Enter the Adopt A Medic Wii Raffle just in time for the Christmas! All funds go to medical care packs/or shipping of supplies to medics who are currently deployed.

$10/ticket or $25/3 tickets

The drawing will be 11/27. These troops need our help now more than ever! We are currently in contact with 25 medics who are in Afghanistan right now. Your support would be much appreciated. If interested, please contact Trevor at advisor@premedicine.org. Thank you!

Congratulations and thanks go to Sandra Bagwell, who won the 2009 Wii Raffle! We would like to thank everyone who helped us in this endeavor in 2009. We will be looking into raffling something else in 2010.

Adopt a Medic

Lubbock Marine Parents is pleased to announce our newest mission, Adopt a Medic. Find all the details about AAM at our website.

CARD A SOLDIER

On July 26th the AT&T Pioneers and Down Memory Lane Scrapbook Store will partner a "Card A Soldier" event.

We'll have supplies and tools available for anyone to come in and make decorated cards to be sent to military persons serving in Iraq. The cards will be mailed to local Soldiers and Marines and also to Chaplains at various camps for distribution to troops. If you have an address for a military person, drop it by and we'll add it to our mailing list. All postage will be paid by AT&T.

There will be drawings throughout the day of gifts donated by various businesses and a grand prize at the end of the day (need not be present at time of drawing to win the grand prize). There will also be a special drawing for a gift basket for one of our military family members attending. A 15% discount will also be offered on any personal store purchases made that day by card makers.

Children are welcome with an adult. We'll have a table set up with supplies especially for them. Don't worry if you think you're not a "crafter", the cards are simple to make and we'll have folks on hand to help. Or come by and write messages on cards already made. We hope you'll drop by, and spend as much time as you like- enjoy visiting and show your support for our men and women serving in the Armed Forces.

Questions maybe emailed to g.suzanne.fletcher@att.com

JULY 26TH

10:00am to 7:00pm

DOWN MEMORY LANE

6602 SLIDE ROAD
(Near Mamarita's & the old Albertson's store)

Volunteers welcome troops back at airports

By Martha Waggoner - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 20, 2008 12:47:25 EDT

GRAPEVINE, Texas — A few times each month, Karen Marks stands among the volunteers greeting the troops who land daily at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, all on two weeks’ leave from Iraq or Afghanistan.

One recent day was different for her. Somewhere among the few hundred troops was Marks’ son, a 20-year-old Marine lance corporal named Michael.

“You’re over here worrying about the unknown ... [and] when you finally get to see them again, all the love from when you gave birth just comes right back into your heart,” Marks said between sobs of joy.

Even after their own family’s reunion, Marks and husband David remained at their post inside the airport’s Terminal D until the very last service member had walked through the sliding glass doors, hugging and shouting greetings to the troops.

“I’ve seen kids ask for their autographs because these are their heroes,” Marks said. “I know they’re tired and they’re overwhelmed, but it’s just so good for them to know that we care and we love them. For my own son, my heart was going to explode.”

Every day at DFW and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, troops land on their way home for leave from overseas deployments, and every day they’re greeted by flag-waving, appreciation-shouting crowds of volunteers from a program called “Welcome Home a Hero.”

A similar group, the Maine Troop Greeters, has met more than 500,000 service members since 2003 as they passed through Bangor International Airport, where planes carrying troops often stop to clear customs, refuel and change crews for continuing flights.

At the Atlanta airport, United Service Organizations volunteers man a welcome booth most days and lead the applause for arriving troops. They gather troops who are ready to check in for departing flights overseas and march them through the airport’s main atrium before cheering crowds.

Heading the line of cheerleaders in Dallas is Donna Cranston, 50, of Coppell, the volunteer coordinator. She missed the program’s first day in June 2004, but she’s been at the airport most days since.

“What I think I learned early on is it doesn’t matter how routine it is for us. For these guys, it’s their first day back on American soil in months, and they need to know they’re supported and they’re loved and appreciated,” Cranston said. “And it’s one of those things that you never grow tired of.”

