Andre Dean - Army Strong Stories

An Army Daughter's Wedding for Louissa

Andre Dean — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 01:24:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
In April 2009 we hosted a wedding reception for our second oldest daughter, Louissa, at our Texas home; Elwood. I thought many of you who read my blogs would love to see a few photos of her wedding reception at the homeplace, with all its Texas flare and flash that Louissa and her sweetheart wanted. Dad was wearing his blues and then his mess blues for the two different stages of the reception. A general's Aide-de-Camp showed up in full blues also, adding a great deal of...read more

I Was Wrong, It was 8 Pounds, not 7

Andre Dean — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:27:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Last week I forecast that I was going to gain 7 pounds over the Thanksgiving holy days and I was both right and wrong. I gained all 7 pounds I had foreseen, but then I exceeded my expectations and leveled off at 8 pounds. How was that for exceeding one's goals just a smidgeon? It has something to do with that sinfully refreshing grapefruit pie we learned to make from 2006-2009 when we lived in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and could pick our own grapefruit right off...read more

An Army Thanksgiving Through 7 American Heroes

Andre Dean — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:24:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Thanksgiving is just a few days away. That means that most of the Army will take a nice slow four-day weekend from lunch Wednesday until Monday when we waddle back in to work about 7 pounds heavier, thanks to the amazing reality of living in a provident, plentiful, hard-working and beloved America. And since I just took my Army Physical Fitness Test this morning and smoked it, I am ready and qualified for some heavy feasting and soul-felt gratitude to God and His Beloved Son, my...read more

An Amish Weekend Get-away; Exploring Wherever the Army Sends Me

Andre Dean — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:43:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
One of those remarkable benefits of being on active duty in the US Army is that we are sent all over the world, and in the process we get to discover a million new worlds, most of which are just around the corner. Dianne and I are quite the adventurers, so as soon as we moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky, we started checking out the caves, the bluegrass horse racing and the Amish world around us. Back in July, we decided we were going to find a great Amish get-away and go there for a weekend...read more

Veterans Day; My Daughter's First Place Essay on Her Texas Hero

Andre Dean — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:34:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Here is the essay that my 12-year old daughter, Liesel, wrote last year about her “Texas Hero”. It won First Place in her Middle School and so she was selected to read her essay over the intercom to the entire school. She told me afterward that “a whole bunch of teachers were in tears when they heard me read this. They hugged me and told me how much my essay touched them.” I did not know she had written a “hero” essay , so I did...read more

Largest Voter-Shift in National Politics In A Lifetime!

Andre Dean — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:33:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
I love it when I see the American people turn out and VOTE in droves. As an American Soldier it gives me great hope for the future of our Republic ("and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God..." you'll remember the Pledge of Allegiance of course), when Americans believe their vote counts, matters and can strengthen a nation. I remember the excitement of Reagan's second term election of 1984 when he won 59% of the...read more

Harvard's 40-Years of Anti-Army ROTC Rhetoric Unveiled; No Myth

Andre Dean — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:48:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Diane, (Dr. Diane Mazur, an open blog/letter) Just a little stunning to read that you, a professor of law at the University of Florida, could go through 60 years of complex political/academic/administrative American and Harvard history covering the pre-departure, departure and post-departure of the Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC programs from Harvard University, with volumes written from Harvard campus itself covering and reporting this 60 year intellectual-elitist, anti-military saga, and...read more

WeberShandwick and the US Army Team at BlogWorld 2010

Andre Dean — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:41:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Two weeks ago I was in Las Vegas with our multi-national-award winning WeberShandwick ArmyStrongStories team and we had a great show and bloggers lounge. 1.2 million quality impressions for the Army and our Army blogging and social media outreach between our teams' 25+ on-floor interviews and our thousands of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups we calibrated for a whole bunch of friendly and patriotic bloggers who came by to cheer us on, win an Army Stories t-shirt and see if they...read more

4 EAGLES (Boy Scouts of America) In One Family!

Andre Dean — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:56:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Now for some of those great photos of Andre Elvin Dean II's Eagle Court of Honor I promised. Andre earned his Eagle back in May of 2010 with the Boys Scouts of America Troop 667 out of Brandenburg, Kentucky, BUT once earned you have to submit all the paperwork and send notification to the White House and other national leaders who have expressed their desire to honor all BSA Eagle Scouts, so the usual wait time is a few months after the official "date of...read more

Eagle Court of Honor for my Son; Photos Tomorrow!

