Send some Christmas cheer to our troops

You've probably figured out by now that I'm helping Blogging for Michigan raise money to send care packages to our troops. Our goal is $5000 and we've raised $3400 so far thanks to donations from GM Truck & Bus in Flint, UAW Local 598, Walt Sorg-AM Lansing, Tri-City Local and many, many donations from people around the world. I'm serious. A person from Ireland sent us a donation and said, "In this instance I'm happy that our Euro goes further!"

We're so close to our goal of spending $350 per unit, but we're not there yet. There are currently 12 units from Michigan stationed in the Middle East with wish lists ranging from ramen noodles to lip gloss. Each unit has multiple troops.

If you have a couple of extra dollars from your holiday budget that you can spare for the troops, it would be much appreciated. Donations need to be submitted by tomorrow morning. We need to shop this week (Costco - not Sam's or Wal-Mart!), assemble the boxes, and ship them out by the end of the week in order to get them there for the holidays.

Follow the link below to send some Christmas cheer to our troops - and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This is a Blogging For Michigan Troop Care post. From November 11 through November 25, 2007, Blogging For Michigan will use 100% of every dollar received in the Troop Care fund to purchase and ship items to Michigan troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more about BFM Troop Care here. Click here to contribute to Troop Care. Contributions are not tax deductible.

Wounded Soldiers Asked to Return Signing Bonuses

Would you believe me if I told you the U.S. military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back their signing bonuses because they're not able to serve out their commitments? That sounds ludicrous, right? Ludicrous or not, it's happening, as this young soldier from the Pittsburgh area found out:

Click here to read the rest of the story.

UPDATE: KDKA News is reporting that the military backed down and Fox won't have to pay back his bonus. Fox had this to say: "Hopefully this will turn into change for not only me but many other soldiers that have lost limbs, you know, become permanently deaf," he said. "I hope to see a change for everybody."

An Army spokesperson said: "We have seen where the problems have been made, the system, and we're just making - you know, give us the opportunity to make a wrong a right."

I hope that includes returning any money other soldiers already handed over.

UPDATE #2: Okay, it always pays to read the fine print with these guys. This is what Brigadier General Michael Tucker said:

“We’re not sure what happened, but we’re gonna fix it.”

Troops will not be asked for a refund, and those who’ve already given bonus money back will be reimbursed. But - there's always a "but" with the Bush administration - as TPMuckraker points out:

Tucker said that army policy "is that soldiers who are wounded in combat or have line of duty investigation injuries... we will not go after a recoupment of any bonuses they receive." Recouping bonuses, he said, "doesn't pass the common sense test."

But notice that phrasing. While that policy, if implemented, would prevent injured soldiers from having to pay back bonuses they'd already received, they might still not receive their full enlistment bonus. That's because the Army could still withhold parts of the bonus on the basis that the soldiers didn't complete their full tour due to the injury.

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA), who introduced a bill last month that would require the Pentagon to pay bonuses to wounded vets in full within 30 days after discharge for combat-related wounds, said he was "heartened" by Tucker's announcement this morning that the Army won't seek repayment of bonuses. He added:

“However, I am disappointed that the policy does not go further by stating that wounded soldiers will also receive the remaining balance of future bonus payments. It is preposterous for our government to have a policy that says that a soldier who has sustained serious injuries in the field of battle has not fulfilled his or her service obligation."

Pentagon rules, Altmire says, prevent enlistees from receiving their full enlistment bonus unless they fulfill their entire military obligation.

Incredible, simply incredible. They don't value human life in the least.

An Online Home for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans

Vote Vets launched a new blog today - VetVoice - that they describe as an online home for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. It's also for Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard members, as well as veterans, their families, and their supporters.

VetVoice is where we can come together to sound off on the issues that concern all of us.

VetVoice aims to be a nexus for information and opinion on war news, war politics, deployments, optempo, veterans' issues, troops' families' issues, and more.

The blog already has a number of diaries that are worth checking out, along with links to information and resources relevant to soldiers and their families. To kick off their maiden voyage, VetVoice extended invites to some high profile people - the presidential candidates.

Last week, we invited each Democratic and Republican presidential candidate to blog on VetVoice for our launch. Using this forum, we wanted to give them a chance to tell the troops, veterans, their families, and their supporters just what exactly they plan to do on the issues about which we care.

After contacting the campaigns, seven candidates responded--six Democrats and one Republican.

They're posting the candidates statements periodically throughout the day. The following are already online: Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Ron Paul, and John Edwards.

Click VetVoice to read the other three when they become available.


(Cross-posted at Blogging for Michigan.)

This is a Blogging For Michigan Troop Care post. From November 11 through November 25, 2007, Blogging For Michigan will use 100% of every dollar received in the Troop Care fund to purchase and ship items to Michigan troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more about BFM Troop Care here. Click here to contribute to Troop Care. Contributions are not tax deductible.

Giving Thanks for our Troops

The Department of Defense has a website that makes it easy for us to send our message of support to the troops - America Supports You. You can e-mail service members by clicking here or you can text your thanks to them between now and midnight on Thanksgiving.

By Samantha L. Quigley / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2007 - For those seeking a quick way to show appreciation to troops serving far from home this holiday season, look no further than “Giving Thanks,” a new initiative from the Defense Department’s America Supports You program.

America Supports You connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

“This is a simple way to connect our citizens to our soldiers using modern technology,” Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications and public liaison, said of the text messaging program.

