Military stories from past to present, both wars.

Veteran’s Day 5K race/walk in Western New York

September 7th, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | 1 Comment »

The WNY Chapter of AUSA  has partnered with Buffalo Paradigm Co. to help host the first ever Veteran’s Day 5K race/walk in Western New York. Go to http://www.wnyausa.org/VetsDay5K to check out the page, get more info and register. All the proceeds raised will go towards Soldiers’ Angels (www.soldiersangels.org) Christmas Care Package program this year. Please help spread the word to take part in this first of what we hope will be an annual event and help bring a little joy to our war-fighters this Christmas.

I thought maybe some of you could help spread the word too. Buffalo already hosts the oldest foot race in America called the Turkey Trot. I would love to have it one day host the largest Veterans Day race every year too. We are looking to have a great civilian, military, ROTC (HS and College) and military family presence.

 We are also going to push a “run in their boots” initiative. This is a play on “walk in their shoes”. We are asking for participants to run or walk the race in either combat or civilian equivalent boots in order to show their support for our military. There will be special swag for those who do the course in boots and there will be real red poppies given to each veteran who crosses the finish line. Our own Boston Maggie has already promised to come to Buffalo to be the “red poppy lady” and hand them out.

 500 running in the first year would be great but I think we could hit 1000 if we can really get the word out.

Semper Fi,

Taco

 

NO EASY DAY: The killing of Bin Laden

September 5th, 2012 Posted in Military, The SandGram v1.0 | No Comments »

NO EASY DAY

I should say “Not enough book” would be a better title… and I only say that because this was a page burner book, well written, a solid story and like he says, a first hand account of the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

I can remember walking back to my hotel room in Kauai when I received a text from a good friend of mine John Stanbery.  “Taco, they killed Bin Laden”

First thought was John was joking, then after a few more texts, it became clear that this was no prank, they had finally done it.

My thoughts wandered to a High School friend who had been on the teams for 20 years on the East Coast, I wondered if he was involved?  When we met up for drinks one night later on, he told me “all the reports in the media are wrong but you will never hear the true story and that’s all I have to say about that.”

Well, this book, while I’m sure has the DEVGRU pissed and all the “Quiet Professionals” upset; I can only say THANK YOU for setting the record straight.  “Mark” puts his thoughts into this book and allows the average guy like me to experience for just a day, what it’s like to be an operator.

I can’t thank him enough for allowing this and at the same time only wish him the best as his life is now a complete mess.  Every fricking Jihadist, Muslim pond sucker will be gunning for him as pay back for the death of that coward Osama Bin Laden (May he burn in hell) because his name could not stay secret.

This book is worth every penny but getting back to my first sentence, this book is not enough… “Mark” please tell more stories because I know that you will inspire a whole new generation to pursue Special Ops as a job and desire.

I have read other books written by SEALs and they only amaze me more and more with each novel I read.  If you have read “Lone Survivor” and “American Sniper” then you get a feel for what it took to become a SEAL.  As you read this book, it becomes more of a Masters Program on the progression of being a Special Operator in (DEVGRU) within the SEALs who are already the best of the best mind you!!

He glosses over the whole operation from start to finish.  He was on the H-60 that crashed in the courtyard and showed how one can overcome and improvise in the face of adversity.  They always say that the best plan is only that until first contact with the enemy.

I promise if you buy this book you will not be let down.  While it’s like the Titanic (you know the boat sinks) and the outcome in this case, Osama is dead, it gives you the first hand account from the man himself.

“Mark,” You and your brothers are my only hero’s in life and with the anniversary of 9-11 around the corner; I want you to know that we will never forget the sacrifices you and the others have made to keep this country free.

Semper Fi, Taco

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This scares me as a Vet

August 27th, 2012 Posted in Military | 1 Comment »

While this has a slant with a slight rant about Martial law, it’s still VERY scary when it pertains to Vets and applicable to all of us here . What would you do if SWAT came in your house one night with a No Knock warrant? I fear it would end like that poor Marine in AZ who was defending his house with his AR and was filled full of lead. Then they let him bleed out if I remember right and didn’t call for help. We have the training like that Marine did not to fire on Police and hoping that we are treated like the professionals we are only to be listening to Dr. Demento in the rubber room or carried out with a toe tag.

http://www.infowars.com/us-veterans-…ite-detention/

US Veterans Forcibly Sequestered in Mental Hospitals is Indefinite Detention

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Susanne Posel
Infowars.com
August 27, 2012
photo

After Special Justice Walter Douglas Stokes sentenced former US Marine Brandon Raub to 30 days detention in the psychiatric ward of the Veterans Hospital, Circuit Court Judge Allan Sharrett dismissed the case citing that the original petition was “devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy.”

