USO for the Holidays

Servicemembers far from home always have been able to rely on the United Service Organizations (USO) for entertainment and a morale boost, and this holiday season proves no different. The World USO’s Celebrity Entertainment Program includes a Sergeant Major of the Army Hope and Freedom Tour 2005 in the Persian Gulf and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders holiday tour in Korea. Since 1941, the USO has brought entertainment to millions of U.S. military personnel at installations around the world and ships at sea. Recent tour participants include Wayne Newton, Bruce Willis, Kid Rock, Drew Carey, Ben Affleck, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Sinise, and Joan Jett.

The USO also offers a number of programs for Americans to help. Operation Phone Home provides prepaid international calling cards to deployed servicemembers, Operation USO Care Package delivers care packages to servicemembers overseas, and Operation Mail Call allows servicemembers to send greeting cards to their families, free of charge.

The USO also has given aid and comfort to the victims of the recent hurricanes. New USO satellite locations have opened in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Through these centers as well as USO locations in Florida, military families from bases destroyed or damaged by Katrina could find temporary housing, food, and clothing.

Today, the USO delivers its programs at 124 locations around the world, including Kuwait, Qatar, and Afghanistan. The USO will celebrate 65 years of service in 2006.

Run MOAA, Run!

Members of MOAA and its headquarters’ staff laced up in Washington, D.C., Oct. 2 to run in the 21st Annual Army Ten-Miler, the nation’s largest 10-mile race. A total of 70 runners represented the association, including MOAA President Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret. (left), and everyone finished, even though they were rerouted longer than 11 miles after a suspicious package was found along the route. When the racers reached the finish line, they celebrated at the postrace party in the MOAA tent.

Plans are under way for the second annual MOAA Army Ten-Miler Team. Challenge yourself to get in shape and have fun!

Katrina Relief Bill Opens Window

The Katrina Tax Relief Act provides an extraordinary gifting window for those who want to donate to public charities. Normally, cash gifts to public charities are limited to 50 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). However, the relief act makes the following changes for cash gifts made to public charities between Aug. 28, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2005.

■ Outright gifts by cash or check up to 100 percent of AGI are deductible.

■ Gifts are exempt from the regular 3 percent reduction of itemized deductions for individual taxpayers with AGI in excess of $145,950.

■ Taxpayers over age 591⁄2 may withdraw money from IRAs and retirement plans without penalty to fund a charitable contribution. However, consult your tax advisor before taking an IRA or qualified plan distribution.
 

In Review

Washington’s General: Nathaniel Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution By Terry Golway. Henry Holt and Co., 2005. $26. ISBN 0-8050-7066-4.

During the Revolutionary War, Gen. Nathaniel Greene was defeated tactically in every battle he fought, but he still won the war’s most strategic victory.

This is the long-overdue biography of perhaps the most underappreciated general officer in America’s war for independence. Greene was an amateur at war, self-taught in military skills; he also was a man who knew how to get things done. He performed admirably as the Continental Army’s quartermaster general, one of the few officers who understood the importance of supply, logistics, hygiene, and morale.

Terry Golway describes Greene as a resilient fighter and details his bold and crafty campaign to defeat the British and save the Southern colonies.

Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-U.S. Connection By Gerald Posner. Random House, 2005. $24.95. ISBN 1-4000-6291-8.

Gerald Posner specializes in sensational nonfiction, and this could be his most provocative book yet. Secrets of the Kingdom is Posner’s scathing indictment of Saudi Arabia as a sanctuary for al-Qaida, the funding source for international terrorism, and an influence peddler in American politics and business.

There is nothing subtle about Posner’s accusations that the Saudi royal family is corrupt, repressive, intolerant, and duplicitous, promoting terrorism and radical Islam while claiming to be a U.S. ally.

Posner clearly intends to discredit the House of Saud, although his allegations of royal family excesses and manipulation often read like a gossipy Middle East soap opera. Still, his analysis of modern Saudi history and current behavior is excellent and a bit scary. Posner, however, offers no solutions to a dangerously unstable and unbalanced political and economic partnership.

— William D. Bushnell

The Winners Are ...

This year MOAA has been busy presenting awards to the next generation of military leaders. MOAA visits schools and organizations and presents awards recognizing both faculty and students who have contributed significantly to the study, implementation, and spirit of joint-service warfare.

With the top-notch, advanced education our officers receive, our nation’s military will continue to excel. MOAA recognizes the accomplishments of these outstanding individuals who are strengthening the foundation future generations will build upon. The 2005 winners to date are:

■ MOAA Leadership Award: Lt. Col. Michael Kucej, USAF, Air War College

■ MOAA Faculty Service Award: Lt. Col. Tom Ruby, USAF, and Dr. Robert Muller, Air Command and Staff College

■ Commandant’s Distinguished Graduate Award: Cmdr. Steve Vahsen, USN, Industrial College of the Armed Forces

■ MOAA Excellence in Writing Award: Col. Robert Lanham, USMC, National War College

■ JAWS/Joint Campaign Planner Award: Maj. William A. Ryan III, USA, Joint Forces Staff College

■ JCWS/Master Joint Planner Award: Lt. Col. Michael Wormley, USAF, and Lt. Col. Ward Quinn, USMC, Joint Forces Staff College; Maj. Sergio Cardea, Italy

■ Peer Instructor Award: Bill Mead, Defense Acquisition University Program Manager Course

■ MOAA Excellence Award: Rear Adm. David White, USN, Military Chaplains Association

