|
|
 |
| Katrina
& Rita Hurricane Relief
I'm so saddened for the 4
states so brutally impacted by Katrina. I'm
especially in awe of the many Active Duty, National Guard
& Reservist
families there whose soldiers are serving in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and now finding themselves on a rescue
mission in their own home states. Not
to mention the incredible work of our Coast
Guard. Let's all do what we can to help! Kudos
to Morgan Freeman! A resident of
Mississippi, he is also my hero for being one of
the first celebrities to organize a benefit!
"It's sort
of well-known that anytime any catastrophe
happens anywhere in the world, they can count on
the United States for help," Freeman told
The Associated Press in a phone
interview."Now, charity begins at home, so
we call on anybody who has even the thought [of
giving] to get beyond the thought and help these
people," the 68-year-old actor said.
HELP
NOW! |
| Extreme
Home Makeover- Rodriguez Family
The
Rodriguez's, a military family, were surprised
with a new home on the latest episode of Extreme
Home Makeover. They were an awesome example of a
military family. Dedicated to service,
compassionate and community-minded, I am sure it
was an honor for the program and all its
volunteers to give back to this wonderful
soldier, wounded in Iraq, and his incredible
family! Mrs. Rodriguez, is even using her
experience as the wife of a wounded soldier, to
reach out to others as she studies for her
masters in social work.
The family was
the first I've seen on the show thank the
volunteers first before rushing to their house.
Even the children were grateful to the
contractors and hugged them to show their
gratitude. The father stopped to recognize the
sacrifice of his fellow soldiers and asked us
all to be mindful of the sacrifice that makes
our lives possible. It was wonderful to see an
honest and respectful portrayal of a military
family on network tv! And, most importantly, it
was wonderful to see a family who expects so
little for all their sacrifice, be shown such
thanks and gratitude. You really got the feeling
they were much more grateful for that, than just
the "stuff". |
|
|
|
Military
Kids & In-state Tuition Benefits
Michelle's
Husband Comments on Lou
Dobbs |
|
1/20/05 At the Red, White
& Blue Inaugural Ball for Heroes. This was the only
Inaugural Event to Honor and Benefit our soldiers wounded in Iraq.
We were honored to celebrate with wounded soldiers from Walter
Reed and Bethesda. Ben Stein, was amongst the speakers.
Ben's speech, reflected his deep respect for the commitment of our
soldiers and their incredible sacrifice and skill. He
compared our troops to the world's real ROCK STARS and I couldn't
agree more. I guess that's why I stopped representing Rock Stars
and began committing my time to who I view as the world's real
American Idols. I suppose I could really relate to Mr. Stein's
disillusionment with people who really couldn't see beyond
themselves and their very small world. Read on for more reasons
why I love him and think Ben Stein is a total genius:
How Can Someone Who Lives in
Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World? http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Morton/Archive/2003/031220.html
8/30/2004
since the military defends our
democracy, let's support their right to participate in it!
hopefully new programs will help make some headway for soldiers
and families abroad!
Some soldiers unable to vote
Secretary of State
Matt Blunt is considering whether e-mail is an option for those
serving overseas.
By DAVID A. LIEB,
Associated Press Writer
August 10, 2004
JEFFERSON CITY — Some
Missouri soldiers stationed in Iraq were unable to vote in last
week’s elections because of trouble getting absentee ballots.
As a result, Secretary of State
Matt Blunt’s office said Monday that it is exploring whether
overseas soldiers could e-mail their ballots for the Nov. 2
general election. Blunt is awaiting a determination from the
Department of Defense, spokesman Spence Jackson said.
The possibility of e-mailed
ballots was brought to Blunt’s attention by Rep. Jim Avery,
R-Crestwood, a combat engineer stationed in Iraq with the National
Guard’s 1140th Engineering Battalion.
In a telephone interview , Avery
said none of the 21 soldiers in his squad received absentee
ballots in time to vote in the Aug. 3 primary elections. Some
never received ballots at all, he said. The few who did had no
access to a fax machine and not enough time remaining to mail them
back, Avery said.
“I feel like I was
disenfranchised as a voter,” said Avery, who got his ballot
about a week before the election and never sent it back. “I’m
keeping it as a souvenir, as a reminder to me when I get back of
the legislation that needs to be filed to take care of the
situation for the future.”
Avery is from St. Louis County.
Of the 795 military absentee ballots mailed out from St. Louis
County, just 317 were returned by election day, said David Welch,
a county election director, who did not know the reason for the
response rate.
Many of the other soldiers in
Avery’s Farmington-based squad are from St. Francois County.
St. Francois County Clerk Mark
Hedrick said absentee ballots were mailed about a week later than
usual because of the uncertainty over whether an amendment banning
gay marriage would appear on the August ballot. The Supreme Court
eventually said it should.
Hedrick said his office mailed 13
absentee ballots to Iraq, but none were returned with votes. Eight
were returned to the clerk’s office as undeliverable, and
Hedrick then was told to send the ballots to the unit’s
Farmington office — but only a few days remained until the
election.
Other than Avery’s e-mail, the
secretary of state’s office had not received other reports of
military members unable to vote, Jackson said.
Military
urged to vote
By: Kathleen T. Rhem ,
American Forces Press Service
08/26/2004
| Washington
(NNS) - Defense officials are committed to ensuring
military members have the ability to vote from anywhere in
the world, DoD's top personnel officer said.
"We're making a decided effort to make sure
everyone gets the chance to vote," said David S. C.
