Support Our Troops & Their Families

Remembering our armed forces both foreign and domestic is an important way to show support for our country regardless of how you feel about our government policy.
A gourmet gift basket online is a unique affordable way to send a little pick me up to someone who may have to spend the holidays away from their friends,family and community.
A chocolate gift basket would surely raise the spirits of a young man or woman who has given up so much of themselves to help ensure the way of life that the rest of us have become accustomed to.
With todays instant access to the internet you could order a unique, affordable holiday gift basket online without ever leaving the comfort and security of your own home.
Nearly every one of us knows a young person from our state,city or even our own street who would appreciate being remembered during this season of giving by receiving a gourmet gift basket online like a Chocolate Gift Basket,a Welcome Home Gift Basket,a Spa Gift Basket,a Holiday Gift Basket or any of the other Gourmet gift baskets online available at http://giftark.net/
Another great way to show your support for your troops would be to send a gourmet holiday gift basket to the family of a soldier who has to be away for the holidays.
A Holiday Gift Basket,or any of the other gift baskets that you can purchase online at Gift Ark, could be a special way to say "thank you" to the family of our dedicated soldiers.
During this season of giving lets all remember the troops who make our happy holiday season possible.

National Anthem Project Concludes With Grand Finale Events

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2007 – In the shadow of the Washington Monument, with its 50 American flags snapping in the breeze, the “President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band helped kick off the grand finale of the National Anthem Project here yesterday.

The National Association for Music Education’s multiyear project to get America singing its anthem again began when a poll showed two-thirds of Americans didn’t know the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“It wasn’t just the words, it was not knowing anything about who Francis Scott Key was,” said Earl Hurrey, the association’s assistant executive director. “We had kids that didn’t know what the name of the national anthem was. They thought it was just the ‘National Anthem.’”

The staggering results of the poll prompted the National Association of Music Education to launch the National Anthem Project on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on March 10, 2005. The project was intended to re-teach Americans the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and to emphasize the importance of music in school, Hurrey said.

“We created the National Anthem Project to make people aware that music education in schools is far more important than just ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,’” Hurrey, a former Marine master gunnery sergeant and member of the “President’s Own” said. “The songs of our heritage are an important part of our culture, and when you cut music from schools, you’re also cutting those lessons about our music and our heritage.”

The students from Patterson Elementary School in Gilbert, Ariz., who were part of the nearly 5,000 music students from 42 states who gathered on the National Mall for the program, don’t have that problem. Their music teacher, Diane Walker, makes sure her students know the words to the multiple verses.

“I was excited for the kids to learn all of (the verses). We talked about the words and what the words mean,” she said. “I think when they sing those words today, being in this setting, it’ll mean more than it ever has before.”

Her students agreed. With red and blue bands on her braces, Kelsi Helfrich, 11, said she appreciates her teacher’s zeal for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“I only knew the first verse of the national anthem, and I didn’t really know the rest,” she said. “There’s a lot of history behind it, and it probably took a long time to write it.”

Helfrich admitted that until recently she thought there was just one verse to the song. “Apparently there’s four,” she said with a colorful grin.

Yesterday’s events began the grand finale capping the two-year project. When the Marine band’s musical salute to American culture ended, the Oak Ridge Boys took center stage and, along with Mrs. America representatives, led the crowd in singing the national anthem.

The celebration concludes tomorrow at the U.S. Naval Academy’s Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with a musical festival. A drum corps competition will end the day’s festivities.

Simple Ways To Support Our Troops

Are you looking for simple yet meaningful ways to support our troops? Below are 4 low cost ways to do just that.

Sending Gift Cards
Sending Care Packages
Sending Calling Cards
Being A Pen Pal

Sending Gift Cards - You could also show your support by sending gift cards.

Sending Care Packages - If you choose to support our troops by sending care packages, be sure you know what to put in them. Iraq is an extremely hot country so don't send anything that will melt (i.e. chocolate). Soldiers have access to just about all the cheap snacks they could ever want at the Post Exchange.

