Supporting Those Who Defend Us!

 VA benefits nominee would prep for change

In the remaining 3½ months of the Bush administration, the nominee to head the Veterans’ Benefits Administration knows he cannot put much of a dent in the backlog of benefits claims, nor significantly reduce the time it takes for claims to be processed.

But retired Rear Adm. Patrick Dunne, nominated to be VA’s undersecretary of benefits, said Wednesday he will concentrate on setting the stage so things work more smoothly for the next administration.

Getting VA ready to pay Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits when that program takes effect on Aug. 1, 2009, is a top priority, Dunne said. Continuing to prepare for a future paperless claims system and completing a review of disability ratings issues so the next administration could reform benefits are two other things he’d like to get done in the remaining months of the Bush presidency.

Dunne, currently VA’s acting benefits director, appears to have strong support among members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. But congressional aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said getting a full Senate vote on the nomination could be difficult because of concerns among some senators about veterans’ issues not directly related to Dunne.

The aides would not name the senators.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, veterans’ committee chairman, strongly endorsed Dunne.

“You have been doing a good job,” Akaka said.

The committee’s ranking Republican member, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, also endorsed Dunne, saying the nominee could help set in motion changes at VA to help veterans in the future.

Dunne said harnessing technology to help process claims and allowing veterans to file electronic claims and to send e-mail to claims processors are keys to a faster, more accurate system.

But he said technology is not a cure-all. “I intend to ensure that every Veterans Benefits Administration employee has the requisite training to be effective in his or her job,” Dunne said. “Technology is not the magic wand that will deliver benefits rapidly and accurately. Rather, we need a well-trained work force that can effectively use those tools.”

The issue of harnessing technology is creating a controversy over implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill because VA is turning to an outside contractor to develop a software program to process claims, make tuition payments directly to colleges and universities, and make payments for living expenses and book allowances.

Dunne said VA does not have a payment system configured to handle such benefits, which is why it is turning to the private sector for help, adding that VA is preparing backup plans in case the contractor is not ready by Aug. 1.

Akaka said outsourcing benefits on a permanent basis “would be ill-advised” and hopes VA plans to cancel the contract as soon as it can. But Burr said he is comfortable with using outside companies to process claims; he said his own experience in helping constituents showed that government payment systems are far from error-free.

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February 23rd, 2008

Desert Dog To Be Waiting When Devil Dog Returns 

SAN DIEGO — It began with a simple act of kindness to save an abused and injured dog from becoming one more victim in the war in Iraq.

But what followed for Marine Maj. Brian Dennis and the mutt was a tale of friendship and loyalty that spanned miles, borders, and overcame long odds — a tale that takes a turn Friday with the anticipated arrival here of the Marine’s best friend.

The dog arrived at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field airport on Friday at about 4:30 p.m.

“This dog who had been through a lifetime of fighting, war, abuse ... is going to live the good life,” Dennis told his family in an e-mail from Iraq.

The tale of friendship unfolded in October, a few months after Dennis deployed to Iraq from San Diego to work as part of the military team building infrastructure along the Syria-Iraq border and training Iraqi forces to take over.

Dennis, 36, of St. Pete Beach, Fla., had volunteered for the assignment. It was a departure from his role as a fighter pilot. He had seen the country from the air. But on the ground, it was different.

Dennis wrote stories home about the reciprocal relationship that desert dogs — strays wandering outside border towns — had with Iraqis.

“The dogs get to eat the Iraqi scraps and have a home in the middle of the desert,” he wrote in an e-mail. “The Iraqis get an incredible early warning system; these dogs hear anything approaching from miles away and go nuts and scramble to defend their territory.”

While on patrol in the Anbar province, Dennis spotted what appeared to be a gray and white, male German shepherd-border collie mix. He named the dog Nubs after learning someone cut the ears off believing it would make the dog more aggressive and alert.

Within weeks, Nubs was greeting Dennis during routine patrol stops along border communities. The Marines fed him bits of their food and by November, the Marine and his unit were keeping an eye out for the dog, who routinely chased their Humvees when they departed.

Life on the run, however, was taking a toll on the dog. He had lost a tooth and been bitten in the neck. In late December, Dennis found Nubs near death in freezing temperatures. The dog had been stabbed with a screwdriver.

Dennis rubbed antibiotic cream on the wound and slept next to Nubs to keep him warm.

“I really expected when I woke up for watch he would be dead,” Dennis wrote. “Somehow he made it through the night.”

Days later, Dennis thought he had seen the last of the dog when his squad headed back to its command post some 65 miles away. He couldn’t take the dog with him and watched as it tried to follow the Humvees away from the border.

Two days later, while Dennis and a comrade were working on a Humvee, he looked up and saw the dog staring at him.

