July 25,2011Editorial Page by the Editor of
July 25,2011
Is it time to circle the wagons?
By; William A. Gast, Editor
Looking back several years when we started this website, it was the result of several veterans taking about the injustice being done in Washington in respect to the action by our representatives to enact HR303 the house bill that gave disabled and retired veterans their deserved benefits. That was over ten years ago now and we are just now receiving the pay that was withheld from our retirement. We organized, we wrote email, we did letters and we held demonstrations at Veterans Hospitals. I remember being ushered off the campus at Long Beach and then holding a conference with the security director and the hospital administrator. They did not agree to let us demonstrate but they did let us place an "information table" at the hospital the following Saturday. Small victory but we did inform many veterans what we were trying to accomplish. Washington heard the roar and reacted. Therein was the first of our problems in getting "voice" in the matter. Spokespersons from the VSO's ( VFW,DAV,AL) all met at a house gathering and decided to "Phase in" the entitlements. over a TEN YEAR PROGRAM!. The spokespeople for the "invited" veterans associations all agreed that was a victory while the street veterans that were not in the meeting were reading the results and (WTF????) wondering just WHO these people in the meeting represented. They choked and gave away any position gained by the people that worked and demonstrated.
That will not happen again. The "Voice" D.C. will hear this time will be the street veteran and the family that is directly involved with the reduction of their retirement income and health benefits.
On the main page of this website is a "Sign In Page" to obtain a list of concerned people that will organize veterans and supporters to make our concerns known to the elected officials. This must be done. Be it an organized march on washington or a simple dedicated day across the USA where every veteran that has a phone calls his representative and lets them ( or their staff ---ever talk directly to your representative when you placed a cold call to his office?) know that there is a GROUP of people, voters, citizens and above all, VETERANS that are watching their vote on the floor and where they are proposing cuts in the budgets and funding. Our position will be that if one cent is taken from the military retirement payment fund, there will be a concerted effort to get that responsible official removed at the next election.
We will use this website as a information dissemination point as a start but look forward to obtaining funding to make a louder voice from our volunteers.
Please come join the effort. We will need people that can direct a phone campaign , people that will email and most of all, we will need people that can lead a group in a focused, concentrated effort. This is the time where it makes no difference if you retired as a private or an admiral, you can contribute. It would be most appreciated if we could get a few Lt. Colonels and gunny sergeants to lend their voices.
Ready to do it again,
William A. Gast USN (ret) DAV, CRSC