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New and Old Adventures for the Military Family
Old adventure!A military PCS is always an adventure! In fact, “military lifestyle” is a synonym for adventure. Finding new fun things to do in your new community after a PCS can be challenging for a military family! Heading outdoors, new schools, new jobs, getting out the front door, off the installation, exploring social opportunities, meeting new friends, visiting local highlights, browsing new malls, walking new trails and playing on new park equipment can be the best of times. But last week I had the greatest time exploring an adventure from the past! Charleston, South Carolina was a wonderful place to live but the summer’s were hot and humid and each…
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“Welcome to Stagecoach”
A quick introduction to our MilitaryAvenue guest blogger. Mike Liguori is a Marine veteran and we are excited to share his coverage for MilitaryAvenue of Stagecoach. He is doing tweets, Facebook posts and blogs for us during this fun event! Be sure to follow along on some great stories about the performers and military supporters at “Stagecoach”. Today was quite the day for me. I barely have been able to sleep due to the overwhelming excitement of covering the Stagecoach Country Music Festival. You think after not getting the consistency of a good night’s sleep I would be dead tired today. Well folks, you are wrong. I am actually…
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5 PCS Tips Before the Movers Arrive
Today’s guest post is from Army Wife, mother and blogger at RecreateAndDecorate.comWith PCS season quickly approaching, many military families will be moving worldwide. Moving is known to be one of the most stressful events we encounter. However, planning ahead can reduce unnecessary stress and help your move run smoothly. Here is a list of tips that you can do in advance that will help eliminate some stress during your next PCS.1. Decide what items you will be packing and moving yourself then separate them from the rest of your household goods. If you are moving overseas, make sure you keep your passports and other essential paperwork out of sight…
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The ‘busy-ness’ of Spring
Ah… Spring. A perfect adjective would be refreshing. We get out of the house. We start the garden. We clean off the deck. We pull out our soccer cleats, baseball gloves and running shorts. We pump up our bike tires, clean out our cars and hose off the outdoor dump trucks, bubble wands and kiddie pools. We open windows, smell the flowers, take long hikes. We start to fill the family calendar with all sorts of events. As military families we also might be looking at orders. We clean out our closets, get rid of the ‘extras’, plan for the future. We make last ditch moments to see the town we called home…
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How do you organize your family calendar?
We are more than a month into the new year and for us it is a pretty quiet month as far as individual and family activities. This is a great month to get organized so that when the craziness starts (and it will start!) we are in a routine. How do you organize your family calendar? At the beginning of the year I went to the big box store and bought a brand spankin’ new multi pack of sharpies. (Woo hoo, they were even on sale!) They were perfect coupled with my new calendar with great big spots for each day of the month. I designated a sharpie for each family…
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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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Youth Sports are Important for Parents too!
“As parents, we often think of youth sports as organized events. I think the more important ones, may be the unorganized variety.” Summer time is here and it is, as usual, crazy busy! Throw in a PCS or deployment for you and it is just gets worse. Finding time for all the unit events, saying good bye a million times (or at least a few) to good friends or acquaintances, making friends at your new location, finding time for a vacation, finding a new spouse job – yep, the head starts to spin a bit! But what about the smaller people version? They go through a lot as military brats…
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Recognizing another Vietnam Hero – Specialist Leslie Sabo earns Posthumous Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded by the President of the United States to U.S. Army Specialist Leslie Sabo killed while saving the lives of his friends and fellow soldiers on May 10th, 1970. The Blogger Roundtable spoke with members of his company and platoon to discuss the events which led to Sabo receiving the Medal of Honor – 42 Years after he was killed. They talked about his heroics on that day after they were ambushed in eastern Cambodia. Accepting the award was Sabo’s widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown. The Sabos had been married during his short leave from Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) and honeymooned during 30 days of…
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Supporting your Military Child
There is no doubt about it. Military children are strong, resilient, and adaptable. But it can be a very stressful lifestyle and when there are resources that can help transitions, PCSs or deployments just a little easier it is important to share them. Here are 10 of our favorite resources out there for your family. Military Family Support is what we are about! 5 great resources for your military child going through deployment: ‘We can be together when we are apart’: Some easy ways for babies and toddlers to stay connected from Zero to Three when a loved one is deployedIdeas for Children While your Loved One is Deployed: Here are some ways author…
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Afghanistan: “Things are Good, not Great”. DoD Blogger Roundtable
He is what we would call a straight shooter! Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, met with the DoD Blogger Roundtable to discuss Afghanistan after returning from a year in command of U.S. Marines and allied forces in the Helmand and Nimroz provinces of Afghanistan. He provided a sobering but positive perspective of the situation next to the borders of Pakistan and Iran and the general was ready to share his thoughts on the current events in Afghanistan with the roundtable bloggers. Celebrating opening of new women’s centerSee Photo Credit BelowImagine a new cell phone network connecting villages, additional and improved roads laid down to make it…
