MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL

Wall Street Journal Reports Army Suicides Level Off

2012-01-20T10:08:00.000-08:00

According to the news blurb "Army Suicides Level Off After Years of Surging" by Julian E. Barnes in the January 20th Wall Street Journal:

The Army believes it has halted the rise of suicide in its ranks, saying that improved treatment of brain injuries and post-traumatic stress has helped stem years of increase. But officials said Thursday that other problems tied to post-traumatic stress, such as sexual assault and domestic violence, continue to rise.

As I have often written about PTSD, it can occur long after the incident or incidents that cause it. Plus the symptoms of PTSD may not be recognized by the sufferer or his or her family members.

This is why it is so important to know about the symptoms so that help can be sought at the earliest opportunity.

To learn about PTSD, read this information now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which is now WBENC certified. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

SPCA International Works for Evacuation of the “Baghdad Pups”: No Buddy Gets Left Behind

2012-01-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

Guest post by Susan K. Becker -- see info at end of post:

Readers of the "Mrs. Lieutenant" blog may be interested in the efforts of SPCA International to evacuate the canine comrades of U. S. troops now that the military assignment is done.

I began supporting this initiative last fall in response to stories about the harrowing logistical problems involved in evacuating the dogs of troops who may be geographically separated from their pets at departure (read the story of Sadie at http://bit.ly/yhnaZ0).

This work, which benefits soldiers as well as dogs, continues urgently, as described in SPCA’s January 12th mailing:

“…Over 16,000 Americans and their animals still remain in Iraq working to train Iraq security forces … and the FBI and CIA also have a continued presence there. And, as you know already, many U.S. troops were forced to leave their animals behind.

SPCA International is committed to helping all Americans in Iraq get their animals to safe, loving homes in the U.S. We will not stop until all these patriot pets are safe….”

Learn more and view pictures of soldiers and their pups at http://bit.ly/z3WXad

Animal lover Susan K. Becker provides consulting and coaching in marketing communication and presentations for financial and professional services firms at Manhattan-based Becker Consulting Services. Follow her on Twitter @SKBeckerCoach and view her work at www.slideshare.net/SusanKBecker

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Wall Street Journal: Happy Hanukkah to Marines and Marines Still Deployed on Christmas

2011-12-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

The Wall Street Journal had two poignant stories this week about Marines.

The first one, on December 20th, titled "Happy Hanukkah, Marines! Jewish Leathernecks Light the Way," by William McGurn begins:

When Jews begin their Hanukkah celebrations this week, they will commemorate a 2,200-year old revolt led by Judah Maccabee against a Greek empire attempting to crush the Jewish faith. For some, the holiday holds an added resonance, linking their military service to one of the greatest Jewish warriors of all time.

These are the Jews of the United States Marine Corps.

In the popular mind, a Jewish Marine may sound exotic. In fact, Jews have their own chapters in the history of the Corps. In his book "Semper Chai!" Howard J. Leavitt explains the compatibility with a refreshing lack of nuance: "[M]any Jews were—and are—Marines, and the basic and lofty precepts and spiritual underpinnings of the United States, the U.S. Marine Corps and Judaism are one and the same, without any differences or conflict."

The second article, on December 24th, titled "Military Families Soldier On: Christmas Homecomings From Iraq Touch a Nerve for Kin of Troops in Afghanistan," by Tamara Audi begins:

This Christmas, Donna Jones is doing her best to avoid heartwarming scenes of military homecomings. It's not easy: Thousands of troops are reuniting with their families in a blur of on-camera kisses, and she works on a military base.

"There are all these holiday homecomings, and I'm happy that people get to see their loved ones. I just can't watch," Mrs. Jones said. "It hurts when the situation is: Your Marine isn't coming home."

Mrs. Jones's husband, Marine Maj. William Jones, is still deployed in Afghanistan—along with 91,000 other U.S. troops.

Thousands of service members have come home from Iraq, with the last U.S. troops exiting from the country in mid-December. But tens of thousands are still deployed elsewhere, many on the front lines in Afghanistan.

That means many families are facing a holiday season with a loved one still in a combat zone. As the nation celebrates the holiday homecomings, some fear these family members are being forgotten in the frenzy.

The second article also includes these statistics:

2.3 million -- Combined total of U.S. service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan

164,000 -- Peak number of troops based in Iraq, reached in 2007

91,000 -- Troops remaining in Afghanistan

The one thing we back home can do is grant the wish of a military spouse reported in the second article:

We can acknowledge this holiday season that U.S. troops -- men and women -- are still in harm's way serving our country. And we can be grateful for their service and sacrifice as well as the service and sacrifice of their families.

Read the entire "Happy Hanukkah, Marines!" story now.

Read the entire "Military Families Soldier On" story now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Vet.efactor.com Helps Unemployed Vets

2011-12-06T10:39:00.001-08:00

See vet.efactor.com for discounts for vets.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Veterans: Why Suffer From PTSD?

2011-12-01T09:53:00.000-08:00

The following is a guest post from Christel B. D'Agostino, MSW, LCSW-R, CtH, a war trauma survivor who created her own Universal Vibrational Therapy TM. This therapy became the foundation for her method to heal the post-traumatic stress symptoms of present and past emotional trauma and is available on CD. See www.healingptsdtrauma.com and www.theuniversalvibrationaltherapy.com

Veterans, why would you suffer from PTSD while it is within your power to heal your post-combat stress for good?

It is time to reclaim your personal power. Hold on to the notion that healing your war trauma can be an empowering yet gentle experience.

I am a war trauma survivor. I know what I'm talking about. I have an intimate knowledge of the workings of a traumatized mind where heart and soul remain largely detached. Fleeting images of horrific scenes had been populating my mind with unfailing reliability.

Decades later, I came to realize that I had suppressed most traumatic events. I had been out of touch with the murderous rage locked up inside my body.

It took me years of professional training and exploring my own psyche to get to the point where I grasped what I was after: the healing of my war trauma.

It could not be accomplished through conventional therapies that I tried, like cognitive behavioral therapy, though I am grateful for the experience.

While growing up, war movies had been my own exposure therapy. I had learned that desensitization worked only for a particular movie but not for others.

However, I had become an expert in resilience. My camouflage worked like a charm while underneath a war of its own had been brewing.

At one point I became aware that the adrenaline rush of stressful situations made me feel fully alive. When I remembered my father's heart attacks in his early years, I realized that I needed to reduce my own stress level.

It led me to explore alternate healing techniques like transcendental meditation. I experienced that it reduced my stress level for the day. I needed more.

At some point I started to write about my war trauma. In an outburst of hate I accused my national family of having stolen not only my own but also the childhood of all other traumatized children.

After sitting court over the perpetrators and finding them guilty, I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders. I continued writing, and experienced a renewed onslaught of dark energies which were seemingly out to overpower me.

Initially I believed that these energies belonged to me. Then I reached the point where I realized that my thoughts and words had attracted harmful energies. They were not mine.

This realization turned out to become one of the cornerstones of my Universal Vibrational Therapy TM that I used to heal me. I have been trauma free for about 20 years now. So can you.

"Where there is a will, there is a way." I was holding on to this saying for many years. It would reinforce my determination not to give up.

While I was writing this article for you, veterans, I remembered these words. I want to encourage you to revive your hope and your determination to heal your post-combat stress. If you want me to, I'll show you the way.

I have already created the method. All you have to do is to follow it and allow yourself to be healed.

What is the obstacle? Afraid to relive horrific events? No need with my method. The Universal Vibrations gently transmute your toxic war energies and any other intrusive energies.

Are you depressed, not wanting to confront your inner rage, feeling guilty, ashamed, feeling afraid what you might discover about yourself? Have you lost faith in God?

My method is gentle. You do not need to relive your emotional trauma and invisible wounds. They will be transmuted through the Universal Vibrational Therapy TM. Your soul will be healed too.

Give yourself a chance. Own yourself again, enrich your life, follow your visions and dreams.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Fighter Pilot MIA in Korea

2011-11-15T23:11:00.000-08:00

(This is the second guest post from Jim Escalle about his uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle. The picture above is the cover of the book that Jim has written about his uncle.)

My uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle, dreamed of becoming a pilot since he was five years old. Too young to fly during World War II, his dream became a reality soon after the Korean War began.

He was born November 7, 1929, in Fresno, California, and grew up in Earlimart, a small farming community 60 miles south of Fresno.

He lived in a small, two-room house that he shared with his father, mother and younger brother, Robert, who also became an Air Force pilot. Both brothers learned an American work ethic from their father that displayed itself both on the farm and in the classroom.

Since there was no high school in Earlimart, Jim and his brother took the bus to Delano, located about seven miles south of Earlimart. During his four years at Delano High School, Jim played football and baseball. He was the second baseman on Delano’s varsity team.

In his senior year he made all-league as left end for the varsity football team, which for the first time in school history had a perfect record. The undefeated 1946 Delano High School football team outscored their opponents 238-25 for the season, a record that stands today.

On June 25, 1950, less than two weeks after Jim graduated from Bakersfield Junior College, the armed forces of communist North Korea made a surprise and unprovoked crossing of the 38th parallel to invade South Korea.

Thinking the war would not last too long, Jim made plans to attend UC Berkeley so he could continue his education. He wanted to become an aeronautical engineer.

But only one semester into his studies, he received his “greetings” from his Uncle Sam. At first, he didn’t know what he was going to do. He wanted to serve in Korea, but he didn’t want to do it on the ground, sloshing around in the mud as an infantryman.

He applied for the Aviation Cadet program with the Air Force.

While waiting for a pilot training class to become available, the deadline to report for the Army was getting closer. Like a lot of his contemporaries at the time, he signed up with the Air Force as a private. This way the Army could not touch him while he waited for a flight class.

Jim joined the Air Force in April 1951 and completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Then he was sent to Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas, for a couple of months until he was assigned to Pilot Training Class 52-F.

He took his basic pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, where he learned to master the North American T-6 “Texan.” It was a two-seat, dual-controlled, single-engine trainer with a powerful 600-horsepower radial engine that could produce a top speed of 210 miles per hour.

Joe B. Cunningham, Jim’s flight instructor, called Jim “a natural pilot” and said he was one of the top students.

Advanced pilot training took place at Webb Air Force Base, Texas. There Jim flew both the T-28 Trojan and T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer.

From the first day of flight training, Jim had wanted to fly jets. He studied hard and listened to every word of his instructors, and just like at Columbus, the instructors said Jim simply had an instinctive knack.

Glen Croshaw, a fellow pilot who was in advanced training with Jim, agreed with this assessment. “It was a well known fact among all the cadets in the class that Jim was an excellent pilot, better than most of the instructors.”

Croshaw believed Jim was on a mission ever since the first day he started his pilot training. He said, “Jim had one thing on his mind, and that was to strap an F-86 to his butt and go find a MiG to shoot down.”

After graduating from pilot training on September 13, 1952, Jim was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada for gunnery school. He was on what was called the “pipeline to Korea.” It was at Nellis where he first flew the F-86 Sabre.

Jim arrived in Korea at Suwon Air Base, designated by the Air Force as K-13, in February 1953. He was assigned to the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter-Bomber Group, which was flying the F-80C Shooting Star at the time. But the unit soon made the transition to the F-86F Sabre.

Every pilot in the Air Force wanted to fly the F-86. It was the sleek, swept-wing fighter winning out over the Soviet-built MiG-15 in the skies of Korea. The 8th Group was using the Sabre as a fighter-bomber, but the pilots knew they would have the perfect weapon if drawn into air-to-air action.

It was the goal of every pilot to log 100 combat missions, which was the standard tour of duty in Korea. Jim even gave up a scheduled R&R in Japan to fly missions.

He dropped 1,000-pound bombs on tactical targets, skip-bombed dams at low altitudes, went on armed reconnaissance patrols and dive-bombed enemy troops. He also went on a few MiG Alley sweeps near the Yalu River, and on one occasion saw some MiGs.

On close-air-support missions where he would have to drop bombs or fire his guns on the front lines, a forward air control T-6 Mosquito usually would fire white phosphorus rockets called “Willie Petes” in the area to pinpoint the location of the target.

When the Chinese army broke through the front lines on June 15, 1953, Jim was in the air before dawn and did not land until long after dark. He got four missions that day, bombing targets in the daytime and strafing trucks that were moving behind the lines at night.

The flak at night was so heavy that he described tracer bullets as being “like a Fourth of July in the late evening.”

As soon as he started down for the trucks, the Chinese would open up with their antiaircraft guns from both sides of the valley.

It was very dangerous work. However, it was also the normal routine of the fighter-bomber pilot.

The pilots of the 36th FBS “Flying Fiends,” commanded by Major Robert C. Ruby, flew 121 sorties that day, setting a record that still stands.

Four days later, while flying as element leader on an armed reconnaissance mission in North Korea, Jim disappeared and was never seen or heard from again.

In a few brief months, Jim had flown over 40 combat missions and was awarded an Air Medal. He also received the Soldier’s Medal for putting his own life in danger when an accident occurred one day on the flight line.

He was well-liked by other pilots and viewed by his squadron commander as having a bright future. He was posthumously promoted to first lieutenant.

The Korean War ended in an armistice on July 27, 1953. His squadron, now designated the 36th Fighter Squadron, is still on duty at Osan Air Base, Korea.

In 1992 Delano High School’s Class of ’47 established a college scholarship in Jim Escalle’s name to honor his service to his country.

In the summer of 2004, as a permanent memorial to Jim’s contribution in the field of aviation, his name was submitted to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center to be placed on the Wall of Honor.

His name can now be seen alongside other F-86 Sabre pilots who defended freedom in Korea, as well as those who defended it elsewhere.

To read more information about my upcoming book on my uncle’s life, visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/unforgottenhero. Here, you can read the book's table of contents, excerpts from two chapters, and some of the endorsements I have received. You can also see photos and videos.

Related articles can be read on my blog at http://unforgottenhero.blogspot.com

Read the first post by Jim Escalle about his uncle.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Remembering a Korean War Fighter Pilot MIA

2011-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

(This is a guest post by Jim Escalle in connection with his uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle, seen in the photo above in his F-86 Sabre.)

On June 25, 1950, the Soviet-equipped armies of North Korea crossed the 38th parallel, invading the nation of South Korea. Condemning this invasion, the United Nations requested the help of its members, including the United States, to counter this onslaught of communist aggression.

It had only been five years since the end of the bloodiest war in America’s modern history and now it was being called into another, only this time it would not be a popular war.

In fact, it was not even declared a war by President Harry S. Truman and his administration. According to him, it was only a police action.

But to those in the military who fought in Korea it was definitely a war, and one they will never forget.

Over the next three years the two sides fought to an uneasy standoff, ending the war almost where it began, on the 38th parallel.

After the armistice was finally signed and put into effect on July 27, 1953, the number of casualties reported was staggering. Approximately 34,000 American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines had been killed, although this number is still being debated. Another 92,000 servicemen were wounded, and almost 8,000 are still unaccounted for.

Taking into account the estimated two million civilians who died, which is a conservative figure, an exceedingly high price was paid in order to retain freedom for a small Asian country that at the time most people had never thought about, or in some cases, even knew existed.

South Korea is still free today, thanks mostly to the numerous sacrifices these American heroes gave defending it, especially the brave men from all branches of the military who gave up their lives.

Some of these heroes who paid the ultimate price for freedom proudly wore the blue uniform of the United States Air Force. One of them was my uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle, a fighter pilot who disappeared just five weeks before the war ended.

I never had the privilege of knowing my uncle personally; he was listed as missing in action several years before I was born. One day, while rummaging through some old photographs in my parents’ closet, I came across a small photo of a man wearing an aviator’s cap and goggles.

I asked my mom who he was. She told me that he was my Uncle Jimmy, my dad’s older brother, who had been in the Air Force, but he had never returned from the Korean War. She told me I was named in honor of him.

That statement sparked my curiosity even brighter. I wanted to know more about my uncle’s life, especially his role with the Air Force. I also wanted to know about the Korean War, so I could understand the environment in which he fought and eventually gave his life.

Although I was just eight years old at the time, I thought that maybe someday, somehow, I would know his complete life story, because I didn’t want him, like the Korean War itself, to be forgotten.

Like most young kids interested in this kind of stuff, I had the energy and desire to do the research, even though resources at the time were limited. This enthusiasm continued into my high school years.

But as I grew older, left home, and became busy with my college activities, my zeal for finding information on my uncle began to seriously diminish. You might say the pilot light was still on, but the burner was not lit. In other words, the interest was still there, but the motivation was gone.

Other things had priority, such as studies, sports, girls, and hobbies. Not necessarily in that order of course. I still thought about Jim whenever I saw an Air National Guard jet fighter fly over my apartment, or when I saw a TV rerun of the Korean War movie "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" based on James Michener's novel of the same name. But I didn't pursue the matter with the same intensity I had when I was younger.

This was in the early 1980s when a lot of attention was given over to the national events at the time, like the Iran hostage crisis, the Mt. St. Helens eruption in Washington, and the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

That all changed in 1993, however, when the Korean War was back in the spotlight. In September of that year, I read an article printed on the front page of a local newspaper about a government report dealing with missing American servicemen.

The article stated that the U.S. government had evidence Moscow took possession of, and also held, American prisoners of war during the conflict in Korea. The article also stated that the most likely candidates for capture and turn-over to the Soviet Union were F-86 Sabre pilots, because they had knowledge of this state-of-the-art jet fighter. The pilots' knowledge was something the Soviets wanted to exploit.

Included with this article was a list of 31 missing F-86 pilots, along with six other airmen who the U.S. government thought may have, according to their circumstance of loss, survived their crashes and possibly were taken to the Soviet Union, never to return. My uncle’s name was seventh on the list.

The newspaper article on the missing F-86 Sabre pilots gave me a stronger desire to search more aggressively for information about my uncle. Before I read the article and saw the list of names, I had always thought he went down with his plane. But now, more questions were starting to pop up in my head.

Did he die when he went down? Did he bail out and get captured by the North Koreans or Chinese? Was he taken to the Soviet Union? These questions motivated me to continue trying to complete my uncle's story.

As more time went by, I finally received copies of my uncle's military personnel record. I was fortunate in this case because in 1973 a fire broke out at the St. Louis facility where these records are stored and permanently destroyed all of the Air Force personnel records starting with names beginning with the letter H. The fire didn’t affect the records from A-G.

