‘Troops come first, period’Kerry promises more respect for overworked forces

[thedrifter]

Issue Date: July 05, 2004

‘Troops come first, period’
Kerry promises more respect for overworked forces

By Rick Maze and Tobias Naegele
Times staff writers

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry leans back in an oversized black leather seat aboard his red, white and blue campaign plane and muses about his brief naval career.
What he liked most, he says, was “the camaraderie, the responsibility, the no-holds-barred commitment … you loved each other.”

That, in a nutshell, is what makes him different from President Bush, he says. It’s what the president doesn’t get.

“Troops come first, period,” Kerry said in a wide-ranging interview June 24 aboard his campaign plane between stops in California. “I am very sensitive to strain on the military.”

Over the course of 45 minutes, Kerry ticked off what he called the “failures” and “arrogance” of the Bush administration, and confidently spelled out how he would deal with key defense issues such as transformation, troop levels and stop-loss, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule for gays in uniform, relations with foreign allies, leadership and accountability and his suitability to be commander in chief.

“Look at this administration,” he said. “Four years ago they said, ‘Help is on the way,’ and they criticized the Clinton administration. They didn’t do anything to change what was really the deployable capacity of the military at the moment they began this war. This is the Clinton military.”

After promising help, Kerry said, the Bush administration cut support for public schools near military bases, tried to cut danger pay and family separation pay for deployed troops and failed to provide enough money for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“I think there has been a general disrespect — my own opinion is, personal disrespect — toward the realities of what this war is costing us in human terms for the rank and file. I remember from my own service, that is where it matters, not in offices in the Pentagon.”

Stopping stop-loss

Kerry, who was more relaxed and engaging during the interview than he sometimes seems in campaign appearances, called the Army’s continued use of stop-loss a “backdoor draft,” a way to extend the commitments of troops who have already completed their tours of duty. He said he did not fully accept the argument that stop-loss is necessary for unit cohesion and readiness in war zones.

“In my judgment, most units over there are not engaged in the kinds of activities where that is critical,” he said. “If you are engaged on the front line in a battle or some particular mission, you can make that argument, but if it is a routine patrol, I don’t think that is particularly persuasive when you make a commitment to somebody and they have a contract, in essence, saying this is the length of service.”

Forcing service members to remain in the military is “counter to good leadership,” he said, and vowed he would halt the practice “in a matter of months.”

One way to reduce the need for stop-loss, Kerry said, is to turn to foreign allies. As president, he said, one of the first things he would do is engage the United Nations and U.S. allies alienated in the run-up to the war to get them to share the burden of the Iraq occupation and relieve pressure on American active and reserve forces.

Only a change in leadership, he said, would convince allies to work with the United States.

“Allies have a distrust for this administration,” Kerry said. “If you are not prepared to share decision-making with them, how can you expect them to put troops on the ground?”

Kerry said he is more qualified to bear the international leadership responsibilities of the presidency than Bush, citing personal relationships with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

“I believe you have got to turn to the Arab countries and say to them, look, you have a choice, you can have a failed state as your neighbor and maybe a civil war next door, or you can get involved. I think this administration does not have the ability to do that because [they] dissed them so badly going in.

“I think you need a new president in order to have a new policy in Iraq.”

Kerry also strongly opposed efforts by the Bush administration to pull troops out of Europe and South Korea.

A U.S. presence in Europe is important, he said, because NATO has not yet digested its expansion into Eastern Europe and there is no place for the troops leaving Germany to go. In South Korea, pulling out troops makes no sense during negotiations with North Korea over what amounts to an agreement to end the Korean War, he said.

Asking about ‘don’t ask’

Kerry has been evasive in the past on his position regarding homosexuals serving in the military. Asked to address the topic, he did not shy away, but also did not say he had made up his mind on the matter.

“It seems to me we are losing a lot of talent for our nation in interpreters, in intelligence, in a lot of different things,” he said. “There must be a way for those people to serve somehow.”

But Kerry said he was not certain the policy should be changed, saying he would “sit down with my lead commanders in the military and figure out whether there is a way to put talented people to work without running into a confrontation with unit cohesion issues and other things that I respect and understand.”

