BuildingHomesforHeroes.com brings volunteers together through sports fundraisers. Find local events at its site.
Heroes at Home, repairs and equips old homes to accommodate disabilities.
Homes for Troops builds and donates handicapped-accessible houses nationwide. Visit homesforourtroops.org to create a tribute page, get fundraising ideas, and more.
Homes for Vets gives new houses to families of critically injured ex-soldiers. Nominate beneficiaries and contribute online.
Project H.E.R.O. (Homes Eliminated of Restrictions and Obstacles) works with Rebuilding Together volunteers to identify low-income soldiers, educate communities, and renovate houses.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
US troops, families face cuts in on-base services as Pentagon tries to hold down spending
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Soldiers and their families on Army bases around the country could see cutbacks in trash pickup, lawn-mowing and other services as the military tries to hold down non-war spending while escalating the fight in Afghanistan.
Even as total defense spending rises, the portion of the Army budget dedicated to running its bases is down 20 percent this year, according to figures provided to The Associated Press by an Army official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about them.
The budgets for individual bases are not yet final. But the proposed cuts vary in size and run as deep as 40 percent at some major installations, including Fort Campbell, according to the figures.
Fort Campbell, the home of the 101st Airborne Division, is considering eliminating lawn-mowing and janitorial services and shortening hours at recreation centers, Fort Campbell spokeswoman Kelly Tyler said. But that may not be enough, she said.
Some members of the military are worried money will be pulled from programs that help spouses and children cope with soldiers' repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, who as head of the Army's Installation Management Command is in charge of the budget for bases, said in a recent commentary distributed to Army post newspapers that the service has enjoyed unprecedented levels of funding in the past years, but that can't continue.
"As the country faces some stiff economic challenges, we are forced to reduce funding and exact a greater level of stewardship over our resources," Lynch said. Starting this year, "performance levels for some installation services will be notably less than we've had in recent years and will remain at that level for the foreseeable future."
"The Administration has been clear," White House budget office spokesman Tom Gavin said. "Funding intended for our troops at war should go to our troops at war. Those funds should not be diverted for cutting grass or other general operations at military bases." He said the Pentagon "receives significant funds each year for base operations, and the Pentagon determines how those funds are utilized."
Army posts provide many of the services that soldiers and their families have come to rely on, including child and youth programs, continuing education, dining and recreational facilities and help with overcoming drug and alcohol abuse.
Lynch said that certain services, such as police and fire protection, will be fully funded and that the Army is committed to continuing family-focused programs, such as child care. He did not specify where cuts would be made.
It wasn't clear how the military's other branches might be affected, though the Army is by far the largest. Officials with the Marines, Navy and Air Force did not respond to requests for information.
Some of the Army's biggest posts, where soldiers have completed four and five combat tours since the wars began, are facing significant spending reductions, according to the figures obtained by the AP.
At Fort Campbell, where about 17,000 soldiers are leaving this year for Afghanistan, commanders have been told that the operating budget for the current fiscal year could drop 40 percent, from $177.5 million last year to $106.5 million, Tyler said.
Cuts could be 39 percent at Fort Stewart, Ga., 25 percent at Fort Bragg, N.C., 22 percent at Fort Drum, N.Y., and 21 percent at Bamberg, Germany, the figures show.
Even as total defense spending rises, the portion of the Army budget dedicated to running its bases is down 20 percent this year, according to figures provided to The Associated Press by an Army official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about them.
The budgets for individual bases are not yet final. But the proposed cuts vary in size and run as deep as 40 percent at some major installations, including Fort Campbell, according to the figures.
Fort Campbell, the home of the 101st Airborne Division, is considering eliminating lawn-mowing and janitorial services and shortening hours at recreation centers, Fort Campbell spokeswoman Kelly Tyler said. But that may not be enough, she said.
Some members of the military are worried money will be pulled from programs that help spouses and children cope with soldiers' repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, who as head of the Army's Installation Management Command is in charge of the budget for bases, said in a recent commentary distributed to Army post newspapers that the service has enjoyed unprecedented levels of funding in the past years, but that can't continue.
"As the country faces some stiff economic challenges, we are forced to reduce funding and exact a greater level of stewardship over our resources," Lynch said. Starting this year, "performance levels for some installation services will be notably less than we've had in recent years and will remain at that level for the foreseeable future."
"The Administration has been clear," White House budget office spokesman Tom Gavin said. "Funding intended for our troops at war should go to our troops at war. Those funds should not be diverted for cutting grass or other general operations at military bases." He said the Pentagon "receives significant funds each year for base operations, and the Pentagon determines how those funds are utilized."
Army posts provide many of the services that soldiers and their families have come to rely on, including child and youth programs, continuing education, dining and recreational facilities and help with overcoming drug and alcohol abuse.
