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Visit the Rebuild Hope Web site or Help Our Heroes for more information, or to donate online!

US Hardware Supply, a supplier of home hardware products for the mortgage field services and real estate industry, recently announced the start of its Help Our Heroes campaign which will raise funds for U.S. servicemen and women severely injured during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their care-giving families. US Hardware Supply will contribute funds based on the sales of its products and the company is asking its customers and associates in the mortgage field services industry to make donations as well. Rebuild Hope, a “one-of-a-kind” national non-profit, will ensure that 100 percent of the funds are distributed to qualifying families. The initial phase of the company’s campaign aims to help veterans during this Holiday season and will run from November 15 until December 24.

“Thousands of veterans and their families struggle with big financial problems that deeply undermine their efforts to rebuild their lives after they have left the military,” said Mark Clark, the president of US Hardware Supply. “Along with foreclosures, unaffordable mortgage payments are primary sources of financial stress causing anxiety, depression and family dislocation. Our company realizes that its help will be especially appreciated during the Holidays and will work with Rebuild Hope to ensure these families receive 100 percent of the donations from our campaign.”

“Rebuild Hope is pleased to participate in the Help Our Heroes campaign. Partnerships with American companies are critical to our mission of providing on-going transitional financial assistance to our veterans,” said Dana Hendrickson, president and founder of Rebuild Hope. “Veterans and their families are victims of a U.S. humanitarian crisis of a nature and scale that would shock most Americans. It’s time we provide badly needed relief.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dedicated its newest national cemetery in Bucks County, Pa., Sunday, Nov. 16.
“A new national shrine that will honor the veterans of Pennsylvania becomes a reality today with the dedication of this cemetery site,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “VA holds sacred our mission to provide veterans a beautiful final resting place and lasting tribute to the men and women who have defended our nation.”
VA’s Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, William F. Tuerk, gave the keynote address and was joined by local officials as the dedication plaque was unveiled and ground was ceremonially broken.
The new 205-acre national cemetery will serve veterans for decades.  More than 580,000 veterans live in the region. Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, the nearest open national cemetery in Pennsylvania, is 120 miles from the new site.
The first phase of construction, including an early burial area, is planned to begin early next year. Burials are expected to begin in the fall of 2009. When completed, the 64-acre first-phase development will provide 15,500 full-casket gravesites, including 15,100 pre-placed crypts, 6,500 in-ground cremation sites and 4,100 columbarium niches.
The new cemetery will also include an administration and public information center complex with an electronic gravesite locator and public restrooms, a maintenance facility, a cemetery entrance area, a flag assembly area, a memorial walkway and committal shelters for funeral services. Other infrastructure includes roadways, landscaping, utilities and irrigation.

Veterans with a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable, their spouses and eligible dependent children may be buried in a national cemetery. Other burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or marker.
In the midst of the largest expansion since the Civil War, VA operates 125 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33 soldiers’ lots and monument sites. More than three million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in VA’s national cemeteries on more than 17,000 acres of land.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the Internet at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at (800) 827-1000.
Information about the Washington Crossing National Cemetery is available by calling the VA Memorial Service Network in Philadelphia at (215) 381-3787.  To make burial arrangements at the time of need, call the national cemetery scheduling office at (800) 535-1117.

One of the attractions of being an independent consultant or operating a small business is the opportunity to manage a complete customer relationship. An important aspect of that customer relationship is managing accounts receivable. And even the best client list will include some customers who can’t get their bills paid in a reasonable amount of time — typically within 30 days of receiving an invoice. Moreover, the percentage of delinquent accounts likely is to increase, as some of your best customers suffer cash flow difficulties and reduced access to credit in this difficult economic environment.

Ironically, a recent headline in the business press observed that even debt-collection agencies are experiencing hard times because there’s little cash left to squeeze from strapped consumers. Accordingly, here are some ideas to help ensure your bills get paid.

