Special Forces Soldier Seeks Seat in the US Congress
I hope this is the right place to put this.
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The Special Forces Ass'n (SFA) confirmed in response to an inquiry from the Congressional Quarterly that once elected I will indeed be the first Green Beret to serve in Congress.
I can use all the financial support possible. My pledge to SF personnel and vets in general in return - I've got your back 24/7 down in the snakepit of D.C., and the coffee will always be available for any vet stopping by my office.
The running password will be "TROJAN HORSE."
Jim Steiner
http://www.joinjim2008.com/
From another posting:
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Yes, I am fully SF tab qualified. In 1982, since I am now an old guy, when I completed the Q course the tab was not yet out (someone posted the effective date, which is 1983).
Someone else correctly notes you had a choice of the SF tab or the Ranger tab at that time, not both. Like most SF personnel, I probably wore my greens 1-2 times a year, tops. This is the only picture in my greens. I do not have a photo once both tabs were authorized for wear (hell I don't even remember when that occurred, after 1987 or so?).
I branch transferred from Infantry (hence, EIB award) into MI at the time I volunteered for SF - courtesy of the guidance of one of my First Sergeants, then SFC Johnny Holman (5th SFGA - VN) in C Co, 2/1 Inf. at Lewis where I had both a rifle platoon and then a weapons platoon, and SFC Serafin Meno (also 5th SFG-VN), the First Sergeant for B Co, 2/1, next door to me.
As a side note, COL Pete Dillon, recent Cdr, 7th SFGA, had one of the other rifle platoons in the same C Co, 2/1 Inf with me. We were together as 2LTs-1LT. Long time ago.
My first platoon sergeant at Ft. Lewis, and who later served with me at 2/10th as well, was then SSG, and later CSM (ret.) Mike McIntyre, CSM of 5th SFGA during 2001, and through 9/11.
A current reference is BG Al Aycock, now in Korea. Al and I were roommates at West Point. My claim to fame is that I beat him into SF by a year. He stayed longer.
The two first sergeants cornered me and recommended from their observations I volunteer for SF. I respected them, and I volunteered. The rest is history. As soon as SF became its own branch, I joined all the Infantry guys, signed a DF and put crossed arrows on my uniform...again, no photos except the ugly official photo.
Also, in the early 80s, when this photo was taken, the candy stripe still existed for "assigned but non-qualified" personnel. Wearing the full flash, at that time, meant you were fully qualified, so that was another reason not to tear off the Ranger tab...the flash said it.
And yes, as someone else noted, that is not a 7th SFGA oval for the wings, but the official 10th SFGA oval, red border with green center (which I understand now has changed to all green).
Jim Steiner
I think it's about time one of these former warriors made a splash in DC, if that's even possible anymore.
We don't have to look back too much
to see how well our vets take care of each other once they are Senators, Congressmen, or POTUS candidates.
POLITICS-US: Vets Press McCain to Back Greater Benefits
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"It's time for Senator McCain to stand up for veterans, and be a leader," the chairman of VoteVets, Iraq war veteran Jon Soltz, said in a statement. "The success or failure of this bill largely rests on his shoulders. He is the de facto leader of the Republican party. If he signs onto the bill, it will pass and become law. If he doesn't support it, he needs to explain why he doesn't."
McCain's silence on the G.I. Bill may surprise some observers, given the senator's six years behind bars as a former prisoner of war in North Vietnam. On the campaign trail, McCain speaks almost daily about "supporting the troops".
But organisations that have followed the senator's voting record note McCain's actions are rarely in line with the interests of veterans' organisations. In 2006, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator McCain a failing grade of "D" based on his voting record.
The same year, McCain supported the interests of the group Disabled American Veterans just 20 percent of the time. The main reason for the low scores is a consistent pattern by Senator McCain of voting against appropriating money for veterans' health care and disability payments.
According to Disabled American Veterans (DAV), McCain voted almost a dozen separate times against spending additional money on veterans' health care in 2005 and 2006 -- even as hundreds of thousands of soldiers and Marines were returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and filing disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
During that time, McCain voted against expanding mental health care and readjustment counseling for returning service members, efforts to expand inpatient and outpatient treatment for injured veterans, and proposals to lower co-payments and enrollment fees veterans must pay to obtain prescription drugs.
Lexington: US Politics and the Defense Budget
Well, one retiree agrees with you...
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Originally Posted by
Cavguy
...
1) Oppose national health care as anthema but complain loudly about not having TRICARE for life, and never pay a medical bill for their family. (TRICARE's not great, but see how many people go and buy their own)
2) Vehemently oppose gun control, yet you can't have an unregistered firearm on a military base.
3) Oppose welfare, but are very happy with the discounted childcare, comissary benefit, (sometimes) discounted shopping, free housing (or a subsidy), free education and college tuition (GI Bill or TA), etc.
Don't and won't use Tri Care, commissary or exchange -- far as I'm concerned they're for the guys and gals currently serving. Think the retirement scheme should be contributory and portable.
I'd also note that no one ever promised me life time health care.
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Note: this is not in opposition to such things as VA care for those with service related injuries and such. I'm talking benefits and entitlements.
Agreed.
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... Especially the large support for the NRA and the military's regs on firearms posession and registration on bases, which are commander's policies.
We probably differ a bit on that one, though I'd note that back in my youth the prevalence of privately owned weapons, Army and Marines, was humungous. I carried various pistols in Korea (peace and war), the Dominican Republic, Viet Nam and elsewhere. I was far from alone. That didn't start changing until the 70s. I've also met a surprising number of officers and NCOs who do NOT support the NRA and individual ownership of weapons for some odd reason. I know Norm put out the word during DS/DS that privately owned weapons were not to be allowed in theater. I suspect it's gotten worse since then...