Lynch said that certain services, such as police and fire protection, will be fully funded and that the Army is committed to continuing family-focused programs, such as child care. He did not specify where cuts would be made.
It wasn't clear how the military's other branches might be affected, though the Army is by far the largest. Officials with the Marines, Navy and Air Force did not respond to requests for information.
Some of the Army's biggest posts, where soldiers have completed four and five combat tours since the wars began, are facing significant spending reductions, according to the figures obtained by the AP.
At Fort Campbell, where about 17,000 soldiers are leaving this year for Afghanistan, commanders have been told that the operating budget for the current fiscal year could drop 40 percent, from $177.5 million last year to $106.5 million, Tyler said.
Cuts could be 39 percent at Fort Stewart, Ga., 25 percent at Fort Bragg, N.C., 22 percent at Fort Drum, N.Y., and 21 percent at Bamberg, Germany, the figures show.
Friday, January 8, 2010
At Dover, More Comfort for Mourning Families
An Air Force carry team with a transfer case containing the remains of Senior Airman Bradley R. Smith at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Monday.
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — So many families of the nation’s war dead came here in the last year to witness what the military calls the “dignified transfer” of the remains of their loved ones that sometimes, as on a night this past June, the small waiting area grew crowded and tense.
Suzie Schwartz, the wife of Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, was here that evening and recalled Wednesday how three families — one stoic, one sobbing, one angry — collided in the only space available to them. Soon the emotions of the mother in the angry family, she said, began to spill over.
“The mom was just spinning,” Mrs. Schwartz said. “She got madder and madder. So mad family was getting kind of mad at the other family, you could just see it. They had no place to go.”
Afterward Mrs. Schwartz told her husband that the lack of privacy and cramped quarters were “unacceptable” and that something had to be done.
On Wednesday morning, something was — the official opening at Dover of the Center for the Families of the Fallen, an expansive space of soothing lighting, soft carpeting and overstuffed sofas. The center has one large room of separate seating areas for families who want some privacy but also may want to talk to the others. There are also private rooms for families who need to be alone, a nondenominational meditation room, a kitchen and a children’s room with cribs and toys.
General Schwartz, in remarks dedicating the center, called it a “bittersweet” event. “In an ideal world, one that is universally committed to resolving disputes in a peaceful manner, a center for the families of the fallen perhaps would not be necessary,” he said. “But alas, it is, as all here know very well.” Jill Biden, the wife of vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr., a former senator from Delaware, also attended the ceremony.
Since April 2009, the first month of a Pentagon policy that allowed news coverage of the transfers, the remains of 366 service members from Iraq and Afghanistan have passed through Dover, the main point of entry for the nation’s war dead to return home. They have been met by more than 1,000 family members, whose travel and lodging expenses to Dover are paid for by the military.
Under the old policy, photographs of the flag-draped cases were banned, family travel expenses were not paid to Dover and loved ones were not encouraged to come. The new policy allows families to say no to the news coverage; the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operation Center at Dover said that 56 percent have said yes.
The single busiest night at Dover since last April has been Oct. 29, 2009, when President Obama made an unannounced trip there in the middle of the night to witness the return of 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan. Three other transfers occurred that night as well.
Mrs. Schwartz said she was pleased with the change from the old room. “The military thought it was working fine,” she said. “But as a woman, you see that it was cold and sterile at the worst time in their lives.”
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Free computers make difference to deployed paratroopers, families
an 04, 2010 (DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- AL ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 31, 2009) -- Sharing photos of karate practice or birthday parties, and stories of a visit by the Tooth Fairy are just some of the things possible with a computer.
During this holiday season, Rebecca Tapia also used the computer she received from a nonprofit charity for its intended purpose: staying in touch with her deployed husband, Pfc. Joseph Tapia, a cannon-crew member with 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade).
Joseph is one of 75 paratroopers whose family received a new computer through Operation Homelink, just prior to the unit's deployment in August.
To date, the nonprofit has partnered with corporate donors to link 3,200 deployed Soldiers with their families using Internet-friendly computers.
"He'll pop up in Yahoo Messenger and say he's online," said Rebecca. "We'll talk about the kids. He'll say, 'How are you doing in school?' I just finished an online class." "I text her cell phone from Yahoo and ask her to get on the computer so we can chat," said Joseph, who has been deployed in Al Anbar province, Iraq, since August 2009. "I'll definitely be online with my wife and kids for Christmas," said Joseph.
Rebecca also uses the ultra-compact notebook to communicate with her family in Arizona, Joseph's aunt in South Carolina, and his sister in California. When Rebecca's sister had a baby, she posted the photos online for Rebecca to see.
Maintaining family connections make the deployment easier to bear, she said.
