UPDATE: After being shocked by the update, I decided to go to the VA website for the answer. Here it is!
Gulf War Service For VA benefit purposes under 38 CFR 3.317, Gulf War service is active military duty in any of the following areas in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations at any time August 2, 1990 to present. This includes Veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2010) and Operation New Dawn (2010-2011).
Southwest Asia theatre of military operations: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, U.A.E., Oman, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea
Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia The neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia Bahrain Qatar The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Oman Gulf of Aden Gulf of Oman Waters of the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea The airspace above these locations Note: Service in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001, is considered qualifying service for disability benefits associated with certain presumptive diseases.
Really odd followup to this story boils down to no one officially ended the Gulf War!
“More than 650,000 Service members served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 2, 1990 to July 31, 1991. For VA benefits eligibility purposes, the Gulf War period is still in effect,” the VA website states. “This means that anyone who served on active duty from August 2, 1990, to present is considered a Gulf War Veteran. For example, the Veterans Pension benefit requires service during a wartime period. Therefore, any Veteran who served on active military service for any period from August 2, 1990, to the present meets the wartime service requirement.”
“Even those of us who served in Operation Desert Storm were told that ‘the war was over’ when it fact there was only a cease fire declared, and no official end to the war has been declared as of this date, and all veterans who served from Aug. 2, 1990 until a date yet to be declared are Gulf War veterans.”
Holmes Beach mayoral candidate falsely claims he’s a veteran of first Gulf War. He was 15 Bradenton Herald Mark Young July 25, 2018
HOLMES BEACH Holmes Beach mayoral candidate Joshua Linney claims in his campaign biography that he served with the U.S. Army in Iraq and that he is a veteran of the first Gulf War.
Holmes Beach mayoral candidate Joshua Linney claims he misspoke in misrepresenting his military service. Provided photo
“I’m a Gulf War veteran whose worked to overcome war, trauma, alcoholism, chemical dependence and PTSD, while living with disabilities, and I conquered them all,” Linney, 42, wrote in a biography submitted to the Manatee County supervisor of elections office and posted on the agency’s website
However, Linney was never in Iraq, according to his discharge papers. And as for his claim to being a Gulf War veteran, the war was fought in January-February 1991, when Linney was 15.
When he was 18, Linney enlisted in the Army in September 1993 and was medically discharged in August 1996, after he fell off a building and suffered a traumatic brain injury for which he receives disability benefits, according to his discharge papers. read more here
Veteran goes from spending $500 a day on heroin to owning a business News4Jax By Chris Parenteau - Reporter July 25, 2018
"God is the only reason I came through it," Tipper said. "And I think there is always a plan and that things may seem insurmountable to be able to come past an addiction, but it’s definitely doable."
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A United States Army veteran went from spending $500 a day on heroin to owning a business.
Kendall Tipper shared his story about how the opioid crisis affected him with News4Jax on Wednesday. The former soldier talked about how he broke his addiction and turned his life around.
Day-to-day, Tipper works as a chauffeur, driving a black car for Tipper Transportation, the company he started.
But to getting to where he is today wasn't easy.
"A lot of times, I would catch myself thinking, 'Am I going to be on drugs forever?'" Tipper said.
After he graduated from First Coast High School, Tipper enrolled at Florida State College at Jacksonville, but he quickly knew it wasn’t for him. That’s when he enlisted in the U.S. Army.
"I need the discipline and I didn’t have it at the time," he said. read more here
Want to know the best way to destroy a reputation? Go off on a public rant about whatever you think, as soon as you think it then share it without ever thinking about what comes next. Florida Official Resigns After Cursing Out Army Veteran As ‘Traitor’ On Facebook THE PALM BEACH POST By ALEXANDRA SELTZER July 26, 2018
“My words were spoken as a private citizen, not in any professional or public capacity and should be treated accordingly,” she wrote. She also added her role in the exchange wasn’t “her finest hour” and she “let my Trump hate get the best of me and said some truly hurtful things.”
