VETERANS FOCUS: ISSUES

VETERANS REHABILITATION CENTER - SAN DIEGO, CA

A proposed rehabilitation facility for veterans in San Diego is garnering opposition from local residents who say they support the troops just not in their backyard. The head of one Washington-based veterans advocacy group called their opposition shameful. "President Obama and the VA along with states are finally starting to do the right things to help veterans. It is shameful that someone would stand in the way," Patrick Bellon, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, told Stars and Stripes.

"They just may not want to come face to face with the consequences of the wars from which they have been so insulated, but our veterans who fought in those wars need help nonetheless. It seems wrong that 1 percent would bear the brunt of these conflicts and a community would just scoff at an opportunity to repay that sacrifice." The building is a half-block long, on San Diego Avenue in the citys Old Town neighborhood, and sits vacant. It was formerly used by the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. According to the website of the local ABC affiliate, 10news.com, the San Diego City Council will vote on whether to allow it in the coming months.

The proposed 40-bed center, with single rooms, would be intended for veterans who need a place to live for one to six months. The facility would also have in-house medical and psychiatric care. Neighbors say they dont want it, and they insist that they 're mostly against it for the vets' own good. "For the vets, I dont think it's a suitable place. They need wide open spaces. They shouldn't be in a residential neighborhood," said Janet Houts, whom the website described as "a longtime Old Town resident."

Neighbors also said the bars, liquor stores and loud noise in the neighborhood were not ideal for rehabbing veterans. "These all could be very impactful to somebody recovering from post-traumatic stress," resident Lisa Mortensen said. "We have been called unpatriotic," Houts said. "Were anything but that. We have a VA facility down the street. We have a mental facility (on a nearby street)."

Local veterans dont buy it. The news report points out that the building Houts refers to, apparently the Vietnam Veterans Village of San Diego, is separated from the neighborhood by Interstate 5. "So many of us served, and to come back and see our community not want us to be part of it is very [disheartening]," said Navy retiree Tara Wise. "It makes you feel like your service was for nothing."

Story updated:31 December 2011: 19:30

WHAT IS A "VA SERVICE CONNECTION"

A chronic residual from an illness or injury that happened to the veteran while that veteran was on active duty may qualify as a service-connected (SC) condition. A veteran did not have to serve in a war or during a period of wartime, to have a SC condition. For any medical condition to be service-connected, the first thing a veteran has to do is submit their claim to the VA for adjudication. If it is the veterans first application for benefits, they need to complete VA Form 21-526. The VA has created an alternative to submitting the paper form. Veterans can actually apply on-line by going to http://www.va.gov. On that page, place the cursor over Veteran Services. That will cause a sub-menus to display. Click on the link to Disability Compensation. The apply on-line link is on this page. If you are mailing in your form and have any of the following material, attach it to your application:

• Discharge or separation papers (DD214 or equivalent)
• Dependency records (marriage & children's birth certificates)
• Medical evidence (doctor & hospital reports)

Once the VA Form 21-526, or on-line application, is submitted, the VA will notify the veteran the application has been received. The veteran will then be scheduled for a Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination. The VA will arrange for this examination. The examination may be at a VA Hospital or the VA Regional Office may refer the veteran to a non-VA provider. Either way, the VA will pay the veteran for travel to their appointment. Make sure you either get your travel pay or submit the appropriate paperwork for it to be mailed to you before leaving your appointment. After all the medical information has been received, and all supporting information has been obtained, the VA will adjudicate the claim. Three elements must be met in order for a condition to be SC.

1. Evidence of in-service relationship. What actually happened on active duty that caused or contributed to the current medical condition? Was there an injury? Was this a disease? Was the veteran exposed to something? The burden of proof is on the veteran to establish this relationship.
2. Current diagnosis. This is pretty straight forward. What is the actual diagnosis? The veteran needs to ensure they received a diagnosis by a licensed provider if they are using a non-VA provider and the veteran should be diagnosed by the appropriate discipline. If the veteran is seeing a Dentist and asks them about a heart condition, the VA may not find the condition service-connected.
3. Medical nexus. What is medical connection between the current diagnosis and the in-service occurrence. This is quite often the part of the claim that will or wont connect a condition to service.

Once all three elements have been answered, the VA adjudicator can determine the claim. If the condition was related to active duty and the physician finds the current diagnosis is at least as likely as not related to active duty, then the claim may be service-connected.

Story Updated:02 January2012: 15:07

A SOLDIER OF CHAPTER 0049 DIED TODAY: 13 Nov 2011

Frank Kaigler, a Patriot of Chapter 0049 passed away quietly in his sleep on 13 November 2011. Frank was a member of many San Diego organizations, civic and veterans alike.

Among the many accolades earned by Patriot Kaigler was a 32nd-degree free Mason, a holder of the Combat Infantryman Badge, a Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal and the Purple Heart.

Frank joined the Military Order of the Purple Heart (Chapter 0049) in the spring of 1992. Though severely restricted by war-wounds, Frank attended as many chapter functions as his life could accomodate.

Patriot Frank Kaigler will be interred at Miramar National Cemetery on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.

See: obit

Story Updated: 21 November 2011:15:46

WHAT IS A "VA AUTOMOBILE GRANT"

Financial assistance, in the form of a grant, is available to purchase a new or used automobile (or other conveyance) to accommodate a veteran or servicemember with certain disabilities that resulted from an injury or disease incurred or aggravated during active military service. The grant may also be paid, if disabilities are a result of medical treatment, examination, vocational rehabilitation, or compensated work therapy provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The grant is paid directly to the seller of the automobile for the total price (up to $11,000) of the automobile. The veteran or servicemember may only receive the automobile grant once in his/her lifetime. A veteran or servicemember must have one of the following disabilities to qualify for the automobile grant:

• Loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both feet;
• Loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both hands; or
• Permanent impairment of vision in both eyes to a certain degree.

