Honor Flight Fayette Day Proclaimed October 8

At their September 25th meeting, the Fayette County Commissioners honored the upcoming and 2nd flight organized by Honor Flight Fayette to send World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., at no charge to them, to visit their memorial and share memories with their comrades in arms from that war.

Plans have been in the works for this trip literally since the return of the inaugural flight of HFF last May. Board members, guardians, medical personnel and volunteers have worked consistently to raise the necessary funds needed to make this trip a memorable one for the veterans, who will be provided with plane tickets, meals, snacks, and motor coach transportation. Also, a guardian will be assigned 2-3 veterans for the day, and their job is to make sure that each and every need of the vets is being met.

The public is encouraged to participate in this exciting day by either seeing the veterans off at 7:00 a.m., or welcoming them back about 10:00 that evening at the Fayetteville First United Methodist Church. The veterans from the May trip were very touched by those who came out to honor them, in their own community, by cheering and waving flags and banners.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization led by a dedicated board of directors, Honor Flight Fayette is committed to this labor of love and determination to take as many veterans as possible as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we are losing these brave men and women at a rate of over 1,400 per day, so time is definitely of the essence. And we must ask ourselves, "at what cost did they secure my freedoms and how can I repay them?"

If you would like to know more about this organization or make a donation toward the next flight, please visit honorflightfayette.org or call 770-719-1024.

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A Brighter Future For Blinded Veterans

MMF Note: This initiative earns the Fayette Front Page's coveted four chocolate covered strawberries award. Great idea!!


(NAPSI)-There's promising news for American veterans of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan who have lost part or all of their sight.

That's because there's a host of services available that provide educational programs, career options, emotional support and technology designed to improve their quality of life.

While thousands have already been helped, an organization called Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) believes even more individuals could be receiving services.

According to the organization's executive director, Tom Miller, of the estimated 165,000 veterans who are blinded as a result of disease or age-related factors, only about a third are aware of the resources available to them.

Recently, it created Operation Peer Support. In the project, blinded veterans of past wars interact with newly blinded veterans to help them adjust to new challenges.

To learn more, visit www.bva.org.

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Coast Guard Embraces 'Social Media' to Tell Its Story

The Coast Guard's top officer discussed plans to adopt social-media practices to modernize the Coast Guard and increase the organization's transparency in a teleconference yesterday with bloggers and online journalists.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen spoke about ways the Coast Guard plans to use social-media tools to get the broadest representation of the Coast Guard to the public.

"We're going to be moving from (Web) 1.0 to 1.2 to 2.0 to 2.5, and ... the challenge and the problem is we shouldn't take the status quo as an acceptable position," Allen said. "We need to keep improving wherever we can, whether it's my presence inside or outside the Coast Guard, how we deal with the American public, but more importantly, how we deal with the folks in the Coast Guard."

Making the organization more transparent comes at a crucial time, especially during hurricane season, when communication is extremely vital.

"If you look at the recent coordination in our response to Hurricane Ike, I knew from my own experience as the principal federal official in Hurricane Katrina that we can only be effective to the extent that we empower our leaders on scene and make what they are doing visible to senior leaders without endless routing of information through echelons," Allen said. "[And] what they are doing has to be visible to us, and using things like chat rooms among senior leaders at the same time we're using conference calls, to using all the modern [information technology] tools we have within the Coast Guard suite to simultaneously make all senior leaders aware of the situation and the operational picture down there is what we've got to do."

While the Coast Guard won't constrain itself to any particular social media platform, Allen said, officials initially will use one tool he has been experimenting with personally for the past few months.

"We will be standing up what I would call a semi-official Facebook site for me to be able to communicate and make available content to the folks that are working online," Allen said. "I have been working a personal Facebook account for a couple of months just to experiment myself with the dynamics associated with dealing with the Facebook community. It's been a very rich and rewarding experience for me."

Allen added that the need for institutionalizing this tool and others is important to allow for equal access for everybody. While the Coast Guard's current push is to become more intertwined in the social-media realm, Allen said, this initiative isn't about recruiting, but rather providing new recruits access to the tools they already are using.

"Young kids coming into the Coast Guard today demand parity with what they've been using all their lives and growing up with," he said. "And to the extent they enter an organization that's not evolving and upgrading the technology and the access and the social networks that they're used to, there's no incentive for them to join."

