About Us
Military Living® Publications is the largest travel publisher of military travel information for all uniformed services members, active and retired, and their family members.
Military Living® Publications Mission Statement
Military Living® Publications is a woman-owned small business whose staff is composed of military veterans and their family members who consider it their mission to help our readers make the most of their military travel benefits.
At Military Living® Publications, we understand that military life can be dangerous and challenging. We know that when service members get time off, they want to utilize their military benefits to relax and travel. This is where Military Living® Publications comes in.
Since 1967, we have published information to our website, in our travel guides, in newsletters, and with maps to help military families use their benefits to travel around the world. Our resources give readers information on how they can travel, shop, and live using military facilities. We are a good news publisher, and we always strive to present positive news about the United States military.
Military Living, A Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization Mission Statement
Military Living is a non-profit organization 501(c)(3)associated with Military Living® Publications that is focused on providing servicemembers and their families access to services that promote mental health, physical health, and wellbeing. We recognize that there are numerous sites that provide information for military families but frequently find it difficult to locate these resources.
In addition, we recognize that today’s servicemembers need access to information and resources at their fingertips that meet their busy and dynamic lifestyles wherever they live. Whether there are questions about
local or international travel and recreation, mental and physical health, elder care, the transition from the military to private career, job openings, having a baby, or purchasing a home – Military Living seeks to provide access to the information. Resources we offer can be in the form of mini-podcasts, narrated travel stories, or hot links to local, national and Federal resources. Military Living is a woman-owned organization staffed with military veterans and their family members. Come to us to see what’s out there for you.
Meet The Staff
Dale Didion
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Dale is R.J. Crawford’s brother-in-law and had started following the development of Military Living® Publications when it was operated by its founder and R.J.’s mother, Lela Ann Crawford. Dale and his wife Catherine, and children Ashley and Ryan were featured on the cover of the Military Living® Magazine when they were stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dale is proud to take the lead as CEO following R.J.’s passing and wants to expand its scope to represent the evolving interests and needs of service members and their families more fully. A great deal has changed in the lives of service members since the founding of Military Living® Publications over 50 years ago. While maximizing military benefits to travel around the world
remains a key focus, we recognize that military families are demanding more information including how to gain access to mental health benefits; the expansion of recreation information to include not only travel but also heathy living and exercise; useful tools and perspectives on dealing with the stressful reality of raising a family today; juggling family and job; care of elderly parents; and finding jobs that challenge and reward one’s military service.
Dale brings to Military Living Publications a deep understanding of government service having spent over ten years in the federal government where he worked on Capitol Hill, in the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Treasury Department where he was posted as a diplomat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Following his government service, Dale has spent over twenty years in corporate life as an executive of multi-national public affairs companies, many involved in working with US military officials domestically and overseas. As always, Military Living® Publications staff are military retirees and spouses and consider their
mission to help our readers make the most of their military career and benefits, and we seek to provide value-added advantages to membership.
Nicole
Editor
Nicole began working as an editor for Military Living® in May of 2020. She works to keep the Military Living® publications that we all know and love up to date, and shares with you the latest information on Military travel. She is a New Jersey native, an active-duty Navy wife, and a mother of 2 (plus 3 fur-babies).
She graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2006 and met her husband in Connecticut. Since then, she has lived all over the east coast, west coast, and Guam, thanks to her Navy husband and his various duty stations. Her love of history and the military began at a young age, watching WWII documentaries on the History Channel with her father, and hearing war stories from her grandfather, who was stationed aboard the USS Herndon (DD-638).
While not working or taking care of her rambunctious youngsters, in her spare time she enjoys coaching soccer, reading, birding, gardening, and photography.
Nicole can be reached directly via email at nicole@militaryliving.com.
Don
Customer Service
Don joined the team in May 2024 as our Customer Service Representative. He began his Military Career in the United States Army at Fort Knox Kentucky for basic training followed by advanced training located at Fort Lee Virginia Quartermaster School. He completed the rest of his service assigned to 121 Signal Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
He attended Florida State University where he studied business and spent his corporate career managing Accounting and Finance Departments. It was during this time that he got involved with Military Support Groups at the VA Medical Centers in Washington, DC as well as West Palm Beach, FL, helping fellow Veterans.
As a native South Floridian, he enjoys hobbies including enjoing the beach and everything above and below the water as well as college sports, specifically Florida State Football!
Don can be reached directly via email at customerservice@militaryliving.com
Alex
Bookkeeper
After a time away from the company, Alex came back to Military Living as our Bookkeeper in July of 2025. Throughout her years connected to the company, she has also worked on the Customer Service and Editorial teams. She currently helps administrate some of the back end of the business and enjoys the quiet and detail-oriented work in the Accounting department.