So what could you put in the care packages? Think entertainment. Soldiers love watching movies and playing video games in their off time. In most circumstances a Soldier would be delighted to receive a new release movie as opposed to melted candy, foot powder, etc. Movies are also supplied at the Post Exchange but the selection is often limited.

Sending Calling Cards - You could also show your support by sending quality phone cards. The calling cards offered to our troops often times have hidden fees. This means Soldiers may pay for a four hundred minute phone card but their minutes get cut in half by hidden charges. Find a quality phone card to send to a Soldier and he or she would be extremely grateful.

Being A Pen Pal - Another great way to support our troops is to become a pen pal. As much as care packages are appreciated, it is only logical to conclude that a personal note that you took the time to write from your heart would be equally (if not more) treasured.

A quick internet search led to to penpalsforsoldiers.org. Check them out or conduct your own search to find Soldiers wanting pen pals.

Family Life and the US Military

Life in the Armed Forces is not for the faint hearted. This goes double for their spouses and children.

There are many special challenges for dependents of service members. One of the first are periodic moves to different locations. Uprooting a life with friends and known conditions is at best harrowing even if everything goes correctly. When something goes wrong, such as belongings that show up late, it can get downright horrific.

Another special challenge is the community standard. Living on post exposes everyone to the needs and requirements of the service. While it is possible to annoy neighbors in a community by letting the grass grow too high, in a military community that is a punishable offense.

Another of the challenges to be overcome is relative isolation. While military bases have many amenities, this is not the same as having everything you might desire or need, and typically the area immediately around a military base isn’t family friendly.

The most harrowing issue is of course deployment. Staying behind while the service member is sent overseas, possible to a war zone is one of the hardest tasks a family will ever face. While military units will try to prepare both the service member and dependents, this is never really enough.

The ways to combat this vary from family to family, but all units will have some sort of family association that should provide help. From a welcome committee which can provide you with maps and tell you where necessities can be found to a support group which can help each other out with needs or a shoulder to cry on during deployments. Having other families who can show up and help deal with the burdens when they grow overwhelming can be a lifesaver. Helping others in need can also provide a needed lift for you.

Dependants will quickly learn to have their ID handy. This will be required for services like the commissary. The actions and appearances of dependents will effect the promotion and progression of their service member. Military posts are much like small towns, with enough people around to make secrets difficult to keep. There is an old saying that anyone can make colonel, but it takes a wife to make a general. This emphasizes the importance a family can have on a career.

Military posts will normally have a commissary of some sort where you can purchase groceries, other stores and franchises to allow some semblance of normal life, a post laundry, a library and a school or schools. Often there will be neighborhood playgrounds.

Sometimes there are other facilities, such as workshops where service members and dependants can perform automotive maintenance, woodworking or other tasks.

There are visitor’s centers which can point you towards the various features of the post. Another option is to search online. Many posts will have websites which discuss the post and locale, and there are many blogs where dependents discuss life around the service and how to deal with it.

For more information on the US military please check out the author's site at http://usmilitary.com

Drunk Driving Vs. The War In Iraq

There’s a really popular trend right now of bombarding Pres. Bush with criticisms for a lot of reasons, but particularly for the current conflict in Iraq. I can’t attest that his reasons for entry were flawless or that we “should” or “should not” be there (that’s so grey, in spite of what a lot of hard-headed and self-important protestors think). Basically, I feel that I, along with most Americans (both for and against the war) are not perfectly informed and therefore, I have a hard time picking sides, though I do dislike the whiney liberal media. Anyway, on to my point.

In listening to the news, we are quick to hear about the rising death toll in Iraq. Interestingly enough, though, it still loses out to the number of fatalities caused by drunk driving in the United States by a ratio of about 17 to 1 (according to MADD and DoD Reports, comparing fatalities of 2005 to both causes). 17 to 1. 17 to 1. That’s in favor of drunk driving. There aren’t 17 reports against drunk driving for every report of some legislator fighting Bush’s Iraq policy. In fact, I’d wager that the number is quite inverse.

There are some big differences, too. Those who serve in our military do so with a commitment to laying their life on the line in the defense of our nation. Those killed by drunk driving accidents are often on their way home from the store, taking kids to a school play, going to see a movie, etc. They never chose to have their life unnecessarily endangered. How is that fair?