Every day, the military calls Cranston with the troops’ arrival times, the same information they post on a hot line for the public. She arrives with small, stapled pieces of paper listing the next flight times, airlines and terminals for major cities.

“What terminal do you need, soldier?” she said recently as the troops dashed by her.

“First bus on the left,” she directed another.

“International or domestic call?” Cranston asked a third serviceman, tossing her cell phone to him.

One of the program’s goals “is to allow people to show their support,” Cranston said. “But our main goal is to get the troops through the line and get them to their flights so they can get home to their loved ones.”

Inside Terminal D, the arriving troops walk through a glass-enclosed catwalk, visible to waiting passengers, before going through customs and picking up their luggage. Every day, there are a few greeters on the floor below the catwalk, cheering and screaming for the troops, who often smile, wave and take photos of their supporters.

Other passengers often applaud, too, standing up as they realize what’s happening around them.

Since the R&R program began, about 224,000 troops have arrived at the airport from duty overseas, while another 217,000 have departed back to the Middle East.

“It opens up a whole new perspective of life, being over there and having everything taken away from you, coming back, seeing loved ones,” said Michael Marks. “It’s a really great moment for me.”
Source

Bikers rally in Berkeley to support Marines

The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 23, 2008 14:36:28 EDT

BERKELEY, Calif. — Organizers of a weekend pro-military protest in Berkeley say they want the city to know how much a boycott in support of a contentious Marine recruiting station is costing.

Hundreds of leather-clad bikers rolled into town on Saturday to rally behind the Marines, whose downtown office has long been targeted by anti-war demonstrators.

Protest organizer Doug Lyvere of the group Eagles Up said he will present a stack of receipts to Berkeley business leaders on Monday to show how much money his group didn’t spend in the city.

Lyvere said the bikers will boycott Berkeley until the City Council apologizes or is recalled for telling Marine recruiters in February they weren’t welcome.

Council members eased their stance weeks later but did not apologize.
Source

New Priority Flat Rate Box

Starting March 3rd, the USPS will offer a larger Priority Flat Rate box. It is 50% larger than the current boxes and will cost only $2.00 more when shipped to a military address.

The new Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate Box (12" x 12" x 5½") can be used for both domestic and international shipments. This extends the flat-rate price and ease-of-use benefits to international shippers. There is also a 5 percent online discount.

There will be a special version of the box for the military, with a $2 discount, if shipped to an Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office (APO/FPO) address.

Read more here.

Bill Would Clear Fallen Heroes' VA Debt

By Terry Howell / January 23, 2008

WASHINGTON -- A bill to block the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from collecting money from the families of fallen servicemembers was introduced by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) this week.

"This bill is about honoring our fallen heroes by treating the families they left behind with dignity and by showing them we mean it when we tell them our nation is truly grateful," said Sen. Hutchison in her January 22, 2008, press release.

Take Action: Tell your public officials how you feel about this issue.

The Senator was alerted to this issue by the VA, which according to current law is required to contact the family for collection if a member of our Armed Forces is killed and owes the VA any outstanding indebtedness. Once a servicemember in these cases is killed, the VA must contact the families of the deceased and ask that they be reimbursed from the estate for that GI bill education payment. To date, the VA has sought to collect over $56,000 from 22 deceased soldiers.

Although the current law does allow the VA Secretary some discretion for waiving certain cases, the bill, dubbed the "Combat Veterans Debt Elimination Act" would remove that discretion and forgive all debts that fall into this category.

The press release also points to cases in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, Connecticut, Nebraska, Colorado, Michigan, Washington, California, New York, Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina and sites the following three Texas cases:

- A Soldier on his third tour in Iraq was killed by a sniper's bullet and owed the government $389 for an education overpayment. The family paid this debt in full because they believed it was the right thing to do.

- An Army Sergeant who had served in the U.S. Marine Corps before enlisting in the Army attended two different colleges with VA education benefits. After serving one tour of duty in Afghanistan, he was serving his second tour in Iraq when he was killed by a bomb explosion. He owed the VA $2,282 and was survived by a wife and four children. The family paid the debt because they, too, felt it was the right thing to do.