Allen said he encourages everyone in the Coast Guard community who is interested in blogging to remember that interacting in the blogosphere should be seen as no different from operating on a Coast Guard base.

"Whether you're a civilian, auxilarist, reservist, active duty, contractor or retiree, to understand that when you're blogging, that's no different than operating in a social environment on a Coast Guard base or anyplace else," he said. "We have a duty to the American public; we have a duty to each other to be guardians of each other. And to the extent that we have core values, I think we need to demonstrate that as we operate on a daily basis in the blogosphere."

Author Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg works in the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.
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Defense Department, Services Launch New 'e-Library'

Who goes to the library at 2 a.m.? Anyone can now, thanks to an initiative that makes Defense Department library materials available online.

The new initiative, soft-launched in July and formally announced Sept. 18, expands DoD's library program beyond the 197 libraries located on military installations.

Officials said the new endeavor will bring library materials to military members and their families, including those in the National Guard and Reserve, wherever they live and whenever they want -- at no charge.

"Libraries have long been considered mission-essential, supporting recreation pursuits, off-duty education, spouse careers and education and life-long learning," said Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. "For quite some time now, we in the Department of Defense have been looking for effective ways to deliver services to all our servicemembers and their families, regardless of location, service or component. This is a huge step in the right direction."

The new library initiative is the result of a Lean Six Sigma study that showed DoD could provide more high-quality library materials with joint procurement, Arsht said. Lean Six Sigma is a widely used business management strategy.

"We were able to not only enhance the services' online library portals, but also to create an entirely new resource on Military OneSource," Arsht said. Military OneSource is a DoD initiative that provides a consolidated starting point for a wide variety of life issues for servicemembers and their families.

The new online library will offer resources and services in electronic and hard-copy versions. The Military OneSource Online Library Resources are links to electronic databases, e-books and audio books, including:

-- EBSCO's Do-it-Yourself guides for auto repair, which feature more than 31,600 vehicles from 1945 to the present with more than 205,000 drawings, step-by-step photographs and 130,000 wiring diagrams, specifications, maintenance schedules and labor time guides, as well as a labor estimator and quick tips;

-- EBSCO's home improvement reference center, with 26 full-text major reference works and full-text magazines such as "This Old House." Materials offer assistance with maintenance, remodeling, electrical work, plumbing decorating, and home and garden needs;

-- Peterson's Educational Life Long Learning Resource, in which service and family members can practice Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery tests and tests used for college entrance and course credits, and search through a list of nearly 4,200 two- and four-year accredited schools;

-- Career Library access for comprehensive information for career and college research;

-- NetLibrary, with more than 2,650 full-text electronic versions of published books such as the "ASVAB Core Review," computer books, resume books and 213 CliffsNotes;

-- MyILibrary, which includes more than 400 e-books, including Encyclopedia Britannica, 95 books covering legal issues, 24 foreign language guides and 169 "For Dummies" books;

-- Safari Books Online, an e-reference library that allows access to books from O'Reilly, Addison-Wesley, Cisco Press, MicroSoft Press and more for users who register;

-- EBSCO's small engine repair reference center, with 410 full-text reference books with original photos and illustrations for small-engine repair assistance for all-terrain vehicles, commercial mowers, generators, motorcycles, marine and outdoor power equipment, personal watercraft, snow blowers, tillers, and other items with small engines;

-- A teacher reference library with index and abstracts for more than 270 of the most popular teacher and administrator journals and magazines to assist educators;

-- Tumblebook Library e-books for children ages 4 to 12, Tumblebook Readables with adjustable online text and complete audio narration, Tumble Talking Books, which are unabridged, high-quality audio versions of classic literature, nonfiction fiction books and books for children and teens; and

-- Playaway talking books, which are pocket-sized current and popular titles in audio book format, complete with head-set and battery, and paperback books, both of which soon will be available upon request from Military OneSource.

Program managers said that even though they haven't been advertised, the new resources already have been popular. Since the soft launch in July, Military OneSource has distributed 8,723 e-books and 1,860 audio books. New accounts through Military OneSource and the service library portals show a 68-percent increase in new accounts with Peterson's Lifelong Learning Database, a 33-percent increase in the number of online CLEP tests taken, and a 115-percent increase in the number of practice ASVAB tests taken.

