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MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Deployment Learning Center
Homecoming Learning Center
Bootcamp Learning Center
Marine Corps T-Shirts & Gifts
$1 Campaign Progress
Keynote Speaker Aug 9
GI Bill Success Makes History
Parents Team Up
New Book
Support at Bethesda Hospital
Bootcamp Graduation
New School for Iraqi Children
Operation Prayers And Letters™
Recruit Training Matrix
Unit-Specific Crests & Designs
Free Shipping Coupon Hurry, Expires July 20!
Support Our Marines!
 
 
Purple Heart Hero Support™ an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
Team Marine Parents, an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com 
Team Marine Parents™
 
Show your support of our Marines and their families at home! Participate in one of the MarineParents.com Outreach Programs today!  Our Marines need YOU!
Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
Operations Security
Operations Security OPSEC

NOTE: When communicating online, your Marine's privacy is as important as Operations Security. Please respect YOUR Marine's privacy!

Learning Center:
About Deployment
 
 
(from your Marine, with the USMC, and with other families)
 
(tips, tricks and money savers for mailing to YOUR Marine)
 
(bills, taxes, legal issues, injuries, notification from the Marine Corps)
 
 
Learning Center:
About Homecoming
 
 
 
 
 
(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!)
Learning Center:
Bootcamp
 
 
 
 
Unit Chat Nights 

Unit Chat Night Schedule:

2nd Sunday Each Month: 5/11   
Sunday: 3/4, 2/7, 1/9
Monday: 2/5
Tuesday: 24th MEU, 2nd LAR, 1/6, 3/1
Wednesday: 2/24
Thursday: 3/6
Friday: 2/3

For additional information about the Chat Room and Unit Chat Nights for your Marine's Unit, please see:
MarineParents.com Chat Gif 
Local Support Groups in Your Area
NEWEST SUPPORT GOUPS:
 
Lexington, KY
(Fayette County Area)
Click Here...
  
For a list of all support groups in our database or to find one in your area, see:
 
If you are interested in starting a local support group in your area, please visit the "Support Groups" section of our website:
 
Marine Corps Spirit
T-shirts, Gifts & More
Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride!  Proceeds from sales support MarineParents.com, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marines The Few The Proud
For July 4th:
Celebrate! Land of the free because of the brave!
Visit Our Sponsors
Sign Up for the Newsletter
Join Our Mailing List
July 10, 2008
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.
 
The Keynote Speaker for our Conference in Kansas City will be Colonel Stephen D. Waldron. The conference will be educational, informative, and offer opportunities to network with other Marine Corps families. If you're planning to attend the 1-day event, please register today so we can accurately plan for numbers, speakers, and meals.  
 
It's already mid-summer and the heat is on! We've got groups around the country involved in care package drives, letter-writing campaigns and fund raising to support our Marines through the Outreach Projects of MarineParents.com.
We've received thank you letters this week from Marines in Afghanistan who had asked for some specific items from The Care Package Project™. It was fantastic to be able to instantly step up to the plate to ship the requested items because of the support of our families and folks around the U.S. Thank you for your support!
$1 Campaign for Our Troops
Report Progress: $5,890! 
Dollar Campaign for Shipping Care Packages OverseasThanks to our readers, we're at 60% of our goal in just one month!  Each summer, we find ourselves short on funds to send the care packages overseas to our Marines in August. Our total cost for shipping will be $9800. We need your help today! 
 
We're asking every web site visitor to send a $1 bill to MarineParents.com to help us raise the funds needed to ship 1000 care packages to our Marines. Put a dollar bill in an envelope and mail it to the post office box below. Our goal is to raise $9800 by the packing date of Saturday, August 23, 2007. 
MarineParents.com
$1 Care Package Campaign 
PO Box 1115
Regional Conference August 9
Colonel Stephen D. Waldron, Keynote Speaker
 
Our fourth conference will be held in Kansas City, MO on Saturday, August 9, 2008. 
 
Kansas City Regional Conference August 9 2008The keynote speaker for dinner Saturday evening will be Colonel Stephen D. Waldron, Deputy Commander of Marine Corps Mobilization Command.  Dr. Bridget Cantrell, author and specialist on warrior transitioning, combat stress, and post traumatic stress, will hold a 2-part workshop to include time for questions and answers. Marines of the IRR will offer a discussion panel with information on Ready Reserves which will affect most Marines who have enlised for four-year terms.
 
Kansas City Regional Conference August 9 2008Please register now for the conference. We're only a month out. The $100 fee includes the conference plus the evening dinner and program. You can register for all or part of the events.  
 
The conference will be held at the Hilton Kansas City Airport with rooms available at $89/night for conference attendees. Free shuttle service is provided back and forth to the Kansas City airport.
 
For additional information and to register online, please visit the web site.
 
GI Bill Success Makes History
IAVA GIBill SignedPresident Bush Signs GI Bill into Law
On Monday morning, June 30th, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008. A new, more generous GI Bill, offering educational benefits similar to that offered to World War II veterans, has been realized.
 
For more than a year, supporters of a modern GI Bill have struggled to ensure post-9/11 veterans receive the educational benefits they have earned.  A special thanks goes out to all who participated in the fight, including: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Senator Webb and hundreds of other lawmakers, and tens of thousands nationwide who made phone calls, wrote letters, and signed petitions calling for the passage of the new GI Bill.
Parents Team Up
Team Marine Parents, an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.comSupporting Marines Through Community Events 
  
Twelve MarineParents members have signed up to participate in the Jerabek Memorial Challenge on Saturday August 9th. Collectively, the team has a fund-raising goal of $3500 and 100% of proceeds will be used to fund the Care Package Project™. 
 
