Military Families Blog Is On Hiatus

We are not currently adding new blogs to the Military Families Blog but we welcome you to explore the many blogs here and participate in the Military Families Forum here at Families.com.

Kids, Deployment And Depression

Deployment is hard on everyone involved and often we try to put on a brave face in order to prevent those we love from worrying about us. Unfortunately that same brave face we put on often spills over to our children and they also make an attempt to keep it together and keep their fears and worries to themselves in order to keep from worrying their parents. As deployments increase so does childhood depression among military children. Children face the same concerns and fears as their parents but often depression in children is overlooked as a “stage” they are going … Continue reading →

Military week in Review

Howdy ya’ll! I’ve been very quiet this past week but thankfully this column hasn’t. I’d love to welcome Trudy Marshall-Bowler to the military family. There are many things people outside the military wonders about this whole other world and hopefully this column can show them what it is like from time to time in the military, not to mention giving advice to other military families going through the exact same thing. A few things we deal with in the military are being separated. No, not as in divorce but by being miles apart because one or both must go overseas … Continue reading →

The Military Commissary – A Part of Your Benefits

I’ll admit it. I have no loyalty to any particular store when it comes to purchasing groceries. Sure, I may go to the King Sooper store that is only a few blocks away when I just need a gallon of milk. I like how they drop the price to $1.50 on it’s sell by date. (When you have a little boy at home who goes through a gallon of milk every two days, that milk doesn’t have time to go bad!) I also like to buy diapers at Sam’s Club. It just makes good sense to buy something like this … Continue reading →

Canada Loses Four More Soldiers

Canada has lost four more heroes. Cpl. Mathew Dinning, Bombardier Myles Mansell, Lieut. William Turner and Cpl. Randy Payne were killed in Afghanistan when the vehicle they were traveling in struck a bomb, which was believed to have been buried in the road. I would like to take a moment to give my condolences to the families of Canada’s fallen soldiers. It’s being said that this incident is the worst one-day loss for the Canadian Army since the Korean War. As a nation of peacekeepers Canada isn’t used to losing its soldiers, and four in one day is almost unthinkable. … Continue reading →

Improving Canada’s Military

Will Canada’s military role in Afghanistan improve the Canadian military? That’s the opinion of retired Major-General Lewis MacKenzie. In an article MacKenzie states that those soldiers who have gone from a peacekeeping appointment to one of combat will help shape the future of the Canadian military. He even goes so far as to say that years ago, after the cold war ended, it was detrimental to a soldier’s career to be deployed overseas. With them being so far away from their supervisor’s attention it was possible that their yearly performance evaluations suffered while they were doing their duty. I find … Continue reading →

Do Canadian Pilots Measure Up?

While checking out the Canadian Air Force website today I ran across a tidbit of information that made me chuckle. It seems that now our Air Force pilots are going to be measured to see if we have an aircraft that’s their size. The cockpits of aircraft are tight quarters, to be sure. I’ve sat in the cockpit of a Tutor (the same plane the Snow Birds fly) and even little ‘ol me felt a little claustrophobic in that cramped space. So one can only imagine the need to insure that our men and women are the right size early … Continue reading →

Canadian Defense Minister Weighs In On Afghanistan

As I scan the news headlines this morning I read one article that assured me I’m not completely out to lunch, and one which disgusts me beyond belief. Yesterday I mentioned that Canada’s Members of Parliament were gathering to discuss Canada’s role in Afghanistan. During this debate Defense Minister Gordon O’Connor was quoted as saying, “Canada is in Afghanistan because it is in our national interest,” he said. “Our security begins very far from our borders.” “Must we wait for terrorists to appear in Vancouver, Montreal or here in Ottawa before we recognize the very real threat that they represent … Continue reading →

The Hero Behind the Uniform

What is a soldier? If asked most would give the brief description of a man or a woman who wears the military uniform and serves their country. This is a fine description if you’re trying to pick the soldier out of a crowd of nuns but it hardly describes the person behind the uniform. Of course we’re all unique, and even the same haircut and clothing can’t take that away from our troops (though boot camp does attempt to come close). Yet, I can’t help but think that there must be something deep down inside of each soldier that, when … Continue reading →

The Price of Freedom

I stood in the sun watching a crowd gathered around a stone. Tears gathered in the eyes of all as white-gloved hands formed one last salute. Taps played in the background while the sound of 21 guns filled the air. Three Blackhawk helicopters roared overhead bidding their final farewell. Her beautiful face will forever haunt me. This girl that I never met and yet, after hearing her story, it seemed as if I had known her always. Nineteen and gone. Gone to be with her Lord when she had so much left to do. They told the story of a … Continue reading →