John Whitehead, attorney for the Rutherford Institute and Raub has stated that since the former Marine’s detention case, he has received numerous stated from other veterans who are being discriminated against. The latest trend is to have our former US service men and women declared mentally ill and detained against their will.

Just as Raub was forcibly detained in a mental ward, another veteran has been taken without charge or criminal activity. His firearms were confiscated and he was given a court date.

In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, collaborating with the VA Medical Center, an estimated 1/3rd of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq were determined to be mentally or psychologically ill.

Touting post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), more than half of returning veterans are considered suffering from a war-related mental disorder.

The authors of the study explain: “Our results signal a need for improvements in the primary prevention of military service-related mental health disorders, particularly among our youngest service members . . . because they are young, they are more likely to be of lower rank and more likely to have greater combat exposure than their older active-duty counterparts.”

However, the authors do admit that “our results may overestimate the burden of mental health disorders because veterans with mental health disorders may be more likely to seek treatment at a VA facility than those without.”

Most recently is the inception of oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) which is described as a mental disease wherein free thinkers, non-conformists, civil disobedience supporters, those who question authority and are perceived as being hostile toward the government are labeled mentally ill.

Psychiatrics claim that sufferers have “a recurrent pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that persists for at least 6 months” which includes:

• Persistent stubbornness
• Resistance to directions
• Unwillingness to go along with the crowd
• Deliberately annoying others
• Testing limits by ignoring orders

The RAND Corporation asserts that the cost of caring for mentally ill veterans was more than $12 billion in 2007. Katherine Watkins, senior natural scientist for RAND said: “With some changes, the VA could provide even better and more cost-effective care for the nation’s veterans, as well as serve as a model for other health care systems.”

The RAND Corporation paints US veterans as dangerous because of the degree to which they are mentally affected by their service exposure to war and war-like conditions. The globalist think-tank says veterans are suffering from “schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, major depression, and substance use disorders.”

Doctors have classified Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) as an incurable brain disease that soldiers returning from war suffer from. After having injured the brain during battle, soldiers are being touted as displaying large bursts of anger and depression while having their vital motor skills and memory impacted.

Symptoms of CTE are recognized as memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia.

US veterans, being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are being tracked by the Department of Defense (DoD) because they may display personality changes that could come on without warning and effect their ability to acclimate back into American society.

Researchers are claiming that even mild TBI can develop into CTE, which will cause veterans to possibly become a danger to themselves and those around them.

In 2009, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis published a report entitled Rightwing Extremism, wherein domestic extremists were proposed to be the newest and most dangerous threat to the US since al-Qaeda.

While admitting that they did not have definitive proof that “domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, [however] rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues. The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment.”

The DHS wanted to instill the idea that veterans were being recruited to become “right-wing extremists” upon returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. Janet Napolitano intimated that military veterans could become instruments of domestic terror. When Napolitano’s comments were met with public distain, the DHS amended their assertion that extremist groups were highly-marked; but rather it was a lone wolf type that would carry out the biggest act of domestic terrorism.

Mainstream media has spun the propaganda perfectly by asserting that “the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”

A plan is unfolding that connects US veterans to the probability of committing horrendous acts of violence. The MSM provides the social dialogue while various federal agencies in collaboration with the US Army are using a medical condition to justify the coming accusations. We have seen this before.

When the US government rolls out marital law, the biggest threat to their total lockdown of America will be the US veteran. Former active duty soldiers are trained in tactical procedures and pose a real risk because they can easily combat the US military that will show up in every city across the entire nation.

In May of this year, Federal Court Judge Katherine Forrest ordered that the US military could not arbitrarily imprison Americans based on alleged terrorist activity in regard to the indefinite detention clause in the NDAA. Although Obama’s lawyers appealed the ruling, the decision still stands.

However, committing an individual to a mental hospital is not illegal. This may be why we are seeing our US veterans being targeted, called mentally ill, and forcibly removed from their homes. Coinciding with the growing number of mentally ill US veterans we are seeing the removal of their firearms and right to even own firearms. This is another scheme the Obama administration is implementing to set the stage for their complete takeover of America after marital law is declared.

