Jan 14, 2013
Military.com| by Bryant Jordan
Veterans' checks could be delayed and active-duty troops may not get paid if the ongoing battle between the White House and Republican-led Congress results in a government shutdown over the debt ceiling, President Obama said Monday.
Though the Department of Veterans Affairs and Pentagon were not discussed in any detail during the roughly 40-minute White House press conference, veterans and troops – along with Social Security recipients – topped the list of those Obama said will be adversely affected by a government shutdown.
"If congressional Republicans refuse to pay Americans bills on time, Social Security benefits and veterans' checks will be delayed," he said. "We might not be able to pay our troops or honor our contact for small business owners."
Calculate your gross monthly pay by rank, location or duty.
Let your elected officials know how you feel about this issue.
"I'm willing to find compromise and common ground [with Congress] on how to reduce the deficit … but there's no room to debate about paying bills Congress has already racked up," he said.
Any additional cuts, he said, must not be connected to raising the country's current $16.4 trillion debt limit.
As happened a year ago, the House of Representatives is threatening to not raise the debt ceiling unless it gets the spending cuts it wants. The Defense Department has signed off on $487 billion in cuts over the next five years. Additional cuts – the result of a sequestration deal Congress made a year ago to prompt it to pass a budget – also remain a possibility.
Those across-the-board cuts are now slated to take effect in March, when the short-term deal reached in January to head of the "fiscal cliff" deal expires.
Political pressure had, up to now, sheltered the VA from any sequestration cuts.
Past administrations, both Democrat and Republican, have routinely asked Congress to raise the debt limit in order to allow the country to pay bills and continue to borrow money. Though at times there has been criticism and debate, it has only been since Obama took office in 2009 that Republicans have routinely turned the debt limit vote into a hostage crisis, the president said.
"They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy," Obama said. "The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip."
"We can act responsibly and pay America's bills, or act irresponsibly and put American through another economic crisis … We've got to stop lurching from crisis to crisis to crisis," he said.
Other public safety jobs jeopardized by a government shutdown include food inspectors, air traffic controllers and special investigators tracking loose nuclear materials, according to Obama, but the markets would also be seriously hurt.
Obama hit some in Congress who dismiss government spending as a non-player when it comes to the economy, until the spending has to do with defense projects in their back yard. He called out lawmakers who play down the value of government jobs in the economy except when it comes to protecting defense contractors in their home districts
"Some of the same folks who say we got to cut spending, or complain that government jobs don't do anything – when it comes to that defense contractor in their district, they think 'Wow! This is a pretty important part of the economy in my district," Obama said. "We shouldn't stop spending on that. Let's just make sure we're not spending on those other folks.'"
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/01/20/obama-to-be-no-show-at-heroes-ball.html?comp=7000024213943&rank=1
Obama to be No-Show at 'Heroes' Ball
Jan 20, 2013
Military.com| by Bryant Jordan
For the second time President Barack Obama will not attend an Inaugural event ball held to recognize Medal of Honor recipients.
A spokesman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee confirmed Friday that Obama would attend only the official Inaugural Ball and the Commander-in-Chief’s ball -- the latter of which is just for servicemembers and where MoH recipients are special guests.
Obama was criticized by some four years ago when he became the first President to skip the American Legion’s Salute to Heroes ball since it was first held in 1953.
Also noticeably absent from the planned list of attendees for the Jan. 21 event is former Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer, one of only three living MoH recipients from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and the only one who will not be present.
“As I understand it, invitations were sent to all living MOH recipients. 25 of them decided to attend our banquet,” Legion spokesman Marty Callaghan said in an email Friday. Meyer, who received the nation’s highest award for valor for going to the rescue of U.S. and Afghan troops caught in an ambush in 2009, could not be reached for comment.
Those scheduled to attend include Salvatore Giunta and Leroy Petry, former Army staff sergeants who, like Meyer, received the Medal for actions in Afghanistan. The Medal of Honor has been awarded seven other times since 2001 – three for actions in Afghanistan and four in Iraq. In all those cases the award was presented posthumously.
Also scheduled to attend the Salute to Heroes ball are World War II veterans Walter Ehlers and Hershel Williams; Korean War vets Thomas Hudner and Ronald Rosser; and 19 Medal of Honor recipients from the Vietnam War: John Baca, Donald Ballard, Gary Beikirch, Patrick Brady, Sammy Davis, Roger Donlon, Harold Fritz, Joe Jackson, Jack Jacobs, Walter Marm, Jr.; Thomas Norris, Robert O’Malley, Robert Patterson, Alfred Rascon, Ronald Ray, Gordon Roberts, James Sprayberry, Kenneth Stumpf and Brian Thacker. In all, the 25 veterans slated to attend the ball represent about a third of the living Medal of Honor recipients, according to the Legion.
The Legion began holding the Salute to Heroes Ball in 1953 as part of the Inauguration Day events surrounding the swearing in of Dwight Eisenhower as the 34th President of the United States.
Every president since then made an appearance at the ball until Obama four years ago.
Following charges that he “snubbed” the Medal of Honor recipients the White House released a statement saying Obama appeared only the balls organized by Presidential Inaugural Committee. The statement also pointed out the special invitation status of MoH recipients at the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball.
At the time the American Legion also issued a statement intended to defuse the criticism.
“Of course, we would have loved for him to make an appearance, but he didn’t,” the statement read in part. “He did meet with the troops at the Commander In Chief’s Ball, and we are grateful for that. Our Ball wasn’t about the President; it was about the Medal of Honor recipients and the veterans and families who were there.”
=====
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/01/17/military-leaders-warn-congres-of-hollow-force.html?ESRC=dod.nl
Military Leaders Warn Congress of 'Hollow' Force
Jan 17, 2013
Associated Press| by Robert Burns
WASHINGTON - The nation's top military leaders warned Congress in unusually stark terms that its failure to pass a 2013 defense budget - coupled with the threat of automatic budget cuts - has pushed the Pentagon to the brink of a crisis.
