Got Tickets?

I am a huge sports fan (pro) (Go Bronocos/Nuggets/Rockies/Avs - I must have drank the Kool-Aid in Denver) and often can be found supporting my teams in the stands or at a sports bar.

Sports are a bonding event among like-minded fans, and a fun rivalry for opposing teams. A nice distraction from the pressures of everyday life.

That's exactly why it'd be a nice thing to send our military men and women to a game. Could be just what they need.

Read my article about the Veteran Tickets Foundation in the D.C. Examiner here.

Guest Blogger: Meet LTjg Theresa Donnelly as she covers a women in the sea services conference

Last week while I was in D.C., (I'm stationed in Hawaii) I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Sea Services Leadership Association symposium. The conference brought together more than 600 people from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard together. For two days, we had the opportunity to honor women leaders, listen and learn from accomplished speakers and establish mentor relationships.

Before I begin discussing my personal experiences and reflecting on some key items that I took away by attending, I first should mention that before joining the Diversity Committee at Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CPF) where I work as the community relations director, I did not understand the need for these groups, or why the Navy emphasized these events, as demonstrated through the Navy’s Office of Diversity Web page. I thought that perhaps these events functioned as a way to give an unfair advantage for minorities and that we, as women, didn’t have to stress that we are different. My thinking was that it was just more important for women to simply “fit in.”

Boy, were my eyes opened!
First off, I was fortunate enough to have this conference funded by our CPF Diversity Team, which not only enabled me to attend but funded three other individuals, including one of our First Class Petty Officers (E6). I cannot stress enough the importance of the Navy allowing civilians and military personnel from all rank structures to participate in these type of events. I think our N1 (Total Fleet Force Manpower and Personnel) really sets the standard for the Navy by demonstrating how important it is to send people to diversity group events.
Why? Well, I think some of the key highlights I list below might help to explain.

The Navy's second highest ranking female,
Vice Adm. Nancy Brown, director for Command, Control, Communications and Computer (C4) Systems, The Joint Staff. Brown gave the opening remarks and presented the Capt. Joy Bright Hancock award to three very deserving individuals. The Coast Guard also presented the Capt. Dorothy Stratton Awards to two of their deserving people.

During her opening remarks, Vice Adm. Brown said, "I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be with you here this morning. To see so many accomplished women in one room is...I just can't hardly put it into words."

Next, Dee Dee Myers, the first female White House press secretary spoke and she brought up so many great points while reflecting on her time in the oval office. (For more information about her presentation and her great book, Why Women Should Rule the World, and some disheartening statistics about women in leadership positions, please check out my guest blogpost at Navy Reads.

Other sessions included a Women in War panel, where attendees learned first-hand the challenges women face in the battlefield, like issues with aviator flight suits that must accommodate women’s bathroom breaks, or just what is the proper behavior women should have when they are surrounded by so many men.

That is where, I believe, mentoring is SO important. The Navy is really ground-breaking in their commitment to not only women, but also several affinity groups by sponsoring events such as this one. Additionally, the Navy promotes social media tools such as NavyWomen eMentor; Surface Warfare eMentor; Facebook communication with fellow Navy female officers; and Leading Edge, a Google group started by female naval aviators.

Also, many of the Navy’s top female flag officers were at the conference, including including Rear Adm. Carol Pottenger, commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command; Rear Adm. Wendi Carpenter, commander, Navy Warfare Development Command, Norfolk; Rear Adm. Ann DeBaets Gilbride, director, National Marine Intelligence Center; and various other female flag officers, command master chiefs and diversity directorate leaders.

The conference is so valuable because we all got the chance to meet these women who were really trailblazers and had to overcome so much to get to where they are. In an informal setting, a Second Class Petty Officer (E5) could ask questions to the second highest-ranking female Navy flag officer. I mean, how cool is that?

Other highlights included speaker Vernice Armour, the Marine Corps' first African-American female pilot. Her presentation was just so great. As she is introduced, she comes out, dressed in a flight suit with the Top Gun’s song “Danger Zone” playing. She high-fives several attendees, as pictured here.