So what I don’t get is why we can spend so much energy slamming Bush for his foreign policy while we let 15 more people die here for every one that loses a life in Iraq and we do relatively nothing about it. Why? I guess it’s a weak and easy strategy to heave blame on someone else so we don’t have to feel guilt for our own misdeeds. Plus, if we really cracked down on alcohol misuse, we wouldn’t have those hilarious commercials. I mean, talking frogs. That’s good stuff. That’s worth 16,000 citizens a year.

Lewis originally posted this article on his blog at TheGoont.com, where he posts fairly regularly.

Progress in Iraq

At the beginning of this year, the Multi-National Force-Iraq military command released its annual report on the state of affairs in the war-torn country once dominated by Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime. Called “Iraq: 2006 Year in Review,” the 25-page report offers some valuable insight into the progress being made, even as anti-war activists and members of Congress call for the withdrawal of American troops.

The report reveals early on the complexity that is post-Saddam Hussein Iraq: “It is important to note that violence and progress coexist in Iraq.” With each year that passes since the American-led invasion in 2003, the violence seems to get worse. To be sure, as the report says, “In 2006, Iraq saw its most complex security and political environment ever.”

But amid the steady stream of violence and chaos that fills the television airwaves, remarkable strides are in fact being made. According to the report, “…in 2006 Iraq reached its goal of 325,000 trained and equipped police and military security forces while taking control of its navy, air forces, multiple Iraqi Army divisions, and security responsibility for three entire provinces.”

The report goes on to note that “Baghdad...remains the main stage,” giving implicit support to the President’s plan to boost troop levels in order to quell the violence in the capital city.

Providing statistics to demonstrate the progress made thus far, the report says Iraqi military forces have grown from 102,199 personnel to 135,783. Similarly, the police forces have grown from 110,816 to 167,210 and nearly 100 logistical support units have been formed. From January to November, the report says, the Iraqi Army went from one to six division headquarters in the lead, from eight to 30 brigade headquarters in the lead and from 37 to 91 battalions in the lead for security operations.

Those in Washington who say the Iraqis aren’t moving fast enough to stand up their own security forces fail to appreciate the difficulties involved. The United States and her allies in Iraq are creating military and police forces essentially from scratch. Under Saddam Hussein, positions of leadership were based on loyalty to the state (which was Saddam) and political standing within the Ba’ath Party, and not on competence or ability.

Such a system is no longer valid for Iraq. Not only do we have to create Iraqi units, which involves both equipping and training the personnel for these units, we have to develop leaders and we have to train and equip the specialty positions required for units to sustain themselves. Such specialized positions include logistics personnel, medics, radio operators, engineers, bomb disposal technicians, etc. It is a vast undertaking made even more difficult by the fact that these fledgling forces are incessantly targeted for attack by insurgent groups.

As the report goes on, it says the coalition’s plan is to move away from active combat and toward a support and training role as Iraqi units grow in confidence and ability. Embedded trainers are expected to increase from 4,000 to 40,000 this year, a move that sounds almost identical to plans put forth by many Democratic critics of the President’s efforts. Maybe that’s where those calling for a change in course got the idea. The coalition plan also calls for active combat to target al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists, an idea recently touted by Senator Reid and other prominent Democrats and one that has been included as a provision in at least one non-binding resolution proposal.

There is progress in other respects as well. According to the report, more Iraqis own cars, air conditioners, cell phones and satellite dishes than ever before. Per capita Gross Domestic Product, according to the International Monetary Fund, has grown from $949 in 2004, to an estimated $1,237 in 2005, to a projected $1,635 in 2006.

The point of all of this is to say that progress is indeed being made in Iraq. The going has been slow, to be sure, but we are still moving ahead. The sectarian divide that is bleeding Baghdad may not be overcome short of a full-scale genocide campaign. But the Iraqi government needs more time to work toward a national reconciliation that will bridge a divide developed over decades by Saddam Hussein’s Sunni minority government. Before the diplomatic process can move forward, the violence has to be reduced. That is where the President’s new security plan comes in. If American and Iraqi troops can bring the violence in Baghdad under control, then Iraq has a chance for a peaceful outcome. The initial results are encouraging, but the road ahead will be a long one, and a bloody one.

