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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…
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An Open Letter to Teenage Drivers
Dear Teenager Driver whose path I crossed yesterday, In some ways I am sorry for yelling yesterday. I know I yelled loud. Adrenaline kicked in and Mother Bear came out. I now know you were scared. You see there are three very special boys to me – VERY special. They frequently play on the sidewalk that you careened over. There are at least nine other neighborhood children who are all very dear friends. Children that we cannot replace. Children who play in our quiet street in our quiet development. A black-hole could have easily been created in our hearts that day had only one of our precious jewels from heaven been standing on the…
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One More Challenge for Military Personnel! Post Deployment Driving
They just keep adding up for our military folks – challenges that is! But this one is pretty close to home and the safety of our service members and their families should not be compromised. Insurance industry giant, USAA has released the results of a study of post deployment auto accidents for military members and they have tagged a large increase for some groups following deployments. An educated guess of the results indicates a lot of habits formed while driving in convoys in combat situations (to stay alive) can increase the chances of having an accident at home. So the best convoy and combat drivers may be at risk at…
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“A Passion and Desire to Get Things Done Right” DoD Blogger Roundtable
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been tough on the men and women of our armed services! We have suffered casualties, multiple long deployments and families have sacrificed too with impacts on spouse employment, child care help from a spouse, missed /holidays/birthdays/anniversaries, etc. But often we forget about the equipment that is used to fight and protect our combatants. AH-64 – See below for photo credit The desert environment has been particularly hard on all the services’ equipment and will need to be taken care in an austere budget time frame. From ground transportation vehicles, to helicopters, other aircraft, weapons and ground equipment like generators the toll has been…
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Dedicated Dads and Moms and the Month of the Military Child
April is Month of the Military Child and it is a very appropriate recognition: therefore, a big shout out and thank you to these patriots! They have certainly served our nation in their many sacrifices and the challenges they face as children of active duty, reserve and guard parents. So just before that month of recognition I thought maybe we should recognize another group of folks that are rarely mentioned in the media or at the Department of Defense. In fact, unless there is a tragedy it is a like a silent majority type of group. The parents of our soldiers, airmen, marines, coasties and sailors have raised children that…
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The Heritage of a Military Brat
*E*, 9 years old, came home very excited. “MOM! We have a big project at school and it has to be about our heritage, where we come from. I want to do the country of Iceland!” What is interesting is *E* is about 25% Hungarian, 12.5% Norwegian, a splash of Irish, Danish and French and the rest German. Icelandic? There is none in his blood. But it does run in his veins. I lived in the country of Iceland from 10th grade through 12th grade at the now closed Naval Base in Keflavik. My dad flew helicopters out of the 56th Rescue Squadron with the US Air Force. So when I talk about…
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Tracking Santa with NORAD on Christmas Eve: Don’t be surprised, Be Ready!
How Fast is Santa’s Sleigh? Official NORAD response: Santa’s sleigh travels at Starlight Speed according to military trackers at NORAD’s headquarters in Colorado Springs. Don’t be surprised! Be ready; know when Santa is coming!This was so much fun! Let’s start from the beginning with a quick explanation from US Navy Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Bill Lewis. Bill is part of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) responsible for Tracking Santa on Christmas Eve. Bill said that 1,200 volunteers work the mission for 23 hours to ensure children worldwide know where Santa is going next. Some have done this as a family for 10-15 years and it is now part of…
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Domestic Violence Awareness – Be the Advocate
If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, find out more about available support and resources. To speak with a Department of Defense Victim Advocate, contact Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).This is not a cheery, happy-go-lucky subject. I much prefer those topics of conversation but there are times we need to step out of our comfort zone and be there for those we love, help those who need help and take the time to educate ourselves. National statistics reveal that it affects more than 4 million people a year, with almost 17,000 of them murdered by an intimate partner…
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Rebuilding and Cleaning Up Iraq – “The Right Thing To Do” DoD Blogger Roundtable
American forces are preparing to leave Iraq on December 31st and in fact, some of our folks are “looking at their watches” but what have we accomplished after a war, the loss of too many American lives and huge expenditures of our national treasure? Brig. Gen. Rock DonahueThose thoughts ran through my mind as I talked with Brig. Gen. Rock Donahue , director of U.S. Forces Iraq J7, the senior engineer in Iraq during the DoD Bloggers Roundtable. Gen Donahue carefully went through the statistics, the huge effort, that, our men and women in the military community have made to clean up Iraq during and after the war. He was…
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Swim Lessons: Two Year Later
There are a few things I have done in motherhood that are questionable. As an example, cutting my then 9-months old hair by myself. Disastrous. Thinking I could travel across state-lines, 200+ miles, as a new mom with a six-week old. Excruciating. Attempting to convince my boys that they should like asparagus because it makes your pee stink. Bad choice of reasons. But this weekend I was reminded of one of the best things I have done for my boys in their eight and six years of existence. Swim Lessons. When hubs was in Iraq with the Army National Guard we used our free membership at the YMCA and the boys hopped in the pool every Saturday morning. …
