The SIGNAL Blog

Turns out that supporting the military just might be a laughing matter. Stand Up for Heroes is an evening of comedy and music during the New York Comedy Festival put on to build morale among and raise money for wounded warfighters, veterans and their families. The funds go to the Bob Woodruff Foundation, a nonprofit organization investing in national and community-based programs that connect members of the military community with help they need.

This year’s event takes place at the Beacon Theatre on Thursday, November 8, at 8 p.m. It will honor the sacrifices of troops and their families, offering support in the effort to heal physically and psychologically from war. Many big-name acts are scheduled to perform including Robin Williams, Jon Stuart and Bruce Springsteen. Individual tickets have sold out, but corporate sponsor packages and VIP benefit packages are available. For more information email SUFH@remind.org.

Homefront Help also has a Facebook page where visitors can gather and share information. If you know of a program that is helping service personnel, veterans or their families please submit that information to Rita Boland, SIGNAL’s senior news editor.
 

A new app released on Monday gives visitors a virtual tour of Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) along with information on burials, wreath-laying ceremonies and other events. To create the ANC Explorer app, the U.S. Army photographed more than 250,000 grave sites and markers. The app links geospatial mapping technology to digital records and the tombstone photos. It also features locations for restrooms, water fountains and shuttle stops, and it has self-guided tours.

In addition to assisting visitors, the program allows ANC staff to assign, manage and de-conflict events, which is a big leap from the paper-and-pen system used to track burial locations just two years ago.

Download the free app from the iTunes App Store or Google Play, or visit the official website of Arlington National Cemetery.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new websites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

Last month when we gathered around the browser, I was expressing my concerns about a “guns of October” scenario emerging in the Middle East and assuring you that I did not believe the attack in Benghazi on September 11 represented an intelligence failure.  Within days of posting, the conflict in Syria expanded to Turkey retaliating with cross border fire against Assad’s government forces.  Then on September 28th the DNI issued a statement clarifying that subsequent intelligence showed the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi was not a spontaneous reaction to the YouTube “Innocence of Muslims” film trailer but rather it was a planned terrorist attack meant to kill Americans and embarrass the United States (http://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/96-press-releases-2012/731-statement-by-the-odni-s-director-of-public-affairs-on-intelligence-related-to-the-terrorist-attack-on-the-u-s-consulate-in-benghazi).  As I started to write this edition, Secretary of Defense Panetta spoke at Business Executives for National Security (BENS) dinner on October 11th aboard the INTREPID Museum in New York City laying out the cyber threat to national security and how DoD is preparing to deal with it (http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1728).