This Memorial Day We Should Also Remember Our Current Military Wounded

I remember in junior high, as part of the percussion section of the Larsen Junior High marching band, arriving at the cemetery in Elgin, Illinois, at the conclusion of the Memorial Day parade. In those long-ago days I knew that my father and the rest of his generation had served in World War II.

By the time I got to Michigan State University the protests against the Vietnam War were in full bloom almost everywhere except at MSU, a college that firmly supported its ROTC program. And what did I do? I fell in love with one of those ROTC cadets and married him immediately after accelerating my college graduation date.

In those ironies of life, in May of 1970 I drove with my husband to Ft. Knox, Kentucky, for him to report to Armor Officers Basic the same week that the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four college students protesting against President Nixon’s incursion into Cambodia.

Thirty-eight years later I self-published the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT based on my first nine weeks as a new Mrs. Lieutenant. And the publication of that novel launched me into co-founding the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing as well as becoming involved online with numerous military-support projects.

Through one of my activities Dan Stepel, a U.S. Marine veteran, found me. And what developed was my commitment to help promote his compelling project – the PTSD Walk Across America. Dan is going to walk 12,000 miles through all 50 states to raise awareness of and funds for the active-duty military personnel and the veterans who need help with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is sometimes called “the silent wound” or “the invisible wound.”

Now those of you who read the “Mrs. Lieutenant” blog regularly know that I often write about PTSD. And for anyone who wants to know more about the symptoms of PTSD – see the info on my site www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com

Today, though, in honor of our military men and women past and present, I want to share with you a guest post from Dan about the Memorial Day in 1980 he spent in Marine boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.

And this Memorial Day please visit the Facebook page of the PTSD Walk Across America at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk and show your support by clicking on the page’s “like” button. You can also follow news of the walk on Twitter at @PTSDWalk.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

Memorial Day 1980 – Marine Boot Camp at Parris Island

Here’s another guest post from U.S. Marine veteran Dan Stepel:

It was Memorial Day 1980. I was a little more than half way through boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. We were just about to hit the rack for a welcomed night’s sleep when the senior drill instructor came busting into the squad bay.

This was never a sign that anything enjoyable was about to happen, and we all stood a bit on guard and hoped that it was not me who had once again screwed the pooch.

Our senior DI fit every image you would ever have of the gravelly voice-in-your-face recruit’s nightmare. He was in his late 30’s and had done two tours of duty in Vietnam. Now he was in the middle of the room standing there holding a bag.

He spoke a few words about Memorial Day and how Jody [the civilian at home] had a real nice time taking our place at the family cookout and was fulfilling our wife’s or girlfriend’s needs in our absence. Then the tone of his voice changed.

“However these heart-warming Kodak memories are not free. Our freedom comes at a price.”

He reached into the bag and withdrew a grimy old military shirt that looked like it had not been washed in 10 years. The shirt was stained with dried blood from the front, over the shoulder, and on the back. It was pretty clear that this shirt was worn by someone carrying a wounded Marine off the battlefield.

He held the shirt up. “This is American blood. This is the price of freedom.” He paused for a brief second as if he were recalling something painful. He folded the shirt back into the bag and walked to the door ...

And now 30 years later on September 11, 2010, I'm planning to start walking 12,000 miles through 50 states for PTSD Walk Across America to raise awareness of and funds for active-duty military personnel and veterans suffering from PTSD.

Keep up-to-date with my project at the walk's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

Surgeon General of the U.S. Army Speaks About PTSD

This is the beginning of the edited transcript of the interview of Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the surgeon general of the U.S. Army, conducted on March 15, 2010:

Interviewer: The RAND [Corp.] report in 2008 cited more than 300,000 soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan either suffering from PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] or major depression. [Was] the military or the Army really ready for the mental health crisis that was going to come out of Iraq and Afghanistan?

Lt. Gen. Schoomaker: I can't speak to whether we were ready or not. I think we knew from prior wars that combat and deployment is associated with post-traumatic stress reactions. I think the magnitude of those reactions -- that is, the number of soldiers that would experience them -- has only really been fully explicated by some of the studies that we've conducted over the last six years or so.