Criticizing Rumsfeld

Kerry credited Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with developing some good ideas on transformation, but faulted him for failing to follow through on those ideas. In fact, Kerry saved his sharpest criticism for Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

“I think there’s a serious question as to why Rumsfeld and any of them are still around,” Kerry said. “When you miscalculate in war as badly as they have miscalculated, when you don’t have equipment that you’re supposed to have, when you short the number of troops you should have, when you don’t even calculate the postwar process accurately, when you willfully refuse to look at plans drawn up by others in order to do this right, it’s beyond negligence. When you pass off looting as a minor happening, it’s beyond me.”

Kerry said his own Navy experience taught him it doesn’t matter if a captain is asleep in his cabin when a ship crashes — the skipper is usually held accountable and fired.

He also criticized Rumsfeld and other civilian leaders for “arrogance and an ideological rigidity that disregarded and disrespected professional military advice.”

“There are countless examples from friends and others of the way people are shunted aside and proposals are shouted down and people are not, in fact, engaged in a legitimate process by which you really think through consequences and needs,” Kerry said. “The civilian military leadership has to be extraordinarily respectful of the professional leadership that is there through years of schooling and training and war fighting and deployments and experience.

“I think they’ve cast a pall on the professional military.”

Defense spending

Kerry declined to say whom he is considering, if elected, to be his defense secretary, but he hinted his candidates aren’t necessarily Democrats. And he dismissed Vice President Dick Cheney’s charges that he has failed to support increases in defense spending and important weapons systems.

“He knows as well as I do that’s a lie,” Kerry said. “I didn’t vote against body armor for troops. I voted to pay for the $87 billion, and when they weren’t willing to pay for it, I voted against it because that was a protest against their unwillingness to be responsible. I have voted for the largest military budgets in American history. I have voted for 95 or 98 percent of all the combat systems we’ve ever had.”

continued.........

[thedrifter]

Kerry was quick to admit he doesn’t have everything figured out. While he proposes adding two divisions to the active-duty Army, he said he did not know if the Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps needed more troops.

But the Marines are sharing the burden in Iraq, he said, so he would be open to discussing an increase if the Corps’ commandant sought one. He said he believed the Navy might be able to cut the number of sailors if it built new ships that require fewer crew members. He made no specific mention of the Air Force.

In general terms, Kerry also talked about the need to modernize weapons, to develop newer systems for urban warfare and to also repair or replace older conventional systems worn out in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said some less-pressing weapons programs will have to be cut or delayed, but offered no specifics beyond missile defense.

“I’m not for rapid deployment on missile defense,” he said. “I’m for research and development and continuing the testing. But I don’t think we’re ready for deployment. I think that’s … money that’s going to be wasted.”

He pegged the savings that could pay for other military programs at “some billions of dollars, several billion.”

“What I’m committed to is transformation of the military for the 21st century,” he said — a military “second to nobody.”

Pay, benefits and politics

Kerry has offered a plan to make Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance free for troops in a combat zone. He also would allow the families of deceased service members to receive one year of pay if a member is killed in action, and to remain in military family housing for up to one year after a member’s death.

But his plan was superseded June 23 when the Senate approved an even more generous death-benefits package as part of the 2005 defense authorization bill. Kerry was not present for the vote on the death benefits nor for final passage of the measure because he was out campaigning.

The Senate-passed plan would boost maximum SGLI coverage by $100,000, to a new maximum of $350,000, and provide the first $100,000 of coverage free to troops in a combat zone. If a service member dies on active duty, the family would get one year of his or her pay. If the death occurred as a result of combat, the family would get two years’ pay.

Kerry returned to Washington for one afternoon of Senate debate on the defense bill, hoping to vote on one of his key initiatives that would put funding for veterans’ health care in the same mandatory spending category as Medicare, requiring the government to pay for treatment no matter the cost.

But Senate Republican leaders refused to arrange the schedule for votes on the amendments around Kerry’s itinerary. “You have to give something to get something in this town,” said an aide to Sen. William Frist, R-Tenn., Senate Republican leader. The measure was rejected.

Kerry ‘bleeds’ for families

As he runs for president, Kerry said, he keeps in mind the responsibilities of a commander in chief as he watches the death toll rise in Iraq. “I feel personally very angry about the position these troops have been put in by the president and this administration in their arrogance. I think our troops are in greater danger than they have to be.

“I think these kids are walking and riding patrols … waiting to be ambushed, very dangerous, where it’s very difficult for them to determine the difference between friend and foe. It reminds me a lot of what we went through when you start waiting to be ambushed.

