The Veteran Thread

[theoddz]

Okay, Veterans Day is quick approaching and I thought we needed a thread just for us Vets who have worn the uniform of our country. Even if you're not American, shout out your pride of having served *your* country!!!

So, if you've served, time to sound off!! Mark your branch in the poll below and feel free to share some of your experiences in this thread.

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:
U.S. Marine Corps '79 - '81

[katsarecool]

I am proud of all the sacrifices my mother and I made while our vets served our country in Viet Nam. All told four tours of duty. Two vets. Two wives. And seven kids to be cared for.

[theoddz]

I am proud of all the sacrifices my mother and I made while our vets served our country in Viet Nam. All told four tours of duty. Two vets. Two wives. And seven kids to be cared for.

Cheers to you!!! :clap:

Military Wife/Spouse/Significant Other.....the "toughest job in the Army/Navy/Air Force/Coast Guard/Marine Corps"!!! ...and it really, truly is!!!

....and that ain't no Sea Story!!! :winky:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Goofy]

US Army 1999-2008

by the way Theo, I noticed in the poll that the rest of us served, while you ARE a Marine ;)

[theoddz]

US Army 1999-2008

by the way Theo, I noticed in the poll that the rest of us served, while you ARE a Marine ;)

Hey Goofy!!! Thanks for *YOUR* service!!! (I was waiting for someone to point that out, btw) :giggle:

Ya, "Once a Marine, Always a Marine"!!! Haven't you heard?? :winky:

....because there are no "ex Marines". :)

We're Marines until the day we die.....then we go and guard the streets of Heaven. :winky: :thumbsup:

HOOOAHHH Army!!! :clap:

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[diamondrose]

my father served 22 years in the US Army. he retired an E-9.

[AtLast]

Not a Vet- just wanted to thank you all for your service! I'm tired of the general US public going to the mall, while service people in the US are going to war! Not my quote- heard it on a documentary about Vets and their families that have had multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Really struck me- you bet I say thank you when I run into service people in my day to day life!

[Cowboi]

I did not serve, I really wanted to join the Navy because my uncle was in the Navy. I was young and stupid....I was NOT going to wear a dress for anyone!!! I will regret that choice till the day I die.
My relatives are Navy!!!

My uncle Ret. Sr. Chief

1st cousin Ret. Sr. Chief

1st cousin's wife Ret. Chief


1st cousin served in the Navy for 4 years.


Salute to all who serve!!!

[JoSchmooze]

US Army. 1969 - 1980

[Corkey]

USAF 1976-1980

[Tommi]

Ixfd5LSPEHs

USAF salute :usa:

Smoke Angels
http://images.astronet.ru/pubd/2006/08/24/0001215392/smokeangel_usaf.jpg

[katsarecool]

I am so pissed by this http://www.autostraddle.com/hate-speech-army-recruiter-63569/ I could scream!!!

[AtLast]

I am so pissed by this http://www.autostraddle.com/hate-speech-army-recruiter-63569/ I could scream!!!

Me, too. It is fine for gays/lesbians and us to serve in secret and die for this country... but not live as we are as human beings.

First- away with DADT completely and forever .... then we move on to Transpeople serving openly (or not, by personal choice), period!!

Although, I did not serve, my Dad (way back in the calvary- born in 1906!), brother (Vietnam Era Vet, but was stateside in the Army reserves for 6 years- was alergic to bees- no Vietnam jungles for him), a cousin (Vietnam, fought as a Marine), and two Uncles did- they were in WWII and Korea, one in the Navy, the other Army.

Now that I think about it, look at how many of just us here have several relatives (or themselves) that have served and I honestly feel like most US citizens in their everyday lives don't give a flying hooray (or even think about them unless something big gets televised) about our troops in these wars and what these multi-deployments are doing to their families and to them.

Maybe this is because of where I live? There is a base in Fairfield, CA that is within an hour from me, but I feel like people here are in some kind of fishbowl and don't get just how many people are serving and serving and serving. When I lived in Sacramento, there were 2 AF bases, but now I think both are closed.

Dunno... just on my mind.

[Oiler41]

Yep, Vet here. U.S. Army 1983-1986

Fort McClellan, Alabama
Fort Lee, Virginia
Fort Ord, California
Keesler AFB, Mississippi

I served, as did my great uncle, my father, my father's brother and my oldest brother. Two Air Force Vets and three Army within three generations.

Glynn

[JAGG]

I am a Marine. (once a Marine....) I was a drill instructor.
Loved every second I was there , I lived my dream. Got kicked out for being gay. You can read about it in a book called "Conduct Unbecoming." By Randy Shilts. Long story. Too long to explain. The book doesn't state all the facts, mainly because I refused to be interviewed by anyone. But court martials are public record, so they got most of the info from that, and then some other info from those who were willing to tell their story .So not always accurate, or the whole complete truth, since it didn't come straight from the horses' mouth, so to speak. None-the-less the book gives you the general idea of what happened.
But don't think I'm bitter, because nothing could be less true. I love the Marine Corps it was my dream to be a Marine. Although it was hard to have the dream taken away, I'm always proud to say I am a Marine. I lived my dream, not many people can say that. Some people live their whole life and never know what that feels like. But I do. And I will always be grateful for that. If I could add one more comment, don't hold it against the Marine Corps, because it wasn't the Corps , just a few homophobic people in it. I had a lot of secret support, from alot of straight hard corps Marines. Doing things that could have gotten them in big trouble, to help me as much as they could.
Hey Semper Fi Oddz. I'm all present and accounted for.
JAGG

[katsarecool]

Me, too. It is fine for gays/lesbians and us to serve in secret and die for this country... but not live as we are as human beings.

First- away with DADT completely and forever .... then we move on to Transpeople serving openly (or not, by personal choice), period!!

Although, I did not serve, my Dad (way back in the calvary- born in 1906!), brother (Vietnam Era Vet, but was stateside in the Army reserves for 6 years- was alergic to bees- no Vietnam jungles for him), a cousin (Vietnam, fought as a Marine), and two Uncles did- they were in WWII and Korea, one in the Navy, the other Army.

Now that I think about it, look at how many of just us here have several relatives (or themselves) that have served and I honestly feel like most US citizens in their everyday lives don't give a flying hooray (or even think about them unless something big gets televised) about our troops in these wars and what these multi-deployments are doing to their families and to them.

Maybe this is because of where I live? There is a base in Fairfield, CA that is within an hour from me, but I feel like people here are in some kind of fishbowl and don't get just how many people are serving and serving and serving. When I lived in Sacramento, there were 2 AF bases, but now I think both are closed.

Dunno... just on my mind.
I agree ALH, most civilians have no idea the high level of stress and the tremendous sacrifice our troops and their families make for this country! The divorce rate is high. The pay sucks!!! Children are born and go through much of their first years without a parent or parents which is not a good way to grow up. Children unborn can be affected negatively by their parents exposure to dangerous chemicals like Agent Orange. Spouses left at home endure unbelievable loneliness and fear on a day to day basis. And many troops after they get home often find themselves bankrupt, homeless and have lost children in custody battles.

The vets that are wounded all too many times do not get proper medical care and some feel the sting of this the rest of their lives. Bob Woodward (from ABCNews received a severe head injury while embedded with the troops in Iraq I believe) he has done some heartbreaking reports covering our wounded troops from these two wars. I cry when watching these reports and cheer their courage and fortitude facing major life-altering injuries and their families who are also affected. I could go on and on about the treatment of our vets; terrible!!!!

In addition to my ex-husband and step-father being in the US Navy; my father served as a pilot in the Navy during the Korean War. My brother served in the Army back in the early 1970s. Being a dependent of military personnel requires children to grow up in a big hurry and assume grown up roles far too early.

In spite of the fact that I have supported no wars in my lifetime; I always supported our troups!!!! And they did and always will amaze me the courage under fire!!!! I am ready (as I am sure many are ready) for our troops to come home and begin to put their lives back together.

[theoddz]

I am a Marine. (once a Marine....) I was a drill instructor.
Loved every second I was there , I lived my dream. Got kicked out for being gay. You can read about it in a book called "Conduct Unbecoming." By Randy Shilts. Long story. Too long to explain. The book doesn't state all the facts, mainly because I refused to be interviewed by anyone. But court martials are public record, so they got most of the info from that, and then some other info from those who were willing to tell their story .So not always accurate, or the whole complete truth, since it didn't come straight from the horses' mouth, so to speak. None-the-less the book gives you the general idea of what happened.
But don't think I'm bitter, because nothing could be less true. I love the Marine Corps it was my dream to be a Marine. Although it was hard to have the dream taken away, I'm always proud to say I am a Marine. I lived my dream, not many people can say that. Some people live their whole life and never know what that feels like. But I do. And I will always be grateful for that. If I could add one more comment, don't hold it against the Marine Corps, because it wasn't the Corps , just a few homophobic people in it. I had a lot of secret support, from alot of straight hard corps Marines. Doing things that could have gotten them in big trouble, to help me as much as they could.
Hey Semper Fi Oddz. I'm all present and accounted for.
JAGG

Semper Fi, Brother!!! :thumbsup:

I knew you had been a DI, but didn't know you were discharged for being gay. That really just blows my fuse. Back in '79, all of my drill instructors, save one, were discharged for homosexuality as the result of a huge WITCH HUNT (yes, I'm going to use that word, because that's exactly what it was, back in the day, before DADT). All I can say about that is that 3 careers were ruined and terminated, and the Marine Corps lost 3 of the most exemplary, squared away, dedicated, motivated (and motivating) Marines. During my tour, I witnessed even more, even some of my dear friends, get less than honorable discharges just because they were gay. They have no VA benefits to this day, and that is beyond deplorable.

In the Marine Corps, there has always been a few good men and women who are "different", yet not all that different, except for sexual orientation, and I'm sure this probably goes for the other branches, too, but in the Marine Corps, we were always just a bit tighter. That's pretty damned tight, too. We served together, protected each other, had each other's back (in most cases, sadly, not in others) and shared that extra bit of camaraderie. I think that's what really hurt, back then and even now....when there was a betrayal, and in most cases, that resulted from coercion and lies. It was all so very sad. It hurt everyone concerned and certainly the loss of these very good Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coasties was not beneficial to the service.

Yes, we ARE Marines. We don't make excuses or apologies for that. It just is. It doesn't mean that any branch is any "better" than another. Each branch is specially and specifically trained to accomplish it's specific mission. It has to be that way. That training is instilled in each Marine during basic training and it never leaves us. You don't go through something like that and not have it change your life forever. It changes how you think about everything...every challenge you will ever have in your life reverts your mind back to your Marine Corps training. When it's said "The change is forever.", that is exactly what they mean, and it is.

JAGG, as a Drill Instructor and Marine, you touched and changed a LOT of lives in ways which you will never know. I think back about my own DI's often, and I wonder where they are and what they've done after The Corps. I wonder if they will ever know how much I've been able to do and overcome in my life. I want them to know that I do push a little further, try a little harder and hang in there a lot longer......because of them.

I AM a Marine. :winky:

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[DomnNC]

US Army - 1974-1977
21st Military Police Company - Ft Bragg, NC

Ft Jackson, Columbia, SC - Basic Training
Ft McClellan, Alabama - MP Training
Ft Bragg, NC - Permanent Duty Station

First - Thanks to the many veterans and current service members for all you do and have done for our country!!

Many of you who served way back when, lol, knows what it was like to be in the military back then. Women were 1 of 2 things, you were either gay or a whore and that is how you were basically treated, or at least, that's how it was at Bragg. I was singled out (because of my masculine looks and the fact that I had a female civilian living with me off-post) and pushed by my superiors to "break". I was sent to see a post "shrink" to see if I was indeed "gay" in hopes of discharging me. Luckily for me, the "shrink" that they sent me to see was indeed a "brother" who just laughed and said well of course you are but made his official findings different, which of course just pissed off my superiors, lol. I was damn good at what I did, even arrested the Sheriff of Cumberland County for driving drunk on post, boy did that ever incur the wrath because I wouldn't drop the charges, lol. But all in all I'd have to say I'd do it all over again!

Proud to have served!

[Blaze]

I am a Marine. Part of the Delta Company then moved onto being one of the first of 4 woman that became Gunnery Sergeants in the United States Marine Corp.
I am a Last challenge "Crucible"
1979 - 1987 http://www.defense.gov/specials/basic/images/m_logo.gif
Basics in Parrish Island - second home for me.
Stationed -Camp Pendleton
Camp Lejeune- trained for Gunnery Sgt.
Stationed -Kaneohe Hawaii as Gunnery Sgt ( My Home)
Served in Italy
Served in France
Served in the Phillipines
Served in Germany
Served in Guam-short stay
Stationed- California
I was going to be a lifer. I was technically ousted because of medical issues, but in my eyes, I was just another victim of the "witch hunt"
I am a Proud Marine! Semper Fi, I am a Leather Neck!

[Bard]

Msgt USAFR 514 ASTS McGuire AFB
also Active Army 101st Aviation reg Ft Campbell KY and
Army Reserve 465 Transportation Co [/U]

[Dreamer]

Okay so not American Military but I did get to work alongside our American allies....

Royal Australian Navy
1979 - 1999

Royal Australian Naval Reserves
1999 - 2004

[katsarecool]

Speaking of uniforms, a woman in a uniform will drive me to distraction in a good way!:seeingstars:

[Arwen]

Thank you. Each of you has given a part of your life to make mine a bit safer and a bit better.

I am a proud military supporter even when the war is unpopular. To twist a phrase, hate the war, not the warrior.

USAF daughter and stepdaughter. My stepdad flew in the Berlin airlift.

[Miss Scarlett]

Speaking of uniforms, a woman in a uniform will drive me to distraction in a good way!:seeingstars:

Yeah...me too...:eyebat:

[LipstickLola]

Yeah...me too...:eyebat:


me three! ;)

[FlowerFem]

Jagg wrote,
I am a Marine. (once a Marine....) I was a drill instructor.
Loved every second I was there , I lived my dream. Got kicked out for being gay. You can read about it in a book called "Conduct Unbecoming." By Randy Shilts. Long story. Too long to explain. The book doesn't state all the facts, mainly because I refused to be interviewed by anyone. But court martials are public record, so they got most of the info from that, and then some other info from those who were willing to tell their story .So not always accurate, or the whole complete truth, since it didn't come straight from the horses' mouth, so to speak. None-the-less the book gives you the general idea of what happened.
But don't think I'm bitter, because nothing could be less true. I love the Marine Corps it was my dream to be a Marine. Although it was hard to have the dream taken away, I'm always proud to say I am a Marine. I lived my dream, not many people can say that. Some people live their whole life and never know what that feels like. But I do. And I will always be grateful for that. If I could add one more comment, don't hold it against the Marine Corps, because it wasn't the Corps , just a few homophobic people in it. I had a lot of secret support, from alot of straight hard corps Marines. Doing things that could have gotten them in big trouble, to help me as much as they could.
Hey Semper Fi Oddz. I'm all present and accounted for.
JAGG
__________________
Wow Jagg that is incredible. Just the fact that you were a Marine amazes me. I'm going to run out and buy that book. But OMG I can't believe you could be so positive. I know butches who get stared at in public and crumble to pieces, you must be very strong. So you have a book written about you. You are famous then. hahaha Will you autograph it for me? Seriously will you ? I bet it's an amazing story I can't wait to read it. You are an incredible interesting person, if you don't mind a compliment.

[Tommi]

Subject: GovExec Story:

'Don't ask, don't tell' divides secretaries, commanders.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1010/102210cd2.htm

Go to the link above to read the entire story and the Pro and Con commens at the bottom. To the Vet's and familes and children of Please COMMENT. Tommi

'Don't ask, don't tell' divides secretaries, commanders
By Sara Sorcher CongressDaily October 22, 2010

The three service secretaries now with the power to discharge any openly gay officer under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy have all voiced their support for a repeal of the controversial policy in the past, putting them at odds with the senior military commanders.

"It's the first time in the 20 years I've spent studying the military that there has been a split between the Defense Secretary and the Secretary of the Joint Chiefs [who have voiced support of legislative repeal] and the other chiefs," said professor David Segal, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Research on Military Organization.

A directive from Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday limited discharges under the policy to an elite team of five: the Air Force, Army, and Navy Secretaries in conjunction with the Pentagon's legal counsel and the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

(Link above please see and add your comments., The comments are being read by many.
Thanks Tommi.)

[Tommi]

Speaking of uniforms, a woman in a uniform will drive me to distraction in a good way!:seeingstars:

Yeah...me too...:eyebat:


me three! ;)

Have 6 minutes. See how far we have come baby.
Even though I didn't get to be a jet pilot, I am One Proud Airman, Tommi

P28_KptizpU

[katsarecool]

Have 6 minutes. See how far we have come baby.
Even though I didn't get to be a jet pilot, I am One Proud Airman, Tommi

P28_KptizpU
Thank you Tommi! She is not butch enough to ring my chimes. Though she is attractive!

[Arwen]

Theo, thank you again for giving us a thread where we can honor all of those who have chosen to serve their countries.

I hope that we can all remember that serving one's country is not a butch-specific act. Many femmes have also served.

I realize folks are having fun with the whole uniform fetish thing but I'd like to remind folks that this thread was started for those who served.

I am sorry, but they did not don a uniform so we could drool on them. And I agree, a uniform worn with pride is a gorgeous thing.

But maybe we can separate the sexual attraction from the actual service since this is a thread about those who are veterans? I'm sure we could start a thread for Uniforms Are Hot that would be loads of fun as well.

Theo, I do apologize for hijacking your thread.

[Arwen]

Have 6 minutes. See how far we have come baby.
Even though I didn't get to be a jet pilot, I am One Proud Airman, Tommi

P28_KptizpU

This was very cool. Thank you for sharing. One of my grooming clients was an elderly gay woman. She and I used to talk about her time in the Women's Air Corp. She was an amazing woman who did something really dicey at that time. :) SHe said her father was NOT happy with her but she wanted to serve.

[chefhmboyrd]

Army Reserves 83-89

[JAGG]

Wow Jagg that is incredible. Just the fact that you were a Marine amazes me. I'm going to run out and buy that book. But OMG I can't believe you could be so positive. I know butches who get stared at in public and crumble to pieces, you must be very strong. So you have a book written about you. You are famous then. hahaha Will you autograph it for me? Seriously will you ? I bet it's an amazing story I can't wait to read it. You are an incredible interesting person, if you don't mind a compliment.


It's not that exciting flower.

[theoddz]

It's not that exciting flower.

Well, my Brother, there aren't many who can say they've done what we've done. To us, we know and understand what it is to stand the watch and what it is to leave family and friends behind while we go to "exciting places" and do "exciting things". It's really not that exciting from our perspective, but from the ordinary civilian's viewpoint, what we do is pretty cool.

We did what other people only can dream about. All of us who have worn the uniform of our countries have made a profound difference that way. We are unique. The branches may be different, but we all stepped forward to volunteer, and for that we have done what many others have not done. No one forced us to join. We did it of our own free will and gladly so.

To those people who have such admiration for us, I say thank you. We Vets have made a very special contribution. We saw something larger than ourselves and made a conscious decision to make sacrifices not asked of others. We have many reasons to take pride in each of the uniforms we have worn, be it Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine. We are one family. We are Butch and we are Femme and there are many who live in the gray undefined areas between the two.

This thread is for all of us. This thread honors and celebrates all of our service. This thread is for those who appreciate our service, too. Thanks to everyone who has posted here in support of us.

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[JAGG]

[/COLOR][/PHP][/HTML][/CODE][/quote]
Well, my Brother, there aren't many who can say they've done what we've done. To us, we know and understand what it is to stand the watch and what it is to leave family and friends behind while we go to "exciting places" and do "exciting things". It's really not that exciting from our perspective, but from the ordinary civilian's viewpoint, what we do is pretty cool.

We did what other people only can dream about. All of us who have worn the uniform of our countries have made a profound difference that way. We are unique. The branches may be different, but we all stepped forward to volunteer, and for that we have done what many others have not done. No one forced us to join. We did it of our own free will and gladly so.

To those people who have such admiration for us, I say thank you. We Vets have made a very special contribution. We saw something larger than ourselves and made a conscious decision to make sacrifices not asked of others. We have many reasons to take pride in each of the uniforms we have worn, be it Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine. We are one family. We are Butch and we are Femme and there are many who live in the gray undefined areas between the two.

This thread is for all of us. This thread honors and celebrates all of our service. This thread is for those who appreciate our service, too. Thanks to everyone who has posted here in support of us.

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

I know Oddz. I meant the book isn't that exciting.

[Cowboi]

The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is in my town today.
How humbling to stand in the presence of, and read(through tears) the names of so many that lost their lives.

[theoddz]

An organization of Marines was authorized when the Continental Congress made the following resolution on November 10, 1775:

“Resolved, That two battalions of Marines be raised consisting of one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, two majors, and other officers, as usual in other regiments; that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken that no persons be appointed to office, or enlisted into said battaions but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve with advantage by sea when required; that they be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present War with Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress; that they be distinguished by names of First and Second Battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered as part of the number which the Continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.”

7JKBjWsepyw

Happy 235th Birthday, Marines!!!!!

Semper Fi!!!!

~Theo~ :winky::clap::bouquet:

[Tommi]

Happy Birthday to the Corp and all those who died to keep us free, and to those Vets that served. Send courage and safe home coming to all those men and women still in harms way in ths crazy way the world fights today.

http://gadaboutblogalot.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/3g09843vmarine-corps.jpg

[Tommi]

The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is in my town today.
How humbling to stand in the presence of, and read(through tears) the names of so many that lost their lives.

Thanks for the post Cowboi. We sometimes forget the conflict our country has seen. My town is establishing a permanent memorial now. It used to be just flowers at a corner for some local fallen hero's and grew and grew till it is now going to be dedicated. We saw protestors, vandals, and just outright nasty crap hold up progress. People wanted their children's park instead. This weekend is the dedication.