They wrote in a joint letter to congressional leaders that the readiness of U.S. armed forces is at a "tipping point."
A copy of the letter was provided Wednesday to The Associated Press.
The military leaders said that troops in combat and those who are being treated for wounds will get the funds needed. But the rest of the force will be severely compromised if the Pentagon has to continue operating on last year's budget.
"We are on the brink of creating a hollow force," said the letter signed by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and National Guard, as well as the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Pentagon is facing two major money problems. First is the threat of drastic additional budget cuts if Congress and the Obama administration are unable to agree on debt-reduction measures by March. The second is Congress' failure thus far to pass a 2013 budget; that has left the Pentagon on a spending path based on its previous budget.
In their letter the military leaders said the main risk is that budget conditions will create such a wide disconnect between their spending needs and the available funds that the armed forces will be ill prepared for future combat.
"Should this looming readiness crisis be left unaddressed, we will have to ground aircraft, return ships to port, and stop driving combat vehicles in training," they wrote, adding that training would have to be reducing by almost half of what was planning just three months ago.
"To avert this crisis we urge you to take immediate action to provide adequate and stable funding for readiness," they wrote.
"Under current budgetary uncertainty, we are at grave risk of an imposed mismatch between the size of our nation's military force and the funding required to maintain its readiness, which will inevitably lead to a hollow force."
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has been making similar arguments. Last Thursday he told a Pentagon news conference that the threat of drastic spending cuts triggered by failure to reach a debt-reduction deal by March, coupled with Congress' failure to pass a 2013 defense budget, is creating "a perfect storm of budget uncertainty."
"We have no idea what the hell's going to happen," he said. "All told, this uncertainty, if left unresolved by the Congress, will seriously harm our military readiness."
In a statement responding to the Joint Chiefs' letter, Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that it should serve as a "wake-up call" to Congress and the White House.
"The condition of our armed forces is swiftly declining. And this is the first red flag on what could be a hazardous road for our national security," said McKeon, R-Calif.
=====
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/12/05/dod-accused-of-slowing-va-claims-process.html?ESRC=eb.nl
DoD Accused of Slowing VA Claims Process
Dec 05, 2012
A congressional subcommittee on Tuesday questioned whether the Defense Department’s record-keeping at the unit level is contributing to delays in the Department of Veterans Affairs claims process.
The VA has regularly taken a beating from Congress and veterans service organizations for delays -- sometimes lasting more than a year -- in veterans getting a decision on applications for disability and health benefits.
Rep. Jon Runyan, R-N.J., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on disability assistance, said there has to be better collaboration between the VA and Defense Department to make it easier on troops transitioning back to the civilian world.
“VA has a statutory duty to assist a claimant in obtaining certain records,” he said. “Accordingly, it is important that we work together to ensure that VA is able to communicate both effectively and efficiently with both the National Archives and Defense Department to comply with this duty.”
But Runyan said there is some evidence that record-keeping at the active-duty units in the combat theater has been poor, including documentation of combat-related incidents. That’s hurting the VA’s ability to carry out its own mission in assisting vets, he said.
James Neighbors, director of the DoD/VA Collaboration Office at the Pentagon, said the Defense Department has consistently improved its ability to identify and track troops’ records in and out of the theaters. A Joint Services Records Research Center provides unit information and deck logs to the VA for post-traumatic stress disorder through the Defense Personnel Records Information System, he said.
The joint center conducts PTSD claims research for the VA, he said. Also, the Army maintains a database with the names of about 758,000 troops and more than 900,000 daily unit locations in the Persian Gulf region to which the troops are assigned. This information is also provided to the VA for claims purposes.
The backlog has been a sore point among veterans and members of Congress. Notwithstanding the VA’s hiring of thousands of new staff and professionals in the past two years, the wait on claims and for people to see health professionals has only increased.
In 2011, more than 1.3 million claims were filed, according to the VA. That is twice the number filed before the invasion of Afghanistan and does not count the claims filed every year since that war and the start of the Iraq War.
At least part of the increase in claims, however, is related to the VA’s decision to expand the number of illnesses it accepts as related to exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. That immediately opened up the claims system to a large number of aging Vietnam veterans.
In January, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki testified before Congress that a paperless system was the only way to eliminate the claims backlog. The goal is to have every claim acted on within 125 days of it being filed, with an accuracy rate of 98 percent, he said.
Alan Bozeman, director of the VA’s Veterans Benefits Management System, said the agency currently has contracts with two firms, totaling $22 million, to scan millions of VA documents. Optical and intelligent character recognition technologies are also being utilized so that even handwritten and photographic data and information can be searched for among the digitized documents, he said.
Bozeman said that as the companies get more efficient he expects up to 60 million documents a month will be processed between them. He also said the contract is such that whichever company shows the greater productivity will be able to get more of the VA’s work.
“Paperless claims processing through [the Veterans Benefits Management System] while maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data, is critical to our transformation goal of eliminating the claims backlog in 2015 and ensuring timely and quality delivery of benefits and services to our veterans, their families, and survivors,” he said.
=====
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/12/04/stolen-valor-law-20-passes-in-senate.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Stolen Valor Law 2.0 Passes in Senate
Dec 04, 2012
Military.com| by Bryant Jordan
A law designed to punish those who boast battlefield medals for heroics they never performed passed the Senate on Monday, marking the second bid by Congress to outlaw lying about war records.
The first so-called Stolen Valor Law was declared unconstitutional in June by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that lying about military service was protected speech.
This time around lawmakers have anchored the law on lying about awards and decorations for "tangible benefit or personal gain," not strictly lying for the sake of lying. The bill was filed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a Vietnam combat veteran, shortly after the high court knocked down the original 2006 law.
"For someone who has not served to come in and get material benefit from something they did not do is just not right," Webb said in an interview with Norfolk TV station WTKR in July, when he filed the legislation that is now set to become part of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.