•    Provide shocking levels of customer service. Many consultants do a poor job documenting the work performed and the value they add for their clients. Make sure your output is quantified and reported to the customer at least weekly. If working remotely, look for opportunities to stay connected and ensure you’re immediately available during core business hours. When working with large organizations, get acquainted with the people responsible for paying bills. If asked to offer recommendations and ideas, avoid generalities and boilerplates. Give clients a product that offers succinct recommendations and exceeds their expectations, and you will maximize the likelihood of getting paid.

•    Don’t let delinquent accounts linger. You should give a telephone follow-up within a week after an invoice has been unpaid for 30 days, and recognize that collecting overdue bills while maintaining good customer relationships requires deft people skills. The best approach: Start with the attitude that the client wants to pay, and try to identify why the account is delinquent. If a client is waiting for someone else to pay them, ask for copies of the relevant paperwork. Be ready to offer ideas to help clients find the money, such as tapping a personal credit card, line of credit, home equity loan, or even a pay-day lender.

•    Don’t negotiate with yourself. Fees should be agreed upon before work commences, and a client’s inability to pay an invoice does not warrant a reduction in charges. Moreover, if you negotiate a fee down, there is high likelihood that the reduced fee becomes the new baseline for future work. Better to insist on a partial payment now, with precise terms agreed upon for subsequent payments.

•    Document your efforts. Follow-up phone calls with e-mail or certified snail-mail documenting the relevant points of the discussion and reiterating the negotiated arrangements for payment.

If payment problems persist, be prepared to transition the client to a pay-in-advance basis. In extreme cases, consider terminating the business relationship to minimize future indebtedness. However, recognize that the odds of eventually obtaining payment are diminished if the business relationship ends. Consider also a client’s business development value. I have, at times, carried a delinquent client because of his or her visibility or networking value. However, every 30 days I unambiguously remind the client that he or she needs to write me a check.

About the author: Jim Carman is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management and a retired Navy captain. He writes, lectures, and coaches job candidates on interview skills and career building topics.

The animated TV series Slangman’s World is set to air on American Forces Network (AFN) on January 5, 2008. This will be one of AFN’s first original children’s programs in its sixty-six-year history.

The Slangman’s World show is a vehicle for introducing children to foreign languages and cultures through music, animation, and magic. It’s Dr. Seuss meets a language-based Blue’s Clues. Slangman – a live-action, quirky, fun-loving wizard and inventor – interacts with the animated characters as well as the kids at home, encouraging them to participate in each learning adventure. In his enchanted multicultural house, each character serves a specific function to help children broaden their language skills and their view of the world.

The show stars David Burke, who became known as “Slangman” from his 6-year regular radio spot on Voice of America. Burke not only performs as host of the show, he also does the voices of all of the characters for Slangman’s World. Additionally, Burke writes the score, songs, and lyrics for each episode. “Music is an integral part of our show,” explains Burke. “Our goal is to make sure that kids have fun as they sing in different languages. But we adults will know the truth – that the kids are actually learning!”

The American Forces Network (AFN) has adopted Slangman’s World into the AFNfamily schedule. The show is set to broadcast regularly starting in Q4 of 2008, with a goal of helping military families integrate into their new environments overseas. Chief of Television Larry Marotta says enthusiastically, “In all my experience, there has never been a more exciting, engaging, and effective way to learn a foreign language.”

More than 65,000 military personnel have been wounded by hostile and nonhostile acts in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. In addition to advances in medical care, recreation programming is playing an important role in reintegrating these individuals into military, family and community life. To help these wounded warriors, Penn State has developed a first-of-its-kind training program for military recreation managers worldwide, a program the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has agreed to fund through 2011. The first is planned for Jan. 11-15 at University Park campus.

“The Inclusive Recreation for Wounded Warriors program provides the knowledge, tools and resources recreation managers need to integrate active-duty wounded warriors into their existing recreation programs,” said Ruth Ann Jackson, executive director of the Penn State Hospitality Leadership Institute and co-principal investigator for the project.

Inclusive recreation refers to modifying activities and using adaptive equipment to enable individuals with physical, behavioral or emotional limitations to participate in recreation. For example, military personnel with amputations may require different prosthetic feet to rock climb, stabilization straps to lift weights and flotation aids to swim; while those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who experience adverse reactions to crowds and loud noises may need recreation activities structured in quieter settings enabling participation with family and friends, according to Tammy Buckley, Penn State co-principal investigator of the Inclusive Recreation program.