Irvine Long War Memorial Dedication
by Andy Zelinko Monday, Nov. 01, 2010 at 8:42 AM

The Irvine Long War Memorial will be dedicated 14 Nov. This is the US's first and only memorial to ongoing wars. Like the Vietnam-memorial it has space for 8K names of the dead. It will be more than half filled of course on the 14th, from Iraq and AfPak, but it will be updated yearly with new military dead names. No need for perpetual wars to end in the new world order. Full schedule available at www.northwoodmemorial.com

[JustJo]

Just popping in to say thank you to all who have served :rrose:

[justkim]

I am the daughter of a career Navy man...
I am the grand daughter of a Navy Bomber...
I was married to into the Navy...
I wanted to be a Marine...
They wouldn't take me because I REFUSED to sign over my daughter to my family...
Today I hold a American Flag for those who have fought and died and for those who continue to fight and die for our Country...
I am the daughter of a Patriot Guard Rider and I have been embraced by these fine men and women... They have pulled me into their fold... There isn't a thing they wouldn't do for me and I for them... They don't give a damn about who I love, they only care that I do love and that I give it my all... Just as they have done for their Country...
Thank You Veteran's!

Things I have from days gone by...
A bracelet from Vietnam that has the name of a MIA/KIA soldier
Pictures from Greece during WWII
The original copy of my grand fathers bombing missions and flight hours logged
A picture of a young man who was KIA, it has his address and everything on the back of it
Rubbings from the Wall that came through Colorado in 1987

I Love our Veteran's!

[Corkey]

Happy Birthday Marines, ooorah! Semper Fi.

[katsarecool]

I want to express my appreciation to all our Veterans, troops on active duty and their families for the extraordinary jobs done and the extreme sacrifices made for us each and every day!!!

[JAGG]

Happy Birthday Marines!!!!! 235 years of honor integrity and valor. The world's finest fighting force.

[AtLast]

Under the DADT discharge from the military, are people stripped of things like being able to utilize education grants/loans, home loan programs, VA health benefits, military service pensions?

There are things on top of a person being forced out of the military via DADT having to give up a career that I am wondering about. Are there differences in "honrable" discharges for our members that have served and leaving under DADT that are just not publicized to the general public?

Also wondering about how targets of DADT get treated when utilizing things on military bases they are entitled to, if the paperwork in DADT discharges is on the up and up. Just can't help thinking that so much of this ends up with our folks getting a double whammy.

This is so damn hard when someone believes deeply in the US Bill of Rights and rights to privacy.

[Corkey]

Can't tell you personally, I was in and out before DADT.

[Mtn]

DADT was never a solution, it simply "sounded better at the time", and I suppose it was slightly better than the witch hunts and people vanishing in the night that happened before that....when I served....I was extremely disappointed in Clinton...it was a cowards way out, and I don't see that Pres. Obama will make it any different...it is an interesting question about the discharges under DADT...In my day they were either dishonorable, or general discharges...which was pretty much the same thing....I knew I couldn't have a family under the situation, so I got out after 6 years, but they lost a good soldier in the process...I am saddened that things have not changed for our glbt soldiers that continiue to offer their lives for this country, where they are still second class citizens in everyway....sorry about the soap box, I served honorably and with pride!

[Goofy]

Under the DADT discharge from the military, are people stripped of things like being able to utilize education grants/loans, home loan programs, VA health benefits, military service pensions?

There are things on top of a person being forced out of the military via DADT having to give up a career that I am wondering about. Are there differences in "honrable" discharges for our members that have served and leaving under DADT that are just not publicized to the general public?

Also wondering about how targets of DADT get treated when utilizing things on military bases they are entitled to, if the paperwork in DADT discharges is on the up and up. Just can't help thinking that so much of this ends up with our folks getting a double whammy.

This is so damn hard when someone believes deeply in the US Bill of Rights and rights to privacy.

I can't speak to all your questions, Atlast, but I'll do my best.

Veteran's benefits, including education and home loans are dependent on a person's discharge. If they are discharged honorably or under honorable conditions, then they are eligible for those benefits. If someone is dishonorably discharged, then they do not receive any benefits. Under DADT, it is possible to be discharged either way. Most of the folks I know, were honorably discharged.

An honorable discharge is just that, an honorable discharge. The reason for the discharge will appear on your official discharge papers. I can't speak for the other services, but the Army states the reason for discharge. It cites the chapter number under which one is discharged, when applicable, but doesn't necessarily state "homosexuality."

Once discharged from the Army, you can only get back on base if you retired or are rated as 100% disabled. Your ID card does not state the nature of your discharge.

Hope that helped.

[Oiler41]

DADT was never a solution, it simply "sounded better at the time", and I suppose it was slightly better than the witch hunts and people vanishing in the night that happened before that....when I served....I was extremely disappointed in Clinton...it was a cowards way out, and I don't see that Pres. Obama will make it any different...it is an interesting question about the discharges under DADT...In my day they were either dishonorable, or general discharges...which was pretty much the same thing....I knew I couldn't have a family under the situation, so I got out after 6 years, but they lost a good soldier in the process...I am saddened that things have not changed for our glbt soldiers that continiue to offer their lives for this country, where they are still second class citizens in everyway....sorry about the soap box, I served honorably and with pride!

I agree that DADT was never a real solution, and like you, I was pissed at Clinton for a long time for not doing what he said he was going to do and abolish this issue all together. However, when I really took a hard look at what he was up against, I understood why he did what he did. DADT did, to some degree, stop the witch hunts. At the time, Clinton was facing a Congress that would have surely, without a doubt, never allowed the ban to be lifted. He didn't have the votes he needed and he knew it. As a result of him trying an outright ban, there very possibly could have been a knee-jerk in Congress that would have not only disallowed the ban, but also placed new restrictions in place. I think he took the furthest step forward he felt would squeak by and amount to some improvement. Trying to force the issue of lifting the ban on gays in the military would have blown up in his face and we would still be having the witch hunts. The philosophy was something is better than nothing. The funniest thing of all though is that if every gay person in all the armed forces turned OD green tomorrow, there really wouldn't be any debate to be had in the White House, the Congress or society at large.

Glynn

[AtLast]

I can't speak to all your questions, Atlast, but I'll do my best.

Veteran's benefits, including education and home loans are dependent on a person's discharge. If they are discharged honorably or under honorable conditions, then they are eligible for those benefits. If someone is dishonorably discharged, then they do not receive any benefits. Under DADT, it is possible to be discharged either way. Most of the folks I know, were honorably discharged.

An honorable discharge is just that, an honorable discharge. The reason for the discharge will appear on your official discharge papers. I can't speak for the other services, but the Army states the reason for discharge. It cites the chapter number under which one is discharged, when applicable, but doesn't necessarily state "homosexuality."

Once discharged from the Army, you can only get back on base if you retired or are rated as 100% disabled. Your ID card does not state the nature of your discharge.

Hope that helped.


Yes, this clarifies a lot for me. Thanks. Especially retirement and the disability status and military benefits. Although, personally, I think service members should get a hell of a lot more overall. Bothers me.

I don't have a good background here (yet, have family that did serve, but really as enlisted during war time or drafted during a Vietnam) and also, so many of the things I did learn way back when don't apply today.

[Ms. Tabitha]

To all who served, past and present. To those who carry the scars and to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Thank you


r2RwRi2TjA0

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy


"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty." John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961

[theoddz]

Yes, this clarifies a lot for me. Thanks. Especially retirement and the disability status and military benefits. Although, personally, I think service members should get a hell of a lot more overall. Bothers me.

I don't have a good background here (yet, have family that did serve, but really as enlisted during war time or drafted during a Vietnam) and also, so many of the things I did learn way back when don't apply today.

Goofy was right on with his comments here!! Thanks for giving this info, Brother!!! I was in the barbershop, waiting for a haircut, when I read this thread on my Blackberry. I tried to type out a response on it, but was called for my haircut before I could finish!!

Like Goofy said, it depends on the character of a member's discharge that determines what kind of benefits they are eligible for, post discharge. You can read more about them and what benefits are given or lost here at this Wiki site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_discharge

Back when I was serving in the Marine Corps, my friends and Drill Instructors who were kicked out were given, by and large, General Discharges Under Other Than Honorable Conditions. For a Marine, it was an issue of "Conduct Unbecoming of A Marine", even though the Marine's character of service may have been exemplary. This meant that they lost their VA benefits, meaning health care and home loans. Educational benefits were contributory back then under the VEAP (Veterans Educational Assistance Program), so I don't think those were necessarily lost, but I'm not sure on this.

When DADT is overturned and GLBTQ members are allowed to openly serve, I do hope that those who went before, our Veterans, who were unjustly discharged because of sexual orientation/identity will be allowed to have their discharges amended/upgraded and their benefits as Veterans restored. It is simply only the right thing to do.

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[bigbutchmistie]

Hello Veterans :) My adopted dad was in the Navy, and my brother in the Army... . My grandfather in the Army who served in World War II. To each and every one of you who served this country giving your all, and putting your lives on the line for the freedom we have today. THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart... I love and appreciate everyone of you. To all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives... THANK YOU.

For You :)
DWrMeBR8W-c

[bigbutchmistie]

Here are some more for you to enjoy :)

ruNrdmjcNTc

p6yLQRF-cEU

[morningstar55]

..Happy Veterans Day....

thank you all for those whom served to protect our Country.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a209/AdolfoErika/Hawaii/Hawaii038.jpg


this was a good kinda funny but all so serious at the same time. :)
CYHLVUVctQk

[Diva]

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv131/CMPointer/Veterans-Day-Thank-You.jpg

[BoDy*ShOt]

I can't speak to all your questions, Atlast, but I'll do my best.

Veteran's benefits, including education and home loans are dependent on a person's discharge. If they are discharged honorably or under honorable conditions, then they are eligible for those benefits. If someone is dishonorably discharged, then they do not receive any benefits. Under DADT, it is possible to be discharged either way. Most of the folks I know, were honorably discharged.

An honorable discharge is just that, an honorable discharge. The reason for the discharge will appear on your official discharge papers. I can't speak for the other services, but the Army states the reason for discharge. It cites the chapter number under which one is discharged, when applicable, but doesn't necessarily state "homosexuality."

Once discharged from the Army, you can only get back on base if you retired or are rated as 100% disabled. Your ID card does not state the nature of your discharge.

Hope that helped.


Navy 1997 - 2001

i am honorably discharged on a "rainbow chit" - my dd214 states reason for discharge: homosexual misconduct, and am never allowed to join the US military again. (i'm too old now anyway lol.)

my co fought for me to stay in, it was definitely an interesting time in my life. they sent me out to sea while they "discussed" the discharge, allowing me to complete my time for VA benefits eligibility. i thank them for that.

[Tommi]

Dan Choi's Veterans Day Message
By Advocate.com Editors


As the United States honors the contributions of its service members on this Veterans Day, Lt. Dan Choi reflects on the war that gay veterans continue to fight at home long after the battles abroad stop.

Choi shared his thoughts in a piece for the Huffington Post:

"As we fight to repeal 'don't ask don't tell,' we know that this fight can easily be more painful than physical combat, as the people we fought to protect subject us to the harsh bigotry of popularity polls and the soft bigotry of political inaction," he writes. "Caught in this battlefield, it is easy to claim victimhood and suffocate in the sadness of national betrayal. Gay Americans, like all scapegoated and stigmatized minorities in America's history, know this feeling all too well. But just as all the patriots who had to come home to fight for equality, we cannot heal our injuries by permanent sorrow and self-pity. The only treatment that can heal the wounds of betrayal and hatred is a recommitment to fight for each other, to stand up for each other, to love one another."


http://www.opensecrets.org/news/dan-choi-dont-ask-dont-tell-duct-tape-small.jpg

[Tommi]

IF you don't belong, I highly recomend it. There is constant news, for current and previously discharged servicemembers. DADT has been beneficial to many who serve presently. SLDN Reports Servicemembers Defense League Network (http://www.sldn.org/pages/about-sldn-vision-mission-and-goals)

Here is blog if you wish to read and or tell your Story. (http://www.sldn.org/blog/archives/stories-from-the-frontlines-former-lieutenant-junior-grade-jenny-kopfs/). There is great info on the site, and there may be meetings in your area. I attend events when I can.

I served before Don't Ask Don't Tell. I was obviously gay as were my Superior USAF Dyke Officers, but no one openly so on base.

I received the "General Discharge" that the Air Force granted after thoroughly investigating me for 6 weeks to see if I "did anything against the US Government while in service". I didn't "Do anybody on base", my background was clean, so I was granted the Honorable...discharge versus spending time in the brig if I chose to fight for and make TSgt. Gawd I love that uniform. (Not me but great picture)
http://www.usafmtia.org/Lackland/images/Parades/00s/3femaleTI%27s.jpg

[AtLast]

Goofy was right on with his comments here!! Thanks for giving this info, Brother!!! I was in the barbershop, waiting for a haircut, when I read this thread on my Blackberry. I tried to type out a response on it, but was called for my haircut before I could finish!!

Like Goofy said, it depends on the character of a member's discharge that determines what kind of benefits they are eligible for, post discharge. You can read more about them and what benefits are given or lost here at this Wiki site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_discharge

Back when I was serving in the Marine Corps, my friends and Drill Instructors who were kicked out were given, by and large, General Discharges Under Other Than Honorable Conditions. For a Marine, it was an issue of "Conduct Unbecoming of A Marine", even though the Marine's character of service may have been exemplary. This meant that they lost their VA benefits, meaning health care and home loans. Educational benefits were contributory back then under the VEAP (Veterans Educational Assistance Program), so I don't think those were necessarily lost, but I'm not sure on this.

When DADT is overturned and GLBTQ members are allowed to openly serve, I do hope that those who went before, our Veterans, who were unjustly discharged because of sexual orientation/identity will be allowed to have their discharges amended/upgraded and their benefits as Veterans restored. It is simply only the right thing to do. Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

Thanks for more info that speaks to our Marine Corp. The link is very helpful.

I have been thinking a lot about exactly what you are saying about those that were unjustly discharged getting back what was taken from them. I want this to be part of the take down of DADT! And this action needs to be swift- not 50 years after-the-fact!

[Spirit Dancer]

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e191/richard365/eagleflagfireworks.jpg

[justkim]

I know that Veteran's Day has come and gone...
I wanted to share with you a link my dad sent to me...
Besides every day should be Veteran's Day!

If anyone is interested in the photo's that I took this last Wednesday of one of our local boys last journey home... You can find them on my FB, if you aren't a friend there and would like to be added please feel free to contact me...



http://00f2630.netsolhost.com/farewellmarine.html

[Greyson]

I was not sure where to post this article. I chose this thread out of respect for the Marine Corps and all that serve. In general, I try not to post too much of my own editorial when posting articles because I hope you will form your own opinion based on some critical analysis. Not on what I or others may think and/or what is the popular opinion.

I will admit that I come from a family with some of that Marine Corp ethos. My father is a retired Marine and served in Korea. It was my goal to be a Marine but because of physical limitations, I could not serve upon turning 18 years old.

Of course most of us here most likely believe "Don't Ask Don't Tell" should be repealed and here is yet another moment, piece of information to consider "why."

__________________________________________________ _______________

The few. The proud. The problem. Can the Corps' warrior ethos accept openly gay Marines?

By Tammy S. Schultz

Sunday, November 21, 2010; B01



Tammy S. Schultz is director of national security and joint warfare at the U.S. Marine Corps War College. The views expressed here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Marine Corps University.

After 17 years, "don't ask, don't tell" may finally be on its way out. Even if the Senate resists the latest efforts to end the policy, it appears that most members of the military - from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on down - support the law's repeal.

But there's one part of the military where resistance is greater than in any other: the United States Marine Corps.

That is clear from early reports about a survey sent to 400,000 active duty and reserve service members on "don't ask, don't tell" that will be officially released next month. More than 70 percent of respondents, spanning all branches of the military, said the effect of repealing the prohibition on openly gay troops would be positive, mixed or nonexistent. But about 40 percent of the Marine Corps respondents expressed concern about lifting the ban.

Top Corps leaders, past and present, haven't been shy about stating their concerns. While serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace said in 2007 that "homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and . . . we should not condone immoral acts." (He later clarified that the comment reflected his personal religious views.) While serving as Marine Corps commandant, Gen. James Conway told reporters in August that "an overwhelming majority [of Marines] would like not to be roomed with a person that is openly homosexual." Most recently, the current commandant, Gen. James Amos, while expressing support for the survey, echoed Conway's comments, eliciting a mild rebuke from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Mike Mullen.

What is it about the Marines? Compared with the other services, why do a disproportionate number of them overtly resist ending "don't ask, don't tell"?
I have studied, taught and interviewed Marines for 15 years and have gained great appreciation for the history and culture of the Corps, so much so, in fact, that I began teaching at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico almost three years ago.

Marines have survived and thrived as a service in part because they exemplify everything warrior. (I have never seen as many trucks with gun racks as I do driving on the Quantico base.) They pride themselves on being the toughest service, serving in the most austere environments under the most demanding circumstances. This pride has been forged throughout history, from Iwo Jima to Khe Sanh, from Fallujah to Helmand province.

In the Corps, the creed that "every Marine is a rifleman" means that no matter the Marine's specialty, he or she is ready to fight. Marines do battle where the stakes are high and the quarters close. Although they have individual specialties, they all have infantry in their blood.

As a rule, ground pounders are more conservative, resistant to change and likely to uphold tradition. This equates to a fear of the unknown - in this case, serving in combat with an openly gay Marine.

Every Marine sees himself or herself as on the front lines, if not at the moment, then ready to deploy at any time. The Marine Corps is a smaller service than the other branches, with a greater singularity of purpose. That attitude is part of Marine Corps exceptionalism broadly, as well as when it comes to the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Anything that could dilute the warrior ethos will face a challenge.

I am an openly gay woman, equally comfortable at Quantico and in Dupont Circle. Each of these worlds holds negative stereotypes about the other, and like all stereotypes, they tend to break down on an individual level. Yet for some in both cultures, the notion of a gay Marine seems almost impossible, as though this most masculine and punishing service simply isn't for gay people.

You don't need to spend time with Marines, as I have, to realize how important the warrior ethos is to them. Simply turn on the television and see how the Corps markets itself: Do you have what it takes to join the few, the proud? When discussing their high retention numbers with the Marine Corps leadership a few years ago, I was told that the Corps prides itself on not having to pay big bonuses, as the other branches do, to keep people in the force - the honor of being a Marine is all the reward offered or desired. It's part of why there are no former Marines, only retired Marines. Once you've joined the tribe, unless you do something that goes against the Corps' values of honor, courage and commitment, you never leave.

In the Marines, anything that seems to contradict or challenge that warrior culture is treated like a foreign particle entering a body's immune system - it is rejected. This visceral reaction will not change if we dismiss those who value these traditions.

But the Marine Corps culture itself, I believe, will eventually lead the service to support the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

Although I am not closeted, the fact that I am gay does not come up in my job as a professor at the War College. Nor should it. I am not a Marine. I have not been in combat with Marines. The students at the college are the future leaders of the Corps, and I lead respectful debates in class on issues from grand strategy to counterinsurgency operations. I'm sure that my sexuality does not fit with the private views of every Marine. But it doesn't have to. I was hired by the college as a professional and honored as the 2010 outstanding Marine Corps University civilian professor. In my experience with the Marines, professionalism trumps sexuality.

I am very sympathetic to the strain that the Marine Corps is under and would never support a policy change that I thought would hurt the Corps in a time of war. I have researched the implications of repealing the law, willing to land wherever the facts led me. The argument that we can't repeal the policy because it would impair troops on the ground from carrying out their missions is specious; the opposition to the policy on practical or logistical grounds is surmountable.


The values of honor, courage and commitment are inseparable from the Marines. By definition, gay and lesbian Marines break one or more of these core tenets every time they have to hide or lie about who they are. Eventually, gay Marines must out themselves by upholding Corps values, or continue compromising the very values that make them Marines.

Repealing "don't ask, don't tell" would not mean that hundreds of gay and lesbian Marines would immediately come out of the closet. But it would mean that they could keep their personal and professional integrity. The examples from other countries where homosexuals are allowed to serve suggest that many will go about their lives as normal, but without the fear of being discharged if discovered.

The key to reconciling Marine culture with the open service of gay men and women will not be found among the rank and file or even among closeted service members; it must come from Corps leaders. Most research on how to integrate minority groups into the military has a common thread: the utmost importance of leadership to the process. The fact that the current and prior Marine commandants have expressed discomfort at the prospect of the demise of "don't ask, don't tell" is unfortunate because the generals risk creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, hurting the Corps they desire to protect.

"Don't ask, don't tell" will be reversed in time. And as the military survey indicates, a majority of the Corps does not see a risk in the repeal. How the change affects the Marines is up to the leadership. A Marine officer once told me that, besides all Marines being riflemen and riflewomen, what sets them apart is discipline: "If the law changes," he said, "we will comply with the law. You can take that to the bank."

I believe he's right. The United States Marine Corps is the most professional force in the world. There is no reason to think that it will be less adept at integrating gays than Britain, Canada or Australia (just three of the 26 countries that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network).

The current leadership should look to a fellow Marine for guidance. Staff Sgt. Eric Alva stepped on a landmine and lost his right leg only three hours into ground operations in Iraq in 2003; he was the first service member to be wounded there. He also happens to be gay. Alva received a medical discharge and has gone on to work for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." At an event in 2007, he came out publicly, saying, "I'm an American who fought for his country and for the protection and the rights and freedoms of all American citizens - not just some of them, but all of them."

The Marine Corps leadership should not only accept such sacrifices but honor those who make them. The Corps' motto, "semper fidelis," means "always faithful." There is no qualifier for sexual orientation. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111906892_2.html?tid=obinsite

[JAGG]

I was not sure where to post this article. I chose this thread out of respect for the Marine Corps and all that serve. In general, I try not to post too much of my own editorial when posting articles because I hope you will form your own opinion based on some critical analysis. Not on what I or others may think and/or what is the popular opinion.

I will admit that I come from a family with some of that Marine Corp ethos. My father is a retired Marine and served in Korea. It was my goal to be a Marine but because of physical limitations, I could not serve upon turning 18 years old.

