Showing posts with label Veterans. Show all posts
VA Secretary Outlines Goals for Vets
Shinseki, who is a member of President Obama's cabinet, was hosted by three local members of Congress, including Rep. Silvestre Reyes, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez and Rep. Harry Teague.
During Shinseki's visit, he toured the VA facility and the Fort Bliss National Cemetery, and he participated in a veterans roundtable before addressing the public on the purpose of his visit.
In his speech, he addressed three specific goals targeting programs affecting the nation's veterans: reducing the growing backlog of claims, improving the quality of VA healthcare facilities and reducing homelessness among all veterans.
Teague agreed that "there is a definite culture change happening within the area of veterans affairs."
Regarding the backlog, Shinseki has established four pilot projects: one in Pittsburgh; others in Little Rock, Ark.; Providence, R.I.; and Baltimore that will help the department identify how to simplify claims and minimize obstacles that keep veterans from registering with the VA.
As for the second goal, he shared that the 2011 budget, while under review, includes a financial increase for the Veterans Benefits Administration, which will allow for more medical personnel and better facilities.
Even though more than 131,000 veterans are homeless, Shinseki stressed he won't be able to take them all off of the street; rather, he spoke of the importance of opening up jobs and enhancing education for veterans, using new programming and funding, such as the GI Bill.
Shinseki said the Obama administration is planning to increase the Veteran Affairs budget by 15 percent in 2010, which is the largest increase in more than 20 years.
As for Shinseki's goals, Teague and the other congressmen said they have absolute confidence in his leadership and that he will accomplish all he can during his term.
"He openly addresses the hurdles we face in the VA," Teague said. "He's not trying to sweep them under the carpet."
Vet Opens Funeral Home by VA Cemetery
But these days, Farish, 88, is tickled about his latest business: Palm Beach National Chapel, a funeral home catering to veterans. The chapel is south of the veterans cemetery, west of Lantana on the northwest corner of State Road 7 and Hypoluxo Road.
With the exuberance of a teenager, Farish bustles around his new funeral home, throwing open doors to numerous rooms. There's the tricked-out audiovisual equipment of the chapel and the spacious reception area (plus flat-screen TV) for guests. In offices and hallways, his eyes linger on paintings by a favorite Old Florida artist, A.E. "Beanie" Baccus.
A friend sparked Farish's interest in the funeral business years ago. But it took a trip to Normandy plus the construction of the VA cemetery for this World War II combat veteran to realize there was a need for a funeral home to serve his comrades. The biggest duties: arranging for military honors.
Veterans issues are very important to this old soldier, who counts himself a proud member of the VFW and the Sons of the American Revolution. Farish served on D-Day with the Big Red One First Infantry Division.
But the entrepreneur in him knew something else: "I think it's a good business," he said of the funeral home. "I enjoy business. It's a challenge to me." Through the years, in between handling such cases as Roxanne Pulitzer's divorce in 1982, or dabbling in citrus or cattle, he's kept an eye out for opportunities.
The funeral home is open to all, Farish said. But he's pleased to offer services so close to the South Florida VA National Cemetery. About 4,500 are buried there, with room for 400,000 total.
The funeral home is in the former South Florida Farm Credit Bank. The property was zoned for commercial use, but residents of nearby Heritage Farms fought the transformation to a funeral home. They were concerned the business would increase traffic. Two years ago, Farish won the OK to go ahead.
Farish has hired Michael Meadows, a funeral director for more than 24 years. About 10 days ago, even though Palm Beach National's furniture was not all in, Meadows was able to accommodate the funeral of a neighbor. His family wanted the service near their house. Meadows said, "We'll make it work." And he did.
Perhaps from experience, Farish doesn't seem troubled by concerns that might cause another person to blanche at starting a new business -- or this business in particular.
For instance, isn't he worried about launching a company during a recession?
Nope, he said: "The good Lord takes care of people every day."
And as he shows off a room bearing samples of caskets, he is asked whether the surroundings give rise to thoughts of his own mortality.
"I try not to think about it," he said with a wink.
New Tool to Help Wounded Warriors
Work on the “estimator” began in earnest after a group of Army Ombudsmen pointed out the need to help educate wounded warriors, family members, and local counselors on how retirement and disability pays work together and how the complicated rules and offsets affect their monthly payments. The confusion caused by these rules often leads to added frustration for the wounded warriors and their families.
