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| May 2008 Newsletter | ||
In This Issue
Quotable Quotes "A "Veteran" -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to: "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to, and including his life." " - unknown *Note - this quote has been featured before in a TWS Newsletter but it's worthy of repeating, countless times... Lejeune, Lejern and How to say it.  The common denominator of all Mairne Corps virtues is "respect." Therefore, it would indeed be difficult, if not impossible to find a Marine, past or present, who has earned out respect more than Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, pronounced LeJern.Click this link for a must-read informationtal and historical article by P.T. Brent, previously published in Leatherneck Magazine. "Survey Reveals Military Members attitude toward social website use..." SAN DIEGO - A recent poll conducted by the Military Times Media Group asked readers if they used independent social networking sites (such as TWS, Facebook, MySpace, etc.).  - survey information courtesy Military Times Media Group Topics for Vets... DoD improves transition assistance for servicemembers, families By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON – The Defense Department recently merged two military support programs into one as part of efforts to better address departing servicemembers’ financial and transition needs, a senior Pentagon official told U.S. legislators May 16. The previously separate Financial Readiness and Transition Assistance programs were combined in March to form the new Office of Personal Finance and Transition, Jane Burke, principal director for military community and family policy, said in testimony before members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Veterans Affairs subcommittee on economic opportunity. “Returning to private life after serving in the military is a very complex undertaking,” Burke told legislators. “To assist them in doing so, we must empower our servicemembers with the tools and information they need to develop individual solutions to the challenges they may face as they return to civilian life.” The merger of the financial and transition assistance programs was made in recognition “that financial readiness, military  and veterans benefits, and transition assistance are closely linked to one another and must be addressed as a whole,” Burke explained. This, she said, is an example of the Pentagon’s desire to improve programs that assist transitioning servicemembers and their families.Whether having served on active duty or in the reserve components, transitioning servicemembers’ and families’ primary goals “are finding a job, changing careers, enrolling in higher education, and ultimately improving their economic quality of life,” Burke said. The Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Labor departments have partnered over the past decade to assist servicemembers’ return to civilian life, Burke observed. All three organizations, Burke said, share responsibility for the transition assistance program’s four key components: -- Mandatory preseparation counseling for departing active-duty, National Guard or reserve members, is performed by servicemembers’ individual service branch. Servicemembers are introduced to information about employment opportunities and how to go about finding a job. Members looking for jobs or a career change are encouraged to visit and register with the One-Stop Career Center nearest their residence once they return home. -- Attendance at Department of Labor-sponsored transition assistance program employment workshops is voluntary for active-duty servicemembers and spouses, except for mandatory participation by Marine Corps members. Servicemembers receive information about labor market conditions, individual skills assessment, how to write effective resumes, proper interviewing techniques, and methods of searching for jobs. -- Veterans Affairs benefits briefings are voluntary for active-duty servicemembers. These briefings address education and training, healthcare, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation and employment, disability benefits, burial benefits, and dependents’ and survivors’ benefits. Demobilizing National Guard and reserve-component members receive a VA briefing that includes information on the Disabled Transition Assistance Program. -- Participation in the Disabled Transition Assistance Program managed by Veterans Affairs is voluntary for active-duty members. This program is for servicemembers and veterans who have or suspect they have a service-connected disability or an injury or illness that was aggravated by military service. DTAP addresses re-employment, rapid access to employment, employment through long-term services, independent living services, and self employment. DTAP also addresses other issues such as medical, dental, optical, mental health treatment, special adapted housing, veterans centers, vocational/educational