Army Household6

Today is Hunter’s 21st Birthday!! Please feel free to leave him some birthday wishes at his website! : )

If you’d like to send him a birthday card –

Hearts for Hunter
#2130
395 Sawdust Rd.
The Woodlands Tx, 77380

I know the election is over and we have a new president-elect, but I just came across the video (Hat tip : Spouse Buzz ) of the teacher talking about the elections, Obama and McCain. I understand talking to children about the political process and teaching them how it all works. I believe in teaching them all about the process. Heck, we did this with our own kids and had an indept conversation on the elections, why it was important to vote,etc. I am completely in favor of a “mock election” for them to cast their vote and to have an open, generic discussion about . I think it can be done in a very neutral, benign way.

This however is an example of WHAT NOT TO DO

The Cumberland school district in Fayetteville, NC (where this occured) has issued a written statement on their website as the Superintendent issued this video statement via YouTube

I’m thoroughly infuriated by this as a military parent! I can’t imagine what those kids were thinking and feeling especially that one girl whose father was a US Soldier. Military life can sometimes be hard enough and then you have to endure this at school! There was no need at all to bring up that point especially in the manner that the teacher was saying it.

This is just one more thing to add to the “pro ” pile for homeschooling both of our children next academic year. We were planning to homeschool our oldest due to some special needs and anxiety issues but I’m seriously considering both kids now.

I’ll be posting updates as we come across them… Let’s hear your thoughts, opinions,etc.

Hunter had a visit with Gary Sinise today …

Just got an update from Blake:

Talked to Hunter today. He had an awesome time with Gary!! His visit definitely uplifted his spirits. He said Gary is just a normal guy.

He got to talk to him for about 45 minutes and even got some autographed stuff! Gary also invited Hunter and some other troops to one of his concerts in December. The concert is in Florida close to Disneyworld. Hunter said that Gary is going to fly him and others to the concert!!!

Awesome Huh…what a good guy!

I’d say that’s a really good guy! Can’t wait to hear that update!!

Want to leave a message of support for Hunter?? Check out Hearts for Hunter Foundation website

It’s been an intense, crazy-busy couple of days around here but in a good way! I have to say that I’m so proud of EVERYONE for jumping into action when it counted! Your cards, letters of encouragement,etc are definitely doing the trick and lifting Hunter’s spirits.!

I also wanted to mention that Hunter will be receiving a visit this weekend from actor Gary Sinise, whose making a trip up to the VA Hospital to visit with some of the guys at the VA hospital and Hunter is one of those lucky ones! : )

I’ll continue to be working on this directly with with Hunter’s foundation, Hearts for Hunter. The website is under construction right now and will be ready to go on Monday, October 27th!

All future updates about Hunter, his foundation and his progress will be over there… so head on over and check it out.

The biggest HAT TIP goes to 1SG Brian Disque! Brian made sure that one of his soldiers got the help and support that he needed by letting the blogosphere know about Hunter’s situation. Brian certainly is a shining example of what a 1SG should be!

I AM A FIRST SERGEANT
My job is people — Every One is My Business.
I dedicate my time and energy to their needs;
their health, morale, discipline, and welfare.
I grow in strength by strengthening my people.
My job is done in faith; my people build faith.
My job is people –EVERY ONE IS MY BUSINESS.

- US Army First Sergeant (1SG) Creed

Kudos to ParentsZone, Matt at BlackFive, Milblogs, Michelle Malkin, Some Soldiers Mom, Liberal Army Wife, Mark Levinfan.com, Calistalee , Jihad Gene, NiceDoggie.net, and Greyhawk and many many more! Also a big thank you to everyone who emailed others to let them know about it! You guys picked up Hunter’s story as ran with it! I’m so proud to be part of this awesome blogging community and our military family!

Also, thanks to the inspiration of Hunter’s story, I recently started a list called HASMO (Help a Service Member Out). It is an email list comprised of Rapid Response Team Members to be able to help out soldiers like Hunter and many others. It will also be available to help out service member’s immediate families as well.

HASMO already have some things in the works for other service members that you can help. We’ll be able to tell you more next week about it all. You can sign up for it on the left side of the page and its a free service!

