From the Executive Director's Desk,

Seasons Greetings!

It's that time of year again! We're all looking forward to sharing the holidays with our families, friends, and loved ones. Please remember the members of the military who are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, at home in the United States, and abroad. Please drop them a letter, postcard, email, or care package for the holidays if you can. Details on how to do so are listed in the links below. Also, if you know a family, who has a loved one serving, offer them your support at this time. This time of year can be hard for the family members left behind. A phone call, visit, or note is often greatly appreciated.

Myself, Jim Fuchs and Rashad Pitts, wish you Happy Holidays and we hope to see you all in the New Year! Take care and...

Semper Fi,

Clarice Joynes
Executive Director & Military Liaison

There are many independent organizations who are ready and willing to help you support the troops this holiday season and throughout the year. Although the military services no longer accept 'Any Servicemember' mail, the troops can still receive mail and care packages from patriotic citizens. It simply means finding an organization to help you get that morale-boosting mail to the troops. The Department of Defense's newest initiative, America Supports You, provides a short list of organizations that will help you send messages and packages as well as provide other support. It is also a great vehicle for letting the troops know how your organization is supporting them. The Web site has numerous resources to assist anyone interested in showing support. Please visit www.americasupportsyou.mil for more information.

Another way to support the troops this holiday season is by purchasing "Gifts from the Homefront" certificates. These certificates, which can be purchased by any individual, business or civic organization allow the troops to purchase items at Post Exchange (PX) and Base Exchange (BX) facilities around the world, including 51 exchanges and operations in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. Gift certificates can be sent to an individual service member with a personalized message or designated for distribution to "any service member" through the United Services Organization (USO), American Red Cross, Air Force Aid Society or Fisher House. Please visit www.aafes.com or call (877) 770-4438 for more information or to purchase a gift certificate.

The United Services Organization (USO) of Metropolitan New York is sponsoring the Glenn Beck Phone Card Drive. Donations will pay for a phone card so that troops can call home during the holiday season. Each card is $15, and can also be purchased in multiples. The USO also welcomes general donations to support the brave men and women currently serving. Donations can be made on the USO's secure Web site at www.usony.org or by calling (877) 522-7000.

Although the deadline has passed to guarantee that packages and cards will reach deployed service members before the holidays, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is still offering a free packing materials kit to spouses and families of deployed service members so they may continue their support into the new year. To request the free boxes, packing materials, tape and mailing labels contained in the Care Kit 4, please call (800) 610-8734. Supplies may also be ordered through the USPS Web site at www.usps.com. Although the packing materials are free, shippers must still pay normal postage costs.

Carnegie Hall is offering 50% off all tickets for Veterans and military personnel for The New York String Orchestra on Friday, December 24th at 7 PM and Tuesday, December 28th at 8 PM at Carnegie Hall. On December 24th, the orchestra will be joined by violinist Gil Shaham in a program of works by Bach, Dvorak, Saint-Saens and Wagner. Leon Fleisher will be the featured pianist on December 28th for an all-Mozart evening. Tickets are available online at www.carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall box office located at 57th Street and 7th Avenue. You must mention code: MVET to receive this discount.

Operation Uplink is a unique program that keeps military personnel and hospitalized veterans in touch with their families and loved ones by providing them with a free phone card. The Veterans of Foreign Wars started this program in 1996 and continues it today using contributions from individuals and from its corporate sponsors. Operation Uplink purchases phone cards and distributes them to service men and women who are separated from those they care about. To make a donation to the Operation Uplink program, please visit the program's Web site at www.operationuplink.org. For more information, please call (800) 479-5228 or (816) 756-3390 or email uplink@vfw.org.

The Manhattan Vet Center, 32 Broadway, Suite 200, conducts two Stress Management Group sessions every Tuesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and from 2:30 to 4 p.m. The Center will also be periodically conducting "Understanding Traumatic Stress and Recovery" workshops. These 2-session workshops help participants learn more about the purpose of traumatic stress reactions while helping them develop more effective coping strategies. Please call Jo Potestivo at (212) 742-9591 for more information.