Andre Dean — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:41:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Big Eagle Court of Honor last night for my 14-year old son, Andre Elvin Dean II, and hence a BIG deal for the whole Dean Family. He is an Eagle Scout now and joins his older two brothers in that lofty "Eagles Nest" where only Eagles dare venture. Photos and the story tomorrow if I can pull it all together. The Dean family had a lot of fun, especially when Andre II and Dad (me) sang our very first duet together and we sang it "a cappella", just our voices...read more

Army Moms Losing 170 lbs with Mamavation Founder at BlogWorld

Andre Dean — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:15:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
How does it feel to be married to an Army Soldier, who rolls out of bed every morning at 05:00 a.m. and is out the door at 05:30 a.m. and doing an intense full-body work-out five days a week from 06:00 - 07:00, while you stay at home and keep a watchful eye on those precious sleeping little angels who are still in bed...and you just can't seem to work it into your daily schedule to get even five minutes of physical conditioning and work-out time for yourself??? At BlogWorld 2010...read more

Some Army Hard Work at BlogWorldToday

Andre Dean — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 23:11:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Check out all this hard work we are doing here in Las Vegas....we are kind of like rock stars here with tons of fans screaming and begging for a cool photo with us! Hard work, but that is what we do. Those last four photos were taken with the following bloggers: Lana Cavassa at www.LifeWithLana.com with an energy, inspiration and fitness blog Abby Johnson with...read more

Karen Hughes from Texas at BlogWorld too

Andre Dean — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 21:20:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Check out Karen Hughes here with me for the BlogWorld Exposition here in Las Vegas. Just a few years ago she was the voice and powerful political insight behind the everday actions of the President of the United States, President George W. Bush. I have greatly admired her insight and commentary on the political front for many years, so I had to get a photo, She told me during the photo that she was raised an Army Brat....Dad was active duty and she lived the Army life for her...read more

General David Petraeus in Vegas with Me Today!

Andre Dean — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 02:35:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Guess who just popped up on our mega-screen in Las Vegas this morning? Of course the visit of a famous four-star general pretty much requires me to be here sitting on the front row of the vast audience to see our rock star first guest. Here I am on the front row, ready to take a photo of our famous guest and blog it out to the digital world. Yes, just as my opening title announces, General David Petraeus just gave us all a massive "Welcome all social media...read more

Blogging in Vegas; Telling the Army Strong Story to the World

Andre Dean — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:28:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
I flew into Las Vegas yesterday to attend the BlogWorld & New Media Exposition, one of the best social media conferences in the nation. This morning as I was walking in the hallways of the Mandalay Bay Hotel Convention Center in my Army Combat Uniform, a gentleman came up to me and asked: "so what is the Army doing at a social media convention? Good question, since there is not a sailor, marine or airman in site here, and there are 4 of us...read more

Fort Campbell vs. Fort Knox, Kentucky High School Football's "Army Bowl"

Andre Dean — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:34:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
High School football has some great rivalries, and Kentucky has one of the great ones. The State of Kentucky is home to two powerful Army Posts: Fort Campbell (home of the 101st Airborne/Air-Assault Division) and Fort Knox (home of the Gold, Accessions Command and the Human Resources Center for Excellence...and last year was the 50-year home of the Army Armor Center). So, 34 years ago these two military posts decided that they should drive half-way across the state and play each other...read more

E Pluribus Unum, by My Six-Year-Old

Andre Dean — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:55:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
A few days ago I came home from working a long, mind-numbing day in the office at Accessions Command and my little 1st grader, Joseph, came over to me as I took my boots off, sitting on the stairwell, and said; "Daddy, do you want to see my eagle?" Well, what else can you say besides something stupid you'll regret for the next ten years (like, "no, I don't have time now Joseph")? So I exhaled and rubbed my face to try to find my smile...read more

World's Best Chocolate Cake! It's not in the Army's Dining Facility...yet

Andre Dean — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:54:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
This one may be my shortest blog ever....but for all you chocolate lovers out there, if you have not YET been to The Cheesecake Factory (an awesome restaurant chain featuring huge platters of wonderful food and about 50 varieties of all kinds of heavenly cakes to finish off your meal), then you should go soon, and if not too hungry, just order dessert. This has become the #1 stop for Dianne and I for special occassions, like Mother's Day a few months back, once we located the closest...read more

Tony Schumacher (the Fastest Man Alive) at my Front Door

Andre Dean — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:52:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
I went downstairs to the Bridge Awning and who do you suppose was at my front door, here at my $211 million dollar office? None other than The Fastest Man Alive, Tony Schumacher, known in the National Hot Rod Association World as "The Sarge". Did I mention that Tony drives the U.S. Army-sponsored Top Fuel Dragster and has won the World Championship a record 7 times?! OK, so maybe I did say something about this last week, but wow! Ever since...read more

America's Best Top-Fuel Dragracer Celebrates 10th Army Year!

