My Life As A Military Spouse

And the winners are.....

The Federal Voting Assistance Program is pleased to announce the winning slogans of its biennial Voting Slogan Contest. These slogans will be used to promote participation in the democratic process among citizens covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act -- members of the Uniformed Services, the Merchant Marine, their families, and all U.S. citizens residing outside the United States.

This year, the department received more than 1,600 slogans from all branches of the Uniformed Services, the State Department, local election officials and citizens living around the world. A panel of judges which included Members of the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and Service Voting Action Officers was asked to rank their top selections based on originality and motivational value. These slogans will be part of the FVAP’s 2010-2011 outreach campaign which focuses on increasing voter awareness among U.S. citizens worldwide and will be featured in the 2010-2011 Voting Assistance Guide, on motivational posters, and other FVAP publications.

The winning entries in the contest were:
"Honor the past, support the future - vote!"- 1st Place by Andrea K. Bristol, USA.
"Vote Today for Tomorrow's Future"- 2nd Place by James R. Hopkins Jr., USN.
"Never too far away to have your say! VOTE!"- 3rd Place by Jill E. Pigo, USN.
"Don't just protect the right to vote, use it!"- 4th Place by GySgt Michael D. Travers, USMC.

Receiving Honorable Mention were:
"Be a part of history: Vote!"- LT Laura Reeves, USN.
"Citizenship reaches around the world, Vote!"- John Tuteur, Napa County Registrar of Voters
"Be Informed. Be Involved. Be a Voter!"-Rob Rock, Rhode Island’s Office Secretary of State
"Have a say in the USA- VOTE"- James E. Kramer, USAF.

These winners will receive a letter and certificate of congratulations from the Department. Mr. Thomas L. Bush, Director, Federal Voting Assistance Program congratulates these winners and thanks our judges and all those who submitted slogans.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:57 AM 0 comments

The Military Spouse Career Advancement Account

A new career program that provides up to $6,000 for a military spouse's education and training has been expanded Army wide.

Military spouses who want to further their education and are interested in the program are asked to complete an online application by the first week of May.

The Military Spouse Career Advancement Account program was piloted for at least a year at 17 military installations. Though Fort Jackson was not part of the pilot, its families, along with thousands of others across the Army, will now have access to the program, which is managed by the Department of Defense."

(DoD) has expanded this program to all active duty military spouses -- regardless of rank, and it's worldwide," said Barbara Martin, the Employment Readiness Program manager at Fort Jackson.

Martin said that it is very important for spouses who are interested in the program to go the Military OneSource online site and submit a profile prior to the first week of May.

By mid-May, the Department of Defense will review the profiles of each spouse applying for benefits and determine eligibility.

Once deemed eligible, the spouse will be assigned a Military OneSource career and education counselor. This counselor will help the spouse select a career or field of interest, school and/or program to attend and arrange for payment of tuition.

The career advancement program also encourages military spouses to choose "portable careers," Martin said. Workers are in high demand for jobs in education, health services, hospitality and technology. These professions are needed on and off post.

Also, the Military Spouse Career Advancement Program has absorbed the "Spouses to Teachers" initiative. Martin said those spouses who want to teach would also need to apply via this program.

Currently, there is no set period or deadline for when spouses have to use the funds in their Military Spouse Career Advancement program account, Martin said. The funds can be used for educational training and certification. However, they cannot be used for the purchase of computers, application fees, graduation fees, child care and parking and transportation fees.

In addition, spouses should bear in mind that only certain schools are designated to participate in the career advancement program and that tuition is paid directly to those educational facilities.

The aim of this DoD program is to provide a worthwhile opportunity to military families and help them plan for their future.

One of the biggest goals for the military is retention of Soldiers, Martin said.

Moreover, the Soldiers' spouses influence their decision to serve. So, it makes good sense for the military to support the spouses.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:39 AM 0 comments

Protecting the Force

The Defense Department is monitoring the swine flu situation closely, with its primary focus on protecting the military population, a senior Pentagon official said today.