So, thanks so much and keep up the great work for all the other soldiers, airmen, coasties, sailors and marines as well as their families! Also if anyone would like to help out with  HASMO, please email me at tammy.munson at gmail dot com

Hooah!
Tammy

I’m just overwhelmed at the amount of support that has come in for Hunter… at last count I’ve recieved over 215 emails from people wanting to help. If you haven’t heard from me yet, I’m getting there. It takes awhile to answer all those emails!  : ) 

The plan is for me to work with  one of Hunter’s longtime friends, Blake. Blake is the executor of Hunter’s foundation. They are hoping to get things he needs for when he comes back to Houston. The plan is to help them do just that! 

I’m hoping to have a list of things by the end of the week so that I can report back to all of you here on the  

In the meantime, I’ve setup a list for those that want to be notified when we hear of things like this… a rapid response team if you will. Tenetively, its called Help A Service Member Out (HASMO) You can signup here at Armyhousehold6.com on the left hand side of the page. 

As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  : )

It’s a day for celebrations all around (besides my daughter’s birthday ) but also the 30th anniversary of Women in the “regular” Army. So, today let’s honor their service and sacrifice for our past and present Women Warriors.

“It’s important that we remember the generations of women, whose dedication, commitment and quality of service helped open the doors of opportunity for us today. There are so many talented women in our Army today … you would be impressed.”

- Lt. Gen. (P) Ann Dunwoody, in remarks given at her U.S. senate confirmation hearing, July 24, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Beginning Oct. 20 through Nov. 14, the U.S. Army will honor the achievements of its women warriors as part of a three-week “Celebration of Women in the Army.” The commemoration coincides with the anniversary of the full integration of women into the Army for 30 years, with the disestablishment of the Women’s Army Corps by former President Jimmy Carter.

Did you know?
Women represent 14.0% of the active Army, 23.2 % of the Army Reserve and 13.3 % of the Army National Guard (Sep 2006)

As of 3 October 2006 there were 15,226 women serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. (statistics found at http://www.army.mil/women/ )

You can read about many significant women in the Army’s history as well as find out more information at http://www.army.mil/women/

(photo courtesy of Army.mil’s U.S. Army Signal Corps Collection)

Well I just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone who emailed me over the last 24 hours about PFC Levine. If I haven’t responded to you yet.. don’t worry I will tonight/tomorrow.

I received this email from Julie  with BlueStarMoms who visited with Hunter this afternoon .. so I wanted to pass it along..

Well, we already went today and just got back actually but we wouldn’t mind going again.  When I say we, I took my daughter-in-law and granddaughters too.  One of the staff did go in ahead and asked Hunter if he minded us coming in.  That was Hunters request to be notified ahead of time.

I figured that if he did not want visitors today that we would just leave what we had brought for him there for him to have and I understood his request. He let us come in because I told the nurse about my son serving in Iraq.  Tht seemed to make Hunter feel better.

We just stopped in for a minute and took a card, a box of See’s lollipops, some other candy and a small fimo clay frog wind chime. (FROG=Freely Rely On God) That made him sorta laugh, the wind chime. He said he didn’t know where to put it so we suggested over the a/c unit or hang it on the window that way he could know if the a/c was working or not.

I figured that he could use the practice in getting his other senses a little sharper while his eyesight was getting some work. The room was pretty warm though, and there was a soldier visiting him as well so I didn’t want to take up too much of his time.  I will call Stephanie later this week and see if he wouldn’t mind having us visit again, without the girls though. I would love to have you come with or meet me there.  I have a map now and it is pretty easy to get to.

He has a DVD player and an i-pod and told me he has all the music he needs, he is still pretty angry inside.  I know that later in life he will look back and think about us going there, it will be just a random thought but I hope it will be a good one.

Also, my granddaughters class is going to make a mobile for his room, that should help him with some eye coordination exercises without him knowing that he is actually doing them.

I did see that he had the DVD Gladiator (great movie!) so he has some vision.  He also had a watch on with a magnifier on it.  Also, the lollipops will help with the muscles in his neck which will in turn help with the face restructuring.

In fact, I am thinking that getting some crossword puzzle books and other items like that as well as some cards for other soldiers who are there would be worthwhile.  There were a couple who had no visitors and looked like they could use someone to visit with.

A HUGE amount of thanks goes out to to Trish of Email our Military (who originally posted about it) Vince Patton of Military.com as well as Caitlyn Scanlon (Military.com employee and member of Soldier’s Angels) for getting someone in touch with Hunter so quickly! This is what I love about our military family and of course for being a part of an AWESOME organization like Military.com !  : )

I received this information today (from Email Our Military) and it nearly broke my heart! (actually it brought me to tears)  I thought I HAVE to do something for this young man!

