Posted on May 27, 2021 by Admin.

Important Military Dates

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https://www.hfotusa.org/important-military-holidays-and-observances-for-2021/

MPORTANT MILITARY HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES FOR 2021

January 4, 2021| By Teresa Verity

The beginning of the New Year is a good time to look ahead at important military holiday dates in the upcoming months. There are many dates and observances set aside specifically to recognize military members and their families throughout the year.

While all of us at Homes For Our Troops believe in honoring Veterans and Servicemembers every day, we have compiled a list of significant military dates to mark on your calendar for 2021:

Feb. 3, 2021 – Four Chaplains Day – A day to remember the four U.S. Army chaplains who made the ultimate sacrifice when the USAT Dorchester sank during World War II.

Feb. 19, 2021 – Coast Guard Reserve Birthday

March 3, 2021 – Navy Reserve Birthday

March 13, 2021 K-9 Veterans Day – The date is the official birthday of the United States K9 Corps and a day to honor their service.

March 25, 2021 Medal of Honor Day – A holiday to honor the heroism and sacrifice of Medal of Honor recipients for the United States.

March 29, 2021 – Vietnam Veterans Day – A national holiday to recognize and honor Veterans who served in the military during the Vietnam War. Learn more about Vietnam Veterans Day here.

April 5, 2021 – Gold Star Spouses Day – A day dedicated to those whose spouses gave their lives while serving in the U.S. military or as a result of service-connected injuries or illness.

April 14, 2021 – Air Force Reserve Birthday

April 23, 2021 – Army Reserve Birthday

May 1, 2021 – Silver Star Banner Day – Per Congressional resolution, it is an “Official Day to honor wounded, ill, and injured Veterans”.

May 7, 2021 – Military Spouse Appreciation Day – This date recognizes the service and sacrifices of military spouses.

May 13, 2021 – Children of Fallen Patriots Day – A day to honor the children left behind by the brave men and women who gave their lives while defending our freedom.

May 15, 2021 – Armed Forces Day Observed on the third Saturday every May, this is a day dedicated to paying tribute to men and women currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

May 31, 2021 – Memorial Day A solemn occasion to honor the men and women who died while serving in the military. Learn more about Memorial Day here.

June 6, 2021 – Anniversary of the World War II Allied invasion in Normandy, France, now known as D-Day.

June 14, 2021 – Flag Day – A day to celebrate the adoption of the U.S. flag.

June 14, 2021 – Army Birthday

June 23, 2021 – Coast Guard Auxiliary Birthday

June 27, 2021 – National PTSD Awareness Day – A day to bring awareness about issues related to PTSD. Find resources for PTSD here.

July 4, 2021 – Independence Day

July 27, 2021 – Korean War Veterans Armistice Day

Aug. 4, 2021 – Coast Guard Birthday

Aug. 7, 2021 – Purple Heart Day – A time for Americans to pause to remember and honor the brave men and women who were either wounded on the battlefield or paid the ultimate sacrifice. Learn more about the Purple Heart.

Aug. 29, 2021 – Marine Forces Reserve Birthday

Sept. 11, 2021 – Patriot Day – An annual observance to remember and honor those who were injured or killed during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Sept. 18, 2021 – Air Force Birthday

Sept. 26, 2021 – Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day – A day to honor the families of fallen Servicemembers.

Oct. 13, 2021 – Navy Birthday

Oct. 26, 2021 – National Day of the Deployed

Nov. 10, 2021 – Marine Corps Birthday

Nov. 11, 2021 – Veterans Day – This is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice treaty, which ended World War I and is also a day to thank military Veterans for their service.

Dec. 7, 2021 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day – The anniversary of the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, signaling the United States’ entrance into World War II. Learn more about Pearl Harbor Day.

Dec. 13, 2021 – National Guard Birthday

Dec. 18, 2021 – National Wreaths Across America Day

Significant Military Months

April – Month of the Military Child

May – National Military Appreciation Month

May – Month of the Military Caregiver

November – Military Family Month, Warrior Care Month

Article

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Admin.

Posted in Featured, MEETING, News, Resources

OPSEC RULES FOR MOMS

In the military, OPSEC stands for Operational Security. There are rules and guidelines for OPSEC that pertain to services members and their families and friends. In this day and age with social media, there are a lot of bad guys out there looking for information to deter the safety and missions of our nation’s military.

WHAT IS OPSEC?

OPSEC protects US operations – planned, in progress, and those completed. OPSEC is keeping potential adversaries from discovering critical information about the Department of Defense. The military needs to accomplish the mission quickly and successfully. Success relies on secrecy, surprise, and private information. Enemies want this critical information, and they are not just after the military member to get it. They also look to military families and friends.

Unfortunately, OPSEC can’t be summed up in a brief list of rules and regulations and be expected to cover every possible situation. There are some general rules and guidelines to follow for military family members and friends.

RULES OF OPSEC

Do not post detailed information about the mission of assigned units.
Do not post details on locations and times of unit deployments.
Do not list your spouse’s specific job on social media.
Do not post where your spouse is ported.
Do not post about personnel transactions that occur in large numbers (Example: pay information, powers of attorney, wills, deployment information).
Do not post details on locations and times of unit trainings
Do not post unit/service member itineraries
Do not post references to trends in unit morale or personnel problems.
Do not post details concerning security procedures, response time, tactics.
Do not post details Personal Identifying Information (PII)
Do not post exact redeployment dates
Do not reveal camp locations, including nearby cities. After the deployment is officially announced by Military officials, you may discuss locations that have been released, normally on the Country level.
Do not discuss convoy routes (“we travelled through ‘such-and-such’ on our way to X”)
Do not discuss equipment or lack thereof, to include training equipment
Avoid the use of count-up or count-down tickers for the same reason as rule #1, if you do decide to use one, make sure only YOU and those you trust are able to see it.
Be very careful if posting pictures of your loved one. Avoid images that show significant landmarks near their base of operations, and black out last names and unit affiliations.
Do not, EVER, post information about casualties (coalition or enemy) before the official release of the information.
Do not pass on rumors (“I heard they’re coming home early”, etc)

SOCIAL MEDIA
You may want to limit your posts to friends-only. Defaults can change on Facebook with no real notice, and suddenly you’re posting to the Public. If your FRG has a facebook group, ask the leader if it’s secret, closed, or public. What you post to a group may appear on other people’s timelines as well.

Photos
If you must post photos, consider cropping or blurring some details on pictures.

Geotagging
Make sure your location services setting is turned off, if you don’t want your or your spouse to be reporting where their location is.

Social media is not going away any time soon. More and more issues arise with social media and consequences hit much harder and much faster (with consequently less time to “undo” a mistake).

These OPSEC rules aren’t meant to limit your free speech or restrict your liberties- that’s exactly what our men and women in uniform fight to protect. They are put into place to help ensure the safety and security of our nation’s military.

If you have any questions, contact your (or your sponsor’s) unit OPSEC manager.

Article

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Admin.

Posted in Featured, MEETING, News, Resources