Those qualified for the automobile grant, and veterans or servicemembers with ankylosis (immobility of the joint) of one or both knees or hips resulting from an injury or disease incurred or aggravated by active military service may also qualify for the adaptive equipment grant.

Adaptive equipment includes, but is not limited to, power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seats, and special equipment necessary to assist the eligible person into and out of the vehicle. Contact should be made with your local VA medical center's Prosthetic Department prior to purchasing any equipment. The adaptive equipment grant may be paid more than once, and it may be paid to either the seller or the veteran.

You can apply for the automobile and/or the special adaptive equipment grant by completing VA Form 21-4502, Application for Automobile or Other Conveyance and Adaptive Equipment and submitting it to your local VA regional office. The instructions on the VA Form 21-4502 contain a list of adaptive equipment that has been pre-approved for particular disabilities. After you complete and submit Section I of the application, VA will complete Section II and return the original to you. You are responsible for obtaining the invoice from the seller, updating Section III, and submitting the form to your local VA regional office for payment. If you are entitled to adaptive equipment only (i.e., service connected for ankylosis of knees or hips) you should complete VA Form 10-1394, Application for Adaptive Equipment - Motor Vehicle and submit it to your local VA medical center. Additionally, VA Form 10-1394 should be completed for approval of equipment not specified on the VA Form 21-4502. For More Information, Call Toll-Free 1-800-827-1000 or visit http://www.va.gov.

Story updated: 01January2012: 21:10

WHAT TO EXPECT IN A "VA COMPENSATION & PENSION (C&P)" EXAMINATION

Story updated: 1January2012: 22:45

Story updated: 13 December 2011, 10:00

ANOTHER SIGNPOST ALONG THE WAY FOR VIETNAM VETERANS

A. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Update

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Update 09: Some interesting and sobering items about the Vietnam Wall.

• There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

• The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

• The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass., listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.

• There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

• 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

• The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old 33,103 were 18 years old.

• 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

• 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

• One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

• 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam.

• 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last scheduled day in Vietnam.

• 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

• Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

• 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia.

• 8 Women are on the Wall -- nursing the wounded.

• 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

• Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

• West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

• The Marines of Morenci AZ - In the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

• The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

• The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

• The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 ~ 2,415 casualties were incurred.

[Source: Unknown Sep 2011

Story Updated: 18 October 2011: 16:26

ANOTHER LOOK AT A SIGNPOST WITH A VIET-NAM POINT OF VIEW

For those unfamiliar with the name John Lehman, a Goggle search will bring up a "quick read" to bring you up to speed on the U. S. Navy Secretary. John F. Lehman, Jr., is an investment banker and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration and in 2003-04 was a member of the 9/11 Commission.

As the 65th Secretary of the Navy, Lehman launched the idea that America needed a 600-ship Navy to counter the Soviet threat. Lehman developed this theorem and rammed it through the Pentagon at a very strategic time in defense spending. Lehman's ideas were not readily accepted by the power brokers in Washington, D.C. but he was successful, nonetheless.

Lehman was 38 years old when appointed as SECNAV.

In this essay, Lehman foresees a decline in Naval Aviation in an article prepared for Proceeding Magazine. He titles this analysis: "Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead?" He believes that "political correctness" is wringing the best of naval aviators out of the Navy and the culture of risk-taking that has been crucial to flying is equally suffering. He cites the "Tailhook" investigation that looms from the 1991 congressional investigation as the start of it all. Read and consider.

Ulysses Miller, Jr. - Webmaster for Chapter 0049

The Decline of Naval Aviation

Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead?
Proceedings Magazine - September 2011 Vol. 137/9/1,303

By John Lehman


The swaggering-flyer mystique forged over the past century has been stymied in recent years by political correctness.

We celebrate the 100th anniversary of U.S. naval aviation this year, but the culture that has become legend was born in controversy, with battleship admirals and Marine generals seeing little use for airplanes. Even after naval aviators proved their worth in World War I, naval aviation faced constant conflict within the Navy and Marine Corps, from the War Department, and from skeptics in Congress. Throughout the interwar period, its culture was forged largely unnoted by the public.

It first burst into the American consciousness 69 years ago when a few carrier aviators changed the course of history at the World War II Battle of Midway. For the next three years the world was fascinated by these glamorous young men who, along with the Leathernecks, dominated the newsreels of the war in the Pacific. Most were sophisticated and articulate graduates of the Naval Academy and the Ivy League, and as such they were much favored for Path News interviews and War Bond tours. Their casualty rates from accidents and combat were far higher than other branches of the naval service, and aviators were paid nearly a third more than non-flying shipmates. In typical humor, a pilot told one reporter: We dont make more money, we just make it faster.

Landing a touchy World War II fighter on terra firma was difficult enough, but to land one on a pitching greasy deck required quite a different level of skill and sangfroid. It took a rare combination of hand-eye coordination, innate mechanical sense, instinctive judgment, accurate risk assessment, and most of all, calmness under extreme pressure. People with such a rare combination of talents will always be few in number. The current generation of 9-G jets landing at over 120 knots hasnt made it any easier.

Little wonder that poker was a favorite recreation and gallows humor the norm. In his book Crossing the Line, Professor Alvin Kernan recounts when his TBF had a bad launch off the USS Suwanee (CVE-27) in 1945. He was trying desperately to get out of the sinking plane as the escort carrier sped by a few feet away. Looking up, he saw the face of his shipmate, Cletus Powell (who had just won money from him playing blackjack), leaning out of a porthole shouting Kernan, you dont have to pay. Get out, get out for Gods sake. No wonder such men had a certain swagger that often irritated their non-flying brothers in arms.

