Since May is Military Appreciation Month and tons of things are happening around the country I thought I would post some of the newsletters I subscribe to in their entirety so you can see them for yourselves and subscribe to them as well.

BTW: I decided to file all of these in the First Sgt's category since this kid of thing always crosses their desks first!

Here is one from America Supports You

	Newsletter Archive Our Message to the Military.... "America Supports You" May 9 , 2006 E-Newsletter Volume LX Washington, D.C. Actor Gary Sinise rocks out with his Lt. Dan Band at the second annual America Supports You salute to kick off Military Appreciation Month at the Pentagon. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Navy Blue Angels perform high-flying stunts at the 2006 McDonald's Air and Sea Show over the weekend. Richmond, Va. Operation Gratitude member Staff Sergeant Elizabeth Cowie demonstrates the use of Checkers's new "Patriotic Drive" boxes around the country. ASY: Making Connections for Team Members America Supports You 2006 Salute Audience members join the Lt. Dan Band onstage during the performance. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, wearing his ASY pin, and wife Joyce enjoy the show. Gary Sinise poses with the ASY grassroots groups in attendance. Secretary Rumsfeld greets ASY team members at the Salute. America Supports You kicked off Military Appreciation Month last week with the help of actor and director Gary Sinise, star of the movies Apollo 13, Forrest Gump and Of Mice and Men and CBS's CSI: New York. Sinise appeared with his "Lt. Dan Band." The group, named after Sinise's character from Forrest Gump who lost his legs in the Vietnam War, performed for a crowd of hundreds in the Pentagon's Center Courtyard for the second annual America Supports You Military Appreciation Month Salute. The Lt. Dan Band had just returned from a concert tour through Afghanistan where they performed for the troops. "It's very, very important that we have this Web site out there so our troops, if they are ever in doubt that people are supporting them, can easily go to (the) America Supports You (site) and see just how many wonderful people are out there supporting the troops," Sinise said during the concert. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his wife Joyce were also in attendance at the concert. The Secretary introduced Sinise to the crowd noting that Sinise is known at the Pentagon as a "tireless supporter of the troops" and a co-founder of one of America Supports You's team members, Operation Iraqi Children, which sends school supplies to Iraqi children. During the performance, Mr. Rumsfeld visited with wounded troops from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center who were special guests at the concert. The audience also included service members assigned to the Pentagon and military members in 177 countries around the world who received the concert over the Pentagon Channel. The concert also provided an opportunity for ASY's grassroots team members to raise awareness of their work with Pentagon officials and meet each other face to face. Twenty-six groups lined the Pentagon Courtyard's sidewalks with display tables during the concert to hand out information on their organizations while enjoying the show. Afterwards, the Secretary visited with each group at their station and Sinise signed autographs and posed for a picture with them. The 26 groups in attendance represented more than 200 total ASY grassroots organizations, and the number continues to grow. In addition to Sinise's Operation Iraqi Children, representatives attended from Air Force Aid Society, Cell Phones For Soldiers, Disabled American Veterans, Family & Friends For Freedom Fund, Inc., Freedom Alliance, Give2TheTroops, Inc., Homes For Our Troops, Military Family Support Center, National Military Family Association, National Committee for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, New England Caring For Our Military, Operation First Response, Inc., Our Military Kids, Operation Noble Foster, Patriotic Pillow Project, SemperComm, Serving Those Who Serve, Sew Much Comfort, Stars for Stripes, Support Our Soldiers, ThanksUSA, The American Legion, United We Serve, USMC MotoMail, and USO of Metropolitan Washington. Read more. Military Appreciation Month also got off to a strong start in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with "Fleet Week USA - A National Salute to America's Heroes" sponsored by America Supports You corporate team member McDonald's. Millions of people packed a four-mile strip of beach this weekend to watch civilian and military air-teams perform gravity-defying feats. The day began with power boat races and a beach invasion demonstration by the Navy and Marines. Later in the afternoon, upturned