This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Veterans Issues

  • USSC overturns DOMA; DoD rushes to give benefits away

    So, you didn’t really think that the Defense of Marriage Act would stand up under the scrutiny of this court, did you? The is the Supreme Court that gave us Obamacare, for Pete’s sake. But anyway, as soon as the decision was announced, Chuck Hagel rushed out a statement that would give benefits to same-sex couples, you know, because they’ve kept their promises so well to, well, regular couples. From Stars & Stripes;

    “The Department of Defense welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision today on the Defense of Marriage Act,” it read. “The Department will immediately begin the process of implementing the Supreme Court’s decision in consultation with the Department of Justice and other executive branch agencies. The Department of Defense intends to make the same benefits available to all military spouses — regardless of sexual orientation — as soon as possible. That is now the law, and it is the right thing to do.

    “Every person who serves our nation in uniform stepped forward with courage and commitment. All that matters is their patriotism, their willingness to serve their country and their qualifications to do so. Today’s ruling helps ensure that all men and women who serve this country can be treated fairly and equally, with the full dignity and respect they so richly deserve.”

    Last year, they wanted to strike down the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy so they could openly serve. That’s all they wanted – to be able to serve without hiding who they are. So, the camel got his nose under the tent, and voila!

    Honestly, I don’t care about gays serving in the military, I just don’t like being lied to about their intentions. Oh, just so you same-sex couples know, when it comes to those benefits that you get promised, they break their promises all of the time. They tell us that, as retirees, we’re unsustainable and then they pile a bunch new people into the system, so enjoy it while you can.

    And, oh, by the way;

    The Pentagon will have to decide whether only legal marriages qualify for benefits or whether those in domestic partnerships are eligible as well, Panetta said in his memo.

    […]

    The outlook is more complex for veterans in same-sex marriages, McKean said. The statute that governs veterans benefits defines a spouse as “a person of the opposite sex who is a wife or husband.”

  • Daniel Somers: I am sorry it has come to this

    Several of you have been sending me this link over the past couple of days about Daniel Somers. I could have sworn that I wrote about the kid before, but I can’t find the post now. But, this Iraq war veteran killed himself, somehow, and his family gave permission to publish his suicide letter. I expect they’ll withdraw that permission, here, in a couple of days. But the parts that jump out at me are about “things he saw” and “things he did” that he couldn’t live with. Well, according to Gawker;

    He was part of Task Force Lightning, an intelligence unit. In 2004-2005, he was mainly assigned to a Tactical Human-Intelligence Team (THT) in Baghdad, Iraq, where he ran more than 400 combat missions as a machine gunner in the turret of a Humvee, interviewed countless Iraqis ranging from concerned citizens to community leaders and and government officials, and interrogated dozens of insurgents and terrorist suspects. In 2006-2007, Daniel worked with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) through his former unit in Mosul where he ran the Northern Iraq Intelligence Center. His official role was as a senior analyst for the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and part of Turkey). Daniel suffered greatly from PTSD and had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and several other war-related conditions.

    In his suicide letter he wrote;

    The simple truth is this: During my first deployment, I was made to participate in things, the enormity of which is hard to describe. War crimes, crimes against humanity. Though I did not participate willingly, and made what I thought was my best effort to stop these events, there are some things that a person simply can not come back from.

    To force me to do these things and then participate in the ensuing coverup is more than any government has the right to demand. Then, the same government has turned around and abandoned me. They offer no help, and actively block the pursuit of gaining outside help via their corrupt agents at the DEA.

    Yeah, it’s pretty cryptic. I think it’s intentionally so. Specifics might open him up to criticism like those criticisms being suffered by the deadly SFC Dillard Johnson over the last few days. Of course, the money is in this part;

    It leaves us to where all we have to look forward to is constant pain, misery, poverty, and dishonor. I assure you that, when the numbers do finally drop, it will merely be because those who were pushed the farthest are all already dead.

    And for what? Bush’s religious lunacy? Cheney’s ever growing fortune and that of his corporate friends? Is this what we destroy lives for

    Yay! Occupiers gather ’round! The kid killed himself and it’s Bush’s fault…and Darth Chaney. Wave the bloody shirt!

    This is what brought me to my actual final mission. Not suicide, but a mercy killing. I know how to kill, and I know how to do it so that there is no pain whatsoever.

    Actually, there are millions of veterans who suffer from PTS every day and DON’T kill themselves, they don’t threaten their families, they don’t make a big deal about “things they saw” or “things they did”. They don’t use their experiences as an excuse to cop out on their families and become a bigger name in death than they were in their lives.

    Of course, the Left is desperately clinging to this as proof that, yeah their guy is bad, but Bush was worse.