counseling, and special hiring authorities for federal employment. The Defense Department has established a goal to have 85 percent of separating active-duty, National Guard and reserve members attend transition assistance program and disabled transition program seminars, Burke said. “To meet this goal, we have tasked the services to allow servicemembers to attend these sessions so they have access to the employment resources they need to help them transition into the workforce or into an educational institution,” Burke explained. When the transition assistance program was first developed in 1990, it was not designed with the needs of the National Guard and reserves in mind, Burke said. The 2007 launch of the www.TurboTAP.org Web portal addressed those concerns, she said. TurboTAP “allows each servicemember, regardless of component, to obtain a lifelong account and a tailored individual transition plan based on their transition needs, which can also connect them to information on military and veterans benefits, many of which have significant cash value,” Burke explained. Examples of such programs include the Montgomery GI Bill, the Thrift Savings Plan and the Savings Deposit Program, she said. TurboTAP better meets the needs of National Guard, reserve and active-component servicemembers and their families “because the Web site gives them the tools to connect and access the information to meet their needs when they are ready -- present or future,” Burke said. Military OneSource and Military Home Front, she noted, are two other Defense Department-endorsed Web sites that, along with TurboTAP, contain important transitional, financial and benefits information for separating servicemembers. Servicemembers and their families have sacrificed much in support of the global war on terror, Burke said. Therefore, she said, it is the department’s duty “to provide our troops with the decision-making tools they need to help them with the key financial and transition decision points” to assist them in making career and economic security plans. The new office of personal finance and transition in partnership with other federal and private agencies “will get us there,” Burke said. New Barracks at Camp Pendleton By Rick Rogers UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER May 15, 2008  CAMP PENDLETON ? Camp Pendleton officials yesterday unveiled a new barracks building, the first of 24 tobeconstructed on the base in the next two years for single Marines. The four-story, 170-room structure represents nothing less than an about-face by the Marine Corps on the issue of housing for unmarried troops, who make up about half of the service and spend more time fighting overseas than their married counterparts. ?We just fundamentally had to change the way we were treating them,? said Maj. Gen. Mike Lehnert, commander of Marine Corps Installations West. ?We didn't want Marines getting married just to get out of the barracks. When Marines say they were living better in Fallujah (Iraq), it hurts.? Camp Pendleton's emphasis on family housing in the past decade might have come at the expense of single Marines, who live in barracks that are about three decades old. Three years ago, Lehnert convinced Marine commandant Gen. Michael Hagee that money ? a lot of it ? was needed for bachelor barracks at Camp Pendleton. The current commandant, Gen. James Conway, worked with congressional leaders to line up the funding. The result: Camp Pendleton's $1.1 billion facilities renovation package for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 is larger than that of any other Marine base. Nearly $800 million will go toward erecting barracks. The rest will be used for repairing and maintaining training sites, gyms and other infrastructure. Camp Pendleton's leaders plan to spend more money from 2010 to 2013 on projects to help the base accommodate 4,000 more troops. The anticipated growth is part of the Marine Corps' mission to expand by 22,000 service members within roughly the same time period. The barracks building that opened yesterday in the Horno section of the base cost $21.4 million to complete. Its design, based on recommendations from focus groups of young Marines, likely will serve as the blueprint for future barracks at Marine installations nationwide. With its brick facade and activity center, the building resembles a college dormitory more than military barracks. Out are metal bunks, standing lockers and open bays where 50 or more Marines sleep. Also out are basketball courts without lights, and washers and dryers that dominate small, closed rooms. In are two-person rooms with walk-in closets and matching wooden beds and desks. Also in are banks of gleaming washers and dryers where troops can do laundry while watching TV, areas with wireless Internet access, surround-sound chairs for the video-game room, pool tables and lighted volleyball and basketball courts.   ?This not not your mother's (bachelor enlisted quarters),? Lehnert said. ?If you think about what the Marines are being asked to do in war, they deserve this.? He and other commanders insisted that new barracks feature public spaces for communal interaction so Marines don't feel isolated sitting in their rooms. They said camaraderie on a base translates to camaraderie on the battlefield. Most Marines at Camp Pendleton have served at least one combat deployment. Base officials said it's important that troops talk about their wartime experiences instead of shutting themselves away. Enlisted Marines will start living in the freshly minted building later this week. ?They are anxious to move in there, that's for sure,? said Pfc. James Stein, 23, of his fellow Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. They will be the first service members to call the barracks home. ?If you are in the field for week or a month, this place will welcome you home,? said Pfc. Herbert Hartfield, 20. ?For those who have experienced combat, it is certainly deserved.? Source: San Diego Union Tribune Useful Military Links Defenselink -- The OFFICIAL source of news and information from the Department of Defense, related agencies and all military branches. Multi-National Force - Iraq -- Official website of MNF-I. Multi-National Corps - Iraq -- Official website of MNC-I, "Leading the transformation of Iraq." International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) -- Official website for coalition forces in Afghanistan The Pentagon Channel -- 24-hour broadcasts of official military news and information for members of the US Armed Forces through select stateside cable systems, and overseas via American Forces Network (AFN). My AFN.mil -- American Forces Network (AFN) provides multi-channel, broadcast-quality radio and television services and expanded internal information products to all DoD members and their families stationed overseas, on contingency operations, and onboard Navy ships around the world. We Bring You Home. Military Homefront -- A DoD Web portal for reliable Quality of Life information designed to help troops and their families, leaders and service providers. Whether you live the military lifestyle or support those who do, you'll find what you need! Stars & Stripes -- The DoD-authorized UNOFFICIAL daily newspaper for US Forces overseas, printed in European, Pacific and Mideast editions. Department of Defense Educational Activity (DoDEA) -- DoDEA operates more than 218 public schools for grades K-12 in 14 districts located in seven U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Guam and 12 foreign countries to serve the children of military service members and Department of Defense civilian employees. Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) -- The military's largest retailer. A mission-essential, and the premier quality of life provider for all DoD military members, civilians, contractors and their families worldwide. Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) -- The Navy's Family Store providing quality goods and services at a savings and supporting the naval quality of life programs. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) -- Delivering the premier quality-of-life benefit to military members worldwide. United Service Organizations (USO) -- The USO supports U.S. troops and their families wherever they serve. Across the United States and around the world, the American military knows that the USO is there for them. Until Every One Comes Home. Space Avaliable Travel fact sheet -- Answers to the most common Space A travel questions, courtesy of the 60th Air Mobility Wing, Travis AFB, CA. OFFICIAL SERVICE BRANCH MAGAZINES: NAVY - All Hands MARINE CORPS - Marines ARMY - Soldiers AIR FORCE - Airman COAST GUARD - Coast Guard Navy World Wide Locator -- For locating individuals on active duty, those recently discharged, and current addresses for retired Navy service members. Navy Retired Activities Branch -- Keeps the retired community informed of their benefits and provides customer service to Navy retirees and their families. Shift Colors -- The Magazine for Navy Retirees. UNIFORM REGULATIONS: NAVY - NAVPERS 15665I MARINE CORPS - MCO P1020.34G ARMY - AR 670-1 AIR FORCE - AFI 36-2903 COAST GUARD - COMDTINST M1020.6E Global Terrorism Incident Map If you want to know what is going on in the world of terrorism, threats, explosions, airline incidents, etc., keep this web page. It's not just about terrorism - it's about what is happening every day, every minute some place in the world that could affect all of us in some way. It updates every 30 seconds, constantly. You just click on any map icon for full info at any time. Global Incident Map From our Marine Humor Board STUTTERING .... THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES A teacher is explaining biology to her 4th grade students. "Human beings are the only animals that stutter", she says. A little girl raises her hand. "I had a kitty-cat who stuttered", she volunteered. The teacher, knowing how precious some of