SEA CADETS

Navasota Examiner (TN)
Local cadets learning their sea legs

Navy Leaguers! Bedias resident Desta Jordan (left) and Justin Pomeroy (center) are part of the American Legion’s Navy League Cadet Corps, sponsored by the Anderson American Legion. Gary Williamson (right) is the Region 8-3 Director.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011
By Scott McDonald The Navasota Examiner

It's not the most ideal way to spend a Christmas break for a 13-year-old. Waking up two hours before sunrise to run, do push ups, sit-ups, crunches and some exercises called steam engines and sun gods - all while someone yells at them.
 
That's what Justin Pomeroy did when he traveled to Camp Hickory Hills in Dickson, Tenn., for nine days of boot camp that's called "orientation" in the Navy League Cadet Corps.
 
"It was fun," said Pomeroy, who attends Central Baptist Academy. "It's challenging at times, but overall a good experience."
 
The American Legion in Anderson sponsors and supports the program of Sea Cadets that puts young students through military-style training one week a month and two weeks out of the year - much like Guard units.
 
Sea Cadets (Age 14-17) and League Cadets (11-13) dress in Navy dungarees and learn naval terms and structure like rank and recognition, flag etiquette, how to march, what it means to do PT (physical training) and other knowledge and skills necessary to be a squared-away sailor.
 
The cadets meet once a month in a classroom - mostly the American Legion Hall in Anderson - and sometimes they attend things like aviation shows and ship tours in Houston. Last weekend, Pomeroy and Bedias resident Desta Jordan studied different terms used on a ship, including port, starboard, fore, aft, bow and stern. They have dress uniforms for road trips and sometimes march in local parades.
 
There are only two active members in the current Sea Cadet program with the American Legion, but that hasn't deterred LCDR Gary Williamson, the Region 8-3 Director who's a member of the Anderson American Legion.
 
"Our biggest competitor here is FFA and 4H," said Williamson. "In the big cities, their biggest competition is Boy Scouts. But we always want to recruit new members."
 
Becoming a new member is more than walking up and joining. Williamson said he wants a potential recruit to attend one weekend to participate in drills, marching and classes to see if they would want to join and continue the cadet program.
 
Pomeroy will turn 14 next week and become a Sea Cadet, meaning start with a fresh uniform and all the medals he earned as a League Cadet will now sit at home as he earns new medals. At his orientation in Tennessee, he earned the NLCC merit Ribbon, the Marksmanship Ribbon with an Expert "E" and he was a Plank Owner, meaning he was on an original unit and participated in that group. He will apply to attend a Sea Cadet boot camp this summer.

"This makes me want to keep on doing it and make my way up the ranks in the Sea Cadets," Pomeroy said.
 
He said military will most likely be in his future, but he's not quite sure his route. He wants to be a fighter pilot, but as a 6-foot-3 ninth grader who probably hasn't finished growing, he would probably most likely be suited for Blackhawks or other Naval aircraft. The path to get there could either go through a military academy or an ROTC unit in college. It could also either be Officer Candidate School after college or just straight to enlisted after high school.
 
He's already got a leg up, as his classes at League orientation included learning about different fields in the Navy like Sea and Air, different classes of ships, medical classes and military customs. He's stood watches, eaten bad chow, learned how to clean barracks, eaten good chow and dry chow, and learned how to fold socks, towels, shirts and even skivvies like most teenagers wouldn't even dream of.
 
"I got motivation and discipline out of it for sure," said Pomeroy, who answers questions with "yes sir" and "no sir." "And you learn to take the initiative to do something before you're told. And I made some good friends."
 
And it looks like the American legion is helping mold some good kids.
 
For more information on the Sea Cadets and league Cadets program, visit www.seacadets.org. McClusky Post No. 640 in Anderson still has spaces available for all future sailors and military people.

We have our own local group in Oswego, NY.
 
TRUXTUN (DDG-103) Division
McCrobie Building, Oswego, New York
LCDR Peggy Farnsworth, NSCC


Check out the web site above for additional information on this youth program.

COTA

CHILDREN’S ORGAN TRANSPLANT ASSOCIATION (COTA)
If you could help make a miracle, would you?

The question is as simple as that.  If your answer is ‘yes’, I invite you to join the nearly 100,000 volunteers and contributors who during the past two decades generously donated their time and money to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA).  These volunteers and financial supporters are COTA’s Miracle Makers -- a group of committed individuals who are helping give children across the country a second chance at life.