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I remember the day I found out: a great essay Nick Palmisciano

August 10th, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | 1 Comment »

I have seen this before and love it. There are those who play military guys in the movies, those who pretend to be in the military for what ever reason and then there are those who have actually served. To all of you who have volunteered to serve our great country “God Bless you!!”  Nick Palmisciano from Ranger up, who wrote this essay, put into words what it means to serve.  For all of my brothers from a different mother, this is for you… Semper Fi, Taco

I remember the day I found out I got into West Point.

My mom actually showed up in the hallway of my high school and waited for me to get out of class. She was bawling her eyes out and apologizing that she had opened up my admission letter. She wasn’t crying because it had been her dream for me to go there. She was crying because she knew how hard I’d worked to get in, how much I wanted to attend, and how much I wanted to be an infantry officer. I was going to get that opportunity.

That same day two of my teachers took me aside and essentially told me the following: “Nick, you’re a smart guy. You don’t have to join the military. You should go to college, instead.”

I could easily write a tome defending West Pont and the military as I did that day, explaining that USMA is an elite institution, that separate from that it is actually statistically much harder to enlist in the military than it is to get admitted to college, that serving the nation is a challenge that all able-bodied men should at least consider for a host of reasons, but I won’t.

What I will say is that when a 16 year-old kid is being told that attending West Point is going to be bad for his future then there is a dangerous disconnect in America, and entirely too many Americans have no idea what kind of burdens our military is bearing.

In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years. In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years. Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror. These are unbelievable statistics.

Over time, fewer and fewer people have shouldered more and more of the burden and it is only getting worse. Our troops were sent to war in Iraq by a Congress consisting of 10% veterans with only one person having a child in the military. Taxes did not increase to pay for the war. War bonds were not sold. Gas was not regulated. In fact, the average citizen was asked to sacrifice nothing, and has sacrificed nothing unless they have chosen to out of the goodness of their hearts.

The only people who have sacrificed are the veterans and their families. The volunteers. The people who swore an oath to defend this nation. You.

You stand there, deployment after deployment and fight on. You’ve lost relationships, spent years of your lives in extreme conditions, years apart from kids you’ll never get back, and beaten your body in a way that even professional athletes don’t understand. And you come home to a nation that doesn’t understand. They don’t understand suffering. They don’t understand sacrifice. They don’t understand that bad people exist. They look at you like you’re a machine – like something is wrong with you. You are the misguided one – not them. When you get out, you sit in the college classrooms with political science teachers that discount your opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan because YOU WERE THERE and can’t understand the “macro” issues they gathered from books with your bias. You watch TV shows where every vet has PTSD and the violent strain at that. Your Congress is debating your benefits, your retirement, and your pay, while they ask you to do more.

But the amazing thing about you is that you all know this. You know your country will never pay back what you’ve given up. You know that the populace at large will never truly understand or appreciate what you have done for them. Hell, you know that in some circles, you will be thought as less than normal for having worn the uniform. But you do it anyway. You do what the greatest men and women of this country have done since 1775 – YOU SERVED. Just that decision alone makes you part of an elite group.

Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

You are the 0.45%.

 

 

Hello America, my name is Nick Palmisciano and I wrote the essay below, not General David Petraeus, “A Marine in Iraq”, General Schwarzkopf, any of the wounded warriors it’s been attributed to, or anyone else.

The order of events went something like this:

1)      I was talking over with Tom Amenta, my COO, about how the world has changed over the years relative to military service.  We had the Occupy Movement as the backdrop.

2)      At the end of our conversation, I sat down and wrote this essay and posted it to Ranger Up.

3)      The US Army reposted it on their Facebook page, which was a huge honor for me.  It received tens of thousands of likes in a day.  They attributed the post to me at the bottom.  This was a huge honor for me as I felt I had addressed the feelings of many service members.  I write a lot, but I had never touched a chord with our community the way I had with this one.

4)      In the next few weeks and months I started receiving spam letters or seeing incorrect blog posts attributing this essay to various people.  The Ranger Up fans did such a great job of correcting people that I didn’t get involved.

5)      Now, there is an almost universal belief that General Petreous wrote this.  It’s on blogs.  I’ve received many emails about how we “should post it”.

