Keeping with our “Honor Your Hero” theme of the American Hero Award Contest, we are profiling Veteran organizations and their heroic work. If you’re interested in having your organization featured, please contact Katherine@vamortgagecenter.com

Veterans For Peace is a 22-year-old organization with 7,000 members. Veterans For Peace delivered 24,000 phone cards to patients in 149 VA hospitals last Christmas. This year the organization is planning a larger effort, raising $90,000 to do so. Veterans for Peace also helps 80,000 Iraqis get safe drinking water, supports orphanages in Vietnam and Afghanistan, and has an NGO seat in the United Nations. As part of the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines, Veterans for Peace shares a part of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Northern New York chapter of Veterans for Peace helped pass the New York State depleted uranium (the “new Agent Orange”) GI/vet coverage law, which has served as a legal precedent for other states. The chapter also informed the VA headquarters of 4,000 nationwide free support groups that provide help for individuals suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The chapter has also begun assisting the Gandhi Institute on how to help America heal after the conflict in Iraq, including ensuring that troops aren’t passively blamed by neglecting their needs.

We would like to offer our thanks to Roland Van Deusen, US Navy 1967-8, Naval Reserve 1962-72, a Vietnam era Veteran who provided us with information about the achievements of Veterans for Peace, nationwide and in New York. To learn more about the Northern NY Chapter (Chapter 121) please visit www.vfp-northcountry.org or contact info@vfp-northcountry.org. To learn more about Veterans for Peace nationwide, please visit http://www.veteransforpeace.org.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-11-15-afghan_N.htm

It is really sad that this is still the case in Afghanistan, but at least the press and someone is admitting and recognizing it. The bottom line is this, back in February the Task Force Phoenix mission was asked to take over training, mentoring and leading the Afghan National Police and Border Police in addition to its normal mission of train, mentoring and leading the Afghan National Army. While this sounds great because we are affecting more people, however the Task Force was not increased in size. So to do that much more work without giving the Task Force any more people, means you are not going to be as effective. The formula is this; To do more with less, means you are doing less.

When they took my 13 man team training and embedded with the Afghan Army and made them a 4 man team because they put they put the rest of us with the ANP it was a serious morale buster. What little traction we gained with the ANA was essentially lost when we had to leave them. There was no way that 4 guys could effectively train and lead the ANA in missions. It takes many more people than that to conduct missions safely. At the same time, throwing soldiers at the ANP problem without a well thought out plan and resources means we spent a lot of time doing nothing. That has been almost 8 months and from what I have heard from the front it has not gotten much better. The Task Force is being forced to play the shell game and move people around but not add anyone. So reading this article is not surprising. Until they double the number of troops in the Task Force so they can effectively cover down on both forces (police and army) then they will continue to spin their wheels.

As I always say in the civilian sector, you can either give 100% to one task or 50% to two. It is time for NATO, or someone to pony up and get serious about training these guys, otherwise we will be there for 20 more years rather than the 10 I currently estimate we will be there.

I’m not one to normally complain about the Army. I take it all in with a grain of salt realizing the Army is just a huge bureaucracy and move along. I love the Army. I love everything about it. I love the discipline; I love the order; I love the opportunities; I love the benefits.

But, I don’t love it when the Army gets completely stupid and loses its identity:
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Congress is screwing with our military budget which is going to greatly affect how we can supply, man, and equip personnel on the front lines. More affected will be those of us back home as funds are diverted from installations and Soldier programs here. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is threatening to send pre-Christmas furlough notices to thousands of base employees and close child-care and family-counseling programs early next year. What this means is that these employees will be sent home unpaid for a determined (or undetermined) amount of time. These are employees that ensure Soldiers and spouses are taken care of as well as providing much needed services to assist with military operations. I blame the Democratic Congress - just as much as I blamed the Republican Congress back in 1995.

I remember being in language school in November 1995 undergoing the arduous task of becoming the best darn Army linguist known to man!! It was about one month after the OJ Simpson trial had mesmerized the entire US population as the murderer was declared innocent. Much like the Democrats today, the Republicans were including unrelated spending items in an unrelated government budget. Democrats wanted to raise the legal debt ceiling of the federal government and Republicans wanted to abolish government agencies that were redundant. Also included in the spending bill at the time were Medicare issues. Many of the teachers were sent home and we Privates went about the business of painting rocks, mowing grass, and plucking weeds on Fort Ord.
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The MSM has found something they can sink their fangs into to rally the anti-war masses again:

Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

While the totals are still far lower than they were during the Vietnam War, when the draft was in effect, they show a steady increase over the past four years and a 42 percent jump since last year.

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On October 1st, 2007 Tri-care released an entire new health care program for all members of the Reserve component. The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (P.L. 109-364) enhanced the Tri-care plan, which is now the Tricare Reserve Select Plan provides low-cost and comprehensive health care coverage for all active drilling National Guard and Reserve members. This new plan that went into effect on October 1st, provides the lowest premiums ever and for the first time full and wide open qualification by just being a serving member. Previously the plan was in a tiered fashion that charged different rates based on the servicemember’s status. The highest level of the tier was as costly as an individual buying their own healthcare without a group discount.