Of course most of us here most likely believe "Don't Ask Don't Tell" should be repealed and here is yet another moment, piece of information to consider "why."

__________________________________________________ _______________

The few. The proud. The problem. Can the Corps' warrior ethos accept openly gay Marines?

By Tammy S. Schultz

Sunday, November 21, 2010; B01



Tammy S. Schultz is director of national security and joint warfare at the U.S. Marine Corps War College. The views expressed here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Marine Corps University.

After 17 years, "don't ask, don't tell" may finally be on its way out. Even if the Senate resists the latest efforts to end the policy, it appears that most members of the military - from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on down - support the law's repeal.

But there's one part of the military where resistance is greater than in any other: the United States Marine Corps.

That is clear from early reports about a survey sent to 400,000 active duty and reserve service members on "don't ask, don't tell" that will be officially released next month. More than 70 percent of respondents, spanning all branches of the military, said the effect of repealing the prohibition on openly gay troops would be positive, mixed or nonexistent. But about 40 percent of the Marine Corps respondents expressed concern about lifting the ban.

Top Corps leaders, past and present, haven't been shy about stating their concerns. While serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace said in 2007 that "homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and . . . we should not condone immoral acts." (He later clarified that the comment reflected his personal religious views.) While serving as Marine Corps commandant, Gen. James Conway told reporters in August that "an overwhelming majority [of Marines] would like not to be roomed with a person that is openly homosexual." Most recently, the current commandant, Gen. James Amos, while expressing support for the survey, echoed Conway's comments, eliciting a mild rebuke from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Mike Mullen.

What is it about the Marines? Compared with the other services, why do a disproportionate number of them overtly resist ending "don't ask, don't tell"?
I have studied, taught and interviewed Marines for 15 years and have gained great appreciation for the history and culture of the Corps, so much so, in fact, that I began teaching at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico almost three years ago.

Marines have survived and thrived as a service in part because they exemplify everything warrior. (I have never seen as many trucks with gun racks as I do driving on the Quantico base.) They pride themselves on being the toughest service, serving in the most austere environments under the most demanding circumstances. This pride has been forged throughout history, from Iwo Jima to Khe Sanh, from Fallujah to Helmand province.

In the Corps, the creed that "every Marine is a rifleman" means that no matter the Marine's specialty, he or she is ready to fight. Marines do battle where the stakes are high and the quarters close. Although they have individual specialties, they all have infantry in their blood.

As a rule, ground pounders are more conservative, resistant to change and likely to uphold tradition. This equates to a fear of the unknown - in this case, serving in combat with an openly gay Marine.

Every Marine sees himself or herself as on the front lines, if not at the moment, then ready to deploy at any time. The Marine Corps is a smaller service than the other branches, with a greater singularity of purpose. That attitude is part of Marine Corps exceptionalism broadly, as well as when it comes to the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Anything that could dilute the warrior ethos will face a challenge.

I am an openly gay woman, equally comfortable at Quantico and in Dupont Circle. Each of these worlds holds negative stereotypes about the other, and like all stereotypes, they tend to break down on an individual level. Yet for some in both cultures, the notion of a gay Marine seems almost impossible, as though this most masculine and punishing service simply isn't for gay people.

You don't need to spend time with Marines, as I have, to realize how important the warrior ethos is to them. Simply turn on the television and see how the Corps markets itself: Do you have what it takes to join the few, the proud? When discussing their high retention numbers with the Marine Corps leadership a few years ago, I was told that the Corps prides itself on not having to pay big bonuses, as the other branches do, to keep people in the force - the honor of being a Marine is all the reward offered or desired. It's part of why there are no former Marines, only retired Marines. Once you've joined the tribe, unless you do something that goes against the Corps' values of honor, courage and commitment, you never leave.

In the Marines, anything that seems to contradict or challenge that warrior culture is treated like a foreign particle entering a body's immune system - it is rejected. This visceral reaction will not change if we dismiss those who value these traditions.

But the Marine Corps culture itself, I believe, will eventually lead the service to support the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

Although I am not closeted, the fact that I am gay does not come up in my job as a professor at the War College. Nor should it. I am not a Marine. I have not been in combat with Marines. The students at the college are the future leaders of the Corps, and I lead respectful debates in class on issues from grand strategy to counterinsurgency operations. I'm sure that my sexuality does not fit with the private views of every Marine. But it doesn't have to. I was hired by the college as a professional and honored as the 2010 outstanding Marine Corps University civilian professor. In my experience with the Marines, professionalism trumps sexuality.

I am very sympathetic to the strain that the Marine Corps is under and would never support a policy change that I thought would hurt the Corps in a time of war. I have researched the implications of repealing the law, willing to land wherever the facts led me. The argument that we can't repeal the policy because it would impair troops on the ground from carrying out their missions is specious; the opposition to the policy on practical or logistical grounds is surmountable.


The values of honor, courage and commitment are inseparable from the Marines. By definition, gay and lesbian Marines break one or more of these core tenets every time they have to hide or lie about who they are. Eventually, gay Marines must out themselves by upholding Corps values, or continue compromising the very values that make them Marines.

Repealing "don't ask, don't tell" would not mean that hundreds of gay and lesbian Marines would immediately come out of the closet. But it would mean that they could keep their personal and professional integrity. The examples from other countries where homosexuals are allowed to serve suggest that many will go about their lives as normal, but without the fear of being discharged if discovered.

The key to reconciling Marine culture with the open service of gay men and women will not be found among the rank and file or even among closeted service members; it must come from Corps leaders. Most research on how to integrate minority groups into the military has a common thread: the utmost importance of leadership to the process. The fact that the current and prior Marine commandants have expressed discomfort at the prospect of the demise of "don't ask, don't tell" is unfortunate because the generals risk creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, hurting the Corps they desire to protect.

"Don't ask, don't tell" will be reversed in time. And as the military survey indicates, a majority of the Corps does not see a risk in the repeal. How the change affects the Marines is up to the leadership. A Marine officer once told me that, besides all Marines being riflemen and riflewomen, what sets them apart is discipline: "If the law changes," he said, "we will comply with the law. You can take that to the bank."

I believe he's right. The United States Marine Corps is the most professional force in the world. There is no reason to think that it will be less adept at integrating gays than Britain, Canada or Australia (just three of the 26 countries that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network).

The current leadership should look to a fellow Marine for guidance. Staff Sgt. Eric Alva stepped on a landmine and lost his right leg only three hours into ground operations in Iraq in 2003; he was the first service member to be wounded there. He also happens to be gay. Alva received a medical discharge and has gone on to work for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." At an event in 2007, he came out publicly, saying, "I'm an American who fought for his country and for the protection and the rights and freedoms of all American citizens - not just some of them, but all of them."

The Marine Corps leadership should not only accept such sacrifices but honor those who make them. The Corps' motto, "semper fidelis," means "always faithful." There is no qualifier for sexual orientation. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111906892_2.html?tid=obinsite

Thank you greyson!!! I agree with every word this person wrote. Very well explained , to inform a person who has no clue of the Marine Corps enviroment.

[LeftWriteFemme]

President Obama has pledged to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", and I just added my name to the growing list of Americans in support of repealing this discriminatory law.

Will you join me?

http://my.barackobama.com/repeal_DADT-EMS

[Cougar]

United States Marine 83-88
Military Police
Almost got nailed during the 87 witchhunt - I hope Maldonado and Baum burn in hell for squealing and ruining peoples lives.

My Mother was Army
Three Uncles in the Air Force
One Uncle in the Navy
One Uncle in the Coast Guard
One Grandfather was retired Navy
One Great Grandfather was was both Army & Navy

[Tommi]

Send a Soldier a CARD Red Cross here. (http://redcrosschat.org/2010/10/26/holiday-mail-for-heroes-2010/)

Holiday Mail For Heroes is back for a fourth year! The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes will collect holiday cards from regular citizens all across the country and distribute them to service members, veterans, and their families. Many active service members must spend the holidays apart from their family. Give back this holiday season by sending a card to thank those who have given a great deal to their country.

Send cards to the address below, and please read the guidelines carefully!

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD
20791-5456

All cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 10th. Cards postmarked after this date will unfortunately be returned to the sender. This deadline ensures enough time to sort and distribute cards before the holidays.

After the mailbox closes, the cards we received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country.

[Corkey]

Today is December 7, on this date in 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, HI.
Remembering our fallen, and our Veterans.

[Greyson]

It appears the late actress Bea Arthur served as a Marine for a little over one month.

See her military file at the link below.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/bea-arthur-marine-file?page=0
__________________________________________________ _______________

December 9, 2010

Celebrity Bea Arthur Was A Truck-Driving MarineDespite denial, records detail star’s military career


While she strangely denied serving in the armed forces, military records show that the actress Bea Arthur spent 30 months in the Marine Corps, where she was one of the first members of the Women’s Reserve and spent time as a typist and a truck driver.

The "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" star, who died last year at age 86, enlisted in early-1943 when she was 21 (and known as Bernice Frankel). In a February 1943 letter included in her Marine personnel file, Arthur gave military officials a brief account of her prior employment as a food analyst at a Maryland packing plant, a hospital lab technician, and an office worker at a New York loan company.

Arthur was due to start a new job, but she “heard last week that enlistments for women in the Marines were open, so decided the only thing to do was to join.” While she hoped for an assignment in ground aviation, Arthur noted that she was “willing to get in now and do whatever is desired of me until such time as ground schools are organized.” She added, “As far as hobbies are concerned, I’ve dabbled in music and dramatics.”

As part of the enlistment process, Arthur underwent interviews that resulted in the production of “personality appraisal” sheets. One such analysis described her conversation as “Argumentative” and her attitude and manner as “Over aggressive.” In a handwritten note, the Marine interviewer remarked, “Officious--but probably a good worker--if she has her own way!”

Arthur is pictured here in an official Marine photo taken shortly after her enlistment. A second undated portrait can be seen above.

Arthur, who was fingerprinted during enlistment, started basic training in March 1943 and was initially assigned as a typist at Marine headquarters in Washington, D.C.. Over the following two years, Arthur was stationed at Marine Corps and Navy air stations in Virginia and North Carolina. During her military career, Arthur’s rank went from private to corporal to sergeant to staff sergeant, the title she held upon her honorable discharge in September 1945, according to one document.

On a Marine qualification card that included a section titled “Talent for furnishing public entertainment,” Arthur is credited for “piano & organ 13 years” and “contralto-orchestra.” Her “active hobbies” included hunting with a .22 caliber rifle and “bow and arrow.”

A year after her enlistment, Arthur married a fellow Marine, Private Robert Aurthur, in a ceremony presided over by a city judge in Ithaca, New York. She then formally had her named changed in military records to Bernice Aurthur. It would change again, to Bea Arthur, as she started her post-military career as an actress.

The military records, released in response to a Freedom of Informaton Act request, include a single “misconduct report” filed against Arthur while she was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina. That misconduct determination stemmed from Arthur’s contracting of a venereal disease, which left her “incapacitated for duty” for five weeks in late-1944. As a result, her pay was reduced for that period.

For some reason, Arthur did not speak about her time with the Marines. In fact, in a videotaped interview (excerpted below) conducted as part of an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences archives project, Arthur flatly denied serving in the military. When an interviewer said that she had read somewhere that Arthur had once joined the Marines, the actress answered, “Oh, no. No.” She then continued a chronological review of her life by noting that, in 1947, she enrolled in dramatic school in New York. (5 pages)


http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/bea-arthur-was-truck-driving-marine

[Tommi]

I sit here watching it live on CNN.

Tears stream down my face for those who know, and those who do not. For those who ended their careers and their lives for coming out in the military.

For those who fought for this for years, and for those that have risen above and know our truth. Now we can serve openly and proud.

Honorably Discharged, but by the grace of God.
http://www.c21learners.com/multimedia/images/usaf_logo.gif

[theoddz]

I sit here watching it live on CNN.

Tears stream down my face for those who know, and those who do not. For those who ended their careers and their lives for coming out in the military.

For those who fought for this for years, and for those that have risen above and know our truth. Now we can serve openly and proud.

Honorably Discharged, but by the grace of God.
http://www.c21learners.com/multimedia/images/usaf_logo.gif

I couldn't have said it better, Tommi, thank you!!! :clap:

I wholly share your thoughts and sentiments on this important day. I am keeping, in my thoughts, all the good Marines and Sailors (and Airmen, Soldiers and Coasties), especially, whom I knew, who lost careers and lives to an unfair and discriminatory policy. I hope they can all find some kind of resolution and peace that another good Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine or Coastie won't have to endure and lose what they did.

Semper Fi......for ALL of us. :cheer:

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww96/theoddz60/Web%20Images/g-cvr-101222-obama5-6agrid-8x2.jpg

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

For those of us who didn't know until now, Major Richard "Dick" Winters, who commanded Easy Company, 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101 Airborne, passed away at age 92 this past January 2. He and the story of the heroes of Easy Company during WWII was immortalized in the HBO series "Band of Brothers".

Even though this very celebrated unit was so highly profiled with this wonderfully done miniseries, I think it's important that we all remember that these guys were just a handful of the men and women who so proudly served before us in our nation's wars and yes, even in peacetime. One of my most favorite and memorable quotes from this series was spoken in narrative in the episode called "The Last Patrol". I have remembered these words so often, over the years, as I've worked with so many of these wonderful, proud Veterans at the VA.

"How could anyone ever know of the price paid by soldiers in terror, agony and bloodshed if they'd never been to places like Normandy, Bastogne or Haguenau?" --- spoken by David Webster, Band of Brothers.

You know, you could almost substitute the words of "Normandy, Bastogne or Haguenau" with almost any location where soldiers have given so much, including and up to the ultimate sacrifice.

So, here's to Major Dick Winters. May he and the so many others who passed before, rest in peace. :bunchflowers:

aMaLpUoLc-E

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Arwen]

For those of us who didn't know until now, Major Richard "Dick" Winters, who commanded Easy Company, 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101 Airborne, passed away at age 92 this past January 2. He and the story of the heroes of Easy Company during WWII was immortalized in the HBO series "Band of Brothers".

I have to blame Goofy for my watching this show at all. He kept talking about it. I finally had to see what he was all about.

It was incredibly well done. I noted Maj. Winters passing and felt both sad and proud. His group's tale made the horrors of WWII real for me. My best friend's g-father was on the beach at Normandy and survived. He still has effects from that.

[theoddz]

I found out, a few days ago, that my mother's brother, my 87 year old Uncle Bud, a WWII Veteran of the U.S. Army (European Theater), made it to Washington, DC, on an Honor Flight, to see the WWII Memorial on the National Mall. He was escorted by my cousin, Kathy. :)

I'm so very proud of him and even happier that he got a chance, in his lifetime, to see the memorial dedicated to him and the other servicemen/women of his generation who fought and won a World War on 2 fronts. They are, indeed, The Greatest Generation.

For those not familiar with the Honor Flight, you can find more info on this at:

www.honorflight.org

_VoWKh_T6aA

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Tommi]

VA Directive Issued on Respectful Delivery of Healthcare to Transgender and Intersex Veterans

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has issued a Directive to all of its facilities establishing a policy of respectful delivery of healthcare to transgender and intersex veterans who are enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system or are otherwise eligible for VA care. The Directive reiterates that under existing regulations sex reassignment surgery cannot be performed or paid for by the VA and that all other medically necessary healthcare for transgender veterans is covered, including transition-related care such as hormones and mental health services. It also indicates that all VA staff must provide care to transgender patients "without discrimination in a manner consistent with care and management of all Veteran patients." (Directive on www.va.gov )

By setting an example of how healthcare providers in both the public and private sector should be treating transgender patients, this Directive is an important first step in securing equal access for transgender and Intersex veterans, and healthcare access for transgender people generally.

http://www.157arw.ang.af.mil/shared/media/ggallery/thumbnails160/AFG-070111-014.jpg

[cane]

Served in the Swedish army (as did all men in Sweden, unless you had a medical reason, or some other reason for not being able to).
Served as Kustjägare, which translated would be Coast Hunter or Hunter of the Coast, part of both army and navy, and like a Marine this is someting I Am, for life.

[Arwen]

A truly moving story about a gay soldier (openly so)who was killed in Afghanistan in February of this year. What moved me to tears was his father's comments about his son's right to die but not to marry. Click here. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/02/gay.soldier.andrew.wilfahrt/index.html)

Happy 4th of July, y'all. Thanks for the work you did and are doing.

[Greyson]

NY Times
September 4, 2011
By JAMES DAO

Discharged for Being Gay, Veterans Seek to Re-enlist

They lived shadow lives in the military, afraid that disclosure of their sexuality would ruin carefully plotted careers. Many were deeply humiliated by drawn-out investigations and unceremonious discharges.

Yet despite their bitter partings with the armed forces, many gay men and lesbians who were discharged under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy say they want to rejoin the service, drawn by a life they miss or stable pay and benefits they could not find in civilian life.

By some estimates, hundreds of gay men and lesbians among the more than 13,000 who were discharged under the policy have contacted recruiters or advocacy groups saying they want to re-enlist after the policy is repealed on Sept. 20.

Bleu Copas is one. He had been in the Army for just three years when someone sent an anonymous e-mail to his commanders telling them he was gay. After he was discharged in 2006 under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the military’s ban on openly gay troops, “It took away all my value as a person,” he recalled.

Michael Almy is another. When the Air Force began its investigation into whether he was gay, it suspended his security clearance and relieved him of his command. On his final day in service in 2006, police officers escorted him to the gate. “It left kind of a bitter taste,” he said.

Though the Pentagon says it will welcome their applications, former service members discharged for homosexuality will not be granted special treatment. They will have to pass physical fitness tests and prove that they have skills the armed services need right now. Some will have aged to the point that they will need waivers to get back in.

Even if they pass those hurdles, there is no guarantee that they will go back to their former jobs or ranks. And because the armed services are beginning to shrink, some will be rejected because there are no available slots.

People discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” who wish to return to service “will be evaluated according to the same criteria and requirements applicable to all others seeking re-entry into the military,” said Eileen Lainez, a Pentagon spokeswoman. “The services will continue to base accessions of prior-service members on the needs of the service and the skills and qualifications of the applicants.”

To be eligible for re-enlistment, former service members cannot have been discharged under “other than honorable conditions,” Ms. Lainez said. The majority of people released under the policy since 1993 — a significant number of them highly trained intelligence analysts and linguists — received honorable discharges.

As with all people who join the military, the reasons for wanting to rejoin vary widely. Some say they want to finish what they started, but on their own terms. Others point to the steady pay, good health care and retirement benefits. Still others talk idealistically about a desire to serve and be part of an enterprise larger than themselves.

“It’s a hunger,” said Mr. Copas, who now works with homeless veterans in Knoxville, Tenn. “It doesn’t necessarily make sense. It’s the idea of faith, like an obligation to family.”

Jase Daniels was actually discharged twice. Because of a clerical error, the Navy failed to note on his records that the reason for his first discharge in 2005 was homosexuality. So the following year, when his services as a linguist were needed, the Pentagon recalled him.

“I wanted to go back so bad, I was jumping up and down,” he said. “The military was my life.”

He was open about his sexual orientation while deployed to Kuwait for a year, he says. But a profile of him in Stars and Stripes led to a new investigation, and he was discharged a second time upon coming home in 2007.

Now 29, Mr. Daniels says that in the years since, “I’ve had no direction in my life.” He wants to become an officer and learn Arabic, saying he is confident he will be accepted because he has already served as an openly gay man.

“No one cared that I was gay,” he said of his year in Kuwait. “What mattered was I did a good job.”

The issue of rank could discourage many from rejoining. Because there are fixed numbers of jobs or ratings in each of the armed services, some people might have to accept lower ranks to re-enlist. And those allowed to keep their former ranks will still find themselves lagging their onetime peers.

“I’ve been out six years, so my peers are way ahead of me in the promotion structure,” said Jarrod Chlapowski, 29, a Korean linguist who left the Army voluntarily in 2005 as a specialist because he hated keeping his sexual orientation a secret. He is now thinking about rejoining.

“It’s going to be a different Army than the one I left,” he said. “And that’s a little intimidating.”

Mr. Almy, 41, Mr. Daniels and another former service member have filed a lawsuit asserting that they were unconstitutionally discharged and should be reinstated, presumably at their former ranks. A former major, Mr. Almy, who was deployed at least four times to the Middle East, was among the highest-ranking members removed under the ban.

But even advocates for gay and lesbian troops say it might not be practical for the military to adopt a blanket policy of allowing all service members discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” to return to their previous ranks.

“You have to think long and hard from a policy perspective whether you want to put somebody who’s been out 5 or 10 years back into the same billet just because an injustice was done,” said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, a gay rights advocacy group. Mr. Nicholson, 30, who was discharged in 2002, is considering going to law school and trying to become an officer.

For Mr. Copas, who is 35, age could be a factor in whether he gets back in. An Arabic linguist during his first enlistment, he is thinking of learning Dari or Pashto so he can go to Afghanistan. He also is a musician and has a master’s degree in counseling.

But the Army may consider him too old and demand that he get a waiver. Even as he searches the Web for potential Army jobs, he worries that he will jump through many hoops only to be rejected again.

“It almost feels like I’m getting back in bed with a bad lover,” he said. “I’m still dying to serve. But I don’t know how realistic it is.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/us/05reenlist.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2&pagewanted=print

[Greyson]

NYTimes
September 20, 2011
By ELISABETH BUMILLER


Marines Hit the Ground Running in Seeking Recruits at Gay Center
TULSA, Okla. — Master Sgt. Anthony Henry, a top Marine recruiting trainer for the southwestern United States, pulled up to Tulsa’s biggest gay community center on Tuesday morning and left his Chevy where he could make a fast getaway. “I have an exit strategy,” he said. “I know where my choke points are, I’ve strategically parked my car right on the curbside, I have an out.”

But as it happened, one of the strangest days in the history of the United States Marine Corps unfolded without the protests and insults that Sergeant Henry had feared. Sergeant Henry, who had been invited to set up a recruiting booth on the first day of the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell” at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center in downtown Tulsa, instead spent it in quiet conversation with a trickle of gay women who came in to ask about joining the Marines.

