The present Veterans Administration is the most pro-active one in my lifetime, lets keep it that way, as it always should have been! The Countries Responsibility is to Fully Fund!

“We are dealing with veterans, not procedures—with their problems, not ours.” —General Omar Bradley, First Administrator of the Veterans Administration

"If military action is worth our troops’ blood, it should be worth our treasure, too — not just in the abstract, but in the form of a specific ante by every American." -Andrew Rosenthal 10 Feb. 2013

“Why in 2009 were we still using paper?” VA Assistant Secretary Tommy Sowers “When we came in, there was no plan to change that; we’ve been operating on a six month wait for over a decade.” 27 March 2013

WHY? GOOD QUESTION THOSE SERVED SHOULD ANSWER!

Prior too this present Executive and Veterans Administrations and just touching on the problems:

Army Times Oct. 16, 2008 - VA claims found in piles to be shredded

CNN iReport October 25, 2008 - House Vets' Committee To Probe VA Shredder Scandal

Tampa Bay Times Oct 27, 2008 - Hundreds of VA documents improperly shredded, review finds {Tampa Bay Times search page and series of articles}

CBS News February 11, 2009 - Veterans' Claims Found in Shredder Bins

And more disturbing in relation to even before and through the early years of the Afghanistan, quickly abandoned missions of, and Iraq occupations, this:

ProPublica and The Seattle Times Nov. 9, 2012 - Lost to History: Missing War Records Complicate Benefit Claims by Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans
"DeLara's case is part of a much larger problem that has plagued the U.S. military since the 1990 Gulf War: a failure to create and maintain the types of field records that have documented American conflicts since the Revolutionary War."

Add in the issues of finally recognizing in War Theater and more Veterans, by this Veterans Administration and the Executive Administrations Cabinet, what the Country choose to ignore from our previous decades and wars of: The devastating effects on Test Vets and from PTS, Agent Orange, Homelessness, more recent the Desert Storm troops Gulf War Illnesses, Gulf War Exposures with the very recent affects from In-Theater Burn Pits and oh so so much more! Tens of Thousands of Veterans' that have been long ignored and maligned by previous VA's and the whole Country and through their representatives!


America's representative democracy, that "government of the people, by the people, for the people" - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
How does a Country HONOR It's Fallen, by Their Own 'Sacrifice' in Taking Care of the Brothers and Sisters They Served With!!

These present wars have yet to be paid for, rubber stamping and rapid deficits rising started before 9/11 and continued with same for the wars. But especially in the early some six years of extremely little was added to the Veterans Administration budgets by those Congresses, and since obstructed by same war rubber stampers, as to the long term results of War, DeJa-Vu all over again. Keeping the VA under budgeted causes problems and of many grow worse, which costs more to correct much more, which is the goal of those seeking to privatize Government Agencies as they attack the people of and which was created by their own incompetence and ideologies, but doing those served will!

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." - Abraham Lincoln

"To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan" - President Lincoln




Are You Concerned About a Veteran? The Veterans Crisis Line Can Help>>>


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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Vets Rebuilding After Sandy

These are always needed, once, professions in the needed economic trades environment, that many ex-military personal are perfect for. The military training has developed their common sense and critical thought gifts, needed especially if sent into war and occupation theaters but also within much of the military communities needs as they support the bases and if in theaters need varied skills to be able to quickly take over anothers job, if a brother or sister falls, for their survival and the survival of those they're with. Like I said earlier 'once professions'. Having myself been a professional carpenter 'once', with multiple other trades expertise in the construction industry, for way over forty years. 'Once' because the trades have been relegated down in stature within our economy, whether union or non union, to skilled labor or just labor designation, even as prices for product, houses, commercial/industrial buildings,infrastructure needs, etc. rose and wages were blamed for those cost rises. That kept the wages and benefits stagnated or dropping for the past couple of decades. Unlike many working in the office buildings etc., we build, who if having a piece of paper from an expensive higher education facility theirs have risen and many titles added, even in the bigger contractors offices.

Marine helps vets find work rebuilding after Sandy
November 28, 2012 - Bruce Bradford spent 12 years in the Army, fixing vehicles and rebuilding communities in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was discharged in 2010 and has been out of work ever since.

"You put so much into serving your country that once you take the uniform off, it's almost as if you lose a sense of pride and a sense of dignity, because you wake up, and you realize, 'I used to stand for something,'" Bradford says.

That's why Bradford soldiered through a foot injury to get to a veterans' job fair in Toms River, N.J.

Kevin Schmiegel is a retired Marine who runs "Hiring Our Heroes".

"This is not charity, this is about connecting talented young men and women, giving them the tools they need to connect with an employer, and helping them land a career," Schmiegel says. read more>>>

Military veterans already have a wide variety of skills taught while serving in those communities. Honed skills in most any area makes them able to quickly pick up any needed skills for different jobs, within the military community or especially the civilian economy, or professions, even in offices, especially with short time training by an experienced trades professional. In almost all trades they also come in with fresh minds and abilities, along with leadership qualities and a natural team work mentality, thus even developing other ways to perform the needed jobs that the experienced hadn't thought of because they've set their own ways and gotten used to doing same. They can even train the experienced with new idea's. They've been trained to hone those critical thought gifts thus pick up quickly new developments in tools and machinery just as experienced trades workers already do, that which helps make the labor easier and even quicker and importantly safer. Experienced well paid trades are an economies backbone as they fill and maintain the many needs of the business and corporate, even higher education, area's they need to exist and flourish for success and continued growth.

Reasons above, and more, are what gives the ability to start veterans organizations and quickly fill the needs of when their community or the civilian communities especially need to be served again, one like Team Rubicon and hurricane Sandy's many clearing and rebuilding needs:

A 'Thanksgiving message from the team:

From our family to yours, Thank You.

Thanksgiving, 2012

As we reflect back on the last three weeks of work in New York and New Jersey, we realize that we have much to be thankful for: our brothers and sisters in arms, the opportunity to continue our service, and a resilient nation. Perhaps most critical, however, is the generous support of people like you.

So from our TR Family to yours, Thank You.

Want to see more inspiring photos from Hurricane Sandy? Check out these incredible images.


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