The Navy Times website has this icon inviting people to submit nominees for the 2010 Service Members of the Year. The awards are given by the Military Times. It was established in 2001 by Army Times Publishing Company, publisher of the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times. Nominees may be handed in for Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine and Coast Guardsman of the Year.

Five “Everyday Heroes” are honored each year for demonstrating “pride, dedication and courage beyond what is expected.” They may be nominated by any Military Times reader, including the parents, comrades and commanding officers of these heroes.

Award winners for 2009 include 1SG Peter J. Lara, 3-13th Infantry Rgt, Fort Jackson, South Carolina; SSgt Mercedes Kimble Crossland, 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma; CECS (SCW/FMF) Lauro A. Garzaz, Sr., 9th Naval Construction Regt, NAS JRB, Fort Worth, Texas; Captain Daniel C. Rhodes, 1st Bn, 3rd Regiment, MCBH Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; and EM2 Charles T. Newton, USCGC Neah Bay, 9th CG District, Cleveland, Ohio.

All winners are recognized online through the Military Times Service Members of the Year website, in addition to being honored through a ceremony in Washington D.C. The criteria has evolved since its initial inception in 2001 to include: high level of professionalism, concern for fellow service members and commitment to community service.

For the 2010 Awards, a nominee should have displayed exceptional service and earned achievements during the January 1 through December 31, 2009 period. Finalists will be contacted in June this year, and the winners are set to be announced in July.

The Army weapons depot situated in Hawthorne, Nevada, has reportedly been used by the Marines and the Navy SEALs to train for deployments to Afghanistan, and two US senators – Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign are saying that the Army should follow suit and “expand training opportunities” to the area.

The outpost lies to the east of Reno, Nevada and is described in a feature on the Navy Times as the “largest ammunition storage facility in the continental United States.” Among the features that figure prominently in its landscapes are high altitudes and high deserts, making the area ideal for use as a stand-in for Afghanistan for soldiers who are preparing for deployment.

In a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh dated January 27, the two senators wrote that they were “concerned that the Armed Forces do not currently have a designated high desert training area and facilities to support preparation for current operations and potential contingency operations,” adding further that the Hawthorne outpost “is an ideal location for preparing our service members for the terrain, altitude, climate and logistical challenges they currently face in Afghanistan.”

The Marines have been known to use the area for “live-fire training and realistic combat re-supply operations with simulated roadside bomb scenarios.” Army Special Forces units, on the other hand, used the area to “conduct combat drills, dismounted patrols and other training in the high-desert terrain.”

The senators wrote further: “The harsh contours and rocky terrain create challenges that force tactical adaptations that can only be properly rehearsed in that environment. The roads and trails at Hawthorne closely approximate those our troops will find in Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush.”

One of the more controversial issues within the U.S. military is the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that referred to the current treatment of gay service members.

Recently, no less than the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Michael Mullen, made his position on the issue known. It has since sparked a debate of sorts, with various people, within and outside the military, offering their opinions. We shared with you the thoughts of a retired Navy captain, who talked about life within the policy, in a previous post.

Previously, the military, especially those who are in the upper echelons of its hierarchy, have given the impression that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is the policy that the majority preferred.

According to a post on the Navy Times, however, there seems to be a change in this mindset, at least among the respondents of a survey conducted among active duty troops. The results of the survey are set to be reported on Military Times newspapers – including the Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps times, on Monday.

Three thousand active duty troops were said to have taken part in the survey. In 2004, a majority 65% of respondents in a similar survey expressed opposition to allowing gay service members to openly serve in the military. In the more recent survey, that opposition has fallen to 51%.

The release of the survey results come in the wake of Adm. Mullen’s statement before Congress that it may be time to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

For most people, there is nothing like the first time – for anything. For the two crews of the USS Freedom, the first Littoral Combat Ship of the US Navy, that first time – their maiden deployment – is coming soon.