Virtually no one anticipated the post-invasion chaos that has enveloped Iraq. But that doesn’t mean we should just leave it for the Iraqis and hope for the best. As the report concludes, “Iraq is in a new stage of its evolution, and the impatient should consider all that liberation unleashed.” Now is the time to recognize that not all in Iraq is bad. Now is the time to support our commander in chief and allow his plan the time it needs to take hold. Anything less undermines our mission, our troops, and our coalition and Iraqi allies.

Why George Bush Was Right To Invade Iraq

George Bush was right ton invade Iraq for many reasons. Saddam Hussein had cancelled numerous planned weapons inspections by the United Nations installing fear in the USA that he had them. Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who massacred nearly a million of his own citizens. He told his country he was a direct descendant of Mohammed. Saddam Hussein was a crazy and brutal dictator.

He gassed and bombed his own people in the Kurds. Killing hundreds of thousands of them. During the Iran-Iraq war between 1980-88 Saddam used brutal measures which were against the Geneva convention. He tortured opposing soldiers and he even tortured the Iraqi national soccer team when they were not achieving desired results.

George Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003 to topple the regime was the correct one even though they did not have any weapons of mass destruction. George Bush ousted a brutal dictator who was massacring his people and he was crazy.

To all the peace activists out there who were against the war i am not sure where you are coming from. You stand for peace yet you wanted no war and a brutal dictator to stay in power. Killing hundreds and thousand of his own civillians in the process. Although there were no weapons of mass destruction the war was a success as it got rid of Hitler's cousin in Saddam Hussein. Saving thousand of Iraqi's. Yes there plan for post war and to evacuate the reason has been very bad. That can be demonstrated against and seen as not successful as the US has had no clear exit strategy. Although one must commend the spirit of George Bush to get rid of the appalling human in Saddam Hussein and liberate the people of Iraq. The next step is implementing a successful evacuation plan immediately. Although the initial war was fought on the right grounds. George Bush was looking after his fellow humans experiencing the rein of tyranny under Saddam.

A Quick Overview of the US Armed Forces

The United States divides its military forces into five services. The Army is the largest and is intended to be the primary ground combat force. The Navy is in charge of operations at sea and includes a powerful air component. The Air Force is the youngest service and is in charge of aerial operations. The Marines are primarily intended to deploy combined arms forces in response to crises around the world. Finally the Coast Guard is the smallest of the armed forces and is primarily charged with homeland defense.

Reserve units and personnel join the active duty forces, both federal and National Guard units for the Army and Air Force. These have state and federal missions.

Within this framework there are several chains of command and responsibility. The President is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces. The Secretary of Defense oversees the Department of Defense and provides guidance. The military departments of the DoD train and equip the force. The Joint Chiefs of Staff provide the president with professional advice and provide a means for the services to coordinate their actions. They plan and coordinate. There are also regional commands, which conduct operations.

Probably the most famous of the regional commands is CENTCOM. This is the Central command, which conducts operations in the MidEast, most famously the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. EUCOM controls operations in Europe, much of the territory of the old Soviet Union and Africa. AFRICOM is being formed and will take over operations in Africa. PACOM is in charge of operations in Asia and the Pacific Ocean. SOUTHCOM deals with operations in Latin America, and NORTHCOM deals with operations in North America. There are also four more commands with worldwide responsibility. SOCOM is in charge of special operations, JFCOM provides joint support for worldwide operations, STRATCOM controls the strategic weapons and space operations, and TRANSCOM controls transportation around the world.

Currently the biggest deployment is in Iraq with approximately 130,000 servicemen, but in terms of manpower, the greatest force is in the continental US with 900,000. This is followed by Iraq, then Germany with about 70,000, Japan with just under 50,000, Korea with just over 30,000 and Afghanistan with less than 30,000. Italy and the United Kingdom have just over 10,000 each. There are another 100,000 at sea. In 2003 the US had forces present in 130 nations on bases or military facilities. There are still around 2,000 troops deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo.

