FYI - From Cristy Lenz/CNN.com.

#LiveFree

#NeverForget

#BringThemHome

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Captured U.S. soldier's letter revives family's hopes

From Cristy Lenz, CNN

updated 7:41 AM EDT, Thu June 6, 2013

In 2012: Honoring POW Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Letter: "He was no doubt alive"
• "They are being very careful with him," Bergdahl's father writes
• Bergdahl was captured after he finished his guard shift
• His father believes a resolution is "getting closer"

(CNN) -- The family of Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban in 2009, received a letter from him recently -- reviving their hopes that the 27-year-old army sergeant is still alive.

Bergdahl's father mentioned receiving the letter in an e-mail exchange with Dwight Murphy, the spokesman for the local POW/MIA group in Boise Valley, Idaho.

 

"We have received a letter from Bowe through the Red Cross!" the father says in the exchange. "He was scripted and redacted but he was no doubt alive and his faculties fully functioning as of two months ago."

 

He did not say when he got the letter, but Murphy copied and pasted the exchange with the father on his Facebook page after receiving his permission to do so.

2012: Challenges of POW negotiations

2012: Remembering prisoners of war

 

The father's letter goes on say, "They are being very careful with him. He is still highly valued at high levels.

 

"Guantanamo, drones and politics in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Washington are still the big issues."

CNN was unable to reach the father late Wednesday night. The network also reached out to the military and the International Committee for the Red Cross for confirmation, but did not hear back.

Last week, the military told CNN it had no reason to believe Bergdahl was dead.

 

In 2012: Parents of captured soldier lead Washington motorcycle rally

 

Whereabouts unclear

Bergdahl was captured after he finished his guard shift at a combat outpost in southeastern Paktika province in Afghanistan.

 

Since his capture, four videos of the Idaho native have been released.

But the last video was sent in February 2011, and it's unclear where Bergdahl is being held now.

He was a private at the time.

 

The army has been giving Bergdahl promotions that would have come to him had his army career gone as planned. If he returns home safely, the army will give him all the back pay that he has earned while in captivity.

 

His father has rarely spoken to the media.

Bowe Bergdahl, an adventurer and gentleman

 

Resolution close?

In his exchange with Murphy, he said he believed "we are getting closer to a resolution."

But, he added, there seems to be a disagreement among the Taliban about the direction forward.

 

"It appears at least several parties want to arbitrate captive SGT Bowe, several others ... want to keep fighting until every single Westerner is out," the father said.

 

Last year, Bergdahl's parents led the Rolling Thunder ride in Washington, and said the family holds out hope for his safe return.

 

"Bowe, your family has not forgotten you, your hometown has not forgotten you. Your state of Idaho has not forgotten you, and thanks to all of you here today, Washington D.C. has not forgotten you," his father told a cheering crowd.

 

"We love you, we are proud of you. Stay strong, never give up. We pray for the day that we welcome you home," he said.

 

Flanked by riders wanting to offer support for the safe return of his son, Bergdahl spoke separately to CNN. He sported a long beard and wore a bandana imprinted with "POW." His son's official status is listed as "missing/captured."

 

"The beard is a chronology," Bergdahl said, "of my son's captivity since June 30, 2009."

Gov. Gary Johnson: "End The Wars Now!"

FYI - From GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Gov. Gary Johnson: “Bring Our Troops Home Now”

FYI - From GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Gov. Gary Johnson: “Bring Our Troops Home Now”

 

LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE GARY JOHNSON AT UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE EVENT: BRING OUR TROOPS AND DOLLARS HOME FROM AFGHANISTAN NOW

Sept. 19, 2012, Durham, NH — Calling Tuesday’s announcement that the U.S. and NATO are essentially suspending joint operations with Afghan forces a “long-overdue acknowledgement of reality,” presidential candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson today called on President Obama to “bring our troops home now.”

Appearing at an event at the University of New Hampshire, Gov. Johnson said, “In recent weeks, we have witnessed the unspeakable tragedy of American service members being murdered by the very ‘security forces’ they are training. More than 50 international military personnel have been killed by Afghan forces this year alone, and we have already had to stop trying to ‘train’ Afghan police recruits.

