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JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va., April 20, 2010 – The Klein household was fairly typical: mom and dad worked, and their two rambunctious boys kept them busy the rest of the time. Mom was the snuggler, the reader of bedtime stories, the primary source of emotional support for the kids. Jim Klein, left, and his 9-year-old son, Joshua, type a message on Hallmark Channel's "Meet My Mom” virtual wall Facebook page. Hallmark Channel is celebrating Mother's Day on Facebook by creating an interactive page where viewers and deployed servicemembers can keep in touch with families by submitting photos, testimonials and...

FARGO, N.D., March 22, 2010 – A visit by North Dakota’s adjutant general to the emergency operations center yesterday set up for flood response at the North Dakota Air National Guard base here came with a surprise for one Guardsman. Army Master Sgt. Traver Silbernagel, left, and North Dakota Adjutant General Army Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk listen to Air Force Capt. Jennifer Silbernagel, on screen, a deployed North Dakota Air National Guard officer. The captain, based in the United Arab Emirates, witnessed her husband's surprise promotion via Skype. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp  (Click photo...

ARLINGTON, Va. – As humanitarian relief continues in Haiti, the Army National Guard stands ready to provide personnel and equipment to support the mission, senior Army Guard officials said today. "We stand by ready, willing and able to assist as soon as they sort out what the requirements are and what they want the Army Guard to fill," said Army Col. David Aycock, deputy chief of staff of operations for the Army Guard. Currently, a Puerto Rico Army National Guard unit is the only Army Guard unit participating in relief operations in Haiti. "The Puerto Rico Army National Guard with...

Ten thousand U.S. troops were deployed to secure distribution centers, protect aid shipments and - most importantly - get the airport up and working. Some Haitians reportedly said the presence of U.S. troops made them "fear for their sovereignty," but in one case where food aid was air-dropped, a mob-scene resulted and people were killed. Haitian sovereignty cannot be left to the care of machete-wielding gangs. Tales of a U.S. "invasion" to seize Haiti began to spread as soon as American boots were on the ground. Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales called the U.S. relief effort "unjust, inhuman and opportunistic"...

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 24, 2009 – How do you plan Thanksgiving dinner for 180,000 people more than 6,000 miles away? If you’re a food buyer at the Defense Logistics Agency, you start by making a shopping list in April for meals to be served to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Providing superb meals to our U.S. troops is a critical mission of the Defense Logistics Agency, and one we put a great deal of effort into,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Chambers commander of the DLA Philadelphia field activity, which provides all the food for U.S. military personnel worldwide,...

CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind., Aug. 20, 2009 – Many programs help military members’ families during a deployment, but what about their four-legged friends? Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet, a nonprofit volunteer group, arranges foster care for the pets of deploying servicemembers. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Guardian Angels for Soldiers' Pet, a nonprofit organization made up of all volunteers, locates foster homes for the pets of servicemembers who are deployed, training or experiencing an emergency or financial hardship. Linda Spurlin-Dominik, the group’s chief executive officer, said the group was formed in January 2005...

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2009 – The best way to show deployed troops you care, says Cody Anderson, is to send them prepaid international phone cards so they can call home to their friends and loved ones. Today, Anderson, 54, of Mineral Bluff, Ga., is wrapping a four-and-a-half-week personal sojourn, walking back and forth from the U.S. Capitol to the White House to raise awareness about the troops and encourage people to donate phone cards for them. Yesterday, Anderson’s walking shoes were showing signs of his 1,000-mile personal walkathon as he plodded back and forth between the two national icons, passing...

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – This year, as it’s been for the last five, no high school senior graduating from a Department of Defense Education Activity school in Europe will look around wishing a parent could be there as the sound of “Pomp and Circumstance” fills the air. For the sixth year, DoDEA is providing webcasts of graduation ceremonies from 17 European schools. Two of those ceremonies occurred yesterday, another 12 will take place today, and the remaining three will happen tomorrow, June 7 and June 12. When the DoDEA graduation season is complete, about 125 parents deployed to...

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2009 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus recently presented a $12,636 check to American Recreational Military Services to help the troop-support group ship care packages overseas to deployed servicemembers. The check included a $10,000 donation and a portion of the circus’s four opening-night proceeds from performances in New Jersey and New York earlier this month. “We had been scrambling for months to cover costs as donor fatigue and the economic decline had cut into our donations,” Ronnie Micciulla, executive director at American Recreational Military Services, said. “The average cost for shipping an individual box...

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, March 24, 2009 – Army Reserve Lt. Col. Jeff Wallace has traded his judge’s gavel for a 9 mm pistol to take on his first deployment here. Army Reserve Lt. Col. Jeffrey M. Wallace, judge advocate general for 304th Sustainment Brigade, serves as circuit court judge for the state of Oregon. The 59-year-old is currently deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In Iraq, Wallace is the command judge advocate for the 304th Sustainment Brigade. As a civilian, he serves as a circuit court judge for the...

