| Symposium Focuses on Children and Deployments  | | Trevor Romain speaks as Alison Simerly, center, and Dr. Lydia Marek look on during the Apr. 3 With You All the Way Symposium at the USO Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir, Va. USO photo by Eric Brandner | Children's deployment issues were at the heart of a recent With You All the Way Symposium presented by The Comfort Crew for Military Kids. The event -- held at the new USO Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir, Va. -- featured panel discussions on how homecoming, transition and resilience affect the youngest members of military families. It was part of the USO's activities marking Month of the Military Child.  read more... | | USO Helps Returning Soldier with Anniversary Surprise  | | Chief Warrant Officer Scott Hinson gave his wife, Kristi, a 20th wedding anniversary surprise with the help of the USO. Courtesy photo | Kristi Hinson and her two daughters waited patiently at the foot of a baggage claim escalator last month at San Antonio International Airport. Chief Warrant Officer Scott Hinson was scheduled to arrive any minute on mid-tour leave from Afghanistan. They were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. An unfamiliar woman in a pink sweatsuit approached Kristi and handed her a long-stem rose. "Happy anniversary," the woman said. Then came a stranger in a business suit. He, too, was bearing a rose. They came one after another until Kristi held 19 long-stem roses. She turned misty when she saw Scott carrying the 20th rose. read more... | Tell USO Survey Some results from the 2012 Tell USO survey in which thousands of troops and family members from around the world participated 85 percent of family members recommend USO services to others 89 percent of family members "Totally Agree" that the USO boosts the morale of the troops 94 percent say the USO's military family programs and services are valuable | | Manning Connects With Troops  | | Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning throws a pass March 1 during a USO tour stop at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. DOD photo by Sgt. Bryan Peterson | Peyton Manning has completed a lot of passes in his long NFL career, but likely few will be as memorable as those he completed in February and March, well after the season ended.
Manning found receivers running open on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and in a crowd at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan.
The quarterback was one of several celebrity guests on a recent USO tour led by Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr. The entourage -- which included NFL stars Vincent Jackson and Austin Collie, Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, former baseball player Curt Schilling, and “American Idol” stars Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo -- began with a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland and then traveled to visit troops in Spain, Italy, Djibouti and Germany, as well as stops in Afghanistan and aboard the Stennis.
Manning chronicled his experience with a journal that was posted on espn.com. He ended with this: "Proud to have been a part of it. Think ol’ Bob Hope would have been proud as well. God bless our troops." read more... | | |
Perfect Fit at USO  | | Kathy O'Connor | Twenty-one years at any job is a long time, so few could blame Kathy O'Connor for seeking the next challenge. But as she looked to the future after more than two decades with AAIM Management Association in St. Louis, she also looked to the past. O'Connor is the daughter of two World War II veterans. Her late father was a 100 percent disabled Army vet and her mother served in the Navy. read more... | | | Athletes gear up at Marine Corps Trials Some of the military's top wounded, ill and injured athletes gathered in San Diego last month to prove their mettle at the Marine Corps Trials. The Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment hosted the event, with support from the USO, and when it was done, 50 athletes had been selected to represent the Corps at the Warrior Games, a Paralympics- style competition to be held May 11-16 in Colorado Springs, Colo. read more... | | Conference Highlights Caregiver's Journey  | | Melissa Novoa | Melissa Novoa says the first instinct is to fix the situation. But problems like this don't come with a manual. Her husband, medically retired Marine Sgt. Danny Novoa, was nearly killed in Iraq in November 2008 when a roadside bomb exploded just five feet from where he stood. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, was blinded in his left eye and now deals with epilepsy and permanently embedded shrapnel. read more... | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.