The General Services Administration invites all veterans to attend a workshop on "How to Obtain an Information Technology GSA Federal Supply Schedule Contract" from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursday, January 13, 2005 at 26 Federal Plaza, New York City (Duane Street Entrance: Photo ID Required. No admission to building prior to 8:00 a.m.) 6th Floor Conference Center. Admission to the workshop is free. Please email R2.SBUC@gsa.gov to obtain a registration form. If you have any questions about the workshop, please e-mail or call (212) 264-8265.

The Fort Hamilton Commissary and the Fort Hamilton Post Exchange would like to announce their holiday schedules:

Fort Hamilton Commissary Holiday Hours:
Open - Monday, December 20, 2004 - 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Open -Tuesday, December 21, 2004 - 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Open - Wednesday, December 22, 2004 - 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Open - Thursday, December 23, 2004 - 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Open - Friday, December 24, 2004 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed - Saturday, December 25, 2004
Closed - Sunday, December 26, 2004
Closed - Monday, December 27, 2004

The Commissary will re-open with normal operating hours on Tuesday, December 28, 2004.

The Fort Hamilton Post Exchange Holiday Hours:
Tuesday December 21, 2004 - Thursday December 23, 2004 - 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday, December 24, 2004 - 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, December 25, 2004 - Closed
Friday, December 31, 2004 - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, January 1, 2005 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more Fort Hamilton information, please visit www.hamilton.army.mil.

The General Services Administration is pleased to announce its new quarterly newsletter: Small Business News. This electronic newsletter was specifically developed to provide veterans and veteran-owned businesses interested in competing for federal government contracts with important Web sites, notices of upcoming training seminars, answers to frequently asked questions, and other useful information. Please visit www.gsa.gov to access the latest edition of the GSA e-newsletter.

The United States Department of Veterans' Affairs has designed a new identity card for veterans in order to combat identity theft. The new card will have veterans' photos on the front and identify them as enrollees in the Veteran Administration's healthcare system. Veterans are encouraged to request their new identity card at their Veterans' Administration medical center. Processing is expected to take five to seven days once the veteran's eligibility is verified.

Effective December 1, 2004, rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans have increased 2.7%. The rate increase is based on inflation data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Please visit www.va.gov for more information.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Proctor-Hopson Post #1896 is proud to announce its official designation as a Military Family Support Center. This new designation means the post will give assistance to the families of National Guard members and Reservists by providing information on benefits and entitlements of deployed service members, support for the local family support groups and information on local businesses and other organizations that provide discounts or services for military families. The Proctor-Hobson Post is located at 110-02 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, New York, 11433. For more information, please call Ben Thompson at (718) 527-6532 or e-mail at Thompsonbl@state.gov.

The Mayor's Office of Veterans' Affairs would like to remind those veterans who are unable to use public bus or subway service that Access-A-Ride (AAR), a shared ride, door-to-door paratransit service may be able to help them for some or all of their trips. The Metropolitan Transit Authority New York City Transit administers AAR. Private carriers under contract to NYC Transit provide service. For more information or to determine your eligibility for the AAR program, please visit the MTA Web site at http://mta.info or call (877) 337-2017, (646) 252-5252, TTY (646) 252-5104 or TTY Relay (800) 662-1220 and press "1" when you hear the recorded message to be connected to the Customer Information Line. You may also download an AAR application by clicking on the following link:

• Access-A-Ride Application

The Army's Special Recruiter Assistance Program (SRAP), allows Soldiers who want to share their Operation Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom deployment experiences to serve on temporary duty up to 14 days at the recruiting station nearest their hometown. During that time, soldiers will work for the recruiting station by assisting with recruiting activities, speaking at college and community events, and participating in interviews with local media.The program is open to enlisted soldiers age 25 or younger in stateside units who have served overseas in support of Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom. Soldiers must apply online at the U.S. Army Recruiting Command's Web site: www.usarec.army.mil. All applications will be screened to ensure Soldiers meet all requirements. For more information, please call (502) 626-0448 or (502) 626-0448.

When a veteran or family member requests medals through the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, they can now track the status of their request using the Army's new Web-based automated system located at http://veteranmedals.army.mil. Medal requests still need to be made to the NPRC at http://vetrecs.archives.gov, however, tracking the request via the Army's system is expected to reduce processing time and allow the veteran or family member to make address changes online.