Chef Feeds New Horizons Troops

By Army Maj. Scott Bell
Task Force Kout Men

MANDERIN, Haiti, June 30, 2010 - Normally, a hot meal for servicemembers working in austere conditions means warming up a field rations package that includes a dinner, dessert and a snack.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Mike Larey, a Louisiana National Guard member and the head cook for Task Force Kout Men, serves up an authentic Louisiana-style meal to troops of the New Horizons-Haiti 2010 training exercise in Haiti. Larey trained as a chef at the Peabody Hotel and BB King's in Memphis, Tenn., and Dragos restaurant in New Orleans. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Scott Bell  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

But for the 500 troops of Task Force Kout Men serving in a New Horizons humanitarian exercise here, chow time is a treat.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Mike Larey, a member of the Louisiana National Guard and owner of Louisiana Cooking Services in New Orleans, is serving his Cajun cuisine out of a 24-by-20-foot kitchen trailer.

"I look forward to seeing all the troops smiling when they come in here each night," said Larey, who trained for his third chef discipline -- Cajun and Creole -- at Dragos in New Orleans. "My cooking staff takes great pride in the fact these soldiers, sailors and airmen look forward to supper each night."

Larey wasn't always a cook in the Louisiana National Guard. He began his career in the military as an engineer, and then he became a truck driver. He said he knows what it's like to run a shovel on a backhoe all day or drive a truck for long hours in the heat and humidity with no air conditioning.

"I also remember how nice it was to come in after a long day at work to a hot meal at night," he added.

Larey said those memories are what drives him to continue to serve in the Louisiana Guard and to do his best to make sure every military member he feeds knows he or she is appreciated.

"I'm sure not doing this for the money," he said. 

Family Matters Blog: Program Helps Military Families Adopt

By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON,   I met an amazing military family the other day that opened their hearts and home to three children.

Air Force Master Sgt. Kipp M. Bourgeois and his wife, Christina, pose for a picture with their three children: Emalie, 14; Kameron, 12; and SkylarRae, 3. All three children were adopted with help from the Defense Department's adoption reimbursement program. Courtesy photo

Air Force Master Sgt. Kipp M. Bourgeois and his wife, Christina, adopted their children, thanks in part to financial assistance from the Defense Department's adoption reimbursement program. The couple had been trying to conceive for more than a decade, but Christina's battle with endometriosis served as a barrier to their attempts.

They moved to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in 2000, and saw a fertility specialist who told the couple their only hope was in vitro fertilization. But at $15,000 a try and only a 30-percent success rate, as the doctor told them, the family just couldn't swing the cost.

They decided to look into adoption, specifically a special-needs adoption through the state. "Dealing with special needs wasn't an issue for us," Bourgeois told me.

They set their sights on two siblings, Emalie and Kameron, who were 4- and 3-years-old at the time. The state considered the children as having special needs due to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and allergies. But the couple didn't think twice about their special needs or the fact that they would be accepting two children into their home rather than one.

"My wife fell in love with both of them, just based on their picture," Bourgeois recalled. "They just looked like they fit in our family."

Since the adoption was done through the state of Nevada, the family's costs were minimal. Still, they had to pay about $2,000 out of pocket for fingerprinting, training classes and a lawyer to finalize the adoption. The couple turned to the Defense Department's adoption reimbursement program for financial help, joining thousands of other military couples who have received compensation to defray adoption costs through the program since 1991. In 2009, the program distributed nearly 650 payments throughout the services, totaling more than $1 million.

The program reimburses servicemembers for certain adoption expenses such as agency and placement fees, legal fees and medical expenses.  Servicemembers who serve continuously on active duty for at least 180 days can receive up to a maximum of $2,000 per child, but can't exceed $5,000 per calendar year.

For the Bourgeois family, the money covered their out-of-pocket expenses almost entirely after their first adoption was finalized in 2003.

They again turned to the program for help on their next adoption, three years later.

Bourgeois was working with the birth mother and father at the time. When the birth mother found out she was pregnant, she was distraught, knowing her family wouldn't approve since she wasn't married, he said. Knowing they had adopted before, she called and asked the couple if they would take the baby.

Since this adoption was private, it was more costly, adding up to roughly $13,000, Bourgeois said. But between the department's reimbursement program and IRS tax credits, their out-of-pocket expenses were minimal.

Emalie and Kameron are now 14 and 12, and their youngest, SkylarRae, is 3.

While Bourgeois said he remains grateful for the resources that aided his family: "The love that [my children] return makes the money not even a thought in the end."

I'm grateful there are people out there like the Bourgeois family. Thanks to them, deserving children in need are able to grow up in healthy and happy homes.

If you're interested in adopting, don't hesitate to look into the adoption reimbursement program. The department also offers servicemembers who adopt up to 21 days of nonchargeable leave to be used in connection with the adoption. For more information, contact your local family support center or personnel office, or call Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647.

To comment on this blog, please visit the Family Matters blog.-June 29, 2010

A Cambodian child plays jump rope with a U.S. Sailor

 A Cambodian child plays jump rope with a U.S. Sailor from USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) during a community service event at Goodwill School in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, June 17, 2010. Mercy is deployed as part of Pacific Partnership 2010, the fifth in a series of annual U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance endeavors to strengthen regional partnerships. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jon Husman, U.S. Navy/Released)

Super Cobra helicopter

U.S. Marine Corps pilots assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit fly an AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter during flight operations aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) while underway in the Pacific Ocean on June 17, 2010. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Russell, U.S. Navy. (Released)

Hornet aircraft

An F/A-18C Hornet aircraft assigned to the "Wildcats" of Strike Fighter Squadron 131 catapults from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) June 16, 2010, while under way in the Northern Arabian Sea. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed as part of an ongoing rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Chad R. Erdmann, U.S. Navy/Released)

To conduct a patrol

U.S. Soldiers depart Forward Operating Base Baylough, Afghanistan, June 16, 2010, to conduct a patrol. The Soldiers are from 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. William Tremblay, U.S. Army/Released)

Joint Base Balad, Iraq

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Barnes prepares to signal Capt. Jeremy Sorenson to taxi his F-16 Fighting Falcon block 30 aircraft for takeoff from Joint Base Balad, Iraq, June 8, 2010. Barnes is a crew chief with the 169th Maintenance Squadron, 169th Fighter Wing out of McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., and Sorenson is a pilot with the 370th Flight Test Squadron out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Caycee Cook, U.S. Air Force/Released)

President Barack Obama addresses

President Barack Obama addresses U.S. Service members at the Naval Air Technical Training Center at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., June 15, 2010. Obama addressed the Service members while in Florida to visit areas affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (DoD photo by Airman Brinn Hefron, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Flight deck officers

Flight deck officers aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) run across the flight deck during a barricade drill June 14, 2010, while underway in the north Arabian Sea. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed as part of an ongoing rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Chad R. Erdmann, U.S. Navy/Released)

Military Sealift Command hospital ship

U.S. Sailors embarked aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) paint the living facilities at the Binh Dinh Leprosy Hospital in Quy Nhon, Vietnam, June 10, 2010, during Pacific Partnership 2010. Mercy is in Vietnam conducting the fifth in a series of annual U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance endeavors to strengthen regional partnerships. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew Jackson, U.S. Navy/Released)

Members of the Provincial Reconstruction Team

Members of the Provincial Reconstruction Team from Forward Operating Base Finley Shield walk through a construction site June 10, 2010, to ensure construction is on schedule in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.(DoD photo by Spc. David A. Jackson, U.S. Army/Released)