Her “Zero to Breakthrough” message gave countless examples of her life experiences where she had to overcome so many obstacles. In was so inspirational to hear how she was able to achieve so much. One quote stood out to me:

“Life is about transition to the next step – what are you taking with you to the next step? What are you packing to have that breakthrough?” And, “acknowledge the obstacle, but don’t give it power; know that you are the owner.”

I really could type forever about all the great people I met and what a valuable experience this has been. As someone who has gone through quite a few obstacles in my personal and professional life, I could really relate to what many of the speakers were talking about.

If you ever have a chance to attend one of these events, jump on it! These conferences are not only valuable for the members of a particular affinity group, but for anyone. It gives people a chance to learn varied perspectives and discuss best practices when facing challenges for personal and professional growth. And, it gives those who work with a particular affinity group a keen insight into the differences and challenges people face and ways we can all work together. Not to mention the fact that you can take back what you learn at these events and do your own presentation of the key takeaways.

Attendee Rear Adm. Ann DeBaets Gilbride, director, National Marine Intelligence Center said it best,

“Leaders need to mentor women and men alike and help them understand their capacity for growth, help them understand: don't be afraid to stretch, don't be afraid to reach because that will be the only way you will truly test your limits.”

I couldn’t agree more. That is what these conferences are all about; finding those people who can make a difference in your life and developing life-long friendships.

Other articles and video news coverage of SSLA:

Navy.mil stories-

SSLA Symposium Provides Leadership and Growth:
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=46419

Sea Service Leadership Symposium Emphasizes Importance of Mentorship
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=46422

Navy.mil Daily News Updates-

Women’s Symposium
http://www.navy.mil/swf/mmu/mmplyr.asp?id=12755

Navy Chief of Naval Personnel on E-Mentoring
http://www.navy.mil/swf/mmu/mmplyr.asp?id=12770

(All photos taken by LTjg Theresa Donnelly)

"Troop-a-Thon"

Log-in to www.troopathon.org Thursday, June 25th.

Move America Forward will be holding their 2nd annual “Troop-a-thon” titled “Honor their Service.”

This cutting edge live webcast event brings together talk radio hosts, megastars of film and television, musical guests, journalists, military and Gold-star families, pro-troop groups and many more.

The goal of this charity fundraiser is to send the largest ever shipment of care packages to our brave men and women of the armed forces serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

Viewers are encouraged to sponsor care packages (donations are tax deductible) for the troops and each one includes a personalized message and items that our troops have requested that make their life a little easier while they are far from home, such as sun-screen, Gatorade, deodorant, coffee, cookies and much more.

Confirmed guests include: Gary Sinise, Kelsey Grammer, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Roger Hedgecock

Hosted by:

LT Andy Baldwin of D.C. deploys to Latin America

Read my latest column in the Examiner here.

The Way We Get By

Yesterday I was invited to attend a screening of the documentary, The Way We Get By, from one of my Twitter friends, Director Aron Guadet.

I invited fellow blogger, Air Force Tech Sgt Cheryl Hackley, thinking she may enjoy this type of movie also.

We chatted with the director and settled into our seats with our candy and popcorn. Everything after that was a blur—literally, because I was crying through the entire film. Cheryl kept tapping me on the shoulder, offering me fresh Kleenex from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a depressing or morbid film. I was often smiling through my tears.

We followed the lives of Bill Knight, Joan Guadet, and Jerry Mundy, three senior citizens who live and breathe for greeting the troops 24/7 as they arrive home from deployment, at a small airport in Bangor, Maine.

As we watched the film, we had the pleasure of being invited into their homes, some with their families, and some without (86 year old WWII veteran Bill is twice-widowed). It struck me that these people were so endearing because they are everyone’s grandparents. Joan worries about her granddaughter, an Army helicopter pilot who heads to Iraq, or Jerry, a former Marine who charms you with his quick wit and devotion to his only buddy, his dog “Mr. Flanigan.”

This was the real deal. This was not a “reality show” which is more scripted than it is the truth. These are three unassuming, regular people who have their own problems in life, but live for the phone call to be there as one by one, a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine, steps off that plane.

