The Marines are famous for Toys for Tots, but few know about the Air Force’s tradition of giving. True to the Navy’s new slogan–A Global Force for Good–Operation Christmas Drop uses American military planes to make life better for our international neighbors:

Sometimes, a ‘Global Force for Good’ starts in our own backyard. Have you ever wondered what was happening to the closed bases, no longer required for military needs? Read on:

12/18/2009 - SACRAMENTO. Calif. (AFNS) – In California, as the temperature drops and the number of homeless people climbs, former Air Force bases around the state offer warm relief. Transitional housing is one of the many ways communities are using property on closed military bases for local benefit.

These villages of hope offer the homeless, out-of-work population a chance to learn new skills while living in clean and safe transitional housing. Riverside County alone had 11,000 homeless people this year and a 13% unemployment rate, according to a May article in The Press Enterprise. In Sacramento, 2,800 homeless were tallied in the January 2009 annual count conducted by Sacramento County officials, amounting to an estimated 4,910 homeless over the course of the year. In October, Sacramento County’s unemployment rate was 12.6%.

Path of Life Ministries, a non-profit, offers transitional housing at the former March Air Force Base, now the March Air Reserve Base, in Moreno Valley in Riverside County. POLM officials operate a 54-unit, 142-bed facility serving families and single, chronically homeless women.

“We stay full,” says Leonard Jarman, transitional housing manager. “The economy is affecting people who weren’t normally considered at risk. The face of homelessness has changed somewhat.”

Many living at the remodeled March ARB barracks are working, he said, but can’t afford permanent housing. The POLM program, at the base since 2007, helps participants get the skills and training they need to get back on their feet.

In Sacramento, a homeless rehabilitation program called Mather Community Campus has been operating since 1995 in former military barracks at what was Mather AFB until the base closed in 1993. The program offers temporary housing for homeless single adults and families “who believe employment is an essential part of their new life,” according to the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance Web site.

Students live in what are described as “private, roomy” accommodations with bath and showers. Singles eat three meals a day in a community dining room, while families have kitchens for meal preparation. In addition to job training, students can participate in daily support groups emphasizing addiction recovery, parenting skills, budgeting and housing.

What do you think? Me–it appeals to my liberal side, but not punchy enough:

This one has the same theme–America the Good–but inspires me to action better:

Here’s another good one:

…but this is the best:

This young man has spirit

Midshipmen Work With Israel Defense Force

From Youngster Year (sophmore year in college, for the civvies out there), Midshipmen start touring the world. Mostly on ships, some boats, and other times on land. By the time they graduate as Ensigns, many have been to more countries around the world than they had a lifetime prior to USNA.

Here’s the story of one group of Midshipmen:

During the summer, 11 Naval Academy Midshipmen, led by Lt. Cmdr. Rory Berke and Lt. Glenn Schatz of the Political Science Department and joined by a contingent of cadets from Army and Air Force, arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, to embark on a three-week internship.

Sponsored by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and made possible with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Chapel (FOJC), the purpose of the internship was to educate future U.S. military officers on the complex national security issues of historic and modern Israel.

To best understand the complexity of issues linked to Israel’s heritage, current status and military posture, the trip consisted of two separate phases. The first phase introduced Israeli society and history through academic lectures by renowned professors of Jewish culture followed by tours of related historical sites. Traveling throughout the country illustrated the concepts introduced in the seminars, allowing Mids the opportunity to apply the information firsthand and draw their own conclusions.

The second half of the trip focused on learning about the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and included time spent interacting with young IDF officers and learning about their military’s structure and capabilities.

From the moment the Midshipmen arrived in Jerusalem, the busy schedule began with a briefing from IDF spokesperson Capt. Benjamin Ruthland, the Head of the European Pacific Desk, welcoming the group to Israel. His introduction included a discussion of the top threats to Israeli national security and their influence on the current military posture.

Following the brief, the Mids visited some of the numerous Jewish and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Many chose to partake in the daily ritual of prayer at the Western Wall, adding their own to the collection of papers stuffed into any open crevice of the wall.

Each destination of the internship illustrated a separate yet integral part of Israel’s history or modern nationalist symbols. At the Red Sea, the Mids experienced the beauty of the tropical waters. Snorkeling and diving right off the shore revealed a natural aquarium of exotic fish and coral reefs, yet the amazing view of Jordan from windsurfing reinforced the daily paradox of Israeli life: beauty interrupted by continuous Israeli awareness of security threats within the region.

Daily itineraries included activities like an archeological dig at a working site of a Beit Guvrin dwelling, climbing Mount Masada, swimming in the Dead Sea, camel riding, a lecture by Holocaust scholar Dr. Rachel Korazim, a visit to Israel’s new Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem, and a Krav Maga martial arts class where the group learned from a world-renowned counter-terror expert to defend against knife and gun attacks.

