Red Cross Continues Legacy of Troop, Family Support

By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2011 - The face of the American Red Cross' wartime mission could be conveyed through countless images of volunteers greeting wounded warriors on flightlines, offering comfort to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and providing much-needed support to family members back home.

American Red Cross staffer Kirsten Kuykendall works with a soldier outside of the Red Cross office in Balad, Iraq. The Red Cross has a network of more than 1,500 offices around the world -- including sites in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait -- and thousands of volunteers. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

But while these images offer a snapshot of the organization's focus on individuals, the numbers impart the true magnitude of the Red Cross' wartime support.

In fiscal 2010, the Red Cross provided more than 597,000 emergency communications services for nearly 150,000 military families, and nearly $6 million in immediate financial aid to 5,000 families. And thousands of volunteers –- including service members, veterans and military spouses -- offered comfort and support to wounded and ill troops and their families in hospitals worldwide.

"If someone is at their wits' end and not sure where to turn, we want them to know they can turn to the Red Cross," Peter Macias, communications director for the Red Cross' Service to the Armed Forces branch, told American Forces Press Service. "We will do everything we can to help."

American Red Cross military support dates back more than a century, when Red Cross founder Clara Barton began her humanitarian work on the battlefields of the Civil War in 1861. Barton cared for the ill and wounded, provided a conduit for emergency communications and reconnected families with military loved ones.

The Red Cross' mission remains exactly the same 150 years later, Macias said. Although technology has sparked remarkable advances, the Red Cross has stayed the course of Barton's original vision: rapid and accurate emergency communication services, care for the ill and wounded and service to military families.

To carry out its mission, the Red Cross has a network of more than 1,500 offices around the world -- including sites in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait -- with thousands of volunteers from a variety of backgrounds, Macias said. He's seen retired flag officers serving alongside military spouses, and college students alongside Vietnam-era veterans.

"All share the common desire to serve their country in some capacity," he said.

Many volunteers work to maintain the Red Cross' 24-hour, seven-day-a-week global communications network so troops and their families can be connected in the event of a crisis, such as an illness or death, or even a birth back home, Macias said.

Family members simply contact a Red Cross call center to connect with a military member, whether stationed across the country or halfway around the world, he said. The call center will take the information and quickly track down the service member. In the process, the call center worker will speak to family members and medical professionals to verify information and ensure the accuracy of reports.

"This enables the commander to make a decision about emergency leave with verified information," Macias explained. "A service member can realistically be at a loved one's bedside within 24 to 48 hours."

In turn, service members also can benefit from emergency communications services, he said. If a deployed soldier receives a phone call with news of a family member's serious illness, for example, he can call the Red Cross to request further information from an impartial source. A call center worker will talk to family members and medical officials and provide the service member with validated information so he can make an informed decision about leave.

Another pillar of the Red Cross' mission is care for ill and wounded service members and veterans. Volunteers are in place to support combat-wounded troops at nearly every stage of their journey home, Macias said.

Volunteers stand ready at Landstuhl, Germany, where nearly every combat-wounded troop makes a stop before returning to the States.

"They'll give them a blanket, shaving kit, a toothbrush, whatever is needed to make them more comfortable," Macias explained. Many of these blankets, he added, are hand-knit or hand-sewn by caring people back home.

Ill or injured service members who are flown to Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington in Maryland are met by Red Cross volunteers, including a retired Vietnam veteran, who do everything in their power to ensure a wounded warrior's comfort. One troop, Macias recalled, asked a Red Cross volunteer for a root beer float. "I don't know how she did it, but this woman, who is in her late 80s, got him that root beer float," he said.

Red Cross volunteers also are in nearly every military and Veterans Affairs hospital nationwide, Macias said. Some volunteers push carts of DVDs, candy and cookies down hospital halls. They ask each service member if there's a particular need and, when identified, they'll do everything in their power to fill it, he said.

