War and sacrifice
Who sacrifices the least?
Archive for the ‘Military’ Category.
The Surge at Home
Mark Fiore has a new animation out. Everyone should check it out.
Injured fighting for your country? Give back your signing bonus.
I can’t even think of anything to say in regards to this story. Once again, I’m stunned by the callous disregard of our government which claims to “support the troops.”
Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.
To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.
Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.
One of them is Jordan Fox, a young soldier from the South Hills.
He finds solace in the hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq. It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started.
Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.
A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.
“I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they’re telling me they want their money back,” he explained.
It’s a slap for Fox’s mother, Susan Wardezak, who met with President Bush in Pittsburgh last May. He thanked her for starting Operation Pittsburgh Pride which has sent approximately 4,000 care packages.
He then sent her a letter expressing his concern over her son’s injuries, so she cannot understand the U.S. Government’s apparent lack of concern over injuries to countless U.S. Soldiers and demands that they return their bonuses.
While he’s unsure of his future, Fox says he’s unwavering in his commitment to his country.
“I’d do it all over again… because I’m proud of the discipline that I learned. I’m proud to have done something for my country,” he said.
But Fox feels like he’s already given enough. He’ll never be able to pursue his dream of being a police officer because of his wounds and he can’t believe he’s being asked to return part of his $10,000 signing bonus.
KDKA contacted Congressman Jason Altmire on his behalf. He says he has proposed a bill that would guarantee soldiers receive full benefit of bonuses.
Lift The Ban
On May 31st, I posted a story about how the United States government had funded terrorist broadcasting on al Hurra television network in the Middle East. This happened because not a single one of the executives or officials at al Hurra spoke Arabic.
Why? Why don’t they have any Arabic speakers among their personnel?
I can’t say for sure but I can say that over 11,000 service members have been discharged from the military in the last 14 years. It continues to happen to this day even though the military is having trouble meeting recruiting quotas and desperately needs members to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of these 11,000, 300 were speakers of critical languages.
Why were they discharged? They were openly gay.
When the military acts against their own best interests because of a archaic anti-gay policy something needs to be done.
Robert Greenwald at Brave New Foundation has a new video out about the ban.
You can also help by signing the petition to your Member of Congress to sign the Military Readiness Enhancement Act.
