We are in need of 30 Wisconsin female veterans willing to come to Green Bay on March 10th for a special champaign reception and interview session with author Therese Hughes. She will also [...]]]> The Madelyn LaCanne American Legion Post 539 in Green Bay is looking for 30 female veterans to meet with author, Therese Hughes

We are in need of 30 Wisconsin female veterans willing to come to Green Bay on March 10th for a special champaign reception and interview session with author Therese Hughes. She will also be in Milwaukee on Friday March 9. Therese is currently working on a 2-year project entitled “I am a U. S. Veteran: Women in Wars & Conflicts [WWII - Current Conflicts].” The goal of her project is to honor women who served in defense of our nation. Participant interviews and photographs will be published in her completed book. At project end, each participant will receive a copy of their photo-journal page as a thank you from her.

Therese currently resides in California and will be in Washington D.C. the week prior to her engagement in Green Bay. She is also a guest speaker at our American Legion Birthday Luncheon that same day. However, if she does not have 30 participants from Wisconsin to interview, she will not come here! If interested in sharing their story in either Green Bay or Milwaukee, women vets should contact Tracy Steiner for more information no later than Friday Feb. 3! Tracy can be contacted by email at drtfrmrswife@yahoo.com or by phone at 920-487-3998. We greatly appreciate your cooperation!

The cast of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” would like to brighten the holidays for a deserving military family this year.

The reality show is seeking nominations for military families in desperate need of a home makeover. The selected family will be featured in an upcoming holiday episode.

Strong Bonds is a unit-based, chaplain-led program which assists commanders in building [...]]]>

Our military families are the backbone of our nation and its military. They provide support and encouragement to our deployed soldiers. The nation’s leadership recognizes this vital contribution and wants to help married couples reunite after long periods of separation.

Strong Bonds is a unit-based, chaplain-led program which assists commanders in building individual resiliency by strengthening the Army and Air Force Family. The core mission of the Strong Bonds program is to increase individual Soldier, Airmen and Family members readiness through relationship education and skills training.

Strong Bonds is conducted in an offsite retreat format in order to maximize the training effect. The retreat or “get away” provides a fun, safe, and secure environment in which to address the impact of relocations, deployments, and military lifestyle stressors.

Upcoming events include:

• Marriage Enrichment , Egg Harbor, Landmark Resort, Friday, February 18, 2011 at 5:00 PM – Sunday, February 20, 2011
• P.I.C.K., Egg Harbor, Landmark Resort, Friday, February 18, 2011 at 5:00 PM – Sunday, February 20, 2011
• Marriage Enrichment, Wisconsin Dells Chula Vista Resort, Friday, March 18, 2011 at 5:00 PM – Sunday, March 20, 2011

For information on all Strong Bond events, click here: All Strong Bonds Events

A grant from the University is offering $120 in gift cards [...]]]> Researchers at the University of Illinois are conducting a study about the experiences of military couples following reunion after deployment. (The current project builds on two studies conducted earlier this year involving 479 participants living in 33 states. For a summary of the findings, please see https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/knobl/www/military.html).

A grant from the University is offering $120 in gift cards to military couples who complete an online survey once per month during the first three months following reunion. The surveys take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete, and they ask about people’s communication patterns now that they are reunited. The results will provide important information to help couples have more satisfying relationships.

Please reply to Dr. Leanne Knobloch to let them know (a) whether any units will be returning home by mid-summer, and (b) whether you would be willing to circulate information about the study to families in those units. Also, we would welcome any ideas you have on how to advertise the study. 

Thanks again for supporting military families!

Click here for more information about the study:  study flyer

Dr. Leanne Knobloch

Department of Communication, University of Illinois

email:   knobl@illinois.edu

UW-Madison is running a well-being study for male OIF/OEF veterans. Participants can make up to $299 for their participation. Details:

Veterans’ Wellness Study

Thank you for your interest in the Veteran’s Wellness Study at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman [...]]]> Please share this with any OIF/OEF veteran(s) that you may know:

UW-Madison is running a well-being study for male OIF/OEF veterans. Participants can make up to $299 for their participation. Details:

Veterans’ Wellness Study

Thank you for your interest in the Veteran’s Wellness Study at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center and the University of Wischonsin/Madison! We are interested in examining the effects of complementary and alternative programs on health and well-being for recently returned veterans.

If you are a male veteran and you served with either Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), you may qualify for participation in our study.

The study will take place at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in November and/or December. Depending on the level of their hours of participation, participants can be paid up to $299.

If you are a male OEF/OIF veteran and you are interested in participating, please email at wellness@mailplus.wisc.edu or call us (608) 263-0803 to schedule a screening appointment.

Call or email them as soon as possible they are recruiting right away.

In celebration of Independence Day, Charlotte’s Bridal & Formal Wear is joining Brides Across America and giving away free designer wedding gowns to military brides-to-be!

Event Date: July 13-15th, 2010

Place:  Charlotte’s Bridal & Formal Wear   

208 Copeland Ave.

La Crosse, WI

608-784-3493

Help4Troops, also known as Work4Troops, claims to manage mail and send packages to American troops in 36 countries. The company’s website reports that 90 [...]]]> Milwaukee, Wis. – The Wisconsin Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns consumers that an alleged Wisconsin-based military support service, Help4Troops, is a work-at-home, shipping scam that claims to help American troops overseas.

