By Sarah Greer, WTC Stratcom

Thirteen new organizations have joined the AW2 Community Support Network since February 1. These organizations want to publicly show their support for severely wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families through the AW2 Community Support Network, which is now 125 organizations strong.

I encourage all AW2 Community Support Network organizations to submit their success stories and upcoming opportunities so AW2 can share the information with all AW2 Soldiers, Veterans, and Families through the AW2 blog and publications. In the last few weeks, we have posted information about other AW2 Community Supporters, including the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injuries, Our Military Kids, Give an Hour, the National Military Family Association, and Colorado Technical University. I’d love to hear from more organizations as well.

New Organizations (registered between February 1 and March 9, 2010)

• Air Compassion for Veterans
• America’s Adopt a Soldier
• Call of Duty Endowment
• Fore Hope, Inc.
• Higher Ground
• Monmouth University School of Social Work: The Coming Home Project
• NEADS, Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans
• Outdoor Explorations
• Service Dog Project, Inc.
• The Scott Rigsby Foundation
• The Sierra Group
• United States Association of Blind Athletes
• WarriorWorks, Inc.

Any AW2 Soldier, Veteran, or Family member can nominate an organization for the AW2 Community Support Network by contacting me at AW2CommunitySupportNetwork@conus.army.mil or (703) 325-0397. For more information, please visit the AW2 Community Support Network section of the AW2 Web site.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) sites, the United States Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.

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By Mary Carolyn Voght, Guest Blogger from Our Military Kids

For some military children, the stress and anxiety caused by a parent’s deployment do not end once their father or mother has returned home.  Children of injured servicemembers face new challenges that come with learning to adapt to physical, mental, and emotional changes in a loved one.  Our Military Kids, a non-profit based in Washington, DC, is a member of the AW2 Community Support Network and provides grants to children of injured servicemembers for extracurricular activities.  The grants help these children cope with the strain of having a parent recovering from physical and/or mental wounds by getting them involved in a sports, fine arts, or academic tutoring program.

Since January 2009, Our Military Kids has awarded over 200 grants to Families of the severely injured in 32 states across the country, including one Family from Indiana with six children.

“You cannot believe the difference this makes for my Family,” the mother told Our Military Kids. Her children received grants for gymnastics, music lessons, martial arts, and tutoring. “There is no way we could have afforded all of these activities without the grants, particularly with their father still recovering in the hospital.”

Children of severely injured servicemembers are eligible for a grant covering up to $500 of an activity.  To apply, Families must submit the following documentation:

1. Completed application form
2. Servicemember’s most recent military orders (even if they are retired)
3. Form of ID for the child (birth certificate or military ID)
4. Brochure or flyer documenting the cost of the activity
5. Letter from the servicemember’s case manager certifying that they are injured as a result of being deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom

Our Military Kids processes applications within a week to ten days.  Once a grant has been approved, the check is mailed directly to the organization providing the activity and an award packet is mailed to the Family.

In addition to receiving a letter, certificate and patch with their grant, children of injured service members also receive a special reMIND dog tag and ring provided by the Bob Woodruff Foundation.  The rings and dog tags help raise awareness about war injuries that cannot be seen, and their prevalence shows that many Americans want to support and honor all of our wounded warriors.

Our Military Kids is pleased to recognize injured military personnel and their Families for their service to our nation.  Helping these children to participate in an extracurricular activity of their choice is a small way of saying thank you to those who are sacrificing so much for our country.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) sites, the United States Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.

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By Sarah Greer, WTC Stratcom

Between December 15 and February 1, 12 new organizations have registered for the AW2 Community Support Network to demonstrate their support for AW2 Soldiers, Veterans, and Families. I encourage you to visit their Web sites to learn more about the unique services each organization offers.

AW2 also recently hosted the first quarterly conference call with AW2 Community Supporters and focused on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and AW2 encouraged AW2 Community Supporters to send their success stories for use in the AW2 blog and other AW2 publications. AW2 Veteran Matthew A. Staton also joined the call to discuss how he manages his PTSD and TBI and the important role AW2 Community Supporters have played in his recovery and transition.