Louis Johnsons Folly

By wars end more than 100 carriers were in commission. But when Louis Johnson replaced the first Secretary of Defense, Jim Forrestalhimself one of the original naval aviators in World War Ihe tried to eliminate both the Marine Corps and naval aviation. By 1950 Johnson had ordered the decommissioning of all but six aircraft carriers. Most historians count this as one of the important factors in bringing about the invasion of South Korea, supported by both China and the Soviet Union. After that initial onslaught, no land airbases were available for the Air Force to fight back, and all air support during those disastrous months came from the USS Valley Forge (CV-45), the only carrier left in the western Pacific. She was soon joined by the other two carriers remaining in the Pacific.

Eventually enough land bases were recovered to allow the Air Force to engage in force, and more carriers were recommissioned, manned by World War II vets hastily recalled to active duty. James Micheners The Bridges at Toko-Ri and Admiral James Holloways Aircraft Carriers at War together capture that moment perfectly. Only later was it learned that many of the enemy pilots were battle-hardened Russian veterans of World War II.

By the time of the armistice, the Cold War was well under way, and for the next 43 years, naval aviation was at the leading edge of the conflict around the globe. As before, aviators suffered very high casualties throughout. Training and operational accidents took a terrible toll. Jet fighters on straight decks operating without the sophisticated electronics or reliable ejection seats that evolved in later decades had to operate come hell or high water as one crisis followed another in the Taiwan Strait, Cuba, and many lesser-known fronts. Between1953 and 1957, hundreds of naval aviators were killed in an average of 1,500 crashes per year, while others died when naval intelligence gatherers like the EC-121 were shot down by North Koreans, Soviets, and Chinese. In those years carrier aviators had only a one-in-four chance of surviving 20 years of service.

Vietnam and the Cold War

The Vietnam War was an unprecedented feat of endurance, courage, and frustration in ten years of constant combat. Naval aviators flew against the most sophisticated Soviet defensive systems and highly trained and effective Vietnamese pilots. But unlike any previous conflict, they had to operate under crippling political restrictions, well known to the enemy. Antiaircraft missiles and guns were placed in villages and other locations known to be immune from attack. The kinds of targets that had real strategic value were protected while hundreds of aviators lives and thousands of aircraft were lost attacking easily rebuilt bridges and suspected truck parks, as the U.S. government indulged its academic game theories.

Stephen Coonts Flight of the Intruder brilliantly expressed the excruciating frustration from this kind of combat. During that period, scores of naval aviators were killed or taken prisoner. More than 100 squadron commanders and executive officers were lost. The heroism and horror of the POW experience for men such as John McCain and Jim Stockdale were beyond anything experienced since the war with Japan.

Naturally, when these men hit liberty ports, and when they returned to their bases between deployments, their partying was as intense as their combat. The legendary stories of Cubi Point, Olongapo City, and the wartime Tailhook conventions in Las Vegas grew with each passing year.

Perhaps the greatest and least known contribution of naval aviation was its role in bringing the Cold War to a close. President Ronald Reagan believed that the United States could win the Cold War without combat. Along with building the B-1 and B-2 bombers and the Peacekeeper missile, and expanding the Army to 18 divisions, President Reagan built the 600-ship Navy and, more important, approved the Navy recommendation to begin at once pursuing a forward strategy of aggressive exercising around the vulnerable coasts of Russia. This demonstrated to the Soviets that we could defeat the combined Warsaw Pact navies and use the seas to strike and destroy their vital strategic assets with carrier-based air power.

Nine months after the Presidents inauguration, three U.S. and two Royal Navy carriers executed offensive exercises in the Norwegian Sea and Baltic. In this and subsequent massive exercises there and in the northwest Pacific carried out every year, carrier aircraft proved that they could operate effectively in ice and fog, penetrate the best defenses, and strike all of the bases and nodes of the Soviet strategic nuclear fleet. Subsequent testimony from members of the Soviet General Staff attested that this was a major factor in the deliberations and the loss of confidence in the Soviet government that led to its collapse.

During those years naval aviation adapted to many new policies, the removal of the last vestiges of institutional racial discrimination, and the first winging of women as naval aviators and their integration into ships and squadrons.

"Break the Culture"

1991 marked the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the Cold War. But as naval aviation shared in this triumph, the year also marked the start of tragedy. The Tailhook Convention that took place in September that year began a scandal with a negative impact on naval aviation that continues to this day. The over-the-top parties of combat aviators were overlooked during the Vietnam War but had become accidents waiting to happen in the postwar era.

Whatever the facts of what took place there, it set off investigations within the Navy, the Department of Defense, the Senate, and the House that were beyond anything since the investigations and hearings regarding the Pearl Harbor attack. Part of what motivated this grotesquely disproportionate witch hunt was pure partisan politics and the deep frustration of Navy critics (and some envious begrudgers within the Navy) of the glamorous treatment accorded to the Navy and its aviators in Hollywood and the media, epitomized by the movie Top Gun. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), chair of the House Armed Services Committee investigation, declared that her mission was to break the culture, of naval aviation. One can make the case that she succeeded.

What has changed in naval aviation since Tailhook? First, we should review the social/cultural, and then professional changes. Many but not all were direct results of Tailhook.

"De-Glamorization of Alcohol"

Perhaps in desperation, the first reaction of Pentagon leadership to the congressional witch hunt was to launch a massive global jihad against alcohol, tellingly described as de-glamorization. While alcohol was certainly a factor in the Tailhook scandal, it was absolutely not a problem for naval aviation as a whole. There was no evidence that there were any more aviators with an alcohol problem than there were in the civilian population, and probably a good deal fewer.