“The net result of recent developments — and decisions — in Afghanistan is that we are at a very dangerous tipping point. There will undoubtedly be those who wrongly suggest that the purported ‘exit strategy’ of the Obama Administration should be delayed and efforts stepped up to get control of the obvious chaos. That would be a monumental mistake, and a failure to face the fact that, as the British and Soviets before us learned, Afghanistan is not a place we can control or upon which we can impose our will. Instead, now is the perfect opportunity for America to say ‘We’re better than this’ and bring our troops home and out of harm’s way.

“Let us not forget that we went into Afghanistan to uproot Al Qaeda and attack those who attacked us on 9/11. That mission was complete in a matter of months. Yet, we have remained there and engaged in ill-fated nation-building for more than a decade — at absurd costs in lives and treasure. After all that American benevolence, it is absolutely unacceptable to ask our troops to hand weapons to Afghan ‘security forces’, teach them how to use them, and then risk being shot by those same forces with those same weapons.

“By suspending that training and now suspending joint operations with Afghan troops, our military leaders on the ground are facing reality. It is time for our political leaders to do the same, and bring our troops and our dollars home.”

No one has forgotten your dad, Braydon

FYI - From CNN.com.

NEVER FORGET!!!

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Braydon Nichols with his father, Army Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• On August 6, 2011, a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, killing 30
• Among them was 10-year-old Braydon Nichols' father. Nichols wrote an iReport about his dad
• Since then, readers haven't stopped commenting on Braydon's iReport
• The story made one Army veteran and father recall his close brush with death

(CNN) -- Monday marks one year since a Chinook helicopter crashed in Afghanistan and killed 30 American service members, 22 of them Navy SEALs. Many of the SEALs belonged to Team 6, the unit whose members were involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

A few days after the August 6, 2011, tragedy, a 10-year-old boy in Kansas City, Missouri, composed an iReport on CNN.com. He uploaded a photo of his dad sitting alongside his fellow soldiers.

My father was one of the 30 US Soldiers killed in Afghanistan yesterday with the Seals rescue mission. My father was the pilot of the chinook. I have seen other pictures of victims from this deadly mission and wish you would include a picture of my father. He is the farthest to the left.

Braydon Nichols' heartbreaking letter urging the world never to forget his father, Army Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols, sparked thousands of comments and at least 230 iReports filled with love and support for the boy.

Read the original iReport

Over the past year, readers have continued to post kind notes to Braydon.

"Thought about you and looked at the picture I have and thought to visit this page and letting you know that you were on my mind. Hope you and your family are doing well," Dennis Stahl from Columbus, Ohio, commented July 12.

"Still on my mind buddy. I hope you and mom are doing OK, thoughts and prayers," Bob wrote June 25.

"I found myself remembering your story and tribute to your daddy this morning Braydon. I just wanted to let you know that people are and will always be thinking about him," another reader wrote in June.

Army veteran Shane Farlin told CNN that Braydon's story made him think about how close he came to losing his life and the chance to watch his son grow up.

Shane Farlin during his time in the U.S. Army.

The 28-year-old from Michigan was wounded in Iraq in 2004.

He left this post on Braydon's story:

"I was wounded and holding on weakly, wanting to meet my son. I cry reading this thinking of my Army brothers who didn't get a chance to come home. Peace to the dead and wounded of this country and their families."

Farlin and his unit were returning from Fallujah in May 2004, speeding along a highway back to Baghdad. The machine gunner was looking out of their truck and noticed the gutter running alongside them was black, scorched.

Then a roadside bomb exploded.

"It felt like someone hit me in the face with a baseball bat. My head snapped back. It felt like someone was pouring thick olive oil down my face. I could feel the metal on my face and I fell into my partner's lap screaming," he said this week.

One eye was hanging out its socket; the other socket was shredded.

"It's what they always say happens. I was thinking about my unit but I was also thinking about my high school sweetheart. She got pregnant right before I deployed. And I'm screaming but I'm thinking, 'I never got to see her pregnant, I never got to feel her belly.'"

Farlin knew he was going to have a son.

His face soaked and his buddies screaming, all Farlin could think was: I'm going to have a son. I'm going to be a father.

He started to feel his body go slack. It felt good, this odd sensation of relaxation.

"I was slipping away," he remembered.

While a medivac rushed to the site, Farlin passed out.

He woke up in a hospital bed in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

It took him a week to regain his sight in one eye. The other was too damaged and he lost it.

