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MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share™ | |
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Support Our Marines! |
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The Care Package Project™
Operation PAL™
Team Marine Parents™
Show your support of our Marines and their families at home! Partcipate in one of the MarineParents.com Outreach Programs today! Our Marines need YOU! |
| Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™ |
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| Learning Center:
Operations Security |
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| Homecoming T-Shirts |
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| Learning Center:
About Deployment |
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(from your Marine, with the USMC, and with other families)
(tips, tricks and money savers for mailing to YOUR Marine)
(bills, taxes, legal issues, injuries, notification from the Marine Corps)
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Learning Center:
About Homecoming |
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(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!) |
| Learning Center:
Bootcamp |
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| Our Volunteers |
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We'd like you to take a moment to meet the volunteers who work several hundred hours a week to make MarineParents.com possible!
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| Marine Corps Spirit
T-shirts, Gifts & More |
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Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride! Proceeds from sales support MarineParents.com, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
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Graduation Announcements! |
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Graduation Announcements are now available for your Soon-To-Graduate recruit! Use the coupon at the bottom of the newsletter to save $5!
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| Visit Our Sponsors |
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The Cakes are arriving in excellent condition in Iraq. They are withstanding the intense heat of the summer desert! Cakes can be shipped to any APO/FPO address. |
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Dear Marine Corps Families,
If this is the first edition of the MarineParents.com Newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are a returning reader we are glad you have joined us. We thank you for your support and hope that we can support you.
 For those of you waiting for the new "fall" design of the Marine Corps t-shirt from MarineParents.com, we've just added it to our online store. Check out the variety and colors available. It's a great design showcasing the "First to Fight" motto of our Marines.
The design features the Eagle Globe and Anchor Marine Corps Seal and "First to Fight, The Few, The Proud, United States Marines" and a chronological list of the following conflicts: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Kosovo, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and the Global War on Terror.
All proceeds go to support the many projects of MarineParents.com, Inc. an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity. |
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Once a Warrior: Wired For Life |
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A New Book from the Authors of the critically acclaimed Down Range: to Iraq and Back 
The authors of best-selling, Down Range: To Iraq and Back, Dr. Bridget Cantrell and Vietnam Veteran Chuck Dean, have teamed up once again to take you on the next step in the process of coming home when your tour of duty is over. Their new book, Once a Warrior: Wired For Life, is now available.
Once a Warrior: Wired For Life illustrates how to turn negatives into positives and assists our highly trained military personnel in utilizing their tremendous potential in achieving success and happiness after they are released from military service. This book highlights the path along the way to transitioning from warrior to civilian. It is not a book to read just once, but one to study over and over again.
The book is an outstanding resource for parents and military personnel. I highly recommend it for every military family. We're offering the book for sale on our web site at $16.95, which includes shipping via first class U.S. Mail. Your order will be shipped to you in 1-2 business days. Proceeds from book sales will go to support the many projects of MarineParents.com, Inc. a 501(c)(3) public charity.
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9-11 WE REMEMBER |
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Photo of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines Baker Company in Iraq on September 11, 2003
The 6th anniversary of 9/11 is around the corner. One of the most poignant photos we've received is the 1/7 Baker Company Marines while stationed in Iraq September of 2003. The 1/7 is currently deployed to Iraq again, so it seems very fitting to share the photo and story at this time. The 1/7 are in our prayers, as we too, remember 9/11 and the sacrifices so many have made.
The following text is a copy and cut of an email received by 1st Sgt Jobe who was with Baker Company stationed in Iraq at that time:
Still in Iraq and thinking about our country
Be sure to notice the 9-11 and how it's put together......
How are you all doing? The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute to our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is by taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this with our fellow countrymen. I was wondering if there was any way to get this into your papers to let the world know that "WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN" and are proud to serve our country.
Semper Fi
1stSgt Dave Jobe "Baker 8"
Photograph and credit copyright 2003 Dave Jobe and Baker Company.
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Issues During Deployment |
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| We've learned a few things about how to handle issues that come up during deployment.
 With several units having recently deployed and still yet to deploy, we wanted to share with you a section of the web site that we call "Issues that arise During Deployment". This section includes the following topics:
- Absentee Voting
- Suspending Services
- Deployed Marine Locator
- Family Emergencies
- Filing Taxes
- Legal Issues
- Military Pay
- Notification of Death or Injury
- Passports: Do you need one?