The new Tricare Reserve Select (TRS) provides full Tricare standard coverage to individuals for a mere $81 a month and full family coverage for only $253 a month. That is much cheaper that many company provided health care plans in the market today. I know that is over $50 cheaper than the plan my company offers. In addition to the cheap monthly rates, it also has very low deductibles, with family deductibles for E6 and higher only being $150 per person or $300 max for the family. Looking at the plans my company provides that is much cheaper than the $250 per person, $1250 per family they offer. These rates are pretty common with company provided health insurance plans across the board.

Since my family is coming off of 19 months of Tricare coverage based on my Title 10 deployment, we are already used to the doctors, coverage and process in using Tricare. Their coverage and reimbursements have been very good and much better than the CHAMPUS days of past. If someone was enrolled in the old plan, they must still sign up for the new one as the coverage does not roll over. The only requirement to receive this new plan is simply to be a actively drilling member of the reserve component (includes National Guard) .

I have written about the benefits of being a military member before on everything from restaurant discounts to special services, and this one is definitely another benefit that should not be passed up if a person is a serving member of the Reserves or National Guard. For more information or to enroll contact your state representative listed on http://www.tricare.mil/mybenefit, select the “benefits update” link for the Tricare Reserve Select information page.

VA Mortgage Center.com has launched a contest for honoring veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The American Hero Award, which comes with a prize of $5,000, will be awarded to the veteran who receives the most votes on the company’s website.

This year’s theme calls on citizens to “Honor Your Hero” by nominating friends and family members they think deserve to be recognized. Nominations will be accepted on the website until December 14, 2007. All nominations should explain why the nominee deserves to be recognized in 300 words or less.

Ten finalists will be selected and an open online vote will be used to determine the winner. Finalists will have their photograph and bios featured on the VA Mortgage Center.com voting page. Along with the $5,000 donation to the winning Veteran, VA Mortgage Center.com will be awarding $500 to each of the ten finalists.

Visit our Honor Your Hero page now to nominate a Veteran!

Today I participated in a radio show called The Forum, on San Francisco radio station, KQED. The station is a public radio station that carries and broadcasts on NPR. The show was carried on NPR, to include on Sirius Satellite Radio. I must say it was a complete honor to be asked to be on the show and I am very glad I took part. The host, Michael Krasny had several guests from the milblogging community and one from a local veteran’s support agency. I was the only person on the show from Afghanistan, while the other three guests had all been to Iraq.

I was a little skeptical doing a show on a radio station in a city as liberal as San Fran and on one that carries NPR. Both of those entities are known to be ultra-left, President Bush hating types. However, I figured that they asked me to be there so they must be interested in what I had to say. Besides, I respect everyone’s opinion…regardless of how foolish I think it is. For the most part the show went really well. We talked about the veteran’s homeless situation, the high rate of suicides amongst vets, the Pat Tillman family notification fiasco, and several other topics specific to blogging, why we started blogging and things related to that.

I could not believe however that there are those people who still think that the war in Iraq is somehow related to oil. I was listening on the phone and I heard one guest mention things like the war is a criminal act and unjust and we were all misled. I was blown away that there are still “intelligent” people out there that believe that. I could not believe that there are those whom have forgotten about all those Iraqi missiles shot at our fellow Americans enforcing the northern and southern no-fly zones. I mean, did these people forget the previous administration and the countries around the world who all agreed that Sadaam had WMDs, because that is what he led us all to believe? But clearly to think about the war in Iraq being related to oil is beyond what I can conceive. I mean, it the war in Iraq is about oil when I am going to see the benefits? If I am not mistaken, I think the pump said something link $3.15 a gallon today. If the war in Iraq has been totally focused on supplying our country oil for free, then why the heck am I paying over $3 a gallon. I should be paying like $1.00 a gallon (if this war which has cost our country thousands of lost lives and tens of thousands of maimed lives) rather than over $3.00 a gallon.

Not that I would complain about paying $1 a gallon, but I doubt our country (government or people) would support or allow us to enact war on another country just to pillage their natural resources. I surely would not support that, even for cheap gas. I have lost soldiers, friends and co-workers to the war in Iraq, and I consider it a disgrace to them and their memory to even imply our country is there for a cheap purchase at the local Exxon station.

Get a life…

I know I’m a day late, but I did post this on time on my MySpace page. This may seem a bit odd coming from a veteran, but I wanted to express my gratitude towards those that came before me.

As a Soldier, I take the service of those men and women from generations past personally. I understand to a degree what they had to endure to ensure that I would inherit a free and prosperous country. Because of their service, I grew up in the most powerful, most respected nation on this earth. And it wasn’t easy. Military service today isn’t that difficult compared to what my predecessors went through.