Service members often find that the actual amount they receive is less than they expected. Being able to help manage their expectations earlier in the process helps avoid frustration and enables members to better plan their budget and future income needs.
To get an estimate of their future pay, users input their personalized data such as disability ratings, CRSC ratings, years of service, pay, and dependent information. In addition users who want a more in-depth explanation of the how the offsets work can take the online tutorial found at the DFAS website.
Developed by Wounded Warrior Pay Management team members Danielle Trumpey and Ryan Lindner, the tool is the latest step taken by the team in their ongoing work to ensure wounded service members receive the pay they deserve and fully understand the processes involved.
The team's work dates back to 2004 when it was dicovered that wounded Soldiers had been overpaid and were facing recoupment for indebtedness because their combat related pay was not stopped while they were being treated for their injuries at stateside military treatment facilities. The overpayments were the result of a lack of communication between the Soldier’s units and the pay center, which was not getting word that the wounded Soldiers had been medically evacuated out of the combat theater.DFAS responded by forming the Wounded Warrior Pay Management Office and establishing a Wounded Warrior database. In 2005 the team began working directly with the Army in to ensure wounded Soldiers would no longer get lost in the system.
In 2006 DFAS began supplementing Army Finance with civilian personnel. DFAS team members meet each wounded warrior as they arrive at Landstuhl Germany to explain the process and enter their pertinent information into the DFAS Wounded Warrior database. This face-to-face support doesn't end until they reach their home station. Wounded Warrior Pay Program Manager, Jerry Christensen said, “In the end, no matter the pay system, there will always be a need for the critical human dimension to provide world class, accurate and real-time financial support to the individual Wounded Warrior and their family members.” The end result is that each wounded warrior’s progress is now closely tracked as they transition through each part of their medical treatment and eventual retirement process.
In addition to the personalized service, through use of new streamlined debt management procedures, DFAS remitted, canceled, or waived debts for over 14,000 wounded warrior accounts totaling approximately $13 million.
DFAS will be the first to tell you that their work is far from over, “we are actively engaged in continually improving Wounded Warrior pay support through customer based solutions,” Christensen added.
IN HONOR : Last WWI Vet Turns 109
Last U.S. veteran of World War I turns 109
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota helps Frank Buckles, right, speak before a Senate subcommittee.
Washington (CNN) -- The last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, former Cpl. Frank Buckles, turns 109 on Monday and is still hoping for a national memorial in Washington for his comrades.
Buckles is expected to deliver remarks during a quiet celebration Monday afternoon at his home in Charles Town, West Virginia.
But the old "Doughboy" -- as World War I American infantry troops were called -- has already been outspoken in recent years, urging congressional lawmakers to give federal recognition and a facelift to a run-down District of Columbia memorial in an overgrown, wooded area along the National Mall.
In December, at 108, Buckles testified on Capitol Hill as lawmakers considered whether to fund renovation and give the site "national" monument status. But rival legislation seeks the "national" designation for a 1920s-era memorial located in Kansas City, Missouri.
Congress has not yet decided on the legislation.
In 2008, the old soldier came to Washington and visited that 1930s-vintage District memorial. In his wheelchair, helped along by a military aide, he slowly crossed the cracks in the flagstone walkway, and saw the cracks in the marble gazebo.
Still sharp at only 107, he noted during that visit that the names engraved along the gazebo's marble walls are only of those who hailed from District of Columbia.
Buckles that day also met with then-President George W. Bush at the White House and Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon.
Later in 2008, Buckles was the guest of honor at Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. He said he considers it his duty to represent his fellow soldiers.
Oldest WWI Vet : Frank Buckles
"I have to," he told CNN, "because I'm the last living member of Americans," who fought in what was called The Great War.
As a soldier in the U.S. Army, Buckles was an ambulance driver for U.S. forces in Europe, and once met commanding Gen. John Pershing, near whose grave the more recent Veterans Day ceremony was held.
Buckles was warmly greeted with standing applause by those in uniform and others who had gathered for the commemoration, but he said he did not think the fuss was about him.
