A Simple, Personal Way to Thank Veterans

Today's guest post was written by Dave McLaughlin

In the spirit of eMail Our Military, Vthankyou is an effort to give Americans a simple way to support veterans and soldiers. Anyone with a webcam and an internet connection can post a short video message of gratitude and good will for veterans, up to sixty seconds long, by going to vsnap.com.

Video messages capture emotion and personality in a way that text usually doesn’t. Here are some examples that give a sense of how these messages are so simple, but so moving. They also illustrate the variety of voices and messages that people are posting.

Please join this campaign and add your own video message to thank our veterans. Just go to Vsnap.com. If you have a Twitter account, you can sign in with those credentials. If not, you can enter your email and make up a password. The service is free, and Vthankyou has lined up corporate donors who will make a $5 donation to The Wounded Warrior Project for each video message that gets posted.

You can even attach other documents to the video message. You might want to add a photo of a family member who has served, or a link to a song that reminds you of someone now deployed. Anything you like.

When you share your message, please send it to vthankyou@vsnap.com, and please cc a few friends that you think will want to add their voices to this campaign. We believe very strongly that the vast majority of Americans share a deep respect and gratitude for the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families, and Vthankyou is our attempt at giving those folks a simple way to share that gratitude with veterans and with the world.

If you have any questions, please find us on Twitter @Vthankyou or @Vsnap. Thanks for saying Vthankyou!

Here is my ThankYou Message to veterans.

Record yours here. Takes 2 minutes. Each one sends $5 to charity!

Tweet us at: @MailOurMilitary and follow our blog feed at: @eMOMs

[ Tags: eMOM, eMail Our Military, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, eMail The Military, Military eMail, Armed Forces, Patriotism, Any Service Member Mail, Miami MilBlogger, South Florida Troop Support Organization, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail, vsnap, vthankyou, giving back, video messages ]

It's Really About You This Memorial Day

Many of you are military service members, veterans, military spouses, family members and troops supporters. You each have a unique perspective, a unique story to tell. This Memorial Day weekend we'd like to hear your stories. If you'd like to write a Memorial Day guest post on our blog, let us know by dropping a comment here. If you'll be writing a post on your own blog, let us know that too by linking to your post in our comments.

eMail Our Military has changed and grown so much since 9/11 and it's never been about us but rather support our troops the best way we know how. If you'd like to become more involved in supporting our troops, we'd love to have you.

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Tweet us at: @MailOurMilitary and follow our blog feed at: @eMOMs

[ Tags: eMOM, eMail Our Military, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, eMail The Military, Military eMail, Armed Forces, Patriotism, Any Service Member Mail, Miami MilBlogger, South Florida Troop Support Organization, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail ]

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Share Your Stories, Write For Us

Do you have a military connection? Are you interested in sharing your stories with the world? Considering becoming a guest blogger for eMail Our Military.

We're always looking to keep our military community connected so we'd love to hear from military parents, service members and military spouses, etc about what life is like from your point of view. If this is something you're interested in doing, please drop a comment here with how you're affiliated with the military and how we can get in touch with you.

If you've been searching for a way to support our troops easily you've found it! Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to eMail/Mail our military one-on-one.

Tweet us at: @MailOurMilitary and follow our blog feed at: @eMOMs

[ Tags: eMOM, eMail Our Military, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, eMail The Military, Military eMail, Armed Forces, Patriotism, Any Service Member Mail, Miami MilBlogger, South Florida Troop Support Organization, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail ]

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Tweet To ReMIND and Support Our Wounded Warriors

From Bob Woodruff

Dear Friends,

We all have people in our lives we consider heroes. On Tuesday, May 12, all of us at the Bob Woodruff Foundation would appreciate your support and participation in the TweetToRemind campaign by publishing a short blog post or tweet telling us who your hero is.

After I was severely injured while reporting on location in Iraq, my family and I realized we had a unique opportunity to reach out and help many of our nation's injured heroes. In January 2008, my wife Lee and I started ReMIND.org, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for service members injured in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as their families. Our current project is the TweetToRemind campaign, which asks individuals and corporations to donate $5.25 or more in an effort to raise $1.65 million by the end of the Memorial Day weekend.

I have so many heroes in my life who have affected me in so many ways. But after what my family and I went through more than three years ago, my greatest heroes are the doctors, nurses, medics, soldiers, pilots and others who risk their lives on a daily basis to save injured soldiers and bring them back to their communities. They did it for me, and my family and I can never thank them enough.