    While you may disagree with the war in Iraq, I’ve yet to see anyone offer a different solution to the Hussein’s Iraq problem. Is anyone going to say that the world would have been a better place if only Hussein was still alive? He’d been dealt more than a decade of Euro-wienie sanctions which only entrenched him more in power. Bill Clinton did his best to ignore Hussein, but every time Hussein farted, the US was sending thousands of troops to Kuwait to protect against the next invasion. Did I mention that Hussein was shooting at our pilots several times every month.

    You can disagree with the way the war was conducted, but no rational person can say that it wasn’t necessary. And some dead guy who killed himself can’t point fingers to besmirch the character of everyone who served there without specifics. Yes, it’s too damn bad that he made the choice to end his life, but screw him if he thinks he can blame every soldier who served with him for his decision.

    And screw all of you hippies who think this is going to change anything about the reasons we went to war. The war made you feel bad. Tough. It made you feel inadequate. Tough. Don’t start calling the people who did go there “war criminals” and blame them for the death of one guy who says that they made him do stuff he didn’t like without being specific.

    In fact, I think we can reasonably make the case that Somers killed himself because of the way the hippies made him feel about his service.

  • SEALs deaths in Benghazi is cool because the President is black. Or something

    Stu sends us a link to a reader’s letter at the Pine Bluff Commercial Online which takes exception to an opinion column in the paper about the two SEALs who were killed in Benghazi. I’m not all that sure what his point is, it’s either that it’s OK to kill former-SEALs who work for the CIA or that it’s OK to kill former SEALs because the president is black;

    Benghazi SEALs

    Stu writes;

    Two bona-fide heroes died in the service of our country in the Benghazi attack, along with two others brave Americans, and all a pathetic individual who probably never wore the uniform can do is disparage their sacrifice. Well Mr. Hansen, your “best research” was not good enough.

    Glen Doherty, served as a Navy SEAL with tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and left the Navy in 2005 as a petty officer, first class.

    Tyrone Woods, was a Navy SEAL who retired after 20 years of service as a senior chief petty officer. A recipient of the Bronze Star Medal with combat “V” Device for valor in Iraq, he led 12 direct action raids and 10 reconnaissance missions; and served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Middle East and Central America.

    Both of these heroes earned the right to be referred to as a “Navy Seal.” Although they are listed as being State Department contractors at the time of their murder, as Hillary Clinton said about the four deaths, “what difference does it make?”

    A letter or column is not necessary to disparage this President, his actions, lies, and cover ups do it for him. The Hansen’s of this world are now indignant because the media has woke up and are now reporting what has previously been ignored.

    Screw you Karl Hansen.

    My response to Hansen below the fold;
    (more…)

  • Vets’ PII at risk?

    WSBTV reports that Department of Veterans’ Affairs computers may have been hacked by the Chinese and that your personally identifiable information (PII) wasn’t properly encrypted. So your identity might have compromised – yet again;

    MacFarlane reviewed a congressional report that said eight foreign actors, likely Chinese hackers, have infiltrated the VA’s computer network, potentially getting hold of Social Security numbers and other private data of men and women in uniform.

    Veteran Marine Jessie Duff said she’s scared someone’s poised to steal her identity.

    “Being a veteran, our data is a little more sensitive. I have health records with them. I have financial data with them,” Duff said.

    The revelations came during a recent hearing at the U.S. House Veterans Affairs committee. A former security technician for the VA acknowledged millions of veterans don’t have their personal information properly encrypted by the VA.

    Chinese military are reportedly among the suspected hackers.

    I got a letter from the VA about eight years ago that my information might have been compromised whn a VA employee left his computer in his car and it was stolen, so I got Lifelock. Then I noticed that the VA never tells veterans in a timely manner about lost information, so I just pay every year – like life insurance to protect my information. A couple of years ago, my wife bought a new car and put me down as the co-signer, Lifelock notified me while she was still at the dealer – so I know it works.

    If the government has your PII, I think it’s reasonable to accept that they’re not the best custodians of your personal information, so you need to be pro-active, since they certainly have no interest in it.

  • Ohio vets; don’t forget your bonus

    Scott sends us a link from the Ohio Department of Veterans’ Services (.pdf file) which announces that;

    Ohio has a unique way of thanking these recent veterans and those who serve. It’s the Ohio Veterans Bonus, for service given during the times of the Persian Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    But the Ohio Veterans Bonus won’t be around forever – the deadline for Persian Gulf War era veterans to apply is December 31, 2013.

    Veterans of the Iraq War era have until December 31, 2014 to apply. No deadline has been announced for veterans of the Afghanistan War era.

    […]

    The bonus pays $100 a month to veterans who served in the Persian Gulf theater, or in the countries of Afghanistan or Iraq, up to a maximum of $1,000. For veterans who served elsewhere, the payment is $50 a month up to a $500 maximum. Veterans medically discharged due to injuries sustained in combat can receive $1,000, plus up to $500 for months of service elsewhere. Family members of those killed in action or who died from disease as a result of their in-theater service can receive a bonus of $5,000 plus whatever the service member was eligible for, up to a total of $6,500.