“Somehow that crazy damned dog tracked us,” he wrote Jan. 9.

But the reunion was short-lived. Military policy prohibits having pets in war zones, and Dennis was given four days to get the dog off the base or kill him.

The decision was easy: Nubs was going to San Diego. The logistics, though, were anything but easy.

With help from his Iraqi interpreter, Dennis managed to find a Jordanian veterinarian to get the care and paperwork needed to get it to the States. He also negotiated the red tape to get the dog across the border into Jordan.

His family and close friends helped raise the $3,500 needed to get the dog from Amman, Jordan, to San Diego, said his mother, Marsha Cargo.

“I just can’t believe it. Out there in the middle of nowhere, these two find each other,” Cargo said.

A colleague in San Diego agreed to care for the dog and have it trained until Dennis returns in March from Iraq.

“We anticipate a real steep learning curve for Nubs,” said Capt. Eric Sjoberg. “We want him to learn to just be a dog.”

For now, though, Dennis will settle for the knowledge that Nubs is finally safe — and waiting for his master to follow him.

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Air Force Time Capsule Found!

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — A handyman repairing a ceiling tile at a United Way office discovered a bit of not-so-ancient history.

The worker was removing the ceiling tile last week when he reached up into a duct and found a plastic bottle wrapped in duct tape. He originally thought it was trash, but closer inspection showed it was a time capsule left behind by two members of the Air Force’s office of special investigations in 1989.

The United Way of the Greater Seacoast office is at Pease International Tradeport, which formerly served as an Air Force base.

Workers were not allowed to open the capsule until a Department of Homeland Security officer was dispatched to inspect the bottle and check for classified documents. According to United Way spokeswoman Liza Dube, the bottle contained a key chain, photographs, business cards, bus and airport schedules, a T-shirt and an itinerary from a visit by former President George H.W. Bush. A pamphlet about HIV and AIDS also was found.

The bottle was marked “2 of 2,” leading officials to believe there is another capsule hidden somewhere else in the building. The memorabilia is on display in the office’s boardroom.

“We’ve been passing it around at meetings and sharing with people,” said Dube. “And we’re hoping it will highlight the fact that our building is falling apart.”

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Februrary 21, 2008

Hey everyone! Sorry that this has taken so long to get back into the flow of things! Oddly enough we are STILL decorating and moving things around. This process has taken much longer than we had inticipated. Again, our address is 3132 Rio Maria Drive South West, Albuquerque New Mexico, 87121. The phone numbers and e-mail address have stayed the same. We are hoping to get back into the flow of things very soon!!!!! Thanks everyone!

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Forum For Wounded Troops

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 15, 2008 6:45:31 EST

The Pentagon’s top doctor is calling on wounded service members and their families to share their concerns and recommendations in a live online discussion Thursday at http://www.health.mil — and e-mails and text messages are being accepted ahead of time.

Senior Pentagon leaders will participate in the online discussion from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern time, according to an announcement from the Defense Department. Service members and their families can submit questions now and throughout the live program by e-mail to mhswebmaster@tma.osd.mil or by sending a text message to (202) 527-2751.

Officials ask that the questions or recommendations be limited to broad issues or lessons learned. Because of privacy issues, the forum should not be used for personal problems. Service members should use their chain of command whenever possible, officials said.

In addition, the service branches have programs set up to advocate for their wounded service members — the Army’s Wounded Warrior Program, the Marine for Life Program, the Navy’s Safe Harbor Program, and the Air Force Palace HART Program.

Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said he wants to hear from wounded troops and their families to ensure that the Defense Department is on the right path. Over the past year, defense officials have focused on issues related to non-medical care, he said, and have worked on the recommendations of independent review groups, task forces and a presidential commission.

“Good is not good enough,” Casscells said at the recent Military Health System annual conference in Washington. “Our goal is excellence in all we do. Our men and women who have been wounded, ill or injured from their military service have our solemn commitment. We will not allow bureaucratic obstacles, outdated procedures or ineffective systems to hinder their care.”

December 19th, 2007

We will be having an address change on December 28th, 2007. Please send all donations to

Friends For Troops

3212 Rio Maria Drive, South West

Albuquerque, New Mexico

87121

Our phone number, 714-418-6393 will stay the same :)

We have sooooo many people to thank!!! Here is a nice long list-

Thanks too : Cub Scout pack 819, Den 1, Santa Ana, Cindy P. and Family, Julia J. and Family, Jose G. and Family, Mrs. Flores and Family, Mrs. Flores’ Second Grade Class and their Families, Cub Scout Pack 634, Lake Forest, Boy Scout Troop 628, Cub Scout Pack 634, Den 3, Daphne C, multiple times, Edina, Minnesota, Sgt Rainey and Cara, and Sun And Sands Motel in Huntington Beach, California!

