When Families Grieve launches April 14th at 8 PM on PBS (check local listings) with a television special featuring Katie Couric, Elmo, and the courageous stories of families coping with the death of a parent. Immediately following the special, 800,000 free When Families Grieve resource kits will be distributed nationwide to families and organizations within the military and the general public that provide services and resources to grieving families. Visit sesamestreet.org/grief to find out more, or email grief@sesameworkshop.org

Operation Purple® Leadership Camps are a program of the National Military Family Association. These camps are geared toward military children ages 15-17 who have shown an ability and willingness to lead and mentor in their respective military and civilian communities.

The Leadership Camps strive to create strong teen leaders by giving them the tools needed to develop self-confidence and the opportunity to test their strengths and abilities.

Each camp provides a unique environment for teens to receive leadership experience in the outdoors. Please refer to the complete list of camp locations, the program FAQs, eligibility requirements, and the required Community Service Project to see if this camp experience is for you.

All expenses for 2010 Operation Purple Leadership Camp, including travel expenses up to $500.00 with itinerary and receipt via a reimbursement process, will be covered for teens selected to participate in the program. Financial assistance may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For detailed information about all aspects of the program and application process, go to www.militaryfamily.org/our-programs/operation-purple/teen-leadership-camps/

For years, they have cringed at Hollywood’s portrayals of the Iraq and Afghan wars. And don’t get them started on the inaccuracies in the Oscar-nominated film “The Hurt Locker.” Now, five veterans have been offered a chance to make their own documentaries about the consequences of the wars for them and for those around them.

Commissioned by Brave New Foundation, they will produce and direct short films on topics including the Muslim experience in the U.S. military and veterans making the transition from the battlefield to the college campus.

“What we are hoping to do is to get . . . a perspective we may not have seen, or that we see very infrequently, and that is the direct perspective of the veteran,” said Richard Ray Perez, executive producer of “In Their Boots,” a Web series on the wars’ effects in the U.S.

That perspective is readily available in print. One of the veterans, Clint Van Winkle, 32, of Phoenix has published an unflinching account, “Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” But because a film is more difficult to produce, most war documentaries are the product of civilian filmmakers.

Although their subjects vary, the filmmakers share a desire to challenge the stereotypes about veterans. “It’s almost a cliche. I’m a vet with PTSD,” said Van Winkle, who plans to take up the subject again in a film about a friend wrestling with survivor’s guilt after escorting home the remains of a fellow Marine. “But I’m not on the street. I went to school. I have two degrees. I’m a functioning person, but I have issues.”

Chris Mandia, a former Marine from San Pedro, was one of the first Iraq veterans at Los Angeles Harbor College in 2004. “When I told them I was a vet, they thought I was talking about [treating] animals,” he said. “There was a young girl who was this hippie type, she asked me: ‘Have you killed women and children?’ ” Mandia, 29, has won a coveted scholarship to the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He wants to tell the story of other veterans struggling with the same experience. “I hope I can help them not to be ashamed to be a veteran,” he said. “They are going to college. That means something.”

The filmmakers also hope to provide a more realistic portrayal of the military than is typically found in Hollywood fare. “I’m so mad that there has been such critical response for ‘The Hurt Locker,’ ” said Kyle Hartnett, a Los Angeles-based Army veteran who studied film production at San Francisco State University after serving in Afghanistan. “It’s so inaccurate.”

“In Their Boots,” which is supported by a $4-million grant from the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund, has featured episodes on families coping with the deployment of a mother, father or same-sex partner and about veterans dealing with brain injuries and homelessness. Production team members say they are excited to see what the veterans come up with.

Amanda Spain, who produced the first season, said military families tend to be cautious when discussing experiences with civilians. “I wonder if they are going to be more willing to tell a different truth” to the veterans, she said.

In October, the foundation put out an open call through veterans’ organizations and movie industry newsletters, websites and associations. About 100 veterans around the country submitted ideas. Using a webcam and Internet chat programs, Perez interviewed a selection of them. “I wanted to look for people who not only had the filmmaking skills, but also had the demonstrated ability to articulate a potentially compelling story,” he said.

Although the foundation is led by prominent left-wing documentarian Robert Greenwald, Perez said its funding requires it to be nonpartisan about the wars. He assured the veterans that the foundation would help them make the films they want. The foundation is providing each filmmaker with a $10,000 budget, equipment and mentoring. Each will also receive a three-month stipend of $7,500.

“It is very difficult to make documentaries if you have to make a living,” Perez said.

The foundation plans to post the films on its website and will help the veterans arrange screenings.

At the end of February, the five were invited to Los Angeles for a three-day “filmmakers’ boot camp” at the Brave New Foundation studio in Culver City. They practiced camera and lighting techniques and discussed story structure and interview strategies. They also took a stab at pitching their films to a fictional studio executive — a process Greenwald warned is “the most insulting, degrading, dehumanizing experience.”

