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President Donald Trump recognized mothers serving in uniform, those married to service members, and those with children in the military during an event at the White House on Friday, thanking them for their service and wishing them a happy Mother’s Day. “Military mothers are the backbone of America,” he said. “Your unwavering dedication and support strengthens our entire nation. Today we honor you, we celebrate you, we salute you, and everything that you do — so many things, so many great things for our country.”(VIDEO)President Trump and The First Lady Participate in the Celebration of Military Mothers ....“You’ve spent Mothers...

1/25/2008 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- As many parents anxiously await the next phone call from their sons and daughters fighting the war on terrorism in Southwest Asia, one mother journeyed across the Atlantic to not only see her child, but also to replace him on the front line. Staff Sgt. Tammi Johnson, a reservist with the 507th Security Forces Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., arrived to Kirkuk Air Base Jan. 20 and will receive a complete week of training from her son, Senior Airman Derrick Johnson, before he heads back to the U.S. Atop a...

A four-year-old Greenwood boy will release a bunch of balloons today, hoping the wind will carry them and the messages of love they contain to his mother serving with the Canadian military in Afghanistan. Cpl. Karri Allison is a medic and single mom who was sent to Kandahar in February, leaving her son, Alexei, in the care of her own mother, Heather Allison. "We’re going to set off balloons with messages inside to his mother in Afghanistan and hope they float to her," Mrs. Allison said. "We’re hoping that if somebody does find them and read the messages they’ll realize...

MOTHERS across the world will be pampered by loved ones as they sleep in today, but Heather Callister will be unloading a plane in war-torn Iraq. Sgt Callister is a Detachment Commander in Baghdad for the Australian military. She's also the mother of a three-year-old son. After almost a decade at Victoria's Puckapunyal military base, the young mother was sent to Baghdad in early February. She won't have time for any Mother's Day festivities her son Mathew and husband Aaron Callister may have otherwise planned. "What can I say? We work seven days a week, 24 hours a day," Sgt...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2006 – Spending Mother's Day thousands of miles away from their kids is going to be no picnic for more than 7,400 military moms deployed in support of the war on terror. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Christine Buckley, deployed to Djibouti with Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, has been home only twice to celebrate Mother's Day with her sons, ages 8 and 6. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert S. Taylor, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Many say they're planning their own celebrations thinking of their children and calling home,...

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- A high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a mobile phone call with his mother, a soldier serving in Iraq, school officials said. The 10-day suspension was issued because Kevin Francois was "defiant and disorderly" and was imposed in lieu of an arrest, Spencer High School assistant principal Alfred Parham said. The confrontation Wednesday began after the 17-year-old junior got a call at lunchtime from his mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, who left in January for a one-year tour with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion. Mobile phones are allowed on campus...

Mother's call gets son in hot water BY ANGELIQUE SOENARIE Staff Writer Kevin Francois gave up his lunch break to talk to his mother, but it ended up costing him the rest of the school year. Francois, a junior at Spencer High School in Columbus, was suspended for disorderly conduct Wednesday after he was told to give up his cell phone at lunch while talking to his mother who is deployed in Iraq, he said. His mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, left in January for a one-year tour and serves with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 3rd...

Political correctness in the U.S. military did not end with the Clinton administration. President Bush's military is also pushing an ideology of "equality" at the expense of military effectiveness. For the sake of an absurd feminist experiment, the Bush military is willing to sap its strength, expose women to torture and death and mar the lives of children and families. The price tag of this experiment is on the body bags carrying mothers, wives, and daughters who have died in Iraq, and on the growing list of orphans produced by the war. Read the casualty reports: Lori Ann Piestewa, 23,...

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) - A 72-year-old great-grandmother is preparing for deployment to the war zone in Iraq and will become one of the oldest Department of Defense civilian workers in the war zone. "I volunteered," said Lena Haddix of Lawton, who has five children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. "I wanted to do something for the country, because I was always left behind taking care of the children." Haddix was a military wife from 1950 until 1979, and has worked at the Fort Sill Post Exchange, or PX, since 1977. "I've been a supervisor of every department out there," Haddix...

        Help Is Just a Mouse Click Away Deployed Parents Stay Involved With Children's Schoolwork   By U.S. Army Master Sgt. Dave Larsen / 1st Cavalry Division CAMP VICTORY NORTH, BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2004 — School is in session back in central Texas, and after Labor Day weekend, children across the United States will all be back in the classroom. For most parents, keeping tabs on their child’s progress in school is easy: notes sent home, regular report cards, and the ever-popular parent-teacher conferences.For soldiers deployed to Iraq, though, those options weren’t available … until now. The...

