I know - we promised a series on Advanced Training - but it’s simply not as good as we want it yet.  So - a few little posts this week - let me know what you want!

Now - coupons!!  Whilst sitting and cutting out the few coupons that I use, I thought about how many I throw away every Sunday.  I remembered a few articles and some TV spots about senior citizens cutting out coupons to send to military bases overseas.  So I checked.  And they even take expired coupons (up to 2 months old).  I am putting links to the lists of bases that do accept these.  If you have a soldier overseas, who would be willing to be a contact point and is willing to have their address listed here, let us know!

We are trying to get the forums up and moving - again, let us know what forums you want! This is where parents can get together and discuss what is important to them.  I am getting some instruction in how to do this, from our Tech Mama and all around good girl, Tammy (I like Tech Mama for her handle, what do you think??)

Here’s the list - so start clipping, get your office to get clipping!  A few cents here and there, helps an awful lot, especially with the cost of living in Europe or the Far East. note: no addresses in the Sand - please!

LAW

http://www.ocpnet.org/

http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/expiredgrocerycoupons.htm

http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/grocery-articles/2575-expired-coupons-give-grocery-coupons-new-life.html

Mail (from home type, multiple)

Mail call is the highlight of the day – and the more mail the better. BUT, and this is a big but, there are rules about what can be sent. Letters, cards, pictures, those are fine. Funny cards can lift the spirits; newspaper articles or the funnies, or the local paper are great. NO Pornography, NO food, NO candy, NO alcohol or other contraband. The packages will be opened, and your recruit will pay the price. Extra PT (physical training) can result, and the heartbreak of watching the drill instructor EATING those goodies in front of the unit, is really adding insult to injury…Things like cough drops are allowed, and in fact are a good idea to send – all those recruits from other parts of the country – all those germs, lots of physical activity and lack of sleep, means their immunity system is down, and they ALL get colds. (But that’s tomorrow’s topic)

SSM: The Army son’s unit also had a contest to see which soldier received the most mail and received the most pictures from home — and our son’s friends certainly got into the spirit of it as he won the most mail and the most pictures contests… However, no food could be sent and the Sgt.s confiscated any food… opening the packages in front of the unit — home baked goods they kept for themselves and destroyed all the rest.  If a recruit received food (or other contraband — alcohol, cigarettes, porn, etc.) the recruit was “smoked” (severe physical training to the point of barfing).

LAW – my son’s request was for cough drops but he loved the cards – I’d send a couple a week, as did his girlfriend at the time. My husband told me – NO food… I so wanted to send a box of cookies, but we knew the rules. Mail call was so important! Any encouraging news, or news about the dogs, the neighbours, old friends, any news at all. But telling him how proud we were of him, really helped him get through it.

SSM: My advice to parents is to remember the military (mom’s) mantra: “no news is good news ’cause bad news travels fast” and to just keep writing those letters, sending funny cards and getting as many of their friends and family to do the same!! Your son or daughter will be sore, tired, depressed, home sick… and they need all the support they can get — even if you don’t hear back from them! They haven’t forgotten you and will call just as soon as they can!

From Lela: [my son] told me that it was heartbreaking to see packages with food destroyed or eaten by the DI’s when they were soooooo hungry.  He did send me a note asking for vitamins and sore throat drops.  He also asked for bug spray to try to combat the sand fleas.  According to him, it didn’t work.  Mostly, he wanted pictures of the family to attach to the inside of his “cover” or hat.  He said it really helped to have them there as a reminder of who he was and why he was going thru hell.  He did tell me that the cards and letters from the family were a real boost, even though he didn’t reply to most of them …. he chose sleep.

Please let us know what your recruit wanted - any good ideas for new parents?  What did your recruit ask you for specifically?

Parents of Marines - this is amazing!  SemperFi Wife - a Marine Mom and Wife- alerted me to this article.    Shows what a bunch of committed and supportive parents can do.

Parent Network expands; Marines’ welfare a worthwhile endeavor 

6/25/2008  By Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray, Regimental Combat Team 5 

AL QA’IM, Iraq — 

AL QA’IM, Iraq — Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, Regimental Combat Team 5 recently introduced a new way for Marines’ parents to learn about what’s happening with their sons during the latter’s deployment to western Al Anbar province, Iraq. The Parent Network started shortly before the battalion, nicknamed “Warlord,” left for Iraq and continues to grow.

“We have around 1,000 parents involved in this program, and it’s still growing,” said Sgt. Maj. Howard K. Long, 43, the battalion sergeant major, who presented the idea of establishing the Parent Network. “The Marines can elect up to five people who can receive information from us.”

Mrs. Diane Hanley, the mother of Pfc. Shane Hanley, a rifleman with Company E, is the Parent Network coordinator. She corresponds with the Family Readiness Team of the battalion to address any parental concerns and answer questions to the best of her abilities.

“The network is a way to inform and educate parents of the Warlord’s service in Iraq, so they can better support their sons through an understanding of the military,” said Navy Lt. Joel Degraeve, 40, the battalion chaplain. “If Mrs. Hanley receives a question, she forwards it to us. Some have been concerns, but parents mostly want to know how they can support us.”

As the Parent Network grows, so do the number of inquiries about the battalion. Hanley eventually receives most questions from parents, but the network has grown so large that six individuals across the nation have taken intermediary roles between Hanley and the parents.

“We have parents all across the United States divided into six regions,” said Long, who is from Asheville, N.C. “Each region has its own regional coordinator they can contact for help.”

On their own accord, the parents began coordinating with one another to send battalion-care packages. They have sent boxes upon boxes of useful items to distribute to all of the Marines with the battalion. The chaplain, while visiting Marines for religious services, plans to pass out boxes at every stop.

“Sending battalion-care packages is not something they originally planned to do,” said Degraeve, who is from Chicago. “Every Marine in the battalion will be taken care of in a way because of them. In the short time they have been together, they have shown their commitment to the Warlords.”

Information on becoming a member of the Parent Network and supporting the Marines during their deployment is available on the battalion’s Web site, www.iimefpublic.usmc.mil/public/iimefpublic.nsf/unitsites/2bn2mar/.

As the group continues to grow, more and more parents all over the United States are learning about their son’s deployment and banding together to take care of the Warlords any way they can.

http://http://www.marines.mil/units/marforpac/imef/1stmardiv/5thregiment/rct5/Pages/ParentNetworkexpands;Marines%E2%80%99welfareaworthwhileendeavor.aspx