Posted on 06/07/2002 2:22:44 AM PDT by lavaroise
For most of their adult lives our active duty personnel, retired military, and veterans really believed the political mantra that members of Congress were "their" government representatives and had been sent to Washington to work on their behalf. Today, they sadly understand this once respected body is in decay. In the words of Joe Priestley, Chairman of the Military Retirees of Florida, "We are free to call the thieves in Congress and the Administration just that!" He also says his statewide organization feels we have a corrupt, out-of-control government, which targets military personnel, especially military retirees, for unjust treatment.
The Florida response was just one of more than one hundred letters and e-mails received by this writer, in answer to a series of questions concerning Congress and how government officials were responding to the concerns of their military constituents. Only one percent of those responding had anything of a favorable nature to report about their experiences with those they helped elect to government offices.
Don Holland, of Bartow, West Virginia, is a Master Chief Petty Officer who completed 30 years of military service and was retired as 100% permanently disabled. Having some serious problems created by congressional legislation, he wrote more than 100 letters to the powerful appropriations chairman and his own senator, Robert Byrd. The only answers ever received were non-specific form letters. He made numerous requests to meet with the senator, only to be rejected. On five separate occasions he even went to Byrd's office, just to be shuffled off to a junior staffer and, on one visit, to an intern. Even at this late date, after years of pleading, not a single attempt has been made to resolve his problem.
Holland claims to have undergone the same type of experiences with Senator Jay Rockefeller. The only exception being, on one occasion he was allowed to see a senior staff member. However, no action was taken on his behalf.
Stacy L. Roberts is a 35-year Navy veteran, a retired Captain and a Presbyterian minister, who now resides in Westminster Gardens, California. He has been making serious attempts to make contact with a senior official about the government's broken promise to provide career military with lifetime medical care for themselves and their dependents. Because Congress broke its pledge to the military community, Roberts is faced with his wife's monthly nursing care bill of $4,200. Looking for any possible answer he sent an e-mail to his senator, Diane Feinstein. The reply said she did not read it because it was not sent through her website. The reply included instructions to e-mail her at http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html which is apparently not a valid site address. Replies to several submissions have been the same, "Sorry, no matching pages." He says the problem may be his, because he is a novice on the Web. "However", he says, "even a novice should be able to reach their senator? Why make it so difficult?"
Even the former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John Warner, feels he has no need to communicate with military constituents.
Retired Army Colonel Jim Engelage of Winchester, Virginia rarely receives replies to letters mailed to his senator. If an answer is forthcoming, it is a form letter completely unrelated to the initial correspondence. On March 6th the colonel, accompanied by a friend, hand-carried a letter, signed by 25 retiree military constituents, to Warner's office. After two weeks with no reply he contacted an assistant to the senator and was told he would have the senator's response in one week. As of this date, no answer has been received.
In Ohio, reports of congressional indifference are the same as from other states. Retired Air Force Technical Sergeant Noel C. Hubler complains that he and his fellow comrades-in-arms have repeatedly sent letters and e-mails to their representatives and senators in Congress. "Without exception, they have been answered with canned responses, which have nothing to do with the subjects of our appeals." He also reports his elected leaders never take actions in support of the veterans and military retirees.
One active duty Marine, who requested his name be withheld for fear of retaliation, claims he wrote his congressman concerning an issue which impacted the personnel under his supervision. The response was a message from the congressman to his commanding officer complaining about the Marine's letter.
In Florida, retired Air Force Master Sergeant Robert C. Thompson, a very active member of the Military Retirees Grass Roots Group and past president of several military organizations, visited with congressional candidate Jeff Miller during the campaign. Miller was elected and now represents the U.S. Congressional District with the largest retired military population in the country.
Thompson told him he would receive the backing of this large constituency if he would support the military. "I asked him to send a letter to his colleagues requesting them to vote in favor of bills before Congress which stop discrimination against uniformed service personnel. I further told him these 750,000-plus career service personnel wanted their elected official to introduce a Resolution to proclaim Congress would support and pass a law to never again allow discrimination against the military." That conversation and implied pledge to support those specific issues took place long before the election. Well into his first year, Representative Miller has still taken no action on either request.
On issue after issue.in letter after letter.time and time again, members of the military community makes charges of indifference, lack of concern, arrogance, rudeness and poor service by their elected officials to the men and women who gave everything on behalf of their country.
As a candidate, George W. Bush stood in front of the National Convention of the American Legion and told our 26.5 million veterans and 1.8 million military retirees that "Promises made to our retired military and veterans will be kept during my administration". Says one disgruntled retiree, "I guess the Congressional elite don't echo his sentiments. Well, for that matter, the President is another one of those leaders who never answers our letters."
PFNS is a news service of the Paragon Foundation, Alamogordo, New Mexico 1-877-847-3443
... with the largest retired military population in the country ...The graying of American politics. This will more and more assume the character of inter-generational conflict as fewer and fewer younger workers and professional support more and more pensioners.
However, the other poster makes a valid point, that we Baby Boomers are going to swamp the system that provides medical care for all older Americans. And we who have rarely suffered or sacrificed in our lives, especially as compared to our parents, are finally going to learn what that means.
Fool me once, shame on you....
Fool me twice, ....
Expect nothing, get nothing!
Old Marine Saying:
Ya can shock da sh!t troops
But ya can't sh!t da shock troops!
-Author Unknown
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