The following passage is from a sermon by John Hagee of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio: I want you to close your eyes and picture in your mind the soldier at Valley Forge, as he holds his musket in his bloody hands. He stands barefoot in the snow, starved from lack of food, wounded from months of battle and emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family surrounded by nothing but death and carnage of war. He stands though, with fire in his eyes and victory on his breath. He looks at us now in anger and disgust and tells us this.. I gave you a birthright of freedom born in the Constitution and now your children graduate too illiterate to read it. I fought in the snow barefoot to give you the freedom to vote and you stay at home because it rains! I left my family destitute to give you the freedom of speech and you remain silent on critical issues, because it might be bad for business. I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you and it has stolen democracy from the people. It's the soldier, not the reporter who gives you the freedom of the press. It's the soldier, not the poet who gives you the freedom of speech. It's the soldier, not the campus organizer who allows you to demonstrate. It's the soldier, who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag that allows the protester to burn the flag!!! "Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen." When you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our U.S. forces in Iraq, AND all around the world.

wow we were there at the same time, i only stayed for 4 1/2 weeks tho... what camp is you hubby on? mine is on Colburn... I liked it there too, but not to live there for awhile, and cant wait to go back in may...did you fly there on space A? Conita

Hi Shedell, welcome to the board... I am a Army wife, my hubby is stationed in Korea right now. It was a remote tour and I could not go with him.....IT SUCKS BIG TIME... However I did get to go visit him (we paid 4 the ticket) for a month, and I am going again in May. All I can tell you is to stay positive for him, cause it is tough, My hubby hates it there and is so ready to come home. It was a very good experiece for me cause i would have never got to see Korea.. also he got orders 4 or so months after my rny, and when I saw him I had changed so much he was amazed, and I also have changed alot since i saw him last...Even tho I hate him being gone, it has given me some time to focus on me and sculpting my new body... Take care If you ever want to talk just send me an email, Conita

It really is not a matter of military vs civilian docs it is a matter of if the surgeon you are going to is a general surgeon or a board certified plastic surgeon. A general surgeon can only remove the skin and repair any life threatening conditions (like a hernia). A board certified PS will remove the skin and can contour fat, they can tighten the muscles and put stitches between the subq tissue and the skin to tighten the layers as well as loose the extra skin. If you are just looking to loose the skin, stay on base, you won't have to fight tricare. If you are looking for a cosmetic appearance and loosing the extra skin then you are gonna have to go offbase (unless your MTF has a BCPS on staff, ours does not) and fight tricare. Just make sure that you really do your research hun... there are a lot of quaks out there feeding off of the self conscious military wife. (More than usual since the war started I have noticed.) Brightest Blessings for a Wonderful Day~ Jamie M. aka Lady Autumn Weight- 257/215/146 BMI- 44.1/36.9/25 Height- 5' 4" lbs lost: -42 Open RNY: 1/19/05 My WLS Journey Site: home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-LadyAutumnsWLSjourney No matter what size, we are all Goddesses inside!

My son is schedulted to go to Ft Carson this summer. Right now he's in Iraq, after serving in South Korea. Hang in there. You know all diet**** plateaus. Even just fidgeting more will help burn calories. Just change your food or your working out and you'll break the plateau. Where are you stationed now? My son is in Ramadi. Maybe we'll meet when we come to visit him. (I have surgery next month!!!) Hugs, Sheila An army MOM