be experiencing at this time. What I do know is that Hasan was a wonderful, strong, honorable person. He used those strengths to become the brave soldier that he was."

Margaret Gore wrote, "We spread our wings to comfort your community in the loss of Shane Ahmed. This world is a lesser place because he is not among us.

Reading his life story, he was a true hero who gave his life for our freedom."

--

Soldiers' Angels Morning Coffee

2011-01-23T07:56:00.001-06:00

Good morning Angels and friends---

Enjoy a morning cup of coffee and settle in to read a few internet clips: Today's spotlight stories are below.

Soldiers' Angels Germany: Go, Joe!
By MaryAnn
Joe Gonzales, a wounded Marine who is now a Soldiers' Angels employee, and Soldiers' Angels Executive Director Toby Nunn. The pair have been invitedf to attend a special NFC Conference Championship football viewing party at Fort Meyers ...
Soldiers' Angels Germany - http://soldiersangelsgermany.blogspot.com/

Soldiers' Angels Announces Special Wheelchair Covers for Veterans
By admin
Soldiers' Angels is once again stepping up to assist America's veterans, helping ensure they have the best support and equipment to meet their needs. With the assistance of RxBlendables, an innovative American textile company, ...
armcor fedewa - http://renewcredits.com/list/v2545515093i/

Now that you have learned a little more about the good work we do on a daily basis, why don't you join us in our mission. You can adopt a hero www.SoldiersAngels.org. You can join one of over 30 teams www.SoldiersAngels.org or if you don't have the time, but you have the financial resources to help us help our troops, you can do that too on www.SoldiersAngels.org.

Thank you for your support and have an Angelic Day.

Patti and Shelle

OPSEC: ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships’

2011-01-22T15:56:00.001-06:00

OPSEC: OPERATIONS SECURITY

Within the Navy, the odds of making it through boot camp without hearing 'Loose Lips Sink Ships' are improbable. Though the slogan is old, it still embodies the basic principle of Operational Security, or OPSEC.

What Is OPSEC?

Operations Security, or OPSEC, is keeping potential adversaries from discovering the critical information of our military. As the name suggests, it protects our operations – planned, in progress, and those completed. Success depends on secrecy and surprise, so the military can accomplish the mission faster and with less risk. Our adversaries want our information, and they don't concentrate on only soldiers to get it. They want to connect with the family member, the supporter or the friend.

There are many countries and organizations that would like to harm Americans and degrade our influence in the world. It's possible, and not unprecedented, for spouses, family members and those supporting U.S. military personnel to be targeted for intelligence collection. This is true in the United States and especially true overseas! What can you do?

Be Alert

Foreign governments and organizations collect significant amounts of useful information by using spies. A foreign agent may use a variety of approaches to befriend someone (Facebook even) and get sensitive information. This sensitive information can be critical to the success of a terrorist or spy, and consequently deadly to Americans.

Be Careful

There may be times when our troops cannot talk about the specifics of his or her job. It's very important to conceal and protect certain information such as flight schedules, ship movements, temporary duty (TDY) locations to include APO addresses and installation activities, for example. Something as simple as a phone discussion or email about where they are deploying, or going TDY, can be very useful to our enemies.

Protecting Critical Information

Even though information may not be secret, it can be what we call "critical information." Critical information deals with specific facts about military intentions, capabilities, operations or activities. If an adversary knew this detailed information, our warrior's mission accomplishment and personnel safety could be jeopardized. It must be protected to ensure an adversary doesn't gain a significant advantage.

By being a member of Soldiers' Angels in supporting our warriors, you may often know some bits of critical information. Do not discuss them outside of Soldiers' Angels via email, Facebook, texts, tweets or over the telephone. We have secure means as registered angels to disseminate information and these methods need to be followed to assure we are doing our part to provide a secure support net for our warriors and their families.

Examples Of Critical Information

• Detailed information about the mission of assigned units.

• Details on locations and times of unit deployments to include APO addresses.

• References to trends in unit morale or personnel problems.

• Details concerning security procedures

These bits of information may seem insignificant. However, to a trained adversary, they are small pieces of a puzzle that highlight what our troops doing and planning. Remember, the elements of security and surprise are vital to the accomplishment of the goals of the military and their collective personnel protection. It is your duty as an Angel to assure that protection.The bottom line is to use common sense and keep our troops safe on the front lines!

"OPSEC is a vital element in protecting the troops and missions, and I want to stress how vital a role every member of the team

plays in ensuring that we deny our adversaries potentially useful information.

"Whether we are on duty or off duty, we cannot afford to let our guard down. Your diligence in OPSEC

is key to ensuring our effectiveness in operations and our collective safety.

Together, we will succeed."

Maj. Gen. Keith B. Alexander

Commanding General

U.S. Army Intelligence and

Security Command

William Hutton, MOPH National Senior Vice Commander, Interview with Roger Hedgecock on Radio America!

2011-01-19T15:33:00.001-06:00

William Hutton, MOPH National Senior Vice Commander, Interview with Roger Hedgecock on Radio America!

We are proud to announce William Hutton, National Sr. Vice Commander will be interviewed by legendary talk host, Roger Hedgecock, Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 5:20 p.m. PT.

The interview will be featured on the Rodger Hedgecock Show which airs on nearly 100 stations across the country in 27 states. In addition, the Hedgecock Program Airs on Sirius/ XM Satellite Radio Channel 158, as well as streaming live on Radio America's website at www.radioamerica.org.

To listen to the live streaming interview on the web - click the link below at 5:20 pm PT.

http://www.radioamerica.org/streaming.htm

* click on the link "Radio America Live Stream"

The Roger Hedgecock Show airs 6p-9p ET, and 3p-6p PT, the interview will air at approximately 5:20 p.m.PT.

Other stations include:

ABC Starguide III. AMC-8 (Transponder 23)

Channel ID (for Live, M-F Show):
RADIOA/SBN (tune to the left channel) Service ID 42.

Channel ID (for Weekends only):
19 L/R, (tune to the left channel) Service ID 57.

XDS Label: Radio America

If you do not see Radio America on your XDS receiver please call Citadel at 212-456-5000 to get authorized. Please call affiliates at 703-302-1000 ext. 250 for more details. ny questions.

Radio America: The Roger Hedgecock Show has been giving listeners the power to help themselves for over 20 years. His political experience, including Mayor of San Diego, has provided listeners with first-hand accounts from inside government; his engaging personality and straight talk turns passive listeners into activists. Roger is also a columnist and an author of the recently published three book series: The 2008 Conservative Field Guide to: The War, Immigration and Healthcare. For over 20 years The Roger Hedgecock Show has dominated talk radio ratings on KSDO-AM and KOGO-AM in San Diego. He's been named one of the Top 100 talkers in America by Talker's Magazine-for 10 years in a row. Roger is a frequent guest on Hannity & Colmes, The O'Reilly Factor and other Fox News Channel Shows, on CNN's Lou Dobb's Show and on MSNBC.

2nd Annual Support the Red, White and Blue; Give Love, Give Blood

2011-01-12T04:53:00.001-06:00

During the week surrounding February 11th, 2011 Soldiers' Angels encourages Angels and friends across the entire country to honor those that have shed their BLOOD for us by heading to a local blood bank and donating a pint.

Send your photos of your giving experience to ShelleMichaels@SoldiersAngels.org or pixt them to 218-779-7271 for automatic posting to our Facebook fan page.

Shelle Michaels
ShelleMichaels@SoldiersAngels.org

Soldiers' Angels National Communication Officer
Vet Tix Board of Directors
Interservice Family Assistance Committee Communication Conduit
Bismarck Mandan Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Chairperson
North Dakota National Guard Family Advisory Council Member
ND Employee Support for the Guard and Reserve Committee Member

"Ask for what you want, or take what you get!"
~ Shelle Michaels

www.Facebook.com/SoldiersAngelsOfficial
www.Facebook.com/ShelleMichaels

--
Posted By Blogger to ISFAC FACTS at 1/12/2011 02:52:00 AM

January - February Project; "United Through Reading Program"

2011-01-11T15:57:00.002-06:00

Below is the information I received from lady Jenn M. If you are interested in helping with this project, contact the Sunshine Angel at ladiesoflibertysunshine@gmail.com and we will send you her wish list, etc. Thanks!

Here is some information on the United Through Reading Program that I'm working on starting up for our unit. I'm looking for donations of new or gently used children's books, ages 0-12, that will be put into our unit library. Soldiers will choose a book from the library, read it aloud while being videotaped, and then send the DVD recording WITH the book to the child so that the child can watch the video of the book being read while they are reading the book at home.

Right now, this is the most important donation request that I'd like to pass on to those who wish to support the troops. We receive plenty of snacks, personal hygiene items, and entertainment goodies from lots of other supporters, but I believe that being able to get this United Through Reading Military Program off the ground will help build the morale of the Soldiers here and their families at home. Please put the word out to those you work with, socialize with, or organizations you belong to that this would be a great way for them to support the troops. If the information is hard to read on the second attachment, you can go to the United Through Reading website at http://www.unitedthroughreading.org/military.

If/when you get books, just send them to me at my address. Feel free to pass on my address if people want to send books directly to me:

Jenn M

LOL Team #2 weekly update 1/6/2011

2011-01-07T06:10:00.000-06:00

Hello Team #2

I hope you had a fabulous holiday season and its already 2011 can you believe it.

There are just a few updates that we have received in the last few weeks please be sure and read them. I heard a rumor that there might be some changes on the Angel updates

that we normally get so watch out for that update when the time comes.

Have a great week everyone!!

Katie

Team #2 Leader

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Wing Tip of the Week

Coupons! Whether you are shopping online or in stores, coupons can be a big help with your care package costs.

For online shopping:

* Whenever I am placing an online order, before I checkout, I'll go to Google and do a search to see if there are any special deals for that store. So, say you are shopping at Bath & Body Works.com, just go to Google, type in "Bath Body Works coupon code" and Google will give you a list of links you can check for a good coupon code. Then, just enter that code in when you check out. Sometimes you may have to try a few codes or a few sites to get a code that works, but it is well worth it for the amount of money you can save.

For In Store shopping:

* There are a lot of sites out there that offer printable coupons. If you are shopping at a particular store, like Walgreen's, Michael's or Hobby Lobby, try their websites to see if they have coupons you can print (Hobby Lobby always has something - the current coupon on their site is 40% off any item).

* For coupons for items, check out sites like www.coupons.com or http://smartsource.com. At those sites, you'll find lists of manufacturer's coupons that you can print for a variety of items. You can also sometimes find coupons at the manufacturer's websites. Kroger has coupons on its site that can be added directly to your Kroger plus card and will automatically scan for you when you check out. I've also seen coupon circulars at the store entrances for Walgreen's & Publix, so I'm sure they have these at other stores as well.

As always, Happy Angeling :)

Cherilyn
Team 2 Assistant

VA Set to Verify Veteran Small Businesses

2011-01-03T10:40:00.001-06:00

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel <http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel>

VA Set to Verify Veteran Small Businesses

Washington (Jan. 3, 2010)- To further advocate for Veterans, VA
announced that companies identifying themselves as small businesses or
Veteran-owned businesses to gain priority for some Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) contracts must now provide documentation verifying
their status within 90 days of receiving notice from the agency.
> "VA is committed to doing business with as well as supporting and
protecting Veteran-owned small businesses," said Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "Although the verification process may
initially be a challenge to some small business owners and to VA, it's a
necessary step to eliminate misrepresentation by firms trying to receive
contracts that should go to service-disabled and other Veteran-owned
vendors."

The Veterans Benefits Act of 2010, signed by the President Oct. 13,
expanded VA's requirement to verify the status of businesses claiming
Veterans preference to compete for VA contracts by being listed in VA's
VetBiz.gov "Vendor Information Pages" (VIP) database. Companies will
have to submit an application to substantiate their status as owned and
controlled by Veterans, service-disabled Veterans or eligible surviving
spouses. Only companies that submit the information will be listed in
the VIP database.

The law requires VA to notify currently listed businesses that within 90
days of the Veteran-owned business receiving the notice they must submit
certain business documents. VA sent notices to more than 13,000 listed
businesses by email and mail Dec. 10-11. Other companies, wanting to
be listed in the database and considered for future set-aside VA
contracts, also have to submit application packages. VA will work on
those verifications after the existing listings are verified.

The department plans to post additional information at www.VetBiz.gov in
early February informing applicants how to submit their documents
electronically. In the meantime, VA's notice to currently listed
businesses encourages them to submit their information on CD-ROM.

Priority processing will be given to those Veteran-owned firms that are
in line to receive a set-aside contract from VA, those that already
conduct business with VA, and those that have already filed an
application for verification.

For more information, visit the Office of Small and Disadvantaged
Business Utilization's website at
www.va.gov/OSDBU/veteran/verification.asp or the main page at
www.va.gov/osdbu/.

# # #

Hearing From The Ladies

2011-01-01T09:11:00.005-06:00

Hello Ms. Sandra and Happy New Years to you as well!
I've attached the survey and also a picture. We're doing great things
out here and want to let you know that I appreciate every box, letter,
card received- it really makes a difference.

