AmeriForce magazine
So Others May Live [Reserve & National Guard magazine]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
Reserve & National Guard magazine, www.ameriforce.net
March 2007
“There is a legend of a man who lives beneath the sea. He is a fisher of men, the last hope of all those who have been left behind. Many survivors claim to have felt his gripping hands beneath them, pushing them up to the surface, whispering strength until help could arrive. But this, of course, is only a legend.” — The Guardian
COAST GUARD SWIMMERS MADE THEIR way from the Bering Sea to the big screen last September, thanks to “The Guardian,” a Hollywood blockbuster starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Most viewers couldn’t help but be moved by the tale of Ben Randall, an aging Coast Guard swimmer who loses his crew during a midnight mission. He finds himself teaching at an elite training school for rescue swimmers — a program that boasts a 50 percent attrition rate, and only graduates those rare individuals with the courage, strength and stamina to drop out of helicopters into frigid oceans to rescue those in harm’s way. How accurate is the film?
Working from Home [AmeriForce magazine]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
AmeriForce magazine, www.ameriforce.net
Fall 2006
MAUREEN ZIOBRO HAS BEEN HAPPILY married to her military man Marty for decades, and couldn’t have been more willing to move with him five times during his 24-year career as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army. But Maureen also wanted something for herself. “I felt it was really important to earn my own money and contribute to the financial well-being of my family,” says the mother of 3, who is now based in Northern Virginia. “I also needed to have a sense of control. When you move around a lot, it’s nice to have a little consistency in your life.” So in 1997, when she was stationed in Colorado Springs, Maureen turned her hobby into a business when she signed up to be a representative for a crafty company called Stampin’ Up. She isn’t the only one.
MWR 2007: This is not your father’s program [AmeriForce magazine]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
AmeriForce magazine, www.ameriforce.net
Summer 2007
LEGEND HAS IT THAT THE moral, welfare and recreation (MWR) tradition was born one rainy cold World War I day, on the front lines in France, when a Salvation Army soldier cooked up the first batch of doughnuts to go with a homesick Arkansas soldier’s hot coffee. Since then, civilians have served with the Army, providing essential morale-boosting services. But when you think of MWR services today, forget the limited programs your father once was offered. In the last decade, officials in the Armed Forces have given MWR a promotion.
Building Family Rituals [AmeriForce magazine]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
AmeriForce magazine, www.ameriforce.net
Summer 2006
HOW DO YOU KEEP FAMILY members close when they are a world away? Before Gen. Frederick Franks, Jr., commander of 7th Corps, left for the Middle East to help coordinate Operation Desert Storm, his wife Denise and daughter Margie Bozek bought a Christmas tree and tied yellow ribbons all over it. On the branches, the women placed the special ornaments they’d collected from cities they’d lived around the world. Then Denise prepared a Christmas feast — even though it was early in the fall. “We knew the holidays would be tough for my sons without Grandpa around, so we decided to celebrate before he left,” she recalls. “It was neat for my kids because they got to have Christmas twice that year. And when the holiday came in December, it was easier for us to be away from Dad because we’d already had a celebration with him.”
Moving the Family [AmeriForce magazine]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
AmeriForce magazine, www.ameriforce.net
Spring 2006
HAVE YOU JUST GOTTEN WORD that it’s time to move your family? Again. You aren’t alone, of course. But that doesn’t make it any easier to break the news to your kids. Here’s something that might make that chat a little less dramatic. According to Dr. Frederick Medway, a professor of psychology at South Carolina University, moving kids frequently does them no emotional harm. In fact, if handled well, most kids not only
survive — they thrive.
Yoga 101 [AmeriForce magazine]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
AmeriForce magazine, www.ameriforce.net
Spring 2007
LIKE MANY MARINES, MAJOR RONALD Woodaman is in top-notch shape. He runs, can do dozens of jumping jacks, and lifts more weight at the gym than many of his colleagues. But when Woodaman pulled out his back last year, all those strenuous activities proved too painful. A friend suggested he try the yoga class that public health educator Christine Davidson. Woodaman figured he didn’t have anything to lose, so he popped in for a one-hour session.“After only a month, I was able to stretch more deeply and my back was feeling pretty good.” He’s not alone. According to the Yoga Journal, in 2003 about 15 million people practiced the 5,000-year-old Indian discipline of stretching, breathing, and meditating. By 2004, that number jumped to 16.5 million— and nearly half of the people practicing (42 percent) were ages 35 to 54. What’s the big attraction?