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DJ Skribble and Naughty by Nature will soon depart on an eight-day USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour to the Persian Gulf. The group will perform exclusive concerts for troops, sign autographs and participate in meet and greets. Opening for Skribble and Naughty by Nature is Barry Carew.

A big supporter of the U.S. military, in 2008 Skribble rocked the ship when he performed for nearly 5,000 troops stationed on board the USS Ronald Reagan. The dynamic DJ delivered a much-needed break to our men and women in uniform.

“Performing for troops is a passion of mine,” said Skribble. “I get so much feedback from service members and I am thankful for this opportunity to travel to the Persian Gulf on a USO tour.”

Named one of the top ten DJs in the world, Skribble has been hyping audiences for more than twenty years and lending his mixing skills to some of hip-hop’s most influential artists, like the Notorious B.I.G. and Grandmaster Flash. He has also made countless appearances on MTV and been featured in such magazines as “Billboard,” “Rolling Stone,” “DJ Times,” and “Playboy.” Additionally, his “Total Club Hits” albums have topped the music charts.

Grammy Award-winning hip-hop super group Naughty By Nature has a near twenty-year career of creating hits and party anthems that have smashed mainstream barriers while remaining authentically hip-hop. In October 2008, VH1 honored the group during their “Hip Hop Honors” awards show and recognized them as true icons in the music scene. Original group members, Treach, Vinnie and Kay Gee, have just finished a reunion album titled “Anthem Inc.” Regarding their involvement, group member Vinnie stated, “Naughty by Nature is honored by the opportunity to partner with the USO and show our support and gratitude to our troops. We’re looking forward to rocking the Persian Gulf.”

A six-year Army veteran and resident of Austin, Texas, Carew has been mixing music for more than a decade and working at some of the most prestigious nightclubs. While serving in the United States Army, Carew hit the stage whenever possible and performed for hip-hop lovers around the world. This will be his first USO tour.

If you know an extraordinary spouse of a U.S. Military member (all services, all ranks, active duty, Guard and Reserve), consider nominating them for Military Spouse Magazine’s Military Spouse of the Year.

Nominations close November 13, 2009. For more information or to submit someone for consideration, go to http://msoy.milspouse.com/.

From the War in Iraq to the War in Afghanistan, U.S. military forces have been learning to deal with Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) in more technologically advanced ways, even as insurgents go back to simpler methods.

Learn about the latest attack strategies employed by terrorists, and how U.S. troops are learning to handle this ever-changing field in two stories from NPR News:

Battle Against IEDs Spreads From Iraq To Afghanistan
by JJ Sutherland

Despite High-Tech Help, Marines Confront IEDs
by Tom Bowman

Thinking about your Thanksgiving travel plans now?

MilitaryRideShare.com is a free service that can assist you in finding other military members heading in the same direction you are, so you can ride home together and save some green. (And maybe the environment!)

And since your odds of finding the ride you’re looking for increases with every new user, send a link to all your friends! Who knows, maybe your roommate will be able to offer a ride to someone who may not have been able to get home otherwise. Or maybe your neighbor is able to bring home a young service member who just returned from deployment and hasn’t seen his or her family yet!

Outward Bound, a 45-year old national non-profit outdoor, adventure-education organization, is looking for OEF and OIF Veterans and service members, interested in participating in fully-funded reintegration wilderness expeditions. Adventures are physically, mentally and emotionally challenging and work to build the self-confidence, pride, trust and communication skills necessary to successfully return to their families and communities following war time service.

Goals of the program are to provide positive outdoor experiences for military veterans, service members and their families that will enable them to experience the healing benefits of the natural world and benefit from quality environmental education.

Who: Available to all OEF or OIF Veterans who were deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan, pending medical screening

What: A 5-7 day Wilderness Expedition: may include backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, dogsledding, sailing, sea kayaking and white water rafting

When: Dates available year-round

Where: Wilderness locations include: California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Alabama, Florida

How: What sets Outward Bound apart is that the goal is personal growth. The wilderness and the skills learned to deal with it are simply a vehicle for growth.

Cost: Free. No cost to participants. Travel and all course costs are covered by existing funding sources. Veterans and service men and women will not be responsible for cost of expedition including round-trip stateside transportation to course site. Funding provided by the Military Family Outdoor Initiative Project, a joint project of the Sierra Club and The Sierra Club Foundation.