    It’s not a handout – you earned it so go get it before the state wastes it on free cell phones for pimps or something.

  • Her husband, Nathaniel Richardson, is an Army veteran

    Shannon-Rogers-Guess-Richardson-via-Facebook-615x345

    Yeah, that’s a line that NBC News felt they needed to add in the story about Shannon Rogers Guess Richardson of New Boston, Texas who was arrested for sending ricin-laced letters to Nanny Bloomberg and the President, you know, because all of us have been trained in the refining and use of ricin. And then we teach our wives;

    …Richardson…originally called the Federal Bureau of Investigation claiming that her husband had sent the letters, officials said. The investigators found that she had sent the letters herself, they said.

    Richardson is an actress with minor roles on television shows like The Walking Dead and the Vampire Diaries, and was arrested in Arkansas on charges that will be filed Friday afternoon, the authorities said. She has five sons, according to the New York Times.

    Ah-ha! She probably learned how to do it from Hollywood and her zombie/vampire movies. Or, more than likely her vicious and conniving veteran husband taught her, because it’s in our Common Tasks Training manual. Or maybe she’s just a freakin’ nut and the internet is an open source media.

  • VA hacked, unsure what was stolen

    Apparently, when the VA isn’t getting their computers stolen, compromising personal data, the Chinese and other nations are hacking into the VA’s systems – and it’s been happening for years, according to the Washington Examiner.

    At least eight different state-sponsored organizations have breached the security of VA data networks since at least March 2010, said Jerry Davis, who until February was the chief information security officer at VA.

    “I learned that these attackers were a nation-state sponsored cyber espionage unit and that no less than eight different nation-state sponsored organizations had successfully compromised VA networks and data, or were actively attacking VA networks, attacks that continue at VA to this very day,” David said in written testimony

    This stems the VA transmitting sensitive information, including medical records and personal information, over unsecure and unencrypted networks.

    The worst part is that the VA doesn’t even know what has been stolen:

    A foreign government hacked into Department of Veterans’ Affairs computers and stole data on as many as 20 million veterans, then covered its tracks by encrypting files before exporting them, according to congressional testimony today.

    As a result, VA officials do not know what was stolen, a top VA official told the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Potentially, the breach could be complete personal and medical records on everyone in the VA’s files, said Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., the subcommittee chairman.

    “These actors have had constant access to VA systems and data, information which included unencrypted databases containing hundreds of thousands to millions of instances of veteran information such as veterans’ and dependents’ names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and protected health information,” Coffman said.

    So, they’ve known about it for years and have still done nothing about it – way to take care of veterans.

    Cross-posted from After the Army.

  • More Pending Congressional “Help”

    Every once in a great while, Congress actually steps in and makes DoD get something right.   The 1999 Kosovo BSM Fiasco is a primary example.  In reaction to the USAF’s abuse of the BSM during the Kosovo conflict, Congress acted and made it a legal requirement for someone to actually deploy and receive hostile fire/imminent danger pay in order to receive a Bronze Star. In that case, Congressional “help” was indeed sorely needed.

    It now looks like Congress may again try to “help” DoD fix a problem.  But this time I’m not so sure the “cure” is either necessary or appropriate.

    Apparently Congressman Rob Wittman, R-VA, has introduced legislation that would put an Army officer in charge of the Army National Cemeteries (Arlington and the Soldiers’ and Airman’s  Home National Cemeteries).  The impetus is doubtless  the serious issues noted recently at Arlington National Cemetery.

    At first glance this seems like a good idea.  But on reflection I’m not so sure it’s appropriate.  In fact, the more I think about it the more I’m convinced that the proper answer is, “Bad idea, sir.”

    The military’s mission isn’t to run cemeteries. The military’s mission is to fight and win the nation’s wars.  Things that detract from that focus, for whatever good reason, are IMO counterproductive.

    In an era of declining resources, tasking the military with yet another requirement that must by law be filled by a senior officer who is needed elsewhere simply doesn’t make sense.  If that requirement isn’t military-unique (or necessary to support potential deployment to combat) and can be met by someone not in uniform, then it probably should be.   We have too few serving in uniform today to fill actual requirements as it is.  That’s why we have so damn many contractors deployed in combat zones supporting the force.

    Further, Representative Wittman’s proposal is IMO nothing but a classic “feel good” knee-jerk response that frankly accomplishes little other than good PR.  Civilians today run all other US national cemeteries.  Those cemeteries are run well or poorly not because of the type of clothing worn by the individuals working at those cemeteries.  Rather, they’re run well or poorly because of the quality of the individuals working at those cemeteries.

    If the current incumbent at Arlington isn’t doing the job well enough, they can indeed be replaced with someone who can.  But IMO we simply don’t need to create yet another inside-the-beltway billet for a soon-to retire O6 (or above)  to do that.

    Just my opinion, for what it’s worth.