VETERANS

CRISIS AT THE VA IS OLD NEWS
by David Lucier
The big news these days is the havoc in Iraq; the
news is filled with stories of veterans who fought that
war and now watching Iraq come apart at the seams.
The second story is how badly the VA is failing
veterans.
What seems to be big news for many is very old
news for others. I turned 21 on the Ho Chi Minh
trail, crossed the border into Iraq when I was 55 and
returned home from Afghanistan when I was 60.
In 1975, 2,700,000 Vietnam veterans watched on TV as tanks rolled
into Saigon. In 2014, I am watching the disintegration of a country
on TV, the internet, and on social media.
As Iraq crumbles into a sectarian bloodbath, the pain and
frustration in the voices of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans
across the country is loud and clear. For a Vietnam veteran, the
perspective is, “Been there, done that”.
Homelessness among Vietnam veterans is epidemic and has been
for almost 50 years. Today, Americans are just waking up to the fact
that our recent crop of newly minted veterans are “at risk of being
homeless.” For a Vietnam veteran, the perspective is, “Been there,
done that”.
Crisis at the VA is, again, old news. It dates back 45 years and the
American public seemed to think that today’s crisis is somehow
something new, it’s not. In fact, the crisis in the 1970’s makes this
crisis look like a call for “a cleanup in aisle 5”. For a Vietnam veteran,
the perspective is, “Been there, done that”.
Let’s put it in perspective: over 58,000 US Service members were
killed in Vietnam and over 300,000 were wounded (physically) and
about 6,800 have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and about
52,000 wounded.
From Vietnam to Afghanistan, veterans have long been met with,
“Thanks for your service” or “Welcome home.” For a Vietnam veteran,
the perspective is, “Been there, done that”.
There is one thing all veterans need today and it’s not more lip
service. It’s called “investment”. Veterans need investment because of
our country’s failures in the past and investment in success for the
future. We need investment in reform, in process, in capacity, in
education, in jobs and in wellness.
I only hope that one day, as a veteran, I can say we finally got the
investment needed and then say proudly, “Been there, done that.”
by Corey Harris
There are no Americans who
invest more in their homes,
their communities, and their
nation than veterans,
firefighters, and law
enforcement officers.
I challenge anyone to give a
compelling reason why that
statement isn’t true.
Whether or not any of those who have served
in uniform have been in combat or deployed to a
foreign land, we all chose a career where it was
possible we would give our lives for our nation.
There are very few groups that are more highly
impacted by legislation from the national to the
local level than veterans, so it is baffling to me
when I hear a veteran tell me they aren’t civically
engaged. I am appalled that they are not
volunteering for a cause, that they don’t watch
the news, or worst of all, that they don’t vote.
What were we fighting for then We are at a
critical juncture for all the servicemembers
transitioning to civilian life. The choices we make
in the remaining years of this decade will be
responsible for deciding if our veterans are a key
part of building the next greatest generation or
are wrongly cast aside as they were during the
70’s. I know we all have our reasons for civic
disengagement, but I am writing this to tell you
the time for it is over.
THE VETERANS’ CULTURE
Service members have a long tradition of being
suspicious of the government that sends them to
war. As a military culture, we also value not
being involved in partisan politics because
civilian leadership is preferable. We don’t ever
want to have the military run the government. It’s
not very conducive to a healthy democracy. But
veterans who have left the service have no such
conflict of interest. Unfortunately we carry that
important piece of our shared culture into our
civilian lives.
WHY WE SHOULD ENGAGE
I used to work for Congressman Harry Mitchell
as his Veterans Outreach Coordinator. I also
worked on his campaign for re-election. We would
call “likely undecided” voters. I’m sure you’ve all
received these calls right in the middle of dinner.
Our goal was to tell Harry’s story, talk about
what he had accomplished, and get those voters
to verbally commit to voting for him. During
those calls, we found something incredible. The
average volunteer caller would be able to
convince 1 in 10 “undecided voters” to support
Harry. When the volunteer identified themselves
as a teacher, that positive response went up to 3
in 10 conversions. Veterans, who self-identified,
converted five in ten…that’s every other
“undecided voter” said they would vote for
Congressman Mitchell when they heard a veteran
talk about what Harry had accomplished for his
constituents.
Think about that. This is an amazing statistic
that reflects our perception in the community as
credible, civic opinion makers. To be clear, I am
not advocating for anyone to choose my side of
the political fence (at least, not in this article).
Like all of us, I have my biases and work to
convince others of its value, but this article is not
about winning a philosophical debate to decide
what direction our nation should be heading.
The point of the discourse is to choose a
direction and to do something about it. Be
invested in its growth and its forward
momentum.
We, as a community of veterans, need to get in
the game and pick a side…or go ahead and create
a new side.
