-
Hiking in the Cold North
I set a personal record for a winter hike yesterday! It was a cold day but not bitter like it had been for a while (seemed like months actually). It was a long ways from those hikes in Panama, Nevada, Florida, Virginia, Texas and other warm places that the Air Force sent us. Much closer to Iceland, Illinois and Washington state in many circumstances like the wind chill (about zero during the hike), the snow covered surface and cloud cover. Maybe I should explain why I hike outside in the wintertime? I think they forgot to plow us today!First, I like a challenge! Yep, it is a challenge to get…
-
Take Care of Your Family While on that Hike
Sign In at the TrailheadMost military families are active! They do not sit at home and whether they explore the local area or visit a county/state/national park they can find themselves challenged in new and different ways. Avoiding injuries or illness while staying active can take some planning and thought. During a recent trip I hiked in the Adirondack National Park/ New York State Forest and it was certainly a great time. But I did take a few precautions based on where I was going and what I knew about the area. So a bit of intelligence gathering about the location of a hike can be critical. Do you…
-
New beginnings! Are you ready?
The new school year, a PCS this summer, a new job/employment, a deployment return or departure, a new or revitalized faith, a new workout routine, a wedding, a birth, a health crisis … all can be new beginnings for the military community. So how do you help yourself during new “stuff”? Remember the Old! It gives us strength to remember what helped us in the past. Looking at old pictures is a great way to enjoy old friends, family times, previous assignments, etc. More important though is the support emotionally and physically we get from the routines that we created to cope with the military lifestyle. The new school…
-
The Military-Family
“This is important to our military families! Our service members need training and budget cuts are affecting their safety with reduced training hours and less proficiency.” Read more below Brig Gen John Broadmeadow, See BelowIt was a refreshing topic, helping other military partners with new capabilities and expanding our skills as well. No hot topics from DC but a great military exercise with allies from Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Chile, Mexico, Peru and several other small contingencies of observers participating. It even had an interesting name, Dawn Blitz, which almost sounds like a specialty drink from a bar somewhere near the water with a view of the sunrise. The…
-
Active Living in the US Navy Even Has an IPhone App! DoD Blogger Roundtable
“They have an IPhone App for their program…” Spring seems to be a great time to get started on new workout plans, healthier eating, gardens and more! May is even designated as physical fitness and sports month so it was great timing for the DoD Blogger Roundtable to discuss the US Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System and some new and better ways to help stay healthy! As a long time advocate for a healthy lifestyle I was very interested in the topic but wanted to make sure that it would be interesting for our followers. Diana Strock, Physical Fitness and Injury Prevention Program Manager said they had “resounding feedback”…
-
Raising a Generation that Loves
Today Newtown, Conneticut will bury the first of their children. Noah Pozner, age 6, will be laid to rest at 1:00pm. (Newtown shooting victims: First funerals to be held) Then there will be 19 more funerals for children and 7 for adults. Oh deep sorrow runs through my blood. My husband, the level headed soldier who has seen more then I would like to imagine, came home on Friday and immediately turned on the news. He watched for a quite a while, standing there stunned. Then the man who is never sick complained of a headache the rest of the night. I don’t know if it was a headache as much…
-
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…
-
Refreshing View from the Top of the Army Reserve – Blogger Roundtable
It was a great interview and so different than most of the other air coming from DC during this political season! Refreshing candor, integrity, willingness to acknowledge the occasional problem being worked,… the newest Chief of the Army Reserve—Lieutenant General Jeffrey Talley spoke with his heart and had the facts on issues affecting the Army Reserve. In addition, this was a great follow on to the blog we posted in August: Are You Ready for the Army Reserve? Or, Is Your Soldier Ready for the Army Reserve? Army Reserve Capabilities – See Below for Photo CreditsFirst off the start line: What does the Army Reserve bring to the fight? Twenty…
-
VOTE VOTE VOTE DoD Blogger Roundtable
A Military Family Memberwho is happy mom voted!It is Not Too Late to Vote!Military personnel and their families have a lot at stake when it comes to elections. You serve this great nation in a way that many citizens can not and do not. So why not get involved in this election? Too hard to do? Not true, according to Pamela Mitchell, Acting Director of Federal Voting Assistance Program. During a DoD Blogger Roundtable Ms Mitchell described some great social media, mass emails (12,000,000 – now that is quite the mailing list) to all .mil addresses, twitter town home meetings, live chat and call center and of course their website…
-
US Navy Health Promotion and Wellness – DoD Blogger Roundtable
When we see images of our military community we see a young, vibrant and healthy group of Americans. But realistically our vision may be wrong. The Department of Defense spends $1 Billion per year on weight management, many still smoke and health and wellness are hot topics among the defense medical community and leaders. Talking health! See Below for Photo CreditYesterday Cmdr. Denise Gechas, Director of Population Health, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) met with the Blogger Roundtable (BRT) to discuss the launch of the Navy’s health and wellness campaign. She was in Norfolk for the launch and the roundtable asked her about the campaign and she…