- A Marine reservist who received education assistance to attend Texas A&M University was killed in an explosion in Iraq. The VA informed his mother of his death with a collection letter that said he owed the VA $845, which must be collected from his estate.

The Combat Veterans Debt Elimination Act would relieve grieving families and remove the requirement for the VA to seek collection of such debt. If passed, the law would be retroactive to September 11, 2001.

In an effort to fast track this legislation, Sen. Hutchison requested that the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders bypass the committee process and bring this legislation to the floor before another family suffers the indignity of the current law.

The Toughest Fight in Anbar Province

Military.com | By Christian Lowe | January 11, 2008

KARMAH, Iraq - It's a new kind of fight these Marines weren't exactly counting on. And it might be the toughest one they've had to endure in this war-ravaged country.
After preparing to confront one of the most deadly insurgencies America has ever faced, and steeped in the legend of Marine aggressiveness in the counterterrorist fight, the leathernecks of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines are fighting a pitched battle against boredom.

With violence across the province dropping precipitously over most of the past year, Marines who were girding for a brawl on this latest rotation have had to dial back their warrior ways for a softer approach.

Though their thoughts are tinged with disappointment, many are nevertheless practical about the new reality.

"There's not much going on this time around," said Cpl. Ken Dickerson, 1st squad leader with Lima Company, 3/3's 3rd Platoon. "But at least we're not losing anybody."

The two years preceding this Hawaii-based battalion's August deployment were some of the most violent for U.S. forces in its nearly five year occupation of Iraq. But since the surge of 30,000 troops launched in early 2007, violent incidents in Anbar have dropped to levels unthinkable just a year ago.

According to officials with II Marine Expeditionary Force, there were about 170 "significant events" in Fallujah, about five miles from here, during the first week of January 2007. That includes firefights, IED attacks, mine explosions and roadside bombs that were discovered, but that did not detonate.

By the last week of December, the number of "sigevents," as they're called here, in Fallujah dropped to less than 20.

In Ramadi, the capitol of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province and a troubled hot spot for years, incidents dropped from 198 in one week of February 2007, to three by the last week of the year.

II MEF officials attribute this massive shift to a population fed up with al Qaeda in Iraq's terrorist tactics and rejuvenated tribal governance that cast its lot with American efforts to bolster the national government.

Whatever the reason for the reduction in violence, Marines in the field have switched from rifles to paint brushes and from bullets to handshakes.

For some of leathernecks here on their first deployment, it's a bit of a let-down. One Marine in 3rd platoon who's a veteran of the fierce Fallujah fight in November of 2004 said it's been tough to keep his Marines motivated after regaling them with stories of that epic battle. They came here to fight, he said, and instead they're patrolling streets teeming with people, devoid of enemy activity.

In fact, Lima Company hasn't fired a single shot in anger since early October, its commander, Capt. Quintin Jones, said.

And that's just fine with him. As local police take greater control of their towns and local citizens help keep al Qaeda malcontents from detonating bombs in their markets, the Marines here are left with little to do but reconstruction and institution building - an overall mission that has one every Marine can appreciate.

"It might be a little boring here now," said Lance Cpl. Parker Winnett, a radio operator with 3rd Platoon's 1st squad. "But at least I'll come home alive."

American people help spruce up Marines’ Christmas

AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Dec. 14, 2007) – Lance Cpl. Mark Sheldon decorates his work section’s Christmas tree. It is a live tree and was provided by the National Christmas Tree Association’s Trees for Troops program. Sheldon is a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist with 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward).

Dec. 15, 2007; Submitted on: 12/15/2007 12:51:16 AM ; Story ID#: 2007121505116

By Cpl. Andrew Kalwitz, 2nd Marine Logistics Group


AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Dec. 15, 2007) -- Instead of seeing the brightly colored decorations and twinkling lights found on America’s streets during the holiday season, troops often have to settle for a monochromatic view of the desert.

