After 9-11, Operation Gratitude founder Carolyn Blashek began volunteering at the Los Angeles airport military lounge. In March 2003, a soldier came into the office and broke down at her desk. He was on leave from a war zone for his mother’s funeral, his wife had left him, and his only child had died as an infant—he had no one else in his life. It was then he told her,

“I’m going back over there. I know I won’t make it back this time, but it really doesn’t matter because no one would even care.” Right then, Blashek realized that when bullets are flying, troops must believe that someone at home cares about them as an individual. That’s when operation gratitude was born.

Operation Gratitude honors the service of our Military and First Responders by creating opportunities to express gratitude. People care about being part of a team and they want to know that what they do matters. Both showing gratitude and receiving gratitude are uplifting.

Major General James Johnson (ret. USAF) served over 30 years in the United States Air Force, following in the footsteps of his father who served over 20 years in the United States Army, and leading the way for his son who is currently serving in the Air Force. He leads a team of professionals, grass-roots volunteers, and corporate supporters, with the mission to honor the service of our military and first responders by creating opportunities for Americans to express their gratitude. Hundreds of thousands of service members and first responders receive care packages from Operation Gratitude every year because of the generosity of grateful supporters nation-wide. Operation Gratitude envisions a future where All Who Serve Believe the American People Care.

Listeners, if you would like to learn more about Operation Gratitude, check out their website here, or connect with them on social media via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. There are also so many ways to volunteer with Operation Gratitude, check out the different opportunities here.

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda

Today we are showcasing one of our volunteers who is an MRE winner, which by the way, that stands for Motivated and Ready to Empower. A huge congratulations to Army Wife Network Command Team Member, our Director of Social Media, Kayla Geblein.

Kayla currently lives with her husband in Fort Benning, Georgia. She is a mom to twin girls and a dog mom to her two pups. Kayla graduated from Niagara University with a Bachelor’s in Social Studies Education and Special Education, then attained her master’s in Literacy Education. She has taught in Georgia and at her previous duty station, Fort Bliss. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Kayla and her husband are avid Buffalo Bills fans and try to attend as many games as they can! After living in Texas, she found a new love for barbecue and has since become quite good at smoking her own meats. Kayla enjoys reading and doing puzzles, but when the husband is around, they enjoy movies and an occasional video game. Volunteering has been a part of her life as far back as she can remember, and she is very excited to start with AWN!

So much thanks goes out to Kayla for doing your part to empower military families all across the globe.

Encouragement Minute with Juanda

When you are going through difficult times and you can’t see your way, remember this is temporary. You are not alone, seek the support you need. You will come back to yourself again. Do not be afraid to seek counseling so that you can learn the tools to help you heal. Do not get stuck,