The vice chair of a little-known environmental panel resigned Wednesday after she came under fire for cursing at a U.S. Army veteran, calling him a traitor and speaking ill of fallen veterans in a Facebook chat earlier this month.
Patricia “Pat” Edmonson, who until Wednesday afternoon served on the Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation District, and U.S. Army veteran James Plowman, who lives in North Carolina, didn’t know each other before they met in cyberspace through a discussion on Facebook on July 16.
But their conversation turned extremely ugly — and has gone viral.
The two sparred over a Facebook post by another user regarding President Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin. After Plowman mentioned the years he spent in combat, Edmonson, wrote using an expletive, “—— you, traitor.”
Edmonson then launched into a vitriolic tirade of posts. “Do your dead brothers ever visit your dreams and ask you why you’ve turned your back on them?” she wrote. She also asked:“Do you smell the rotting flesh of those you’ve betrayed?”
Reached on Wednesday, Plowman said he isn’t concerned about being called a traitor. That’s comical to him, he said. But the comments she made about soldiers killed in battle “just can’t be forgiven,” Plowman said. read more on Task and Purpose
In 2007 I was one of those idiots. I always complained about people crossing the line and getting to political, until I did it. That kept going on until I received an email from a Marine serving in Iraq, telling me he really liked the work I did but did not want to read my political BS. I snapped back at him in an angry email and sent it feeling oh, so justified. That was until he responded with just one question. "Are you doing this for yourself or us?" When I stopped crying enough to see the computer screen again, I made him and promise that from that day on, he would not read anything political unless a politician did something for them or to them. It is not easy keeping my word but I did and have gone after elected officials no matter what party they belong to. Frankly after what I've seen, I have lost faith in both sides, including staunch supporters who would rather fight than communicate. Anyway, the thing is, I have friends on both sides and none of them know what I think. On the flip side, none of them know when they are hurting me by publicly sharing their thoughts while slamming something I feel strongly about. While their view is important to them, their view can destroy friendships, ruin organizations and, all too often, destroy a reputation. It is not easy to remember to keep stuff to myself, so as a reminder, I left that embarrassment online all these years. I did not know who I was hurting back then either but the worst thing is, I was so self-absorbed, I did not even think about anyone else. That is why I cried when I read the Marine's email. I was doing that for myself.
First Woman Promoted to Navy Admiral Dies at 98 Stars and Stripes By Corey Dickstein 25 Jul 2018
Following her death, Navy officials described her as a trailblazer for military women and a medical innovator.
WASHINGTON -- The first woman to rise to admiral in the Navy died Saturday, just more than 46 years after her groundbreaking promotion into the ranks of flag officer, the service announced Wednesday.
Retired Rear Adm. Alene Duerk, the first woman to rise to admiral in the U.S. Navy died Saturday, June 21, 2018. (U.S. NAVY)
Retired Rear Adm. Alene Duerk spent her career in the Navy's nursing corps, serving during three major wars and eventually rising to the Navy's top nurse position, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command. She was 98 years old. Duerk never envisioned making the Navy a career when she entered the service as an ensign in 1941 after graduating from the Toledo Hospital School of Nursing in her native Ohio, she said in a 2016 interview at Bowling Green State University. read more here
Off topic: Does Walmart know what "ring my bell means?
The lyric "You can ring my bell" was seen as sexually suggestive according to The Slanguage of Sex(1984), "'You can ring my bell any time you want to' would be regarded as a 'come-on' phrase in the US if used by a female," and "Songs like 'Ring My Bell' by Anita Ward caused scarcely a raised eyebrow in the '70s."[9]Billboard magazine included the song on its list of the 50 sexiest songs of all time.
That is almost as dumb as the Nissan commercial with Mony Mony...and kids on the bus singing about "ride the pony" without knowing what that song meant. That is part of the problem when someone is trying to get you interested in what they have to sell. Same thing with the "suicide awareness" raising going on. They do not know the meaning behind the message either. In that case, it should have been about making people aware that tomorrow can be better instead of talking about something they do not understand. All that does it take hope away from them and message has opposite result.