"We've purchased [interactive game systems] to help with morale and to assist with the physical recovery of a wounded warrior if prescribed by a doctor, along with clothes and personal items," Macias said. The Red Cross also maintains a library of books in hospitals for patients and visitors alike, he added.

Also in hospitals, volunteers offer therapy programs, including the popular pet therapy program, Macias said. As an offshoot of that program, volunteers in Kuwait found a German shepherd and now bring the dog to greet troops as they process in or travel home. "Their faces light up when they see him," Macias said.

Other therapy programs include gardening, art and even radio-controlled aircraft therapy, Macias said. A volunteer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, for example, helps soldiers develop manual dexterity by building and flying radio-controlled aircraft. The volunteer serves as an inspiration, he added, since he has ALS, a progressive motor neuron disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The programs are tailored not to the whims of the instructors, but to the needs and interests of the wounded warriors, Macias explained. "It's a true partnership with the medical team to find out what support is needed," he said.

Also aimed at wounded warrior care, the Red Cross offers the Casualty Travel Assistance Program, which helps immediate family members travel to the bedside of a wounded or ill loved one. The program provides travel expenses and a stipend to cover meals and lodging for seven days, Macias said.

The military also offers immediate family members travel assistance, Macias pointed out. The Red Cross program is designed not to replace, but to supplement that support by helping additional family members, such as a brother or sister or grandparent, travel to a loved one's bedside.

The program also helps the military to fill potential gaps for family member travel to memorial services or funerals. In this case, the Red Cross can provide immediate family members round-trip airfare and a stipend to cover two days of lodging and meals.

The Red Cross offers many other services to military families as well, Macias said, including its well-known CPR training and babysitter course, which many bases require young caregivers to take if babysitting on a military installation.

"This is a great course for older brothers and sisters to take too," said Debbie Vanderbeek, senior associate with the Red Cross' Service to the Armed Forces. Many military children and teens are asked to take on additional childcare responsibilities when a parent deploys, and the babysitting course can help to ensure they're equipped to do so, she explained.

Additionally, the Red Cross can use its network of aid societies to help families who may find themselves in a financial bind, Macias said. And if the issue falls outside of the Red Cross' realm, volunteers will refer them to someone who can help, he added.

To address deployment challenges, Macias encourages families to take advantage of the Red Cross' Coping With Deployments class, which provides resilience strategies for military families. The course can help adults identify issues in themselves, significant others or in children. The class is open to all loved ones, including significant others, siblings, cousins, close friends and others, he added.

"We consider it psychological first aid," he said.

Licensed mental health professionals conduct the course at sites across the country, some on and others off base, Macias said.
People can call the Red Cross for a course schedule or can gather a group and request a course. If a course isn't being offered in a specific location, the Red Cross will fly in a mental health professional to conduct one, Macias said, which can be helpful to families of the Guard and Reserve. The Red Cross has more than 8,000 volunteers with mental health expertise, including more than 100 who specialize in military issues and family support, he added.

Macias also highlighted a new program for families that's projected to roll out nationwide this summer. The Coming Home Series is a series of classes for service members returning from deployment and their families. The five-module class teaches them how to manage anger, reconnect with loved ones, build communication skills, better support their children and identify and deal with post-traumatic stress.

A team of mental health professionals worked closely with the Defense Department to develop the content, he noted.

Like Coping With Deployments, this course will be offered on sites nationwide, but also may include an online component at some point, he said. However, "We believe the interaction with others and face-to-face support is one of the strengths of these programs," Macias said.

To ensure privacy, all courses are confidential, without self-identification or roll calls, he said.

The big-picture goal, he explained, is to offer families an effective and impartial support system that's available to them at any time, night or day.

"It's an honor to serve the men and women who are serving us," Macias said. "We want service members, veterans and their families to know we're here as a 24/7 avenue of support."
 