Thank you!
Tiva P. K

Merry Christmas to you all as well,

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays and be sure to travel safely while bringing in the New Year. I hope that your holidays was all that you could wish for and so much more. My Christmas was very pleasing being where I am. I got to enjoy quality time with my Army Family and we enjoyed ourselves very much thanks to the love and support we receive not only from our families but from people like you all as well. I have completed the survey and it is attached as requested. The living conditions here are some what poor and we have only one store on our 12 mile (and expanding) base. They never have anything that we need because they are always sold out. I am a Human Resources Specialist and have been proudly serving my country for almost 4 years. This is my second tour overseas (Iraq November 07 - January 09). I am 23 years of age and married to a wonderful man and we have two dogs, Dro and Shug. I would like to give my sincerest thanks to the team that will be supporting me as well as the administrative staff. You all truly do not know what you do for my battle buddies and I. Enjoy your holidays and live life to the fullest.
Forever Grateful,
Sade L. S

No, no...Thank YOU for what you do for US who are deployed, I can't express in words how much it means to know we are so loved by people we have never even met. Receiving mail, of any kind is such a morale lifter and some days it is the smallest thing that really lifts our spirits and turns a crummy day into a better one. I have completed your survey and attached it. Thank you again for all you do, I certainly appreciate it!

~Shannon C

Ok, I have a list of names. What do I do now?

2010-12-31T13:47:00.003-06:00

Ok, I have a list of names. What do I do now?

How often I have heard that question.

Many new (and old) Angels are always on the lookout for ideas on what to write about in their letters to the Ladies, or are looking for new ideas for what to send in their packages. To help jog your imagination, I have put together 34 pages of ideas collected from the Soldiers' Angels forum. www.soldiersangelsnetwork.com

This list in a PDF file for you to save on your computer. To download this file, simply
right-click here -> Letter Writing and Package Ideas <-
and SAVE AS onto your computer. Then find this file on your computer and double-click to open. There are pages and pages of great ideas. And if you have any other ideas, please send them to me at LadiesofLibertyLADIES@gmail.com ...

Or share your ideas with your team leader who will post them to the LoL Blog www.SoldiersAngelsLadiesofLiberty.com ....

As always, we are very happy to have all of you as Angels supporting the Ladies of Liberty!

Rita, Ladies of Liberty Coordinator

More Holiday Thanks and Wishes!

2010-12-29T21:28:00.006-06:00

I want to say "Thank You" from the bottom of my heart.
My Master Chief, would like to send you a Thank You Letter from our command.
Can you provide me with a Name and Address as to this letter will be going to?
You made our Christmas here in Iraq a pleasurable one.

Veronica D

Thanks so much!!! Hope your Holiday Season went well.
Marissa F

Thank you so much for all you do, it has been wonderful. I am leaving in 3 months to go home, please remove me from you list and add another deserving soldier. I loved all the letters and gifts and am very happy to have recieved them to help me through this.\\ SSG Helen M

Merry Christmas and thank you for your continued support and generosity from
TF86 Delta Med.
CPT Maria C

HAPPY HOLIDAYS......THANKS FOR SUPPORTING US IN A TIME OF NEED. I RECEIEVED MY CARE PACKAGE AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT, IT REALLY MADE MY DAY. MAY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU :)
Ladonna B

Thank you! Happy Holidays to you too. Thank you so much for the support, we all appreciate it greatly!
Brandi W

Thank you for the Christmas wishes!! :) I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well! I filled out and attached the form.
THANK YOU!!
Tiff

AWWW. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL AS WELL. & MAY YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR ! : D GOD BLESS !
Kimi F

Thank you so much. I Pray your Christmas was Great!!
Be Blessed,
T, LaShauna

THANK YOU

The Georgian Training Team sends a hardy Thank You for the generous donations we have received from all that have volunteered their time and dedication. Because of efforts from your organization, it helps our time away from our families and makes life a little more “tolerable”. These care packages are very important and opening a box is like opening a present for Christmas. You put a smile on our faces and we are truly thankful for your support.

Respectfully,
Georgian Training Team
Republic of Georgia
V/R,
TSgt Frost

May you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas season and a fabulous New Year!
Blessings,
Jenece
Merry Christmas to all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!
THANK YOU FROM THE I MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE FORWARD COMMAND! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CARE PACKAGES AS THEY BOOSTED THE MORALE OF ALL OF THOSE WHO RECEIVED THEM AT THIS COMMAND. GOD BLESS YOU AND SEMPER FIDELIS!
Avil K.

Service Member and Family Support Services

2010-12-29T09:44:00.001-06:00

Service Member and Family Support Services

http://www.pdhealth.mil/hss/smfss.asp#amsi

This section of PDHealth.mil provides information and guidance for service members and their families about the service member and family support services that are available from the military, VA, and the private sector.

Table of Contents

DoD Family Services
DoD Helplines
Military OneSource
Other Organizations Providing Family Services/Resources
Transition and Employment Services
Wounded Warrior Support
Casualty Assistance Information
Military Pathways® (Mental Health Self-Assessment
Guides to Service Member and Family Assistance Services
National Guard/Reserve-Specific Healthcare and Support Services

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADA: Know Your Rights - Returning Service Members with Disabilities

2010-12-29T09:41:00.001-06:00

http://www.ada.gov/servicemembers_adainfo.html

U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section

ADA: Know Your Rights

Returning Service Members with Disabilities

You've been seriously injured while serving on active duty in the U.S. Military -- perhaps you've lost a limb, sustained a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, sustained hearing or vision loss, or are experiencing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- and now you're back in the States trying to adjust to living with your injury. This publication explains your rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and provides information on where to get assistance.
Introduction
The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life -- to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. Modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, the ADA is an "equal opportunity" law, not a benefit program entitling you to specific services or financial assistance because of your disability.

The ADA uses different standards than the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs in determining disability status. The ADA covers people with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities such as walking, speaking, lifting, hearing, seeing, reading, eating, sleeping, concentrating, or working. Major life activities also include the operation of major bodily functions such as brain, immune system, respiratory, neurological, digestive, and circulatory functions. Businesses and State and local government agencies must take reasonable steps to make it possible for people with disabilities to be their employees or customers.

Employment
Obtaining Employment: What to Expect

The Hon. L. Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs
The ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified employees or job applicants on the basis of their disability. It covers all employment practices, including the job application process, hiring, advancement, compensation, training, firing, and all other conditions of employment. Under the ADA, employers cannot use eligibility standards or qualifications that unfairly screen out people with disabilities and cannot make speculative assumptions about a person´s ability to do a job based on myths, fears, or stereotypes about employees with disabilities (such as unfounded concerns that hiring people with disabilities would mean increased insurance costs or excessive absenteeism).

Additionally, employers must make "reasonable accommodations" for employees with disabilities, which means changing the work environment or job duties to eliminate barriers that keep an individual from being able to perform the essential functions of the job. Employers are not, however, required to make accommodations that would result in an "undue hardship," which means accommodations that would result in significant difficulty or expense. Also, employers are not required to provide accommodations unless an employee requests them. So, if you´re a veteran with a hidden disability like PTSD, you can decide whether to reveal the disability and request accommodations. If you don´t need accommodations, you don´t have to disclose the disability. Employers with fifteen or more employees must comply with these provisions.

Typical examples of reasonable accommodations are:

Flexible scheduling at a retail store or restaurant, so a sales clerk or cashier with PTSD can attend counseling sessions or an employee with a spinal cord injury who has a lengthy personal care routine in the mornings can start his or her workday later.
For an employee who has a brain injury, reducing clutter and distractions, providing instructions and information in writing, breaking down complex assignments into small steps, or allowing a job coach on the worksite to help a new employee get settled into the job.
Specialized equipment for a data-entry operator who has lost an arm, hand, or finger, such as a one-handed keyboard, a large-key keyboard, a touchpad, a trackball, or speech recognition software.
Making sure materials and equipment are in easy reach for a factory worker who uses a wheelchair.
Raising an office desk on blocks for a worker who uses a wheelchair, and making sure supplies, materials, and office machines are at a height that is easy to reach and use and are in a location that is not obstructed by partitions, wastebaskets, or other items.
Allowing more frequent work breaks or providing backup coverage when an employee who has PTSD needs to take a break.
Providing a stool for a sales clerk who uses crutches so he or she can sit when not serving customers.
If the employer has an employee parking lot, reserving a parking space close to the entrance for an employee who has difficulty walking because of the loss of a leg, foot, or toe.
Providing instructions and information in writing for an employee with hearing loss.
Allowing an employee to bring his or her service animal to work.
Allowing an employee with tinnitus to play soft background music or sounds to help block out the ringing in his ears.
For more information about these provisions or how to file a complaint, see Contact Information for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. For practical advice on workplace accommodations, see Contact Information for the Job Accommodation Network.

Customer Access
Purchasing Goods and Services: What to Expect

There are over seven million businesses in the United States that provide goods or services to the public, including grocery stores, retail stores, restaurants and bars, hotels and motels, gas stations, dry cleaners, laundromats, banks, law offices, medical offices, insurance agencies, movie theaters, art museums, gyms, amusement parks, and other businesses. All businesses that provide goods or services to the public, even small ones with only one or two employees, must comply with the ADA, including the following requirements:

Reasonable Modifications

> Businesses must make "reasonable modifications" in their policies, practices, or procedures when necessary so that people with disabilities can be their customers. Businesses are not, however, required to make any changes that would fundamentally alter or change the nature of the business or its services. Additional information about the rules for "reasonable modifications" can be found at www.ada.gov/reachingout/lesson11.htm or by calling the ADA Information Line. See Contact Information.

Typical examples of reasonable modifications are:

Modifying a no-pets policy to allow someone with PTSD to bring in a service animal that has been trained to calm the person when he or she has an anxiety attack.
Modifying a membership policy at a health club to allow a person who uses a wheelchair to bring an aide to provide assistance in getting on and off exercise equipment, in and out of a swimming pool, or to assist with showering and dressing in the locker room, at no additional charge to the club member.
Instructing staff that if a customer who has lost the use of his or her arms asks them to reach into a shirt or jacket pocket to retrieve the wallet or credit card needed to pay the bill, they should honor the request.
Modifying procedures at a bank so customers who have difficulty standing for a long time can sit down without losing their place in line.
Providing refueling assistance at the self-serve price for a customer with a disability who cannot pump his or her own gas.
An example of a fundamental alteration or change is:

At a gas station with only one employee whose primary job is to protect the cash box or activate the gas pumps remotely, it would be a fundamental change for the employee to leave his or her post unattended in order to pump gas for a customer with a disability.
Effective Communication

Businesses must communicate effectively with customers who have vision, hearing, or speech disabilities. The businesses, not the customers, are responsible for providing the tools or services that are needed for "effective communication." Businesses are not, however, required to provide any tools or services that would be an "undue burden," which means significant difficulty or expense. The type of tool or service needed depends on the nature of the communication as well as the particular customer´s disability. Additional information about the rules for "effective communication" can be found at www.ada.gov/reachingout/lesson21.htm or by calling the ADA Information Line. See Contact Information.

Examples of effective communication are:

At a restaurant, the waiter can read the menu to a person with vision loss.
At a grocery store, a staff person can assist a person with vision loss by locating and retrieving items from the shelves or reading price and content information to him or her.
At an apartment rental office, the agent can provide a large print copy of a rental contract for a person who has vision loss or an audiotaped or electronic copy for a person who is blind.
At a retail store, the sales person can write notes to answer simple questions from a customer who is deaf or has hearing loss.
At a movie theater, staff can provide an assistive listening device for someone who has hearing loss.
A pizza delivery service must accept calls through the telephone relay service from a customer who uses a TTY because of a speech disability.
New Construction and Alterations

Businesses whose facilities were built or altered since the ADA went into effect must comply with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design so that the facility is accessible to and usable by people who have mobility disabilities as well as people who have sensory disabilities and people who have limited dexterity or grasping ability.
>
Barrier Removal

In addition, businesses have a continuing obligation to remove architectural barriers when it is "readily achievable" to do so. For example, if inaccessible features in an older facility can be corrected easily and inexpensively, they must be corrected. If there are several inaccessible features and it is not easy and inexpensive to correct them all at once, they should be corrected over time.

When an inaccessible feature cannot be corrected, if there is another easy and inexpensive way to provide service to a customer who cannot access the business, the business must offer that alternative for the customer.

Additional information about the rules for "barrier removal" can be found at www.ada.gov/reachingout/lesson41.htm or by calling the ADA Information Line. See Contact Information.