This is what I ask of you: on Tuesday, May 12 post a simple blog or tweet answering, "Who is your hero?" and asking them to do the same. Please link to your blog post from your Twitter account.

I hope you find it in your heart to support this effort on May 12 and throughout the campaign which ends on Memorial Day, May 25th.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,
Bob Woodruff

"Support Our Troops" is no longer a slogan. It's an action.

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If you've been searching for a way to support our troops easily, you've found it! Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to eMail/Mail our military one-on-one.

Connect with eMail Our Military (eMOM) on twitter at: @MailOurMilitary, follow our blog feed at: @eMOMs or connect with us through one of the services below.

If you're reading this via email or in your feed reader, stop by and add your comments.

[ Tags: eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, Moral Support, Bob Woodruff, Lee M. Woodruff, Tweet To Remind, Remind.org, Wounded Warriors, Action Alert, Patriotism, Miami MilBlogging, South Florida Troop Support Organization, South Florida Military Support Organization, South Florida Blogger, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail ]

Preparing For Battle - Live Ustream Conference

Tonight, April 30th at 8PM EST, Donnie Kiernan will be hosting a live Ustream conference. The Topic, you ask?

Preparing yourself for battle!

Not just the literal aspect, but for any competition you will be facing, you'll need to know the proper things to do and not to do.

Donnie will be explaining how he prepares for field training exercises (His next will be at 3:30 AM tomorrow morning) so if your thinking about joining a military service or you just want to see what goes in to the prep work, stop by and check out Donnie's "Preparing Yourself For Battle".

After the live video conference, Donnie will open the floor to ANY QUESTIONS you may have about ANY kind of battle/competition prep. or training in general. Donnie's an open book, so dont be shy.

From Donnie:

How do I prepare for combat?

First off, I always make sure I'm mentally prepared to face the enemy and know without a doubt that I will be the victor.

If Im not 100% sure I can beat the enemy, I DO NOT enter the battlefield.

Secondly, I always make sure my gear is properly prepared and ready to deploy at any given time when I may come to call upon it!

Although it sounds like im talking about the fields of Iraq, that's not exactly what I'm referring to. Combat (in my eyes) is any challenge that you are facing and you MUST emerge victorious to continue in your journey. Whether its a project on the job, an amateur strongman competition or even on the streets of Iraq, never enter the battle arena without knowing you are properly prepared and are completely confident of a victory!

Be sure to check out the "Preparing Yourself For Battle" live stream this evening APRIL 30TH @ 8PM EST. As always, Ustream conferences are FREE!

Donnie Kiernan is a strength and conditioning coach, specializing in Military, Police and Firefighter fitness. His background includes the United States Army Intelligence Corps, membership in the North American Strongman association and an instructor of fitness bootcamps in Clearwater, Florida. He trains under CriticalBench.com sponsored champion strongman, Elliot Hulse at StrengthCamp Gym in St Petersburg, Florida and blogs at CombatFitnessBlog.

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If you've been searching for a way to support our troops easily, now you can. Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to correspond with service members one-on-one.

Connect with eMail Our Military (eMOM) on twitter at: @MailOurMilitary or follow the blog feed at: @eMOMs. If you're reading this via email or in your feed reader, stop by and add your comments.

[ Tags: eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, Moral Support, Miami MilBlogging, South Florida Troop Support Organization, South Florida Military Support Organization, South Florida Blogger, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail, Donnie Kiernan, Combat Fitness, Military Preparedness ]

The ABC’s and 1,2,3’s of the 2009 Milblog Conference

Joint post by Lauren Vargas and Leah Miller

A new twist from the linear note taking and purging of knowledge...other bloggers have been there and posted/tweeted that. Instead, we are giving you the ABC's of the 2009 Milblogging Conference from this past weekend in DC, 24 and 25 April!

Armed Forces - This was not just a gathering of Public Affairs Officers (PAOs)-though we did love seeing our peeps, but the boots on the ground and the family members and civilians supporting them.

Beyond Milblogging - The title of one of the panels, but representative of the entire conference. All of us consume media differently and through a variety of channels. The screening of the film At War is an example of going beyond blogging into video backpack journalism.

Citizen Journalism - is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information.

Download the DHS Report - become informed about the challenges of our military vets and how you can promote the proper care, treatment and communication to our vets.

