Photo By Sgt. Sarah Fiocco | Karen Driscoll, speaks after receiving a San Diego Military Advisory Council...... read more read more
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POINT LOMA, Calif. – The San Diego Military Advisory Council awarded a 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing unit and a spouse the 2011 SDMAC Achievement Awards, Dec. 5.
The council recognized Marine Wing Support Squadron 373 and Karen Driscoll, spouse of Col. Jerome Driscoll, deputy commander of Marine Forces Korea, for their contributions to the military community, during a breakfast and award ceremony at the Admiral Kidd Catering & Conference Center aboard Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Complex in Point Loma, Calif.
MWSS-373 personnel volunteered more than 5,500 hours to improve the quality of life for more than 1,000 homeless veterans and their families during the 2011 San Diego Stand Down for Homeless Veterans.
“The community does so much to support us, so it was nice for us to have the opportunity to give something back to them,” said Lt. Col. Seth Ocloo, commanding officer of MWSS-373 and a Baton Rouge, La., native. “In a sense, we were also giving back to our own community. It was for the military veterans who were down on their luck.”
During the stand down, the Marines of MWSS-373 provided 66 tents, 900 cots, 53,000 square feet of camouflage netting, in addition to generator and forklift support.
“It makes me feel great that, as a commanding officer, I didn’t have to tell them to do this. They wanted to do it on their own,” Ocloo said. “They saw the need to support their community, and they realize that being a good Marine and a good citizen doesn’t end at work.”
Driscoll, a Long Beach, Calif., native, received an achievement award for initiating the non-profit organization Autism Care and Treatment Today for Military Families. She also played a major role in organizing the 2011 inaugural ACT Today for Military Families Run for Autism, raising approximately $100,000 in donations for autism treatment and support. Driscoll’s perseverance aided in the introduction of the bipartisan Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act, which helped address treatment needs of military children with the disease.
"As a Marine wife and a mother of a child with autism, this issue became very personal for me,” Driscoll said. “I recognize that dealing with a child who has autism is very difficult for enlisted families and younger families. Because of this, I began working on legislation to change some of those policy deficiencies and short falls.”
In the last year, Driscoll said more than 120 families have benefitted from the program through grants, which take care of services not covered by insurance.
“We just want to lighten the load of the men and women who serve and sacrifice,” Driscoll said.
Both Driscoll and MWSS-373 earned their awards by completing exactly what they set forth to do – bettering the military community with small support systems.
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2011 15:28 |
| Story ID: | 80959 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 193 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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