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It's not everyday that you can meet face to face with 800 military families to support them while at the same time introducing them to your business. But, thanks to a baby boom, that opportunity is available Feb 13th in Lacey.

Madigan Army Medical Center is getting ready for a lot of new patients over the next six months. With the redeployments of five major brigades this past summer, the MAMC staff is preparing for a sizeable baby boom to take place on base this winter and spring.

To celebrate, a massive baby shower is being thrown for local military parents.

We are always looking for fun ways to support our readers, said Ken Swarner, publisher and editor of The Ranger and Northwest Airlifter newspapers and host of the event. We thought the baby boom was something to build on ... besides, having a baby comes with added expenses.

Operation Baby Boom, co-sponsored by Swarner and Washington's Guaranteed Education Tuition, or GET, program, will take place on Feb.13 from 1 to 5 p.m. at St. Martin's University, located at 5300 Pacific Avenue SE in Lacey.

The event, which is free, will feature giveaways for expectant moms, new moms and moms with kids under age three. The goal, according to Swarner, is to hand out as many free products as possible for the moms, from children's vitamins to formula. Two of the larger companies already on board for the event are WalMart and Huggies. And, like any good baby shower, there will be shower games and the promise of additional door prizes for winners.

Local businesses may purchase a booth for $150, or donate 800 baby related give-aways to hand out from a free booth. Either way, businesses participating will receive free publicity in a Military Baby Guide publishing in the Ranger and Airlifter Feb 10 and distributing at the event as well.

This is just a chance for us, and those we've partnered with, to say thank you to the service members and their families, Swarner said.

Those interested should contact Swarner or at (253) 584-1212. For more information, click here.

Guest Blogger:  Ken Swarner

New schools for our military-dependent children!

That's the welcome news from Cong. Norm Dicks, who said, “one of the most urgent concerns for our deployed troops is for their families and kids to be properly cared for, and one area where we have seen great deficiency is the condition of our on-base schools.”

The details, covered in The News Tribune, speak to replacing six schools through consolidation and new construction.  This Congressional initiative follows on remarks by Secretary of Defense Gates, who expressed serious concern during a visit to Fort Riley, KS in May.

These complementary efforts by Congress and the Administration follow on homework by Clover Park School District, operator of the on-base schools and the Chamber.  Chamber Pres. David Graybill collaborated in the production of an educational video that demonstrated the needs and the value for our children.

Led by Chamber Board member Jeff Brown, BCRA, the Chamber made this issue a principal objective during its Washington-to-Washington, D.C. trip in 2009, with conversations with the Pentagon, Office of Economic Adjustment and Congressional offices.  Cong. Smith's offices note that there has been a real turn-around in this issue within the last eight months.

That Chamber initiative was continued during the 2010 Washington-to-Washington, D.C. trip during meetings with Dr. Craig Collge, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management and members of Congress.  Again at that time, Cong. Dicks indicated a strong commitment to addressing this problem.

Next steps will include full adoption of the authorization and approriation bills for the Defense budgets.

This summer, more than 600 museums in all 50 states are offering free admission to active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 31, 2010, through Labor Day, September 6, 2010 to show their appreciation for those who are serving this nation. In Washington, they are:  

Henry Art Gallery - Seattle, WA
Kids Quest Children's Museum - Bellevue, WA
Polson Museum - Hoquiam, WA
Seattle Art Museum - Seattle, WA
Tacoma Art Museum - Tacoma, WA

• If you are active duty military personnel and/or an immediate family member - spouse or child - to gain free access, please show either a Geneva Conventions CAC ID or a DD Form 1173 ID card at the museum admissions desk.  
• Immediate family members under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an appropriate ID holder.
• Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program, so check with the museum directly.

Blue Star Museums is made possible through a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 600 museums.

We hope you and your family will explore as many museums as possible this summer. Find the participating museums nearest you by clicking on the links above.
 
Museums that wish to participate in Blue Star Museums may contact Blue Star Museums or Nicole Murray at 202-682-5578.

Over the next few months, the Greater Puget Sound area will be welcoming home thousands of Soldiers returning from deployments, joining the Washington National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers who have returned in the past year.

For some of these Soldiers and Families it is a first deployment, while for others it is yet another multiple time in Service to our country abroad. Deployments are a challenging time for both Soldiers and Families. And upon return, navigating through changes and recognizing potential impacts upon the well-being of an individual and Family can sometimes be difficult to address.

Over 1.6 million men and women have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom to date. Almost half of those Service Members are married, and almost half have dependent children--the majority 5 years old and younger.

Army OneSource announces a community outreach program, supported by the U.S. Army, to raise awareness of the unique challenges of Military life on our Service Members and their Families, and to address the growing demand for behavioral health and well-being services.

In today’s unique combat situation--where there is no front line and constant vigilance must be maintained on the ground, where individuals are serving as many as four deployments that are longer in duration than in the past, and where Service Members and Families are asked to give more because of our all-volunteer Military--we’re learning that “The wounds of war are not limited to the battlefield.”

Army OneSource has launched a formal campaign to encourage civilian health, behavioral health and well-being providers to complete an online course in the series titled, “Treating the Invisible Wounds of War.”

This series of courses was designed to help primary care physicians, case workers, mental health providers and other professionals - who may see a veteran or family member on an unrelated issue - develop a better understanding of the culture in which Service Members and Veterans, as well as their families, live and work. The courses also provide best practices for identifying, assessing, and treating behavioral health problems that result from the trauma of war.

In addition to better supporting Service Members, those who complete the course will:

• receive a poster to display in their offices inviting Service Members and their Families to talk to a health professional about any troubling symptoms,
• receive a Certificate of Completion suitable for framing, and
• be eligible for Continuing Education credit.

To arrange for a customized, online complimentary educational campaign in which your affiliates will earn continuing educational credits at NO CHARGE please contact: Rachel Turner-Bensen, Community Support Coordinator – Washington, 360/271-6940

Sesame Street Workshop is producing a new primetime television special, When Families Grieve featuring Katie Couric and the Sesame Street Muppets. This PBS special will air on April 14th at 8:00 PM EST.

This hour-long special will present families’ personal stories about coping with the death of a parent, as well as strategies that have helped these families move forward.  Televised in conjunction with the Month of the Military Child & Month of the Young Child, it will be part of a multimedia, bi-lingual (English and Spanish) outreach kit for national distribution immediately following the April airdate.

There will be two resource kits available for distribution, one kit will be military specific and the other kit will be for the general public. Military OneSource (MOS) will only distribute the military kit. The resource kit will include the DVD from the taping of the PBS special, a caregiver guide and a story book. The resource kit will be available through MOS beginning 14 April. The resource kit for the general public will be available for distribution through other sources.

When Families Grieve is a continuation of Sesame Workshop’s award-winning Talk, Listen, Connect initiative that first launched in July 2006 providing resources and emotional support to military families with young children coping with the challenging transitions in their lives, such as deployments and when a parent comes home changed due to combat-related injury.