■ MOAA Distinguished Graduates Award: 2nd Lt. Lisa Flores, USAF; 2nd Lt. Quinette Hall, USAF; 1st Lt. Mark Sabroski, USAF; 2nd Lt. Janelle Just, USAF; 1st Lt. Alexei Kambovov, USAF; and 1st Lt. Becky Quenneville, USAF; USAF Health Services Administrators

■ Excellence in Joint Service Warfare: Col. Steven A. Greene, USA, and Lt. Cmdr. Vincent A. Augelli, USN, Naval War College; Maj. Charles A. Western, USMC, Army Command and General Staff College

■ Capt. Joy Bright Hancock and Capt. Dorothy Stratton Leadership Awards: Cmdr. Janet Mahn, USN; Lt. Jill Dougherty, USN; CWO4 Mary Kohut, USN; HTCS(SW) Tanya Delpriore, USN; FSCM Karen Naulty, USCG; and CWO3 Lori Palmer, USCG; Sea Services Women’s Leadership Symposium

■ Best “Other Service” Paper Award: Cmdr. Stephen P. Ferris, USNR, and Col. Philip G. Wasielewski, USMCR

■ Best International Student Paper: Maj. Gen. Marc Lessard, Canadian Forces, Army War College Distance Learning School

■ Order of the Eagle Rising: CWO4 Donald E. Hess, USA-Ret., and CWO4 William Ruf, USA-Ret., Warrant Officers Career Center

‘Tis the Berry

Cranberries are on nearly every Christmas menu, whether it’s fresh cranberry sauce, breads, or salad garnishes. About 40,000 acres of commercial cranberries are grown in the United States.

Some medical historians believe that in colonial times American Indians used cranberries as traditional medicine for urinary health. Recent studies have found that cranberries have anti-adhesion properties, which could keep bacteria, such as E. coli, from attaching to the bladder walls and thus decrease the likelihood of urinary tract infection. The anti-adhesion effects also could decrease gum disease or ulcers related to bacteria.

Cranberries also contain antioxidants, which are being studied for their effects on aging and cancer, and are a source of flavinoids, which could decrease inflammation and have an impact on atherosclerosis. However, many of the studies involve large quantities of cranberry juice, often a quart a day. Regardless, cranberries are a flavorful and festive fruit and make a healthful contribution to any table.

— Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, USPHS-Ret.

Honoring Our Own

An MOAA Memorial Plaque was installed at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl) in Honolulu Sept. 24. Col. Ron Buchert, USAF-Ret., national board of directors chair for Councils and Chapters, spoke to members of the Hawaii and Aloha (Hawaii) chapters as well as the Southern Nevada and El Paso (Texas) chapters at the dedication of the granite and bronze marker, which pays tribute to the veterans interred at the Punchbowl.

Retiree Spotlight

Col. Joe Sapere, USAF-Ret., of Chesapeake, Va., lost a foot after a skydiving accident five years ago. He started biking as a form of rehabilitation. In 2001 he founded Amputees Across America (AAA), a nonprofit group that sponsors cross-country bike trips to motivate other amputees.

How did AAA get started? Initially I wanted to show myself that my accident would not limit me. But when I saw what my success meant to others, I decided to organize trips. I wanted to show others that they have a choice about the way they live.

What are the trips like? We travel a different route every summer visiting rehabilitation centers, VA hospitals, and Shriners Hospitals for Children. At each center we visit, the patients are assembled outside. When we pull up on our bikes, the message is obvious even before we speak to them. They see what is possible.

The group must have many inspiring stories. Tons. Two veterans of the war in Iraq rode three miles with us this summer and were recognized for their service. There’s also Army veteran Jim DeLong of Ohio, who lost a leg when he stepped on a land mine in Vietnam in 1971. He rode with us in 2003. Then in 2004, he suffered a devastating motorcycle accident. I told him he was going to ride with us again in 2005. He did.

What have you learned from watching other amputees participate? The human spirit is resilient. The more adversity, the stronger the person.

— Pat Olsen

Attention!

Check out these military-related entertainment offerings.

Medics at War: Military Medicine from Colonial Times to the 21st Century (Naval Institute Press, 2005): This book by John T. Greenwood and F. Clifton Berry Jr., filled with nearly 240 illustrations, celebrates frontline medical personnel and the critical role they play in the success of U.S. armed forces.

Battle of Britain (Columbia Tristar Home Video, 2005): The DVD of this 1969 classic features an all-star cast, including Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, and shows how the Royal Air Force defied insurmountable odds in engaging the German Luftwaffe.

One Christmas in Washington: Roosevelt and Churchill Forge the Grand Alliance (Overlook, 2005): David Bercuson and Holger Herwig tell the story of how in 1941 Churchill and Roosevelt regrouped from the rout at Dunkirk and the devastation of Pearl Harbor and set the Allies on the path to ultimate victory.

Preserving Your Family Memories

By converting your family memorabilia to a digital format, you can make sure the information is secured and can be accessed by the improved technology of the future. Your 8 mm or 16 mm home movies, videotapes, and some objects (photos, clippings, even military medals) all can be digitized.
 
Film digitization requires special software and equipment for direct transfer. VHS tapes can be digitized with software that corrects some problems. You can do it yourself with a VHS player, a capture card, and a DVD burner on your computer. Objects can be converted to digital format on home scanners, though it is time-consuming. Make sure your computer has the required capacity before buying new software or accessories. Or search the Internet to find businesses like www.digitalpickle.com.

— Marilyn Pribus