Here is the trailer again, if you missed my earlier post:

The Way We Get By - Trailer from The Way We Get By on Vimeo.

I encourage you to see this film, and check the website regularly to see if it is in your town. http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/ Details are on the website for you to request it in your city, or order the DVD. The three "cast" members attend the screenngs, and offer a Q & A session afterward. After having the honor of meeting these individuals, my heart will never be the same.

(in this photo: me, *smiling through tears, Jerry Mundy, and Cheryl Hackley)

Guest Blogger: Meet MC1 Mark Schultz as he covers a Navy League awards cermony for Captain Richard Phillips

(Editors note: MC1 Mark Schultz is a producer/reporter at All Hands Television in Washington D.C.)

I met a hero last weekend. He wasn’t 8 feet tall, he wasn’t wearing a mask or cape and he couldn’t shoot lasers from his eyes. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t even bullet proof. And knowing this, he faced a real challenge a few months ago as his ship was attacked by pirates off the Somali coast. Fortunately, our Sailors over there were able to get him back. I’m sure we’ve all heard the stories, so I’ll save you all the details.

I got a call around 8:30 Friday evening because I was the Command Duty Officer that week for the Defense Media Activity – Anacostia. It was my chief, calling about a shoot that has come up for Saturday night. He told me a little bit about the story and I couldn’t resist.

Normally, I would have made a few calls and pulled people off liberty to go cover the event. Instead, I said I could do it, and called one of my guys to be a photographer, MC2 Drew Geraci.

That night, and throughout the next day there were about a million and a half emails and phone calls going on to make sure this shoot was set up. Since no one was at work, we needed access to video and still cameras, lights, we still had to figure out what the story was and since there was an admiral involved, we had to figure out first what we wanted to talk to him about and then what he was going to talk about. Ok, I need to breath; that was a mouthful…

Seven p.m. rolls around Saturday and I start getting ready. I pick up Geraci and we head out to the Westin Arlington Gateway in Arlington, Va. We get up to the banquet room and there are, what seemed like, a hundred some odd people sitting down, just starting to eat dinner. We met with the Navy League Public Relations person who brought us to a location where we could set up our lights for interviews after the ceremony.

While we were setting up lights, they brought us a fantastic dinner! Steak and crab cakes… can’t go wrong there. We had about 10 minutes to eat before the ceremony started. And when it did, we were in place.

I was on a riser at the back of the room and my photographer was running around getting pictures of the action. The President of the Navy League, J. Michael McGrath, got up to introduce the guest Speaker, Vice Adm. Michael Vitale, Commander Navy Installations Command. His opening line was about the 39 world-wide, world-class… golf courses! In a room full of retired Sailors, you know how well that went over! Once the laughter died down, Admiral Vitale spoke about what CNIC had to offer the Navy, and its importance to the fleet. The admiral wrapped up his speech by introducing the award recipient of the Navy League’s most prestigious award, the Arleigh Burke Leadership Award. McGrath invited Capt. Richard Phillips to the stage where he was presented the “ever famous” award folder with his citation inside This one was big though, and green. Very nice; very classy. But it still had that military feel to it.

Following the award presentation, Capt. Phillips thanked the Navy League and gave a short speech. He couldn’t express enough how thankful he was to the crew of USS Bainbridge and the SEALS who saved him.

The ceremony ended and as the crowd started to disperse, mingle and head to the after party, my job was just getting started. I had recorded the ceremony, but the camera was on a tripod and there wasn’t really much I had to worry about. Geraci headed to our interview location and fired up the lights. We checked our microphone and waited for the crowd to disperse enough to let us get an interview with award recipient.

As Capt. Phillips was brought around, he was asked to sign a poster with all the newspaper covers the day of his rescue. This photo was on the cover of 42 newspapers across the country that day.

We probably spent 5 minutes talking to him about the award, about leadership and about the Sailors who saved him.

“There are few times where you can prove your mettle,” said Phillips. I really think the Capt. is right about this.