Christian Council Satisfied with Verdict

Expresses Concern about Affect of Judges’ Comments about Conversion on Cases of Communal Violence

NEW DELHI – January 22, 2011 – Yesterday, a bench of India’s Supreme Court’s issued a judgment upholding the life-imprisonment of Dara Singh for killing Graham Staines and his two young sons in January 1999. Dr. Graham Stuart Staines (1941 – 22 January 1999) was an Australian Christian missionary who was burnt to death along with his two sons Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6) while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Orissa. Singh's accomplice, Mahendra Hembram, was also sentenced to life in prison.

Graham Staines and his family, wife Gladys, daughter Esther
and sons Philip, left, and Timothy.

Dr. Joseph D’souza, President of the All India Christian Council (AICC), said, “We are satisfied with the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the 2005 Orissa High Court’s verdict which commuted a death sentence for Dara Singh to life imprisonment for killing Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in Orissa in 1999. In dismissing Dara Singh’s petition for dropping of the case against him, the Apex Court clearly denounced the heinous hate crime perpetrated by communal forces.”

Dr. John Dayal, AICC Secretary General, said, “Most Indian Christians oppose the death penalty both on moral and theological grounds, as much as we oppose abortion and taking away life at any stage. Of course, as Christians, we want the State and Central government to uphold the rule of law.”

In the conclusion of the ruling on Criminal Appeal No 1366 of 2005, “Rabindra Kumar Pal @ Dara Singh Vs. Republic of India”, the judges wrote, “It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone’s belief by way of ‘use of force’, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other.” Some media reports insinuated this meant ‘conversions’ are illegal or the root cause of the violent attack.

Dayal said, “Although we are yet to analyse the full judgment of the Supreme Court, we are disturbed by the parts carried by the media, mentioning terms like fraud and forcible and conversion. The Court must comment on Hindu conversions, termed Ghar Wapsi. But more than anything, we fear such remarks may negatively impact trials in Kandhamal, Orissa and future challenges to so-called ‘freedom of religion laws’ in various states.”

Inquiries by the National Commission for Minorities, Right To Information (RTI) requests, and other investigations have proven repeatedly there have been no fraudulent or forceful conversions by Christians in India anywhere, anytime. After analysing the Supreme Court reference to conversions, the aicc might move Supreme Court to revise the reference at an appropriate time.

Dayal said, “We do not want any court to pre-judge the matter of conversions and violence. The real root cause of strife in which Staines lost his life with his two kids was a misunderstanding of conversion. We have seen communal violence not only against Christians, but also on Muslims and Sikhs since India’s Independence. It is unfortunate that Hindutva forces look for an excuse to attack Christians and others because they believe that India is for Hindus only. This goes against India’s spirit of secularism.”

The All India Christian Council, birthed in 1998, exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, and the oppressed castes.The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indian denominations, organizations, and lay leaders.

Madhu Chandra

Regional Secretary 9716004939

Renowned Urdu poet Raghib Muradabadi passed away

Posted on Friday January 21, 2011 at 9:29am

By Iftikhar Chaudri

Renowned Urdu poet and one of the last masters of the technical aspect of poetry writing (Ilm-i-Aroos), Raghib Muradabadi passed away on Wednesday. in Karachi. He was 93. 

Born in 1918 in Delhi, Raghib Muradabadi graduated from Delhi College and learned the art of composing poetry from the likes of Yas Yagana, Safi Lakhnavi and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan. After partition, he came to Karachi where he was made the head of the rehabilitation committee for migrants by former prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan. He contributed a great deal to the betterment of the migrant community.
He wrote 40 books which include a collection of ghazals, nazms, naat, a collection of poetry in Punjabi and translations in verse of Quranic Ayats and Ahadees. His collection of ghazals Rag-i-Guftar was received with critical acclaim as did his naats, Midhatul Bashar .
After Josh Malihabadi, whom he knew very well, Raghib Muradabadi was considered the best writer of rubaai (quatrain). One of his books titled Maut has 500 rubaais on the topic of death.