US military forces have been present in German, Japan and Korea since the end of WWII. Many older deployments have ended with the end of the Cold War, including the Panama Canal Zone and bases in the Philippines. Guantanamo Bay is one of the oldest, dating back to the end of the Spanish American War in 1898.

There are about 1.4 million active duty personnel in the US Armed Forces, and plans are to increase that number by another 90,000. There are another million in the reserve components.

For more information on the US military please check out the author's site at http://usmilitary.com

Military Exoskeleton Suits

Most of the exoskeleton suits are still in work and some of them work pretty well, but they are thinking too small and are too much under budget. Exoskeleton suits as everyone knows can be used for just about anything on the ground, combat or non-combat alike. If the current exo suit is as good as it says, I think they should look to a higher view. Of course this is a good starter but not good for lifting anything if your arms can't handle it.

If they start thinking bigger and better like in the movies like you say, it can definitely do a lot better. Example, one worker exo could replace 3 people working on a construction project at the same speed, but 3 exo workers could get it done in a far faster time limit thus getting the whole project done far faster. Some people will say it will take jobs away instead of creating them. But if you don't take away the jobs the fighting force overall will work much faster and efficient.

I've had an idea a little before, maybe some other people may have had the idea too, but if they work on the obliques a lot more and included arms for it. Maybe in case they had to tip a car over for cover, add the Dragon skin armor for plaiting around the whole exo which would cover the body shell and put a helmet on with all kinds of tech in it, and make it almost impossible for a bullet to slip in and still comfortable and quick moving. It could make a good front line assault group that can be used for certain missions.

And you know those soldiers that get booted from the army for being too strong...give those guys these and in case for some reason the system fails. They will be able to unload some of the more heavier stuff and still be able to move around on there own. Ideally like medieval times, there would be knights that wore armor into battle and really did some good punches to overall battles that may have took a lot more lives to defeat. I know a lot of people would think these are stupid ideas but if you get the right people and trained them good to pilot anything close to what I just said, it would be like you have god himself on your side.

As a former design specialist working for a DOD contractor the design of piloted and remote control was in development in the mid 80's. The problems then were 1 Power 2 reset 3 panic the first verbal control panic button was Reset and returning unit to "Zero" Power was limited to battery, hydraulic, and diesel. The exoskeleton issue is to structure the system needs to closely fit the environment.

One can only wonder what will happen to all that delicate equipment when a little sand or dust gets in there. Will it short out when a soldier must cross a stream or the humidity of a rainy day? Care for a roll in the mud? I am a great enthusiast of sci-fi equipment. If you want an equipment hauler for here and now the bicycle is a simple, proven, and available combat vehicle.

The bicycle was the secret weapon that allowed 30,000 Japanese to defeat 100,000 British at Singapore in World War II. By traveling 3 times faster than on foot the Japanese were able to project an image of about the same size force as the British. Given Japanese control of sea and air "resistance was futile". The Viet Cong proved the bicycle was a formidable hauler of supplies. The Germans had a bicycle corps trained to jump off their bikes and become infantry in seconds. The bicycle was considered ideal for recon and Special Forces.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for http://www.WarGear.info/ WarGear.info carries the best selection of military clothing, war gear, and combat accessories on the market.

Rally the Troops with Inner Fire

Many who thrive in the workplace are those bursting with drive and determination. These folks who are motivated by their jobs.

Every person who works have personal reasons for working. While most work for money, others work because they love their jobs and because experience a sense of fulfillment. Some work because they desire to aid others or to feel distinguished in a field. People work because they are motivated by certain reasons.

A core reason why people are driven to work is because of the earning potential. Money is a key factor in working. Money is also the motive why most people are inflamed to get degrees or intense training for their jobs. They seek to better themselves in their workplace to attain a higher pay. Compensation for work pays the bills, stocks the fridge, buys clothing for the kids and allows for people to enjoy leisure activities. When people receive commensurate pay for the work they do, they are more spurred to work harder and more efficiently. An employer who underestimates the power of money is making a grave mistake. Not fairly compensating an employee can mean losing that person to a high paying job. Money can motivate almost any employee to labor more efficiently.