"I can see what they're honoring: The veterans of World War I."
"Time has passed very quickly to me," he told CNN after a wreath-laying, "I've had a lot of activity in the last 90 years."
Senate Passes Vets, Caregivers Reform
Take Action: Tell your public officials how you feel about this issue.
Reserve GI Still Recruiting after 60 Years
None are so old, Thoreau once wrote, as those who have outlived their enthusiasms.
By that standard, Sgt. Maj. Raymond Moran, the most chronologically advanced recruiter in the Army Reserve, might well also be its most youthful.
"This isn't work; it's a labor of love," says Moran, a beloved figure at Fort Meade who is embarking on his 60th year of doing what he loves most: finding prospects for the Army, then putting his cheerful personality to work guiding their careers.
Moran, who turned 80 last November, never guessed it would last this long. He enlisted in his hometown of Latrobe, Pa., in 1948, did basic training in Kentucky, and shipped out to Japan, where he helped keep the peace in post- World War II Tokyo.
But when the Korean War broke out in 1950, Moran and his unit, an infantry battalion in the 1st Cavalry Division, were called into battle and eventually moved deep into North Korea.
He has been a soldier ever since. He recruited in Washington, Pa., for 12 years; earned a Purple Heart (and his enduring nickname, "The Old Soldier") in Vietnam; and helped get the all-volunteer Army started in the 1970s.
At 60, Moran volunteered to serve during Desert Storm -- and did so. He tried to do the same in the wake of 9/11, at 70, but the Army drew the line. "At that age, you have to be a doctor or they won't take you," he says with an uncharacteristic pout.
Over the years, his country noticed his service. Moran, who has recruited well over a thousand men and women, is the only living person after whom Fort Meade ever named a street. Last year, the Army officially dubbed its new recruiters' hall of fame The Sgt. Maj. Ray Moran "Old Soldier" Hall of Fame -- and inducted Moran into the Fort Jackson, S.C., shrine that day.
Moran reports each morning to a Fort Meade office so jammed with posters, medals, trophies and autographed photos he has to keep a table in the hall to hold the overflow. He spoke with The Baltimore Sun of a long career, the changing face of his craft, and youth.
Your career really started in Asia, during the Korean War. What was it like there?
In the fall of 1950, everyone thought the war was over. Gen. MacArthur even asked my unit, the 7th Cavalry Regiment, to come back from Korea and "parade" in downtown Tokyo on Armistice Day. Bob Hope had come over to do one of his shows
Then we got awful news. In early November, the Chinese Communists came out of nowhere and attacked our buddies [at the Yalu River, in North Korea; more than 800 were killed.] We didn't even realize that army existed.
We had to go out to find soldiers who'd been killed. Many were shot in the back of the head, their hands tied behind them with barbed wire. That's who the enemy was.
Any good memories of that time?
When I was at the front lines, all I knew about my brother was he'd been assigned to a unit at APG in Maryland. But one day, here came this Army Jeep carrying an enlisted man. It was Sam! The 2nd Mortar Battalion had been sent over.
We sat down and wrote a letter home -- he'd write a little in his handwriting, then I'd write a little in mine. My parents kept that letter forever.
You've been recruiting since you returned in 1951. What's the appeal?
[After that war] we had to maintain an Army to defend this great country, to keep it free. And even if war is hard, I always felt I was helping somebody. I'm delighted to talk to anybody who's interested in the military.
They felt I was helping them, too. I've never had a complaint. My [recruits] kept me informed. I still get letters and postcards -- but now they're not from Korea or Vietnam, but from Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait.
What's the hardest part of the job?
It's not a job you just do a little bit, then quit for a while and pick it up again. You've got to be [recruiting] all the time -- handing out your card, letting people know you're around and available.
If they think kindly of you, if they respect you, they'll refer their friends and family members to you. It works well when you have a good reputation.
Any pointers on that?
I tell new recruiters, "Always bring family pictures and have them in your office. They're a reminder of something precious in your life -- a reminder to always tell the truth when you're talking to somebody who wants to serve their country."
There was a big sign in the auditorium of my high school. It said, "The truth shall make you free" And that's exactly what it does. You feel like you're a better man or woman all the way around.
Why is truth-telling such an issue for recruiters?
