Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Veterans issues (Rememberances, education and assault and a widow responds to Hillary)

The VA explains the roots of Memorial Day, "Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans --  the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) --  established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country."  In an open letter to American Legion members and their families, AL National Commander James Koutz offered, " I hope that you will join me in remembering to honor not only veterans who were close to you but also all of our veterans who gave their all. While the mass media often makes this weekend out to be about barbecues and department store sales, it is up to each one of us to remind our communities about the true meaning of this day."

Yesterday, Memorial Day was celebrated throughout the United States.   In San Diego, Craig Gustafson (San Diego Union-Tribune) reports that the names of Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were added "to the walls of the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial." September 11, 2012, a terrorist attack was launched on a US facility in Benghazi, Libya and four Americans were killed: Doherty and Woods along with the State Dept diplomat Sean Smith and US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. 

Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods' family and friends gathered to honor them. Doherty's friend Navy Seal Capt Jason Ehret delivered the keynote address and noted, "Glen and Ty were the kind of men this country is proud to produce as citizens and as warriors.  That fateful night in Benghazie they did what I expect any SEAL would have done. . . . They ran to the sound of gunfire.  They had experiences all too well the hell of war and knew that Americans were in need of assistance."

At a January 23rd Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarrassed herself with theatrics better left in a court room and shameful from the mouth of a public servant as she exploded, "What difference does it make?"  [See the January 23rd snapshot. and the January 24th snapshot, Wally's coverage "Facts matter, Hillary (Wally),"   Ava's "20 are still at risk says Hillary in an aside (Ava)," Ruth's "Like watching Richard Nixon come back to life" and Kat's  "Can she not answer even one damn question?"]

Hillary proclaimed, "Was it because of a protest?  Or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some Americans?  What difference, at this point, does it make?"

Dorothy Woods, wife of the late Tyrone Woods, had an answer for her in San Diego yesterday, "In the face of that first incredibly insulting and ignorant question, let us follow their lead and challenge ourselves with making a difference, not only today but every day.  It is our moral responsibility to honor their sacrficie by speaking up for them, protecting them and caring for their loved ones left behind.  When we, as one nation under God, can do so, we assure that they will never, ever be just bumps in the road."

And it needs to be noted that in January, long after talking points imploded, Hillary gave two false choices.  It wasn't because of a protest and it wasn't because some people went walking.  It was a terrorist attack, a planned terrorist attack.

Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were only two of America's fallen who were remembered yesterday.

Today, South Coast Today runs the Miami Herald's editorial on the VA backlog crisis:

 The VA has won major, well-justified budget increases under President Obama, but the number of veterans consigned to the prolonged backlog has only continued to grow.
According to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, as of this week, 873,680 veterans have applied for VA disability benefits and are still waiting. Of these, 584,308 have been in the queue over 125 days. Some reports say average wait time in larger cities can be nearly two years, or 600 days. Delays have increased despite the installation of a $300 million computer system to process claims and the hiring of 765 additional claims processors since 2010.


In Connecticut, there were many Memorial Day observances.  From Senator Richard Blumenthal's Twitter feed, we'll note:
  2. 25 May
    Starting the weekend in rain with wonderful ceremony to honor our
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Blumenthal is supposed to speak today proposing needed changes to the Post 9/11 GI Bill that would allow veterans more opportunities to utilize it.  He also introduced a bill last week that we'll note at the end of this entry.


Blumenthal serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  Senator Bernie Sanders is Chair of the Committee.  In a Memorial Day column, he points out, "But Memorial Day is not just a time to reflect upon the past.  It's important that we also focus on the present and dedicate ourselves to do all that we can to protect the interests of today's veterans -- many of whom came home from war wounded in body and in spirit."  As the VFW noted last week, one issue effecting veterans is assault and rape:


A Department of Defense survey reports the number of military sexual assaults rose from 19,000 to 26,000 in two years, and according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 20 percent of women and 1 percent of men have been victims of military sexual trauma.  Many more cases may still be unreported due to real or perceived reprisals against the victims, nonresponsive leadership in all ranks, or simple human shame.
Said John E. Hamilton, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, “Sexual predators have no place in uniform much less in civilian society.  We demand all punishments be swift, severe and publicized to the maximum extent as a deterrent to others, and to validate that a zero tolerance policy means zero tolerance, period.”