As the Department of Health and Human Services leads the U.S. effort, the military is posturing itself to respond if required, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.

“We certainly have a number of contingency plans for dealing with health incidences like this, because our primary goal is preservation of the fighting force,” he said. “So we obviously have plans and take measures to ensure that we can preserve the fighting strength of the military in the event that there should be a greater crisis with respect to a health situation like this.”

Two prescription anti-viral drugs, relenza and tamiflu, already are standard stock at U.S. military treatment facilities, and larger quantities are stockpiled at several sites in the United States and overseas, Whitman said.

President Barack Obama told the National Academy of Sciences today the emerging incidence of swine flu in the United States “is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert, but it’s not a cause for alarm.”

The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed 40 cases of swine flu virus infection in the United States in California, Kansas, New York City, Ohio and Texas. Greater cases of infections have been reported internationally, particularly in Mexico.

Obama said HHS has declared a public health emergency only “as a precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively.” HHS, the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security will provide the American people regular updates about steps being taken and precautions that may be required, he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry distributed CDC guidelines for preventing the spread of swine flu to the federal work force. Berry also distributed guidance for federal agencies to protect their work forces and the public and to ensure continuity of operations in the event that they must institute their already-prepared pandemic influenza preparedness plans.

CDC recommends the following actions people can take to stay healthy: -- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. -- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also are effective. -- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

CDC also recommends avoiding close contact with sick people, particularly if they are coughing or sneezing, and to stay home if you’re sick to avoid infecting others.

Related Sites:
Centers for Disease Control Swine Influenza Web Site
Office of Personnel Management Memo

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:34 AM 0 comments

What's in an article title?

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:22 AM 0 comments

Can it tell the difference?

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:01 AM 0 comments

DoDDS Europe School Meal Program

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service wants to hear from parents, students and school administrators about its school meal program at Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Europe.

AAFES is conducting an online survey through May 15 to determine what works and what improvements people want made to the school meal program. The survey can be found here.

Survey results will shape any changes that are made to the meal program, an AAFES release said.

The survey questions include asking students to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how satisfied they are with the meals; how often they eat meals on campus; and to list their favorite and least favorite dishes.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:52 AM 0 comments

More Than Just Parental Rights In Limbo

1. It is a treaty which creates binding rules of law. It is no mere statement of altruism.
2. Its effect would be binding on American families, courts, and policy-makers.
3. Children of other nations would not be impacted in any direct way by our ratification.
4. The CRC would automatically override almost all American laws on children and families because of our Supremacy Clause.
5. The CRC has some elements that are self-executing, while others would require implementing legislation. Federal courts would have the power to determine which provisions were self-executing.
6. The Courts would have the power to directly enforce the provisions that are self-executing.
7. Congress would have the power to directly legislate on all subjects necessary to comply with the treaty. This would constitute the most massive shift of power from the states to the federal government in American history.
8. A committee of 18 experts from other nations, sitting in Geneva, has the authority to issue official interpretations of the treaty which are entitled to binding weight in American courts and legislatures. This effectively transfers ultimate authority for all policies in this area to this foreign committee.
9. Under international law, the treaty overrides even our Constitution.
10. Reservations, declarations, or understandings intended to modify our duty to comply with this treaty will be void if they are determined to be inconsistent with the object and purpose of the treaty.

1. Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children.
2. A murderer aged 17 years, 11 months and 29 days at the time of his crime could no longer be sentenced to life in prison.
3. Children would have the ability to choose their own religion while parents would only have the authority to give their children advice about religion.
4. The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent's decision.
5. A child's "right to be heard" would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
6. According to existing interpretation, it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than it does on children's welfare.
7. Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure.
8. Christian schools that refuse to teach "alternative worldviews" and teach that Christianity is the only true religion "fly in the face of article 29" of the treaty.
9. Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
10. Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:51 AM 0 comments

What "full replacement value" really means!