Arsht said that beginning this summer, a variety of Playaways have been sent each month to troops deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other remote locations. They are especially popular in remote locations, where access to electricity may be limited, she noted. A variety of paperback books also are distributed each month.

"This is a wonderful example of what joint collaboration can do as we strive to improve the quality of life for all our servicemembers and their families," she added.

Service librarians agree. They say that military libraries are some of the busiest places on their installations, and that expanding the reach of these resources to those with limited library access because of duty requirements, who are far from home, or are assigned away from an installation is the right thing to do. They see libraries as a key link in today's networked world.

"Some books in our installation libraries are in such high demand – especially the CLEP materials," Army librarian Barbara Christine said. "We are pleased and excited to be able to offer all these resource materials when people need them."

Author Barbara A. Goodno works in the Defense Department's Office of Family Policy and Office of Children and Youth.

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Thanks for giving us our freedom & keeping us safe!

Chairman Reaffirms Commitment to Health Care for Veterans

As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen worries a great deal about the systems in place for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans transitioning out of the military, he said today during a visit with health care providers and social workers at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System here.

"One of the priorities for me is [the welfare of] the wounded coming out this war and the families of the fallen," Mullen said. "These people are so precious to us, and [the military] doesn't have contact with them any more after they're pushed back into society."

Once servicemembers separate from the military, they can register with the Veterans Affairs Department, which is responsible for helping them integrate back into society. VA assists veterans with health-care needs, entitled benefits and finding employment.

But what happens to those who don't register and suffer physical injuries? What happens to those who received physical treatment but were too embarrassed to seek mental help?

Some may get on with their lives without any issues. Others may suffer from depression, alcoholism or drug addiction. Many may have difficulties holding a job, and some end up in jail. Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries have become more and more common for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The single biggest issue Mullen has noticed during visits with wounded servicemembers at polytrauma medical centers, such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is that they want their lives back, he said. They're eager to get back to their units or shift back into society and just move on with their lives, he added.

Unfortunately, many servicemembers are so eager to separate from the military that they'll forego seeking psychiatric care for possible PTSD or TBI. For these reasons, there are significant issues with veterans struggling or becoming homeless due to undiagnosed, service-related disabilities, he said.

In the Los Angeles area, around 35,000 veterans have been treated through VA systems. However, only some veterans took it upon themselves to seek help. Many veterans were sought out in jails and on the streets here by VA social workers, said Bill Daniels, community care chief here.

The relationship and interface with between VA and the Defense Department is a challenge in itself, said Ron Norby, director for the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network, which provides services to more than a million veterans across southern California and Nevada.

Norby has been working with veterans and servicemembers since serving in the Vietnam War as a Navy nurse. The current military-to-civilian transition system is pretty much the same as when he was discharged, he said. Once he finished his paperwork and left his unit, that was it, he added.

But the problem with identifying mental disorders doesn't fall on the military checking up on people after separation, he said. Rather, the screening process needs to be more extensive to catch PTSD or TBI.

Norby and his staff agree that anyone discharged from the military or who has ever been in a theater of war should have a one-on-one consultation with a physician. Many suggest that everyone returning from deployment should be screened before they get back to the United States, he said.

"The faster we can catch the symptoms, the more we can help," Norby said.

During the chairman's visit here, he met with several veterans being treated for mental disorders. He expressed his gratitude for their service and let them know that taking care of them is a priority of the Defense Department.

One former Army reservist, who asked not to be identified, has been attending group sessions and speaking to psychiatrists here for a little more than a month for PTSD from combat in Iraq in 2004, he said. He's been battling alcoholism, unemployment and depression since 2005.

"The care is great, and I'm slowly getting back on my feet," the veteran said. "I didn't think talking to a shrink or group therapy would help."

The veteran said he enjoys being part of a group again, and that it's one of the things he misses most about the military.

"Everyone comes from different situations and have different needs, but we all deal with our anger or depression or alcoholism together," he said.

