Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Really Good Info.
Here is some info for all you parents....
7 Steps to Protecting our Children: Introduction
http://www.darkness2light.org/7Steps/7steps.asp
Preventing, Recognizing, and Reacting Responsibly to Child Sexual Abuse - A Guide for Responsible Adults 7 Steps Menu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 Steps Introduction Step 1: Learn the Facts Step 2: Minimize Opportunity Step 3: Talk About It Step 4: Stay Alert Step 5: Make a Plan Step 6: Act on Suspicions Step 7: Stay Involved - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Download 7 Steps Email 7 Steps to a Friend Purchase 7 Steps Products Donate to Support 7 Steps - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 Steps en Espanol Our Thanks to... Bibliography
What is child sexual abuse?
Any sexual act between an adult and a minor or between two minors when one exerts power over the other.
Forcing, coercing or persuading a child to engage in any type of sexual act. This, of course, includes sexual contact. It also includes non-contact acts such as exhibitionism, exposure to pornography, voyeurism and communicating in a sexual manner by phone or Internet.
An agonizing and traumatic experience for its victims.
A crime punishable by law.
This booklet is only the beginning.
Child sexual abuse is a very complex problem, and this booklet touches on only a small part of it. The information we provide is not a substitute for the advice of professionals. It is only to give you simple, proactive steps to help protect children.
Step 1: Learn the facts
Realities—not trust—should influence your decisions regarding your child.
Step 2: Minimize Opportunity
If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll
dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for your child.
Step 3: Talk about it
Children often keep abuse a secret, but barriers can be broken down
by talking openly about it.
Step 4: Stay Alert
Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused.
Step 5: Make a Plan
Learn where to go, who to call and how to react.
Step 6: Act on Suspicions
The future well-being of a child is at stake.
Step 7: Get involved
Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy
of child sexual abuse.
"My child's school has a program to teach children about sexual abuse prevention- but what about adults? Shouldn't we be responsible for the protection of children?"
A child's safety is an adult's job. Children are often taught how to keep themselves safe from sexual abuse - and that's important for them to learn - but it's no substitute for adult responsibility. We make sure children wear seat belts. We walk them across busy streets. We store toxic household cleaners out of reach. Why, then, would we leave the job of preventing child sexual abuse solely to children?
Imagine how difficult it is for a child to say "no" to a parent, a teacher, a coach, or clergy.
Even the adults we trust to protect children can't always be trusted. Coaches, teachers, clergy, and parents are authority figures children feel they can trust. Yet, a large percentage of those who sexually abuse children are from this group. These are adults who have the opportunity to "groom" children with affection and attention, making it difficult for children to identify certain behaviors as abuse. And they know that children have been taught to "mind" them. This is why programs that focus on adult responsibility are essential.
7 Steps to Protecting our Children: Introduction
http://www.darkness2light.org/7Steps/7steps.asp
Preventing, Recognizing, and Reacting Responsibly to Child Sexual Abuse - A Guide for Responsible Adults 7 Steps Menu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 Steps Introduction Step 1: Learn the Facts Step 2: Minimize Opportunity Step 3: Talk About It Step 4: Stay Alert Step 5: Make a Plan Step 6: Act on Suspicions Step 7: Stay Involved - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Download 7 Steps Email 7 Steps to a Friend Purchase 7 Steps Products Donate to Support 7 Steps - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 Steps en Espanol Our Thanks to... Bibliography
What is child sexual abuse?
Any sexual act between an adult and a minor or between two minors when one exerts power over the other.
Forcing, coercing or persuading a child to engage in any type of sexual act. This, of course, includes sexual contact. It also includes non-contact acts such as exhibitionism, exposure to pornography, voyeurism and communicating in a sexual manner by phone or Internet.
An agonizing and traumatic experience for its victims.
A crime punishable by law.
This booklet is only the beginning.
Child sexual abuse is a very complex problem, and this booklet touches on only a small part of it. The information we provide is not a substitute for the advice of professionals. It is only to give you simple, proactive steps to help protect children.
Step 1: Learn the facts
Realities—not trust—should influence your decisions regarding your child.
Step 2: Minimize Opportunity
If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll
dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for your child.
Step 3: Talk about it
Children often keep abuse a secret, but barriers can be broken down
by talking openly about it.
Step 4: Stay Alert
Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused.
Step 5: Make a Plan
Learn where to go, who to call and how to react.
Step 6: Act on Suspicions
The future well-being of a child is at stake.