Although it took a while to receive them, I was grateful for having them at all. I was also grateful for the help and cooperation of so many fine people over the years, both civilian and military, who assisted me in my determined effort to piece together my uncle’s life.

Jimmy L. Escalle was only 23 years old when he was listed as missing in action, but in that short time he lived an exemplary life, including being able to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a pilot. He personified the typical spirit of most young fighter pilots who flew combat missions in Korea, and many just like him never came home after the hostilities ended.

His life story is but one example of the thousands who answered the call to serve their country at this critical time in history. Let us never forget them, or the sacrifices they made for freedom.

To read more information about my upcoming book, visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/unforgottenhero. Here you can read the book's table of contents, excerpts from two chapters, and some of the endorsements I have received. You can also see photos and videos.

Related articles can be read on my blog at: http://unforgottenhero.blogspot.com

And read the second guest post by Jim Escalle about his uncle.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Get Ebook of Novel MRS. LIEUTENANT for FREE Today in Honor of Veterans Day

2011-11-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

As I have often said, my goal in writing the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT was to share a slice of women's social history about the wives of new Army officers in the spring of 1970 right after the Kent State shootings during the Vietnam War.

Of course, I also hoped to write a compelling and entertaining story. And with MRS. LIEUTENANT being chosen as a 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist and with good reviews on Amazon, I feel I achieved my goal.

And, yes, I was a new Mrs. Lieutenant in the spring of 1970 when my husband went on active duty at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, for Armor Officers Basic.

In honor of all the men and women who have served in U.S. armed forces, I would like to offer a FREE coupon code for MRS. LIEUTENANT today in honor of Veterans Day.

Go to the novel's page on Smashwords and after clicking that you want to buy the ebook, enter the coupon code SW78N and you will get the ebook for free.

You'll be able to choose how you want to download the ebook, including the ability to read it on your computer.

I hope you'll take this opportunity get a FREE ebook copy of my novel that is supportive of our military personnel and their families.

P.S. And if you enjoy the novel, do consider posting a review on Smashwords or Amazon.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Los Angeles Synagogue Hosts Veterans Day Shabbat

2011-11-09T17:14:00.001-08:00

Adat Shalom Synagogue, 3030 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA is hosting a special Veterans Day Shabbat service on Friday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m.

The service will honor all Jews who have served the United States of America either in the military or as a law-enforcement officer.

The Honor Guard of the Jewish War Veterans will be presenting the colors and a few members of the Adat Shalom community who served with distinction during World War II will be speaking.

Additionally, Adat Shalom is asking those who attend to bring in their own memorabilia to display for families to see.

A dessert reception will follow services. Day care will be provided.

For more information, please call Michael Raileanu, Adat Shalom Community Builder, at (310) 474-0197.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Big Gunz Clothing Gives Back to Military Families November 10-14 in Honor of Veterans Day

2011-11-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a guest post by Jennifer Diana of Big Gunz Clothing:

In honor of Veterans Day and all the veterans who have served this great country, Big Gunz Clothing is giving back. Staring Thursday, November 10, 10% of all sales made online at BigGunzClothing.com will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Big Gunz Clothing is a military family. The father of the owner, Donnie Potter, served as well as did others. (The photo above is of Jennifer Diana's husband's Military Police unit when the unit was serving in Iraq.)

The Big Gunz team understands the importance of honoring the soldiers rather than focusing on the retail sale. The sale centers on the donations to the Wounded Warrior Project.

There are two parts of the Veterans Day sale:

1. Using coupon code WWP11 will give each customer 10% off.

2. In addition, for each sale (regardless of whether a coupon code is used), 10% of the purchase amount will be donated to the Wounded Warriors Project.

This sale begins November 10th and runs through November 14th.

Big Gunz is hoping that, by offering a discount to each customer, Big Gunz customers will be motivated to help out veterans on this day of remembrance.

The Wounded Warrior Project is about honoring and empowering wounded soldiers. In addition to the discount, Big Gunz will provide an easy link from the Big Gunz site to the Wounded Warrior Project site in order for direct donations to be made to this important organization.

Read about the Wounded Warrior Project.

Big Gunz Clothing is designed for big and tall guys who are determined to look good. In developing this contemporary and good-looking line, the Big Gunz design team drew inspiration from confident, larger-than-life men and dapper sports heroes.

Big Gunz believes in the power of living large and showing off. Something Big Gunz believe soldiers would appreciate!

Visit the Big Gunz Clothing site now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Help Operation Paperback Send Books to U.S. Troops

2011-11-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a guest post from Andrea Hoshmand McAfee of Operation Paperback -- Recycled Reading for Our Troops:

Our service members make sacrifices every day for our country. It takes so little to let them know that we appreciate what they are doing for us.

Operation Paperback supports U.S. troops by giving them the opportunity to escape into a good book. Since 1999, our volunteers have shipped a total of 1.5 million books around the globe.

Every day we accept requests from U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who would like to receive a variety of fiction and non-fiction books throughout their time overseas.

Requests come from the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, Korea or even the middle of the ocean. Any service member is entitled to receive our free shipments of books throughout their deployment.

We fulfill those requests by shipping gently used books collected by our network of 14,000+ volunteers nationwide.

These volunteers search their personal bookshelves, yard sales and used bookstores for popular genres like action/adventure, military history, fantasy and science fiction.

Then, using our website (www.operationpaperback.org), the volunteers match the genres of books they have on hand with the hundreds of open requests from troops that we have in our system.

We provide our volunteers with the shipping address and mailing instructions. The process is pretty simple, and volunteers appreciate the personal touch associated with packing and shipping books directly to troops in need.

Over 90% of the books sent through our program come from volunteers across America (the remainder are specially purchased and shipped by volunteer staff at Operation Paperback).

Some do a one-time shipment; others involve their local church, school, or work place to do large book drives, sending shipments on a monthly or seasonal basis.

In the 12 years since we started, we strive to maintain our personal, grassroots origins.

Operation Paperback began when family members of Chief Master Sergeant Rick Honeywell sent a giant care package to Kuwait that included books. The books were quickly distributed and soon others began to ask for more.

We have since grown to shipping over 20,000 books a month overseas and also providing books to wounded troops and veterans here at home.

However, the Honeywell family still plays an active role in running the Operation Paperback program, and we encourage volunteers to involve their family and local community in support of our cause.

If you’re interested in supporting Operation Paperback, there are two ways you can help: Make a monetary donation or send books directly to the troops.

By making a monetary donation you will help fund the purchase and shipment of high-demand genres and other special request books.

As a volunteer shipper, you will collect and ship your own books using the addresses that we provide.

We welcome any support that you can provide! Visit our website at www.operationpaperback.org for more information.

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Film to Feature True Story of Dog Who Helped Iraq Vet

2011-10-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

The October 18th Daily Variety article “Waterman nabs ‘Until Tuesday’” by Dave McNary reported that Waterman Entertainment has bought the film rights to a New York times bestseller written by former Army Capt. Luis Carlos Moltalvan.

Story centers on Montalvan, who logged two tours of duty in Iraq. He was dealing with the pressures of his physical wounds, traumatic brain injury and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder until meeting Tuesday, a golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys but found it difficult to trust in or connect with a human being until meeting Montalvan.

Production on the film is scheduled to start next summer. And the article also quoted Tucker Waterman, exec VP of Waterman Entertainment:

"Service dogs have played a crucial role in the rehabilitation of many American soldiers, and this film will pay tribute to them as well as the soldiers who have sacrificed so much for our country."

If you want to know about a produced film featuring dogs and Marines in World War II, read about the documentary “War Dogs of the Pacific.”

And while you are on the site, check out the information about PTSD. What you learn may help someone you love.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

A True Story of the Humorous Side of the Army Circa 1970-1972

2011-10-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have read my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT know that the American army in the spring and summer of 1970 was a serious place. The Vietnam War pervaded the nine weeks my husband and I spent at Ft. Knox, Kentucky.

When I wrote MRS. LIEUTENANT I fictionalized our experiences to more dramatically portray the seriousness.

Yet there was a humorous side to the army, which we discovered upon our arrival in Munich, Germany, in September 1970 during the drunkenness of the annual Oktoberfest. Yes, Oktoberfest starts in September in Munich.)

Here then is a true story of that humorous side, or at least the truth as I can recall it after so many years.

Read now “A True Army Story: Whistle While You (Try to) Work”
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Is the Army Mandatory Retirement Age the Best Option for Our Military Situation Today?

2011-10-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

The October 15-16 Wall Street Journal article by Michael M. Phillips titled “The Old Soldier Who Didn’t Fade Away: A 59-year-old sergeant in Afghanistan is determined to serve any way he can. His real fear? Retirement” is a fascinating story about current Staff Sergeant Don Nicholas.

Nicholas enlisted in the Marines in 1971 (after dropping out of high school) and eventually ended up on the second-to-last helicopter off the roof of the U.S. embassy in Saigon that fateful day of April 30, 1975.

Without going into the details of the following years when he was sometimes on active duty and sometimes not, I’m going to skip ahead to his joining the Army Reserve’s psychological branch in 2004 because “there he had a good chance of going to war.”

He first went to Afghanistan in 2005. Next tour he spent 11 months in Baghdad. This March he arrived in Kunar Province, along the Pakistan border, to serve for a year.

Now here is the part of the article that really got my attention:

On missions, the sergeant is particularly adept at chatting up the locals. In a culture in which age implies wisdom, he has an edge over a fresh-faced lieutenant. As a psy-ops soldier, he tries to persuade the Afghan elders that their interests lie with the Kabul government and the coalition forces, not the Taliban.

And this is good – this is the Army optimizing its resources to fit the mission to the most qualified personnel.

Can you understand why I was then upset when I got to this following paragraph?:

Next July, Sgt. Nicholas turns 60, and the Army will tell him that he can’t go to war anymore, one of the few things he finds truly frightening. He’s trying to get a quick commission as an officer; that would allow him to join the medical corps, which has a higher retirement age.

Now I ask: Why would the Army be willing to lose such a valuable asset – one who wants to remain in the field and use his psy-ops experience?

If the medical corps can extend its retirement age, shouldn’t the Army have the ability to extend that age for special cases – special cases of men or women whose experience and wisdom could be very valuable?

What do you think about the mandatory retirement of a soldier whose specialty is particularly valuable in Afghanistan?
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

From the Author: MRS. LIEUTENANT

2011-10-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

While updating information about my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT via my Amazon author page, I had the opportunity to write a "From the Author" introduction. After adding this introduction on Amazon I'm also sharing it here:

The novel MRS. LIEUTENANT took 38 years to be published.

The novel’s saga started when I was a new Mrs. Lieutenant in May 1970 during the Vietnam War and right after the Kent State shootings. The experience introduced me to the world of army wives that I would never have otherwise known.

About 20 years later and after I had started the Los Angeles Chapter of the national organization Sisters in Crime, I told the story of my military spouse experience to two female movie producers. They were intrigued and optioned the story for a movie.

They eventually told me that Hollywood people did not “get” the movie concept and that I would have to first write a book. By the time I wrote the first draft of the novel the producers had moved on.

For another 20 years or so I wrote and rewrote the novel. (It had to be a novel rather than a nonfiction book to protect the people whose stories I wanted to tell.) I created fictional characters and some fictional events for a more compelling story.

Many agents and publishers over the years turned the novel down. But I felt strongly that there was a place for a novel about this slice of women’s social history at the beginning of the women’s movement in the United States.

When POD (print on demand) self-publishing became an option, I decided to self-publish MRS. LIEUTENANT. At the same time I entered it in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. When the book was named a semifinalist of this competition, I felt vindicated for my 38-year belief in sharing this story.

At the same time I stumbled into blogging and social media for book marketing. From that point on I dove into learning as much as possible about this brave new online world, and I co-founded an online marketing company with my younger daughter Yael K. Miller.

Now ebooks have opened up the self-publishing world even more – and I’m engaged in resurrecting some of my favorite unpublished stories to give them a life on the Internet.

You can see my current available books and ebooks at http://budurl.com/PZMbooks
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Combat-Induced PTSD: Affliction of the Mind and Soul

2011-09-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

The following is a guest post from Shane Allen Weber, who is the author of Galactic Quest.

I was in the U.S. Army for a little over 10 years, and I have been to Iraq with the 1st CAV DIV on two separate occasions -- both times for more than a year. *(See notes at end of this guest post.)

What is it that causes a grown man or woman to become afraid of the littlest noise or a shadow that they see out of the corner of their eye?

What is it that causes such hate and rage that spills over into their daily lives?
It is an affliction that most warriors suffer from for centuries and we are just now beginning to understand what causes it but have no cure for -- and it is called PTSD.

I am a combat vet who like most combat vets has an affliction that affects everyday life.

Some have lived with this affliction for decades and have never asked for help or even know that they have this problem.

Is life easy for us who have no visible wounds who have deep running scars? No, it is not because no one can tell what is wrong or even if there is something wrong with you just by looking.

Most people don’t see the pain and the emotion of these soldiers who live in constant torment and that of their families.

I go to group therapy where there is a mixture of war vets as far back as the Vietnam era. These guys and gals were the hardest hit by an ungrateful nation upon their return. They were looked at as something less than human.

Not only did they have to relieve the nightmare of the jungle in their minds all the time but they also had to deal with a country who hated them and a VA that was broken and slow at best.

I have had the pleasure of meeting one of the head shrinks that worked with combat vets during the Vietnam era. He told me and some of the others about how these vets were experimented on with electroshock therapy and other painful procedures.

They were treated no better than lab rats, and then when funding ran out, these war vets were tossed to the side to fend for themselves.

I found this to be very appalling, and I was sickened with the thought of my predecessors being treated no better than trash to be thrown to the side.

There has been a great deal of improvement in the treatment of all soldiers in the modern era. The VA works faster to get the compensation to the new batch of disabled veterans due to the “War on Terror.”

The only thing that has me kind of mad is that some Vietnam vets are still waiting for this compensation for the wounds they suffered during their time at war.

There are guys in the group therapy that I currently attend that have diseases caused by exposure to Agent Orange. They have filed many claims through the VA for these conditions and have to wait a year to two years just to hear back on the decision that the medical board makes.

The worst part is the extra wait time that could be tacked on because they try and appeal the decision made by the board.

We talk about a great deal of things in our group. But we rarely ever talk about the underlying problems of our PTSD because these wounds are just too painful, and even if you do get the story out, it is going to still be there haunting you.

This is a fate most of us wish we could escape but cannot.

One of my most painful moments in the Iraq war has been immortalized on Ft. Hood. When I go on post I have to drive by the 1st CAV DIV memorial just to make sure that it is being taken care of.

I would hate for the elements or some inconsiderate person to harm this symbol of my first tour to Iraq. I still remember the day that this statue commemorates almost as if the day were just happening. It all appeared to happen in slow motion.

(The statue at the memorial represents a moment frozen forever of MPs and their medic helping to save a little boy’s life after a mortar attack. These mortars were meant for us and they ended up hitting three children and one adult.)

The emotional pain that PTSD causes for a family can be too much to bear at times. It is very common for the spouse to want to divorce or leave the person with the affliction.

If not kept in check in the family environment, PTSD could be a very dangerous thing.

I have read or heard about too many horror stories of the soldier coming home and killing his family without being aware of what was going on at the time because of the blackouts that can happen.

This blackout period is called “lost time.” To the person who is afflicted this point in time never existed. This tends to cause a great deal of legal problems for these men and women.

Some of the Vietnam vets in my group have had quite a few run ins with the law. The good thing that has come out of this is that there is a movement to try to form special courts to deal with the soldiers who have this disease.

In conclusion, PTSD is something that will affect the person who has it for the rest of his or her life. Their families will have to learn to cope with their loved one having PTSD or the family member will end up leaving the PTSD-afflicted person.

I can personally attest to this because there have been several times where my wife was ready to pick up and leave me. But once she has a little alone time she is fine and we talk about what had happened, and when necessary my wife attends my private therapy sessions.

The biggest thing to remember is that our warriors are still human even though they may act like monsters at times. We did not ask to have this problem thrust upon us, but it is what came along with the service to our country. This is the price that some pay to have served their country voluntarily.

*These statements are based off the observations and stories I have gotten from all my PTSD groups and single therapy. I left all statements generalized because of privacy to the people who spoke of these topics during these therapy sessions. No names were released and will not be release for any reason to protect the privacy of those involved.

Remember: Never take articles at face value. Always do research into whatever it maybe that you are reading about. Some information may be dated or may be different for a separate group of vets. I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this post. I hope that it helped in some way.

Here are links to learn more about Shane Weber and his writing:

http://aboutmyselfshane.blogspot.com/

http://shaneallenweber.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Books-By-Shane-Weber/163271153701047

booksbyshaneallenweber.weebly.com

http://twitter.com/authorGQ

And for help with PTSD:

www.insupportofourtroops.com/ptsd-info

“From the Corners of a Wounded Mind” by Theodore Knell -- http://theoknell.com/my-book/
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Help Save Our Troops

2011-09-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

(Reprinted from www.MollieSanders.com)

In the September 12th New Yorker article “Coming Apart” by George Packer, I learned a disturbing piece of information:

A former Navy SEAL has come up with a manufacturing strategy to make “armored” vehicles much more resistant to IEDs and other attacks – BUT the former Navy SEAL cannot bid on undertaking this important mission the Pentagon has said it wants done for Humvees because BIDS ARE NOT BEING ACCEPTED.

(As Mitch and I wrote in the novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS, “IEDs are not an electronics problem. They’re an engineering problem.”)

The information on this situation is only part of Packer’s overall article, which is an essay on the American public’s attitude since 9/11.

Let me explain this “armored” vehicle situation in more detail:

Packer begins his New Yorker article with the story of former Navy SEAL Chris Berman, who was hired in 2004 by the private security company Blackwater.

Berman volunteered to go on a “food-escort detail” to Falluja, “but at the last minute his place was taken by one of his friends, Scott Helvenston.”

Helvenston and three other Blackwater security guards, riding in a Mitsubishi Pajero, were ambushed and killed on their way to Falluja. While waiting to escort Helvenston’s coffin back to the U.S., Berman began drawing designs for armoring the Pajero so that Helvenston and the other three men might have survived.