Hartnett quickly learned what Greenwald meant. Hartnett, 28, was deeply troubled when a Muslim American was charged last year with killing 13 fellow soldiers in a shooting rampage at Ft. Hood in Texas. “It got me to thinking, why are the only Muslims I know about killers?” Hartnett said. “Apparently there are thousands of Muslims in the military. I think it is kind of a shame that nobody has decided to tell a positive story about them.”

With just 30 seconds to make his pitch to Greenwald, Hartnett said: “I’m taking a journey of discovery concerning Muslim Americans in the U.S. military.”

Greenwald’s verdict: ” ‘Taking a journey’ is usually not a strong pitch word. It tends to feel a little bit nondramatic and New Age-y.”

He encouraged the filmmakers to take advantage of the Internet to raise funds and to market and distribute their films. “You don’t need anybody’s permission” anymore, he said. “You just need your Facebook, Twitter, and you’re off to the races.”

CIAV has had the opportunity to partner with PBS for their campaign “This Emotional Life” to highlight the emotional challenges facing military families and veterans. Take a look at our latest blog on the military/veteran community and the tremendous work of our CIAV organizations: Supporting Our Veterans And Military Families.

You can learn more about their campaign to help military families here.

Iraq war veteran Shane Brannan worked a typically frenzied harvest last fall at Kosta Browne Winery, a pinot noir producer in Sebastopol. The long hours and hard work of crushing grapes suited the 33-year-old former Army sergeant just fine. I went from push-ups to punch downs,” Brannan said, describing his transition from military exercise to winemaking labor. Punching down is the process of physically pushing the cap — a mass of grape skins, stems and seeds — back down into the wine during fermentation. Brannan said the physical challenge “really tests your mettle” and winery teamwork reminded him of the camaraderie he forged among 4th Infantry Division soldiers in Iraq six years ago. From the internship at Kosta Browne, Brannan has moved onto a part-time job as assistant winemaker at Meander Cellars in St. Helena, weekend stints in the tasting room at Lynmar Estate Winery in Sebastopol and viticulture classes at Santa Rosa Junior College.

On Friday, he stopped by the Food and Farming Veteran Career Fair, an event aimed at linking veterans with jobs or training programs for the food and farming industries. The Coming Home Project will be there to offer counseling to veterans.

Joe Judge, a Bennett Valley grape grower, will be there as well, urging fellow vineyard owners to hire veterans. “We are indebted to them for their service,” said Judge, president of the Bennett Valley Grape Growers Association. “I look upon this as a method of repaying my personal debt.” Judge has hired three veterans over the last few years to help tend his 10-acre syrah and sauvignon blanc vineyard, including one he entrusted with springtime frost protection duty last year.

Sponsoring the career fair is the Farmer-Veteran Coalition, a Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans organization formed in 2007 to guide combat-stressed veterans into farm-related civilian jobs. Sonoma County is a “ground zero” for the movement, said Michael O’Gorman, a 40-year farmer and executive director of the Farmer-Veteran Coalition.

Matt McCue, an Iraq veteran who tilled the French Garden Farm in Sebastopol under the coalition’s auspices in 2008, now runs Shooting Star, an organic farm in Fairfield with his partner, Lily Schneider. For young soldiers who thrived on the rigors and the risks of the service, working the soil is “a healthy transition,” Brannan said. “It’s definitely a great career path.”

Brannan, who grew up in Tempe, Ariz., joined the Army in 2000 and served for a year at a U.S. base in Baquba, Iraq, mostly as a forward observer. His team manned a tower at night, peering up to 20 kilometers away, through night-vision gear, for insurgents planting bombs or preparing to fire mortars. “It got scary at times” when “the rounds landed pretty close,” he said. Brannan left the Army in 2004 and was studying civil engineering in Arizona when he came to Sonoma County last summer to try the wine business instead.

Friday’s career fair was organized in collaboration with the North Bay Veterans Resource Center of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Farm Bureau, Santa Rosa Junior College and other organizations.

For information, go to the coalition’s Web site at farmvetco.org or call (530) 756-1395.

See the full article in The Press Democrat here.

The Coming Home Project has announced dates for four Military, Veterans and Families retreats to be held this summer. The retreats are an opportunity for veterans and families to support one another in the journey of return and re-entry. Participants will share stories and experiences of service, learn to manage stress with self-care and wellness skills, and find comfort and strength, safety and trust in community with fellow veterans and families.

The retreats are available to all veterans and active duty military personnel who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since September 11, 2001 and their families (including: children, single veterans, wounded warriors, surviving family members and all family types). Everyone is welcome as they are and all are treated with respect. Lodging, meals and travel scholarships will be provided.