And what Adm. Vitale said in an interview following really captures what I feel sometimes when I’m faced with a tough decision:

"Whether given the same circumstances that he faced, how would we do? Would we have the same honor? Would we have the same courage? Would we have the same commitment to do the right thing given the circumstances? It's a question I think each of us asks ourselves periodically when we see those circumstances. It's a natural question. The good news in our case is as military men, as Sailors, as Navy men and women, we're trained to respond and do that mission and so for us, we don't even have think about it, we just make it happen."

Our next interview was with the President of the Navy League. I’ll be honest, I respect the decision Capt. Phillips made. I think he did a wonderful and courageous thing, but I wasn’t sure if he really had earned a leadership award. I kind of thought that maybe the fame he had from this incident is what swayed the boards decision to select him. So, naturally, I asked why Capt. Phillips was selected.

"You look at the leadership traits of the person and how he has demonstrated them over a long period of time, I think if you look at this Captain who has been at sea a long time, travelled many many miles around the world, and the most demanding jobs."

That’s when I really thought about who this captain really was. He was unlucky enough to have pirates attack his ship. He was courageous for his actions that day, and he was lucky he had the Navy there to rescue him. But he was the Captain of a huge Merchant Vessel. He had been a captain for many years. Those jobs don’t come from any paper application. They come through hard work, sweat and blood. He has to be just as qualified as our shipboard commanding officers. And that is something I can relate to.

It’s funny how enlightened you can become from a single statement. Well, I didn’t have time to ponder the thought. After our interviews were completed we packed up and headed home. Geraci edited photos and got them out to Navy Visual News.

Meanwhile I was at my house sifting through the interviews to pull quotes for a print story that was going to be posted to Navy.mil that night. It was probably around 12:30 a.m. when I finished pulling quotes. The next morning, BAM! All our efforts the night before were available for the world to see. It’s jobs like these that keep me coming back for more. Never in a million years did I think I’d get the opportunity to meet Capt. Phillips, and never in a million years did he think he’d be in front of a camera talking to me.

Summer Military Entertainment

One of my favorite things about summer in D.C. is attending various military related entertainment for free, whether it be a Marine Corps Sunset or Evening Parade, or sitting outside watching a Navy Band concert at the Navy Memorial. The services' honor guards and bands are all stationed in this region, so it makes it much easier for the general public to see them perform.

Here's some info on the Marine Corps parades.

Sunset Parade: The Sunset Parades are conducted on Tuesdays only 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. June 2 - August 11, 2009

A one hour performance, the Sunset Parade features the music of "The Commandant's Own", The United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and precision drill by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon.The Sunset Parade is open to the public at no charge. Reservations are not necessary. Spacious lawns provide ample room for guests to bring lawn chairs and blankets for informal viewing. No other type of seating is available, except for invited guests of the Parade Reviewing Officials.

Parking There are no public parking spaces available at the Memorial grounds on Parade evenings. Guests may park at the Arlington National Cemetery Visitors' Center for a small fee. Marine Barracks provides a free shuttle bus service from the visitors center to the war memorial grounds from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. before the parade and from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. following the parade.

Evening Parade: The Evening Parades are conducted on Fridays only 8:45 p.m. - 10:15 p.m. May 8 - August 28, 2009

A one hour and fifteen minute performance of music and precision marching, the Evening Parade features "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, "The Commandant's Own" The United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Marine Corps Color Guard, the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, Ceremonial Marchers, and LCpl. Chesty XIII, the official mascot of Marine Barracks Washington.The ceremony starts at 8:45 p.m., beginning with a concert by the United States Marine Band. The Evening Parade, held every Friday evening during the summer, has become a universal symbol of the professionalism, discipline, and Esprit de Corps of the United States Marines. How to Make Reservations

Seating for the Evening Parade generally requires a reservation. Parade reservations can be made by accessing the Online Parade Reservations page (requires email). Written (or faxed) reservation requests will be also considered, but the online reservations are preferred.
If you cannot use the online parade reservations, reservation requests should be sent to:

Fax: (202) 433-4076.