Berman opened a factory in Kuwait that successfully produced an armored vehicle for security companies working in Iraq. He closed this factory in 2008 to focus on the project he’d moved onto five years after 9/11:

His new goal was to do something about the lightly armored Humvees used by U.S. military personnel. Surviving a blast while riding in these is also a major “armored” vehicle issue.

According to Packer, “For several years, the Pentagon has had plans to rebuild Humvees used in the war, and improve their armor, instead of buying new ones.”

In 2007 Berman started the company Granite Tactical Vehicles and developed a model design to improve the armor on existing Humvees. BUT there have been no government bids on this supposed Pentagon project. This is because, according to Packer:

[T]he government kept putting off requests for bids, in part because the main Humvee manufacturer, a large corporation in Indiana called AM General, appeared to have enough clout in Congress to get the process delayed, staving off competition.

Packer goes on to say that ”the rumored date for accepting bids is now this fall.”

I’m not an engineer – I cannot say that Berman’s design is the best (although Packer says: “People who knew the business said that Berman’s design was among the best.”).

What I can say is:

Let’s get out the word about this situation to people (such as our House and Senate representatives and any friends you may have in the Pentagon) to “motivate” the Pentagon to open bids right now – and quickly choose a good design – to get much better protection for the Humvees.

If you do help spread the word, please email me at pzmiller@millermosaicllc.com with the subject HELP SAVE OUR TROOPS to tell me you helped.

I’ll email you back a free ePub copy of the novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS that you can read on a computer after downloading the free ePub-reading software from www.calibre-ebook.com

Will you help?
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

One Aftermath of 9/11: Need to Recognize PTSD in Deployed Troops and Others

2011-09-11T10:38:00.001-07:00

On this day, the 10th anniversary of the horrendous attack on the U.S., it is important to also honor and commemorate the men and women of our military who have sacrificed their lives or their limbs or their minds to help protect us from terrorist attacks.

And it is because of incredible coordinated efforts between the U.S. intelligence community and the military community that, only a few months before this 10-year anniversary, the “architect” of this horror was killed in his compound in Pakistan.

But this victory – and the numerous foiled terrorist plots to date – come at a high price. And sometimes this price is not recognized until it is too late – until the person whose PTSD has been undiagnosed kills himself or herself.

PTSD can result from any personal trauma, not just military service.

People who suffered from the loss of someone in 9/11 or from watching on TV as the towers collapsed or from doing rescue work as first responders or for months afterwards may have undiagnosed PTSD.

AND THIS 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH ALL THE TV SPECIALS AND THE ARTICLES COULD SEND PTSD SUFFERERS OVER THE EDGE.

Please be on the lookout for people displaying symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Learn about these symptoms now.

This past Tuesday I was privileged to be on a Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable that featured Major Jeff Hall and his wife Sheri.

Hall repeatedly refused to get help upon the return from his second deployment even though something was terribly wrong. But when he seriously contemplated suicide, Sheri Hall took matters into her own hands and saved her husband’s life by going to his commanding officer.

Now husband and wife are part of the Real Warriors Campaign for active duty military personnel and veterans to get help before it is too late.

The Real Warriors Campaign was launched by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE). Check out this source for help now at www.realwarriors.net/

And listen to the interview with the Halls or read the transcript for the 30-minute bloggers roundtable. Learning this information may save the life of someone you love.

Book recommendation:

I highly recommend Theodore Knell’s compelling memoir of his 22 years as a British Special Forces soldier. With narrative and poetry he expresses what this sacrifice does to a person’s soul. If you do not understand why PTSD can drive people to commit suicide, this book may help you. (You can read an excerpt now.)
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

In 1939 on Sept. 1st Germany Invaded Poland

2011-09-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Ever since I lived in Munich, Germany, from September 1970 to May 1972 as part of the American occupying force to prevent German military aggression, the date of September 1st has been particularly meaningful to me.

It was this day in 1939 that German military forces marched into Poland, plunging much of the “civilized” world into war.

And it is the day that ultimately sealed a death decree against millions and millions and millions of people – including Jews, Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, Communists, Socialists and pacifists as well as members of the armed forces of numerous countries.

Most Americans have seen countless movies and television shows about World War II. And I suspect there will be new movies and televisions shows about this subject for many decades to come.

It is important, in my opinion, to stop for a few moments once a year, on September 1st, the back-to-school period in America, and contemplate some of the awful events that succeeded that date as well as contemplate the incredible bravery of those people who chose right over wrong.

On this first day of September 2011 let us salute the current and former members of all our U.S. military branches and all our first responders and all the people who put their lives on the line to protect others.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Stonewalling of Info for Families of Military Personnel Suicides

2011-08-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

The recent article "Army silence and censors bring agony" by Mark Brunswick for the StarTribune (Twin Cities, Minnesota), reports:

The Army announced that its 32 suicides in July were the highest it has ever recorded since it began keeping track of monthly rates two years ago. The deaths, which included 22 active-duty soldiers and 10 from the reserves, put a damper on claims that the military was getting a handle on the problem.

Equally upsetting is this info from the article:

In an extensive report on suicide prevention last year, a Department of Defense task force found that there is no program for chaplains, first responders and casualty assistance officers on how best to work with next of kin.

The article (with accompany video) details the hurdles several families of military personnel suicides have been going through and gone through to try to find out what really happened.

Some of these stories are particularly disturbing, including about the mother who learned in the report of her son's suicide that "there was no gunpowder residue detected on his hands" and about another mother who discovered "the Army had wiped clean the hard drive of her son's laptop."

The article also mentions the military survivors group Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, which works with family members dealing with a suicide.

I recommend you read the article (and perhaps some of the related articles) and then, if you have any clout to help with this shameful situation, you do so.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Movie & TV Portrayal of U.S. Military Personnel Including Navy SEALs

2011-08-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

(Reprinted from www.MollieSanders.com)

The August 26th Wall Street Journal article “Hollywood Tries a New Battle Plan” by John Jurgensen focuses on the upcoming fictional film “Act of Valor” from production company Bandito Brothers.

The film stars real Navy SEALs (their names will NOT be listed in the film credits) and includes real Navy SEAL exercise footage although the film is based on a fiction script by Kurt Johnstad.

Perhaps what is most interesting about the article is its explanation about the sea change in Hollywood’s attitude towards military films:

Ten years after the Sept. 11 attacks opened an ongoing chapter of U.S. military action, Hollywood's long history of depicting fighters at war is entering a new phase. The grinding wars in Afghanistan and Iraq spawned films that highlighted characters in uniform who were disillusioned with their missions and scarred in their homecomings. With the conflicted protagonists of movies such as "Green Zone" and "Stop-Loss," filmmakers tried to tap into the public's ambivalence about the conflicts, but their movies mostly sank at the box office. Now that deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq are tapering down, filmmakers are homing in on the more clear-cut job of battling terrorists. And they're finding heroes in the elite—and now famous—special-operations forces leading the hunt. Projects in the pipeline focus on the armed heroics, high-tech tactics and teamwork involved in getting the bad guys.

“Getting the bad guys” is what the novel “Lt. Commander Mollie Sanders” is all about.

In fact, the opening paragraph of the Journal story features a Zodiac boat, which Sanders and other submarine crew members use in the novel’s South China Sea reconnaissance mission.

And earlier in the novel in an effort to help the Coast Guard, Sanders climbs down a rope from a tightly circling helicopter onto a boat being intercepted in the port of Los Angeles.

This sounds like the description of a scene in “Act of Valor” as reported by the Journal:

[A] Bandito crew, armed with 16 cameras, shot a [Navy SEAL] squad in real time as it ran the simulated "maritime interdiction operation" in domestic waters. A boat-mounted machine gun opened fire and sailors plunged out of a helicopter on ropes to take control of a 150-foot yacht …

The Journal article also mentions that producer Jerry Bruckheimer has a deal with ABC for a pilot about Navy SEALs.

That ABC is interested in such a series does not surprise me as I have been watching the ABC fictional series “Combat Hospital” produced by Sienna Films. The show is an incredibly compelling story in Afghanistan in 2005 of the Canadian and American medical staff who struggle to save the lives of the good guys (and even the bad guys).

Along with the moral dilemma subjects dealt with, interest in the show is increased by the multicultural staff, including the U.S. Navy commander African-American male who is the head nurse!

All these fictional projects that help people understand the efforts and sacrifices of U.S. (and Canadian) military personnel are welcome, especially when such a small percentage of the American population has any direct connection with active duty military personnel or veterans.

Get an eBook of the novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS now for only $2.99 in formats for the Kindle, the Nook, Sony’s Reader, the Kobo, your computer, etc. at http://budurl.com/MollieSandersebooks

And learn more about the novel in the post: LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS Novel Released on ePub Platforms Same Day as South China Sea in the News

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Remote Control Toy Truck Saves Soldiers From IED Explosion in Afghanistan

2011-08-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

The MSNBC post by Today.com contributor Scott Stump "He saved six soldiers’ lives — with a child’s toy" is an amazing story of a man using a "souped up" toy to help bring his deployed brother home safely.

Ernie Fessenden and hobby store owner Kevin Guy created the remote control IED-scouting toy truck from a Traxxis Stampede for Ernie's brother, Staff Sgt. Chris Fessenden.

Stump explains:

Chris had lent the model truck to a group of fellow soldiers who were going out on a patrol. They used the toy, which can go up to 30 miles per hour, to scout the area ahead of them for potential IEDs.

When the toy truck zipped out in front of the soldiers’ armored Humvee, it became enmeshed in a trip wire on the road that triggered what was estimated to be 500 pounds of explosives. The bomb exploded, but none of the soldiers was hurt.

Had they not sent the remote-control truck scooting up ahead of them, the soldiers might have approached the IED on foot — or driven the Humvee into the trip wire.

Before you read the amazing story of how Ernie and Kevin came up with the idea, donate to the new project http://truckstotroops.com/ to send more remote control IED-scouting toy trucks to deployed troops. I just donated.

(I'm additionally interested in this innovative idea because, in my new eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS, Mollie goes to Afghanistan for an up-close-and-personal look at the problem of detecting IEDs.)

Now read the incredible story of what two men did with a toy truck, ingenuity and determination.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

New Issue of USO’s Magazine “On Patrol” Focuses on “Invisible Wounds of War”

2011-08-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

The Summer/Fall 2011 issue of USO’s magazine “On Patrol” features articles about the “invisible wounds of war.”

You can read the articles in the digital version of this issue. To find the contents of the issue, click on the third icon from the left on the top of your screen and then click on any of the article titles.

Once you’ve clicked on the article title, you’ll have the first page of the article on your screen. To advance the article, click on the single > to the right of the page number at the top of your screen.

I found the article “Through the Lens of Stacy Pearsall” by Elaine Sanders particularly moving because it is one woman’s story of unrecognized PTSD.

Here’s the intro blurb of the article from the magazine:

As an Air Force photographer, Stacy Pearsall served two deployments in Iraq where she recorded a visual history of what was happening around her. She went on patrols, covered school openings, and was injured twice. It took a friend to recognize her post traumatic stress and encourage her to seek help. [boldface mine]

Read Stacy Pearsall’s story now and then reach out to people you know who may be unknowingly suffering from PTSD and encourage them to get help.

If you want to know more about PTSD, read this PTSD information now.

And if you want to better understand the stresses that can cause PTSD in military personnel (PTSD can result from any trauma), read Theodore Knell’s compelling memoir “From the Corners of a Wounded Mind.”

His book is a mix of narrative and poetry, and his poetry is incredible – capturing the pain of a soldier’s experiences without hitting you over the head.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show Thanks Our Troops

2011-08-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jon Thanks the Troops
www.thedailyshow.com

The above 6 1/2 minute-video is a tribute to our troops by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show after a visit to Afghanistan.

Here's a message Jon Stewart read from a young specialist from the 655th TC:

"We cooperate and we fight as hard as we can because there will perhaps be disappointment but there will be no shame."

Do share this video with others because, while humorous, this tribute is incredibly heartfelt.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS.

Veterans: Take Advantage of Your Housing Benefits

2011-07-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Guest post from Jessica Thorseon, who writes for VAHomeLoans.net, which assists veterans in accessing their benefits and finding low rate mortgages.

Veterans of the US Armed Forces have some of the greatest benefits when it comes to home buying. Right now, interest rates are as low as they have ever been, and house prices are historically low as well.

These aspects make now a great time for anybody to buy a home, especially service personnel who have additional benefits that make buying a home even easier and more affordable.

Veterans of the US Armed Forces are given certain benefits that enable them to purchase a home at a lower interest rate than those who have not served.

There are a few steps involved in acquiring these loans, but the process is not much harder than it is to get a traditional home loan.

First, the interested veteran needs to receive their DD 214 certificate. This certificate certifies that the holder did indeed serve in the armed forces and was honorably discharged and entitled to receive the full benefits that are granted to veterans.

Once the DD 214 is received, the potential home buyer simply needs to start looking for a home and speaking with a lender or mortgage officer who is licensed to deal with VA loans.

As with many things, the internet is a great resource to use to find a licensed lender. VA Home Loans is a great resource that can help you find a qualified lender in your state.

Once you have found a lender, you need to choose a home. Hopefully by the time you are applying for financing you already have a few potential homes in mind. But you still have the freedom to look some more and make sure that you are buying a home that you love.

There are no special pricing benefits given to military personnel on home prices; these are determined by the banks and sellers who own them.

What if you are a veteran and already own a home?

Let’s say you purchased a home several years ago when prices were very high and interest rates were high as well. Is there anything you can do to save money?

Luckily, veterans also have benefits that allow them to refinance their homes and save money. As with a new home purchase, a veteran must first receive a copy of the DD 214 before he or she can be considered eligible for any veteran benefits.

After this certificate is received, you will be able to apply for a VA Mortgage Refinance. This is a special refinance that allows you to take advantage of the same interest rates that are given to veterans who are applying to purchase a new home.

You will be able to lower the interest rate on your current home mortgage and save thousands of dollars over the remaining life of your loan.

These benefits are great ways for eligible veterans to save money. It is not too difficult to find licensed lenders, so take your time to shop around and find a lender who can offer you the best rate.

Many will charge different closing fees or have hidden fees that can cost you more money than you think. So make sure you find somebody who fits your budget and is willing to work openly with you. Take advantage of your benefits and enjoy your new or newly refinanced home!

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the eBook novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

U.S. Vets: Are You Taking Care of Your Mental and Physical Health?

2011-07-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Here is an important guest post from U.S. Navy veteran Doug Karr:

My fellow Gulf War veterans were the first to be diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This multi-symptom illness includes numerous psychological and physical complaints.

Similar to PTSD in symptoms and causes, clinical depression often affects many military veterans.

Getting help is not a sign of weakness. The government has great mental health information to help those who believe they may be affected by trauma or stress disorders.

Many veterans contract infectious or bacterial diseases such as malaria, brucellosis, West Nile virus and others. All of these diseases usually surface within a year of returning home.

Symptoms include abdominal pain, chills, fever, sweats, diarrhea, joint and muscle pain, and more. Complications from some of these diseases last for years.

Depending on where and how you served, you could have been exposed to a wide range of dangerous substances. Many of us have been exposed to toxic fumes, biological agents, chemical warfare agents, burning oil and gas, and much more.

There are many cancers that have been connected to military service. Lung cancer is one.

Another, mesothelioma, is a cancer that affects more military veterans than any other group of people.

This cancer affects the lining of the lung or the abdominal cavity. Agent Orange has been directly linked to lung cancer as well as cancer of the larynx, bronchus and trachea.

For military service men and women who have sustained concussion, it is important to ensure that the condition is fully recovered. Given that many concussions are undiagnosed, it is critical to be cautious when recovering from any head trauma.

The medical community has more recently become alert to the effects of these traumas, and word is trickling out to soldiers and veterans.

Don't let your health decline because you think nothing can be done. There are many treatments available.

I confirmed much of this information by visiting web pages of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. These health and wellness pages showed me that there are many problems but also many solutions if you are willing to pay attention to your health.

You can visit the VA’s resources and you can read my veterans blog.

If you are seeking treatment, find VA resources in your local community.

For more advanced or rarer conditions, it is possible you may need to visit a separate counseling service, psychiatrist, cancer center, or hospital.

Listen to your body. Know the signs. Know when to get help!
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

USA Network Show COVERT AFFAIRS Supports Disabled Veterans

2011-07-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

In "Half a World Away" (episode 7, season 2) of the USA Network show COVERT AFFAIRS, former Special Forces soldier Auggie (Christopher Gorham) tracks the man whose betrayal blinded Auggie and killed his Special Forces teammates.

Partway through the show the actor does a PSA about supporting disabled veterans and then asks viewers to go to CharactersUnite.com to learn more.

On the site are these statistics:

More than 600 military men and women have returned from the Iraq war as amputees

Approximately 1 in 5 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have depression or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder afflicts an estimated 11 percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan and 20 percent of Iraqi war veterans

Visit the site to watch two brief videos by Christopher Gorham, learn where to get help if you're a veteran, and learn how you can "take action to serve America's military families."

Learn more now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

We're Watching China

2011-07-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

(The following is reprinted from www.MollieSanders.com)

“[The U.S. has] had a presence in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea for 50 to 60 years, even going back before World War II,” Rear Adm. Tom Carney, who is leading the naval exchange, told reporters in Danang [Vietnam], according to the Associated Press. “We have no intention of departing from that kind of activity.”

This was the conclusion of Patrick Barta’s July 16th article “U.S., Vietnam in Exercises Amid Tensions With China” in The Wall Street Journal.

The article began by announcing a series of joint naval exchanges between the U.S. and Vietnam. These exchanges have apparently been planned for some time, although they have taken on more meaning due to China’s increasing insistence on its claim to the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands, despite claims in part by several other Asian countries.

In the new eBook-only novel LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS (written by myself and Mitch Miller), LCDR Sanders first works with the Coast Guard in the port of Los Angeles to prevent a terrorist attack.

Then she maneuvers her way onto a submarine sent on a reconnaissance mission to the South China Sea. The sub first stops at the Paracel Islands, and when it reaches the Spratly Islands, LCRD Sanders’ life is in danger.

No, this is NOT an instant novel. The truth is that the South China Sea has been an area of concern for many years for the U.S.

The screenplay “Lt. Commander Mollie Sanders” (dealing with the sub mission) was a 2005 quarterfinalist of the Nicholls Fellowship competition run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the same people who present the Oscars.)

