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What: First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony of the Distinguished Sailors 44-cent Commemorative First-Class stamps. The event is free and open to the public.

When: 10:30 a.m., Thurs., Feb. 4, 2010

Where: The Arleigh and Roberta Burke Theater
United States Navy Memorial
701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20004-2608

Who: Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) Juan M. Garcia, III
Vice Admiral Samuel J. Locklear, III, Director, Navy Staff
Retired Rear Admiral Edward K. Walker Jr., Supply Corps. USN, President U.S. Navy Memorial
Postmaster General John E. Potter

Relatives of some of the sailors will be available for advance phone interviews and be on-site at the event.
Background: The stamps commemorate four Sailors who served with bravery and distinction during the 20th century: William S. Sims, Arleigh A. Burke, John McCloy and Doris Miller.

Commander of U.S. naval forces in European waters during World War I, William S. Sims (1858-1936) was an outspoken reformer and innovator who helped shape the Navy into a modern fighting force.

After serving as one of the top destroyer squadron commanders of World War II, Arleigh A. Burke (1901-1996) had an equally distinguished postwar career in which he played a major role in modernizing the Navy and guiding its response to the Cold War.

Described by a shipmate as “like a bull” who couldn’t be stopped, John McCloy (1876-1945) holds the distinction of being one of the few men in the nation’s history to earn two Medals of Honor for separate acts of heroism.

The first Black American hero of World War II, Doris Miller (1919-1943) became an inspiration to generations of Americans for his actions at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He was later awarded the Navy Cross. (Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr., portrayed Miller in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor.)

In September 2009, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund launched a national call for photos, to gather pictures of the more than 58,000 men and women whose names are on The Wall. If you have photos you would like to share, you can upload them on their Web site.

From the Build the Center Web site:

For many, the Vietnam War is from the distant past. Some 40 percent of the 4 million people who visit The Wall today are too young to remember. To them the long list of names cut in the smooth black granite are faceless; they have no context, no connection.

By telling the stories behind every name, the Education Center will help visitors understand the courage, sacrifice and devotion of those who fell, those who returned, and those who waited. While learning truths about the Vietnam War, visitors will also discover how the Memorial shaped the ways Americans mourn, and the vital part The Wall played in helping to heal the bitter divisions that tore at the nation’s heart and soul.

The Defense Department has launched a free, online tutoring service for servicemembers and their families.

The site – http://www.tutor.com/military — offers round-the-clock professional tutors who can assist with homework, studying, test preparation, resume writing and more.

Marine Corps and Army families have had access to the program for more than a year. Seeing the value, Defense Department officials decided to expand the service to encompass all servicemembers and their families, officials said.

“Providing 24/7 academic and career support for military families during a time when so many parents have a deployed spouse has been an important and well-received benefit for Marine Corps and Army families,” said Tommy T. Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy.

Active-duty servicemembers, National Guard and reserve personnel on active duty in a deployed status, Defense Department civilians in a deployed status and their dependents are eligible to participate, officials said. Along with test preparation, the site is open to students of any age – from kindergartners to high school seniors – for one-on-one help in math, science, social studies and English.

Tutor.com’s network includes more than 1,800 professional tutors and career specialists who have delivered more than 5 million one-on-one tutoring sessions since 2001, officials said. Each tutor is certified through the site, and all sessions are recorded for quality control.

Full story at American Forces Press Service

President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget request calls for a record $8.8 billion for military family support programs, First Lady Michelle Obama told military spouses today at Bolling Air Force Base here.

The request represents a 3 percent increase over current funding, and includes more money for counseling and support for both active-duty and reserve-component spouses and families, she said at the Joint Armed Forces Officers’ Wives Club annual luncheon.

The budget request will include $1.3 billion to reduce shortages in military child care and ensure its quality remains high, and also increases funding for youth programs, she said.

In addition, based on input from military spouses, the request will include $84 million for spousal career development, Obama said, including tuition assistance and a federal internship program.