The House of Representatives already passed its own version of the law, so final language has to be worked out before it can be signed. Under the Senate version anyone found guilty of violating the Stolen Valor law would be fined and possibly jailed for not more than 6 months, or both. The House version would put violators in jail for up to a year.
The new law states that benefits include any provided by the local, state or federal government for military service, earn a job, run for elective office, or attain an appointment to a board or position on a non-profit.
Webb's bill was cosponsored by Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.
The 2006 version of the Stolen Valor Act made it a crime to make any false statements claiming military awards and decorations.
A California man, Xavier Alvarez, was convicted of violating the law for claiming to have earned the Medal of Honor. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine but appealed the case up to the Supreme Court, which struck it down.
Webb and others argued the law is necessary to protect the integrity of military decorations, since those who earn them are held in high regard by the public. False claims of receiving such medals or serving in the military, the bill language states, "are especially likely to be harmful and material to employers, voters in deciding to whom paid elective positions should be entrusted, and in the award of contracts."
"Military service and military awards are held in such great respect that public and private decisions are correctly influenced by claims of heroism," the bill states, arguing that making false claims about military service and heroism are "an especially noxious means of obtaining something of value."
=====
Good Morning,
Please find the attached Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Press Release regarding a new public service announcement (PSA) to let women Veterans know they've come to “The Right Place” when seeking VA health care.
Key messages in the PSA include: assuring women Veterans that VA is ready to serve them; encouraging viewers to rethink assumptions that all Veterans are male; and reminding Americans that women Veterans are coming home, separating from service, or returning to Guard or Reserve status.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Aakash Bhatt, Congressional Relations Officer, at (202) 461-6444 or email at Aakash.Bhatt@va.gov.
Sincerely,
Lee Ann Haley
Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs' Liaison Service
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
B-328 Rayburn House Office Building P: (202) 225-2280
F: (202) 453-5225
=====
Million Veteran Program Enrolls 100,000th
Volunteer
WASHINGTON -
The Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program (MVP) recently
enrolled its 100,000th volunteer research participant, and now stands
at more than 110,000 enrollees, marking a major milestone in the nearly 90-year
history of VA research.
“MVP is a
truly historic effort, in terms of both VA research and medical research in
general,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans
nationwide are helping to create a database that has the potential to help
millions around the country – Veteran and non-Veteran alike. They are
continuing to serve the nation well beyond the time they stopped wearing the
uniform.”
Launched in
2011, MVP is a landmark research effort aimed at better understanding how genes
affect health. Up to a million Veterans are expected to enroll in the VA study
over the next six years. Data and genetic samples collected through the study
are stored securely and made available for studies by authorized researchers,
with stringent safeguards in place to protect Veterans’ private health
information. MVP is now at 40 VA medical centers nationwide, with additional VA
sites opening for enrollment in the coming year.
With more than
110,000 enrollees to date, MVP already far exceeds the enrollment numbers of any
single VA study or research program in the past.
“This
milestone has come about thanks to our Veteran participants and lots of hard
work and dedication on the part of VA researchers and the entire MVP team,” said
VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel.
VA Chief
Research and Development Officer Dr. Joel Kupersmith added, “VA could not have
achieved this without our altruistic Veteran volunteers.” He called MVP “an
extremely important partnership that is paving the road toward the world’s
largest database of health information and improved health care for future
generations.”
MVP provides
researchers with a rich resource of genetic, health, lifestyle, and
military-exposure data collected from questionnaires, medical records, and
genetic analyses. By combining this information into a single database, MVP
promises to advance knowledge about the complex links between genes and health.
Authorized researchers are able to use MVP data to help answer important
questions on a wide range of health conditions affecting Veterans, from
military-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain
injury, to common chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
MVP-related
discoveries also promise to advance the field of personalized medicine, which
aims to tailor medical care based on people’s individual genetic profiles.
Personalized medicine is expected to yield more effective treatments and reduce
costs, given its emphasis on prevention.
Veterans’
privacy and confidentiality are top priorities in MVP, as in all VA research.
Rigorous measures are taken to protect MVP participants’ personal information,
including secure storage of data and samples using a bar-code system.
Researchers approved for access to MVP data do not receive the name, date of
birth, social security number, or address of participating Veterans.
Furthermore, authorized researchers conduct their analyses only within VA’s
secure, centralized computing environment, known as GenISIS (Genomic Information
System for Integrated Science).
For more
information about MVP, visit
www.research.va.gov/MVP
# # #
=====
Good Morning,
Please find the attached Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) Press Release announcing that five new members have been appointed to
the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, an expert panel that advises VA
on issues and programs affecting women Veterans.
Established in 1983, the committee makes
recommendations to the Secretary for administrative and legislative
changes. The new committee members, who are appointed to two-year terms,
are: Gina Chandler, Bryant, Ark.; Larri
Gerson, Dunedin, Fla.; Mary Morin,
Raymond, N.H.; Charlotte S. Smith,
Farmington, N.M.; and Mary
Westmoreland, Bronxville, N.Y..
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact
Mr. Aakash Bhatt, Congressional Relations Officer, at (202) 461-6444 or
email at
Aakash.Bhatt@va.gov.
Sincerely,
Lee Ann
Haley
Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs'
Liaison Service
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
189 Russell Senate Office Building
P: (202) 224-5351
P: (202) 224-5351
F: (202) 453-5218
B-328 Rayburn House Office Building
P: (202) 225-2280
F: (202) 453-5225
=====
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/12/03/vets-gun-rights-stick-issue-in-defense-bill.html?col=7000023435630&comp=7000023435630&rank=2
Vets' Gun Rights Sticky Issue in Defense Bill
WASHINGTON -- Should veterans deemed too mentally incompetent to handle their own financial affairs be prevented from buying a gun?
The issue, for a time last week, threatened to become the biggest sticking point in a $631 billion defense bill for reshaping a military that is disengaging from a decade of warfare.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sought to amend the bill to stop the Veterans Affairs Department from putting the names of veterans deemed too mentally incompetent to handle their finances into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which prohibits them from buying or owning firearms.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., objected, saying the measure would make it easier for veterans with mental illness to own a gun, endangering themselves and others.