We conduct on an annual basis now a study known as the Mental Health Advisory Team, or MHAT studies. They started early in the war, and they've continued on in part because they've given us such good information about the effects on the behavioral health and the mental health of our soldiers, and indirectly their families.

And that has shown us that, in fact, anywhere from 15 to 30 percent of a unit returning, depending upon the intensity of combat and the degree of austerity of the deployment, may be associated with at least transient post-traumatic stress reactions.

Read the entire transcript now.

Then visit the PTSD Walk Across America Facebook page and read the comments there. They indicate how serious a mental health issue PTSD is as well as the enthusiastic response to the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America to raise awareness of and funds for PTSD help for active-duty military personnel and veterans.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

U.S. Marine Veteran Dan Stepel Answers Why He Will Walk 12,000 Miles to Spotlight PTSD

Here is a guest post from U.S. Marine veteran Dan Stepel:

PTSD Walk Across America -- You Are Not Alone: A 12,000-mile journey covering all 50 states to increase awareness of and raise funds for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) help for active-duty military personnel and veterans.

Mission of the Walk:

• To let those active-duty military personnel and veterans dealing with PTSD know that they are not alone and that assistance is available to help them to deal with the day-to-day issues that are associated with the invisible wound.

• To raise awareness among the general population of the growing problem of PTSD with the recently returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

• To reduce the stigma attached to the invisible wound.

• To raise money to fund programs that will best fit the special needs of active-duty military personnel and veterans with PTSD.

My name is Dan Stepel. I am a 47-year-old U.S. Marine veteran. On September 11, 2010, I will start a walk of 12,000 miles covering all 50 states to raise awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -- sometimes called the “invisible wound.”

When I first started to formulate this idea I was asked by friends WHY? Why would you put your life on hold for two years? You have a business and a wife. Why do this?

The answer came to me in a moment of perfect clarity:

Because this is what we veterans do!

Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not new. My great-great-great-grandfather Henry Odom fought at Gettysburg among many other Civil War battles. Several years after the war he applied for a pension and was granted the sum of $108 a year due to his “ongoing nervous condition.”

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan collectively have been going on now for almost nine years. That is longer than the U.S. involvement in both world wars combined. What will be the long-term effect of this prolonged exposure to combat?

On the morning of April 18, 2010, Jesse Charles Huff walked up to the Veterans Affairs Department’s Medical Center wearing U.S. Army fatigues and battling pain from his Iraq war wounds and a recent bout with depression. This was not Jesse’s first visit to the VA. He had been to this very hospital several times before but was sent home with only strong pain killers. This time he was determined to get some relief. Jesse put a military-style rifle to his head and pulled the trigger. He fell dead near the foot of a Civil War statue, his blood covering portions of the front steps. Jesse Charles Huff was 27 years old.

Each day 18 veterans commit suicide. That is an average of 126 veterans per week -- 6,552 veterans per year -- who are not getting the help they need. The sad part is that if something is not done these numbers will be going up.

The Idea for the Walk:

A 12,000 mile walk across the United States making at least one stop in all 50 states.

To go where I will do the most good and generate the most attention. To let those who are suffering from PTSD know that they are not alone and that help is out there.

Funds raised during this two-year event will go to training and providing more PTSD counsellors to meet the ever-rising demand and for other PTSD-related services.

Along with the walk there is to be a well-planned and well-coordinated public relations campaign. This will ensure that people will know I am coming well in advance of my arrival.

The walk’s Facebook page is at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk and the Twitter account is http://twitter.com/PTSDWalk.

The Campaign:

I am calling the walk a “campaign” because I have modelled it after a presidential campaign.

We will enlist supporters throughout the country to handle their own local areas. They will be tasked to spread the word and to do the advance work to ensure that we get the most out of the local activities. For example, if there is to be a county fair in Johnson County at the time I’ll be walking through there, I will make sure I am at the fair.

I envision that most of these supporters will come from the local VFWs. There is really a tremendous amount of things that can be put together by people with expert local knowledge.

Sponsorships:

Rather than just solicit donations from companies we have taken another approach. We have created a value-added proposition that will both maximize the benefits sponsors receive by attaching their company brand to this current and most noble of causes while at the same time allowing the sponsor the flexibility of reaching a national audience as well as specifically targeted regions and areas of development.