COTA is a national non-profit organization that helps children and young adults who need or have had a life-saving transplant by raising funds to pay transplant-related expenses.  Transplant families look to COTA for assistance and support, for hope and miracles.

For a video and more information, 
check HERE.

WARNING ! ! !

WARNING TO VETERANS

Forwarded by Kevin Secor, VSO Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

An organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS) is providing benefit and general information on VA and gathering personal information on veterans. This organization is not affiliated with VA in any way

[Websites with the name "vaservices" immediately after the "www" ARE NOT part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the US Government agency. D o not go to them or if approached or called, do not offer them any information concerning yourself or data on other veterans.
Keep in mind that the real VA website ends in .gov. Also, be aware that the Department of Veterans Affairs does not randomly call veterans, nor does it ask veterans for information which it does not already have--like Social Security Numbers. In particular, if you have not dealt with the VA previously--and in person--and all of a sudden, you receive a call from someone saying they are with the VA or something similar sounding, hang up the phone. Also, do not respond to emails which suggest that they are from the VA. The VA never conducts official business nor asks for personal information by email. Mike]

VAS may be gaining access to military personnel through their close resemblance to the VA name and seal. Our Legal Counsel has requested that we coordinate with DoD to inform military installations, particularly mobilization sites, of this group and their lack of affiliation or endorsement by VA to provide any services.

In addition, GC requests that if you have any examples of VAS acts that violate chapter 59 of Title 38 United States Code, such as VAS employees assisting veterans in the preparation and presentation of claims for benefits, please pass any additional information to Mr.Daugherty at the address below.

Michael G. Daugherty
Staff Attorney
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of General Counsel (022G2)
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420

GOD BLESS RED SKELTON

Red Skelton Show from 42 years ago.... 

 
A "skit" from one of Red Skelton's 1969 T.V. shows...

WOW.....just think about it, he said this on his T.V. show in 1969 and had no clue his words would ever come to fruition.  SAD, isn't it?

What a wonderful and worthwhile clip to watch and share with all your friends and acquaintances!

This is one that needs to be passed on to everyone.  


The goal is 2,500,000 viewers. It should be 300 million. 

Click HERE to view video of the Pledge of Allegiance as recited by Red Skelton..

WOMEN VETERANS

The American Legion Womens Veterans Survey

Program Statement

 The American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans service organization, has long recognized the important contributions of women in the military; they now account for nearly 20 percent of our armed forces. However, only about 25 percent of 1.8 million women veterans are using the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care system. Many women veterans have either chosen not to enroll in VA services, or are unaware of the medical benefits they have earned through their service.

The American Legion’s Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission has developed an outreach program for women veterans, collecting their input and speaking on their behalf to Congress, the VA and the Defense Dept. In order to strengthen its advocacy role, the Legion needs to conduct a comprehensive survey of women veterans about their experiences and attitudes concerning health care provided by the VA, private practitioners and other health-care providers.

Results from this survey will be used to refine the Legion’s outreach methods, enhance its written and oral testimony to Congress and federal agencies, and improve its own programs that evaluate the quality of VA health care. The survey will also help to identify unmet needs among women veterans, and guide the development of specific remedies.

Survey areas may include SERVQUAL attributes measuring ten aspects of service quality: reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding (or knowing) the customer and tangibles. The objective is to measure the extent to which available service meets the perceptions, needs, and expectations of women veterans.

This research is important for many reasons, including the fact that women represent a rapidly growing portion of U.S. veterans. After analyzing the survey’s data, The American Legion will be better qualified to make specific recommendations for congressional appropriations, VA programs and facilities, and to increase public awareness of issues facing women veterans.

The survey will be disseminated to women veterans worldwide. The American Legion has teamed with other veterans service organizations to reach all branches of the armed forces, reserve, and National Guard.

This survey was developed by American Legion specialists on women veterans issues, who are responsible for its content, distribution, data collection and analysis.

This survey shall be available for your input beginning Wednesday, January 5, 2011 through Monday, January 31, 2011.

 Click HERE for full information and survey forms..

BRAILLE AMERICAN FLAG

Blind Army veteran receives Braille American Flag
January 14, 2011 - 3:18am

Walter Peters, a 66-year-old Army veteran who served in Vietnam, shows off the Braille American Flag he was presented at the American Legion Post 184 in Thunderbolt Thursday evening. Walters began going blind about seven years ago. (Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News)

By Corey Dickstein

   Although Walt Peters has handed out hundreds of miniature American Flags to people at military events as a Red Cross volunteer, it had been seven years since he'd gotten a good look at Old Glory.