Chu, undersecretary for personnel and readiness, in an
interview with American Forces Press Service and the
Pentagon Channel.
Voting assistance officers are available on military
installations and in units to assist service members in
finding information for their home states and districts.
These officers can help them register to vote and request
absentee ballots.
The U.S. Postal Service has committed to sending voting
materials to and from military members overseas via
express mail, Chu said. "This year the post
office is going to expedite the movement of absentee
ballots to help us be sure they get out there in time and
to get back and get counted," he said.
DoD has designated two specific weeks to raise awareness
of issues facing military voters specifically, and more
generally, everyone who must vote by absentee ballot. The
week-plus timeframe Sept. 3 to 11, which includes Labor
Day, has been designated Armed Forces Voters Week.
Columbus Day week, Oct. 11 to 15, will be Absentee Voting
Week.
A Defense Department spokesman explained voting assistance
officers will redouble their efforts to get information to
potential voters during these weeks. Commanders and
supervisors will also highlight the importance of voting
and options available to troops.
"We want to bring to light the availability of
services provided to assist military members and their
family members," the spokesman said.
Chu said a good source of information is the Web site of
the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). The
site includes links to absentee voting rules for all
states and jurisdictions.
From this site, potential voters can fill out and submit
an online version of the Federal Post Card Application,
which allows individuals to register to vote or request an
absentee ballot from nearly all U.S. jurisdictions.
Finally, Chu said, people should be aware they can use a
Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to vote in congressional
and presidential elections if they don't receive their
absentee ballots in time. Information on using this form
is also available on the FVAP Web site.
"You can (use this form) if you're a registered
voter," Chu said. "And that is one of your
last-ditch options."
|
8/29/2004 Message
to the Swift Boat Veterans and all Vietnam Veterans and their
Families:
i wrote my
books for children of our soldiers because after witnessing 9/11
(i live in nyc), my first thoughts went to the soldiers and
their families. i knew our military would be called to defend
our country. i knew our soldiers and their families would be
called to make sacrifices. and i knew, almost as certainly, that
our soldiers and their families would be invisible to the media
and politicans, except as they chose to USE them to make their
own political points.
it was devastating
to me to hear adults referring to soldiers like my vietnam
veteran father (brig. gen. (r) michael l. ferguson) as"babykillers"
whether on tv or on the street.
my story is not
unique. many children and family members of veterans
suffered at the hands of those who made abusive comments
about our loved ones and treated us as second class citizens.
soldiers and their families are used to sacrifice and don't ask
for applause or recognition, but neither do they deserve the
abuse and disrespect of their neighbors and leaders.
i realized that
i couldn't stop the ignorance or hate speech toward our troops
or their families, but i could present a positive message that
let families and children know they weren't alone. and provide a
positive reflection in the media (even in something as simple as
a children's book) for their experience, instead of being either
invisible, a pawn or a target.
after i wrote
the books, i, surprisingly, heard from many children of vietnam
veterans like myself who were finally addressing and coping with
their feelings about how america handled the service of our
loved ones and their lack of support for the soldiers and their
families or the shame they were made to feel about their
parent's honorable service.
thank you for
getting our veterans' voices out to the media! i'm, sadly, not
surprised at the response. people are still not respectful about
hearing the stories of veterans, but you are making great
strides toward making it an issue americans can't ignore!
your work is
very important. we must honor ALL our soldier's service, not
just the few who seek power.
thank you for
your efforts!
8/22/2004 VH-1's
Soundtrack to War gave our soldiers a rare opportunity to tell
their stories about how they cope in combat. Michael Moore used
footage from this documentary for his film. But this special gives
a full, uncensored view of what the soldiers had to say!
8/1/2004 Thanks
Extreme Home Makeover! You rock! Your
gift to that family of the deployed soldier was AWESOME! It
was wonderful to see that family on TV and to see such deserving
folks get such a great surprise!
7/28/2004
I love
stories of gratitude and random acts of kindness!
Passengers
Give Troops First-Class Seats
DALLAS
(AP) - Eight soldiers flying home from Iraq for two weeks of R&R
flew in style instead of coach after first-class passengers offered to
swap seats with them.
"The soldiers were very, very happy, and the whole aircraft had a
different feeling," flight attendant Lorrie Gammon told The Dallas
Morning News in Thursday's editions.
The June 29 seat-swap on American Airlines Flight 866 from Atlanta to
Chicago started before boarding, when a businessman approached one of
the soldiers and traded his seat.
When the swapping was done, "the other two first-class passengers
wanted to give up their seats, too, but they couldn't find any more
soldiers," Gammon said.
Another flight attendant, Candi Spradlin, said she was impressed with
the acts of good will.
"If nothing else, those soldiers got a great homecoming," she
said.
7/28/2004
If people continue to say they "support the
troops" they MUST listen to the effect their words
are having on the soldiers. If they refuse to listen, then they
cannot continue to pretend
they care. Poor morale can be a killer on the battle field and if
the public is truly interested in preventing the deaths of our
troops then they must bear in mind the actions they
are participating in that create dangerous situations that can
lead to injury or casualty for
our troops. It's funny...I get alot of flack for saying my views
are "conservative"...
I prefer to say they're humane and non-hypocritical. I
really don't care whose in power, I care about the soldiers and their families. Period.
Whether you're hurting or helping them, not your political POV, is what concerns me. I issued
a statement to the press in 2003 that I would like to re-state
here:
Statement
from Michelle Ferguson-Cohen, author and illustrator of "Daddy,
you're my hero!" and "Mommy, you're my hero!" books for
children of military personnel.