This year, however, troops have received a boost to their Christmas spirit thanks to Earl and Esther Worthington, as well as many other participants who donated live trees to service members around the world in the National Christmas Tree Association’s Trees for Troops program.

“We hope that some military personnel will, in receiving a tree, be able to experience the real meaning of Christmas,” Esther said.

The Worthingtons donate from their tree farm outside of Atlanta as part of a larger effort to provide Trees for Troops. Modeled after an Ohio organization’s program named Operation Evergreen, the National Christmas Tree Association’s program provides 17,000 trees to more than 38 military bases, stateside and overseas.

For a few years now, Esther and her husband, both retired, have tended to 12 acres of trees on their property just to give some away. However, after losing their 19-year-old grandson, Adrian, to a roadside blast in Iraq this past May, they said their efforts have a very special meaning this holiday season.

“This year, of course it has a real personal touch and we are even more sensitive to the sacrifices made by so many,” Esther said. “We will sense the loss intensely, but we are so thankful that we were all able to be together with Adrian last year at Christmas and we treasure that memory.”

Unfortunately, loss and separation are all too familiar to the Worthington’s as well as to service members stationed around the world. For Marines here with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), which is nearing the 12-month mark of its current Iraq deployment, the upcoming season brings with it another holiday that will come and go without the company of loved ones. But instead of just recalling cherished memories, programs like the ones the Worthington’s support help troops create new ones.

Cpl. Jeremy D. Spencer, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist with 2nd MLG (Fwd), has received one of the program’s trees for his work section.

He said the tree serves as a reminder that the holiday spirit is wherever anyone wants it to be. Whether it be his hometown of Fordland, Mo., or the sand-swept landscape of Al Anbar Province, Christmas is Christmas.

“If it wasn’t for people in the states, we would have nothing. The holiday season would just be spent like every other month out here,” said Spencer. “It really gives the troops a little taste of home for the holidays.”
Source

Care Pack Update

Here's an email I got from my son. We sent him quite a few of our care packages to share with his unit and others and he's already started getting them. We also have a big box on the way to his unit (and more to some other units) full of Starbucks coffee and coffee grinders.

Hey,
All the guys love the packages. One guy especially told me that he hasn't gotten any mail out here this time or the last time he was here except for 1 Red Cross message. He really liked the package and said he would write a thank you letter to the Lubbock Marine Parents. Thanks from everyone.
Steven

Attached is a pic with Cpl Corey from Texas with the package he got.

The Gratitude Campaign

Watch this video. Just say thanks.

Christmas Tree Program Brings Troops Cheer

Associated Press December 10, 2007

WESTMINSTER, Md. - Sprawled in his recliner, tired and achy after three days of nearly nonstop work, James Ward hardly looks like Santa Claus.
But this laid-off truck driver has just made Christmas brighter for thousands of U.S. service members overseas by mailing them miniature, live spruce trees with all the holiday trimmings.

A year after Ward started Operation Christmas Tree to cheer up his deployed stepdaughter and a few dozen of her fellow soldiers in Iraq, the project has blossomed into a national campaign that shipped 5,000 potted trees this season.

About 2,200 of the 2-foot trees - packed along with bags of colorful ornaments and battery-powered lights - were mailed Dec. 3 to individual service members, mostly in Afghanistan and Iraq, whose families paid $20 to Ward's nonprofit organization.

Some of those service members also received a batch of 50 or 60 extra trees to share with others. Other batches were sent to chaplains in the war zone to hand out to anyone in uniform who wants one.

The $80,000 balance not paid by donations was covered by the Armed Forces Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit that helps the families of deployed troops. Local businesses also collected donations.

For Ward, 34, Operation Christmas Tree is an expression of the code he was taught by a firefighter uncle: "I was always brought up that if somebody's in need of something, you help them."

The same principle prompted Ward to lead a convoy of donated goods to Gulf Coast hurricane victims in 2005. "If you can get seven tractor-trailer loads down to Katrina with all that going on, you can ship 5,000 trees," he said.