As China’s military ambitions have grown, so has the threat to the peace in the South China Sea. In January 2007 Mitch and I attended the U.S. Naval Institute conference held in San Diego. Even then the presentations focused on the U.S. Navy’s concerns for the Pacific theater.

The growing tensions between the U.S. and China parallel in some ways the tensions between the U.S. and Japan that grew during the 1930s. And to a large extent these tensions are over the same issue – OIL!

On December 7, 1941, the U.S. was taken by surprise when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor even though the Japanese had already militarily expanded into Asia. This time the U.S. will be ready for China if that country decides to militarily expand into Asia.

China, we're watching you.

Get an eBook of this timely novel now for only $2.99 in formats for the Kindle, the Nook, Sony's Reader, the Kobo, your computer, etc. at http://budurl.com/MollieSandersebooks
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Celebrating Fourth of July: Remembering Those Who Now Serve Protecting Our Freedoms

2011-07-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

In the July 2nd Wall Street Journal article "While My Son Serves," the article author Dave Shiflett says:"Fewer than 1% of Americans wear the uniform these days."

While Shiflett doesn't mention the source of this statistic, I'll take this as accurate.

And he goes on to say: "That, in turn, puts families of deployed soldiers in something of a world of their own."

It is important for all of us Americans to take a moment to reflect on the men and women who are serving right now in the U.S. and around the globe. And to be grateful to them and their families.

In Shiflett's article, here's the part I personally found most moving:

I remember a call from our son (via cellphone) who said he was out in the middle of the desert under a bright canopy of stars...

"You out there by yourself?" I asked.

"No, Dad. I have my machine gun."

One of the reasons I spent years writing (and rewriting) my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT was because I wanted people who had no connection to military families to better understand military life.

On social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook many people now share information about our troops. I do believe that, because of this activity on social media sites, more people are aware of the need to support our troops.

This Fourth of July, while the fireworks are busting in all their glory above our heads, let us remember the bursting "fireworks" that might be aimed at our deployed soldiers. And perhaps say a little prayer for all those serving.

You can read Shiflett's entire article now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Army Special Operations Command Deploys First Teams of Female Soldiers

2011-07-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

The June 29th article "Female Special Operators Now in Combat" by Christian Lowe on military.com reported:

Army Special Operations Command has deployed its first teams of female Soldiers assigned to commando units in Afghanistan, and military officials are assessing their initial performance in theater as "off the charts."

This news has particular significance to me as I prepare to release two novels on the major ebook platforms:

MRS. LIEUTENANT is my novel of officers' wives during the Vietnam War, when women were an extra bonus the U.S. Army got when married officers went on active duty.

LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS takes place now with the first female on a submarine smaller than a boomer.

And now this actual news!

Read the entire article now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Please Join New Site by Theodore Knell to Help Soldiers and Their Families

2011-06-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Below is reprinted by permission of author Theodore Knell his information on his new site to help military personnel and their families.

As you may recall from previous posts on this blog, Theodore Knell is an ex-British Special Forces soldier who saw combat all over the world during his 22 years of service in the military.

His book FROM THE CORNERS OF A WOUNDED MIND is an incredibly moving account (complete with poetry) of what it means to serve in the harshest of circumstances.

After reading this post, I hope you will join the Hushed Voices community site. (I already have.)

From Theodore Knell:

I have created a new online community called “Hushed Voices.”

This new community is open to service families across the world, regardless of which flag their warrior fights under, whether its American, English Australian etc, we are all fighting the same enemy, and we all suffer in the same way, and it’s our families who are left to pick up the pieces and cope with the inevitable fall out.

It was only when I started writing my book that I realized just how difficult I had made life for my wife and little boy. How confused they must have been by my mood swings, long silences and just wanting to be alone, not to mention the nightmares and flashbacks.

A very minimal amount of attention and support is focused on the warriors who suffer from combat related PTSD, but even less consideration is given to their families. It was because of this that “Hushed Voices” was born, in an effort to help and support those who are now in the firing line.

The primary purpose behind “Hushed Voices” is to provide the families and loved ones of our warriors with a medium through which they can share their concerns and experiences with others in a similar situation, hopefully discovering what works and what doesn’t and what professional help is available, helping them to cope with this very destructive condition.

Membership of “Hushed Voices” is totally free, but in order to participate fully, that is, to have their voice heard, users will need to register as a member.

I am very aware of how delicate this subject is and that they may not wish to be recognized online by their spouse, friends or others in their community, and I have made allowances for this in the sign up procedure.

However, they will need:

A name: This can be their real name or a pseudonym, but NO idiotic names.

An e-mail address: If they don’t wish to use their primary e-mail address for fear of their participation being discovered, then they can get a free e-mail account from Yahoo, Gmail or other free e-mail service provider. Their e-mail address is not visible to other members and it is never shared or divulged to any third party.

Photo/picture: They don’t have to provide a photo; they can just use the standard “Hushed Voices” silhouette which they can change at any time. But as we all know a picture, whatever it may be, does make it easier for other members to recognize each others posts, comments and connect.

The site is up already and can be found at www.hushedvoices.ning.com

Obviously the site is in its infancy and desperate for members.

Please join now to help yourself or someone you may know.

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

New Mobile App: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Pocket Guide

2011-06-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

The Department of Defense has released a new mobile application for health care professionals as a quick reference for mild traumatic brain injury.

According to the app's website page:

A reference for providers treating service members and Veterans with a mild TBI.

In collaboration with the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Standards of Care Directorate of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)the National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2) developed a smartphone Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Pocket Guide to provide care providers with a comprehensive, quick reference that includes clinical practice guidelines for assessing and treating service members and Veterans who have sustained a mild TBI.

Key features of the app include:

Interactive Decision Trees: Helps identify the best interventions and timing of services for patients in order to optimize quality of care and clinical outcomes.

Symptom Management: Identifies clinical practice guidelines for the management of common symptoms following mTBI.

Provider Assessments: Provides frequently used assessments and scoring of tools used with mTBI patients.

Relevant DoD ICD-9 Coding: Consolidates all appropriate codes enabling efficient documentation.

Interactive Links: Allows user to have direct access to additional resources with a touch of a finger.

Download the free mobile application now for Android smartphones.

And you can get hard copies of the pocket guide from the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center at info@dvbic.org or 1-800-870-9244.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

British Special Operations Forces Start in WWII

2011-06-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a guest post from Phil Ward, who spent a great deal of time behind the scenes of Texas politics as son-in-law to the late Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Bob Bullock. Ward lives in Austin with his wife and currently serves as the president of USA Training Company, a national driving safety organization. He is the author of the novel THOSE WHO DARE and the upcoming (November 2011) DEAD EAGLES.

Our modern day Special Operations Force has its origins in WWII. The story of how SpecOps began is a fascinating tale you could not make up. No one would believe it.

At the start of WWII there were no special operations units in Great Britain or in the United States.

In England independent companies were soon formed. These independent companies operated in Norway and carried out several successful sabotage missions.

Lt. Col. Dudley Clarke came up with a plan to raise raiding units along the lines of the South African Boer commandos to carry out "tip and run" raids on the German Occupied French coast line.

Prime Minister Churchill immediately approved the plan and called for the raising of 5,000 men of the "hunter class" to fall on the enemy like "leopards."

MO-9 was created to recruit, plan and conduct raiding operations with Capt. David Niven, the international movie star, as Lt. Col. Clarke’s assistant.

One of the independent companies, Number 11 commanded by Maj. Ronnie Todd, was selected (designated 11 Commando for the operation) as the troops for the first raid.

What happened next could only be described as a military farce with live ammo.

The Royal Navy was approached to supply small craft. In what was possibly the finest example of inner-service cooperation of the entire war, upon hearing of the plan to strike back at the Nazis, the Admiralty responded "for that you can have anything that you want."

Only the navy did not have any small boats suitable for amphibious assaults. Seven air-sea rescue boats had to be borrowed from the Royal Air Force, each capable of carrying 30 fully armed men. One of the crash boats, for reasons that have not been explained to this day, was crewed by civilian yachtsmen.

The Royal Navy assigned a real fire-eater, Lt. Cdr. J.W.F. Milner-Gibson, to command the flotilla. Commander Milner-Gibson went ashore an incredible 10 times to personally reconnoiter the beaches. Whether he was super brave or merely had a death wish was a matter of some speculation.

The Royal Air Force wanted in on the operation. Someone came up with the idea of Avro Ansons buzzing the beach to cover the sound of the engines of the boats as they made their run in. What the planner was thinking is hard to imagine. Any German who heard Royal Air Force planes repeatedly buzzing was sure to stand-to.

The navy plan called for the boats to sail from three different ports to confuse any enemy agents who might be lurking about and to rendezvous in mid-channel,then sail to the target.

On the big night Lt. Cdr. Milner-Gibson, acting in his capacity of master navigator, got it wrong and, with RAF Avro Ansons overhead, he sailed right up to the harbor entrance of Boulogne. The commander realized his mistake when the Germans manning the lighthouse, having heard the sound of airplane engines, turned on the light. Uh-oh.

The raiders made an immediate U-turn. The boats then became separated and landed in several different places.

Eleven commandos were armed with exactly half of the .45 Thompson submachine guns the British Army possessed (which was a grand total of 40 weapons kept in a central armory).

Major Todd led his men inland while Lt. Col. Clarke paced back and forth on the beach. He had come along on the raid and against orders had landed. Some firing broke out in the distance. Maj. Todd came back to consult and, at that moment, a German bicycle patrol happened along out of the dark.

Maj. Todd raised his Thompson submachine gun to fire, but not having any idea how the controls on the weapon worked for lack of a single a minute of training on how to operate a Tommy gun, he accidentally punched the magazine release button instead of the safety. The sound of his magazine falling to the ground alerted the Nazis.

Being trained men they immediately commenced fire with their 9mm machine pistol 38s and they did not drop their magazines until they ran empty.

A round from the initial burst nearly took Lt. Col. Clarke’s ear off, giving him the distinction of being the man who dreamed up, named, organized and became the first commando wounded in action.

On the second commando raid, Number 11 got lost and invaded the wrong island. Becoming an elite fighting force is not without its trials and tribulations.

But they never gave up and, within a year, British commandos were the rock stars of small scale raiding. Later in 1942 commandos trained the 1st Ranger Battalion.

The US Marines formed "Raider Battalions" along the lines of the commandos. After the war the US Army organized a ranger school. Selected army, navy and marine personnel went through the school.

These men went back to their services and became the seeds of the highly professional modern day multi-service Special Operations Force that is fighting terrorism worldwide today.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Vietnam Draft Lottery Influenced Political Views

2011-06-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

The June 11-12 Wall Street Journal in the “Week in Ideas” by Christopher Shea reported in “Voting and the Vietnam Draft” on a paper that appeared in the May issue of the American Political Science Review.

The paper was titled “Caught in the Draft: The Effects of Vietnam Draft Lottery Status on Political Attitudes” and its authors were Robert S. Erikson and Laura Stoker.

Shea reported:

Among college-educated men who were subject to the Vietnam War draft lottery in 1969, the number they drew shaped their politics for decades to come, a study finds. The effect was independent of actual military service.

In 1969, the men received lottery numbers ranging from 1 (with the greatest chance of being drafted) to 366, based on their birthdays. The men were interviewed in 1973 about their attitudes toward the war…

In the 1973 election, the likelihood that someone holding the No. 1 lottery spot would vote for President Nixon was 37%, compared with 75% for those who held the number 366. In fact, draft numbers predicted their votes better than late-childhood party preference.

This brief description of the paper resonated with me because, on December 1, 1969, when draft lottery numbers were first drawn, my husband of three months had the lottery number 16.

In fact, in his case the low number was not relevant because he had been R.O.T.C. at Michigan State University and was already sworn in as a second lieutenant scheduled to go on active duty.

What my husband and I found most interesting is the study’s results of opinions in the 1973 presidential race. We had figured, and were proven right, that President Nixon needed to end the war to be re-elected. (That political need sent us home from Munich, Germany, in May 1972 instead of sending my husband to Vietnam.)

Therefore, we would have expected that men with low lottery numbers would also have figured this out for the 1973 presidential election.

A Google search for the article found the abstract of the original article.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

The Westin Copley Place in Boston and FOX25 to Throw All-Expense Paid Wedding on Veterans Day

2011-06-10T18:43:00.001-07:00

If you are an active member of the U.S. military with a Massachusetts or New Hampshire residency, you qualify to submit a 500-word essay why you deserve "A Wedding to Remember."

And thanks to a partnership between The Westin Copley Place and FOX25, one military couple will win a wedding at The Westin Copley Place on Veterans Day, Friday, November 11, 2011:

The Westin Copley Place and FOX25 understand the sacrifices that our military makes every day to protect our country at home and abroad. As a token of their gratitude, they would like to honor those sacrifices by giving one deserving couple “A Wedding To Remember!”

Three finalists will be profiled on FOX25 and, on September 26th, the winner will be revealed on-air.

Read the contest rules now (entry deadline is July 31).
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Flare Up Over Control of the South China Seas

2011-06-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

In terms of future U.S. military conflicts, the South China Seas dispute among Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and China has great potential to create a major international hotspot. And the newest flare up adds more fuel to the fire, as the saying goes.

According to James Hookway’s June 10 Wall Street Journal article “Tensions Flare Over Disputed Asian Sea: China Warns Its Neighbors to Stop Looking for Oil, While Vietnam Reports Sabotage in a Regional Security Flashpoint:”

Tensions in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea flared as Vietnam accused China of sabotaging a seismic survey boat while China warned its neighbors to stop looking for oil in the disputed territory without its permission.

And the article goes on to say:

The territorial disputes were a focus of a regional security conference in Singapore on Saturday, where Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. was committed to defending its Southeast Asian allies. Mr. Gates predicted more clashes could occur unless rival claimants find a way to peacefully settle their disputes.

My husband/co-writer and I have been watching this potential hotspot for a long time because it is central to our screenplay “Lt. Commander Mollie Sanders,” which I am now adapting into a novel to be published through Amazon’s Kindle platform.

This new flare up is one of a string of incidents going back to the late 1980s. The question is whether going forward the U.S. will be pulled into a military role in the South China Seas.

Read the entire article now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

I Am Ashamed of the West LA Veterans Administration

2011-06-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

I have lived in West Los Angeles for over 30 years and, many times as I’ve driven by the grounds of the West LA Veterans Administration, I have admired the large open areas of well-tended grass.

After reading the June 9th Wall Street Journal opinion piece “Why Wounded Warriors Sleep in Dumpsters,” I am ashamed of having admired the well-tended grass that, it turns out, was intended since 1888 to be land for housing our wounded warriors.

Those of you who read this blog know that I frequently write about PTSD and efforts to help those military personnel suffering from the effects of PTSD.

Here are the facts presented by the opinion piece’s writers Laurence Tribe and Bobby Shriver:

• Los Angeles has “some 8,200 homeless veterans” of the “roughly 107,000 homeless veterans in America” suffering from conditions such as PTSD

• In 1888 “a 387-acre parcel of land, the West Los Angeles VA Campus,” was donated to the federal government “for the specific purpose of permanently maintaining a soldiers’ home.”

• The land was used for this purpose until the Vietnam War when “the government put buildings and land formerly dedicated to veterans’ therapeutic housing to other, more lucrative uses.”

At the end of this blog post I’ll give you the link to read the entire article yourself. But here is an important point to me although not stated explicitly in the opinion piece:

There may be services to help veterans suffering from PTSD – but if they are so damaged that they are homeless, they are unlikely to be able to arrive at the VA facilities for scheduled PTSD treatment.

The following from the opinion piece is what really made me ashamed:

Today, where the disabled homeless vets of Los Angeles should find a home, they'll instead find a car-rental business, a private swimming pool, a dog run, an oil well, an 18-hole golf course, and a unit that launders linen for nearby luxury hotels.

The opinion piece writers announce that on June 8th a group of homeless veterans filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court – Valentini v. Shineseki – against the federal officials responsible for their situation.

The opinion piece goes on to say:

Valentini v. Shineseki, which we helped these disabled veterans file, asks only that the government keep the solemn promise it made when it accepted the land as a charitable gift: provide the housing.

As my husband, a veteran from the Vietnam War-era, said, “With the construction industry suffering, there should easily be the ability in Los Angeles to start constructing housing for vets right now on that land. Why doesn’t the head of the VA Administration come here right now and make it happen?”

If any of you reading this post can use your political clout to make the VA Administration immediately start to remedy this situation in Los Angeles, please do so. The current situation is a shame on all of us.

Read the entire opinion piece now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

U.S. Army: Are Smartphones Destined for Combat?

2011-06-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

The June 3rd Wall Street Journal article "Killer App: Army Tests Smartphones for Combat" by Nathan Hodge begins:

The Army plans to hold desert trials in the U.S. next week to test off-the-shelf iPhones, Androids and tablet computers for use in war.

Starting Monday, the Army will also stress-test a variety of applications that could allow troops to tap digital information from the front lines—for instance, streaming video from a surveillance camera, or downloading up-to-the minute information from a remote database.

The Army doesn't have a plan to give every soldier a smartphone. But Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, recently said that if the devices proved themselves in testing, the service would "buy what we need for who needs it now."

Read the rest of the article now.

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog. And get the Kindle version of MRS. LIEUTENANT for 99 cents on Amazon.

In Honor of Memorial Day: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

2011-05-28T22:48:00.000-07:00

In honor of Memorial Day, below is the beginning of the epilogue in my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT that describes a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial:

April 1994

From a distance the grass appears unmarred, stretching in a straight line from the front of the Lincoln Memorial to the reflecting pond, then rising slightly to the Washington Monument and on to the Capitol building.

Only as Sharon reaches the actual location in Constitution Gardens can she see the cutout in the ground for the memorial wall designed by Maya Ying Lin for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The wall can be viewed by taking a downward sloping path from either the east or west end. The first black granite panel is a sliver on Sharon’s left as she starts down the path. The panels grow in height from both ends, until at the bottom of the path the two sides meet as tall wall panels.

The names of the dead cover the surfaces of the panels, name after name in continuous flowing lines.

A man parks his wheelchair in front of a panel. Sharon glances at his face. He's about the right age. Is he remembering his buddies?