Here are some pictures, that were in such high demand, of the package that we just send out.

All of the items included are : 200 envelopes, 27 pens, 400 sheets of writing paper, cotton swabs, 7 On-The-Go Charmen toilet paper rolls, rubberbands, 100 sheets of drawing paper, crayons, colored pencils, a pencil sharpner, pencil grips, and pencil erasors, 2 shower caps, 2 travel sewing kits, 2 eye drop bottles, 10 travel flosses, footpowder, coffee creamer, 2 four ounce jars of coffee, 3 mini balls,a frisbee, 2 disposable cameras, 5 travel mouth washes,138 mini soaps, 4 full size soaps, tabasco, seasoning salt, bacon bits, a poker set that includes dice, playing cards, and poker chips, toothpicks, a book, 52 candy canes, 30 feet of tinsel, a menthol stick, Taco Bell hot sauce, 2 hand sanitizer bottles, 3 boxes of Stay Awake, 7 boxes of hot cocoa, a nail clipper, 10 packs of travel tissue, 45 five packs of gum, 15 sunscreens, 4 lotions: one large and 4 travel size, 4 shaving creams, 45 deoderants, 45 shampoos, 45 toothpastes, 90 tooth brushes, 2 bags of Beef Jerky, Lemon Heads, Pixy Sticks, 10 scented candles, Starburst, 2 bags of Spice Drops, a bag of mixed candy, a bag of pineapple candy, a bag of Life Savors, a roll of Crème Savors, 9 fun size bags of M&Ms, a pack of Tic-Tacs, 2 packs of Trident Gum, 45 Chapsticks, 8 magazines, a pre-adressed Friends For Troops envelope, a holiday card, 6 cans of Silly String, a personal letter from myself, a personal letter from Bryan, and 45 letters written by donors.

Also, if you would be interested in being a part of our organization, please send an e-mail to Morse@Friends4Troops.org. We will review your application after you send us the e-mail. Please include the reason that you are interested, how the organization will benefit from your joining of the team, and please include, if possible, any military experience that you have, either in the service or in very close relations with someone in the service. We do not plan on this being a very long process. Please have your applications in by the first of February. We are hoping to have the process completed by the first of March. We are currently only looking for one new member but if we find more than one canidate that has what we are looking for, we will welcome another new member to our team.

Thanks so much!

Autum 

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December 13th, 2007 

Well Bryan and I are home early!! We got in late yesterday afternooon.

I found this in my e-mail this morning and thought that I would share. - Autum

The Senate and the House of Representatives have just agreed on a final version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2008, and its provisions make this bill one of the single biggest advances on veterans' issues in years.

Here are some of the highlights, on issues that you have helped to make a national priority:

Extension of VA Health Care Eligibility: After discharge, today's veterans had only two years to seek VA care or risk losing access for good. But many service-connected conditions can worsen over time, or take more than two years to become obvious - including Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Thanks to the NDAA, today's veterans now have 5 years to seek care from the VA.
Pre- and Post-deployment Screenings for Traumatic Brain Injury: The care provided for those suffering from the signature wound of the Iraq war is still woefully inadequate, and this is a big step in the right direction. Pre- and post-deployment screenings will ensure that service members with TBIs will get the treatment and rehabilitation they need.
Servicemembers Family Medical Leave Act: The families of those caring for severely wounded troops were previously given only three months of job protection. As a result, many spouses and other family members at Walter Reed and other military hospitals have lost their jobs while caring for their injured husband, wife, son or daughter. The NDAA expands job protections to 26 weeks.
Other items include the removal of a restriction on the VA from reaching out to veterans who need care, major improvements to the GI Bill for Reservists and members of the National Guard, increased assistance for Iraqi interpreters who have worked with our troops on the ground in Iraq, and a 3.5% pay raise for the members of our Armed Forces.

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December 3rd, 2007 

  I received this in my email today. It was a poem that I hadn't heard before, so i decided to post it.

Autum 

A Different Christmas Poem


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
 Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
Sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he lo oked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,

'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'

'It's my duty to stand at the f ront of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always
remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her
smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the

sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not
fall.'
'So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're
gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you a s you mattered to us.'

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30t h Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum , Iraq.

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November 27th, 2007

Today we received 33 travel flosses, 30 toothbrushes, and 25 toothpastes from Cub Scout Pack 819 Den 1. Thanks so much!!!

I also received an e-mail from a personal friend of mine, it read :

Something cool that Xerox is doing.

If you go to this web site, http://www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great site. Please send a card. It's FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them 100%.