Federal Organizations (registered between December 15 and February 1):

• Joint Warfare Analysis Center
• U.S. Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP)

Additional Organizations (registered between December 15 and February 1):

• Gameday for Heroes
• Global Tattoo Orthotic Prosthetic Innovations
• Missouri Veterans Commission
• NARHA Horses for Heroes
• On Our Own Services
• Operation Oasis
• Oshkosh Corporation
• Park University
• The Home Base Program
• United Service Organization, Inc. (USO)

Any AW2 Soldier, Veteran, or Family member can nominate an organization for the AW2 Community Support Network by contacting me at AW2CommunitySupportNetwork@conus.army.mil or (703) 325-0397. For more information, please visit the AW2 Community Support Network section of the AW2 Web site.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) sites, the United States Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.

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The National Military Family Association has announced that it is now accepting scholarships for its Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship Program for spouses of wounded or fallen servicemembers. Scholarships are awarded to military spouses to obtain professional certification or to attend post secondary or graduate school.

Applications will only be accepted online at www.militaryfamily.org/scholarships and must be submitted by midnight on January 31, 2010. Scholarships will only be awarded only to military ID-carrying Uniformed Services’ spouses (active duty, retiree, Reserve, National Guard, and/or survivor). Scholarship award letters will be e-mailed to recipients no later than March 15, 2010 and winners will be announced on the National Military Family Association Web site in June.

The scholarship funds may be used for tuition, fees, and school room and board. They may not be used for books, rent, or previous education loans.

If selected for a scholarship, AW2 Spouses must provide the following information:

• Copy of current military ID Card/DEERS card (front)
• The name and address of the accredited university, college, or trade school at which you are registered
• Home mailing address where a check can be mailed on June 1, 2010.
• Additional verification information is required from those applying for the scholarship for the wounded or fallen. Please see the application for complete list

To learn more about the Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship Program, please visit www.militaryfamily.org/scholarships.

The National Military Family Association is a member of the AW2 Community Support Network that is committed to strengthening and protecting the Families of the men and women currently serving, retired, wounded or fallen.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) sites, the United States Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.

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AW2 Soldiers and Family members receive scholarships from Colorado Technical University

By Eric Mitchell, AW2 Advocate in Colorado

The snow and freezing weather conditions could not stop five Fort Carson wounded warriors and seven spouses of wounded warriors from attending the Colorado Technical University Wounded Warrior and Spouse Scholarship Awards Reception and Dinner held at The Briarhurst Manor Estate in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Each of the wounded warrior and spouse recipients are members of the Fort Carson Warrior Transition Unit (WTU).

During the reception, recipients and their guests had the opportunity to meet and speak with CTU leadership as well as their individual CTU Mentor/Student Advisors. Fort Carson AW2 Advocates Susan Holmes and Marlo Walker were invited to attend the event as a result of their dedicated work in assisting these wounded warriors and spouses apply for, and receive scholarships. Also in attendance was Ms. Annie Oatman-Gardner from U.S. Senator Bennett’s office, Mr. Casey Howard from Senator Udall’s office, and Mr. John Herd from U.S. Congressman Lamborn’s office.

After feasting on a dinner of various salads, London broil, turkey and dressing, ham, pasta, shrimp, and oysters, CTU President and CEO, Dr. Wallace Pond, welcomed the recipients into the CTU family. He also noted that AW2 Soldier SPC Andrew Trotto and his wife Danielle were the first couple to both receive scholarships. They were officially christened CTU’s “First Couple.” Each of the recipients was presented a certificate of scholarship, a fully loaded laptop computer, and a CTU backpack. As part of their scholarships, the awardees will also receive personalized student advisor mentor support, books, materials and lifetime technical support and job placement.

To be eligible to compete for award of these scholarships, the Soldier had to be “a member of a selected Warrior Transition Unit receiving treatment for injuries as a result of combat operations or as a result of training preparing to deploy to combat.” The wounded warriors/spouses were required to complete an application, receive a Commander’s certification, and write an essay explaining how they will use the scholarship. AW2 Soldier and Department of Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Tammy Duckworth convened the CTU selection board and I was honored to serve on the board with her.

This is the third year CTU has provided this yearly scholarship opportunity to wounded warriors, and this is the first year that CTU has awarded scholarships to spouses of wounded warriors. CTU has awarded 100 scholarships to date. Similar events were held in Washington, DC and Fort Bragg, NC.

CTU awarded scholarships to the following AW2 Soldiers and Spouses: SSG Michael Francisco, SGT Cynthia Galvin, SGT Jason Nash, SGT Eric Sassenfeld, SPC Andrew Trotto, Martha Ann Claiborne, Samantha Friese, Barbara Huntington, Jillian Rickman, Nicole Smith, Danielle Trotto, and Katelyn Jordan.

Congratulations to all of you on your scholarships and may your studies be successful!

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