Additionally, another reason why people spend nine hours or more a day at work is because they crave recognition for their performance. Without proper recognition, employees will slack off.

Recognition comes in many forms. In fact, after money, recognition is one of the main reasons why people search for advanced jobs. They desire to work for a company where they feel secure with their future and know that they have a chance for promotion. Employees want others that work with them to feel equally responsible and work just as hard. Most employees feel that fellow workers should be fired or suffer demotions if they do not work as hard as they do. The failure to discipline slacking employees results in severe office demotivation.

A further reason why people feel motivated to work is because they want their employer to recognize what is significant to them. Those who work desire flexibility in their itinerary and feel that if their employer cannot offer this, then they will look for alternatives. Workers want their supervisors to know that they have brilliant ideas too and they do not want to feel belittled about expressing their ideas. Employees also feel more driven when they feel comfy about talking to their supervisors even if it is a complaint. They will take comfort in knowing that they have sympathetic supervisors and can go to them when they need to express concerns at the workplace.

Employers can also boost morale and motivation among employees by sympathizing with unique employee needs. Some employees may feel that they want to be in control of their work environment. They don't feel inspired if they constantly have a supervisor looking over their shoulder and deconstructing their labor. Give workers their space and enough breathing room to stretch their creativity. They'll enjoy a sense of ownership over the output of their labors and reward you with passionate service.

Naturally, the best way to nurture motivation throughout the workplace is to provide an environment where all employees feel valued. It is necessary for supervisors to understand that each individual is different and is motivated for different reasons. They need to understand what each employee seeks and their reason for laboring. Find out these hot buttons and productivity will soar.

***
An expert at NLP and negotiation, Joseph R. Plazo, Ph.D conducts leadership executive coaching and helps people find great jobs in the Philippines.

A Military Wedding Complete With Military Wedding Cake Toppers

For many couples one of the great things about getting married today is the fact that they are no longer bound by the customs and traditions that ruled the arrangements for their parents' wedding, but are able to plan a wedding that very much suits their own personalities and lifestyles. But what about those couples who are planning a military wedding?

The basis of a military wedding is of course no different to any traditional white wedding in terms of the format of the wedding and the following reception, with a addition of some traditions that are peculiar to military weddings in general and to weddings from within individual corps or units in particular. This can make it somewhat more difficult to stamp your own personality on your wedding, but there are areas of the wedding, such as your wedding cake, where you can still be more than a little creative.

Whether it's a military wedding or not, there's nothing to say that you have to have a traditional circular white wedding cake. Nowadays cakes come in all flavors, shapes, sizes and colors and there's no reason at all why you shouldn't have your own military cake.

If the kids can have birthday cakes shaped like dinosaurs, then why shouldn't you have a wedding cake in the shape of an aircraft carrier or a Hercules? The problem of course is that your wedding cake needs to be very much a focal point of your reception and this means that it needs to have height – hence the tradition of building cakes into tiers. Your aircraft carrier may well be big enough to feed your assembled guests (and of course to put the bridge away in the freezer for the christening of your first child) but it will not have the dramatic effect that can only really be found by giving a cake height.

In most cases the answer is to choose a cake that you like in terms of flavor and color, but to stick with a fairly conventional shape (round, square, octagonal etc.) and to tier the cake in several layers to give you the required height. Then you can add the final personalization by finishing the cake off with one of the many military wedding cake toppers available today.

Here you could of course have your aircraft carrier or Hercules, but perhaps a safer, but no less personal, choice would be to have representations of yourselves complete with your chosen wedding dress and dress uniform.

The days of the cheap plastic replicas of the bride and groom are long gone and you can now have extremely realistic figures crafted which will match the bride's dress and bouquet, and even her hair, as well as dressing you in the correct uniform complete with badges of rank and medal ribbons. Military wedding cake toppers today have become quite an art.

For more information about wedding cake toppers please visit Talking Weddings today.