Inexpensive steps businesses might take to improve access may include:

Installing a ramp over a step or two at the main entrance.
Making a curb cut in the business's sidewalk.
Rearranging tables, chairs, vending machines, display racks, and other furniture to allow for easy passage throughout the business.
Installing grab bars in a toilet stall.
Lowering a bathroom's paper towel dispenser.
Restriping a portion of the parking lot to create accessible parking spaces.
Installing a paper cup dispenser at an inaccessible water fountain.
Examples of alternative ways to serve a customer when barrier removal is not feasible are:

At a dry cleaner's, providing curb-side service for a customer dropping off or picking up clothes.
At a neighborhood restaurant, providing home delivery or carry-out service for a customer who cannot enter the restaurant.
For more information about these provisions or how to file a complaint, see Contact Information for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Civic Life
Using State and Local Government Services and Activities: What to Expect

State and local governments offer a wide variety of services and activities that returning service members might need or wish to participate in, and all of these must comply with the ADA. Here are just a few examples of the many types of public services that are covered by the ADA: public trade schools and community colleges, public libraries, public hospitals, public parks and recreational facilities, public transit buses and trains, city and county offices where people go to renew licenses, apply for food stamps, pay their taxes, attend town meetings, serve on boards and commissions, or conduct other government business.
>
> The rules for State and local governments concerning policy modification, effective communication, and facilities built or altered since the ADA went into effect are very similar to the rules for businesses, as described in the previous section of this publication. However, the rules for government facilities that have architectural barriers are different than the rules for businesses. The rules for government facilities are outlined here.
>
> Government offices are not required to make all of their facilities accessible, but are required to make all of their programs accessible. They can do this by removing barriers at an existing facility, by relocating the program to an accessible facility, or by providing the program in a different manner. Government offices are not, however, required to undertake steps that would result in an "undue burden" or that would fundamentally change the nature of their programs.
>
> Examples of making a program accessible are:
>
> A community college has two campuses, one is accessible while the other is not. It is not necessary to remove physical barriers at the inaccessible campus, if the two campuses offer the same courses, have the same hours, and serve the same geographic area.
> If the community college offers different courses at its two campuses, offers different programs (for example, day courses at one campus and evening courses at the other), or serves different geographic areas, it must undertake physical improvements at the inaccessible campus or move classes to accessible locations.
> If a person who uses a wheelchair volunteers to serve on a city Parks and Recreation Commission and the Commission's regular meeting place is inaccessible, the Commission must remove barriers at the regular meeting place or relocate its meetings to an accessible location, such as the auditorium of a nearby high school.
> An example of providing a program in a different manner is:
>
> A public library that cannot be made accessible can drop books in the mail and allow them to be returned by mail to accommodate an individual who uses a wheelchair.
> An example of an "undue burden" and how it might be solved is:
>
> In a small municipality, the town council holds its public meetings in an auditorium on the second floor of an historic town building. There is no space on the accessible first floor large enough to hold the meetings, there is no other building where the meetings could be held, and the cost of installing an elevator is beyond the town´s financial ability and would destroy the historic features of the town hall. The town´s solution may be to install a video conference system in a room on the first floor so people with mobility disabilities can participate in the meetings.
> If a city or county employs 50 or more people, it is required to have an ADA coordinator. If you encounter problems when trying to use or participate in local government services and activities, you should ask your city or county if it has an ADA coordinator and see if the coordinator can resolve the problem. All State agencies should have an ADA coordinator to resolve problems in accessing State government services and activities.
>
> Contact the U.S. Department of Justice for more information about the ADA or how to file a complaint. For information about the ADA's public transit provisions or how to file a transit-related complaint, contact the U.S. Department of Transportation. For information about the ADA's public education provisions or how to file an education-related complaint, contact the U.S. Department of Education. See Contact Information.
>
> Other Federal Laws
> Other Federal Disability Rights Laws
>
> As noted earlier, the ADA covers employment, access to goods and services, and State and local government programs, activities, and services. There are other Federal disability rights laws that cover housing, air travel, telecommunications, Federal programs and services, and other topics. For more information, see the Department of Justice publication called "A Guide to Disability Rights Laws." You can read or download a copy at www.ada.gov/cguide.pdf or order a copy from the ADA Information Line. See Contact Information.
>
> Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
>
>
> Gen. Hal Hornburg, USAF (Ret), with two service members
> The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) prohibits discrimination against employees or job applicants on the basis of their military status or military obligations. It also protects the reemployment rights of people who leave civilian jobs to serve in the uniformed services. It applies to all veterans, not just those with service-connected disabilities. Under USERRA, employers must make "reasonable efforts" to help returning employees become qualified for reemployment in the positions they would have attained if they had not left for military duty, or comparable positions. This includes providing training or retraining, at no cost to the veteran. For more information about this law or to file a complaint, see Contact Information for the U. S. Department of Labor.
>
> Benefit Programs
> A Word about Benefit Programs
>
> You have probably already received information from your service branch or the Department of Veterans Affairs about programs designed to assist returning service members. But you may not know that there are many other benefit programs for people with disabilities, whether you´ve served in the military or not.
>
> All over the United States there are organizations called Independent Living Centers that provide information about benefit programs and other services for people with disabilities. You can find out how to contact the center nearest you by calling the ADA Information Line or by calling your regional DBTAC - ADA Center. See Contact Information.
>
> State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies also offer services to help people with disabilities enter or return to employment. Your State´s contact information is available at www.rehabnetwork.org/directors_contact.htm or from the ADA Information Line.
>
> Publications
> The following publications can be ordered by telephone or viewed online.
>
> A Guide to Disability Rights Laws
> www.ada.gov/publicat.htm#Anchor-14210
> 800-514-0301 (voice)
> 800-514-0383 (TTY)
>
> Americans with Disabilities Act: Questions and Answers
> www.ada.gov/q%26aeng02.htm
> 800-514-0301 (voice)
> 800-514-0383 (TTY)
>
> The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual With a Disability
> www.eeoc.gov/facts/ada18.html
> 800-669-3362 (voice)
> 800-800-3302 (TTY)
>
> Veterans with Service-connected Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
> www.eeoc.gov/facts/veterans-disabilities.html
>
>
> Accommodating Service Members and Veterans with PTSD
> www.jan.wvu.edu/corner/vol03iss02.htm
> 800-526-7234 (voice)
> 877-781-9403 (TTY)
>
> Accommodating Employees with Traumatic Brain Injury
> www.americasheroesatwork.gov/accommodatingTBI.html
> Accommodating Employees with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
> www.americasheroesatwork.gov/accommodatingPTSD.html
>
> So You Want to Go Back to School
> www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/back-to-school-2008.html
>
> Contact Information
> All the agencies listed below provide technical assistance to help businesses, State and local governments, and individuals with disabilities understand the ADA. Each agency specializes in different ADA topics.
>
> The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides information about the employment provisions of the ADA.
>
> For questions
> 1-800-669-4000 (voice)
> 1-800-669-6820 (TTY)
>
> For ordering publications by mail
> 1-800-669-3362 (voice)
> 1-800-800-3302 (TTY)
>
> For ordering publications online
> http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/index.cfm
>
> Website
> www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm
> Email address -- info@eeoc.gov
>
> Please include your zipcode and/or city and state so your email will be sent to the appropriate office.
>
> Mail
> Please call, or click on the website´s link "Contact Us," to get the address for the office that serves your area.
>
> The Job Accommodation Network provides information about accommodating employees with disabilities.
>
> 800-526-7234 (voice)
> 800-232-9675 (voice)
> 304-293-7186 (voice)
> 877-781-9403 (TTY)
> 304-293-5407 (fax)
>
> Website
> www.jan.wvu.edu
>
> Job Accommodation Network
> PO Box 6080 Morgantown, WV 26506-6080
>
> The U.S. Department of Justice provides information about the provisions applying to businesses and State and local government agencies, including the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Contact the ADA Information Line to speak to an ADA Specialist who can answer questions and help you understand the ADA´s requirements. All calls are confidential.
>
> ADA Information Line
> 1-800-514-0301 (voice)
> 1-800-514-0383 (TTY)
> 24 hours a day to order publications by mail
> M-W, F 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Th 12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. (eastern time) to speak with an ADA Specialist.
>
> Website
> www.ada.gov
>
> U.S. Department of Justice
> Civil Rights Division
> 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
> DRS-NYA
> Washington, DC 20530
>
> The U.S. Department of Transportation provides information about the public transit provisions of the ADA.
>
> ADA Assistance Line
> 888-446-4511 (voice)
> TTY: use relay service
>
> Website
> www.fta.dot.gov/ada
>
>
> E-mail address
> FTA.ADAassistance@dot.gov
>
> Federal Transit Administration
>
> East Building
> 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
> Washington, DC 20590
>
> The U.S. Department of Education provides information about the public education provisions of the ADA.
>
> 800-421-3481 (voice)
> 877-521-2172 (TTY)
>
> Website
> www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html
>
> E-mail address -- ocr@ed.gov
>
> Mail
> Please call, or click on the website´s link "Office Contacts," to get the address for the office that serves your area.
>
> The ten regional DBTAC - ADA Centers provide information about the ADA.
>
>
> 800-949-4232 (voice and TTY)
>
> Website
> www.adata.org
>
> The U.S. Department of Labor provides information about the provisions of USERRA.
>
> 202-693-4731 (voice)
> TTY: use relay service
>
> Website
> www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm
>
>
> For persons with disabilities, this publication is available in large print, Braille, audio tape, and on computer disk.
>
> Reproduction of this publication is encouraged.
>
> January 2010
>
>
> ADA: Know Your Rights Returning Service Members with Disabilities (PDF version)
>
>
> ADA Home Page
>
>
> Last updated August 17, 2010
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *********************************************************************************************
>
>
>
>
> Very Respectfully,
>
> Shari Parrow, MSW LCSW
> U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2)
> Advocate
> Serco, Inc. Contractor
>
> Providing personalized support to severely wounded, injured and ill
> Soldiers and their Families for, "as long as it takes".
>
> Direct: (701) 306-8751 (C) (Leave Messages Here)
> Toll Free: 1-877-393-9058
> Email: shari.a.smith@us.army.mil
> Online: www.AW2.army.mil
>
> (160 D&T-0)
> RM 1135-d
> Fargo VAMC
> 2101 North Elm Street
> Fargo, ND 58102
> Fargo VAMC Office: (701)232-3241 - 9/4412 (Do not leave messages here)
> Faxination: VAMC Fargo, ND (Atten: Shari Parrow (AW2) 701-237-2578
>
> NOTICE: Freedom of Information Act: The information contained in this communication is intended for the sole use of the named addressees/recipients to whom it is addressed, in the conduct of official business of the United States Government. This communication may contain information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, USC 552 and the Privacy Act, 5 USC 552a Addressees/recipients are not to disseminate this communication to individuals other than those who have an official need to know this information in the course of their official Government duties.
>
> Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: This document may contain confidential information that is legally privileged under the Privacy Act, 5 USC 552(a), and/or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (PL 104-191) and its various implementing regulations. If this correspondence contains healthcare information it is being provided to you after appropriate authorization from the patient or under circumstances that do not require patient authorization. You are obligated to maintain it in a safe, secure and confidential manner. Unauthorized redisclosure or failure to maintain confidentiality subjects you to application of appropriate civil and federal criminal sanctions. If you have received this correspondence in error, destroy any copies you have made and notify the sender or the local MTF Chief, Patient Administration Division or Privacy Officer. Access rights to this information are defined in AR 40-66 and DOD Regulation 6025.18, Health Information Privacy Regulation 60.

More Holiday Wishes

2010-12-26T06:58:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to you all as well,

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays and be sure to travel safely while bringing in the New Year. I hope that your holidays was all that you could wish for and so much more. My Christmas was very pleasing being where I am. I got to enjoy quality time with my Army Family and we enjoyed ourselves very much thanks to the love and support we receive not only from our families but from people like you all as well. I have completed the survey and it is attached as requested. The living conditions here are some what poor and we have only one store on our 12 mile (and expanding) base. They never have anything that we need because they are always sold out. I am a Human Resources Specialist and have been proudly serving my country for almost 4 years. This is my second tour overseas (Iraq November 07 - January 09). I am 23 years of age and married to a wonderful man and we have two dogs, Dro and Shug. I would like to give my sincerest thanks to the team that will be supporting me as well as the administrative staff. You all truly do not know what you do for my battle buddies and I. Enjoy your holidays and live life to the fullest.

Forever Grateful,

Sade L. S

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO U TOO! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
dominique j

Hello Ladies,
Thank you so much for all that you do for me, Happy Holidays to all.
Shawanda R

Merry Christmas - thank you for supporting our Troops and me :)
v/r
Muleskinner 6
Toujours Prêt!
MICHAELE M. McC

Merry christmas to all of you who are supporting us .
thanks for supporting us .
CPL Malhotra

Thank you so much. I hope your Christmas was blessed and full of happiness
Lauren W

Thank you and merry christmas to you and all the wonderful ladies. I have an address changed. I have received wonderful letters from many people and I am very thankful but since the address changed they take longer to get here.
Carmen N

Same to you, your family and all the angels whom make our deployment time easier, thank you for all you guys do for us
Yunia C

Thank you so much for all of your support and everyone at Soldiers’ Angels. The team truly made my squadron’s Christmas with all of the care packages that were sent. We really appreciate everything that you have done for us. Hope you had a Merry Christmas as well!

V/R
KIMBERLY A. T

Thank you all so much. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. I appreciate everything that you do for us.
Racurica Y

Hearing From The Ladies

2010-12-25T17:04:00.004-06:00

Ms. Halford:

Thank you for your e-mail and attachment. It is humbling that others would take time out of their individual daily lives to support or even think of those of us who are serving. I come from a line of many service members, and many of them did not have the support of their family, friends, or even Nation when they served. So, again, please accept my heartfelt appreciation for what you, team nine, and all others associated with Ladies of Liberty are doing.

I have attached the survey per your request. I hope the information in there is helpful to you or anyone else. It's just nice to be thought of. Sometimes, even a smiley face on a piece of paper is the greatest piece of mail we service members can get.

Thank you again, for all you do.

Sincerely,

PFC Hope B

Thanks for the email!! I am currently a Joint Investigative Committee
Prosecutor with the Law and Order Task Force in Baghdad, Iraq. I have heard
great things about this organization. Below is my completed survey. If
there is anything you ever need from me, please let me know. Thanks for
your support.