Step 7: Get involved
Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy
of child sexual abuse.
"My child's school has a program to teach children about sexual abuse prevention- but what about adults? Shouldn't we be responsible for the protection of children?"
A child's safety is an adult's job. Children are often taught how to keep themselves safe from sexual abuse - and that's important for them to learn - but it's no substitute for adult responsibility. We make sure children wear seat belts. We walk them across busy streets. We store toxic household cleaners out of reach. Why, then, would we leave the job of preventing child sexual abuse solely to children?
Imagine how difficult it is for a child to say "no" to a parent, a teacher, a coach, or clergy.
Even the adults we trust to protect children can't always be trusted. Coaches, teachers, clergy, and parents are authority figures children feel they can trust. Yet, a large percentage of those who sexually abuse children are from this group. These are adults who have the opportunity to "groom" children with affection and attention, making it difficult for children to identify certain behaviors as abuse. And they know that children have been taught to "mind" them. This is why programs that focus on adult responsibility are essential.
Update from LTC Clark
February 21, 2010
Hello again from Spin Boldak,
I think the spring time weather has finally arrived here in southern
Afghanistan. Our week started off bitter cold, but by Friday the
temperatures had returned to the 70's during the day. The forecast for
the foreseeable future calls for lows in the mid 40's with highs in the
mid 70's. I am hopeful this weather pattern will remain for an extended
period of time, but I know by April the heat will begin to return.
The big "shura" is knocking on our door; we will execute this event
tomorrow, the 22nd of February. The intent of this event is to update
all the local leaders on what has been accomplished together over the
past seven months. The focus is really an "eye to the future" - looking
to what we can accomplish together once again over the next few months.
Based on the rapport that has been built throughout the district and the
willingness to work together, I have large expectations as we finish out
our rotation in Spin Boldak. I believe we have set the table very well
for our follow-on brothers to further secure and develop this area of
southern Afghanistan.
This past week's operations led to a new type of IED - one never seen
before in the Kandahar province. Not only was the IED itself unique,
the location of the IED was different for us as well. The IED was found
on the underside of a commercial truck parked inside the Spin Boldak
Customs lot, an area we often frequent. Other than this one event, our
week consisted of our normal framework operations from the security,
governance, and a development perspective.
As we look to the future, Task Force Saint will be hosting an Afghan
Security Forces shura in the next two weeks, as well as a shura for a
sub-district called Taktepol (Pronounced: tack-ta-pole) during the month
of March as well. We will also begin our own mini training school for
our security force partners (five day course, conducted on the FOB).
The beginning of March will also see a large influx of visitors, to
include the return visit of General McChrystal, the commander for all of
Afghanistan. Finally, mid March will also see the start of serious
redeployment planning and preparations, to include future FOB expansion
to accommodate a larger presence in this area.
The "Heroes of the Week" are listed below for your review.
B Troop/8-1 CAV (BEAR CAV):
SGT Curtis Webb of 3rd Platoon, originally from Illinois, has been in
the Army for five years and currently serves as a Dismount Team Leader
and NCOIC for his Platoon Leader's Stryker. He is an enthusiastic and
vital member of the Grizzly Platoon, charged with training and helping
with the planning of all dismounted operations. Recently, he helped his
platoon train, plan, and execute a two-day operation to observe and
secure a key route vital for local commerce and traffic. SGT Webb and
his wife Jamie recently welcomed their first child into their family.
C Troop/8-1 CAV (CLOAK):
SPC Soliday is Cloak Troop's Hero of the Week. As a mortar man, SCP
Soliday handles the operation of the mortar tube and additionally serves
as a dismount on the Troop's small kill team (SKT). His positive
attitude, exemplary work ethic and dedication to the team make him
essential to both fire support and SKT operations. No matter how tough
the conditions, SPC Soliday can be relied upon to perform his duty. His
actions reflect great credit upon himself, Cloak Troop and the United
States Army.
D Troop/8-1 CAV (DAKOTA):
SGT Selesnew is a tactical site exploitation NCO who has contributed
greatly to Dakota Troop recently. He displays outstanding
professionalism and aggressively pursues indicators of Taliban presence
when he exploits enemy objectives. SGT Selesnew maintains a database of
all the evidence collected for the brigade and meticulously gathers
information forward in sector during offensive operations. He is a "go
to" NCO who links enemy evidence and turns it into intelligence worthy
of driving future targets. Recently, his team captured and translated
numerous enemy documents while conducting operations in Helmand
Province. He carefully captures the information and correlates the data
for the brigade staff. SGT Selesnew is an outstanding NCO, consummate
professional, and vital member to the Dakota team.