1/2/2009 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyz Republic (AFPN) -- "I knew I was unhealthy and had to make some changes, especially when I thought about my five-year-old looking up at me," said Senior Airman Jarvis Johnson. "Without changes, I wouldn't be around to see him and my daughters grow up." When you ask someone what they can accomplish in six months -- just 24 short weeks -- they may say something like, "I plan to finish a couple college courses," or maybe, "I'm going to read a couple books," or "Tour a little." Many may say they are going to...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Dec. 11, 2008 – Soldiers here are getting an education in personal finance that commanders say goes a long way in promoting battle readiness. The 10th Mountain Division is rolling out “Financial Peace University,” a 13-week program developed by Dave Ramsey, the best-selling author and commentator on personal finance, specifically for U.S. servicemembers. About 3,000 troops have taken the course each year since 2001, according to Ramsey. “It is important to offer this course to servicemembers, because sound financial principles are readiness issues,” said Army Chaplain (Capt.) Mike Jones, a battalion chaplain for the 10th Mountain Division,...

FORT CAMPBELL, KY (Clarksville Online- http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/10/31/casualty-notification-imposters-target-fort-campbell-families/) – On Thursday, October 30, a military family member reported two men pretending to be a casualty notification officer and chaplain visited her home and falsely notified her that her deployed Soldier had been killed. The man impersonating the notification officer was wearing a Class A “dress green” uniform and the other was wearing civilian clergy attire. There have been a few incidents of this nature in the past two months involving family members living off post, but Thursday’s incident occurred on post. The spouse did not allow the pair into her home and...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2008 – Microwavable popcorn, theater-style candy, sweetened powdered drink mix, a letter of support and a DVD are what deployed troops find when they open a “movie box” from Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies. Troops show off movie boxes from Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies. Each box contains microwavable popcorn, theater-style candy, sweetened powdered drink mix, a letter of support and a DVD. Photo courtesy of Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Bernie and Kathy Hintzke of Milwaukee started the project when their son, Adam,...

The rumor is that now that Sarah Palin has been nominated as a vp candidate her son will not have to serve in Iraq because of security concerns.

TRANSINNE, Belgium , Aug. 18, 2008 – With Joshua Mayo in the pilot seat and flight director Daniel Arvleo-Perez overseeing a mission control center hundreds of miles away, the space shuttle landed flawlessly. Not bad for a couple of teenagers. Chelsea Ryan, from Wiesbaden, Germany, reviews a checklist in preparation for a simulated space shuttle launch at the Euro Space Center, in Transinne, Belgium. Ryan was one of 24 participants in a space camp hosted by Installation Management Command Europe Region as part of its Camp A.R.M.Y. Challenge. U.S. Army photo by Ray Johnson, Installation Management Command Europe Region  (Click...

My wonderful husband (Ron) is in his last week of his fourth tour in Iraq with the USAF (he's a pilot with a special ops unit.) For some reason, I've just been very anxious / sleepless the last few nights worrying about his safety ... he is scheduled to come home in a week, by the way. * Please pray for his continued safety, for successful missions, and for his timely and hassle-free "out processing" * Please pray for his travel home, including connections and layovers. (He should be on military transport until he reaches the US East Coast, then...

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2008 – President Bush today directed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to shorten deployment lengths for U.S. soldiers in Iraq from 15 to 12 months, starting in August. Video Bush said he made the decision to reduce the strain on the force and because security improvements in Iraq have allowed for the withdrawal of all five surge combat brigades by the end of July. He also said that officials would ensure troops have at least a year at home between deployments. The change goes into affect Aug. 1 and will not affect those already deployed there....

3/20/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- The Air Force deputy chief of chaplains traveled to Southwest Asia in March to meet Airmen and to speak at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing's annual National Prayer Breakfast. Chaplain (Brig. Gen.) Cecil R. Richardson was the guest speaker during the breakfast, delivering a message on the United States national motto: 'In God we trust.' The National Prayer Breakfast is "an opportunity for Americans to demonstrate what it means when our Constitution says we can freely exercise our faith," said the chaplain, who assists the Air Force chief of chaplains in overseeing a corps...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan , Dec. 25, 2007 – Thousands of miles away from home, airmen in Afghanistan still found ways to celebrate the holiday season, all while providing continuous airpower and combat support for U.S. and Coalition forces throughout the country. While family and friends back home marked the holiday season with gifts and celebrations, deployed airmen in Afghanistan fueled, loaded, maintained and flew aircraft, while others carried out critical expeditionary combat support and reconstruction missions. That hard work was punctuated by time for brief holiday celebrations, special meals and church services. But the commitment of airmen to the mission...