"Few people can imagine how painful and frightening it is for
children of our troops to cope
with a parent at war. Children are
not unaware of the dangerous threats the enemy poses
to their parent's
lives. The extensive media coverage ensures that children inevitably
hear
directives from the Hussein regime about attacking American troops
and this can be terrifying
for a child.
But when similar Anti-American statements come from their neighbors,
celebrities, teachers
and fellow American citizens, the effect on children
and families is devastating. If you truly
desire peace, let it start at
home. Stop the hate speech directed at America and our troops.
As an American citizen it is your right to say whatever you wish, but it
is also your
responsibility to consider its effects. I would hope
after the abuse of soldiers and their
families during the Vietnam war that
people would have learned the difference between
protesting war and
participating in one. Our soldiers' lives are no less valuable and
worthy of
our defense than anyone else's should be. Dehumanizing and
demoralizing our troops will not
make this war go away, but it will leave
a generation of American children orphaned and
isolated and left feeling
betrayed in a way no foreign enemy could ever manage."
from the
National Center for Public Policy Research.
Fahrenheit 9/11 is
Having "Devastating" Impact on Military Morale, Says
Soldier Deployed Overseas
Soldier Says "Young
and Impressionable" Soldiers Just Returned from Iraq Deployments
Are "Being Made to Feel Ashamed" of Their Service
The National Center for Public Policy Research has posted online an e-mail
received from a
soldier, Spc. Joe Roche of the 1st Armored Division, who
says Michael Moore's film
Fahrenheit 9/11 is "making the rounds"
among soldiers at U.S. military bases overseas and
is "shocking and
crushing soldiers, making them feel ashamed" of their service in
Iraq. The
letter has been published online by The National Center without
abridgment. The full text
can be found here.
Some excerpts:
"Michael Moore's film, Fahrenheit
9/11, is making the rounds here at U.S. bases in Kuwait. Some soldiers
have received it already and are passing is around. The impact is
devastating. Here we are, soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, just
days from finally returning home after over a year serving in Iraq, and
Moore's film is shocking and crushing soldiers, making them feel
ashamed. Moore has abused the First Amendment and is hurting us worse
than the enemy has. There are the young and impressionable soldiers,
like those who joined the Army right out of high school. They aren't
familiar w/ the college-type political debate environment, and they
haven't been schooled in the full range of issues involved. They are
vulnerable to being hurt by a vicious film like Moore's."
"Specialist Janecek, who is feeling depressed because a close
family member is nearing the end of her life, just saw the film today. I
saw him in the DFAC. He is devastated. 'I feel shitty, ashamed, like
this was all a lie.' Not only is he looking at going straight to a
funeral when he returns home, but now whatever pride he felt for serving
here has been crushed by Moore's film. Specialist Everett earlier after
seeing the film: 'You'll be mad at shit for ever having come here.' And
there are others. Mostly the comments are absolute shock at the close
connections Moore makes between the Bush family and the Bin Laden family
in Saudi Arabia. 'Bush looks really really REALLY corrupt in this film.
I just don't know what to think anymore,' is a common comment to hear.
Some of these soldiers are darn right ashamed tonight to be American
soldiers, to have been apart of this whole mission in Iraq, and are
angry over all that Moore has presented in his film."
"Right now, just days away from what should be a proud and happy
return from 15 months of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, your U.S.
soldiers are coming back ashamed and hurt because of Moore's work."
"I sometimes want to be mad at my fellow soldiers for being
susceptible to Moore's distortions, but I can't really blame them. These
are good Americans, who have volunteered to serve our country. Nothing
says they all have to be experts in Middle Eastern issues and history
and politics to serve. That would be silly. ...But this is, of course,
the vulnerability that Moore has exploited."
"I wonder how damaging and shocking a Moore project would have been
in the 1940s making such a video of Franklin Roosevelt."
Spc. Joe Roche serves with the 16th
Engineering Battalion of the 1st Armored Division. He
and his unit were
deployed in Iraq for 15 months. An archive of his e-mails can be accessed
at www.nationalcenter.org/RochePage.html
online.
The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan,
conservative/free-market think-
tank established in 1982 and located on
Capitol Hill. It can be visited at
http://www.nationalcenter.org
online.
# # #
7/26/04
Lack of
Awareness makes Media/Civilians/Nation Unsupportive
I personally, don't believe that people
are so uncaring they would knowingly abuse or neglect people in their
community who are in need and making great sacrifices for our country.
During my recent visit to the MCEC coalition I heard many stories of
soldiers, children and their families being treated as second class
citizens by their neighbors and communities.
For that reason and because of my
experience as a military brat and child of a Vietnam Veteran, it is one
of my primary missions to increase awareness of the military family
experience. Here are some recent stories of need and requests for
assistance by soldiers and their families.
I have deleted the contact information
as these requests were made to fellow members of the military community
who are working hard to respond to these requests for our forgotten
soldiers and their families.
*****
I have recently deployed for a possible
18 month rotation with my unit. I have always been responsible in
handling my finances and obligations. With this current deployment it
has drained our savings. My wife is unable to work at this time and that
has added some stress. I am writing to you asking for some help. I hear
you are the one to ask if not please direct me as to who to email. My
wife is due August 29 with our first children. She is having twins.