The program, which already has received nearly 4,000 messages, officially kicks off at 6 a.m. EST Nov. 17 and concludes at midnight PST Nov. 22. Between those times, people wishing to express gratitude to the troops for their service can text a brief message to 89279. Each text message sent will receive a response from an active-duty servicemember in return.

Major mobile wireless providers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile, will provide access to the Giving Thanks text messaging program.

“We know that thousands of families will be sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner and thinking about loved ones who are far away from home serving their country,” Barber said. “We are counting on other American families to take a moment during their holiday celebration to think of those families and their family members who are serving and say, ‘Thanks.’

“The reassurance that others are thinking about them will mean a lot to our troops,” Barber added.

Those who send a message during the six days of the Giving Thanks program also will be directed to the America Supports You Web site. There, they’ll find a sampling of messages from the public and a running tally of how many messages have been received. They’ll also be able to read messages from the troops.

Get busy texting and add your message to the more than 27,000 that have been received already! What easier way is there for us to tell the troops we're thankful for them.

GI Joe No Longer "Government Issued"

An American icon is getting a makeover:

Concerned about the current negative image of the American military in many countries, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, the toy manufacturer, have decided that in their forthcoming film featuring comic-book patriot G.I. Joe, the character will become part of a multinational force, the London Daily Telegraph reported today (Tuesday). Even the character's name has become an acronym for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, the newspaper said.

Our negative image across the globe is because of the Bush administration, not our military, so why the makeover? One word - money. From Fox News:

But in order to be a true success these days, a film has to play well to foreign markets as well as stateside in everything from box-office to DVD sales.

For some citizens of other countries — where sentiments against the Iraq war and the American government are strong — a U.S. soldier might not be the easiest character to get viewers to identify with.

Sigh...its always about the money with these companies. What a way to support the troops.

This is a Blogging For Michigan Troop Care post. From November 11 through November 25, 2007, Blogging For Michigan will use 100% of every dollar received in the Troop Care fund to purchase and ship items to Michigan troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more about BFM Troop Care here. Click here to contribute to Troop Care. Contributions are not tax deductible.

An Emblem of the War

I've spent some time today reading various tributes to our soldiers and veterans and I just had to share something Libby mentioned on her blog at the Detroit News. These are Libby's words:

[...] many of our newest veterans, like James Blake Miller will be battling their demons in the dark confides of a troubled mind here at home. They fight and suffer for us. Take a moment to let them know they didn't pay the price in life, limb and peace of mind for nothing.

James Blake Miller is the Marlboro Man. You might remember the picture of this young Marine taken in Falluja in November 2004. He became an instant emblem of the war and Americans connected with his photo. Nobody wanted to see him wounded or dead, so Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski made a special trip to visit him and offered him the chance to return home. Miller turned him down. He didn't want to leave his buddies.

Click here to read the rest of his story. Miller is home now and fighting a whole lot of demons.

This is a Blogging For Michigan Troop Care post. From November 11 through November 25, 2007, Blogging For Michigan will use 100% of every dollar received in the Troop Care fund to purchase and ship items to Michigan troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more about BFM Troop Care here. Click here to contribute to Troop Care. Contributions are not tax deductible.

Honoring My WWII Veteran

Veterans Day. We set this day aside each year to honor all who have served America. My father is one of those people. Although he died more than 30 years ago, I often think of his military service and the stories he told us while we were growing up. He served in the Navy on a troop transport ship during WWII in the Pacific Theatre. I remember the names of places he talked about - the Philippines, Guadalcanal, Leyte, Luzon, Midway, Pearl Harbor - and the stories he told. I also remember groaning inwardly at some of them. They couldn't possibly be true! He must be embellishing a little for his friends' benefit. This is one of his more unusual stories:

Dad said three ships left New Guinea making their way through the Philippines, they were headed for Lingayen Gulf. His ship was in the middle, and they were zig-zagging all over the place because the crew had been drinking homemade moonshine made in the boiler room. As his story goes, the Japanese sank the ship in front of them and also the one behind, but they made it through safe and sound because of that zig-zag pattern (and the homemade hooch).

I doubted the part about the homemade moonshine and I also doubted the part about the ships in front and behind being sunk. I owe my dad an apology. Years after he died, I got a copy of his service papers and the name of the ship he served on. I also found several links online that described the "very heavy kamikaze attacks" these transport ships suffered in the same region my father described. It had to be terrifying.

I've also had men my father's age tell me that the crews often made their own alcohol and the captain turned a blind eye. As my uncle said, "When your men are on a mission they may never get out of alive, do you think the captain is really going to worry about breaking a few rules?" Good point.

Anyway, my dad was one of the lucky ones to come home alive, and although he could joke about some of the action he saw, it changed him. He drank more than he should have, and he also had anger issues. They both contributed to his early demise and complicated his life.

Today is not just about my dad though. Today is about all the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country with honor and incredible personal sacrifice. Today is not about partisanship, color, creed or sexual orientation. Today is about giving thanks to all of our veterans and support to our troops. Thank you from the bottom of my heart - and thank you too, dad. I miss you.

This is a Blogging For Michigan Troop Care post. From November 11 through November 25, 2007, Blogging For Michigan will use 100% of every dollar received in the Troop Care fund to purchase and ship items to Michigan troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more about BFM Troop Care here. Click here to contribute to Troop Care. Contributions are not tax deductible.