Today, we are paid more, better trained, better equipped, and have more benefits than at any time in history. There have been great strides in just the 13 years I’ve been in the Army. I remember making $200 paychecks as a Private and somehow surviving and supporting a wife (yes, it took a lot of Ramen and spaghetti). Today, Privates make approximately $500 every two weeks. It’s still not a lot, but it’s getting better. However, in January 1943, Privates made $50 PER MONTH before deductions.

The Korean War is also known as the Forgotten War. Over 33,600 Soldiers died during this conflict which technically never ended. There are over 8,000 still missing. The North Koreans and Chinese were brutal to our troops. Because of poor planning, poor training, and poor support our troops were forced to retreat early in the war, most likely prolonging our fighting. These veterans deserve to remembered and celebrated this Veteran’s Day as much as any other Soldier. Their accomplishments should not fade into oblivion just because they were overshadowed by a WWII and Vietnam. Remember them and please pray for them.

During the Vietnam War, this country could not have paid our Soldiers enough. While the WWII Veterans comprise the “greatest generation” I think we owe a greater debt to our Vietnam Veterans. They were drafted, underpaid, and endured adversity both in combat and at home. They came home to an ungrateful nation and many still bear those scars. Any time you see a veteran wearing a Vietnam Veteran hat or other identifier, please approach them, thank them for their service, and welcome them home. Better late than never.

If you have the ability or the opportunity (something we sometimes need to MAKE as oppose to chance upon), please visit a veteran’s home and thanks these people in person. It will mean a lot as you went out of your way for these people. Veteran’s Day is also called Remembrance Day, so please remember these veterans. Think about what you have in life and whether or not you would have these things without the sacrifices of so many willing to fight for it. Under Communist or Radical Islamist rule, many of those comforts would be forbidden. You can also visit a local VFW or American Legion. Trust me, they ALWAYS want to talk about ANYTHING!! hehe. Just make sure you take a thick skin in with you.

Last year, I put up a video on my YouTube page for Veteran’s Day. It sort of puts to music what I’ve been trying to say here. Please check it out when you can . Also, my Happy Birthday thoughts are sent out to all those brave Marines past and present in commemoration of the Corps Birthday.

Happy Veteran’s Day!!

For some odd reason unbeknownst to me, I’ve never participated in this project. It’s not that I don’t support it, I’ve just never been in a position to do anything about it when the project was going on. Even now, I’m getting into it late.

Valour-IT is a Soldier’s Angels project whose goal is to provide laptops for severely wounded service members. Every cent raised through this program goes to just that. There’s nothing like the ability to remain in contact with your family while recovering from wounds sustained on the battlefield.

I recently returned home from El Paso, TX where I attended the First Sergeants Course on Fort Bliss (more on that on another post). While I was there, a singer/songwriter named David Joseph visited our PX. He had just finished up a live set and was asking the audience to grab a copy of a DVD of his song “I’m Coming Home“, even if they didn’t purchase one of his CD’s. I was sort of in a hurry and just went about my way. About 30 minutes later, he took the stage again and I had an opportunity to listen to him. This is the song he sung (stay with me there’s a purpose to all this):

If the video didn’t work, go HERE.

After hearing the song and watching the video play in the background, I couldn’t help but immediately think about my own homecoming. David explained that portions of the proceeds from the sale of his video go to Fisher House. Having visited Fisher House on a number of occasions, I naturally wanted to be first in line to purchase a copy. My original intent was to purchase a copy to raffle off to raise money for They Have Names. I introduced myself to David and explained what I was going to do with my copy of the CD and asked permission to place the song on my website so my readers could hear it. He agreed and wouldn’t let me pay for the CD. We discussed it a bit and finally agreed that I’d accept a free copy only if he let me purchase another. He also gave me four free DVDs of his video.

When I got home I realized that Valour-IT was going on and I haven’t done anything with it in the past two years to help. So, in an effort to help the cause, I’m raffling off TWO signed copies of David Joseph’s “I’m Coming Home” CD and FOUR copies of the the DVD single of “I’m Coming Home” that is above. Raffle tickets are only going to be $5 each this time and I’ll be accepting donations through Thanksgiving. At that time, I will announce the winners and present the money to the Valour-IT project. I will create a weekly update to announce how much money you have raised until then. These CDs and DVDs would make a great gift to those of you with adopted Soldiers (or keep them for yourselves). To purchase your tickets, just use the donation link on the sidebar. Any money collected between now and Thanksgiving will go directly to Valour-IT regardless of the donation size.

For my blogger and MySpace friends, please share this with as many people as possible. Those of you with hundreds of emails in your address, please spam them! :o) Let’s help Valour-IT make their goal and become a huge contributor to a great cause.  To donate, please visit www.soldiersperspective.us and use the donation link in the upper right hand corner.  All forms of payment are available (bank card, paypal, visa, MC, etc).  And thank you.

PS, for those that don’t win the CD or DVD, you can purchase your own copy at David Joseph’s website.