Categories
- JIG Exclusive: Kosher MRE Taste Test
- Kippah the Jewish Uniform
- Learn to Lead Services or Chant Torah Online!
- No Jew Has Ever Won The Medal Of Honor
- How to order kosher MRE’s
- High Holidays in Baghdad
- Chanukah in Iraq
- The Jews of Iwo Jima
- US Naval Academy Chapel Dedication
- Review: Cast a Giant Shadow
If you didn’t know (like me) that American Airlines offers all kinds of perks for military members, you’re in luck. The airline recently announced the continuation of several special offers, including discounted fares, Admirals Club® access and Group One Boarding privileges, exclusively for active-duty members of the military.
American Airlines will allow travel on these special fares through Jan. 31, 2005. Active-duty members of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, National Guard, and Reserves who are on leave or furlough (including those who are traveling within seven days of discharge from active service), and their spouse and dependent children are eligible for these fares.
In order to receive the discount, reservations must be made at American Airlines ticketing locations or by calling American Airlines reservations toll-free at 800-433-7300. Military ID must be presented at the time of airport check-in. These military fares are not available via the Internet.
Choose “Read More” for more benefits available to you and your family.
There is a whole new way for service members to find homes at our next duty station and rent out our current homes to other military members.
The Automated Housing Referral Service website has a nationwide database of currently available rentals in and around military bases. The listings include photos, maps and detailed info about the housing and surrounding area. The intent is to give you a head start when making your house hunting trip at your new duty station.
I’d love to hear from anyone that has used the service. Leave a comment if you have.
Stars & Stripes has reported about the recent efforts of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps to develop portable ritual items.
As of now, they have only developed portable sacraments (communion wafers and wine or juice), but “Soldier Spiritual Readiness Packets” are also in the works for us Jews as well.
They come in a peel-and-serve package, “no larger than the single-serve cheese spread and crackers packages in vending machines.” The Jewish package has a Jewish prayer book and a yarmulke made of desert or woodland camouflage material.
You can see a photo of the packet on the Stars & Stripes wesbiste.
In an effort to help service members in Iraq and Afghanistan celebrate the High Holidays, Jews in Green is teaming up with The Jewish Soldier Foundation to send cards, Jewish music CD’s, and Holiday goodies to the troops. As you can imagine, with Jews being so spread out, services will be few and far between. But with your help, we believe we can make these most important holidays a little more special. Click on “full story” to learn how you can help.
I apologize for the lack of posting as of late. The MRE story took a lot of time to produce and I’ve been pretty busy with flight school.
Speaking of flight school… I just reached a personal milestone this past week, when I flew my first solo flight in a military aircraft!
My schedule should allow for me to catch up on a few things this week, so things will be back on track soon. Since I’m on this topic, I’d like to remind our readers that we can always use help with the website. If you are willing to write a small tidbit about Jewish life at your duty station, or just send us a link about a relevant story, we would be happy to edit it and post it on the site for you.
One of the most popular topics among Jews in the military is kashrut and more specifically, kosher rations. Here at Jews in Green, we regularly receive several hits a week from people searching for kosher MREs on Google. I wrote a brief article on kosher MREs as one of the first stories on Jews in Green, but I’ve come to realize that a much more thorough discussion was required.
So the staff here at Jews in Green (with the help of some active duty taste testers) put the two main offerings for kosher MREs to the test. Read the full article to see how they matched up, and details on how you can obtain the meals.
A great deal of work went into arranging kosher rations for the military, so I’m going to take a little time to spotlight the efforts and challenges faced in doing so. If you just want to see the taste test results, click here.
Article contents:
This past Friday, I had the distinct pleasure of being interviewed by Rabbi Herschel Finman on The Jewish Hour, a weekly radio program on Detroit’s WPON.
The offer for the interview came out of the blue, and I was a little unsure about doing it, but it turned out to be a great experience. I’ve already thanked Rabbi Finman personally, but I wanted to put it up here for all to see as well.
During the interview he offered to submit weekly Torah discussions for Jews in Green, so we now have our own source for a little Torah study each week! Look for the d’varim Torah staring this Friday.
On a side note, I would highly suggest checking out his website. His biography is quite amazing, and even inspirational. His journey to becoming a rabbi is anything but ordinary.
The Army is starting a new recruiting technique; recruiting from the other services.
If you are currently serving in the Air Force or Navy and anticipate honorable discharge from active duty soon, Operation Blue to Green offers you some alternatives to civilian life. Participation in Operation Blue to Green is dependent upon your service’s willingness to release you from your current active duty obligation. Marines and Coast Guardsmen may obtain releases in order to reserve training/assignment options, but will have to complete their current active duty service obligation prior to enlisting in the Army.
Depending on your rank and MOS, you may (or may not) be required to attend new training. All new soldiers will attend a four-week version of boot camp that the Army is calling the “Warrior Transition Course,” at Fort Knox, Ky. though. Some select MOSs are even eligible for a bonus when switching branches.
For more information on the benefits and who is actually eligible, visit the
Operation Blue to Green website.
From the American Forces Information Network
Since the Army and Air Force Exchange Service began its “Gifts from the Homefront” program last year, people from all walks of life have rallied around America’s troops by contributing $406,745 toward the program designed to lift the morale of deployed troops around the world, said officials at AAFES headquarters here.
Because the gift certificates can be used for merchandise already stocked at contingency locations, “Gifts from the Homefront” are a safe alternative to traditional care packages that can strain the military mail system and present force protection issues.
SA Lee Mish, of the 1st MP Company, 1st ID is currently serving in Iraq and has his own blog detailing his experiences there. He does a great job of making regular posts (including pictures). It’s a great way to see some personal stories from an “everyday” soldier over there.
The level to which troops are connected over there blows my mind sometimes. I think it’s great that technology allows for such things. We’ve come a long way from telegrams and MARS messages!
Keep up the good work Lee and come home safely!