The USS Freedom is set to be deployed to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) region. The vessel arrived at Naval Station Mayport in Florida on January 25, and almost immediately after its arrival, counter-illicit trafficking (CIT), damage control, and systems training kicked off.

The USS Freedom is manned by two rotational crews, “Blue” and “Gold”. Each crew is composed of 40 sailors who have already proven their competency across a wide range of skills, a requirement for anyone who will serve aboard an LCS. The vessel imposes limits on crew size, which necessitates having people who are skilled in multiple tasks.

Lt. Cmdr. Mark West of Imperial Beach, California, operations officer for the Gold Crew, gave the following statement in an article on the Navy web site on the training that the crew is undergoing prior to their maiden deployment: “This training is extremely important for Freedom and will help us prepare for the CIT mission we expect to perform while in the 4th Fleet area of operations.” He added further that the USS Freedom “can be an extremely formidable weapon in the war on drugs.”

The USS Freedom is the first of its kind under the Littoral Combat Ship program. It boasts of being “a fast, agile, mission-focused ship that demonstrates the latest in naval warfighting technology.”

In a previous post, we shared with you how Navy Admiral Michael Mullen negated the perception that all military top brass were supportive of the prevailing “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that tolerated in a way but did not openly accept gay members of the U.S. military. He did so through a statement that was published on the Pentagon website as well as through Twitter.

There were various reactions to Admiral Mullen’s stand, both for and against his views. CNN shares this commentary written by a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy who lived a double life while she was in the service. She mentions in her commentary that she was “especially pleased with the leadership” of Admiral Mullen for making a stand supporting the repealing of “don’t ask, don’t tell”.

Joan E. Darrah spent more than 29 years with the Navy, serving as a Naval Intelligence Officer and was Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander at the Office of Naval Intelligence. She was the recipient of several awards, including three Legion of Merits, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Navy Commendation Medals and the Navy Achievement Medal.

Darrah shares that upon entering the Navy, she “had no idea” that she was gay, arriving at the realization only when she was well into her Navy career. This realization, however, did not change the fact that she “really enjoyed” her career and felt that she “was making a difference”. So she continued to serve.

She now lives in Virginia with her partner of 19 years, but pretended that her partner did not exist while she was in the service. It was the events of 9/11 that led her to rethink her life under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Darrah believes that the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell” may come soon.

For us ordinary citizens, special occasions like Christmas and Valentine’s Day are usually reasons for the family and for loved ones to take some time out of their daily routines and spend quality time together. That is easier said than done, however, for the men and women who have chosen as their careers one that called for them to serve their country overseas.

It is for this reason that various groups that support the military organize Valentine drives destined for delivery to U.S. military service members who are currently deployed in combat areas overseas. Care packages are gathered throughout the month of January in various locations across the country. Boxes of Valentine cards, candy and snacks are lovingly packed and sent to service members, letting them know that the people back home that they selflessly serve remember them during this special day of love. Care packages are usually sent overseas annually on February 1st.

Angela Pollock, who described herself as “a wife of a deployed soldier twice over,” provided a few Valentine tips in a post on helium.com. Among the nice-to-have Valentine gifts that she suggested are photos – quite ordinary, one might think, but in this day and age sending photos can become a labor of love and expression of creativity. One can opt to send a handmade collage of photos or go the more techie route and send a deployed loved one a digital photo frame.

Snack items also make great Valentine gifts, but Pollock warns against sending the cliché “box of chocolates” – and it is not because its cliché. These can melt while in transit and become all gooey and icky by the time they get to the deserts of Iraq, so she suggests sending cookies instead. The cookies can be frozen immediately before they are shipped to help them stay fresh; she further suggests sealing them tightly in plastic wrap.

In keeping with Valentine’s Day, USNavySEALstore.com is offering free shipping on any US order until Valentine’s Day, including orders for the “Support our SEALs” and “Condemn the Terrorists” T-shirts. Those who would like to spread a little Navy SEAL love around on Valentine’s Day may want to check out this special offer.