As a group, naval aviators have always been fastidious about not mixing alcohol and flying. But social drinking was always a part of off-duty traditional activities like hail-and-farewell parties and especially the traditional Friday happy hour. Each Friday on every Navy and Marine air station, most aviators not on duty turned up at the officers club at 1700 to relax and socialize, tell bad jokes, and play silly games like dead bug. But there was also an invaluable professional function, because happy hours provided a kind of sanctuary where junior officers could roll the dice with commanders, captains, and admirals, ask questions that could never be asked while on duty, listen avidly to the war stories of those more senior, and absorb the lore and mores of the warrior tribe.

When bounds of decorum were breached, or someone became over-refreshed, as occasionally happened, they were usually taken care of by their peers. Only in the worst cases would a young junior officer find himself in front of the skipper on Monday morning. Names like Mustin Beach, Trader Jons, Miramar, and Oceana were a fixed part of the culture for anyone commissioned before 1991. A similar camaraderie took place in the chiefs clubs, the acey-deucy clubs, and the sailors clubs.

Now all that is gone. Most officers and non-commissioned officers clubs were closed and happy hours banned. A few clubs remain, but most have been turned into family centers for all ranks and are, of course, empty. No officers dare to be seen with a drink in their hand. The JOs do their socializing as far away from the base as possible, and all because the inquisitors blamed the abuses of Tailhook 91 on alcohol abuse. It is fair to say that naval aviation was slow to adapt to the changes in society against alcohol abuse and that corrections were overdue, especially against tolerance of driving while under the influence.

But once standards of common sense were ignored in favor of political correctness, there were no limits to the spread of its domination. Not only have alcohol infractions anonymously reported on the hot-line become career-enders, but suspicions of sexual harassment, homophobia, telling of risqu jokes, and speech likely to offend favored groups all find their way into fitness reports. And if actual hot-line investigations are then launched, that is usually the end of a career, regardless of the outcome. There is now zero-tolerance for any missteps in these areas.

Turning Warriors into Bureaucrats

On the professional side, it is not only the zero-tolerance of infractions of political correctness but the smothering effects of the explosive growth of bureaucracy in the Pentagon. When the Department of Defense was created in 1947, the headquarters staff was limited to 50 billets. Today, 750,000 full time equivalents are on the headquarters staff. This has gradually expanded the time and cost of producing weapon systems, from the 4 years from concept to deployment of Polaris, to the projected 24 years of the F-35.

But even more damaging, these congressionally created new bureaucracies are demanding more and more meaningless paperwork from the operating forces. According to the most recent rigorous survey, each Navy squadron must prepare and submit some 780 different written reports annually, most of which are never read by anyone but still require tedious gathering of every kind of statistic for every aspect of squadron operations. As a result, the average aviator spends a very small fraction of his or her time on duty actually flying.

Job satisfaction has steadily declined. In addition to paperwork, the bureaucracy now requires officers to attend mandatory courses in sensitivity to womens issues, sensitivity and integration of openly homosexual personnel, and how to reintegrate into civilian society when leaving active duty. This of course is perceived as a massive waste of time by aviators, and is offensive to them in the inherent assumption that they are no longer officers and gentlemen but coarse brutes who will abuse women and gays, and not know how to dress or hold a fork in civilian society unless taught by GS-12s.

One of the greatest career burdens added to naval aviators since the Cold War has been the Goldwater-Nichols requirement to have served at least four years of duty on a joint staff to be considered for flag, and for junior officers to have at least two years of such joint duty even to screen for command. As a result, the joint staffs in Washington and in all the combatant commands have had to be vastly increased to make room. In addition, nearly 250 new Joint Task Force staffs have been created to accommodate these requirements. Thus, when thinking about staying in or getting out, young Navy and Marine aviators look forward to far less flight time when not deployed, far more paperwork, and many years of boring staff duty.

Zero-Tolerance Is Intolerable

Far more damaging than bureaucratic bloat is the intolerable policy of zero-tolerance applied by the Navy and the Marine Corps. One strike, one mistake, one DUI, and you are out. The Navy has produced great leaders throughout its history. In every era the majority of naval officers are competent but not outstanding. But there has always been a critical mass of fine leaders. They tended to search for and recognize the qualities making up the right stuff, as young JOs looked up the chain and emulated the top leaders, while the seniors in turn looked down and identified and mentored youngsters with promise.

By nature, these kinds of war-winning leaders make mistakes when they are young and need guidanceand often protection from the system. Today, alas, there is much evidence that this critical mass of such leaders is being lost. Chester Nimitz put his whole squadron of destroyers on the rocks by making mistakes. But while being put in purgatory for a while, he was protected by those seniors who recognized a potential great leader. In todays Navy, Nimitz would be gone. Any seniors trying to protect him would themselves be accused of a career-ending cover-up.

Because the best aviators are calculated risk-takers, they have always been particularly vulnerable to the system. But now in the age of political correctness and zero-tolerance, they are becoming an endangered species.

Today, a young officer with the right stuff is faced on commissioning with making a ten-year commitment if he or she wants to fly, which weeds out some with the best potential. Then after winging and an operational squadron tour, they know well the frustrations outlined here. They have seen many of their role models bounced out of the Navy for the bad luck of being breathalyzed after two beers, or allowing risqu forecastle follies.

"Dancing on the Edge of a Cliff"

They have not seen senior officers put their own careers on the line to prevent injustice. They see before them at least 14 years of sea duty, interspersed with six years of bureaucratic staff duty in order to be considered for flag rank. And now they see all that family separation and sacrifice as equal to dancing on the edge of a cliff. One mistake or unjust accusation, and they are over. They can no longer count on a sea-daddy coming to their defense.