Enable - The true depiction of military life does not come from A-list blog community but culmination of stories from all those writing and talking about military community, from small and local to large and global. We need to pass information to others in community to ensure the stories are told.

Families - The inspiration for many military blogs. This connection to and from the homefront is paramount to the care of our military.

Garage band style - Take a peek at how SOG Media is making credible citizen storytelling possible.

Heritage - Progress of social media policies, tools and audience does not negate the need to go "back to our roots" (title of one of the panels), but reinforces the need to be true to our community needs.

Interface between the military family and mainstream media - this is the social media communities.

Just - Why rule with a heavy hand? Content will be controlled and managed by the citizens for accuracy and security risk.

Knowledge - The passing of the torch from the "Blog Fathers" to those up and coming and those not familiar with the military.

Leaders - The conference attendees and those engaging with the event and participants on the backchannels are the pioneers of milblogging blazing new trails for us to share our stories.

Music - Kim Cameron and the Side FX Band performed music for conference attendees. Check out her "My Hero" military tribute song video. "My Hero" is available for download at itunes/amazon.Discounted4military.

Networking - Though Lauren has been monitoring the online military community for five years, it is essential for AAFES to further engagement on the turf of the customers served or AAFES will always remain on the outside looking in.

Observation - Leah and I noticed how we speak about our agency is not how others speak about us...more familiarly know as BX/PX by our customers, not AAFES (pronounced, by us as, Afis).

Presented By... - BAE Systems, Great Americans (check out the great video interviews with the online military community movers and shakers), Military.com, Military OneSource and USAA.

Quirky - The military has a unique lingo not easily understandable for those not living the military life. Spell out those acronyms!

Relationships - The online military community, similar to offline community, is tight knit. It truly is a small world. Respecting each other and OpSec ensures our future to communicate the realism of the military lifestyle.

Stories - All of us have stories to tell, we need to enable each other to tell the real stories and encourage people not to rely solely on mainstream media for OEF/OIF and military truths.

Twiquery - Word coined by CJ Grisham to relay question asked by Twitter follower during conference.

Unfiltered - MG Oates maintains his own blog to keep soldiers informed, get opinions before decisions are made and to obtain unfiltered response and access to him.

Veterans - This year, much more than past years, the conversations included discussions (sometimes HOT) of the treatment and communication with those who have bravely served our country.

War - Make no mistake about it...while the situations in OEF/OIF are improving, we are still at war.

Xenagogue - This conference is a must attend for any of those wanting a guide into the online military community.

Yerk - The binds between us may be amidst a web of tweets, posts, vlogs and pics, but are as true and durable as the physical binds of our military brethren.

Zealous - Rebekah Sanderlin says it nicely, "Many of these blogger get no money for what they do, yet are producing top notch investigative work simply because they love doing it."

Additional Coverage via Greyhawk and The Mudville Gazette. (And, we have to agree with Homefront Six, Greyhawk does look like Hugh Laurie from "House"!)

In addition to the ABCs, we have the 1, 2, 3s! We asked some conference participants to describe this year's event in three words. Of course, some found it hard to condense the experience to three words... Boston Maggie! Greyhawk posted his three words: Best. Conference. Ever.

Thank you to participants (in order as they appear in montage): Leah Miller, JP Borda, CJ Grisham, Troy Steward/Bouhammer, Boston Maggie, Beth Wilson, NWNavyNews, Matt Burden, Steven Field, CPT. Broshear, Rebekah Sanderlin, Alan Black, Lindy Kyzer.

Lauren Vargas is the Community Relations Manager for Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES)

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If you've been searching for a way to support our troops easily, now you can. Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to correspond with service members one-on-one.

Connect with eMail Our Military (eMOM) on twitter at: @MailOurMilitary or follow the blog feed at: @eMOMs. If you're reading this via email or in your feed reader, stop by and add your comments.

