House
Passes New Stolen Valor Act
The House on Monday overwhelmingly voted for the
latest version of the Stolen Valor Act, a law that will make it
a crime to don the medals and ribbons that soldiers, sailors,
Marines and airmen are awarded for combat actions. The
legislation passed 309 to three. “This law is long overdue,”
Rep. Paul Cook, R-Calif., said in a statement released
immediately after the vote. Cook is a retired Marine Corps
colonel who served in Vietnam, where he received two Purple
Hearts and the Bronze Star Medal for valor.
Blue
Alert Act, introduced by Staten Island's Grimm, gets House OK
Staten Island Advance By
Staten Island Advance May 15, 2013 at 4:05 PM
The bipartisan National Blue Alert Act,
introduced by Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm and designed to protect
law enforcement officers nationwide, passed the House Tuesday evening by
a vote of 406-2. The bill would encourage and integrate a "Blue Alert"
system throughout the United States the better to disseminate
information as soon as a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or
killed in the line of duty.
It would be implemented by law enforcement agencies, along with state
and local governments, through the U.S. Department of Justice, to hasten
apprehension of those who kill or seriously harm local, state or federal
law enforcement officers. Currently there is no nationwide system in
place.
"The National Blue Alert Act will enhance the safety of our communities,
by allowing us to act quickly in apprehending suspects and make it clear
to anyone who chooses to harm our nation's law enforcement officers that
they will be caught," said Grimm, a former FBI agent, who noted this is
Police Week. "Our law enforcement agents are the true heroes of our
communities, and I applaud my colleagues for passing this important bill
to protect them." VIDEO:
Seen Here….
TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY TO HOST VFW EVENTS THIS MEMORIAL DAY
VFW Post and Department leaders: Don’t miss out on your chance to make
it a community event! TSC’s generosity provides a great opportunity for
VFW Post and Department leaders to recruit new members, distribute Buddy
Poppies, network with their local communities, educate the public on the
importance of Memorial Day and more!
Read More...
Sign-up for the VFW Action Corps AND
Join us in our fight to Preserve Veterans’ and Military Benefits.
Our Action Alerts provides you the opportunity to be a part of the loud
and well respected voice of the VFW. These alerts give you immediate
access to legislative battles that will effect current and future
veterans benefits, and they provide you the tools to tell Congress where
the VFW stands on issues and how we want them to vote. This is our
strongest tool in preserving and advancing veterans benefits! It’s
time to be part of the solution. Take five minutes to sign-up and join
our Advocacy Team today!
Read More.....
THOSE GUNS AREN'T YOURS
We were recently notified that some VFW
Posts are selling and/or giving away Army surplus equipment loaned to
them instead of returning this loaned equipment back to TACOM as set
forth in the Army regulations and guidance provided by the VFW for the
program. Important to note is that it is a federal violation and could
be subject to legal prosecution if Army weapons and/or static display
equipment assets currently logged into possession of VFW Posts are lost,
transferred, given away, sold or used in any unauthorized manner.
Heres the Memo....
Heres the RULES...
Is Your Post Guilty...???
See the list!
Hagel
cancels Nintendo Medal...
The Drown Cyber Medal created by Hagel's predecessor Leon Panetta has
been dropped and new recomendations lika an attachable pin for existing
medals may be considered. Hagel last month ordered the military to
stop production of the medal, and top defense and military leaders began
a new review.
Read more:
VFW
Held Hostage by Thieves Within
Another headline to embarrass and defame the VFW tells the
glaring tale of theft, corruption and the pillaging of yet another
post. Another VFW member/officer goes to jail for steeling thousands
from their post. It doesn’t seem to end, on a regular basis some of our
most trusted members are found guilty of steeling and plundering the
VFW.
Read More....
TAX CREDITS TO HELP VETERANS GET JOBS & A STATE CEMETERY PLANNED
Legislators are confident this tax credit will promote veteran hireing
and promotions contributing to the reduction of the high numbers of
unemployed veterans. Rewarding our veterans in this way is but a small
recompense for their service and sacrifices. This step is a
significant move to accepting the warrior for the service and sacrifice
and giving them the chance they deserve to recover from their war
service.
More...
Army Set to Introduce Smartphones Into Combat... FORT
POLK, La. -- Soldiers assigned to the first U.S. Army brigade scheduled
to deploy to Afghanistan with the service’s next generation combat radio
system called the technology a “game-changer” as the 10th Mountain
trained here ahead of an upcoming tour.
More Info...
Women
Break Ground in Combat Roles
The question of whether
women can serve in Army roles previously restricted to men is being
answered on Fort Bragg, where the male-only world of artillery has
opened to female soldiers. The program began even before then-Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta announced the repeal of rules against women
serving in male-only positions.
More....
No
Honors for Non-Hero Vets...“Bear in mind that most veterans did
nothing heroic. They served, and that’s laudable, but it hardly seems
necessary to provide them all with military honors after they have
died.”
More...
Former Army Officer Makes His Mark as NCO...Topliffe
knows more about the officer life than most noncommissioned officers.
The Albany, N. Y. resident was once an officer, but then he resigned his
commission and stayed in the Army as an NCO.
The Story...
DOMA Ruling will Have Effects on Benefits... The military's
don't ask, don't tell law, which barred openly gay troops from serving,
was repealed 18 months ago. But a host of military benefits -- including
health care, housing stipends and base access issues -- are routinely
refused to same-sex couples because of the DOMA, which bars the federal
government from officially recognizing those unions.
The Story...
40 Years Later - Vietnem Withdrawal Remembered...Forty
years ago, soldiers returning from Vietnam were advised to change into
civilian clothes on their flights home so that they wouldn't be accosted
by angry protesters at the airport. For a Vietnamese businessman who
helped the U.S. government, a rising sense of panic set in as the last
combat troops left the country.
More...
Feinstein Exempts Police, but not "PTSD" Vets from Gun Ban
"Veterans feel attacked by the same
lawmakers that sent them into combat. Bills entrusting a veteran’s
Second Amendment rights to the incompetent VA and the Department of
Homeland security asserting veterans are
terrorist threats stirs
distrust of government officials’."
Read it...
VA Won't Turn in
Veterans...
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued a statement
declaring it won't comply with New York's SAFE Act that requires
mental health providers to report vets with mental issues.
Feinstein: Veterans Who Have PTSD
Shouldn't Own or possess "Assault" Rifles
But
Senator John Coryn proposed an amendment that would have allowed
veterans to continue to purchase “assault weapons” just like retired
cops.
Story...
Our small group of retired Veterans
makes metalized film window
stickers and magnetic vehicle plaques honoring Veterans of all eras.
They are called VetSignias and are designed to give Veterans
'every-day' visibility.
11
Cooperstown
to Host 'Wall That Heals' As Part of Hall of Fame Classic
Weekend 
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Depot Aprons in Action contest that we helped Saratoga
County RPC-VETHELP in Ballston Spa (Guardian House and Vet House) win a
$25,000 grant last month...we are
now in the running for a $250,000 grant!
Connect here and VOTE.......Every day so we can win.