So I’m posting it, again, just like I did when I wrote it.

Thanks for all the support!

Nick Palmisciano

President, Ranger Up

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Why I want to be a Marine Essay…

July 26th, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | 3 Comments »

Well, not really what some kid wrote to become a Marine but this is the sort of stuff that would make you stand out if I was reviewing 600 applications…ha!! So enjoy your afternoon laugh and if anyone knows the source of this piece, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.  So for now, he some faceless Internet hero in my eyes…

Life as a Child

Around age 10 my dad got me one of those little badass compound bow beginner kits.
Of course, the first month I went around our land sticking arrows in anything that could get stuck by an arrow. Did you know that a 1955 40 horse Farmall tractor will take 6 rounds before it goes down? Tough sumbich.

That got boring, so being the 10 yr. old Dukes of Hazard fan that I was, I quickly advanced to taking strips of cut up T-shirt doused in chainsaw gas tied around the end and was sending flaming arrows all over the place. Keep in mind this was 99.999% humidity swampland so there really wasn’t any fire danger. Ill put it this way- a set of post hole diggers and a 3 ft.. hole and you had yourself a well.

One summer afternoon, I was shooting flaming arrows into a large rotten oak stump in our backyard.

I looked over under the carport and see a shiny brand new can of starting fluid (ether). The light bulb went off. I grabbed the can and set it on the stump. I thought that it would probably just spray out in a disappointing manner…lets face it to a 10 yr. old mouth-breather like myself ether, really doesn’t “sound” flammable. So, I went back into the house and got a 1 pound can of pyrodex (black powder for muzzle loader rifles).
At this point, I set the can of ether on the stump and opened up the can of black powder.

My intentions were to sprinkle a little bit around the ether can but it all sorta dumped out on me. No biggie… 1 lb. pyrodex and 16 oz. ether should make a loud pop, kinda like a firecracker you know?

You know what? Screw that I’m going back in the house for the other can. Yes, I got a second can of pyrodex and dumped it too. Now we’re cookin’.
I stepped back about 15 ft. and lit the 2 stroke arrow. I drew the nock to my cheek and took aim.
As I released I heard a clunk as the arrow launched from my bow. In a slow motion time frame, I turned to see my dad getting out of the truck… OH SHIT he just got home from work. So help me God it took 10 minutes for that arrow to go from my bow to the can. My dad was walking towards me in slow motion with a WTF look in his eyes. I turned back towards my target just in time to see the arrow pierce the starting fluid can right at the bottom. Right through the main pile of pyrodex and into the can. Oh. Shit.

When the shock wave hit it knocked me off my feet. I don’t know if it was the actual compression wave that threw me back or just reflex jerk back from 235 fricking decibels of sound. I caught a half a millisecond glimpse of the violence during the initial explosion and I will tell you there was dust, grass, and bugs all hovering 1 ft. above the ground as far as I could see. It was like a little low to the ground layer of dust fog full of grasshoppers, spiders, and a crawfish or two. The daylight turned purple.

Let me repeat this…THE FRICKING DAYLIGHT TURNED PURPLE. There was a big sweetgum tree out by the gate going into the pasture. Notice I said “was”. That son-of-a-bitch got up and ran off.

So here I am, on the ground blown completely out of my shoes with my thundercats T-Shirt shredded, my dad is on the other side of the carport having what I can only assume is a Vietnam flashback: ECHO BRAVO CHARLIE YOUR BRINGIN’ EM IN TOO CLOSE!! CEASE FIRE. GODDAMNIT CEASE FIRE!!!!!

His hat has blown off and is 30 ft. behind him in the driveway. All windows on the north side of the house are blown out and there is a slow rolling mushroom cloud about 2000 ft over our backyard. There is a Honda 185s 3 wheeler parked on the other side of the yard and the fenders are drooped down and are now touching the tires.

I wish I knew what I said to my dad at this moment. I don’t know- I know I said something. I couldn’t hear.
I couldn’t hear inside my own head. I don’t think he heard me either… not that it would really matter.
I don’t remember much from this point on. I said something, felt a sharp pain, and then woke up later.
I felt a sharp pain, blacked out, woke later…. repeat this process for an hour or so and you get the idea.
I remember at one point my mom had to give me CPR so dad could beat me some more.
Bring him back to life so dad can kill him again. Thanks Mom.
One thing is for sure… I never had to mow around that stump again Mom had been bitching about that thing for years and dad never did anything about it. I stepped up to the plate and handled business.
Dad sold his muzzle loader a week or so later. And I still have some sort of bone growth abnormality either from the blast or the beating. Or both. I guess what I’m trying to say is, get your kids into archery.  It’s good discipline and will teach them skills they can use later on in life as a Marine.

