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MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Deployment Learning Center
Information for Parents of Deployed Marines
Honoring our Service Women
Family Readiness Awards
PHHS Serves 3/5 Wounded Warriors
Application Deadline for RSLSP Extended
PTSD Chat with Dr. Bridget Cantrell
Deployment Coins
Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Marine Parents EGA Store
Text and Image
Learning Center:
Operational Security
Operational Security

NOTE: When communicating online, your Marine's privacy is as important as Operational Security. Please respect YOUR Marine's privacy!

Learning Center:
About Deployment
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
About Homecoming
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!
Unit Chat Nights
Unit Chat Night Schedule:
 
Monday: 3rd LAR, 3/5, 3/9 
Tuesday: 1st LAR, 26th MEU
Wednesday: 1/8, 2/8, 2/3
Thursday: 2/9
Sunday: 2/1
 
For additional information about the Chat Room and Unit Chat Nights for your Marine's Unit, please see:
 
           MarineParents.com Chat Gif 
Local Support Groups in Your Area
For a list of all support groups in our database or to find one in your area, see:
 
 
 
  
If you are interested in starting a local support group in your area, please visit the "Support Groups" section of our website:
Support Our Marines!
Show your support of our Marines and their families! Participate in one of the Marine Parents outreach programs today! Our Marines need YOU! 
 
 
The Care Package Project, and Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
 
 
Purple Heart Hero Support™ an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
Team Marine Parents, an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
Visit Our Sponsors
Sign Up for the Newsletter 
Join Our Mailing List
March 10, 2011
Greetings Marine 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.
 
Notice: We are experiencing issues with our message boards, but we expect to resolve them within the next 24 hours. This will NOT affect Dr. Cantrell's PTSD chat which is tonight at 8 p.m. CST.
 
Until the message boards are accessible again, you can visit www.MarineParents.com and view the links under the heading "Connect and Share." Thank you for your patience while we troubleshoot the issue.
 
Since March is National Women's History Month, in this issue you will find a salute to women Marines, who have dutifully served our country for 68 years now. We recognize the perseverance of our former women Marines, we appreciate the service of our present women Marines, and we look forward to the future accomplishments of women in the Corps. 
 
Donate Baby Wipes and Toothbrushes!Just a reminder: We're asking for your help in collecting 1200 baby wipes and 1200 toothbrushes to ship to the Marines on our next pack day, April 30. Click here for more information on contributing.
  
Thank you for continuing to show your support for our dedicated troops! 
Marine Parents Deployment Center
Support during Your Marine's Deployment 
 
Marine Parents Deployment CenterThe emotional roller coaster of your Marine's deployment is more than tough-it can seem almost impossible. You experience pride, fear, pride, anxiety, pride, worry and more pride. The uncertainty of what is to come brings emotions and feelings that none of us thought would be part of our lives. But you are not alone. Thousands of other parents have the same emotions, and Marine Parents is "a Place to Connect & Share®" with those who wear your shoes and understand your emotions. 
 
The goal of the Marine Parents Deployment Center is to provide you with the information and tools needed to better understand what will happen before, during and after your Marine's deployment.
 
Click here to keep reading.... 
National Women's History Month
Salute to Women in the Military
 
Photo courtesy of www.Marines.mil
A Salute to Past, Present and Future Women Marines!
March is National Women's History Month, and it's the perfect opportunity to honor and recognize all of our past, present and future women veterans.
 
In 1943, the Marine Corps Women's Reserve was created, and in 1948 they became part of the official active duty force. In the 1970s, women were allowed to hold more roles within the Corps; by 1975, all occupational fields except for two were open to women Marines. 
 
Since then, women Marines have dutifully and selflessly served our country and its citizens.
 
We thank all service women for the dedication and perseverance they have shown for our country. 
Congratulations 3/24 Reserve Unit!
DoD Reserve Family Readiness Awards 
 
Click here to visit the 3/24 Unit Information Page!On February 18th, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the 2010 Family Readiness Award Winners at the Pentagon. The award recognizes the units with the best family support programs in each of the Reserve components.
 