A long term resident of Florida, Alex is the daughter of two retired Army veterans, and moved throughout her early childhood as a result. She is an alumna of Florida State University where she studied Exercise Physiology and twirled on the Majorette Line with the Marching Chiefs. She still passionately cheers on the Seminoles during the College Football season.
Alex is married to her husband Jackson, and they enjoy running, hiking, and playing board games at local breweries together. Alex is also an avid reader of fantasy novels, enjoys cooking and learning about other cultures through their cuisine, and has dreams of one day seeing Mt. Everest in person.
Alex can be reached directly via email at accounting@militaryliving.com
Zach
Zach is our Customer Service department, helping out our readers behind the scenes and handling order fulfillment.
Zach joined the Military Living Family in October of 2018. He is an Army brat, car enthusiast, and fan of all things penguin. Zach is an active volunteer with his church AV team and prefers animals to people.
Customer Service
In Memoriam
RJ Crawford,
Bookkeeper Publisher, 40 years at Military Living®
It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that we here at Military Living® announce the passing of our President & Publisher, William "RJ" Crawford, Jr. RJ dedicated the majority of his adult life to Military Living®, the company created by his mother, Lela Ann Crawford, to serve the needs of military travelers at a time when information on military travel was a well kept secret and her husband, William Roy Crawford, Sr. was deployed to Vietnam. RJ is preceded in death by his parents who passed in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
RJ was passionate about serving the needs of the military travel community with travel news updates, websites, and travel guides. He loved biking country roads and budget travel with his beloved wife, Liz, and was very involved with his church and community activities. RJ meant a great deal to the company, our staff, his family and his community. He will be sorely missed.
Many of you, our readers, our customers, our military travel community, have been with us for a long time and know the Crawford family personally, so we wanted to share this information with you also. Thank you for your loyalty to Military Living® and the Crawford Family throughout the years.
Meet The Board of Advisors
Colonel Lorraine Breen
United States Army (Retired)
Ms. Lorraine “Lorrie” Breen serves as the Special Assistant to the President for Business Operations and Acting Director of University Academic Operations, at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Bethesda, Maryland. In this capacity, she provides counsel to university leadership on business policies and processes and is responsible for all academic support functions and institutional accreditation.
Ms. Breen is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and former member of the Army Medical Specialist Corps. She joined USU in 2014 after a 28-year military career. While on active duty, she held various positions which included Chief, Nutrition Care Directorate, Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Executive Officer, 1st Army Medical Recruiting Battalion, 1st Recruiting Brigade, Ft. Meade, Maryland; Commander, 2nd Army Medical Recruiting Battalion, 2nd Recruiting Brigade, Fort Gillem, Georgia; Commander, U.S. Army Health Center, Vicenza and Livorno, Italy; and served as the Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Pentagon, as her final military assignment.
Ms. Breen is a graduate of the Army Medical Department Officer Basic and Advance Courses, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Eisenhower School of National Security and Resources Strategy, National Defense University, Washington, DC. Her awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with 2 OLC, the Army Achievement Medal with 5 OLC, the Recruiter Badge, and the Order of Military Medical Merit.
Ms. Breen holds several professional licenses to include Registered Dietitian from the Commission on Dietetics Registration, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Licensed Dietitian from the Board of Dietetic Practice, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Other awards and affiliations include: Dame of Malta, Sovereign Military Order of Malta; Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Marywood University, Scranton, Pennsylvania; Recipient of Marywood University 2013 Alumni Award of Excellence in Health and Human Service; Member of Board of Trustees for Marywood University, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 2007-2019 and 2022 to present.
Colonel Richard H. Breen, Jr
United States Army (Retired)
Colonel Richard H. Breen, Jr., United States Army (Retired) is a 30-year veteran of the Army. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps in 1977 upon graduation from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Colonel Breen has been assigned to a wide variety of joint command and staff positions throughout his career. Notable jobs include the Commander of the Soldiers Media Center, the largest military internal communications organization in the world managing the Army Broadcasting Commands in Germany, Honduras, Italy, Alaska, Korea and the Kwajalein Atoll, the Army Newspaper Program, the Army-Air Force Hometown News Center Program, the army.mil website, the Radio and Television News Service and broadcast teams deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia.
In addition, he was the Director of Public Affairs for the United States Army Military District of Washington headquartered at Fort Leslie J. McNair in Washington, DC. During his tenure, he served as the spokesperson for the command after the Pentagon was hit by American Airlines Flight 77 on September 11, 2001. He has given numerous briefings on his account in the past 20 years. Additional jobs include the Commander, American Forces Radio and Television Network, Seoul, Korea, Commander, 2nd Battalion 68th Armor Regiment in Baumholder, West Germany and Director of Broadcast Operations for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service in Burbank, California.
