The American Legion Department of Colorado Blog

The NoVa American Legion Riders Escort National Commander, Clarence Hill; Target Official, Carl Campbell and Undersecretary of Defense, Gary Motsek, to Legion Post 28 in Triangle, Va. Representatives of The American Legion, Target Corp., and Computer Science Corp. met in northern Virginia October 29 for the final U.S. leg of a nationwide drive to put smiles on the faces of 56 soldiers who were forced to destroy all their possessions when enemy insurgents attacked them in Afghanistan.

    “This is extraordinary,” said Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense Gary J. Mostek, as DVDs, video games, laptop computers, cameras, memory cards, books, magazines and other items were sorted at American Legion Post 28 in Triangle, Va. “Coming so close to Veterans Day, it really shows the strength of the bond among comrades in arms. There are no politics here.”

    The goods, soon to be shipped overseas to troops who survived the deadly Oct. 3 attack on Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan, were purchased after more than $50,000 was raised in cash donations through an American Legion blog site, The Burn Pit. Target Corp. matched the donations with another $50,000 in merchandise and gift cards. Computer Science Corp. of Connecticut (CSC) chipped in with 56 laptop computers.

    Soldiers from Bravo Troop 3-61 Cavalry from Fort Carson, Colo., became surrounded at COP Keating by enemy forces in the rugged Nuristan province of Afghanistan Eight U.S. soldiers and two Afghani troops were killed when the militant force – estimated at 300 fighters – attacked. The soldiers were forced to call in an air strike on their own position that destroyed all their personal possessions.

    Most of the 56 survivors left the region with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and their weapons. Lost were all their personal items, including computers, cameras, books, video games and other comfort items that brought some respite from the war.

    Soon after the attack, one of the soldiers e-mailed The American Legion and expressed concern that no one at home knew what they were doing there and that no one really cared. The soldier’s words were posted on The Burn Pit (www.burnpit.legion.org), and the Legion’s COP Keating Relief Fund was born. In less than a week, more than $50,000 poured in. CSC offered the laptop computers, Target matched the $50,000 with gift cards and merchandise, and Legionnaires in three cities rallied to the cause. The Legion worked with Veterans of Valor, a nonprofit organization founded by a combat-wounded Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, to purchase iPods for the troops, as well.

    Legionnaires in Colorado Springs (near Fort Carson) and Minneapolis (near Target corporate headquarters) drew major regional media coverage when they appeared at Target stores, escorted by Legion Riders, to buy merchandise for the troops. Customers and employees applauded and cheered the effort.

    Finally, in Virginia on October 29, American Legion National Commander Clarence Hill, members of Post 28 and local Target store manager Carl Campbell, a Marine Corps veteran, acknowledged the collaborative effort and the importance of showing deployed troops that they, indeed, have support on the home front.

    No additional contributions are needed for the COP Keating Relief Fund. Those who wish to donate to soldiers in need are urged to give to The American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors (http://www.legion.org/whatsnew/campaigns) instead, which purchases comfort items for U.S. soldiers recovering from wounds and illnesses at military hospitals around the world.

Taking a page out of The American Legion’s efforts to “reconnect” with America’s military, the Department of Colorado has instituted a program that significantly increases the interaction between military members, military families and the nation’s largest veterans organization.

     “Operation Soldier” is a program designed in 2009 to honor the families of those who serve in the Armed Forces of the United States. Components of the program include American Legion “family days” for those on military duty, military recruiters telling students about American Legion programs, military aptitude exams administered at Boys State and a close working relationship between Army recruiters and Colorado Legion family members.

     “A portion of this program deals with honoring soldiers and their families with Certificates of Recognition and Blue Star Service Banners,” said Gar Williams, Past Department Commander of Colorado. “It’s a proven fact that TAPS (transition assistance) briefings don’t work. That’s because the kids are simply looking at the other side of the door and getting out of the service. This program works with them as they are coming in to the service.”

     The genesis for the program is a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Past National Commander David K. Rehbein and the U.S. Army Recruiting Commander (USAREC). The MOU states that when it is within the capabilities of an individual post, The American Legion will assist the Army in qualifying future soldiers by mentoring and tutoring.

     According to Williams, the document permits and encourages local Army recruiters to interact with The American Legion at the post, district and department levels, while providing local Legion posts access to military guest speakers, military displays at Legion events, new members and access to potential Legion, American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion members.

     “Army recruiters have a very hard job but the support we have been getting from The American Legion has been tremendous,” said Lt.Col. Bill Medina, commander of the U.S. Army Denver Recruiting Battalion. “The Army values the continuity of service from those who served before us to the soldiers of tomorrow. The Legion has been reaching out to the parents and family members of the young people who we recruit. Legionnaires are often influential members of the community and this helps us with our efforts.”

