In the news this weekend
February 22, 2009 by Nicki Faulk
Courtesy of The Anniston Star:
Army Reserve Col. Roy A. Hall recently graduated from the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, Pa. He is the son of Thomas D. Hall of Weaver. He graduated in 1980 from Anniston High School and received an associate degree in 1982 from Marion Military Institute. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1984 from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.
Congratulations, Col. Hall!
Air Force Staff Sgt. Shane Law was recently decorated with the Air Force Commendation Medal. He is the son of Larry and Connie Downey of Piedmont. He graduated in 1993 from Piedmont High School and received an associate degree in 2006 from the Community College of the Air Force in Montgomery.
Congratulations, Sgt. Law!
Air Force Airman 1st Class Nicholas W. Byars recently arrived for duty at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, N.M. He is the son of Christopher W. and Sherry D. Byars of Jacksonville. He graduated in 2007 from Jacksonville High School.
Congratulations, Airman 1st Class Byars!
Army Pvt. Jesse D. Harper recently graduated from the Land Combat Electrician Advanced Individual Training course at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. He is the son of Timothy L. and Karen D. Harper of Anniston.
Congratulations, Pvt. Harper!
Army Pfc. Corbett L. Futral was one of more than 300 Army soldiers who participated in the “Spirit of America 2008″ performance for the residents of Rochester, N.Y., and Worcester, Mass., on Sept. 12 and 13, respectively. Futral, an infantryman with two years of military service, is assigned to the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. He is the son of Harry Futral of Oxford and Shannon Moreira of Gulf Shores. The private is a 2004 graduate of Gulf Shores High School.
Congratulations, PFC Futral!
In the news today
February 20, 2009 by Nicki Faulk
Published on The Birmingham News‘ Breaking News blog, a story about a troop of would-be officers for the Army National Guard participating in an accelerated Officer Candidate School who capped one of their training exercises by ending a seven-mile, full pack and gear march in 2 and half hours — concluding with a lap around the Talladega Superspeedway.
View the blog post and pictures here.
Courtesy of WTVY News 4, news of another library benefiting from Governor Riley’s connecting families program. The Houston-Love Memorial Library in Dothan has two computers dedicated to providing folks live access to see and talk with members of the military stationed stateside or overseas.
To read the whole article, go here. For more information on the web cam program, call the Houston Love Memorial Library at (334) 793-9767.
Last but not least, this isn’t Alabama-related but I can’t resist sharing: a great story from Right Pundits about Detective Ken Leonard of the High Point, North Carolina Police Department. He served his country in Iraq training local Iraqis to become policemen. He lost his feet by IED. After a long road of therapy and prosthetics, he has made it back onto the police force and has recently joined the blogging world. His blog is called “No Feet Required!” and he is up for John Walsh’s AMW All Star First Responders Award.
If you have time, drop by No Feet Required! — I’m sure Ken would love to hear from everyone!
Heroes come in many shapes
February 18, 2009 by Nicki Faulk
This was posted to one of my favorite sites this morning, I Has a Hotdog (funny pictures of dogs). It serves as a gentle reminder that heroes do indeed come in many shapes:
2009 National Veterans Golden Age Games Registration Open
February 16, 2009 by Nicki Faulk
The Birmingham VA site updated this weekend with news of open registration for this year’s upcoming Golden Age Games. The National Veterans Golden Age Games is the “only national multi-event sports and recreational seniors’ competition program for older veterans.” Designed to improve the quality of life for all older veterans, these games include those with a wide range of abilities.
The Golden Age Games will be held in Birmingham June 1-5, 2009. The Birmingham VA is the official host of the games. Over 700 Veterans from all over the coun competing in 16 different events. This will be an exciting set of games.
The Golden Age Games are sponsored by the Department of Veteran Affairs, Veterans Canteen Service, and Help Hospitalized Veterans. All registration packages must be received no later than March 31, 2009.
For more information about the games, please visit the website at www.veteransgoldenagegames.va.gov
The VA will need over 1,300 volunteers for this event. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the Voluntary Service office at (205) 933-4396.
Kids love ink pens
February 14, 2009 by Nicki Faulk
This morning I received an email from Caren Vink at Soldiers’ Angels HQ:
It seems that the kids in Afghanistan and Iraq want nothing more than a ink pen. A pen to a child in Afghanistan and Iraq is like a scholarship to these children. They desperately want to learn but,
without a pen, they simply won’t.Will you help a child with their dream of owning their very first ink pen? Trust me, freedom to write is a very big deal. Anyone interested in helping these poor children would be simply wonderful.
The pens don’t have to be new but still in good condition. Clean out your junk drawer, everyone has extra pens. Ask your local businesses, banks, stores, if they would donate pens. Dollar Stores are a great place to find great deals on pens.
When our men and women in uniform give a child a pen or other school supplies, they are helping these countries by befriending the younger generation who in years to come will view the military as friends. Hopefully when they get older they will help us help their country.
If you can add, some spiral notebooks or pads of paper would be nice to toss in the package, too.
Thank you very much!
Caren Vink
If you would like to help out, please send supplies to our SA Warehouse at this address:
Soldiers’ Angels
112 Greenhill Road
Ramseur, NC 27316
In the news this weekend
February 14, 2009 by Nicki Faulk
According to the Shelby County Reporter, the Pelham Public Library is one of the latest to participate in Connecting Families, a partnership between the Alabama Public Library Service and the Alabama Broadband Initiative that allows military families to see and talk to each other via Web conferencing.
According to Barbara Roberts, library director:
Signing up is fast, free and easy. All one needs is an e-mail address and an account with Skype, a software program that allows telephone calls, instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing over the Internet. Library aides are available to set up e-mail and Skype accounts for those interested. And the library is willing to arrange Web conferencing sessions after hours to accommodate families.
It’s great to see more libraries participating in this wonderful program!
For more information, call Roberts at [205] 620-6418.
The Montgomery Advertiser published news yesterday that the 926th Engineer Brigade, an Army Reserve unit headquartered in Montgomery, has returned from Iraq.
Welcome home, brave heroes!
WKRG 5 News reported earlier this week with a heartwarming story about Private First Class Marshall Joslin, a soldier stationed in Iraq who had received letters from 4th graders at Knollwood Christian School. He had stopped by to say thanks to the children who’d written to him.
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