A resource expo from 2pm – 5 pm will have important information on programs, support, education, and assistance for Veterans, Active Duty, and Military Families.
Military Moms Of Texas will have a booth stop by to show support and unity for our organization.
We will be invited to stay for the “Texas Stars Game” which follows the showcase. 400 FREE tickets , sodas, and hot dogs will be given away there.
This part of the Military Night is from 6 pm – 10 pm.

Join us and stop by our booth for Military Moms Of Texas for fun and information. I hope to see a good showing of our members out this day.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tracy La Porte

March 5, 2010

www.militarymomsoftexas.org

tlaporte@militarymomsoftexas.org

512-470-3485

Local Group Assists Soldiers at Home and Over Seas

Military Moms of Texas

With Texas ranking number one in total military recruits and number 2 in Iraqi War casualties, the need for a strong support network is inevitable. When local Army mom, Tracy La Porte, watched her son deploy she knew she needed to find like-minded people to share the daily struggles of having a Soldier overseas. When she began her search for such a network, there was little to be found. In October 2009 she formed Military Moms Of Texas, a group that not only provides a support for its members and Texas Soldiers, but also prepares care packages for soldiers, collects foods for military families, welcome home and send off our troops, assist the wounded warriors, assist in deployment and tend to the needs of our Soldiers, and more.

This month, Military Moms of Texas is in urgent need of monetary donations for  care package supplies and shipping costs for our deployed Soldiers by March 21^st.    We have a special request and urgent need for care packages for the Soldiers to have an Easter shipment while on dangerous missions. These are Soldiers that are in compromised locations and in urgent need of items.  The Soldiers adopted by Military Moms of Texas are without the basic necessities and without family to support them. Military Moms Of Texas is reaching out to local families, businesses and organizations for assistance in helping provide for these brave Soldiers. Military Moms of Texas represents the entire central Texas community through generous donations to those that fight for our freedom.

Military Moms Of Texas provides continuous support by sending care packages, adopting deployed Soldiers and their families, partnering with Great Oaks 5^th grade to collect items and send inspirational cards, send off and welcoming home troops. Our Deployed Night Out program will feature local businesses and local organizations that provide Soldiers with various certificates to entertainment venues, dining, and much more. “It is our way of saying thank you. Giving our Soldiers a night out when they are deploying, returning home or during R&R—it helps them to know how important they are to us and gives them a sense of normalcy to cut loose and have fun” says Military Moms of Texas founder, Tracy LaPorte.

To get involved, and help this immediate request please mail your donations to: Military Moms Of Texas, P.O. Box 1627, Round Rock, TX, 78680.

For more information on how to become a donor and help this cause, email tlaporte@militarymomsoftexas.org.

Please make a note of our updated contact information on our “contact us” page:

Mailing Address
Military Moms of Texas
PO Box 1627
Round Rock, TX 78680

Officers
Tracy LaPorte
Founder
tlaporte@militarymomsoftexas.org

Donation information:

donate@militarymomsoftexas.org

Foundation information or general  inquiry:

info@militarymomsoftexas.org

Provided by CNN, click here to link to story.

Official: Apparent contact between AbdulMutallab and radical cleric

December 31, 2009 11:43 a.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
AbdulMutallab appears to have had direct contacts with Anwar al-Awlaki, official says
Officials investigating whether al-Awlaki connected to botched Christmas Day terror attempt
Some speculate he was killed in recent strike on suspected jihadist hideouts in Yemen
But a U.S. official said the intelligence community believes al-Awlaki is alive

Washington (CNN) — Terror suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab appears to have had direct contacts with radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN Thursday.

The official could not say more about the contacts, their frequency or timing.

Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, has said he believes there is a connection between AbdulMutallab, who is accused of trying to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day, and the American-born cleric.

Officials are evaluating whether al-Awlaki played a role in the botched attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet en route from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan on Christmas Day. The attempt to ignite explosives hidden in AbdulMutallab’s underwear failed to bring down the plane.