And who has left the box of Cracker Jacks at the base of another panel? It's out of place surrounded by flower wreaths and miniature American flags, even a cap with the slogan "Reenlist."

A woman bends towards one panel, her left hand pressing a sheet of paper against a name, her right hand rubbing a pencil over the paper's surface. A rubbing. Like the rubbing of a tombstone.

An older woman leans on the arm of her middle-aged daughter, both their faces damp. Is the older woman here to honor her son or the middle-aged woman her husband? Or both?

"It was a difficult decision," Sharon hears a young man – probably in his twenties, too young to know firsthand – say to his companion. "Whether to go."

Two teenage boys turn to their mother. "Thanks for taking us, Mom," they say.

An African-American family is on the path in front of Sharon. The man pushes a stroller with a sleeping baby while his wife holds the hands of twin girls.

Sharon flashes to Donna Lautenberg’s description of the black woman standing in the clinic line at Ft. Knox feeding bread to her young son. The woman had been eight months pregnant with this son when her husband was killed in Vietnam. Is this man here to show his children his father's name on the wall, the father he never knew?

Ahead of Sharon appears the spot where the two sides of the wall meet. At the bottom of the last west panel is the date 1975 – the last year of casualties – with the inscription:

Our nation honors the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of its Vietnam veterans. This memorial was built with private contributions from the American people. November 11, 1982

At the top of the first east panel appears the date 1959 – the first year of casualties – with the inscription:

In honor of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us.

"In the order they were taken from us."

How eerie to be walking this path now. Richard Nixon, the president who escalated and then ended the Vietnam War, has just died at the age of 81. Many of the Vietnam War dead lived less than one-fourth of that time.

Sharon stops at a panel and randomly counts the minuscule round indentations representing 10 lines of names. She is not looking for any specific name...

The complete novel is on Kindle for 99 cents at http://budurl.com/MrsLTKindle

Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Have Higher Rate of Respiratory Ilness

2011-05-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

The May 17th Wall Street Journal article by Shirley S. Wang titled "Troops in Mideast Face Breathing Ills: Burn Pits a Possible Factor as Data Show Higher Rate of Respiratory Woes Among Veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq" begins:

Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have a higher rate of debilitating respiratory illness than those deployed elsewhere, according to a new study that bolsters concerns among some medical professionals and members of Congress about the potential harm to troops from toxic chemicals and dust in the Middle East.

The findings, which will be presented Wednesday at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in Denver, place renewed urgency on getting at the root of why some young, previously healthy soldiers have been returning from the Middle East complaining of symptoms including shortness of breath and dizziness. In many cases, the soldiers can no longer pass a required physical to continue with active duty.

There appears to be "a modest increase in the incidence of respiratory symptoms in those individuals who have returned from deployment to Southwest Asia," said Craig Postlewaite, director of the Department of Defense's Force Readiness and Health Assurance office.

Read the entire article now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Letters to a Soldier Before His Deployment

2011-05-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

I received an email from Jean Meltzer-Maskuli with a link to a post she wrote about letters to her husband when he deployed. She wanted to share with me the importance of community in supporting our U.S. military personnel.

I asked her to provide some information about herself so that I could share the information and her post here on my Mrs. Lieutenant blog.

She wrote:

Jean Meltzer-Maskuli is currently studying to be a rabbi at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.

Prior to beginning rabbinical school, Jean served as the creative director for Tapestry International, an Oscar-winning television and film production company.

During her tenure in that position, she garnered numerous awards for her work, including a National Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Series.

Her husband Xhevair Maskuli is a non-commissioned officer and staff sergeant in the Army Reserves. He has been deployed to Iraq twice.

First from 2004-2005, serving with the 306th Military Police battalion in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. From 2009-2010 he was stationed at the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad, Iraq, as part of the MNC-I C2 CACE.

Jean and Xhevair Maskuli are proud to serve both their country and their religion. They hope that their story brings faith, courage and strength to all in the United States military.

Now read her post about letters to a deployed soldier.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Acupuncture Used in Afghanistan to Treat Brain Injuries

2011-04-24T00:14:00.000-07:00

The April 23-24 Wall Street Journal carried the story "Can Needles Soothe Wounded Warriors?" by Michael M. Phillips.

The article begins:

Marine Lance Cpl. Tristan Bell was injured in a jarring explosion that tore apart his armored vehicle, slammed a heavy radio into the back of his head and left him tortured by dizziness, insomnia, headaches and nightmares.

He is recovering on a padded table at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, beneath strings of soft, white Christmas lights, with the dulcet notes of "Tao of Healing" playing on an iPod and a forest of acupuncture needles sprouting from his head, ear, hands and feet.

In a bit of battlefield improvisation, the Navy is experimenting with acupuncture and soothing atmospherics to treat Marines suffering from mild cases of traumatic brain injury, commonly called concussions — the most prevalent wound of the Afghan war.

The article reports some amazing results, and all because in 2008 the Navy put a few doctors through a 300-hour acupuncture course.

One of these doctors, Cmdr. Keith Stuessi, arrived at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, planning to use these skills for sprained ankles and sore backs. He then came across an article about using acupuncture to treat PTSD and realized that many of the PTSD symptoms were similar to those of mild traumatic brain injury.

Read the rest of the article to learn about the specific amazing results.

Also read the Mrs. Lieutenant post "Important News for Treating Traumatic Brain Injury."
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Important News for Treating Traumatic Brain Injury

2011-04-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

The April 21st Wall Street Journal article "Feeding May Help Brain Injuries" by Shirley S. Wang begins:

Military personnel who suffer traumatic brain injury need to be fed adequately and immediately to reduce the severity of trauma and improve their chance of survival, according to a report by the Institute of Medicine, a finding that also has implications for people sustaining head injuries in other situations, such as sports and traffic accidents.

The report, commissioned by the U.S. Defense Department and released Wednesday, recommends that in the first 24 hours after head trauma, patients need to receive at least 50% of their typical calorie intake, including a higher-than-normal amount of protein, in order to reduce inflammation and swelling of the brain and provide enough energy to help the brain repair itself.

The intensive nutrition regimen should be continued for at least two weeks, the report says.

Read the rest of the article now and then help spread the word to people who could be helped by this information.

Also read the Mrs. Lieutenant post "Acupuncture Used in Afghanistan to Treat Brain Injuries."
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Doc RESTREPO Is a 15-Month Deployment Encapsulated in a Feature-Length Film

2011-04-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

I’ve just watched the documentary RESTREPO and I’m not sure what I think of it.

Here’s the official explanation from the film’s website http://restrepothemovie.com

RESTREPO is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, "Restrepo," named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military.

This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

The Los Angeles Times quote on the site reads: “Coming after The Hurt Locker...This movie gives you the same edge-of-your-seat sense of suspense and awe.”

I would perhaps agree with the same sense of awe – for what our military is asked to do and what they actually do – but I would not agree about the same sense of suspense.

While I found THE HURT LOCKER a compelling story from the moment it started, I found RESTREPO confusing and disoriented. And while I understand that this probably was done to reflect the way the platoon at Restrepo felt, I found as a viewer that this was very disengaging.

For example, in one segment the platoon is on a very dangerous operation that goes on for several days. Then suddenly they are walking across snow. Was this part of the same operation? I don’t think so given the scene following the snow scene.

Perhaps as a former newspaper reporter I can’t accept a documentary that doesn’t make the who, why, where, etc. very clear.

I also felt the movie very slow – long stretches of beautiful mountain scenery can be slow going. And, yes, again, I suspect these sections were meant to represent the waiting that the men did between defending off attackers and going on patrol.

While there are actual combat scenes, including wounded and dead, the viewer sees much less than he/she would see watching a fictional war movie.

There are some interviews of the soldiers returned from the deployment. And I was particularly concerned about the soldier who is experiencing severe PTSD symptoms. He tries not to sleep rather than sleep and relive his nightmares.

Neither he nor anyone else mentioned treatment being provided for the experiences this platoon was exposed to.

Here’s a short video from the film:

And check out information about other war documentaries and feature films about war at www.insupportofourtroops.com
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT.

An Unwanted Gift: IEDs

2011-04-04T09:27:00.001-07:00

Ex-British Special Forces soldier Theodore Knell wrote a poem too late to be included in his memoir "From the Corners of a Wounded Mind" (see my review of this compelling memoir). It is such a moving poem that I wanted to include it here with this introduction from Knell:

Corporal Liam Tasker was an arms and explosives sniffer dog handler working in Afghanistan. He and his dog, a Springer Spaniel named Theo, held the record for detecting the greatest number of IEDs on a single tour.

Liam was shot dead during a fire fight and Theo died of a seizure some two hours later -- some would say of a broken heart.

An Unwanted Gift

His little body shakes in anticipation
so eager to please
running along the narrow streets
searching every crevice
hoping to find his prize
personally I hope he doesn’t

he’s got something
“Good boy”,
you think so?
Now it’s my turn
but I’m not so eager.
Let’s hope it’s on its own,
but knowing my luck,
it’ll be what some sick bastard named a daisy chain

Buried at the foot of a wall
perfectly placed to channel the blast along the narrow street,
catching as many as they can,
but they’re too late
the boys have gone to ground
well back,
and like Meerkats,
with eyes wide
and heads on a swivel,
they now scour the area
protecting me like some precious jewel

Laying here alone
with my sweat soaking into the sand
I empty my mind of everything,
my wife and son
everything, except for the job in hand,
gently I clear away the earth
picking at it, like a child with a meal it doesn’t want
slowly exposing the deadly gift that’s been left for us
lifting each wire in turn
looking for those tell tale signs
the ones that will tell me it’s not alone

please God, keep my hands steady

I’ve only got a week to go

(c) 2011 Theodore Knell

Coping With Combat Stress: Book Review and WSJ Article

2011-04-03T00:28:00.001-07:00

Theodore Knell’s book “From the Corners of a Wounded Mind” is a moving and powerful memoir of a soldier’s life.

The power of Knell’s story comes from what he writes about as well as by including his own poetry as part of his reflections. You can read one of his poems in the guest post he did – “Ex-British Special Forces Soldier Talks About His Experiences and His New Nonfiction Book”

This one poem doesn’t do justice to the amazing ability Knell has to capture the essence of his years as a soldier, including the effect of combat on soldiers.

His book concludes:

I hope that the next time you see a serviceman or woman, or the old man sitting on the homeless shelter steps, proudly brandishing a chest full of medals, you will pause for a moment and try to look beyond that confident, sometimes brash, some would even say arrogant exterior, to the person that lies within. A person who has worked hard, seen things that none of us should ever see, and in some cases suffered horrific injuries without complaint, someone who will continue to suffer in some way, either physically or mentally, but mostly in silence for the rest of their lives.

Only a few hours after reading the ending of Knell’s book, I read the Wall Street Journal April 2nd front-page article “Rx for Combat Stress: Comradeship” by Michael M. Phillips:

GARMSIR, Afghanistan—The morning after Chad Wade died, nobody wanted to walk point.

The Marines in Cpl. Wade's squad no longer had to imagine what would happen if they stepped on a buried bomb. Now they had seen it, and the fresh memory of their friend's shattered legs froze them in place.

When their squad leader, Sgt. Albert Tippett, lined them up for their next patrol, no one would pick up the metal detector used by the point man to clear a path through the mines.

The article goes on to explain “the new approach to combat stress that the Marine Corps wants to institutionalize.”

This new approach appears to be an antidote to what Knell describes so powerfully in his book – the reluctance of soldiers to talk about their horrifying experiences.

Read the entire Wall Street Journal article now. Then read Knell’s paperback book on Amazon or the Kindle version.

And for information on PTSD and its symptoms, see www.insupportofourtroops.com/ptsd-info/

March 22nd tweet on Twitter from @VeteranJournal: Suicide hotline available for deployed soldiers: http://ht.ly/4jJve

Ex-British Special Forces Soldier Talks About His Experiences and His New Nonfiction Book

2011-03-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

Guest post by author Theodore Knell:

My name is Theodore Knell. I am an ex-British Special Forces soldier who saw combat all over the world during my 22 years service in the military.

During my time I have served with, and met people from, all walks of life, from world leaders to subsistence farmers, some you wouldn’t follow in a bus queue or leave in charge of an empty pram. But there were others I would have willingly died for, and nearly did on more than one occasion.

It was suggested by my wife that I might benefit from writing about my experiences and feelings as a way of clearing my head, a sort of banishing my demons thing.

If only it were that easy.

The end result was a book entitled “From the Corners of a Wounded Mind” in which I have tried to honestly share my experiences. As such, all of the incidents portrayed within the book are true.

Some are so dark and painful that I often questioned whether I wanted to remain part of this thing they call the human race. Yes, in the really dark times I even considered that.

I have lost six of my closest friends to suicide (after they had left the service) to what can only be the prolonged exposure to combat and the resulting PTSD, and as such this is a subject I am very passionate about.

I also know how hard it can be for our wives and families. These enormously resilient individuals truly are the unsung heroes of the military world.

My wife and small son had to deal with me disappearing at the drop of a hat, sometimes for months on end, not knowing where I was or what I was doing, or even if I was coming back, never complaining and always supportive.

I remember going to work one morning, telling her I would see her at lunch time -- I returned six months later in a wheel chair. Her only comment was: "Your lunch is ruined."

I honestly believe that, if it weren't for her unflinching love and support, I would not be here today.

Along with helping me to address my own problems, the primary purpose of the book was to try to find a way to explain the reasons for my flashbacks, long silences, mood swings and nightmares to my wife without having to relive the pain and trauma of the events all over again.

Below are two excerpts taken from my book:

The first, “The Aftermath,” provides a short background to problems we soldiers face after the physical battles are over and the mental battles begin.

The second, the poem “Reflections,” illustrates how these problems can manifest themselves in everyday life once we have left the service.

The Aftermath

As soldiers we all carry scars; it’s an occupational hazard. Some of these scars will bring a smile to our face as we remember that night, the one where we were too drunk to stand, but still thought it would be a good idea to try and break the regimental assault course record while pissed and in the dark.

Then there are the other scars, those that will fill us with a strange sort of pride. The scars that will mark our right of passage, the ones earned on some distant battlefield. The same scars that over time will become so hard for us to look at or talk about, even to our loved ones, without having to remember the trauma and pain.

But the most damaging scars will be the scars that can’t be seen. The ones that become visible only to us when we are alone, in a troubled sleep, or in the darkness of night.

Such scars can have a devastating effect on both us and our families. It’s why we suffer the mood swings, the flash backs, the recurring nightmares and the enormous anger felt by so many of us even years after the event.

The feelings that, as soldiers, we learned to hide so well before the battle and then refuse to discuss with anybody, including our loved ones, in order to avoid having to relive the horror all over again.

I’ve heard people say: “Pull yourself together; it’s over now; you have to move on.”

These people have no idea what it’s like to be imprisoned in a deep sleep, a sleep you can’t wake up from no matter how hard you try, reliving every sound, smell and taste as you walk through a nightmare which you know will only ever end one way.

Finally waking, moody, angry and totally drained, or even worse, not wanting to go to bed and sleep, because you know what will come if you do.

As Special Forces soldiers we were actively discouraged from talking about our feelings and the personal effects of combat on our mental health. At the time even talking to a doctor could be perceived as some sort of personal weakness, a flaw in our makeup, one which may even result in being RTU’d (Returned To Unit) -- so you learned to keep quiet, bottle it up and crack on.

Reflections

It’s just before the dawn;
they say it’s the darkest hour
and as I wander down these lonely streets
past houses with their curtains drawn,
I envy those warm and content inside
with their trimmed hedges and manicured lawns

The town center,
once a dark and empty place
slowly struggles back to life.
It’s where insomniacs and the tormented mingle unnoticed
amongst those just finishing
or starting their day

At the end of the precinct stands a Starbucks
its yellow lights flickering
like a welcoming beacon amongst the dark and empty stores.
Once inside I grab at my coffee
like a junkie with a long needed fix I’ll head for a corner,
any corner,
as long as I can get my back to the wall
and still see the door

Across the aisle sits a stranger
hunched over a large black coffee,
elbows on table
head bowed
pulling quietly at his unkempt hair,
he has those same smoky eyes
and that thousand meter stare.

There’s nothing on earth that can open up old wounds

like a mirror

Copyright © Theodore Knell 2010

Learn more about Theodore Knell and get his paperback book on Amazon or the Kindle version.

And for information on PTSD and its symptoms, see www.insupportofourtroops.com/ptsd-info/

March 22nd tweet from @VeteranJournal: Suicide hotline available for deployed soldiers: http://ht.ly/4jJve

Afghani Interpreter Thanks Army Personnel for Fighting for His Country

2011-03-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Here is a guest post that I am very pleased to have on my blog:

Hi, my name is Shah Wali Fazli. I have written a book called "The Interpreter" which will be published in June/July this year. (See his website www.shahsight.com and his blog http://shahsight.blogspot.com/)

It is a fiction based on my experiences as an interpreter working in the U.K. and Germany to help NATO forces in Helmand, Afghanistan.

We tend to know soldiers if we are a member of their family or a friend or a soldier ourselves or we work with them.

I know soldiers from working with them.

Now I know why their families are proud of them because I am proud of myself for working with them.

I joined them to help free my country. I didn't particularly feel anything for them at that time. They were doing what I needed them to do.

Then, as I saw the hell they chose to go through to help my people, I grew to understand them and to care for them. Now I consider them as being part of my own family.

You, their countrymen, love them because they fight for your country. I love them because they are fighting for my country, Afghanistan.

I was filled with love for them to see how much they cared about the women and the children of Afghanistan. I was thrilled to see how much they wanted to avoid offending my people.

I was sure they would be careful not to harm us in Afghanistan if they could possibly avoid it. I had their full attention when I advised them on how they should behave in my country.

At that moment I realized that there is no job more fulfilling and more prestigious than being a soldier or than being among these soldiers.

I am proud to say I work for the army not because they carry guns and fire them, but because they care for our children, for our women and for our men, and because they fight the enemy of our humanity, the Taliban.

I am sure you have seen the Taliban execute couples merely for being in love. I am sure you have seen the Taliban beating women on the street. I am sure you have seen the footage on TV.

I have seen it with my naked eyes.

I know what these soldiers deserve to be called. They deserve to be called "heroes."

I know why they should be looked at as the saviors of humanity in my country. They are fighting one of the worst people on earth in the most difficult terrain -- in the mountains of Afghanistan.

