Community of veterans

Just saw the public service announcement that hasn't failed yet to choke me up-- from a new organization, Community of Veterans, an association for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Check out their site at Community of Veterans and if you know a veteran, let them know about it.

Army Staff Sgt. receiving the Bronze Star. Photo by Victor Maccharoli, Palo Alto Daily News.

Pet cemetery used to cremate U.S. soldiers' remains

If you didn't catch this article in the Washington Post, apparently some American military killed in Iraq have been cremated in a pet cemetery in Delaware near Dover Air Force Base. The base itself has no crematorium for the arriving dead, and so contracted with a local pet cemetery.

The practice came to an end May 9 after photos of the site taken by an Army officer worked their way up to Secretary of defense Robert Gates. The officer had been there to attend the services of a fallen comrade and was appalled to see the crematorium labeled "Friemds Forever Pet Cremation Service."

Iraq: making it out alive but not for long

The war in Iraq may be off the radar screen for many of us, but not for U.S. military personnel and their families.

In the month of April, 51 servicepeople died in Iraq, the highest number since last September. April injury numbers aren't out yet, and we know the military bigwigs do the best they can to obscure the real numbers, but documented physical injuries, serious enough to cause evacuation from Iraq, stand at at 29,395. Emotional injuries accompany the physical also, but you don't have to be bleeding on the outside to be in a world of trouble and pain.

Suicide is the final symptom of emotional distress, and apparently the Department of Veterans Affairs and its Secretary James Peake have been deliberately underplaying just how high veterans' suicide rate, especially Iraq veterans, really is.. Today Peake testified at the House Veterans' Affairs Committee where he was accused of criminal negligence in the cover-up of the suicide crisis.

One age group among veteran suicides really stands out: the 20 to 24 year olds. Their suicide rate is two to four times higher than the same age group among civilians.

In November, 2007, CBS News broke a story on veterans' suicide rate.
At a December Congressional hearing, Director of Mental Health Services for Veterans' Affairs Dr. Ira Katz said that CBS's numbers weren't accurate.
Today, the CBS numbers were confirmed.
More than 120 suicides a week; more than 1,000 attempts a month.

Late March round-up of news from the homeless blogs

First from the straight news: The Muskogen Chronicle, Michigan, reported last week on the death of 48 year old Lonnie Gordon, a homeless man who died of hypothermia in a February stowstorm. Mr. Gordon was made to leave the Rescue Mission, where he'd been staying for several days, because he had been drinking on premises.
"We don't want to point fingers or make anyone take the blame (for Gordon's death). We just want to know why," said Judith Kell, who chairs the Continuum of Care Network. "What went wrong? How'd he fall through the cracks?"
Wait a minute-- he didn't fall through the cracks, he was pushed!
"We don't turn anyone away, and that is so important, especially in bad weather when so many (homeless people) have nowhere else to turn," Skoglund (director of Rescue Mission) said. "We exist to demonstrate and proclaim God's love to the less fortunate and homeless people of West Michigan, but there are certain rules people in the shelters have to follow for everyone's safety. We don't allow chaos. We can't allow chaos."
Heavens, No! Death before chaos! This could so easily happen in Springfield, MA-- if it hasn't already.

At Just Another Blog from L.A., M. Bouffant comments on Helen and Olga, currently on trial for murdering homeless men for the insurance they took out on them. In Nashville, Kevin Barbieux at The Homeless Guy reports on the death of a homeless woman hit by a pick-up truck.

Oldtimer Speaks Out reports on the bureaucratic snafu that almost prevented his friend Al, who'd been living in the woods for some time, from accessing transitional housing through the VA. WanderingVets comments on the people of Guerneville, CA, good patriots all, who are organizing in opposition to the construction of a Home for War Veterans. they might be dangerous!

On the organizing front, Tim Harris at Apesma's Lament says the city of Tacoma, Washington's failure to make progress on it's ten year plan to end homelessness is finally getting some media attention. Humanity for Homeless in Santa Cruz CA says the city has issued its first citation for violating the Parking Lots and Garages Trespass Law MC 9.64, which became law to prevent homeles people from using parking lots and whose enforcement has already reached ridiculous proportions-- folks were cited and dispersed for showing a silent move against the wall of a building in a non-residential district. There's a lot of information on this blog about the people's struggles. The Anti-Poverty blog in Chicago has a great analysis of the truly creepy Oprah's Big Give.

Last but not least, stop by Homeless Man Speaks for the real words of real people without a home.

Photo: Our Friend Al from Oldtimer Speaks Out.

Shelter for homeless vets closing-- maybe guests could stay with Bill O'Reilly?

Earlier this month I wrote about the ignorant comments Fox's Bill O'Reilly made about homeless vets-- they don't really exist! Last Thursday vets demonstrated outside Fox headquarters. Some vets said they'd forgive O'Reilly if he'd admit he was wrong-- but no apology so far.

Meanwhile, another resource for homeless vets bites the dust with the forced closing of the U.S. Vets shelter which operates on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home-- fifty men with nowhere to go. Story and photo: Washington Post.

Adding injury to insult to injury...

Army recruiters determined; queer youth not exempt

We've all seen that Army recruiting commercial where a young Black woman is telling her mom that if she joins the Army, and gets to be a medic, then when she gets out of the Army her experience will help her to meet her goal of becoming a doctor when she gets out.

Not necessarily, according to a story in today's Boston Globe. Academic institutions just don't seem to know how to convert military courses and specialized skills into academic credits for those veterans eager to use their G.I. benefits to get into college. It's not the military's fault, although surely they are aware that their highly touted educational benefits may not readily translate in the civilian world. Something can be done about this, and it ought to be.

