At 35, Army Reservist... finally a soldier

He couldn't enlist after 9/11 because he was undocumented. At 35, he just finished boot camp

CBS News
BY CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ
MAY 10, 2019

Vargas' enlistment in the Army Reserve marked the culmination of a remarkable, nearly two-decades-long journey from undocumented immigrant to trail-blazing attorney and activist. It also served as a stark reminder that the country Vargas has fought so hard to serve in uniform is still leaving many — including his family — in the shadows.

Specialist Cesar Vargas, 35, a former undocumented immigrant, graduated from basic training in late April after unsuccessfully trying to enlist for nearly two decades. CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ

Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. — One by one, the young soldiers stepped forward methodically, announcing their rank, last name and hometown.

By the time it was Cesar Vargas' turn, his brothers and sisters in arms in Charlie Company had mapped out locations across the U.S. and around the world — from Omaha, Nebraska and Brooklyn, to West Africa's Burkina Faso and Lima, Peru.

"Puebla, Mexico!" the 35-year-old Vargas shouted, stepping in front of his comrades, many of whom had recently graduated from high school.

The stark age difference between him and the other boot camp graduates was not lost on Vargas, now a specialist in the Army Reserve. Since he was a teenager, he's been trying to join the armed forces. "After 9/11 — as a New Yorker — I took it very personally," he told CBS News. "And while many of my friends were trying to enlist, I couldn't because of my immigration status."
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Veteran found guilty of embezzling government funds

Omahan will pay more than $170,000 for concealing income while on disability

Omaha World Herald
By Kevin Cole / World-Herald staff writer
Dec 11, 2018

A 62-year-old Omaha man has been ordered to pay more than $170,000 in restitution after being found guilty of embezzling government funds.

Michael A. Basile was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court by Judge Robert F. Rossiter, who ordered him to make restitution to the Department of Veterans Affairs in the amount of $62,255.56 and to the Railroad Retirement Board in the amount of $108,352.32. Basile was also ordered to serve five years of probation and perform 150 hours of community service.

U.S. Attorney Joe Kelly said Basile was receiving disability payments from both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Railroad Retirement Board based on an existing disability.
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Iraq Veteran James Womack Shot and Killed in Omaha

Iraq War veteran shot, killed near 60th, L streets; no arrests made

KETV ABC 7 News

Josh Planos

September 19, 2017

OMAHA, Neb.
James Womack, a father of three who served three tours in Iraq, was shot and killed on Monday -- his daughter's birthday -- during rush hour.

Omaha police haven't made any arrests in Monday's fatal shooting of the 32-year-old.

The shooting was reported around 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of 60th and L streets. Womack was driving a Hills Bros. semi-truck when he was shot. A nurse successfully attempted to keep him alive until paramedics arrived, a witness said.

"When I got to the stoplight, I saw someone resuscitating the guy on the ground at the median," Gabriel Bernal, a witness, told KETV NewsWatch 7.

Paramedics rushed Womack to Bergan Mercy Hospital while performing CPR. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
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Farmer sends huge thank you to the troops coming home

WHAT PILOTS SEE WHEN LANDING AT OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE...
A farmer does this with his tractor. He uses GPS to get the letters readable. He has done this every fall for several years now. Here's the view from the flight pattern into OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE ( Bellevue , NE., just south of Omaha ).
This is what our servicemen see when landing at Offutt AFB.
Hat tip to the Bellevue farmer who made it happen!

Sgt. Jim gave a link to even more pictures. Apache Clips

Omaha VA hospital's fate up in air

VA hospital's fate up in air
By Henry J. Cordes
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Will a plan to spend almost $600 million on a new hospital for veterans in Omaha survive the new era of austerity that seems to be taking hold in Washington?

It's too early to tell, Veterans Administration Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said Friday in Omaha.

But he also said support for the needs of veterans historically has been strong and bipartisan in the nation's capital.

"That won't change,'' he predicted. And that would seem to bode well for the facility the former Army general described as "much-needed.''

Omaha VA officials currently are in the midst of drawing up plans for a new $560 million hospital that would serve more than 167,000 veterans across Nebraska, western Iowa and parts of Kansas and Missouri. It would replace the aging 60-year-old facility near 42nd and Woolworth Streets, and is tentatively set for completion by 2018.

Shinseki, a twice-wounded Vietnam veteran appointed by President Barack Obama in late 2008, was in Omaha as part of a national tour of VA facilities. Before speaking with reporters, he held a round table with rural veterans to hear about their health care concerns and ideas.

One thing Shinseki learned in the discussion is that the department's push to increase use of "telemedicine'' faces a barrier in the lack of broadband service in many parts of the region.
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