My Passion As A Veteran

February 4, 2010 — On a number of occasions I have blogged about veterans and veterans issues. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I am a passionate advocate for veterans. I will go anywhere and do anything for a veteran in need. I served my country in the U.S. Navy for 22+ years and retired in 1986. In 1993 I joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3377 Manchaca, Texas as a Life Member and have been an active member since that time. I have served in many post positions and currently serve as the Post Webmaster at http://www.vfwpost3377.org/. I will soon become the manager/administrator for the VFW Department of Texas web site at http://www.texasvfw.org/.

This VFW year 2009-2010, I was nominated by VFW Department of Texas Jr. Vice Commander John Spahr for appointment as a VFW National Aide-de-Camp. Those nominated as Aide-de-Camp have demonstrated strong support of the goals of the VFW and it's motto of Honoring the Dead By Helping the Living. Each VFW state department is allocated so many Aide-de-Camps by VFW national headquarters and the top three officers in the state (Dept Cmdr, Sr. Vice Cmdr, Jr. Vice Cmdr) each make nominations and of course rank has it's privileges, so being nominated by the junior of the three officers my nomination did not survive. It was, however, an honor to have been nominated and I am very proud of that fact. Especially coming from a man who one day is predicted to be VFW National Commander-in-Chief.

Being a veterans advocate has many responsibilities. Our greatest responsibility and challenge is seeing that our government is held to the promises it has made to all veterans and active duty personnel on health care, housing, job training, and a multitude of other issues. It was not to long ago that the government did not own up to it's end of the bargain. In the last several years that has started to change thanks to the tens of thousands of veterans such as myself that have said...you will not turn your back on us. The Department of Veterans Administration (VA) is making great strides in meeting the needs of an ever growing veteran population. They still have a long way to go and are working very hard. The VA is now the only government department that by law must be fully funded come the start of the governments fiscal year on Oct 1st. The VA budget has been and continues to be increased each year. This must continue as the War on Terrorism extends longer than any of us care for and the thousands of military men and women and their families need the government's support through departments such as the VA once their service is complete. This is especially true for those wounded and maimed or mentally scarred because of their service. It is especially true for those families whose military member paid the supreme sacrifice and lost their life.

These are but a few of the reasons why I am passionate about being a veteran. As I said, I will go anywhere and do anything to help a fellow veteran and their family in need. I am also dedicated to ensuring that our government and my fellow citizens never forget the sacrifices made by veterans...it's what really matters!