“Active participation in recreation promotes health and wellness, increases combat readiness and reduces incidents of suicide and destructive behaviors associated with PTSD,” added Buckley.

Carol Potter, recreation program manager, DoD Morale, Welfare and Recreation Policy, said, “Appropriate inclusive recreation programming has long been recognized as beneficial in helping the injured, the spouse and the children adjust to and thrive in their new situation. The Department of Defense is extremely pleased to be working with Penn State to provide this training.”

Joshua Watson, a Penn State senior in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, understands the value of recreation for military personnel. Previously an Army military police officer in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, Watson said, “Coming to Penn State and being involved in inclusive activities on campus has helped me readjust to civilian life.” He will talk about his experiences during the first Inclusive Recreation program.

“For wounded warriors, quality of life issues go beyond caring for their medical, psychological and vocational needs,” said Wesley Donahue, Ph.D., director of Penn State Management Development. “It can mean learning to play golf again or participating in new recreational activities.”

The Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management is collaborating with the School of Hospitality Management and Management Development Programs and Services for the education and training programs at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Academy. These outreach activities are part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education, which serves more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 80 countries worldwide.

The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), the nation’s leading nonprofit organization supporting the families of junior enlisted military personnel, launched its annual art and essay contest by inviting all eligible children of U.S. active duty, National Guard, or Reserves to enter by writing an essay about their military hero or illustrating their military family in a drawing. The ASYMCA art and essay contest is officially launched every November as part of Military Family Month.

Military Family Month, established by the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) in 1993, is a time for Americans to thank our nation’s servicemembers to show our gratitude to their families who sacrifice so much for our country.

Winners of both the art and essay contests have their artwork and essays displayed throughout the country and are recognized at an annual luncheon on Capitol Hill. Entries from the 2007 essay contests were compiled to create MY HERO, which is the first book dedicated to telling the stories of military children and how they are impacted by their parents’ deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Our annual art and essay contest gives children the opportunity to express their appreciation, love and admiration for their military heroes, while reminding us all of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform, and their families, make on behalf of our country,” said Rear Adm. Frank Gallo, USN-Ret., and National Executive Director of ASYMCA.

ASYMCA will award six U.S. savings bonds of $500 for first-place entries and $100 bonds for second place in the art contest. For the essay contest, one $500 first place and one $100 second place bond will be awarded in each grade category: first and second, third and fourth, fifth and sixth, and seventh and eighth. Students in two high school categories, ninth and tenth and eleventh and twelfth, will be awarded $1,000 bonds for first place, and $200 bonds for second place. In addition, there are two $100 bonds for essays of honorable mention.

Entries for the art contest must depict “My Military Family.” The deadline for entries in ASYMCA’s 2009 art contest is Friday, Feb. 20, 2009. The top entries will be used on the 2009 Military Family Month poster sponsored by GEICO .

All entries for the ASYMCA essay contest must be postmarked no later than Friday, March 20, 2009. The essays should tell a story about “My Military Hero.” Official entry forms for both contests are available at www.asymca.org.

Veterans Day weekend, Nov. 7–9, 2008, Microsoft Corp. is partnering with the USO to recognize and thank the military community by hosting the second annual A Salute to Our Troops through a unique New York weekend experience. A Salute to Our Troops is a national program honoring the many faces of courage and inspiration belonging to individuals who demonstrate selfless dedication to our country. The program seeks to inspire others into action and show unified support for our service men and women and their families.

Tickets for a private showing of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular are being made available today for servicemembers and their families and can be reserved online at www.salutetoourtroops.org. The private showing of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular maintains the USO tradition of entertaining the troops and gives them a chance to spend valuable time with their families during the holiday season. As part of the commitment to ensuring that troops around the globe get to experience the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, the show will be rebroadcast multiple times on American Forces Network and the Pentagon Channel over the holiday season.

