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Marine Parents Logo a Place to Connect and Share 
MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Deployment Learning Center
Homecoming Learning Center
Please Visit Our Sponsors
Marine's Bible
Making Marine Corps History
Marine Heals with Operation Mend
Questions about PTSD?
New Year's Care Packages
Marine Calendars for 2010
The Gift that Gives Back
EGA Store Special! $5 Off Coupon!
Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
Operational Security
Operational Security

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

Learning Center:
About Deployment
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
About Homecoming
 
 
 
 
 
(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!)
Unit Chat Nights
Unit Chat Night Schedule:
 
Monday: 1/3
Wednesday: 2/1, 3/4
Thursday: 1/5, 1/6
 
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 GROUPS:
 
Peoria, AZ
 
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:
Support Our Marines!
 
 
Purple Heart Hero Support™ an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
Show your support of our Marines and their families!Participate in one of the Marine Parents Outreach Programs today! Our Marines need YOU!
Marine Corps Spirit
T-shirts, Gifts & More
Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride!  Proceeds support Marine Parents.
 
 
 
 
 
Marines The Few The Proud
 
Visit Our Sponsors
Sign Up for the Newsletter 
Join Our Mailing List
December 16, 2009
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 impact Marines have on families and the impact families have on Marines is evident in this week's newsletter. The give-and-take camaraderie creates a stealth relationship during the challenging times we're faced with. Being able to share the philosophy and realities of troop support with civilians and civilian families is important.

Our newsletter this week can help to do that. We hope you'll share the email with family and friends outside your Marine Corps circle. From Corporal Mankin's plea to help folks see why we can wake up in a "warm bed" every morning, to the families sending off another 1100 care packages in January, there is important news to be shared.
 
I want to remind everyone that Dr. Cantrell, an expert on PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) will be in the chat room this evening to talk confidentially with families and military personnel about issues they may be having. Scroll below to read more.

This is our last newsletter before the holidays. The staff, directors, and volunteers at Marine Parents want to wish you, your Marine and your family a Merry Christmas. Our Marines, past and present, are in our prayers.

Watch for the next edition of the newsletter for an exciting announcement of how you can share the "Semper Family" spirit with up-and-coming recruit families. 
Marine's Bible
New and on SALE for the Holidays!
 
Marine's Bible... On Sale for the Holidays!Books are always a great gift idea and when you purchase them from The EGA Store, you support a great cause too!
 
The Marine's Bible just came in and it's on SALE for the holidays.
 
It comes in a beautifully illustrated gift box. Inside, the maroon leather cover is stamped with a gold Eagle, Globe and Anchor on the front.
 
The bible includes special helps and prayers throughout, specifically for Marines during their most challenging times.
 
 
We're offering $5 off orders of $50 or more from now through midnight central time on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Use Coupon Code 5BOOKS.   
Making Marine Corps History 
Newest Vehicle's First Combat Assault
 
New Assault Breacher VehicleA vehicle that looks like a hybrid of a tank and bulldozer comes to a stop. An enormous blast shrieks through the air and delivers 1,750 pounds of C4 on the road ahead.

The Marine Corps newest vehicle, an assault breacher vehicle, has detonated a route clearing, line charge, making its first combat assault in Marine Corps history.

The Marine Corps prepared the ABV crew and the vehicle for combat for approximately two years. On the morning of Dec. 3, the ABV fired its first line charge during Operation Cobra's Anger in Now Zad, Afghanistan.

Due to mass amounts of roadside bombs expected around Now Zad, ABV's led the way for the operation by detonating numerous line charges on the path to the Taliban stronghold, Now Zad.

Pride in the ABV's development and capability was obvious amongst the Marines.
 
Marine Heals with Operation Mend 
Attention on Deck: The Voice of Our Marines
  
Marine Heals with Operation MendMarine Corporal and Wounded Warrior, Aaron Mankin, possesses a wealth of strength and perseverance.
 