HHT/8-1 CAV (HOSTILE):
The HHT Hero of the Week is SGT Nathan Carlisle. SGT Carlisle is the
NCO in-charge of the Squadron TAC. He is responsible for manning,
training, and resourcing the crews for the Squadron Command group. Over
the last week, the TAC vehicles have been going through a maintenance
upgrade which has made SGT Carlisle balance the maintenance requirements
for his vehicles and personnel while ensuring all missions for TAC
vehicles were supported and accomplished. SGT Carlisle's dedication to
Hostile and the Blackhawk Squadron made him this week's HHT Hero of the
Week.
B Battery/3-17 FA (BULLDOG):
Bulldog's hero of this week is CPL Myers. CPL Myers has stepped up to
the challenge of being a section chief and has really helped Bravo
Battery succeed in completing our mission. His experience and knowledge
was very important to the manual computations that were required to
process multiple simultaneous fire missions and produce great results.
Overall, CPL Myers has really shown his leadership capabilities and
potential to do great things for the United States Army.
As I stated in earlier updates, we have decided to have our tour in
Afghanistan captured by a local artist in Washington. The artist is
currently working on a sketch, which we should be able to review in the
upcoming weeks. If you desire to purchase a print, our initial ordering
period runs through March 15th. God bless.
Sincerely,
LTC William J. Clark
Commander
Task Force Saint
"SAINT 6"
Hello again from Spin Boldak,
I think the spring time weather has finally arrived here in southern
Afghanistan. Our week started off bitter cold, but by Friday the
temperatures had returned to the 70's during the day. The forecast for
the foreseeable future calls for lows in the mid 40's with highs in the
mid 70's. I am hopeful this weather pattern will remain for an extended
period of time, but I know by April the heat will begin to return.
The big "shura" is knocking on our door; we will execute this event
tomorrow, the 22nd of February. The intent of this event is to update
all the local leaders on what has been accomplished together over the
past seven months. The focus is really an "eye to the future" - looking
to what we can accomplish together once again over the next few months.
Based on the rapport that has been built throughout the district and the
willingness to work together, I have large expectations as we finish out
our rotation in Spin Boldak. I believe we have set the table very well
for our follow-on brothers to further secure and develop this area of
southern Afghanistan.
This past week's operations led to a new type of IED - one never seen
before in the Kandahar province. Not only was the IED itself unique,
the location of the IED was different for us as well. The IED was found
on the underside of a commercial truck parked inside the Spin Boldak
Customs lot, an area we often frequent. Other than this one event, our
week consisted of our normal framework operations from the security,
governance, and a development perspective.
As we look to the future, Task Force Saint will be hosting an Afghan
Security Forces shura in the next two weeks, as well as a shura for a
sub-district called Taktepol (Pronounced: tack-ta-pole) during the month
of March as well. We will also begin our own mini training school for
our security force partners (five day course, conducted on the FOB).
The beginning of March will also see a large influx of visitors, to
include the return visit of General McChrystal, the commander for all of
Afghanistan. Finally, mid March will also see the start of serious
redeployment planning and preparations, to include future FOB expansion
to accommodate a larger presence in this area.
The "Heroes of the Week" are listed below for your review.
B Troop/8-1 CAV (BEAR CAV):
SGT Curtis Webb of 3rd Platoon, originally from Illinois, has been in
the Army for five years and currently serves as a Dismount Team Leader
and NCOIC for his Platoon Leader's Stryker. He is an enthusiastic and
vital member of the Grizzly Platoon, charged with training and helping
with the planning of all dismounted operations. Recently, he helped his
platoon train, plan, and execute a two-day operation to observe and
secure a key route vital for local commerce and traffic. SGT Webb and
his wife Jamie recently welcomed their first child into their family.
C Troop/8-1 CAV (CLOAK):
SPC Soliday is Cloak Troop's Hero of the Week. As a mortar man, SCP
Soliday handles the operation of the mortar tube and additionally serves
as a dismount on the Troop's small kill team (SKT). His positive
attitude, exemplary work ethic and dedication to the team make him
essential to both fire support and SKT operations. No matter how tough
the conditions, SPC Soliday can be relied upon to perform his duty. His
actions reflect great credit upon himself, Cloak Troop and the United
States Army.