(Video courtesy of WhiteHouse.Gov)

OPM launched FedsHireVets.gov, a critical component of President Obama’s Veterans Employment Initiative. The website will become the main source for Veterans employment information and resources for both Veterans and Hiring Officials. This represents phase one of an ongoing effort to help the men and women who have served our country in the military and their families find employment in the Federal Civil Service.

Effective February 18 – the rule to amend the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations by implementing a statutory amendment reducing from three years to one year the length of time a member of the United States Armed Forces has to serve to qualify for naturalization through service in the Armed Forces.

In addition, this rule amends DHS regulations by implementing a statutory amendment to include as eligible for naturalization individuals who served or are serving as members of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of the U.S. Armed Forces during specified periods of hostility.

This rule also amends the regulations to remove the requirement to submit Form G-325B, Biographic Information, with Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for applicants applying for naturalization through service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

By eliminating the Form G-325B requirement, the rule will reduce the response burden and amount of time it takes U.S. Armed Forces members to complete the paperwork required with a naturalization application.

Read the full text of this final rule from the Department of Homeland Security.

Info on this offer courtesy of Military Connection:

Due to the release of billions of dollars in stimulus funds, Green Jobs are expected to be the fastest growing sector of the economy for the foreseeable future. As a result AHIT is offering our Certified Energy Audit training package at no cost for current members of the US Military. According to the Obama Administration, workers in the Energy Audit field can expect to earn upwards of $50 per hour.

Call AHIT today and set yourself up for a high-paying, long-lasting career in the Green Energy Industry as an AHIT Certified Energy Auditor. Substantial discounts available for veterans as well.

GET STARTED! Give them a call at (800)441-9411.

You know those war movies where a group of soldiers finds themselves ambushed, outnumbered or somehow facing an incredible obstacle, and just before all hope is lost a chopper flies in and rescues the survivors? Well, my day today was a lot like one of those movies.

It started great. We were taken to the LZ (Landing Zone, I think) to board a Blackhawk helicopter. It ended up leaving a half hour later than we planned, but given all my other travel experiences with the military, a half hour late is actually about two hours early. Since we were scheduled to get to two bases today, that half hour meant a lot. We had to cut our Ramadi show back to an hour. We even pre-signed our pictures so that we could get back to the chopper quicker.

But as luck would have it, “weather” canceled all flights to Camp Korean Village. I’m starting to believe that “weather” is very often code for “it’s Sunday, let’s blow this off” or “I don’t feel like it.” Anyway, our second show was canceled. We rushed for nothing. But those things happen. We were then told that a bird will be here to take us back to Baghdad by 1:30 PM.

So fine, we all decide to go have lunch. Ramadi is a remarkably bland place, even by military standards. I thought the soldiers at Balad had it tough, but Ramadi is essentially a truck stop on the way to Baghdad. Even the Ugandan DFAC guards are crankier than their fellow countrymen who are assigned to the other bases.

After a leisurely lunch, we returned to the helipad, and sat in the waiting room. A guy comes out and this time and says our copter will now arrive at 5 PM. We’re devastated. We’d all planned out how we’d use our free afternoon. So fine, whatever. We watch American Gangster on the twenty-year-old television in the doublewide trailer functioning as the waiting room. I noticed that the collection of DVDs were pirated. Someone told me that there are no copyright laws in Iraq. Of all the local customs, this is the one that the military has chosen to adopt.

Five o’clock rolls around, still no Blackhawk. They make some calls and find out that they didn’t “realize” that our second show was cancelled, and just planned on arriving at the time they would’ve, had we gone to Camp Korean Village.

We’re all really losing hope of making it out of Ramadi. We again go to the DFAC, and eat dinner. This time, though, when we returned to the LZ, our Blackhawk did arrive. I could hear the soundtrack from Platoon in my mind as the bird lifted up for the thirty minute flight back to Baghdad, and back to the palace where we’ve been staying for most of the week. The shows are over. We’re tired, but we’re happy. Tomorrow we fly to Kuwait, and then I fly to Chicago for a week at a club, then finally home to San Diego to see my family.

