Broadside Blog - Military Times

Broadside of the Week – May 21, 2012

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More cool videos to get you pumped for the weekend

The sound of freedom. All three videos were sent or posted by Navy veterans.

Sent to me by Scott…

Picked this up from Denny.

This from Fred. If you have ever served on a carrier you have seen this hundreds of times…but not from this perspective.

USO – From the Battlefield to the Community

It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of the USO.

As a cartoonist I have traveled with the USO to military hospitals and clinics around the world, visiting and drawing with wounded and injured troops. The USO has also sent many of us to forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to let the troops know they are appreciated (we also make them smile).

About two years ago, the USO began a new initiative that falls under the title “Warrior and Family Care Program.” Its mantra is that the USO will be there to support those who are wounded and injured “from the battlefield to the community.” When a Soldier is wounded, he or she is flown as quickly as possible to Germany. When he arrives, the USO is there. Right there, actually, co-located with the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility (called the CASF) at Ramstein Air Force Base. They are also there at Landstuhl if longer term care is necessary. The new Warrior Center is a 4000 square foot facility that allows the wounded and their families a chance to kick back in comfort.

When he arrives in the United States, the USO has representatives at all the major military hospitals around the country and is in the process of building two Warrior Centers at Walter Reed and Ft. Belvoir.

If the military member is destined to leave the military, the USO partners with “best in class” organizations around the country to be there – shoulder to shoulder – throughout the journey. They help with education, job training and the very important (and often overlooked) assimilation back into the community.

It is a daunting challenge, but one the USO takes very seriously.

From the battlefield to the community. Until they all come home.

The USO is our hero of the week.

Department of Redundancy Department

I saw a guy wearing a tee-shirt the other day. Printed on it was, “Department of Redundancy Department.”

That got me to thinking. What other organizations need tee-shirts?

How about…

Assistant secretary to the undersecretary to the Vice Commander of manpower efficiency.

Office of Paperwork Reduction (fill out in triplicate)

Department of Corretcions

Eternal Revenue Service: We Never Go Away

Quadragon (It’s Been A Tough Budget Year)

Navy Medicine: The Original Special Operations Command

Supply Corps: When you care enough to spend the very least

Navy Weather: Always Right, Half The Time

Got some good ones? Post them here or on the Broadside Facebook page.

For now, I’ll be wearing this on my shirt:

Cartoonist – The Best Job In The World
(once you get past the whole “make a living” thing)

(Updated)

Greenside of the Week – May 15, 2012

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Broadside of the Week – May 14, 2012

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Virtual Vietnam Wall

Sent to me by Cliff, an Army and Vietnam War veteran. This is a great way to see the Wall and read the stories of the thousands of Americans who gave their lives serving their country. As the country prepares to celebrate our Vietnam War veterans over the next several months, the site is even more appropriate (click on the image).

Giving Back – Bob Hoover

Dr. Bob Hoover

Society tends to forget that the reason many of us join the military is because we have a desire to give back, to serve. This service ethos runs deep in the heart of those in uniform, and it doesn’t go away when we return to our communities.

The Wyakin Warriors, as part of their monthly professional development seminar, heard from the man who probably knows more about philanthropy than anyone in the state of Idaho. His name is Bob Hoover, President and CEO of the Idaho Community Foundation.

ADM Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, traveled around the country to encourage communities to participate in the effort to assist veterans returning home. Community foundations, in particular, were singled out as pivotal organizations within the communities who are able to orchestrate the participation by nonprofits wanting to get involved. In the state of Idaho, Bob Hoover runs just that sort of organization.

Dr. Hoover’s presentation, though, did not concentrate on all the services available to veterans. Instead, he talked to the severely wounded and injured veterans in the Wyakin Warrior program about giving back.

That’s right. Giving back.

The news is full of stories about charities and organization who provide services to veterans, but they often overlook the other side of the coin – the service ethos. A setback, an injury, a devastating combat wound…doesn’t change the reason veterans joined in the first place. They may not be in uniform, but they still want to serve their country. As part of the Wyakin Warrior program, each student veteran selects and completes a worthy service project aimed at giving back to someone who needs help.

Bob told them how. He said to choose a project that you are comfortable with – one that you know something about. Scope the plan so that it can be defined (a beginning and an end) and it can be completed in a given time frame. He didn’t talk about “if”. He talked about “when”. There was never a question about whether or not they would restart their service, only about how to do it, and where to get assistance along the way.

Bob Hoover gets it. I think CJCS knew what he was talking about.

Bob Hoover is our hero of the week.

Greenside of the Week – May 9, 2012

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Why I love America

You have probably received the emails that tell of inspiring events that happen on a plane. I love to read them, but often wonder if they are real.

I don’t wonder any more.

Just a couple of days ago, on a flight from DC to Chicago, the flight attendant announced that we had a “special passenger” on the plane. He was a wounded Marine heading out to join his comrades for a Marine Corps Ball in Las Vegas (they had been deployed during the actual birthday in November). While we had been boarding, the flight crew had been pooling its money and wanted to give him and his wife $300 dollars to spend while they were there.

As the flight continued, I watched the flight attendants flitter up to the couple every couple of minutes to hand over more cash. By the time we were over Ohio the passengers had raised $500 more.

By the time we landed it had increased to over a thousand.

Then the same flight attendant read a well-written and gracious note from the Marine, expressing his gratitude and telling everyone how much the gesture meant to him and his wife. As we deplaned, there were a lot of tears and a lot of smiles from the people on board.

This just confirms what we already know. There are a lot of good people out there.

In America.