-or-

Protocol Office
Attn.: PARADES
Marine Barracks, 8th & I Sts.,
S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20390-5000

U.S. Navy Band – Mondays 8 p.m.On the West Front of the U. S. Capitol Building June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 July 6, 13, 20, 27 August 3, 10, 17, 24 and on Tuesdays, 8 p.m. at the Navy Memorial June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 July 7, 14, 21, 28 August 4, 11, 18, 25 Special Concerts: Memorial Day - Monday, May 25 at 12:30 p.m., Independence Day Celebration - Friday, July 3 at 8 p.m. and Labor Day - Monday, September 7 at 12:30 p.m.

U.S. Air Force Band - Wednesdays and Fridays, 8 p.m at the Air Force Memorial June 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 July 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31 August 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 28 and on Thursdays, 8 p.m.at the Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument June 4, 11, 18, 25 July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 August 6, 13, 20, 27

U.S. Marine Band – Wednesdays 8 p.m.On the West Front of the U. S. Capitol Building June 3, 10, 17, 24July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 August 5, 12, (no performance on Aug. 19) 26

U.S. Army Band – Fridays 8 p.m.On the West Front of the U. S. Capitol Building June 5, 12, 19, 26July 10, 17, 24, 31August 7, 14,

Pizzas for Patriots

Speaking of pizza ... (yes that's my favorite food!), I saw this story on FOX News yesterday and thought it was a fun concept. It's called "Pizzas 4 Patriots." The mission of this organization, is to give troops serving in Iraq a giant pizza party for the 4th of July!

Here's a story a story I found about their organization that aired on MSNBC - simply incredible.




From their website:

Pizzas 4 Patriots got its' start from my son 15 year old Kent Evans. He asked me, a retired Air Force Master Sergeant if it would be possible to send Lou Malnatis deep dish pizzas to U.S soldiers serving in Iraq. The first step we took was to call Lou Manatis headquarters and ask if it would be possible. They agreed to sell the pizzas to Pizzas 4 Patriots at cost. DHL express volunteered their shipping services at no charge. On June 15 the family began soliciting donations and received corporate and individual funds to ship 2000 Pizzas on June 27, 2008. On July 4, 2008 our service men and women enjoyed pizza party held by General Patreaus at Camp Victory and 8 forward operating camps. It has flourished into a second shipment of over 2,000 pizzas for Super Bowl 2009 and Home Run Inn pizzas for VA Hospitals on Veterans Day and Super Bowl 2009. We have shipped a total of over 4,500 pizzas and 6,000 bottles of beer to our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cool eh? Maybe they'll come to Walter Reed, or National Naval Medical Center next??

To donate click here.

Papa John’s raises $75,000 for USO

Wednesday at Fort Myer, The National Capital Region and Baltimore Papa John’s Cooperatives presented a check for $75,000 to the USO of Metropolitan Washington to support USO-Metro’s services for troops and their families.

Bill “The Colonel” Freitas, USA (Ret.) and President of the National Capital Region and Baltimore Papa John’s Cooperatives, presented Elaine Rogers, President of USO-Metro, with the check as a result of a three month “Papa’s Pledge” fundraising campaign. All 147 stores of the National Capital Region and Baltimore participated, donating $1 from every USO Special pizza sold between February and April directly to USO-Metro.

“Colonel Bill Freitas served our nation in the U.S. Army and he continues to stand by those who serve our nation today,” said Elaine Rogers, President of USO of Metropolitan Washington. “USO-Metro is honored to be one of the Colonel’s charities and we’re proud to announce that not only did this campaign surpass our expectations, it blew away our most successful restaurant fundraising campaign by 900 percent!”

COL Freitas added, “It was not just Papa John’s that did this; it was our loyal customers who supported the troops by buying the USO Special Pizza 75,000 times.”

The check was presented at a pizza party in honor of the U.S. Army’s 234th birthday. Papa John’s provided over 225 pizzas and served more than 500 troops and Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall personnel. At the event, COL Freitas and Papa John’s were honored with a U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute. The Freedom Team Salute program recognizes special supporters who have significantly contributed to supporting U.S. Army Soldiers and the Army’s Mission.

Top left photo: Troops are served Papa John’s pizza by USO-Metro’s Mobile USO at Fort Myer,VA in honor of the Army’s 234th birthday.