We are very excited as well as nervous. What I need from you is help
buying two cribs and carseats. We have managed to get everything else
that is needed. Please keep my home address confidential from others. I
may seem paranoid but while I am away I want to keep her safe. I can
understand if you don not want to send her cash a gift certificate
will work also. We have a target and wallmart close by to our home.
********
Sir or Ma'am,
I need some help getting my children school clothes and supplies. I have
a 14 year old son and 12 year old daughter. I'm deployed right now and
that has put us in a hardship. I'd be more than willing to pay back money
given to me to help my family out. I would appreciate it if you'd keep
this information personal and not reveal who I am. Here is my wife's
address.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Thank you very much
SGT XXXXXXXXXX
********
A deployed unit in Iraq made requests for
food because the Mess Hall was closed every night
after their long daily
patrol shift which meant they weren't getting enough to eat. (the request
detailed below is not related to this unit)
*******************
The
following remarks were made by Rep Helen Chenoweth on the House floor on
20 May
99. . Mr. Speaker, in today's military
a young enlisted person serving out his or her first
contract can expect
to make one thousand, seventy-five dollars and eighty cents a month.
Over
a forty-hour workweek, this averages to six dollars and seventy cents an
hour. But
most of our military
personnel don't work forty-hour weeks. We all remember the famous
Army
slogan "We do more before 9:00 a.m. than most people do all
day." Mr. Speaker, it's
true.
These young enlisted personnel can
expect to be at work before first light and not home
again until long
after dark. And Mr. Speaker, we don't pay them overtime. These young
people train for weeks at a time away from home. They keep themselves in a
state of top
physical readiness. They live their personal lives according
to the high standards of integrity
and honor we mandate for them. These
young servicemen must uproot their families
on a
moment's notice, moving to a new duty station across the country, or
across the globe.
They do it all on six dollars and seventy cents an hour.
For members of the military
with
families, the
situation is worse.
Despite a modest living
allowance, 12,000 families
currently serving our Armed Services
are dependent on food stamps. Food
stamps. We have government employees living
off
of government subsidies. Mr. Speaker, why don't we skip the
intermediary step and just pay
them properly the first time? During the
holidays at the Mountain Home Air Force base
in
Idaho, a network of military
spouses work together to collect donations of money and toys
for the
enlisted families
who cannot afford to give their young ones Christmas or
Thanksgiving. Last
November and December, the Mountain Home Warm Heart organization,
run by
the spouses of servicemen, distributed over eighteen thousand dollars
worth of food,
toys and cash to needy military
families. Where
did this money come from, Mr. Speaker?
From the pockets of servicemen who
already had very little to give. If this were not bad
enough, many military
families have
more serious concerns than just Christmas and
Thanksgiving. At the
Mountain Home Air Force Base,
459 women and children are receiving
regular food assistance. 107 of those
are infants. The Mountain Home Air Force Aid Society
made $131,000 in
emergency assistance loans to military
families I am
very concerned about
what will happen to these families
when the money runs out and they still have to make
monthly payments on
the loans. In the 18th Century, citizen soldiers won our independence
and
secured our liberties. We hailed them as heroes and revered the courage
and
commitment they demonstrated in defense of our nation. Today that
nation is protected by
citizen soldiers with the same integrity and sense
of duty. Only in 20th Century America,
we don't even pay them a living
wage. We should be ashamed of ourselves. From 1988 to
today there have
been thirty-two deployments of our military.
In the previous sixty years
there were only ten deployments. Put another
way, Mr. Speaker, prior to this Administration,
the military
was deployed an average of once every six years. During the Clinton
Administration the military
has been deployed an average of four times every year.
Furthermore, since
1987, we have depleted our ranks by eight hundred thousand
servicemen. In
practical terms, that translates into more frequent deployments and
dangerously long hours.
It is illegal in this country for truck drivers to
be on the road longer than eight consecutive
hours without rest. We have
pilots patrolling the Mediterranean in fourteen hour shifts. In
short,
this Administration is expecting our servicemen to do one hundred times as
much and
place their lives at risk one hundred times as often with eight
hundred thousand fewer
people. For as little as six dollars and seventy
cents per hour. Mr. Speaker I recently paid a
plumber $90 an hour to
unstop my garbage disposal. An auto mechanic can expect $50 an
hour. A
teenager working as a bagger in a grocery store can earn up to $12 dollars
an hour.
None of these jobs require 24-hour dedication to duty and a
constant threat to life. Mr.
Speaker, one young Marine I know of has taken
a second job to supplement his income.
Every night, this Lance Corporal
goes home and trades his Marine uniform for a blue
and red t-shirt and
matching hat from Dominoes. This young Marine, this hardworking
father of
two, delivers pizza because he is too proud to accept welfare. He is not
alone in this endeavor. But it is nearly impossible to know how many young
servicemen
are in this position because most of them hide it from their
commanders. A young Lance
Corporal serving in the Marine Corps today can
anticipate being combat-deployed at least
once in a four-year enlistment.
I wonder what this Lance Corporal's family will do when he
is away and
they have to make do without the supplemental income from Dominoes. I am
humbled by this young Marine, and the many others like him who work so
hard to protect us.
I am ashamed that we don't do right by them. I urge
this body to seriously consider the
ethics of our government's continued
overextension of our military
in light of our complete
lack of gratitude for their service.
Mr. Speaker,
I have a request to make of the members of this body. Tonight when you go
home to your families,
to the security and comfort of your homes; when you tuck your
children in
to bed; say a prayer for the men and women of our armed forces. As you
sleep,
approximately one-hundred thousand of them stand watch, away from
their own loved ones,
ready to give their very lives to protect you. For
as little as six dollars and seventy cents an
hour.