The winner from the Marine Corps Reserve units were the 3rd Battlion, 24th Marines in Bridgeton, Missouri, commanded by Lt. Col. Christopher T. Watkins.
 
Congratulations to the 3/24 Reserve unit, their families and Family Readiness Officer Russell W. Avery! MarineParents appreciates your efforts in providing outstanding support for the Marines and their families.
 
Click here to read the official DoD release about the awards.
PHHS Serves Dinner to 3/5 Marines
Attention on Deck: From & About Our Marines
 
Donate to our Wounded Warriors                                Purple Heart Hero Support™ manager Joyce Orrell says it was a night she will never forget.
 
Two weeks ago, Marine Parents outreach program Purple Heart Hero Support™ (PHHS) held a dinner at the Liberty Center in San Diego, CA, for the wounded warriors in the area.
 
PHHS typically serves meals to wounded Marines and their families at medical centers in San Diego and Bethesda four times a month, but it often hosts other special events. This time, PHHS held a gathering for 200 wounded warriors including many from 3/5, their families, and other wounded Marines living in Camp Pendleton or off base. Manager Joyce brought in food to serve all the Marines and their families.
 
In addition, Marine Parents shipped about 80 items (T-shirts, mugs, dog tags, keychains, mousepads and more) from its EGA Store customized with the 3/5 unit crest to present to the 3/5 wounded warriors at the dinner. It was a special moment for them because unit-specific Marine Corps gear is hard to come by, and the items represented their unity and brotherhood.
 
This evening was the first time many of the 3/5 Marines had been reunited since serving together overseas. They were able to look around and see the faces that had been to their left and their right during combat. Few bonds are stronger than the bond the Marines share, and to be able to experience that again was just what they needed. One Marine commented on how incredible it was just to talk to and spend time with his brothers.
 
"You could feel the guys mentally healing, being there with their brothers," Joyce said.
 
We thank all of our PHHS volunteers who commit so much time to serving the wounded warriors, and we thank those that support the program through donations.
 
If you'd like to donate to the program or sponsor a meal for a wounded warrior, click here.
Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay
Application Deadline Extended To March 18th
 
Read DoD ReleaseThe Department of Defense (DoD) announced that the deadline to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) was extended to March 18, 2011.
 
Those eligible to apply include service members and veterans (and their beneficiaries) whose service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss Authority between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009.  
 
Eligible members and their beneficiaries must submit a claim to receive RSLSP. To learn more about submission requirements, visit www.defense.gov/stoploss.  
 
Click here to read the official DoD release.  
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Dr. Cantrell Discusses PTSD TONIGHT, 8pm 
 

Chat with PTSD expert Dr. Bridget CantrellBridget Cantrell, Ph.D., will be participating in Marine Parents' monthly online discussion tonight, March 10th at 8 p.m. CST in the Marine Parents chat room.

 

Dr. Cantrell has written several books on combat recovery, and she will be discussing post-traumatic stress disorder and warrior transitioning.

 

Military members and their families who are interested in knowing more about issues related to PTSD and combat recovery are encouraged to participate in the chat.

 

Click here for more information.

EGA Store Featured Item
Connecting Hearts Deployment Coin 
 
Connecting Hearts Deployment Star CoinEvery day finds Marines stationed overseas and far from family and friends. But though an ocean may separate loved ones, the stars above are constant to both and serve as a reminder that, whether serving abroad or home thinking of a loved one who is serving, both can make a wish to the same star.
 
We suggest buying two; one for you and one for your loved one serving overseas.
 
$8.95 or $8.45 when you purchase two.
 
Click here to purchase.
DONATE with every swipe of your card!

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 February 2011 USMC photo by Cpl. Salvador R. Moreno of quick reaction force Marines, with 1st Tank Battalion, exiting a CH-46E Sea Knight, with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268, and quickly setting up a defensive perimeter around a landing zone as part of a tactical air raid during Exercise Iron Fist here Feb. 28.  Click here to read additional credits. 
 
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 have a Place 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. We've helped over 130,000 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 meals to Wounded Warriors and their families on both the East and West coasts. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™. 
 

God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
 

Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.
 
Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this service.