Farlin recovered, slowly and agonizingly, and made it back home for the birth of his son. He was working at a base at the time, and wearing his uniform, when he rushed to the hospital to help deliver Shane Farlin II.

Shane Farlin and his son Shane Farlin II

That was years ago. Farlin's boy is 7.

"When I read about Braydon, I just ... felt it.Those who are out there, fighting, they have their last moments, or what they believe is going to be their last moments, and they're thinking about home and their kids. I am so glad I made it."

Little Shane is Farlin's "clone," just as Braydon Nichols was so much like his father.

"My son is off the wall," Farlin said. "Spiderman one minute, Ironman the next minute. He's helpful, always wanting to know how he can help Daddy. He wants to be like me. He wants to know what the Army was like."

Farlin has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and has a traumatic brain injury, he said. Readjusting to life outside the military and his transition to being a college student hasn't always been easy.

He gets sad. He doesn't like that he cannot be in the Army any longer because of his injury -- he has a glass eye. But Farlin is constantly trying to be positive around his son.

"I know to be careful about what I say in front of him," he said. "I don't want my son to see me sad. I am going to keep him from that for as long as I can."

For the Nichols family, sadness is always there. Some days are better than others.

"We all deal with it differently," said Monte Nichols, Brian Nichols' brother. "So many people have reached out and tried to help Braydon over the past year, to let him know that they care and they're thinking about his dad."

Braydon is getting good grades and doing as well as any kid could, Monte Nichols added.

A memorial service for those killed in the Chinook crash was held at Arlington National Cemetery in June.

"Everyone who was lost," Monte Nichols said, "is very much missed. Nobody is forgotten."

End The Wars Today! - Vote Gary Johnson For President 2012!

A vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for peace and a vote for a truly secure America!

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Gary Johnson: I will end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home now!

FYI - From The Huffington Post and GaryJohnson2012.com

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

I Will End the War in Afghanistan and Bring Our Troops Home Now.

Recent polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans believe we should bring our troops home from Afghanistan -- now. They are right. We should bring our young men and women home -- and vow to never again fight an 11-year war when our mission was complete in six months.

Many who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 believed he would extract America from Iraq and Afghanistan, and perhaps be more hesitant to involve us in foreign intervention. I, too, hoped that he might at least get us out of wars we couldn't afford and for which there was no clear American interest.

We've seen how that worked out. It took him three years to bring our troops home from Iraq. And Afghanistan? We're still there, ten years, too many lives and hundreds of billions of dollars longer than necessary.

And while we were at it, we spent hundreds of millions launching missiles into Libya to topple the leader of a sovereign nation. Gaddafi was not a guy I would want running my country, but we took him out with no clear understanding of what -- or who -- might follow. Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney backed the expensive Libya venture.

This election year, if our choices are the Democrat Obama and the Republican Romney, without Dr. Ron Paul, where is the non-intervention option? Most Americans are hard pressed to find a difference between Romney and Obama when it comes to intervention. Obama claims we will be out of Afghanistan by 2014. Romney seems to think that is about right, depending on who's asking. Fortunately, there is a third way for America.

Obama says he wants to cut military spending, but after accounting for the reduced costs of finally withdrawing from Iraq and winding down in Afghanistan, his budgets propose that we actually spend more. And Romney? He says he wants to "cap" military spending at some percentage of GDP, but doesn't really have a plan to get there. In fact, he wants to buy the Navy more ships. Apparently we don't have enough.

Americans are looking for a non-intervention choice, and there is one. I opposed the Iraq war from the beginning. There was no threat that required an invasion, and there are a host of unintended consequences -- from an empowered Iran to a loss of standing with long-time allies.

I supported going in to Afghanistan to uproot al Qaeda. We did that, quite successfully, in a matter of months. The Taliban was humbled and al Qaeda scattered to the winds -- all within a year. But us? We stayed, and stayed, and are still staying. Losing lives, spending hundreds of billions, trying to build a nation that doesn't want to be built, all while those who attacked us on 9/11 had the good sense to leave. A President Gary Johnson would have declared mission achieved in 2002 and brought our troops home. And I defy anyone to make a case that either the U.S. or Afghanistan would be any worse off today had we done just that.

I pledge to reduce military spending by 43 percent -- to the disbelief of those who refuse to let go of interventionist, nation-building foreign policies. As I have said many times, if we stop playing offense and focus on defense, a 43 percent cut in military spending is not only feasible, it will still leave us as the preeminent military power on the globe.

