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Army NCO of the Year Credits Family for Honor – DoD Roundtable
During the AUSA convention this week the Army announced several award winners and the NCO of the year, Staff Sergeant Christopher McDougall, said something that caught my attention during a Roundtable with two of the winners: “Well, first of all, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the people who got me to this level. My family back home in Germany, my wife, two kids. They definitely supported me over the last — this isn’t a one-week competition; it’s been going on for, you know, eight months now when we started this whole process, and they definitely suffered because of it. And they’ve been supportive throughout.” He went…
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Wordless Wednesday: Bright Hope for Tomorrow
byLeanne KocsisonWednesday, October 27, 2010Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestMilitary Life:Leanne,Wordless
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Stop. Think. Connect. – DoD Roundtable with the Center for Cyberspace Research
Stop. Think. Connect. October is National CyberSecurity Awareness Month as declared by the President and those three words are the theme for cyber awareness throughout the nation. With the focus on cyber security the subject drew me to this DoD Roundtable with the warriors at the Center for Cyberspace Research. The US military has recognized the need for a Cyber Command and for education and research! The folks at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) are leading much of this effort through education efforts such as Cyberspace 200 and Cyberspace 300 courses where officers, senior civilians and senior NCOs with experience in the cyber world receive continuing education in…
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Tasty Tuesday Yummy Yogurt
Oh I do love the taste of yogurt. To me it is a soft ice cream sitting in the frig calling my name. I have been told to up my calcium intake, enter yogurt in it’s best form EVER. I make it. Right here at home, twice a week with no special additives. So simple and so much better than any store or name brand. I choose to make vanilla flavored yogurt. Fruits or jams could be added… but I prefer the silky smooth scent of vanilla. The yogurt maker is the key. I chose the Euro Maker, as it was the brand that I saw most often in stores…
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“We’re not going to be able to fight our way out of this conflict” – DoD Roundtable
“We’re not going to be able to fight our way out of this conflict”, said Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph R. Beam, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. The DoD Bloggers Roundtable met with Beam on Thursday morning to discuss Non-Commissioned Officer training for the Afghan National Security Forces. The message that Beam brought is that leader development is critical to the war effort which is the focus of NTMA. A real challenge is an effective personnel development program for NCOs and creating the NCO force that the Afghans need in order to have an effective fighting force. He described morale as good and that the Afghans want to protect their…
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Recognition… In the Neighborhood
As the daughter and wife of two very-selfless veterans I just want to thank all of the companies that are coming out in /my/ neighborhood to support the troops. As Veterans Day approaches I am so grateful for the appreciation that is shown to a group of people I care so much about! Year RoundWe are now frequent customers of Lowes and Home Depot as they offer 10% off to Active Duty / National Guard / Reserves year-round. If a company is going to support us as a military family, then I want to support them! (And by-george we can appreciate 10% off of all of the constant-DIY home repairs…
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PTSD – “There is a Cure”
PTSD can be cured! One more time: PTSD can be cured! So states Dr Dawson Church, of the Iraq Vets Stress Project. I interviewed Dr Church this morning and as we ended the interview I asked him what single message he would want me to send to our military community and that was it! Of course I am way ahead of this interview, but I was impressed with this program and what he is doing to help our veterans and their families. I had to get that out first! According to the Iraq Vets Stress Project website: “There are several established forms of Energy Psychology. These include Thought Field Therapy…
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Finding Scholarships
We have 3 adult children, who married 3 adults – all attended colleges – all accumulated debt. When added up, there are 8 degrees and one more on the way. Degrees are worth every penny though! And every penny that you can get in scholarship is FANTASTIC. I went online looking for scholarships and was amazed at the massive amount of information out there. I found a great website that brought the search down to the reasonable: Scholarship Help & Advice. The internet saves time by having an ocean of information available at your fingertips, websites that have been set up to help students and parents get a financial reward…
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Veterans and Military Associations
What is the purpose of a military association? Why do we join them? Veterans have numerous military organizations/associations to choose from for membership. Recently, I wrote one to resign my membership because they were doing political endorsements with which I strongly disagreed. I received a very professional note back from them but the damage was done. Their name infers that veterans supported these particular politicians that I had absolute no faith in (either for supporting our veterans or directing the course of our country) so I resigned. That caused me to start thinking about military associations to which I send my dues. Why did/do I/we join? Some are working hard…
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October … National “Take care of yourself!” Awareness Month
You are important! There are many factors that make for a healthy well-being and we all need to be sure to take care of ourselves. The military and the different branches reinforce this idea with articles, program and support. The MilitaryAvenue Team reiterates the importance of taking care of ourselves with the very real-impact it has had on us. Now it is time for you to act! Look out for yourself and then, just as importantly, look out for your battle-buddy, your neighbor, your friend, your spouse. October brings with it a myriad of “awarenesses” … breast cancer, depression, domestic violence and much more. All things that we should be…