Middle right photo: COL Bill Freitas, USA (Ret.), President of the National Capital Region Papa John’s Cooperative (center), presents Elaine Rogers, President of USO-Metro (left), with a $75,000 check. The check was presented at a pizza party at Fort Myer in honor of the U.S. Army’s 234th birthday; Garrison Commander Col. Laura Richardson participated (right).

4th of July Weekend

July 3th - Independence Day Celebration "Help Us to Help Them."

In support of our military's "Wounded Warriors," Sunset Hills is donating half of all sales proceeds on Friday July 3rd, Independence Day, federal holiday to the Wounded Warrior project. 83%** of every dollar they raise goes directly to wounded service personnel nationwide. This is the first of other fun events for our customers that Sunset hills plans to do in support of our military.

Please help us give them a generous donation. For ideas or suggestions on how we can help our local personnel please email diane@sunsethillsvineyard.com

**WWP will be updating their improved reduction in overhead from 79%to 83% on their site from their last audit) http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

The Way We Get By

This movie, The Way We Get By, looks incredible, and it's playing in Washington D.C. this week! One of my favorite people military people on Twitter, the always popular Boston Maggie, alerted us all to this genuine looking movie about the small things we can do to make a difference and support our troops. I'm told the three elderly greeters from the film will be at both D.C. screenings this Friday and Sunday!

The Way We Get By - Trailer from The Way We Get By on Vimeo.

MilSpot of the Week

Video Contest "Why Afghanistan Matters"

Support NATO as they participate in the wonderful world of Social Media! An Army LTC contacted me about this contest that I've been hearing about. They want to encourage and reward military efforts to get the "boots on the ground" story of what's happening on a daily basis in Afghanistan out to the public via YouTube, and are therefore sponsoring a contest that does just that. The prize is not going to cure world hunger, but it's a start. The web site is http://www.afghanistanmatters.com, which gives links to the YouTube channel and Twitter feed. He said they'd like to see the great work soldiers are doing in new media get noticed and rewarded.

Per the website:
Are you a military member currently serving in Afghanistan?
Think what we’re doing in Afghanistan is important? Tell us why!

Joint Forces Command HQ Brunssum is sponsoring a contest in which you will have the opportunity to share your experiences with the world - and possibly win a camcorder!

Tell us in 3 minutes or less “Why Afghanistan Matters” and you could be a winner! The contest is open to all military personnel currently serving, or who formerly served, in Afghanistan. In addition, the contest is open to civilian personnel working, or who have worked, alongside NATO or Coalition Forces. For questions on eligibility, contact us.

How the contest works:
You make your video and either mail it to us or upload to this site.
We screen your video only to ensure it complies with the official rules.
We notify you when your qualifying video gets posted on the contest channel.
Public rating determines the winner (1 Grand Prize and three First Prize winners!)
Timelines: The contest will be open for submissions during June, July and August. We will post your videos once approved as a qualifying submission. From 1 to 30 September, we will allow further video rating, and winners will be selected on 1 October. Winners determined by highest average rating.

For more info visit: http://contest.afghanistanmatters.com/

Women's Sea Services Symposium

The 2009 Sea Service Leadership Symposium theme is "Success Strategies for the Week, the Year and Your Career." The symposium is jointly sponsored by the Sea Services Leadership Association (SSLA), the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, and the US Marine Corps. The purpose of the symposium is to foster education and career development and provide networking and mentoring opportunities for active duty and reserve women in the sea services (Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps). Highlights will include guest speaker Dee Dee Myers, the first female White House Press Secretary and author of Why Women Should Rule the World; ADM Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations; and Carla Grantham of the Coast Guard.

Registration will be held on 17 Jun 09 at 1800-2200 and beginning at 0630 on 18 Jun 09.
Grand Hyatt Washington
1000 H Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20001
202-637-1234

Operation Sand Flea

There's an amazing skin care company right here in D.C. called Skincando www.skincando.com , helping our service members in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with sand flea bites, sunburn, and extreme dry skin that they face everyday when deployed.