Attached is a picture of me with an Iraqi kid at a Rusafa's women tour
visit. My team sponsored a donation drive for the children as they are
required to live with their mothers in prison.

v/r
Wendi S

Christmas wishes from our Ladies!

2010-12-25T11:55:00.004-06:00

Sandra,
What a great email to come home to tonight! Merry Christmas to you and all of the lovely ladies that volunteer for such a wonderful organization. A special hello and thank you to Team Four! I have attached the survey as well as a couple pictures of myself to let the team know exactly with whom they're actually corresponding. I appreciate the support more than you can even imagine! Again, Merry Christmas and thank you!
Jenna M

Thank you....

Merry Christmas to you to...
Tyna Y.

MERRY CHRISTMAS too you all too!
Angela J

Thank You, Merry Christmas to you!
Mandy L

Thank You, Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!
Daniella V

thank all of you and merry christmas... my company sent you a picture alone with a christmas photo with santa hats... thanks for all you do to make our holidays feel more like home....
Tykeila P

Dear Ladies of Liberty a.k.a. Sandra Halford,

Thank you very much! All I want is to stay safe and healthy for the deployment and the 2011 year- because no amount of money in the world can buy that.

Thank you.

SGT G, Sumy

And on behalf of all the soldiers in Afghanistan, we wish you and your family a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Richetta B

Thank you very much and a merry Christmas to you, your family and all
the ladies of liberty from me and my team.
Shadilynne C

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS. MAY GOD'S LOVE AND GRACE FOREVER BE YOURS.
Milda R

Merry Christmas!! & A Happy New Year!!
Sabrina R

God bless you, Sandra!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours!

Semper Fidelis,
A.Michelle K

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and your family.
Sharon L

thank you.. and the same to you! It's pretty cold here right now.. but it is early still. My chain of command has some mandatory Christmas events going on for us today. I also received an envelope you guys had sent out toi me with some crosswords and word searches in it.. Thank you!
Pfc. F, Cara

Thank you! & Merry Christmas to everyone at "Soldiers 'Angles of Liberty
Sunshine"!
Thank you for all that you do. It is greatly appreciated! :)
Shirley B

Thank you for all you do. I am so thankful to God for having people like
you all. Merry Christmas and God Bless.
Tiffany M

Thank you so very much for everything you all do for our unit.. MERRY
CHRISTMAS to all of you.
Karon P

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you too!
Bobbie C

Merry Christmas to you too!!! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and happy New Years, Thank you for your support!
Thank you,
Angela B

Hearing From The Ladies

2010-12-23T16:09:00.003-06:00

Hello Soldier's Angels!
Just wanted to share a pic of Sam and I in our Christmas hats
Thanks for the support and Happy Holidays!
Amy M.

LOL Team #2 weekly update 12/22/10

2010-12-22T07:03:00.002-06:00

Hello Team #2

I would like to thank each and every one of you for all your hard work this year. I can never say enough about how much I appreciate each and every one of you. I hope that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday. Enjoy your families and please pray for each of our soldiers that can not spend time with their families.

Wishing you the best holiday ever!!

Katie

Team #2 Leader
*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Hi Angels,

Next year, I'm planning to start including tips and stuff in each weekly update. Just little tidbits that might be helpful - still trying to think of a clever name for it. But, I wanted to go ahead and "unofficially" start with a timely tip here. As you all know, Christmas is this weekend, which means those after-Christmas sales start next week. This is a fantastic time to stock up on things for upcoming care packages. Christmas things - decorations, cards, stockings, etc...can be packed away for next year, but I usually find things on clearance that I can use before then. Last year, I found a couple of packs of Christmas-packaged warm fuzzy socks for about 75% off...the socks themselves weren't Christmas-themed, they were just packaged that way, so I just took them out of the package and send them in a winter care pack. Gift sets of things - like bath stuff, coffees, etc, are usually marked way down and can also be sent any time of year. Also, Candy is a great thing to stock up on - even the Christmas-colors can be "repurposed" - Red can be used for Valentine's Day, Green for St. Patrick's Day :) And, lastly, if you like to mail-order care packages, Hickory Farms(www.hickoryfarms.com) usually has really great deals after Christmas. They offer free shipping to APO/FPO and have a special "Military Gifts" section that has all the things you can ship APO/FPO (they all meet the mail-restriction guidelines some areas have). You never know what you'll find, but in the past I've gotten some really great deals.

Cherilyn
Team #2 Asst.

FAN CLUB MEMBERS OF THE MONTH: JEFF BADER

2010-12-21T05:49:00.001-06:00

FAN CLUB MEMBERS OF THE MONTH: JEFF BADER

As you know, I meet a lot of people while on the road. A lot of times, I meet someone and they make a lasting impression on me. This is true of the gentleman I am about to introduce you to. I've named him "The Most Un-Selfish Man in the World". His real name is Jeff Bader and he has earned this month's Fan Club Member of the Month.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff in Memphis, TN many months ago. Jeff and his wife Patti are the Founders of Soldiers' Angels. Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-led nonprofit organization with hundreds of thousands of volunteers providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, veterans and their families. This is the organization that is helping us with our Letters for Lyrics campaign. Jeff came out to volunteer for Letters for Lyrics at the Memphis show and told me that day that he was going to try to come to a lot of shows and help the volunteers gather written letters. Little did I know then I would work with Jeff at every show from that point forward.

The reason I named Jeff "The Most Un-Selfish Man in the World" is because he does everything in his life to help others, yet wants NO recognition for it at all. He rents his own car, stays in his own hotel, buys his own gas and food and shows up at every show to write letters to the soldiers. He asks me for nothing. When I offer to feed him at the Eat & Greet, he tells me that it is ok, he doesn't want to put us out, he just wants to help us collect letters for the soldiers. He never asks to go back stage, or see the band, or anything. He just shows up in every city with a huge smile on his face and the most incredible, positive attitude. Jeff also joined the Zamily because he loved being a part of our team.

Jeff recently presented every band member, the Southern Ground Artists and myself with a beautiful award for all that we are doing to help Soldier's Angels. In my opinion, Jeff Bader deserves an award for being "The Most Un-Selfish Man in the World."My new, very good friend has made me want to be a better person. He inspires me on a daily basis and I hope his story can inspire you.

Thank you for your dedication to all Soldiers, Jeff. This world is a better place because you are in it.

T Bird

Team 11 Update

2010-12-19T17:28:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone! I'm proud to say our team has sent some angel love to most of the women on our list!!! Thank you team 11 :) Natalie, team assistant, collected 150 cards from the students at her school, friends and family sent to the chaplainand a few LoL on our list. Sabine, a team angel, sent over 200 christmas cards and candies to the USS Abraham Lincoln. Many of the cards were signed by jr. high and elementary kids. They drew pics and wrote great messeges on them for the sailors. She said it was lots of fun and hopes to do it again. Thank you Natalie and Sabine!

Here's a few pictures Sabine sent.

DMA Holiday Video

2010-12-16T14:29:00.001-06:00

All-

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays and to share a special video that we at the Defense Media Activity Emerging Media directorate produced, with the participation of more than 40 commands worldwide.

Servicemembers from each of the services, stationed everywhere from Afghanistan to Antarctica, helped make "Twas a Night in December," a variation of the popular holiday story rewritten with a military twist. Country music singer and active military supporter Toby Keith introduces our holiday video.

Please feel free to share this video with your friends and family. And if you'd like to share it on your Facebook pages, blogs, and other social media, we'd be grateful!

You can link to the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j_icz3ZEHw

And, you can view the entire blog post: http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/12/twas-a-night-in-december/

Happy Holidays,

V/r,

LT Jennifer Cragg
Emerging Media Directorate
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
Defense Media Activity
601 North Fairfax Street, Suite 311
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-2007

GOLD STAR WIVES DAY - December 18th

2010-12-16T14:24:00.001-06:00

Senate resolution designates Gold Star Wives Day

By C. Todd Lopez

Army News Service

WASHINGTON (AFRNS) -- For the first time, America officially recognizes the contributions and dedication of military widows with ''Gold Star Wives Day.''

A Senate resolution designates Dec. 18 as a day to honor and recognize the contributions of the members of the Gold Star Wives of America Inc.

The group, with about 10,000 members, provides service, support and friendship to the widows and widowers of military personnel who died on active duty or as the result of a service-connected cause.

"This is the first year we've had a Gold Star Wives day. It's something that our government relations committee has been working on," said Kit Frazer, president of Gold Star Wives of America Inc. "It's national recognition for the organization, which is wonderful. It's something very special to us."

Mrs. Frazer's husband was an Army helicopter pilot and was killed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. She said the organization represents military widows from every war since World War II.

Vivianne Wersel serves as the chairman of the Gold Star Wives government relations committee. Her husband, Marine Lt. Col. Rich Wersel, died Feb 4, 2005.

She said she hopes the observation brings awareness to the efforts of the Gold Star Wives.

"Part of it is public awareness, that the organization does exist and has existed since 1945, and the only time when we are really in the eye of the public is when we are on (Capitol Hill)," she said.

One of the issues Mrs. Wersel said the Gold Star Wives would like to bring attention to is how widows receive benefits after the deaths of their husbands -- in particular, how dependency and indemnity compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs affects a survivor's payments from the Survivors Benefit Plan.

Mrs. Wersel said some are confused by what the organization is working for when they ask that the rules governing benefits be changed. She said it helps to understand that a military wife often gives up a chance to earn her own retirement benefits when she agrees to move with their husband's military career.

"When you are a spouse and you have to move 10 times to 10 states in 10 years you don't get your own retirement," she said. "Your retirement is a team retirement."

She said one of the things Gold Star Wives of America Inc., works for is to bring attention to that issue, and she hopes the observation Dec. 18 will bring attention to that effort.

Related Link: Gold Star Wives of America Inc.

Announcing DCoE's 2011 Monthly Webinar Series

2010-12-16T14:19:00.001-06:00

The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic
Brain Injury (DCoE) recently completed its first year of monthly webinars
(http://www.dcoe.health.mil/Events/MonthlyWebinars.aspx), a promotional and
informational series that offers resources, speaker presentations, best
practices from government and non-government organizations, and the
opportunity to dialogue with experts in areas of psychological health and
traumatic brain injury.

Since our first webinar in November 2009 about chaplains and chaplain
assistants, the listserv has increased by more than 1,240 percent; actual
attendance has increased by more than 400 percent; RSVP rates have increased
by more than 750 percent. These numbers clearly show an interest in national
and international discussions on various topics surrounding psychological
health and traumatic brain injury, such as reintegration, mobile technology,
support for caregivers and suicide prevention.

We are pleased to announce the 2011 DCoE Webinar schedule
(http://bit.ly/hJdrJ7). The 2011 topics range from technical and
research-focused subjects like indirect neurotrauma and neuropathophysiology
of mild traumatic brain injury to personal and emotional subjects like
compassion fatigue and holidays away from families. The webinar topics are
as varied as the issues and topics that DCoE focuses on in support of
servicemembers, veterans and their families.

TRICARE Offers Help for the Holiday Blues

2010-12-16T14:14:00.001-06:00

FYI: TRICARE Offers Help for the Holiday Blues [ http://www.tricare.mil/mediacenter/press_article.aspx?fid=507 ]

The holidays are usually an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends, but this time of year can also present significant stress. Joyous reminders of the holiday season for some can bring pain and loneliness to others.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, encourages service members and family members to reach out for help if they are struggling with feelings of stress, anxiety or depression through the video "Getting the Help You Need, When You Need It" at http://www.youtube.com/tricarehealth#p/u/4/SzMk-n8nY8k&feature=related.

Getting the Help You Need, When You Need It [ http://www.youtube.com/tricarehealth#p/u/4/SzMk-n8nY8k&feature=related ]

Please reach out to your family and friends if you are experiencing any holiday blues. Try to talk about your feelings with someone you trust, or seek confidential counseling through the TRICARE Assistance program (TRIAP) in the privacy of your home at www.tricare.mil/TRIAP [ http://www.tricare.mil/TRIAP ].

See what TRICARE Deputy Director Rear Admiral Christine Hunter has to say about getting help: http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/12/medical-monday-tricare-assistance-program-is-here-for-you-during-the-holidays.

A complete list of websites and other links are available at the TRICARE Mental Health Resource Center at www.tricare.mil/mentalhealth [ http://www.tricare.mil/mentalhealth ].

Sign up for TRICARE e-mail updates at www.tricare.mil/subscriptions [ http://www.tricare.mil/subscriptions ].

Connect with TRICARE on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/tricare [ http://www.facebook.com/tricare ] and www.twitter.com/tricare [ http://www.twitter.com/tricare ].

The TRICARE Management Activity administers the worldwide health care plan for 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries of the uniformed services, retirees and their families.

________________________________________________________________________

TRICARE [ http://www.tricare.mil/ ] Questions for TRICARE?
Contact Us [ http://www.tricare.mil/contactus/ ]

Praise our heroes everyday....