these stories could become, asked the girl to describe the incident. "Well", she began, "I was in the back yard with my kitty and the Rottweiler that lives next door got a running start and before we knew it, he jumped over the fence into our yard!" "That must've been scary", said the teacher. "It sure was", said the little girl. "My kitty raised his back, went 'Fffff, Fffff, Fffff' .... And before he could say the whole "F" word , the Rottweiler ate him!" Submitted by: Cpl Gary Holstein Keep your contact info current There are two ways in which Marines you served with can contact you via the TWS website: the first is via your "public" e-mail address displayed in your Personal Details on your Profile Page; and the other is by leaving a message in your Message Center Inbox. The latter triggers an advisory e-mail, sent to your "private" e-mail address to inform you that you have received a message and who it's from. Your "private" e-mail address, which is the one that TWS uses, is contained in your Account Details at the top of your Profile Page which you can modify at any time. TWS Members' "private" and "public" e-mail addresses are usually the same. So, please regularly log-in and update any changes to your e-mail addresses both in the Account Detail and Personal Detail sections of your Profile. PS: If you use spam blocker software, please add news@marines.togetherweserved.com to your allowed list! Liberty Call - Military Benefits from Anheuser-Bush Anheuser-Bush - Heres to the Heroes  Anheuser-Busch is honored to salute the men and women of our armed forces and their families. Throughout 2008, members of the military and as many as three direct dependents may enter any one of Anheuser-Busch's SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Sesame Place parks with a single-day complimentary admission.For your service and sacrifice, we thank you. Click Here for full details and to Register CyberCorner - Website of Interest  Leatherneck Pictures is a non-profit motion picture production company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia with the charter to produce feature films, docu-dramas and informative documentaries on the legacy and history of the United States Marine Corps from November 10, 1775 to today. The company was founded by U.S.M.C. Beirut campaign veteran Henry Billings and historical filmmaker and Virginia Military Institute Graduate Kevin R. Hershberger in 2008. The first project in development for release next year is a 2-hour docu-drama on the 25th anniversary of the October 1983 Islamic attack on the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon which killed 241 Marines and sailors. This was one of the first strikes against the United States in the present war on terror and set the stage for our involvement in the region today. Click here for more info on Leatherneck Pictures Jobs for Marines  Visit the Marines Job Board which is on the left hand Home Page. You'll find numerous job listings. All positions, described in detail, are posted by fellow Marines.TWS who are familiar with the credentials and experience offered by Marines. Here is few highlights of jobs posted this month: Position Offered: Police Officer Location: Albuquerque Salary Range: $40K Position Offered: Administrative Assistant Location: Oakland, CA Salary Range: Negotiable Position Offered: Multi-Craft Journeyman Location: Clewiston, FL Salary Range: $43-$45K Position Offered: Senior Project Controls Lead Location: Maumee, OH and San Antonio, TX Salary Range: DOE Position Offered: Electrical Instrumentation Tech Location: Clewiston, FL Salary Range: $62-$65K Additionally, if your company has any positions suited to Marines seeking employment, you are very welcome to post these on the Job Board. This is a FREE service to TWS subscribers Post a Job on TWS Currently Posted Positions Marines.TWS Forums and Chat Boards - Sound Off!  What was your best duty station or assignment and why? What is the recipe for that good chow you know how to make out of an MRE? Where's the coldest beer on on WestPac? Do you have any tips about keeping healthy, or things to watch out for if you have a disease? These are just a few of the topics that are covered by the many Forums on Marines.TWS. These forums provide you, the members, a variety of places to discuss with other members the many topics we have in common. Those members still on active duty would probably like to know about good assignments when they make out their "dream sheets" or talk to their Monitors. Those who have worked as Monitors or served on a board might want to provide a few tips for members in preparing to talk about their next assignment. If you have a disease like diabetes, what tips can you give others about the disease and things to watch out for with diabetes? Encourage a fellow Marine to keep on top of a health problem so he stays with us for a long time. These are but a couple of topics that are available for you to offer advice, warn others about, discuss with other