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Soldier Angels response to Mike Yon

July 26th, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | No Comments »

Guys,

There are support groups out made up of outstanding American’s helping our troops with little rewards except for knowing what they did make a difference.  Soldiers Angels is one of those groups.  Mike Yon has made baseless accusations against these guys and his bots believe every word he spews.  Here is Soldiers Angels response to him…

 

As many of you have pointed out, Mike “Surplus” Yon has been attacking me and Mark Seavey (quite possibly the best guy I have ever known) because he hates Soldiers’ Angels and Mark and I are on the board.

Go here for the real reason why Mike “Surplus” Yon hates Soldiers’ Angels:  Mudville Gazette: REVEALED

So, Soldiers’ Angels has responded to the allegations of impropriety by Surplus. It is long, but it spells out why the Charity Navigator rating can be difficult to grasp sometimes – especially for “Surplus.” SA gets 70/70 on transparency, but where it is rated lower is in the financial section, and that is because it chooses to hire veterans (which counts as overhead) rather than pay an outside firm which would be a “program cost.” In terms of units sent overseas and veterans helped with jobs, Soldiers’ Angels way is significantly better, but Charity Navigator assigns a lower rating. And Soldiers’ Angels does not hold on to donations meant to go to programs and packages for the troops.  Other organizations may keep millions on hand, but SA believes that your donations should go to the troops as soon as possible.  Anyway, please read and repost/send/share as much as possible. The angels that I volunteer with are among the best people on this planet.

Here is the response from the Chairman of the Audit Committee for Soldiers’ Angels:

It has come to the attention of Soldiers’ Angels Board of Trustees that allegations have been raised by Michael Yon regarding the stability of our organization.  We understand that some of our volunteers and supporters are disheartened by these charges, and we would like to take the opportunity to respond to them.  We would also like to take this time to explain the ratings that were given to Soldiers’ Angels by Gloria Wise/Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Charity Navigator, two independent rating organizations.

First, let me address organizational stability.  Mr. Yon’s allegations are baseless at best.  Soldiers’ Angels has worked with over 400,000 highly-motivated volunteers since in its inception.  In any organization of this size there will always be interpersonal conflicts and hard feelings between some of the volunteers; that is only normal.  As our charity evolves in its mission to support service members and their families, organizational priorities change and some individuals may feel that their particular program isn’t being given the proper amount of attention.  Rest assured, the Board weighs every issue and does its level best to make sure that everyone is accommodated, but our focus is on delivering the maximum benefit to those who are serving or have served in harm’s way.  While most of our volunteers understand and support this concept, a handful of them have opted to air their grievances publicly, which has created fodder for Mr. Yon, who in turn has elevated concern among our other volunteers…

…We assure you that the organization is in good standing and we sincerely hope that the actions of a few people who have placed personal agendas above service do not tarnish the feelings you have for all the amazing work you do.   We want to once again thank all of our volunteers for giving so much of themselves to our men and women in uniform.

Regarding the ratings that we have received, the BBB rates organizations every two years for their charity accountability. Our first rating by the BBB was in 2008 and we received passing grades on 14 of the 20 criteria. In 2010 we were re-rated and received a grade of 18 out of 20. The next rating will take place this fall, and we have taken steps to correct the two deficiencies that were present the last time BBB rated Soldiers’ Angels. We fully expect to receive a 20 out of 20 when the review has been completed.

The second independent agency is Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator has the following on their web site:

“Charity Navigator’s evaluations of a charity’s Financial Health — which examines how a charity manages its finances day to day and how financially well-positioned it is in order to sustain its programs over time — have helped millions of donors make better giving decisions impacting billions of dollars of donations each year. By adding this new Accountability & Transparency dimension to its rating system — which tracks metrics such as whether the charity used an objective process to determine their CEO’s salary, whether it has an effective governance structure, and whether it has a whistleblower policy — Charity Navigator will help donors have even greater confidence in their charitable choices.
    30% of the charities’ star rating improved
    19% of the charities’ star ratings decreased
    With the bar set higher, the total number of 4-star charities decreased by 20%.
    At the same time, charities with ratings of 3 stars (good) or better increased by 8%.