2010-12-15T11:00:00.001-06:00

A Poem Worth Reading

He was getting old and paunchy
and his hair was falling fast,
and he sat around the Legion,
telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
they were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
his tales became a joke,
all his buddies listened quietly
for they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
for ol' Bob has passed away,
and the world's a little poorer
for a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
just his children and his wife.
for he lived an ordinary,
very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
going quietly on his way;
and the world won't note his passing,
'tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
their bodies lie in state,
while thousands note their passing,
and proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
from the time that they were young,
but the passing of a Soldier
goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
to the welfare of our land,
some jerk who breaks his promise
and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
who in times of war and strife,
goes off to serve his country
and offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
and the style in which he lives,
are often disproportionate,
to the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
who offered up his all,
is paid off with a medal
and perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians
with their compromise and ploys,
who won for us the freedom
that our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
with your enemies at hand,
would you really want some cop-out,
with his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
his home, his country, his kin,
just a common Soldier,
who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
and his ranks are growing thin,
but his presence should remind us
we will need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
we find the Soldier's part,
is to clean up all the troubles
that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honour
while he's here to hear the praise,
then at least let's give him homage
at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
in the paper that might say:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

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2010-12-15T10:47:00.001-06:00

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Hearing From The Ladies

2010-12-12T17:46:00.001-06:00

Sandra,

Just something I wanted to share with the Ladies of Liberty. There are many versions of this poem out there, but this one is for the sailors who won't be with family and friends Christmas Day.

Twas the night before Christmas, the ship was out steaming,
Sailors stood watch while others were dreaming.
They lived in a crowd with racks tight and small,
In a 47 man berthing, cramped one and all.

I had come down the ladder with present to give,
And to see inside just who might perhaps live.
I looked all about, a strange sight did I see,
No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stockings were hung, shined boots close at hand,
On the bulkhead hung pictures of a far distant land.
They had medals and badges and awards of all kind,
And a sober thought came into my mind.

For this place was different, so dark and so dreary,
I had found a home of a Sailor, once I saw clearly.
A sailor lay sleeping, silent and alone,
Curled up in a rack and dreaming of home.

The face was so gentle, the berthing squared away,
This was the United States Sailor today.
This was the hero I saw on TV,
Defending out country so we could be free.

I realized the families that I would visit this night,
Owed their lives to these Sailors lay willing to fight.
Soon round the world, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on Christmas day.

They all enjoyed freedom each day of the year,
Because of the Sailor, like the one lying here.
I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas Eve, at sea, far from home.

The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.
The Sailor awakened and I heard a calm voice,
"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice."

"Defending the sea all days of the year,
So others may live and be free with no fear."
I thought for a moment, what a difficult road,
To live a life guided by honor and code.

After all it's Christmas Eve and the ship's underway!
But freedom isn't free and it's Sailors who pay.
The Sailor say's to our country "be free and sleep tight.
No harm will come, not on my watch and not on this night."

The Sailor rolled over and drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent ,so still,
I watched as the Sailor shivered from the night's cold chill.

I didn't want to leave on that cold dark night,
This guardian on honor so willing to fight.
The Sailor rolled over and with a voice strong and sure,
Commanded, "Carry on Santa, it's Christmas, and All is Secure!"

The following is an excerpt from a letter written by an unknown servicemember and it really resonated in me:

"I would like, however, to take this opportunity to thank you, and America, for being the fine, grand, noble Nation that makes each and every one of us out here serving in the military extremely proud of the country and the people we protect.
You don't necessarily have to pray for us soldiers, as we have chosen this life....and we will sacrifice our life for OUR people and OUR country. No, do not pray for us this holiday season.....Pray for OUR Nation and Her people......for only then will the life we 'chose' be worthwhile.
Yes, I do pray for peace on Earth...always. But, "there will be wars, and rumors of wars," so, in the meantime; maybe, just maybe, this year you can put out a suggestion to OUR American people......
We tend to fly our flag on 4th of July, we tend to fly our flag on Veteran's Day......maybe this year, through your web-site, you could maybe "ask" the American people to put a small American Flag on their Christmas Tree, amongst their ornaments, (or within their own religious ceremony/custom) just to "remember." A small reminder that "we" are free to celebrate whatever holiday, however we please, because of that flag and what She represents.
Sir, I have volunteered to protect ALL Americans....Christian, Jewish, Agnostic, even Atheist......it is my proud honor to do so.... and all I ask is that maybe, during this "holiday" season (whether one believes in it or not) is your help in asking "America" to wave Her flag in Unity and be thankful for our Grand Nation. It would mean a lot to us out here, wherever we are......

"Santa don't cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more,
My life is my God, my country and my corps."
and with all due respects to the Major, I add.....
America, my country-men,
Our flag is our life.....
We've accepted your ancestors
Through struggle, through strife...
We've come a long way,
Yes, a long way to go....
But we're out here defending,
The life that you know.
What you believe,
Is not my concern,
I carry my weapon.....
American learns....
I'm proud to serve you,
Wherever I'm sent,
For you are Americans...
From Allah to Lent....
And so my dear county-men,
I ask of you this...
Display Our flag,
And remember our bliss....
For I am out "here"
On this Christmas Day....
And I want you proud...
.......LONG MAY SHE WAVE....."

Very Respectfully,
ENS Thuy V N

Sandra,

Thank you for your kind words, to be honest with you it is easier to try to forget about the holidays even occurring better coping mechanism. God Bless you as well. Happy Holidays though, and thank you for everything you do to make our deployment as comforting as possible

Melissa

Team #4 Update

2010-12-12T08:45:00.003-06:00

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Well, Mr Winter has hit Iowa with a vengeance yesterday. We had our first blizzard of the season. I awoke to a -20 windchill this morning which reminds me we need lots of warm things to send to our ladies!!! It's getting cold there too! Hand and toe warmers would be good stocking stuffers too.

Team 4 was blessed with new members this week! I'd like to introduce you to one!

Ashley Hutton Powell

I'm really excited about helping the woman of our troops. I have been a member of Soldiers Angels for ~2 years now and when I adopt a new soldier...I'm always hoping I get a female. This is a perfect way to know that I'm helping out a female soldier! I'm 24 years. Lived in Wyoming pretty much my whole life. Married, no kids. Just a dog and cat (enough of kids there is you ask me!). I have a degree in Wildlife Management and Fisheries Biology from the University of Wyoming. I currently work on the Bighorn National Forest. Arguably the most pretty Forest in Wyoming.

I think that has to be one of the coolest jobs!

Lets all give Ashley a big Angel Welcome!!

Have an awesome week everyone!! Be safe in all this crazy weather! Our ladies are counting on us!

Paula
Team #4 Leader

Team One Weekly Update

2010-12-08T21:20:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone is doing well and not getting too stressed out over holiday shopping. Our family just had our Thanksgiving celebration; we were waiting for my son Byron and beautiful daughter-n-law Kim to arrive from Germany. A little different this year, but will worth the wait; tomorrow they leave for Ohio to spend time with Kim's family and than on to Fort Polk LA, where Byron will be stationed at for the next 2 years. A lot easier and faster to get to than Germany.

We have a very special request from Team Twelve Leader Jill; her mother-n-law has been diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer and she would like to make her a blanket from crocheted 8 inch squares that she collects from all you wonderful angels. I do not know how to crochet, but I know many of you do; if you would like to take part in this very special project and help make an angel's mother-n-law feel good, please contact Jill at ladiesoflibertytwelve@gmail.com

We have received a survey (attached) from Yoo Kang. It makes it easier to support our great ladies, when we know what they like or need. If any of you have trouble opening the document, let me know and I will try to send it to you in a different format.

Don't forget the December, Team One challenge; put this team back on top, by sending letters and cards to all of our soldiers. Remember there are prizes for the angel who sends the most letters and the angel who sends the most cards/postcards. I look forward to sending these gifts out.

Last and most important; based on the Team One reports for the last few month, we have very few angels reporting in. At the end of December, I will go through the reports and any angel we haven't heard from will be removed from the team. I really dislike doing this, but without reporting or emailing us once in a while, we have no way of knowing if you are active or inactive. So please report in.

Be the light that leads others out of the darkness, not the rock in the darkness they stumble over.

Happy Holidays!

Hearing From The Ladies

2010-12-08T18:48:00.003-06:00

Thank you very much for your email. I look forward to keeping in touch with you. Just a little about myself. My name is Captain Tyna Y. I am 44 years old. I am a single mother of two children. I have a son and a daughter.( Kurison and Fredrick). They are my greatest joy. This is my second deployment. I thought this deployment would be easier since my children are little older, but it is still very hard being away from them. Although the deployment is going well, and I truly Thank God for being along my side, I do miss my children a lot. Once again, Thanks for taking the time to write me. I look forward to staying in touch.

Hello ma'am how are you doing? My Birthday has already past. It was Aug 19th. I will be leave 1st July 2011. Any items you can send you letters would be wonderful. Thank you for helping me.
Gerri M

JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YALL FOR EVERYTHING YALL ARE DOING FOR THE SOLDIERS.
Vanessa G

Thank you so much for your support! I have attached your survey with the information you requested filled in. Also, I just wanted to let you know that I am a UH-60 blackhawk crewchief/mechanic. That is why I requested things like the thermos or packaged soups and hot chocolate because when we fly it gets very cold and it would be nice to be able to take hot drinks. I don't have much family support back home so having the support of your group means so much to me! Thank you for all you are doing!
Melina G

I wanted to take the time to let you know that we will be redeploying on or about 26 January 2011. The items being sent for Christmas will be the last things we could accept. I want to personally say thank you to all the Soldiers Angels Ladies of Liberty who have taken the time to write, email, and send packages to Soldiers here in Afghanistan. It has really helped me get through this deployment, being a single parent, it would have been very hard for me to get the items I needed for personal hygiene without your support(I didn't have much support stateside). I plan on retiring soon and would love to be apart of your organization from the civilian side. Once again thank you for all your support.

SFC B, Christine A

Hello all!

I hope you're all doing well. I'm doing alright. Nothing exciting has happened lately. The ship pulled into Seychelles for 4 days during Thanksgiving weekend so I got to spend Thanksgiving day on a tropical island. =) I was all up to date on my qualifications so I was able to take overnight. It was so good to sleep on something other than my rack. What was even better was the chance to relax and just not be on the ship. Unfortunately, I've gotten pretty terrible about taking pictures so I don't have many to share. Attached is our Halfway Home Newsletter with things we've done so far this deployment. Less than 3 months to go! I'm supposed to be flown home early to go to school in Newport, RI also. I'm pretty happy about that since I was not looking forward to crossing the Atlantic in February.

Christmas is coming, but it doesn't feel like it here. It's cooled down since the monsoon season has come and it is gorgeous weather outside now. Sunny with clear skies. I think I've seen rain once since being underway. I'm fairly sure some people woke up upset this morning since we played Christmas music as the morning wake-up song. No one wants to remember that we won't be home for Christmas.

I've changed jobs...again. I'm the Force Protection Officer now. Our program is shaky and it has to be up and running before we hit Norfolk so they decided to create a force protection division. I will be in charge of 3 people and our sole purpose is to put together this Anti-Terrorism Force Protection program. I didn't want to leave engineering since I had just put down some roots and gotten comfortable, but apparently it'll be good for me in the long run to switch jobs.

I guess I should get back to work now. I've already slept half the day away. ;) I stand the 1AM-7AM watch so I get to sleep until noon every day this week. We're also getting mail today. It's been about 2-3 weeks so I'm hoping my running shoes and vitamins are arriving today.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
T.V.N.

Sandra,

Hi! I'm Courtney, the Soldier you have written to via Ladies of Liberty. I am sorry I haven't been able to respond until now. I am horrible at time management and am usually sleep deprived! But, today is a slow day for me, which is a rarity. Thank you so much for the support and letters you have written. I didn't realize the Ladies of Liberty was for female Soldiers specifically. I think that's awesome! The female Soldiers tend to get overshadowed by the male dominated military, but we do our part and sometimes take upon just as dangerous of assignments as our male counterparts. So, the support is much appreciated.

I am WAY behind schedule on writing back as I have a letter from you dated in June and a card from you dated in August. But, if there is anything I can do to help the organization I would love to! I LOVE the color of purple that you wrote me in as that is my favorite color. I am doing well and my unit is over here for a few more months, which is very exciting. I'm getting ready to go on mid-tour leave and that makes me excited. I plan on eating, running and sleeping! LOL!

Calan,

Thank you for my friendship bracelet. I wear it on my right wrist and I LOVE the sparkle flower you put on it. It is very well made and I thank you for it.

I hope this finds you and your family doing well. Thank you again!

Sincerely,
Courtney

Hello Sandra,

This is great. I am happy to be a part of the Ladies of Liberty. I
have been in country for a few weeks now and only have access to a very
small PX/BX to buy any necessities. I have actually attached a pic of
how small it is.
My birthday is February 22. The only thing I can think of that I would
love to have is some Bodywash and fingernail polish. I would love to be
able to feel like a woman still! But it goes without saying that I am
appreciative of anything. It is nice to know that others are thinking
and taking care of us. I will be here for an entire year, so my mail
stop date will be 15 Nov 2011.
Thank you for your support.
v/r
Sherri G

Hello Sunshine Angel and the Ladies of Liberty ( I hope I am saying that right)
I just want to say thank you for everything. I think this is a great thing that Soldiers Angels are doing I only hope that one day maybe when I retire I can make a deference like you wonderful ladies. I hope that you women continue to be a blessing to others as you have been to me.
Thank you, Krystle

LoL 7: early Dec edition

2010-12-08T10:12:00.002-06:00

Greetings Angels!

A few pieces of information here---

Mail Stop: Ashley F and Rebekah B

Address Change: Carmen N

Carmen writes: "I think what you guys do is so great. I look forwarding to hearing from you guys whether by email or letters."