[ Tags: eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, Moral Support, Miami MilBlogging, South Florida Troop Support Organization, South Florida Military Support Organization, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail, Lauren Vargas, Leah Miller, Milblogging, 2009 Milblog Conference, DHS Report, SOG Media, Kim Cameron and the Side FX Band, My Hero, BAE Systems, Great Americans, Military.com, Military OneSource, USAA, CJ Grisham, MG Oates, Rebekah Sanderlin, Greyhawk, The Mudville Gazette, Homefront Six, Boston Maggie, Leah Miller, JP Borda, Troy Steward, Bouhammer, Beth Wilson, NWNavyNews, Matt Burden, Steven Field, CPT. Broshear, Alan Black, Lindy Kyzer, New Media, Social Networking. Social Media ]

Last Day At His Command

Tomorrow is his last Day at the Command he's been with for 3 years. He is soon to deploy to Iraq on a volunteer basis in just a few weeks for almost a year, right before my birthday. Time is just slipping by so quickly. It won't be long before we are dropping him off at the airport and being the one of many military families "parting ways". For now, I've done everything under the sun to make him the happiest while he's been here on shore duty (he wont have the luxuries of home (while in IRAQ) so I make sure to do 110% while he is here - cooking him gourmet dinners, sending him anything just to make him laugh at work, and being there for him and his Command every single day, PT working out along with him and his Command (didn't have to, but did).

The Command became like a family to us. We talked and joked with so many. It will be difficult as this Command was by far the best Command we've ever been with. Taking it in stride, living for TODAY as we have no assurance what tomorrow will bring for any of us.

Many concerns about many things are popping up everywhere. Issues with Afghanistan, N. Korea, Somalia Pirates, the rising violence in Iraq as President Obama plans to withdraw troops, hurricane season and all the other issues that come up when he is away. But I would like to think, being in the military, that we "live for today" and so with that in mind during these next few weeks I plan on making the most of everyday while he is with us and talking to the kids about this departure. As a military wife and mother, I have to approach this the "right" way as kids tend to regress, and don't understand.

In closing I'd like to say to all the military servicemembers and their families, I admire you for all your sacrifices. I believe military servicemembers and their families are the toughest, individuals I have ever come to know. I am VERY PROUD of our veterans, and military servicemembers and their families for sacrificing to ensure our country's FREEDOM!

Deirdre Johnson
On twitter at @BunnyPoo4

If you've been searching for a way to support our troops easily, now you can. Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to correspond with service members one-on-one.

[ Tags: eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, Moral Support, Patriotism, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail ]

Connect with eMail Our Military (eMOM) on twitter at: @MailOurMilitary or follow the blog feed at: @eMOMs. If you're reading this via email or in your feed reader, stop by and add your comments.

PCSing - One Military Wife's Experience

By Erin A. Nash

My husband, son and I just PCSed (Permanent Change of Station) in early January. No big deal, right? Military families do it all the time. But this was our first PCS. I know, those of you who have PCSed are thinking, “So what, lady, we all have a first PCS, followed by many, many more.” What made it different for us was that we had been at our first and only duty station for more than 12 years.

When I tell people we were at one post for 12 years, I always get the same question – “How did you do that?” Long story short, we are part of the special operations community, and that enabled us to have stability.

When I first found out we were moving, I was sad - sad because Fort Benning had become home to us. We moved on post as newlyweds, and left as parents. I was able to have a job at the post newspaper, The Bayonet, for 10 years. I gave birth to my son at Martin Army Community Hospital. We watched friends and neighbors come and go, knowing that some day it would be our turn to be the ones to leave.

That day came when my husband was offered a job at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. Well, I thought, if we have to move, at least it’s to a gorgeous city. Having grown up in Massachusetts, I was never far from the ocean, so I would once again be just a drive away from the beach.

We took advice from others who had been stationed in the area and bought a home in an adjoining town with a good school system for our son. It is very, very strange to not be living in military housing. I am glad, considering all the stress I went through, to be a homeowner. I do miss the camaraderie of living among other military families, and the support system they provided.

The moving process is not one I care to repeat anytime soon. I’m very thankful that the Army provided movers to do it all – they were a lifesaver, although their fondness for wrapping up everything in paper still boggles my mind. I have gained such a great respect for military families who have to move every few years. I can’t imagine how unbelievably hard it must be, and I give many kudos to the other wives who do it all and hold it all together, through moves, deployments, kids, jobs, etc.

Moving is a reality in the military world. I had been in denial that we would ever move, but now that we have, I realize it was a very good thing. I know in a few years we’ll do it again, and am much more prepared for it!

* Would you like to correspond with a military service member year-round? Register with eMail Our Military (eMOM) today! *

[ Tags: eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Messages of Support, Moral Support, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail, PCS, Military Moves, Military Wife, Military Wives, Military Spouses, MilSpouses, MilBloggingm Military Lifestyle Blogging, Erin Nash ]

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Every Day I Honor You

I’m a liberal. I’m not religious. I live in an academic culture. I vote for democratic party candidates, including Obama. I am against the concept of war.