Colonel Breen currently serves as the Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs at the Pentagon. In this role he is responsible for all the communications regarding health issues in the Department ranging from policies on Warfighter Brain Health to Digital Health Strategies and everything in between, including the communication on health-related issues to 9.5 million beneficiaries and their families around the world.
Colonel Breen is a graduate of the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA, the Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he also holds a Master of Military Art and Science degree, Central Michigan University with a MS degree in Administrative Management and he completed a one-year fellowship with Fleishman – Hillard Public Relations International. He is a member of the United States Army Public Affairs Hall of Fame, the Cardinal O’Hara High School Hall of Fame, the Frank O’Hara Alumni Award of Excellent from the University of Scranton and numerous military awards and decorations. Recently, he received two Telly awards for a documentary he wrote and produced called, “Covid -19: A Threat Like No Other” which describes the role of the Military Health System during the pandemic.
He is married to Colonel (RET) Lorraine Breen, an Army Medical Specialist Corps officer who is a special advisor to the President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. Besides all this, Colonel Breen is an avid fan of all sports in Philadelphia, especially the Philadelphia Eagles and plans to be in London the next time they play overseas.
Walter J. Cooner
Operations Division Chief (DI/DCT/DCT-1)
Walter Jordan “Walt” Cooner is currently the Chief of the Defense Counterterrorism Office’s (DCT) Operations Division (DCT-1). A seasoned Arabist and Middle East specialist, Mr. Cooner’s career includes tours as: Deputy Chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Executive Support Office (ESO) and Principal Liaison to the National Security Council; Iran Analysis Division Chief; ESO’s Technology Division Chief; the Senior Briefer for the Undersecretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; Senior Analyst for Arabian Peninsula Issues; U.S. Defense Attaché to the Sultanate of Oman; U.S. Air Attaché to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Sudan; and several stints in Iraq, most notably with the multi-agency Regime Crimes Liaison Office during Saddam Hussain’s trial.
Walt retired from the United States Air Force as a colonel in December 2000 after 27 years of service. During that time, he flew for the Wings of Blue competition jump team, was a professor of Middle East History and Tactical Leadership, and served as an Associate Air Officer Commanding at the U.S. Air Force Academy; served as a special advisor to the Air Force Chief of Staff during the first Gulf War and was the Air Staff’s Middle East Branch Chief at the Pentagon. A command pilot with over 8,000 hours in five military aircraft—two-thirds of which were as an instructor or flight examiner—he participated in numerous global special operations, among which was the 1980 Iran Rescue attempt (Operation Eagle Claw). His final Air Force assignment was as Director of Global Management (FMS) with the Air Force Security Assistance Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
His private sector career included three years as Director of International Marketing for a Virginia aviation logistics and helicopter repair firm, time as an Adjunct Fellow for Arabian Gulf issues with the RAND Corporation, and contract work throughout the Middle East with CIA and DIA. He is fluent in Arabic, understands Farsi, and has worked in—or traveled to—every country in the Middle East and North Africa with the exception of Libya.
Mr. Cooner is a graduate of the Air War College, the Air Command and Staff College, the Marine Command and Staff College, holds a B.A. in Asian History from Emory University, and an M.A. in Military History from the Ohio State University. Born in Auburn, Alabama, he is married and has an adult daughter. In his spare time, he enjoys flying, scuba diving, hiking, commercial art, cooking, historical research and philanthropic pursuits. Mr. Cooner maintains flight currency in a CJ-6 Yak with Warbirds, a vintage aircraft flying association.
Stefan (Stef) and Virginia (Ginger) Dosedel
United States Air Force (Retired)
Stefan (Stef) and Virginia (Ginger) Dosedel have been around the military community their entire lives. Stef as the son of DoD Defense Schools (DoDDS; now DoDEA) teachers was born and raised in Europe. He subsequently served 28 years on active duty with the Air Force and is currently serving as a civilian program manager for the Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. Ginger is the daughter of a career Air Force officer and has served as a civilian financial manager for the Air Force for over 20 years (retired in 2022) and continues to support the local military community in a variety of ways.