Al-Awlaki’s name surfaced in November when U.S. officials revealed he and Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan — the U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of fatally shooting 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5 — had exchanged e-mails. The intercepted e-mails between the two, officials said, had not not set off alarm bells.

The cleric recently told Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language Web site that he had been in touch with Hasan in recent years. In that interview, al-Awlaki said he met Hasan nine years ago while serving as an imam at a mosque in the Washington, D.C., area.

The cleric said Hasan communicated with him via e-mail starting about a year before the shooting rampage — seeking advice about killing U.S. troops, the cleric said.

The cleric said he lauded the Fort Hood attack because it was aimed at troops, whom he accused of fighting an unjust war against Islam.
Video: Tracking a terror suspect
Video: Chertoff on intel failure
Video: Visa timetable for suspect

“It is a military target inside America and there is no dispute over that,” al-Awlaki said. “Also, these military personnel are not ordinary; they were trained and ready to fight and kill oppressed Muslims, and commit crimes in Afghanistan.”

The 9/11 Commission Report says al-Awlaki had contact with two of the 9/11 hijackers while they were in the United States, though there is no evidence he knew of the plot.

Al-Awlaki is believed to have fled to Yemen in 2003 or 2004. Since then, he has been referred to as a “rock star” by some of those who incite radicalism on the Internet.

His current whereabouts are unknown to U.S. officials. Some have speculated that he was killed in a recent strike on suspected jihadist hideouts in Yemen.

But a U.S. official said the intelligence community believes al-Awlaki is alive. His own family was quoted this week as having said the same thing.

Al-Awlaki’s relatives deny he has played any role with al Qaeda. CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said he has seen no evidence to the contrary. “There’s no indication that al-Awlaki the cleric is in any way involved in operational matters for al Qaeda, but clearly he has operated as an inciter to jihad in the United States, by his own account,” Bergen said.

But even before his name came up in connection with the Fort Hood shootings, al-Awlaki was a subject of scrutiny by the counterterrorism community as he had moved into what one official described as “more of an operational role” for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve and National Security Producer Pam Benson contributed to this story.

Provided by CNN, click here to link to story.

Fort Hood shooting suspect out of intensive care

December 16, 2009 5:56 p.m. EST

Suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, faces 13 counts of premeditated murder.
Suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, faces 13 counts of premeditated murder.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Nidal Hasan moved to different ward at Brooke Army Medical Center
He was paralyzed from waist down after shootings at Fort Hood processing center
Lawyer wants him moved from San Antonio to facility closer to Fort Hood

(CNN) — The man accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens more in a shooting at Fort Hood Army Post last month has been released from intensive care, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been moved to a different ward in Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, according to his attorney, John Galligan.

Galligan said the move happened late Tuesday night.

Hasan faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder stemming from the November 5 shooting.

Authorities say Hasan, a 39-year-old Army psychiatrist, began shooting at a processing center at the Army post. Civilian police officers rushed to the scene, and Hasan was shot and paralyzed from the waist down.

Galligan said he has been able to speak with his client briefly, and he wanted him moved to a different facility.

“I’ve filed a motion for Mr. Hasan be moved to a facility that’s closer to Fort Hood and for him to receive rehabilitation there, but I’m yet to hear back about my request,” he said.

San Antonio is about 125 miles from Fort Hood, and Galligan said the distance makes it difficult to work on the case.

“I just want closer access,” he said. He said he expected Hasan to remain in the hospital for another three months and then undergo physical therapy.

Galligan also said he has requested additional defense attorneys under the uniform code of military council but said he also is waiting for a reply on that issue.

The shooting prompted military brass at Fort Hood to tighten security procedures and expand mental health services.

The FBI has conducted a preliminary review of the shooting, and the Pentagon is conducting its own investigation into whether any signs that could have warned of the rampage were missed.

Last week, the FBI announced that former FBI and CIA Director William Webster will lead an outside investigation of the bureau’s “policies, practices and actions” before the shooting.