Today, the right kind of officers with the right stuff still decide to stay for a career, but many more are putting in their letters in numbers that make a critical mass of future stellar leaders impossible. In todays economic environment, retention numbers look okay, but those statistics are misleading.

Much hand-wringing is being done among naval aviators (active-duty, reserve, and retired) about the remarkable fact that there has only been one aviator chosen as Chief of Naval Operations during the past 30 years. For most of the last century there were always enough outstanding leaders among aviators, submariners, and surface warriors to ensure a rough rotation among the communities when choosing a CNO. The causes of this sudden change are not hard to see. Vietnam aviator losses severely thinned the ranks of leaders and mentors; Tailhook led to the forced or voluntary retirement of more than 300 carrier aviators, including many of the finest, like Bob Stumpf, former skipper of the Blue Angels.

There are, of course, the armchair strategists and think-tankers who herald the arrival of unmanned aerial vehicles as eliminating the need for naval aviators and their culture, since future naval flying will be done from unified bases in Nevada, with operators requiring a culture rather closer computer geeks. This is unlikely.

As the aviator culture fades from the Navy, what is being lost? Great naval leaders have and will come from each of the communities, and have absorbed virtues from all of them. But each of the three communities has its unique cultural attributes. Submariners are imbued with the precision of engineering mastery and the chess players adherence to the disciplines of the long game; surface sailors retain the legacy of John Paul Jones, David G. Farragut and Arleigh 31 Knot Burke, and have been the principal repository of strategic thinking and planning. Aviators have been the principal source of offensive thinking, best described by Napoleon as Laudace, laudace, toujours laudace! (Audacity, audacity, always audacity!)

Those attributes of naval aviatorswillingness to take intelligent calculated risk, self-confidence, even a certain swaggerthat are invaluable in wartime are the very ones that make them particularly vulnerable in todays zero-tolerance Navy. The political correctness thought police, like Inspector Javert in Les Misrables, are out to get them and are relentless.

The history of naval aviation is one of constant change and challenge. While the current era of bureaucracy and political correctness, with its new requirements of integrating women and openly gay individuals, is indeed challenging, it can be dealt with without compromising naval excellence. But what does truly challenge the future of the naval services is the mindless pursuit of zero-tolerance.

A Navy led by men and women who have never made a serious mistake will be a Navy that will fail.

Dr. Lehman was the 65th Secretary of the Navy and a member of the 9/11 Commission.

Story updated: 12 September 2011: 15:00

CHAPTER 49 ELECTION RESULTS

Chapter 0049 held it April meeting on Saturday, 16 April 2011. At the meeting, the offices of Commander, Sr. Vice Commander, Jr. Vice Commander, Judge Advocate, Sergeant-At-Arms, Finance Officer, and Three-Year Trustee were open to election. The results of the voting and election are as follow:

• Patriot Joseph A. Petrini was elected Chapter Commander for 2011-12.
• Patriot Jack R. Harkins was elected Sr. Vice Commander for 2011-12.
• Patriot Oscar Polster was elected to Jr. Vice Commander for 2011-12.
• Patriot Thomas Adams was elected Judge Advocate for 2011-12.
• Patriot George Waller was elected Sergeant-At-Arms for 2011-12.
• Patriot Robert Hernandez was elected Finance Officer for 2011-12.
• Patriot Jamal Boubetana was elected Three-Year Trustee for 2011-12.

Camaraderie of Patriots before meeting

MOPH Podium at VFW Post 3788

Patriot Bob Holloway briefs one-side of hall.

The other side of hall listens attentively to Patriot Holloway

New Officers of Ch. 0049: L-R:Cmd., Joe Petrini;Trustee 3 Year, Jamal Boubetana; Finance Office, R. Hernandez; Judge Advocate, Tom Adams; Sgt.-At-Arms, G. Waller; Jr. Vice Cmd., Oscar Polster; missing in photo is Sr.Vice Cmd. Jack R. Harkins.

Cmdr. Petrini addresses chapter.

Cmdr. Petrini presents Dept. of CA "Distinguish Svc. Award" for Aide-de-Campto outgoing Cmdr. U. Miller.

Outgoing Cmd. U. Miller receives "Chapter 49 Special Recognition Award."

We wish the entire new officer slate, all the best in carrying out their duties and responsibilities for the year 2011-2012. This year will present many new challenges as well as opportunities. We are sure that our staff of officers will meet and exceed the challenges.

Story updated: 23 April 2011: 21:30

* All articles were written, researched, and edited by the Webmaster - Commander, Ulysses Miller, Jr.

** Images are capable of being opened and enlarged in a separate window by moving your cursor to the bottom right of the image and then clicking on the + image that appears.

PURPLE HEART STANDARDS: UPDATE

Recently, due to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI), the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) updated the standards and procedures for the awarding of the Purple Heart Medal.Sailors and Marines may be awarded the Purple Heart for certain mild traumatic brain injuries that were caused by direct or indirect enemy actions with intent to kill or maim. Those who suffered a loss of consciousness or were "not fit for full duty" by a medical officer for more than 48 hours after a concussive event may qualify for the Purple Heart Medal.

The new standard allows for retroactive awards to injuries suffered since 1 SEP 2001. The SECNAV stated that Purple Heart Medals awarded for MTBI will continue to meet the historical standards of severity applied to all types of wounds, ensuring the prestige and integrity of one of the U.S. militarys most recognized award is maintained. To learn more about these recent changes to the standards and procedures for retroactive award of the Purple Heart Medal refer to the attachment to this update entitled, click here

"SECNAV Purple Heart Standards"

or

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/ALNAVS/ALN2011/ALN11079.txt

Story updated:2 JAN2012: 12:00

A PATRIOT OF CHAPTER 0049 IS CELEBRATED

On 8 November 2011, the Veterans Museum & Memorial Center gathered at the Scottish Rites Center in San Diego's Mission Valley to celebrate and recognize the 2011 Veteran of the Year. Each year the Veterans Museum & Memorial Center (VMMC) holds its annual luncheon with the goal of recognizing the contributions of veterans and their efforts in San Diego County.