Response to Washington Times Article "Our GIs earn
enough"
On 12 Jan, MS, Cindy Williams wrote a piece for the >
Washington Times denouncing the pay raise(s) coming
service members' way this year, citing that the stated 13%
wage gap was bogus. A young airman from Hill AFB
responds to her article below. Ms. Williams: I
just had the pleasure of reading your column of 12 Jan 00,
"Our GI's earn enough," and I am a bit confused.
Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is
going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears
every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting
Service) and my bank account. Checking my latest leave and
earnings statement (LES), I see that I make $1,117.80, before
taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20.
When I run that through Windows' Calculator, I come up with
an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40
after. I work in the Air Force Network Control Center (AFNCC),
where I am part of the team responsible for the
administration of a 25,000 host computer network. I am
involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with
Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs
for Network Technicians in the Washington, DC area
reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years
experience with my job.
Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year,
nor does it pay less than this. No, this job is being
offered at $70,000 to 80,000 per annum. I'm sure you can
draw the obvious conclusions. Also, you tout
increases to Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance for
Subsistence (housing and food allowances, respectively) as
being a further boon to an already overcompensated
force. Again, I'm curious as to where this money has gone,
as BAH and BAS were both slashed 15% in the Hill AFB area
effective in January 00. Given the tenor of your column, I
would assume that you have NEVER had the pleasure of serving
your country in her armed forces. Before you take it upon
yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD
leadership for attempting to get the families in the
military's lowest pay
brackets off AFDC, WIC, and food stamps, I suggest that you
join a group of deploying soldiers headed for Saudi - I leave the choice of service branch
up to you. Whatever choice you make, though, opt for
the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possible
time away from your family and friends, thus giving you the
full "deployment experience." As your group
prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses
and children who are saying good-bye to their loved
ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure
of how they'll be able to make end meet while the primary
breadwinner is gone, obviously they've been squandering
the vast piles of cash the DOD has been giving them.
Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and
Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And when you're
actually over there, sitting in a DFP (Defensive Fire Position,
the modern day foxhole), shivering against the cold desert
night, and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't
enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember
this: trade whatever MRE you manage to get for the tuna
noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to
everything. Talk to your loved ones as often as you are
permitted; it won't nearly be long enough or often
enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for
it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree
with most of the points you present in your op-ed piece.
But, tomorrow from Sarajevo, I will defend to the death
your right to say it. You see, I am an American fighting
man, a guarantor of your First Amendment rights and every
other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and
sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like
you can thumb your collective noses at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and
under conditions that would make most people cringe. We
hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector
because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian
companies. And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say
that we make more than we deserve? ] Rubbish! A1C Michael
Bragg Hill AFB AFNCC .
7/24/04
I recently appeared at the Military
Child Education Coalition Conference in Denver. While I
was there I had the opportunity to meet wonderful
people who share our mission to provide equal educational opportunities to children of military
personnel
By Rudi Williams American Forces Press Service COLORADO
SPRINGS, Colo., July 22, 2004 -- "Yours is a noble
calling — to be a voice for the unsung partners in America's
national defense, our military children," said Lea Ann
Edwards, wife of Texas Congressman Chet Edwards, at the
Military Child Education Coalition sixth annual conference here
July 21. "There are no Medals of Honor given to our
military children, but time and again our nation asks them to
sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty," Edwards
told conference attendees. More than 450 educators,
administrators, military leaders, parents and students from
around the world gathered for the annual conference. The coalition
is a non-profit national and international organization that
serves children wherever the military family is located
around the world. It focuses on the highly mobile military child
and his or her educational opportunities.
This year's theme, "Pioneering for Children,"
centers on making a difference in the lives of military
children who serve and sacrifice for the nation in a unique way.
"I have often wondered how one puts a price on a young
student being asked to leave his or her best friends and
favorite school because duty calls their family away?"
Edwards said. "And then to do it again, and again and
again. There are no make-up days when moms or dads miss recitals,
baseball games and graduations. "And those are the sacrifices
our military children make in times of peace," Edwards
noted. She said in times of war when parents are in harm's
way that the sacrifice of separation and the fears of mom or dad
never coming home are a cost of combat that can never be
fully measured. She pointed out that the nation sets aside
Veterans Day and Memorial Day to honor the sacrifices of
those who have served the nation in uniform. Perhaps, she said,
Congress should designate a Military Child Day. "Not as
a national holiday," she said, "but as a day when
our nation could honor those too young to serve, but not too young
to share the sacrifice of protecting the American
family." Edwards said she was humbled and inspired to be
with so many caring individuals who honor military children every
day with their time, service and love. "Having visited
so many families at Fort Hood (Texas), I know our military children
deserve all we can do for them and much more," she said.
"You will continue to be at the vanguard of that effort,
and I salute you for your caring leadership."
Edwards pointed out that she and her husband have seen two
wartime deployments of Fort Hood soldiers to Iraq.
"We've seen the tears of deployment, the unbridled joy of
homecomings and the challenge of family readjustment,"
Edwards said. "We've shared in the happiness of small
children seeing and talking to their deployed moms and dads by
video conferences. We have also felt the unspeakable sorrow
of 25-year-old military widows cuddling babies who will never
be held by their fathers." She said that's why they feel so
strongly that Congress has a solemn responsibility to support
military children. "Unfortunately, the truth is that military
family issues don't always receive the high priority they deserve
in Congress," Edwards said. Edwards said reasons include
only 29 percent of House members and 39 percent of senators
are veterans. She said the percentages are decreasing with
each new Congress, which means fewer members know firsthand the
challenges facing military families.