Help4Troops, also known as Work4Troops, claims to manage mail and send packages to American troops in 36 countries. The company’s website reports that 90 percent of these packages are assembled by “volunteer shippers” who accumulate a number of small packages at their home address to consolidate into a larger box, which is then shipped overseas using Help4Troops-provided postage, tracking numbers and addresses.

Help4Troops promises to each volunteer a salary of $20 per package shipped, and requests personal banking information in order to deliver these payments via check, wire or money transfer using Western Union or PayPal. While boasting “powerful sponsors who help us to provide troops with this service and to pay our volunteers,” Help4Troops does not elaborate on important financial information.

A consumer contacted the Wisconsin BBB in mid-April to report her concerns about Help4Troops, which “hired” her as a “Volunteer Shipper” after she posted her resume on the online employment site CareerBuilder.com. After two weeks of receiving and repackaging items, she received a call from a Chicago resident whose bank had contacted him about a suspicious attempt to access his account to purchase gift cards. The gift cards were listed under the consumer’s mailing address.

Because of the bank’s intervention, the transaction did not take place. Help4Troops stopped returning the consumer’s e-mails, however, and she discovered that the telephone number provided to reach Help4Troops’ management was instead a fax number.

The BBB has confirmed that Help4Troops is not located at its listed address in Spring Green, Wis.; 121 West Jefferson St. is the location of a local barbershop. Neither Help4Troops nor Work4Troops is registered with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions or the IRS, as required by law to conduct business in Wisconsin. And despite its website’s claim that Help4Troops has been commended by “the President of the United States, the governor of Maryland, the mayor of Baltimore, and the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce,” the company is not known or recognized by the Department of Defense and is not listed in the National Resource Directory.

Red flags are critical in recognizing a shipping scam. Beware of employment offers in which:

• The company requires receiving and shipping packages, most often overseas, for a commission that is delivered via money transfer. These scams may involve an individual unknowingly shipping stolen goods overseas.
• The company claims to provide a personal account to reimburse shipping costs—it is most likely set up through stolen financial information.
• The company is difficult to contact or its information cannot be verified.
• Employment starts without a face-to-face interview and the primary form of communication is e-mail. Often the company’s website is a free, generic domain that has only recently been registered.
• Grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes abound in e-mail correspondences or on the company’s website, and especially if the website’s format is distractingly amateur.

To avoid being boxed in by shipping scams like this one, follow these BBB guidelines:

• Don’t be fooled by attractive advertising. Especially in instances of charity scams, be cautious of your emotions getting the best of your reason. Scams like Help4Troops often provide powerful testimonials or success stories to lure compassionate, unsuspecting victims.
• Check with the BBB. Help4Troops has an “F” rating with the BBB. A full Reliability Report is available for Help4Troops, and thousands of other businesses and charities, at www.wisconsin.bbb.org.
• Visit www.ourmilitary.mil to find a listing of charities associated with the military, including the BBB Military Line, a partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD) Financial Readiness Campaign that brings BBB services to military personnel, retirees, DoD civilians and their families.

For more information or further inquiries, please contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.wisconsin.bbb.org or 414-847-6000 (metro Milwaukee), (920)-734-4352 (Appleton) or 1-800-273-1002 (elsewhere in Wisconsin).

The Better Business Bureau serving Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization that brings 70 years of experience in fostering ethical business practices; providing dispute resolution alternatives; offering consumer and business education; and promoting customer service excellence.  Our Reliability Reports provide the general public with critical information about companies both locally and nationally. To check on a company or charity visit www.wisconsin.bbb.org or call 1-800-273-1002.

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To all Members and Organizations of the Fort McCoy Team:

I and the staff of Fort McCoy extend an invitation to all members of the Fort McCoy community to attend the Fort McCoy Armed Forces Day Open House Saturday, May 15 from 9 a.m. until 3 [...]]]> Sent on behalf of the Fort McCoy Garrison Commander:

To all Members and Organizations of the Fort McCoy Team:

I and the staff of Fort McCoy extend an invitation to all members of the Fort McCoy community to attend the Fort McCoy Armed Forces Day Open House Saturday, May 15 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Installation’s Commemorative Area.

As in past years, we are expecting several thousand visitors, and we hope to count you among them.

All events are free and are intended to help inform the public about the installation and to emphasize Fort McCoy’s important role as a Total Force Training Center. As members of the United States military services and as employees at the installation, Armed Forces Day also is a time to honor the contributions we make in support of our national defense each and every day.
We do a great job, and your presence at events like the Open House helps us tell the Army and Fort McCoy stories.

Open House is a wonderful opportunity to take a one-hour guided tour of Fort McCoy’s current and historic points of interest. Tour buses will depart every half-hour from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Displays in the Commemorative Area buildings in the 800 block continue to be redesigned and new features incorporated. Veterans Memorial Plaza offers a place to pay tribute to all who have served the nation from World War I to today’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Equipment Park features several new pieces of equipment.
Building 905 will feature an information center and a number of activities and displays.

Additional highlights include static equipment displays, camouflage face-painting, a sand-bag filling station, dog tags for the kids (and adults), re-enactment groups, informational booths of many Fort McCoy activities, the Interactive Marksmanship Exhibit, refreshments and much more.

Much planning, coordination and support goes into this public event.
Thank you for your efforts to make it a memorable and successful installation event.

Please share this invitation with your co-workers as well as your Family, friends and neighbors.

We hope to see you there!
David E. Chesser
COL, EN
Garrison Commander, Fort McCoy