faces watched as the Army's Golden Knights parachute team hit a target on the beach after jumping from a height of 12,500 feet, and the Navy's Blue Angels performed an inverted fly-by. One onlooker commented that events like Fleet Week are beneficial because they narrow the distance between the military and civilians. "A lot of times (service members) seem so far away, people don't understand them," he said. In addition to bringing civilians closer to the military, the event also afforded ASY's Florida team members the opportunity to gain visibility and raise awareness of their efforts with PSAs and booth space at the air show as well as magazine placements ahead of time. Read more. Staff Sergant Elizabeth Cowie and Carolyn Blashek, Founder of Operation Gratitude, receive a check for $10,000 from Keith Sirois, President and CEO of Checkers/Rally's and Joe Nemechek, driver of the No. 1 U.S. Army car on the NASCAR circuit.  Checkers/Rally's, another of ASY's corporate partners, teamed with grassroots member Operation Gratitude and America Supports You to launch a special care package campaign for Military Appreciation Month yesterday. Checkers, the nation's largest chain of drive-thru restaurants, will place collection bins at each of their participating locations nationwide in order to collect care package items from their guests as part of their "Patriotic Drive." The items will then be given to Operation Gratitude to prepare individual care packages for deployed troops. Announced on May 5th at the Richmond International Raceway before the NEXTEL Cup 400 NASCAR Race the following day, the program runs from May 8th to June 14th in order to get the care packages to troops overseas in time for the July 4th holiday. Checkers also donated $10,000 to Operation Gratitude on behalf of their corporate headquarters and Joe Nemechek, driver of NASCAR's No. 1 U.S. Army car. Carolyn Blashek, founder of Operation Gratitude, anticipates that her group will be able to send at least 40,000 care packages thanks to the Checkers donation and the Patriotic Drive. The items most requested by the troops include cooling devices, entertainment items, disposable cameras, international calling cards, snack foods and personal letters of support. ASY In the News The Washington Post highlighted ASY and the Lt. Dan Band's performance at the Pentagon. The Post as well as the Washington Times and the DC Examiner ran pictures from the event featuring Gary Sinise and Secretary Rumsfeld. CNN Headline News and NBC Nightly News also featured the Pentagon Concert as well as local television stations WISH-CBS (Indianapolis), WUSA-CBS (D.C.), WBBM-CBS and WLS-ABC (both Chicago). NewsBlaze (Calif.) covered Lt. Dan's performance at the Pentagon in addition to noting personal stories of volunteers and listing  ASY  grassroots members that were in attendance. TCPalm (Fla.) and Motorsport.com noted that Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. announced its initiative with ASY and Operation Gratitude to collect and create care packages for deployed troops. Whowon.com reported that U.S. Army driver Joe Nemechek teamed up with Checkers, Operation Gratitude and ASY to help kick off the Patriotic Drive. Team Member of the Week Military Family Support Centers, Inc. provides support to the families of deployed troops who do not live within reach of the resources available on military bases or posts. Military Family Support Centers, Inc. provides services such as transportation assistance, telecommunications support, budget and legal counseling, food and clothing assistance, and playroom time for children to help ease both the family's and the deployed soldier's minds about their time apart.  Military Family Support Centers is also working to further its reach with help from one of its fellow grassroots groups. Executive Director Gene Carter connected with the Citizen Soldier Family Support Foundation through the organization's involvement with ASY, and the teaming helps with Military Family Support Centers' grant-writing process. To learn more about donations, volunteering or recommending a family in need of assistance, please visit http://www.milfamsupcen.org. Thank You's from Soldiers "Thank you for all your support and love. I hope to return home soon. Your support and love makes the days go by faster and brings hope to those of us on the front lines. Thank you." PFC Autumn Burns, Army, Palmdale/Lancaster, Calif. "For the first time I'm starting to realize the amount of support the Armed Forces have from back home. Thank you." MMFN Christopher Klamm, Navy, Beverly, Kan. To read more messages, Click here. Our troops deserve to be applauded, and so do you! Join the Team! Subscribe to the America Supports You E-Newsletter

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