“I bleed every day about it,” he said. “I feel the agony of every one of those families. I know what they’re going through.”

Defense News staff writer William Matthews contributed to this report.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-3042820.php


Ellie

[cjwright90]

“sit down with my lead commanders in the military and figure out whether there is a way to put talented people to work without running into a confrontation with unit cohesion issues and other things that I respect and understand.”

“There must be a way for those people to serve somehow.”

those people?! So much for unit cohesion, John.

I voted to pay for the $87 billion, and when they weren’t willing to pay for it, I voted against it because that was a protest against their unwillingness to be responsible.

I LOVE his decisivness.

I have voted for 95 or 98 percent of all the combat systems we’ve ever had.

What is it? 95% OR 98%???

Almost done raving...

“What I’m committed to is transformation of the military for the 21st century,” he said — a military “second to nobody.”

Umm, Hello, John. We already ARE second to none.

where it’s very difficult for them to determine the difference between friend and foe

Same in any war...

I vote John Kerry gets a super-de-duper power wedgie!

[enviro]

I'm sorry but this jackass would be the worst thing in the world for the military. I could go in to his "plans" and explain exactly how, but I'm sure most of you are seeing what I am seeing.

1. routine patrol? WTF is that? F**king sailor boy thinks that if you aren't on the "front" lines it's a f**king routine patrol. Where are the front lines, jackass? Draw it on a map so we all can see.

2. He'll end the stop-loss and increase end strength. Where the hell are all these people supposed to come from? I'll admit that recruiting is good right now, but not that good. This micro-managing homo is going to be the death of us all.

3. Speaking of homos - "there's got to be some place for these people to serve"?????? Does he intend on starting a Gay Regiment or something? Open up a huge training base in san Francisco and....... What a f**king MORON!

4. Kerry has offered a plan to make Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance free for troops in a combat zone????? Thanks for saving us SIXTEEN LOUSY F**KING DOLLARS A MONTH!!!!!!! YOU GOT MY VOTE!!!!


This guy gets my blood boiling every damn time he opens his slack jawed ignorant ass mouth!

[thedrifter]

Issue Date: July 05, 2004

‘I have more experience, more training, more readiness’


Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., met with Military Times reporters June 24 for an exclusive 45-minute interview. Following are excerpts, some of which have been edited for clarity.

Q. The defense budget has gone up under President Bush from about $300 billion to just over $400 billion this year. Do you see the budget going up further, declining or leveling off?

A. It will probably go up for a period, unavoidably because of our obligations and because of the systems transformation and because of the overextending of our forces. I want to add two active divisions to the Army because I think they are so overstretched. And my current plan is to make that revenue-neutral in the budget.


Q. So how would you pay for it?

A. Well, you’re going to have to decide some systems are not as critical in terms of overall transformation.


Q. Do you know if the Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps would increase or decrease in size?

A. At the moment, that is not what I see on the horizon. I think that the interforce dependencies in terms of deployments and war fighting are pretty important to us. You might want to be more creative … and have a deployment that is not so trying on our troops. There are sailors, airmen and soldiers with tremendous strains on their families. I think you are going to see a downturn in our guard and reserve retention, as well as enlistment, not to mention what may or may not happen in the active services.

I think you have to take a check of where we are. I am very sensitive to the strain on the military. We have a lot of work to do. I think we can do a better job of training, a better job of coordinating, a better job of respecting. I think there has been a general disrespect — my own opinion is personal disrespect — toward the realities of what this war is costing us in human terms for the rank and file. Not having adequate body equipment, not having Humvees that are adequately protected. … I have bumped into families in Ohio and Iowa who have bake sales or charity fund-raising efforts to buy adequate equipment for their kids off the Internet to send it over to them. This is a disgrace.


Q. Let’s talk about stop-loss.

A. Stop-loss is a back-door draft.


Q. How would you stop it?

A. You have to reduce our dependence on essentially an American occupation, and the way you do it is by offering statesmanship that brings other countries to the table. If I become president of the United States, I will do it in a matter of months.


Q. You can stop stop-loss in a matter of months?

A. I believe if I do the foreign policy I think this country can do, I can turn that around and reduce the dependency on American soldiers in Iraq, yes.