Do we need hundreds of thousands of American troops in Europe and Japan? Can we not get by with only enough nukes to eradicate mankind 8 or 10 times? Do we need to have a military base in every nook and cranny of the world? The answer to all these is no -- if we simply return to the constitutional notion that national defense actually means defense. Keeping America safe is government's most basic duty, and I support a strong national defense -- but one we can afford.

A policy of non-intervention, which Ron Paul has advocated, will allow us to return to an affordable level of defense spending, and will result in a safer America that is not constantly sowing seeds of hatred among those who would do us harm.

This is why I advocate the use of strategic alliances to allow military obligations and needs to be more equitably shared. We are bankrupt. We cannot continue to bear the burden of protecting the entire world. The only foreign aid we should offer is that which, in fact, produces savings and a positive cost-benefit for America.

Non-intervention is the constitutional and prudent policy America should adopt. That, however, is very different from isolationism. Our vast international economic interests and our imperative to remain vigilant in a dangerous world demand that the greatest nation on earth remain engaged beyond our borders. Relationships, however, do not require us to topple foreign leaders we don't like or build nations other than our own.

I am highly skeptical about the projection of military force abroad unless our immediate national interest is crystal clear. I do however recognize there may be extremely extraordinary circumstances where military action is required to stop a known attack on the United States. There are bad actors on the world stage, and we cannot be blind to the dangers they pose. I am not an Isolationist.

A principled policy of non-intervention does not require pledges to never ever send the military into conflict beyond our borders. I would like to think America would act to stop a Holocaust. If another Bin Laden strikes, I would order the military to kill him. But I would only do those things if absolutely justified, and only with constitutionally-required congressional authorization. And above all, I would level with the American people about the need and the price.

There is an alternative to the Obama-Romney foreign policy. America can be made safer without being the planet's police force or imposing our 'values' on the rest of the world.

There is a third option for voters in November.

Vote For Peace! Vote For Gov. Gary Johnson For President 2012!

Take it from a me (a former U.S. Marine, current Army Reserve medic, and four tour Iraq War veteran), a vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for peace!

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

From GaryJohnson2012.com

RON PAUL IS THE CHOICE OF THE TROOPS!!!

Ron Paul is the choice of the troops!

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

President Obama's Thanksgiving Message To The Troops.

FYI -

http://www.democrats.org/news/blog/1144

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Defending Defense: A Response to Recent Deficit Reduction Proposals | Foreign Policy Initiative

FYI -

Defending Defense: A Response to Recent Deficit Reduction Proposals | Foreign Policy Initiative

-ADY"A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Rep. Ron Paul: "Support the Troops by Ending the War."

Support the Troops by Ending the War

by Rep. Ron Paul

I have never met anyone who did not support our troops. Sometimes, however, we hear accusations that someone or some group does not support the men and women serving in our armed forces. This is pure demagoguery, and it's intellectually dishonest. The accusers play on emotions to gain support for controversial policies, implying that those who disagree are unpatriotic. But keeping our troops out of harm's way, especially when war is unnecessary, is never unpatriotic. There's no better way to support the troops. Since we now know that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and was not threatening anyone, we must come to terms with 3,000 American deaths and 23,000 American casualties. It's disconcerting that those who never believed the justifications given for our invasion, and who now want the war ended, are still accused of not supporting the troops! This is strange indeed! Instead of questioning who has the best interests of our troops at heart, we should be debating which policy is best for our country. Defensive wars to preserve our liberties, fought only with proper congressional declarations, are legitimate. Casualties under such circumstances still are heartbreaking, but they are understandable. Casualties that occur in undeclared, unnecessary wars, however, are bewildering. Why must so many Americans be killed or hurt in Iraq when our security and our liberty were not threatened? Clichés about supporting the troops are designed to distract us from failed policies, policies promoted by powerful special interests that benefit from war. Anything to steer the discussion away from the real reasons the war in Iraq will not end anytime soon. Many now agree that we must change our policy and extricate ourselves from the mess in Iraq. They cite a mandate from the American people for a new direction. This opinion is now more popular, and thus now more widely held by politicians in Washington. But there's always a qualifier: We can't simply stop funding the war, because we must support the troops. I find this conclusion bizarre. It means one either believes the "support the troops" propaganda put out by the original promoters of the war, or that one actually is for the war after all, despite the public protestations. In reality, support for the status quo (and the president's troop surge) in Iraq means expanding the war to include Syria and Iran. The naval build up in the region, and the proxy war we just fought to take over Somalia, demonstrate the administration's intentions to escalate our current war into something larger. There's just no legitimacy to the argument that voting against funding the war somehow harms our troops. Perpetuating and escalating the war only serve those whose egos are attached to some claimed victory in Iraq, and those with a determination to engineer regime change in Iran. Don't believe for a minute that additional congressional funding is needed so our troops can defend themselves or extricate themselves from the war zone. That's nonsense. The DOD has hundreds of billions of dollars in the pipeline available to move troops anywhere on earth – including home. We shouldn't forget that the administration took $600 million from the war in Afghanistan and used it in Iraq, before any direct appropriations were made for the invasion of Iraq. Funds are always available to put our troops into harms way; they are always available for leaving a war zone. Those in Congress who claim they want the war ended, yet feel compelled to keep funding it, are badly misguided. They either are wrong in their assessment that cutting funds would hurt the troops, or they need to be more honest about supporting a policy destined to dramatically increase the size and scope of this misadventure in the Middle East. Rest assured one can be patriotic and truly support the troops by denying funds to perpetuate and spread this ill-advised war. The sooner we come to this realization, the better it will be for all of us.

