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By David Lord - March 2005
Puerto Vallarta American Legion Post 14 - From June 14th through the 16th of June, the Canto del Sol Resort will host the Department of Mexico/Latin American Convention Puerto Vallarta. The Resort has given special pricing for this event and offers exceptional discounts to all Veterans wishing to attend. Please contact me by e-mail to gain the information. Area restaurants are invited to submit their discounted prices for those wishing to contribute to an exceptional event.
As reported, tough road for Army
Fewer Enlistees Are in Pipeline; Many Being Rushed Into Service
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 21, 2005; Page A01
The active-duty Army is in danger of failing to meet its recruiting goals, and is beginning to suffer from manpower strains like those that have dropped the National Guard and Reserves below full strength, according to Army figures and interviews with senior officers .
For the first time since 2001, the Army began the fiscal year in October with only 18.4 percent of the year's target of 80,000 active-duty recruits already in the pipeline. That amounts to less than half of last year's figure and falls well below the Army's goal of 25 percent.
Meanwhile, the Army is rushing incoming recruits into training as quickly as it can. Compared with last year, it has cut by 50 percent the average number of days between the time a recruit signs up and enters boot camp. It is adding more than 800 active-duty recruiters to the 5,201 who were on the job last year, as attracting each enlistee requires more effort and monetary incentives.
Comment on the draft: It is no great surprise that we will use the Draft before we are out of the Middle East conflicts, those that exist now and those to come. I find it absurd that the Army and elected Government Officials continue to act as if the Draft Boards have not already been assembled. A visitor to my office in Puerto Vallarta is the Head of one such board in the United States and it was activated before the Iraq war was started by President Bush 18 months ago. The purpose was to gather all needed information on those turning age 18 and over, up to the age of mid 40's.
By Rush Limbaugh, sent in by Angela Corelis:
"I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.
If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable. (Rush Limbaugh is off on this figure, it was $6,000 until this war, it is now $12,000.) Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.
Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harm's way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers.
We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.
You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense?
However, our own U.S. Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system.
If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.
I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting." THE END.
Comment: The fact is money cannot replace these valuable Patriots, but there survivors are going without medical care, living on Death Pensions or Dependants Indemnity Compensation checks, with total income far below the Poverty level. That we as a Nation continue to un-fund Veterans Health Care. These families and all Veterans with War Time Service, have a SLAP IN THE FACE as payment, after they have served there Country Honorably.
NO WONDER MEN AND WOMEN WILL NO LONGER SERVE AMERICA AS A VOLUNTEER FORCE! What warrior will defend with his life, a country that will not care for his survivors?
David Lord
David Lord served in Vietnam as combat Marine for 1st Battalion 26th Marines, during which time he was severely wounded. He received the Purple Heart and the Presidential Unit Citation for his actions during the war in Vietnam .
In Mexico , David now represents all veterans south of the U.S. border all the way to Panama , before the V.A. and the Board of Veterans Appeals. He is Department of Mexico/Latin America Service Officer, and Commander Puerto Vallarta / Banderas Bay 's (new post #14). He was also elected to a one-year term (2004-05) as 1st Vice Commander for the American Legion's Department of Mexico/Latin America. He is the only Accredited Department of Veterans Affairs Service Officer in Mexico/Latin America, and the Regional Coordinator for the American Consul, Guadalajara, - Medical Program to assist veterans with medical needs & benefits processing, using the Mexican doctors and hospitals/clinics in Vallarta to have treatments paid by V.A. Insurance directly to the doctors or hospitals with U.S. Treasury checks.
David Lord provides service to veterans at no fee. In order to do this he works at Bayside Properties, 160 Francisca Rodriguez St. on the South Side. Tel.: 223-4424. Veterans are welcome to drop in and discuss claims / benefits to which they are entitled by law. David would appreciate the opportunity to serve veterans with any real estate sales or purchase decisions. Veterans always come first for benefits, so why not for business too?
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