Surfing the Web..

Returning after a summer hiatus to pass on links I hope you might find of interest..

from Paving the Road Back comes this powerful post
'The Ghost of my Innocence"


Over at Blackfive, Laughing Wolf posts that he's Preparing for an Embed,Part 1

and if you don't know who Laughing Wolf is? he's one of the founders of
Cooking with the Troops (among Many other things)

which leads me to this great post by ConcreteBob, the other founder of Cwtt
We Came; We Cooked; We Fed (About 150 Soldiers & Family Members)


In case you missed it? Soldiers Angels Germany passed along
Quadruple amputee SSG Travis Mills fulfills promise: Greets his combat unit at homecoming

The Gold Star Mom at Knottie's niche is about to dedicate a post office in her son's memory,
you can read about what she wishes to do that day(Oct 23) at
Full Disclosure..Honoring Pokey and All the Fallen

Red Bull Rising suggests milblogs to read on
Dispatches from Blogistan

and speaking of the Red Bulls , my Mom sent me the link to this story from the StarTribune
Anoka County war hero John Kriesel finds two heroes of his own

Lastly,can't remember how I came across this blog? but it's well worth checking out
Expeditionary Lawyer

That's the surf! until next time..









 

Surfing the Web..

my dear faithful readers..my apologies for the long stretches without posting on the blog lately, I'm continuing to recover well from my recent surgery, but don't always find it comfortable to sit for long stretches at the computer (plus I've been having some computer 'issues' off and on,sigh)...at any rate, just before my surgery got moved up two weeks earlier than originally scheduled, I had bookmarked a few things to pass along in a 'Surfing' post, and I'm just now getting to finally passing them on to you. Thank you, for continuing to check in here, and...enjoy the 'surf'!

via The Seattle Times  I came across Help Bring Leonidas Home from Afghanistan
and you might also wish to check out The Puppy Rescue Mission

from The New York Times Lens blog, a powerful, powerful story
Joao Silva:"This is what I do, this is all I know"

via PRI's The World  I found the website for a new documentary  Where Soldiers come From  that follows a group of young men from Michigan who joined the National Guard together and were deployed..the film follows them for 2 years, including after they come home.

speaking of documentaries, The Kitchen Dispatch passes on the word that
Restrepo Wins the Emmy

A gem of a blog that I've been following for awhile, Marion's Meepings
has a post up celebrating  Pax's 200th Blog Post and a prize  go check it out, she's offering a lovely prize and the contest is open till Oct.8th!

Airman Mom has a son who will be deploying soon, please stop by and offer words of support

JP over at Milblogging.com posted the word about Warbird Doctor Military Blog from A-stan
a new 'must-read' blog to follow

via Missouri Soldiers' Angels  I was alerted to Operation Walk USA


lastly, via ABC News Ft. Hood Shooter's Cousin Speaks Out against Violent Extremism 
and here is the website for The Nawal Foundation

That's the 'surf'..until next time!

Surfing the Web..

Although I spent the month of June saving various links to pass along that I thought might be of interest, I somehow just never got around to posting and suddenly, it's July! Sorry about that, here are some links I think you might like to check out..enjoy the 'surf' :)

A documentary that is a 'work in progress' about the special challenges facing disabled female veterans as they transition from active duty to civilian life  Service

From Paul Franklin I was led to the Canadian War Museum War + Medicine exhibit website
..extraordinarily interesting.
As a nurse myself (and a 'Kathryn":)..I was particularly moved by the story of  Nurse Katherine Macdonald

I have been remiss in not passing on sooner that the gentleman who was blogging his grandfather's WW I experiences at WWI: Experiences of an English Soldier has been struggling with ill health and his daughter has stepped up to blog on her father's health struggles. You might wish to stop by for updates and to send a message of support WW I: Experiences of an English Soldier

Back on June 3 Surfing Surgeon Stuck in the Sand posted a sad and moving post
 Sorrow and Strength after a long silence..another long silence followed until this July 4th post Stuff
I don't know where the blogging will be going from here for him, but certainly we can continue to keep he and those with him on the frontlines there in our thoughts and prayers at the very least, I would hope.