Already you may hate me. Already you may have your guard up, thinking that I’m the enemy, or at the very least, an opponent to your views. Already you may be thinking about firing off an angry email to the site owners for inviting me to post.

But keep reading, because you and I have more in common than not. I could give a long, melodramatic list of shared humanity here, like how we all bleed, or struggle to give something more to our kids, or are just basically looking for someone to love us. But that would make me just as bored as you. We’ve all read that kind of emotional plea and frankly, we’re over it. You and I have something in common because we believe in the same things. We share a belief in democracy. We are both Americans because we want to be. We both love our country, despite its flaws. We are both proud and ashamed of our country’s successes and failures.

And we both dream of being heroes. Not those ubiquitous everyday ones like a Higglytown Hero or SuperGrover or even a doctor or a nurse. We dream of being the kind of hero that many people remember for the rest of their lives, the kind of hero that a grandparent tells their grandkids about, the kind that earns the momentous phrase, “And that’s where she walked in…”

For most of us, this won’t happen. In daily life, moments of extreme greatness are practically non-existent. Maybe you were lucky enough to sink the winning basket at the division championship in high school. Maybe you got your name in the paper for pulling a kid out of the riptide. Maybe you were the beloved school teacher whose one note of encouragement changed a life. Our soldiers may or may not be these kinds of heroes. Like the teacher, soldiers are just doing their jobs. They are kids from the ‘hood and farmers from the plains that were looking for a better future for themselves and their families. In striving for that better future, they ended up in a desert far away from the soil they call home. But more often than us they are faced with situations that will determine their fate.

This is what makes them different than you and me. Individual people can only strive for tiny bits of greatness. But even those tiny bits of greatness add up to what we call America. In facing these fateful moments while doing their jobs, these soldiers are giving huge chunks of greatness to America. This is where I, stay-at-home liberal techie academic mom, walk in. I took the time to contact one of those soldiers. I told that soldier that we all think of him and every single one of his military brothers and sisters daily. Even if I didn’t use these exact words, when that desperate second in time is upon him I hope he will hear my sentiment: “We love you. We love America. You are us and we are you. It doesn’t matter what we agree on or don’t. Right here, right now, as always, we are with you. We are all with you.”

That tiny spark of support might get a soldier through a perilous situation, or maybe just through an crushingly boring or lonely day. That is my effort to contribute a drop in the awesome bucket that is America. And this is where you walk in. It doesn’t matter if you hate me. It doesn’t matter if we agree. Contribute a spark, a drop, a tiny bit of greatness everyday. Not sure how to do it? Try signing up to write to a soldier. Even if you send only one email with only one line like “I think about you,” that one drop could turn into a waterfall that saves the morale of an American in danger.

We are lucky. We have a basically orderly society, especially compared to others throughout the world. Despite horrible mistakes and aggressive hits, we keep going. We are strong. Out of many, we are one people. Together we will move on. Walk in the steps of heroes and take the time to tell our soldiers that even though they are far away, we haven't forgotten them. Your own spirit will be lifted. You’ll feel like a hero.

Veterans and soldiers, today and everyday I honor you. We all honor you. Thank you.

Christine Cavalier (PurpleCar)
http://www.purplecar.net/

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This post is part of our Why Americans Should Support Our Troops ongoing series. We encourage you to participate too.

Help support our troops this holiday season. Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to correspond with service members one-on-one. Learn more about sending holiday mail to our troops.

[ Tags: eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, Moral Support, Patriotism, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail, Christine Cavalier, PurpleCar ]

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Sew Much Comfort Helps Wounded Warriors

Ginger of Sew Much Comfort took the time to chat with Holly Wheat, eMOM's Ft. Leonard Wood Military Liaison and founder of Help the 4th Recon. This article is a result of their conversation.

We know you'll find Sew Much Comfort a worthy cause and we hope you'll take the time to check them out and help when and if possible.

Sew Much Comfort’s Mission: To provide custom-made adaptive clothing, free of charge, to our injured service members which aides in their recovery, provides a tangible reminder of our gratitude for their sacrifice and gives them an added measure of comfort and freedom as they recover from their injuries and return to everyday life. Adaptive clothing accommodates their medical devices and situations, provides ease of use, increases personal independence and minimizes the visual impact of their medical condition.

