Message Center

Great for beauty products and now great for supporting our Guardmembers and Reservists! We love it!

In a ceremony at its New Jersey headquarters, L’Oréal USA received the “Above and Beyond Award” from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense organization whose purpose is to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve components and their civilian employers. This award is given by both state and territory ESGR committees and recognizes those employers who have gone above and beyond the legal requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) for granting leave and providing support for military duty by employees.

L’Oréal USA was nominated for this prestigious award by Rodney Wong, Senior Systems Analyst in the Supply Chain & Finance department. Mr. Wong served a year with the New Jersey National Guard in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and 6 months state side supporting troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan missions.

During his time in Iraq, Mr. Wong also nominated his supervisor at the time, Rich Scuteri, for awards through the ESGR, the lead advocate within the Department of Defense for Reserve Component employers. Mr. Scuteri received the Patriot Award, honoring him personally for his superior support of Guard & Reserve employees. “It is an honor to receive this award. Rodney has proven himself to be a hard working dedicated member of the L’Oréal team,” said Mr. Scuteri.

L’Oréal is proud to have received this award and will continue to practice leadership in support of employee participation in the Guard and Reserve.

Congratulations!

The Department of Defense has announced the recipients of the 2010 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their outstanding support of their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve. Marking the 15th anniversary of the award, instituted in 1996 under then Secretary of Defense William Perry, this year’s honorees range from a small plumbing company to a state government to a large grocery store chain. The 2010 recipients are:

• Bill Bragg Plumbing ˆ San Francisco, Calif.
• City of Irvine Police Department ˆ Irvine, Calif.
• Dollar General Corporation ˆ Goodlettsville, Tenn.
• East Carolina University ˆ Greenville, N.C.
• Food Lion ˆ Salisbury, N.C.
• Franklin‚s Printing ˆ Murfreesboro, Tenn.
• Hawaii State Government ˆ Honolulu, Hawaii
• Intuit ˆ Mountain View, Calif.
• Legacy Sports International ˆ Reno, Nev.
• Logistics Health Inc. ˆ La Crosse, Wis.
• MERCK and Company Inc. ˆ Whitehouse Station, N.J.
• Michigan Department of State Police ˆ Sterling Heights, Mich.
• Newmont Mining Corporation ˆ Denver, Colo.
• Southern Company ˆ Atlanta, Ga.
• Yerecic Labelˆ New Kensington, Pa.

We all know the USO and appreciate the amazing work they do supporting our men and women in uniform day in and day out. In a climate like today’s, it’s not always easy to be out there doing their work. Yes they still manage to celebrate and support all of our nations heroes.

In a great new series on the Huffington Post’s Impact initiative, The USO is highlighted as just a few of the unsung heroes behind our armed forces.

One recent post tells the story of Charles Eggleston, a wounded warrior who is now volunteering with the USO to help other wounded warriors. You really need to read the story to believe that someone can have a heart that big.

Check out the story and send them some comment-love! You know you want to, it’s the USO!

The Military Vehicles Exhibition & Conference is August 11-12 at the Cobo Convention Center in Detroit, Mich. Join the major stakeholders from DoD and military, OEMs, component manufacturers, service providers, and academia for a comprehensive exhibition, program updates, technical education, and networking opportunities – all under one roof!

Register to attend today and use code “MOAA” to receive 25 percent off the Main Conference or a Free Expo Pass.

eKnowledge Corporation, the leading supplier of interactive learning software for college test preparation, is donating $200 test prep programs to military families worldwide.  Note: There is a materials, shipping, and customer support fee that the service or family member is responsible for.

The SAT and ACT PowerPrep^tm DVDs include more than 11 hours of video instruction and 3,000 files of supplemental test prep material, thousands of interactive diagnostic tools, sample questions, practice tests and graphic teaching illustrations are indexed for easy use.

eKnowledge Corporation has extended the FREE SAT/ACT donation program through 2010. Eligible recipients include servicemembers from all branches of the military who are active duty, retired, veterans, Guard, Reserve, DoD employees, and civilians performing military support. Also eligible are relatives and dependants of anyone who otherwise qualifies from the prior list.

To place an order: www.eKnowledge.com/USA
Enter Sponsorship Code: 2AD9C5CCFD

For further information, please contact Lori Caputo, Director, Military Donation Programs, 951-256-4076
LoriCaputo@eKnowledge.com

If you haven’t yet heard, the Military Officers Association for America is now a fully recognized veterans service organization (VSO) in the eyes of the U.S. Government!

What does that mean?

It means we’re now an even more credible force, fighting for the rights and benefits of all servicemembers and their families on the Hill.

Read the full text of the charter online!

The Army’s workhorse M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) will be getting a makeover that takes the current 7.62-mm bolt action six-shot repeating rifle and converts it to a .300 Win Mag caliber.

Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, the Army group created to develop the best equipment and field it as quickly as possible for use by soldiers, says it will convert some of the M24 rifles made by Remington to .300 Win Mag caliber to increase the lethal range of the weapons.

“With the fights in Afghanistan and the long shots (that must be taken), we need to go further,” says Bob Galeazzi, sniper weapons product manager at Picatinny Arsenal. “The .300 Win Mag provides that capability. Congress put the money up for it, and especially for those units going to Afghanistan, we need to upgrade this gun, which is the impetus of why we’re doing it.”

The .300 Win Mag is a larger cartridge that carries more propellant and a heavier bullet.

“The M118 Long Range in 7.62 mm is the current sniper round and has a 175-grain projectile,” he points out. “The .300 Win Mag, with its 190-grain projectile, is a faster flattery flyer than the M118 round. We think it will be received well by the troops over there.”

Maj. Elliott Caggins, Picatinny Arsenal’s assistant product manager of individual weapons, notes  a number of other changes will be made to the M24 with the conversion to .300 Win Mag. He says the five-shot internal magazine would be replaced with an external 10-round magazine, a new fore stock carrying Picatinny rails would be fitted, and a new 3 to 25-power scope would be added.

“The scope minimum limit is 3x and its maximum is 25x,” Caggins says. “But the scope might not encompass the full range — it may go from 16x to 25x or some other configuration.”

He adds that the upgraded rifles are designed to be effective beyond the current sniper rifle capability of approximately 800 meters.

Caggins says the number of up-gunned M24 sniper rifles assigned to a unit will depend on which brigade is receiving the weapon, with a heavy brigade receiving six and a light brigade getting eight.

While he says he can’t comment on the specific number of upgraded rifles to be put into the field, the major notes, “We will field a pool of weapons for the Army, then report to the Pentagon and see if there’s a need for more.”

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 mystery novel, Full Moon, and several books on historical military small arms.