-
Popcorn, Deployed Service Members and Support
I love to hear of a company that goes out of their way to reach our military and families. For every person who posts a photo of a military, community or personal hero to the Kernel Season’s Facebook wall throughout the month of October, the Kernel will donate one case of popcorn seasoning to the U.S. troops via a partnership with Support Our Troops. So who is your hero? What picture would you share with Kernel Season with a shout out of appreciation, gratitude, enduring love? I have been searching everywhere (with no luck) of a picture of my dad (retired Air Force – yesterday), my husband (Army National Guard – today)…
-
From Military to Civilian
I just returned from a great visit to USAA in San Antonio and had the pleasure of meeting a lot of great people, seeing a lot of great things up USAA’s sleeve and doing some super networking with fellow bloggers, military spouses and financial gurus. (In fact, I frequently thought, “How was I so privileged to be invited seeing the room was full of such-experts.”) What a wonderful opportunity! The visit culminated with their 9/11 remembrance, “America’s Resolve”. Our emotions were tested and kleenex placed at the end of every row. Even saying the Pledge of Allegiance tugged at my heart and that was just the beginning. We listened intently to the keynote speaker; bated…
-
Cyberspace – The Bears and Packers? The offense and defense from the LandWarNet conference – DoD Roundtable
The use of computers, smart phones, satellite tv, cable, networks, wifi, email, Facebook, Twitter, immediate communications, long distance communications ++ has become so routine we expect them to be available. When we wake up and find our wifi or other electronics not working it is not a good start to the day. Imagine losing these capabilities when we have a cyber attack? Last week I had the privilege to speak with two electronic engineers who have compared cyber war to a football game. US Cyber Command Logo It was a great conversation but a bit over the head of this non geek. Yes, I remember taking a carburetor apart on…
-
Keeping the “Trucks” Rolling Into, Around and Out of Afghanistan and Iraq – DoD Roundtable
The DoD Bloggers Roundtable met with Maj General Robert McMahon, Director of the Central Command Deployment and Distribution Center (CENTCOM DDOC) to discuss the logistics of surging in Afghanistan and drawing down forces in Iraq. With direct oversight of strategic logistics in both locations the general has quite a job. When queried about the effort he said he has a great team of professionals from the Guard, Reserves and Active forces to run the Center and keep track of the passengers, equipment and supplies moving through the system in and out of both countries. In addition, he thanked the Defense Logistics Agency and Transportation Command at Scott AFB for their…
-
Thankful Thursday: A HOT LONG Shower
I got this email from my son’s preschool (I abbreviated names for purpose of OPSEC). The ‘big school’ referenced is the main-school which is grades K-8. My son is part of the preschool, which is ages 3 – 5… This week in the “big school”, the students have been doing many different projects for Haiti. This has included hourly prayers, fasting and almsgiving. We would like the preschoolers to participate in a service project for Haiti as well, and we have found a project to help one of our own. As many of you know, JM, Mrs M’s husband, is a member of the United States Coast Guard. His unit was activated and…
-
Popular Articles: Week of August 23 – 29
Did you know we post hundreds of articles to MilitaryAvenue every week? It can be hard to keep up with the latest news and happenings around the Military Community. Here are ten of the most popular articles on MilitaryAvenue for the past week; news that is important to our Military Families and their community! Fed Jobs for Military Spouses Face of Defense: Soldier Fulfills Army Dream Wearing Your Uniform: Do’s and Don’ts Old Navy Military Discount An Army Wife’s View: OPSEC and Social Media Laptops For Flat Tops – Free computers for military families Look for Smart Choices in Your Commissary ‘Chaplains’ Closet Helps Landstuhl’s Wounded Warriors Blog Offers Support…
-
How can you make MilitaryAvenue.com *your* site?
Are you new to MilitaryAvenue? Want to be a part of the community? Created by a military family, MilitaryAvenue.com is an online service supporting the military relocation, travel, and lifestyle needs of the American military family. We present Military Rewards and discounts for over 150 categories at 250 installations in the US which also includes local lists of businesses in your area. You will find Military-related articles with news you can use. There is installation information including frequently used telephone numbers, child development center information, on & off post vehicle regulations and much more. So join us! Become part of the community we can’t wait to interact. Jot down a…
-
The Shah of Iran and A Family View of OPSEC
Sometimes OPSEC is just an acronym many folks do not know the definition of or if they do know it means Operations Security they are not sure how it affects them. In fact, military families may not understand that it may directly affect the safety of their loved ones and the members of the unit they belong to. I usually illustrate the point by telling the story from when I took part in a special mission involving the movement of “high value” passengers. There had been a revolution in Iran and the Shah and his family had left the country. We watched from our overseas location having no idea that…
-
Contrary to Changing Life, OPSEC Requires a Firm Stand
OPSEC OPSEC is an acronym that could be life changing. It is an acronym that in a perfect world would not ever be used. OPSEC (Operational Security) could mean “Our precious security is ever changing” as our world is ever growing. The safe world that was defined by a hometown has gone the way of the rotary phone… TV’s without remotes… Roadmaps instead of GPS… Encyclopedias instead of Google… a DVR instead of a VCR… IPOD instead of walkman CD player, YouTube instead of boredom! So much that we take for granted, and isn’t life great because of that! But with the addition of ease, comes the responsibility of control.…
-
OPSEC
It was 4:30am when the alarm went off last Saturday; WAY TOO early for this night-owl. But as I plopped my legs off the side of the bed, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and started to wake up I began to get feel a little excited about what my day had in store. Paul and I were traveling to our “Family Mobilization Brief” four hours away. I was craving information. It was unavoidable that he was leaving. I had accepted that fact & was ready to find out what support services were going to be there for our family and a little bit more what was in store…