Ginger Dosedal is the founder of Sew Much Comfort (SMC). Her inspiration was her son, Mike, who is now 15 years old. He is a survivor of a rare pediatric cancer. Ginger says that he is the only survivor in his protocol that they are aware of, at this time. Mike was diagnosed with Stage IV Rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of three. The tumor was behind his right thigh and spread through his lymph system into his abdomen into his diaphragm. The radiation and chemotherapy that was necessary to save his life left him with orthopedic issues. His right hip and femur do not grow. Yearly, Mike must undergo orthopedic procedures to lengthen or correct his leg and hip. After the first lengthening, Ginger had to learn to sew to create clothing that Mike could wear over his external fixator.

How did this develop into Sew Much Comfort? Ginger’s husband is in the Air Force. When Mike was 11 years old, his father was stationed in Washington, D.C., so Mike’s physical therapy was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. During Mike’s time there, he befriended wounded troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. At the tender age of 11, Mike noticed that these wounded warriors did not have adaptive clothing to fit over their own external fixators or that would simply adapt to their medical needs. Due to this, many of these troops were stuck being able to wear nothing but hospital gowns. Mike asked Ginger to sew adaptive clothing for these wounded warriors. Thus, Sew Much Comfort was the idea of an 11 year old boy who saw past his own struggle and desired to help others. Truly, he should be an inspiration to all of us.

In December 2004, Ginger had provided a few adaptive clothing pieces and saw how well these were received. She contacted her friend, Michelle Cuppy, to help her create the organization. Michelle now serves as President/CEO. “We began with a small group of ten women in my mother-in-law’s house in Minnesota and the organization has grown and blossomed astronomically since this time. It is amazing to see the outpouring of support for the wounded service members,” says Ginger.

Though SMC does not know an exact number of wounded troops who have been helped due to HIPAA regulations, over 75,000 individual pieces of clothing have been distributed since the organization’s beginnings in December 2004. SMC sends the clothing to the hospitals and the hospitals distribute directly to the service members.

Ginger says, “I have a prayer that I recite every day when I go into our distribution facility here in Ohio. ‘Lord, let there be a day when this is not necessary!’ I guess you could say that is our goal. We want to support the troops to the best of our ability, but we all pray for the day when all our troops will come home safely and do not need the clothing anymore.

“We want to serve as many wounded troops as possible. We want them to know that America is supporting them, that America recognizes their injuries are serious and life-altering. For many of the wounded, their clothing is cut off on the battlefield. The SMC clothing may be the first item they receive which reminds them people back home are thinking of them. It’s a very practical way to provide this tangible support. Every item is adapted by hand which means that every volunteer puts a bit of themselves into each piece of clothing. Their love and dedication shows in how much time and attention to detail they provide.”

At this time, SMC has over 1,500 volunteers. “It is absolutely amazing the outpouring of support from Americans for the wounded troops,” Ginger comments. “Everyone wants to help in some way! The talent, time and love that goes into each stitch is truly humbling. The seamstresses are incredibly dedicated, ingenious and creative. They pour love and prayers into every item they provide—and the wounded troops recognize and appreciate this!” If you or someone you know is an experienced seamstress, you can sign up to help at SewMuchComfort.org.

If you can’t sew, there are many alternative ways you can help out. SMC is in need of high quality t-shirts, both long sleeve and short sleeve, as well as sweatshirts, preferably in solids or with sports logos. These are mainly needed in sizes L and XL. Also needed are long basketball-style shorts in sizes L, XL, and XXL. Ginger says that these are the high demand items that troops love to wear, that bolsters their morale. To make tax deductible financial contributions, they can be sent to:

Michelle Cuppy
Sew Much Comfort
13805 Frontier Lane
Burnsville, MN 55337
michele@sewmuchcomfort.org

The monies received provide supplies to volunteer seamstresses and covers shipping costs, along with the operating cost involved with running our Distribution Center in Ohio. Through your generosity our service members can be affected in a positive, supportive, encouraging and beneficial way.

Approximately forty injured service members return to the States each week. Sew Much Comfort struggles to find resources to meet these demands while continuing to help service members currently in recovery. SMC distributes over 1,200 clothing items and comfort accessories each month to over 60 combat medical units, hospital wards, clinics, and military medical facilities in the United States, Landsthul (Germany) and Combat Medical Units in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. Please consider becoming a volunteer today!