In addition, Microsoft and the USO will host 25 wounded warriors from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to take part in a variety of distinctive activities throughout the weekend in New York City, including a U.S. Coast Guard tour of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty, lunch in Little Italy, and an evening at New York’s Hard Rock café.

A Salute to Our Troops also offers the opportunity for Americans to salute a USO volunteer or thank someone in the military for their service through the sharing of online stories in the A Salute to Our Troops community at www.salutetoourtroops.org.

Washington, D.C., Veterans Day Ceremonies
•    World War II Memorial: Wreath-laying ceremony, 8 a.m., World War II Memorial, 17th Street between Constitution and Independence avenues, Washington, D.C.

•    Vietnam Women’s Memorial: Storytelling, every 30 minutes, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Vietnam Women’s Memorial, Constitution Avenue and Henry Bacon Drive N.W., Washington, D.C.

•    First Division Memorial: Wreath-laying ceremony, 10:30 a.m., grassy panel at 17th Street, south of E Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

•   Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery: Wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 11 a.m.

•    Navy Memorial: Wreath-laying ceremony, 1 p.m., U.S. Navy Memorial, 701 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W, Washington, D.C.

•    Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Wreath-laying ceremony and music, 1 p.m., corner of Constitution Avenue and Henry Bacon Drive NW, Washington, D.C.

•    National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism: Wreath-laying ceremony, 2 p.m., Louisiana and New Jersey Ave and D Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

•    Women in Military Service for America Memorial: Formal military honors, a keynote address, veterans’ remarks, and a wreath-laying ceremony, 3:30 p.m., the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery.

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New York City Veterans Day Celebration
New York City will honor veterans on Tuesday, Nov. 11 with its “Legacy of Honor” Veterans Day parade and events. More than 20,000 people are expected to participate in the parade, including veterans of all eras, active duty servicemembers, ROTC and Junior ROTC units, civic and youth groups, and high school marching bands from across the nation. Floats and military and vintage vehicles will also be in the parade. The parade begins at 11:30 a.m. on Fifth Avenue from 26th Street to 56th Street.

The schedule of events includes:
•    Opening Ceremony, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., Eternal Light Monument, Madison Square Park, Fifth Avenue at 24th Street

•    Veterans Day Parade, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Fifth Avenue from 26th Street to 56th Street

•    Crosstown March, from Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, 42nd Street from 12th Avenue to Fifth Avenue

•    Veterans Day Street Fair, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., 56th Street between Madison and Sixth avenues

For more information about the parade and other events, visit http://unitedwarveterans.org/parade2008/index.php.

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Legion of Honor Veterans Day Celebration
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco will hold a Veterans Day celebration at the Legion of Honor on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The program events include:

•    Screening of The Berlin Airlift (1998, 60 min.), 2 p.m. in the Florence Gould Theater: The film features reenactments and the personal stories of those who lived through the airlift. A question-and-answer session with Director Robert E. Frye will follow the screening.

•    Organ concert, 4–5 p.m.: Robert Gurney performs patriotic music on the Skinner organ.

This Veterans Day also marks the 84th anniversary of the founding of the Legion of Honor by Adolph and Alma Spreckels. Museum admission is free Nov. 11 for all veterans and active duty servicemembers with military ID.  Seating for the film is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets will be available at the admission desk on Nov. 11. For more information, call (415) 750-3600, or visit www.legionofhonor.org.

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Colonial Williamsburg Veterans Day Programs
On Veterans Day, Colonial Williamsburg, Va., will hold a military parade honoring America’s veterans at 4:30 p.m. beginning at the Capitol and continuing down the Duke of Gloucester Street. All veterans of service in America’s armed forces are invited to participate in the parade. Groups will begin forming at 4:15 p.m.

A ceremony will follow the parade at the courthouse on Market Square. Colonial Williamsburg’s militia and cannon crew will fire volleys in honor of those who have served in America’s forces. Colonial Williamsburg’s Fifes and Drums will perform tunes as a salute to the veterans. Speakers will add their tribute to the day’s ceremony.

