Romney promises VA revamp or end?

Romney promises VA revamp
By Camille Tuutti
Jul 25, 2012

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wants to transform the Veteran Affairs Department, with an emphasis on technology and reforms to business processes. Among the key promises he made during a July 24 address to the VFW National Convention in Reno, Nev., is reduce the backlog for disability benefit claims by eliminating unnecessary red tape and adopting a consistent electronic claims processing system.

In addition, Romney’s reform plan would expand the VA health system to reach more of the 41 percent of veterans living in rural areas and make online consultations, tele-homecare and tele-monitoring more available.

If elected president, Romney said, he would also undo the $1.2 trillion in defense cuts slated to take effect Jan. 3, 2013. The across-the-board reductions, required under sequestration after a bipartisan committee failed to agree to more targeted cuts in 2011, would “severely shrink our force structure, and impair our ability to meet and deter threats,” he said.

“Don't bother trying to find a serious military rationale behind any of this, unless that rationale is wishful thinking,” Romney said at the Reno convention. “Strategy is not driving President Obama's massive defense cuts. In fact, his own secretary of defense warned that these reductions would be ‘devastating.’”

(Fact check: What Romney calls "President Obama's massive defense cuts" are part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which passed Congress with the votes of 202 Republicans -- 174 in the House and 28 in the Senate.)
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Here is part of what Richard Klass Colonel, USAF (ret.) wrote.

An Insult to Veterans

He asserts that the sequester cuts would weaken the Veterans Administration and that he would not let that happen. But President Obama has already ensured that the sequester, if it comes to pass, will not affect the VA. Gov. Romney did not mention his flirtation with replacing the VA with vouchers, a move that would decimate the VA's world class hospitals and research into veteran injuries such as loss of sight or limbs, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress.

He also seems to have ignored the fact that the GOP budget of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), that he supports, would cut $11 billion from next year's VA budget. And of course, he would not give the Obama Administration credit for the largest increases in the VA budget in 30 years and for the expansion of care for women, mental health services and ending the shame of veterans' homelessness.

Fisher House stands tall, aids all

Fisher House stands tall, aids all
Posted: Thursday, July 26, 2012 12:00 am
Cpl. Damany S. Coleman
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

“He was injured in Afghanistan,” said Genesis Elias, wife of Cpl. Ritchie Elias, with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. “I came to see him and the Naval Hospital let us know we could stay here at the Fisher House. I set up an appointment and they took us right in.”

Cpl. Elias was wounded on deployment after surviving a blast from an enemy grenade.

Now, at the Fisher House aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, the Elias’ have spent a few weeks at the Fisher House, taking advantage of the top-of-the-line accommodations. Anywhere else, the family could have expected to pay hundreds of dollars per night, adding to the complications and potentially slowing down the emotional and physical healing processes.

“If this house wasn’t here, we would be at a hotel or I just wouldn’t be here with him at all,” said Ritchie. “We’re comfortable, they check up on us, we’re able to cook and shop and we don’t have to tip-toe around. It feels just like home.”
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Flash mobs make way to Camp Lejeune

Flash mobs make way to Camp Lejeune
Posted: Thursday, July 26, 2012 12:00 am
Lance Cpl. Nik S. Phongsisattanak
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

Service members and base patrons dining and shopping in the Marine Corps Exchange aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune witnessed an unusual act July 13. In the blink of an eye, a group of people suddenly assembled inside of the main entrance of the exchange and caught viewers off guard with their dance performance.

The occasion created by Bill Wasik, the senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, is commonly known as a flash mob. These unique performances first broke loose in Manhattan in 2003, and they’ve made their way to MCB Camp Lejeune for the first time.
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Florida Rep. Allen West gave body armor to soldier in Iraq

This is a great story and shows how much they care about each other.

Iraq Veteran Sgt. Robert Delgado Touts Rep. Allen West in New Campaign Ad
At the Los Angeles Times, "Iraq war vet: 'Allen West saved my life'."
July 25, 2012

WASHINGTON – An Iraq war veteran has come to the aid of his former boss, Rep. Allen West, to tell how the Florida congressman handed over his body armor on the way to combat in Iraq, an act that might have saved the soldier’s life.

In a campaign spot that will air on Florida television during the Olympics, Sgt. Robert Delgado (Ret.) says he worried when he was deployed to Iraq that he might not make it home to see his new child – his wife was eight months pregnant at the time.
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But it also shows how little planning was done when the troops were sent into Iraq.

"It reminded me of a time when I deployed to Iraq in 2003 and we did not have enough body armor so I had to lend my body armor to my driver. Thank God when he got shot in the chest he had the right type of body armor that ricocheted that bullet off into his arm." Weekly Standard

That shows for all the time politicians used to sell the war in Iraq, they didn't take much time to pay for it or send the troops with everything they needed to do the job they were sent to do.

It is still a wonderful story about the men and women risking their lives for each other.

Volunteers Work to Provide Wounded Iraq Vet With Custom Home

Volunteers Work to Provide Wounded Iraq Vet With Custom Home
By ALEXIS SHAW
July 25, 2012

After months of renovations, a wounded Iraq War veteran and his wife are ready to move into their new home, thanks to the efforts of a volunteer project that customizes homes for wounded veterans.

Capt. Patrick Horan was serving in Iraq in 2007 when he was struck by a bullet that penetrated his skull and exploded. Horan was airlifted from Iraq to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where doctors removed half his skull, said his wife, Patty Horan.

"He had trouble speaking, but he also had trouble with the motor function of his mouth, just forming the words," she said.

For the past five years, Horan and his wife have moved around the country to get Horan the care he needs.

At last, they have a permanent home of their own, near family members and care givers, in McLean, Va.

"This house symbolizes enjoying life and just starting anew," said Patty Horan. "We can actually live life again instead of living 10 hours a day in a hospital. That's what we've been doing for five years."

Funding for the renovations came from a $10 million grant the Sears' Heroes at Home program gave to Rebuilding Together, a national volunteer home rehabilitation organization, specifically for veterans' housing, said Lee-Berkely Shaw, director of development at the Montgomery County, Va., chapter of Rebuilding Together.
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