Another reason is the closing of military installations
under the Defense Department's Base Realignment and Closing,
or BRAC, Edwards said. Noting that another BRAC is slated for
2005, she said that means even fewer House members will have
military installations in their districts and fewer senators
will have them in their states. A third reason is "legions of
lobbyists in Washington, D.C., supporting multibillion dollar
procurement programs, but very few voices there speaking up
for military families and children," she said. The Pentagon
understands the importance of taking care of military families,
Edwards said. She added that issues such as housing, health
care, day care and education often take a back seat, because
commanders must first fund procurement and training budgets
that have an immediate impact on readiness. Impact-aid
education funding faces even another barrier, because, she said,
it's funded by the Department of Education, an agency where
military children are not necessarily the first priority. But
she did note that "since 1995, impact aid funding has increased
from $728 million to $1.23 billion."
Edwards called the coalition "a strong voice, a vital
voice, for children whose needs might otherwise go
unheard." "By bringing education, community and military
leaders together, you directly address many problems without
needing congressional involvement," she said. She said
it's impossible for her to match MCEC's service to military
children, but she considers it a privilege to be able to
select MCEC as the charity of the year for the First Lady's
Luncheon, where she was delivering her speech. This marked
the 94th year the luncheon was hosted by the Congressional
Club, a nonpartisan organization made up of spouses of current and
former members of Congress. "In honoring Mrs. Bush, our
theme was 'A Salute to Our Military and Their
Families,'" Edwards noted. "Every person at the luncheon
was impressed when Mrs. Bush spoke so eloquently about the
tremendous work you do through the Military Child Education
Coalition. When Mrs. Bush described the incredible sacrifices of
our military families, I could not help but think about one
of those families." Edwards talked about how overwhelmed
she and her husband were on Sept. 1, 2003, when they visited
soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center in Washington who had been wounded in Iraq. She said
the first soldier they met was Sgt. Robert Armstrong.
"Gunny Armstrong was protecting a children's hospital
near Baghdad when
insurgents attacked him with grenades," Edwards said.
"He was badly wounded and lost one eye and a leg. Gunny
lost so much blood that his heart stopped beating five times.
The Army was so sure he would die that they gave him an immediate
medical retirement to increase his wife's and children's benefits
upon his death. "But Gunny Armstrong didn't die,"
Edwards noted. "As he was going in and out of consciousness,
literally on the edge of life and death, he kept mentioning
the name Mary, Mary, Mary. Army doctors and medics didn't
know who Mary was and assumed he was just hallucinating.
"It turns out that Mary was his 15-year-old daughter back in
Killeen, Texas, and this loving father had made a promise to
his daughter: that he would come home from Iraq to see her
again," she said. "As he barely clung to life thousands
of miles away from his family, Gunny Armstrong's love of his
family and his promise to his daughter gave him the will to
live when others had lost hope," Edwards said. Edwards
said she was in the hospital room when Mary walked in with her
brother and saw her father for the first time in five months.
"When Gunny's wife saw Mary, she turned to her daughter
and said, 'You see, Mary, I told you. Your father always
keeps his promises.'"
She then showed a video of the emotions, tears and hugs of
love of service members and their spouses and children when
service members deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. "When I
see this
video, I realize our nation can never fully repay our military
families for the sacrifices they
make for the American family," Edwards said. "But,
tonight, when I go home to be with my two young sons, I will
thank God for Gunny Armstrong and his family and for millions of
other military families, past and present, who have protected
our nation with their unselfish service and sacrifice."
Related Site: Military Child Education Coalition [http://www.militarychild.org/]
Lea Ann
Edwards, left, chats with Joyce Thomas of the Bossier City, La.,
school district, after delivering the keynote speech at the Military Child Education Coalition
sixth annual conference in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 21.
Photo by Rudi Williams
7/27/04
Military Families
&
Election Year Politics
Like most people in military culture I'm
a proud American, but also a citizen of the world. Like
most, I'm a seeker
of truth.
Seems that words like "our brave
troops" and "our proud soldiers" are being bandied about an
awful lot by people who aren't putting their money where their mouths
are.
Personally, I would appreciate if all the
politicians and politico wannabes like Michael Moore
stopped using our
soldiers and their families as an excuse to promote their political
agendas
without any follow through to care for our soldiers.
I have yet to see any of these people
make any substantial contribution or thank you toward our
soldiers, their
families or their children. Millions are spent on protests, media
campaigns and
election campaigns and NOTHING is given to our
troops and their families who are struggling
to survive hardship and
stress. Once again, ideals are priorities before people.
Stop using the military families as pawns
and start showing your respect by listening to our
soldiers and
honoring
their work.
If you people care so much about our
fallen soldiers and their families, then help put their
children through
school, let them tell their stories and stop making them invisible except for
your
purposes.
So, Michael Moore, since you keep saying
you are motivated by your concern for the
children of our country called
to war, then perhaps you can spare a good chunk of that
$100 million
toward the families you are using to make your point.
I'm open to giving everyone who says they
"support the troops" and then does NOTHING to
show that support
the opportunity to do so.