We will also add a sponsor’s brand to our full-out social media campaign, for which you will have your own dedicated page on the walk’s website. We anticipate this to be a very high traffic site as interest in the walk grows.

From your own sponsorship page there will be opportunities to offer coupons and to announce special promotional events that will coincide with my arrival at your venue. These arrivals will be met with local media and a great deal of local interest.

Value-Added Social Media Marketing Component for PTSD Walk Across America:

In order to facilitate the largest possible media exposure for this project, PTSD awareness, and the sponsors of the project, there will be a social media marketing component during the entire period of the walk:

All sponsorship levels (silver, gold and platinum) along with project fund recipients will receive:

• An entire page on the project website (this page can include special offers)
• Written and video material on utilizing social media to promote the project and the sponsor’s role
• Twice-monthly group one-hour webinars to learn about and implement social media marketing for the project
• Password-protected website forum to share social media marketing plans and strategies in support of this project

Gold-level and platinum-level sponsors will also receive:

• A monthly group one-hour webinar for advanced social media strategies focusing on sponsor’s products and services in conjunction with this project
Platinum-level sponsors will also receive:
• An individual monthly one-hour coaching session to develop value-added social media marketing strategies for the sponsor

Email Dan at dstepel@ngenter.com if you are interested in being a sponsor of the project. And be sure to join the Facebook PTSD Walk page at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her project www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com offers information on recognizing PTSD symptoms. Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Military Reaching Out to Active-Duty Personnel and Veterans Suffering From PTSD

On May 20th the Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable presented an online panel concerning PTSD help for active-duty military personnel and veterans. The roundtable was coordinated by the Defense Centers of Excellence and the three panel members were:

Commander Rene Campos, deputy director, Government Relations, Military Officers Association of America

Staff Sergeant Meg Krause, U.S. Army Reserve, Real Warriors Campaign volunteer

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Robinson, senior executive for Psychological Health, Defense Centers of Excellence.

What came out of this online panel discussion were two major problems hindering getting help with PTSD:

1) Active-duty military personnel and veterans do not always know about the options out there to help them.

2) Active-duty military personnel especially are often afraid to seek help because of fears how this might affect their military career.

All the panel participants repeatedly said that seeking help would NOT affect a person’s military career.

The panel also provided these important websites for military personnel and veterans seeking help with PTSD: www.dcoe.health.mil and www.realwarriors.net

Another military program for active duty personnel is the In Transition program, which assigns a coach who is a licensed mental health clinician. The telephone number to get help is 1-800-424-7877.

The mission of the DCoE is: “DCoE assesses, validates, oversees and facilitates prevention, resilience, identification, treatment, outreach, rehabilitation, and reintegration programs for psychological health and traumatic brain injury to ensure the Department of Defense meets the needs of the nation's military communities, warriors and families.”

And: “The Real Warriors Campaign is an initiative launched by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) to promote the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration of returning service members, veterans and their families.

And if you or anyone you know may be suffering from PTSD, please seek help now. (If you are not sure what are the symptoms of PTSD, see http://www.insupportofourtroops.com/ptsd-info/)

FYI -- Join the Facebook page of PTSD Walk Across America at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk and read my blog post about this upcoming project.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Avatar Helps With Military-Related PTSD

The May 17th FastCompany.com article "Avatar Teaches Social Workers How to Talk With Iraq and Afghanistan Vets" by Lydia Dishman describes how avatars are being used to help treat PTSD. The article begins:

Lieutenant Rocco’s recently returned from deployment in Iraq and he’s having trouble acclimating. He sits near the edge of a sofa in his social worker’s office, still dressed in fatigues, and sporting a buzz cut.

Even though he says he’s okay, he admits to getting flack from his boss about his lack of productivity and that he’s arguing with his wife. "There are things I don’t want to talk about with her. Things I can’t get out of my head," he says.

The more you listen in on Lieutenant Rocco’s session, the easier it becomes to forget the slightly odd cadences of his speech and the blocky outlines of his clothing which point out that the Lieutenant isn’t a real person.

He’s a digital avatar designed to be a training tool as part of University of Southern California School of Social Work’s curriculum for the Master of Social Work degree with a Sub-concentration in Military Social Work. A virtual patient like Lieutenant Rocco teaches prospective counselors how to deal with soldiers returning from duty where they may have witnessed life-altering atrocities.