You will notice, even now, what [Bush administration officials] are doing is moving closer and closer to the things I have been proposing for over two years, getting the U.N. involved, getting other countries involved. But they are never fully there, always inching toward it, always begrudging, always reluctant, always kind of back door so they do not have to acknowledge what they are doing. That is not a great way to conduct the real security interests of our country.


Q. In part, they do not want to say they were wrong?

A. That is what I am saying. I have been there before, guys. In 1968, when I went to Vietnam, there were about 25,000 dead. Thirty-two thousand additional names came after a president said he had a plan for peace, so I’m overly sensitized to getting in the way of decisions when troops’ lives are on the line. As far as I’m concerned, troops come first.


Q. How important is Iraq and foreign policy going to be in this election?

A. I have argued from the beginning of this race that I have more experience, more training, more readiness to deal with the security issues facing our country than George Bush does even today.

I have 20 years’ experience on the Foreign Relations Committee, I have active war-fighting experience, I went to chemical-biological warfare school. I have served on the arms-control observer group of the Senate, I’ve been chairman of the narcotics terrorism committee, I’ve visited bases and troops and countries abroad that are challenges to our nation. I think I am ready to be commander in chief in this new world with a greater level of preparation and a better vision of how we’d make ourselves safe than George Bush has.


Q. If you become president and the next day the national security team says they’ve found weapons of mass destruction in a neighboring country that were spirited there before the war, what are you going to do?

A. It depends on the facts they display to you. Did you find them because the neighboring country helped you find them?


Q. Let’s say it was Syria and Syria’s feeling uncomfortable with what’s going on in Iraq.

A. You’re going to have to be prepared to be tough with Syria. You’re going to have to get possession of those weapons. The first thing you’re going to have to do is convince the world they’re really there. Clearly, people will demand a level of evidence that we have not yet shown. But you have to do what you have to do to protect the security of the world and our country. And I would have a number of moves up my sleeve that I wouldn’t advertise right now.


Q. What do you think about the president not going to funerals?

A. I don’t understand that. You find time to go to a funeral here and there. Every family understands you can’t go to them all, but I think symbolically to be able to take the time and connect like that is critical.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-3042821.php


Ellie

[ese4mc]

WHAT A PUTZ---HAS SOME BRAINS,BUT NO COMMON SENSE---PERFECT JERK----

[greybeard]

Q. Do you know if the Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps would increase or decrease in size?

A. At the moment, that is not what I see on the horizon.

Am I wrong-or did that question require an 'increase'-'decrease'-or 'remain the same' answer?

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by thedrifter
Issue Date: July 05, 2004

“Troops come first, period,” Kerry said in a wide-ranging interview June 24 aboard his campaign plane between stops in California. “I am very sensitive to strain on the military.”

How can they come first to him now, when they didn't come first to him during Viet Nam?

[CMyr]

As CIC he'd give the Army two more divisions. Was that what the Army needed to hold Fallujah?? Two more divisions?? Talk about cost effectiveness. Good thing the Marines were in the neighborhood to clean up the Army's mess. Didn't take the people of that city long to decide to negotiate once the Marines landed.

If Kerry has this vast amount of experience on all these committees, how come it took Prez Bush to call the Iraqis bluff and take care of the mess??

From the outset, Rumsfeld and the administration said this whole thing would be played by ear. All Kerry's doing is being a Monday morning quarterback.

Sorry, Mr. Kerry, you don't have the conjones for the job.

[DebSantos]

JOHN KERRY= waisted sperm,
his mother should have swallowed him!

[fulmetaljackass]

Kerry says the troops will come first. I'll believe it when I see it..... but what I believe right now is that we can't afford to give him the chance.

[HardJedi]

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk


How can they come first to him now, when they didn't come first to him during Viet Nam?

Cause SparrowHawk, it's ALWAYS easier to put someones else's ass on the line than your own!

[snipowsky]

Sgt. Enviro cracks me up. I can tell he doesn't like John Kerry very much. Can't you tell? I love it. I can see through John Kerry's B.S. too! He'd say anything to appease voters! I'm not buying it!

Vote Bush 2004!

Semper Fi brothers and sisters!

[eddief]

I don't see Bush coming thru for the troops. He's all about cutting veterans' benefits. He sends the troops to war and when they get back it's a s*** sandwich for them.

