Army Strong Stories

Day 7 in Oslo

Thomas Palmatier — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:32:00 GMT

By: Thomas Palmatier
It was down to the last day of performances at the 2012 Norwegian Military Tattoo. Click here to see how Soldiers from The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" completed the final day's missions....read more

Tattoo Finale

Thomas Palmatier — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:28:00 GMT

By: Thomas Palmatier
The most anticipated moments of any military tattoo is the finale where all of the participants assemble on the arena floor. Soldiers from The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" are seen here in this great video by MSG Les Owen in the finale of the Norwegian Military Tattoo 2012....read more

USMA Cadets in Tanzania

Ashtin Kurz — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:35:00 GMT

By: Ashtin Kurz
On June 7th, MAJ Hanlon and seven USMA cadets will leave American soil and ultimately land in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. From there we will drive to Bagamoyo to meet our host organization, Cross Cultural Solutions. For three weeks we'll volunteer in our respective placements in the morning, and interact with the local community as well as immerse ourselves in the culture during the afternoon. Tanzania is located on the eastern coast of...read more

What is Poverty?

Delaney O'Hara — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT

By: Delaney O'Hara
Your iHome alarm rings relentlessly at 6:00 AM and all you can think of is curling back up in your warm bed, taking every ounce of self control to get up and not hit snooze. They wake up on a make-shift bed of cardboard with the sun's light breaking on the horizon in a home with broken cardboard and mud walls and no roof. You put your frozen waffle in the microwave. They build a fire of trash and use their one pot to make porridge, first grinding the oats by hand, and giving...read more

Sheldon High School Scholar Athlete Award Presentation

Fred Hermstein — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:34:00 GMT

By: Fred Hermstein
SFC Jackson of Joplin Recruiting Station attended the Sheldon High School awards presentation and presented the Scholar Athlete Award. For more information contact SFC Jackson at 417-623-7966....read more

Language Barrier

Delaney O'Hara — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:28:01 GMT

By: Delaney O'Hara
Yesterday was our first day at our volunteer placements. It was almost like getting on the bus for the first day of school: you are dressed nicely, don't know anyone, and of course, have the butterflies. We each got on our assigned buses with the other volunteers and our partner volunteer at our placement (if we had one) and headed off to drop each of us off. Most of us in our placements got assigned to a school of some sort, ranging from nursery schools at churches to primary and secondary...read more

Co-ed Ranger School: My thoughts

Hannah Guarendi He — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:58:00 GMT

By: Hannah Guarendi He
Just a few days ago marked the 69th anniversary of women serving in the US Army. About the same time, the Army Chief of Staff General Odierno announced that a plan is in place to permit females to attend Ranger school. The opinion storm that followed that announcement kind of depressed me. There are accusations that Ranger School in general is going to be "feminized", as in, made easier, either for the females or for everyone. Some say that Ranger School's mission of...read more

U.S. Army All-American Bowl Nominees

Fred Hermstein — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:33:00 GMT

By: Fred Hermstein
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl nominees this year went to football players at Lee's Summit West High, John Burroughs High, and Ft. Zumwalt South High....read more

May begins a season of remberance

Kenneth Plant — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:04:00 GMT

By: Kenneth Plant
The month of May begins a three month season of remembrance… Last Saturday, May 19, Americans decorated their homes with patriotic trim in celebration of Armed Forces Day and today, May 22, on National Maritime Day, some will honor the unsung heroes, the Merchant Marines, especially for their contributions during World War II, transporting Soldiers and war supplies. Until today, I thought my father had obtained a false birth certificate to enter the Merchant Marines at the...read more

This is What a Tattoo Show Looks Like

Thomas Palmatier — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

By: Thomas Palmatier
Soldiers from The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" were featured performers at the Norwegian Military Tattoo in Oslo, Norway. To see the band's part of the show with some "behind the scenes" footage click here. There's tons of great pictures to include more "behind the scenes" shots as well -- click here. The best way to get new stuff and to learn of what else "Pershing's Own" is doing is to follow them on Facebook....read more

Army Recruiters at "Memorial day"