“It’s your business and you don’t have to share it,” Sergeant Henry told Ariel Pratt, 20, who asked whether she would face discrimination in the military as a lesbian serving openly. “But you’re also free to be at the mall with your girlfriend.”

Ms. Pratt, 20, asked Sergeant Henry what he liked about the Marines.

“It’s like a little family,” he said. “We get mad at each other, we joke with each other, but we don’t let anybody else make fun of us.”

“That’s pretty cool,” she said.

The Marines were the service most opposed to ending the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, but they were the only one of five invited branches of the military to turn up with their recruiting table and chin-up bar at the center Tuesday morning. Although Marines pride themselves on being the most testosterone-fueled of the services, they also ferociously promote their view of themselves as the best. With the law now changed, the Marines appear determined to prove that they will be better than the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard in recruiting gay, lesbian and bisexual service members.

Still, judging by the traffic at the gay rights center on Tuesday, there will not be an immediate flood of gay and lesbian Marine applicants. By 3 p.m., more than four hours after the Marines had set up their booth opposite the center’s AIDS quilt, only three women had wandered in, none ideal recruits. The local television crews who had come to watch the action — or inaction, as it turned out — easily outnumbered them.

The first potential recruit, First Lt. Misty McConahy of the Oklahoma National Guard, asked if the Marines had openings for any behavioral health officers, her specialty in the guard. She was told no, the Marines use the Navy for medical care. (Later, Sergeant Henry said that he should have sent her to a recruiter for Marine Corps officers, given her rank.)

“It’s a lot of courage for her to come out like that,” Sergeant Henry said, after watching Lieutenant McConahy surrounded by reporters. “Her commander is probably going to see that on TV tonight.”

The second potential recruit, Ms. Pratt, the niece of a late benefactor of the gay rights center, had scars up her left arm from cutting herself in high school — an almost certain medical disqualification for the Marines. “I’ve been recruiting for a very long time,” Sergeant Henry told her, gently. “Those are very tough to deal with.” He took her name and number and said he would make some calls to see what he could do.

The third potential recruit was a 25-year-old overweight high school dropout. Sergeant Henry told her, again gently, that she should come back after she got her diploma and got in shape.

Not that getting into the Marines is easy for anyone right now. As the Marines tell it, only one in 10 applicants qualify for service, with most turned away for a variety of afflictions: asthma, attention deficit disorder, overweight (a 5-foot, 8-inch, 18-year-old male can’t weigh more than 180 pounds before boot camp), excessive tattoos, joint injuries, lack of a high school diploma and a history of drugs beyond infrequent marijuana use.

A bad economy has made jobs in the Marines all the more desirable, at a time when Marines anticipate shrinking their force — down to an undetermined number from the current 200,000 on active duty — as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down. Beyond the economy, said Sergeant Henry, a veteran of three tours in Iraq, the other motivator is the same as always: “They want to be a Marine and they want to blow stuff up.”

The Marines were at the gay rights center at the invitation of Toby Jenkins, the center’s executive director, who said he saw no better way to celebrate the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in a conservative state that strongly supports the military.

“If we’ve been fighting for 15 years for the right to be in the military, we said, ‘Let’s just ask military recruiters if they’d be available,’ ” he said. “But no one was prepared for that question. It was like I was talking to people like they were deer in the headlights.”

The Marines did in fact think that Mr. Jenkins’s invitation might be a hoax, so they checked him out and talked to their superiors, who talked to their superiors. Then they took a deep breath and decided to go. As the day wore on, the Marines said the bust in recruiting had been made up for in media exposure and public relations. Sergeant Henry and his public affairs officer, Capt. Abraham Sipe, gave interviews at the center with five local television stations, three print reporters and one correspondent for National Public Radio. In between, gay rights supporters stopped by to shake their hands.

“Toby said there were cute guys in uniform here,” said Cecilia Wessinger, 46, a longtime friend of the center, who wandered in about 2 p.m. She thanked Sergeant Henry for coming and acknowledged that she was surprised to see him. A few hours later, Kelly Kirby, 57, a retired Air Force sergeant, thanked Captain Sipe. In the 1970s, he said, his boyfriend had been discharged from the Air Force, but he himself had not been discovered, and the memory still haunted him.

“I appreciate you being here,” Mr. Kirby said.

By 5 p.m. the Marines had packed up their booth and chin-up bar and headed out, with plans to come back later to attend a panel discussion. It was all uncharted territory. As Sergeant Henry had said the day before of the new world the Marines now inhabit, “At first it’s going to be kind of shock and awe.”

But like a good Marine, he was with the program: “My take is, if they can make it through our boot camp, which is the toughest boot camp in the world, then they ought to have the opportunity to wear the uniform.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/us/marine-recruiters-visit-gay-center-in-oklahoma.html

[theoddz]

I found this site while surfing the web today. I thought that some of the Vets here might be able to use the information to obtain benefits from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA). It's some pretty useful information. Hope it helps some here. :)

http://www.jimstrickland912.com/BenefitsGuide.html

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[LaneyDoll]

http://www.jimcon49.com/Plaques/Plaque%20-%20Thank%20you%20Veterans.gif

:sparklyheart:

[Arwen]

My father, USAF
My stepfather, USAF and flew in the Berlin Airlift
My uncle, Army
My cousins, Marines, USAF
My friends, USAF, Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, National Guard

To those who served and to those who are serving. Thank you.

[Vlasta]

I need a help since I am not familiar with many things . I hired second attorney . He is just getting familiar with my son's case . However . the INS prosecutor requested his Navy records . This attorney it's more credible that we had from beginning . He told me that my sons record will not be available by January 9 th since it has to go Washington DC , which means more time for mine son in facility .

PLEASE , if you have any advise help me . We already don't celebrating Christmas this year for the first time in my whole life . I can't even think to be eating ham when my son will be eating bologna sandwich .

If you have any experience with these records , please help me . thank you so much for people that reply .

Vlasta

[Legendryder]

I can tell you this, you will just have to wait for the records. Unless your son has a copy of them, there is really nothing else you can do. Trust me when I say this, the government will take their own time and you will get the records when you get them. Wish I had better news.

[Vlasta]

I can tell you this, you will just have to wait for the records. Unless your son has a copy of them, there is really nothing else you can do. Trust me when I say this, the government will take their own time and you will get the records when you get them. Wish I had better news.


Thanks Legend ,well that's what I though , they will take they time . One of my houses in SC burned to the grown in 2002 and we lost a lot of paperwork . He doesn't have it .

hugs and kisses

[MysticOceansFL]

I'm a vet from the US Army communication Intelligency!

[Vlasta]

I'm a vet from the US Army communication Intelligency!


thank you so much for your reply , I would like to now if there be a problem if I PM you for more info ? please let me know . I am so scare if by January 9 th we will not have a paperwork and hearing will be postponed again .

My son was is shock and so was I initially. Actually last night we got into since he was hoping by the hearing things will resolved . Which didn't happened and his state of mind right now it's why I am being treated as a criminal and loosing time with my family and my children .

Please , if you have any info that could help , let me know . I would be grateful .

thanks again

Vlasta

[I'mOneToo]

About 10 years ago it took approximately 6 weeks to obtain a full history. That was also back in the day when requests were filed on paper.

Last summer, via electronic request form for DD214 only, it was received in less than 10 days.

It's uncertain from your post whether you are requesting the entire military history or status of discharge upon separation (DD214).

Here is the link that explains in detail what type of records are available and how to go about obtaining them:

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

Look around that site for other military links that may be of help to you. Read, especially, the paragraph pertaining to ""Emergency" Requests and Deadlines"

There are agencies that will charge fee to do what is available for free using the government's secure website (listed in the above link). Don't get scammed by any site offering to do it for you for a price.

Good luck and hope your son is reunited with all of you soon.

[Vlasta]

About 10 years ago it took approximately 6 weeks to obtain a full history. That was also back in the day when requests were filed on paper.

Last summer, via electronic request form for DD214 only, it was received in less than 10 days.

It's uncertain from your post whether you are requesting the entire military history or status of discharge upon separation (DD214).

Here is the link that explains in detail what type of records are available and how to go about obtaining them:

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

Look around that site for other military links that may be of help to you. Read, especially, the paragraph pertaining to ""Emergency" Requests and Deadlines"

There are agencies that will charge fee to do what is available for free using the government's secure website (listed in the above link). Don't get scammed by any site offering to do it for you for a price.

Good luck and hope your son is reunited with all of you soon.



I am sorry for not being clear , what I understand they want DD214. Thanks so much for the link and advice.

Vlasta

[I'mOneToo]

It's not you who is unclear it's usually me who is often unable to read clearly.

I filled out the form for the request of DD214, printed it out, and had to sign and fax it to the number indicated on the electronic form. They will not process it without a signature so your longest delay may be in getting his attorney to be able to see him to sign it. After it was faxed it was postmarked 6 days later and it was not an emergency request.

Just to be on the safe side I would indicate your son's request is an emergency (because it is). Also I would make a similar separate emergency request for the complete history. It will save time if the prosecutor decides they want more than a DD214. Your attorney is the best to advise you on this. Again, good luck to all of you.

[Vlasta]

It's not you who is unclear it's usually me who is often unable to read clearly.

I filled out the form for the request of DD214, printed it out, and had to sign and fax it to the number indicated on the electronic form. They will not process it without a signature so your longest delay may be in getting his attorney to be able to see him to sign it. After it was faxed it was postmarked 6 days later and it was not an emergency request.

Just to be on the safe side I would indicate your son's request is an emergency (because it is). Also I would make a similar separate emergency request for the complete history. It will save time if the prosecutor decides they want more than a DD214. Your attorney is the best to advise you on this. Again, good luck to all of you.

thank you so much for your advise . It appeared to me when we went to a hearing, prosecutor was just a bitch that she is paid for it and made demands that even judge was looking like WTH ? However , I am still happy that he postponed hearing . Since if he went through the hearing she would appeal right there and it would take another three to four months to wait , which is horrible since my son's wife is pregnant .

Right now I am hoping for his release from INS since he has no criminal record beside this weed past . He is a businessman and if he is out , he will know how to straight this up . I got a new attorney and it seems he it's much more invested in my son's case .

I will definitely do what you suggested and I want to thank you for your kind to reply and be so much helpful .

Vlasta

[Nadeest]

US Marine Corps.......... 76-79 and 80-82

[theoddz]

US Marine Corps.......... 76-79 and 80-82

OOOOOOO RAHHH!!!!!! :clap::thumbsup:

Another Jarhead!!!!!! :D :awww:

So.....for the USMC, we now have JAGG, Cougar, TxCowboi, Eunique, Nadeest and myself (did I miss anyone??). :thumbsup:

We are.......The Fewer. The Prouder. The Women Marines. :)

Semper Fi.......forever. :winky:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[MysticOceansFL]

United States Army Military Intelligency. 1981 - 83

[Nadeest]

OOOOOOO RAHHH!!!!!! :clap::thumbsup:

Another Jarhead!!!!!! :D :awww:

So.....for the USMC, we now have JAGG, Cougar, TxCowboi, Eunique, Nadeest and myself (did I miss anyone??). :thumbsup:

We are.......The Fewer. The Prouder. The Women Marines. :)

Semper Fi.......forever. :winky:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

Um, Theoddz, I'm probably the only one of us that had to climb up Mount Motherfucker as part of basic training. :P

[theoddz]

Um, Theoddz, I'm probably the only one of us that had to climb up Mount Motherfucker as part of basic training. :P

You must be a "Hollywood Marine" (MCRD San Diego)!! :D

I'm a Life Member of the WMA (Women Marines Association), though I'd never attend one of their conventions. Somehow, I don't think that most of them could or would quite wrap their minds around me being one of "them". :twitch:

I'm proud to have you here with us. You're amongst a very special "family" here. :winky::thumbsup:

Semper Fi. :)(f)

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Nadeest]

Yes, I am a 'Hollywood Marine', ya swamp fox. :P I do know the feeling. I think that a lot of the people that I served with would be rather astonished if they could see me now. lol

[theoddz]

Here's a nice little gem. :)

A shout out to all the Vets who keep this thread going!!! :winky:

te-cKxsBapM#!

We are all one.....one force, one love and devotion to our country. We all have served proudly. May G-d bless us, one and all. :thumbsup::heartbeat:

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[MsTinkerbelly]

OutServe Capital Summit planned for May 14-15 in Washington, D.C.

OutServe, a nonprofit organization that represents active duty LGBT military personnel, announced today that it will be holding its first OutServe Capital Summit on May 14-15 in Washington, D.C. Courage Campaign is one of the co-sponsors of the summit, as well as the Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

OutServe’s theme for its summit will be “Our Families Matter,” and will feature a day of panels and discussions between active duty soldiers of all sexual orientations and advocacy experts about the rights of gay and lesbian military partners under DOMA. Despite the repeal of DADT, same-sex military partners are not eligible for all of the rights that heterosexual military families enjoy, including healthcare, base housing, and other privileges.

The Capital Summit is an exciting idea because it will bring together members of this community who have not necessarily had a chance to discuss the changes in their lives that DADT repeal has brought and provide a space for discussing how DOMA continues to negatively impact LGBT service members and their partners. In addition, the summit will look at what can get done in the future: SLDN, HRC and Courage will lead a discussion about how to elicit congressional action to help LGBT service members, and the second day of the summit will be dedicated to outreach on Capitol Hill.

Registration for the summit opens today at OutServe’s website. Check out the full schedule below!



Monday (May 14th)

8am: Registration

9am-4pm: Our Families Matter Workshops/Presentations

6:30pm: OutServe National Military Families Dinner (tickets sold seperately)

Tuesday (May 15th)

8am: Breakfast/ Morning Briefing

9am: Load Bus

9:30am-3pm: Capitol Hill

[Dean Thoreau]

I am Air Force for life...cause once you serve in any branch of the military you are...and always will be...a veteran, many of us served prior to everyone in a uniform being called a hero.... back in the olden days, you didnt wear your uniform off base, cause it was not safe..not cause of terrorists but to protect you from having eggs thrown at you, being called a baby killer and you could fool yourself into thinking you blended in with the civilians....
Always thought it was funny watching a group of service folk walking down the sidewalk thinking they blended in as they unknowingly marched in step....

Well blessings to all veterans and current active duty military personnel all over the world and for all countries....and I highly encourage every person that is a veteran to join "veterans For Peace" www.vfp.org The only way to keep all service people alive is to keep peace by dialog not by guns

[MysticOceansFL]

I am Air Force for life...cause once you serve in any branch of the military you are...and always will be...a veteran, many of us served prior to everyone in a uniform being called a hero.... back in the olden days, you didnt wear your uniform off base, cause it was not safe..not cause of terrorists but to protect you from having eggs thrown at you, being called a baby killer and you could fool yourself into thinking you blended in with the civilians....
Always thought it was funny watching a group of service folk walking down the sidewalk thinking they blended in as they unknowingly marched in step....

Well blessings to all veterans and current active duty military personnel all over the world and for all countries....and I highly encourage every person that is a veteran to join "veterans For Peace" www.vfp.org The only way to keep all service people alive is to keep peace by dialog not by guns




I so agree and I'm a Vet in US ARMY Intelligency communication MI

[Dean Thoreau]

Oh and the website is:
www.veteransforpeace.org
sorry about that

[Morgan]

The following pictures were taken in Santa Barbara, CA and I am using them as a representation of the images ingrained in my mind, which first prompted me to go to Iraq and spend one of year of my life...I did not go there in the military, although at the time I was still serving in the Air National Guard, I went as a civilian for a large defense contractor. My job consisted of rebuilding the communication infrastructure on various bases, a nice way of saying cable dog.... which means a splicer and installer of cabling and communication equipment. I will never forget the friends and troops I met in Iraq and I am uncertain, but some of them may not have come home....

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb107/OZisme/stbarbcross1.jpg


http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb107/OZisme/stbarbcross2.jpg





http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb107/OZisme/stbarbcross3.jpg

Was I scared? You can bet I was.....nothing like having bombs and rounds going off daily while sleeping, working or hanging out with your friends. Would I take that year back....NEVER....I will never forget the troops who put their lives on the line...I just would like to say Thank You to our Military and others who risked their lives......Thank You Very Much.

Would I do it again? Perhaps Afghanistan, never know where I will be......My boots are still ready.


.http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb107/OZisme/021412134705.jpg

[theoddz]

Yes, I am a 'Hollywood Marine', ya swamp fox. :P I do know the feeling. I think that a lot of the people that I served with would be rather astonished if they could see me now. lol

Nadeest, I'm so sorry to say that I haven't seen this until now. I hang my head in shame!!! LOL

You know, like you, I lost touch with so many good people I served with....many who so touched my life that I am even alive now!!! For a long, long time, I grieved for my lost friendships because I missed those Marines so much.

I'm even a Life Member of the Women Marines Association. Ya, but can you imagine the likes of ME, now, showing up at a WMA convention??? The WMA has a convention every year, and it sure looks like a wonderful time. It's usually at a different location/city each year. I think that Denver, CO, has been one of the recent spots for it, and that's within driving distance from Las Vegas, here. So many proud Women Marines of all generations, gathered together in one spirit of service, tradition and honor. As you well know, the camaraderie and loyalty to the Corps and each other spans the generations. We are one brother/sisterhood. I would so, SO love to attend the annual WMA convention, or join my local chapter of the Marine Corps League, because Las Vegas has a very proud and active local chapter of that, too. I just don't know how I'd do that. You know how old Marines are.....usually very, very conservative. I'm sure that Marines like us would go over like a fart in church with them. It's so sad, isn't it?? The Marine Corps is still so much a part of me, and I'd like to embrace it as a proud Marine Veteran, but I feel that I'm locked out of that. It really makes me so sad. Do you ever feel that way about it?? I guess it's one of those "losses" they say is so common when we transition.

Well, fast forward to recent years. The good news is that, after 30+ years, Facebook has allowed me to find and reconnect with some of the good women I served with. I have had the enormous good fortune to have reconnected with one dear friend who, 30+ years ago, quite literally saved my life from alcoholism. Her friendship and loyalty redirected my life away from the bottle, literally saving my young life from so much grief and trouble. I still can recollect her words to me from all those years ago. Well, when we made contact again, after all that time, it didn't matter one speck to her that I'm now a fully transitioned man. In fact, during the years she and I had lost touch, she actually married a transman and they had a son together, via artificial insemination. Her son looks just like her, and he's such a fine, smart, decent man now.....a real testament to what a wonderful person my friend is!! She and the transguy divorced, but A recently married a really nice and wonderful woman, whom I really like and respect. A couldn't have found a better fit and partner than D. They are both blessed.

Anyway, it's like the years we were lost to each other just melted away, and we're just as close now as we were then. I can pick up the phone and call her, share jokes and pictures with her on FB, tell her anything and laugh like a pair of hyenas with her about things that happened yesterday or 30 years ago!!! G-d bless my dear friend, A!!! G-d bless that marvelous bond we share. Thank G-d she saved and touched my life so profoundly. Life is so much fuller with good friends in it. I'm so lucky to have a friend and sister in A.

I've also reconnected with several other good friends on FB. They all seem to understand and accept me for who I am now, because we were such good friends before, and as one recently told me....."You're still the same person inside....You're still my friend.". :winky:

It might be different for (bio)male Marines, where acceptance of transfolk is concerned. It's such a macho group, by and large. Have you been able to reconnect or maintain any friendships from your time in the Corps through your transition?? As for me, well, I'm very proud to have you for my sister, and I couldn't be prouder that you and I share this precious bond. I'm always here for you and I will always have your back. Semper Fi, my friend!!! :thumbsup:

I didn't want to hijack this thread, or its purpose. Being a trans Veteran is, to me, a very "Veteran" issue. There are so many Veterans who have undergone a gender transition, and it's good to know that a few of us are here and that we understand each other.

Have a great weekend!!!

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Nadeest]

No, I've never really tried to keep in touch. There have always been very few people in my life that remain as a constant. It seems that my life has been full of change, and continues to be so.

I am very, very glad for you, though, that you have found and reconnected with your friends. That is very marvelous. :)

[Tommi]

http://cdn04.cdn.pinkisthenewblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/13/081312_gensmithphoto.jpg

Published: August 13, 2012
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/us/army-woman-is-first-openly-gay-officer-promoted-to-flag-rank.xml
WASHINGTON - An Army officer being promoted to brigadier general openly acknowledged her homosexuality on Friday by having her wife pin her star to her uniform, thus becoming the first openly gay officer of flag rank in the United States military.
The officer, Brig. Gen. Tammy S. Smith, 49, a 26-year veteran of the Army, was promoted in a ceremony at the women's memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The star was affixed by Tracey Hepner, who was a co-founder last year of the Military Partners and Families Coalition, which "provides support, resources, education and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender military partners and their families," according to its Web site.
The couple married in March 2011 in the District of Columbia.
The military dropped its "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gay service members on Sept. 20, 2011, after a change in federal law.
The Army said that General Smith was not available for an interview on Sunday. However, she said in a statement that the Defense Department had made sexual orientation a private matter, but that "participating with family in traditional ceremonies such as the promotion is both common and expected of a leader."
Sue Fulton, a spokeswoman for OutServe, a two-year-old organization of lesbians and gay men in the military, said Sunday that it was "highly unlikely" that General Smith was the only gay officer of her rank. She called General Smith's public acknowledgment significant.
"I would say that it's important to recognize 'the first,' because then the next person doesn't have to be first," said Ms. Fulton, a 1980 West Point graduate. "Once we get over each 'first,' each hurdle of 'Well, that's never been done before,' it makes it a nonissue going forward."
Ms. Fulton, who was honorably discharged as a captain in 1986, said she left the Army because of the strains of maintaining a secret lesbian relationship. She called the promotion ceremony in which General Smith acknowledged being gay part of the best in Army tradition. Ms. Fulton quoted a speech last September in which the Army chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, said that "the strength of our Army is our soldiers; the strength of our soldiers is our families."
Ms. Fulton said she had no doubt that General Smith's superiors knew of her sexual orientation when they selected her for promotion.
As a colonel, General Smith was deployed in Afghanistan from December 2010 to October 2011 as the chief of Army Reserve Affairs. She currently serves in Washington as the deputy chief of the Army Reserve.