Ginger was the founder and President of “Sew Much Comfort” – a non-profit that served wounded service members with adaptive clothing while recovering from traumatic injuries (orthopedic, burns, amputations, etc.). While stationed in DC in the early stages of the Iraq War, their oldest son went to physical therapy at Walter Reed. He noticed many service members were going through some of the same medical issues he had experienced and required external fixation for orthopedic injuries. He asked Ginger to make the same clothing for the troops as she had made for him, as they didn’t have any adaptive clothing to allow them to dress. Gathering seamstresses from the US and across the globe, the organization created and donated thousands of clothing items each year provided by hundreds of volunteer seamstresses to over 150 locations. These items allowed wounded service members to return to normal life quicker and easier, provided a more comfortable transport, and helped to overcome their restrictions of the wounds with dignity. The organization was also able to put adaptive clothing in the regulation dictating proper uniform standards. Throughout this time, Ginger contributed as one of the authors on a blog for military spouses, MilSpouse.
Their careers have taken them to California, Florida, Colorado, Alabama, Washington DC, Stuttgart, Germany and Ohio – where they currently live. They have 3 sons: Mike, Tom, and Sean; 2 of whom continue in the “family business” of working as civil servants for the US Air Force.
They both enjoy traveling and indulged in this passion frequently while stationed in Europe! They also enjoy biking and hiking.
Sophia Vasiliadis
United States Air Force
Sophia Vasiliadis is an active duty Major in the United States Air Force, currently stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. She supports Special Air Missions as a member of the 89th Airlift Wing, serving both as an Instructor Pilot in the C-37A/B (military Gulfstream V/550) and as the Director of Operations for the Executive Airlift Formal Training Unit.
Prior to her current assignment, Sophia served as an Instructor Pilot in the HC-130J, specializing in the combat search and rescue mission. While assigned to the 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, she has deployed twice—first to Al Asad, Iraq in 2020, and later to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021. She has over 2,100 flight hours and counting.
Sophia was born in Great Falls, Virginia, and is the middle of five siblings in a close-knit family. Her grandfather, Colonel (Ret.) Charles “VAS” Vasiliadis, inspired—though she jokes “bamboozled”—her into applying to the Air Force Academy, where she graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research. Of eleven grandchildren, she is the only one to follow in his footsteps, both serving in the Air Force and becoming a pilot. She often says she had no idea what she was getting herself into but feels incredibly fortunate for the opportunities she has had and the people she has met along the way.
In her spare time, Sophia enjoys cooking, spending time with family and friends, and exploring her current neighborhood of Old Town Alexandria. Being stationed close to home while serving on active duty is something she does not take for granted.
Laura Hoover
Laura Hoover has been a part of the military community all her life in many different capacities. Born on an Air Force base in Japan, she grew up living in military communities in Europe, Asia, and Colorado along with her Department of Defense Educational Activity (DoDEA) teacher mother and her GS civil engineer father. While in college, Laura met and married her husband and over the next 24 years they would move 9 times, both in the US and in Europe. As a military spouse, Laura completed her Bachelor’s Degree by attending three different universities in Colorado, Arizona, and Illinois. Earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management from McKendree College, she well understands the impact DoD careers have on family members.
Over the years, Laura, like most military spouses, has had several different career opportunities, and a vast array of volunteer positions. She has worked for a small advertising firm, been a substitute teacher, and administered grant program information for a statewide continuing education program. As a volunteer, she has held various board positions with multiple military spouses’ groups, run a squadron newsletter, been a girl scout leader, and co-chaired an ~$75,000 per year ways and means position for a 501(c)3 charity. She is currently a Red Cross volunteer at the hospital medical library at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.
Laura is married to Crinley “Scott” Hoover, a retired US Air Force Colonel. Scott continues to serve the Nation as a member of the Senior Executive Service in Washington DC. They have 2 adult daughters, Faith and Claire, who attended 6 different schools before settling in Northern Virginia after Scott’s retirement.
Andrew Nielsen
Colonel USAF (Retired)
Andrew Nielsen is a retired United Air Force Colonel currently renovating a 120-acre farm in Southwestern Pennsylvania with Kate, his wife of 30 years.
Andy graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 1988 earning a degree in Meteorology and a commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. A Master Navigator with 3,800 hours in C-130E/H and MC-130H aircraft, he has conventional and special operations experience spanning the Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Andy’s operational deployments include DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a tour of duty in Afghanistan where he coordinated Afghan army and police training and shaped pre-deployment and in-theater training for U.S. combat forces.
Andy’s staff experience includes working at the Headquarters, U.S. Air Force where he prepared senior leaders to defend the Air Force Program within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and to Congress. He also led U.S. Special Operations Command’s Special Operations Support Team at the Department of Homeland Security, coordinating interagency actions in support of global counterterror operations. His final military post was as Special Operations Chair and Assistant Professor of National Security Studies at the National Defense University.
After retiring from the Air Force Andy worked for Systems Planning and Analysis where he managed the $100M annual budget for OSD’s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office and assisted in the creation and oversight of the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics.