This year, the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), Chapter 0049, nominated and submitted Patirot Oscar Polster as its venerable nominee. And this year the chapter was successful. Not only was Oscar recognized as the chapter's Veteran of the Year but he was also recognized and honored as the recipient of the Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award for San Diego County.

Mr. & Mrs. Polster at the San Diego County Veterans of the Year ceremony.

Following a scrumptious luncheon, the nominee was called to the dias to have his deeds read to the audience. When Oscar's name was called and he promptly rolled down front, he was met with recognition Certificates from the Assembly, the Senate, and the County VMMC.

Adm. Melendez, Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, Hon. Bob Filner, and Patriot Oscar Polster.

However, the panel was not finished with Oscar. In addition to his Certificates of Recognition, Oscar was called back to receive the grand honor of being awarded the "Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center (VMMC).

Presentation of Lifetime Achievement Award. (Photo Credit: Roland Nino Martinez, VVA472)

Following the conclusion of the ceremony and the luncheon, Chapter 0049 and Patriot Oscar Polster celebrated with a chapter photo. See below.

Chapter 0049 will devote a larger space to Patriot Polster on the tab called: Chapter Tributes.

Story updated: November 21, 2011 @ 16:00

NEW REPORT ON VETERANS HOMELESS- NESS REACHES VA DEPARTMENT

The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development today announced that a new national report shows that homelessness among Veterans has been reduced by nearly 12 percent between January 2010 and January 2011. The 12 percent decline keeps the Obama Administration on track to meet the goal of ending Veteran homelessness in 2015. "This new report is good news for the tens of thousands of Veterans we have helped find a home. Our progress in the fight against homelessness has been significant, but our work is not complete until no Veteran has to sleep on the street," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

"We have been successful in achieving this milestone due to strong leadership from the President and hard work by countless community organizations and our federal, state, and local partners who are committed to helping Veterans and their families get back on their feet." HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan added, "We're absolutely headed in the right direction as we work to end homelessness amongst those who have served our nation. This significant decline tells us that the Obama Administration is on the right path, working together across agencies to target Federal resources to produce a sharp and measurable reduction in Veteran homelessness. As we put forth in the first Federal plan to prevent and end homelessness, there's plenty of work ahead to reach our goal, but these numbers validate the work done by both HUD and VA to reach our nation's homeless Veterans and get them into permanent housing."

According to the 2011 supplement to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) released today, 67,495 Veterans were homeless in the United States on a single night in January 2011 -- a significant reduction from last year's single night count of 76,329. Since 2009, working with over 4,000 community agencies, VA and HUD have successfully housed a total of 33,597 Veterans in permanent, supportive housing with dedicated case managers and access to high-quality VA health care.

The complete 2011 Annual Homeless Assessment Report will be available in 2012. VA also announced it will make $100 million in grants available to community agencies across the country to prevent nearly 42,000 Veterans and their families from falling into homelessness or to quickly return them to stable housing. The funds are offered for fiscal year 2012 through VA's Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, a homeless-prevention and rapid re-housing program. "The problems that lead to homelessness begin long before Veterans and their families are on the streets," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "By putting more resources into prevention services for those at risk of becoming homeless, we will continue to help more Veterans and their families turn their lives around."

Last year, VA provided $60 million through the SSVF program to community providers, which will affect nearly 22,000 people through 85 non-profit community agencies in 40 states and the District of Columbia. The program provides community organizations with funding for counseling, training, education assistance, direct time-limited financial assistance, transportation, child care, rent, utilities, and other services aimed at preventing homelessness or providing homes for participating Veterans and family members. The available funds were announced in a message posted in the Federal Register and at VA's website, www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp .

Private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives interested in the grants have until February 15, 2012 to submit completed applications. In December 2011 and January 2012, VA will sponsor free workshops to review the grant application process.

Community organizations interested in applying for funds under this program can use the website to find dates for workshops in Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

Community organizations seeking more information on the SSVF program can also contact VA at 1-877-737-0111 or at SSVF@va.gov.

Story updated: 13December 2011: 07:00

A STORY OF OBSCURE MARINES: The Montford Point Experience

Congress debates top honor for Montford Marines

OCEANSIDE, Calif. Oscar Culp does not like to remember. His mind has erased the harshest details. But the pain still stings for the 87-year-old World War II veteran, who endured boot camp in a snake-infested North Carolina swampland as one of the first blacks admitted to the Marine Corps.

He wipes a tear. Black Marines were barred from being stationed with whites at nearby Camp Lejeune. But what hurt worse, he says, was returning from the battlefield to a homeland that ordered him to sit at the back of the bus and drink out of separate fountains from the white Americans he had just put his life on the line to protect.

Excuse me, he says, pulling out a handkerchief. Sometimes we get a little emotional about it.

The story of the first black Marines is a part of history few Americans and even few Marines have learned. Unlike the Armys Buffalo Soldiers or the Army Air Corps Tuskegee Airmen, the Montford Point Marines have never been featured in popular songs or Hollywood films, or recognized nationally.

The Corps new commandant intends to change that.

Nearly 70 years after the Marine Corps became the last military branch to accept blacks under orders from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, Congress will vote Tuesday on whether to grant the Montford Point Marines the Congressional Gold Medal, the nations highest civilian honor.