Take a look at your personal belongings. If you’re getting ready to move household goods, you need to understand what "full replacement value" really means. It’s not how Webster’s would define it.

The Full Replacement Value Act of 2003, amended in 2007, set the terms of liability for carriers hired to coordinate household goods moves. It was phased in starting in October 2007, and by last March it was used for all moves, stateside and international.

"It is important that servicemembers are not misled by the term ‘full replacement value,’ " said Nannette Davis, a spokeswoman for the Navy’s Fleet and Industrial Supply Centers in San Diego.

"This does not necessarily mean that a member would receive the full replacement cost for every item destroyed, damaged or lost."

What it means is a carrier’s maximum liability is either $5,000 per shipment, or $4 per pound (up to $50,000) whichever is greater.

"That is the extent of the carrier’s liability," said Pat Leonard, director of claims and tort litigation for the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General. "This is not negotiable. It is set by the terms of the contract."

Just by comparison, $4 per pound is less than half of what many airlines pay for lost luggage. The industry standard is $9.07 per pound, up to $635 per lost bag, under the "conditions of carriage" used by most major U.S. airlines.

When Greg and Pascale Schreiner received a settlement check from the company that coordinated their move from Naples, Italy, to Arizona last year, they couldn’t believe how little they were paid. Most of the items in their shipment were gone when it arrived in Arizona. They received a check for $5,000 after putting in a claim for $18,000.

"I was so upset!" Pascale Schreiner said. "This wouldn’t even cover the clothes that were stolen. I felt like after being robbed, then I was spit on."

There is a way to recoup more money for lost, damaged or stolen items if servicemembers don’t feel they’ve received a fair settlement from a carrier. Cases can be transferred to a military claims office, but those claims are paid based on depreciation or repair cost — whichever is less.

The Schreiners are in the process of filing with a military claims office, as is Debbie Moors, who also lost most of her household goods shipment when she transferred to Naples.

"I doubt I’ll get a fair settlement from the government," said Moors. "I certainly didn’t get one from the shipping company."

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:12 AM 0 comments

Longer Dwell Times and Shorter Tours - Eventually

Deployment lengths will drop from 12 months to nine months in about two years, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, who also predicted a quicker increase in dwell time than originally projected.

Casey, who made his remarks during an April 15 visit to Fort Polk, La., pointed to the drawdown plan President Barack Obama announced on Feb. 27, which calls for an end to the combat mission in Iraq by August 2010 and a withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011.

Obama’s plan also includes keeping a transitional force in Iraq of up to 50,000 U.S. troops who would train and advise Iraqi forces.

“When that [plan] is executed, we will actually get better dwell rates in 2010 and 2011 than I thought we would originally,” Casey told local reporters from the Fort Polk area following a meeting with soldiers. A transcript of the media engagement was provided by Casey’s office to Army Times.

Nine months of boots on the ground, Casey said, would mean 24 to 27 months at home, compared with the 12 months most soldiers get now.

“We’re not going to get there, I don’t think, in the next two years, but shortly after that I think we’d be able to do something,” Casey said. “Right now, the volume of the deployments is just too fast, too much.”

By this summer, there will be four brigade combat teams in Afghanistan, double the number of combat troops that have been in that theater at any time since October 2001.

At the same time, 12 BCTs will be on duty in Iraq, for a total of 16 BCTs deployed for 12-month rotations.

Thousands of support troops, such as aviation, medical, engineer, logistics and military police, will also be needed in both theaters.

The Army, Casey has said, is “out of balance” and stretched.

Deployments were on a 12-month schedule until early 2007, when a surge of 30,000 troops was sent to Iraq to help quell a rise in violence and tours were extended to 15 months. The Army reverted to 12-month deployments beginning in August.

“We know 12 months is too long to sustain repeatedly, and we know that six months is too short for the operational environment,” he said, adding “so once we get demand down to about 10 brigade combat teams, we’re looking to revert to nine-month deployments,” Casey said.

