(from your Marine, with the USMC, and with other families)

 

Care Packages

(tips, tricks and money savers for mailing to YOUR Marine)

 

Issues During Deployment

(bills, taxes, legal issues, injuries, notification from the Marine Corps)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting a Support Group 

Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride!  Proceeds from sales support MarineParents.com, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.

 

Semper Fi Family Wear

 

 

The Few. The Proud.

 

 

 

 

 

  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.

  Have you got an event coming up that you think other families on MarineParents.com would like to attend? Be sure to let us know about it so we can add it to our events page. Click for Events Page.

 

  I want to alert the 1/9 families and Marines to a memorial being held on November 15. The family and friends of Marine Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter are proud to announce the upcoming unveiling and dedication of a public memorial with the renaming of the Sag Harbor, North Haven Bridge, to honor the courage and sacrifice of this our hero. 

 

  Dr. Bridget Cantrell will take about homecoming and adjustments tonight in the chat room. Please read the article below for more information.
 
  Our next pack-and-ship day for The Care package Project™ is Saturday, November 1 in Columbia Missouri. We'll also have a presentation and time to meet with one another after lunch that day. If you are in the area and would like to help us pack boxes for the Marines or learn more about MarineParents.com, we engourage you to attend. Click here for more information.   

We've got the newest items for your recruit's graduation. Our Rally Towels are pefect for waving your support during the moto run on family day! Towels are specific to the graduating battalion's colored guidons. These 100% cotton towles are screenprinted with the Eagle, Globe and Anchor (EGA), Battalion number and MCRD.  

 

We will begin shipping on October 28. The order page includes additional ooh-rah items and wristbands that you'll want to wear during the 3-weeks of bootcamp to show your support and pride!

 

 

"Dr. Cantrell, do you not believe that it's possible for a warrior to return from combat well adjusted?"

 

This was a good question one young warrior asked me in a recent workshop. Since I know he isn't the only one who is wondering the same thing, I thought I would briefly share some thoughts with you this time around.

 

Yes, of course I believe it is possible for a warrior to return from combat well-adjusted. However, there can be situations that arise that may challenge this hypothesis. I sincerely believe that we cannot over-generalize, and state that "all" are going to have the same type of adjustment issues. We are all individuals and respond to our experiences in various ways-and this is what makes life such a special adventure.

 
Click here to read full article...

 

Have questions? Ask Dr. Cantrell in person during the online chat night. She answers questions in person for any military family member or personnel one evening each month. Invite your friends and family to join us this evening, Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 8:30 Central Time. For more information on chat night, click here.

We've got a great lineup planned with the Marine Corps Birthday boxes to ship to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan this year, and we need your help with two things.   

 

 

Memories are an important part of who we are, yet many times memories are not what we share with the people we love.  With deployments looming for many families, the desire to share intimate moments is more prominent.  These journals give you an opportunity to share those memories with the people you care most about; a chance to learn the history of your parents or siblings or the feelings your grown children have about their own childhood and journeys through life.
 
The journals are purchased as a gift for a mother, son, spouse, or any loved one, who then writes their memories and moments to share with you, and the journal is returned. In the past weeks, I've been writing in the journal for mothers, so I can share it with my grown children. There are thoughtful and entertaining questions in the pages of the journal to help me with deciding what I want to write. I know my children will cherish it, laugh with it, and perhaps even cry with it.  It's a perfect way to preserve memories that are seldom shared; memories that would otherwise be lost like tears in rain.

 

 

Many Recruit Parents ask to see a sample template for a press release they could use to send their local papers upon their recruit's graduation from bootcamp. We're here to help and we have a template for you.

 

For a press release template you can send to your local newspaper along with a photo of your new Marine, Click HERE... 

 

Are you traveling to a boot camp graduation in the near future? Would you like to share the photos you take with other members of the MarineParents.com family? We now have a forum for just that.
 
If you are the original photographer and would like to share your photos, instructions for the process can be found on our Recruit Board Photo Sharing page (Click here). The procedure is fairly simple, just copy and past the text granting your permission for the use of your photos into an email, along with your photos, and email them both to photos@marineparents.com. Once we have received your email, we will create a slideshow of the photos, post it in the unit thread and notify you of its inclusion. If you have a large number of photos to share, we ask that you choose your favorites and please limit the number to 20. If you would rather send your photos in the form of a CD or DVD, there is a format for that on the webpage as well.
 
Please share your proud moments with us all.

 

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -  Wildfires ravaged nearly 6,000 acres requiring more than 670 firefighters on the ground and in the air to contain the flames aboard Camp Pendleton.

 

Brushfires which started at 3:30 p.m. last Monday forced the evacuation of 2,000 people living in Serra Mesa and San Luis Rey military housing, said Fire Capt. Nick Schuler, spokesman for California's Department of Forestry and Fire. The Juliett Fire, named by fire officials, was also responsible for the evacuation of more than 200 homes in Fallbrook and 1,240 in Oceanside.

 

Click here to read full article... 

 

 

 

Team Marine Parents™ participated in the Boot Camp Challenge at MCRD Sand Diego on Saturday October 4th, 2008 and the event was a huge success. 

Festivities started the day prior to the race when our participants accompanied Purple Heart Hero Support™ volunteer Joyce Orrell to Balboa Naval Hospital. They wore their Team Marine Parents™ t-shirts and had them signed by the Marines.

 

"Visiting the Wounded Warriors was such an honor and privilege. They were all gracious, outgoing and so full of life that I took that energy with me as I walked out of that unit. I will be forever changed." said team member Jennifer Hyatt. 

 

The last event of the 2008 season is quickly approaching.  Sunday October 26th will find eight Team Marine Parents™ participants in Arlington Virginia for the Marine Corps Marathon and Marine Corps 10K run.  This event is dubbed "The People's Marathon" because not one step is taken that someone is not supporting and cheering for you.  The course takes runners past some of our nation's most notable icons such as the Washington Monument, Library of Congress and the White House! 

 

Our participants have been busy working on their physical training and fundraising goals.  If you would like to support one of them please visit our web site.

 

What kind of box do you need to use? What is a customs form? Why do you need one? Answers to these questions and more in this article.

 

Packages to your deployed Marine will need to be sent through the United States Postal Service (USPS, US Mail) for delivery to a US-based military mail system. The rate you pay for postage is the same as domestic mail, not overseas mail. This equates to a significant savings.  

Here's how it works. Once your package leaves the postal facility, it is shipped to a military installation on the east or west coast. From there, military mail takes over the transportation and delivery.