When my father, Odysseus, and his men sailed off to the Trojan War, they were confident their gods favored a quick victory. Instead, the siege of Troy lasted ten years. After Troy fell, the survivors made their way home to Sparta, Mycenae, Pylos, and elsewhere in the ancient Peloponnese. Neither my father nor any of his troops arrived home with the rest. We waited for years as the news grew worse. Odysseus was dead, we were told,or imprisoned, or, worst yet, he had married another woman and abandoned my mother Penelope, my brother Telemachus, and me.


If he is alive somewhere, his thoughts may wander to Penelope and Telemachus, but he won’t be thinking of me. I am the daughter he doesn’t know exists. Odysseus went off to the Trojan War when his son, Telemachus, was barely old enough to walk. His wife, Penelope, was a teenage bride, and is now a young wife, mother, and queen who has to try to rule Ithaca without him.


I was born seven months after he left. I am a hero’s daughter and a princess of his realm, but I have lived my entire life without a father. I’m nineteen now, and still waiting.


All over the world, and throughout history children grow up as I have. This website will focus on the children of those men and women who have gone off to fight America's wars, and provide information and resources for all who care about military families and want to help.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Update


Update to today's post:  Here is the itemized draft proposal from the Commission, as relates to the DoD budget:

Apply the overhead savings Secretary Gates has promised to deficit reduction
Freeze federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation at the Department of Defense for three years

Freeze noncombat military pay at 2011 levels for 3 years

 Double Secretary Gates’ cuts to defense contracting
Reduce procurement by 15 percent

Reduce overseas bases by one-third  

Modernize Tricare, Defense health  

Replace military personnel performing commercial activities with civilians

 Reduce spending on Research, Development, Test & Evaluation by 10 percent

Reduce spending on base support

 Reduce spending on facilities maintenance  

Consolidate the Department of Defense’s retail activities. 

Integrate children of military personnel into local schools in the United States

Apparently the commission isn't aware of the hundred of stories and testimonials that schools aren't yet doing an adequate job of serving military children. Where will the teachers, desks, books, supplies, and classrooms come from, or will they somehow, miraculously, be free?
Posted by About AART at 1:10 PM

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