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HIT, Iraq, April 7, 2008 – Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kevin M. Natt knows a large chunk of his battalion’s morale rests on his shoulders, and he says he doesn’t mind at all. Natt, 22, a mail clerk from Mangham, La., is responsible for ensuring that Marines and sailors with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, receive their mail as soon as possible. “I’m responsible for getting mail from postal in al Asad, Iraq, to our battalion and detachments,” Natt said. “I also keep the mail secure. I make sure nothing is lost or stolen.” It’s work...

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2008 – It was all a big joke for servicemembers and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Fisher House yesterday when comedian Kathy Griffin came to visit. Comedian Kathy Griffin, star of “My Life on the D List,” greets Susan Badia at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Fisher House III on April 3, 2008. Badia, her daughter, Kylee Ray, and her husband, Army Sgt. Jace Badia, currently are living next door at Fisher House II. Sergeant Badia is recuperating from wounds he suffered in Iraq when he was hit by a homemade bomb. Griffin...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, April 1, 2008 – Troops passing through Camp Buehring on the way to deployment in Iraq can find a little piece of home at the camp’s recreation center, “The Oasis.” Violet Kelly, a recreation lead with Morale, Welfare and Recreation on Camp Buehring, Kuwait, talks with some civilians in Camp Buehring's recreation center March 10, 2008. Kelly is best known as "Big Momma" to the troops who pass through the camp, as well as to her colleagues. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The comfortable feeling certainly is not a result...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, March 10, 2008 – Save for the crowd and the celebrity at its core, it could have been a day like any other for a soldier strumming his guitar in the recreation center here yesterday. Army Spc. Richard Baxter began playing the acoustic guitar just a few years ago, but yesterday he spent nearly 30 minutes jamming with Richard Patrick, guitar player and lead singer for the industrial rock band, Filter. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baxter, a member of 352nd Military Police Company, a reserve unit out of Maryland. “It still hasn’t...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, March 10, 2008 – Like devoted fans, about 100 servicemembers anxiously awaited Clyde’s arrival here on March 7. And, like a true celebrity, Clyde was fashionably late. Army Sgt. Dale Carson with the 76th Brigade out of Indianapolis, Ind., gets a wild ride from Clyde the camel March 7, 2008, on Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Clyde comes to the base once a month as part of the Morale, Welfare and Recreation office’s efforts to give the troops a break from their day-to-day routines. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “I...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two Northland residents came up with a unique way to boost the morale of U.S. troops serving overseas. Cheryl Herrington and Larry Mills are two clowns who have sent thousands of red foam noses to cheer up soldiers at war.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2008 – People in uniform who go out of their way to boost the morale of fellow troops could be rewarded for their positive attitude and hard work, thanks to a group dedicated to keeping members of the armed forces connected and entertained. “The SemperComm Award is designed to recognize and honor those servicemembers who are making personal contributions to boost the morale of their fellow men and women,” organization officials said in a recent news release. Up to three awardees will be chosen from all nominations received by Feb. 29. Any servicemember, including those serving...

French morale hits a new low By Henry Samuel in Paris Last Updated: 3:36am GMT 31/01/2008 French morale is at its lowest ebb in two decades, according to new research. Quality of life in France is envied the world over but government figures show the "morale of French households" is at its gloomiest - minus 34 points - since the study began in 1987. Mr Sarkozy has asked two Nobel Prize winning economists to draw up new ways of measuring success and well-being French people's belief that their living standards will improve has declined steadily since President Nicolas Sarkozy took...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2008 – When the “Legends of Wrestling” tour rolled in here Jan. 26, servicemembers and civilians gathered at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation clamshell to take part in the festivities. Army Pfc. Michael Grandi Jr., Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, holds the WCW Championship belt with wrestling greats (from left to right) Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, Diamond Dallas Page, and Nicholai Volkoff during the "Legends of Wrestling" tour that came to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2008. Photo by Spc. George Welcome,...

FIREBASE NAWA, Afghanistan, Jan. 25, 2008 – Soldiers on the front lines are used to meals, ready to eat -- high-energy, high-calorie packaged meals with little emphasis on taste. Army Spc. Dairo Orozco, cook for the 82nd Airborne Division’s Company F, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, cleans dishes from breakfast Jan. 13, 2008, at Firebase Nawa, Afghanistan. Photo by Spc. Nathan W. Hutchison, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Spc. Dairo Orozco, of the 82nd Airborne Division’s Company F, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, is the cook...

Scarlett Johansson smiles after being pinned with gunnery sergeant rank during a meet and greet Jan. 20 in the United Service Organizations building at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. The 23-year-old bombshell met with nearly 600 service members at Camp Buehring, Kuwait Jan. 20 during her five-day United Service Organizations (USO) tour to the Gulf region Scarlett Johansson poses for a photo with Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit Jan. 20 in the United Service Organizations building at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. The 23-year-old bombshell met with nearly 600 service members at Camp Buehring, Kuwait Jan. 20 during her five-day United...