Read the entire Fast Company article now. Then read about the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America to raise awareness of and funds for active-duty military personnel and veterans with PTSD.

And check out the first endorsement for the PTSD-related documentary "Striking a Chord."
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Announcing PTSD Walk Across America to Help Active-Duty Military Personnel and Veterans

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I've often written about PTSD and how important it is to get help for people suffering from the symptoms.

Now Dan Stepel, a U.S. Marine veteran, is planning to walk 12,000 miles across all 50 states to raise awareness of and funds for helping active-duty military personnel and veterans with PTSD.

Here's what you can do to help right now:

1. If you are on Twitter, follow the walk at http://twitter.com/PTSDWalk and encourage your own followers on Twitter to follow @PTSDWalk (add #sot and #military to your tweets).

2. "Like" the PTSD Walk Facebook page -- it's currently at http://budurl.com/PTSDWalk -- and once there are 25 people who "like" the page we will be able to get a customized Facebook page URL. And you can click on the "share" button on the left-hand side of the page and send it through your Facebook profile with a request for other people to "like" the page. (FYI -- "Like a page" has replaced "fan a page" on Facebook.)

3. Think of who you know -- large corporations, small companies, sole proprietors -- who might like to be a sponsor of the walk. (This is separate from individual donations we'll be collecting.) These are sponsors who want to take advantage of publicity for what is envisioned as a year-long project.

(Dan will be stopping for events in various places. We hope he'll be in DC for a Veterans Day event.)

4. Think of other ways you can help. Do you manufacture walking shoes? Dan is going to need lots of those. Sunscreen? Nutrition bars?

You can contact Dan at danstepel@gmail.com with any ideas or you can contact possible sponsors yourself and ask them to contact Dan.

I'll be keeping you posted here as plans develop further. And, for the possible sake of someone you love, read about the symptoms of PTSD at www.insupportofourtroops.com/ptsd-info/
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

U.S. Army Offers Blogging for Soldiers to Tell Their Own Stories

I’ve just read the transcript of a Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable in which Lieutenant General Benjamin Freakley, Commander of the U.S. Army Accessions Command, talks about social media as an outreach recruiting mechanism.

I’m very impressed by the army’s efforts, especially the blog www.armystrongstories.com/ that is available for any soldier to write about his or her own story. (The Twitter feed is http://twitter.com/armystories )

The army is allowing soldiers to tell both the good and the bad, which enables someone considering joining the army to have more realistic expectations than might be learned from an army recruiter.

Watch the brief video above of General Freakley explaining this blogging site – and then check out the stories themselves at www.armystrongstories.com/
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Technical Skills of Women Needed on Submarines

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Barry Bruner, Commander Submarine Group Ten and lead for the Task Force for Women in Submarines, spoke to an online Blogger’s Roundtable on which I had the privilege to participate.

Admiral Bruner very articulately stated the case for women on submarines. And as a long-time feminist I was surprised to learn it has nothing to do with equality and everything to do with our submarine service having access to a top quality pool of future submariners.

He pointed out that over the last 40 years the percentage of men and women graduating from college with technical degrees has dramatically shifted. “Today women are actually gaining more technical degrees than men are. So we really need to open up the talent pool.”

The Navy has gone through the formal process required to make a policy change and female officer candidates are now entering the program. They will first serve on subs in late 2011 or early 2012. (For now only female officers will be assigned to subs.)

“There’ll be two female trained nuclear officers on each of the eight crews, and additional there’ll be a more senior supply officer on those crews that will serve both as a mentor for those new ensigns, the females, but she’ll also serve as the mentor to the male officers in the wardroom too.”

During the roundtable Admiral Bruner shared how he had presented the policy change to the wives of the current submariners. In a follow-up question that I emailed asking about how the submarines themselves have responded to the policy change, the admiral replied:

"When the male submarine officers are explained why the Navy is opening the aperture for female officers to serve aboard submarines, they understand the need for mission readiness and support the change. With any change, it will be a challenge, but these officers are true professionals and I believe that this change is the right thing for our submarine force.

“By nature, our submarine junior officers are very competitive and although females do not currently serve aboard submarines, the enthusiasm and performance of these new female submarine officers will bring a healthy competition to the environment."

