Where is the outrage?

Both candidates have been invited to participate in a town hall near Fort Hood, Texas, to engage in a dialogue with veterans and military families about the future of our Armed Forces, our veterans’ support system, and our country. To date, Senator Obama has declined to attend.

There are many ironies and tragedies in this story.

If Senator Obama does not deign to attend, the event will not occur, and thus the organizers’ vision of helping the American public realize the breadth and depth of the issues facing veterans, wounded warriors, and military families will go unrealized.

This is the man who is asking to be elected the next Commander-in-Chief (during a time of war, no less) and at whose direction many people in this audience will sacrifice their time, their family, their health, their happiness, and, possibly, their lives. Yet some other engagement is more pressing than explaining his positions on how he plans to lead them while they serve and care for them when they finish.

To Obama’s advisors, this is just invitation to another event. But it isn’t. It is a nationally broadcast, live town hall with McCain that Americans would actually watch, thus raising awareness about veterans and military families in crisis and the consequences that their unmet needs have for all of us—as taxpayers, as citizens, and as beneficiaries of an all volunteer military force.

Where is the media? Where is the outrage? For eight years, the media has failed to hold the President accountable for his obstinance, arrogance, and insensitivity. Despite two wars, trillions of dollars of debt, hundreds of thousands of wounded, and thousands more dead, it appears that this trend is going to continue: different chapter, same book.

Yes, McCain was a POW, but Fort Hood is a widow maker. I don’t think the audience is going to be as pro-McCain as his handlers think it will be. I know, I live here.

I urge you to contact Obama’s campaign and tell him he has to accept this invitation to the Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall. If there is one more debate or town hall before November, shouldn’t it be before an audience composed of the men and women whose service and sacrifice allow these events to occur?

(The press release is on the Veterans for Common Sense website and the Military Spouses for Change website.)

"No Dick At Hood"

"No, that doesn't sound right."

"OMG, that is too funny."

"Come on, you two, this is serious."

"Well it has to be short."

"Support the Troops, Impeach Cheney"

"Support Troops, Impeach Cheney"

"Support Troops, Impeach Dick"

And so the conversation went the night before the Vice President came to Fort Hood, Texas.

The largest military installation in the world.

Arguably, the safest place for the VP to be, right?

Wrong.

NO ONE was told he was coming. It was scheduled for a Tuesday morning to minimize the likelihood of an organized protest if word got out he was coming. The 1st Cav Parade Field was surrounded by conexes stacked two high on all three sides so that no one would have "line of sight" on our beloved second in command.

So unpopular is the man who helped mastermind the war that is responsible for two deaths a week of Fort Hood soldiers that they had to pull soldiers from OTHER divisions to attend the Vice President's "Welcoming Home" of 1st Cav soldiers.

To further protect the Vice President from both physical and psychological attack, these soldiers were disarmed of weapons, cell phones, cameras, writing implements, peices of paper, food and gum, any and all sharp or bright objects, lint, etc.

All four roads surrounding the parade feild were closed to pedestrian traffic and when Cheney landed at the nearby airport, both main roads in front of and behind the parade field were shut down (Batallion and Tank Destroyer).

The evening prior, JC was approached by his Commander. "You need to get 7 of your men to volunteer to attend the Vice President's event."

"Seven?" Pause. "Seriously?"

His Commander didn't even crack a smile.

"Okay, what about two? I think there are two guys in my platoon who like him."

"Seven."

JC sighed and walked away, pondering which would go over better: drawing straws or pulling names out of a hat?

Being a platoon leader sucked.

On the other hand, he's not going to be one of the seven, so it had it's perks.

* * *

We are rank amatuers.

Truly.

Once we committed to our plan and started driving our "route", we got caught up in a legal discussion about what we could or could not say over a cell phone and why.

"It's the Patriot Act that allows for warrantless wiretapping."

"But that is if they want to listen to YOUR calls, right?"

"You know they have buzz words and they capture those words and they track those calls."

"Isn't that's FISA?"

"Wasn't that part of the Patriot Act?"

"Didn't the Patriot Act expire?"