Also on the 4th of July, I believe one of the most moving posts I saw up for the holiday came from
Power Point Ranger  4th of July

Airman Mom has her new Friday series continuing, this past Friday was Somebody's Daughter

Pax down(under) at Marion's Meepings is having a Caption Contest  (and I personally can't think of a good caption, but I remain assured after seeing the pic that I Never want to try a 'mush stick',lol.)

and lastly, I just like this post..I'm not a military wife who constantly moves (and only remember vaguely two military moves from my childhood) .. but Planting Shade has a beautiful post up Constantly Moving Home

That's the 'surf'!..until next time!

Surfing the Web..

Time for another 'Surfing the Web' post, my new series that points out items I think folks may find of interest :)

First up, from  Army Strong Stories (and I hope you have that site bookmarked, because there are great posts there all the time!) comes an excellent post Care Package Guide for Deployed Soldiers straight from a deployed soldier!

Speaking of 'new series',  Airman Mom has started a new series, also, well worth checking out
Somebody's Son... she says on the first post in the series:
 "Posts on Fridays will consist of random photos of our Troops.

If there is one message I wish to convey to all who take time to visit this blog... every single Airman, Soldier, Sailor and Marine has a face.These brave men and women have families who cherish them.Our warriors have a hometown...somewhere.
They are Somebody's Son."

and on the second  Somebody's Son.. post, she invites others to share in this new series
"If there is a face, you would like me to post...please pass along an e-mail. Please feel free to post a 'Somebody's Son' on your blog...and make sure to link AirmanMom! Imagine how many faces we can share on a single Friday! "

Last Saturday, Assoluta Tranquillita posted a tribute for the passing of the last WW I survivor
RIP Claude 'Chuckles' Choules

I have a longtime blogger friend who also posts remembrances of the WW I Fallen,such as
Remembering today -13 May
and he has been doing so for years.'Never Forget' is more than just a slogan for some.


This next was a 'must-read' post with a 'must-see' video (IMHO) over at Blackfive
Teenagers Our Secret Weapon for Afghanistan

Hat tip to Chuck for posting about this one A Long Awaited Justice 5/10/11
it is the auctioning of a painting by a wounded Iraq war veteran to benefit Homes For Our Troops
The auction ends May 18th , so Hurry!if you wish to get in on that..but then do be sure to check out
Sgt. Damon's blog  further!

Off the Base is Reaching Out to Children of Imprisioned Iraqi Women  and the goal is to have donations collected, packed and mailed out by June 1

Milblogging.com passes on word of a contest to find the Top 25 Military Family Blogs  by May 25

Lastly, an upcoming documentary of World T.E.A.M. Sports 2010 Sea to Shining Sea bicycle ride has a trailer here on YouTube

and a documentary that wishes to be, check out  Healing Waters on Kickstarter 

That's the 'surf'!


---------------
by the way, if you come across a post or article that you'd like to see considered for inclusion in one of these posts? please email me at kasee60(at)gmail(dot)com with the link :)

Cool! Milblog Conference in the NYT

Military Blogging Goes Mainstream by James Dao


and for some more mentions of the 6th Annual Milblog Conference..

My Army Reserve  "Milbloggers-You ARE Social Media!"

Army Strong Stories Military Bloggers Unite!(And I Fight with the SECDEF)

YouServed  Sec Rumsfeld at Milblog Conference 2011

techPresident  Is Milblogging Losing It's Sassy Edge?

Sixth Annual Milblog Conference was best one yet!:)

Got back last evening from the Sixth Annual Milblog Conference and I think it was the best one I've attended thus far! (I think I might say that every time I attend,lol, but seriously..great panels this year,I learned a lot and IMHO  Andi ,and Military.com and USAA.com  did an Awesome job once again!:)

                                       Donald Rumsfeld's talk opened the conference

and then the first panel, Social Media and the Military, was a Great panel!

LTC William Caldwell spoke to the conference from Afghanistan, and here's the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan  page LINK

and this was a very meaningful panel, Gold Star Families.

My picture of the member of the member of the House Armed Services committee ,Rob Wittman,who spoke live ,didn't turn out, but his short speech was also very good.

and the last panel, War and Film, was Also excellent. After this panel, I Really,Really wish I could go to the GI Film Festival next weekend,but darn it, it's my weekend to work:(

I know a lot of folks who attend don't sit in on every panel, but if I get up at 4:30 a.m. and drive over 2 hours after paying the $75 to attend the conference, you can by gosh bet that I'll be sitting in to hear all the panels and soak up every minute of it! and I'm never disappointed! I learned so much yesterday, it was well worth my time.

