Published yesterday in the Tuscaloosa News:

The Department of Defense launched on Tuesday the National Resource Directory, a collaborative effort between the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs. The directory is a Web-based network of care coordinators, providers and support partners with resources for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them.

The directory offers more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources to help service members and veterans achieve personal and professional goals along their journey from recovery through rehabilitation to community reintegration.

The directory is expected to be a valuable tool for wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families as they wind their way through the maze of benefits and services available to them in their transition to civilian life. It is organized into six major categories: Benefits and Compensation; Education, Training and Employment; Family and Caregiver Support; Health; Housing and Transportation; and Services and Resources. It also provides helpful checklists, Frequently Asked Questions, and connections to peer support groups.

This looks like a great tool! The link is: www.nationalresourcedirectory.org

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Courtesy of The Birmingham News:

U.S. troops deployed around the globe will be able to watch this year’s Iron Bowl live on the Armed Forces Network, Alabama U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions said today.

Responding to requests from Alabama service members, including some with the Alabama Air National Guard’s 117th Air Refueling Wing deployed in Kyrgyzstan, Sessions’ office asked the Pentagon to set up a live broadcast of this year’s game, and the request has been granted.

“I’ve had the opportunity to visit with our troops in the Middle East on numerous occasions, and I frequently see an Alabama or Auburn flag flying below the Stars and Stripes,” said Sessions, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “This is a huge game and it has huge national interest. I’m sure that all our military personnel who can will be glued to the television.”

The Iron Bowl, pitting top-ranked Alabama against archrival Auburn, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time on Nov. 29 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Auburn has won the last six contests.

Thank you, Senator Sessions!

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Courtesy of the Tuscaloosa News:

Army National Guard Pfc. Teri L. Willis has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. Willis is the daughter of Linda Bender of Northport. She graduated in 1997 from Hillcrest High School and received an associate degree in 1999 from Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette.

Congratulations, Teri!

The Birmingham News featured a piece this morning about an Alabama Guard unit that left yesterday to go back to Afghanistan:

The training team is the fifth that the state Army Guard has sent to Afghanistan since 9/11. It recently completed two months of pre-deployment training at Fort Riley.

Lt. Col. Jeff Thrower of Alabaster, a member of the team, said recently that the mission had not been fully defined.

“Right now, I know that one of our biggest pushes over there has been to get the Afghanistan police up to where they can do their jobs,” he said. “The Afghan army is in a lot better situation than they were three or four years ago, but the police have still got some issues out there. So we’re doing our best to help out across the board in both areas.”

Read the full article here.

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The Huntsville Times reports that a Scottsboro businessman established an account at Regions bank to help the family of Nick Bradley, a Scottsboro soldier seriously wounded in Afghanistan.

Bradley, 25, a staff sergeant in the Air Force’s 96th Wing (security forces), was injured by a roadside bomb last Sunday. He was flown Tuesday to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where his father-in-law, Scottsboro Police Chief Ralph Dawe, said he’s in stable condition.

Donations to the Nick Bradley Fund may be made at Regions Bank, located at 510 E. Laurel St. in Scottsboro. For more information, call the bank at 256-259-1516.

Tuscaloosa News reports:

Michael J. Parham, son of Doretha Parham and Michael J. Johnson, both of Tuscaloosa, completed Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. Parham is a 2008 graduate of Central High School.

Congratulations, Michael!

The Birmingham News reports an Alabama Guard initiative that is helping troops who return from war duty via the state’s Army Guard’s Yellow Ribbon reintegration program.

The Yellow Ribbon help included information about job opportunities and insurance and veterans benefits, plus activities and baby sitters for soldiers’ children. It also sought to give the soldiers and their loved ones a chance to discuss with chaplains and counselors what they face as they seek to resume the way of life they knew before deployment.

For more information, call 2nd Lt. Matthew Spivey at 334-558-4132.

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Published in the Tuscaloosa News this morning:

Brandon C. Matthews, a 2006 graduate of Linden High School, completed 12 weeks of basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C.

Congratulations, Brandon!

Also, this story was featured in Friday’s edition of The Enterprise Ledger:

Local woman baking homemade cakes to send to soldiers in Iraq

It’s in Nancy Helms’ nature to be giving and the soldiers in Iraq are benefiting from her generosity.

Helms has been baking homemade pound cakes at Country Best Farm in Enterprise for several months and because of an idea and “the Lord telling me to do this,” she is now sending the homemade cakes to soldiers from Coffee County who are stationed in Iraq…

Read the entire article here.

Thank you, Nancy!

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Per the Tuscaloosa News:

Air National Guard Airman Andre A. Callaway has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. He is the son of Carrie Callaway of Tuscaloosa. Callaway received an associate degree in 2006 from Trenholm State Technical College in Montgomery.

Congratulations, Andre!

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Per the Tuscaloosa News:

Navy Ensign Spencer D. Suarez, son of Teresa and Adrian Suarez of Tuscaloosa, graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and was commissioned as an officer in the Navy. Suarez is a 2004 graduate of Hillcrest High School.

Congratulations, Spencer!

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Courtesy of The Gadsden Times:

Cathye Townsend said she remembers Gadsden fondly and always is happy to visit her old hometown. It allows her time to visit family and reconnect with old friends. But even greater, this time around, she came bearing good news.

Her son, Andrew “Andy” Townsend, is one of 19 students from Alabama on their way to fulfilling their dreams of a military career as students at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Townsend, who received the news a few weeks ago, said she is still stunned, shocked and scared all at the same time.

“We’re just so thrilled for him, he’s such a wonderful boy and this has been a lifelong dream for him,” she said.

Townsend, who now lives in Tuscaloosa, said the “good news” was well received by her family.

“They were so shocked and surprised that we could say someone in our family is going to West Point,” she said.

Townsend said her father, Jack Dean Carr, a World War II veteran, couldn’t wait to tell his grandson all of his old war stories.

“He was so proud,” she said.

Townsend’s mother, Cora Dean Carr, and the rest of her family all live in Gadsden and she said it has been a thrill for everyone.

Andy Townsend will attend West Point with a fellow senior from Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, J.T. Watkins. The two young men were the only ones from west Alabama selected to attend the U.S. Military Academy.

According to a story in the Tuscaloosa News, Maj. Michael McBride of West Point admissions said only one of 10 who applies is accepted.

This year, West Point received more than 10,000 applications from students who were nominated by their member of Congress or U.S. senator.

In this case, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, nominated both Andy Townsend and Watkins. Andy also received a presidential nomination.

Townsend said it is a great accomplishment for both Hillcrest students who received more than $800,000 in scholarship money.

Davis had a reception in their honor last month to celebrate their achievements.

Andy leaves for boot camp on June 28. Townsend said her son will begin “walking the gray line,” as the military refers to it, on June 30.

Andy will be missed greatly by his parents, but especially his twin brother, Corey, who is expected to attend the University of Alabama in the fall.

“It’s going to be their first separation,” Cathye Townsend said. “They’re going to miss each other a lot.”

But this is what Andy wants to do, he wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps, Townsend said.

Andy’s dad, Maj. Tommy Townsend, is retired and told the Tuscaloosa News that West Point is an honor and tradition.

Congratulations, Andy!

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