A search engine to support the troops!

What if the afterlife were just two huge nightclubs? Some of us would be heading for that high-class club in the sky to be serenaded eternally by Billie Holiday and Kurt Cobain while sipping non-hangover-inducing mojitos. The rest would be sent to a trashy, infernal techno-dungeon and forced to lambada with thong-wearing Mussolini clones. Forever. Kind of makes you want to do something good, huh? So log onto GoodSearch.com. The new search engine, powered by Yahoo, donates money to your charity of choice every time you search — at no cost to you. When founder Kenny Ramberg realized last year that search engines generated nearly $4 billion in advertising revenue, he started his own, aiming to donate 50 percent of the profits to charity. It’s easy to use: Just go to GoodSearch.com, enter the charity you want to support in the provided field, and search. Don’t see your favorite cause represented? You can add it. Want to spread the love? Change your charity as often as you like. The search results are as good as those on Yahoo, so you can do your very important research in the same amount of time and carry on with a clear conscience to that dinner party, TV dinner, or VIP room at the hottest club in town. <>Though, admittedly, that last option may have lost some of its charm. To search, go to goodsearch.com. [Carrie Comment: I've already posted Operation Gratitude and will be adding the USO and others in my next few searches.]

University Hospitals offering FREE LASIK surgery Marines

Director Wants To Help Marines
Because Of Their Sacrifice

CLEVELAND -- University Hospitals is offering LASIK vision correction for free to area Marines. The director of UH's laser vision center wanted to help local Marines because of the sacrifice they've given. Gino Vromelia is a nuclear defense specialist with the 3rd battalion 25th regiment in Brook Park, and says it's hard to be in the desert of Iraq with contacts. Vromelia says this surgery is a great opportunity, and he is grateful for the hospital's support. The hospital will perform the procedure on six patients a month through March.

POSTED: 1:32 pm EST November 23, 2005
Copyright 2005 by NewsNet5. All rights reserved.

Quote

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
- General George S. Patton, Jr.

Helping the Kids of U.S. Military People Killed in the War on Terror

Friday, November 11, 2005: By Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly, Host, "The O'Reilly Factor"

Helping the kids of U.S. military people killed in the war on terror, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

Most Americans appreciate the sacrifice the American military is making in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all over the world. The war on terror is intense, dangerous, and misunderstood, especially misunderstood. Just today, The New York Times editorialized this way: "[The administration doesn't] want a full accounting of how American soldiers and intelligence agents have been turned into torturers."

Well, The Times believes the Bush administration has encouraged the military to abuse, capture prisoners. I don't believe that. I've seen no evidence of that.

The evidence I've seen demonstrates the military is prosecuting people who do abuse prisoners. I could be wrong, but I believe the U.S. military mostly uses restraint in difficult situations.

If The New York Times has proof that high-ranking Bush administration officials have endorsed systematic torture, I'd like to see it.

What is happening in the media is a full-court press to damage the Bush administration by using things like Abu Ghraib, and then taking them 10 steps further without the evidence to back it up. That hurts the military, and it obviously hurts the war effort.

Now fair-minded Americans want truth. As I've said many times, no member of the U.S. military should torture anybody. "Talking Points" believes coerced interrogation methods should be used by presidential order only.

Be that as it may, the issue this evening is helping the children of military people, who have been killed in the war on terror. So far, about 1,100 American children have lost a parent in Iraq, and hundreds of other kids have had parents killed in Afghanistan.

We believe the U.S. government should pay college education costs for those children. At a time when patriotic Americans are volunteering to protect their country against evil, the government should step up and look out for their kids.

So we're asking congressmen and senators to draft legislation and pass a bill providing college tuition to the children of slain military people. We owe it to those who have died in the struggle to help their kids. And "The Factor" urges our federal leaders to directly contact us if they believe that as well.

Remember, the 9/11 families received government assistance. So this is a fair and logical proposition. We also encourage you to contact your congresspeople and senators and urge them to back this proposed legislation.

We'll let you know what happens on Monday. We expect to get big reaction to this. And we expect the bill to be passed quickly. And that's "The Memo."

REALifelines: Veterans Employment Program

[REALifelines, is a comprehensive program to provide individualized job training, counseling and re-employment services to each and every veteran seriously injured or wounded in the War on Terrorism.]

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2005 – About 300,000 wallet-sized cards and key fobs with critical employment and job-training information will be distributed to military personnel and veterans over the next six months, the U. S. Department of Labor announced today at its annual pre-Veterans Day salute.