Fred Hermstein — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:42:00 GMT

By: Fred Hermstein
Manhattan Recruiting Company will support the movie "Memorial Day," a soon-to-be-released wartime movie, to be screened at Kansas State University on May 23 . Army Recruiting hummers will be on site with Army games, videos, and recruiters to share their Army Story....read more

Step 12: Reflect (Part 1)

Jerrod Griebel — Tue, 22 May 2012 06:06:00 GMT

By: Jerrod Griebel
We’ve been in Afghanistan for over a month now, and I’ve found that at times, I’m usually reflecting: life back home, who I want to be, where I am right now, where I’ve been, etc. Therefore, it seems all too fitting that the next step in this big “how to survive a deployment” blog is to reflect. So here are a few of my recent (somewhat random) reflections. On Slovenia: Slovenia is a beautiful country. I would love to go back...read more

Blast from the Past

Thomas Harper — Mon, 21 May 2012 23:44:00 GMT

By: Thomas Harper
21 May 2012 (I carefully considered a title for my first post in 6 months. So carefully, in fact, that I decided on the same title as the miserable Brendan Fraser movie from '99. Hello $1.99 DVD bin.) Some of you reading this may have read my JAG OBC/DCC blog from February – June 2011. Others of you may have clicked on this particular blog for the first time as you saw it pop up on the Army Strong Stories...read more

Culture Shock

Delaney O'Hara — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:20:00 GMT

By: Delaney O'Hara
Tanzania is unique and has exceeded all of the expectations we had established about it. Northern Tanzania is humid and warm this time of yet. Thankfully though it has not been unbearably hot, and it is extremely green with banana plants and various agriculture being plentiful, which is contrary to what many people stereotypically think about when Africa comes to mind. Often, when we thought of Africa, we thought of large, expansive plains and deserts, and people dressed in patterned...read more

Army Recruiting and the River City Rascals

Fred Hermstein — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:17:00 GMT

By: Fred Hermstein
The St. Peter's Army Recruiting Station will have a Future Soldier swear-in at opening day of the River City Rascals....read more

Army Recruiting at the Columbia, MO Salute to Veterans Air Show

Fred Hermstein — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:05:00 GMT

By: Fred Hermstein
Memorial Day weekend the Kansas City Recruiting Battalion will have an interactive-semi, K9 dog team, chin-up bar, and a football toss at the Columbia Air Show-Salute to Veterans....read more

Army Recruiting at NHRA

Fred Hermstein — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:47:00 GMT

By: Fred Hermstein
This past weekend Army Recruiting and NHRA teamed up to honor the Soldier and Army Advocates. To become an Army supporter in the Topeka area contact SFC Houston at 785-272-8300. http://www.goarmy.com/army-racing.html...read more

Mzungo!

Delaney O'Hara — Sat, 19 May 2012 01:34:09 GMT

By: Delaney O'Hara
The past week has been enlightening with learning about the many cultures that exist in the Horn of Africa, especially our own desination, Tanzania. David Tannenbaum, our instructor, gave us two days full of cultural insight into what we will be experiencing in Africa. It was a broad spectrum of information, especially focusing on history of the region, the various tribes that coexist including the well-known Maasai warriors, religion with special emphasis on Islam, and our favorite part of the...read more

Day 5 in Norway - Soldiers on Parade

Thomas Palmatier — Sat, 19 May 2012 01:06:00 GMT

By: Thomas Palmatier
The Soldiers of The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" have returned from their performances in Oslo for the Norwegian Military Tattoo. Here's a link to the latest video by MSG Les Owen that shows the band on parade. While the parade started dry, it ended very wet. New photos can be found at the band's Facebook page. Are you going to be in Washington this summer? Be sure to check out free performances like Twilight Tattoo (most...read more

Armed Forces Day in Kansas City

Fred Hermstein — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:43:00 GMT

By: Fred Hermstein
Tomorrow, the Greater Kansas City Recruiting Company will help support the Armed Force Day Parade that convenes in downtown Kansas City, MO. A parade and an expo will occur in the Crown Center/Union Station area to honor our veterans. Army Recruiters will give out dog tags to visitors....read more