To Enroll: Groups/individuals, please call 1-866-669-2362 ext 8387 (VETS)

Website: http://www.outwardbound.org/veterans

The New York Times posted a recent article on the new policy allowing temporary to now enlist in the military and get on the path to citizenship in as little as six months.

Immigrants who are permanent residents, with documents commonly known as green cards, have long been eligible to enlist. But the new effort, for the first time since the Vietnam War, will open the armed forces to temporary immigrants if they have lived in the United States for a minimum of two years, according to military officials familiar with the plan.

By opening up this effort to temporary residents, the military expects to get a large number of new recruits, which could help bolster efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The program will begin small — limited to 1,000 enlistees nationwide in its first year, most for the Army and some for other branches. If the pilot program succeeds as Pentagon officials anticipate, it will expand for all branches of the military. For the Army, it could eventually provide as many as 14,000 volunteers a year, or about one in six recruits.

What do you think- Is this a great way to not only grow the U.S. Armed Forces but allow for new immigrants to become citizens? Or do you think it will hurt retention efforts and weaken the military in the long run? Read the full article on the New York Times Web site, and comment here, letting us know what YOU think!

The President speaks at the signing of a bill that will increase the VA budget, help fund the post 9/11 GI Bill, and dramatically increase funding for veterans health care. October 22, 2009.

Read the full press release, including the full list of recipient schools at the DODEA Web site.

The Department of Defense Education Activity awarded $56 million in grants to public schools serving military children throughout the nation. There were two categories of grants — competitive and invitational. More than $41 million was awarded to 35 school districts in the competitive category and nearly $15 million was awarded to an additional nine school districts in the invitational category.

A total of 284 schools within the 44 districts will receive grant funds and those schools serve over 77,000 military students. The amount of the awards is based on military student enrollment and range from $300,000 to $2,500,000, depending on the number of military students at the target schools.

DoDEA’s FY 2009 grant program focused on enhancing student learning opportunities, student achievement, and educator professional development at military-connected public schools. DoDEA’s aim is to enhance the education of military students, but funds may be used to raise student achievement for all students.

Invitational Grants

• Carthage School District – New York; serving Fort Drum
• Fairbanks North Star School District – Alaska; serving Eielson AFB and Fort Wainwright
• Indian River School District – New York; serving Fort Drum
• Long Beach School District – Mississippi; serving Naval CBC and Keesler AFB
• Morongo Unified School District – California; serving MC Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
• Oceanside Unified School District – California; serving Camp Pendleton
• Onslow County School District – North Carolina; serving Camp Lejeune, MCAS New River and Camp Johnson
• San Diego School District – California; serving Naval Station San Diego
• Tucson School District – Arizona; serving Davis-Monthan AFB

The internet is full of great deals for Veterans on Veteran’s Day. Here are a just a few:

• Golden Corral

Golden Corral’s 9th annual Military Appreciation Monday dinner will be held on Monday, November 16, 2009, from 5 to 9 pm in all Golden Corral restaurants nationwide.

• McCormick and Schmick’s

Offer only to active duty, reserve, retired and veterans on Sunday, November 8^th at participating locations. Check out their Web site for more details and participating locations.

• Applebee’s

Check out their website for details and locations.

The History Channel, together with the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress will host a National Teach-In on Veterans History Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 12 pm EST. Educators and students nationwide can tune-in and view this live webcast online at www.veterans.com.

The webcast will be broadcast live from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A panel of educators and veterans will answer questions from students via video, email, and a live audience. The teach-in will focus on the histories and stories of veterans, and will provide information on how communities nationwide can help preserve the stories of veterans and possibly submit them to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. This event is part of the Take A Veteran to School Day initiative created by HISTORY.

The panel features Robert Patrick, Director of the Veterans History Project, Terry Shima, WWII veteran and Executive Director of the Japanese American Veterans Assoc., Professor Darlene Iskra, a US Navy veteran of Desert Storm and the first female commander of a US Navy ship, and Jonathan Bickel, a teacher from Eastern Lebanon County High School and part of a teaching-team on veterans history at his school. Dr. Libby O’Connell, Chief Historian for The History Channel, will moderate.

To register for this webcast and the Take a Veteran to School program, visit http://www.veterans.com. For more info, go to http://www.history.com/content/veterans.