Posted on 07/19/2018 2:44:58 AM PDT by qaz123
The Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ‘Bill’ Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvement Act of 2018, introduced by Republican Texas Rep. Jodey Arrington, contains a clause that would cut millions of dollars in funding for veteran jobs in aviation.
The bill, which is meant to help veterans transition into civilian careers, contains a subsection that caps funds available to veterans who receive flight training at the same level as a private undergraduate degree. To fly on a passenger commercial airline, pilots need at least 1,500 hours of flight time and must pass a written examination, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
1. I'm a vet and am eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Matter of fact, I was planning on using it to try and get my pilots license.
2. This issue arises from the fact that flight schools around the country realized that no one was ever going to say, NO. So, instead of just sticking to the traditional flight training options: private pilot, instrument rating, commercial pilot, ATP rating, they started adding all sorts of made up classes.
For example, vet's getting classes in Night Vision Flying, Landing and Take Offs on Maritime Platform. Where the flight schools were renting yachts w/ helipads and coming up w/ some astronomical tuition for the class. Some of these flight schools were just making sh*t up and billing the government.
I really don't want to poke the bear, but I have to because it's becoming an issue and a protected class has been/is being created. The way the VA hands out benefits and disability is ridiculous and needs some serious oversight. I'll give you some examples, even though some on here will probably want to burn my house down..
- friend of mine gets around $800 a month for a bad ankle. He was an MP, never deployed. Does Crossfit 2x a day. He is not disabled.
- another friend gets a few hundred a month for a bad back. He as an MSG, so he wasn't doing many ruck marches. Crossfit, MMA fighter. He is not disabled.
- group of vets, getting 80-100% disability for PTSD, go to the US Shooting Academy and take every course the school offers. Shooting and blowing doors during explosive entry training. With pretty much everything covered, except for their weapons and booze. They are there learning about the very same thing that keeps them up at night. They are not disabled.
- recently took a shooting class with a guy who is a clinical psychologist, that works part time at a VA hospital. Vets come in there to take cognitive skills test to determine their disability payment. Their results come back as being as bad, or worse, than an elderly individual with Alzheimer's. Basically, they say they cannot remember anything. But they can get into their F150 and drive themselves home. They are not disabled, they're gaming the system for a couple of grand a month.
- when my nephew got back from his deployment, he told me that the VA counselors were practically begging him to say that he was depressed, couldn't sleep, irritable, angry. When he told me about it, I had one response: If you legitimately have any of those and are honest, then claim what you need to claim. If you're lying to get a check, then forget you even know me. He didn't claim any of that. But, he was offered copious amounts of anti-depressants, which he never asked for, nor needed.
- guy joins the Marines. Has asthma attack at the MEPS station and he can't join, b/c at that time, asthma was a disqualifier. Tries again, after his records have been purged. Makes it thru training and deploys to Kuwait, getting ready to invade iraq. Has asthma attack. Marines offer him a Support position. He declines it, saying if he can't be Infantry, he wants out. Medical discharge. Starts collecting around $300-350/month. Gets a phone call from VA counselor some time down the road and is asked, since he deployed to Iraqi Freedom, if he's depressed and has trouble sleeping. Never in a firefight. Never dealt with indirect fire, mortar or rocket attack. Sat on his rucksack for weeks. Tells VA Counselor, YES I am depressed and can't sleep. He now gets $1400/month.
A guy who breaks his ankle, on a jump, recovers and continues his military career with no issues. Gets out and becomes a cop or fireman or anything else and has no issues, doesn't deserve a disability check. What he/she does deserve is, down the line if problems arise from that broken ankle, then the VA is there to help. Not send him $500 a month for the rest of his life, while he's running 10k's and marathons. Getting a VA Disability lawyer has become a business, just like the shyster disability attorneys that help people get SSI.
The other side to the argument is: Until our government gets a handle on our immigration disaster and all the benefits that go to illegal aliens and so-called refugees, let the Vets get theirs. They at least represented the USA. They didn't lie to some liberal in the State Dept about how they're persecuted or cross the Rio Grande just in time to pop out a citizen in an American hospital.