We also received this note from Lady Chezsare M: "Thanks for the response, myself and all of the soldiers really appreciate people like you. We go through our ups and downs, missing our love ones, loosing are fellow soldiers friends, and just adjusting to a new environment. Its people like you, that keeps our moral on a incline. As always, we appreciate your love and support. Thank you!"

Hope you are all enJOYing the season with your family and friends!!! Remember that each person you encounter in your day may have a loved one currently deployed. Take time each day to acknowledge the blessings you have right now: appreciate something beautiful, linger over something delicious, laugh out loud at something funny.

Time to FLY!

~Diana

Team 12 Weekly Update

2010-12-08T08:44:00.002-06:00

The Team 12 Ladies would like to wish you all a very Happy Holidays! A wonderful Christmas and a very Happy Prosperous New Year!

November we ended up the month sending out 938 Letters/Cards and 237 Packages. So far for the month of November we have sent out 285 Letters/Cards and 39 Packages. On the exciting note, we have been getting a lot of feed back from our ladies! Great job to all our Angels! Keep up the hard work!!

LOL Team #2 weekly update 12/8/10

2010-12-08T05:39:00.000-06:00

Hello Team #2

I just wanted to make a comment about one thing this time.I have received many questions on our new format for keeping track of the letters and packages that are being sent out. The main question is if you have to input each lady you send to. The answer is YES, I do not do any of the tracking any longer. I have been thinking about this for a while to figure out an easier way to handle this. At this time I would recommend that as you send out these letters to each and every one of the ladies on our list input them in the system. Take 10 at a time and input them instead of doing all the inputting in one sitting. I know this might take some time but it is for a very good cause. The "management" really need to know this information for funding purposes. You are all doing a fantastic job, I appreciate each and every one of you and all that you are doing.

If you have any questions on anything please don't hesitate to ask!!

Katie
Team #2 Leader

The Sunshine Report

2010-12-06T21:44:00.006-06:00

Well after a few adjustments, thank you Peri, thank you Rita; the end of month totals for November are complete.

2012 Ladies were supported by 711 Angels; 5127 letters/cards/postcards and 746 packages were sent.

Thank you angels for doing such a wonderful job; keep up the great work.

Make Your Holiday Sparkle with Walkers n' Daughters Jewelers

2010-12-03T08:17:00.001-06:00

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It's "the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Or is it? - Military Pathways® is hosting a Depression, Deployment and the Holidays Webinar

2010-12-03T06:28:00.001-06:00

It's "the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Or is it?

For many service members, veterans and family members, the holiday season can be stressful - especially when a loved one is away. To help those who may be feeling depressed or overwhelmed this time of year, Military Pathways® is hosting a Depression, Deployment and the Holidays Webinar on December 8th from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST. This webinar is for service members, veterans, family members, and clinicians who work with the military. To reserve your spot, register online at www.MilitaryPathways.org

Hearing From The Ladies

2010-12-02T12:50:00.001-06:00

I want to send you one last note and say a great big "Thanks!!!" for sending all the care packages that you did during my time of deployment. I leave Monday and head back to the States. It has been a wonderful time with all the morale goods our chapel received during the year. Our soldiers in my unit and on the posts where I served were so greatly blessed. Now that I have been deployed and experienced the blessings of your ministry, it makes me all the more thankful for individuals and organizations like you that have supported the soldiers.

I actually had a quick change of events relating to my replacements. At first my command thought no chaplain would replace me. And then my assistant chaplain was staying on until March. However, we now have a full chaplain who is replacing me AND my assistant. If it is ok, I am listing his contact info below if you care to still send packages to him:

CH (CPT) Ian Ross
Palace Chapel
FOB Prosperity
APO AE 09348

I am glad to say that our mail clerks told me that 2/3 of all the mail coming into FOB Prosperity belonged to the chapel and was given out to soldiers!!

I have enjoyed your emails and cards as well. Please let's stay in touch via email, Facebook, or whatever way we can! Again, you have been a great blessing.

Blessings,
CH Page Brooks

This is my first deployment and I was unaware of any organizations that aid Soldiers when they are deployed. I just want to say thank you and your organization is very uplifting and I cannot express how I truly feel but it has made me realize as a Soldier we have supporters and they are very appreciated. Thank you.
Althea M

Hello Everyone,

I am doing fine. On Veteran's Day we different games to play. They had flag football teams. WII bowling, spades, and various other games to play. I watch some flag football. I played spades and WII bowling. I took pictures but my camra stopped working after the spades game and has not worked since. Overall it was a good day.
Today at 0800 AM we had a 5k Turkey Trot Run. I walked it. It was fun. I could not take any pictures because my camra no longer works. I have been working on getting things in order for us to redeploy back home. While I am gone on R&R in Dec my LT will have to finish some of the things for our redeployment move. When I get back I will have to make sure the rest of the things get done. They are working on our tent today. They are putting in a new air and heat unit. The one we had quit. They air duct for the heat and ac inside the tent will need to get turned around. Do not know if that will get down tonight or at a later date. Also hopefully the power distrabution will be done so we can each have some light and access to a power outlet in our area. I will not know till I go to the tent tonight if I will have my own power outlet instead of us daisy chaining for power. It would be nice to have light in my own area instead of having to see by flashlight.I will not know till I go to the tent tonight.
Hope everyone is doing okay. Take care

Louelle T

FALLEN AIR FORCE HERO: Lieutenant Colonel Gwendolyn A. Locht - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

2010-12-01T20:58:00.001-06:00

Please wrap your wings around the family and friends of Lt Col Gwendolyn A. Locht:

The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lt. Col. Gwendolyn A. Locht, 46, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was medically evacuated from Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 22 for treatment of a non-combat related illness. She died Nov. 16 in Houston, Texas. Locht, a nurse, was assigned to the 96th Inpatient Operations Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Lt. Col. Gwendolyn A Locht, passed away Nov. 16, 2010. Gwen was born on June 5, 1964 at Eglin AFB to Amon O. Andrews and Nellie C. Andrews. Gwen was preceded in death by her father, Amon Andrews, and brothers, Neil Andrews and James Andrews.

She was a 1982 graduate of Choctawhatchee High School and a member of the Indianettes. Gwen received her Bachelor's of Nursing from the University of South Alabama and was a member of the Phi Mu Sorority.

After 5 years of courtship, Gwen married David Locht on Oct. 8, 1988. Gwen worked at the local hospital in Fort Walton Beach before joining the United States Air Force family as a Second Lieutenant. Her first assignment was at Eglin AFB and she was deployed to Operation Desert Storm.

Her next assignment took her to Maxwell AFB, Ala. Gwen took a two-year break from active duty service and become a USAF Reservist in Florida where she had her wonderful son, David Locht Jr. After returning to Active Duty, Gwen was assigned to Patrick AFB, Fla. Her next assignment then sent the family to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska where her beautiful daughter, Danielle, was born. Then it was back to Florida to Hurlburt Field and to Eglin AFB where she was deployed to Afghanistan.

Gwen spent the last few months battling Leukemia which was diagnosed during her deployment in Afghanistan. Her husband of 22 years would like to thank all of the family and friends who helped us battle this disease by taking time to donate blood and all of the loving prayers.

Gwen always loved the beach. The smell of the salty water, the wind in her face and the gentle roar of the waves all combined to create a sense of peace and calm.

Gwen is survived by her brother, Jerald 'Jerry' Andrews, and his wife, Joan; niece Christy Andrews; sister-in-law, Gloria; niece, Andrea Andrews; brothers-in-law: John Locht; Mike and wife, Martina Locht, daughters, Natasha and Sabrina; Kevin and wife, Sherry Locht, son, Huston and daughter, Madison.

Expressions and sympathy can be viewed and expressed at www.emeraldcoastfuneralhome.com

Team 9 Updates!!!

2010-12-01T14:11:00.004-06:00

Hello Angels of Team 9!!!!!!

It has been a month since I have posted anything to the blog. I do apologize. As all of you know things are always crazy busy with the holidays and then this past week I had to go get sick with strep throat. So... since it has been a month we have LOTS of updates.

Check your emails! I have sent many updates!

December List:
The December list is now available and in your emails. If you did not receive it, please let me know ASAP. The 12-1-10 list is the most up-to-date. You SHOULD NOT be using any others!!!

USPS Holiday Shipping Calendar:
I can't believe it is December already and for us angels that means a lot of shipping. With Christmas just around the corner we need to be aware of holiday shipping deadlines. Check your emails... I sent the USPS Holiday Shipping Calendar out today and most deadlines ARE THIS WEEK! You can also view the calendar at http://www.usps.com/holiday/shippingcalendar.htm

Christmas Stocking Challenge (on facebook)
Sandra, our Sunshine Angel is conducting a stocking contest on facebook. For more information contact her. For those of you participating please note tomorrow is the deadline to send her your stocking pictures. The voting will start on the 2nd and continue till the 9th.

Military Family Holiday Adoption:

Adopt a Military Family for Christmas

Soldiers' Angels still has 600 military families still waiting to adopted for the Holidays! These are families of young enlisted soldiers who are struggling to have a festive holiday celebration. The goal of adoption is to to help military families in need with presents for their children and a grocery gift card or prepaid Visa gift card to purchase their holiday dinner and trimmings.

If you can't adopt a military family by yourself, please considering pairing up with another family, or organizing your church, workplace or community group to adopt a family in your area. This project is a great way to connect one on one with military families to offer a special Thank You this holiday season by providing food and gifts for a Military Family!

For all the information about adoption and how to do it, please visit www.soldiersangels.org/op-outreach-christmas-adoption.html Even if you can't support a family single-handedly, please donate along with others who are combining their efforts to make sure each family is taken care of.

Reporting:
Just a reminder, again on how important reporting is. It only takes a few seconds, so if you are sending a card, letter, or package please remember to report it.

Facebook:
If you have a facebook account and would like to be apart of the LOL Team 9 Facebook Group please let Tonya or I know. We would love to have you!

Always remember if you have any questions please contact Toyna (Team Leader) or I/Amy (Team Assistant Leader). We will be glad to help and answer questions the best we can.

Thanks for being apart of LOL and Team 9

Amy (LOL Team 9 Assistant Team Leader)

Got a coffee lover on your list? Green Beans has gifts!

2010-11-30T15:14:00.001-06:00

Dear Cup Of Joe Fan We had a wonderful response to our request for your support of the Troops through Cup Of Joe for Thanksgiving and to all who participated, my heartfelt thanks! Today we're introducing Green Beans gifts for the holidays. Please come have a look at our gift baskets, plus our selection of super premium coffees, finest quality teas and famous spiced chai. As always, we'll donate a portion of the proceeds from your Green Beans purchase to charities that help military families and children of the fallen. And for a limited time, the cost to ship any order within the continental United States is only $5! Happy Holidays from Green Beans!! Jason Araghi CEO & Co-Founder Green Beans Coffee Company Honor First, Coffee Second

* $5.00 shipping applies to any order shipped to a destination within the continental United States plus all APO/FPO orders. Additional charges apply for orders shipped to AK, HI and US territories. $5 shipping offer is valid for a limited time; we reserve the right to end this offer without notice.
Follow Cup Of Joe on facebook.
Green Beans Coffee Co. Inc. \| (415) 461-4023 900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 281 Larkspur, CA 94939 ©2010 Green Beans Coffee. All Rights Reserved.

Thanksgiving photos

2010-11-30T12:24:00.001-06:00

Ladies of Liberty,

Happy Thanksgiving, i hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving. I wanted to share some of the my units (319th MI BN) Thanksgiving photos feel free to post them on your blog, thank you.

SFC Cynthia

Grac After Fire

2010-11-30T07:54:00.001-06:00

She's a sister, a daughter, a wife...

SHE IS AN AMERICAN SOLDIER.

Did you know women veterans often struggle
as they come home and try to resume civilian life?

They need your help, today.

She fought for you.
Here's how you can join the fight for access to more care...

At Grace After Fire, we provide outreach to all women veterans and their families, offering confidential peer support; and increased access to appropriate trauma, mental health, addiction and community services. We offer unique peer services and work to connect women veterans to
healthcare and workforce readiness services.
Read more about our program...

On behalf of the nearly 2 million women veterans in America,

Thank You.

To learn more about Grace After Fire, go to our website www.GraceAfterFire.org

Grace After Fire is a 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity.

Your donation is tax deductible according to IRS regulations.

500 East 4th Street, #104 | Austin, TX 78701 | (512) 692-9152
www.GraceAfterFire.org | 501c3 Nonprofit Charity | Woman Veterans Support Line: (800) 362-6477

Mission: Provide outreach to all women veterans and their families, offering confidential peer support and increased access to appropriate trauma, mental health, addiction and community services.

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LOL Team #2 weekly update 11/30/10

2010-11-30T06:29:00.001-06:00

Hello Team #2

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and filled your tummies full of wonderful things!!

Just a reminder we need to get moving on the Christmas stockings. Please let me know if you need names. At the present time we don't have very many promised and we have to get things moving!! I am pretty sure this week would be the time limit to get them in the mail.

Also this is the end of the month so make sure and get your letters/cards and packages in the system so our Sunshine angel has correct information. This system is so awesome and easy to do. If you have any questions please let me know. I will do the best I can to answer them.