Soldiers and their families, he said, have been under too much stress, and dwell time has tended to remain at 12 months or even less.

“If the drawdown gets executed as planned, we get to almost two-and-a-half years of dwell average between deployments for soldiers and families. That’s about where we need to be,” he said.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:03 AM 0 comments

US soldiers are heroes, not terrorists

The Department of Homeland Security recently declared that American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk of becoming domestic terrorists. While no other free country believes that US military personnel are terrorists, Washington is keeping a close eye on them.

The FBI recently launched an investigative program, along with the Department of Defense, called "Vigilant Eagle," to share information about Iraq and Afghanistan war vets who may have a propensity toward domestic terrorism.

The Homeland Security report is conspicuously light on evidence to back up its shocking claim. Lacking hard data, the report relies on words like "may," "potential," and "no specific information" to propel its argument. Its leading point seems to be that "skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat" somehow make vets likely to attack a country they risked their lives to defend.

So how does the report get from Point A to Point B? How does being a soldier put one on the path to becoming a domestic terrorist? The answer is clear and simple: It doesn't.

The war on terror has been going on for nearly eight years. Hundreds of thousands of troops have served in uniform since 9/11. Yet, the report finds not a single incident of an Iraq or Afghanistan war veteran becoming a domestic terrorist – not one.

The New York Times made similar allegations in a January 2008 article, in which it reported that 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans were charged with some form of homicide after returning from the war. But the devil was in the details. During that same period, the military discharged nearly 750,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, which means that only .016 percent of them went on to commit a homicide; 99.994 percent of them did not.

According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 26.5 of every 100,000 white males between 18 and 24 commit homicide per year. The statistic for Iraq and Afghanistan war vets is much lower. Only about 16 per 100,000 committed (or were charged with committing) homicide. In the end, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans appear to be significantly less likely than the average American male to commit a homicide – much less to become a terrorist.

We know of no incident where an Iraq or Afghanistan war veteran has become a domestic terrorist. In fact, the only terrorist incident involving an American soldier occurred in 2003, when Muslim Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar threw a live hand grenade into another tent where his fellow soldiers were sleeping. Two soldiers were killed; 14 others were injured.

The Homeland Security report failed to mention the incident involving Akbar. But it made much of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber. True, McVeigh served one tour in the military.

But he was also an agnostic computer techie, an obsessive gambler, and a former security guard. Why did the report single out his military service? In reality, the most meaningful contribution McVeigh ever made was as a soldier. He earned the Bronze Star during Operation Desert Storm and saved another soldier's life. We don't know why McVeigh became a terrorist, or whether his military service was even a contributing factor. In any event, using an isolated incident of one veteran's act from nearly two decades ago to attack and label today's war veterans is disingenuous and downright wrong.

Truth be told, veterans are more likely to become members of Congress than they are to become terrorists. In recent years, dozens of them hit the campaign trail and ran for Congress. Many were successful.

It is true that soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan face an uphill battle in civilian life. Many of them have served multiple tours in Iraq or Afghanistan fighting terrorists who refuse to follow the laws of war. Some soldiers have watched their friends die. Others come home with permanent disabilities, including post- traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Despite all this, they love their country.

So instead of flagging veterans as potential terrorists, the government should treat them as the heroes they are by ensuring that those wounded in combat or suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder receive the disability benefits they've earned.

Kyndra Rotunda is a professor of law at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and director of the AMVETs clinic. She is also a former Army JAG Officer (Major) and author of "Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials."

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 9:17 AM 1 comments

We connect women and families with certified women-friendly car dealerships. Dealers are rated by consumers like you writing reviews about actual experiences when Browsing, Purchasing or Servicing a vehicle.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:40 AM 0 comments

Iced Coffee Day

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:40 AM 0 comments

Pet Travel

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:45 AM 0 comments

Beret Drum Beating

They’re hot, sweaty and do nothing to keep the sun out of your eyes during a long formation.