[HardJedi]

as opposed to NOW eddie? Just I've said it before, and i'll say it again. The VA, and most of the supposed "benefits" are nothing but a smoke screen and window dressing, to try and make it looks like somebody gives a sh##

[eddief]

So you're for Bush cutting them then?

[yellowwing]

VA? Heck, we didn't join for the money and benefits that 'fo sure!

[HardJedi]

like I said, what's the difference? they aren't REAL anyway.

[eddief]

Some people depend on those benefits. Real people are hurting.

[kentmitchell]

To Enviro

Routine Patrol: That's when you disarm a dead enemy, bring the weapon home and get a bronze star.

[hobbit]

Kerry's an ass! He played the navy in Nam, now he's trying to play us. Send him back to Mass. where they like him.

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by eddief
I don't see Bush coming thru for the troops. He's all about cutting veterans' benefits. He sends the troops to war and when they get back it's a s*** sandwich for them.

When has Bush cut veterans benefits?

If anyone cuts benefits for troops its the congress and they ahven't doen that.

Where did you get that information?

[fulmetaljackass]

Presidents can actually be quite capable of steering Congress in the directions that they desire. That's why there's a lot of talk when we have a Republican president and largely Democratic Congress or vice versa. From what I've heard, Bush wanted Rummy as SecDef because of the cuts that he wanted to make to the military. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 sure upset those plans, didn't they?

I don't put too much emphasis on what I hear, though. Crap rolls down hill, and when it's from a hill as high as Capitol Hill, by the time it hits us at the bottom, it's something worse than crap - it's just a big ol' pile of "he said, she said."

I won't pay attention to what Kerry says, though....because I don't trust him!

[snipowsky]

And Bill Clinton did something to help veterans? As far as I'm concerned nobody has done a damn thing to help disabled veterans. Bill Clinton or G.W.! I guarantee John Kerry wouldn't either! Anthony J. Principi lies to people in Washington D.C. claiming the V.A. is making improvements and the backlog of claims is slowly going down.

The reason the backlog of claims are going down is one simple reason. The V.A. is denying every claim that comes before it. Whether it's a legitimate claim or not.

Makes me sick I even served this ungrateful country honorably. VETERANS UNDERSTAND! Our politicians and the public have no clue! And now they are saying we have the right for legal counsel? We should have always had that right. I guess since we have served our country honorably we are only second class citizens! What a crock!

[MillRatUSMC]

I would try to understand his service in Vietnam and the coastal waters on both tours in southeast Asia.
But I won't stand by these words from a self=centered individual;
‘Troops come first, period’Kerry promises more respect for overworked forces."
As SparrowHawk said;
quote
How can they come first to him now,
why didn't they come first to him during Viet Nam?
unquote
And as sure as there's asky above,
They will mean little to him, other than the votes he might recieve.
He full of it...

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

[enviro]

I receive my disability paycheck every month - actually got a raise from last year. Didn't see a cut there.

My wife gets her disability paycheck every month - she got a raise, too. No cuts there.

She goes to college on the VA's dime using chapter 31 benefits. And while they pay for her supplies, tuition, books, etc. they also give her a stipend of $700 a month. No cuts there.

We both have our GI Bill and there was actually an increase in those benefits.

Prescriptions come in the mail every three months for $7.00. That didn't get any higher.

Damn - I could go on. If you want the benefits the VA offers, you have to ask for them.

The President’s FY 2005 budget for VA medical care is over 40% larger than when he took office.

THE ONLY thing that the President has done to make me mad is he consistantly threatens to veto any bill that offers Concurrent Receipt. Now while that doesn't effect me, it does so many others.

[CAR]

The sad part is that there are people in this country that believe what he says or what he "doesn't" say. He ducks question like a pro. Can't stand the fact that he keep bringing up .. "oh did I Mention that I'm a war hero." I can't take it anymore. It turns my stomach that he get's back to his experience of what 4 months. He did honorable things in vietnam, no doubt. Since then he ****ed it all away. He has done more damage to our country than he has done good. He's a loser, a crook and a damn liar. NO RESPECT for that man.

[BIGFISH]

The day the War started, Bush cut V.A.Benefits. I live with being a Disabled Veteran everyday, this drunk has not done anything for the veterans. It will not change for the new veterans it will only get worse. The Veteran has another War to fight if he comes home disabled , don't think anyone will help you, because they will not, you will have to fight everyday the rest of your life.

(A 100% Service Connected Disabled Veteran).