  At that time he began losing his vision as a side effect of diabetes.
 

  But on Thursday evening Peters, a 66-year-old Army veteran who served multiple tours of duty in Vietnam, was able to see his beloved American Flag once again when he was presented a Braille American Flag at an American Legion Post 184 meeting in Thunderbolt.
 

  "I'm overwhelmed and honored," Peters said. "I'll cherish this for the rest of my life."
 

  The flag features the Pledge of Allegiance written in Braille across its 13 red and white stripes.
 

  Originally designed in 2005 by the son of a now deceased blind veteran of World War II, the Braille Flag in recent years has been installed at Arlington National Cemetery and presented to President Barack Obama.
 

  Johnny McKenzie, a former commander of American Legion Post 184, headed the effort to have a flag presented to Peters.
 

  "He's a good man whose done a lot for veterans and soldiers," McKenzie said. "We wanted to do something for him."
 

  He worked with a Wichita, Kan., company, Kansas Braille Transcription Institute Inc., to have one of the Braille Flags they produce made for Peters.
 

  The company's president, Randolph Cabral, wrote a letter that was read during the presentation.
 

  He wrote: "It is only fitting that our great country should be the first in the world to make it possible for people who are blind to 'see' and experience (the American Flag) as do the sighted."
 

  Behind his large, black sunglasses Peters smiled as he slowly ran his fingers along the Braille Flag.
 

  "It blows your heart up to know that someone cares enough for me to do this," Peters said. "For me, the American Flag is everything. This is just wonderful, and I can't explain how much I appreciate it."

BORN IN THE USA

BORN IN THE USA

This is what America is all about (right now).  AAAhhh, wonderful California.

The school district in Denair told a young boy he couldn't fly the American Flag on his bike.  Check link to see what happened

 Click here: YouTube - Bikers Escort Denair Boy To School

This is what The American Legion is all about. And we are proud to support young people like this that know how to respect their country and display its Flag. 

 

SOCKS FOR THE TROOPS

REMEMBER TO GET THOSE SOCKS TO ANYONE GOING TO MIDWINTER CONFERENCE IN ALBANY THIS MONTH.

THEY WILL BE COLLECTED AND DISTRIBUTED TO THE TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN TO KEEP THEIR FEET WARM. IT IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO FOR OUR TROOPS WHO ARE DEFENDING OUR FREEDOMS FOR US. 

The CONSTITUTION

American Legion Applauds House’s
Constitutional Reading

INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 6, 2011) – “Music to America’s  ears,” was how The American Legion’s National Commander characterized today’s reading of the U.S. Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives.

        “The Constitution should be revered by all Americans but it is especially so by the veterans of this country, all of whom swore an oath to defend this document with their lives,” said National Commander Jimmie L. Foster. “While The American Legion has its own constitution under which it operates, it is the U.S. Constitution that guides our reason for existing. The freedoms which it guarantees are the values that many of our brothers- and sisters- in-arms have died for.  We operate a number of youth programs designed to instill a deep appreciation for this remarkable document among the next generation. The American Legion applauds Congress for providing this poignant reminder of America’s greatness.”

        Every year The American Legion’s national headquarters awards $138,000 in scholarships to the top competitors in its High School Oratorical Scholarship Program, “A Constitutional Speech Contest.” A scholarship of $18,000 went to the 2010 Champion, Tori Beth Black of Iva, S.C.

        In her winning speech, Black praised the Constitution as “the result of honor, freedom and integrity.” She saluted the veterans who fought to defend it. “Because of the great men that fought and died for these freedoms, we have a successful government and relevant Constitution that we follow to this day.”

        Inscribed on the back of every American Legion membership card is a reminder that Legionnaires gather “To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America…”

        While Americans may disagree about how to interpret the Constitution, Foster believes such debates enhance its value. “One of the great characteristics of the Constitution is that the framers included a mechanism to improve it. Article V provides a process to amend the Constitution so the will of the people would not be ignored.”

        If for no other reason but to serve as a reminder to Congress, an abundance of historical evidence indicates that the founding fathers would probably approve of the “teachable moment” provided by the House today.

        “The Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution,” Alexander Hamilton once said.