Andre Dean — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:54:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Ever wanted to accelerate from 0 to 330 mph in 3.8 seconds; flying past the landscape at the pace of 2 football fields per second!!!!? You need to meet National Hot Rod Association's 7 time world champion, Tony Schumahcer and his Army Racing Team and sign up for the ride! Today we are celebrating our 10th year of Top Fuel Racing, and "The Sarge", Tony Schumacher (the driver) is in the house here at Knox. Here is a photo of his car, just outside my office...read more

Part 3, Viet Nam Veterans Honored

Andre Dean — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:47:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
OK, so have you seen some great photos so far? Any that reminded you of an awesome Viet Nam Veteran that you know and love? If so, please send them or show them what we have done here at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to honor all Viet Nam Veterans. Now, for the final chapter of my 3-part blog. Start the drum roll and check out these last great memories via a few more photos from last week...and thanks for all the Facebook comments and the comments posted to this blog. The...read more

Come Meet some Viet Nam Veterans, part 2

Andre Dean — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:17:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Yesterday I shared with you the Fort Knox Welcome for our local Viet Nam veterans. Today in Part Two I want you to meet and see up close a few of these veterans who came out to be honored. So with one more "welcome home" banner to set the stage via my photo below, take a look at some of those men and women we honored last week. This first photo is of an older Veteran (the yellow ribbon pinned on their shirts/jackets indicates...read more

Fort Knox Salutes Viet Nam Veterans, part 1

Andre Dean — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:23:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
It was the perfect morning for an outdoor, all-Army-post celebration, to honor our American Viet Nam-era veterans, many of whom had still never been thanked, applauded, celebrated, embraced or showered with affection and a giant "Welcome Home Heroes!" parade. This past Wednesday here at beautiful Fort Knox, we fixed that past injustice to our local brothers and sisters-in-arms with a huge celebration and lots of tears and hugs. We had a clear blue sky and it was...read more

Graduation from Basic Training, Fort Knox, Kentucky

Andre Dean — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:28:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
At 0859 hours the narrator announced; "Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats. We will begin the graduation ceremony in one minute." Five hundred friends and family were gathered at Victory Field, Fort Knox, Kentucky, to see their Basic Combat Training Soldier graduate. They were buzzing with excitement, as they gazed across the parade grounds to try to identify their Soldier from all the GI Joe, American Soldier look-alikes: exact same...read more

The Making of an Army General; the Promotion of Brigadier General Petrenko

Andre Dean — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:53:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Three days ago, Friday, August the 6th, about 300 Soldiers and friends of Colonel Victor Petrenko gathered at the main post Field of Honor at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to witness and celebrate his promotion from Colonel to the very selective and prestigious rank of Brigadier General (one-star). There are only 95 Brigadier Generals in the entire 550,000-strong Active Army, so very, very few ever attain this lofty rank of heavy responsibility. It was my first occasion as an Army...read more

My Two Little Avatars

Andre Dean — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:29:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Yesterday was the first day of school here at Fort Knox, and I showed Liesel and Helena catching the bus this morning, but I forgot to show a cool photo of my Pre-K and my FIrst Grader, after they came home from school and had some fun with a some sky blue chalk and water. . Here are Thomas and Joseph looking a lot like Jake Sully in his block-buster role as an Avatar, with a movie that grossed somewhere around $2 billion. First day of school fun, with Brigitte, my 22 year-old...read more

Fort Knox Back to School 2 August, Yikes!

Andre Dean — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:31:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Well summer has come to an end for the Dean family. And it is barely the first day of August! How do we know that summer is over? Because yesterday morning a large yellow Fort Knox School Bus pulled up to the bus stop on our street and loaded up our babies for class. Out the front door (you can see Dianne behind the door saying good-bye, and please note the Texas flag flying with the Stars and Stripes), and off to the bus stop went Liesel and Helena this morning....read more

This Flag Bows to no Earthly King!

