Howdy y’all and buckle up for this weeks news 6 update!

US Military Recovers and Brings Relief after Guam Typhoon

Typhoon Mawar wreaked havoc on the island US territory of Guam in late May. Due to this unprecedented event The military, which has a strong presence on the island, has paused all PCSes on and off the island.

The cyclone, which grew to a category four out of five, disrupted power, water, and the ecosystem of the island.

While biding time on the island our military is putting their time to good use and spearheading recovery efforts. 

The pause in movement is expected to last until June 30th. It does not apply to TDY. If travel was already procured for those leaving, they can still leave as planned. The pause mostly affects incoming families and those at the beginning of the pcs process on the outgoing side. 

This was “in order to ensure incoming service members and their families have adequate resources available to them.”

The stop movement also gives 36th Wing leadership time to evaluate the damage done to our resources while also making sure we’re prepared to take care of the families that are due to PCS to Andersen, An Air Force spokesperson for air base Anderson told military times.

While most branches have put a full stop to PCSes, the marines are taking it on a case by case basis.

“We are taking all necessary steps to accommodate PCSers already en route to Guam,” said marine rep Maj Diann Rosenfeld.

“For example, because comms were limited directly after the storm, our sponsors have met face-to-face with different agencies across the island to ensure those agencies could still support our inbound Marines.” 

Over half the population of Guam was still without power as of June 9th, while 30 percent still did not have water. The storm has cost the island about 112 million dollars so far. 

While many of our military families will be eager to start their island adventure, just a little patience and a little more cleanup and you’ll be sipping pina coladas and trying to find a new pcm for your kids in no time. 

Find out more at military times.com

Rowing for K9s

On another island near and dear to many a military family’s heart, a marine veteran is making a difference in a boat. 

Fresh off a 51 day rowing adventure across the Atlantic to raise money for K9s for warriors, Paul Lore is setting his sights on the pacific.

The Florida based non profit trains service dogs for veterans suffering from ptsd. His last adventure raised them 900,000 dollars and he’s just getting started.

The 60 year old air traffic controller will be hitting the seas on a 2800 mile journey from Monterey, California to the island of Kuai. 

“The Pacific is significantly more challenging because of the multiple currents, the cold water, big waves and fog that reduces visibility to zero at times,” he tells PEOPLE.

The journey started on June 12 and will take at least 48 days. 

He hopes his mission will help lower the suicide rate of veterans, an epidemic he has experienced first at due to the loss of a friend and coworker back in 2016. Described as a vibrant up and comer and a mother, Lore took the loss hard. 

“The numbers are staggering,” says Lore “And these dogs can help give people their lives back.”

Lowe is rowing With his three fellow crew members on Team Ohana (Iris Noordzij of the Netherlands, Marina Hunziker of Switzerland, and American Mat Steinlin), and they will take two hours shifts the whole way through.

“I knew a long time ago that I was never going to be a millionaire,” says Lore. “But I also knew that I could use a million minutes of my time to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for people in need.”

We are so inspired by you, Marine! The only thing bigger than the ocean you are crossing is the size of your heart. 

To follow his journey visit https://ohana2023.com/Find out more of this story at people.com

New Executive Orders Mean Good Economic News for Military Families

On June 9th at Fort Liberty, Formerly known as Fort Bragg, North Carolina, president Biden announced a plethora of new executive orders hoping to ease the economic burdens of military families. 

These orders are as followed:

• Directing the development of a government-wide Strategic Plan on Hiring and Retention for Military and Veteran Spouses, Caregivers, and Survivors
• Increasing Federal job postings utilizing the Military Spouse Noncompetitive Appointment Authority. In order to expand this critical path
• Setting government-wide standards to improve the Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas (DETO) program
• Bolstering access to child care for military families
• Providing additional tools to help retain military spouses and caregivers, in the public and private sectors
• Improving support for military spouses during transition
• Developing tailored resources for military and veteran spouse entrepreneurs
• Improving the collection of data on military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors in the Federal workforce

And finally 

• Expanding training on the employment of military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors across the agencies

A more detailed description of how these orders are going to be implemented and enforced can be found at whitehouse.gov.

The economic welfare of our military families is a matter of national security and is a non partisan issue. A strong military family means a strong military for our nation. I for one am excited to see this issue be on the forefront of modern politics and advocacy and hope it is implemented to the fullest!

Today in history 

On June 19th 1865 the last slaves in the United States were told they were free, months after the end of the civil war and two and a half years after The Emancipation Proclimation. 

Major General Gordon Granger issued an order called general number 3, proclaiming all Texan slaves to be free. 

This day has been a long-standing holiday in Galveston, Texas and slowly spread throughout Texas. 

It grew out of the state during the 1920s and 30s during the great migration but lost steam during the 1960s as the nation focused on the civil rights movement.

The later regained recognition in the 1970s and became a Texan holiday in 1979. It is the first federal holiday added to the calendar since MLK day was added in 1983. 

The order reads: 

          The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

Enjoy y’all’s day off and remember and remember that all our history is American History. 

That’s it for me! I’m Emma Tighe with news 6, signing off.