But not without a lot of help. About 350 volunteers from as far away as Phoenix helped the Ward family pack the trees for shipment Dec. 1, working close together in a 40-by-60-foot rented tent at the nearby Carroll County Agriculture Center. Donated barbecued beef fed the volunteers. The trees, purchased from a North Carolina grower, had been parked there for a month, kept alive with regular waterings by the Westminster Fire Department.

The president of the Armed Forces Foundation, Patricia Driscoll, said Operation Christmas Tree is a joy for her staff members, who spend most of their time arranging housing, counseling and other services for families of injured warriors.

"When you're dealing with the sick and wounded all the time, it can get depressing. This was really fun," she said.

This year's 5,000 trees were a huge increase over the 75 that Operation Christmas Tree shipped last year - half to Ward's Army medic stepdaughter, Spc. Luisa Gonzalez, and members of her unit. Gonzalez, 23, now stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, while awaiting discharge early next year, came home to help with the tree packing.

"I've been that person on the other end and it just meant a lot to be there to see the next wave," she said. "In Iraq, every day's the same - no holiday - so that little piece of home gives that holiday season something special."

Ward's wife, Betty; stepdaughter Elizabeth, 20, and daughter, Marie, 2, also worked on Operation Christmas Tree.

Photographs of Ward and his wife meeting first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are displayed on the living room wall, and a scrapbook is filled with thank-you notes from service members and their families.

But Ward said there's one reward he's missing: seeing the trees as they're received by the troops.

"I'd love to be a fly on the wall to watch them open them," he said. "Trust me, it's satisfying doing it, but it would be so cool to see these guys open some of them."

NBC rejects TV ad thanking troops

By Jim Kuhnhenn - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Dec 7, 2007 19:46:37 EST

NBC has rejected a TV ad by Freedom’s Watch, a conservative group that supports administration policy in Iraq, that asks viewers to remember and thank U.S. troops during the holiday season.

NBC said it declined to air the ad because it refers to the group’s Web site, which the network said was too political, not because of the ad’s message.

“Anybody in the world who would look at this ad would come away with nothing other than we should thankful for their service,” Freedom’s Watch president Brad Blakeman said.

The spot was to be part of a seven-figure campaign that includes newspaper ads and television commercials. The ads are to run on CNN and Fox News Channel and are running in various newspapers. The New York Times ran a full-page Freedom’s Watch ad Friday that said “Thank You!” and depicted a soldier reading a letter. The newspaper ad also contained the Web site address.

Alan Wurtzel, NBC’s head of standards and practices, said the network decided not to run the Freedom’s Watch ad because the group insisted that the spot contain the URL address of its Web site.

The Freedom’s Watch Web home page contains links for visitors to demonstrate their support for the troops. It also contains a welcoming message that states: “For too long, conservatives have lacked a permanent political presence to do battle with the radical special interests groups and their left-wing allies in government.”

“We have a policy that prohibits acceptance of advertising that deals with issues of public controversy,” Wurtzel said. “This particular ad, in and of itself, is fine. It thanks the troops for their action overseas. We asked them to eliminate a URL address where a person is asked to contact elected officials and told not to cut and run on the war on terror.”

NBC rejected a previous Freedom’s Watch ad that addressed funding for the troops.

“It’s a long-term policy, it goes back decades,” Wurtzel said of NBC’s stance of declining controversial advertising.

He suggested that Freedom’s Watch did not alter the ad in order to force NBC to reject it and thus get media attention.

“Candidly, some folks have found that you get more attention when an ad is not accepted,” he said.

Blakeman acknowledged that Freedom’s Watch wants viewers of the ad to visit its Web site and said NBC’s actions amounted to censorship.

Freedom’s Watch has emerged as one of the best-financed independent conservative groups in this election cycle.
Source

Holiday Greetings for Wounded Warriors

As many of you are aware, Walter Reed Medical Center and other medical centers could not accept any card or letter addressed to “Any Wounded Soldier” or “Any Soldier” because of security reasons.