Anti-war liberals can vote Libertarian

Some VERY good things to consider when deciding who to vote for in the upcoming elections -

Anti-war liberals can vote Libertarian

I'LL NEVER FORGET!!! - 9/11/2001, I was a 19....

I'LL NEVER FORGET!!! - 9/11/2001, I was a 19 year old U.S. Marine, stationed in Okinawa, Japan. We were woken up in the middle of the night and given the news. My roommate was from NYC, and his father was a butcher who worked close to Ground Zero. It took him hours before he could get intouch with his family. I remember trying to make a phone call and the operator asking me if we were going to war. It struck me as so odd because usually operators don't ever say anything other than "thank you" and "please hold." Ten years later, those responsible have yet to be brought to justice. We owe it to those who gave their lives that day in NYC, the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93. And, we owe it to all of the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in pursuit of those responsible. It's time to rethink and refocus our game plan in Afghanistan. Stop the nation building and tax payer funded welfare for the Afghani people. WE NEED TO RECOMMIT TO BRINGING THOSE RESPONSIBLE TO JUSTICE, NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE AND BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

As always - I am and will be forever grateful for all of our First Responders and Armed Forces, past and present.

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be never so vile. This day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

Rep. Ron Paul Discussing The Current Policy Toward Afghanistan.

Charities for the Troops!!!

Hello All!

The below link will take you to IAVA's (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) website listing of numerous charities and other ways to help veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Please take a minute to check it out, and feel free to pass it on to your friends and family.

IAVA
http://iava.org/content/troops-charities

Help Troops and Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury
http://remind.org/

Thanks,
Aaron

Cal Cunningham on Veterans and Military Families.

Veterans and Military Families



Honoring our men and women in uniform
The military says, “Leave No One Behind,” and it is Washington’s duty to heed that same call when it comes to caring for veterans and military families. Cal would be the first OIF/OEF veteran elected to serve in the United States Senate – and knows he bears a special responsibility to stand up for the needs of a new generation of veterans.

To fulfill our commitment, we must:

1. Honor the sacrifices of those who have served in uniform with a Veterans Administration of the 21st Century, which fulfills its purpose of caring “for those who have borne the battle.” It is simply not enough to attempt to catch those who fall through the cracks – we must fix the cracks, not only within the Veterans Administration but also for those in transition from the Uniformed Services to the V.A.

2. Meet the health needs of the thousands of veterans who suffer not only physical but psychological wounds. Many service members suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, Traumatic Brain Injury. Due to advances in battlefield medicine and body armor, more service members survive serious injuries. Our nation’s obligations to them continue in perpetuity.

3. Fully implement the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, which would provide every service member with a chance to advance his or her education, identify and extend support for housing to over 100,000 homeless veterans, and support military-to-work transition programs so that a new generation of veterans finds its place in the job market.

http://www.CalForNC.com

Senator Burr's True Colors.