" Go Army "

Said from the Blue
http://images-thumbs.thefullwiki.org/U/n/i/United_States_Air_Force.png

[theoddz]

Happy 237th Birthday to all of my Marine brothers and sisters. Today is OUR day!!!! :birthday::thumbsup:

On this day, I am always especially mindful to my brothers and sisters who, like myself, have earned and worn the Eagle, Globe and Anchor. Our camaraderie, spirit and devotion to each other ("the bond") are legendary and transcends the years and generations. No matter when or where we have served, we share that enduring bond of friendship, loyalty and devotion to Corps, country and each other. It's what we do best.

So, in honor of the Corps, and each other, I raise my glass and tip my hat to Marines of all generations, past and present, no matter when or where they have served, for each and every one is my brother and my sister. :heartbeat:

OOOOOOOOOOOO RAH!!!!!! :cheer:

ar3mNCymCaU

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Toughy]

OOOOOOOOO RAH!!

I'm thinking about going down to the Veterans Day Parade tomorrow.....San Francisco has a big one....celebrate with my fellow vets.......

[pinkgeek]

OOOOOOOOO RAH!!
I'm thinking about going down to the Veterans Day Parade tomorrow.....San Francisco has a big one....celebrate with my fellow vets.......

Thank you for your service Toughy and thank you to all the other BFP Veterans as well. :)

[theoddz]

Happiest of Veterans Day to all Veterans of all branches of the military, and THANK YOU for your service. :) :clap:

In case you didn't know, there are a number of retail stores and restaurants that are offering free and discounted meals and services to those who have so proudly served our country. When I was at a medical appointment the other day, my local VA office gave me a nice printed flyer with some of the places that are offering these deals to Veterans. I thought I'd pass on the info. :winky:

Olive Garden

Veterans eat free on Monday, Nov. 12. They have a special menu to choose your meal from. Additionally, some Olive Garden restaurants will also give out a $10 gift card to Veterans for a future visit. Bring proof of service with you.

Applebees

Military Veterans and Active Duty service members can eat FREE at any Applebees across the U.S. on Veterans Day, November 11 (Sunday). Choose from six entre's on their menu. You will need to bring proof of your service.

Golden Corral

GC's 9th annual Military Appreciation Monday dinner will be held on Monday, Nov. 12, from 4 to 9 pm in all GC restaurants nationwide. The FREE dinner meal is a special "thank you" tribute to anyone who has ever served in the United States military. To date, GC restaurants have provided over 2.2 million free meals and contributed over $3.3 million to the Disabled American Veterans organization. Bring proof of your service with you to take advantage of this offer.

Chili's

FREE meal Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11. Chili's is offering all military Veterans, past and present, their choice of one of 6 meals. This offer is good during business hours at participating Chili's in the U.S. only. Dine-in from limited menu only. Beverages and gratuity are not included. All desserts priced $5 for Veterans and active duty military. Show proof of military service for this offer.

TGI Friday's

Eat FREE on Veterans Day, Monday, November 12. ***Don't forget that TGI Friday's offers a 10% discount for all service men and women, all day, every day. Show proof of military service.

Hooters

FREE meal, Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11. Get 10 free boneless wings to military Veterans all day. Offer good at all participating Hooters. Show proof of service. For more info: www.HootersVeteransDay.com

Subway

Free six inch sub on Veterans Day, November 11. Subway restaurants are franchises, so this offer may not be available at all locations. Check with your local Subway shop and, as always, show proof of your military service to take advantage of this offer.

Denny's

Free all-you-can-eat pancakes at participating Denny's on Monday, November 12. Bring proof of your service.

These are just a few of a lot of offers that so many good U.S. businesses are offering as a "thank you" to those of us who have served. :winky:

Have a great Veterans Day!!!!

Semper Fi!!!!!!

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Toughy]

I love it...........free food for 2 days......lol.... I will say this.........in the Bay Area be prepared for long lines with a long wait. Last year the wait time at the Alameda Applebees was about an hour and a half all day........Alameda is a big retired military (esp navy) town which is probably why the wait was so long. I did have a great time hanging out and talking to other vets...especially us Vietnam era vets.

[The_Lady_Snow]

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs38/i/2011/315/b/9/veterans_day_by_septembergirl84-d1pj2xv.png

[Linus]

For those in Canada, today is Remebrance Day.

e4NtSqZcT_4

In Flanders Field:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

[Semantics]

Thank you, veterans.

[Gentle Tiger]

Just want to say

Happy Veterans Day to all Veterans of all branches of the military.

THANK YOU for your service. We appreciate You.

And thank you to your families because they sacrifice too.

[Linus]

And a wonderful reminder that not all veterans are the two-legged kind: http://drgrumpyinthehouse.blogspot.com/2012/11/veterans-day.html

[Gentle Tiger]

And a wonderful reminder that not all veterans are the two-legged kind: http://drgrumpyinthehouse.blogspot.com/2012/11/veterans-day.html

Thanks for the reminder Linus.

[socialjustice_fsu]

Thank you to every Veteran.
You gave so much.
You gave to many.
You fought for the freedom that surrounds us.
You have been "The Greatest Generation."
You are the Brave.

You are not forgotten.


A special thanks to my precious father who fought in the Korean Conflict and the Pacific Theater. I treasure your loyalty to this Land.

[Greyson]

Thank you to all the Veterans. I remember my first Remeberance Day in Canada. I was very touched by seeing so many wear the poppy and it was the first time I heard "Flanders Field."

Today I will be going to the Veteran's Cemetary in Dixion, Ca. It will be an honor to place flowers on the grave of my step-father. He is an Army veteran and fought in WWII. My mother is interned there too.

I come from a long line of American Veterans and I am humbled by the service so many have given freely and with pupose.

[Nadeest]

I had an interesting time, tonight at Golden Corral. They had seated a fellow Marine and his partner with my friend and I, and during the convo, he asked me where I did my boot camp at. Either he wasn't paying attention, or I looked rather male to him, as I told him that I did my boot camp at MCRD San Diego. What is funny, for all the non-Marines out there, reading this, is that Women Marines are only given their basic training (boot camp) at MRCD Parris Island. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, and he did not say a word about it, to me.

[theoddz]

I had an interesting time, tonight at Golden Corral. They had seated a fellow Marine and his partner with my friend and I, and during the convo, he asked me where I did my boot camp at. Either he wasn't paying attention, or I looked rather male to him, as I told him that I did my boot camp at MCRD San Diego. What is funny, for all the non-Marines out there, reading this, is that Women Marines are only given their basic training (boot camp) at MRCD Parris Island. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, and he did not say a word about it, to me.

Heh.....I got a chuckle out of that!!! You know, since my own transition, it's been up to me, pretty much, to reveal that I once served as a Woman Marine, but that's something I'm pretty proud of. Every great once in awhile, when I'm at work (I work with Veterans, as you know), there might be someone (a patient) I'll "out" myself to, but it's always been in the spirit of pride and also a bit of trust in the person I'm revealing myself to. Veterans, as a group, tend to be on the "conservative" side, so I generally don't take the chance that my revelation will be met with a positive response unless the conversation comes up and I've had quite a bit of interaction with a patient and I get the feeling that they are more liberal-minded than not.

I do understand and have also experienced that bit of nervousness that you have probably also gotten in some situations, though. The Marine Corps has always had the reputation of being an "ol' boys' club, a "man's world" and "no place for a woman". If women served in the Marine Corps in years gone by, they were assumed by society (and male Marines) to be whores, lesbians or "out to get a husband". I think that's changing, though, as attitudes change, however slowly, and women begin to take on more roles (combat related, mostly) in the Marine Corps. As for me, well, I've gotten remarks like "You're proof that the Marine Corps can make a man out of anyone.", to which I respond with, "Yep, and a better man out of some than others". I seriously and profoundly admire your courage and spirit in being who you are while still maintaining such remarkable pride in the uniform that you served in. I'm proud to be your brother.

I know what you're talking about, though, and that certain "questioning" or period of apprehension that people like you and me go through when confronted with some aspects of our past. I'm a Lifetime Member of the Woman Marines Association, and I'd love to go to one of their national conventions, which are held each year, and serve to bring Women Marines of all generations together. I'd love to go, but I won't. I'm kind of ashamed to say that I don't have the courage to go, at this point in time (:twitch:). I'm working it up, though. I'll go to one, one of these days. :)

Anyway, all that said, I want to assure you that I'm very proud to share The Title and the legacy with you. After all, you're the one who made it up "Mount M*therF*cker", not me!!!!! :thumbsup:

My hat's off to you!!! :winky:

Semper Fi,

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Nadeest]

e (:twitch:).
Anyway, all that said, I want to assure you that I'm very proud to share The Title and the legacy with you. After all, you're the one who made it up "Mount M*therF*cker", not me!!!!! :thumbsup:

My hat's off to you!!! :winky:

Semper Fi,

~Theo~ :bouquet:

That is one of the hazards of being a 'Hollywood Marine'. :P

[Greyson]

Number of veterans who die waiting for benefits claims skyrockets

Long wait times contribute to delays of tens of thousands of benefits, pensions


By Aaron Glantz on December 20, 2012 - 12:00 a.m. PST


Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said the data confirmed the worst fears of many veterans and members of Congress.

“The common refrain we hear from many veterans is, ‘Delay, deny, wait till I die,’ ” said Miller, who called the burgeoning backlog of benefits claims a “national embarrassment.”

Nationwide, about 900,000 veterans and their families have been waiting about nine months for a decision on their claims, with those in America’s major urban areas waiting the longest. As of October, the most recent month for which numbers are available, the average wait time for a veteran was 15 months in Chicago, 16 months in New York and a year and a half in Los Angeles.

http://www.baycitizen.org/veterans/story/number-veterans-who-die-waiting-benefits/?utm_source=Newsletters&utm_campaign=2e9d85e880-December_20_Daily_newsletter&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=2e9d85e880&mc_eid=23f9563460

[theoddz]

Thanks for posting that, Greyson. It is a national travesty that our Veterans have to wait so long to get the benefits that we've earned. It always seems like the nation/political system is forever ready to get us involved in armed conflict, yet is never ready or prepared to take care of us, once the Veteran returns. The VA was in really shabby condition and completely unprepared to care for the Veterans of Vietnam. Again, we see nearly the same and even worse with the VBA (Veterans Benefit Administration) this time around, with OIF/OEF Vets.

I can tell you, from my own personal experience of obtaining my benefits, it is a long, long, lengthy process and most times, nearly every Veteran is denied the first time their claim is presented to the Adjudication Board. A Vet could roll in to the VA as an amputee who had his/her legs blown off in battle and the VA would look at them and say, "No, that isn't service-connected". You know why they do that?? Because they know that there will be a certain percentage of Veterans who will just give up and go away, and that saves the VA a lot of money. Another thing the Adjudication system just LOVES to do, when processing a claim, is to "remand" it and send it back to get "more information". Before the VA and DoD became computerized, it took a LOT longer for this to happen. It took me 12+ years to finally get my full benefits, and that was waaaaaaay too long!!! It just breaks my heart to see our service men and women have to fight the VA like they must in order to get their benefits.

The key to finally getting one's VA benefits/compensation is persistence. You just have to keep at them and keep filing the "Notice of Disagreement" each and every time the claim is denied. Don't give up. Oh, and it also helps a LOT if you get a Service Officer (AMVETS, DAV, American Legion, VFW) to work your claim for you. These guys are provided by their organizations, free of charge to Veterans, for the sole purpose of filing and processing disability claims. They are available at ALL VA Medical Centers and at some clinic locations. Some require appointments and some do walk-in's. If you're trying to get help from these people, call your main VAMC phone number and ask to be connected, or for the phone number, of one of the Service Officers. Don't try to process your claim by yourself. The process is confusing and tends to require many time deadlines. These guys keep track of these things for the Veteran, and most of the time, they have "connections" at the Adjudication Boards that can sometimes speed things up a lot.

Thanks again, Greyson, for posting this!!!!

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

I'm frustrated with the VA and need to vent, so I'm posting this:

Tommy

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.

Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

~Rudyard Kipling

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Parker]

Thanks for posting that, Greyson. It is a national travesty that our Veterans have to wait so long to get the benefits that we've earned. It always seems like the nation/political system is forever ready to get us involved in armed conflict, yet is never ready or prepared to take care of us, once the Veteran returns. The VA was in really shabby condition and completely unprepared to care for the Veterans of Vietnam. Again, we see nearly the same and even worse with the VBA (Veterans Benefit Administration) this time around, with OIF/OEF Vets.

I can tell you, from my own personal experience of obtaining my benefits, it is a long, long, lengthy process and most times, nearly every Veteran is denied the first time their claim is presented to the Adjudication Board. A Vet could roll in to the VA as an amputee who had his/her legs blown off in battle and the VA would look at them and say, "No, that isn't service-connected". You know why they do that?? Because they know that there will be a certain percentage of Veterans who will just give up and go away, and that saves the VA a lot of money. Another thing the Adjudication system just LOVES to do, when processing a claim, is to "remand" it and send it back to get "more information". Before the VA and DoD became computerized, it took a LOT longer for this to happen. It took me 12+ years to finally get my full benefits, and that was waaaaaaay too long!!! It just breaks my heart to see our service men and women have to fight the VA like they must in order to get their benefits.

The key to finally getting one's VA benefits/compensation is persistence. You just have to keep at them and keep filing the "Notice of Disagreement" each and every time the claim is denied. Don't give up. Oh, and it also helps a LOT if you get a Service Officer (AMVETS, DAV, American Legion, VFW) to work your claim for you. These guys are provided by their organizations, free of charge to Veterans, for the sole purpose of filing and processing disability claims. They are available at ALL VA Medical Centers and at some clinic locations. Some require appointments and some do walk-in's. If you're trying to get help from these people, call your main VAMC phone number and ask to be connected, or for the phone number, of one of the Service Officers. Don't try to process your claim by yourself. The process is confusing and tends to require many time deadlines. These guys keep track of these things for the Veteran, and most of the time, they have "connections" at the Adjudication Boards that can sometimes speed things up a lot.

Thanks again, Greyson, for posting this!!!!

~Theo~ :bouquet:

I actually count myself as lucky because my claim(s) took less than a year each - but to be fair, they werent initial claims but a re-evaluations. I did my initial claim back when I first got out and they decided certain things were service connected, but rated at 0% so I never bothered with it again - until things got decidedly worse and I had to have a hysto. Then I requested a re-evaluation and then another re-evaluation a couple of years later when the complications of that made things even worse.

Now I am playing the waiting game with the SSA - apply-deny, appeal-deny, ALJ-non-favorable, and now we are at the appeals council portion of the game.

I didnt have any help with my re-evaluations with the VA because, for some reason, DAV didnt want to help me out and be an advocate/rep (too bogged down maybe? dunno), but with SSA, I have a lawyer to help me wade through the gobbledegook.

It's a tough fight and sometimes a long wait - and sometimes I even catch hell from people who think I am just lazy and looking for entitlements - but each one of us earned those benefits; so I would encourage each veteran to hang in there and keep fighting for what you deserve.

[Tommi]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GIchwvJ-aNk/SXZiRzeXo8I/AAAAAAAAFHo/Ou61hDLMD8g/s400/president+obama+inauguration+day+flag.JPG

We can all come together and be part of this great country today.
That flag of Freedom lived and died for flies proudly for all.

[Tommi]

http://kayvatelte.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/obamas-car2.jpg?w=640

[Wolfsong]

A few things of note.....


Film Explores Life After Military for Female Vets (http://www.military.com/off-duty/movies/2013/05/14/film-explores-life-after-military-for-female-vets.html?comp=700001076338&rank=6)


gh-_wuhv0LY


For those that didn't know about the memorial linked below, I strongly urge you to add your dog tags to the tree. People need to know what we did, what we stand for. It can never be complete without you.

Women in the Military Service for America Memorial (http://www.womensmemorial.org/)

Hey........anyone want to trade MRE's? I got Sloppy Joe's again. :)

[Little Fish]

Hey Vets--

Has anyone here used the VA Home Loan program?

I'm wanting to buy a house but this program doesn't seem to be used widely in my area...or so I've been told. (and I'm suspect of this agent so...)

Did it work for you?
Which Lender did you use?
Which lender would you stay away from?
Lessons learned?

Also, do you use USAA insurance for anything?

All comments welcome, thanks!

(I still have a case of MREs--the shelf life is scary.)

[Parker]

Hey Little Fish - I plan on using my VA Home Loan when I move to IL and my bank (Navy Federal CU) is who I will try to secure my loan from. I can come back and post about the process ... I honestly wouldnt trust an agent who tries to steer you away from using yours. My landlady is a Realtor and when I started talking about everything that entails using the VA Home Loan, she wondered why I havent used mine yet. lol

Also, while I dont use USAA, I have heard nothing but good things about them for insurance and as a banking institution. I already have good insurance and use NFCU though, so I dont need USAA right now.

-----

I have some MREs, but not from my time in the Navy - these are ones I bought in like 2009 or 2010 for emergencies. I have beef stew, spaghetti, and chicken alfredo. I love the stew :winky:

[BoDy*ShOt]

hey theoddz - is there a statute of limitations for filing a VA disability claim? I've just recently come to learn that a procedure I had done in 1999, whilst active duty (USN), qualifies me in a disability rating. However, I've been HD'd since 2001.

Thanks! :)

[Parker]

hey theoddz - is there a statute of limitations for filing a VA disability claim? I've just recently come to learn that a procedure I had done in 1999, whilst active duty (USN), qualifies me in a disability rating. However, I've been HD'd since 2001.

Thanks! :)

I know this question wasnt for me, but it cant hurt to apply.

When I got out in 1996, they told me to apply immediately or I would lose out on anything that happened later with any service connected disabilities; but from what I am seeing on-line, any veteran can apply at any time for anything they think is service connected.

If you already applied when you first got out like I did and had some things deemed service connected but 0% compensation, you can apply for a re-evaluation and they will look in to how your service connected disabilities are affecting you now and rate you accordingly. I did this twice - once after a surgery for something service connected and then a couple of years later, I applied for another re-eval because things got progressively worse after the surgery.

Bottom line, I say go to the website and get the ball rolling on applying - the worst they can do is deny. :winky:

[Little Fish]

Parker,

I appreciate the info--and yes please, keep us posted on your process! I'm especially intrigued with the no PMI portion (which saves me big $ in the form of 20% down). I'd be interested in knowing how it goes down for you-

I agree, I've heard nothing but great things about USAA as well--I think I'll group all my policies in another month or so.

[BoDy*ShOt]

Thank you, Parker! I was HD'd under DADT, so my transition out was.. lacking. I was completely clueless - no TAP classes; hell, I didn't even finish all my final medical stuff.. I was in my barracks room when I got a phone call.. Petty Officer, why are you still in the barracks? You were discharged this morning. THAT's how I knew I was out 0_o. So, discussions about VA benefits, not so much.

[theoddz]

Hey Vets--

Has anyone here used the VA Home Loan program?

I'm wanting to buy a house but this program doesn't seem to be used widely in my area...or so I've been told. (and I'm suspect of this agent so...)

Did it work for you?
Which Lender did you use?
Which lender would you stay away from?
Lessons learned?

Also, do you use USAA insurance for anything?

All comments welcome, thanks!

(I still have a case of MREs--the shelf life is scary.)

Hey there LF, yes I have used my VA home loan benefit. It's pretty simple, but let me clear up some misconceptions about what it is.

Any lender or builder should be able to work a VA home loan for you, though some realtors might not want to, because the VA home loan program doesn't allow lenders to tack on a lot of "junk" fees. They are heavily regulated and the loans require that the potential property be inspected and appraised by VA appraiser. It has to meet VA standards, and let me tell you.....those protect you, the Veteran!! That, sometimes, can take a bit of time, depending on the market and how busy the appraisers are. If you are a service-connected Disabled Veteran (at least 10% compensable), you cannot be charged a "funding fee" on your loan, either. Also, with a VA loan, you don't have to have a down payment. Of course, any money you might have to put down will be figured in your financing and will result in a lower monthly mortgage payment. That's with any loan, of course, and is always a good thing, if you can do it.

Okay, now....about the VA loan. A VA loan is a loan that is simply backed by the VA. The VA is the guarantor. This means that the VA acts similar to how a co-signer acts for a loan. They simply stand behind it, in case you default. It's a great program and there's lots of great information on the web about it, if you just google it. Here's a few links for you.

http://www.military.com/money/va-loans/home-purchase/faqs-on-va-home-loans.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VA_loan

http://benefits.va.gov/homeloans/

Hope that's enough to get you started.

I would strongly encourage you to not opt for any other type of loan than the fixed rate loan. Don't go for that adjustable rate bullshit. That's gotten a lot of folks into big trouble.

Oh, and I have never used USAA. I have Navy Federal Credit Union and have had it for many years. I absolutely adore them!!! :thumbsup::heartbeat:

Good luck!!!

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Wolfsong]

Hey Little Fish - I plan on using my VA Home Loan when I move to IL and my bank (Navy Federal CU) is who I will try to secure my loan from. I can come back and post about the process ... I honestly wouldnt trust an agent who tries to steer you away from using yours. My landlady is a Realtor and when I started talking about everything that entails using the VA Home Loan, she wondered why I havent used mine yet. lol

Also, while I dont use USAA, I have heard nothing but good things about them for insurance and as a banking institution. I already have good insurance and use NFCU though, so I dont need USAA right now.

-----

I have some MREs, but not from my time in the Navy - these are ones I bought in like 2009 or 2010 for emergencies. I have beef stew, spaghetti, and chicken alfredo. I love the stew :winky:



I didn't use mine when I bought my house. The mortgage guy said at the time Fannie Mae was a better deal (or something like that). Maybe I shouldn't have listened to him. At least I've got it for future use.

Alfredo huh? Swap for sloppy joes?

[Parker]

Alfredo huh? Swap for sloppy joes?