But because of the outpouring of support for our service members, the Department of Defense, the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes have teamed up to make it possible to send Christmas greetings to our wounded and recovering service members.

"It is an honor to provide this small measure of comfort at holiday time to those who have sacrificed so much," said Pitney Bowes President and CEO Murray Martin. "We want to make it as easy as possible for all Americans to show their appreciation to the men and women who serve this nation so proudly and selflessly."

The American Red Cross will only be able to accept holiday cards. No packages please. Red Cross volunteers will sort the cards for appropriate content and bundle the cards which will be shipped by Pitney Bowes. Red Cross volunteers at each of the medical centers will then distribute the cards/letters to service members and their families.

Cards and letters must be received no later than December 27. Cards received after this date will be returned to sender. Cards and notes only - and please refrain from using glitter or any other inserts that would not be appropriate in a hospital environment.

Holiday cards should be addressed to:

We Support You During Your Recovery!
c/o American Red Cross
PO Box 419
Savage, MD 20763-0419

Let’s show our heroes that we know what the meaning of giving is this holiday season because they certainly have. When you’re sending your holiday cards to family and friends, please include another 2, 20 or even 200 to our wounded warriors. They, most of all, deserve to have a Merry Christmas!!

Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour

This morning, Move America Forward brought their Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour through Lubbock. It was so nice to meet gold star mom Debbie Lee, Lt. Col. "Buzz" Patterson, and all the rest of the MAF gang. Debbie, hope you and Mary enjoy the cookbooks!

Our mayor, David Miller was in attendance along with Russell Thomasson, special assistant to the Chancellor of Texas Tech University, a representative from Congressman Randy Neugebauer's (TX-19) office (I'm sorry I didn't catch his name), and city councilman John Leonard. I was also happy to see Raider Red , the Saddle Tramps and all the blue star and gold star parents and veterans who made it out. We even met one young man who is leaving tonight for Navy boot camp. God bless him!

The local news coverage is here and here.

Move America Forward is collecting Christmas and holiday cards all along the tour to take to the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know they collected quite a few today. If you are anywhere along their route be sure to stop by, say hello and sign a few cards. They also have t-shirts , books, and lots of other goodies for sale. I finished up some of my Christmas shopping, but I don't want to give it away in case a certain someone happens to read this.

I didn't get any pictures but luckily one of our members, Cindy, did. She got some really good ones!

Holiday Messages to the Troops

Friday, November 30th, is your last day to send print Holiday Messages to the troops in the print editions of Stars and Stripes. You can choose which edition you want your message (European edition, Middle East edition, Pacific edition, or online only). You can submit a message with or without an image. Submissions will be printed in a Holiday Messages section of the daily newspaper over the holiday season, unless designated as "online only."

Stars and Stripes is a daily newspaper published for the U.S. military, DoD civilians, contractors, and their families. Unique among the many military publications, Stars and Stripes operates as a First Amendment newspaper, free of control and censorship. We have published continuously in Europe since 1942, and since 1945 in the Pacific. In those two theaters, our readers number over 100,000.*

Today, Stars and Stripes maintains news bureaus in Europe, Pacific and the Middle East to provide first-hand reporting on events in those theaters. In addition to news and sports, our daily paper contains all the elements of the hometown paper our service members left behind, from "Dear Abby" to coupons, comics and crossword puzzles. In all, we publish five daily editions: Mideast, Europe, Japan, Korea and Okinawa.

In 2004, Stars and Stripes created a website where family and friends could post text messages and photos, addressing them to U.S. service members all over the world. The messages are available online, and printed in a supplement of the daily newspaper during the holiday season. Last year nearly 6,000 messages from friends, family members, and supporters were printed and delivered to Service members in Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe, and the Pacific.

Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve

For those of you who still have some Christmas shopping to do, I encourage you to check the list at esgr.org to find companies that are supportive of our Guard and Reserve members. You can click on your state to see which employers have signed a statement of support for our military.