Those are just a few of the reasons the Army should stop making soldiers wear wool berets outdoors, a group of delegates said Friday at the 8th Army’s annual Army Family Action Plan conference.

"Everyone is affected by the beret," said Sgt. Brad Stuckey, spokesman for a group that studied family-support issues. "This is an issue that your average soldier feels very strongly about."

The group recommended that soldiers be required to wear lighter, cotton-nylon blend patrol caps instead. They block the sun, absorb sweat and are somewhat water resistant, Stuckey said.

Soldiers had a list of complaints about the black beret. Among them:

It doesn’t match the Army Combat Uniform, which has no black in its pattern.
It has to be shaved, washed and dried on a lampshade or hat stand to hold its shape.
It can cost nearly twice as much as a patrol cap, and there’s no standard way to wear it.

"You have seven people wearing it seven different ways," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jon Butler.

He said people have complained about the beret since it became part of the uniform in 2001.

"It’s been brought up a lot, but it’s consistently shot down," he said. "If it’s an issue enough to keep being brought up, then there’s definitely something behind it."

8th Army commander Lt. Gen. Joseph Fil said at the end of the conference that all of the ideas presented were good ones.

"We’re going to have to think about the one on the beret," he said. "That’s a hard sell."

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 4:16 PM 0 comments

Deployment Stress Help

(Photo via Red Cross)

Military families know how difficult deployments are, and the American Red Cross wants to help them deal with the stress.

Continue reading »

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:09 AM 1 comments

“GI Film Festival”

GI Film Festival co-founders Brandon Millett and Major Laura Law-Millett announced today the line-up for the Third Annual festival showcasing the world’s best military films. The festival will run from May 11-17, 2009 at the prestigious Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC and other DC area venues, including the Canadian Embassy and the Russell Senate Caucus Room.

The award-winning GI Film Festival is the first and only film festival in the nation dedicated to honoring American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines through the medium of film. (Go here for more information.)

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 1:52 AM 0 comments

Please excuse my absence......

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:02 AM 0 comments

Of Shocking Note

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 4:15 AM 0 comments

Longer tours with family members in South Korea, and the incentive dollars that go with most of them, are now a reality.

The Pentagon approved the changes to the Joint Federal Travel Regulation on March 2 and put out an internal news release, but U.S. Forces Korea did not publicly announce them until April 7.

The new policy allows for 24- or 36-month accompanied duty tours at Pyeongtaek, Osan, Daegu, Chinhae and Seoul, and 24-month accompanied tours at Dongducheon and Uijeongbu.

Any Army or Air Force service member on one of the three-year tours will receive $300 monthly incentive pay from arrival in Korea until departure.

Those accepting a two-year accompanied tour in Dongducheon and Uijeongbu also will receive the incentive pay, but only if their family members live with them in Area I — generally, the area north of Seoul.

The tour options aim to build more continuity of service by steering troops toward longer tours in an increasingly Westernized country that an in-service poll has shown is less desirable than other long-tour overseas locations where troops can bring their families, officials say.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 12:05 AM 0 comments

Military scientists are learning how roadside bombs — the most common weapon used against U.S. troops in on the battlefield — harm the brain even when there is no other physical damage, according to research results released by the project’s lead scientist.

Researchers discovered a sliding scale of injury ranging from brain cell inflammation to cell damage or cell death, depending on the power of the blast, said Army Col. Geoffrey Ling, a neurologist at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Future research that builds on these findings may lead to ways battlefield medics can use a combination of helmet sensors and over-the-counter pain reliever to identify and treat mild cases of blast-caused brain injury, Ling said.

Scientists also found that brain damage from an improvised explosive device can be made worse for those riding inside an armored Humvee because materials in the vehicle magnify the blast wave effect, Ling said.

Up to 360,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may have suffered brain injuries, the Pentagon announced in March. Many of those injuries are from IED blasts, and about 90 percent are so-called mild cases, in which recovery is expected.

An estimated 45,000 to 90,000 victims, however, suffer persistent symptoms such as memory loss, lack of balance and problem-solving difficulties.