Iftikhar Chaudri

The foreword to the book is written by Allama Talib Jauhri. He also penned his thoughts on the issue of terrorism. His compilation of Josh`s letters, Khutoot-i-Josh Malihabadi , and a book titled Mukalmat-i-Josh-o-Raghib speak for his closeness to Josh Malihabadi. Raghib Muradabadi had thousands of shagirds (pupils) the most prominent of which was the popular poet Habib Jalib. It is believed it`s Raghib sahib who suggested to Habib that he adopt Jalib as his pen name.
Raghib sahib was quite fluent in the Punjabi language. Talking to Dawn in an interview last year, he explained what had inspired him to learn the language.
“I had developed friendship with a Hindu girl back in India. Once she remarked that `jay tusi saday naal pyar karday ho tay, sadi zaban naal vee pyar karo.` (If you love me, you should love our language also.) I accepted the challenge, listened to Punjabi programmes on the radio, read Punjabi books and acquired such mastery over the language that I began composing poetry in it.”

They don't miss home...even in war ground

Posted on Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 8:18 PM By Army 1st Lt. Nicholas Rasmussen of Task Force Lethal PAKTIA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 20, 2011 - Most soldiers who are deployed miss their homes. But for Army Spc. Steven Starkey and Army Pfc. Andrew Starkey, a large part of what the word "home" represents is just a five-minute walk up the hill. Army Pfc. Andrew Starkey and his father, Army Spc. Steve Starkey of the Iowa Army National Guard pose for a photo Jan. 6, 2011, while deployed to Afghanistan's Paktia province. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Steven, a 40-year-old mechanic by trade in Council Bluffs, Iowa, works as a wheeled-vehicle mechanic attached to Company A, 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment, which currently falls under the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Andrew, his son, works in Company A's kitchen preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Both Starkeys are assigned to the Iowa Army National Guard's Company F, 334th Support Battalion, out of Red Oak, Iowa. Both soldiers said they joined the Guard to serve their country and fulfill some personal goals. Steven enlisted in the active-duty Army in 1989 as a heavy equipment mobile tactical truck wheel mechanic. He was slated to serve during Operation Desert Storm when personal issues at home prevented his involvement. He was young and dealing with a troubled marriage when his chain of command made the determination to let him remain in the rear as his unit prepared to support Desert Storm, he said. "Looking back, I don't feel I was mature enough to handle the task at hand," he acknowledged, adding that his brief service helped him to mature and gave him cause to consider future opportunities for service. The events of 9/11 reignited that simmering ambition. "I felt like I had left something on the table, an obligation I had left incomplete" he said. So almost 15 years after his initial service, he began the process to rejoin the Army, eventually serving with the Iowa National Guard. The process wasn't easy. Steven had remarried and had three additional children -- daughters Ashley and Rachel and stepson Jon -- when he decided to re-enlist for active duty. Despite trying three times, the active Army would not accept his application because he had more than two dependents. Steven gave up trying for active duty after the third attempt. Then, in the spring of 2007, he met his daughter's soccer coach, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard. The soccer coach informed Steven that the Iowa National Guard had waivers and programs to allow people in situations like his to join. A month after speaking with the soccer coach, he was at the military entrance processing station swearing in for service. A year later, Andrew raised his right hand and made the oath to serve his country, but he had a different reason: his daughter, Kyra. Being in the Iowa Army National Guard has given Andrew a means to provide health care and child support for Kyra, he said. "I plan to start a savings account with the money I'm making [on deployment] to help pay for her college," he said. But joining the Guard came with some additional, unanticipated benefits for Andrew. "I see myself grow every day," he said, "whether or not I enjoy it all the time." Before making his commitment to serve in the Iowa Guard, Andrew had a "loose-cannon mentality," as his father put it. He was an unruly youth who often did not think before he acted. That was nine months ago. Now, six months into deployment, Andrew is a much different person. "He's level-headed and can take criticism constructively like an adult," said Steven, who added witnessing this change has been one of the most rewarding benefits to come out of being on this deployment together. Steven said sometimes a father has to be a father, regardless of rank, and stick up for his son. "It's hard to keep the fatherly instinct at bay when I see my son getting in trouble by his boss," Steven said. "I often have to swallow my pride and know my place." The Starkeys act more like brothers or best friends when they're together here, calling each other by their last name and making fun of just about anything the other says. Though they work at the same company, the Starkeys still feel as though they could spend more time together. As trying as some days may get, they said, they usually find some time throughout the week to hang out and unwind together, giving them a chance to solidify, in a unique way, a bond that can only be made between a father and son deployed together. "The one thing that everyone else wants, we have: a family member on deployment," Andrew said.