From the bottom of my heart I am grateful to these soldiers, to your spouses, to your relations, to your friends who are fighting for us.

And I am grateful to you for your own courage and untiring support in allowing them to free my country.

Revisiting U.S. Military History: "Mrs. Lieutenant" and Frankfurt, Germany

2011-03-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited that my Vietnam-era novel "Mrs. Lieutenant," which was a 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finalist, is the first featured month in the newly launched BestArmyWives.com book club

I received the nicest email from author George Polley (www.geogepolleyauthor.com), who said:

"Mrs. Lieutenant" is the kind of novel that invites you in, engages you and keeps you until you've read the last word.

An absolutely wonderful read that brought back so many memories of the Vietnam War, student unrest, ugly prejudices, the Civil Rights movement and the draft counseling I did when teaching and counseling at one of Minnesota's state universities.

Compassionate and powerful, "Mrs. Lieutenant" is a book that will linger in your memory and keep you thinking and talking about it for a long time.

But what is slightly unnerving to me is that, at the same time I received this email, part of my personal Mrs. Lieutenant history was brought back into sharp focus.

This week's shooting and killing of two U.S. military personnel in Frankfurt, Germany, reminded me that on May 11, 1972, the day that my husband and I took a 1400 military charter flight from Frankfurt back to the U.S., the Frankfurt Officers' Club was bombed by the Baader-Meinhof gang -- one officer was killed and several others wounded.

The next day back in the U.S. I read about the bombing in The Wall Street Journal -- and I remember how shaken I was at the time. Now U.S. military personnel have again been killed in Frankfurt.

Thanks today to the Internet, I found a 33-minute video of an interview of a man who was a 15-year-old student at the U.S. military's high school in Frankfurt at the time of the 1972 bombing. You can listen to the interview to learn more about this period of the U.S. military in Germany.

As some of you know, I have written a partial draft of a sequel to "Mrs. Lieutenant." This sequel focuses on being part of a military occupation in Germany only 25 years after the end of World War II.

My husband and I ended up leaving Germany that May, although we had tickets for the September 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games. I have just read that Munich is now bidding for the 2018 Winter Olympics. I wonder how many people think that perhaps this is not a chapter of Germany history that should be lived again.

P.S. If you are interested in military stories, do join the BestArmyWives.com/book-club -- and I look forward to speaking with you during the four webinars we've having this month for "Mrs. Lieutenant."
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Website Best Army Wives Launches Book Club March 1 With Novel “Mrs. Lieutenant”

2011-02-25T13:54:00.000-08:00

The website BestArmyWives.com launches a book club March 1 with the Vietnam War-era novel “Mrs. Lieutenant,” which was a 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finalist.

Irion Arce, creator of the site and the book club, has assigned chapters to each of the four weeks of the month-long website discussion. Chapter assignments are at http://bestarmywives.com/book-club/

In addition, at the end of each week of assigned chapters, an online discussion with author Phyllis Zimbler Miller will be held and everyone is invited to participate. Registration is at www.mrslieutenant.com/march-book-club/ along with links to read the entire novel online for free.

“Mrs. Lieutenant” takes place in the spring of 1970 – right after the Kent State National Guard shootings and President Nixon’s two-month incursion into Cambodia – when four newly married young women come together at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, as their husbands go on active duty as officers in the U.S. Army.

Different as these four women are, they have one thing in common: Their overwhelming fear that, right after these nine weeks of training, their husbands could be shipped out to Vietnam – and they could become war widows.

Sharon is a Jewish anti-war protester who fell in love with an ROTC cadet; Kim is a Southern Baptist whose husband is intensely jealous; Donna is a Puerto Rican who grew up in an enlisted man’s family; and Wendy is a Southern black whose parents have sheltered her from the brutal reality of racism in America.

The author was a new Mrs. Lieutenant in the spring of 1970 when her ROTC husband attended Armor Officers Basic at Ft. Knox before training at Ft. Holabird as a Strategic Intelligence Officer (MOS 9300) and being assigned to the 18th Military Battalion in Munich, Germany, from September 1970 to May 1972.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Donate to Send Tampons to Deployed Troops to Save Lives

2011-02-21T16:11:00.000-08:00

Shelly Vail of Troop Support Alliance gave permission to post her email supporting Treats for Troops:

Treats for Troops is proud to share the news that SaveOnTampa Bay has stepped up to help in a MUCH needed area for our troops ... "tampons."

For the female soldiers the obvious reasons, BUT most of all to the Special Forces who take a handful with them every time they "go across the wire" in case they get shot.

Tampons are individually wrapped, sterile, easily inserted. They absorb, expand
and a surgeon can easily remove it.

This is one area that the manufacturers don't talk about. The fact is that TAMPONS SAVE MILITARY LIVES!

Just $3 can save a life. Please make a donation (in increments of $3) so we can send this much requested item to the war zones. (For example, if you want to buy five "specials," please make out the check for $15.)

If you'd like to add a couple of dollars for shipping, that would be awesome as well.

To read thank you letters from our troops, see photos or find out what else you can do to help... please check out www.treatsfortroops.info

Make check payable to Treats for Troops and send checks to:

Treats for Troops
4923 Patagonia Place
Land O'Lakes, Fl 34638

In memo section write: SaveonTampaBay Special
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Honoring Our Purple Heart Heroes

2011-02-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a guest post by author T. K. Marion:

Reading, PA — Next week is “National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week.” I would wager a guess that very few people know about this event, excluding veterans, military personnel and their families, of course. I was ignorant of it until late last year.

How does one properly salute our hospitalized veterans who fought heroically against our foes? I suppose everyone has their own private way of honoring our wounded warriors.

As one who was raised in a military family — my late father served with distinction for 22 years in the Navy — I, too, want to honor our Purple Heart heroes.

As an author of three military historical novels, I write stories about Americans for Americans: stories that honor our fighting men and women for their courage, sacrifice and dedication in the service of our great republic.

As a philanthropist and founder of Thirteen Stars Foundation, I believe in helping the nonprofit community by performing book-signing fundraisers, which I call “Author for a Cause” initiatives. I do this by providing the nonprofit a percentage of my book sales.

In 2011 and the years ahead I am particularly committed to supporting military and veterans’ causes.

On February 9th I will be visiting the Coatesville VA Medical Center in southeast Pennsylvania to honor our hospitalized heroes by giving out 200 autographed copies of my novels.

I call this initiative “Books for Our Heroes.” It is my way to say thank you for everything these heroes have done to guarantee our freedoms.

The Coatesville hospital currently accommodates approximately 450 patients, so we are about 250 books short of giving one to every hero in the hospital.

If you would like to donate to a hospitalized veteran at Coatesville or any other VA or military medical center across the country, please visit my website at www.tkmarion.com and purchase one or more of my novels.

Discounts are available and I also welcome corporate sponsors who would be willing to contribute to our “Books for Our Heroes” program.

Next stop for me will be the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. At least, I hope so.

But surely one does not need to purchase my novels to honor our hospitalized veterans next week. If you find the time, visit your local VA or military hospital or clinic and give what you can to say thank you for their devoted and selfless service to our country.

Perhaps a gift, flowers or whatever you feel would make them realize that you are never far from honoring them through your thoughts and prayers. Sometimes just a handshake or pat on the back is sufficient.

Trust me, as one who honors our patriotic service men and women 365 days a year, I know.

God bless you!
T. K. Marion

Author of KILL THE DEVIL, THE PRINCIPLED MEN, and EAST WIND, RAIN
www.tkmarion.com

Note: I would like to thank Phyllis Zimbler Miller for allowing me to post this message on her blog. It has been a privilege.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Commandant of the Marine Corps Brings Milestone Package to Afghanistan

2011-01-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

From the Operation Gratitude blog:

Operation Gratitude today revealed that the organization’s 600,000th Care Package, containing the keys to a Victory Vegas 8-Ball Motorcycle, was personally delivered on Christmas Day by Marine Corps Commandant General James Amos to a Lance Corporal deployed in the Sangin District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The Lance Corporal, whose name will be revealed upon his return to the United States, is an infantryman with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5), also known as the “Dark Horse Battalion.”

Read the entire post now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Robin Williams Urges 2010 Tax-Deductible Gift to USO to Support Our Deployed Troops

2010-12-31T08:23:00.000-08:00

Here's an email from Robin Williams that the USO has asked to be shared with as many people as possible:

I'm writing today with a renewed sense of commitment to our troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world. I've just come back from a tour with the USO that has once again inspired me to do everything I can for those brave men and women -- men and women of all ages and all nationalities doing some extraordinary things for us and our country.

And let me tell you, they truly deserve it. They deserve to have someone come over there and say "you rock -- you're the best." And, especially as they spend the holiday season thousands of miles away from their loved ones, they deserve to have all of us keep them at home in our hearts.

Make your At Home In Our Hearts gift today and help the USO bring support and comfort to our troops all around the world.

The USO's At Home In Our Hearts campaign is about bringing a touch of home to our troops and our wounded warriors all around the world. And it's all made possible thanks to the support of passionate Americans like yourself.

With your gift today, you and the USO can help our troops make a holiday phone call back home for free, help bring all the things that remind them of home to the front lines thanks to USO2GO and give them some much-needed comfort and a place to relax at USO centers right there in the war zone.

I've seen firsthand how much these services mean to our troops and I can't thank you enough for your past support of the USO. I hope you will lend your generosity once again as part of the USO's At Home In Our Hearts campaign.

Please make your gift today and keep our troops At Home In Our Hearts.

Thanks again for all you do for our troops. And thanks for joining with me and the USO in this critical campaign.

Robin Williams

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

USO Asks for Donations for "At Home in Our Hearts" Holiday Campaign

2010-12-20T15:46:00.001-08:00

Here is an email from the USO:

Imagine for a moment you're far away from your loved ones at this special time of year. You might know when you will be home again, but that date is so distant it's hard to picture. You're cold, tired and really miss the simple things -- like talking to your kids on the phone.

That's what it is like for our troops spending this holiday season in Afghanistan, Iraq and at outposts around the world.

But through the USO's At Home In Our Hearts holiday campaign, supporters like you have the chance to give our troops something really special: the opportunity to make a phone call home.

Whether it's the sound of your daughter's voice, hearing your son talk about his football game, or the opportunity to tell your parents you're alright -- when you're deployed during the holidays, it's a phone call you'll treasure.

Will you join me in giving our troops the chance to phone home for the holidays?

Give our troops a phone call home this holiday: make your tax-deductible donation today.

Operation Phone Home goes the extra mile to connect our troops with their families, and it's a vital part of the USO's At Home In Our Hearts campaign. At centers across the world, staff and volunteers are going all-out to give our troops invaluable moments with their families that bridge the miles.

There's nothing we can ever really do to thank our troops enough for the sacrifices they make. But we owe it to them to try and right now that means helping them make personal connections with loved ones to brighten their holiday.

Every dollar you give to "Operation Phone Home" can provide twenty minutes of talk time for our troops. With your help, we can bring them all a few minutes of holiday warmth with family.

You can make sure that this holiday, home is just a phone call away for our troops.

No matter where they're stationed or deployed, our troops are spending this time of year At Home In Our Hearts. Please help them bridge the distance by making a special gift today.

Thanks for all you do,

Kelli Seely
USO Chief Development Officer
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Watch a Heartwarming Video of Holiday Messages From Our Troops All Over the World

2010-12-15T21:15:00.001-08:00

This video link was accompanied by the following email from LT Jennifer Cragg of the Defense Media Activity Emerging Media Directorate:

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays and to share a special video that we at the Defense Media Activity Emerging Media Directorate produced, with the participation of more than 40 commands worldwide.

Service members from each of the services, stationed everywhere from Afghanistan to Antarctica, helped make "Twas a Night in December," a variation of the popular holiday story rewritten with a military twist. Country music singer and active military supporter Toby Keith introduces our holiday video.

Please feel free to share this video with your friends and family. And if you'd like to share it on your Facebook pages, blogs, and other social media, we'd be grateful!

You can link to the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j_icz3ZEHw

And, you can view the entire blog post: http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/12/twas-a-night-in-december/

Please take a few minutes to watch this video -- you will be so glad that you did! And then share it with others.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Show Support for Our Troops Now

2010-12-12T00:06:00.000-08:00

While any time is a good time to show gratitude for our troops, this month is an especially good time to remember our troops.

Here are a few of my recommendations:

Vietnam Veterans of America:

This organization needs donations, especially clothing, and will pick up from your home or office. You can schedule a pickup through the website at http://www.pickupplease.org/

Cell Phones for Soldiers:

This organization’s goal is to help deployed military personnel call home. Learn how you can help now at www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

Operation Gratitude:

This organization sends care packages to soldiers and needs your help – see http://www.opgratitude.com/

USA Together:

This organization bills itself the Craigslist for wounded warriors – check out the site now at http://usatogether.org/

And for help with recognizing and treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:

Here’s info at my site www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com –
http://www.insupportofourtroops.com/ptsd-info/

And here’s a FREE ebook written while Ken Jones was recovering from his own combat-induced PTSD – bit.ly/c3gQDr
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Show Gratitude to Our Troops: Support Reach Out and Read's Military Initiative

2010-11-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Penny Sansevieri's www.amarketingexpert.com ezine, I learned about Reach Out and Read's military initiative.

To support the program you can donate a book or sponsor a child -- one of the 90,000 children on 44 U.S. military bases served by the program:

"In addition to promoting school readiness, Reach Out and Read also helps build routines and strengthens bonds, which are especially important for military families who are tested by separation and deployment."

Go here now to say thanks to our troops by supporting this program.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

“Stand Up for Heroes” Benefit Aids Wounded Veterans

2010-11-22T23:46:00.000-08:00

Tad Friend in the November 22nd issue of The New Yorker wrote a short piece entitled “Hero Worship” about the benefit “Stand Up for Heroes” for Bob Woodruff's foundation to aid wounded veterans.

As Friend reminds the reader, “Woodruff, an ABC News correspondent, was himself badly wounded in Iraq in 2006.”

This short piece is both heartbreaking and uplifting -- and I recommend you read it now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Watch Live on November 19 "The Human Stories" of the U.S. Army

2010-11-18T18:11:00.001-08:00

Here is an email I received about a live event featuring "The Human Stories" of the U.S. Army:

When some people hear the word “military”, they automatically think of guns, tanks, and planes – the awe-inspiring technology that makes America’s military a superior force above all others. What is often overlooked, however, is the common thread that unites our talks and remains America’s strongest military asset: its people.

I am writing you on behalf of the U.S. Army's Online & Social Media Division to tell you about an event that you may be interested in that features some of our people.

Tomorrow, Nov. 19, the Department of Defense is hosting a TEDxPentagon series and we'd love to have you watch the speeches LIVE as they are delivered at http://www.livestream.com/TEDxPentagon. The sessions start at 10 a.m.

“The Human Stories” series includes Mrs. Sarah Hertig’s perspective as an Army spouse whose husband was injured in Iraq. She will shed light about why she’d gladly see her daughter marry to also become an Army wife.

In addition to Mrs. Hertig, U.S. Army Accessions Commander Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley’s will provide insight about why “Technology Without People is Just (Really Cool) Stuff”. His TEDxPentagon talk will focus on the modern military service member and the future of recruiting.

Also scheduled to participate in TEDxPentagon is Commanding General of the U.S. Africa Command, Gen. William “Kip” Ward. His Legacy Lecture on “The Footprints We Leave” will include personal accounts on a lifetime of military service, cultural growth, and personal development.

Read more about the event now!
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

For Veterans Day: A Celebration of Social Media Tools to Help Vets

2010-11-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

The Mashable.com post today by Lisa Waananen on "How Social Media Is Making Veteran Service Organizations Better" is a compelling piece on veterans as well as on how social media can be used to reach out to targeted audiences. (Lisa is @liswaananen on Twitter.)

As the co-founder of a social media marketing company and a supporter of our troops (#sot on Twitter), I loved this "mashing" of my two main Twitter interests as seen in my tweets. (I'm @ZimblerMiller on Twitter.)

In fact, at the request of Ken Jones (@akvet on Twitter) I have been tweeting about the FREE ebook he wrote while recovering from his own combat-induced PTSD. (Download this FREE ebook now at http://t.co/NC5mPmR )

And I got this terrific DM (private tweet) from Ken:

As of 0900 PST Thurs -- 2,084 people have read our two PTSD ebooks. What a great start!

The Mashable post talks about World War II vets who are now on social media sites. And in honor of my own father -- Albert Zimbler, who served during WWII, I'd like to share the link to his website www.AlZimComedy.com as well as his photo (above) taken during WWII.

Read the entire Mashable post now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Volunteer Finds Homes for Fallen Heroes Posters

2010-11-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the email I received from Bobbi Baker, who has granted permission to share this here:

I simply must tell you how uplifting my experience with Operation Gratitude has been.

As you know, I have recently become involved with sending letters to our courageous young men and women in uniform.

I'm positive that the appreciation they will get from receiving letters of thanks will not compare to the feeling of giving that I get from writing those letters.

However one may feel about the wars in which we are now engaged, support of our troops is, in my opinion, our American duty. They put their lives in danger daily to ensure our safety and security and deserve no less than our never-ending gratitude.

Michael Reagan, the renowned artist who graciously provides portraits of fallen heroes to family members, provided six posters which are collages of the portraits he created from photos sent by the families.

Should someone want further information on the artist or the fantastic portraits he creates, the link is www.fallenheroesproject.org/

For the past several weeks it has been my pleasure to find "homes" for these posters.

You'll be pleased to know that West Point requested two of them and our local Southern California Army Reserve unit asked me for one that they intended to frame immediately and hang in a place of honor.

I visited the John Kennedy Memorial Armory (was not aware that Operation Gratitude had a presence in this facility) and spoke with the recruiter. He absolutely fell in love with the posters -- looked over so carefully the three I had left -- he simply could not make a decision.

Finally, he rather shyly asked if he could hang two in the main building and the third in his office. He selected the one with the poem for his office and said he would go out that very day to purchase frames.

I just could not say no to him, so all six posters now have permanent homes where they will be given the respect so well deserved.