[enviro]

From the VA's website:

Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Office of Public Affairs / Media Relations
VA White Paper: 4/24/03

The Truth About VA Funding


Has VA's budget been cut?

Rumors on the Internet, Hollywood stars with political agendas and a few columnists who weren't paying attention to the facts have spread a totally inaccurate tale of VA spending cuts. They are wrong: there are no cuts. President Bush has requested record increases in VA's budget and Congress has approved his request. No matter how one looks at the figures, VA's budget has been rising continuously and there is no scenario being advocated by the Administration or in Congress to reduce funding from existing levels. In fact, the debate in Washington generally focuses on the rate of growth in future spending.

What was the congressional action that started a rumor about VA having a $15 billion cut? What was the outcome?

At one point in mid-March, lawmakers considered a 1 percent, across-the-board cut in the budgets of federal departments, but VA was quickly eliminated as a potential candidate for a cut because of the absurdity of cutting VA's budget during a war. For next year alone, lawmakers have agreed on a 12.9 percent increase ($3.4 billion) over the 2003 level for veteran's health care and similar “discretionary” accounts.

Have Congress and the Administration agreed to cuts in future VA budgets?

No. Each year, Congress enacts a budget resolution that lays out an economic framework for the next 10 years. Those 10-year projections call for ever-increasing budgets that keep pace with the needs of America's veterans. The resolution's level for VA's total budget next year is $63.8 billion, which is $6.2 billion higher than the 2003 level.


What has been VA's track record with its budget?

The VA's $60.3 billion spending for the current fiscal year was enacted in February and Congress recently provided $100 million in additional funds that will be available for disability claims and other services for veterans returning from combat in Iraq.

What is the VA asking for in appropriations for next year?

The president’s fiscal year 2004 budget requests a record $63.6 billion for our nation’s veterans, including a nearly 8 percent increase in discretionary funding over the 2003 budget and a 32 percent increase in overall funding since fiscal year 2001. This will allow the department to improve health care delivery to its core constituency – veterans with service-connected disabilities, lower incomes or special medical needs.

The president's proposal will help disabled veterans, provide annuities for widows, offset the educational and housing expenses of veterans, honor veterans when they die and operate the nation’s largest health care system. The budget proposal supports the president’s goal of continuing our progress in reducing the time veterans must wait to get decisions on their claims for financial benefits and it will allow the department to continue to lead the nation in many important health care areas like patient safety, computerized patient records, telemedicine, rehabilitation and research.

Are veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom going to receive fewer VA benefits than veterans of other conflicts?

The men and women discharged after Iraqi Freedom will receive the same veterans benefits usually associated with VA – GI Bill home loan guarantees, educational assistance, disability compensation if they qualify and survivors benefits.

Iraqi Freedom veterans will also receive one important benefit not available at the time of Desert Storm. Under rules that went into effect last year, everyone who served in the combat zone will be eligible for two years of free health care from VA, without having to prove that a medical problem is connected to military service.

This new benefit is an outgrowth of VA's experience with Gulf War illnesses after the first Gulf War and Agent Orange after the Vietnam War. It will increase the chances that VA health care workers can detect early any unusual health care problems that develop among Iraqi Freedom veterans.

Will VA be able to restore enrollment of Category 8 veterans?

Actions by Congress to date on the current year's appropriations, including the recent emergency wartime supplemental, maintain VA's ability to care for its core constituency of service-disabled and lower-income veterans. Until the waiting time for medical appointments can be reduced to an acceptable standard, it would not be in the best interest of those most in need of care for VA to enroll additional priority group 8 veterans.

Priority 8 veterans are those with incomes above $24,644 per year (for a single veteran) and above a geographic means test. In the months ahead, Congress will be debating the appropriate level of spending for next year and future enrollment decisions cannot be forecast with certainty at this time.

What are the budget steps VA is taking to ensure as many veterans as possible get timely service?

VA is proposing management savings through competitive sourcing and performance-based private-sector contracts, continuing its procurement reforms, and taking advantage of efficiencies as it redirects resources from inpatient to outpatient care. In addition, VA is working with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a plan that will provide non-enrolled priority group 8 veterans the option of using their Medicare benefits to obtain their care from VA. Further, to ensure VA's core constituency can receive timely medical services, VA has proposed in its 2004 budget new fees to raise revenue from those veterans who can afford it and who are not receiving care for a service-related disability. It would assess an annual enrollment fee of $250 for nonservice-connected priority group 7 veterans and all priority 8 veterans.

