MSI Press Blog

Told by Betty Lou Leaver -- In honor of National Military Appreciation Month, I share the photo from the birth announcement of our third child. The announcement read, "Joining the people who joined the Army." And, yes, my kids grew up for a few years at least as Army brats. In those days, the Vietnam era, it was not typical for mothers to serve in the military. I was among the first, and in some ways, the Army was not ready for that -- or for me. For this blog post, I will share one story, but there were many more of similar nature. Starting with no military maternity uniforms. I got pregnant right before I applied for a direct commission (the last group of women to need direct commissions since after that women were allowed to join ROTC and become commissioned in that manner). I kept hoping that I would be called for the interview before I no longer fit into my uniform, but, as things take a while in the Army (the hurry-up-and-wait process for nearly everything), I had just ...

  In honor of National Military Appreciation Month, Arthur Yavelberg,  author of the multi-award-winning book,  A Theology for the Rest of Us ,  relates a story told to him by his father, who served at NORAD -- My father was a "career man" in the Air Force for 25 years, starting when it was still the "Army Air Corps."  He was supposed to be a radio man on bombers--until someone in charge of the training program noticed he was wearing glasses.   "How long have you been wearing those?" the officer demanded to know.   "I believe I was born with them, Sir!"  My father was one of those who believed the term "military intelligence" was an oxymoron, but he was intelligent enough not to say so in so many words.  As it turned out, he was reassigned to NORAD, essentially a string of military bases across Canada and the northern US in anticipation of a Soviet nuclear strike launched across the North Pole.  He came home one day and so...

  Suggested reading: Helping the Disabled Veteran   (Joanna Romer) In this, her final, book, the late Joanna Romer suggests ways to assist disabled veterans leaving the military and trying to integrate back into mainstream society in spite of their disabilities. Chapters contain recommendations, suggestions, and practical suggestions, based on a large number of wide-ranging interviews with disabled veterans about their experiences after returning from war. Literary Titan gold award Heart to Heart Resuscitation: A Memoir (Victor Montgomery III) I have your six ... The window of opportunity to make a difference for someone considering suicide can be a matter of seconds. The real-life stories in this book illustrate this tension dramatically. H2H Resuscitation-the book and the therapeutic model-provides encouragement and hope to overcome combat veterans' immediate life-threatening depression and suicidal thoughts, the priority being to get veterans to safety. "Oh, yes," the...

           Just out! Volume 8 of the  Journal for Distinguished Language Studies . Read the abstracts. See something you like? Explore more! The JDLS is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, other online sellers, the MSI Press webstore -- and, in some (we hope, many) cases your local academic library. (If you want it at your local public library -- just ask the librarian to order it, or better,  subscribe  to it.) Volume 8 Abstracts Beyond the Language: Debating as High-Intensity Cultural Engagement & Leadership Emilie Cleret (French War College) This article discusses the use of debating in senior professional military education (PME) at the French War College in Paris to help officers reach native-like English language competence. In France, senior Professional Military Education (PME) is delivered by two schools – Ecole de Guerre (French War College) and Centre des hautes études militaires, (Centre for Higher Military Studies). Th...

Excerpt: Lessons from Children Rule of the Road: Forge your armor out of resiliency Mile Markers : War Zone, Trauma, PTSD, Suicide, Dutch Levees, Bounce Back, Magical Thinking, Easy Temperament, Vulnerability, Consumer Nation, George Foreman, Mentoring, Open Communities, Persistence, Tree of Resiliency, Self-Evaluation, Exploitive Culture In the days and months after that game-changing ride home from Bob , I began to ponder how I might go about amending my own life to better reflect the principles first emphasized in my youth and latter reinvigorated by the example of this modest soul. As someone who had firsthand experience with poverty and minimal assets, I was surprised at how quickly I had bought into the desire to demonstrate to outsiders that here was a man who exceeded his humble beginnings. Now that I was equipped with a new self-awareness, would this knowledge translate into real and lasting change? Temptation to buy and consume in an attempt to feed the appeti...

Excerpt from   Heart to Heart Resuscitation: My Journal  by Victor Montgomery III --   Preface How does Heart to Heart Resuscitation work?  The journey begins with rigorous peer-based groups that utilize instructional discussions, storytelling, and team building group activities that are designed to challenge our Warriors to overcome their past experiences and move forward into a life of purpose. Our programs allow the veterans to appreciate the peace of a secure and guarded experience while they focus on the challenges, they face in completing the program.  Our two days a week, 90-minute sessions of intensive peer-to-peer group programs serve as the catalyst to help veterans discover the answers to the big questions in life.  Challenges related to the struggles of former daily military life, combat deployments and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS) surface during these 18 months of groups. The Heart-to-Heart Resuscitation program teaches how ...