“This really sheds light where there was none,” said Army Col. Mike Jaffee, director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. “I think it’s extraordinarily important. It’s some of the first research and findings that help to illustrate ... the evolution of” traumatic brain injury.

During an 11-month period of research ending in December, scientists wrapped pigs in body armor and placed them in a Humvee simulator, in open fields and in a closed room and subjected them to varying degrees of explosions at a research laboratory in a location researchers declined to disclose. Pigs were used because their brains are structured much like the human brain, Ling said. Rats also were part of the study that has cost about $10 million so far.

Some key preliminary findings from the studies:

• A blast can injure the brain even without shrapnel or a victim being knocked down. The power of the explosion in the first fraction of a second — known as the primary blast effect — can damage or destroy brain cells in ways conventional imaging devices cannot see.

• The brain can tolerate low levels of blast, measured in pounds per square inch. At a certain pressure level that Ling would not disclose, brain cells become inflamed. At higher levels, cell death begins, Ling said.

• Brain cell inflammation occurs in mild TBI cases, he said. It caused balance and coordination problems in pigs, but healed in hours or weeks depending on the blast severity, Ling said. “It’s probably what a lot of the guys [in combat] are getting,” Ling said. “Shaken up a little bit, but they recover quickly. No surprise. That’s the natural order of the disease.”

• In the most severe of these mild cases, the inflammation can damage areas of the brain that have been associated with the later onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, Ling said. No connection between the blasts and these later diseases has been proved, he cautioned.

• Research will continue to determine whether basic over-the-counter drugs such as Motrin can help reduce the inflammation, Ling said, which could help treat troops suffering mild TBI on the battlefield. “That would be awesome,” he said.

• As scientists learn more about how much of a blast can cause brain cell inflammation or worse, they may use helmet sensors to alert medics when a service member needs a break from combat to heal a mild brain injury, Ling said. That would help scientists diagnose or identify the soldiers who are most at risk, he said.

• Unlike a blow to the head, where damage occurs at the point of impact, blast damage radiates across the brain, although it’s heaviest on the side facing the explosion, Ling said.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 12:01 AM 0 comments

No More one-price-fits-all-songs

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:09 PM 1 comments

Fund Our Troops

This year, Russia will increase its defense spending by 25% and China will increase theirs by 15%. North Korea is preparing another missile launch and Iran is moving closer to nuclear capability.

This year, America will increase our military presence in Afghanistan, begin the slow process of drawing down our troops in Iraq, continue missions off the Horn of Africa and in the Philippines, and possibly begin deploying troops to the Mexican border. Now is not the time for drastic cuts in defense spending.

America’s military families will not stand by and allow their government to provide tens of millions for dog parks, water taxis and studies about pig odor while failing to adequately fund our troops when they need it most.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 3:14 PM 0 comments

Are you offended?

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 9:00 AM 0 comments

Nothin' Could Be Finer...

Even though I was out of town for much of the tournament, I always made sure that I was near a tv at game time. I love me some college hoops!

Photo via Getty Images.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:15 AM 0 comments

Take off in LA Spanish

Take Off In Latin American Spanish makes learning or brushing up on your Latin American Spanish quick, easy, and fun. Follow an integrated course including activities and dialogues with native speakers so you can feel confident in day-to-day conversation. The course offers expert help when you are travelling with a handy phrase book and mp3 audio download for practice while on the move.

This complete language learning kit contains everything you need to speak, read, write and understand Latin American Spanish, and gives you flexibility when learning. The pack includes a clear, easy-to-use coursebook, full mp3 audio available to download, 5 audio CDs, including an extra practice CD, a handy travel dictionary and phrasebook, and online activities and dialogues to support you as you pick up your new language.