Priority group 7 veterans are those whose income falls between the $24,644 annual income test (for a single veteran) but are below a geographic means test. In addition, modest new copayments are proposed for these higher-income veterans to contribute to the cost of pharmaceuticals and for outpatient primary care visits.


http://www.gla.med.va.gov/pages/documents/VAFunding.htm

(A 40% Service Connected Disabled Veteran and husband of a 30% Service Connected Disabled Veteran - both very happy with the VA)

And now the President is a drunk? The bar is lowered every day - is there any bottom to how far the anti-Bush will go?

[enviro]

http://www.budget.house.gov/congbudget.htm

[Eaglestrikes]

The day the War started, Bush cut V.A.Benefits. I live with being a Disabled Veteran everyday, this drunk has not done anything for the veterans. It will not change for the new veterans it will only get worse. The Veteran has another War to fight if he comes home disabled , don't think anyone will help you, because they will not, you will have to fight everyday the rest of your life.

He did no such thing.
First he can't cut the VA Benefits. Doesn't work that way.
So do I. The operative word is LIVE.
Who is a drunk? President Bush. Ahh yes he drank before. Not one iota of proof exist that he is now drinking or has been drunk. Doesn't matter to you. You want to name call. Childish.
It has improved for the NEW Veterans.
All Veterans had another war to fight. You are still fighting yours.
A great many someones will help.
As to the rest. Yep. That is life. You fight or you die.
Do you not think we can read.? Do you not think a great many of us are in the same boat as you when it comes to the VA, and Disabilities?
Do you think you will persuade with obvious mis-statements?
Continue on as you are. I pay less attention every time you make such obvious and false statements.
I know there are problems with the VA. How about putting the burden where it belongs? ON THE F'ing CONGRESS.
So many people want to attribute to the President power he does not have and place all blame on him. Bull. Try blaming the people that actually can, and should, do something. Senators, and Representatives, who don't represent the veterans, just themselves.:marine:

[MillRatUSMC]

From a report that John Forbes Kerry went back days after he or a member of his crew shot this VC and he took the RPG.
To film a re-actment of what took place.
I find that as placing the troops under his command in harms way.
That doesn't translate as "looking after the troops."
And it trouble me to no end...

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

[Sparrowhawk]

will disclose that information, that the film was staged......

Another reason we can't trust this deceiving politician.

[jjme9]

This self confessed war criminal who raped viets, killed babies, tortured individual ect ect. His words not mine, would say anything thing, do anything and go anywhere he thought he could get a vote to be elected. I (My words)believe he is responsible for more deaths of US service men because of his support for his communist friends then any single individual citizen I know. If you will look on the CPA USA you will find his endorsement.

As for benefits when I servedin the Marine Corps it was not for the benefits. If you wanted good benefits work for the state of Ga. (I do not work for them)

[yellowwing]

So who is in charge of cutting VA Benefits and reducing combat separation pay? The Rupublican controlled Congress or the Adminstration? Surely the 'liberal media' and Michael Moore doesn't wield that kind of power.

[Eaglestrikes]

So who is in charge of cutting VA Benefits and reducing combat separation pay
You wont let go of that will you. No VA Benefits have been cut. Prove it. Thats is getting tired. It has been refuted. Yet you
continue coming back, and saying it, like every one else is stupid, and if you keep telling them this lie they will believe it.
When I was in there was Seperation Pay.
What is Combat Seperation pay?
There was Hazardous Duty pay, Combat Pay, and
Jump Pay.
I looked in the Marine Benefits section and could not find Combat Seperation pay. I did find Seperation Pay and Locality Pay Differential which came on board in the late 60's as I recall.
Any way how about providing some solid prove? Not left wing distortions.