If you're not sure how to do that, please
contact me at booksforbrats@aol.com
and I'll be
happy to put you in touch with a number of worthwhile
organizations who do work to benefit
our soldiers and their families.
- Michelle Ferguson-Cohen
7/21/04
Military
Families & The Media
by
Michelle Ferguson-Cohen
Ferguson-Cohen
has 15 years experience as a media relations professional
One
of our missions is to help encourage proper representation of the military
community and
especially military families in the media.
We
feel our books go some way to helping military families see their experience
represented
in bookstores and on library shelves.
Of
course, it was necessary for us to establish this publishing company because
there were
no other mainstream publishing companies interested in representing
this community. In
fact, we were told so by several representatives of
major publishing companies.
Since
establishing this company, we have continued to be confronted with the bias and
limitations of broadcast media and the news. We have also heard from many
soldiers and
their families about their discouragement regarding the media and
it's representation and lack of representation of military community.
Of
course, we are always looking for ways to encourage the media to educate
themselves
about this population and to cover more varied and reality-based
stories of military families
that incorporate more of the day-to-day survival
stories.
As
with any diversity education, we believe that the more the population at large
knows
about the military community the more compassionate, and supportive they
will be,
particularly at stressful times like this. Most military families
have difficulties surviving the
stress of deployment, but they are proud and
make the sacrifice. They never expect
rewards, but at the least, they should
receive some acknowledgement from their fellow
citizens for their
contribution.and indeed the support they need from their communities to
survive
the difficulties of a deployment
We
believe Americans would care, if they had greater understanding. They would have
greater understanding through greater exposure to military families and their
experience.
We can help enlighten our fellow citizens through proper
representation in the media. There
is so much that happens other than the
departures and arrivals of troops.
Some
of the issues the media has with its representation of the military population
have to
do with issues the media faces in its reporting, programming, business
model and general
nature.
We
have identified the following challenges (and a couple of solutions) for the
media:
1)
The military has a racially diverse population.
Proper
demographic representation of race has long been an issues in the news and
media. The mass media has been slow in its news reporting and
entertainment programming to represent the diversity of the American
population.
2)
Media's lack of awareness of the consumer power of the military population
The
media is powered by advertisement. It is incumbent upon media outlets to
ensure their advertisers are being served by the most useful demographics.
Though
there are soldiers struggling with poverty, the average active duty military
families' income is 7.4% higher than the average Americans income*. In
addition, the purchase power of the the military population or "Military
City" as identified by www.militarycity.com
ranks between New York and LA in terms of income and population*.
In addition, ranking first among all markets with a whopping 74% of its
population in the much desired 18-34 demo, it's percentage far outranks
the second rated city LA with 29%. So, lack of advertiser interest shouldn't
be an issue in terms of media support.
We
would be remiss not to point out that National Guard
and reservist families suffer additional financial hardships because of an
eliminated civilian paycheck, job loss and lack of civilian community support.
For
our part, we heard over and over again from
publishers and media organizations that there was not an audience for our book
or for any media coverage of military families. In fact, as for our
readership, there are 1.3 million children of active duty military alone. As
for our total audience, we believe that number to be doubled if you include
children of National Guard and Reservists, nieces, nephews, foster children
and step-children who are affected by the deployment of a soldier. Of
course, we also believe ALL children our are audience, as mutual respect and
awareness of our country's diversity is key!
3)
The association of political motivations with the military and political bias
The
military is not a political organization. Many members of the press have
argued that case with us and we were shocked by their perception of the
military as political. Many media members do not understand that
soldier's mission is to follow the orders of an elected government, not
determine policy.
The
military is a service organization in the power of the government of the
United States. Though its Commander-in-Chief is the President who is
elected by the population at large, the military has no power as a political
entity. Sometimes, mistakenly, members of the media believe a positive
representation of the military community would not benefit or serve their own
personal political affiliations or those of their organization.
Of
course, our perspective is that even if someone felt they had a political
barrier to objective reporting, that it is inappropriate and sad to make
children the brunt of that. We are committed to the service of children
affected by war regardless of the politics.
4)
The disconnect from the military and media perception as "the other"
Because
we have a volunteer force and Americans are not obligated to serve their
country, the military community comes from pockets of the country's
demographics instead of a varied range of the population. It's fairly
common that members of the media weren't socialized, educated or in a
community with people in the military or other public service organizations, and therefore, like many Americans, feel
a disconnect with the service organization that defends, protects and
represents them. In an increasingly classist society, this will continue
to be a problem
5)
Ratings! Ratings! Ratings!
Sometimes
the media feels it needs a sensationalist story to make it worth their while.
This is why most of the rare coverage of military families focuses on the
dramatic departures and arrivals of deploying soldiers. Frankly, the
daily humdrum, difficulties and crises of military life are as uninteresting
to the media as the struggles of other public service personnel or everyday
people. The stories
that really need to be told aren't quite as dramatic as ones the mass media
might be interested in...like JLo's latest wedding!
Michelle
Ferguson-Cohen
*All
numbers courtesy of www.MilitaryCity.com
if
you wish to reproduce this article or any other item from www.booksforbrats.net
please
credit and acknowledge the copyright of author Michelle Ferguson-Cohen
and www.booksforbrats.net .
The
military is not immune to increasing problems in the
general population with abuse,
violence and addiction.
Identifying problems is the first step to ensuring help is
on the way
We
believe the transient nature of the military and the unique and constant stress
on
military families makes children especially vulnerable to abuse and neglect,
especially
because it is difficult to identify those in trouble in a population
that is largely "invisible" to
the mainstream world. We are very
excited about the Army's plan to survey these issues
and hope it's a first step
to more involved family support and programs!
