Message Center

How did the United States’ mission to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia escalate into our country’s longest war? Which military strategies failed and which succeeded? What did our servicemen experience on the battlefields? This President’s Day, National Geographic Channel (NGC) transports viewers back to the tumultuous years of the Vietnam War, providing a fresh, personal, in-depth look at a decades-old struggle with Inside the Vietnam War, a landmark three-hour television event debuting Monday, February 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Inside the Vietnam War takes you inside covert operations, gives you a seat at the military strategy table, and lets you witness the toll of war through the eyes of the soldiers who had their boots on the ground and the pilots who undertook dozens of death-defying missions. The program also includes testimonials from more than 50 Vietnam veterans, archival audio and video footage, and never-before-seen photos.

NGC has is carried by all of the nation’s major cable and satellite television providers, making it currently available to more than 67 million homes. For more information, please visit <a href=”http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel”>www.nationalgeographic.com/channel</a>.

For the blog newbies out there, a “blog” (short for “Web log”) is a Web site that posts updates or entries in reverse chronological order. They’re meant to be checked often, so the post at the top is always the most recent information or update.

In many cases, blogs are a type of online diary, but they also can be aggregation sites for information pertaining to a specific topic or audience. The MOAA Message Center blog is in this audience format, offering information that the military community might find useful.

That orange square icon is a universally recognized symbol for an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. Clicking on this symbol from your favorite blog will give you options for adding the RSS feed for that blog to your preferred feed reader. If you are even a little tech savvy and like to read several blogs every day, you should consider using a feed reader to check several sites at the same time.

Many email accounts now have feed readers built into them (like Gmail and Yahoo!). They allow you to add an RSS feed from the blogs of your choice to one easy-to-find location, so when new posts are added to your favorite blogs (like MOAA Message Center and Inside the Headquarters), you can go directly to your feed reader to find them all — everything is in one neat and updated location!

To add an RSS feed for your favorite blog to your Google reader, you can go to your reader page and click on “Add Subscription”. Enter in keywords or a feed URL (you can get this from your favorite blog) in the search box, and Google does the rest for you. You can add blogs about movies, music, politics, or any number of other topics.

The Yahoo! Reader also can be found directly in your Yahoo! e-mail client. Look for the orange RSS icon listed in your Yahoo! products list and simply select “Add”. This will bring up options for searching or directly adding an RSS feed for your favorite blog.

All of this technology can be used to make your life simpler, but it also can be fun. Happy blogging!

The Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) successfully conducted a record-setting firing of an electromagnetic railgun at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, VA. Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead, noted, “We should never lose sight of always looking for the next big thing, always looking to make our capability better, more effective than what anyone else can put on the battlefield.”

He went on to emphasize, “I never ever want to see a Sailor or Marine in a fair fight. I always want them to have the advantage.”

ONR’s EMRG Program is part of the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology investments, focused on developing new technologies to support Navy and Marine Corps war fighting needs.

ONR has facilitated a key partnership between leading scientists and engineers from Boeing, Charles Stark Draper Lab, Inc., General Atomics, Department of Energy (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Sea Systems Command (PMS 500), Naval Surface Warfare Center – Carderock and Dahlgren Divisions, the U.S. Army and United Kingdom.

The technology uses high power electromagnetic energy instead of explosive chemical propellants to propel a projectile farther and faster than any preceding gun. At full capability, the rail gun will be able to fire a projectile more than 200 nautical miles at a muzzle velocity of mach seven and impacting its target at mach five. In contrast, the current Navy gun, MK 45 five-inch gun, has a range of nearly 20 miles. The high velocity projectile will destroy its targets due to its kinetic energy rather than with conventional explosives.

The safety aspect of the rail gun is one of its greatest potential advantages, according to Dr. Elizabeth D’Andrea, ONR’s Electromagnetic Railgun Program Manager. Safety on board ship is increased because no explosives are required to fire the projectile and no explosive rounds are stored in the ship’s magazine.

Science and technology challenges met by ONR in the development of the rail gun include development of the launcher, pulse power generation and the guided projectile design. The program’s goal is to demonstrate a full capability, integrated railgun prototype by 2016-2018.

Watch footage of a test slug and armature traveling in barrel below!

Cell Phones for Soldiers is calling on all Americans this Valentine’s Day to send a message supporting the brave men and women serving overseas. The nonprofit organization is launching an e-card campaign that will enable Americans to send a personalized greeting to their family and friends, encouraging all of us to recognize the sacrifices made by members of our Armed Forces.

“For most of us, Valentine’s Day is a day of chocolates, flowers, and special cards for our loved ones,” says Brittany Bergquist, Cell Phones for Soldiers’ co-founder. “For soldiers overseas, and their families at home, Valentine’s Day can be an especially hard reminder of how long they have been apart. We are hoping this campaign will help connect soldiers with their families — on Valentine’s Day and everyday after.”

Cell Phones for Soldiers has set an ambitious objective of raising $1.4 million in monetary and cell phone donations in 2008, to help realize the ultimate goal of making sure no solider serving our country has to pay to call home.