Military moms find ways to conquer the distance By Ivana Avramovic Stars and Stripes | European edition |Sunday, May 9, 2004 EAGLE BASE, Bosnia and Herzegovina — Before she deployed to Bosnia, Sgt. Rosie McGhee spent time every morning fixing the hair of her 2-year-old daughter, Simone. In addition to bringing along photos of her daughter, she also carried a favorite hair bow to Bosnia with her. While dedicated to the military work, McGhee and other mothers deployed far from home try hard to keep a connection with their children, but it’s not easy, they say. “It’s a horrible...

DENVER (AP) -- A soldier who refused to return to Iraq so she could care for her children will not be punished, the Army said Friday. Spc. Simone Holcomb, 30, had feared she would face criminal charges and a discharge that would cause her to lose the benefits she earned as a member of the Colorado National Guard. But Army spokesman Maj. Steve Stover said the medic will face no administrative or criminal penalties. For compassionate reasons, she will be allowed to remain at Colorado's Fort Carson and will be given time to resolve the custody dispute that led...

<p>Simone Holcomb was a soldier motivated by duty and honor who knew the sacrifices her job required and performed without complaint.</p> <p>That all changed when the 30-year-old National Guard medic, who spent the last eight months nursing wounded soldiers in Iraq, was forced to make a stark choice -- the Army or her children.</p>

A soldier mother faces punishment for refusing to return to duty in Iraq to avoid losing custody of two children. Simone Holcomb and her husband of three years, Vaughn Holcomb, also a soldier, were sent to Iraq early this year. The children's paternal grandmother came from Ohio to their Denver, Colorado, home to look after them. Then an ex-wife came along and sued for custody. The Holcombs came home on emergency leave. A judge in a custodial hearing ruled that one of the parents must stay home to look after the children in order for Vaughn to retain full custody...

As the death toll of American soldiers continues to rise in Iraq, one civilian woman on the sidelines here at home continues her battle to strengthen the military by taking her case to the commander in chief, and she's launched a petition drive to catch his attention. Question: Why was a 7-pound baby boy born aboard a warship in the Gulf war zone near Kuwait in May? Question: Why was his mother, a 33 year-old Marine, deployed while pregnant or how did she get pregnant after deployment? Question: What happened to POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch after she was captured by...

IN THE MILITARY Just say 'no' to pregnant soldiers? Petition asks Bush to revise Clinton-era 'social engineering' policies Posted: September 26, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Diana Lynne © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com As the death toll of American soldiers continues to rise in Iraq, one civilian woman on the sidelines here at home continues her battle to strengthen the military by taking her case to the commander in chief, and she's launched a petition drive to catch his attention. Question: Why was a 7-pound baby boy born aboard a warship in the Gulf war zone near Kuwait in May? Question: Why...

July 28, 2003 “WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR, MOMMY?” by Matthew Rarey Once upon a time, American war heroes who attained celebrity deserved the acclaim. Consider Sgt. Alvin York, this nation’s most-decorated World War I veteran. A humble Christian from Tennessee’s Cumberland Gap, York killed 23 Germans and captured 132 in order to save the lives of his comrades, who had been pinned down under intense fire. Or consider Sgt. Audie Murphy, the most decorated veteran of World War II. Murphy killed a lot more Germans over a longer period of time until finally he was wounded while...

The terrified face of Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson broadcast over Iraqi television and the news that at least two other women soldiers had been captured in Gulf II immediately re-ignited the debate over the role of women in the military. Pundits pulled out the familiar statistics about the numbers of women enlisted, the studies done on integrated boot camps, and the pros and cons of women in "at risk" positions during a war. Editorials from writers on both sides of the issue quickly filled the papers. Feminist writers insisted that Pfc. Jessica Lynch's action in the face of capture "rebuts...

Perhaps in honor of the Fourth of July, Family Circle in its current issue tells the story of Capt. Mom going to war. Melody Charles not only had a 1-year-old, but also was 8 months pregnant when the Twin Towers fell. "My officer in charge told me he would try to give me as much time with the baby as he could," Melody said, "but I had to be ready to go by spring." The Army is in the business of fighting and killing, not nurturing. Women as well as men who join are naturally well-drilled in putting first things...

This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33242 Wednesday, June 25, 2003 OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOMArmy mom's agonizing letters from hellBattlefield messages reveal pain of separation for family of 7 Posted: June 25, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Beth Bugay is a wife and mother of five school-aged children, but her daily toils now take place thousands of miles away, among the sick and wounded, defending the homeland in a dusty, searing Iraqi desert. While she serves as a medic with the U.S. Army's B Company, husband John is at home...