According to the annual consensus produced by VA homeless centers nationwide in 2007, an estimated 154,000 veterans in the United States are homeless. About 51 percent of those veterans served in the armed forces after the Vietnam War. About 45 percent indicated substance abuse and medical problems. At least 20 percent saw combat.

Mullen said the nation owes its veterans the care they need.

"We as a country have to figure out a way to have a system that is integrated and [in which] we know where everyone is," the admiral said. "We need to make sure those who've sacrificed so much are taken care of."
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Honor Flight Fayette Sponsors 2nd Trip to Washington October 8

Standing (l-r) are guardians Col. Doug Pearson, Sue Memmer and Medical Coordinator Linda Payne. Seated (l-r) are Honor Flight Fayette President Gail Sparrow reviewing plans with Guardian Dan Lorton.

After a successful inaugural flight last May, and positive feedback from the veterans on the flight, excitement is building as final arrangements are being made by Honor Flight Fayette board members, guardians, volunteers and supporters.

Preparations are in the works to take a 2nd group of World War II veterans from Fayette County to Washington, D.C., free of charge to them, on a one day trip to see their memorial on October 8th.

Many veterans stated that this was a trip they never thought they would get to make and were so grateful to have gone, and some shared stories they had never spoken of before the trip. Likewise, guardians for the veterans said it was a moving experience that they would never forget, in part because of the many stories they heard from the veterans. However, all agreed that it was a day unlike any other that they still speak about often, with excitement and gratitude.

Honor Flight is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose only mission is to say thank you in a small way to the men and women of the "greatest generation" who made our way of life possible at enormous cost to them.

If you would like to be a part of Honor Flight Fayette as a guardian, volunteer or to make a donation, please visit honorflightfayette.org or call 770-719-1024.

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Coalition Targets Foreign Terrorist Flow, Finds Caches, Disarms IED

Coalition forces in Iraq disrupted the foreign-terrorist facilitation network, found enemy weapons stockpiles and disarmed an improvised explosive device in operations over the last two days, military officials reported.
Soldiers detained four suspected terrorists during operations today to disrupt the al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign terrorist facilitation network in northern Iraq.

In Mosul, coalition forces captured two wanted men and one additional detainee reportedly tied to the part of the al-Qaida in Iraq network that smuggles materiel and foreigners into the country for terrorist attacks. One of the men is believed to conspire with senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in Mosul, officials said.

Another operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq's foreign terrorist facilitation network in Beiji, about 100 miles south of Mosul, netted one suspect.

A "Sons of Iraq" citizen security group member and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers combined their efforts to uncover weapons caches yesterday.

A tip from a sheik who serves as a Sons of Iraq member led soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, to the seizure of seven 57 mm rockets northwest of Baghdad.

Later yesterday, soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division's Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, found a munitions cache north of Baghdad. The munitions included a 152 mm high-explosive projectile, five sticks of TNT, 15 pounds of TNT charges, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a rifle.

In southern Baghdad's Rashid district early yesterday, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers disarmed an improvised explosive device. Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Troop B, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, notified an explosives ordnance disposal unit of the IED – made from a 155 mm artillery round with a timer and battery pack -- in a street in the district's Hadar community.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
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Home Repair Scam Appears to Target Military Families

The letter that appeared in a soldier's mailbox promised an offer almost too good to be true: a home improvement loan approved by Congress and backed up by a government agency. Officials at the Federal Citizen Information Center fear it's a scam targeting military members that uses the center's credibility to lure victims in. An eagle-eyed soldier notified the Federal Citizen Information Center after receiving the ad from the "Home Information Center" linked to post office boxes in Dallas and in Owasso, Okla. The letter included a reference to FCIC's Web site in an apparent attempt to show a federal endorsement.

"The thing that immediately sends up a red flag is the fact that [the advertisement] says these loans are approved by the U.S. Congress," said Mary Levy, director of consumer education and outreach in the FCIC's Office of Citizen Services. "Congress would absolutely never approve any particular home improvement loan."

In addition, she said, the Federal Citizen Information Center has no association with the Home Information Center. Levy emphasized that home improvement services are regulated at the state and local level, not by the federal government.

Levy expressed concern that the letter might be one of many floating around that are targeting military homeowners who, like many of their civilian neighbors, are struggling with financial concerns. Many are prime candidates for scams because they're young and relatively inexperienced in handling money, they're away from their extended families, and often have no roots in their new communities, she said.