Have a great week (I can't believe its almost December)

Katie

Team #2 Leader
*****************************************************************************

Christmas Stocking Project (Team Two)

Hi Angels! Time to get the ball rolling on our Christmas Stocking Project.

The Project: A filled Christmas Stocking sent to each Lady on our list.

We had previously announced this as solely for Handmade Stockings, but Store-bought stockings are just fine (I'll probably go that route, myself). The important thing is getting all our Ladies covered. We currently have 160+ Ladies on our list and only 52 Angels to cover them. We need to start getting a count of how many stockings we'll have. So, we've set up a formfor you to fill out. It is just 3 questions (Your Name, How many stockings you can send, Who you want to send to (If you don't pick names, we'll assign them to you)). I've also included a box for any comments/questions/suggestions you may have. You can find the form here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFFYMVNBZ3NUSm1mbTNYLVNwd0k3aGc6MQ
Please let us know as soon as you can so we can start crunching the numbers. :)

Also, there is a thread in our Facebook Team page for this project, so come on over and share your ideas! If you aren't a member of the LoL Team #2 Facebook group, and would like an invitation, let me know.

I bought my stockings yesterday - found some very cute ones at Target for $2 each. They also had mini-handheld video games for $1 each, so I picked up one for each stocking. Will be filling mine this week, so I can get them in the mail in time! That means this week, I'll be putting together cocoa packets, cider packets, etc. I also picked up mini Christmas trees from Target (hmmmm, seems like I shop there a lot!) for $1 each. These will be going in the packages with my stockings. Hope you all are having fun with your Holiday Packages :)

Cherilyn
Team 2 Assistant

Free Shipping on Gourmet Brownie Cakes for the Holidays!

2010-11-29T16:28:00.001-06:00




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Team #4 Update

2010-11-27T20:22:00.002-06:00

Well, alot has gone on with team 4!

Today my first radio interview was playing over the waves here in Fort Dodge! I'm hoping it helps recruit more for LOL and SA in general. I know that I will already be expecting a call from the coordinator of the local RSVP/Foster Grandparents to go speak. Thrilling news from Larry who interviewed me. He also interviewed them and passed on our info...... gotta love Larry!

Team #4 is also welcoming a new assistant. Stephanie Copeland! Lets all make her feel very welcome.

As the December mailing deadline is fast approaching, its time to plan the final mailing push to make sure the troops each have a little something special in the mailbag. We will be working hard to make sure we hit our goals!

Paula Kendall
LOL Team #4 Leader

Hearing from the Ladies

2010-11-25T20:47:00.003-06:00

Thank you so much for adopting me! I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me. I am going to encourage my other female Soldiers to sign up for this program also. A couple of them have limited support channels back home and Ladies of Liberty sounds like it might be just the ticket to help them get through this deployment.
You and all of the other women that support this program are in my prayers. What you are doing is such an awsome service and so appreciated.
I have attached my survey. Please let me know if there is anything else I need to do. Once again, thank you for adopting me. I hope to hear from my team soon.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season.
Dawn B

Ladies of Liberty,

Happy Thanksgiving, i hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving. I wanted to share some of the my units (319th MI BN) Thanksgiving photos feel free to post them on your blog, thank you. Cynthia G.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY FAMILY & FRIENDS.
MAY YOUR DAY BE BLESSED WITH LOVE & PEACE. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
MILDA M. R.

Special Project for Camp Leatherneck

2010-11-24T23:34:00.001-06:00

Good day all,

I just wanted to let you all know that we will hopefully be opening up a new morale, welfare and recreation facility hear on Camp Leatherneck toward the end of December. We will have in the facility an area where we will allow military members to check out DVD movies and board games. There will be an area where snacks will be placed for them to help themselves to. We plan on having two microwaves in there for them to use for snacks that require heating up. I know that you all send carepackages with many different items in them. If you would like to send items like DVD movies/board games, large amounts of snacks, please send them to:

(Contact the Sunshine Angel for mailing information)

I will make myself the Point of Contact until I know who will be here from our replacements to take over receiving mail for our MWR. This facility will be open 24/7 and will have military members from all branches of services using it for morale purposes. There will be a movie room, game room that they can play Xbox/Play Station type games as well as board games. I’m so excited that I can barely contain myself.

I just wanted all of you to know what we have coming up to help with the morale here on Camp Leatherneck as your care packages have always been a large part of keeping up our morale! I will send pictures when I return from my R&R in Jan of the open facility. My Sergeant will take care of routing packages to the Wounded Warriors and MWR while I’m away.

God Bless and Semper Fidelis,

VOTE FOR TARYN DAVIS - 2010 WOMEN OF WORTH

2010-11-23T14:43:00.001-06:00

PLEASE VOTE FOR TARYN DAVIS FOR L'OREAL'S 2010 WOMEN OF WORTH. Taryn Davis became a widow at the age of 21 when her husband Michael Davis lost his life while serving in Iraq in 2007. Since than she has started American Widow Project.
The American Widow Project's core philosophy is to serve the interests of the military widow community by and through means readily accessible anywhere, anytime. To learn more about Tara and to vote for her, go to
http://www.womenofworth.com/Honorees/Honoree2010Detail.aspx?nomid=d31a0c41-702c-4948-84f1-b0825af540aa/

Hearing From The Ladies

2010-11-21T19:18:00.002-06:00

Ladies,

Thank you so very much for your response. I really appreciate what you
ladies do for us. The business of serving others is never an easy road as
we, who are in the business must make and endure sacrifices. So thank you
for what you do. I feel very honored that you would welcome me to Ladies of
Liberty.

Attached is my survey. I really don't need anything. I just would like to
make this holiday a special one for my Soldiers because they are away from
home. The Holiday Season is one of the hardest times a Soldier has during
their deployment. So anything Christmas/Holiday Season theme would assist
me in my endeavor. I am planning a decorating contest, a night of caroling,
playing holiday movies, and the lighting of the Christmas Tree...don't ask
me how I am going to get this done but I have faith.

Thank you so much. It is wonderful knowing there are organization out there
like this. Most of the donations sent to Iraq normally go to the larger
facilities and rarely make it out to us unless specifically addressed to us.
Gratefully,
Zoraida M

Ms. Halford
Sunshine Angel,

Thank you for the email. I have filled out the survey with my information. I really appreciate what your group is doing. This is my first deployment and I am adjusting fairly well to my new routine. I am in a medical company so it's very small compared to other companies. Quite a few of our soldier's have signed up fo Soldier's Angels and suggested that I do too. Thank you for all the support that you and your orginization provide to us. As you can imagine, mail call is the best part of our day!

Thanks again,
Kim C

Good morning Diane, Rita, and Sandra,
I received the e-mail stating that I am assigned to the Ladies of Liberty's
team. I first want to say thank you for what you do because sometimes when
things get very hectic we need outlets and we don't want to worry our
family. This is my first deployment. I am a mother of 3. My son Jayden is 7
(10/14/03)My daughter Janiyah is 5 (12/14/04) and my daughter Jakylah 7
months (04/08/2010) . This is the first time I have been away from my kids
so its difficult at times but I pray and I try to stay encouraged. So I was
just saying hello and thank you....I look forward to talking to each of you
in the future.

V/R,
SGT W, ZERPHLEE

Thank you!! Everyone has been amazing! I have received 6 boxes of shoes from people so far. I really appreciate it. I no longer have their names, but I am sure you know who they are. I would really like to thank everyone who supported us. Because of you, we have given out over 30 pairs of shoes to now very happy children. thank you again for everything, God Bless you all! Love Jaime H

Hearing From The Ladies

2010-11-20T20:01:00.006-06:00

A Team Twelve Supported Soldier

I received the following photos from Danielle "Elsa" B.

Postcard Project

2010-11-19T18:03:00.005-06:00

These are pictures of the wall above and below the bunk beds in my room. I also sent a picture of myself so you all can see what I look like! Thank you for all you have done! The chocolate was loved and appreciated as well as the bracelet I received from Ms. Carol Schuh! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your holidays!

Much Love to you all!

Thank you so much!

Sgt Tynetta C. M

Team 7 reporting in

2010-11-19T14:23:00.002-06:00

Like you, we are feeling very blessed here on Team 7. I wanted to pass this along from one of our Angels:

Hello team!

I just wanted to let you know of a great opportunity that I am using to help our ladies out. I am a teacher at a school and we are doing an ALL SCHOOL service project. I was lucky enough to be able to put our cause as one of the projects. 9^th graders will be paired with 3^rd graders and they will be bringing in items for a box for soldiers and writing letters together. I will be sending out 25 large flat rate boxes to 25 of our ladies!!!! ; - ) I just wanted to let you know because I feel so blessed at the opportunity to help these women out and I have felt bad for not participating on our team for a while! I also requested that if we had leftover items, we would use them to send more to the women! So that # may go up!

Again I am so happy to be part of this team!

Wishing you all the best, in this season of giving thanks.

Time to FLY!

~Diana

Hearing From The Ladies

2010-11-19T12:53:00.001-06:00

A Team Six Supported Soldier

Sandra,
Things are well here, as could be. Just another day. Thank you so much for seeing how I was doing. And I am getting a lot of support. More than what was to be expected. I appreciate all the support very much. Its amazing how little something like a hello can make my day. I can very much relate to a female in a male oriented world can be interesting and very challenging. Again Thanks to you and everyone there who helps and supports us here.
Prayers
Melissa J

A Team Eight Supported Soldier
Hey ladies

I would like to start by thanking you guys for you support to the troops, I originally sign with you guys to share my boxes with my office co-workers, as we have been in to this deployment every single box i received from you guys was share amound the girls that work with me and as they enjoy the products you guys send me I enjoy the happiness the this bring to my piers

I just chalenge my self to do something good for my females piers this deployment and kind of keep them from missing home, I have been away from home for a long time and at first it didn't feel good at all so i know how my peirs feel been away from home

Ones again I thank you for making this possible for me and for making me feel really good about this deployment, even tho I still go like 6 months to go I think is necessary for me to let you guys know what a really cool thing is that you guys do for us, God Bless you and have a great day

Very Respectfully

SPC Cabrera, Yunia

3rd annual Adopt a Military Family for Christmas

2010-11-19T11:28:00.001-06:00

Dear Angels,

We have received a HUGE response to our 3rd annual Adopt a Military Family for Christmas Presents project. Nearly 2000 FAMILIES ARE WAITING TO BE ADOPTED!

Our goal is to help military families in need with Christmas presents for their children, along with a grocery gift card or prepaid Visa gift card for the family to purchase their holiday dinner and trimmings.

If you can't adopt a military family by yourself, please considering pairing up with another family, or organizing your church, workplace or community group to adopt a family. This project is a great way to connect one on one with military families to offer a special Thank You this holiday season by providing food and gifts for a Military Family!

What am I expected to provide the families?

For each family adopted, you are to provide a minimum of $50-$100 food gift card for a holiday meal, depending on the size of the family and gifts for each child in the amount of $20 - $50. All toys must be new and age appropriate. We ask that you wrap the gifts and ship the presents to your family you are matched with, so the families can receive your gifts before the Christmas holidays.

Adopt a Military Family for Christmas Sponsor
Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of commonly asked questions to familiarize you with our program. If this does not answer your questions, please feel free to contact me at cvink@soldiersangels.org

1. How soon do I need to tell you that I want to adopt families?
Our goal is to match families as soon as possible in hopes to give the sponsor and families enough time to plan. We would appreciate firm commitments from our sponsors no later than December 5th to make this possible. However, please note that the later you submit your request, the less likely that we will be able to match you with a family.

2. Can I choose the size of the family?
Yes, you can choose the family size that best suits your family's/groups ability to support.

3. Can I adopt multiple families?
Yes, you can adopt as many families as you would like as long as you can provide the minimum requirements to each family.

4. Can I specify the location of the families?
Yes you can specify the State of the family you would like to adopt. However, we may ask that you widen your geographic location if we are unable to match you with a family in your requested area.

5. What am I expected to provide the families?
For each family adopted, you are to provide a minimum of $50-$100 in a food gift card for a holiday meal, depending on the size of the family and gifts for each child in the amount of $20 - $50. All toys must be new and age appropriate.

6. Can I purchase items for the parents?
Yes you can purchase items for the parents but it is not required.

7. Can I wrap the gifts?
Please gift wrap your gifts, if you are able.

8. Can I ask the family over to my house?
You can ask the family if they would be comfortable coming over to your house for dinner or to open the presents, but they are not required to do so to participate in the program. For the safety and comfort of the families we leave that up to them to decide. Please respect their decision.

9. I am a company/organization and I want to invite all of our families to a party we are having at our place of business. Can I do this?
Yes, you can invite them to the party, but it cannot be required of the family to participate in order to receive assistance. Some families may not be comfortable attending such a function. Please respect their decision.

10. Can I make the family dinner and bring it to them?
Yes you can make the family dinner and bring it to them but please ask the family first before doing so. The family may not be comfortable with accepting premade food from someone they are not familiar with. Please respect their decision.

11. What if I want to adopt the family for the entire year – how do I do that?
Our program matches families with sponsors for the December Holidays, but if you choose to adopt the family for the entire year that is between you and the family. Please discuss this with them and see if they are comfortable with this relationship. You do not need to inform us if you decide to adopt the family for the entire year.

12. How do you screen the families?
All families are screened for participation in our Adopt a Military Family for Christmas program. An application form and a telephone interview are requested by every applicant for our Adopt a Military Family for Christmas program. However, this program is an expression of gratitude for families that sacrifice daily for our country and not necessarily based on financial situation.