This event is organized by Gold Star parents, Ken and Rita Jerabek, in honor of their son Ryan. Ryan Jerabek gave his life in honor of freedom on April 6, 2004 in Ramadi Iraq.

Participants have a choice of running 4 miles or walking 2 miles and the route takes place on the roads Ryan ran in preparation for joining the Marines. The intention of this event is to honor all our service men and women, thank our veterans, and remember our fallen heroes.
 
New Book From Military Law Columnist
Honor Bound Kyndra RotundaKyndra Rotunda 
 
Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials is an intriguing book that explains the law of war and the inside story of military commissions. The author is a former JAG lawyer who served on the prosecution team, worked in Guantanamo Bay, and was legal advisor to an elite team of war crimes investigators.
 
Readers will look at Marine Corps training in Quantico, Virginia; learn about Gitmo's detention camp through the author's experiences with real detainees and real interrogators; travel the globe with "terrorist hunters" following investigatory leads; see what went wrong in Gitmo and with the military commissions; meet Private Jessica Lynch; and learn about laws that protect the combat wounded.  
Support at Bethesda Naval Hospital
Dinners for Marines and their Families
 
PHHS Dinner 6/22Purple Heart Hero Support™ hosted a successful Sunday night dinner at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, MD on June 22, 2008. Seven volunteers from MarineParents - all family members of Marines - served 100 meals, both at the hospital and at the Mercy Hall barracks, to Marines, their families, and some of the doctors and nurses who care for OIF/OEF patients.
 
For Every Bootcamp Graduation
We Have T-shirts for Every Bootcamp Graduating Class 
Bootcamp Recruit Parent Tshirt DesignsDid you know we've got T-shirts and Gifts for every current bootcamp graduation class? Wear your new Marines battalion and graduation date with pride! All proceeds from purchases in the MarineParents.com Cafe Press stores go back to support the projects and services of MarineParents.com, Inc.  
 
Take a look at our custom designs. Be sure to check out the the graduation announcements customized with the graduation date as well. 
 
COUPON SAVINGS!
From now until July 20, enjoy free shipping on all orders over $65 using the coupon code FREESUMMER
 
New School for Iraqi Children
Partnership Ensures Progress
 
new schoolFALLUJAH, Iraq  - Community members can look outside each morning and see signs of change in their neighborhoods. Small but significant beacons of hope are brought on by new construction projects appearing all over the city.
 
To aid a city rising from the ashes of war, Marines with Detachment 3, Civil Affairs Group 3, Regimental Combat Team 1, met with Iraqi contractors and construction workers July 5 to continue to help facilitate the laborers' efforts in building a new school for the children in the Abu Saleh area of Fallujah.
 
The new school will replace the older one that was falling apart due to weather and collateral damage inflicted during battles between insurgents and Coalition forces.
Operation Prayers And Letters™
Purple Heart AwardSupport Our Purple Heart Marines
 
Our injured Marines and Navy Corpsmen need your support through prayers and letters. If you have a church project, summer camp or party, we invite you to participate in this project as a group.
 
You can help make a difference in the lives of our wounded as they struggle through recovery. Write a card or letter and send a "Thank You" to our Purple Heart Marines today.
 
To find a list of Marines' names and more info on how this project works, visit:
 
Recruit Training Matrix
Day-by-day Synopsis of Marine Corps Bootcamp
Bootcamp Training Matrix IMage
For a fantastic outline of the training your recruits are receiving during bootcamp, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island web site has an interactive training matrix. The training matrix is a day-by-day synopsis of the training your recruit will receive during his/her 13 weeks of training to become a Marine, one of the few, the proud.  
 
The MCRD Parris Island interactive training matrix for recruit training has been divided into the three phases. Use the tabs at the top of their page to navigate to the different phases of training.  
 
Unit-Specific Crests & Designs
We Have Division, Regiment, Battalion and Unit Specific T-Shirts and Gifts 
 
RegimentsDid you know we've got T-shirts and Gifts for over 160 Marine Corps Units? We've even got a few of the "Old Corps" designs. All proceeds from purchases in the MarineParents.com Cafe Press stores go back to support the projects and services of MarineParents.com, Inc.
 
Take a look at the battalion, units, and airwings we offer. You'll find coffee mugs, posters, T-shirts, caps, tote bags and more. 
 
 
FREE SHIPPING for Orders of $65 or More
Free Shipping
 
Use Coupon Code:
FREESUMMER 
 
 
 
 
Remember, all proceeds from sale of products in our stores go to support the organization MarineParents.com, Inc. and our outreach projects. MarineParents.com is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) Public Charity.

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.

The banner used at the top of this newsletter is a July, 2008 USMC Photo by Cpl Chris T. Mann of local Iraqi children from the Abu Saleh area of Fallujah. Marines with Det 3, Civil Affairs Group 3, Regimental Combat Team 1, oversee the construction project of this local communities school being rebuilt. Click here to read accompanying story.
  
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 have a Place 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'll be offering the 4th National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri on August 9, 2008. We've helped over 40,000 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, sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines and served hundreds of lunches to families caring for their Marines at Bethesda Hospital. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™. 

God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
 

Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.
 
Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this service.
Free Shipping Coupon
Receive free shipping on any order of $65 or more. Enter coupon code SUMMERFREE at checkout. Restrictions apply. Limited time only. Visit the web site for more details.
 
HURRY! Offer expires July 20!
 
NOTE: All proceeds are used in support of MarineParents.com, Inc., an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
New "Heart USMC" Design! Check these out!