Dear Friends,

Cal's campaign just received a fundraising letter Richard Burr sent to his supporters. It's a letter he probably hoped North Carolinians, veterans, military families, and the press would never see.

In it, he dishonors the men and women who wear our country's uniform by offering anyone the military ranks of "Private," "Sergeant," or even "Colonel" in the "Burr Brigade" in exchange for a campaign contribution.

And Richard Burr charges that President Obama is "decimat[ing] our military forces" -- even though it's Burr who has a long record of voting against funding for our service-members, veterans, and their families.

Remember, unlike Cal, Richard Burr hasn't served a day in the military. Maybe that's why he doesn't understand that you don't buy a military rank -- you earn it.

Send a letter-to-the-editor of your local paper today, and make sure all North Carolinians learn about Richard Burr's outrageous fundraising letter.

Perhaps Richard Burr thinks this is a game or makes him seem patriotic. He can thump his chest about supporting the military and fill his campaign mail with the usual fear-mongering we've come to expect from desperate, extreme right-wing campaigns.

But he crosses the line when he offers his financial supporters the opportunity to "enlist" and buy a military rank in exchange for a campaign contribution.

Cal earned his military rank through his years of distinguished service, including a year-long tour in Iraq and a year-long tour at Fort Bragg. Tens of thousands of our fellow North Carolinians have also earned their ranks serving our country -- at home and abroad, now and in the past.

Richard Burr's suggestion that his supporters can buy a military rank with a $25 contribution should offend every North Carolinian, and every American.

Send a letter-to-the-editor of your local paper today, and make sure all North Carolinians learn about Richard Burr's outrageous fundraising letter.

While Richard Burr tries to convince his donors he's a strong advocate for the military, his record shows that he is anything but. In his five years as Senator, Richard Burr has:

Twice voted against funding for armored vehicles for our service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan,
Twice opposed funding to repair faulty military equipment, and
Voted against pay raises for our troops and their families, the same week that hundreds of Marines left Camp Lejeune for Afghanistan.
Maybe you can get away with saying one thing and doing another in Washington, D.C., but North Carolinians expect better from their U.S. Senator.

That's why I hope you'll join me in sending a letter-to-the-editor to make sure all North Carolinians know about Burr's outrageous fundraising letter -- and see his true colors.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Major General (Ret.) Hubert Leonard
Co-Chairman, Veterans for Cunningham
Cunningham for U.S. Senate

IAVA Director Discusses Impact of Afghan Plan on Vets.

IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff joined CNN to discuss President Obama’s recent decsion to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Rieckhoff continued the call for leaders in Washington, as well as the American people, to put more focus on the cost of the surge in Afghanistan as it relates to the long-term needs of veterans and their families">

The Forgotten Cost of War: Caring for Veterans

*The below article is from Mr. Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq War veteran, Co-founder and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). You can also view this article by going to IAVA's website, http://iava.org/blog/forgotten-cost-war-caring-veterans

The Forgotten Cost of War: Caring for Veterans

By Paul Rieckhoff
Created December 2


President Obama has finally laid out his strategy for Afghanistan. Unfortunately he did so without using the word "veteran" and without articulating any back-end support for our returning troops. In typical fashion, we've heard the media's talking heads ask: Is Afghanistan Obama's Vietnam? Why only 30,000 troops? Will the exit strategy embolden the Taliban?

And now, the politics and policy of the new strategy have been broken down into predictable soundbite-sized morsels by the partisans and pundits. But few have focused on how the Administration plans to support those 30,000 troops when they return home. Nor have we heard much talk of their families who won't be on planes to Afghanistan, but are still making sacrifices every day on the homefront. These are the brave Americans responsible for executing this new plan or waiting for a knock on the door that they pray will never come.

President Obama's plan will significantly increase the demands on our servicemembers, almost 800,000 of whom have already served multiple tours. The propeller-heads in Washington have crunched the numbers determining how much it will cost to send these new forces to the front. But I'm not at all convinced that they've done the back-end planning that's necessary for a complete war plan; one that cares for these troops when they come home. As we saw with the implementation of the new GI Bill, failing to plan is planning to fail. If the President doesn't plan adequately now, Walter Reed will only be the beginning of a decades-long national embarrassment of failing to care for our nation's veterans and their families.

