Translator
Does Anybody Support the Troops Anymore?
As an Iraq War Veteran, I have witnessed the change in climate regarding our troops. After September Eleventh, I remember people would flock or in some cases run, just to say thank you and to shake our hands. If we were eating out in uniform, people would buy our meals no matter how much we protested it. The news would report about our heroism and losses. Mothers and wives would donate their time to help our families. Everyone was sending our boys and girls care packages. Everyone’s car had some variation of a “Support Our Troops” bumper-sticker. The congress even gave us a raise. That was then, today we are barely a passing thought in the minds of most people.
I don’t base my opinion on some sort of research I’ve conducted. I base it on my own observations. You don’t have to be a statistician to mathematically figure out that there are less yellow ribbon bumper-stickers, or that there are less news reports about the war. It wasn’t like we stopped sending troops to report about, it was that the news stations ratings showed that no one wanted to watch it.
People just got tired of hearing about the war and worrying about the troops. Who can blame them? Both wars have been going on longer than anyone thought they would. Our troops have been going on tour after tour, for almost a decade. I guess there is only so much war a nation can take. Luckily the troops can take a lot more.
It shouldn’t take an incident like the recent Fort Hood shooting to make us remember our troops. We have soldiers dieing overseas all the time. I’ve attended many memorials for our fallen soldiers in Iraq, but I didn’t see any television stations broadcasting them, I didn’t hear the President give a speech at them, and 15,000 people didn’t attend them. Maybe they should start.
Don’t let this Veteran’s Day be just another day off, or small vacation from your work. Don’t just go fishing or out to dinner with the family. Don’t just go and watch soldiers marching in the parade. Really and truly support your Troops. Donate your money to one of the many groups that help soldiers. Donate to nonprofit organizations that support U.S. Veterans that have returned from service with physical and/or psychological scars like the Soldiers Project, Defending Freedom, Blue Star Mothers, or Wounded Warrior Project. Volunteer your time at the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Help the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America advocate for our War Veterans. If nothing else, shake a soldier’s hand and thank him for serving our country on this Veteran’s Day.
Categories: Politics Tags: american soilders, middle east or iraq or african surge troops, soldiers, troops, Veterans, veterans day, web, why do we celebrate veterans day, world wide web
The VA is Giving Out Emergency GI Bill Checks
- Umm, Please…. Can we have our money? Pretty Please.
If you are a United States Veteran who applied for the New GI Bill, then you probably haven’t got a dime yet. You probably have called the VA and heard the Message “We are experiencing an unprecedented amount of claims.” You are probably eating “Ramen Noodles” and are worrying about keeping your lights on. If this sounds like you, then do not worry because there is hope.
On October 2nd, The VA is giving out “Emergency Checks” To Veterans. All you need to do is bring a government issued ID and proof of your college enrollment to the VA. To find a location near you, follow this link http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/division_flsh.asp?dnum=3
If you can’t go to them, they say you can take care of it on the GI Bill website. I haven’t had any luck with that poorly done website. I will be standing in line with anyone else who was lucky enough to find this information.
Groups like “Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of American” have been advocating for us. I heard this info from them. If you are an Iraq or Afghanistan Veteran, you need to join the IAVA. This is their website http://iava.org/index.php
Here is a message from the IAVA sent Via Email.
I still don’t understand how this happened in the first place. We had to wait a year after the new GI Bill passed the Congress, and now we still don’t get our benefits.
They are receiving an unprecedented amount of claims? Of course they are, they just started giving us enough money to actually pay for college. What did they think was going to happen? We have been fighting two wars for almost a decade. You mean to tell me they didn’t notice the large amount of people who were going over there? Never mind, now that I think about it, they probably didn’t notice us at all.
Good Luck Brothers.