For more on veterans issues, you can go to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.  Last Thursday, Senator Richard Blumenthal's office issued the following:
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced legislation that would give military crime victims the same basic rights as civilian crime victims. These basic rights include protection from the accused, notice and opportunity to speak at trial, and the right against unreasonable delay in trial proceedings guaranteed in law. Blumenthal decided to introduce this legislation – The Military Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2013 – in response to documented injustices related to cases of sexual assault in the military. 
“There's no reason military sexual assault victims should be given less respect or fewer rights than civilian sexual assault victims,” Blumenthal said. “The key to deterring crime is prosecuting and punishing it effectively, which requires crime reporting by victims. Victims denied rights and respect won't report sexual assaults or any other serious crimes. If sexual assault isn’t reported it can’t be prosecuted or deterred.” 
Blumenthal added, “This victims’ bill of rights has been proved feasible and effective in civilian criminal justice proceedings involving the same offenses. These rights are not novel or untested. They are well-established and esteemed."   
The Military Crime Victims’ Rights Act would include in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) the same victims’ rights currently afforded to all civilian victims of crimes under Title 18 USC 3771 of the U.S. Code. Although implemented through a Department of Defense (DOD) directive, the military is not statutorily required to provide crime victims’ rights under the UCMJ.
  “These basic standards of decency and fairness serve the military’s goals of good order and discipline – and are vital to effective criminal prosecution,” Blumenthal said. “When a sexual assault victim’s right to trial is delayed for two years and a critical witness leaves for battle without testifying, basic victims' rights are violated. Astonishingly and appallingly, a victim constituent of mine experienced this injustice.”

Although DOD and military services have made good faith efforts to provide crime victims’ rights to service members, neither of the relevant DoD Directive and Instruction (DoDD 1030.01 and DoDI 1030.02) provide clear procedures for enforcement of these rights. Consequently, DOD has provided crime victims’ rights in an inconsistent manner without a clear avenue for recourse if these rights are violated.
  “A right without a remedy is meaningless.  Recourse and disciplinary sanction are essential to make rights real,” Blumenthal said.

The Military Crime Victims’ Rights Act authorizes the designation of an administrative authority within DOD to receive and investigate complaints related to the provision or violation of the rights of victims of military crimes. The legislation also requires training for judge advocates and other appropriate members of the Armed Forces and DOD personnel to respond more effectively to the needs of victims of military crimes. Finally, the legislation establishes disciplinary sanctions, including suspension or termination from employment in the case of employees at DOD, for members of the Armed Forces and other personnel of the Department who willfully or wantonly fail to comply.

Congress last modified the Crime Victims’ Rights Act in 2004. Yet, almost a decade later, DOD reported to Congress on February 18, 2013 that it is only now beginning to “study other jurisdictions that provide remedies for failure to comply with victim’s assertion of rights and to determine the best practices for possible implementation in the military justice system.” In the same report, DOD acknowledged that the DOD Victims and Witness Assistance Program does not inform victims of their rights to “be reasonably heard” at any public proceeding, nor of the “right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay.”

The Military Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2013 would include the following victims’ rights in the UCMJ:
  1. The right to be reasonably protected from the accused.
  2. The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public proceeding in an investigation, court-martial, involuntary plea hearing, pre-sentencing hearing, or parole hearing involving the offense or of any release or escape of the accused.
  3. The right not to be excluded from any such public proceeding unless the military judge, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding.
  4. The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding.
  5. The reasonable right to confer with the trial counsel in the case.
  6. The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law.
  7. The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay.
  8. The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim’s dignity and privacy.
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