I'm 40% service-connected disabled. The disabilities are not that big a deal. One example: 10% of that rating is for ringing in my ears. I would prefer that I not have ringing in my ears, but some hearing damage is part and parcel of going to wars.
My disability rating is high enough (over 20%) that I'm eligible for job training. One way that the VA can provide job training is by footing the bill for college. I would like to be a high school science teacher which requires a degree that I don't have. The VA's help could go a long way toward getting me into the classroom.
Well, dork that I am, I didn't apply for benefits until this month. Today, I just got tentatively approved for my education goal. There are tests to take, advisors and counselors to meet and stacks of forms complete but my objective has been conditionally approved.
The process is far from over, but it's off to a good start. What a huge load off my mind.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
About damn time....
Military Stressing Veterans' Counseling - washingtonpost.com: "Applicants for government security clearances will no longer have to declare whether they sought mental health counseling after serving in combat zones, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced yesterday."
Well, it's a baby step in the right direction.
The wording is still lame "strictly related to adjustments from service in a military combat environment" is not going to reassure many folks who are still on active duty. I'll give you an example: Airman Wingwiper deploys to the sandbox for 180 days and his marriage self-destructs when he comes home. Why is he seeking counseling? Does that meet the criteria? Will everyone think that? I'll tell you why that's important. The one absolute sure-fire way to get your clearance denied to to get caught in a lie on your SF86.
The effect of the current policy on security clearances and other special-access programs is that it drives folks to the chaplains. Some chaplains are excellent counselors. Some chaplains are not up to the challenge. (And some chaplains are rapists.)
I have a friend who took a bad shot in a war zone. He did not join the military and did not make the sacrifices he has made in order to kill innocent civilians. He went were he was sent, he did what he was told to do and the results were tragic. The USAF moved on and he didn't. He was saddled with nightmares and anger issues. He went to a chaplain for help because a chaplain's help was the best he could get without risking his career.
My personal take is that chaplains should stick to their area of expertise: religion. I would no sooner see a chaplain about battlestress issues than I would a fry cook.
I appreciate Secretary Gates' intentions, but he's still way short of the mark.
Well, it's a baby step in the right direction.
The wording is still lame "strictly related to adjustments from service in a military combat environment" is not going to reassure many folks who are still on active duty. I'll give you an example: Airman Wingwiper deploys to the sandbox for 180 days and his marriage self-destructs when he comes home. Why is he seeking counseling? Does that meet the criteria? Will everyone think that? I'll tell you why that's important. The one absolute sure-fire way to get your clearance denied to to get caught in a lie on your SF86.
The effect of the current policy on security clearances and other special-access programs is that it drives folks to the chaplains. Some chaplains are excellent counselors. Some chaplains are not up to the challenge. (And some chaplains are rapists.)
I have a friend who took a bad shot in a war zone. He did not join the military and did not make the sacrifices he has made in order to kill innocent civilians. He went were he was sent, he did what he was told to do and the results were tragic. The USAF moved on and he didn't. He was saddled with nightmares and anger issues. He went to a chaplain for help because a chaplain's help was the best he could get without risking his career.
My personal take is that chaplains should stick to their area of expertise: religion. I would no sooner see a chaplain about battlestress issues than I would a fry cook.
I appreciate Secretary Gates' intentions, but he's still way short of the mark.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Money, Ideology, Coercion, Ego and Nationalism?
What Motivates a Spy to Betray His Country? Add Nationalism to the Equation - New York Times
Interesting piece in the NYT about a shift in the motivations for traitors.
First off, I want to be picky here about word use. Spying is a profession. Sure, spies tell lies and violate other countries' laws but spies are professionals who are serving their own nation. Traitors, on the other hand, are betraying their own country. I can respect a spy, I cannot respect a traitor.
The trend amongst traitors seems to be shifting away from money. According to the NYT article, approximately half of the new batch of traitors are motivated by ideology to their native country.
I disagree with the article on the importance of sexual compromise. It's always been part of the game. It's not new.
I recommend reading article.
Interesting piece in the NYT about a shift in the motivations for traitors.
First off, I want to be picky here about word use. Spying is a profession. Sure, spies tell lies and violate other countries' laws but spies are professionals who are serving their own nation. Traitors, on the other hand, are betraying their own country. I can respect a spy, I cannot respect a traitor.
The trend amongst traitors seems to be shifting away from money. According to the NYT article, approximately half of the new batch of traitors are motivated by ideology to their native country.
I disagree with the article on the importance of sexual compromise. It's always been part of the game. It's not new.
I recommend reading article.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Re-entry system parts shipped to Taiwan
Pentagon Admits Mistaken Arms Shipment - washingtonpost.com: "The nose cones, designed for a missile system that dates to the 1960s, were declared excess in March 2005 and shipped to a warehouse on an Air Force base in Wyoming, officials said. It is unclear whether they were placed in a classified storage area or how they were eventually mistaken for crates of batteries."
Honestly, if someone had asked me if this was possible I would have said "Hell no." So I guess I have revise (and lower) my opinion of my former co-workers. I am betting that these were time change items that had gone past service life and were returned to Hill AFB for the depot weenies to do whatever they do with them. How they got tagged at UH-1 batteries beats the hell out of me.
How the heck could anyone not notice we were missing forward sections to Mark 12 re-entry vehicles? (The Mark 12 is the assembly the contains the part that goes boom as well as support electronics.) It would seem to me that Mark 12 forward sections are accountable items.
Honestly, if someone had asked me if this was possible I would have said "Hell no." So I guess I have revise (and lower) my opinion of my former co-workers. I am betting that these were time change items that had gone past service life and were returned to Hill AFB for the depot weenies to do whatever they do with them. How they got tagged at UH-1 batteries beats the hell out of me.
How the heck could anyone not notice we were missing forward sections to Mark 12 re-entry vehicles? (The Mark 12 is the assembly the contains the part that goes boom as well as support electronics.) It would seem to me that Mark 12 forward sections are accountable items.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The new sins are out!
Vatican Announces Seven New Deadly Sins | March 10, 2008 | AHN: "Mgr Girotti named the new mortal sins to be (1)genetic modification; (2) human experimentations, (3) polluting the environment; (4) social injustice; (5) causing poverty; (6) financial gluttony; and (7) taking drugs."
Maybe they're trying to drum up confessional business.
I am unclear as to why I am supposed to care what a Bronze Age myth (updated or not) says about how I live my life.
And while we're at it:
8) voting for anyone who voted in favor of the Patriot Act
9) SPAMMING
10) being a Yankee fan
...
Maybe they're trying to drum up confessional business.
I am unclear as to why I am supposed to care what a Bronze Age myth (updated or not) says about how I live my life.
And while we're at it:
8) voting for anyone who voted in favor of the Patriot Act
9) SPAMMING
10) being a Yankee fan
...
Bad law to go with bad problem
Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal - Video - WTVQ 36 - Lexington, Kentucky: "Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal."
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Lawyers Rally Against Musharaff Government - New York Times
Lawyers Rally Against Musharaff Government - New York Times: "“Our struggle is to make Pakistan a state where the judiciary is independent, and what Musharraf did to the chief justice is an example of how under him no judge is ever independent,” Mr. Ahsan said to a crowd of lawyers who chanted for Mr. Musharraf’s resignation. The rally here on Saturday was part of a series of marketplace demonstrations between the capital, Islamabad, and this nearby city to show support for the lawyers movement. The lawyers are planning a week of anti-Musharraf demonstrations, called Black Flag Week after the protesters’ flags and armbands."
These are brave men and women. I hope they get a free country to live in.
These are brave men and women. I hope they get a free country to live in.
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