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Happy to be Home! DoDLive Blogger Roundtable
Photo Credit: Real Warrior Campaign“Happy to be Home”Normally you start a blog with the beginning and work your way to the end; today, I started with the closing comments of Master Sergeant Aaron Tippett, US Army. The Blogger Roundtable had the opportunity to interview and listen to the comments of an American hero and how he dealt with the challenges of PTSD. Listen up military spouses! He responded to his spouse after she saw the cumulative effects of multiple deployments. Stay in touch with your spouse! His advise for spouses was, “be there, listen, be supportive,” but don’t push it, each soldier is different. After his wife encouraged him to…
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A Gold Star Mom Speaks Up! DoD Blogger Roundtable
Staff Sergeant Carter See Photo Credit BelowStaff Sergeant Ty Michael Carter will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor on Monday, August 26th for heroism at Combat Outpost Keating, Afghanistan on Oct. 3, 2009. There were eight soldiers from Carter’s unit killed during a ferocious battle that day. Pfc. Stephan Mace was one of them and his mother, Vanessa Adelson, has chosen to speak up to the American public about this story to highlight the sacrifices that are being made by the military community. The Gold Star community often serves quietly as Leanne noted earlier this week in her blog, “The Gold Star Family and Our American Flag“. Vanessa Adelson wants…
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Memorial Day
See photo credit MilitaryAvenue PinterestThis Memorial Day is going to be different for us. We have many family members who have served and some who are currently serving. From World War II to present day Afghanistan with stops in Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. We even have a grandson currently in basic training at Ft Leonard Wood who will do his service time as well. Praying that he will never see combat! But this Memorial Day there is a big hole in my heart where two WW II veteran brothers used to hang out and remind us of the many sacrifices they shared. These two men passed away…
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More than just the winter-blues
The Holidays. They can be a very tough time of year. Not only is it getting darker and darker in our part of the hemisphere but we are missing family, friends and loved ones that are around the world. We are looking back at our year and have seen changes we may or may not like. We are looking ahead wondering what the year ahead will have in store for us. Your spouse might be deployed. Your parents might be thousands of miles away. You may be experiencing the mind-blowing effects of PTSD. Your schedule is crazy and the thought of ‘Silent Night’ is really only a song. Or it might…
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Military Monday Pins
Real Action Figures Source: facebook.com via MilitaryAvenue.com on Pinterest Continue to see more images in honor of our Military & Veterans Veterans Day 2012 is coming up! What will you do to honor a veteran? Source: militaryavenue.com via MilitaryAvenue.com on Pinterest Meet a military spouse? Be sure to thank her (or him) too. It’s not easy being a military spouse, but it is worth it. Source: 27.media.tumblr.com via MilitaryAvenue.com on Pinterest June 27th has come and gone but we still need to be aware of PTSD, today and every day. Source: facebook.com via MilitaryAvenue.com on Pinterest Pray for our Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Soldiers and Coast Guard…
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“Shoulder to Shoulder” Suicide Prevention Stand Down
“… we should be standing “Shoulder to Shoulder” with our soldiers and their families on Thursday!” A day to reflect, a day to plan for the future, a day to remember those lost, a day to consider that we are not immortal or invulnerable… I remember during my days as an airman taking “safety down days” after a particularly tragic series of flight accidents to do just that. To highlight behavior health during Suicide Prevention Month the US Army is taking a “Stand Down” tomorrow focusing on “… good health, teammate involvement, risk reduction and resilience training.” See Photo Credit BelowThe Blogger Roundtable had the opportunity to speak to Sergeant…
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A Chaplain’s Walk through Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) – DoD Blogger Roundtable
Summer is here! Our Nation somberly celebrated Memorial Day with parades, cemetery services, speeches about sacrifice and news articles and opinion pieces about service. We also had picnics, barbecues, time off from work and family gatherings. During one of our family times the topic of discussion centered around Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) and how it was treated from WWI and WWII through Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan. With a number of veterans in the family ranging in age from WWII, Korea and Vietnam, plus the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; it was a lively discussion. I was reminded of Colonel Chris Robinson of the Deputy Director for Psychological…
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Veterans in the News
I love to see relevant and factual stories about veterans in the news. Their service, patriotism, family touches and caring for others despite the tragedies of war are mentioned often. But why does the media insist on placing “Veteran” in the headline when it has no relevance? Caring for injured Haitians DoD PhotoThere seems to be a trend in the news lately. I am a fan of the news and freedom of the press in the US! It is one of our freedoms that makes this country great and allows us to keep up to date as citizens. By the way, I think that bloggers also should be protected by…
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The Gift of Good Contest Winners! The Dilleys and Ortegas and More!
The Home Depot folks have announced the winners of the Gift of Good contest! The Dilley family of Salt Lake City were the grand prize winners with a $20,000 home makeover! Here is the video of the Dilley’s as they were surprised at their local Home Depot! But wait we have more to announce! While speaking with the Home Depot public relations folks who worked the contest, they said they were “so touched by all the military family stories”. As a result, they have decided to give all the contestants a gift of $5,000 for home improvements on top of the $500 gift card they received when nominated. So Adam…
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This Army Family deserves the “Give the Gift of Good”
Vote for the Ortega’s (#4) Here“…our nominee has a great opportunity to win the $20,000 home makeover from the Foundation…” We are very excited! We have a specific mission to support our military community at MilitaryAvenue.com. Our efforts have been rewarded with a sense of accomplishment, smiles and appreciation. But today we are just ready to tell the story of one Army family and our effort to identify a military family for a home makeover from the Home Depot Foundation. The Adam and Monica Ortega familyWe have started our mission with the selection of the crew! MilitaryAvenue has reviewed all of our entries for the HD Foundation, “Give the Gift…