The Corps up until now has not actively broadcast the painful chapter in the 235-year-old history of an institution that still is largely white, especially in the higher ranks where less than 5 percent of officers are black.

But Commandant Gen. James Amos whose own 2010 appointment made him the first Marine aviator named to the Corps top job has made diversifying the staunchly traditional branch a top priority. Amos has ordered commanders to be more aggressive in recommending qualified black Marines for officer positions. The Corps this summer named the first black general, Maj. Gen. Ronald Bailey, to lead its storied 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The Marine Corps also plans to teach all Marines next year about Montford Point, the base near the coastal town of Jacksonville, N.C., that the Corps set up for blacks to keep them separate from white Marines. It operated from 1942 to 1949.

Every Marine from private to general will know the history of those men who crossed the threshold to fight not only the enemy they were soon to know overseas, but the enemy of racism and segregation in their own country, Amos said.

Amos has spent the year lobbying Congress to grant Montford Point Marines the civilian medal, which was given to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006. Its long overdue, Amos recently told the last remaining Montford Point Marines.

Most of the 19,000 Montford Point Marines have died, their fellow Marines say.

For the most part, we lost our history purposely, said Culp, who has only a few black-and-white photographs from those days. They didnt want the world to know our history.

Unlike the Tuskegee pilots featured in the upcoming Hollywood film Red Tails to be released in January the Montford Point Marines were not officers in the war. The Corps gave those promotions to whites, said University of North Carolina historian Melton McLaurin, whose book The Marines of Montford Point is being considered by Amos for his must-read list for Marines.

The Corps did not want these guys, McLaurin said. The commandant of the Corps at the time said if he had a choice between 250,000 African-Americans he used the term Negroes and 5,000 whites, he would rather have the whites.

Culp had just graduated from high school in Charlotte, N.C. at 18 when he volunteered to join in 1943 at the height of WWII.

The Marine Corps was advertised as the most elite military organization, and I wanted to be part of the best to prove, given the chance, that we can do whatever anybody else can do, he said.

He was bused with the other black recruits and dropped at a small shed with a guard who led them into the woods to huts that would serve as their barracks.

The white drill instructors let it be known they did not agree with the new policy forced on the Corps, with some calling it a disgrace.

The Montford Point recruits were not allowed to enter Camp Lejeune unless accompanied by a white officer. The few times they went for a training exercise they had to wait to eat until the white Marines had finished.

Montford Point was hell really, Culp said. The water was bad. The barracks were made out of some kind of cardboard. It was cold in the winter. There was ice on the deck where we would sleep.

He saw drill instructors beat those who did not march correctly.

You just had to take it, take a rifle snapped across your head or be kicked. It didnt happen to me but I saw it happen to other people, Culp said. I really try to forget about the worst things that happened.

He was sent to the Pacific where his all black ammunition company dodged gunfire as they ferried supplies to the front lines and carried back the dead and wounded. He oversaw the care of white Marines in the brig.

Montford Point Marines participated in the seizure of Okinawa and came under heavy fire at Iwo Jima, winning praise from some white officers for their actions. They were sent to Japan to clean up the ash after the atomic bomb was dropped over Nagasaki.

But after the war, the Corps discharged all but 1,500 of them.

Culp remained, driven by the injustice that they wanted us to get out.

Even after the war they wanted it to be lily white again, he said. They did certain things to try to get the African-Americans out and show they were not needed anymore. But we had proven that we could do anything the whites could do and sometimes even better.

Carrel Reavis, 88, was among those who were discharged. But he took a bus from Camp Pendleton across country to Baltimore, Md., where he signed up again.

The Corps continued to resist desegregation even after President Harry S. Trumans 1948 order, historians say. It wasnt until the Korean War that black Marines fought alongside their white counterparts.

Moving up the ranks remained difficult. Reavis stayed the same rank for 10 years while he watched the Corps promote white corporals over him to staff sergeant in a couple of months. We resented things like that and thats what happened to us, he said, but who could we go to correct it or stop it? Nobody.

Montford Point Marines pushed each other. Those with college degrees taught the ones without education how to read and write.

The perseverance we had was all the same, said Reavis, who stayed in the Corps for 21 years and whose oldest son fought as a Marine in Vietnam, losing his left leg. We were like a brotherhood.

Reavis, who served in Korea, said they formed their own organization in 1965, the Montford Point Marine Association, to preserve their legacy.

Culp left in 1966 as a master gunnery sergeant at Camp Pendleton. He settled in Oceanside, a Pacific coast military town bordering the base, where he opened a furniture store with another Montford Point Marine. Their business card reads: Two people you can trust.

Current Marines and their spouses browse through the store, unaware of the two mens place in history. Their offices are adorned with black-and-white Marine Corps photos, including one of Culp among a sea of white faces at Twentynine Palms Marine base in the 1950s.

He remains close friends with both white and black Marines. Joining the Corps, he says, was his lifes proudest accomplishment.

If all of the Montford Point Marines had to go through what they had already gone through again to protect our country, they would, he said.

By: Julie Watson, Associated Press

Story updated: 25 October 2011: 07:00

Click here for Montford Point Marine video.

CHAPTER 0049 CELEBRATE G. WASHINGTON

On February 21,2011, ten (10) Patriots met at the San Diego Veterans Museum and Memorial Center to honor the birthday of Pres. George Washington. The chapter commander read an obscure essay on President Washington's early career.

Following the ceremony, Patriot Jack Harkins suggested that we walk across the green to Balboa Park and the Pardo for soft drinks and appetizers. Knowing a good idea when proposed, Chapter 0049 spent 2 hours luxuriating among the visitors and guests.