- Security and OpSEC
- Soldiers and Sailors Act
- Sole Surviving Son
- Paying Bills
- POA (Power of Attorney)
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| MNF-West Transition Team sees success in faces of Habbaniyah |
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| The Commandant visits Camp Gannon, Iraq and the 1/4 Marines
 HABBANIYAH, Iraq (Aug. 29, 2007) -- When a group of American military advisors deployed to Iraq and took over a small combat outpost on the outskirts of town recently, they knew the task ahead might get tough, but each day would be rewarding. The Marines and sailors that make up Military Transition Team 13, working alongside the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, are increasing the security of the area and the quality of life for local residents as well.
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Bootcamp Training Matrix |
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| A Detailed Explanation of Recruit Training
 Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) at Parris Island have made some changes to the training matrix for recruits. The crucible will now be held at the end of bootcamp. Similar changes are expected at MCRD at San Diego within a few weeks.
For additional information about the new training schedule, visit the MarineParents.com bootcamp section of the web site. We'll be updating information and links as we get official information from the Marine Corps.
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Graduation T-Shirts |
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$5 off orders of $50! Hurry, offer expires August 30, 2007.
 Graduation T-shirts customized with your recruit's graduation date and platoon number for both Parris Island and San Diego!
Orders of $50 or more receive $5 off using coupon code SEARCHDREAMS. Expires August 30. Enter the coupon code when checking out. Restrictions may apply.
All proceeds from sale of shirts support the projects of MarineParents.com, Inc. an IRS approved public charity.
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| 1120 Care Packages Shipped to Marines in Iraq |
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| A record 1,120 Care Packages were shipped to Marines in Iraq on Saturday, August 25 from the MarineParents.com warehouse in Columbia, MO!
Over 90 volunteers came from around Missouri as well as two folks from Nebraska and one from Florida to pack 1,120 care packages to ship to our Marines deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan this past weekend. We sent over 1000 pair of socks, baby wipes, bed sheets, dried cherries, and smoked beef summer sausages to combat-deployed Marines.
 Folks from around the United States hold care package drives and letter-writing campaigns to make sure each Marine receives the needed items. Hours of preparation goes into the packing day the weeks prior, including printing over 1,100 multi-part customs forms, personalized letters and labels for each of the care packages. A tremendous thank you goes out to each of these volunteers for their hard work and record-breaking packing skills. We all had a great time and were finished at 1:30 in the afternoon on Saturday.
Our next packing date is November 3, 2007. Our cost for postage will be over $10,000. We need care package sponsors, letters, care package items, and funding to ship over 1000 packages in November. Please take a moment to visit The Care Package Project™ web site to see how you, your church, company, or other organization can help. Check with your employer to see if they offer a "Matching Funds" program for donations to charitable organizations. MarineParents.com, Inc. is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity. We need YOUR help to keep our Care Package Project™ going to Support Our Troops!
We have a new "thank you" recorded from a Marine in Iraq. Click the graphic above to listen to the thank-you messages we have received via phone calls from Marines in Iraq.
Please take a moment to visit the companies that sponsored donated items for this past Care Package Project™:
We look forward to the possibility of working with you or your organization and thank you for your support!
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| The MRE Slide Show |
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The MRE, or "Meal Ready to Eat" has come a long way
 Meals in the field are not what the used to be! The MRE, or "Meal Ready to Eat" has improved substantially through the years. Marines receive MREs for meals during training exercises, while "in the field", and during deployments when there is no "Chow Hall" available for hot meals.
The MREs are packed with over 1200 calories, vitamins and essential nutrients. Though the flavor and palatability of the meals have improved tremendously, (plus the MRE now comes with a heating apparatus) the variety can still get tiresome. Care packages with items that remind the Marines of home are a much-appreciated supplement.
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We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.
The banner used at the top of this newsletter is a USMC photo in HABBANIYAH, Iraq of the Marines of Military Transition Team 13 recently meet with leaders from 1st Battalion, 3rd Iraqi Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, at Combat Outpost Dunlop to discuss future operations in the area. The transition team took over advisory operations July 18 from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Photo taken by Cpl. Ryan M. Blaich, 08/15/2007. Click here to read accompanying story.MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to Connect & Share™ with one another during deployments. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms & dads, spouses, families and friends and we'll be offering the 3rd Annual National Conference in Washington DC, 2008. We've helped over 30,000 Marine and recruit families during bootcamp, training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped thousands of care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines and served hundreds of lunches to families caring for their Marines at Bethesda Hospital. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™.
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc. |
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