Admiral Bruner stressed how carefully this step is being implemented. But he also stressed the need.

“What we see is that 10 or 15 or 20 years from now, if we don’t do something, we may have a tough time being able to man our submarines with the top quality people that we need. So I think it’s the submarine force leadership trying to get ahead of the problem.”

I personally applaud the forward-thinking of the submarine force leadership in being willing to move forward with opening the submarine service to capable females. And I am also pleased by the admiral’s appreciation of those of us participating on the roundtable:

“The only way we’re going to get out to the public and to people that seem to care that we are doing the right thing, that we are taking the right measures and we’re doing this in a very deliberate and careful fashion is through you – through folks that put it on their blogs and talk about it in the press and on TV.”

I hope all the readers of this blog will support this submarine service initiative to ensure our country has access to top quality people – men and women.

FYI – And if you want to read about how fiction precedes fact, see my website www.MollieSanders.com
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Forty Years After the Kent State Shootings During the Vietnam War

The May 6th Wall Street Journal article "Kandahar Deployments Augur Key Fight in Afghan War" by Yochi J. Dreazen began:

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.—The Army brigade that will lead the coming U.S.-led offensive in Kandahar began deploying to Afghanistan this week, signaling the final preparations for what is expected to be a pivotal battle of the Afghan war.

Hundreds of soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team — a unit that parachuted into Normandy on D-Day — are en route to bases just north of Kandahar, the Taliban's home.

The rest of the brigade's roughly 3,200 soldiers will deploy in waves over the summer, suggesting that a large-scale offensive once thought to kick off this month won't start until June at the earliest.

This story appeared two days after the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings that occurred during the Vietnam War.

In brief, President Nixon widened the Vietnam War on April 30, 1970, when he announced an incursion into Cambodia. Protests broke out, and at Kent State University poorly trained Ohio National Guard fired on and killed protesting students and uninvolved passersby.

While it is never pleasant to send men and women off to war, there is a major difference between then and now -- there's no draft today. The U.S. has an all-voluntary armed forces.

But although the draft was widely unpopular, the men and women who served then deserved as much appreciation as we owe the men and women deploying now. We shouldn't forget history and we shouldn't overlook our obligations to our veterans and our active-duty military personnel.

To that end, stay tuned for information on an upcoming project to dramatically raise the awareness among Americans about PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Upcoming PBS National Memorial Day Concert

Learn more now about this concert airing Sunday, May 30, from 8-9:30 p.m. Eastern (check local listings).
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Journalist Andrew Lubin Requesting Funds to Tavel to Afghanistan for Embed

Here's a guest post from Andrew Lubin (above with an Afghan soldier):

I'm looking to raise money to fund a trip (my 5th) to Afghanistan. I'm an author, journalist, and independent foreign correspondent who writes on current events, which in the last few years has brought me to Beirut, Iraq (4 times), GTMO, Afghanistan (4 times), and I'm just back from Haiti.

I'm already accepted to embed with the 1st MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force) Fwd to write a "boots-on-the-ground" series about our young Marines, and I'll be pushed out into Helmand-Nimroz-Farah Provinces.

This is a critical time in the war. President Obama has tripled American troop strength, most of it Marine, and the troops are fighting with and training Afghan forces as well as dealing with Afghan leaders. It's important to chronicle and document how our troops are performing.

With my prior embed experience, I'll be out on the front lines as our Marines deal with Taliban, locals, and Afghan government officials. My writing is totally non-political. I'll be writing two to three stories weekly, plus gathering info for a piece on U.S. military counterinsurgency tactics.

Funds are needed for my round-trip airfare and miscellaneous expenses in Afghanistan.

Length of the embed is approximately six weeks -- mid-May through the end of June. I already own my own flak, kevlar, boondockers, and other equipment. My work's been picked up by such prestigious magazines as Jane's Intelligence Review, Leatherneck Magazine, Proceedings, and The Gazette.

But the first step is getting there, and corporate and other sponsorship has dried up. I need your help in traveling to Afghanistan in order to document what our brave young men and women are doing!

http://kck.st/aD3l1D

Please click on the above link to contribute! And feel welcome to email me with any questions or comments you might have at ajlubin@earthlink.net

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.