To support that initiative, the Valentine’s Day e-card campaign harnesses the power of social networking to build awareness for the cause:

Cell Phones for Soldiers will distribute e-cards to more than 6,000 current collection sites and supporters (the message can also be downloaded from www.soldiersvalentine.com) These supporters will personalize the message, and forward it to their family and friends, asking them to show their support for the Armed Forces on Valentine’s Day

Recipients can forward their own personalized greetings to family and friends, and can also choose to print off the pre-paid mailing label to donate their unwanted cell phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers. Those that choose to donate their phones can personalize the gift by requesting Cell Phones for Soldiers send a real Valentine, including a box of candy and a prepaid calling card, to the soldier of their choice simply by including the soldier’s name and mailing address.

The goal is to reach 150,000 people with the campaign, equal to the number of troops currently serving overseas. Each phone donated is sold to a recycling company, who pays Cell Phones for Soldiers an average of $5 per phone — enough to provide a soldier with a one-hour, prepaid calling card.

The U.S. Army has started a new enlistment incentive — the Army Advantage Fund (AAF) — offering prospective recruits in five test cities money to make a down payment on a home or to help start or buy a business.

Through AAF, a person who joins the Army for a five-plus year enlistment and chooses a qualifying military job is eligible for up to $40,000. Those enlisting in the Army Reserve are eligible for up to $20,000 for a five-plus year enlistment.

AAF began being tested Feb. 5 in Cleveland, San Antonio, Seattle, Albany, N.Y., and Montgomery, Ala. Results in these test markets will determine whether the program will be offered nationwide.

“America’s Soldiers truly are the strength of our nation, and they deserve the best support, stability, and compensation available in return for their dedication to our country,” says Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, Commanding General of Accessions Command. “The Army has a long legacy of preparing young Americans for success through skills training and education-based programs such as the G.I. Bill and the Army College Fund. This new offering demonstrates the Army continues to understand what young Americans consider critical to their future.”

“With AAF, soldiers have the unique opportunity to build their futures by combining the intangible strengths they gain from the values, teamwork, and skills training in their Army experience with the very tangible benefit of a down payment on a home or the capital to start a business,” Freakley adds.

People in the five test markets eligible for AAF must meet the following criteria:
-Have no prior military service
-Be a U.S. Army or Army Reserve enlistee
-Join for 3-5 years, depending on AAF bonus amount the enlistee desires
-Choose an eligible Military Occupational Specialty
-Be a high school senior (as long as he or she graduates with a diploma) or a high school graduate (includes students who were home-schooled)
-Score within categories I-IIIA (minimum score: 50 percent) on the military aptitude test.

In its five test markets, soldiers and Army civilians also can earn money by referring enlistees — $2,000 for each person referred who enlists, completes basic training, and graduates advanced individual training.

For more information on AAF, visit http://www.armyadvantagefund.com/

Grandma and Grandpa used to live around the corner, and it was easy to see them. But with families today living hundreds of miles away from one another, grandparents might be able to visit their grandchildren once a year — or perhaps not at all. The launch of www.mygrandchild.com, a Web site that combines real time audio/video, chat, and interactive games and activities, will bridge the divide of time, distance, and the short attention span of young children, to allow grandparents the opportunity to virtually visit anytime and get to know their grandchildren — no matter where the family is stationed.

“Grandparents now will be able to have engaging and enriching ‘face-to-face’ conversations, play games, create crafts, and even read their grandchildren a cyber goodnight story, all in real time,” said Dror Oberman, CEO and founder of MyGrandchild.com.

That’s good news for grandparents, aunts and uncles, and parents who are away from their families on military deployments, prolonged business trips, or are separated because of divorce.

“MyGrandchild.com is a service that is clearly going to fill a need,” Oberman added. “Society now is very mobile and extended families are no longer living close together.”

The newly launched MyGrandchild.com creates an online experience for grandparents and grandchildren that is the virtual version of a physical visit. It allows grandparents and grandchildren to do the same things they would if they were physically visiting each other, such as reading books together, playing games, and doing art activities.

To get started, grandparents simply register their information on the site and create profiles for each grandchild. There is nothing to download, nor is a credit card required, and new visitors are offered three no-cost meetings. The site allows grandparents to choose books and activities that will interest the children they are going to visit and then set up a date and time for the visit. The activities and a child’s attention span lend themselves best to 30-minute visits.

For more information, visit www.mygrandchild.com.

On Jan. 28, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (NDAA). Among other things, section 585 of the NDAA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.”

The provisions in the NDAA providing this leave are effective as of the date of the President’s signing. The Department of Labor (DOL) is working quickly to prepare more comprehensive guidance regarding rights and responsibilities under this new legislation. In the interim, WHD will require employers to act in good faith in providing leave under the new legislation. Because the NDAA amends the FMLA, FMLA-type procedures should be used as may be appropriate (for example, procedures regarding substitution of paid leave and notice).

The NDAA also permits an employee to take FMLA leave for “any qualifying exigency (as the Secretary [of Labor] shall, by regulation, determine) arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation.” By its express terms, this provision of the NDAA is not effective until the Secretary of Labor issues final regulations defining “any qualifying exigency.” DOL is expeditiously preparing such regulations. In the interim, DOL encourages employers to provide this type of leave to qualifying employees.

For more information, visit www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/NDAA_fmla.htm.