"I love our veterans, I vote for them all the time. They defend us," Schumer said. "If you are a veteran or not and you have been judged to be mentally infirm, you should not have a gun."
Currently, the VA appoints fiduciaries, often family members, to manage the pensions and disability benefits of veterans who are declared incompetent. When that happens, the department automatically enters the veteran's name in the Criminal Background Check System.
A core group of lawmakers led by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., has for several years wanted to prohibit the VA from submitting those names to the gun-check registry unless a judge or magistrate deems the veteran to be a danger. This year's version of the bill has 21 co-sponsors. It passed the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee by voice vote, a tactic generally reserved for noncontroversial legislation. Coburn's amendment to the defense bill contained comparable language.
"All I am saying is, let them at least have their day in court if you are going to take away a fundamental right given under the Constitution," Coburn said in the Senate debate last Thursday night.
Congressional aides said Coburn will likely drop his effort to amend the defense bill with his proposal, but that he intends to try again on other bills coming to the Senate floor.
The number of veterans directly affected by the VA's policy doesn't appear to very large. Only 185 out of some 127,000 veterans added to the gun-check registry since 1998 have sought to have their names taken off, according to data that the VA shared with lawmakers during a hearing last June.
Still, the legislation over the years has attracted strong support from the National Rifle Association and various advocacy groups for veterans.
"We consider it an abject tragedy that so many of our veterans return home, after risking life and limb to defend our freedom, only to be stripped of their Second Amendment rights because they need help managing their compensation," Chris Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist, wrote last year in an editorial.
The NRA did not respond to queries from the AP about Coburn's latest effort.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said gun control advocates consider the VA's current policy reasonable.
"We're talking about people who have some form of disability to the extent that they're unable to manage their own affairs," Gross said. "If you're deemed unable to handle your own affairs, that's likely to constitute a high percentage of people who are dangerously mentally ill."
Tom Tarantino, chief policy officer for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said veterans with a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder but who pose no threat to others are possibly being barred from gun ownership. The current restrictions might even be a disincentive for veterans to seek needed treatment, he said.
"We want to remove these stigmas for mental health treatment. It's a combat injury," Tarantino said. "They wouldn't be doing this if you were missing your right hand, so they shouldn't be doing it if you're seeking treatment for post-traumatic-stress-disorder or traumatic brain injury."
VA officials have told lawmakers they believe veterans deemed incompetent already have adequate protections.
For example, they said, veterans can appeal the finding of incompetency based on new evidence. And even if the VA maintains a veteran is incompetent, he can petition the agency to have his firearm rights restored on the basis of not posing a threat to public safety.
=====
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/12/01/obama-secdef-pick-might-come-sooner-than-expected.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Obama SecDef Pick Might Come Sooner than Expected
Dec 01, 2012
Associated Press| by Ben Feller and Julie Pace
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama could name his next defense secretary in December, far sooner than expected and perhaps in a high-powered package announcement with his choice for secretary of state, several senior administration officials tell The Associated Press.
The personnel moves, coupled with Obama's coming choice for a new leader of the Central Intelligence Agency, will be viewed by U.S. allies and enemies alike as signal of how he will pursue national security in a second term. All of his choices will be subject to Senate confirmation, which itself is a significant factor in his decisions.
The top names under consideration for defense secretary are former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, former top Pentagon official Michele Flournoy, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. Among those, Kerry is seen as desiring the secretary of state's job more.
While Obama has made no final decisions on Cabinet vacancies, announcements could come as soon as next week.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has made clear he did not intend to stay for a second term but he has never publicly discussed the timing of his departure, widely thought to be down the road in 2013. Yet Obama's thinking on Panetta's replacement has quietly advanced, aided by a strong list of candidates, officials said.
One senior U.S. official said Panetta is expected to stay on the job at least through the Jan 21 inauguration ceremony for Obama, another sign that the president is close to naming a new defense chief. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal White House thinking.
Far more political attention has centered on the chief diplomatic job of secretary of state.
Obama is believed almost certain to pick Kerry or U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, with Obama's considerations of his choice so closely held that even members of his innermost circle are asking each other which way he may go. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has long announced her plans to leave and hopes to do so soon.
The White House is considering packaging the state and defense choices with the flourish of a unified announcement, if the pieces come together. The president wants to choose nominees not just on their merits, the officials said, but on how well their styles and philosophy mesh with other members of the Cabinet who will hold overlapping portfolios.
That is particularly true for the leaders of state and defense. They are the top faces of his security apparatus, the leaders who bracket Obama at Cabinet meetings, the ones central to an integrated approach toward coping with international crises. Officials close to Obama said a joint announcement could present a stronger message.
For the State job, Obama has strong ties to both candidates. Rice is a close friend, and aides say the two are in lockstep on foreign policy. Kerry was an early backer of Obama during his 2008 presidential bid, a valuable envoy abroad, a help in his re-election bid and a contender to be his first secretary of state.
A big factor in Obama's decision is how much early capital he would have to spend on a confirmation fight. While Kerry has the backing of his longtime Senate colleagues, Rice is facing withering criticism from some Republicans for her initial account of the deadly attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, in September.
A contentious confirmation fight could send Rice into the job with weakened support and use up some of the tough votes he may need from allies in the Senate later. Still, Obama has already set a tone that he may choose Rice regardless.
A decision on new leadership for the CIA is not as urgent. That's partly because Acting Director Michael Morell is still dealing with the fallout of David Petraeus' resignation over an extramarital affair and the battles with lawmakers over the events that led to the death of four Americans in Libya.
Morell is highly respected within the administration and seen as a top contender.
Other candidates are the White House's top counterterrorism and homeland security advisor, John Brennan, and the Pentagon's top intelligence official, Undersecretary for Defense Intelligence Michael Vickers, a former CIA officer and Green Beret. Also possible is the former senator Hagel, should he miss out for the top Pentagon job. Hagel co-chairs Obama's intelligence advisory board and held senior positions on the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees.
