Blog Posts from March, 2011
My Dream Come True
I feel like I am dreaming and could wake up any moment...
Comparing to the old dormitory this renovated one is like a castle from a fairy tale!
When I first came to this dorm and laid my eyes on the old building, I panicked – old walls, cracked windows, doors that wouldn't close, and the interior... it's better not to mention it! My first reaction was to run away, but there was something about it, something that wouldn't let me go.
At that moment I wasn't aware what it was, but now after having spent 4 years in the dorm, I realize that it was the good spirit of the dorm. I will always treasure its spirit and the people I lived with, both my fellow students, and the great dorm staff who helped us through those challenging adolescent years.
The dormitory kitchen staff.
You cannot imagine our joy now, in this new renovated dorm, in this paradise.
We can forget things that seem funny now – queueing to take a shower, freaking out when we would see bugs on our beds, chasing bats away, and I shouldn't even mention toilets!
We will continue to be good kids, and good students, and promise that we will get better and better each year, in the spirit of our motto – Life is an art of finding beauty and joy in everything.
The exterior of the renovated dormitory.
I said it so many times during the ceremony, but want to say it once again…Thank you for all the good you have done for the current, and all subsequent generations who will live and enjoy this dorm, thank you so much ... When I lived here it was both a paradise, and a calvary for me, but, I think, life here made me what I am now…..a young, but mature person ready for life ahead of me.
When I returned to my apartment after the opening ceremony, I cried like a child. Director Hincak is like a father to me, and every happy tear he shared with all of us feels as if I shared them with each and every one present there that day. You have returned that man a smile on his face, and not only to his, but also to all dorm students, both present and former… God has answered our prayers, and because of that: thank you :)
P.S.-sorry for my grammar mistakes :)
Marina Barić – Pinky
Vukovar Dorm Manager/Principal
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Odyssey Dawn, Unified Protector? Here's what it means...
Not surprisingly, I’ve received a lot of questions about what is happening in Libya in both my capacity as Commander of the US European Command (USEUCOM) and as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR).
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Advances in Afghanistan
Amidst all the attention, appropriately, to Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Japan, Yemen and other ongoing events around the world, there was an important and noteworthy development in Afghanistan yesterday.
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Ending the week in Estonia
The final day of the Wounded Warrior team’s trip in the Baltics began with a visit to Magdaleena East Central Tallinn Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Estonia and the best hospital in Tallinn for rehabilitation.
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Day 2: Nothing says spring like fresh flowers.
While visiting Lithuania the Wounded Warrior team and the two physicians from Project Hope drove out to Vilnius University Emergency Hospital (VUEH) located 15 minutes west of the capital, Vilnius. The day’s mission was to deliver medical lectures about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to the staff at a local hospital there.
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Exploring Wounded Warrior issues in partner nations
Wounded Warrior, Veteran care, traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder. All are powerful terms capable of eliciting intense emotions from military service members and civilians alike. For the Baltic nations of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia supporting International Security Assistance Force - Afghanistan it is a term they are becoming more familiar with.
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Meeting of the NATO Defense Ministers
We just finished an excellent two-day meeting in Brussels with the 28 NATO Defense Ministers -- including, of course, my bosses Secretary of Defense Bob Gates and Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The meeting focused on one expected challenge -- Afghanistan -- and one new issue, Libya.
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What's your BHAG? and how the QoL conference tacked this and other questions
What’s your B.H.A.G.? What were our Big Hairy Audacious Goals? Did we define our B.H.A.Gs? Did we meet them?
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2011 EUCOM Quality of Life Conference Kicks Off
During his brief to conference delegates and attendees, Gordon, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, focused on four key priorities for support and care of military families, which can be found in Presidential Study Directive #9. The priorities include enhancing the overall well-being and psychological health of the military family; ensuring excellence in military children’s education and their development; developing career and educational opportunities for military spouses; and increasing childcare availability and quality for the Armed Forces.
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Strategy at the Heart of the Matter
A few weeks ago, I referred to myself as a “strategist” during a speech. This prompted someone to ask me what “strategy” means to me. What a superb question! So often the word is overused…it seems almost everything is “strategic” these days. And yet, in our business and in my current job, strategy is at the heart of what we do.
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