[hrscowboy]

Gentleman I for one can tell you that the VA system is hurting very much so. If you dont believe it come to leavenworth V.A. hospital or Topeka V.A. hospital and ask some of the government workers that are working there. leavenworth had a great PTSD unit and it was cut because no more money in the budget. Now you have to go to topeka V.A. and you"ll be lucky if you can even get in that unit because of the backlog. I have spoken to many nurses at both V.A. hospitals that are working 12 hour shifts on skelton crews because the V.A. has no money to hire new nurses to bring them up federal standards. alot of the services have been cut from the V.A. because of this. Omaha V.A. was just sited for not meeting health safety standards (sterile invironments such as operating rooms and Labs. So if you think the veterans getting a fair shake for serving his country Through the V.A. think again. Kansas City V.A. has also been under the gun also. if you dont believe what i say the next time you go to a V.A. hospital ask one of them they will tell ya. The government talks **** about how great there doing with V.A. hospitals thats a smoke screen as a worker.

[enviro]

Here's the real deal - the naysayers keep saying the budgets were cut. That's simply not true. I personally have done the research and asked the questions as I am a disabled vet and have spent a lot of time at the VA trying to get my benefits and medical worked out.

The problem is that there is simply too many veterans claiming benefits each and every year. My grandfather served in the 50's and didn't even know he rated benefits until now. When you get out of the military now days, you are required to get briefings from veterans organizations and the VA itself. Marines are very much aware of their benefits and they are taking advantage of them more than any other generation of Marines. This is good and bad at the same time for obvious reasons.

The military medical system is pretty much in the same shape. If you think you are going to get better and faster care as an active duty Marine, think again. The hospitals, clinics and BASs are understaffed and overworked. Maybe it's because of more service members, or maybe it's because service members run to medical every time they get a splinter or the sniffles. Who knows?

I have waited 6 hours at sick call to see a doc and I have waited 6 hours at the VA to see a doc. I have also waited 5 weeks to get an appointment at a civilian doctor here recently.

Whatever the reasons for medical services not being up to par, it's NOT because the VA's budgets were cut. Budgets for the VA have been raised at record levels every year since Clinton took office. IT may not be enough, but it's certainly not going in reverse.

Gripe about the service at the VA but show me where it's any better.

[Eaglestrikes]

Enviro has it. The budget has not been cut. Is it keeping up with the current load? No! How much of the money is going where it should no go? Nobody knows. You got a problem with the VA?
Talk to your Senator or Represenative. These are the fools that mess around with the budget, and mouth placating remarks abut how Veterans are important and how much they are doing for them. Bull. They don't care. Unless it will get them a Veterans vote. Quit blaming President Bush and go to the people that control the purse strings, the idiots in Congress. There is where your problem is.

[hrscowboy]

well i believe i heard somewhere one time that the united states made a promise to ALL veterans that we will take care of you... as far as i am concerned the government needs to allow all VA hospitals a unlimited budget. in other words what ever it takes to maintain the hospitals and services to our veterans. we paid the price they wanted from us an its time to anny up and take care of us when we need it thats the buttom line. quit sending money to these other countries and take care of there own.

[Sgt. Smitty]

How the hell can he promise to make this country respect it's militaty more when this country still looks down on the vets from Vietnam? Just more empty promises from a politician.......WAKE UP AMERICA......the people of this country are acting like a herd of sheep when it comes to following politicians. When you people gonna learn that the politicians of this country don't give a dam about the people in general, all they care about is how much money they're gonna get the rest of their lives that the working class of this country have to pay for!!!! Why not take all the foreign aid money, like the billions sent to rebuild the ragheads country and put it into schools and such right here in this country? These politicians are slowly but surely giving this country away for peanuts, a little at a time. We need to close our borders to immigration and start taking care of this countries people first and foremost, let the ragheads take care of themselves.

[hrscowboy]

yehawwwwwwwwwwwww i agree sgt smitty yes indeed.

[Sgted]

Originally posted by Eaglestrikes
Enviro has it. The budget has not been cut. Is it keeping up with the current load? No! How much of the money is going where it should no go? Nobody knows. You got a problem with the VA?
Talk to your Senator or Represenative. These are the fools that mess around with the budget, and mouth placating remarks abut how Veterans are important and how much they are doing for them. Bull. They don't care. Unless it will get them a Veterans vote. Quit blaming President Bush and go to the people that control the purse strings, the idiots in Congress. There is where your problem is.

Excellent advise Eaglestrikes.......
When I was having problems with competent medical care at the VA Hospital in E.Orange, NJ not only did I write the director of the hospital, I also wrote to one of my Senator's and a Congresswoman. Another Senator got himself involved when he read an article I wrote about the problems in a Veterans publication. He did this on his own on my behalf.
There was a fairly quick solution to my problems.
The system worked for me.