You don't want to tell anybody an untruth. Today, you don't want to tell anybody, "You're not going to be deployed." We've been in a war for eight years now, and we have all kind of casualties coming back. So you want to tell the truth. And when you do, you're respected for it. They understand.
Your career included the Vietnam War, when popular sentiment ran against the mission. Did you feel that?
I ran into that a little bit when I was [running] the Boston Recruiting Battalion. We had a recruiting station downtown, not far from Harvard. One of my sergeants called me one day and said, "Sergeant Major, we have some Harvard students who are donating their furniture." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "They're throwing their chairs through our window." [Laughs.]
So yes, we had problems. But you replaced the window and continued to serve your country. You didn't quit because you had some people who opposed what you were doing.
You volunteered to go to Vietnam?
Well, they put out word they were looking for recruiters. They do that even today, with Iraq and Afghanistan. They become retention and re-enlistment sergeants. When I called in [in 1969], I said, "Do you have any need for sergeant majors?" They had two vacancies, one in the 101st Airborne, one in the "1st Cav." I said "Put me down for one."
Did you ask your wife, Barbara, first?
No, I didn't. [Laughs.] Her reaction was to say, "I knew you would!" She wasn't happy, but she has always been a wonderful Army wife. ... She's still a great volunteer, sending packages to the soldiers overseas.
In May of 1970, she wrote and said, "you volunteered to go over; now I'd like you to volunteer to come back. Please don't extend." I honored that request.
You were right there when the draft ended and volunteer soldiering began.
[That year] I got the best news I ever could have, though I didn't know it then. I was asked to be [senior NCO] of the 1st Recruiting Brigade at Fort Meade. They said, "Your job is going to be to start the new volunteer Army in that area -- you and the new colonel." We had to go out, open new recruiting stations, take care of housing our new recruiters, get phones and office space. I was on the ground floor of the volunteer Army.
Have you ever had second thoughts about America's missions?
No. I always thought they were well thought out, and important, and [if] they get to us, they're something that's so vital, it's important for us to help accomplish the mission. That's something soldiers are taught: Never leave a fallen hero behind; accomplish the mission. Whatever the mission is, lean forward in a foxhole.
How did things change when the military became all-volunteer [in 1973]?
It made an enormous difference. The drafted soldier did a great job for this country. He was a great warrior. But he didn't want to serve. Whereas the fellow who goes to the recruiter is volunteering to go. Today's military can perform its duties with motivated soldiers.
When you recruit a soldier in 2010, he or she will almost surely end up in a war zone. Does that change your feelings?
No. We're aware of what our country needs. We're here to help out in that. And [the recruits] know that. These young men and women today are into computers; they know everything that's happening. They even know what [career] options they want when they come in.
As a modern recruiter, do you keep up on things in Afghanistan and Iraq?
Oh, yes. [I tell people] Afghanistan will be like what North Korea was for me. It was bitter cold, like it is outside right now. We never slept in a bed for a year. ... I have a friend who told me his son is over there now, living in a tent. I said, "As bad as a tent is, it's still better than having no tent and still living out in the elements, in a foxhole with a sleeping bag wrapped around you." There are going to be a lot of hardships for our soldiers who serve over there.
Does today's slow economy help you in recruiting?
We know unemployment is bad. We'd rather see our country fully employed. That means we have to work harder, but that's what we want. But yes, it's a factor that comes into play -- one of many.
Do you have any other recruiting tips?
I've always felt if you're going to take a young man or woman away from [family], you should, out of respect, stay close to that family. I stay in touch by phone, e-mail, postcard. I get calls from all over. The family members become friends.
I have a saying: "Friends are better than money." I've been lucky enough to make many, many friends.
How are you still going at your age?
I've just always liked this. I continued on, and it has worked out beautifully. I certainly don't feel 80.
Barbara and I have always said, "health and happiness first." And as we age gracefully, we begin to realize we're slowing down -- it's part of the way things happen.
Do you work full-time?
My doctor found a bit of a heart constriction. He said, "I know you think age is unimportant, but ... your body is telling you different." I used to work even on Saturdays and Sundays, but now I work from 7 to 11 [in the morning] on weekdays, go home and take care of myself and Barbara. She's not used to having a husband home.