Sloppy Joes sound good :winky:

[theoddz]

Hey........anyone want to trade MRE's? I got Sloppy Joe's again. :)

The Commissary at Nellis AFB sells a case of 24 MRE meals for about $85. I think they are assorted varieties, but I can tell you this......they're 150% better than those canned C-rats (leftovers from Vietnam) that we got. Even my poor ol' dog wouldn't eat those.

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Parker]

I buy mine on-line from a site called TheEpicenter (http://theepicenter.com/) and I like to skip the full packages and just get the entrees. They end up costing me about $2.50 each after shipping.

[Nadeest]

I haven't used my VA loan yet, though it became available to me in 1979. Before I use it, I want to be in a much better financial position then I have been in, all these years. I may well end up using it to get a trailer, though I don't know for sure, yet.

[MysticOceansFL]

Just for advice its always best to wait to use it and use it on a more stable house. just saying. I've used my VA on a house years ago and its paid off and now if I get back into the job market again its nice to know I can reuse it later down the road.





I haven't used my VA loan yet, though it became available to me in 1979. Before I use it, I want to be in a much better financial position then I have been in, all these years. I may well end up using it to get a trailer, though I don't know for sure, yet.

[Goofy]

Hey Vets--

Has anyone here used the VA Home Loan program?

I'm wanting to buy a house but this program doesn't seem to be used widely in my area...or so I've been told. (and I'm suspect of this agent so...)

Did it work for you?
Which Lender did you use?
Which lender would you stay away from?
Lessons learned?

Also, do you use USAA insurance for anything?

All comments welcome, thanks!

(I still have a case of MREs--the shelf life is scary.)

Hey Little Fish, I got my current mortgage with the VA home loan, and I did it through USAA.

I've had USAA insurance on my car for about 10-12 years now. I've haven't had an accident or other reason to use it, but setting it up was an easy process. The folks there have always been nice and very helpful whenever I call. Their website is easy to use and you can make changes or updates on just about everything.

I love USAA, so it just seemed natural to go with them when I decided to buy my house. I called them and asked a TON of questions and they walked me through the entire process. They have a program called MoversAdvantage that hooked me up with a realtor in the area. She was super nice and extremely helpful throughout the process. She still sends me "happy move-in day" cards lol. I got pre-approved through USAA and, once the offer on my house was accepted, was able to view the status online. It was a nerve-wracking experience (it was my first house, which scared the hell out of me), but my agent and the folks at USAA were fantastic. I also have my homeowners insurance through them and they walked me through that process as well.

I don't know if my experience was easier using USAA because it does cater to military folks, but I'm assuming it was. I'm sure the process would be similar with other military affiliated banks/credit unions.

If your agent is telling you that the VA program isn't used in that area...I call bullshit! It shouldn't matter where the house is, as long as it can pass the inspection. Like Theo said, the inspectors are notoriously fickle, but I'd rather have a thorough inspection on an investment of that magnitude than a crappy one.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

[Wolfsong]

The Commissary at Nellis AFB sells a case of 24 MRE meals for about $85. I think they are assorted varieties, but I can tell you this......they're 150% better than those canned C-rats (leftovers from Vietnam) that we got. Even my poor ol' dog wouldn't eat those.

~Theo~ :bouquet:

Ok I went through basic at Ft Jackson, SC in the spring of '82 and they were still handing out C's at the time. I still have my P38 along with a dog tag hanging on my key chain. It's amazing how many things I've used that P38 for over the years!! Yeah.....C-rats were......well let's just say it's a good thing the military was not counting on them as a re-enlistment lure.

I buy mine on-line from a site called TheEpicenter (http://theepicenter.com/) and I like to skip the full packages and just get the entrees. They end up costing me about $2.50 each after shipping.


You buy yours? You mean you are still eating them? Dude.......talk about high-speed low-drag. You rock. A guy at work that's a medic in the reserves brought me BBQ ribs are few months ago. MRE's have defiantly improved since I got out.


Hey Little Fish, I got my current mortgage with the VA home loan, and I did it through USAA.

I've had USAA insurance on my car for about 10-12 years now. I've haven't had an accident or other reason to use it, but setting it up was an easy process. The folks there have always been nice and very helpful whenever I call. Their website is easy to use and you can make changes or updates on just about everything.

I love USAA, so it just seemed natural to go with them when I decided to buy my house. I called them and asked a TON of questions and they walked me through the entire process. They have a program called MoversAdvantage that hooked me up with a realtor in the area. She was super nice and extremely helpful throughout the process. She still sends me "happy move-in day" cards lol. I got pre-approved through USAA and, once the offer on my house was accepted, was able to view the status online. It was a nerve-wracking experience (it was my first house, which scared the hell out of me), but my agent and the folks at USAA were fantastic. I also have my homeowners insurance through them and they walked me through that process as well.

I don't know if my experience was easier using USAA because it does cater to military folks, but I'm assuming it was. I'm sure the process would be similar with other military affiliated banks/credit unions.

If your agent is telling you that the VA program isn't used in that area...I call bullshit! It shouldn't matter where the house is, as long as it can pass the inspection. Like Theo said, the inspectors are notoriously fickle, but I'd rather have a thorough inspection on an investment of that magnitude than a crappy one.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

So you like USAA pretty well? I've received info from them but have been happy with who I have currently so didn't really look at it too hard. Maybe I will now. I've got a clean driving record so the rates should be good wherever I go. What did interest me about them more than that is their banking and investing options. Are you using them for that too?

[Parker]

You buy yours? You mean you are still eating them? Dude.......talk about high-speed low-drag. You rock. A guy at work that's a medic in the reserves brought me BBQ ribs are few months ago. MRE's have defiantly improved since I got out.

If I knew of a place to get them for free, I would do that - but since I havent found that yet, I buy mine!

But no, I dont sit around the house eating MREs lol - they are for emergencies (although I did try the beef stew when I was testing out a little mini-cooker). I have a few in my emergency bag in the car with an emergency blanket, water, etc, etc in case I break down or have an accident and am stranded in the middle of nowhere; and I keep the rest in the house in case I am in a natural or man-made disaster and need food. :)

[Nadeest]

I know of a perfectly good place to get MRE's free of charge................ however, I ain't reenlisting. :P

[Wolfsong]

If I knew of a place to get them for free, I would do that - but since I havent found that yet, I buy mine!

But no, I dont sit around the house eating MREs lol - they are for emergencies (although I did try the beef stew when I was testing out a little mini-cooker). I have a few in my emergency bag in the car with an emergency blanket, water, etc, etc in case I break down or have an accident and am stranded in the middle of nowhere; and I keep the rest in the house in case I am in a natural or man-made disaster and need food. :)


Yeah we do that too.....prep a little that is....and I do mean little.


I know of a perfectly good place to get MRE's free of charge................ however, I ain't reenlisting. :P


Beanie Weenies.......I like Beanie Weenies and Ranger pudding

[Toughy]

hey theoddz - is there a statute of limitations for filing a VA disability claim? I've just recently come to learn that a procedure I had done in 1999, whilst active duty (USN), qualifies me in a disability rating. However, I've been HD'd since 2001.

Thanks! :)

Apply whenever you want. I was in during the 70's and did not start my service connection stuff until about 2 years ago. I got caught in the backlog, however....they all the sudden are scheduling appointments and sending papers. It seems my case was transferred to another Regional Office...Lincoln NE for me....other folks I know have had their case sent to Oklahoma City. Things are looking up!

(The Oakland VA Regional Office (the worst backlog in the country) farmed out hundreds in not thousands of their backlog claims to other VA Regional Offices.)

Go to your local Vet Center Office and they can help you out. Some states also have advocates to help you file the claim.

[Toughy]

I was at a service connection appointment today. It seems that at least for this region they must make a decision by mid june. This is good news.

[Greyson]

I did not know of some of the history of Memorial Day the official day of remembrance for Veterans. This Memorial Day and all days, lets remember the veterans of peacetime and war. Let's also remember their families.



http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp

[Wolfsong]

I did not know of some of the history of Memorial Day the official day of remembrance for Veterans. This Memorial Day and all days, lets remember the veterans of peacetime and war. Let's also remember their families.



http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp

Memorial Day started around just post-civil war when it was called "Decoration Day". Articles I've read attribute it's origin to Charleston, SC in memory of the Union soldiers that died while imprisoned there and mass buried in an unmarked grave. African Americans and allies placed flowers on the gravesite and later built an actual memorial. Although there is no solid evidence that this story is true I like it a lot. After the war it was declared a national observance day. Interestingly enough, May 30th was chosen specifically because historically no battle occurred on that day.

[Wolfsong]

I was at a service connection appointment today. It seems that at least for this region they must make a decision by mid june. This is good news.

Mid-June? That IS good. When did you first file?

I saw a thing on CNN where veteran's were waiting 600 days for claim approval and over than 900,000 veterans are stuck waiting.

This is 2013 right?

"After 10 years of war, three VA secretaries, and an increase in the overall department budget of 40% since 2009, an incredible 97% of veteran's claims are still on paper......

The VA has reported that the average claim wait time was 273 days. For the first claim filed, it's longer: 316 to 327 days. In Los Angeles, that figure is 619. In New York, it's 642. In Indianapolis, it's 612 days. And vets with first-time claims in Reno, Nevada, wait 681 days.

The VA has testified that it has hired 3,300 new claims processors, but it has failed to report that, because of staff turnover, the net increase in processors is only 300 since 2010. And, in Chicago; Waco, Texas; and Oakland, California, the overall number of claims processors has gone down." (Paul Rieckhoff, 2013)

[Toughy]

Mid-June? That IS good. When did you first file?

I saw a thing on CNN where veteran's were waiting 600 days for claim approval and over than 900,000 veterans are stuck waiting.

This is 2013 right?

"After 10 years of war, three VA secretaries, and an increase in the overall department budget of 40% since 2009, an incredible 97% of veteran's claims are still on paper......

The VA has reported that the average claim wait time was 273 days. For the first claim filed, it's longer: 316 to 327 days. In Los Angeles, that figure is 619. In New York, it's 642. In Indianapolis, it's 612 days. And vets with first-time claims in Reno, Nevada, wait 681 days.

The VA has testified that it has hired 3,300 new claims processors, but it has failed to report that, because of staff turnover, the net increase in processors is only 300 since 2010. And, in Chicago; Waco, Texas; and Oakland, California, the overall number of claims processors has gone down." (Paul Rieckhoff, 2013)


Rachel Maddow has done several segments about the backlog. She has been on this for a long time. She helped first bring attention to this mess.

I filed in Mar 2011, heard from them around Nov, sent in what they wanted, got another letter in about a month, sent more papers and then they disappeared. The Oakland VA Regional Office is rumored to be one of the worst in the country. I talked to them (in person) several times and each time they gave me the wrong information. I hate those people....lol

I let it go as I was on serious opiate pain meds waiting on a hip replacement and did not have the brains, energy or desire to follow up. Besides the longer they take the fatter my check will be.....<g>....claims are retroactive to date filed.

fast forward to end of april 2013 and I get 2 letters in 3 days.....one saying my case was transferred (NE) and the other with dates for medical evaluation (shrink and physical--shrink is done (yesterday) and physical is the 29th). MY paperwork is all computerized at this point. Truth is I'm not sure what is actually in there as I don't trust the Oakland folks. From what the doctor told me, his shrink report and the physical report is critical...

We shall see what they will do............hopefully I will just get the (deserved) 100% service connection and be done with it. But I should have an answer in 2-3 weeks and if I don't like it, then the appeal process begins.

[Wolfsong]

Rachel Maddow has done several segments about the backlog. She has been on this for a long time. She helped first bring attention to this mess.

I filed in Mar 2011, heard from them around Nov, sent in what they wanted, got another letter in about a month, sent more papers and then they disappeared. The Oakland VA Regional Office is rumored to be one of the worst in the country. I talked to them (in person) several times and each time they gave me the wrong information. I hate those people....lol

I let it go as I was on serious opiate pain meds waiting on a hip replacement and did not have the brains, energy or desire to follow up. Besides the longer they take the fatter my check will be.....<g>....claims are retroactive to date filed.

fast forward to end of april 2013 and I get 2 letters in 3 days.....one saying my case was transferred (NE) and the other with dates for medical evaluation (shrink and physical--shrink is done (yesterday) and physical is the 29th). MY paperwork is all computerized at this point. Truth is I'm not sure what is actually in there as I don't trust the Oakland folks. From what the doctor told me, his shrink report and the physical report is critical...

We shall see what they will do............hopefully I will just get the (deserved) 100% service connection and be done with it. But I should have an answer in 2-3 weeks and if I don't like it, then the appeal process begins.

*low whistle......say at 100% you might also be eligible for that specially adapted considerable housing grant.

[Tommi]

http://www.laresidence.com/var/plain_site/storage/images/splash-pages/memorial-day-2013/2952-3-eng-US/Memorial-Day-2013.jpg

http://images.sodahead.com/profiles/0/0/2/2/6/7/0/6/5/memorial-day-46723492182.gif

http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/v1/compositions/4950884/views/2,width=280,height=280,appearanceId=17.png/air-force-motto_design.png

[Tommi]

http://www.threedonia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/harleyflags.jpg


Queen Mary free admission to military, 40% discount to families of vets
Knott's Berry Farm, free admission too

West Coast Thunder, Motorcylce riders to Riverside Memorial National Park.

http://www.instantriverside.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/rollingthunderimage.jpg

[theoddz]

Good news, but we still have a ways to go on this:

Same-Sex Partners Of US Troops To Receive Military Benefits In September
Paul Szoldra, provided by
Published 4:15 pm, Friday, June 7, 2013

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Same-Sex-Partners-Of-US-Troops-To-Receive-4588158.php#ixzz2Vdg0sKZp


Same-sex domestic partners of military servicemembers will soon be issued government-issued identification cards entitling them to a number of benefits, Washington Times reports.

An internal personnel notice posted to the web Thursday states the military's commitment to upgrade their systems "so that eligible SSDPs and their families can begin receiving benefits/ID cards" beginning on Sept. 1.

From The Times:

The ID card Web notice refers to same-sex domestic partners as “SSDPs.”

The benefits include education, survivor, commissary, travel, counseling and transportation, but not what some consider the armed forces’ premium perks — health care and housing allowances.

The move comes after former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced he would lift the ban on same-sex partners receiving benefits days before he left office in February, CNN reports.

“These benefits shall be extended to the same-sex domestic partners and, where applicable, children of same-sex domestic partners, once the service member and their same-sex domestic partner have signed a declaration attesting to the existence of their committed relationship,” Panetta said in a statement at the time.

In order to receive the benefits, most couples need to sign a "declaration of domestic partnership," which states: “We are each other’s sole domestic partner, in a committed relationship, and intend to remain so indefinitely.”

The Pentagon told Times reporters they estimate there are about 17,000 same-sex couples on active duty, reserve, or retired.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Same-Sex-Partners-Of-US-Troops-To-Receive-4588158.php#ixzz2VdftshbM

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[traumaqueen]

Nice to find this thread!

Army 1998-2009

[Wolfsong]

lTs6a0ORdQU

[theoddz]

*low whistle......say at 100% you might also be eligible for that specially adapted considerable housing grant.

That special adaptive housing grant is available to certain Veterans who need help purchasing or improving a handicap-accessible home. It either supplements the purchase of an already existing one or serves to pay for the necessary adaptions to a Veterans existing property. I think the maximum allowable grant is something like $64K, or such a matter. You need to make application for this grant through your local VA Prosthetics department. I don't think you have to be 100% service connected Disabled for this kind of help.

This past year, the VA installed safety "grab bars" in my bathroom, for the commode, and they would have done the shower, too, if I'd have asked them. I have a step-in shower, however, so that wasn't necessary right now. I have prosthetic knees, so the installation of the grab bar in the commode room really helps. All I had to do was ask and it was done!!!

Don't be shy about asking for this kind of help, Vets, because VA care is about helping us Veterans to have a safe, decent life. It is our *earned* benefit. Yes, some things might be only available to Vets with 100% ratings, or "unemployability" status, but it's been my observation that a lot of things go on a case-by-case basis, depending on the situation. Always ask!!! If you are unclear about who to ask, you can always contact a Veterans Benefits officer (1-800-827-1000, nationwide number) or get in contact with a Patient Advocate at your local VA.

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

On another note.......

This in today's news:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/24/16681072-valor-knows-no-gender-pentagon-lifts-ban-on-women-in-combat?lite

Personally, I knew of/served with a handful of Women Marines who, IMHO, could have held their own in combat. One friend of mine used to work down at the base Motor Pool and she could carry a bus tire under each arm. She was tough as nails, strong as an ox and meaner than a snake, too!!! I think she could have made the grade, though I also knew some who wouldn't have been able to hack it.

What say you all?? Opinions???

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

Nice to find this thread!

Army 1998-2009

HOOOO AH Army!!!!

Welcome and THANK YOU for your service!!!! :thumbsup::winky:

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Greyson]

On another note.......

This in today's news:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/24/16681072-valor-knows-no-gender-pentagon-lifts-ban-on-women-in-combat?lite

Personally, I knew of/served with a handful of Women Marines who, IMHO, could have held their own in combat. One friend of mine used to work down at the base Motor Pool and she could carry a bus tire under each arm. She was tough as nails, strong as an ox and meaner than a snake, too!!! I think she could have made the grade, though I also knew some who wouldn't have been able to hack it.

What say you all?? Opinions???

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:


"For years, women in the military, and outside groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have argued that women already serve on the front lines but are not recognized for it. Women constitute 15 percent of the active-duty military."

It is about time. I have come to realize through many Toughy posts, indeed it is the military that has lead the way for many advances in equality.

[Wolfsong]

On another note.......

This in today's news:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/24/16681072-valor-knows-no-gender-pentagon-lifts-ban-on-women-in-combat?lite

Personally, I knew of/served with a handful of Women Marines who, IMHO, could have held their own in combat. One friend of mine used to work down at the base Motor Pool and she could carry a bus tire under each arm. She was tough as nails, strong as an ox and meaner than a snake, too!!! I think she could have made the grade, though I also knew some who wouldn't have been able to hack it.

What say you all?? Opinions???

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

I think if you can do your job it shouldn't matter. It will be interesting to see how many sign up for 11 Bravo school. I'd be more interested in other more technical combat arms like FA or Air Cav. I suspect you'll see more women there than Infantry.

You know, it is easy to get nostalgic over the romantic notion of high speed - low drag infantry but hey....y'all remember doing this?

DH0VmMWoo5o

That was me......."I can't see, I can't see" and bouncing off a tree.

[*Anya*]

I think if you can do your job it shouldn't matter. It will be interesting to see how many sign up for 11 Bravo school. I'd be more interested in other more technical combat arms like FA or Air Cav. I suspect you'll see more women there than Infantry.

You know, it is easy to get nostalgic over the romantic notion of high speed - low drag infantry but hey....y'all remember doing this?

DH0VmMWoo5o

That was me......."I can't see, I can't see" and bouncing off a tree.

My hat is off to all of you.

Not only did I feel claustrophobic watching it but think I started to wheeze a little! :seeingstars:

[theoddz]

That was me......."I can't see, I can't see" and bouncing off a tree. [/FONT]

Don't forget the long strings of snot pouring from your nose and mouth. Everything with a mucus membrane was wringing with it....eyes, ears, nose, mouth....everything. :|

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Corkey]

Don't forget the long strings of snot pouring from your nose and mouth. Everything with a mucus membrane was wringing with it....eyes, ears, nose, mouth....everything. :|

~Theo~ :bouquet:

Those were the days! We laughed we cried, then threw up... Good times. Thankfully over.

[Wolfsong]

Don't forget the long strings of snot pouring from your nose and mouth. Everything with a mucus membrane was wringing with it....eyes, ears, nose, mouth....everything. :|

~Theo~ :bouquet:

I am still amazed that there is that much packed in there.

Those were the days! We laughed we cried, then threw up... Good times. Thankfully over.

Yup yup glad we can laugh about it now......it was not so funny at the time

[theoddz]

Those were the days! We laughed we cried, then threw up... Good times. Thankfully over.

Ya, I'm not sorry I did it, but I wouldn't want to do it again. :|

For us, I think this about says it all:

CI3kUwysfAA

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Wolfsong]

I wish I had been a little wiser, I wasted a lot of opportunities. I should have never, ever, ETS'd. That was one of the biggest inner turmoil's that I'd ever experienced in my life. That argument with myself to re-up or get out to go to college went on for an entire year. If there was anything I'd ever been born to do it was career Army. I knew though that in spite of the fact the military claims you can go to college while your on active is an option, it really is not. There was no way I was ever going to pass some of my courses and do the things that I was expected to do. I figured I'd gone in the Army to go to college and I needed to do the right thing and actually go to college. Ah well I have a degree.....and a commission.....which I likely would not have gotten if I stayed in. (OCS was not really on my radar while on active). The Reserves and the Guard were good to me but it was never really the same.

I think opening combat arms will open opportunities for women. If I was a kid now I'd go in and stay considering the economy. I don't know. You guys know that I have 2 buddies, Tim and Steve, that I got commissioned with that have spent the entirety of their adult lives at war? Literally from the 1st grain of sand in Desert Shield. They both recently came home for good safely and amazingly in one piece. I just don't know how you would assimilate to a civilian life after that. I ETS'd in February and by the following spring I was enrolled in college. That was the most miserable few months of my life. I didn't know how to be a civilian. I can't help but think about the kids now that have been stuck in this cycle for some real time. I think that it will change an entire generation in terms of how women view themselves, conduct their lives, and raise their children.

[Wolfsong]

Daughters and moms now consider rape before applying to military (http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/16/us/military-recruitment/index.html)

To be honest this never entered my thinking, at least, not from our own. It did occur to me while we were training pre-deployment to Desert Shield that this was something that could happen at the hands of local civilians, allied military members, and, of course, enemy combatants.

Thankfully, I never knew anyone that was attacked or even heard of it happening in our battalion or the combat arms battalions we were supporting. There was ALOT of hanky panky going on among the married hetero group. It was high comedy (and ok that kind of vile disgust that you feel watching Jerry Springer) to watch who's door is opening and closing through the night, tip-toeing their walk of shame, while on CQ.