     “This ties us into professional recruiters, who are doing this everyday. We have that military connection with them,” Williams said. “American Legion benefits and programs also give the recruiters something else to offer the community besides just asking them to join the service. It expands the knowledge of what the Legion is.”

     The program not only benefits Army recruiting, but it is expected to pay dividends in Legion recruitment as well. “We just gotten it off the ground but my guesstimate is that it will produce 1,000 new Legionnaires a year in Colorado and it has the potential to provide a thousand new Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion members as well. If we get all four branches of service involved, the recruiting potential is phenomenal.”

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 – The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs approved two bills Oct. 28, including measures to increase veterans’ ability to compete for VA procurement contracts and to improve job-training opportunities for veterans.

    Ranking committee member Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., amended a draft veteran benefits bill to elevate the priority status for veteran-owned small businesses seeking sole source contracts with VA. Buyer’s amendment would place veterans on the same priority level as minority-owned small businesses.

    “This provision is a major victory for all veteran-owned small businesses,” Buyer said. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and my amendment would give veteran entrepreneurs the priority they have earned and deserve when competing for contracts with the federal government.”

    Other provisions in the draft benefits bill would amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to strengthen servicemembers’ rights with regard to service contracts on items such as cell phones, and establish a system within the current VA database of veteran-owned small businesses to provide verifications necessary to process contract applications.

    The committee also approved H.R. 1168, as amended, the Veterans Retraining Act of 2009, which was introduced by Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Ranking Member John Boozman, R-Ark. The bill would provide a housing stipend to unemployed veterans enrolled in a Department of Labor job-training program. The bill also would provide financial assistance to help newly trained veterans relocate to geographic locations with a high demand for their acquired skills.

    “Veterans’ unemployment rates are at an all-time high of over 8 percent. This dismal number equates to nearly a million veterans who cannot find work, and over half of those are between the ages of 35 and 64 – the prime earning years,” Boozman said. “It is my hope that H.R. 1168 will provide the necessary training opportunities that will allow more of these men and women to acquire employment skills that reflect job market demands, and the financial means to relocate to where those jobs are plentiful.”

Addressing the annual American Legion College, Past National Commander and Legion College chancellor Butch Miller had a message for the 51 attendees: have a purpose for being there.

    “(National Commander) Clarence Hill once attended the Legion College,” Miller said. “Does that mean you’re going to rise to that level? I don’t know. It all depends upon you. Being at this college doesn’t guarantee you anything.”

    Miller, who served as national commander from 1998-1999, stressed to the students the importance of staying levelheaded and applying wisely the knowledge gained from the Legion College, which began October 25.

    “I always tell the students to go back to their department and take the job no one wants,” Miller said. “Don’t go back home thinking you’re going to run the department.”

    Known for being the first national commander to have a computer by his side, Miller told students that they should embrace Internet social media and use it to broadcast the Legion’s accomplishments to the public. He said Legionnaires everywhere should use tools like Twitter and Facebook to help the Legion modernize itself and the way it relays its message.

    “We can change,” Miller said. “You are going to be (changing), and you are an instrument of that change.”

    National Adjutant Daniel S. Wheeler also addressed the Legion College on October 26. Wheeler stayed on Miller’s topic, outlining the future of the organization’s media division, which includes launching a newly designed Web site to accompany the Legion’s ‘Burnpit’ blog, Twitter and Facebook page. Wheeler also stressed the importance of social media, saying Legionnaires everywhere should embrace it and publicize their accomplishments with it.

    “For the first time in history, we don’t have to rely on the media to get the message out. The message is in our hands,” Wheeler said.

    But, with the advent of new media, Wheeler said Legionnaires can’t begin to ignore personal outreach, like developing a rapport with new members and making them feel comfortable.

    “All this high-tech stuff is great, but it’s the high-touch stuff that gets the job done,” Wheeler said.

As a continuation of our successful partnership, Rebuilding Together has partnered in 2009 with HGTV for the “Change the World. Start at Home” campaign.  “Change the World. Start at Home” is HDTV’s community revitalization and environmental education campaign in partnership with Rebuilding Together, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Natural Resources Defense Council. 

    This year, the campaign focused on the rehabilitation of America’s historic veterans’ community homes.   Rebuilding Together Philadelphia and Rebuilding Together St. Louis completed large-scale home renovations and accessibility modifications on veteran’s transitional homes in their communities, and the results are simply astounding.  You can learn more about these projects at www.hgtv.com/changetheworld.