The only way to avoid another round of heartache, disappointment and frustration is to guarantee that our returning troops will receive the full support of the President, Congress, the Department of Defense, the VA and the American people (a critical spoke on this wheel that has been neglected for far too long).

We can start by ensuring that every servicemember receives the resources they need when they come home. This doesn't mean a welcome home parade, although that's always a nice gesture. It means leaders in Washington that don't live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue stepping up right now. Congress must send the VA health care budget to the President immediately. As of tonight's address, the VA budget is already 61 days late.

But Congress cannot stop there. The outdated and ineffective military and VA disability systems that leave hundreds of thousands of veterans waiting for claims to be processed must be reformed. And during these trying economic times, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that every veteran can find employment and a place to call home.

Finally, President Obama must find a way to fully engage all Americans in supporting and advocating for all those who've served--regardless of how they feel about the war. America's foreign policy cannot succeed without these heroes, and their return home won't succeed without us.

Paul Rieckhoff is the Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the author of Chasing Ghosts.

Showing Thanks To Our Troops This Holiday Season!

Hello All!

While most of us are spending Christmas and New Year with family, friends, and other loved ones, I hope you will take a moment to think of those who are not...our deployed U.S. Service Members. They'll be standing post all over the world tonight - in jungles, deserts, and mountains. They're there putting their lives on the line defending your freedoms. At the very least, we could keep them all in our thoughts and prayers. If you would like to do more, I suggest the mailing a care package or making a small donations to the following organizations:

1. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
http://www.iava.org

2. The United Service Organization (USO)
http://www.uso.org

3. Operation Gratitude
http://www.opgratitude.com/

4. AnySoldier.com (or other service member)
http://www.anysoldier.com/
http://anymarine.com/
http://anysailor.com/
http://anycoastguard.com/
http://anyairman.com



The Night Before Christmas (Military)

'Twas The Night Before Christmas,
He Lived All Alone,
In A One Bedroom House
Made Of Plaster And Stone.

I Had Come Down The Chimney
With Presents To Give,
And To See Just Who
In This Home Did Live.

I Looked All About,
A Strange Sight I Did See,
No Tinsel, No Presents,
Not Even A Tree.

No Stocking By Mantle,
Just Boots Filled With Sand,
On The Wall Hung Pictures
Of Far Distant Lands.

With Medals And Badges,
Awards Of All Kinds,
A Sober Thought
Came Through My Mind.

For This House Was Different,
It Was Dark And Dreary,
I Found The Home Of A Marine,
Once I Could See Clearly.

The Marine Lay Sleeping,
Silent, Alone,
Curled Up On The Floor
In This One Bedroom Home.

The Face Was So Gentle,
The Room In Such Disorder,
Not How I Pictured
A United States Marine.

Was This The Hero
Of Whom I'd Just Read?
Curled Up On A Poncho,
The Floor For A Bed?

I Realized The Families
That I Saw This Night,
Owed Their Lives To These Marines
Who Were Willing To Fight.

Soon Round The World,
The Children Would Play,
And Grownups Would Celebrate
A Bright Christmas Day.

They All Enjoyed Freedom
Each Month Of The Year,
Because Of The Marines,
Like The One Lying Here.

I Couldn't Help Wonder
How Many Lay Alone,
On A Cold Christmas Eve
In A Land Far From Home.

The Very Thought
Brought A Tear To My Eye,
I Dropped To My Knees
And Started To Cry.

The Marine Awakened
And I Heard A Rough Voice,
"Santa Don't Cry,
This Life Is My Choice;

I Fight For Freedom,
I Don't Ask For More,
My Life Is My God,
My Country, My Corps."

The Marine Rolled Over
And Drifted To Sleep,
I Couldn't Control It,
I Continued To Weep.

I Kept Watch For Hours,
So Silent And Still
And We Both Shivered
From The Cold Night's Chill.

I Didn't Want To Leave
On That Cold, Dark, Night,
This Guardian Of Honor
So Willing To Fight.

Then The Marine Rolled Over,
With A Voice Soft And Pure,
Whispered, "Carry On Santa,
It's Christmas Day, All Is Secure."

One Look At My Watch,
And I Knew He Was Right.
"Merry Christmas My Friend,
And To All A Good Night."

*Written by Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt, USMC in 1986. Printed in Leatherneck (The Magazines for the Marines) in December 1991.