A Note for Women Veterans: The Coming Home Project would like to encourage female OIF and OEF service members and veterans to apply for this series of retreats. For the first time, they plan to hold small groups for women veterans only.

Applications are now being accepted and those interested are encouraged to apply early as the retreats fill quickly. To apply visit The Coming Home Project.

The retreat schedule is as follows:

Washington DC: May 27-31

San Diego, CA: June 24-28

Santa Rosa, CA: July 29-August 2

San Antonio, TX: August 26-30

Our Military Kids has applied to be the recipient of one of ten $50,000 grants for the month of March. The grant will be used to provide 100 grants to military children who have lost a parent in service to our nation.

Starting today, March 1, supporters of Our Military Kids’ ambitious goal can go to www.refresheverything.com and vote for the Our Military Kids project to support the children of fallen service members. Once at the site choose the “Health” section in the $50,000 grant level. Supporters can vote once everyday during the month of March.

“Our Military Kids can fund a new experience that will offer them [military children] excitement and joy,” said Linda Davidson, executive director of Our Military Kids. “It may not take the pain of losing a loved one away, but it will assist children through the healing process.”

Visit www.ourmilitarykids.org to learn more about Our Military Kids and the services they provide.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and officials from the Marine Corps Casualty Assistance program signed a memorandum of agreement formalizing a long-standing relationship on February 3rd at the Marsh Center in Quantico Virginia. The agreement will cut down on the time between when families are notified of a loved one’s passing and when TAPS receives contact information from the Marine Corps. Prior to the agreement, 60 days passed before next-of-kin information could be relayed to TAPS; the agreement cuts that time to between two and seven days.

Timothy R. Larsen, director of Personal and Family Readiness Division, signed the MOA on behalf of the Marine Corps. “What TAPS provides is very important to Marine Corps families,” said Larsen. “This is an area the Marine Corps really needs to focus on and we look forward to progression by formally starting the process of getting families help sooner. There is nothing more important to the commandant than taking care of Marines.”

The ceremony was attended by Marine Corps families who have lost service personnel, and senior spouses of Marine Corps leadership including Annette Conway, wife of Marine Corps Commandant General James T. Conway.

“The Marine Corps has seen the amazing job TAPS has done so far,” said Mrs. Conway. “We’ve realized we need to get families who have lost someone help right away. But before there were some rules that would block us from doing that. But this document allows us to get families connected with TAPS right away so they can get help. The families still want to be part of the Marine Corps and we don’t want to leave them, so this partnership allows us to do that.”

Bonnie Carroll, director of TAPS, said this agreement “shows the care the Marine Corps has for its fallen.” Carroll founded TAPS in 1994 and it is now nationally recognized as a leading provider of comfort and care to anyone who has suffered the loss of a military loved one.

Family members who have lost a Marine who were present for signing, feel TAPS has helped them in a way no one else could. “These volunteers have all lost someone,” said Pam Zembiec, the widow of fallen Capt. Doug Zembiec. “They know what that pain is like,” said Zembiec. “They are very willing to help. I’ve had so many people come up to me and say ‘I don’t know how to help you. I don’t know what to say.’ TAPS knew exactly what to say.”

This week the Veterans Administration has announced that its education call center will resume taking calls five days a week. In December of last year, amid a growing backlog of education benefit claims, the VA reassigned call center personnel to assist in processing claims

According to the VA, 162,000 of the approximately 180,000 claims received for the spring semester have been processed. Additionally, all post-9/11 GI Bill claims received before January 18th of this year have been paid. Citing the timely processing of spring enrollments the VA has discontinued its advance payment program.

In a separate press release issued today, the VA announced a new advertising campaign targeting student veterans. The GI Bill advertising campaign includes half-page ads in top college publications, online and social media, print, radio, and outdoor advertising such as posters and flyers. In areas of high student and military densities public service announcements are planned on local radio stations.

“VA, student Veterans and our schools have made signigicant progress in implementing the GI Bill this spring, but we still have more to do,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We won’t rest until all studentVeterans have received the education benefit they earned in defense of our Nation.”

Established in 2004, the mission of the Operation Purple program is to empower military children and their families to develop and maintain healthy and connected relationships, in spite of the current military environment. This mission is accomplished through a variety of means, including the healing and holistic aspect of the natural world. The program is joint or “purple”—encompassing all Service branches, including the National Guard and Reserve.

In the 2004 Operation Purple pilot season, the National Military Family Association was able to implement 12 different Operation Purple camps serving close to 1,000 children. Since then the Operation Purple program has grown and expanded and by summer’s end close to 30,000 military children and teens will have been served. The Operation Purple program also includes leadership camps for teens, family retreats at the national parks, and camps geared to address the needs of children and families of our nations wounded service members.

For more information about Operation Purple camps please visit the National Military Family Association Operation Purple web site. There you can learn more about the various offerings and sign up for email alerts about the program.