Many of the young men and women wanting to get into school after military service were just dying to get out of school before they enlisted. All Things Considered reported tonight that the Army is getting ready to announce a new program: a $40,000 recruiting bonus for high school graduates who score in the top 50% of their qualifying tests and who give five years of service.

The Army knows it's having problems enlisting "high quality" recruits. The Army News Service reported that at a Senate Armed Services Comittee meeting last month, Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick called the recruiting environment "challenging" and said, "Less than three out of 10 of our nation's youth are fully qualified for service in the Army due to disqualifying medical conditions, criminal records, lack of education credentials or low aptitude test scores." he said. A new National Priorities Project report says the Army is at a 25 year low in recruiting high school graduates.

This has all been on my mind the last couple of days-- I'd experienced a convergence of information about the military that I hadn't exactly gone looking for, culminating last night. I was at an Arise for Social Justice meeting at our new digs on State St., and heard the following tale.

A local queer youth organization has a number of members who are interested in enlisting in the military. One guy, Hector, who's in J-ROTC, came to a meeting at the organization with his recruiter! The recruiter was asked to leave by other members, which he did. Later, Hector said, "But he's really cool! He has a brother who's gay, so he knows. He's a good guy, he likes me."

I must say that recruiting at a queer youth organization does seem to bend the credibility of the "Don't ask, don't tell." policy. Mustn't that also mean, Don't look at the posters on the wall and the literature on the table?

I felt bad when I heard how Hector thinks his recruiter is his friend. I remember going through this with my nephew. "It's just a job!" I'd say, when he'd be all aglow after some activity they'd done together. "-- a job that requires persistence and good acting skills". But there's only just so far you can go, because after a while it sounds like you're implying that he, and Hector, and all the others, couldn't possibly be good enough for someone just to like them. That's not a good feeling for anyone to take away with them, and, in the end, it's their lives.

Bill O'Reilly can't find homeless veterans

Fox News "pundit" Bill O'Reilly needs a midnight visit from the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who could make him write "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." a thousand times...

Responding to a John Edwards statement that there are homeless veterans sleeping under bridges, O'Reilly said, "Come on. The only thing sleeping under bridges is [Edwards'] brain ... We're still looking for all the vets under the bridges, so if you find one, let me know." according to the The NY Daily News.

I know this is stating the obvious, but seeing as Fox News describes the O'Reilly Factor as news, shouldn't there be some fact checking, here?

Get a Life!

from All Hat No Cattle.

It's not worth it

I've been listening to the spin the Republicans are putting on the "success" of the surge in Iraq. Violence is down and life is returning to normal. What will the Democrats do now, the neocons say, if they are proven "wrong" about Iraq?

We have no proof yet that the surge has actually been able to turn the corner in Iraq and bring about whatever it is Bush is defining as success these days, but the big question for me is, So what?

The Iraq war has now lasted longer than World War Two. Think back to the rhetoric of why we invaded and what we supposedly would accomplish in Iraq and compare it to the measures of success the Bush Administration is willing to settle for now.

It's not worth it.

Two new reports about veterans that you should know about: according to USA Today, some 20,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have brain injuries that have gone unreported in the military's official tally of the wounded.

Penny Coleman's blog Flashback says that 50% of reservists and 25% of enlisted personnel are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress syndrome.

It's not worth it.

Is this how the government supports our troops?

I find this story almost impossible to believe, but apparently The U.S. Government is asking wounded soldiers to return their signing bonuses, because they are unable to serve out their commitments! So you can lose an arm or a leg and be in debt to the government! You can read more at the Carpetbagger Report.

New bill would help homeless veterans

Sen Charles Schumer, D-NY, represents a state where more than 21,000 homeless veterans live. $225 million of his bill would go to expanding housing for veterans. Read more at NY1 News.

Remembering Homeless (and all) Veterans

My dad was a WWII and Korean veteran, serving in the Navy and the Coast Guard. On my dining room wall I've hung the original certificate from the U.S. Navy, stating that he had crossed the Arctic Circle on July 1, 1944 while serving aboard the U.S.S. Tampa. I suppose on most days I don't even notice it anymore, but today we honor veterans and I see that certificate again with new eyes.

The New York Times is reporting seeing the first trickle of homeless vets from the Iraq wars. The Boston Globe has an article with a Massachusetts focus on vets' struggles. The AP reports on Bush's politicking around getting a spending bill passed that would increase veterans' services.

In Boston yesterday, the Globe reports that eighteen veterans were arrested at the Annual Veteran's Day parade, protesting that their anti-war message had been excluded from the parade.

Check out probably the best blog on the web about veterans and homelessness, OldTimer Speaks. Photo is from that site.

200,000 Veterans Are Homeless Tonight

and 400,000 have been homeless at some point during this last year.

Who are homeless veterans?

The U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says the nation's homeless veterans are mostly males (4 % are females). The vast majority are single, most come from poor, disadvantaged communities, 45% suffer from mental illness, and half have substance abuse problems. America’s homeless veterans have served in World War II, Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Operation Iraqi Freedom, or the military’s anti-drug cultivation efforts in South America. Forty-seven percent of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam Era. More than 67% served our country for at least three years and 33% were stationed in a war zone. National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.

According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Urban Institute, 1999), veterans account for 23% of all homeless people in America.

Why are veterans homeless?

In addition to the complex set of factors affecting all homelessness -- extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income, and access to health care -- a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse, compounded by a lack of family and social support networks.