A near-term shakeup at the Defense Department would come as the Pentagon faces a flurry of decisions on troop levels in Afghanistan and budgets. The looming end-of-the year spending cuts the White House and Congress are seeking to avert would hit the Pentagon particularly hard.
At Defense, Hagel would give Obama a whiff of bipartisanship, and could be the only Republican in the Cabinet if Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood leaves, as expected.
Flournoy would be the first woman to lead the Defense Department. She served in the Pentagon under Panetta as undersecretary of defense for policy, resigning early this year. She served as a foreign policy adviser to Obama during his re-election campaign.
Carter, who has served as deputy defense secretary for the past year, is a protege of former Defense Secretary William Perry.
**********************************************************************************
WEST VIRGINIA:
**********************************************************************************
WISCONSIN:
**********************************************************************************
WYOMING:
**********************************************************************************
INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/14/world/africa/somalia-helicopter-raid/index.html
French soldiers likely killed in failed hostage rescue, defense minister says
By CNN Staff updated 10:02 PM EST, Mon January 14, 2013 An undated TV grab shows Denis Allex, a French hostage allegedly held -- and possibly killed -- by Somali militants.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS French officials say it is likely two soldiers died and a hostage was killed in a raid in Somalia Militants say the hostage is still alive and being held at an undisclosed location French forces failed to free an intelligence agent held by an al Qaeda-linked group Read a version of this story in Arabic.
(CNN) -- A soldier missing in action since a failed attempt to rescue a French hostage in Somalia is most likely dead, France's defense minister said Monday.
The hostage, Denis Allex, also apparently was killed, Defense Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said.
French officials had previously confirmed that one soldier died in Friday's failed attempt to rescue Allex from Islamist militants. On Monday, le Drian said it was likely that a total of two French soldiers were killed.
"Everything points to the fact that the hostage was murdered and that the missing soldier has been killed," le Drian told CNN affiliate BFM.
U.S. helps France fight African Islamists French militant operations in Africa
Mogadishu, SomaliaAl-Shabaab, the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamist movement that has been holding Allex, said Monday that the hostage remained alive in an undisclosed location.
The militants also said Monday that a French soldier who had been injured in the attempted rescue had died of his wounds.
A Twitter post from Al-Shabaab on Monday showed a purported photograph of that soldier with a message to France's president: "Was it worth it?"
On Friday, French forces engaged in a fierce gunbattle with militants in their attempt to rescue Allex, who was a member of the DGSE, France's equivalent of the CIA and a part of its Defense Ministry.
The clashes in Bulo Marer, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Mogadishu, the capital, ended with 17 Islamist fighters dead, according to the French Defense Ministry.
On Monday, le Drian said the failure of the rescue mission was "extremely regrettable."
"The operation almost succeeded," he told BFM. "They are very complicated and risky missions, because we are behind enemy lines."
French bid to rescue hostage fails
Allex was abducted on July 14, 2009, while on a mission in Mogadishu in support of the transitional Somali government, the French Defense Ministry said. French media reports suggest that Denis Allex is a pseudonym for the military serviceman.
French officials said they launched the rescue attempt after the terror group failed to negotiate for the hostage's release for years while holding him in inhumane conditions.
=====
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/great-escape-survivors-make-emotional-1523986
The real-life Great Escape: Survivors who tunnelled out of prisoner of war camp make emotional return
8 Jan 2013 01:00 The enduring image is of Steve McQueen leaping barbed wire on his motorbike but a few people can say what life was really like in the camp
Close shave: Jack (front, right) in camp with beard which he shaved off on day of escape Walking through the woods in a picturesque corner of West Poland, there is little to suggest the terrible yet heroic events which took place here almost 70 years ago.
But for Frank Stone this is somewhere he will never forget – the infamous Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp, scene of The Great Escape.
The memories of his time here still reduce him to tears as he remembers the friends he lost among the 50 executed by the Nazis following the ill-fated escape attempt.
A stone memorial built by the PoWs and inscribed with the names of those men is one of the few things that remains at the site of the camp in Zagan, Poland.
It is still tended to, and seeing the red poppy wreaths leaves 90-year-old Frank close to tears.
He says: “I’m so proud it’s in this condition still. They were real comrades and friends and when I see their names it still strikes a chord all these years later.”
For millions of movie-goers, The Great Escape’s enduring image is of Steve McQueen leaping barbed wire on his motorbike.
But Frank lived through the reality and he is one of the few people who can tell the PoWs’ families what life was really like in the camp.
Emotional: Frank at the memorial Channel4
Wait escape: Jack was number 79 on the PoWs' list with TV presenter Chris Hollins Jonathan Ford
And as he arrived in Poland with other veterans and relatives of former PoWs for TV channel Yesterday’s documentary series Find My Past, memories of the escape in 1944 came flooding back.
The mastermind behind the plan was Roger Bushell, played by Richard Attenborough in the film.
He’d managed two escapes before being sent to Stalag Luft in October 1942 – and was instantly put in charge of the escape plan.
In the documentary, Bushell’s cousin Tanya Millard, from London, discovers the role her relative played in the escape.
Frank recalls: “When Roger Bushell arrived he was well known because he’d managed to escape from Stalag Luft I.
"We had an escape committee already but due to his experience, he took over.”
The camp had the tightest security of them all and had been purposely built in a dense pine forest so the sandy soil made digging tunnels near-impossible. But nothing seemed insurmountable to Bushell.
He formed a core team of skilled inmates to dig three tunnels codenamed Tom, Dick and Harry so German guards would not become suspicious if they overheard PoWs talking about them.
“Not everyone wanted to be involved but those who did helped where they could,” says Frank.
“I helped with the radios and I swept the corridor of sand too, which was a very important job because there couldn’t be any risk of the Germans discovering the tunnels.
“But we hoped if one tunnel was found they’d never suspect another one.”