"I could have sworn X told me it expired..."

So while C drives, I send out a text message at 10 pm:

"did the patriot act expire yet?"

Nothing more, nothing less.

Nothing suspicious about that.

It's really more than a little embarrassing in hindsight.

* * *

We drove to three different Wal-Marts where we each bought five cans of black spray paint (after a brief and heated initial argument over the virtues of the 97 cent spray paint versus the 3 dollar spray paint). Then we proceeded to split up in order to make our purchases, alone, as if we hadn't just walked in together five minutes earlier...

"What's the worst that could happen?" J asks on our way into the first Wal-Mart in Copperas Cove as the wind picks up and the sun starts to set.

"Well," I think for a minute and look at J, "For you, we could say it's the PTSD because you JUST got back from your second tour." (Literally, he just came home with 1st Cav a few weeks ago.)

Then I look at C and start laughing, "Now you, on the other hand, you're screwed."

She's a military spouse like me.

* * *

Somewhere between Wal-Mart number two and Wal-Mart number three we stopped at Target for the coffee I needed for my Tossimo machine. (Well, we WERE going to be up all night.) Target didn't didn't have spray paint but it did have...

...a sale on really soft 300 thread count cotton/bamboo sheets.

I know. It's kind of sad. Losing focus like that. I said we were amateurs. Plus, we're military spouses with deployed husbands and one of us has little ones so we don't get to out of the house without the kids often enough--clearly.

After a day at Walter Reed

I imagine my friend WOULD be like this if:

a) she was actually driving herself back to Arlington (instead of her bitter half) (the couple that hates together, stays together), and/or

b) she wasn't 2 percocet pills away from a mobile morphine drip.



LOL.

To be fair to her, when I lived in DC, I was like that anytime I drove.

Alice,



Hang in there.

Hugs,

Crabby Gabby

What year is this again?

Spouse Program Takes Off in Florida



Northwest Florida Daily News

November 17, 2007 EGLIN AFB -- Helping spouses of U.S. troops get education, training or equipment for "portable careers" is the purpose of a $4.4 million federal grant to three Florida military installations, including Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field.

The multi-million dollar grant is part of a U.S. Departments of Defense and Labor pilot program dubbed Military Spouse Career Advancement Initiative.

Money will be disbursed in January based on the number of eligible spouses and applicants at the bases. Airmen and Family Readiness Centers, which will administer the initiative at Eglin and Hurlburt, are already preparing for what they expect would be a popular opportunity.

"I think there's absolutely a need for this program," said Jiri Crowder, director of the Eglin readiness center. "This is the most phenomenal program that I've seen ... in family support."

Naval Air Station Jacksonville is the third installation in Florida that will share the grant.

The program works by establishing accounts of $3,000 a year for eligible military spouses. An account could be renewed for a second year depending on the need.

Rank is one of the selection criteria. Spouses of troops in E1 to E5 and in O1 to O3 pay grades -- which is airman to staff sergeant and second lieutenant to captain in the Air Force -- can participate.

Eligible career fields are education, health care, information technology, construction trades, and financial services.

In announcing the program earlier this week, Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao said, "America's military spouses quietly and courageously bear the sacrifices required of them and their families as their loved ones are serving our country. The (program) provides financial resources to help spouses develop their career goals and dreams."

* * * *

So much to say, so little time...

A) This is only one step above the articles advising military spouses to look into careers as medical transcriptionists from home b/c it is so fun and PORTABLE.

B) $3,000 a YEAR. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

C) Let me translate for you: education (elementary school teacher), health care (nurse), IT (telemarketer), construction trades (wtf?), and financial services (bank teller). You can't go to school online for $3,000 a year, much less get the education you need to be a teacher or nurse.

D) "America's military spouses quietly and courageously bear the sacrifices required of them and their families as their loved ones are serving our country. The (program) provides financial resources to help spouses develop their career goals and dreams."

Wow. That was profound. She really understands and appreciates what we are going through... so they are giving us THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR to pursue pink ghetto jobs that perpetuate gender role stereotypes.

Sweet.