Andre Dean — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:13:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Kentucky's governor just ordered "flags at all state office buildings to half-staff" for today, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday (four more straight days for Old Glory at Half-Mast). It is time for the American Flag to bow no more. If you read this too hastily and errantly mis-read my love and devotion to the American Soldier, whose deaths we mourn all across this Great Nation, you will have sorely missed the heart and soul of my point in this...read more

26th Wedding Anniversary, Exquisite Dining in Louisville

Andre Dean — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:51:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Dianne and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary last week, and we decided to find a very romantic and fun place to celebrate. Last year we went to the historic Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky (pronounced Lew-a-ville for those of you not of these parts of the Great Midwest) and ate at their Oakroom Restaurant, Kentucky's only AAA Five-Diamond Awarded Restaurant. It was fantastic. This year we decided to try the only other historic and...read more

ARMY ROTC: Antiquated Acronym, Awesome Leadership and Paid-For College

Andre Dean — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:40:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Have you ever wondered about that strange little "ROT-CY" acronym (R.O.T.C.) you hear in high school and on almost all college campuses? Sounds kind of wimpy, effeminate, emasculated, degenerative, derogatory and stupid doesn't it? I always thought so as a college student. Well, I thought that way right up until that moment when I broke through the cream-puff veneer to find out what an amazing college leadership program ROTC really was....read more

The Army's Magnificent Maude Complex, my $211 Million Office

Andre Dean — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:09:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
A short note today. I just wanted to post a photo of my new office...well, the new office complex where I work each day. Did I mention that I have a way-cool $211 million office? Throw in another 14, 000,000 dollars for furniture and now I have a 225 million dollar office....which I share with 4,399 other Army employees. This is the Lieutenant General (3-star) Timothy Maude Complex, just completed and opened in mid-June 2010, a month ago. It is purported...read more

Old Glory at Half-Staff, Again?

Andre Dean — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:58:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
“Hey, do you know why the Post flag is at half-staff today?” “Excuse me, but can you tell me why the Post flag is again at half-staff?” “What’s the deal with the American flag flying at half-staff almost every day now here on Post?” “Isn’t that weird how we never see the Flag at full-staff anymore. What’s up with that?” “Did you see that? This morning the flag was full up, and at lunch it went to...read more

Daniel Boone's Brother had a Cave?

Andre Dean — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:50:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Most of us Texas boys grow up knowin' that Daniel Boone was a legend with Kentucky roots, but I never heard tell of his little brother, Squire, who was one of only two men who went on an early expedition into Kentucky and came back alive: Daniel and his little brother Squire, who later lived and died in Indiana. Just south of Corydon, Indiana, there is a place called Squire Boone Village, where Squire Boone built a grist mill and found himself a nice cave. He and...read more

A little Water-skiing on Lake Patoka

Andre Dean — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:56:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Dianne and I moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky last June. In July we went to our on-post Morale, Welfare and Recreation Outdoor Rental office and rented the 10 person ski-boat for a day. We put our finger on the map and found a lake that appeared to be surrounded by State Parks and hence a little off the beaten path, and off we drove to but our Army MWR ski-boat in the water and get some family time on the lake to help cool down the summer. . The lake we found was...read more

My Bronc Corps Pan American Army Officers

Andre Dean — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:49:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Last month, nine new second lieutenants were commissioned into the Army as officers and leaders of Soldiers. All of them were my cadets last year, when I was the Professor of Military Science at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, and I wanted to take a moment on my blog to honor, salute and applaud them as they begin their service to this Great Land as Army Officers and American Leaders. Coming from the General Douglas MacArthur-Award Winning, Best Army...read more

Rafting Class 5 Whitewater in West Virginia

Andre Dean — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:56:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Last week was Boy Scout Summer Camp and Boy Scout High Adventure all rolled into one great week with my sons. The Army has a policy of supporting volunteer leadership for the Boy Scouts of America and many community service opportunities like this, so I took some time off from work and loaded up my sons and built some great memories for my three oldest sons and others in their Boy Scout troop. Summer Camp was at Camp Crooked Creek, just south of Louisville, Kentucky....read more