Scene: Richard Attenborough played Roger Bushell
Relative: Roger was Tanya Millard's grandad's cousin Jonathan Ford
Documents also had to be forged for escapees to use once they got away from the camp. In the film, Donald Pleasence carried out the job.
In real-life, it was PoW Les Kenyon and his great-niece Rebecca Goodchild learns in the documentary how his artistic skills were put to use creating forgeries of identification papers.
As well as the papers, they had to make digging tools for the tunnels and civilian clothing to wear after the escape.
They made clothes out of bedsheets and after the escape, the Germans discovered 4,000 bed boards had gone missing to help shore up the tunnels.
Bushell ordered the escape to take place as soon as tunnel “Harry” – dug under Hut 104 – was completed.
Names were pulled out of a hat to determine who could escape, and who would stay.
Another former PoW, Jack Lyons, who was transferred to Stalag Luft when the tunnels were nearly completed, remembers March 24, 1944, very clearly.
The camp’s PoW meteorologist gave them a “reasonable” weather forecast.
Jack, 92, says: “Bushell decided it had to be now or never. Immediately everything swung into action.
"The only thing I had to do was shave off my beard with a rusty razor and my face was sore for days.
“I was one of the 200 whose number was drawn to escape and we had to take the place of the normal occupants of hut 104.
"We had to be in hut 104 before the German’s locked up at dusk. I wasn’t nervous – you didn’t think about the risks in those days.”
Memories: Frank as a young flier Tale: Frank pictured in 2011 Tim Mueller
Out of the 200, 76 prisoners escaped, although 73 were recaptured later.
Jack added: “We awaited further orders, and tried not to draw attention to ourselves.
"I waited for hours to be given a signal but nothing happened, apart from an air raid siren when the lights went out.
“Then at around 5am I heard a shot, which indicated the 77th escapee had been discovered.
“The first thing we did was destroy any incriminating things like documents by putting them in the oven that was kept going all night.
"When the Germans turned up we were all paraded in our underwear.
"They tried to establish who was missing and put up a sign warning: “Escaping is no longer a sport and if you do you’ll be shot immediately”.
The PoWs still in the camp assumed the recaptured inmates would join them once again, but that was not the case.
Jack recalls. “All entertainment and activities we’d had before were stopped – but we thought there’d be far more restrictions imposed by the Germans than that.
"We only worked out why three weeks later, when we found out they’d shot 50 of those who had been recaptured. It was the most appalling war crime.”
Forger: Donald Pleasance (right) character Relative: Rebecca's great uncle was Les Kenyon was a forger in camp Gill Owen’s uncle Dennis Cochran spent four years in Stalag Luft III before taking part in the escape.
He spoke German and gleaned intelligence from guards to help the escape.
His name is engraved along with 49 others on the memorial who were shot in the back after being recaptured.
Gill says: “I’m proud of what my uncle did, it must have taken incredible courage. A lot of them were only in their 20s.
"When you watch the film of the Great Escape it looks like a story, and jolly good fun. But in fact it was very, very real.”
Hitler initially wanted all of the escapees to be shot as an example to other prisoners but relented and ordered the execution of 50.
A total of 17 were returned to the camp and six were sent to other concentration camps.
The Nazis who committed the war crimes were captured and executed after trials at Nuremberg.
Jack has the final word: “At the time I was exasperated that I didn’t get a chance to escape – but when the truth came out, I was bloody lucky wasn’t I?”
**********************************************************************************
LINKS TO SHARE:
Military Tank Hearse:
http://www.military.com/video/combat-vehicles/combat-tanks/the-military-funeral-tank-hearse/2101771868001/
=====
http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/vetcenter.asp
=====
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTs6a0ORdQU The
Warrior Song
=====
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7425136n&tag=strip
=====
Our Own Marine Corps Orchestra - Sleigh Ride - David
Letterman 12-10-12 - YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLI0klaM5Pg&feature=em-share_video_user>
=====
Here's the Amazon link which includes ebook, printed and audiobook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003R4Z5U6 Here's my link to my website: http://cherrieswriter.wordpress.com Here's my Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/cherriesnovel
Ever wonder why soldiers return home "different" after a deployment to a war zone? Cherries is a story about the right of passage that all young soldiers undertake when experiencing war for the first time. Although the setting for Cherries is Vietnam, the author’s experiences, emotions, and tragedies are not only confined to that war – they are repeated in every conflict. Readers of my novel have commented that Cherries should be read by students, siblings of those who have served, and by the parents of those soldiers serving today. After finishing Cherries, you’ll have a better understanding of why those who go away to war come home “changed”. All veterans of war will relate to Cherries – either in part or in whole!
John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
=====
This is an excellent short video of General Zinni (USMC, ret.) speaking about the generation of Vietnam veterans and how they stack up to ‘The Greatest Generation’.
If you are a Vietnam vet, you will appreciate and understand Gen. Zinni’s presentation. If not, you may never understand us, what we went through and how we lived our lives since. But watching this short video will give you great insight—and appreciation—to who we really are or were. There’s only 1/3 of us left now. 2/3 of us have reported to a Higher Command.
http://player.vimeo.com/video/38356372?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
=====
It's something I'm very proud about. Being published is no mean feat, and even more so when a quality publisher like Murdoch Books picks it up. I'm told that the chief executives of Murdoch Books were unanimous in their decision to publish it, and are at one in believing my book will be a significant event in Australian publishing history.
Ostensibly a memoir, "The War Within" is much more than that. Sixty years of living allow me to take broad strokes to Australiana- from life in Ellen Grove, an impoverished suburb of Brisbane where outlaw behaviour was the norm , to child abuse within the state and private school systems, about being an infantryman in Vietnam - one of the most unpopular wars this nation ever fought- of blatant army incompetence, and medal-grabbing by officers, and then, after being badly wounded, life as a disabled veteran. Reviewers are saying it is the “voice of a generation, stilled for forty years”.