God bless our troops,
Bobbi Baker

Blog note: Michael Reagan has a foundation to help with the costs for this project. (He has created 2,200 portraits to date.) Consider donating whatever you can to this compelling project -- www.fallenheroesproject.org/

And you can download copies of the posters directly from the site at http://www.fallenheroesproject.org/posters/

Here is a quote from this page of the site:

The posters are a compilation of the digital images of the individual fallen hero portraits completed by Michael Reagan for the Gold Star families. The portraits contain Fallen Heroes from the United States up to poster number six; posters seven and upward include Fallen Heroes from the United Kingdom and Canada.

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

USA Together Needs Help With Requests From Wounded Warriors

2010-11-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Below is the text of an email I received:

Friends of USA Together,

We would like to give you an update on USA Together (www.usatogether.org) and ask for your help on something. This is the first time we have sent you email, other than the normal notifications of new requests, as we appreciate the amount of information we all receive each day.

USA Together really started meeting requests [of wounded warriors] in early 2009. Since then, due to the generosity of subscribers and donors like yourself, over 430 individual requests for assistance have been met. They range from help with bills to baby items to help modifying a home to ease access for a wounded service member.

You made that happen and the difference you made in the lives of those families is reflected in the thoughts they have shared with us and with many of you individually in private messages of thanks.

Veterans Day is coming up in just a few weeks, on November 11th. We currently have more open requests on our site than we have ever had in our history — and yet it is still just a few dozen items.

We are asking for your help in telling others about USA Together and encouraging them to help meet the need of one service member between now and Veterans Day.

We know the economy is challenging all of us these days. We believe that in spite of it, the respect we all share for those who have been injured or died because they stood up for our country will cause us to act as citizens -- in the best sense -- and reach out to help. This is what Americans do.

Thank you again for your help in the past and please feel free to contact us directly with your thoughts and suggestions.

The USA Together Team
Info@USAtogether.org
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Interview About Novel MRS. LIEUTENANT

2010-11-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

Louise Wise at her site Wise Words interviewed me about my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT. Below is one part of the interview -- and after this part is the link to the entire interview:

Do you have a favorite scene in the book? Can we have a snippet?

Some of my favorite scenes would give away important plot points revealed later in the book. Instead I’d like to share the opening because it represents the beginning of the military life journey:

President Nixon announces he is sending U.S. troops into Cambodia ... April 30, 1970

“It has been said that when a man acquires a commission, the government has gained not one, but two – the officer and his wife.” Mrs. Lieutenant booklet

SHARON – I – May 4, 1970

They drive around the western edge of Lake Michigan, past the industrial suburbs of Chicago, down into the flat farmland of Indiana, their tiny convertible a bright yellow bug boring through the cornfields.

Sharon Gold moves her cramped right foot, and the Farberware coffeepot bangs against her shin. Then the brown paper grocery bag with its open boxes of cereal and crackers shifts across her seatbelted lap. For the 10th time in the last two hours she glances around the densely packed interior of the Fiat Spider, a car that seemed truly wonderful when Robert bought it last summer, before they had to rely on it as a moving van.

It certainly can't be said that they have all their earthly possessions with them. When you have a car as small as a Fiat, you take only the barest necessities: Suitcases with summer clothes and bedding tied atop the luggage rack. A few pots and pans and shoes in the minuscule trunk. In the well behind the two seats are stashed a tiny black and white television, already several years old when her parents passed it on to them, and the Singer sewing machine presented in the hope that she might someday learn domestic skills.

Their wedding gifts, their books and her stereo and albums, and the rest of their clothes remain at her parents' home, moved there from Robert's one-room apartment on Sheridan Drive they shared after their wedding.

The branch transfer to military intelligence from infantry has come through! Robert's orders are to report to Ft. Knox, Kentucky, for nine weeks of Armor Officers Basic to fulfill the requirement of a combat arms course before military intelligence training. "Why combat arms training?" she asked him when he received his new orders. "Surely you'll have a desk job. That's the whole point of getting the branch transfer." Robert didn’t answer.

Read the entire interview now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

A Return to the Personal: A Kick in the Pants From Books to Help Preserve History

2010-10-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

For those of you who regularly read this blog, you may remember that I started out writing posts related to my 2008 novel MRS. LIEUTENANT that takes place in the spring of 1970 during the Vietnam War. But in the past two years I’ve almost written entirely on topics supporting our troops now.

Now I’m reading David Meerman Scott’s 2007 nonfiction book THE NEW RULES OF MARKETING & PR” and he talks about how he “blogged the book, section by section.”

Suddenly I realized that this could be the commitment I need to finish MRS. LIEUTENANT IN EUROPE, the sequel to MRS. LT.

Here is my dilemma:

The story of MRS. LT IN EUROPE is missing a compelling element that is provided in MRS. LT by the point of view of four different women. In MRS. LT IN EUROPE there is only one viewpoint.

A few days ago I read Joseph Kanon’s 1998 novel THE PRODIGAL SPY that takes place mainly in Prague and Washington D.C. The book begins in 1950 during the U.S. government’s Communist witch hunts.

Then the book quickly moves on to April of 1969, when I was a few months away from marrying Mitch, who had orders to report to Fort Benning, Georgia, in October for Infantry Officers Basic training before having an “unaccompanied” tour to Vietnam.

Kanon’s novel harps on the theme that people do not remember history, and I know this to be true.

After all, less than 20 years after the Germans had suffered heavy losses during the trench warfare of World War I, they were eagerly gearing up to start another world war, albeit one this time they intended on winning.

Because of the outcome of that Second World War, in September 1970 Mitch and I arrived in Munich to be part of the American occupying forces in West Germany.

This was only 25 years after the end of the war, and we came in contact with army personnel and army civilians who had their own experiences of this war.

It happens that here are the other books connected to WWII that I read during the last few weeks:

• Alan Furst’s 2008 novel THE SPIES OF WARSAW that takes place in 1937, mainly in Warsaw and Paris.

• Helen MacInnes’ 1941 novel ABOVE SUSPICION that takes place in 1939 mainly in England, Germany and Austria.

• Alan Furst’s 1991 novel DARK STAR that takes place in 1937 and 1938 in Prague, Berlin, Paris and other European locations.

• Tatiana de Rosnay’s 2007 novel SARAH’S KEY that takes place mainly in Paris in two parallel stories – in 1942 starting with the French police roundup and subsequent deportation to their deaths at Auschwitz of Parisian Jews and in 2002 and 2005.

And I also read two Young Adult novels that in their own ways are very connected to my reading about WWII:

• Eric P. Kelly’s 1928 novel THE TRUMPETER OF KRAKOW that (except for the first chapter in the year 1241) takes place in 1461 in the city we know today as Cracow, Poland.

(The marauding bands that threatened Cracow in these early years are paralleled by the forces of destruction amassed on the border of Poland in the years leading up to WWII.)

• David Kherdian’s 1979 novel THE ROAD FROM HOME: THE STORY OF AN ARMENIAN GIRL that takes place in 1907-1924, focusing on the years including the First World War during which the Armenians living in Turkey were subject to massacres and then forced on a horrendous death march.

(The Germans had a hand in what happened to the Armenians and, from hindsight of what happened, this should have been a HUGE warning to the future Allies that the Nazis meant to carry out their announced intention to slaughter all Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, undesirable clerics, Communists, and anyone else the Nazis could get their hands on who they considered untermenschen.)

What I plan to do now on this blog:

A lot of recent news events – including the re-discovery of the original copies of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws – connect to the story I’m telling in MRS. LT IN EUROPE.

Therefore, I plan to write blog posts about these news events that are happening now in 2010 and connect them to the first-hand experiences of people during WWII and the time that Mitch and I were stationed in Munich in the early ‘70s.

I will still use the fictional character of Sharon Gold, although she may be closer to me in these 2010 chapters than she is in MRS. LT. Then I’ll revise the posts and see if I can fit them into the mostly completed first draft of MRS. LT IN EUROPE.

My goal is to help prevent history from being forgotten, and there are many true stories that live within me.

These include:

• The first-hand accounts written by Holocaust survivors I published in the 1970s as editor of the literary supplement of a weekly Jewish newspaper in Philadelphia.

• The story of the dangerous work behind enemy lines in WWII that my husband’s civilian boss at the 18th had done for the Americans after his release as a German political prisoner from Dachau.

• Meeting Tuviah Friedman here in Beverly Hills, California – the Nazi hunter whose obsession lead to the capture of Adolph Eichmann, the architect of the Final Solution.

• Knowing here in Los Angeles the Czech Jew who incredibly survived WWII through a series of incidents of which action movies are made, entered Prague on the first tank to reach the liberated city, and only a few years later was warned by a righteous gentile that the Communists were coming for him and once more he had to escape.

I hope you will read the coming blog posts (now I just have to write them) and do give me feedback in the blog post comments section.

The history I plan to share belongs to all of us.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Reminder Regarding Donating to Cell Phones for Soldiers

2010-10-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

As I printed out the free shipping label to send an old cell phone to Cell Phones for Soldiers, I realized it's been a while since I've written about this very worthwhile project.

Here's the link for you to learn more -- http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/ -- and donate your old cell phones now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

National Depression Screening Day Is Thursday, October 7

2010-10-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

Announcement from Trilogy Integrated Resources Inc. (www.trilogyir.com):

Not all wounds are physical. Depression, PTSD and related mood disorders cannot be seen on an X-ray.

Yet a mental-health disorder is just as painful. And the stigma associated with a diagnosis often prevents many from seeking help and getting treated.

National Depression Screening Day gives people access to an anonymous, validated screening questionnaire and provides referral information for treatment.

Visit www.networkofcare.org to find a local organization offering depression and anxiety screenings or take a screening online today.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Marine Dog Suffers From PTSD

2010-10-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

The October 6th Wall Street Journal article by Michael M. Phillips is a must-read article both because of the heroism of Marine Jason Dunham and the story of Gunner, a Marine dog with PTSD.

The full title of the article is:

"Shell-Shocked Dog of War Finds a Home With the Family of a Fallen Hero: Jason's Death in Iraq Left Room for a Marine at the Dunhams' House; Gunner Fit the Bill"

Read the article now and share it with others.

And for a compelling story of Marine dogs and their handlers in the jungles of the Pacific during World War II, see information on the documentary "War Dogs of the Pacific."
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Businesses Can Make Accommodations for Vets With PTSD

2010-09-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

The LA Times article "Many Veterans With PTSD Struggle to Find Supportive Employment" by Alexandra Zavis first details the problems that vets who suffer from PTSD have with getting or holding down a job.

But in my opinion the most important part of the article follows this first segment. This second part describes how organizations and companies are making accommodations for vets suffering from PTSD.

Here's an example from the LA Times article of a vet and the employer who is helping him:

Joshua Stout is one of 80 people recruited through Northrop Grumman's hiring program for severely wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. A former Marine who served in both wars, he now works as a project manager at a plant in San Diego that is developing an unmanned surveillance plane for the Navy.

The company consulted occupational nurses on how to help the 27-year-old manage PTSD and a brain injury. They showed him how to set reminders on his computer and arranged his cubicle so co-workers could not come up from behind and startle him.(My boldface)

Stout said he struggled to learn how to manage databases, but his supervisor worked with him until he could remember the steps.

This is just one example of how accommodations can be made to "pay back" the men and women who have served in defending our country.

Read the entire article now and then, if you have hiring responsibility at a company, consider how you can accommodate hiring a vet with PTSD.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

DoD Encouraging Military Personnel and Their Family Members to Vote

2010-09-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of DoDLive.mil:

The Department of Defense is working with the Federal Voting Assistance Program to encourage military personnel and their family members to exercise their right to vote.

Absentee Voting Week is held from Sept. 27 - Oct. 4. During Absentee Voting Week, voter assistance officers will encourage voters to complete and mail their absentee ballots so that they are received by local election offices in time to be counted for the November general election.

In addition, voters may use the new electronic absentee ballot form if they didn't receive one from their state.

Learn more now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

“My Loved One Went to War – Someone Else Came Back”

2010-09-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post by Ken Jones, PhD:

Nations go to war. Human beings go into combat. War is a media event. Combat is savagely personal.

War will eventually recede. The media will move on. The memories of combat will remain with our troops for a lifetime.

The families and loved ones of those now returning from combat want desperately to understand what has happened to their returning warriors.

Why are the warriors that they waited, longed, and prayed for now so seemingly distant and unapproachable?

It was the same for me 40 years ago. In January of 1968 I turned 20. I had been in Vietnam for 10 months. My unit of the 11th Cavalry was operating on the Cambodian border.

In March of 1968 I returned to the world; I felt 100 years old. I quickly learned never to talk about Vietnam, or admit that I had been there.

There was no such thing as post-traumatic stress back then, and I never heard of traumatic brain injury.

The anguish of what I had seen and done and heard and smelled played over and over in my nightmares and intrusive thoughts. Combat survivors do not remember their experience. They relive it.

For 13 years I sucked up the pain. I got married, had a family, and went into business.

On the outside I was successful. On the inside I had only two alternatives left – insanity or suicide.

I began to write, first on 3x5 note cards and then on yellow tablets.

I also got very lucky. On a business trip to Anchorage, Alaska, I stopped by the Vet Center.

There I found someone who understood what I said, and assured me that I was not going insane. He was a former combat Marine who had also been in Vietnam. Now he was the Vet Center team leader.

Finally, there was someone I could talk to.

The notes I had scribbled to myself became the book WHEN OUR TROOPS CAME HOME.

Working with other combat vets we found that there was a very similar pattern of experiences that resulted in our combat-induced post-traumatic stress.

This pattern, this progression to becoming combat survivors, is described in a second book, LIFE AFTER COMBAT.

Both of these e-books are offered FREE, as a gift to the families and friends who desperately want to understand what has happened to their returning warriors.

These e-books are also offered FREE to our warriors as one more voice reminding them that they are not alone.

Get WHEN OUR TROOPS CAME HOME.

Get LIFE AFTER COMBAT.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Help Our Deployed Troops With Their College Education

2010-09-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a message sent by Storm Williams to the members of the Facebook group Books For Soldiers (reprinted with permission):

This week's mission is to support our troops by helping them with their college education while deployed overseas.

Books For Soldiers has a sister site -- http://collegeforsoldiers.com

This site was built because soldiers, especially younger ones who enlisted right after 9-11, cannot get a college education because of irregular deployment periods, lack of access to the web, stop loss policies and, most importantly, MULTIPLE rotations.

These conflicting schedules mean that most of our troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hardship duty cannot continue their education.

We came up with a solution to help them with college, allowing them to earn a lot of college credit or even complete their college education while siting in a ditch in the harsh wilderness of Afghanistan.

The site has online guides that soldiers can use to get real, REGIONALLY ACCREDITED college degrees using several credit earning methods.

The guides are available on the site or can be downloaded as a single PDF. Here is the 15-page "Guide To Rapid Graduation"

The guide contains step-by-step instructions on what to do, plus recommended colleges that are excellent choices for our men and women in uniform.

The other feature of the site is the textbook request feature. Soldiers can request a college textbook from us and we will do our best to find a copy and ship it to them.

Lastly, if you always wanted to get your college degree but got sidetracked by life, our "Guide To Rapid Graduation" works the same and yields the same results for civilians back home.

Your job this week is to download the PDF and tweet about it, post to your wall about it, tell every soldier you know about it or families you know that have loved ones serving our country.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

“The Big Uneasy” Documentary – Shown Only on August 30th – Should Be Compulsory Viewing

2010-09-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of seeing the 2010 documentary “The Big Uneasy” at the 7:00 p.m. showing at the Grove in Los Angeles at which the two producers (Karen Murphy and Christine O’Malley), the cinematographer and the Army Corps of Engineers whistleblower were introduced before the documentary unspooled.

And the only reason the documentary didn’t shock the hell out of me, with its overwhelming evidence that Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans was not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster, was because I’ve been reading the 2007 book “The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina – The Inside Story From One Louisiana Scientist” by Ivor Van Heerden (who lost his job due to his commitment to revealing the truth) and Mike Bryan.

Harry Shearer, the writer/director of the documentary, was in New Orleans at the one-night screening there. (The documentary was shown only on August 30th across the country in select theaters.)

Here’s my unscientific recounting of the man-made disaster in New Orleans:

• The Army Corps of Engineers knew since a 1988 report that the restraining walls of the levees and of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet canal were not sufficient.

• Hurricane Katrina’s surge did NOT cause the immense devastation of human life and property (the levees were NOT overtopped). The breached levees were caused by the insufficiency of the depth and strength of those levees. (Water worked itself under the levees and caused the breaches).

• The most upsetting part of the documentary is the ongoing cover-up being undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers as well as the compelling portrayal that, while the levee breaches are being fixed, the weak levees that were not damaged in Katrina are NOT being re-engineered to withstand the next big hurricane. In other words, the insufficient levees are being left as they are to be breached next time.

If this documentary were to be compulsory viewing by all U.S. politicians (the documentary makes clear why this is such a political matter), perhaps a few courageous members of both houses of Congress would actually demand that the hurricane protection of New Orleans and the surrounding areas be built to the standards of Amsterdam.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

DoD Announces on Twitter: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

2010-09-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

I retweeted this tweet today:

@DeptofDefense: #Suicide Prevention Awareness month starts today. Follow @DCoEPage for info shared daily http://bit.ly/ddYVY2 #sot #ptsd

And I hope everyone will click through on the link to learn more.

FYI -- For those of you not active on Twitter, the sot stands for support our troops and the # in front of words on Twitter indicates a topic.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Wall Street Journal Reports on Long-Term Care Veterans Benefit

2010-08-22T00:31:00.000-07:00

The August 21-22 Wall Street Journal article "War: One Thing It's Good For" by Kelly Greene reported:

Millions of families of wartime veterans are failing to take advantage of a little-known benefit that could help pay for long-term care.

The Department of Veterans Affairs' so-called aid-and-attendance benefit pays a maximum of $1,949 a month to married veterans who qualify. Single veterans and surviving spouses may be eligible for smaller payments.

To qualify, veterans must have served at least 90 days of active military service, including at least one day during a war, and not have been discharged dishonorably. (The rules are stricter for wartime veterans who entered active duty starting Sept. 8, 1980.) They also must meet certain thresholds for medical need and financial need.