13. When do the military families start applying?
Family registration began October 1st. Deadline to submit application for assistance was October 31st.

14. How long does it take for you to match me with a family?
The wait time will vary. We will review applications matches every week and we review every application thoroughly. Beginning in mid-November, we will match the families with the sponsor that best fits the sponsors request. If you are interested in adopting a military family for the holidays, please contact cvink@soldiersangels.org (Please do not just hit reply to this email. Thank!)

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Caren Vink
www.soldiersangels.org
cvink@soldiersangels.org

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-18T15:19:00.001-06:00


	Happy Thanksgiving! Fun developments this Thanksgiving. A blog I wrote about my inspiration for While Time Stands Still is posted on The Women's Conference web site. You can see it on their homepage: http://www.womensconference.org/ or the direct link: http://www.womensconference.org/how-your-talents/ I volunteered at the powerhouse conference which is organized by the First Lady of California Maria Shriver, and this year speakers included Michelle Obama. Though everyone was excited that Oprah Winfrey was there to accept a Minerva Award, I was thrilled that Carolyn Blashek, supporter of my film and founder of Operation Gratitude, which has sent 600,000 packages to the troops, was honored with the same award. I am delighted to share the story of While Time Stands Stilll with such a fantastic group, and welcome any wonderful comments you would like to write on the blog. Status Update: The film is amazing! While Time Stands Still is currently in post production. The goal is to complete it in the next couple of months. I am looking for a sound designer and color correctionist, so referrals are greatly appreciated. Can't wait for you to see it! I want to thank all of the military families and service members who sacrifice for our country, especially those who will be spending the holidays alone because their loved ones are deployed. My gratitude is also extended to all of you who have supported me on my journey to create While Time Stands Still. The documentary is the intimate and impactful story of military families facing the challenges of war because of your generosity. You have contributed in so many ways to help make this important film become a reality. So close!!! I'll keep you posted on my progress. You can visit the Facebook pages for more updates, and share your comments. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WhileTimeStandsStill/217126409755 http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=24343626241 *Thank you for your support!* Elena Miliaresis Director-Producer 818-632-7334 While Time Stands Still Smiling Sun Productions www.WhileTimeStandsStill.com Elena@WhileTimeStandsStill.com Photos: Left: Brandi Albritton (military wife from documentary) , Elena Miliaresis, Aaron Abritton Middle: Denneny (military wife from documentary) , Haley, and Jordan Cochran Right: Kym Sardinas (Tampa Area Marine Parents Association) and Elena Miliaresis

Struggling to serve women vets

2010-11-17T18:47:00.001-06:00

This Article from StarTribune.com
*Please note, the sender's identity has not been verified.

The full Article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here.

Struggling to serve women vets
MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune

Anne Baumtrog remembers the slight well.
She and her husband, Paul, were at a support program in the Twin Cities for returning soldiers, checking out a Veterans of Foreign Wars table. Anne, a staff sergeant in the Minnesota National Guard who had just come back from the first of two tours in Iraq, was in uniform. Her husband was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.
But the VFW officials focused on him, explaining the benefits the group could provide, even offering to mail him more information.
For Anne, who received a combat medic badge in Iraq, the disrespect was jarring. "I can expect that from the average citizen,'' she said. "But to have that kind of disrespect from fellow veterans, it was just frustrating and hurtful."
To this day, the VFW offers come mailed to Paul, not Anne.
Her experience is common. Women across Minnesota who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan tell similar stories: Home loan paperwork from the Department of Veterans Affairs made out in the names of their husbands. VA hospital care where women are such an afterthought that examination rooms face out toward crowded hallways. Insufficient job-training programs. Family-outreach programs blind to the idea that some of the spouses left struggling at home are husbands, not wives.
Nearly 250,000 female soldiers have served in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade. More and more of them are coming home. But the military is often struggling to serve their needs.
In Minnesota, home to the more than 20,000 female vets, women who were once in or near the thick of the fight say they feel that the military and the civilian worlds overlook or discount their service. Some feel so marginalized they are reluctant even to seek help for emotional and other problems that arise once they're back home.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, in a speech earlier this year, acknowledged the problem.
"Time is not on our side. We are late," he said.

Congress also has taken the small step of authorizing a comprehensive study of the VA's treatment of women veterans. And last year, the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs convened its first military women's summit to explore ways to reach out to women vets and their families.
The numbers are beginning to reveal the extent of the problem. Women make up roughly 5 percent of the approximately 107,000 veterans nationwide who are homeless each night. "Mistreatment by the VA is enough reason for many traumatized women veterans to fall through the cracks and end up victims of alcohol abuse, unemployment, homelessness and suicide," Anuradha Bhagwati, executive director of the Service Women's Action Network and a former Marine captain, testified at a congressional hearing last year.
★ ★ ★

"Males are afraid to put a female in a position of authority because they assume a male would do a better job ... It's a man's military, and that's what we get for stepping into it."

23-year-old woman who served in Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard. Like a number of others, she spoke of her service on the condition of anonymity.

★ ★ ★
Becky Danaher has completed the outward transition to civilian life --from U.S. staff sergeant operating a command center in Iraq to buyer at Target.
She was part of missions that cost soldiers their lives, and her time overseas threatened her marriage. Yet the only outward wound from her service is a front tooth lost during training for Iraq. Danaher doesn't talk much about being in Iraq. It's not that she minds. It's that others don't ask, a fact that she has come to accept.
"It took me a while to understand that people don't know what to say," says Danaher, who left Iraq five years ago. "It's easier not to ask anymore, but it's something that goes on in my mind constantly. To them, it's just like someone spent a year in Europe or some other work experience. They don't think about it being somewhere inside me. But every time a door slams it sounds like a mortar."

She was part of a unit that coordinated convoys of food, equipment and troops. Sometimes the trucks would fall prey to explosive devices and the convoys would call in for medical aid and vehicle recovery. It was Danaher's job to secure vital equipment and figure out how to get people back safe. She went to 20 memorial services for soldiers who didn't make it.
"You don't have to know these soldiers personally, you know who they are. It's like a piece of you is gone," she says.
That stress fully manifested itself only after she got home.
"I went through a two-week period where my mind and body decompressed. I cried nonstop, and I didn't know why. Then I figured out I was just letting go."
She finds herself disconnected from small talk about celebrities and gossip.
"Our time is limited, and I've seen that firsthand," she says. "You don't know, you have to accept the possibility of death.''
She and her husband, Sean, recognized that their marriage had frayed while she was overseas. The outreach offered by military family support groups was no help.
"There were things like scrapbooking. I can tell you I'm not into scrapbooking," Sean said. "And all the e-mails I would get from the family support group the pronouns were the wrong gender."
After Becky's return, Sean intensified a long-distance running regime, going farther and farther. The symbolism wasn't lost on his wife. Known for the bright gleam in her eye before she left, a quiet sadness seemed to surround her once she came home.
They briefly sought counseling, but not through the VA. Methodical in her analysis, Becky says now that for as long as a soldier is deployed and away from home it will probably take that long to readjust.
"It was nice to be outside the military, so there wasn't any military bias," she said.
She describes her time in the military as one chapter in her life. Now closed, it is rarely reopened, especially now as the couple expect their first child in late March. She thinks often of the people who were deployed with her, but she put away her medals and ribbons. The most tangible evidence of her service is the cozy south Minneapolis home she shares with Sean. The home was purchased with a VA loan. The paperwork came made out in Sean's name.
Some of her friends who also served have Iraq war veteran license plates. Not Danaher.

"If we had them, everyone would think that they were my husband's,'' she said.
★ ★ ★

"Women were given the worst of everything. I had to walk a half mile to shower or use a flushing toilet."

27-year-old woman who just returned from Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard.

★ ★ ★
Sgt. Breena Bieber was part of combat missions. Except, officially she wasn't.
How can a soldier simultaneously be part of a combat unit and not part of that unit?
When the soldier is a woman.
Because of the peculiarities of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, female soldiers have been asked to serve as liaisons with women civilians there in numbers never seen in previous conflicts. Several years ago, in fact, the Marines developed all-female units -- dubbed lionesses -- to deal directly with Iraqi women. At the same time, the military maintains -- at least on paper -- its rules against women serving in combat, despite the fact that guerrilla warfare often makes the prohibition meaningless. Pentagon policy prohibits women from being part of branches such as Special Forces, artillery and infantry.
But the cultural demands of today's battles have resulted in women becoming "attached" to combat units without officially being assigned to them.
Bieber found herself in that situation in Iraq. Bieber, who spent seven years in the Minnesota National Guard, was deployed with a medical unit twice to Iraq. During the last half of her final deployment she was a medic for a unit operating gun trucks on convoys, patrols and intelligence-gathering operations. When her group pulled over vehicles, it was Bieber's job to deal with the Iraqi women. She recalls one incident where a woman collapsed while walking in the desert during a pilgrimage in the holy month of Ramadan.
"I ran out with my medic bag. When she woke up, she started crying. She'd never seen Army military people before. I was there to help her, calm her down because she saw a woman's face," she said.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have represented a historic change for women in the military. Women have made up a far larger component of the ranks in these wars than any before them and have been subjected to more combat than ever. Some 721 of them have been wounded and 132 killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than in all U.S. conflicts since World War II.
The Pentagon doesn't track medals by gender, but one study calculates that more than 2,000 women who have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq have been awarded the Bronze Star, another 1,300 have earned the Combat Action Badge and at least two women have been awarded the Silver Star, the military's third-highest honor for bravery in combat.
Bieber is leaving the military after seven years and two deployments to pursue a nursing degree. She harbors no regrets about how she was treated. "There is nothing I would ever change about my military career," she said.
However, had she elected to stay in, her path to promotion would be more difficult than those of males who officially had been on combat operations. Bieber acknowledges that the military has been slow to recognize the realities of what it now asking from its female soldiers.
"They are very old-fashioned," she said. "You can see they are trying to break out of that, but I feel like it's going to take time."
★ ★ ★

"Anger issues, sleeping, irritability. I was sexually harassed."

24-year-old woman who served in Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard.

★ ★ ★
Melissa Passeretti has already served two tours in Iraq and carries nerve damage in her neck and back from wearing body armor ill-fitted to the female form.
But she would go back.
Unable to find work since returning home in January from her last deployment and about to divorce, Passeretti sees another stint in the Army as her best option for paying the bills.
A staff sergeant in the Minnesota National Guard, Passeretti came from a military family. Her father was a career Marine who would stop the car on family trips and make the kids stand at attention with their hands over their hearts when the national anthem played on the radio before baseball games.
Respect for obligation and duty has "been bred into me," Passeretti said. If asked, she'd be ready to be deployed again as early as next year.

"My children have all said, 'Well, if you need to go again it's not so bad because we need things, we want things and we're tired of hearing we don't have the money,'" she said.
Passeretti's story is a familiar one to advocates hoping to improve the re-entry of women veterans into the civilian workforce. State employment programs for vets often see women attend a meeting or two and then never come back. A woman veteran between the ages of 18 to 24 is twice as likely to experience unemployment as a non-veteran woman. And women veterans who have served since 1990 have a 20 percent higher unemployment rate than their male counterparts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, A program for women vets wrestling with returning home went on with empty chairs in a Woodbury church earlier this year before male vets were allowed in to fill the ranks rather than risk losing grant money.
In Iraq, Passeretti was a truck driver during her first deployment. Her soon-to-be ex-husband, who also is in the Guard, was at home with the kids at the time. He got plenty of offers of support. When the roles were reversed and she was left home while he went overseas, people just assumed she could manage on her own, Passeretti said.
"Most women work, they clean house, they care of the children. I was seen as I should have been fully capable of taking care of myself," she said.
When a drawer broke in her bathroom, a male friend offered to fix it for her. But when he came to pick it up, they exchanged it at her front door. When it was repaired, they exchanged it again at the front door, fearing people would gossip about a man going to and from her house.
Perhaps what frustrates her most is the lack of recognition. At the veterans hospital, other patients assume that she is the wife of a vet or that her injuries could not have come from the battlefield.
"I'm a combat vet. There are women combat vets in this state," she said. "People just automatically assume that you're not because you're a woman. It's frustrating."
Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434

Team 12 Weekly Update

2010-11-15T10:16:00.003-06:00

Good Morning to ALL!!!! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Our weekly update information.. We have send 209 letters and 89 packages... Our Christmas is well under way! We have only one lady that still needs to be adopted for a stocking! We are working on that now! Other then that, nothing too new or exciting to report! We got some new angels in the last week, hope to have Bios of them up soon. Weve already started brainstorming for Valentines, if anyone has any ideas, please share! :D

Hope everyone has a great week!

Hearing from the Ladies

2010-11-13T13:26:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone,

I am doing well. I am very busy working our redployment back to the states. I have to know what is going back and what is staying. Then there is getting the dates for packing things up, inspections done, dates for shippment.I am trying to get things in place before I go on R&R. My company should be back in the states sometime in March. Today I received a coin from Command Sergent Major Riggs 184th Sustainment Command for the work I did at Camp Marmal. I will be going to school in August 2011 at Fort Lee VA for about 8wks. I am looking forward to coming home for R&R and to the time that I will be redeployed back to the state. Hope everyone is doing well. Take care

V/R
From: SGT T, Louella R

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