L-R: Patriots Bob Quimby; Joe Petrini; Jamal Boubetana; Jack Harkins; Robert Hernandez; Mrs. R. Hernandez; Mrs. C. Miller; and Toby Todd.

The Patriots

Chapter 0049 and it banner
:

Bob Quimby and Joe Petrini

Jamal Boubetana & family with the chapter members in background.

Story updated: 12 March 2011

CHAPTER 0049 PREPARES FOR APRIL ELECTIONS

Chapter 0049 held it February chapter meeting on February 26, 2011 because of the State Mid-Term Conference. This was a timely meeting to convey the information from the Mid-Term and to discuss the preparations needed for the up-coming elections.

Mid-Issues discussed:

• Welfare accounts
• VAVS accounts
• General acc't principles

Chapter Finance Reports

California Atty. General

Charitable Trust issues

Need to change Fiscal Year

CA Franchise Tax Board

San Diego, CA,has been chosen as the site for "unveiling" of the Purple Heart Forever Stamp. Chapter 0049 is the principal point of contact for coordinating the arrangement for the dignitaries from the National MOPH office as well as the U. S. Postal Service.

The unveiling ceremony will take place on May, 5, 2011, aboard the USS Midway.

The chapter had a guest speaker from the local Camp Pendleton Chapter of the M.O.A.A. President Angel Aviles, a recent recipient of the Veteran of the Year award for 2010. Immediately following his address, Chapter 0049 also presented his with a MOPH Certficate of Appreciation for his help and cooperation over the years.

Certifcate of Appreciation to MOAA, President Angel Aviles.

While in session, Patriot Oscar Polster, the VAVS representative to the Veteran Administration Medical Center, La Jolla, CA, was presented with a certificate from the Service Foundation.

Presentation of Certficate to Patriot Oscar Polster

Finally, the diligent and yeoman like work of Patriot L. J. ("Toby") Todd was recognized in a Distinguished Service Award,presented to the chapter by the Chairman - Public Relation Committee, Nick McIntosh of the MOPH.

With all business successfully conducted the meeting was adjourned until next month's Executive Session.

Story updated: 12 March 2011

A SOLDIER'S BEST FRIEND MAY NOT BE HIS RIFLE

Whle doing research for these stories that appear on the Chapter web site, I am required to read and distill a lot of information. Some of it pleasant and some of it not so pleasant.

Recently, I ran into a story that fell more in the former category than the latter. One of the sources that I use for inspiration is the Department of Pennsylvania web site. It is rich with information and it is updated on a frequent basis. The webmaster, Scott Havelka, has a wonderful idea of what is news and what is not.

A few days ago, Scott wrote an article on "The Known Health Benefits of HavingA Pet." Now, I can hear you guys saying: " 'I thought this was going to be on a soldier and his gun.' " Well, it is kind of about a soldier and the war.

You see, soldiers who suffer from PTSD (gun-related combat) find that pets (whether they aredogs, cats, birds, ect.) provide a therapeutic benefit to their exist-ence.

A patriot in Chapter 49 has found a friend who has the name of "Trust." Bob and Trust are be-coming fast friend and I would like to introduce youto that friendship. Click here for info.

Now for a more information published on the Department of Pennsylvania web site, please see Scott Havelka's article on "The Known Health Benefits of Having A Pet."Click here for info.

Story updated: 03/31/2011: 07;00

COMPENSATION FOR ASBESTOS EXPOSURE

Update: 05 Jan 2011

(Affects Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps & Navy Veterans)

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that primarily affects the lining of the lungs. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are currently 25 million living individuals who have served in the Armed Forces; hundreds of thousands, if not millions of these living veterans were exposed to toxic asbestos-containing materials during military service.The online Mesothelioma Center offers free assistance with filing your VA claim and can make the process much easier. The Veterans Assistance department offers extensive experience in filing VA claims and can help any veteran coping with mesothelioma

Established on March 15, 1989, the VA succeeded the Veterans Administration that was founded in 1930. The VA is a government-run benefit system created for U.S. military veterans, which is responsible for administering benefit programs to veterans, their families, and survivors of veterans (collectively encompassing 74.5 million potentially eligible individuals). Benefits offered to veterans include disability compensation, pension, life insurance, home loans, education, vocational rehabilitation, survivors' benefits, and medical and burial benefits. This incredibly complex system comprises the second-largest federal department (after the Department of Defense).

The Next Step

Despite having served their county, veterans coping with asbestos-related disease are limited in seeking compensation and benefits through the government and VA system. But with the assistance of an experienced mesothelioma lawyer, veterans can effectively seek compensation for their medical costs and personal losses by filing a claim against the asbestos company that produced the toxic materials which led to their illness.

VA Offers Lifeline for Troubled Vets:

Open 24/7 for all veterans.

The New Year can often bring stress, anxiety and depression. As a veteran or a family member or caregiver for a veteran, you are never alone; VA professional counselors are just a phone call away at 1-800-273-8255. There also are online chat capabilities at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website. You can call your local VA medical center (1-800-827-1000) to speak with the health care team. You also can contact the main social work office of the medical center to get assistance. Do not be afraid to seek help.

VETERANS SHOULD USE DIRECT DEPOSIT

Department of Veterans Affairs is encouraging veterans to sign up for electronic payment of their benefits. On March 1, 2013, VA officials will stop issuing paper checks. Also, people receiving VA compensation or pensions for the first time after May 1, 2011 will automatically receive the benefits electronically. To learn more about the federal government's switch to direct deposit, or call 1-800-333-1795 for more information. For more information about VA benefits and programs, visit the VA website or call toll free 1-800-827-1000.

Veteran's Benefits Directory - To learn more about your state's veteran benefits, visit the State Veteran's Benefits Directory.