D Troop/8-1 CAV (DAKOTA):
SGT Selesnew is a tactical site exploitation NCO who has contributed
greatly to Dakota Troop recently. He displays outstanding
professionalism and aggressively pursues indicators of Taliban presence
when he exploits enemy objectives. SGT Selesnew maintains a database of
all the evidence collected for the brigade and meticulously gathers
information forward in sector during offensive operations. He is a "go
to" NCO who links enemy evidence and turns it into intelligence worthy
of driving future targets. Recently, his team captured and translated
numerous enemy documents while conducting operations in Helmand
Province. He carefully captures the information and correlates the data
for the brigade staff. SGT Selesnew is an outstanding NCO, consummate
professional, and vital member to the Dakota team.
HHT/8-1 CAV (HOSTILE):
The HHT Hero of the Week is SGT Nathan Carlisle. SGT Carlisle is the
NCO in-charge of the Squadron TAC. He is responsible for manning,
training, and resourcing the crews for the Squadron Command group. Over
the last week, the TAC vehicles have been going through a maintenance
upgrade which has made SGT Carlisle balance the maintenance requirements
for his vehicles and personnel while ensuring all missions for TAC
vehicles were supported and accomplished. SGT Carlisle's dedication to
Hostile and the Blackhawk Squadron made him this week's HHT Hero of the
Week.
B Battery/3-17 FA (BULLDOG):
Bulldog's hero of this week is CPL Myers. CPL Myers has stepped up to
the challenge of being a section chief and has really helped Bravo
Battery succeed in completing our mission. His experience and knowledge
was very important to the manual computations that were required to
process multiple simultaneous fire missions and produce great results.
Overall, CPL Myers has really shown his leadership capabilities and
potential to do great things for the United States Army.
As I stated in earlier updates, we have decided to have our tour in
Afghanistan captured by a local artist in Washington. The artist is
currently working on a sketch, which we should be able to review in the
upcoming weeks. If you desire to purchase a print, our initial ordering
period runs through March 15th. God bless.
Sincerely,
LTC William J. Clark
Commander
Task Force Saint
"SAINT 6"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
My Baby Is All Better
Finallyyyyy!!! AJ is like a new kid. I'm so happy that is all behind us. He is happy, he just started sleeping through the night again, he was walking like crazy hours after his surgery....it's been amazing the difference. He does have a temper though. My goodness, the kid screams like crazy and has a horrible temper, so now we are working on his little fits:)
My Miss Gracie....that kid is going to kill us!
She has such an attitude right now and I just don't know where she gets it from?! ;) She is one of a kind that's for sure! She is doing good in school and her Laney and Tanner get here tomorrow (for GOOD) so she is just thrilled to have them right here with her. I'm sure they will be getting into lots of trouble in the days to come.
Mo is doing ok. This has kind of been a hard week on both of us. Just a lot going on and dealing with some personal issues....it's been a little crazy, but we are getting through with the support of one another. We only have 5 months until he comes back home!!!
Nancy, Jake and Ronin came home this weekend! They stayed at the house and it was so nice to have them here as always! Poor Jake was constantly attacked by my children! They both adore the little Blackner Family. We are really blessed to have them in our lives......
this little guy has been so challenging, but such a joy in my life. He will just look at you and give you a smile to die for.
My Miss Gracie....that kid is going to kill us!
Nancy, Jake and Ronin came home this weekend! They stayed at the house and it was so nice to have them here as always! Poor Jake was constantly attacked by my children! They both adore the little Blackner Family. We are really blessed to have them in our lives......
Saturday, January 16, 2010
This is exciting info.
Families Can See Off, Greet Troops at Airport Gates- TSA permits the airlines to offer a gate pass to family members of arriving or departing U.S. Servicemembers. Though TSA allows this practice, the final decision rests with the airlines, from which family members must request the passes. Each airline, and possibly even airport, has its own rules and procedures. Families interested in obtaining a gate pass need to check with the airline before arriving at the airport to determine the exact rules and procedures. TSA makes this allowance out of support for the armed forces. Though military family members with gate passes can pass through security, they must adhere to all security regulations. This includes removing coats, jackets and shoes, and the liquids regulation. Anything of a liquid or gel consistency must be 3.4 ounces or less and be sealed in a quart-sized storage bag to pass through security. Each family member would have to present the gate pass as well as a valid government-issued identification card. To learn more, go to: http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/12/16/31897-families-can-see-off-greet-troops-at-airport-gates/index.html
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