"We just had our family portraits made, and I put the pictures on Facebook," she said. "I put everything on Facebook." Donor companies share a passion for supporting military personnel and their families, said Dan Shannon, the founder of Operation Homelink. The goal is to provide refurbished computers to the spouses or parents of troops within the lowest pay grades.
On Dec. 18, in collaboration with Dell, Operation Homelink supplied 100 new computers to the families of deployed Soldiers stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash.
A week earlier with the Raytheon Company, Operation Homelink presented 150 refurbished computers with webcams, allowing recipients to see each other in real-time when they talked, to the families of a battalion with the 75th Ranger Regiment and other units stationed at Fort Benning, Ga.
The Tapias' computer did not come with a webcam, but they wish it had, they said.
"With the increased use of programs like Skype, many of our recipients told us they would love to have webcams for the computers," said Shannon. "This is particularly important for holidays and birthdays. I went to our primary donors, Dell and Raytheon, and suggested we include webcams with future computers. Both wholeheartedly agreed, so going forward, all Operation Homelink computers will include a webcam." Shannon is continually inspired by the servicemembers that he meets to grow the program, he said.
"A father came up to me following the Fort Benning event," explained Shannon. "He was there to help his daughter pick up one of our computers. He said that he was deaf and that he also has a son in the Marines who is also deployed. He asked how someone in his position could get a computer so he could 'speak' with his son. I told him that I would send him a laptop. We found out that his wife is wheelchair bound and they also have a niece and nephew serving. I bought them a webcam and wireless router so it would be easier for her to use anywhere in the house from her wheelchair." Shannon later received word from the father, thanking him for making it "possible for a deaf man's voice to be heard around the world." "Who is more deserving than this family, to whom the rest of America owes a debt that we can never repay?" he asked.
(Spc. Michael J. MacLeod writes for the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), Multi National Force - West Public Affairs)
During this holiday season, Rebecca Tapia also used the computer she received from a nonprofit charity for its intended purpose: staying in touch with her deployed husband, Pfc. Joseph Tapia, a cannon-crew member with 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade).
Joseph is one of 75 paratroopers whose family received a new computer through Operation Homelink, just prior to the unit's deployment in August.
To date, the nonprofit has partnered with corporate donors to link 3,200 deployed Soldiers with their families using Internet-friendly computers.
"He'll pop up in Yahoo Messenger and say he's online," said Rebecca. "We'll talk about the kids. He'll say, 'How are you doing in school?' I just finished an online class." "I text her cell phone from Yahoo and ask her to get on the computer so we can chat," said Joseph, who has been deployed in Al Anbar province, Iraq, since August 2009. "I'll definitely be online with my wife and kids for Christmas," said Joseph.
Rebecca also uses the ultra-compact notebook to communicate with her family in Arizona, Joseph's aunt in South Carolina, and his sister in California. When Rebecca's sister had a baby, she posted the photos online for Rebecca to see.
Maintaining family connections make the deployment easier to bear, she said.
"We just had our family portraits made, and I put the pictures on Facebook," she said. "I put everything on Facebook." Donor companies share a passion for supporting military personnel and their families, said Dan Shannon, the founder of Operation Homelink. The goal is to provide refurbished computers to the spouses or parents of troops within the lowest pay grades.
On Dec. 18, in collaboration with Dell, Operation Homelink supplied 100 new computers to the families of deployed Soldiers stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash.
A week earlier with the Raytheon Company, Operation Homelink presented 150 refurbished computers with webcams, allowing recipients to see each other in real-time when they talked, to the families of a battalion with the 75th Ranger Regiment and other units stationed at Fort Benning, Ga.
The Tapias' computer did not come with a webcam, but they wish it had, they said.
"With the increased use of programs like Skype, many of our recipients told us they would love to have webcams for the computers," said Shannon. "This is particularly important for holidays and birthdays. I went to our primary donors, Dell and Raytheon, and suggested we include webcams with future computers. Both wholeheartedly agreed, so going forward, all Operation Homelink computers will include a webcam." Shannon is continually inspired by the servicemembers that he meets to grow the program, he said.
"A father came up to me following the Fort Benning event," explained Shannon. "He was there to help his daughter pick up one of our computers. He said that he was deaf and that he also has a son in the Marines who is also deployed. He asked how someone in his position could get a computer so he could 'speak' with his son. I told him that I would send him a laptop. We found out that his wife is wheelchair bound and they also have a niece and nephew serving. I bought them a webcam and wireless router so it would be easier for her to use anywhere in the house from her wheelchair." Shannon later received word from the father, thanking him for making it "possible for a deaf man's voice to be heard around the world." "Who is more deserving than this family, to whom the rest of America owes a debt that we can never repay?" he asked.
(Spc. Michael J. MacLeod writes for the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), Multi National Force - West Public Affairs)
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