As many of us, who are living this life, know , we are one BIG military family. Well… one of our own needs our help!

For those not in the military…if you have ever wondered “what can I do for our wounded warriors”, well THIS IS IT!!!! You can read his story below …

If you would like to send cards, letters and/or care packages… please let me know. You can email me at tammy . munson @ gmail . com (don’t include spaces)

_____________________________________________

From 1SG Brian M. Disque

I know a young man who is in desperate need of help. His name is PFC Hunter Levine. He is 20 years old and hails from Houston, TX.

He was in my company and was wounded on 9 May, 2008 while conducting combat operations in East Baghdad. He received a very serious injury to his face, resulting in the loss of his entire bone structure, mouth, nose, and vision.

He was evacuated to Walter Reed Hospital where the doctors performed numerous surgeries to repair his

face. I was fortunate enough to attend a Purple Heart Ceremony at Walter Reed while I was home on leave in June. I was also able to meet with Hunter’s father Beau.

Hunter was then transferred to a VA hospital in Palo Alto, where the best care for his vision would be available. He is a true fighter with a heart of gold.

Bad News

Unfortunately, I received some bad news from the hospital doctors. Lately, he has been resisting treatment and being somewhat combative with the hospital staff. He has had a few outbursts and the staff is real worried about him. It seems like a serious case of depression is setting in.

Although his wounds on the outside may look bad, they may never compare with the wounds he has on the inside.

I spoke with him on the phone this evening, and he seemed real down. The reality is that he still has a long road to recover and may never see again. This young man has everything to live for and is a true inspiration. He is exactly the kind of person we would all want in a brother, son, or friend. I feel obligated to try and rally some support for him. I know we have a lot of caring people out there who would love to do something special for an outstanding American who gave his all for his country.

Call to Action

If you know of any church groups, school room classes, or other benevolent organizations that would be interested in assisting this brave young man, please forward this message on to them.

He is a pretty typical young man, so he likes sports and other typical young men stuff. A small care package with some goodies and such would mean the world.

Again, please forward this message to as many people as you know. It would be so great if we can all give way together and show Hunter that his country will never forget his sacrifices or service. He is down and needs our help.

Thank you for your support, it means everything.

V/R,
1SG Brian M. Disque
C CO 2-30 IN

“Our Country, Not Ourselves!”

I was reading over at SpouseBuzz about how they recently had Katherine Fugate, creator of Army Wives, and they opened a thread to create your own storyline for Army Wives.

So I got to thinking about this…. what would I want to see? Full disclosure - I’m not a big fan of Army Wives but I’ve only watched a couple of episodes. I think if they made it “more real” and less Hollywood it would be a better show.

I think that a good story line would be a wife who is thrown into Army life when her husband decides to enlist in his early 30’s. She’s been a civilian wife/mom for almost 8 years at this point.

Another one would be a wife who has a child with special needs and they could show all the trials and tribulations of Tricare and the health care system.

And my final idea, feature a woman who met a solider while deployed due to a picture and an introduction. They soon became romantically involved and she was thrown head first into Army life. (this is my friend’s story)

In case you’re wondering I’m living #1 and #2. : )

So what’s your thoughts, ideas on creating your own story line? I’ll be sure to pass them along to the powers that be at Lifetime.

This story is about Brenda, a military wife and mother who was 100% committed to her military husband and extended military family.

Brenda and Tim married in June and 48 hours after saying, “I do”, he loaded up his canvas bag and left for Korea. A year later, he returned for two weeks and then was on a plane to Germany. This time Brenda was to have gone with him, but the paperwork (everyone in the military can groan together on this one) somehow didn’t get processed.

Once in Germany Tim did not give in until his bride was able to join him. During the next year in Germany Tim was in the field many times. Of course, everyone in the military can relate to the fact that this young couple spent more time apart than together.

I give Brenda a lot of credit for sticking with it and embracing military life; for standing by her man and by her country. Yes, they were young, but they believed in the old-fashioned ideals of the constitution. They were united in their convictions of protecting our land of the free. Then the call came that all young spouses of military personnel dread. Tim was getting deployed. (more…)