You're starting your 60th year as a recruiter. Do you plan to be doing this in another 10 years?
I'll help out as long as my health holds up. And I'll do it with a great deal of personal pride.
By that standard, Sgt. Maj. Raymond Moran, the most chronologically advanced recruiter in the Army Reserve, might well also be its most youthful.
"This isn't work; it's a labor of love," says Moran, a beloved figure at Fort Meade who is embarking on his 60th year of doing what he loves most: finding prospects for the Army, then putting his cheerful personality to work guiding their careers.
Moran, who turned 80 last November, never guessed it would last this long. He enlisted in his hometown of Latrobe, Pa., in 1948, did basic training in Kentucky, and shipped out to Japan, where he helped keep the peace in post- World War II Tokyo.
But when the Korean War broke out in 1950, Moran and his unit, an infantry battalion in the 1st Cavalry Division, were called into battle and eventually moved deep into North Korea.
He has been a soldier ever since. He recruited in Washington, Pa., for 12 years; earned a Purple Heart (and his enduring nickname, "The Old Soldier") in Vietnam; and helped get the all-volunteer Army started in the 1970s.
At 60, Moran volunteered to serve during Desert Storm -- and did so. He tried to do the same in the wake of 9/11, at 70, but the Army drew the line. "At that age, you have to be a doctor or they won't take you," he says with an uncharacteristic pout.
Over the years, his country noticed his service. Moran, who has recruited well over a thousand men and women, is the only living person after whom Fort Meade ever named a street. Last year, the Army officially dubbed its new recruiters' hall of fame The Sgt. Maj. Ray Moran "Old Soldier" Hall of Fame -- and inducted Moran into the Fort Jackson, S.C., shrine that day.
Moran reports each morning to a Fort Meade office so jammed with posters, medals, trophies and autographed photos he has to keep a table in the hall to hold the overflow. He spoke with The Baltimore Sun of a long career, the changing face of his craft, and youth.
Your career really started in Asia, during the Korean War. What was it like there?
In the fall of 1950, everyone thought the war was over. Gen. MacArthur even asked my unit, the 7th Cavalry Regiment, to come back from Korea and "parade" in downtown Tokyo on Armistice Day. Bob Hope had come over to do one of his shows
Then we got awful news. In early November, the Chinese Communists came out of nowhere and attacked our buddies [at the Yalu River, in North Korea; more than 800 were killed.] We didn't even realize that army existed.
We had to go out to find soldiers who'd been killed. Many were shot in the back of the head, their hands tied behind them with barbed wire. That's who the enemy was.
Any good memories of that time?
When I was at the front lines, all I knew about my brother was he'd been assigned to a unit at APG in Maryland. But one day, here came this Army Jeep carrying an enlisted man. It was Sam! The 2nd Mortar Battalion had been sent over.
We sat down and wrote a letter home -- he'd write a little in his handwriting, then I'd write a little in mine. My parents kept that letter forever.
You've been recruiting since you returned in 1951. What's the appeal?
[After that war] we had to maintain an Army to defend this great country, to keep it free. And even if war is hard, I always felt I was helping somebody. I'm delighted to talk to anybody who's interested in the military.
They felt I was helping them, too. I've never had a complaint. My [recruits] kept me informed. I still get letters and postcards -- but now they're not from Korea or Vietnam, but from Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait.
What's the hardest part of the job?
It's not a job you just do a little bit, then quit for a while and pick it up again. You've got to be [recruiting] all the time -- handing out your card, letting people know you're around and available.
If they think kindly of you, if they respect you, they'll refer their friends and family members to you. It works well when you have a good reputation.
Any pointers on that?
I tell new recruiters, "Always bring family pictures and have them in your office. They're a reminder of something precious in your life -- a reminder to always tell the truth when you're talking to somebody who wants to serve their country."
There was a big sign in the auditorium of my high school. It said, "The truth shall make you free" And that's exactly what it does. You feel like you're a better man or woman all the way around.
Why is truth-telling such an issue for recruiters?
You don't want to tell anybody an untruth. Today, you don't want to tell anybody, "You're not going to be deployed." We've been in a war for eight years now, and we have all kind of casualties coming back. So you want to tell the truth. And when you do, you're respected for it. They understand.
