Army Mom Welcomes Home Son from First Deployment

What a delight to share this news. The son of our cherished Off the Base contributor, Dorie Griggs, has returned home from Afghanistan.

Dorie shares her anticipation and joy of the moment in this video.

Welcome home 1st Lt. Nelson Lalli who said the first thing he wanted was a trip to McDonald’s to get a Big Mac.

Dorie on the other hand shared the lessons she learned during her son’s deployment.

Student Veteran Dedicates Ride Day to Sean Coleman

Sean Coleman, Military Cycling Team captain. Credit: Twitter

We’ve been following University of South Florida student veteran Kiersten Downs as she cycles across the country to raise awareness for student veterans. She’s linked up with other cycling veterans during the journey and visited several VFWs along the way.

On Thursday, Kiersten dedicated her ride to a fellow cyclist back in Florida who died from a heart attack during a training ride last week.

Sean Coleman was a reigning age-group state champ with several appearances at the World Military Cycling Championships to his credit reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Coleman, 46, of Land O’Lakes, who died of a heart attack on a training ride last Wednesday, was a Coast Guard senior chief petty officer stationed in Clearwater.

A 27-year veteran with a crucial job — supervising the mechanics who maintain the station’s rescue helicopters — he took on a volunteer duty that was almost as demanding.

As a director and co-founder of the U.S. Military Cycling team, he courted sponsors, recruited riders, traveled to training camps and races, and spent long hours at home doing administrative grunt work, said his wife, Sharon, who helped with the team.

Formal services were held for Coleman on Monday and Saturday there was a memorial ride that attracted some 300 riders according to the Times.

Kiersten is continuing her progress toward Washington D.C. despite four flat tires. She’s currently in Tennessee and has cycled 2,500 milies with 800 more to go.

Kiersten Downs holding on to her fourth “blown” tire – waiting for assistance from her road crew shortly after noon – Thursday (18 July 2013) – outside Waverly, TN.