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November 19th, 2007

Today we received a package from a Ms. Daphne. We received 13 deodorants total. 3 men, 3 women, and the rest were unisex deodorants!!

Thanks so much Daphne!

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November 18th, 2007

YAY! LCPL Thatcher received his package!! He said that he loved it and thanks to us and anyone else who donated.Also, Cub Packs 634 and 819 are going to help us soon!

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November 17th, 2007

DI gets 6 months for abusing recruits

Staff and wire reports
Posted : Friday Nov 16, 2007 18:13:55 EST

SAN DIEGO — A military jury sentenced a drill instructor Thursday to six months in the brig and a bad-conduct discharge after he was convicted Wednesday of abusing recruits, violating training rules and damaging recruits’ personal property.

Sgt. Jerrod M. Glass also received a reduction in rank to private and a forfeiture of pay. .

The six-member jury found Glass, 25, guilty of two specifications of cruelty and maltreatment, one specification of assault, two specifications of failing to obey a lawful order and three specifications of destroying personal property.

The jury’s decision came on the second day of deliberations after five days of testimony in Glass’ general court-martial, held in a second-floor courtroom near the depot’s famed parade deck.

Glass, a former military police dog handler and veteran of two combat tours in Iraq, was accused of shoving, hitting, kicking and punching many members of Platoon 2167, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion. The incidents happened over a seven-week period late last year and early this year.

When he was charged, Glass faced 225 separate counts after an investigation found 110 “factual” incidents. On the trial’s eve, both sides and the judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, agreed to consolidate the charges into 10 counts incorporating the gist of the earlier allegations. One count was later dismissed, and another was consolidated into the final eight charges.

Nearly two dozen recruits testified during the trial, detailing incidents of physical contact with Glass, who was the most junior DI in the four-member drill instructor team. They testified that Glass hit them with a helmet, flashlight, tent pole, towel or fist; choked several recruits; poked another in the eye; and damaged personal items, including a pair of eyeglasses.

Glass “had complete disregard for higher authority and the chain of command,” a prosecutor, 1st Lt. John Torresala, said in closing arguments Tuesday. “He punched, he hit, he slapped, he hit with objects — flashlights, tent poles, war belts, canteens.”

Glass was also accused of ordering one recruit to jump headfirst into a trash can and then pushing him farther into the container. None of the recruits were seriously injured.

Torresala argued that Glass didn’t just touch his recruits to correct them but “went so far above and beyond minimum force that there is no exception.”

Prosecutors tried to persuade the jury that it wasn’t up to Glass to determine what is or isn’t abusive, in violation of the recruit depot’s standard operating procedures governing every aspect of recruit training.

“He made a conscious decision each time to break the rule. That’s a clear pattern,” Torresala told the court. “He’s not permitted to make that decision. He does not write the order.”

But defense attorneys tried to paint a picture of a sergeant who, on his first cycle of training recruits, fulfilled his role as the so-called “fourth hat.”

“This case is about how do we train recruits,” Capt. Patrick Callahan, lead defense attorney, told the jury in closing arguments. Glass, he said, was the honor graduate of his DI School class and was highly regarded by several drill instructors who testified.

Callahan, citing what he said was a lack of witnesses and corroborating evidence, argued that prosecutors failed to prove that most of the alleged violations actually happened.

While they conceded Glass may have violated the SOP in three incidents, defense attorneys insisted on his innocence in the other allegations. Callahan noted the absence of strong evidence and testimony in most of the alleged offenses. “The vast majority of these charges, the government has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” he told the jury.

“None of these recruits reported these incidents,” Callahan added. “They weren’t reported because they were not happening.”

After the allegations surfaced, depot officials pulled Glass from the platoon and ordered a command investigation and a stand-down by Recruit Training Regiment to reinforce standard procedures and policies. Depot officials also met with some recruits’ families.

Glass’ mother, Barbara Glass, said, “I still believe he did not do anything he was not instructed to do ... by his superiors. If it’s denied, I know it’s a bald-faced lie by the Marine Corps.”

Glass’ father, Jerry Glass, tearfully criticized the Marines’ handling of the case.

“I thought the Marine Corps stood for, ‘Leave no man behind,’ ” he told reporters. “I think they had their head in the sand or they are not being honest with the public.”

Glass was one of three drill instructors charged with abusing recruits. Sgt. Robert C. Hankins and Sgt. Brian M. Wendel are facing special courts-martial on separate charges. A fourth instructor, Sgt. Joseph Villagomez, received administrative punishment.

Staff writer Gidget Fuentes contributed to this report.

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November 16th, 2007

We recieved a donations yesterday for our future 45 man care package!!! Thank you to Sun N Sands Motel of Huntington Beach!

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