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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., April 23, 2010 – Chelsea Jarvis prefers to stay busy, rather than focus on her military father’s frequent absences. Chelsea Jarvis, 17, prepares for class at Fort Campbell High School on Fort Campbell, Ky., April 15, 2010. DoD photo by Elaine Wilson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Chelsea’s father, Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Adam Jarvis, is a member of a Special Forces unit here. He often deploys for months at a time.She’s hard-pressed to remember how many times her father has deployed, but guesses it’s more than 10.“I never remember it being a big deal,”...

LANDSTUHL, Germany, June 26, 2009 – The boxes arrive daily from the United States, 15 to 20 each day, along with $8,000 to $12,000 in cash every week from Americans and U.S. nonprofit groups. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael D. Dubie, the adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard, stands in the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center -- nicknamed the "Chaplains' Closet" -- at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, June 17, 2009, during a visit to wounded warriors. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The boxes and the money are meant for the...

MOSCOW, Idaho, Oct. 31, 2008 – One decision turned Chase Clark’s life upside-down, but another is helping him realize the dreams he didn't think were possible. While still in high school in rural Blackfoot, Idaho, Clark signed up for the Army National Guard because of the great benefits and the "opportunity to make something" of himself. Immediately following graduation, he took advantage of the educational benefits and enrolled at Idaho State University. "I never expected to get activated, but I knew it was a possibility," he said. That’s exactly what happened his first semester, however. Clark found himself serving...

A Tucson car dealer is reaching out to help military men and women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This morning Hailey Peck picked up her car at Jim Click Nissan. She's glad to be back on the road again. Last month her car quit running outside her church. Peck says she had to leave it parked there for months. She says, "We didn't really have the money to repair the car yet. We just needed a few extra paychecks." This mother of two says money's been tight since her husband got deployed to Afghanistan 22 months ago. Enter Click Nissan....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2007 – Although Jessica Strasser’s husband is now deployed to Afghanistan with his Iowa Army National Guard unit, she says life on the farm is immeasurably easier thanks to his employer. Jessica’s husband, 1st Sgt. Matthew T. Strasser, is employed by Augustine and Sons, Inc., a 150-year-old family farm in Rose Hill, Iowa. The Strassers and their two sons, Reece, 9, and Tyler, 7, live rent-free and farm on Augustine and Sons-owned acreage.Matthew is a professional farmer who has grown corn, soybeans and hay and tended cattle and hogs for Augustine and Sons for five years...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2007 – Troops from Tennessee are finding a local group is there to offer them a helping hand when they need it. The group, “Tennessee’s Helping Hearts,” works in many ways to honor and support servicemembers serving at home and overseas, Teresa Miller, the group’s president, said. “We strive to be there for our military so they are never alone,” she said. The group’s focus is supporting injured servicemembers, whether help needed is in a practical or material form or just for a day of stress-relieving fun. Group members put in a new driveway for a...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2007 – Each year, the country pauses to remember the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and all who perished in them. One group, however, works year round to honor the 343 firefighters killed that day and to help servicemembers and their families. The Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund was founded in memory of its namesake, a decorated member of Rescue 4 of the New York Fire Department and chief of the Dix Hills Volunteer Fire Department, who was firefighters killed in the attacks. The fund offers education and financial assistance to servicemembers and firefighters, said Brian Farrell,...

WASHINGTON - In Washington, it pays to read the fine print. The Iraq funding bill is a perfect example, studded with provisions to help dairy farmers, airlines, salmon fisherman and rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging. And that's just scratching the surface. Take dairy farmers, for example. They're receiving $1.2 billion in help in the Iraq bill as lawmakers clear the way to renew a subsidy program aimed at smaller milk producers. Then there are airlines like Continental and American, who won a last-minute battle with the White House over a plan that would allow them to together...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2007 – A national program is working to help make it easier for veterans to find meaningful jobs. “Hire A Hero,” a program of the nonprofit California-based Armed Forces Support Foundation, can help take the frustration out of that process, Dan Caulfield, the program’s executive director, said. The program originated as a job program for National Guard members and their families. It was piloted in Georgia and Florida as a way for the National Guard to help recruit and retain members. Today, the Hire A Hero program has expanded across all branches and helps transitioning active...

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 – Sesame Street’s Elmo and his friends at Sesame Workshop are helping military children deal with a parent’s deployment through a new project called “Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment." Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy, center, tells a crowd gathered at the National Press Club in Washington about the positive impact the Sesame Workshop's "Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment" and the associated tool kit has had on military families. Joanna Lopez, left, and her three children are featured on a DVD included...