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- As part of an effort to reduce the incidence
of
family violence and substance abuse in the military, RTI International has
been
awarded a $1.4 million U.S. Army contract to study the co-occurrence of
substance
abuse, child abuse, and spousal abuse among service members and their
families.
The study will be used by Army officials to identify opportunities to improve
the
linkages between programs that identify, prevent, and treat family violence
and
substance abuse in the military and to make these services more accessible
to Army
families."The military is a reflection of society," said principal
investigator Deborah Gibbs
of RTI's Health, Social, and Economics Research.
"So it is not surprising that military
families experience domestic
violence and substance abuse, especially if one
considers the unique stressors
military families face, such as deployments and
disruption of social ties."
These stressors may contribute to the co-occurrence of substance abuse,
spousal
abuse, and child abuse, Gibbs said. People who work in the fields of
spousal abuse,
child abuse, and substance abuse have long believed that the
three problems are
intertwined, but it has been difficult to understand the
extent or nature of the
correlation.
Gibbs said this study will lead to a better understanding of the interactions
and that
such information will be useful in reducing the effects of family
violence and
substance abuse within the military. She added that understanding
gained through
this study will also be applicable in many ways to service
delivery systems in civilian
society.
Gibbs will be assisted in the research project by RTI International's Monique
Clinton-Sherrod and Sandra Martin of UNC's School of Public Health.
The study is scheduled for completion in 2007.
Email: news@rti.org
Kathy Pitts: 919-990-8388
Patrick Gibbons: 919-541-6136
PO Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194
I
thought this article was very well-written and addressed the issues based
on fact.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thomas D. Segel
Tomsegel@joimail.com
(956) 423 3126
And The Media Says, "We Support Our Military"
1032 words
Harlingen, Texas, July 10, 2004:Their names are Mark E. Mitchell, Jason
Dean
Cunningham, Joseph B. Perez and Stephen Bass. Chances are you have
no idea
of who these men are or what they accomplished. You can look them up
on the
Internet. A Goggle search will show you Cunningham¹s name on 5
entries.
Perez will appear 4 times, Mitchell 3 times and Bass twice.
Now try these names"Lynndie England, Charles Graner Jr., Jeremy
Sivits and
Ivan Frederick II. They may seem very familiar" and they
should. According
the Kate O¹Beirne, writing for the National Review Online, ABC, NBC and
CBS
combined have run more than 200 stories on them and the other three
abusers
of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib Prison. In addition there were more
than
40 page one stories about them on the front page of the New York Times and
their names made headlines in almost every major daily publication in the
country. Using the Google search engine to scan the Internet will
show you
another 377,000 entries about their deplorable activities inside the walls
of that prison. All of this combines to make their names and faces
the only
recognizable pictures of how the world now sees the men and women of
America¹s armed forces.
That quick review of press coverage should dispel any doubts people have
about the built-in bias of the media. Electronic and print media
alike can
protest loudly that no such bias exists, but the numbers shown here are
stark testimony to the falseness of such statements.
It is true that Abu Ghraib Prison and its abuse perpetrators make an
important story, but the disproportionate weighting of that happening
against the actions of Bass, Cunningham, Mitchell and Perez are impossible
to understand. What these men did was praiseworthy at every level
"and
remember that Google search showed their names were only in print a
combined
total of 14 times.
Navy Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass, a member of a rescue team was sent
to
locate and recover two missing American citizens at the Quala-I-Jangi
fortress in Afghanistan. Once he moved toward the fortress, Bass was
constantly fired upon by the enemy. He was forced to walk through an
anti-personnel minefield to gain entry. He then had to crawl through
withering fire to reach the uninjured citizen. He was forced to
withdraw,
but reported his findings to his team, which then went in search of the
second man. As darkness fell, he again tried to make the rescue.
Without
fear for his own personal safety Bass moved into the heart of the
fortress,
under constant enemy fire. His own ammunition gone, he used the
weapon of a
fallen enemy to return fire. Chief Bass finally was able to locate
and
verify the condition of the injured citizen.
In the same operation, Army Major Mark E. Mitchell was the ground force
commander of the rescue team. He showed unparalled courage under
fire,
decisive leadership and personal sacrifice, which were directly
responsible
for the success of the rescue mission and instrumental in ensuring the
city
of Mazar-e-Sharif did no fall back into the hands of the Taliban.
His
actions contributed to American forces holding their objective even while
under heavy enemy fire. By his engagement of the enemy, he assured
the
freedom of one American and the posthumous recovery of another.
Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham was a Search and Rescue medic assigned
to
the Quick Reaction Force. Sent to rescue two American servicemen who
were
evading capture in terrain occupied by Al Qaida, his helicopter was hit by
enemy fire and disabled, causing it to crash land. A hasty defense was
formed, but his force quickly received three fatalities and five critical
casualties. Despite heavy enemy fire Cunningham remained in the
burning
fuselage of the aircraft treating the wounded men. He then exposed himself
to enemy fire as he moved the wounded to a more secure location.
When that
protected position was compromised, Cunningham braved enemy fire seven
times
to relocate his wounded to a third collection point. Even after
being
mortally wounded he continued to direct patient movement and transferred
their care to another medic. In the end, his efforts resulted in
saving the
gravely wounded Americans, but at the cost of his own life.
| 