Related Sites: NATO International Security Assistance Force

Blogger Recalls Husband’s Support When ‘Just a Boyfriend’

Posted on Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 3:29 AM

By Elaine Wilson of American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2011 – I’m pleased to introduce a new Family Matters guest blogger, Megan Just, a Navy veteran and the editor of the weekly newspaper at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif.

Navy Lt. Megan Field, now Megan Just, poses for a photo with her then-boyfriend, Eric Just at Fort Bliss, Texas, May 27, 2007. Eric was visiting Megan while she was on a weekend break from Army combat skills training where she was preparing for a deployment to Iraq. Courtesy photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

In this blog, Megan reflects on the sacrifices her now-husband made while she was in the Navy and he was "just a boyfriend." She writes about the important role significant others play in a service member's life and reminds us that while not all dating relationships end happily, all military spouses were first “just” boyfriends and girlfriends. 

Just a Boyfriend
By Megan Just
A gust of frigid rain pummeled my face. The hems of my Navy uniform pants wicked rainwater as I splashed across the sidewalk. Inside the dry safety of my car, I cranked the seat heaters to high. It was another stormy day in the long string of stormy days we'd had so far that winter. It was another day Eric would be soaked to the bone and hypothermic as he biked across town.

Faced with a half year of separation following my deployment to Iraq, Eric left the idyllic, sunny Southern California town where he attended graduate school to join me in Rhode Island.

Because the arrangement was temporary, we shared a car. In theory, Eric could have shuttled me to work and had the car to himself all day. The problem was, Eric was just a boyfriend. While he was allowed to drop me off, he was not allowed to come back on base to pick me up. And so he hunkered down and braved the rain.

One of the most important rituals in a military ceremony is to recognize the honoree’s spouse. The spouse is called on stage to receive a bouquet of flowers: a symbolic thank you for the sacrifices the he or she has made on behalf of the spouse's military service. These are always occasions for tears. The spouse's sacrifice has been great and it's been anything but easy.

Sometimes, when I observe these ceremonies, a lump forms in my throat. The sacrifices Eric made because of my military service ran a lot deeper than a few months of rainy bike rides. For the duration of my time in the Navy, Eric was just a boyfriend and therefore, he was never recognized for his sacrifices.

The truth is that, in many ways, the sacrifices of a service member's boyfriend or girlfriend are no different than those made by a spouse, but they make them without the benefits, recognition, commitment or support.

For a civilian, dating a service member is a lot more complicated than dating another civilian. Yes, there are all the acronyms that have to be translated and the silly little things you have to do (like sneaking your significant other in the backdoor of the gym so you can work out together), but there is so much more to it than that.

Eric has told me that one of the most profound peculiarities of dating a service member was the presence of a third party in the relationship. "It's like you're the most important thing to them, but Uncle Sam is more important."

It was our third date when the shadow of the Navy first altered our plans together. I had a rare four-day weekend and we planned to go rock climbing in Yosemite. I was not allowed to leave a designated radius from my duty station and Yosemite was significantly outside this distance.

Although I knew Eric had been eagerly anticipating the trip, I was afraid of being caught and I chickened out at the last minute.

We had only been dating a few months when I moved across country to my new duty station in Rhode Island. A few months after that, I received orders to Iraq.

