rapidfire
C Active Duty Spotlight
apt. Mike Erwin, USA, is the founder and CEO of Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB,
www.teamrwb.org), an orga- nization that helps reintegrate wounded veter- ans into society by pairing them with civilian advocates and raising support through endurance events like marathons and triathlons. Erwin has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan three times since he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Erwin cur- rently is working on a doc- torate in psychology at the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. What is Team RWB? First and foremost, our mission is to enrich the lives of wound- ed veterans and their families. Specifically, we provide support and assistance to help these wounded veterans reintegrate into society. The best analogy to make is to Big Brothers Big Sisters [of America]. Instead of a big brother and a big sister, it’s a Team Red, White, and Blue advocate, and instead of at-risk youth, it’s a wounded veteran.
How do advocates help veterans? [Advocates] are concerned citizens who facilitate wounded veterans’ reintegration by helping them net- work, potentially helping them find a new job — overall helping them feel welcome. They do this primarily through small ways: going out for coffee once a week or going to a baseball game, going on a hike. … It’s got to be con- sistent and got to be building trust. Only through this relationship do we believe that the veteran is really going to open up and put himself or herself out there and say, “This is the help that I need.” How does the athletic part of the program tie in? Our athlete arm is inspiration, it’s fundraising, it’s build- ing awareness, it’s getting the word out there ... whether that be running, becoming a fund-raiser, inspiring people to learn more about [wounded veterans’] challenges ... What makes Team RWB unique? Problems are solved by people, not money. ... Ultimately what we’re about is getting people to roll up their sleeves and be part of the solution. Whether it means running or signing up to be an ad-
vocate or telling a friend, we’re hoping for people to take a more active role on the team.
Attention! Check out these military-related entertainment offerings.
BOOK A PRAYER JOURNEY THROUGH DEPLOYMENT (Wine- Press Publishing, 2010) Author Donna Mull offers some of her Scripture- based prayers that helped her through a challenge outside her realm of un- derstanding — her son’s
deployment — and inspired other military families around her.
BOOK DEAD OR ALIVE (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2010) Author Tom Clancy offers in this fictional collabora- tion with author Grant Blackwood a timely and
30 MI L ITARY OFFICER MARCH 2011
frighteningly plausible scenario that gets readers close to the present-day war on terrorism by depict- ing a headhunt for a sadis- tic killer and figurehead for world terror, the emir.
DVD S.W.A.T.: FIRE- FIGHT (Sony Pictures,
2011) Hotshot antiterror- ism expert and LAPD of- ficer Paul Cutler (Gabriel Macht) is ordered to train Detroit’s SWAT team, but a domestic dispute and a homicidal government assassin (Robert Patrick) throw the entire mission into disarray.
MO PHOTO: CREEHAN PHOTOGRAPHY
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