    As our veteran supporters, we at Rebuilding Together wanted to let you know that the special featuring our work in Philadelphia and St. Louis will be airing this Veteran’s Day, November 11th, at 8 p.m. EST, where you can see these remarkable renovations for the first time, and a glimpse into the local efforts to help veterans in two unique neighborhoods.

    We would love your support in spreading the word on this upcoming event.  Please contact me if you are interested in helping us promote the event through your websites and membership.   Regardless, tune in on the 11th to see our important work for veterans in action!!

    Thank you for your support, and for all you do to assist veterans!!

Regards,

Vanessa

Vanessa Georgeson, Program Manager,

Veterans Housing Rebuilding Together

1899 L Street, NW Suite 1000

Washington, D.C. 20036

www.rebuildingtogether.org

Main: 1.800.473.4229

Direct: 202.518.3111

Fax: 202.483.9081

By: Daniel S. Wheeler, American Legion National Adjutant

For all you Twitterers:  With Veterans Day right around the corner and the inevitable “Legion (VFW, DAV, etc.) is dying articles,” I thought you should know The American Legion has signed up 185,000 new members since July, and more than 30,000 of those were Gulf War/OEF/OIF vets  (we plan to ask for more defined periods on the app, and show more defined periods on the card starting in 2011 membership year). Hardly sounds like a dying organization, now, does it? 

    Just this week we sent 18 young American Legion Baseball stars to the World Series, and $150,000 worth of goods to soldiers in Afghanistan.  You probably have 25 other things you just did in your departments.  Don’t wait for the local newspaper to call you; call it.  Tell the reporter you want to talk about Veterans Day before he/she writes his/her story.  Tell herm you want herm to speak to “whoever can tell the best story about what veterans means to America.”  Line them up; make it easy; reporters are sometimes not the most energetic or imaginative people.  Make sure you know what we’ve done recently.  Go to the National Commander’s blog if you have to refresh your memory. (http://clarencehill.legion.org/)

    In the meanwhile, you should know that the National Commander is going to followed around Washington, DC, by a fellow video-taping, another photographing, and yet another tweeting his every move.  We plan to have live coverage of all that he does pumped onto the website and the social networks.  Our media division will be working that day.

    The National Commander’s Schedule, which I think may be of interest to some media types, and certainly gives your spokespersons even more to talk about:

November 10

Breakfast at the Pentagon with the Secretary of Defense (Gates)

Trip to Bethesda Naval Hospital to visit with the wounded troops

Speaking engagement at Catholic University of America to talking about the significance of Veterans Day

November 11

Breakfast reception at the White House with President a few select VSO heads

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for official ceremony

Speaking at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for official ceremony, and laying wreath

Another White House reception, hosted by VP, honoring vets of the Berlin Airlift

Speaking to the families and vets of the Berlin Air Lift at an event downtown DC

November 12

7 am, headed to Florida for official visit.

WASHINGTON (Oct. 28, 2009) — The leader of The American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans service organization, says he feels a mixture of pleasure and disappointment at the contents of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization Act. The measure was signed into law today by President Obama and witnessed by Peter S. Gaytan, Executive Director of the Legion’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

    “One of the four pillars upon which The American Legion was founded is national security,” said the organization’s national commander, Clarence E. Hill. “So, among our major concerns are the maintenance of a strong national defense and the provision of a favorable quality of life for military families.

    “With regard to national defense — from The American Legion’s point of view — the new Defense Authorization Act contains some good news in that it authorizes an extra 30-thousand troops for the U.S. Army,” continued Hill.  “Though the increase is not as much as we would like, it does, in fact, double the number in the administration’s original budget request.  We thank Congress for that.  The new act also contains a 3.4-percent pay raise for active duty, National Guard and Reserve members. This exceeds the President’s budget request by half a percent. We thank members of Congress for that, as well.  The new act also prevents, at least for the coming year, any increase in TRICARE military health insurance co-payments for inpatient care and mandates a long list of initiatives to protect absentee voting rights for military personnel and their families.  These are all good things.

    “However, The American Legion is disappointed that several measures for which we lobbied were dropped from the final defense act,” Hill said.   Most, such as our much favored phasing out of compromised pay for medically retired service members and deduction of survivor benefits from military survivor benefits plan (SBP) annuities, were due to failures to identify funding offsets. Indicative of this is the omission from the act of a Senate-passed provision expressing the sense of Congress that military retirement and health benefits are the primary reward for the extraordinary demands and sacrifices made by members of our armed forces; that those who serve our country by pursuing a military career deserve health benefits commensurate with their sacrifices and that the Department of Defense needs to explore methods of reducing health care spending other than shifting more costs to military beneficiaries.