For troops in need of the adaptive clothing, please e-mail Ginger or Jeanne at orders@sewmuchcomfort.org.

Ginger’s son, Mike Dosedal. He is wearing his leg fixator and adaptive clothing in this picture.

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Help support our troops this holiday season. Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to correspond with service members one-on-one. Learn more about sending holiday mail to our troops.

[ Tags: eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Moral Support, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail, Sew Much Comfort, Holly Wheat, Help the 4th Recon, Ft. Leonard Wood, Mike Dosedal, Ginger Dosedal, Michelle Cuppy ]

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Our Troops Give Their All, Let's Support Them

By Jason M. Mays

The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary gives multiple definitions for the word “support”. My favorite would be, “to keep from fainting, yielding, or losing courage”.

I think that anyone living in America right now can say that we have lost focus on making sure our beloved troops are not “fainting, yielding, or losing courage”. Not to say that there aren’t those who are fighting the good fight, taking care of the soldiers’ hearts and needs (namely this blog for one and many others). But the struggles we have in Afghanistan and Iraq have become more of an election issue and a dividing point for Americans.

What happens when we get caught up in politics? We forget people. Those people who are our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and so on, that are overseas giving their all. They are neglected. They all have names, people they miss, people that miss them in return, and pray for their safe return every day. They have dreams beyond the current conflicts. They have kids born they’ve never seen, boys and girls growing up without moms or dads. They are caught in the middle of people who support our endeavors in Afghanistan and Iraq, and those who strongly oppose them. They are used as pawns and leverage in Washington. But again, they are people.

Regardless of your political affiliation and view of the war, our soldiers need our care.

They need our prayers, emails, care packages, and moral support. I’d encourage us all to look past our political views, that are splitting America in half, and return to the care and encouragement of supporting our troops. Lest our troops “faint, yield, or lose courage”.

By Jason M. Mays
(@Jason_WCMH )

- This post is part of our Why Americans Should Support Our Troops ongoing series. We encourage you to participate too.

If you've been looking for a way to support our troops, now you can. Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to correspond with service members one-on-one. Learn more about our holiday project to support our troops.

[ Tags: Jason M. Mays, @Jason_WCMH, Americana, eMOM Guest Blogger, Why Americans Should Support Our Troops, eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Messages of Support, Moral Support, Patriotism, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail ]

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They Answered the Call

By Major Alexander Sutherland U.S. Army, Retired

Why support our troops? After some reflection, my first instinct was to say, "Of course everyone supports our troops, it's the American thing to do." Then I thought; this is kind of a canned answer and too simple. The population in America is the most ethnically, religiously, racially and diverse population on the planet. How could I expect everyone to agree on anything?

Growing up in Chicago in the sixties made me think back to my own family and neighborhood. Another unpopular war; young people had only had a few options, either comply with the draft and hope your number didn't come up or refuse to go and either go to jail or Canada. Today things are not so bleak; for one thing the draft went away in the 70's and was replaced with an all volunteer military. Military personnel are highly compensated with decent pay, tax exemptions, sign-up and re-enlistment bonuses and money to go to school. Ask any veteran and they will agree life in the military is much better now than then, but I digress…

Every service member has friends and family somewhere in the United States waiting for them to return safely. These men and women volunteered to do a tough and dangerous job far away from home. Sadly, not everyone will return. Many will return with mental and physical wounds that may last a life time. Visit any VA hospital and you will see what I mean. These men and women are doing what the American military has done since 1776; they were called to go and they went.

By Major Alexander Sutherland U.S. Army, Retired

- This post is part of our Why Americans Should Support Our Troops ongoing series. We encourage you to participate too. Photo credit: U.S. Army Photo by SPC Joshua E. Powell

If you've been looking for a way to support our troops, now you can. Participate in one of our many projects or register with eMOM and sign up to correspond with service members one-on-one. Learn more about our holiday project to support our troops.

[ Tags: Major Alexander Sutherland U.S. Army Retired, Americana, eMOM Guest Blogger, Why Americans Should Support Our Troops, eMOM, eMailOurMilitary, Military Support, Troop Support, Supporting Our Troops, Patriotism, eMail Our Military Blog, Honor Duty eMail ]

If you're reading this via email or in your feedreader, be sure to stop by and tell us your thoughts.