Final thoughts

Thank you all for joining me on my journey. I have done about a half-dozen overseas tours, and this one was by far my richest experience. My main conclusion from this trip, if I should dare one, is that people really don’t know what the military does. Sure, they know they “kill people and break things” as the saying goes. But they also rescue people and build things. I know because I’ve seen it firsthand.

The military isn’t perfect, but it is good. And it was an honor to make everyone who came to see us laugh their asses off.

…
Jeremy Greenberg has written for Geek Monthly, Pregnancy Magazine and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes (Alpha/Penguin). He is the author of Relative Discomfort: The Family Survival Guide (Andrews McMeel). When Jeremy’s not writing, he’s managing the development of his twin, toddler sons, agreeing with his overworked and underappreciated wife, or dodging phone calls from his weird and obnoxious relatives. Learn more at www.relativediscomfort.com

I’ve done about a half-dozen overseas tours, and it’s never failed that at least one show during a tour is a complete nightmare. But up ‘till yesterday, every show had gone so well that I was beginning to fear that I might not have anything to write/complain about on this tour. Well, not to worry: let me tell you about the noontime show at Camp Sather.

For starters, noon shows are rarely great. People just aren’t quite in comedy mode ‘till the sun goes down. That and most attendees are sluggish from having just eaten (and if you’ve ever had lunch at a DFAC you know what I mean). Plus, it’s hard to kick your feet up, if you know that in fifty minutes you have to put them back down and walk back to work.

But we contend with noontime shows frequently. If the fact that the sun’s out is a comedian’s only challenge, the show should still be fun. But yesterday’s show also featured a sound system that was so poor, my entire show sounded like I was a McDonald’s drive-thru employee trying to read the audience back their order. Plus, the venue was in a tent about the size of an airport hangar. Comedians love, small, tight, intimate rooms—it helps with the audience connection. And if it wasn’t hard enough to hear us with all that, there was an air conditioning system in the background that made if feel as if we were saying our jokes into a swamp cooler.

Oh yeah, and an F-16 flew over during the middle of my set as well.

Needless to say, although the audience did have fun, they did so because many of them hadn’t been to a real show stateside in a while, and had no comparison for how bad it was.

But they still had fun. That’s the most important thing. I, however, was so angry at the end of the show I could’ve shot something. And that’s exactly what I did! Our next show was for Special Ops, and when we went to their base, they had a shooting range. I had never even fired so much as a pellet gun. Wow, it was orgasmic! What a rush. After firing the M-4 machine gun, and the M-8 Beretta I felt cleansed and refreshed. I put about six bullets square in the head of my target, and forgot all about the earlier day’s disaster.

We’ve got one more day downrange. Tomorrow we head out in Blackhawks to do shows in both Ramadi and Camp Korean Village.

…
Jeremy Greenberg has written for Geek Monthly, Pregnancy Magazine and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes (Alpha/Penguin). He is the author of Relative Discomfort: The Family Survival Guide (Andrews McMeel). When Jeremy’s not writing, he’s managing the development of his twin, toddler sons, agreeing with his overworked and underappreciated wife, or dodging phone calls from his weird and obnoxious relatives. Learn more at www.relativediscomfort.com

Military Salute Program Offers Service Members Free, Seven Day Base Ticket with Park to Park Access To Both Theme Parks; Discounts For Family and Friends!

WHAT/WHO: Universal Orlando Resort’s Military Salute program has been extended through March 26, 2010 and offers one free seven day base ticket with park to park access to all United States Active Duty (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard or Reservists) and Retired military service members with a valid military photo I.D.

Active Duty and Retired military personnel and their immediate family members can also purchase additional seven day base tickets with park to park access with a valid military photo I.D, for significant savings off the retail price.

These tickets, being sold primarily at military bases, are also valid for admission to select Universal CityWalk clubs and venues during the time period that the ticket is being used.

SALES LOCATIONS: Tickets are available at participating Military ITT/ITR offices nationwide (177 locations) and the Shades of Green Resort in Orlando

WHEN: Offer available now through March 26, 2010. Free and companion tickets are valid for use through March 26, 2010