"It's a scary prospect to date someone in the military because they are largely absentee," Eric told me once. "It's contrary to the idea of what a relationship is."

In addition to the separation, the deployment raised sobering questions we would have never faced so early in our relationship as a civilian-civilian couple.

As my colleagues prepared powers of attorneys for their spouses, I had to decide if I should list Eric as a life insurance beneficiary and include him in my will. He was just a boyfriend, but he also was the man I hoped to eventually marry. If I was hurt in Iraq, I wanted him to be the first to know. If I died, I wanted to recognize him not for the title held, but for his significance in my life.

Many military couples mitigate these complications by getting married right before deployment. This ensures rights of the significant other in the case of an injury or death, and it also provides perks, such as medical insurance, commissary benefits, a pay increase, and access to family support programs.

Eric and I had been dating less than a year when I left and we did not opt to do this, but he supported me through deployment like a spouse, nevertheless. He sent care packages, letters, e-mails, and he made funny little videos to keep me up-to-date on his life back in the United States. He ran a multitude of errands for me and he handled the details of our post-deployment plans.

Most importantly, he was available on the other end of the phone every time I called, no matter the hour, no matter what else I was interrupting. This was no small commitment; I called him almost every day of my deployment. It was because of this steady connection with him that I didn't implode from all the small stresses that add up while serving in Iraq.

Eric and I married a year after I got out of the Navy. Although he now wears the rank of husband, he is no more important to me than when he was just a boyfriend. He is still the same person I've loved all along and I know it was his continued patience and flexibility during our early years that made our relationship possible.

We've all heard our share of heartless "Dear John" stories, but it's important to not discount the contributions of the significant other during the happy periods of the relationship. Even if the couple never progresses to engagement or marriage, the service member's significant other has bent twice as far to compensate for the service member not being able to bend at all.

The military-civilian dating relationship is difficult, but there are things each party can do to make it easier. With our one-car situation in Rhode Island, for example, I started asking questions around base and learned that my commanding officer could write a special permission letter that would allow Eric to pick me up from work. It wasn't much, but anything that can ease external stress on your relationship is important, especially when you're working on the foundation of something you hope will last a lifetime.

As a former service member who had a civilian boyfriend, I have an appreciation for spouses' organizations that extend invitations to significant others, especially during deployments. I also think it's fantastic that the Reserve and National Guard's Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program welcomes spouses, as well as service members' boyfriends and girlfriends. After all, every military spouse was first a girlfriend or boyfriend.

As I look back on the years when my husband was just a boyfriend, I realize the guilty feeling I sometimes have at military ceremonies is not just because Eric never received a showy bouquet of flowers from the Navy. It is because I failed to thank him enough for his sacrifices.

Here are a few questions for you:

How did your experience as a service member's girlfriend or boyfriend differ from your experience as a military spouse?

How can a service member make the dating relationship easier for his or her significant other, and vice versa?