Sara Damelio, an aesthetician at Still Point spa in Takoma Park, MD, created her own balm out of all natural ingredients in her kitchen. She had bad skin growing up and she attributes it to the harsh chemicals in most make-up and creams. A friend sent her balm to her husband in Iraq and he kept asking for more. He relayed, no product has helped calm and soothe their skin with the sand flea bites like Skincando Combat-ready balm.

Sara received similar feedback from other soldiers: "How do I find out who is donating Combat-ready balm to the troops? I ask because my platoon's current location in Iraq must be the sand flea holy land. We are at our wits end and going crazy due to being bitten 10-20 times nightly with nothing that is working." SSG Coy, Michael

Sara was able to get some amazing press in the DC area via the Washington Times and the Washington Post which has helped her send the balm to the troops in greater and greater quantities. On May 1, 2009 in honor of our service members and Military Appreciation Month, Sara Damelio of skincando and 630 WMAL launched a massive donations campaign called Operation Sand Flea. The goal is to send at least 5000 jars of Combat-Ready Balm to Iraq + Afghanistan by July 4, 2009 and $5000 to the Fisher House.

Please help support the troops by donating a Combat-ready balm via Operation Sand Flea with WMAL radio. If you have a friend you want to donate to, let Sara know his/ her name and address. To donate go to http://www.skincando.com/ Sara can also be reached at skincando@aol.com.

On a personal note, I'll be sending to my Shipmates in Afghanistan courtesy of Skincando -- thank you for supporting our troops!

MilSpot of the Week

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Yellow Ribbon Fund Golf Tournament

WUSA -9 and the Yellow Ribbon Fund have teamed up for another great golf tournament!

2nd Annual Yellow Ribbon Fund/Army Navy Country Club
Charity Golf Classic for Injured Service Members
Monday, July 6, 2009

Sign up now for this fantastic event! It will raise funds for wounded veterans’ assistance initiatives, and provide recreational/social opportunities for Injured Service Members and supporters Last year, they hosted more than 25 foursomes, each with an injured service member playing along. It was a great day of golf and camaraderie. This year's tournament will include a pre-tournament lunch, golf, a post-tournament dinner, awards, and a silent and live auction.

Location: Army Navy Country Club, 1700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA 22202

Lunch and registration begins at 11:00 a.m.
Shotgun at 12:30 p.m.
Cocktail and Silent Auction at 5:30 p.m.
Banquet, Speakers, and Awards at 6:30pm

Chairmen: Rick LePere, Richard L. LePere, Inc.
Craig Birmingham, Reznick Group
Commander David Tarantino, M.D., Army Navy Country Club
Brett McMahon, Miller & Long Concrete Construction
Doug Coppi, Coppi & Associates, LLC

All net proceeds will go to the Yellow Ribbon Fund to benefit Injured Service Members.

For event information please contact:
Mark Robbins – mark@yellowribbonfund.org – 240-223-1180

Military Monday

If you are in the military, and participate on the social media website Twitter, then you're most likely familiar with the term "Military Monday" or #MilitaryMon. The latter is a hashtag (a way to track a particular subject) used to recommend good military people to follow on Twitter, to support the troops or a cause, or just have a conversation about the military.

I'd seen all the chatter about who to follow and who is really gung-ho about supporting our men and women in uniform. Well, imagine my surprise when @carsonjdaly started following me on Twitter. I have to admit, I was suspicious that it was not the same Carson Daly who hosts NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, or from my teen years, MTV's Total Request Live. I had heard he was going to dedicate his show last night for Military Monday, but didn't want to blog and promote it until I had seen it for myself.

Turns out he is the real deal. Way cool.

He actually did his entire show from Fort Irwin, where he fired off some rifles, had chow with the soldiers, and toured their facilities.

While I'm at it, in the spirit of Military Monday, I need to give a very tardy shout-out to some military "tweepoles" that have supported me on my Twitter page.

Please follow and read the blogs of my favorite military folks...

@straighttoit

@WOTN
@ArmyMom101
@NYCNavyGirl
@NavyNews
@andybaldwin
@lyfsgr8
@agent11
@andersoneriks
@twresorts (offer great discounts for military)
@carlislejf

Great job Carson! Thank you for what you're doing--it's not going unnoticed! - @GIJESSDC