Saw a lot of old friends, of course since I don't go up the Friday night before I miss a lot of the socializing. I still got the chance to speak to Most of the folks I wished to have a chance to say hello to,(sorry I missed LL though!:( and then I also got to meet a great many other random folks for the first time.

Sat next to a guy from Footnote.com at lunch and that was a most interesting conversation!

Of course saw Blake from Cooking With The Troops ,he had a great display table at the front of the room with a wonderful video display!

Chatted with some Soldiers Angels folks during the course of the day briefly, and sat with my dear friend Lisa from Soldiers Angels during the conference.

Learned a little about the Home Depot Foundation (and thanks,y'all for the great lunch!:) had a brief chat with a young woman at the Army Strong Stories table (which will probably lead me to finally do a blog post that's been hanging in the back of my mind since my step-son's deployment)

This military wife asked a number of good questions during the course of her conference, I'm looking forward to checking out her blog more in depth. I also spoke with a military wife who should hopefully be emailing me with some more info about something she has in the works:)

Once again, the great folks at YouServed  featured a livestream of the panels, and I think you can find links to those videos now right here

And lastly, but not leastly, here are the 2011 Mibloggie Winners !

I close with a pic that has nothing to do with the conference, but on the way home, I saw a hot air balloon drifting over the interstate, pretty cool :)

--------------------------------
Update: 'geek' excitement on my part:) I cross-posted a version of this post over at Hooah Wife & Friends
and that post was linked in the May 3 edition of  STAND-TO!
 (bottom left side "What's Being Said in Blogs"  The Sixth Annual Milblog Conference was Great!    Awesome! Woot :)

2011 Milblog Conference!

Leaving at O'Dark Thirty on Saturday to head up to the
2011 Sixth Annual Milblog Conference 
Yay! :)

2011 Milbloggies

I Voted !  Have you? lots of great blogs nominated this year, don't forget to Vote Now :)

(if you want to review the finalists one last time before voting? they are listed  Here  )

Congratulations! to all those whose blogs were selected as finalists, and Best of Luck!

Surfing the Web..

Time for another 'surf' around the blogosphere, to highlight blog posts and articles that I hope you find interesting:

this was a short, but powerful blog post from Canadian veteran Paul Franklin The value of time

One person making a positive difference..a nice story from ExploreBaltimoreCounty.com

For wounded soldiers, Lutherville woman brings Trouble ... and a smile

Today(April 25) is the start of the Warrior 100k ..a 3 day bike ride in Texas where 14 wounded servicemen and women who served in Irag and Afghanistan join former President George W. Bush in a 100 kilometer mountain bike ride.

An excellent blog I've recently come across My Yellow Ribbon  is also nominated for a Milbloggie  in the US Military Parent category..(and don't forget,voting for the Milbloggies is also due to start today!)

and the 'theme' for the remainder of this post seems to have evolved into 'remembering'..

the tragic losses of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros generated many blog posts, here are two of them

from The Kitchen Dispatch The Gratitude Post: Tim Hetherington's Final Passage

and from Gazing at the Flag Chris Hondros~A Remarkable Life

Today(April 25) is also ANZAC day, as one of my favorite Aussie bloggers points out

Marion's Meepings Lest We Forget

That's the 'surf''!

Woot! Can't Wait for Saturday!

and the Milblog conference  !! looking forward to seeing old friends, making new friends, and just generally having an interesting, informative, and fantastic time :)

Surfing the Web..

Here's a couple of my fave blogs to follow lately ..

Off The Base always has great posts,IMHO

and Surfing Surgeon Stuck in the Sand  (took over at the same base where The Sand Docs were serving)  is doing a cool series of posts introducing the 'team members' serving with him


moving on, this is interesting, in searching for blog posts about April 6th being the anniversary of the entry into WW I of the US, I came across this blog
The Land of Good Neighbors(C)-Benner Family, World War One, Canada

I've posted previously about this blog
WW I: Experiences of an English Soldier

and this is another WW I blog new to me
World War I: American Soldier's Letters Home

some random blog posts I thought worth mentioning were

Hachinohe Farm Clean Up from I'm Big in Japan

and this Olmsted scholar, Traveler of Morocco, posted Running Inspired in Rabat
which led me to check out Team Red, White and Blue

lastly, Levi Aho at Living My Dreams posted an update on his bicycle ride
Socorro,NM to the Valley of Fire and inbetween

That's the surf! have fun checking all the posts out!

Congratulations! to Milblogging.com!