The department also unveiled the Recovery and Employment Assistance Lifelines -- REALifelines -- Advisor. This new online tool will provide valuable information and resources to help returning wounded and injured veterans successfully transition into civilian employment, Labor Department officials said.

"The 'Key To Career Success' cards and REALifelines online advisor are part of our outreach efforts to help veterans and returning soldiers access good job opportunities and develop new career pathways," Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao said. "Our servicemen and women have put themselves in harm's way to protect our homeland and help other countries achieve freedom and democracy. We want to do everything we can to welcome them home and facilitate their reintegration into civilian life. "

The Key to Career Success card will be attached to a brochure for demobilizing and transitioning servicemembers as they go through the joint DOL, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program. For veterans who have already made the transition, additional information and professional staff guidance will be available at the nearly 3,500 One-Stop Career Centers nationwide.

The card will help veterans access local One-Stop Career Center services connecting them to employers seeking men and women with the unique skill sets and experience characterized by military service. It will also highlight veterans' special status so that, upon arrival at One-Stop Career Centers, they will receive priority service as required under the Jobs for Veterans Act. The back of the Key to Career Success card and key fob features a toll-free phone number, (877) US2-JOBS (TTY: 877-889-5627), and Web link, www. servicelocator. org, to help veterans speak with a service representative or locate the nearest One-Stop Career Center and download a map and driving directions.

A key feature of the REALifelines Advisor is that it offers one-on-one assistance through the department's state directors for DOL's Veterans' Employment and Training Service. These directors will help the transitioning service member or veteran find meaningful employment through the One-Stop Career Centers and arrange for assistance to help determine what services and programs are best suited for them.

The REALifelines Advisor is one of a series of online tools called "elaws" for Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses, which are interactive Web sites providing information about major federal employment laws and issues.

(From a Department of Labor news release. )

Bush Honors Veterans, Vows to Boost Programs to Support Them

By Donna Miles: American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2005 – Veterans who sacrificed and risked their lives for their country deserve the respect and gratitude of their nation, not just on Veterans Day, but every day, President Bush said today at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pa.

Bush traveled to the Pocono Mountain post today to express appreciation firsthand to servicemembers, veterans and family members and to promise continued support for the nation's veterans.

"All of America's veterans have placed the nation's security before their own lives," Bush said. And while their sacrifices can't ever be fully repaid, there's plenty the United States can do, he said.

Read more.

Happy Veterans Day

On Veterans Day, Military.com salutes America's 26 million living Veterans. We join the rest of the nation in remembering your sacrifice and thank you for your service to our country.Click here to watch a Tribute to the Veteran's.

Sarah Smiley.com

I came across a wonderful site this morning, SarahSmiley.com. On that site there is a ton of information about support for spouses, children, in-laws and more for those living the military life. It's well written, informative, funny and well organized. Enjoy!

Here are a few examples of things you can find on this site.
Spouse-to-spouse: Honest, trusted advice about staying sane (and connected) during military deployments from military spouses across the country.

Military Moving Guide: No one knows moving like a military spouse! Come see what's work (and what hasn't!) for other military spouses at your duty station. Advice and tips are organized according to bases and/or parts of the country.

Military News: The latest news and points of interest for military spouses and military families.

Military Spouse Support: Articles, humor and more for the military spouse! From what to pack in a military care package to managing the kids alone to how-to's for things all military spouses should know (reading an LES statement, finding a job at your next duty station, understanding the military healthcare system).

Support our Troops: Easy (yet important!) ways you can show our troops you care.

Military Support Books: Great selection of books especially for the military spouse.

Military Links: Other helpful sites on the web for military spouses and military families.

PTSD: What You Need to Know

Brad Johnson | November 03, 2005

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wear on, hundreds of thousands of veterans are at significant risk for a particularly distressing and impairing mental health syndrome: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. First documented in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980, PTSD becomes a serious risk when a service member experiences, witnesses, or is confronted with an event involving actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others -- welcome to any day in the Global War of Terror.