But it is more than that- it is a quest to understand those processes that define a man, from genes and heritage and the effects of environment, to the relationship between faith and circumstance. It's about the struggle of a man to rise above the horrors of war and the sins of his past, and of the love of a virtuous woman who stands by him.
FOR A PREVIEW OF THE MEMOIR, GO TO You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Fx8XQxAew and for images relevant to the Vietnam section, go to You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRik3cOn4KM For REVIEWS, go to the Reviews page under Articles on this web site. * Please Note: The Murdoch Books version is now sold out. A new, international version in both hard copy and eBook formats (including an additional eight chapters) is now available from the Australian War Memorial; iUniverse; Amazon; and Barnes and Noble. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_7_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+war+within+tate&sprefix=The+War+Within%2Cstripbooks%2C663 The hard copy retails for $28.95
******************************************************************
READERS SHARE:
The anniversary of the massacre at Wounded Knee was on December 29th. Yes, initially the Indians were told that the government was here to help them. Old women, children, old men, and unarmed Indians were massacred. Very few of them had even hunting rifles. Why? Some Congressional Metals of Honor were even awarded to the murders. It was a sad page in the history of the united States. The US broke ALL treaties they signed. All the Indians wanted to do was dance the Ghost Dance and be left alone. They just wanted freedom of religion. All honest American gun owners want is to be left alone.
This recent proposed gun grab is nothing more than a diversion to get away from the escalating national spending and enormous debt. The president and congress needs to check the out of control spending and borrowing. It is killing the working class and destroying the future generations unborn. Where is a budget? Balance the check book (not balance budget) by our leaders would be a great step in stopping the killing of the working class that is going on now.
Danny "Greasy" Belcher, Executive Director Executive Director, Task Force Omega of KY Inc. Vietnam Infantry Sgt. 68-69 "D" Troop 7th Sqdn. 1st Air Cav.
----- Original Message ----- From: techconsultserv@juno.com To: budgross65@gmail.com Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2013 11:10 PM Subject: What the legacy of the Wounded Knee massacre teaches us
Simply put, the 2nd Amendment was never about hunting rifles.
Del ================================================================== http://ocdtrumpet.com/texas/a-lesson-to-be-learned-on-the-anniversary-of-wounded-knee/
A Lesson to be Learned on the Anniversary of Wounded Knee Posted: December 29, 2012
Today, December 29, 2012 marks the 122nd Anniversary of the murder of 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
These 297 people, in their winter camp, were murdered by federal agents and members of the 7th Cavalry who had come to confiscate their firearms “for their own safety and protection”. The slaughter began AFTER the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms. When the final round had flown, of the 297 dead or dying, two thirds (200) were women and children.
Around 40 members of the 7th Cavalry were killed, over half cut down by friendly fire from the Hotchkiss guns of their overzealous comrades-in-arms. Twenty members of the 7th Cavalry were deemed “National Heroes” and awarded the Medal of Honor for their acts of cowardice.
We do not hear of Wounded Knee today. It is not mentioned in our history classes or books. What little does exist about Wounded Knee is normally the sanitized “Official Government Explanation” or the historically and factually inaccurate depictions of the events leading up to the massacre on the movie screen.
Wounded Knee was among the first federally backed gun confiscation attempts in United States history. It ended in the senseless murder of 297 people.
Before you jump on the emotionally charged bandwagon for gun-control, take a moment to reflect on the real purpose of the Second Amendment- The right of the people to take up arms in defense of themselves, their families, and property in the face of invading armies or an oppressive government. The argument that the Second Amendment only applies to hunting and target shooting is asinine. When the United States Constitution was drafted “hunting” was an everyday chore carried out by men and women to put meat on the table each night, and “target shooting” was an unheard of concept, musket balls were a precious commodity in the wilds of early America, and were certainly not wasted “target shooting”. The Second Amendment was written by people who fled oppressive and tyrannical regimes in Europe, and refers to the right of American citizens to be armed for defense purposes should such tyranny rise in the United States.
As time goes on the average citizen in the United States continues to lose personal freedom or “liberty”. Far too many times unjust bills are passed and signed into law under the guise of “for your safety” or “for protection”. The Patriot Act signed into law by G.W. Bush, then expanded and continued by Barack Obama is just one of many examples of American citizens being stripped of their rights and privacy for “safety”. Now, the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is on the table, and will, most likely be taken away for “our safety”.
Before any American citizen blindly accepts whatever new firearms legislation that is about to be doled out, they should stop and think about something for just one minute-
Evil does exist in our world. It always has and always will. Throughout history evil people have committed evil acts. In the Bible one of the first stories is that of Cain killing Abel. We can not legislate “evil” into extinction. Good people will abide by the law, defective people will always find a way around it.
And another thought-
Evil exists all around us, but looking back at the historical record of the past 200 years across the globe, where is “evil” and “malevolence” most often found? In the hands of those with the power- governments. That greatest human tragedies on record and the largest loss of innocent human life can be attributed to governments. Who do governments target? “Scapegoats” and “enemies” within their own borders…but only after they have been disarmed to the point where they are no longer a threat. Ask any Native American, and they will tell you it was inferior technology and lack of arms that contributed to their demise. Ask any Armenian why it was so easy for the Turks to exterminate millions of them, and they will answer “We were disarmed before it happened”. Ask any Jew what Hitler’s first step prior to the mass murders of the Holocaust was- confiscation of firearms from the people.
Wounded Knee is the prime example of why the Second Amendment exists, and why we shouldn’t be in such a hurry to surrender our Right to Bear Arms. Without the Second Amendment we have no right to defend ourselves and our families.
=====
Author Comment: The War Within My book " Vietnam: No Regrets" is now available on Kindle at Amazon A portion of the sales of my book goes to help support fellow Veterans thru the American Legion Post 35 Brockton,Ma. THE WAR WITHIN: In July 2008, my book “The War Within” was published by Murdoch Books - one of Australia's most prestigious publishers.