Deans Caving Alone in Kentucky

Andre Dean — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:14:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Two weeks ago I talked my family into one of those unforgettable adventures of a lifetime; we were living in Kentucky where they have the longest cave system in the world (Mammoth Cave with 365 charted miles of continuous cave), so why not dive deep down under the earth all on our own, without a cave guide, without a lighted path, without a park ranger, without a sidewalk and on private property with the landowner's permission? With the notable exception of my darling wife and my...read more

Dean Family with some Memorial Day flags

Andre Dean — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:48:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
For Memorial Day weekend the Dean family chose to remember our fallen comrades, our American heroes whose lives were given in defense of the unprecedented freedoms we so cherish in these United States of America. First, we headed to the Fort Knox parade field, Brooks Field, named in honor of a young soldier killed in the opening hostilities of World War II. The huge Garrison Flag (20' x 38') was flying at half-staff and fully elongated in its resplendent beauty, by...read more

My GI Bill, Educating My Children

Andre Dean — Tue, 25 May 2010 19:03:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
When was the last time you heard of a corporation or business you could work for that would ask you to invest $100 a month for 12 months ($1200 total investment) and then a few years later (say 10 or so years), get back a stunning, just-under $50,000....as long as you were using it solely to pay for your personal education? Would you take it? And what if that very same incentive was reviewed and changed so that if you did not personally wish to use it for your own education, that you...read more

Famous "Blackhawk-Down" General Mentors My Future Officers

Andre Dean — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:03:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Last year, April 2009, I had the unique honor of hosting Major General William Garrison to my Army ROTC battalion Dining-In at the University of Texas-Pan American, in Edinburg (McAllen area), Texas. General Garrison came at my two year, persistent, unrelenting, persuasive invitation to come and speak to my cadets and future officers about becoming commissioned officers and leaders in the world's premier fighting force; the United States Army. He had never before spoken to...read more

Brigitte's Senior Piano Recital at BYU

Andre Dean — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:54:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Lots of fun things our military families get to do over a lifetime of serving in the Army. One is to live abroad in places like Germany and treat your family every weekend to a tour of a new nation....kind of a "nation-du-jour", and all accessible at Autobahn speeds of well over 100 mph (for those of you who like getting somewhere quickly). Another is to study music all across the globe from many different professors of piano. In the case of our family piano players,...read more

Military Leave = Family Vacation Time

Andre Dean — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:44:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Last week the children were on Spring Break with a week away from the classroom, so we took off for some great family-memory-building time in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We found our favorite campsite right on the banks of a beautiful trickling mountain stream, and set up a tent and moved into our little cabin. The weather was from 35 -65 F each day and we had a blast. The high mountain lakes were all frozen over, and could still bear the weight of a whole bunch of...read more

The BSA Eagle Project Saturday

Andre Dean — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:51:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Below is the story we released to the local newspaper for publication in tomorrow's Turret here on Fort Knox. Andre II (my 13-year old son) did a great job on his Boy Scout Eagle Project this past weekend, and the community came out in large numbers to enjoy the community service with him. Here is the story for your reading pleasure. It is what Army Dads do when they love their children and want them to grow up to be better men than themselves; we teach and mentor...read more

The Boy Scouting Family Tradition; 3 Eagles and Counting

Andre Dean — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:45:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
So what do we do in the Army over a 20-year career when we are not deployed half-way around the world, or off training with our Soldiers on some live-fire range or in a computer simulation? Most of us are completely immersed in the lives of our children...the other reason we humbly wear the uniform...to leave our little guys a better world than the one we inherited. The photo below is me with my three oldest sons, at a recent Boy Scout Court of Honor. My oldest son is in the middle,...read more

Why I Serve

Andre Dean — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:45:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
Sometimes we catch ourselves asking this very fundamental question about military serivce: "Why did I sign up to wear this uniform and serve my Country with my life?" For me all I have to do is look around my office and see a few poignant reminders of what this protection of my beloved USA is all about. Today it is as simple as this little hand-made tie created for me last Father's Day by my little angel 8-year-old Helena, which hangs prominently on my...read more

Let's Run

Andre Dean — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:22:00 GMT

By: Andre Dean
For about the 9,000th time in my young, robust, military life, I woke up this sub-freezing morning in the total darkness and noiselessly, deftly, slipped into my standard Army black running shorts, Army gray shirt, Army jacket and Army wool watch cap. Gliding out the door I broke into my ritual pace, watching anew the world wake up to that big ball of glorious fire breaking free of the distant eastern horizon and climb upward to fill the heavens with light. On and on I ran, breathing deeply...read more