The Mids also spoke with Professor Reuven Hazan of Hebrew University about understanding the Israeli political structure, took a jeep tour through the Golan Heights and discussed Israel’s current security situation. The last days of phase one closed with visits to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Mount of Beatitudes, the synagogue at Capernaum and the beautiful Bahai Gardens in Haifa.

Phase two of the internship commenced with a ‘‘mifgash,” or gathering, between the students from the service academies and the young IDF officers before touring the naval base in Haifa. The JINSA internship also included visits to the IDF Air Force Academy, their military sites and tours of their naval facilities and platforms.

At each site, the Mids were able to interact with young officers, discussing everything from differences in command structures and military service to basic questions about daily life, beliefs, pop culture and the best place in down to grab a good meal. Five IDF soldiers joined the group on the internship for the final week and provided an invaluable opportunity to interact with the host officers and truly get to know them as people and friends.

Thanks to the generous support of the FOJC and JINSA, the Mids were able to take part in a trip that directly supports the Chief of Naval Operations’ priority of creating an officer corps that better understands our allies and religions around the world. Observing Israel’s rich culture and professional military presented the group with the rare opportunity to hear firsthand the nation’s views on its heritage and current position socially, politically, and militarily in the global arena.

In the Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Thomas Mahan laid out his decisive argument for the impact of navies on a nation’s global position. Though written in 1890, its evidence is no less compelling today. Take a look at my list of the eleven most influential sea battles (taken from historians, military experts and other bloggers) and their impact on the countries involved.

Pew Research reports that blogs are filled with discussion on the US Navy SEALs being court martialed–although mainstream (and I use that word tongue-in-cheek) media has ignored it. Read on:

Lt. Col. Michael Lee Lanning wrote a book called, The Military 100, which lists the top one hundred military leaders. I’ll give you the top twenty. For details on those, and for the rest of the list, check out his book on Amazon:

1. George Washington
2. Napoleon I
3. Alexander the Great
4. Genghis Khan
5. Julius Caesar
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Francisco Pizarro

Yankee ingenuity strikes again–even on international seas:

Navy Exceeds Fiscal Year 2009 Re-enlistment Goals

Story Number: NNS091113-27
Release Date: 11/13/2009 5:24:00 PM

From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) — Navy achieved 108 percent of its re-enlistment goals for fiscal year (FY) 2009, in addition to decreasing attrition rates due to “strong command and deckplate leadership,” according to a Navy message released Nov. 2.

DOD, Air Force rated positive in Gallup study.

To many, the military is not equated with Congress or other government entities. Read on:

The Air Force with the Department of Defense has received high ratings for its professionalism, trust, accuracy and quality, according to a recent survey.

The findings were presented during a recent panel discussion following a Gallup Organization study, analyzing how Americans perceive the federal government.

Word Dreams--for writers

My nominations for the 2009 Edublogs Award are:

Word Dreams as the Best Resource Sharing Blog. Vote for it here.

Ask a Tech Teacher has been nominated as the Best Teacher Blog. Vote for it here.

Not my words–but I wish they were…

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service:  a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them:  a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg, or perhaps another sort of inner steel:  the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can’t tell a vet just by looking.

SECNAV Designates November as Warrior Care Month

“Warrior Care Month” will be a month-long DoD-wide coordinated tactical effort to educate the military and to increase awareness of DoD’s Warrior Care programs and resources. Warrior Care Month will provide a snapshot of the Continuum of Care in a 30-day period.

Warrior Care Month will focus on the programs, initiatives, and support that DoD promises our military through the phases of recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration that are integral to the livelihood of our wounded, ill and injured service members, and their families.

What’s it like to serve on a warship for the US Navy? Watch this video of the capabilities of guided missile Cruiser, USS Bunker Hill:

There are four ways to become a Naval Officer:

• USNA–many posts on this blog deal with that approach
• NROTC–you must receive an NROTC scholarship, be accepted into a college or University that has an NROTC program, graduate and be commissioned into one of the Naval services

The B&G (Blue and Gold) Interview allows the Naval Academy one more opportunity to insure that they appoint

Areas B&G Officer will rank you

candidates who will make it through the next nine years. Few other colleges invest the time and money in a personal in-home interview (except for recruited athletes) and the follow-up that the Service Academies do. But then, they’re spending taxpayer money and want to be sure to get it right.

If you don’t want to join the military via a Service Academy, you can enlist. To do that, you must take the ASVAB– the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). It’s multiple choice administered by United States Military Entrance Processing Command prior to enlistment. Areas of competence include:

After the disaster at Fort Hood, it bears re-reading the post, Are Muslims in the Military a Problem? A snippet:

Last March three conscripts of the Austrian army refused to salute the Austrian flag because they said this was incompatible with their Islamic religion.

MARINE

This is a poem sent from a Marine to his Dad. Read it. It’ll make you thankful for not only the Marines, but ALL of our troops.

We all came together,

Both young and old

To fight for our freedom,

To stand and be bold.