Military Mental Health Cuts Unacceptable

"Degraded access to medical care may also take place under sequestration, Odierno said. The number of mental healthcare providers will decrease instead of going up, he said. The Army has been attempting to increase providers over the past few years to help treat brain injuries and post-traumatic stress. "Before sequestration, we allocated the dollars and positions to increase military and civilian mental health providers," Odierno said. "The problem is there are not enough out there. Now what's going to happen is we're going to have to reduce the number we already have."

This is totally unacceptable! We have a responsibility to those who sacrifice their quality of life to protect our country and freedoms at home and abroad. Too many Servicemembers are in a daily living hell for traumas, physical, mental and combination thereof as a result of deployments. Deployments wear down our servicemen and servicewomen as they have very little recuperation time in between combat and even hardship tours. High stress jobs following or proceeding deployments compound mental and physical strains and wear down the Servicemember and significantly effect their home life. If we sacrifice the support of mental support programs we will see a marked increase in suicide, domestic violence and divorce rates. This is just one of the areas of programs in jeopardy of being cut through sequestration. This isn't a BENEFIT of the job, this is a responsibility our country owes to those needing support for dedicating their lives to our country. Don't just sit on the sidelines and let them be forgotten .... AGAIN!

Extreme Fakeover?

Looks like no one did their homework. According to zoning regulations, this home was never allowed to house the number of occupants (7 families) that it was promoted during the Extreme Makeover, instead only being zoned to allow a total of 5 unrelated people to occupy the home. The show producers and the donators should have made sure there were proper checks and balances in place prior to promoting this as such. While Marshall claims that she doesn't charge, she contradicts that stating she is unable to support them completely. According to various sources, provided support and offers thereof haven't been used properly, if at all. Recent visits by homeless advocate committee members and interested parties have noted that the home doesn't appear lived in and the vegetable garden featured in the show is brown and unattended. Read more here.

http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012/02/26/1158276?sac=fo.local

Foot Soldiers ... Yeah ... How Do You Feel? ... I Feel Great

The "I Am A Foot Soldier" Football Camp, at Fort Bragg, and was a great experience for those that attended. For four hard, hot,rewarding days in late June, football players of all ages showed up to mentor and learn. The camp teaches football fundamentals, as well as stresses the importance or education, stewardship, and putting your best foot forward. I look forward to all of the Foot Soldiers returning next year! Volunteers are needed. You can contact Mike Minter or The Sports and Fitness on Fort Bragg, next summer.

I will work on some more pictures soon.

Chaplain's Marriage Retreat in Myrtle Beach

This past weekend we attended a Chaplain's Marriage Retreat, complete with free Waterpark and activities and daycare for our children! Myrtle Beach was awesome, and a great short break from the daily grind! The Chaplain touched on how men and women process information differenly and how personalities affect the way we operate on a daily basis.

We went to the Wild Water and Wheels then to the beach. Everyone had a blast! Big slides, wave pool, adult lounge pool, kiddie section, and more! We ate at Mango's Restaurant and it was great. The waiter brought a special birthday treat for our daughter, request of friends!

The next day, we went to Ripley's Aquarium. The military discount there is Unbelievable!! It was $19.98 for 4 of us and two programs! BELIEVE it or NOT!! Then a late lunch at Jimmy Buffet's, Cheesburger in Paradise! Awesome burgers!! And a bonus of watching the World Soccer game!

Promoting the Military Spouse and Family on Ricki Lake

I was invited to skype into Ricki Lake's new show spotlighting the Military Spouse and Family, and their importance. I look forward to seeing the show debut, and I hope this is just one more step for society understanding the differences and similarities that Military and Civilian families share so we can become a stronger society as a whole.

Teaching Our Children By Example

My 13 year old and I volunteered 8 1/2 hours at the Fort Bragg 4th of July Festival for the BOSS (Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers) Tent. We helped sell candy creations (really cool candy sand that you layer to make a design in a test tube), and glow necklaces so people could add their own patriotic spark! We literally closed the place down, as the weather rushed in, bringing wind and rain. It was an awesome cooling off end to a great day! My 8 year old wanted to help so bad, but I thought the novelty would wear off before the day was done ... he should up later with Daddy, and tried his hand at marketing candy creations and glow necklaces! He has a future in marketing!

Army Life is a Busy Life

Cast of "When Dorothy Meets Alice" Fort Bragg, NC

My 13 year old, daughter and I performed in the 2011 Army Festival of the Arts Competition "When Dorothy Meets Alice". This is a volunteer position with BOSS (Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers) and FMWR (Fort Bragg Morale, Welfare and recreation). My 8 year old also attended almost every rehearsal, learning everyone's parts along the way. We each contributed over 150 hours each in this all volunteer production.

UPDATE:

I'm proud to announce we won 3rd Place for Ensemble among all Garrisons throughout the U.S. Army.