His approach to the challenges he faces is truly an inspiration for all who witness it.

This remarkable story includes an important and powerful message; a message Aaron would like to share with any American willing to listen.

In his words, "This is something people need to see. People need to see wounded veterans. People need to be reminded of why they get to wake up in a warm bed every day."

Learn more about Operation Mend and Aaron Mankin's story. Visit our website and watch the video footage today; it's impossible not to be moved and genuinely humbled.
 
Have Questions about PTSD? 
Chat with Dr. Bridget Cantrell Tonight 
 
PTSD Expert Bridget CantrellDr. Cantrell will hold her online chat tonight, December 16th, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (central time).
 
We invite you to join and connect with Dr. Bridget Cantrell, author and expert on homecomings, PTSD, and combat recovery. The chat will be held in the Marine Parents Chat Room. It is free and open to the public.
 
Dr. Cantrell offers a wealth of knowledge and experience. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity to learn how YOU can spot the symptoms of PTSD in your Marine. 
New Year's Care Packages 
Shipping to Marines on January 9th
 
Thank You from a Marine: The Care Package ProjectWe're kicking off the New Year and our 6th year shipping care packages to Marines and Navy Corpsmen in combat zones this January, 2010.

We'll host our first packing day of the new year on Saturday, January 9th and we'll ship over 1,000 care packages to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Included in those packages will be cards and letters written by children and adults from across the country and many of the packages have been sponsored as gifts for others this holiday season.

Covering the cost of shipping is always the most challenging aspect of The Care Package Project™ as we spend over $10,000 in shipping alone each time we hold a packing day.
 
If you're looking to make holiday season donations this month, please consider donating to The Care Package Project™ Shipping Fund.
 
Marine Calendars for 2010!
Put Your Pride on Display... All Year 

Marine Calendars for 2010!

Believe it or not, 2010 is almost here!

Show your pride and support throughout the year with your Marine calendar. Each month displays the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, an amazing Marine Corps photo, and a captain describing the content of the image.

No Marine Corps household should be without a Marine calendar, but don't forget about your office either! 
 
The Gift that Gives Back 
Give a Care Package Sponsorship
 
The Gift that Gives Back: Give a Care Package SponsorshipA perfect gift for anyone on your list!
 
Purchase a gift sponsorship this holiday season, and we'll send a card to your gift recipient letting them know that a care package will be sent on his/her behalf to a Marine in Afghanistan or Iraq.
 
Your gift recipient's name and address will be included in the overseas package to be mailed out January 9, 2010 and the Marine may choose to write back to your gift recipient.
 
Would you prefer to hand-deliver the card (pictured above) to your gift recipient? No problem; we'll send the card to you instead!
 
When you fill out the online donation form, just be sure to tell us "where to send the gift card" in step 4. We're mailing gift cards daily, now through January 8th.
 
 
You can purchase gift sponsorships for the January 9, 2010 packing date through January 8, 2010.
Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday
Wear Red on Friday
 
Join the "Wear Red Friday" campaign to show your support of our troops!  We've opened up a brand new line in our online store--you get the quality and service you've come to expect, and you can help encourage those in your community to "Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday!"  We've got yard signs and red t-shirts for every family member and everyone in your office! Check it out today:
 
 
 
We've added a new design. Red shirts with white letters on the front:
"Red Friday...it's a military thing"
 
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 December, 2009 USMC Photo by Lance Cpl. Walter Marino of Marines conducting combat operations in Now Zad, Afghanistan, during Operation Cobra's Anger. Click here to read additional credits. 
 
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 our 6th Conference in New Orleans in April, 2010. 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.
Marine's Bible: New in The EGA Store!
 
 
$5 Off 
Coupon!
EGA Store Special!
 
Receive $5 off any order of $50 or more. Enter coupon code 5BOOKS
 
Offer expires Saturday, December 19th! 
 
The Marine's Bible
 
NOTE: All proceeds are used in support of MarineParents.com, Inc., an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.