It's something I'm very proud about. Being published is no mean feat, and even more so when a quality publisher like Murdoch Books picks it up. I'm told that the chief executives of Murdoch Books were unanimous in their decision to publish it, and are at one in believing my book will be a significant event in Australian publishing history.
Ostensibly a memoir, "The War Within" is much more than that. Sixty years of living allow me to take broad strokes to Australiana- from life in Ellen Grove, an impoverished suburb of Brisbane where outlaw behaviour was the norm , to child abuse within the state and private school systems, about being an infantryman in Vietnam - one of the most unpopular wars this nation ever fought- of blatant army incompetence, and medal-grabbing by officers, and then, after being badly wounded, life as a disabled veteran. Reviewers are saying it is the “voice of a generation, stilled for forty years”.
But it is more than that- it is a quest to understand those processes that define a man, from genes and heritage and the effects of environment, to the relationship between faith and circumstance. It's about the struggle of a man to rise above the horrors of war and the sins of his past, and of the love of a virtuous woman who stands by him.
FOR A PREVIEW OF THE MEMOIR, GO TO You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Fx8XQxAew and for images relevant to the Vietnam section, go to You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRik3cOn4KM For REVIEWS, go to the Reviews page under Articles on this web site. * Please Note: The Murdoch Books version is now sold out. A new, international version in both hard copy and eBook formats (including an additional eight chapters) is now available from the Australian War Memorial; iUniverse; Amazon; and Barnes and Noble. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_7_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+war+within+tate&sprefix=The+War+Within%2Cstripbooks%2C663 The hard copy retails for $28.95 The eBook version retails for $3.99 It has now been produced in unabridged form as an Audio Book by the Association for the Blind W.A. This is a rare honour for any author. It is available as a package of 16 x 1hr CD'S; or as 1 X 15 hr CD (suitable for MP3 players) and includes the 'daisy' capability. For Audio Book purchases, contact Sue Murray at: suemurray@guidedogswa.com.au
=====
I'll Go To The Wall
The WALL, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, was dedicated on the Washington Mall on November 13, 1982. Designed by a Yale architecture student Maya Ying Lin, the V-shaped structure set against a knoll with a slight slope near the Lincoln Memorial is now the most visited shrine. This is a hallowed place honoring 58,282 names inscribed on its polished black granite surface. Those monikers honor the men and women lost in the War in Vietnam. I recorded this wonderful song you are now hearing to honor those who fell in the war in what we GI's called 'The 'Nam'. I have been to The WALL in DC several times in my career. Here, in this picture, I am in front of "The Moving WALL" that is a mobile replica of the real WALL in DC.
The WALL was the best thing that ever happened to we Vietnam combat Veterans who now are down to about 800,000 from the nearly 3 million who served. Our numbers are narrowing dramatically due to the betrayal of our government and people to tend to the wounds we received in this 'police action'. It is projected that by 2020, there will be few Vietnam Veterans left alive.
So, this weekend on Veterans Day, I do hope you will remember the great sacrifice the Veterans of the War In Vietnam made for this nation, and the nation of Vietnam.
LT Bobby Ross
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrghExvF2q4&feature=plcp&context=C42ae5a3VDvjVQa1PpcFPcja-sP4md2z_k7JFKh2a2SqmYymdZit8=
http://www.lastheplace.com/2012/12/21/say-hi-to-dad-for-me-country-song-a-tribute-to-veterans-families-who-have-lost-loved-ones-in-war/
https://www.facebook.com/SayHiToDadForMe?notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite
=====
Welcome to the National Veterans Art Museum www.nvam.org/
The National Veterans Art Museum is expanding its reach to international levels with a new show entitled Above and Beyond: War through the Eyes of American ...
"Above and Beyond"
now at a NEW LOCATION!
When visitors first enter the museum, they will hear a sound like wind chimes coming from above them and their attention will be drawn upward 24 feet to the ceiling of the two-story high atrium.
Dog tags of the more than 58,000 service men and women who died in the Vietnam War hang from the ceiling of the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago on Veterans Day, November 11, 2010. The 10-by-40-foot sculpture, entitled Above & Beyond, was designed by Ned Broderick and Richard Steinbock. The tens of thousands of metal dog tags are suspended 24 feet in the air, 1 inch apart, from fine lines that allow them to move and chime with shifting air currents. Museum employees using a kiosk and laser pointer help visitors locate the exact dog tag with the imprinted name of their lost friend or relative.
=====
On the lighter side:
In an recent interview, General Norman Schwarzkopf was asked if he thought there was room for forgiveness toward the people who have harbored and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks on America.
His answer was classic Schwarzkopf.
The General said, "I believe that forgiving them is God's function... OUR job is to arrange the meeting."
Dana Perino (FOX News) describing an interview she recently had with a Navy SEAL. After discussing all the countries that he had been sent to, she asked if they had to learn several languages? "Oh, no ma'am, we don't go there to talk."
Conversation overheard on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai.
Iranian Air Defense Site: 'Unknown aircraft you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.'
Aircraft: 'This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.'
Air Defense Site: 'You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!'
Aircraft: 'This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 Fighter. Send 'em up, I'll wait!'
Air Defense Site: ( ... total silence)
God bless our troops. There is something about our military that makes other countries listen to reason.
**********************************************************************************
Hope you enjoyed the newsletter; if you have any
information you'd like shared with readers, again,
please email me at:
Gypsypashn@aol.com with the information, and I'll be sure to share it for you!
Gypsypashn@aol.com with the information, and I'll be sure to share it for you!
Bumper
Sticker
If you can read this, thank a teacher!
If you are reading this in English, thank a Veteran!
If you can read this, thank a teacher!
If you are reading this in English, thank a Veteran!
A special thank you to all who contributed to this newsletter by
sharing information with me, Rod, Lou, Don, Susie, Ann, Saint, Paul, everyone!
Thank you all!
If you wish to subscribe or
unsubscribe you may do it from this link:
http://www.newslettersnstuff.com/cgi-bin/mail.cgi?f=list&l=vets.