Let the bashing begin. I can take it as I've seen the fraud up close.
I do not take VA benefits despite all the Obama fed agents begging me to do it. I am glad because now I am rejoining the National Guard and my civilian job with Johnson&Johnson keeps paying me while deployed.
Basically VA benefits are a bait and ploy to demoralize good soldiers from ever being able to serve again in time of need, a way to use the military as a means to shaft instead of serving. It is a suicide pill.
The GIbill has also been used to fund communist professors bashing the military, basically often it brings no job to a jack a$$ veteran and only serves to fund the professorial socialist market. Irony is that the Flight School spat are the tip of the iceberg or not even the main concern.
When you see people declaring residence in NYC to go to a NYC school while in fact lodging in PA so as to get an outrageous school lodging allowance, notwithstanding a Guatemalan who brought his mother over only because it collects him double BAH , you start wondering about wtf is going on.
The result is the military is run by careerist jacks who recruit boasting out special socialist benefits when the corp should be made of real men capable of going to war for love of their neighbors, benefits secondary
I am unfortunately one of the very few refusing to deal with this. Of all the many vets I meet, not a single one is not trying to increase their disability percentage they already receive, the big one being sleep apnia/snoring or claims of sexual impotency, with their wives or girlfriends egging them on for more money.
Frankly they have sacrificed some and are not welfarites, many seeking employment and honorable job, but it is a bit ridiculous sometimes. Unfortunately we cannot tackle that problem without tackling the other welfarites either
Amen, Brother, more should do what you do. Unfortunately, they constructed a system and that system is being manipulated. And I do not mean to paint all Vets with a really broad brush, because as you said, everyone sacrificed something.
It’s the governments money, right? Actually, it’s our money and their money. But so many believe the snake oil salesman.
Sad that so many have been taken by this. And to think about all those that need legitimate treatment at VA hospitals, with illnesses and conditions they didn’t want. All those guys that have legit psychological problems that are committing suicide at an alarming rate, because they can’t get the help they need or they’re just pumped more anti-depressants and sleeping pills.
They are all learning how to game the system.
It seems to not happen as frequently with USAF vets.
“The other side to the argument is: Until our government gets a handle on our immigration disaster and all the benefits that go to illegal aliens and so-called refugees, let the Vets get theirs. They at least represented the USA. They didn’t lie to some liberal in the State Dept about how they’re persecuted or cross the Rio Grande just in time to pop out a citizen in an American hospital. “
That is my view also. The veterans served their country and entitled to benefits, (and yes there is a great need to thoroughly check any civilian training facilities that are benefiting from any VA education authorizations and discontinue those authorizations if fraud is found.)
This is a VERY GOOD THING. Right now the USAF is suffering a pilot shortage as highly (and expensively) trained pilots leave the service early to take civilian airline pilot jobs (who are also suffering their own pilot shortage.)
It is incredible that we train pilots, give them thousands of hours of flight time, then pay them G.I. benefits when they separate for transition training to airline flying? Talk about subsidizing the very problem that is crippling you!
It happens with all of them.
It all goes back to the...It’s the governments money. It’s free money.
When in reality, it’s $20,000,000,000,000.00 or more, in debt.
On a side note, a lot of military pilots just do not want to fly anymore. If you retire as a Major or above, you have some ‘command time’ under your belt. You get out. You get a consulting/contracting job. A nice mid to upper level management job. You’re home every night. No responsibility of flying, taking off and landing a huge airplane.
As you said, no transition training from flying your fighter jet to a flying bus. You kick back, make 6 figures and are home every weekend and on holidays. Not arguing with some fatass that delays a flight for 4 hours.
Those are the ones that this bill is aimed squarely at.
Of course, the Air Farce didn't help matters any by forcing rated officers to fly drones from Nevada instead of flying F-16s. They are trying to rectify that with the enlisted drone pilot program, so rated officers can stay in the cockpit, and put non-rated officers and NCOs behind the drone controls.
10-4
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