"That may make them particularly susceptible to these kinds of scams," Levy said. Unscrupulous people have long focused their schemes on servicemembers and their families. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission and American Red Cross warned consumers about an identity-theft scam targeting families of deployed troops. That scam involved someone calling a military spouse, identifying herself as a representative of the Red Cross, and notifying the woman that her husband was hurt in Iraq and had been medically evacuated to Germany. The caller then said doctors could not start treatment until paperwork including the husband's Social Security number and birth date was completed.

The FTC called this scheme a variation of "phishing" – a technique identity thieves use to get personal or financial information from unwary consumers. The identity thief claims to represent a trusted source – a bank, a government agency, or in this case, the American Red Cross – to get someone to divulge personal information.

"Military families can become targets of scams, especially when the soldier is deployed thousands of miles away and the family is here," Levy said. "That's why it's so important that they have the information they need to protect themselves."

The Federal Citizen Information Center offers consumers tips for selecting a contractor to make home improvements and repairs:

-- Get recommendations and references. Talk to friends, family and others who have used the contractor for similar work.
-- Get at least three written estimates. Insist the contractors come to your home to evaluate what needs to be done. Be sure the estimates are based on the same work so that you can make meaningful comparisons.
-- Check contractor complaint records. Your state or local consumer protection agency or Better Business Bureau can provide this information.
-- Make sure the contractor meets licensing and registration requirements. Your state or local consumer protection agency can help you find out what these requirements are.
-- Get the names of suppliers and ask if the contractor makes timely payments.
-- Contact your local building inspection department to check for permit and inspection requirements. Be wary if the contractor asks you to get the permit; it could mean the firm is not licensed.
-- Be sure your contractor is insured. They should have personal liability, property damage and worker's compensation insurance for workers and subcontractors. Also check with your insurance company to find out if you are covered for any injury or damage that might occur.
-- Insist on a written contract that states exactly what work will be done, the quality of materials that will be used, warranties, timetables, the names of any subcontractors, the total price of the job and the schedule of payments.
-- Try to limit your down payment. Some states have laws limiting the amount of down payment required.
-- Understand your payment options. Compare the cost of getting your own loan vs. contractor financing.
-- Don't make a final payment or sign a final release until you are satisfied with the work and know that subcontractors and suppliers have been paid. Some state laws allow unpaid subcontractors and suppliers to put a lien on your home for bills the contractor failed to pay.
-- Pay by credit card when you can. You may have the right to withhold payment to the credit card company until problems are corrected.

The FCIC warns consumers of red flags that could indicate a fraudulent operator, including soliciting door-to-door, offering a quote out of line with other estimates, using pressure tactics or asking for the entire payment up front.

The Consumer Action Handbook, published annually by the FCIC, offers additional consumer information covering a wide range of topics. The FCIC Web site provides ordering information.
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More Veteran Bricks Are On the Way in Peachtree City

Bob Konrad, Quartermaster of Peachtree City VFW Post 9949 reports that he has negotiated a second delivery of Veterans Bricks for this year. The deadline for ordering bricks that will be placed around the Peachtree City Veterans Memorial during the week before Veterans Day is October 20. The brick applications must be in the hands of the Quartermaster on that date.

New applications may be downloaded from the VFW web site www.vfw9949.org or picked up at the Peachtree City Library. Older applications may still be used, however the limit on letters, symbols and blank spaces is now 18 (originally limited to 14 and most recently 17). Please be sure to indicate whether the Veteran being honored is deceased.

Bricks for family members, relatives and friends may be ordered for Veterans from any era, including those currently in the Armed Forces. It does not matter where the Veterans live.

If two bricks are ordered they will be placed adjacent to each other; for larger quantities the bricks are contiguous. Brick locations are documented and retained by VFW Post 9949 Quartermaster, Bob Konrad. The location of each brick may be found by using the “brick locator” on the Post web site (www.vfw9949.org). The brick price remains $30.00

Currently 25 bricks are on order. The vendor indicates he needs a minimum of a 50-brick order and preferably 60 to make it an economic production run for him. The VFW is asking that orders be made promptly to assure they will be able to place two orders in future years.
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