Your career included the Vietnam War, when popular sentiment ran against the mission. Did you feel that?
I ran into that a little bit when I was [running] the Boston Recruiting Battalion. We had a recruiting station downtown, not far from Harvard. One of my sergeants called me one day and said, "Sergeant Major, we have some Harvard students who are donating their furniture." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "They're throwing their chairs through our window." [Laughs.]
So yes, we had problems. But you replaced the window and continued to serve your country. You didn't quit because you had some people who opposed what you were doing.
You volunteered to go to Vietnam?
Well, they put out word they were looking for recruiters. They do that even today, with Iraq and Afghanistan. They become retention and re-enlistment sergeants. When I called in [in 1969], I said, "Do you have any need for sergeant majors?" They had two vacancies, one in the 101st Airborne, one in the "1st Cav." I said "Put me down for one."
Did you ask your wife, Barbara, first?
No, I didn't. [Laughs.] Her reaction was to say, "I knew you would!" She wasn't happy, but she has always been a wonderful Army wife. ... She's still a great volunteer, sending packages to the soldiers overseas.
In May of 1970, she wrote and said, "you volunteered to go over; now I'd like you to volunteer to come back. Please don't extend." I honored that request.
You were right there when the draft ended and volunteer soldiering began.
[That year] I got the best news I ever could have, though I didn't know it then. I was asked to be [senior NCO] of the 1st Recruiting Brigade at Fort Meade. They said, "Your job is going to be to start the new volunteer Army in that area -- you and the new colonel." We had to go out, open new recruiting stations, take care of housing our new recruiters, get phones and office space. I was on the ground floor of the volunteer Army.
Have you ever had second thoughts about America's missions?
No. I always thought they were well thought out, and important, and [if] they get to us, they're something that's so vital, it's important for us to help accomplish the mission. That's something soldiers are taught: Never leave a fallen hero behind; accomplish the mission. Whatever the mission is, lean forward in a foxhole.
How did things change when the military became all-volunteer [in 1973]?
It made an enormous difference. The drafted soldier did a great job for this country. He was a great warrior. But he didn't want to serve. Whereas the fellow who goes to the recruiter is volunteering to go. Today's military can perform its duties with motivated soldiers.
When you recruit a soldier in 2010, he or she will almost surely end up in a war zone. Does that change your feelings?
No. We're aware of what our country needs. We're here to help out in that. And [the recruits] know that. These young men and women today are into computers; they know everything that's happening. They even know what [career] options they want when they come in.
As a modern recruiter, do you keep up on things in Afghanistan and Iraq?
Oh, yes. [I tell people] Afghanistan will be like what North Korea was for me. It was bitter cold, like it is outside right now. We never slept in a bed for a year. ... I have a friend who told me his son is over there now, living in a tent. I said, "As bad as a tent is, it's still better than having no tent and still living out in the elements, in a foxhole with a sleeping bag wrapped around you." There are going to be a lot of hardships for our soldiers who serve over there.
Does today's slow economy help you in recruiting?
We know unemployment is bad. We'd rather see our country fully employed. That means we have to work harder, but that's what we want. But yes, it's a factor that comes into play -- one of many.
Do you have any other recruiting tips?
I've always felt if you're going to take a young man or woman away from [family], you should, out of respect, stay close to that family. I stay in touch by phone, e-mail, postcard. I get calls from all over. The family members become friends.
I have a saying: "Friends are better than money." I've been lucky enough to make many, many friends.
How are you still going at your age?
I've just always liked this. I continued on, and it has worked out beautifully. I certainly don't feel 80.
Barbara and I have always said, "health and happiness first." And as we age gracefully, we begin to realize we're slowing down -- it's part of the way things happen.
Do you work full-time?
My doctor found a bit of a heart constriction. He said, "I know you think age is unimportant, but ... your body is telling you different." I used to work even on Saturdays and Sundays, but now I work from 7 to 11 [in the morning] on weekdays, go home and take care of myself and Barbara. She's not used to having a husband home.
You're starting your 60th year as a recruiter. Do you plan to be doing this in another 10 years?
I'll help out as long as my health holds up. And I'll do it with a great deal of personal pride.