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, Jan. 14, 2008 – As the Army’s 4th Infantry Division settles into its recently assumed control of Multinational Division Baghdad, the Ironhorse credo -- “Mission, Soldier, Family, Team” -- remains a strong influence in the unit’s everyday flow. Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Rende, a network controller with the 4th Infantry Division’s Company C, Special Troops Battalion, uses his laptop in his trailer at Camp Liberty, Iraq, to talk with his family via the Internet, Jan. 10, 2008. Rende spends most of his free time staying in touch with his family and friends. Photo by Pfc....

One of the great concerns of those who are responsible for our military is morale -- how to keep it high. The most effective way to ensure high morale is efficiency and competence. That is, if soldiers know what's expected of them, have the support of their superiors, and are allowed to do their job effectively, their morale is usually good. In war, winning is a guaranteed morale builder. But these days, unlike WWII, "winning" often has a definition different from simply beating the enemy -- which our troops are doing pretty effectively in Afghanistan. Support of the government for...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FORTRESS, Afghanistan, Dec. 17, 2007 – “The Rock believes highly that food service support improves morale,” said Army Sgt. Joseph Smith, from Jackson, Mich. Army Sgt. Joseph Smith, dining facility manager at Forward Operating Base Fortress, Afghanistan, cooks quesadillas for soldiers Dec. 6, 2007. Smith took orders and custom-cooked quesadillas. Photo by Sgt. Brandon Aird, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Smith is the dining facility manager at Forward Operating Base Fortress and a member of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), which is known as “The Rock.” Paratroopers in the battalion’s Company D and...

Pinups for Vets Supporting the Troops: Part 1 By Daniel Muniz Gina Elise wanted to show her appreciation to the people who has served their country in our armed forces and especially to our troops deployed overseas and to all of our injured vets in VA hospitals. So she decided to create the "Pin-Ups For Vets" project which consists of calendars and posters featuring herself as the model for all of the photographs. Gina Elise chose the pin-up art that was popular back in the forties as the central theme of all her modeling. Since the pin-up girls of that...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2007 – From stocking hats to shower shoes, a West Virginia-based group is actively filling requests from U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, sending them about 50 boxfuls of care packages each week. The West Virginia National Guard's 150th Aviation Regiment is working with American Supports You supporter Boatsie's Boxes so the group can have a large space to fill, pack and ship holiday care packages as part of Operation Christmas Stocking. Courtesy photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “‘Boatsie’s Boxes’ began when my son, Patrick, a master sergeant in the United...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2007 – In California, a modern-day Mrs. Claus is rallying her helpers once again to fill care packages with goodies for troops serving far from home during the upcoming holiday season. Though Operation Gratitude’s “Holiday Drive 2007” doesn’t officially kick off until the first “packing party” scheduled for Veterans Day weekend, the group’s volunteers already are hard at work, founder Carolyn Blashek said. “Our volunteers have already started the prep process (of) soliciting for products, collecting troop names, and sorting, inspecting … and folding products,” she said. Additional packing weekends are scheduled for Nov. 23-24, Dec....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2007 – Audiences from fire bases in Afghanistan to five-star hotels find themselves in the same situation when they hear Marine Gen. Peter Pace speak. Listeners get so caught up in what the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is saying that they barely move. I’ve had the privilege of traveling the world with the chairman over the past two years. I’ve seen him with heads of state and new recruits, and he treats each with the same respect and consideration. The general is probably most comfortable talking with troops. Every time he travels, he...

If you’re depressed, dance your way out of the dumps. That’s what is working in a Philippine prison. Byron Garcia, Security Consultant for the Cebu provincial government, tapped into a unique anger-management strategy and he’s dealing with some severely bummed out, violent thugs. He has almost all 1600 inmates at the Cebu provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center dancing to old hits like “YMCA” and “In the Navy” by the Village People. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” also blasts from prison yard speakers while detainees hoof it in unison. “Inmates say to me, ‘You have put my mind off revenge, foolishness, or thinking...

If you’re depressed, dance your way out of the dumps. That’s what is working in a Philippine prison. Byron Garcia, Security Consultant for the Cebu provincial government, tapped into a unique anger-management strategy and he’s dealing with some severely bummed out, violent thugs. He has almost all 1600 inmates at the Cebu provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center dancing to old hits like “YMCA” and “In the Navy” by the Village People. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” also blasts from prison yard speakers while detainees hoof it in unison. “Inmates say to me, ‘You have put my mind off revenge, foolishness, or thinking...