    “That should go without saying,” concluded Cmdr. Hill, “but, nevertheless, this defense authorization act should have said it.”

WASHINGTON (Oct. 30, 2009) — Rounding out the month of October with the enactment of legislation strengthening the political franchise of active duty military personnel has made the leader of The American Legion feeling good.

        “It’s with a sense of great satisfaction,” said Clarence E. Hill, national commander of the nation’s largest veterans’ service organization. “that The American Legion can celebrate victory in our long-fought battle to award the Department of Veterans Affairs advance appropriations and, with the President’s signing this week of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, applaud a 3-point-4 percent military pay raise and the strengthening of our Army by 30-thousand troops.

        “But, something else was contained in the Defense Appropriations Act that may, in the long run, have the greatest significance of all, not just to our military, but to our nation as a whole,” said Hill. “And that is the military voting reform measure contained in the legislation.  As Texas Senator John Cornyn said in his original and excellent bill – which got folded into the Defense Appropriations Act – ‘the ability of the members of the Armed Forces to vote while serving overseas has been hampered by numerous factors, including inadequate processes for ensuring their timely receipt of absentee ballots, delivery methods that are typically slow and antiquated, and a myriad of absentee voting procedures that are often confusing and vary among the several States.’

        “The new military voting reforms correct those discrepancies and also provide for expert guidance through the military’s absentee voting process,” Hill said.  “What this all means is that our citizens most deserving of a voice in the affairs of our nation and the choice of our leaders can now be heard in full strength.  This is something The American Legion has long championed and so I say, with great pride on behalf of our two-and-a-half million Legion members, ‘mission accomplished’!”

WASHINGTON (October 30, 2009) — The American Legion has delivered letters of appreciation to four members of Congress for introducing bills that would improve the Troops to Teachers program, which is designed to make it easier for military veterans to transition into careers as educators. 

    “Since 1999, The American Legion continues to support the concept of offering incentives and assistance to former U.S. service members seeking certification and employment as educators,” National Commander Clarence E. Hill wrote in letters to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn.; and Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis. “We are pleased your bill seeks to make the Troops to Teachers program more accessible to a greater number of veterans and more school districts…Clearly, Troops to Teachers meets the needs of local schools and is an excellent employment opportunity for recently separated service members.”

    The bills, H.R. 3943 and S. 1932, would expand the Troops to Teachers program pool of eligible participants by reducing length of service requirements.  The Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act would also expand the number of school districts in which participants can qualify for a stipend toward the cost of becoming a teacher. Moreover, the Act would create an advisory board charged with improving awareness of the program, increasing participation and ensuring that the program meets the needs of schools and veterans.

    The current Troops to Teachers program was implemented in 1994. William Owings, a professor who has studied the program, told Time Magazine, “Principals and other supervisors have reported that these teachers worked better with problem children, worked better with parents and worked better with colleagues. He added that administrators have observed, that, “the TTT people rated higher in exhibiting behaviors that are associated with increases in student achievement.”

    In his letters to the sponsoring lawmakers, Hill expressed his support. “The American Legion salutes you for your leadership on this important matter and stands with you in support. The Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act not only assists veterans in transitioning to a new career as educators, but also provides excellent role models for the youth of this nation.”

Thursday, November 5, 2009

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Denver Regional Office is hosting a Homeless Stand Down at the National Guard Armory, 5275 Franklin St., Denver, on Thursday, November 5, 2009, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Over 460 homeless veterans were served last year.

    Stand Down is a military term that means a temporary stop of offensive military action.  Homeless Stand

Downs are designed to transform the despair and immobility of homelessness into the momentum necessary to get into recovery, to resolve legal issues, to seek employment, to access health services and benefits, to reconnect with the community and acquire housing.

    Services and providers will include federal, state and non-profit organizations including the VA Medical Center, Denver VA Regional Office (benefits), VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services, Veteran Service Organizations, the Social Security Administration, housing referrals, and legal services.  Veterans will be offered clothing items, sleeping bags, boots, free flu shots, hearing aide repair, dental screening, haircuts and eyeglass repair.  Two hot meals will be served thanks to Moose Hill Cantina and Warren Technical School of Culinary Arts. The Denver Sheriff’s Department is also donating the time of five Sheriffs, Verizon is donating phone lines, and the National Guard Armory is donating its space for the event.

    Buses will be running from the St. Francis Day Shelter, the Samaritan House, and the Denver VA Medical Center to the National Guard Armory.