BUT PLEASE, BE INFORMED
Like my father always said to me, and most of
your fathers probably said to you, “Measure
twice, and cut once.” I would extend that advice,
“Think twice, and speak once.
With the added weight of our words as opinion
leaders, we owe it to the people who look to us for
civic wisdom to be educated on the issues we are
addressing. I urge us all to never take political
arguments at face value. If something sounds
crazy, look it up on a credible fact checking
resource or pull news from multiple media
sources with multiple points of view. With so
many news options today, it is too easy to stay in
our own political and ideological foxhole, never
challenging our own assumptions about how the
world works or who is on our side.
Having lived in this world of “spin and
messaging”, I can assure you the facts are almost
always more complex than the sound-bites you
hear on the 5 o’clock news or see in the headline
of the email your crazy uncle sent you. As human
beings, we tend to believe the messages that are
consistent with our own world-view and doubt any
truths that may exist in an opposing world-view.
Thomas Jefferson is credited with saying “An
educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival
as a free people.” According to the official Thomas
Jefferson Foundation’s historical website
monticello.org he never uttered nor wrote those words.
PHONE SCAMMERS TARGET INJURED VETERANS
by Reverend Austin Miles
The most shameless marketing scheme of all time, driven by people
with no conscience whatsoever, targets injured veterans as they try to
make an appointment to see their doctors at VA health clinics.
Somehow they have hacked the VA health care phone system as
discovered this morning when an attempt was made to make an
appointment in the Martinez VA Clinic.
After the government number was dialed, a greeting came on
sounding like the VA but a bit different as the operator told the caller
if he was over 56 to press the #1 button. This was done.
Next the operator said that this veteran was ‘qualified’ to get a free health alert system, with
buttons to press if accepted or rejected. It was rejected. You can bet there would be money
required for 'processing.'
Next the operator stated that I qualified for a $100 gift card for Walmart, and some other
stores. To receive it, I must pay a small amount and should give my credit card number. Sure!
When this veteran pushed the rejection number, the operator stated with hostility: “Please
hang up the phone!” Then I was cut off, meaning I had to start all over.
Furious, I called the VA number again, this time reached the legitimate operator and
reported this scam before making the appointment needed. The operator said she would report
this to her supervisor immediately and was quick to say that this was NOT the VA's message.
The idea of the scam was to get the veteran's credit card number which could be used tor
identify theft and for charging other merchandise to it.
VETERANS BEWARE! HANG UP IMMEDIATELY WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THEN NOTIFY THE
VA. If possible record the message when it comes up at the beginning of a call. Nobody could
be lower than those who would try to scam wounded warriors.
SOUTHWEST GAS EMPLOYEES SUPPORT MAM
MAM raises $90,000 for military
THE VETERAN’S INVESTMENT IN AMERICA
Dbacks & Sanderson
Ford give to MAM
The point is valid though. We need to be
involved and informed. But the second point is
almost more important; we must make a habit
out of refusing to accept policy at face value.
Dissension is a national virtue. Supporting a
party or individual without a critical eye to what
you are supporting is down-right un-American.
Accountability is for everyone
Finally, hold our elected officials accountable.
We all know they love to tout their support of
veterans, but, there is a very relevant flip side to
that coin because the last thing they want is a
group of angry veterans telling the public that
they haven’t done enough, or worse, they have
worked at cross-purposes for our well-being.
Write a letter to them and send a copy to the
Arizona Republic and the ARIZONA VETERANS
MAGAZINE. When they do keep their promises to
us and vote in our interest, stand with them.
There are a whole host of issues we need our
legislators to support us on that are specific to
the veteran community. At the state level, where
do candidates stand on a veteran hiring tax
credit Ask them if they will fund our State
Housing Trust Fund which is responsible for
funding facilities for homeless veterans. How are
they helping our veteran students graduate and
get a good job Ask our federally elected officials
directly about our broken VA system and what
votes they have made to support real change
How many more cuts are there going to be to our
retirements and benefits We don’t have a big pile
of cash to give them, but what we do have is the
weight of our words, our civic credibility as
veterans. They won’t help us if you don’t tell them
what we need.
If you want to be more involved, contact me at
armyharris@gmail.com.
I commit to being as unbiased as possible when
directing you to an organization, campaign or
cause. But whatever you do, be involved, be
informed. We were literally built on the precept
that this is our nation. Our elected officials will
be responsive if we are loud enough. Make your
voice heard. Engage in our community’s dialogue
as to our future. No matter your point of view or
party, our future will be richer for having heard
the collective voices of our veterans.
No single person has earned the right to have
their voices recorded for posterity, to have their
words indelibly etched on the parchment of our
nation’s ever-evolving dialogue, or permanently
engraved into the bedrock of our democracy more
than you, the few who were willing to die for it.