Veterans Day is Everyday

It’s been one full week since Veteran’s Day and news stories about Veterans and their struggles transitioning from the Military are long gone from the front page of newspapers and blogs. As the economic experts scream about an economic depression, you have to ask yourself how are Veterans affected who have been suffering in silence for years.

We promised our Vets health care for the rest of their lives, now they are charged co-pays and face the threat of losing medical benefits because of budget cuts. We promised our troops support, now our Vets are turned “about face” by HR Managers who think they are too rigid to work well with others or assume they must be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Since when have our Nation’s heroes become unemployable?

Remember we all promised to support the brave men and women who are defending our freedoms to Google, watch 30 Rock, or vote for President-Elect Barack Obama (or Sen. John McCain). If it’s within your power, keep our promise and hire a Vet today. In kind, Veterans don’t forget to thank a civilian for their prayers and support.

Seven days after November 11, please honor our Veterans every day.

Did you Hire a Vet Today?

For me and most of the United States the meaning of Labor Day was either the end of summer vacation or just a three-day weekend. When I researched the true meaning of Labor Day, I automatically thought about the Afghanistan and Iraq war Veterans that are now unemployed and living a Labor Day Holiday everyday. In April 2008, the Department of Labor reported a 12% unemployment rate for OEF/OIF Veterans between the ages of 18 to 24. If the aforementioned statistic does not move you to hire a Veteran, then you should know that Vets bring the following characteristics to the table on Day 1:

Leadership
Teamwork
Respect for Procedures
Integrity
Triumph over Adversity
Diversity and Inclusion in Action
Accelerated Learning Curve
Efficient Performance Under Pressure
Technology and Globalization
Conscious of Health and Safety Standards

HR Professionals: Have you hired a Veteran Today?

Veterans: Have you tapped into the Vocational Resources available to you today?

For those who want to help and those seeking help contact me regarding the Basic Civilian Training Conference on November 1, 2008. The event will feature workshops on presenting the Best Career Image, an All-Day Entrepreneur Training, Pursue your Passion and Personal Finance Management Breakout Sessions. Along side the workshops, a Resource Fair will be underway with representatives from nonprofit and for profit organizations that provide products, resources, and services to Veterans including employment, housing, VA benefits education and many more.

To register for the Basic Civilian Training Conference: www.bct.eventbrite.com

Vote or Die!

Large majority of Military Servicemen and women are not registered to vote. They are fighting for Democracy and shamefully cannot participate in the process. My Servicemen/women are not residing in their home state; therefore, they are forced to vote by absentee ballot. Several absentee ballots go uncounted due to missed deadlines because of slow mail delivery for deployed military personnel.

In addition, military bases do not have voting booths onsite. So the Serviceman or woman would to find voting sites in their local communities, which is not always convenient or logistically feasible. Why don't we make it easier for our Troops to vote? Every servicemen/woman should be registered to vote during the intake process of Basic Training.

If we can't register our Troops to vote on the front end, we need to get them registered as Veterans. Several campaigns to register Veterans to vote at the VA Hospitals have failed, nationwide. The VA has been concerned the voter registration campaigns will interfere with Care. A grassroots committee is forming to begin again in Houston, TX.

To volunteer to help register our Vets to Vote and support our efforts, contact us at volunteers@bushcares.org

Bill to Compensate Stop-Loss Troops

The U.S. Military's Stop-Loss policy has been described as a back-door draft. Servicemen and women who are stop lossed are forced to extended their reenlistment contracts. In addition, to the obvious issues the stop-loss policy does not have a provision for compensation the forcibly reenlisted Servicemen/women. A typical reenlistment contract would include a signing bonus. Congress has proposed passing a bill to offer monthly compensation to all stop-lossed Troops.


Act Now!! Send a Letter to you Congressman/woman
http://capwiz.com/military/issues/alert/?alertid=11603136&type=CO#1

Read the Bill.
http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_SN_3060.html

Welcome Back Veterans

Major League Baseball made a commitment to support our Veterans. This partnership with WelcomeBackVeterans.org with Tom Hanks as the spokesmen for the PSA is a step in the right direction to increase awareness of Veterans issues.

Whether Republican or Democrat, troops will be coming home. Once they get home, what really happens on "Week 2". As our Vets struggle with divorce, unemployment, suicidal thoughts, and mental and physical disabilities, Americans are waiting for the Miley Cyrus-Selena Gomez smackdown. Since Britney, Paris and Nicole have been a weapon of mass distraction, it is poetic justice that the celebrity of MLB refocus our attention where it belongs. Let's keep our promise and "Support our Troop" by "Leaving No Veteran Behind".

Welcome Back Veterans.org PSA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz6yjrCpVdk

MLB Salutes Returning Vets
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200806232990840

Hope Rides Alone by Eddie Jeffers

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry.Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not. And to think, I volunteered for this...And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought. But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi , Iraq , the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam . In a way they are right, this war is becoming like class=yshortcuts>Vietnam . Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war. Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the Internet...and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job.. It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this.Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq ? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush was right. America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World War II, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a service member, its life as usual...the war doesn't affect you.But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece together what's left of them after their service...where will the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause.Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't.Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight!***************************************************************************
Eddie's father, David Jeffers, writes:I'm not sure how many letters or articles you've ever read from the genre of "News from the Front," but this is one of the best I've ever read, including all of America's wars. As I was reading this, I forgot that it was my son who had written it. My emotions range from great pride to great sorrow, knowing that my little boy (22 years old) has become this man. He is my hero.Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needs them now more than ever. God bless.Though Eddie is no longer with us, you can help to let his voice be heard. WE ARE AT WARGOD BLESS AMERICA

Sista Souljas: Female Veterans Gather in DC

The National Summit for Women Veteran’s Issues is underway in our Nation's Capital this weekend. The Summit topics range from Health Care to Sexual Assault. The plain truth is the US Military is still an old school boys club that has opened its doors to Women without installing a Ladies’ Restroom.

From Day One of Basic Training Servicemen and women are told to throw away all individuality for the greater good of the Military, the American People and our Country. One thing integration didn’t account for is the needs of Women will always be different than men no matter the amount of Patriotism. Women are waiting months for a Pap Smear due to lack of sufficient number of Gynecologists. Single Mom’s have to relinquish their parental rights before every deployment. The incidents of sexual harassment are too numerous to count. The Military does not have the resources, man power or desire to rectify this imbalance.

It might be too much to ask that these problems will be solved this weekend; nonetheless, we can raise enough awareness to the lay the plans for a beautiful new latrine.

For more information about National Summit on Women Veteran’s Issues:
http://www1.va.gov/womenvet/page.cfm?pg=70

Tails of TAP

Share your experience transitioning from the military. Have you had trouble finding a job? Do you have affordable housing? How are you dealing with Stress?