Milblogging.com Hits 3,000 Milblog Milestone, Nearly 15,000 Members

Woot!

Yay! 2011 Milblog Conference website up and running!

via Milblogging.com  the word is out
2011 Milblog Conference website and registration launched

You can find the website  Here

(and I'll place a link over in the sidebar)

So excited! as it looks like I'll be able to attend this year!! :)

"Great minds think alike"lol..Thanks! Airman Mom

I see Airman Mom had the same idea, posting blogs worth checking out to pass on to others, please go check her post out
So Many Blogs,So Little Time....

A Farewell and a Hello

As one favorite blogger prepares to return home
The Sand Docs-The Final Countdown
(and safe travels home to all of the team! Thank you! for the job you've been doing)

he introduces us to another blogger preparing to deploy shortly
Surfing Surgeon Stuck in the Sand

Military T-Shirt Tuesday is coming to Milblogging.com!!!

JP over at Milblogging.com  has a Most Excellent idea
Join in Milblogging.com's Military T Shirt Tuesday

"for military charities, military oriented non-profits, and any military support organizations"

go read the link above for specifics, and then Spread the Word!!!

-----------------------------------------------

by the way, JP' "military journey is ending....in July" as he "leaves the Army".....as he mentions  in this post HERE

Besides helping to make "milblogging" a household word for many:)  this young man changed forever the way we military supporters decide what to put in our 'care packages',LOL.........and served honorably and well during his time in the military.

Thank you for your service to our country,JP, and best wishes for your future endeavors!!

----------------
(and y'all maybe think about stopping by and    leaving him a comment   ,also?  )

(I Missed the) 2010 Milblog Conference....

so, fo course, Garry Trudeau had attended this year....dang it! wrong year to have a work conflict with the conference schedule,sigh.
(and if you're wondering why Mr. Trudeau would attend a milblog conference? go check out
The Sandbox )

I have not yet found time to watch all of the live stream video from YouServed of the conference , just bits and pieces of it, because I was also 'surfing' around looking for blog posts about the conference this morning....just wanting to see what folks were saying after the fact....(or,catching bits of some posts that were put up During the conference, but I wasn't on the computer much this weekend,either)

JP over at Milblogging.com says
Fifth Annual Official Milblog Conference a Huge Success (with more posts to come)


My dear Angel friend over at View From the 8th Floor put up posts Here , and Here and Here and Here


Small Wars Journal had This to say and Wings Over Iraq had a Wrap-Up post


There's a mention on the ArmyLive blog, Blackfive had a Semi-Live post with updates,
and Homefront 6 posted Here and several other posts.

I'm sure there's more to come, and I still want to finish watching the video coverage.....but just wanted to pass these tidbits along! for others like me who didn't get to go.......or for those of you who are still saying 'what's a 'milblog'?"

If you go check out Milblogging.com you'll see the 'milblogs' aren't just blogs written by those currently serving in the military, but also by veterans, and troop supporters, and spouses, and parents.......my little blog here fit into the 'milblog' umbrella at first because I was a 'troop supporter' as a volunteer with Soldiers Angels and then later because I became a military step-mom,also.

The 'milblog' community has bloggers who are a Lot smarter than myself,ROFL.....but it's a community that it's a privilege to be a part of.....and for all the reasons why it was such a bummer to have missed the Fifth Annual conference, go watch the live stream video , which is what I'm off to finish doing now! :)

Fifth Annual Milblog Conference and Milbloggies

And so this evening kicks off the Fifth Annual Milblog Conference lots of folks I know will be there, hate that I couldn't make it this time....but hope y'all have a fantastic time!!!

also, the Milbloggie winners are listed Here

2010 Milbloggies

The 2010 Milbloggie awards process kicks off March 31, with nominations opening......you can read more about it over at Milblogging.com

5th Annual Milblog Conference,April 9-10

Even though I can't go to this:( there's no reason I can't pass it on.....

via Milblogging.com

Fifth Annual Milblog Conference, April 9/10: There is still time to register

I've been able to make it to two of these conferences over the past few years, if you have a chance to go? it's a blast!:) meeting folks in person you've interacted with online, gazing in awe from afar at the 'rock stars' of the Milblog world,lol.......and just generally having a fantastic, fun-filled day of learning and sharing.

Andi always does a great job putting it together, and I'm sure the Fifth one will totally Rock!

Go, if you can :)

(and I'll be at work that day,lol, thinking of all of you there!)