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Support Our Marines! |
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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™ |
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| Learning Center:
Operations Security |
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NOTE: When communicating online, your Marine's privacy is as important as Operations Security. Please respect YOUR Marine's privacy! |
| Learning Center:
About Deployment |
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(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)
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Learning Center:
About Homecoming |
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(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!) |
| Learning Center:
Bootcamp |
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| Unit Chat Nights |
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Unit Chat Night Schedule:
Sunday: 1/4
2nd & 4th Sunday: deployed MAWS Monday: 2/5, 2/6 and 26th MEU, 15th MEU
Wednesday: 2/1, 3/8, 2/9
Thursday: 1/3, 1st LAR, 1/12
Friday: 1/1, 13th MEU
For additional information about the Chat Room and Unit Chat Nights for your Marine's Unit, please see:
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| Local Support Groups in Your Area |
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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:
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| Marine Corps Spirit
T-shirts, Gifts & More |
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Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride! Proceeds from sales support MarineParents.com, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
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| Sign Up for the Newsletter |
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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.
Here in the corporate office, we're still renovating the warehouse space to become the office, preparing for the next care package packing day, shipping out orders from our the online store, and preparing for additional meals and support for our Marines and military men and women at Bethesda and Balboa. We participated in Marine Week in Chicago and were fascinated by the displays of high-tech equipment our Marines are using or will soon be using in the field.
In this newsletter, we'll talk about all of these things plus share with you some tips and tricks for getting through combat deployment with less stress. We're glad you're here, and we thank you for your support! |
| Last Packing Day Before The Move |
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| The Care Package Project™
Our next Packing Day is scheduled for June 6th.
This will be the last Packing Day at our current office so we will be having a barbeque on the lawn outside the building for all of the volunteers.
The Dollar Campaign has raised just over $3,500 thus far - a dollar amount that will cover shipping for roughly 340 care packages.
The number of care packages that will be sent to Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan on June 6th is contingent upon funding from the Dollar Campaign. We will send as many packages as funds will allow.
June 6th is around the corner - spread the word about the Dollar Campaign and help us get as many care packages overseas as possible!
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| Dollar Campaign 2009 |
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| Help Send Care Packages Overseas!
 Thus far the generosity of Marine supporters has provided the funds to ship 340 care packages overseas.
We have 1,660 packages to go and we need your help raising $17,000 to get these packages to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We're asking each of you to put a one dollar bill, or a five or ten dollar bill if you can spare it, in an envelope and mail it to:
MarineParents.com, Inc.
Attn: Care Package Campaign
P O Box 1115
Columbia, MO 65205-1115
Ask your friends and family to send a dollar too! When we each give a little, we can make a big difference in the lives of our Marines in combat zones.
Thank YOU for your continued support and for helping us keep the Dollar Campaign alive this summer!
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| Shop Here for Marine Fathers |
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Father's Day is June 21st and we have designs that are perfect for Marine Fathers!
Coffee mugs, tshirts and more! Shopping here supports Marine Parents so you can give something back with the purchase of your Father's Day gifts!
Use Coupon code JUGGLEVASTLY to save $5 on an order of $50 or more through June 2. |
| Get Your Signed Copy Today! |
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| While Supplies Last - Limited Quantity
 We have copies of Thieves of Baghdad signed by author Colonel Matthew Bogdanos and copies of Once a Marine signed by author Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch - Both books are a "must read"!
"Once a Marine will instantly take its place among outstanding combat classics."
For more on this book, see the review from Marine Parents Founder Tracy Della Vecchia below.
Thieves of Baghdad is a story of one Marine's passion for ancient civilizations and the journey to recover the world's greatest stolen treasures.
"Marine Col. Matthew Bogdanos's resume would put Indiana Jones to shame." -U.S. News & World Report
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| Praise for "Once a Marine" |
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| From the Founder of MarineParents.com
 Several months ago we highlighted a book "Once a Marine" by Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, a tank commander who was severely injured when he was hit in the head by an RPG while operating his tank during a combat maneuver in Iraq. Since that time, I've had the distinct honor and pleasure of meeting Gunny Pop and his family.
If you've not had an opportunity to read Gunny Pop's story, I encourage you to do so. As a Marine family member, you know full-well the tried-and-true attitude and determination of a Marine. Gunny Pop's Marine Corps grit and determination to overcome injuries and hardships along with his Semper Fi attitude shine throughout this book. I cried and I laughed while reading the book and felt truly honored to meet him in person at our conference in San Diego this past April.
The book is well written and a pleasure to read. You'll feel like you've got an inside look at the inner workings of a Marine's mind. An amazing Marine's mind.
We have a limited number of books for sale in our corporate office personally signed by Gunny Pop. I invite you to be one of the first to purchase the book from our store so you can have one of these treasured copies. It's a fantastic read for any Marine family member.
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| Adjusting to Deployment |
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Finding others to communicate with
 When your son or daughter calls to tell you s/he'll be deploying soon, though you know that's what their job is, it still feels like you've had the rug pulled out from under your feet.
For some of us, we're on second, third or fourth deployments. But for those that are new to this, we've got some helpful tips and suggestions in an entire section of the website "About Deployment". Here you'll learn the best calling cards to buy, how to send motomail, and what types of things will be most useful in a care package. Click here for topics...
One of the most helpful things you can do, is to talk with other families that are experiencing the same thing. To help you connect with those families, we provide you with a message board and information page for each unit.
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| Success in Chicago |
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Looking Forward to Future Marine Weeks
MarineParents.com, Inc. participation at Marine Week in Chicago was a huge hit!
It was an honor to be able to exhibit among the fantastic booths and exhibitions staffed by our Marines. The event was spectacular and we're looking forward to participating in future Marine Week events.
If you couldn't make it to Marine Week, be sure to check out the extensive coverage on marines.mil - news stories, photo galleries, videos and much more!
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| Contest for Aviation Logo |
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| To Celebrate 100 Years of Air Excellence
 The Marine Corps Aviation Association has developed a logo contest to design the centennial logo for Marine Corps aviation in 2012.
The contest is open to Marines, civilian Marines and their friends and families. Deadline for submission is July 31, and the winning artist will be awarded $500.
Entries should depict the 100 years of traditions of Marine Corps aviation.
"We want people to be creative for the contest," said James R. Casey, the deputy executive director of the MCAA. "In the contest we want to let them use their imagination."
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| Bootcamp DVD Available Now! |
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| Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click.
From the Founder of MarineParents.com:
Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click is a documentary, both raw and real. I watched the film for the first time, not during bootcamp, but after my son had already completed three combat tours in Iraq. The video helped me visualize the toughness of bootcamp, but more importantly, I understood that the disciplines and skills he and his brothers learned were exactly what they needed as a combat team. It is my hope, for the recruit family members watching this video for the first time, that you too will have the benefit of that understanding.
From the Producer:
If you thought the drill instructors from The Boys in Company C and Full Metal Jacket were pure fictions, this vivid documentary chronicling 12 weeks of basic training shows how true-to-life those loud-mouthed portrayals can be.
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| Recruit Training Battalions |
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| Understanding the Structure
 There are two facilities for recruit training. They are called Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD). They are located in San Diego, California and Parris Island, South Carolina. The acronyms for each are MCRD SD and MCRD PI.
Though there are some exceptions, for the most part, the Mississippi River is the dividing point for which MCRD your son or daughter will attend. Recruits west of the Mississippi River attend MCRD SD. Recruits east of the Mississippi River attend MCRD PI. All female recruits attend MCRD PI (no exceptions).
Each MCRD includes Recruit Training Battalions, or RTB. Each RTB has a color and crest associated with it.
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