As part of the tribute, Colonial Williamsburg offers special complimentary admission passes to active duty military, reservists, retirees, veterans and their families Nov. 7-11, 2008. The Honoring Service to America pass includes admission to Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area and museums, including the Capitol, Governor’s Palace and Bassett Hall, the Williamsburg home of Foundation benefactor John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. The pass also includes an orientation walk, a walking tour that provides an overview of Colonial Williamsburg and its restoration, free shuttle bus service to and from the Visitor Center, a viewing of the movie, Williamsburg, The Story of a Patriot, and free parking at the Visitor Center.

The servicemember need not be present, and free passes will be provided to immediate family members of currently deployed troops, with appropriate identification. Military veterans who separated before retirement can bring a copy of their honorable discharge paperwork, DD Form 214, as identification of service. These tickets are available only at Colonial Williamsburg on-site ticket sales windows.

In addition to providing complimentary admission tickets to these honored guests, Colonial Williamsburg offers special rates to servicemembers and their families at any of its five on-site hotels, the closest lodging to Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, museums, dining, shopping, golf, children’s activities, and more.

Williamsburg is located in Virginia’s Tidewater region, 20 minutes from Newport News, within an hour’s drive of Richmond and Norfolk, and 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., off Interstate 64.

For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call (800)-HISTORY (447-8679), or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s Web site at www.history.org.

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Veterans Day Parades

To find a Veterans Day parade in your area, visit www.vetfriends.com/parades/index.cfm.
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2008 Veterans Day Teacher Resource Guide
The 2008 Veterans Day teacher resource guide is now online.  Parents and educators can download the guide as a PDF file from the Veterans Day Web site at www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/schoolkit.asp. The guide includes suggested activities for Veterans Day, such as school assemblies, musical performances, or flag-raising ceremonies; information on how to contact veterans service organizations and staff at VA medical centers, benefits offices, and national cemeteries; information for older students about the origins of Veterans Day, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, statistics on America’s wars, and scholarships; and handouts for younger students such as a Veterans Day maze and coloring pages.

The guide, along with a Veterans Day poster, is being distributed on CD-ROM to principals at 118,000 schools nationwide.

Operations near the sea’s surface can be highly vulnerable times for a submarine. Nuclear submarines can stay submerged for long periods of time, but diesel-electric subs must rise to snorkel for air, and even air-independent propulsion subs are time-limited in undersea operations.

The U.S. Navy is taking advantage of those drawbacks by developing equipment to quickly and easily locate a submarine’s elusive periscope. The result is the MH-60R Advanced Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination System (ARPDD).

Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, N.Y., has received a $114 million contract to design, develop, and test the system, which is expected to be completed in 2013. Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md is managing the contract.

George Barton, director of naval helicopter development programs for Lockheed Martin, says the new system is a significant leap in capability.

“The ARPDD in anti-submarine warfare mode allows operators to deal with an extremely tough problem when displaying a large number of tracks — the sea clutter, buoy pots in littoral warfare, small boats, large shipping — those contacts show up on radar and the operator has to pick out a periscope,” Barton says. “It’s work-intensive to fly out to the contacts and eyeball them.”

But ARPDD cuts through the clutter and allows the operator to “pick the needle out of the haystack and determine which one is the periscope,” Barton says. “It’s a huge capability for the helicopter and strike group where they can combine it with periscope detection on the current radar and add in the ability to discriminate among contacts to determine what it is from the aircraft without having to put an eyeball on it.”

Barton notes the operator has the ability to put the craft’s forward-looking infrared radar on the contact to get a visual or can order a flight out to the contact to actually eyeball it if necessary.

“Once you get detection on a potential periscope, you can go over there and dip to get contact,” Barton says. “That sub will not be able to get away from them.”

He adds the ARPDD will process the number of contacts 10 times faster than those able to be processed today because of massive computing power and increased rotational speed of the antenna.
About the author: Alan M. Petrillo is a Tucson, Ariz. freelance writer who works in a wide variety of fields, writing for national and regional magazines and newspapers. He’s also the author of the historical mystery, Full Moon (JoNa Books, 2005).