Taking Chance

Kevin Bacon stars in "Taking Chance", true story, based on the first-person account of Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (USMC), the film chronicles his poignant journey as the volunteer military escort officer who is assigned to accompany the body of 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps (USMC), who was killed in action in Iraq, across America back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming in spring 2004.

http://www.hbo.com/events/takingchance/

Ft. Bragg USO’s 5K Run/Walk for the Troops

Saturday, March 07, 2009, 07:30 AM

Fayetteville Technical Community College

Parking Lot # 5, Hull Road

Fayetteville, NC 28303

This 5K Run/Walk will benefit the Ft. Bragg USO’s facility and outreach programs. Not only is this a fundraiser, but it is an opportunity for the Ft. Bragg and Fayetteville communities to come out and show our support for our local military. As participants, you can choose to walk or run in honor or in memory of service members. Feel free to be creative by making t-shirts or posters to express your gratitude. During our February meeting, let's created a poster!

Please use following link to register under the team name AA VMERG.

http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1668218&assetId=4df639c6-f3af-4764-b7a6-3a7474562777

AA HAS HONOR OF FLYING U.S. HEROES TO ORLANDO

AA's Flagship Freedom, a 757 signifying AA's commitment to supporting military service members, opened its doors to salutes and cheers as veterans and family members arrived for the Fifth Annual Road to Recovery Conference and Tribute that began Sunday, Dec. 7, in Orlando. The flight made it possible for nearly 140 soldiers and their family members from the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio to attend the event coordinated by the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes (CSAH), an organization that helps wounded and disabled service members and their families rebuild their lives. Events at both departure and arrival gates included Tony Orlando, who performed his "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" signature hit. "What made the flight truly wonderful were the AA employees and crew who made sure these national heroes felt welcome and comfortable throughout the flight," said Captain Steve Blankenship, who manages Veterans initiatives. "It's an honor for all AA employees to be part of their healing process."

AA BRINGING SOLDIERS COURTSIDE

AA and the Dallas Mavericks will host approximately 150 soldiers this weekend, providing courtside seats for the Mavericks game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. AA will fly the veterans from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio to Dallas, thanks to the flight crew and flight attendants donating their time. The soldiers will fly aboard Flagship Freedom, the yellow-ribbon 757 that American unveiled on Veterans Day in support of all who serve in the armed forces.

Meeting - 19 December - 1630 - C31

Our last meeting for 2008 will be held on Friday, 19 December at 1630 in C31 and light refreshments will be provided. Our tentative agenda is:

Communication
Sponsored Families
Other Chapter formations
Senior Prom in May for the NC Veterans State Nursing Home
Ideas for next year and long range plans

Thanksgiving Thoughts from a Deployed Hero

"Well, let me start with Happy Thanksgiving.

As has been the routine of my last couple of years... I found myself today eating an MRE for Thanksgiving dinner in between planning for missions. When I was a PFC, before my first tour, I was in California, training in the dead of winter in a high desert for Iraq in OIF 4. It was a chicken and salsa MRE. cold. Then, I actually did get a thanksgiving the following year. I came home in mid October and remember my mom tearing at the dinner table because she was thankful, as well as I, that I had made it home alive. Then, the following year I was on a boat, and I don’t think that I was able to call or email home for about 60 days because we were running missions in Somalia and Bangladesh. Now here I am. Today I had a lasagna MRE for dinner as Isat in the office alone, letting my guys get some rest before the mission and I was getting the logistics together. My thoughts always drift home. Pumpkin beer, cold winters, fires in the fire place, football, stuffing my face until I can't sit up, family, being in a safe place where I don’t have to be on guard, or worry about if my other marines are ok... are we, ok?

My mother wrote me an email saying that she feels like her emails are boring in comparison to mylife, and doesn’t know what to say.... so she writes of home and the things I described. But what she doesn’t realize is that all thosethings bring me closer to home. Even an email with one sentence in it saying hello, tells me I am not forgotten and left in this dark world that has been the last 4 years of my life. So this thanksgiving I am thankful for that. Thankful that someone out there cares about me enough to remind me of what I love about home and that if I can just keep pushing, I can make it home and experience these things again, without the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Love Ben"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! As we are giving are thanks today, please remember those who cannot be with their families during this holiday season.

http://www.cpmsglife.org/tg/td1.html