It isn't the same Army though. I'm not certain that the 17 year old Wolf today would make the same decisions that 17 year old Wolf did then.

[BoDy*ShOt]

Thank you T! I'm officially in the VA system now .. and adore the Minneapolis hospital!! On the top of my ME to-do list is get applied.. and I did find an advocate group to help w it all!


Apply whenever you want. I was in during the 70's and did not start my service connection stuff until about 2 years ago. I got caught in the backlog, however....they all the sudden are scheduling appointments and sending papers. It seems my case was transferred to another Regional Office...Lincoln NE for me....other folks I know have had their case sent to Oklahoma City. Things are looking up!

(The Oakland VA Regional Office (the worst backlog in the country) farmed out hundreds in not thousands of their backlog claims to other VA Regional Offices.)

Go to your local Vet Center Office and they can help you out. Some states also have advocates to help you file the claim.

[Greyson]

New Study: Transgender People Face Substantial Discrimination in Military Service

Press Release
August 1, 2013

“Despite the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ this study highlights the ongoing discrimination faced by transgender people who have served in the military,” said Herman. Nine percent of those who served reported that they were discharged on account of being transgender or gender non-conforming.

The study will be published in the forthcoming issue of the LGBTQ Public Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School.

http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/press-releases/1-aug-2013/

[Dykea]

So the CG get's NO RESPECT [[especially from squids and jarheads]] LOL
I'm a Coast Guard Vet... I have a 2 daughters active duty, a son just graduating from CG Basic and another Philistine daughter enlisting, leaving for Basic in January.

MY master plan??
To take over the Coast Guard.


xEwORI6IxL0&feature=share&list=PLgOje37c-b1McebLFEauWZU9EDnD5FJzt

[Wolfsong]

So the CG get's NO RESPECT [[especially from squids and jarheads]] LOL
I'm a Coast Guard Vet... I have a 2 daughters active duty, a son just graduating from CG Basic and another Philistine daughter enlisting, leaving for Basic in January.

MY master plan??
To take over the Coast Guard.


xEwORI6IxL0&feature=share&list=PLgOje37c-b1McebLFEauWZU9EDnD5FJzt

Aw don't let those guys call you a bath tub sailor......your mission is bad ass. I'd be puking in my boots at the first set of 20' waves.

[Dykea]

Aw don't let those guys call you a bath tub sailor......your mission is bad ass. I'd be puking in my boots at the first set of 20' waves.

Hahaha!! Bathtub Sailor, Puddle Pirate... Baby Navy?? I've heard them all.

But which Branch of the Services has TWO of their own popular reality TV Shows?? Yea.. Coast Guard.

No one gives a SHIT about the CG, until your ass is hanging onto a floating piece of busted up shit that use to be BOAT or a HOUSE w/40 knot winds!! lol

THEN were fucking Wonder WOMAN in a invisible plane!! :vigil:
lol

[Corkey]

One of my friends was a Coastie, he worked the hook.

As a sailor, they are da BOMB!

Has needed a tow or two in my lifetime.

[MysticOceansFL]

I'm a U S Army military Intelligence vet <<<<

[Dykea]

First of all with the fun *jabbing* aside between all the [[grunts, jarheads, squids, blue shirts and someday another fellow coastie -- not to soon, i enjoy my loan spot]]
Military Branches...

I want to thank ALL of my fellow Service Members for serving their country. Whether you ID as lez, femme, butch, dyke, queer or tg...

We were closeted in a dominate male environment and only we know the good w/the bad that we lived with daily.

With the media and Pentagon attention on rape in the Military and people NEVER listening to those who lived w/this issues I am proud to announce that my middle daughter who is a 3rd CPO in the CG, just informed me she is now a Sexual Assault Prevention Representative for District 5.

I could NOT be more proud that one of MY Philistines [kids] is going to be part of the SOLUTION.

SEMPER PARATUS!

[Wolfsong]

First of all with the fun *jabbing* aside between all the [[grunts, jarheads, squids, blue shirts and someday another fellow coastie -- not to soon, i enjoy my loan spot]]
Military Branches...

I want to thank ALL of my fellow Service Members for serving their country. Whether you ID as lez, femme, butch, dyke, queer or tg...

We were closeted in a dominate male environment and only we know the good w/the bad that we lived with daily.

With the media and Pentagon attention on rape in the Military and people NEVER listening to those who lived w/this issues I am proud to announce that my middle daughter who is a 3rd CPO in the CG, just informed me she is now a Sexual Assault Prevention Representative for District 5.

I could NOT be more proud that one of MY Philistines [kids] is going to be part of the SOLUTION.

SEMPER PARATUS!


Hoo Ahh........


Boy those witch hunts of old could stop your heart couldn't they? They always seemed to happen in the next company over to mine or somewhere close enough to my door step that it felt like I was next. I dunno what I was so scared of......what were they gonna do? Bend my dog tags and send me home? It felt like so much more then.

I can't even imagine what it was like for our WWII era brothers and sisters where being homosexual could earn you a vacation out in Leavenworth. Now THAT would be scary!

[Dykea]

Hoo Ahh........


Boy those witch hunts of old could stop your heart couldn't they? They always seemed to happen in the next company over to mine or somewhere close enough to my door step that it felt like I was next. I dunno what I was so scared of......what were they gonna do? Bend my dog tags and send me home? It felt like so much more then.

I can't even imagine what it was like for our WWII era brothers and sisters where being homosexual could earn you a vacation out in Leavenworth. Now THAT would be scary!


I was stationed in Alaska and one of THE oldest gay bars was in Anchorage... Mad Myrna's. It had several names over the decades = but it was THE gay bar and the "old timers" would tell me stories of how the AF MPs would try and do "raids" trying to BUST homos/dykes!!!

The bar was a HUGE ASS oval thingy... but it had a ridiculous lip from counter to bar stool that I NEVER understood??!! The story goes....

When the MPs would come in w/their battons looking for service members, all the military homos/dykes would hide under the lip and the civilian members would cover them and **flounce**flirt**fickle** w/distraction the MPs, so that they never saw the military personnel hiding, crunched, fetal position under the bar in plain site.

Now this sounds cRaZy today!! I know! But it's not. I was there for one of the raids back in 1999 as a civilian and it still worked.

This is lezzbian and gay history.

[Parker]

First, I almost didnt get in because the recruiters thought I was gay based on how I dressed (jeans, high-top sneakers, polo shirt, and sweater vest - it was 1989, shut up!), so they made me talk to a psychiatrist who asked me ALL kinds of personal questions about my dreams and fantasies, who were in them, what we did, etc. It was very uncomfortable, but I guess he decided I was fine and they let me into boot camp.

Then in boot camp, one of the girls who was gay decided to turn the suspicion towards me and accused me of coming on to her (this happened in high school too - wtf?).

Now, I didnt know at the time that I was gay - that came months after boot camp - so when I told them I was straight before joining and when I told my CC I wasnt gay when accused of it in boot camp, I was telling the truth as I knew it at the time.

Then when I was stationed in San Diego, I worked at a local lesbian bar as a barback. One night a year, the gay community gets together and dresses up to go to an awards show so they can hand out awards like best gay bar, best gay restaurant, best gay bartender, etc. The people that worked at this bar with me all wanted to go and they talked me into going with them, so we all got dressed up and went to this awards show.

I didnt know the mayor was coming to say a few words or that the media was coming to film the mayor and get crowd shots. The instant I saw those camera, I darted to the back of the room because I didnt want my superiors to see me on TV and kick me out or whatever.

When I got back there, I saw a bunch of military people who came specifically in their uniforms and I suddenly felt very silly standing back there, hiding, hoping no one I knew was watching the news. I decided then and there that I wasnt going to hide anymore and if they wanted to kick me out, fuck 'em.

That almost happened at my next duty station up near Fresno, CA - an ex-girlfriend was causing trouble for me at my hospital (by then, I had become a hospital corpsman, crossing over from airman by going to the HM school) and a LTJG (O-2), who was my immediate supervisor and knew I was gay because of this ex of mine, decided he wanted me gone (he and I had a history where he verbally abused me and even put his hands on me once and shoved me) so he reported me for violating "Dont Ask, Dont Tell" (this was 1995). Of course, he had no idea that the 3rd in command of the hospital was also a dyke! lol So after we both issued statements to her (he lied more than once in his, of course) she told him to never touch or talk to me again, or even be anywhere near me, or she would have him transferred out of the hospital. lol

Looking back, it's surprising I ever made it IN to the Navy, let alone that I never got kicked out while serving. lol

[Dykea]

crap... i posted twice. this is why i wasn't a yeoman.

[Dykea]

I don't think people really understand how hard it was back then... and that the overturn of DADT was just the "Patriotic" thing to do, instead of lesbian/gay rights.

SAME EXACT thing happened w/POC in the Services. It had NOTHING to do w/equality - it was about patriotism.

I've said this for nearly 2decades that it always has a major start in the Armed Services tho.... and I was right.

What we all went through was actually quite traumatic and GOD KNOWS we know how many people who were investigated, Masted/Court Martialed and fucking DISCHARGED!

ESPECIALLY WOMEN!!! Women in all the Services were discharged at a MUCH HIGHER percentage rate then male homosexuals. No one KNOWS THIS tho because the majority of images/stories are of gay males. People don't "empathize" w/lesbians in the Military. We are a old joke.

Women were ONLY 8 to 10 percent of the entire military back then!!

Women in the Armed Services have NOT had an easy route and no one knows the stories... because know one really cares to hear them.

Women's History... again erased and ignored.

[traumaqueen]

I think if you can do your job it shouldn't matter. It will be interesting to see how many sign up for 11 Bravo school. I'd be more interested in other more technical combat arms like FA or Air Cav. I suspect you'll see more women there than Infantry.

You know, it is easy to get nostalgic over the romantic notion of high speed - low drag infantry but hey....y'all remember doing this?

DH0VmMWoo5o

That was me......."I can't see, I can't see" and bouncing off a tree.



I got to stay in for two rounds and a few repetitions of the Soldier's Creed...something about being a smart-ass.

[Wolfsong]

I don't think people really understand how hard it was back then... and that the overturn of DADT was just the "Patriotic" thing to do, instead of lesbian/gay rights.

SAME EXACT thing happened w/POC in the Services. It had NOTHING to do w/equality - it was about patriotism.

I've said this for nearly 2decades that it always has a major start in the Armed Services tho.... and I was right.

What we all went through was actually quite traumatic and GOD KNOWS we know how many people who were investigated, Masted/Court Martialed and fucking DISCHARGED!

ESPECIALLY WOMEN!!! Women in all the Services were discharged at a MUCH HIGHER percentage rate then male homosexuals. No one KNOWS THIS tho because the majority of images/stories are of gay males. People don't "empathize" w/lesbians in the Military. We are a old joke.

Women were ONLY 8 to 10 percent of the entire military back then!!

Women in the Armed Services have NOT had an easy route and no one knows the stories... because know one really cares to hear them.

Women's History... again erased and ignored.

Oh but see that's the whole thing. I went to basic in 1982 and they suspected that ALL OF US were gay. Why else would a woman want to join the military right? Unless we wanted to be a man? *Snort......what rubbish.

I was only ever confronted 1 time in 20 years and that was by some drunken sergeants from my own unit in a bar. They figured either I was sleeping with my best friend (a male lieutenant who was the platoon leader of another platoon) or a lesbian. I remember saying to them, "Oh brother you boys don't give me many options. I'm either banging H***** or a lesbian. Isn't there an option to join a convent?" and laughed it off. They persisted awhile until I got mad and reminded them either on or off duty - I was an officer in the United States Army, and, unless they wanted to find themselves missing a stripe they'd knock it off and, if nothing else, respect the rank. They came around the next day with their hats in their hands, hung over as a mother, and very apologetic.

[theoddz]

We've come a looooooong way, baby!!! :winky:

From this:

vRcvZSLguMo

To this:

IQLH-FUc1rA

The baton has been well passed. :winky:

Semper Fi,

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[JAGG]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SEMPER FI DEVIL DOGS !!!!!!!!!

[theoddz]

Happy 238th birthday, Marines!!! :clap::cheer::birthday:

JSWNcH0rn60

Semper Fidelis,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[TruTexan]

Thanks for serving OUR country to each and every one of you.

[traumaqueen]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-liguori/veterans-shouldnt-learn-h_b_4585458.html

Good read, not sure how to post the actual article here.

[Tommi]

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has announced an Open Enrollment Window for the DoD Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for same sex couples.

Military Retirees who were married to a same-sex spouse on or before June 26, 2013, may now have spouse coverage in the SBP. Depending on the retiree?s circumstances, enrollment for their spouse may be automatic or the retiree may need to elect spouse coverage. Either way, retirees MUST ACT by June 25, 2014 to participate in the SBP Open Enrollment Window.

The DFAS announcement encourages Military Retirees with same-sex spouses to visit http://go.usa.gov/Ww6x<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.usa.gov%2FWw6x&h=IAQE1kxwf&s=1> as soon as possible for more information to learn what steps are to be taken by June 25, 2014 to secure or decline the SBP benefit for their spouse. (NOTE: The above link takes you to the DFAS website that discusses the general topic of SBP and making the election. (See: http://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/provide/sbp.html<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dfas.mil%2Fretiredmilitar y%2Fprovide%2Fsbp.html&h=-AQE0Ou-E&s=1> ) There are other links to websites with information about who is eligible, costs, and the procedures.)

Although it is not discussed in the DFAS announcement, same-sex ?former spouses? would also be eligible for court awarded Former Spouse SBP coverage in the event of a divorce or dissolution of a same-sex marriage

[Jet]

MEDAL OF HONOR AND ANGELINA JOLIE; VETS AWARDS ARE LONG OVER-DUE

WASHINGTON -- Seeking to correct a historic injustice, President Obama will award the nation's highest combat honor to two dozen veterans -- mostly Latino and Jewish -- who fought as far back as World War II but were denied the coveted Medal of Honor because of discrimination. Only three of the recipients are still alive. After reviewing about 600 records from Dec. 1941 to Dec. 2001, the Pentagon discovered 19 Latino and Jewish service members who deserved the Medal of Honor. The review also found five additional service members who had been overlooked for the honor. During a ceremony on March 18, the president will award the 24 medals to Army veterans of major combat missions in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Twenty-one medals will be given posthumously.

More from the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-obama-medal-of-honors-veterans-20140221,0,5919747.story#axzz2uZJMCc2l

Angelina Jolie will direct "Unbroken"

Angelina Jolie will direct her upcoming coming film, Unbroken, the true story of WWII vet on Louie Zamperini, now 97. Jolie and Zamperini visit with Tom Brokaw:

cSUvs1jGmYA

All news services are carrying this story including USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/02/25/angelina-jolie-tom-brokaw-unbroken-zamperini-hardest-thing/5802253/

I salute all vets.

[Jet]

Click and be grateful.

http://www.history.com/interactives/thank-a-vet

[theoddz]

Remembering those who didn't come home today. (f)

....and thanking them, and everyone else, who served.

bXAVYEU6gJE

Semper Fi....always.

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[*Anya*]

It has been reported that 22 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans commit suicide each day

(CNN) -- Every day, 22 veterans take their own lives. That's a suicide every 65 minutes. As shocking as the number is, it may actually be higher.

The figure, released by the Department of Veterans Affairs in February, is based on the agency's own data and numbers reported by 21 states from 1999 through 2011. Those states represent about 40% of the U.S. population. The other states, including the two largest (California and Texas) and the fifth-largest (Illinois), did not make data available.

The Defense Department reported that 295 active duty soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors committed suicide in 2010. Overall, the Department of Defense tracked 863 suicide attempts that year. Suspected and confirmed Army and Marine Corps suicides totaled 311 in 2011. Since the different services have different criteria for tracking suicide and do not all release data regularly, it is difficult to get a clear picture of the suicide epidemic in the military.

What is most troubling is our limited understanding of veteran suicide. The VA does not regularly release data on the number of veterans that commit suicide and there is almost no information about veteran suicide among the 47 percent of veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom who never interact with the VA. Thirty-seven percent of IAVA members who were surveyed in January of 2012 knew a fellow veteran who committed suicide. It is fundamental that the government find a way to track all veteran suicides in order to properly address the issue. Recently the VA has announced that it will work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track veteran suicide in 48 states. However, it will take at least 2 years to aggregate that data.

Another critical step to understanding how we can stop veteran and service member suicide is to understand that suicide itself is not the whole issue. Suicide is the tragic conclusion of the failure to address the spectrum of challenges confronting returning veterans. And, they are not just mental health injuries; they include the challenges in finding employment, reintegrating to family and community life and many others. Fighting suicide is not just about preventing the act of suicide; it is providing a soft and productive landing for our veterans when they return home.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/21/us/22-veteran-suicides-a-day/index.html

Two-thirds of IAVA members told us in a recent survey that they do not think troops and veterans are getting the mental health care they need. This claim is backed up by a recent VA IG report that exposed that, despite the VA’s claims of low wait times, only 49% of vets seeking mental health evaluation are seen w/in 14 days of a request. The other 51% are waiting an average 50 days for evaluation. This is unacceptable and IAVA is working to hold the VA accountable by mapping out where the VA is providing timely care and where they are leaving veterans behind.

Part of the problem is the serious shortage of military mental health professionals. For example, the Army Surgeon General recommends that there should be at least one behavioral health specialist deployed overseas for every 700 service members. The ratio in Operation Enduring Freedom was one provider for every 646 service members in 2009. Yet because service members were dispersed over a large geographical area, it is unclear whether each service member had access to the necessary support. Effective treatment is also scarce for veterans who have left the military. The VA has given mental health diagnoses to more than 385,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, or more than 52 percent of new veterans who visit the VA. But VA care is not always convenient and just over half of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are eligible for its care are registered with the VA. Some veterans face significant hurdles in accessing proper care. Veterans in rural communities are especially hard hit and the availability and quality of mental health care for female veterans ranges widely. Many veterans are turning to community-based solutions, such as nonprofit and private sector care to address their needs. As care for these invisible injuries is developed, it must include a clear role for private and nonprofit leaders that are often the front lines of care.

Invisible injuries also can contribute to issues relating to mental health. When service members are near an exploding mortar or roadside bomb, the blast can damage their brains, often leaving an invisible injury, such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The vast majority of these invisible injuries are mild or moderate, but the injury is widespread: RAND’s 2008 study, found that 19 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans reported a probable TBI during deployment. And tens of thousands are coping with psychological and neurological problems other than TBI.

http://iava.org/issues-and-campaigns/suicide-and-mental-health

An analysis last year by the Center for Investigative Reporting found that since 2001, the number of major narcotic painkillers prescribed to veterans has increased 270 percent, a rate that dwarfs the concurrent rise in the number of patients. As part of our investigation, VICE spoke with whistleblower Pamela Gray (an MD), who testified before Congress about the dangerous levels of narcotics she witnessed being prescribed while working as a doctor in a VA hospital.

Instead of helping, the VA is actually creating addicts, she tells us. “Narcotics are very cheap. You can see high volumes of patients in a short amount of time at relatively no cost."

For veterans suffering from mental health issues like PTSD and anxiety, narcotics such as OxyContin and Vicodin actually increase the risk of depression and suicide. A major study of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans found that the VA contributes directly to these problems by prescribing such high levels of opiates.

As Gray says, “I do not understand how any medical institution in good conscience can perpetuate a therapy that is harmful to the people that they are supposed to serve."

https://news.vice.com/article/im-ptsd-paid-till-suicide-or-death

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22396516

[traumaqueen]

Also, accepted.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/30/politics/va-hospitals-shinseki/index.html?hpt=us_c1

[theoddz]

Today marks the 239th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

I wish all of my brothers and sisters who share with me The Title a very happy Marine Corps Birthday!!! Semper Fi!!! :thumbsup::clap::cheer::birthday::heartbeat:

rpwCx0lnPRs

OOOOOO RAH!!!!

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[TruTexan]

Happy Veteran's Day to all the Vets out there. Thank you for serving our country and for our freedom.

[TruTexan]

Happy Veteran's Day to all of you whom have served or are still serving in the military. Thank you.

[JDeere]

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served!

[CherryWine]

Happy Veterans Day to all soldiers, past and present. Thank you, and may peace be with you!

[clay]

Happy Veteran's Day to everyone who has served in the military!!!

[The_Lady_Snow]

https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10639637_10152505590906547_1887659622936345498_n.j pg?oh=e03ed665607c1321a7b3cb8f0ec7bb49&oe=54F02154


The UFW & Chavez family pay tribute to veterans everywhere

Among countless Latinos who defended their country in the Armed Services were two of Cesar Chavez’s cousins, Rudolph G. Rico and Lawrence Horta, with whom Cesar grew up in the North Gila River Valley outside Yuma Arizona. They died fighting with the U.S. Army against the Nazi tyranny in Europe during World War II. Cesar’s brother-in-law, Guillermo Fabela, helped launch the Normandy Invasion by parachuting behind German lines with the famed 101st Airborne Division on D-Day and fought through the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. Cesar served for two years with the U.S. Navy, including in the western Pacific, just after the end of the war.

When Guillermo Fabela returned to Delano, Calif. after the war he and other Latino veterans organized the petition campaign that resulted in ending segregation at the Delano Theater where Cesar, while on leave from the U.S. Navy, had been arrested earlier for sitting in the whites-only section.

The Navy named its latest 689-foot long Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez. She was launched on May 5, 2012, and is deployed to strategic locations worldwide. USNS Cesar Chavez recently joined an international task force led by the Australian Defense Force searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 off the west coast of Australia.



source - www.ufw.org/

[Trev]

Thank you to the men and women who serve and have served in the military.

Happy Veteran's Day!

[DapperButch]

Happy Veteran's Day to all our veterans and their families who served with them!

Our son, Army Infrantry, is in Germany right now for training. It is nice that he is getting to experience living in another country, even if his time there isn't all about play. I assume he has the weekends off, as he did here. We have only heard from him once, so I suppose he is doing just fine!