What does PTSD look like? As members of the military community, each of us should be alert to the following key symptoms among the combat veterans we care for:

• Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts and perceptions (seeing a comrade's dead body or experiencing flashbacks of the sounds of explosions and screaming)
• Recurrent and distressing nightmares of the traumatic event
• Intense psychological distress when exposed to cues or reminders of any aspect of the trauma
• Extreme physical reactivity (e.g., racing pulse, sweating, intense fear) when exposed to any cues or reminders of the trauma
• Persistent avoidance of any reminder (e.g., conversations, thoughts, activities, places, and people) of the traumatic event
• A general numbing in responsiveness; the person feels detached and estranged from others and may have little range in emotion and few strong feelings
• A sense of a foreshortened future; having come close to death, the person sees it as immanent
• Hypervigilance (constantly scanning the environment for danger)
• Exaggerated startle response (especially to sudden movement or loud noises)
• Poor concentration
• Irritability/anger
• Disturbances in one's ability to sleep

Keep in mind that not all of the symptoms will be present in every case, and veterans may mask the symptoms through nondisclosure or self-medication with alcohol and other drugs. Further, some service personnel are at greater risk for developing PTSD than others. Beyond the severity of the traumatic event itself, key risk factors include poor social support after the trauma, additional life stressors, adverse childhood events, lower education, prior traumatic exposure, and gender -- women are at greater risk. One particularly malignant feature of PTSD is a sense of shame or guilt associated with beliefs that one should have or could have done more during the traumatic period. If comrades died, then survivor guilt can add powerful fuel to PTSD fire.

Read more...

DoD Summit Helps Young Kids, Families Cope

By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2005 – A Defense Department summit today addressed how trauma and stress impact children's well-being and what interventions work to support their healthy development and family competence.

John M. Molino, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy and deputy undersecretary for equal opportunity, speaks at a DoD summit on military families Nov. 3 in Washington. "It's a national imperative to take care of our children and provide a reasonable level of normality for our families," he said. Photo by Rudi Williams

The summit, titled "When Duty Calls - Supporting Military Families Through Challenging Times," ends Nov. 5. It's being held in conjunction with the "Zero to Three" 20th National Training Institute here. More than 500 of the 1,825 conclave attendees took part in the DoD summit.

John M. Molino, DoD's presiding official, said attendees came to "learn more about strategies to help our children and their families effectively cope with a high stress environment, the impact of national disasters, and the consequences of war." Molino is the deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy and deputy undersecretary for equal opportunity.

"There are 332,000 children under 3 years of age in our active-duty families, and there are 109,000 infants and toddlers in the families of our Guard and Reserve forces," Molino said. "Can there be any doubt that your dedicated work is absolutely critical to help children develop the emotional and coping mechanisms needed during stressful circumstances?"

To read the rest of the story, click here.

DoD Announces Recommended Holiday Mail Dates

The Department of Defense announced today the recommended mailing dates to ensure that holiday cards and packages for service members arrive overseas in time for the holiday season.

"To ensure delivery … to military APO/FPO addresses overseas and to international addresses, we suggest mail be sent by the recommended dates provided by the U.S. Postal Service," said Mark DeDomenic, the assistant deputy director and chief of operations for the Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA). "Beat the last minute rush by bringing your mail to your post office by these suggested dates.”

Military Mail Addressed To	Express Mail® Military Service (EMMS)1/	First-Class Mail® Letters/Cards	Priority Mail®	Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) 2/	Space Available Mail (SAM) 3/	Parcel Post®
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 090-092	Dec 19	Dec 10	Dec 10	Dec 3	Nov 26	Nov 12
APO/FPO AE ZIP 093	N/A	Dec 5	Dec 5	Dec 3	Nov 26	Nov 12
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 094-098	Dec 19	Dec 10	Dec 10	Dec 3	Nov 26	Nov 12
APO/FPO AA ZIPs 340	Dec 19	Dec 10	Dec 10	Dec 3	Nov 26	Nov 12
APO/FPO AP ZIPs 962-966	Dec 19	Dec 10	Dec 10	Dec 3	Nov 26	Nov 12

For more information click here.

Email access to the deployed

On Tuesday, 18 October, the Navy and Marine Corps blocked all access to comercial e-mail services from overseas government computers. That includes Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, Google and others. This is to reduce vulnerability of military computers to hacking. This also means that you can no longer use any of those addresses to communicated with your Marine overseas. The Navy will assign each Marine and official, unclassified email address (ending in .mil) that they can use for communication with family and friends. This is likely a surprise to many people. Your Marine will have to send you a message or call you with their new email address. Make sure your SPAM filter accepts any message with a .mil extension.

Thank you to the Marine Corp Family Support Community for this information. They are based out of Columbus, Ohio. If you'd like to visit their site for more infomation and how you can be involved with supporting our troops around the globe, please go to: http://www.mcfsc.com/index2.html