Marines, etc, or just vent your frustrations about. So pull up a foot-locker and start shooting the breeze, the forums are for you. Lost Your Password? If you have forgotten your User ID and Password you can be quickly and easily reminded by clicking on the "Reminder" link contained on the Login page or following this Link. Your Username and Password will be immediately sent to you by e-mail. Comments/Suggestions Please forward any comments or suggestions that you feel would further improve the website to info@marines.togetherweserved.com or just reply to this newsletter. Enjoyed This Newsletter? Please forward this on to any other Marines you know. As TWS grows so does its potential to find old buddies and new friends as well as creating a vibrant and enjoyable Marine Community representing all eras from WW2 to present day. Help TWS Grow! For every five Marines who join TWS from your invitation, you'll be rewarded with 6 months FREE Full Membership allowing you special access to all the premium areas of the TWS website! Your support will also be recognized by a special "Recruiting Ribbon" placed on your LH Profile Page -- and a bronze star for every five new members you invite! By inviting other Marines to join this site you not only greatly increase the chances for Members to find others with whom they served, but the site becomes even more enjoyable through the increased interaction between Marines from all eras. Inviting other Marines to join couldn't be simpler, just click the Invite tab at the top of the page and fill out the form, TWS will send the invite for you. Buddies Found - TWS Success Stories! Can you find Marines on TWS? More Success Stories this month  "Bootcamp Buddy Found - Located when he recently signed on to TWS. 23 years apart no contact or anything until LAST NIGHT.... Awesome Awesome, we reconnected and shared stories and caught up. Great resource and forum we have here! Gy Max" Maxwell, Mamona (Mad Max), GySgt  "One found me...I had been a free member from the start of this site for a while always looking for some ones name that rang a bell always nothing...and out of the blue an email from TWS saying this Marine was trying to contact me..flood of emotions and all that I set dumb founded I had'nt talked orseen this Marine since 1981 we had been at 2 duty stations together,,to make a long story short,,I became a full member that day,,and him and I talked on the phone for 2 and a half hrs that night and try to call eath other at least once a month....20 some yrs had past like it was yesterday, so many thanks to TWS! Semper Fi" Campfield, Richard (gyrene79), Cpl  "Iraq - When I was a LCpl in OIF 1 I had several friends, but we were so excited to get back we didn't keep up. I found several of them on this great site...thanks!"Bower, Daniel, Sgt  "Life Changing for me. I was searching Marine graphics to put on myspace and stumbled on Debbie Roshto. I learned from her myspace, that her Brother was killed in Beirut, as was my Dad. We started chatting a little and she directed me to this WONDERFUL site. Mike Toma was the first to contact me regarding my Dad, and he had pictures of him!! I have learned more about my Dad from this site than anywhere else. Thank you God for taking me to Debbie's myspace page that day. And one more ironic bit of info.......If you look on the "Wall", you will see my Dad's name, and Debbie's Brother's name ~SIDE BY SIDE~Thank you Together We Served! Wherland, Sarah-Family POW-MIA - You are Not Forgotten!  |
Memorial Day 2008 Memorial Day 2008 |
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FORT BLISS - Seeking mental-health care due to post-traumatic stress will no longer be seen as an obstacle to getting a government security clearance, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced earlier this month. 
TWS is a place to honor the service history of all Marines who served including those who fell in combat. So that they will not be forgotten, we have created a special facility where any TWS Member can post a Remembrance Profile for a Fallen Marine they knew or would like to honor, and this can be accessed via the "Remember a Marine" link on the LH Home page. We have also developed an important feature which will enable TWS Members to adopt the Profile of a Fallen Marine already posted on the site. TWS has already researched and compiled comprehensive information on all 14,387 Marines who fell during the Vietnam War, 1965-1975, and these are now installed as Fallen Profiles accessible via the LH Home Page link. As no one is assigned to maintain these Profiles, we invite TWS Members to adopt one or more Fallen Profiles as custodian and researching and adding any additional information when available. 4,700 Vietnam Fallen Profiles have already been adopted by TWS Members and there are just over 9,600 remaining. To adopt the Profile of a Fallen Marine from the Vietnam War, please click on the Adopt a Fallen Marine Profile link on the left hand Home Page after you log in or click 