[Candelion]

Remembering all those who served and are serving
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/burnishedlips/1119dd25-5bf9-4e74-b33b-cedf6db1a2fd_zps4c6883c1.png?t=1415753708

[theoddz]

Saw this this morning and thought it a nice tribute to all Women who have served. :bunchflowers:

XxmjHd5tpmk

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

I hope everyone is having a good and safe holiday weekend. Please don't forget to take a second and remember those who fell while defending our country.

Semper Fi. :wwii-veterans:

GggTj4P5tb4

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[DapperButch]

Thank you veterans and those we have lost. Big respect here!! :army:

[theoddz]

This is interesting.....and a great way to honor Veterans. :heartbeat:

zaHMSU_nZbU

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[StoicStone]

I had a small reunion with a group of friends from the 75th Air Evac wing group Friday evening and earlier today. It was very nice to see them as I haven't seen many of them in 40 yrs. We shared our memories of our time in Viet Nam, celebrated the good memories and mourned our comrades who fell there, or have since passed.
One of my children put the reunion together and though I resisted the idea at first I am very grateful that she talked me into it. I have reconnected with some friends, some of whom live in the PNW, and we will be getting together regularly now.
You never know what the weekend will bring. lol

[theoddz]

Inexcusable......completely. There is NO EXCUSE for this!!!!!! :rant:

CNN Report on Legionnaires' Outbreak at Pittsburgh VA Medical Facility

RvzgnohiaIY

Semper Fi.

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[*Anya*]

Inexcusable......completely. There is NO EXCUSE for this!!!!!! :rant:

CNN Report on Legionnaires' Outbreak at Pittsburgh VA Medical Facility

Semper Fi.

~Theo~ :bouquet:


This is really horrifying Theo.

They basically allowed 22 deaths to occur and how many Vets were ill that survived the illness?

When I was a nurse manager in acute care hospitals, we constantly were improving our infection control processes. I know that you also worked in acute care.

It made me wonder if the VA actually has Joint Commission surveys or from Department of Health Services inspections in each state.

The most recent survey from Joint Commission I could find online was published in 2016. Infection control was one of the areas surveyed and that required improvement.

It made no mention, that I could find, of legionella in the water systems at the facility in the CNN investigation and I don't know if it was even one of the 139 reviewed:

..................
The Joint Commission Releases Results of VA Health Care Surveys to VA
August 4, 2016, 04:05:00 PM

The Joint Commission Releases Results of VA Health Care Surveys to VA
Surveys Note Challenges and Improvements

Note: This release was updated on August 5 and now contains a link to the report.

WASHINGTON - The Joint Commission today provided the results of its Special Focused Surveys of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare facilities to VA leadership. The special focused surveys, prompted by reported allegations of scheduling improprieties, delays in patient care and other quality-of-care concerns, were conducted October 2014 to September 2015 and focused on measuring the progress VA has made to improve access to care and barriers that might stand in the way of providing timely care to Veterans.

“One of my top five priorities is to seek best practices in research, education, and management. We invited The Joint Commission in to conduct these unannounced focused surveys at 139 medical facilities and 47 community based outpatient clinics (CBOC) across the country, to give a better understanding of areas for improvement and areas where the processes are worth replicating,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. David Shulkin.

The Joint Commission assessed the following:

>>Processes related to timely access to care;
>>Processes that may potentially indicate delays in care and diagnosis;
>>Processes related to patient flow and coordination of care;
>>Infection prevention and control
>>The environment of care; and
>>Organizational leadership and culture.

VA provided The Joint Commission with organization-specific data addressing performance in the key areas targeted for review. This data allowed surveyors to focus on areas of greatest risk for each organization and to validate whether the VA-provided data reflected observed practice. The Focused Survey project provided an opportunity to see patterns across the organization, to make an assessment about the system in general and most importantly, to identify solutions to system-wide issues that are best addressed through internal processes.

“We commend VA for being proactive by requesting The Joint Commission to conduct unannounced site visits at all their medical centers to review and evaluate their efforts to improve access and quality of care. VA was the first system ever to request an assessment with an important focus on access so that deficiencies could be identified and rapidly addressed,” said Mark Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH, president and CEO of The Joint Commission. Chassin also noted, “The Joint Commission will track and report on the extent to which improvements occurred, when the same facilities undergo their triennial accreditation surveys.

To date, results from 57 hospitals that have undergone full accreditation are promising. We are pleased with VA’s ongoing commitment to quality improvement and patient safety.”

The full report, with findings and recommendations can be found at:

http://www.va.gov/opa/docs/Joint-Commisson-Report-Final-Focused-Survey-Summation-May-2016.pdf

https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2808

[*Anya*]

First woman enlists to become a Navy SEAL

By Nancy Coleman, CNN

Updated 1:02 AM ET, Sat July 22, 2017

(CNN)A woman will train with other potential officers this summer in hopes of becoming the first female Navy SEAL.

The candidate, a midshipman, and another woman have enlisted as the first female candidates seeking to join the Navy's special operations teams.

The latter is training for the Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman program, or SWCC.

These women have already made history, but they still face a long road ahead of training and tests before they officially make the cut.

Women weren't allowed to serve in combat roles, including special operation forces such as the SEALs and SWCC, until January 2016. But there were no female applicants in the 18 months since that historic change until now.

The candidates' identities and training progress are confidential to protect their personal security and "career viability as future special operator," Lt. Cmdr. Mark Walton, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Command, told CNN.

Eight SEAL and seven SWCC classes -- all entirely male -- have graduated since March 2016, according to a Naval Special Warfare Center briefing last month for the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

The SWCC candidate will undergo months of Navy training and screening evaluations, Walton said. The SEAL hopeful will be evaluated for three weeks at a SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection process in California as a prerequisite to SEAL training before moving on to a SEAL Officer Selection Panel in September.

Aspiring SEALs and SWCC candidates also go through rigorous Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S. The training comes in physically and mentally challenging stages, beginning with two months of intense physical training in Illinois. Candidates must pass a physical screening test at the end of the first stage or face being kicked out.

The next stages include basic conditioning, combat diving and land warfare training. One week during basic conditioning is known as Hell Week -- "the ultimate test of a man's will," according to the SEALs website.

The training is "designed to weed out the weak," as the Navy special operations training website warns. It's an accurate description, considering most candidates don't make it: Seventy-three percent of aspiring SEALs and 63% of SWCC candidates fail to make the cut, according to the Naval Special Warfare Center briefing in June.

There are about 1,000 SEAL candidates who start training every year, Walton said. Usually only about 200 to 250 candidates make it all the way through training.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/21/us/first-female-navy-candidates-seal-trnd/index.html

[theoddz]

First woman enlists to become a Navy SEAL

By Nancy Coleman, CNN

Updated 1:02 AM ET, Sat July 22, 2017

(CNN)A woman will train with other potential officers this summer in hopes of becoming the first female Navy SEAL.

The candidate, a midshipman, and another woman have enlisted as the first female candidates seeking to join the Navy's special operations teams.

The latter is training for the Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman program, or SWCC.

These women have already made history, but they still face a long road ahead of training and tests before they officially make the cut.

Women weren't allowed to serve in combat roles, including special operation forces such as the SEALs and SWCC, until January 2016. But there were no female applicants in the 18 months since that historic change until now.

The candidates' identities and training progress are confidential to protect their personal security and "career viability as future special operator," Lt. Cmdr. Mark Walton, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Command, told CNN.

Eight SEAL and seven SWCC classes -- all entirely male -- have graduated since March 2016, according to a Naval Special Warfare Center briefing last month for the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

The SWCC candidate will undergo months of Navy training and screening evaluations, Walton said. The SEAL hopeful will be evaluated for three weeks at a SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection process in California as a prerequisite to SEAL training before moving on to a SEAL Officer Selection Panel in September.

Aspiring SEALs and SWCC candidates also go through rigorous Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S. The training comes in physically and mentally challenging stages, beginning with two months of intense physical training in Illinois. Candidates must pass a physical screening test at the end of the first stage or face being kicked out.

The next stages include basic conditioning, combat diving and land warfare training. One week during basic conditioning is known as Hell Week -- "the ultimate test of a man's will," according to the SEALs website.

The training is "designed to weed out the weak," as the Navy special operations training website warns. It's an accurate description, considering most candidates don't make it: Seventy-three percent of aspiring SEALs and 63% of SWCC candidates fail to make the cut, according to the Naval Special Warfare Center briefing in June.

There are about 1,000 SEAL candidates who start training every year, Walton said. Usually only about 200 to 250 candidates make it all the way through training.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/21/us/first-female-navy-candidates-seal-trnd/index.html

Good luck to her and all my best wishes to her for her courage and resolve to complete this arduous endeavor!!!!!

OOORAHHH!!!!!

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

I couldn't be prouder to be a Marine....... :cheer:

"The Marines have landed and the situation is well in hand." -- Richard Harding Davis, American journalist, in a cablegram announcing the Marines' 1935 landing in Panama.

Retired Marine General, John Kelly, now President Trump's White House Chief of Staff, was instrumental in the firing of asshat Steve Brannon's dismissal as a senior executive advisor to Trump. General Kelly needs to now plant the sole of his boot on the asses of a few others in the WH.

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[*Anya*]

US Marines get first female infantry officer

26 September 2017

A female US Marine has made history by becoming the first woman to complete the Corps' famously gruelling infantry officer training.

The lieutenant, who wants to keep her identity private, graduated in Quantico, Virginia, on Monday.

She will soon be assigned to lead a 40-strong platoon.

Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert Neller tweeted a picture of the woman, saying he was "proud of this officer & her fellow leaders".

There are almost 1.4 million active duty troops in the US armed forces, and about 15% are female.

In March 2016, then-President Barack Obama opened all military positions to women, including combat units.

The 13-week officer training course started in July with 131 Marines, and 88 ultimately graduated.

The Corps says it educates would-be officers in "the leadership, infantry skills, and character required to serve as infantry platoon commanders".

Traditionally around a quarter of all applicants miss the mark, 10% of them on the first day.

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, former Marine captain Teresa Fazio said the female officer would be a major asset in Afghanistan.

"Female troops are invaluable for searching houses and communicating with local women, gaining access to spaces and information that, because of local custom, male troops cannot get," she wrote.

The Marine Corps tweeted a video showing the female officer engaged in exercises in the mountains alongside her male counterparts.

She will now be sent to the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California, for her first assignment.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41394646

[Greco]

Wishing all fellow Veterans on bfp a good day, today, tomorrow, and always.
I now that sounds weird, but have been thinking of all my friends, some
alive, more not, and how proud I feel to have served with them all.

Sgt. P...still wear the St. Christopher's medal, thank you for everything!
RIP (f)



Greco

[girl_dee]

Thank you for your service! I appreciate your sacrifice!

[Greco]

dee, I thought long and hard about what I'm about to say.
Yes, I served and proudly, but, no ma'am I made no sacrifice.

I've had my 20's, 30's,40's, 50's, and now my 60's, but
generations of young men and women did not get the
chance to have these years, they sacrificed.
My best buds are heavy on my mind this afternoon.

dee, don't take this personally, I know you meant no
harm. I certainly do appreciate your sentiments.

Greco


Thank you for your service! I appreciate your sacrifice!

[Greco]

NGmG78l2ThE
Rolling Thunder Demonstration: Soldier's 4 Hour Salute

Greco

[Dean Thoreau]

When I was in the Air Force I was identified as a female...
I served during the viet nam era.
Not a very fun time to say the least.
We were not allowed to wear uniforms off base, as the civilians would harass, threaten and in some cased throw thing, eggs, bottles, etc.
Words did not was off and being called baby killer was a bit much.

When i eventually left the usaf, i never really talked about my years in service till over 20 years later, I got used to not mentioning it so i wiould not have to hear how horrible viet nam was by people who could not find it on the map.
I got tired of being looked at and treated like a monster because i joined during that time period.

Many folks who did not go overseass in a battle zone feel they did not sacrifice,,,let explain a few sacrifices we did make.
1. we joined while the war mongers did not.
2. stateside provides the support to our brothers and sisters in arms all over the world.
3. We all sacrificed our lives, by willingly becomeing military property for the number of years we served. We were not free to quit, take a vacation, leave, curse out a boss and quit, and in some cases say no.
4. Any biological female in the military is/was/continues to be subjected to sexual harrasment and intimidation; is at a greater risk for rape, and other forms of violence from her own,,,"friendly forces" than in some cases the onew we are at "war" with.
Those are a few of the sacrifices, to say nothing of women with children, whom have been called to active duty and must leave their little ones with freinds and family, etc etc

When we enlisted in the military, we made a decision to make sacrifices in service to our country, as well as our willingness to make the ultimate sacrifiec, death in service to our country. What no woman in the military agreed to was the sacrifice of her body, her identity, her self to be sexually, physically, psychologically, molested, harassed, or raped by anyone especially members of her own unit, branch or country.

sacrifice?
yes, i wllingly sacrificed much.
i also unwillingly sacrificed, my youth, my dignity, my body, my mind, and almost 50 years later, i can say i survived the friendly fire.....
with traumatic brain injury, ptsd, non functional parts, and a few replacements...
and at last i say im a vet, and i hear the words..thank you for your service....
I still can only nod....cause i am not sure if i had it to do over i would opt to serve, and be willing to sacrifice my life, for a country of war mongers that sent my friends to die in a country for the sake of...oil? precious metals? elements? not democracy, not honor, not to save civilian lives....but for oil, vendettas, corporate profits, boron, and other rare earth metals, no thanks, i woud opt out and not buy the batteries, ipads, laptops, etc...if i knew then it would keep my friends and neighbors and classmates that had no choice but were drafted and were sacrificed in viet nam, the gulf, afghanistan, iraq, DRC, etc. ALIVE...
Darn right, those computer goods have to high of a price,,and not willing to sacrifice this generation or the next for more toys!

[*Anya*]

VA knew for years about dangerous conditions at Washington, D.C., hospital

Donovan Slack, USA TODAY Published 10:00 a.m. ET March 7, 2018 | Updated 12:46 p.m. ET March 7, 2018

WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs officials at nearly every level knew for years about sterilization lapses and equipment shortfalls at the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center, but they were either unwilling or unable to fix the problems, an inspector general's investigation found. The failures put patients at risk and squandered taxpayer dollars.

Local, regional and national officials had been informed of the issues repeatedly since 2013, but investigators concluded “a culture of complacency and a sense of futility pervaded offices at multiple levels.”

“In interviews, leaders frequently abrogated individual responsibility and deflected blame to others,” the investigation report says. “Despite the many warnings and ongoing indicators of serious problems, leaders failed to engage in meaningful interventions of effective remediation.”

The probe found clinicians put patients under anesthesia before realizing they didn’t have equipment to perform scheduled procedures. In some cases, they canceled and redid surgeries later. In others, they ran across the street to a private-sector hospital to borrow supplies during procedures.

Investigators also found more than 1,000 boxes of unsecured documents that contained veterans’ personal information — including medical records — in storage facilities, the basement and a dumpster.

The hospital paid exorbitant amounts for supplies and equipment, including $300 per speculum that could have been purchased for $122 each, and $900 for a special needle that was available for $250.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/07/va-veterans-affairs-failures-left-patients-danger-washington-dc-hospital-years-investigation/396914002/

[ksrainbow]

https://www.hayspost.com/2018/03/02/kelly-center-bringing-veteran-services-to-hays-community-through-manhattan-vet-center/


We have a local VA health center with limited abilities. My own mental health agency does receive referrals for medication services which we do provide.

The VA will not however: pay for urgent/emergent therapy services in my western Kansas area. This choice will hopefully assist our area vets for their unneeded travel to Wichita or Topeka VA for therapy. Kansas is a large state with limited affordable transportation.

ks-

[theoddz]

Wow, have things ever changed in the past 39 years since I trained at Parris Island MCRD and earned my Title (U.S. Marine). Watching this, I'm filled with pride, yet I feel a bit jealous, too. I'm extremely proud that Women Marines have made these giant steps of equality, and a large part of that is the fact that that accomplishment is largely due to the courage and commitment of not only my generation, but of millions of others who came before. On the other hand, I'm jealous that my generation didn't get the opportunity to meet the challenges that this new generation has.

To understand my perspective here, let me say that my boot camp series (each "series"/company consists of 2 platoons), back in the Spring of 1979, was only the second series to be issued the camouflage utility uniform (aka "BDU's" or Battle Dress Uniform) and leather combat boots. Prior to that, the female utility uniform consisted of a pair of blue trousers/slacks and a light blue blouse. Back then, we didn't get training with the M16 rifle in boot camp, nor did we receive any instruction with hand to hand combat. Instead, we had classes on makeup and military bearing. :|

Still, I am pretty proud to have served as a Woman Marine. Nowdays, I just call myself a Marine. It's what I am and will always be. Semper Fi. :winky:

nL_RKh_yrhs&t=573s

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

Today marks the 242nd Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. On this day, every man and woman who has ever earned that precious Title with his/her blood, sweat and tears, shares a common birthday. It is a part of us, a piece of us that will never leave our hearts and souls.

We are a unique club. I have witnessed this nearly my entire adult life, in so many places, even those I did not expect. I found it in my 20 years working in the VA system, stretching across the generations, in the smiles and nods of other Marines who proudly sport caps, pins, shirts, jackets, bumper stickers.....nearly anything that proudly identifies us to others. I found it in firm handshakes and the quiet (and sometimes not so quiet!!) utterances of those precious two words, "Semper Fi", that Marines say to each other that bond us as one.

Today, we Marines celebrate our common birthday. It was on this day, back in 1775, that the Second Continental Congress authorized the raising of two battalions of Marines with these words:

"That two battalions of Marines be raised consisting of one Colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, two majors and other officers, as usual in other regiments; that they consist of an equal number of privates as with other battalions, that particular care be taken that no persons be appointed to offices, or enlisted into said battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve for and during the present war with Great Britain and the Colonies; unless dismissed by Congress; that they be distinguished by the names of the First and Second Battalions of Marines."

So, happy 242nd birthday to my fellow Marines.

Here's this year's message from our Commandant, Gen. Robert B. Neller:

AWDdC-D68Uo

Semper Fidelis, always. :winky::thumbsup:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[theoddz]

Posting this as a tribute to the Armistice of 1918. One hundred years ago, on this date, World War I, the "Great War" and "War to End All Wars", ended with the signing of the Armistice. So began the journey home for hundreds of thousands of war weary Veterans. Many would find war torn landscapes, families devastated by death and loss, but also the promise of peace and rejuvenation....and also opportunity and a responsibility to rebuild that which was destroyed. They would also do what Veterans, the world over, have always done. They would rebuild their lives and families the best way they could. They would "march on".

This is for them, and all Veterans on this Armistice Day, now celebrated as Veterans Day for all of us who served.

l6RO7Tp_grM

Semper Fi,

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[girl_dee]

http://www.veteransday.quotesms.com/images/veterans-day-essay.jpg

[Greco]

Found out about this today and am sharing with all of you Vets, and lovers of Vets past and present who completed basic training and/or AIT at Fort McClellan, Alabama WAC or US Army no matter the year.

https://fmvets.org

"THE STORIES & PORTRAITS OF U.S. VETERANS EXPERIENCING A RANGE OF DEBILITATING & LIFE THREATENING HEALTH ISSUES THAT THEY BELIEVE ARE CONNECTED TO NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL HAZARDS THEY WERE EXPOSED TO WHILE STATIONED AT FORT MCCLELLAN - A U.S. ARMY INSTALLATION IN NORTHEASTERN ALABAMA CLOSED IN 1999. THEIR EXPOSURES HAVE NOT BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OR THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION. READ & LISTEN TO THEIR STORIES..."

Pass this on your social media as well, thank you.

We Stand Strong Always, Greco

[theoddz]

I have to share this beautiful story about a lovely Lady who served in the U.S. Army during WWII. In these days of the darkness of political corruption, it's kind of nice, every once in awhile, to see a story like this. Enjoy!!!! :winky::heartbeat:

A WAC's Journey to Find Her Husband In the Middle of WWII

IpR-gf4AZjs

Semper Fi... :winky:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[girl_dee]

I have to share this beautiful story about a lovely Lady who served in the U.S. Army during WWII. In these days of the darkness of political corruption, it's kind of nice, every once in awhile, to see a story like this. Enjoy!!!! :winky::heartbeat:

A WAC's Journey to Find Her Husband In the Middle of WWII

IpR-gf4AZjs

Semper Fi... :winky:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

Thank you for sharing Theo!

[theoddz]

I just want to drop this in here and wish my United States Marine Corps a very happy and proud 244th Birthday. I am so very proud to have served my Corps as a Woman Marine in those years following the Vietnam war. It wasn't easy. They say that "the hardest steel is formed by the hottest fire", and this is how we were made into U.S. Marines at Parris Island, SC. I still have my original U.S Marine Corps collar emblems, along with my weapons (rifle and pistol "Expert") badges in a small wooden box. I will one day be buried with them.

So my most sincere and heartfelt Birthday greetings go out to my Sister Marines, as well as all other Marines who have worn the uniform, earned The Title and still carry that Marine espirit de corps and camaraderie in their hearts. Happy Birthday to us all!!!!

OOOOOOOOO RAH!!!! :cheer:

A9Q4rQPVhrM

Semper Fi,
~Theo~ :bouquet:

[ksrainbow]

You’ve helped to make this world a better place with your courage, sacrifice, and dedication to our country. No words could ever express how much that means.

ks-

[theoddz]

I know it’s a little late in the day, but I do want to take a moment to wish my fellow U.S. Marine Corps brothers and sisters a very happy 248th birthday!!!

Semper Fidelis to all Marines, past and present!!!! May we always stand the watch with honor, courage and commitment. 😉👍

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[clay]

I know it’s a little late in the day, but I do want to take a moment to wish my fellow U.S. Marine Corps brothers and sisters a very happy 248th birthday!!!

Semper Fidelis to all Marines, past and present!!!! May we always stand the watch with honor, courage and commitment. 😉👍

~Theo~ :bouquet:

Thank YOU for your service in the USMC, Theo!!