A 5-Star Employer denotes the following:

Signed a Statement of Support publicly demonstrating support for their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.
Reviewed their human resources policies to ensure compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act Law (USERRA).
Promotes training for managers and supervisors to effectively manage their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.
Adopted polices and programs that are “Above and Beyond” what is required by the USERRA Law.
Serves as an advocate for employee service in the National Guard and Reserve and helps to promote the mission of ESGR.

I was pleased to see many Lubbock employers on the list.
34TH ST. CHIROPRACTIC, Lubbock
ALTERATIONS UNLIMITED, Lubbock
AMERICAN STATE BANK, Lubbock (with 5 stars)
APPLEBEE'S LUBBOCK #11, Lubbock (5 stars)
APPLEBEE'S LUBBOCK 2 #40, Lubbock (5 stars)
CASA OF THE SOUTH PLAINS, Lubbock
CITY OF LUBBOCK, Lubbock (5 stars)
CON-WAY (LUBBOCK), Lubbock (5 stars)
CONVERGYS CORPORATION, Lubbock
FRAME MART & GALLERY, Lubbock
LOWES HOME IMPROVEMENT, LUBBOCK, Lubbock (5 stars)
LUBBOCK COUNTY, Lubbock (5 stars)
LUBBOCK COUNTY SHERIFF, Lubbock (5 stars)
LUBBOCK ELECTRIC, Lubbock
LUBBOCK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DST, Lubbock
LUBBOCK LION'S CLUB, Lubbock (5 stars)
LUBBOCK SATELLITE RETIREE ACTIVITIES, Lubbock
MCLANE COMPANY, Lubbock
MCWHORTER'S, Lubbock (5 stars)
MINNIX COMPANIES, Lubbock
PULMONARY ASSOC. OF LUBBOCK, Lubbock (5 stars)
SECURITY STATE BANK, Lubbock (5 stars)
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Lubbock
TEXAS STATE LEGISLATURE, Lubbock (5 stars)
TOWN & COUNTRY FOOD STORES, Lubbock (5 stars)
TRANS HEALTHCARE INC, Lubbock
UMC HEALTH SYSTEM, Lubbock (5 stars)
Lubbock Chamber of Commerce

Please patronize these businesses and let them know that you appreciate what they are doing for our military.

Rally to Support the Troops on Dec 3

There will be a Rally to Support the Troops on Dec 3, 9 AM at the War Memorial located at 82nd St and Nashville in Huneke Park Lubbock. This rally is non-political, Just Say Thank You to The Troops, Thank You For Your Service and is one of forty to be held by www.moveamericaforward.org on their caravan tour across the US from CA to NY and on to Iraq to deliver Holiday cards and gifts. It is their Honoring Heroes Holiday Tour. On Dec 14 they will have an entertainment event in Washington DC at the Lincoln Theatre for our wounded soldiers from Walter Reed and Bethesda.


This is the second cross country tour MAF has done and the second trip to Iraq. Let's make sure that Lubbock is one of the biggest and best rallies on the Tour.

Rally sites are 11/26 Santa Nella, San Jose, Walnut Creek, 11/27
Stockton, Fresno, 11/28 Bakersville, Barstow, 11/29 Las Vegas,
Bagdad, 11/30 Phoenix, Tucson, 12/1 El Paso, Alamogorda, Roswell,
12/2 Amarillio, Groom, 12/3 Lubbock, Abilene, 12/4 San Antonio,
Houston, 12/5 Shreveport, 12/6 Jackson, Birmingham, 12/7 Montgomery,
Mobile, 12/8 Pensacola, Talahasee, 12/9 Tampa, 12/10 Orlando, 12/11
Savannah, Columbia, 12/12 Fort Bragg, Raleigh, 12/13 Norfolk,
Richmond, 12/14 DC Lincoln Theatre, 12/15 Philadelphia, 12/16 New
York City WTC, and on to Iraq

The REAL Stars

Hat Tip Eagles Up!

More from the Bay Area

The link didn't work earlier, but I've fixed it. Sorry about that.
Code Pink defaces Berkeley military recruitment office