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2007 – Members of Daniel Acosta’s family already had a lot on their minds when he arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio from serving in Iraq with injuries that ultimately cost him an arm. And shortly thereafter, his wife, Sandy, delivered their third child. To ease part of their burden, Maid Brigade is lending a hand with weekly household cleaning as part of a national partnership with Operation Homefront to serve military families in need. Operation Homefront is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program that highlights the ways Americans...

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2007 ? The soldier?s eyelids fluttered as he heard his mother?s voice over the phone. In a coma, it was the first time there had been any response from Army Spc. Jerry De La Cruz since he had arrived to Germany?s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from the combat zone in Iraq. By holding a cell phone to his ear, a perfect stranger made it possible for Cathy Holcomb to whisper words of encouragement to her son from the other side of the world, telling him that she loved him and wanted him to make it home...

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- National Naval Medical Center and Veterans Affairs are making patient care between the agencies easier with the Seamless Transition Program and benefits counseling. The Seamless Transition Program aids the transitioning process for service members injured in Iraq or Afghanistan, said Bethesda Veterans Affairs liaison Anne LaFond. "[Liaisons] work with social workers, case workers and discharge planners for service members hurt in Iraq and Afghanistan and those who are going to need follow-up care at [Veterans Affairs],” LaFond said. "We try to provide one main point of contact to the family to make sure nobody falls through...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2006 -- The communication gap between military families at Fort Drum, N.Y., and their soon-to-be deployed servicemembers was bridged before it existed, thanks to Operation Homelink. Lisa Wrenn, with help from sons, Casey, 11, (center), and Cody, 8, carries a computer donated by Operation Homelink on Aug. 23 at Fort Drum, N.Y. Wrenn’s husband, Army Spec. William Wrenn, recently deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. Courtesy photo  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Operation Homelink is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which spotlights ways the American people and...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2006 – Severely injured servicemembers and their spouses are seeing doors open to meaningful civilian careers, thanks to a partnership between the Defense Department and the private sector. The Office of the Secretary of Defense, DoD’s Military Severely Injured Center and Military.com -- a private organization that provides information and serves as a networking hub for current and former military people, defense workers and their families – are co-sponsors of “Hiring Heroes.” Hiring Heroes helps connect servicemembers with DoD and other federal agencies, as well as civilian companies, with significant positions to fill. But it’s not...

NAPLES, Italy, Aug. 27, 2006 – U.S. Navy frigate USS Boone intercepted a drug-smuggling speedboat Aug. 24 while enroute from Algeria to Spain during a patrol of the Mediterranean Sea south of the Spanish coastline. According to U.S. Navy 6th Fleet officials, the crew abandoned its cargo—five packages of marijuana weighing 90 kilograms--when the USS Boone was sighted and entered Algerian territorial water. The Boone’s crew confiscated the marijuana. A few hours later, near the same location, the USS Boone encountered two small rubber boats in apparent distress, officials said. The ship approached the boats and found 26 people on...

Jet scare over Asian men 'helps terrorists' By Sally Pook (Filed: 21/08/2006) An airline yesterday stood by its decision to remove two Asian men from a holiday jet bound for Britain despite criticism from a Muslim group. The two passengers were asked to leave Monarch flight ZB613 from Malaga to Manchester, apparently because other passengers became alarmed that the men were wearing heavy clothing and kept checking their watches. Cabin crew informed the Spanish authorities of the passengers' fears and the men were taken off the flight. One of the passengers told a Sunday newspaper: "Some of the older children,...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2006 -- Moving frequently is not always beneficial to military spouses’ careers, but RE/MAX officials hope to help change that. RE/MAX, an international realty company, announced “Operation RE/MAX” on Aug. 14, during opening ceremonies of the 2006 RE/MAX International Conference of Broker/Owners and Managers here. This program assists military spouses in developing careers in real estate, which a recent American National Standards Institute survey indicated as one of the top five careers suited for military spouses. “A career in real estate is ideal for many military spouses,” Dave Liniger, RE/MAX co-founder and chairman of the board,...

KENT ISLAND, Md. (Army News Service, Aug. 14, 2006) – About a dozen wounded warriors paddled outrigger canoes with military precision Aug. 13 on the Chesapeake Bay at Kent Island, Md., as a supplement to the ongoing medical care they receive at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The outing was sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project and the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club. “Outrigger canoeing sets itself apart as a therapeutic sport because it lends itself particularly to those who are physically challenged and it’s easily adaptable,” said Julia Ray, Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project manager. Volunteers from...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2006 -- Transitioning from the military into the civilian work force can be as simple as trading one type of headgear for another through “Helmets to Hardhats.” Shane Anderson of Seattle registered with Helmets to Hardhats as he was preparing to transition from the Army back into the civilian work force. The organization helped him secure an apprenticeship with the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 19. Courtesy photo  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Helmets to Hardhats helps people leaving military service find careers in the construction industry, said Sarah Hayes, the not-for-profit organization’s general...