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The End in Sight? Iraq Withdrawal Continues! DoD Blogger Roundtable
We are finally leaving Iraq… well maybe not… the diplomats are still talking… the troops are left holding their breath. According to current agreements as of December 31st 2011, the 41,000 military personnel in Iraq will have left and the final 22 bases will have been closed or handed over to the Iraqis. Eight years of conflict leaves a lot of material, equipment and trash. We have gone from a high of 505 bases and 165,000 troops to the current levels in a short time but the count down to the end of the mission continues rapidly. One point six million (1.6M) pieces of equipment have been moved from the…
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“Military Spouse Employment Summit”
One of my favorite topics to write about is how to help the military community with employment! The next level up is how to help military spouses with employment! They sacrifice much during each PCS for their military member’s career while frequently placing theirs on the back burner. In today’s economic environment it is even harder so MilitaryAvenue wants to provide resources for the military community in the form of blogs, contacts, articles and news information! So tune up your social media for this one to the Military Spouse Employment Summit being held in Fairfax Virginia on November 3rd and 4th! MilAve_Deborah talking to an Army spouse at an AWN…
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“Celebration of Service” – Helping out Veterans
Loading supplies for veteran’s homes!It started early, involved 1,170 volunteer hours at four veterans’ homes by the end of the day according to Doug Bellah, Home Depot Store Manager, Kentwood, MI! All volunteers, helping veterans get ready for Michigan’s winter, improving their homes, lifestyle needs and more. Their shirts were orange and said, Celebration of Service and included a budget of $8,000 for the four homes’ improvements and had workers from eight Home Depot Stores from Western Michigan – Ludington, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Alpine … Dan and I traveled to one site to talk with Mark, a 3 ID Army veteran from 1993-1996. With a family of six, they were…
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Week in Review: July 24 – 30, 2011 (Military News)
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of July 24 – 30 on MilitaryAvenue.comOne Thousand Posts – Let’s Celebrate It has been an amazing journey at ‘Our Letters to You’, a military family blog. I started writing in 2007 and now just a few short years later our team has written a thousand blog-posts! Blogs full of empowerment, support, education, fun and a bit of ‘been there done that’. One-thousand posts; This calls for a celebration! Which is just what we are going to do. We have some great prizes thanks to some wonderful companies that support our military families. … Debt Ceiling Crisis: How USAA Is Prepared Help Members: Should the federal…
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Week in Review: June 12 – 18, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of June 12 – 18 on MilitaryAvenue.comHow Did I Miss this Great Information Resource?: The USAA Educational Foundation: What do you know about the USAA Educational Foundation? I have been a USAA member for over 40 years and have to admit that I knew little about this non profit resource provider! They are totally separate from USAA since USAA donated a one time gift to establish the foundation and have completely separate missions, leadership and absolutely no ties for products or services, etc. With an opportunity to talk to Barbara Gentry, the President and Steve Finley, the Director of the USAA Educational Foundation,…
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Week in Review: May 29 – June 4, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of May 29th – June 4th on MilitaryAvenue.comArmed with a Battle Saint™: A military Mom, Cynthia LeMay, has launched a project to support the troops. She has a number of loved ones serving in the military, including a son with the 101st Airborne who is currently serving in northern Afghanistan. Many of her family members are in harms way and not a moment goes by when she doesn’t worry and wonder if she could do more to help. At a recent family reunion, she sat around a big bonfire listening to the stories of war told by family members’ home on leave. Some…
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Week in Review: May 8 – 14, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of May 8th – 14th on MilitaryAvenue.com101 Ways to Thank a Military Spouse – Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day! In honor of the spouses that work so hard on the home-front I’ve compiled a list of 101 Ways to Thank a Military Spouse! It is about Respect, Love, Admiration, Appreciation, and a simple Thank You. Enjoy! … It is Military Appreciation Month at Home Depot Year Round! I am excited! I heard two veterans talk about the company they work for and what it was doing for the military community with employment opportunities, veteran housing grants and military discounts at their stores! This is…
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Week in Review: February 6 – February 12, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of February 6th – 12th on MilitaryAvenue.com: Flex Tips for Working Parents: If you and your spouse juggle civilian and military careers while raising children, you know life can be hectic. One way you can navigate these challenges is to communicate openly and often and make the most of workplace flexibility. … Our National Anthem: … “Ironically, I missed where and how Christina Aguilera messed up last night’s National Anthem for the Super Bowl. The TV was on, she started singing, and my kindergartner said “Why are they singing?” My husband had arrived home minutes before hand, coming in from the field, dressed…
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Week in Review: Week of January 30 – February 5, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of January 30th through February 5th on MilitaryAvenue.com: Happy Groundhogs Day: Apparently, Punxsutawney Phil is being ‘overshadowed’ by this huge blizzard / ice storm across the Midwest and Northeast. There was nothing about it in our local news this morning so I had to do a little research to find the GREAT news! … Who is an advocate for your family?: Yesterday after church we headed to the zoo for the afternoon. As a family of six… sometimes we are our own little zoo, or at least circus… but I was really craving some family time. Away from the TV; Away from the…
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2010 Year in Review for the Military Community
What a wonderful year 2010 has been! As I compiled our list of Top 10 Articles for the past year (I do love crunching numbers!) I was reminded of the breadth of information we have on MilitaryAvenue.com. Resources, Roundtables, Support, helpful articles from military-focused companies like USAA, Recipes from Deborah, News from AFPS, blogs about everyday military-life, and so much more! I hope you have had the opportunity to enjoy everything we have to offer. PCS Allowances and Entitlements Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH): is an allowance to offset the cost of housing when you do not receive government-provided housing. Your BAH depends upon your location, pay grade and whether…
