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MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share™
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January 11, 2007
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Support for you: a Place to Connect Connect & Share™
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MarineParents.com Store Links
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Dear 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.
We thank you for your support and hope that we can
support you.
With news of possible extensions of Marines currently
in Iraq and a possible surge of new units deploying,
its understandable that our families are nervous for
what this means to each of our Marines. We'll update
our News Room with official
announcements as they
are available.
On behalf of the volunteers of MarineParents.com, I
would like to wish each of you a Happy New year and
hopes for peace and prosperity to all.
4000 Marines to be extended in Iraq
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News Article in the Marine Corps Times
The deployments of some 4,000 Marines already in
Iraq’s Anbar province will be extended as part of the
overall “surge” of troops announced by President
Bush on Wednesday night.
The extensions involve two infantry battalions and a
Marine expeditionary unit: 1st Battalion, 6th Marines,
based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; 3rd Battalion, 4th
Marines, based at Twentynine Palms, Calif.; and the
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp
Pendleton, Calif.
The 15th MEU includes Battalion Landing Team 2nd
Battalion, 4th Marines, and Combat Logistics Battalion
15, both based at Pendleton, and Marine Medium
Helicopter Squadron 165, based at Marine Corps Air
Station Miramar, Calif.
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Unit Chat Nights
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3/4 Chat Tonight, Thursday, Jan 11
We offer unit-specific chat nights to help families
connect with one another during deployments. Many
battalions have a unit chat night. Visit the links for
more information, and let us know if you would like to
start a unit chat night for your Marine's battalion.
The 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) have a unit chat
night scheduled for this evening, Thursday, January
11, 2007 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Central Time.
The chat rooms and moderated for safety and to
assure compliance with OPSEC (Operational
Security).
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Support During Bootcamp
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Parris Island, SC and San Diego, CA
Overwhelmed with the prospect of sending your
recruit off to bootcamp? We offer "a Place to
Connect & Share%trade;" putting friends and family
members from each graduating platoon together on
message boards and chat rooms for support and
encouragement. The bootcamp section of the web
site includes the training matrix, what to expect from
the USMC, graduation information and much more.
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PTSD Chat With an Expert
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D., author of the acclaimed
PTSD Book "Downrange to Iraq and Back" will
participate in a monthly online discussion group
sponsored by MarineParents.com, Inc.
Discussions are held from 8:15-10:00 p.m. central
time. Dr. Cantrell's next discussion will be held Friday,
January 19, 2007. We will arrange for one day each
month during the remainder of 2007 as well. Please
check back for updates to the scheduled discussion
groups. There is no fee to attend the online
discussion group.
The topic of discussion for this online group is post
traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. Military personnel
and spouses or family members who would like to
learn more about PTSD are invited to attend. The
format for the discussion group will be a structured
online chat. Questions will be submitted to the room
moderator by attendees, then sent to Dr. Cantrell
one at a time, much like a radio talk show. Dr.
Cantrell will then respond to the question in the chat
room for all participants to read.
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Conference Registration
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Early Bird Deadline: January 31, 2007
Register early for the 2007 Annual National
MarineParents.com Conference and save $20 per
person! Registration fees include all events and all
meals at the fabulous Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown
St. Louis, Missouri. The conference is held the
weekend of April 20-22, 2007.
Who Should Attend:
- Parents, Spouses, Family members of United
States Marines and Navy, Recruits, and Poolies
- Supporters of the United States Marines Corps
and the US Navy
- United States Marines and Navy in active duty,
reserve duty, Retired and former Marines and
Navy
Embrace all the conference has to offer!
- Three-Day Conference Packed with Speakers,
Authors, Exhibits, Programs, Workshops and Breakout
Sessions
Beginning at noon on Friday, April
20, 2007 and closing at noon on Sunday, April 22,
2007 this three-day conference is packed with esprit
de corps and the bonding atmosphere of United
States Marine Corps and Navy families.
- All Meals Included with the Registration
Fee
Enjoy gourmet dining from the exquisite
chef
at Adam's Mark Downtown St. Louis, including Dinner
on Friday, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on Saturday, and
Breakfast on Sunday. Cash bar available on Friday
and Saturday during dinner.
- Prominent Speakers
Keynote address
by
LtGen George R. Christmas, USMC Retired and
prominent guest speakers including Col. Jack Jackson,
USMC Retired, Mike Colson, former Navy Commander,
and Col. Bryan P. McCoy, USMC.
- Authors' Hall
Meet prominent authors
during
the Friday and Saturday Authors' Hall. Bring your
books, or buy the books on site, to have each author
personally autograph your copy!
- Pre-conference Workshops
On Friday
afternoon you have the opportunity to attend two
pre-conference workshops to learn more about
MarineParents.com, Inc. Meet Tracy Della Vecchia,
founder of MarineParents.com, Inc. and the
volunteers who make the web site happen.
- 12 Breakout Session titles to choose from on
Saturday
A full day of breakout sessions on
Saturday to educate, support, enlighten, and
entertain. There are four different times for breakout
sessions on Saturday including discussion panels,
informational presentations, and hands-on workshops.
In response to last year's request, the most popular
sessions will run in duplicate morning and afternoon
to make sure you don't miss important opportunities.
- Hospitality Room and Networking Opportunities
Meet and network with other family members in
the Hospitality Room which will be open during the
entire conference. You'll have opportunities to meet
and network with family members during breakfasts,
lunch, and dinners. The Hospitality Room will include
exhibits of MarineParents.com projects and activities.
- Scrapbook Sunday
In addition to the
breakfast and fellowship on Sunday morning,
conference attendees will be given an opportunity to
create a scrap book page of their Marine and family
for inclusion in the 2007 Conference Scrapbook.
Supplies will be provided on site.
- Silent Auction
Bid on great items and
one-of-
a-kind military memorabilia during the Silent Auction
on Friday. Winners to be announced after Friday
evening's program.
- Exhibits
We offer three different
exhibits this
year. Including Our Heroes' Exhibit, a variety of
vendors all day Saturday, and an ongoing exhibit of
MarineParents.com projects and activities.
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Unit Information Database
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Search for your Marine's Unit
Every Marine is assigned to a unit or battalion in the
Marine Corps. Often, finding information about that
particular unit can be challenging. Our database
includes virtually every unit in the Marine Corps and
includes base locations, current station, phone
numbers, the unit FRO (Family Readiness Officer, a
contact for family members), and links to the unit’s
message boards and chat night schedule.
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New Fitness Training
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to better prepare Marines mentally and physically for combat
Lieutenant Gen. John Amos, Deputy Commandant for
Combat Development and Integration, Marine Corps
Combat Development Command, has approved a new
training concept that will help to better prepare
Marines mentally and physically for combat.
Top photo of newsletter courtesy of USMC.
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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.
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 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 and we're now offering the Annual National
Conference in St. Louis, 2007. We've helped over
30,000 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 and sent thousands of
prayers and letters to injured Marines. You've found
a Place to Connect & Share™.
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
Tracy Della Vecchia, Founder
MarineParents.com, Inc.
Phone:
573-449-2003
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