Sailors Handle Variety of Tasks

Posted on Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 7:27 PM By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Nathanael Miller U.S. Naval Forces Central Command ARABIAN GULF, Jan. 19, 2011 - Armed with scissors, clippers, keys to the ship's store and laundry detergent, the sailors who wear the crossed quill and key of the ship's serviceman, or SH, rating badge provide a multitude of services to the crew of amphibious transport dock USS Ponce. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Harlan Jones, clad in a black barber's smock and awaiting his next customer, said the ship's serviceman rating brings a variety of services to Ponce. "Ship's servicemen provide services to the crew, generally anything other than what the culinary specialists provide and general parts the logistical specialists provide," he explained. Culinary specialists provide food service for the crew, while logistical specialists are responsible for all supply matters, but a gap still exists, Jones added, and the ship's serviceman rating fills that gap. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Harlan Jones, a ship's serviceman, trims Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Smith's hair in the barber shop aboard amphibious transport dock USS Ponce in the Arabian Gulf, Dec. 22, 2010. USS Ponce is part of Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Nathanael Miller  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution imageavailable. "We run the barber shop, ship's store, and laundry all at once," Jones said. "There's an SH in every one of them," he said. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric Chandler noted that sailors require several skill sets to be successful in handling the rating's diverse responsibilities. Security, laundry, sales, retail management and barber services are some of the skills a sailor must master to qualify, he said. One example of the daily challenges ship's servicemen face is keeping the ship's store stocked. "You can never know exactly how much you need in the ship's store," Chandler said. "You're constantly going up there to check up on it." Although the ship's laundry is not as labor-intensive as the ship's store or barber shop, it is just as critical to the crew's readiness. Even though Ponce has a "self service" laundry, a ship's serviceman has to man the space to ensure the machines are functioning and assist shipmates if there is a problem. Noting that clean uniforms are as much a part of daily hygiene and sanitary living conditions at sea as daily showers are, Jones said the ship's laundry affects more than morale. The crew's health can be at stake as well, he explained. In the ship's barber shop with their clippers buzzing and scissors snipping, ship's servicemen help to keep their shipmates' hair within standards and boost morale at the same time. "I love being able to help people out," Jones said. "There are little things about your self-esteem that start when you wake up in the morning. You look at yourself in the mirror, and if you have a messed-up haircut that takes a little bit off. Those little things start to turn into bigger things as you go along during the day." With the broad range of duties required, the ship's servicemen stay busy. Their efforts affect readiness as well as morale. Whether it's keeping the laundry running, selling candy in the ship's store or chatting with shipmates while cutting hair, the ship's servicemen said, they provide a valuable service to the fleet.

Related Sites: USS Ponce U.S. Naval Forces Central Command

Soldier Earns Worldwide Competition Berth

 Posted on Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 7:02 PM

By Army Pfc. Karina Paraoan of  Alaska National Guard WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2011 - An Alaska National Guardsman will compete in the figure bodybuilding competition at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, March 3-5. Army Staff Sgt. Diane Singh of the Alaska National Guard works on her form when pulling weights with the help of her personal trainer, Valentina Chepiga. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Karina Paraoan  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The festival, founded by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is billed as the nation's largest multisport event and features competition in archery, boxing, amateur bodybuilding, cheerleading and dance, and other sports. Army Staff Sgt. Diane Singh, an Alaska National Guard drug demand reduction noncommissioned officer, will compete in the amateur figure bodybuilding category. One way to qualify for the category is to be a nationally qualified bodybuilder, a qualification Singh met when she competed in the Emerald Cup amateur figure bodybuilding competition in Seattle on April 16. "This competition is different [from] the others I have competed in, because everything I have done up to this point is going to culminate in this show," Singh said. "Every show I have done so far has been a stepping stone and learning experience. For me to say that I'm competing in the Arnold is a dream come true." Along with a strenuous workout schedule, Singh said, her diet plan is a challenge. For the next few weeks, Singh is limited to eating only grilled chicken, fish or turkey with green vegetables, brown rice and sweet potatoes. Another key to staying healthy with her workout plan, she added, is to drink a lot of water. "I have always been impressed with Staff Sergeant Singh's enthusiasm before, during and after her competitions," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Theulen, also an Alaska National Guard drug demand reduction NCO. "Even if she wins fifth place, her smile never disappears and she only has positive things to say about the experience." Singh has represented the Alaska National Guard for the past two years in various bodybuilding competitions in and out of state, including two nationwide events. "Ever since I started competing, I've had so many soldiers ask me questions," Singh said. "They've asked me questions about bodybuilding and what to eat. I'm always happy to help Guardsmen out, and I love sharing that information with them." Singh said she'll continue to compete after the Arnold event, and plans to take part in the Alaska National Physique Committee State Championships on April 30. "She has been a role model to the women in our office, as she is always sharing fitness regimens and techniques," Theulen said.   Related Sites: Alaska National Guard