Read the entire article now to learn more.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Piper Perabo in New TV Series COVERT AFFAIRS Plays a Realistic CIA Field Agent

2010-08-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

In the new drama series “Covert Affairs” on USA Network, Piper Perabo stars as Annie Walker, a 28-year-old CIA trainee yanked from her training at “The Farm” for a critical mission in D.C. and then kept at CIA headquarters rather than finishing her training.

What makes this spy thriller believable (as a TV drama) starting with the first episode is the scene in which Annie is hauled in to speak with a trainer and she believes she is about to be cut from training.

She blabbers that she’ll take retake the exercise. She asks if it was the driving course or the deception training.

The reply is that she was better on the driving course than any woman they’ve ever had and better on the deception training than anyone in a decade.

Then she is told she is being yanked from training to immediately report to Langley – CIA headquarters.

And, yes, she does silly newcomer things and is then introduced to her new secret world by Auggie Anderson (played by Christopher Gorham), a Langley analyst blinded on a special ops mission. (His computer has a Braille keyboard.)

What I like best about this new series is that it is relatively realistic. Perabo is not Angelina Jolie in the new movie “Salt,” a CIA operative who functions more like Spider Man than a real CIA field operative.

Perabo’s Annie Walker is an active field agent but she doesn’t do any superhuman feats.

What’s more, during her polygraph exam in the first episode it is established that she speaks six languages. (Thanks to having traveled around the world in search of herself.) And this language ability is integrally woven into the episodes.

Although “Covert Affairs” takes the usual TV dramatic license with the realities of jurisdiction between the CIA, the FBI and local police, it does provide an interesting insider’s look into CIA covert operations.

I highly recommend this show for its entertaining plots and for its realistic portrayal of a female action heroine. And the show rightly takes its place alongside a sister show on USA Network that I also highly recommend – “Burn Notice” – in which a female operative is also realistically portrayed.

Learn more at www.usanetwork.com/series/covertaffairs/
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Army Vet Starts Portable iPhone Charger Business From Afghanistan

2010-07-31T23:39:00.000-07:00

The April 2010 issue of Inc. magazine carried an article by Jason Del Rey titled "Report From the War Zone: On the frontline in Afghanistan, an Army vet launches his start up."

The article tells the story of Bill McNeely, a former Army logistics officer who served in Iraq and then took a job with a defense contractor in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.

McNeely realized there was a need for a solution to the iPhone's short battery life, and he found a way to solve this problem by creating a portable iPhone charger called the 3GPower2.

McNeely started his company from Afghanistan, and you can order his battery at www.3GPower2.com. (His wife handles shipping from their home in Temple, Texas.)
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Staying in Touch Can Sometimes Hurt Deployed Personnel

2010-07-31T23:18:00.001-07:00

The July 30th Wall Street Journal article "Soldiers' Suicide Rate Tied to Access to Problems at Home" by Julian E. Barnes provided this very important information:

Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice-chief of staff of the Army who has led the effort to reduce suicides, said that 79% of suicides were soldiers who had one deployment or had yet to be deployed.

But Gen. Chiarelli said it wasn't just the stress of war that weighed heavily on soldiers, but also stresses from back home.

"For us to blame this just on the war would be wrong," he said.

Because deployed soldiers can stay in touch daily with family, they are often asked to help handle issues involving money, children and personal relationships.

I hope that the military is addressing this realization by repeatedly briefing families of deployed personnel on how they can help their deployed family members by not sharing too much and how the families can instead get help for themselves.

The article also states:

U.S. Army data also show the suicide rate is higher on forward-operating bases where soldiers have easy access to phones and computers with which to call home, and lower in more primitive outposts.

"We need to help families understand the importance when their soldiers are deployed of not dragging them back into a life at home that they have very little ability to try and fix," Gen. Chiarelli said.

While reading this article I had the unsettling feeling of knowing about this. Then I realized that my husband and I had used this situation as a subplot in our screenplay "Lt. Commander Mollie Sanders." We had imagined how powerless a sailor on a submarine might feel if he misinterpreted the message that his wife sends him.

It's not enough for the military to tell family members not to burden their deployed personnel. The military must make sure that help for families is readily available without any negative impact on the personnel.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Sponsor a Fort Hood Soldier or Wounded Warrior to a CTS Concert

2010-07-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

CTS - Consider The Source
Mesa, AZ | Alternative / Rock
Members: Jeff Senour, Eric Hansen, Dave LeGassey, Joe McGinnity

A new contact of mine emailed me this announcement and I told him I would share it with others:

Dear CTS Fans:

How would you like to touch a real hero's life in a big way? Well here's your chance to do something great without much expense.

On Saturday, Sept. 11th, 2010, rock band CTS will headline the National Gathering of the Guard 2010 for Patriot Guard Riders at Killeen, Texas. Killeen is right next to Fort Hood, Texas, where the tragic shootings took place last year.

CTS will headline this amazing event with its "Freedom Rock Experience" multi-media concert honoring our "Real American Heroes." Killeen Convention Center holds 1,400 people and CTS along with Urban Quartet will rock this heroic town.

The concert will also feature the local Harker Heights High School Orchestra performing our original song "Snowball Express," honoring the widows and children who have lost a loved one in the military.

Your support of this event even if you can't make it will touch a lot of people who give it all for our country.

Tickets are now on sale and we would love to have you there but know a lot of our CTS fans can't attend. So now we invite you to sponsor your very own Fort Hood soldier or wounded warrior to the concert. You can sponsor one or as many as you like. You can sponsor a whole platoon if your heart desires.

It's as easy as a mouse click away on the following link. Our soldiers give it all for our freedom and how awesome it would be to send your own American hero to a concert night out at Fort Hood.

Log onto: http://gotg2010.eventbrite.com/

The Fort Hood base and Patriot Guard Riders will give your sponsorship tickets to the Fort Hood soldiers and various wounded warriors to attend the concert. By sponsoring your own unique American hero you will be present in a way at the concert and a part of the CTS journey to touch lives with good music.

Thank you for your support of CTS music and our nation's finest heroes.

Your Friends,

Jeff, Joe, Dave and Eric / CTS
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

The PTSD Walk Has Hit a Snag and Needs Your Help

2010-07-15T09:46:00.001-07:00

Dan Stepel, the 47-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who was determined to walk the 12,000 miles, has finally bowed to the inevitable.

A bug bite in Ghana when he was there on business led to surgery that left one leg less than whole. And while Dan truly thought he could walk those miles each day with this bad leg, he has had to admit defeat for his own plans.

But he is not admitting defeat with this planned walk.

The response on the walk’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk) has demonstrated how important it is to get the media exposure that such a walk would bring to the PTSD suffering of active-duty military personnel and veterans.

THE MISSION NOW:

How to have the walk without Dan doing the walking.

There are a few veterans who suffer from PTSD who could each, perhaps, walk for a week. Under this plan these veterans would need to meet up on the walk itinerary with the previous walker and take over for a week.

In other words, a relay walk, which could be quite powerful from a media exposure perspective.

Would you or anyone you know possibly be interested in participating in a relay walk?

Do you have other ideas of how this project might go forward?

Leave comments here or email Dan at danstepel@gmail.com

As Dan learned in the Marines, Semper Fi!
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and her social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing works with clients to use social media to attract more business. Read her social media marketing blog.

Navy Introduces New Ideas to the Realities of Sea Life

2010-07-13T19:54:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege to be on the Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable featuring Captain Carl Conti, Director of Experimentation, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and Commander Dave Varnes, Director, Trident Warrior 2010.

Captain Conti explained:

What we're trying to do every year when we do Trident Warrior is to go out and find things that are out there -- it might be a technology, it might be a process, it might be a procedure -- but different ways to do business -- and take that information out to sea and see how it works in the hands of the folks that are going to be using it.

The example of this that I liked best is this one given by Captain Conti:

We had one technology one time, the engineers were planning it out, they had done it in pencil work in the lab, everything was good to go. They packaged their box up and they sent it out to the ship to get installed, and then it was inside of a big Pelican case, and then they realized that Pelican case doesn't fit through the hatch on the ship.

Listen to the half-hour interview now -- it's very informative.
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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.

My Russian Spy Recruitment Story

2010-07-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

The July 5th Wall Street Journal carried a story by Sean Gardiner titled “A Cold-War Spy Story.” In the story, Gardiner features Paul Browne, now deputy New York City police commissioner.

Gardiner describes Paul Browne’s “firsthand experience being recruited by a Russian agent – a Soviet spy betting a relationship with a small-town newspaper reporter would one day bear fruit.”

This recruitment attempt began in 1973 -- two years after the recruitment attempt of my husband and myself in an inexpensive eatery in Copenhagen in September 1971.

At that time my husband Mitch and I had been stationed since September 1970 in Munich, where Mitch was a U.S. Army intelligence officer at the 18th Military Battalion. I had spent the time fighting the U.S. Civil Service and finally had a GS rating and a security clearance.

Upon our return from Copenhagen I would start working as a GS-3 at the 66th Military Intelligence Group. And I had already signed documents telling me what to expect from a Soviet recruitment pickup effort.

Now picture Copenhagen in September 1971:

All the tourists have gone home. Mitch has a very short haircut (in 1971 a dead giveaway that he is military) and we’re sitting in an inexpensive eatery listed in Frommer’s “Europe on $5 and $10 a Day.”

The middle-aged man sitting next to us says, “These Danes are so frivolous. I’ve just been to Russia and they’re much more serious there.”

My husband and I touch knees under the table. This is a classic recruitment pickup line – extolling the virtues of the Russians.

But this classic line so shakes us that we immediately get up from our table and run – yes run – all the way to Tivoli Gardens and halfway through before we stop running.

Then we look at each other. Incredible! Just as we had been warned.

And, yes, one day when I came to work at the 66th, my GS-12 boss was very agitated. A U.S. soldier stationed on the border with East Germany had “gone over to the other side.” My boss surmised that the Russians had gotten the lonely solder in a compromising position.

That was the Cold War 40 years ago. We were taught to be vigilant against Soviet agents. And we even laughed at the Russian spy standing outside in the cold as we arrived to attend the post commander’s New Year’s Day reception at the officers’ club.

Now it’s 2010 – and there are Russian sleeper agents arrested in the U.S. The past has come forward 40 years.
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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.

THE DRY LAND Movie: Part II

2010-07-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

As I wrote in my previous blog post about the new movie THE DRY LAND I thought the movie a very compelling story of one soldier's return home.

I actually got a very interesting question on Twitter from @FreeRangeMom (Peggy Dolane):

@ZimblerMiller Do you think #thedryland would be of interest to currently enlisted personnel? Or is it too close to home?

And here is what I replied in the limitation of characters on Twitter:

@FreeRangeMom Important for current enlisted personnel & officers to see #thedryland to know they are not "crazy" - it's a medical condition

Now I want to share with you part of an email I sent THE DRY LAND's writer/director Ryan Piers Williams after attending the press screening of the film:

I have only one comment. Although I know that end credits are usually contractual, is there any way the important info about getting help for PTSD can be before the end credits? I'm concerned that many people don't stay for the credits and that message is so very, very important.

Ryan's reply to me was so sensitive to the emotions of people that I asked his permission to share that response here:

The decision to put the PTSD message where it is was a very important one. I found, through many test audiences, that people needed the time between the end of picture to the PTSD message to settle their emotions.

I timed out the message to come when I felt the audience would be ready for it. It was a creative decision. We tried to place it after the picture ended and it felt wrong. It was a tough decision, but one I had to make.

There was not one actor that wasn't willing to sign a waiver to have the message above their names. That was not the issue. The decision was made by me in considering the emotional state the audience should be in by the end of the film and when they might be ready to read the message.

Do visit the website of the film and encourage people you know who are suffering from PTSD to seek help.

FYI -- See July 7th New York Times article by James Dao headlined "V.A. Is Easing Rules to Cover 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 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.

Introducing the New Movie THE DRY LAND: A Compelling Story of One Soldier's Return Home

2010-07-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege to attend a press screening for the movie THE DRY LAND before it appears in theaters July 30th.

Writer/director Ryan Piers Williams and the actors, starting with the central character played by Ryan O'Nan, and including everyone involved in the film have created an incredibly compelling story of a soldier's return from Iraq to the "peace" of West Texas.

The film focuses on the impact of undiagnosed PTSD on the soldier, his wife and his community although the words Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are never uttered in the film.

What's so amazing about this film is that the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense gave support for the film. In fact, here's a quote from the press notes from U.S. Army entertainment industry liaison Lt. Colonel Gregory W. Bishop:

The biggest barrier to a soldier getting help is the perceived stigma .. we want troops to know it's okay to seek help for any challenges they may face, especially PTSD. It's critical that we lead by example, and as an institution, that we're encouraging opening dialogue on PTSD and mental health. I'm proud of our participation in this film. It's an honest, open exploration of a struggle that many of our troops go through. I think it will help soldiers."

I'll be writing more about this film in later blog posts, so for this post I want to end by quoting film writer/director Ryan Piers Williams from the press notes:

The most important feeling I want the audience to leave with is hope. This film explores many of the dark aspects of coming home from war, but the message I want to leave people with is that there is hope for a life after the war.

The film's end credits include this message:

If you, or someone you know, is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), help is available:

www.realwarriors.net
www.militaryonesource.com
800.342.9647

You'll be hearing more about this incredible film. For now, show your support for our troops by joining the Facebook page for the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America 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.

Coffee Bean Supports Our Deployed Troops

2010-07-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

I had a meeting at the Coffee Bean on South Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. When I ordered my decaf coffee I was asked if I wanted to buy a pound of coffee to be donated to deployed troops with $1 of the purchase price going to Fisher House. I said yes.

And then here's the really cool thing. I got to write a message on the back of the pound of coffee I donated.

In my message I wrote about the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America and gave the URL for the walk's Facebook page -- www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk

This purchase today was especially poignant as earlier in the day I had been contacted by a soldier with PTSD who is having a difficult time because his chain of command is not supportive of soldiers with PTSD.

If you don't have a Coffee Bean near you, you can order the pound of coffee online and either get it shipped to you with $1 going to Fisher House or you can donate the purchase through Soldiers' Angels.

Here is the description of the project from the Coffee Bean website:

Support from Home Blend

This blend was created as a tribute to the brave men and women of our Armed forces serving around the world. It was designed to be bold, yet smooth in flavor. The Support from Home Blend has a medium body, a fruity aroma and a black cherry flavor with a dark chocolate finish.

One dollar from your purchase of Support From Home coffee will be donated to the Fisher House™.If you wish to donate your purchase of Support from Home Blend to our troops, please contact your local Soldier’s Angels.

The Support From Home Blend is pre-ground.

I hope you'll join Coffee Bean in supporting our troops.
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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.

This July 4th Support the PTSD Walk Across America

2010-07-03T22:09:00.001-07:00

This Fourth of July show your support to our troops by one simple click on Facebook.

Join the Facebook page of the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America, whose purpose is to raise awareness of and funds for PTSD help for active-duty military personnel and veterans.

While the Fourth of July celebrates the birth of our nation, it's vital that we remember that the men and women serving in today's Armed Forces are the first line of defense for our democratic way of life.

Join the PTSD Walk Across America Facebook page now -- 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.

PTSD Walk Banner LIVE on 40 Bizymoms City Pages

2010-07-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Nina Amerasinghe – Director of Experts Relations for the Bizymoms' Expert Advice Section & Small Business Advisors Center – emailed me to let me know that the PTSD Walk banner (designed by Nina -- see above on right-hand side of this blog) is live on all these city pages - cities that Dan Stepel will visit during his 12,000 mile walk to raise awareness of and funds for PTSD.

Nina emailed:

There were only a couple cities on Dan's route document that Bizymoms did not have the city page of. I hope this makes a difference at a local U.S. city level to your wonderful event.

Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal Needs to Learn That Women Are Also Deployed

2010-06-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

I usually appreciate the opinion pieces of Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal and the one this weekend was no exception -- except for her total non-mention of women serving deployments.

Here is the letter to the editor that I emailed The Wall Street Journal and which I hope will be printed:

Peggy Noonan's June 26-27 Declarations "McChrystal Forces Us to Focus" was an excellent opinion piece except for her failure to include women in her references to active-duty military personnel repeatedly deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ms. Noonan wrote "Their sons and nephews have come back from repeat tours ..." while failing to include daughters and nieces. She also wrote "... children reaching 12 and 13 without a father at home" that should have said "without a father or mother at home."

Perhaps Ms. Noonan should be briefed on how many women now serve repeated deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, and how many of these women have also paid the ultimate price, leaving their children without a mother.

Our country needs to acknowledge the sacrifices of both the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.

Phyllis Zimbler Miller
Los Angeles, CA
PTSD Walk Across America
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.

Thanks to Bizymoms.com for Supporting the PTSD Walk Across America

2010-06-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Bizymoms.com has placed a banner for the PTSD Walk Across America on its home page with a link to the walk’s Facebook page.

And Nina Amerasinghe – Director of Experts Relations for the Bizymoms' Expert Advice Section & Small Business Advisors Center – has even offered to include the info in the next month BizyNews newsletter that goes to subscribed readers under the Special Community Announcement with a link to the pdf PTSD info document from www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com

In addition, Nina has offered to place the PTSD Walk banner on Bizymoms’ relevant U.S. city pages. Nina said:

"When it comes to something that will help others, Bizymoms.com likes to support it. So it's our pleasure, Phyllis, because you are right your event would help save lives and there are so many who need something like this to come their way and for them to know about it is important."

If you have a website and would like to carry the banner that Nina created (and has graciously allowed us to use for others -- it's the one shown in this blog post), email pzmiller@millermosaicllc.com and I’ll email you the banner.

And on a related PTSD subject, I got a DM on Twitter from @VetsPrevail (http://www.vetsprevail.com/): 18 Vets commit suicide every day. We need your help to spread the word about this powerful video: http://t.co/vxsyPDa Please pass it on.

I watched the brief video – now you watch it too: http://t.co/vxsyPDa
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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.

Looking for a Few Good Sponsors for the PTSD Walk Across America

2010-06-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

The PTSD Walk Across America is looking for a few good sponsors who want to benefit from the social media marketing campaign to promote the walk and their own businesses. Check out this brief video now for more information.
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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.

Interesting Results From Studies on PTSD

2010-06-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

A June 7, 2010, Los Angeles Times article reported some interesting findings on studies done about PTSD.

Read the article now.

And have you joined the Facebook page for the PTSD Walk Across America? If not, join now at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk
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Pyllis 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.