The Oxford First Words books give your child a head start in learning another language. Each takes the reader on a picture-book journey through a day, cleverly interweaving lots of familiar settings and cute little dinosaurs. There is a bird's eye view of first thing in the morning at home, the journey to school and inside the classroom, a birthday party and even a trip to the seaside. Over 400 foreign words and their English translations are given in illustrated color bands on the side of each page. There is also supplementary material at the back--a picture/word matching game, counting the ladybirds up to twenty, shapes both flat and three-dimensional, opposites, the weather, time, plus a comprehensive index. The fun illustrations make this an adorable first bilingual word book.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 11:24 AM 0 comments

Month of the Military Child

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 10:08 AM 0 comments

PCS Season Coming Soon

Receiving PCS orders can bring mixed feelings. Find out what steps you can take and what resources are available to keep your transition smooth. Register for our April 16th webinar.

Whether you’re relocating, deploying, or just thinking about adopting a cat or dog, military life brings special challenge. We can help.

Choosing and Providing for a Pet When You’re in the Military

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:56 AM 0 comments

What if someone told you that the way you eat could whittle your waistline? Sure, you'd think. Give up carbs and rely on rabbit food. Not true! I'm happy to tell you that there are other, yummier ways to go. Certain foods and styles of eating can indeed help flatten your belly (and everywhere else, for that matter). Try these tips and you'll uncover an amazing middle in no time.

Gimme a C: I love pink grapefruit and that's a good thing, since research has found that foods that are naturally rich in vitamin C—think citrus fruit, cantaloupe and red peppers—can help reduce fat absorption. In fact, skip it and you may see your middle expand, since diets low in vitamin C have been linked to bigger waistlines. Meet your daily goal of 75 milligrams by snacking on an orange or a cup of strawberries. See how these small changes can add up to big results.

Tea up: Women with the highest consumption of catechins, the plant-based antioxidants in tea that may boost fat burn, put on fewer pounds over 14 years than those who drank less tea, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals. Try to choose green or white varieties, which contain the most catechins. Learn how to maximize the benefits of tea and other superfoods.

Peel it off: Reach for a banana and you'll banish bloat faster than you can say Buddha belly. The fruit contains 422 mg of potassium, which controls the amount of puff-producing sodium in your system. Toss a banana in your bag for a fabulous ab-flattening snack. Try our Flat Abs Fast plan for more bloat-reducing tips and tricks.

Go low: Consuming just one meal of low-glycemic-index foods, those that your body digests slowly, can help you feel fuller all day so you're less likely to pack your tummy with treats, a study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition reports. Low-GI foods include oatmeal and vegetables (sorry, not potatoes), as well as some fruit like grapefruit and blueberries. Oatmeal Meatballs are a tasty way to curb cravings.

Stroll away your sweet craving: Loco for cocoa? Me, too. A little dark chocolate is fine, but if you've already hit your limit, try lacing up your sneakers! Chocolate lovers who walked for 15 minutes reported reduced hankerings during the walk and even afterward, according to a study in the journal Appetite.

Ditch high-fructose corn syrup: Scan labels and you're likely to see high-fructose corn syrup on many ingredient lists...even on things like tomato sauce! When you do, put down that jar and look for something else. Why? High-fructose corn syrup can cause a surge in your blood sugar, and some research suggests it messes up your hunger and satiety signals, like leptin, leaving you less satisfied and causing you to eat more. When leptin responses fail, it's tougher to control appetite. The result: Extra calories get deposited as fat. To prevent this, trade packaged foods with high-fructose corn syrup for ones with healthy fats and fiber—think veggies, hummus, nuts or sunflower seeds.

Snap your snack: Taking a photo of your plateful of food can keep you slim. People who took pictures of everything they ate for five days reported consuming fewer snacks and being less likely to go back for seconds than during a week-long period in which they kept a written food diary, a study from the University of Wisconsin at Madison finds. Try capturing your meals for a week to help eyeball portion sizes as well as color variety—aim for more green, less white (unless it's cauliflower). See an example of this, and get ideas for healthy, photo-worthy meals of your own, at Eat Like Me.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:25 AM 0 comments