As you can tell by the statement, the original concept was strictly a financial rating service.  In 2007, Soldiers’ Angels received a two star rating.  In 2008 and 2009, we received a three star rating. In 2010 and 2011, we received a two star rating in each year.  While this may seem to be below average, we would note that SA has consistently received high ratings for Fund Efficiency with a score of 7.5 out of 10 for 2008 through 2010. In 2007, we received a 5, so we have improved and held steady since the initial rating period.  Fund expenses were high in 2008, and we received a low score of 2.5 out of 10 that year.  Since then SA has gotten a firm grip on its cost structure, and fund expenses have been below 15% since then, giving us 7.5 out of 10. Soldiers’ Angels has consistently scored well with Program Expenses, consistently scoring above 7 out of 10 points since Charity Navigator has rated us. We have scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in administrative expenses in every year, as we pride ourselves on running a lean ship.  Where we have fallen short is in Revenue Growth and Program Growth. To an extent, the recession has hurt charitable giving across all charities, and SA has been no different. Basically, our funding hasn’t been what it was during the halcyon years and we are penalized for this.

Another area which reduced our financial rating relates to a change in Soldiers’ Angels operations that we believe directly supports our mission.  In 2009 we started the S.A.V.E program to employ troops leaving the military and provide a transitional period while they sought permanent work.   In the early years of Soldiers’ Angels, we hired third party companies to send out care packages on a large scale each day, which was considered by Charity Navigator as a 100% Program Expense.  As more troops started coming home from the wars and leaving military service, we recognized that many were struggling to find or keep jobs in the civilian sector due to the challenges of reintegration and Post-Traumatic Stress.  As such, we opened our own warehouse in San Antonio to send care packages directly and staffed it with recently-returned veterans to give them a chance to transition within a safe environment mentored by fellow veterans.  In this way, Soldiers’ Angels has supported close to 30 transitioning veterans.  Supporting returning veterans through S.A.V.E is consistent with the Soldiers’ Angels mission and logically falls under Program Costs, but Charity Navigator declared it to be overhead, shifting a major expense into the Administrative column.

On the positive side of our ratings, the new Charity Navigator category, which began two years ago, is Accountability and Transparency, and this is where we stand out.  For the past two years we have scored a four star rating from Charity Navigator.  This category takes into account many qualitative measurements, including the fact that we have a Whistleblower policy, a Privacy policy, a Records Retention policy, and many other criteria that are meant to ensure that the Board isn’t playing fast and loose with the rules as people have charged.  For the most recent period we received 70 out of a possible 70 points.  Our organization is an open book, and if anyone ever doubts this they have the ability to do a search at Charity Navigator or on our web site and find the information for themselves.

If the Board  so desired, there are a number of ways that we could creatively account for certain programs that Soldiers’ Angels maintains.

There are accounting practices that can bring the fundraising cost down on paper, but we’d want an accountant to sign off.  There are accountants who actually specialize in reallocating costs for non-profits and the accepted practices seem to change fairly often.  As a result of this, we decided to adopt a more conservative posture and not jeopardize the reputation of Soldiers’ Angels.

As an example, when we send mail and ask donors  to return a card with a message for a soldier and we include that card in a care package, the cost of sending and collecting that card can be partly attributable to program costs, rather than 100% fundraising.  We don’t attribute it to Program Costs, although we are allowed to.  It doesn’t actually change any cost, but it could move some cost figures from “fundraising” to “program” and thus lowers our cost on paper.

As charities go, our fundraising cost percentage is 15%; pretty low if you’re actually soliciting. Those who get much lower are funded with government money, foundations or a few wealthy individuals. Charity Navigator’s rating system would favor that because the fundraising cost is Zero…..but the drawback is that we would have no base of support.  For example, if a large foundation were our sole donor and they were to cut back on general charitable giving, it could theoretically put SA  out of business because we would be relying on one source to fund the bulk of our operation.  We have opted for a broad base of donors to prevent such a situation from happening.

In conclusion, we believe that the Board of Trustees is honest and ethical, and has behaved in a proper manner with the sole thought being the viability of the charity.  The attacks that were made against Soldiers’ Angels and several of the Board members are baseless and without merit, and impugn the integrity of Soldiers’ Angels and its Board of Trustees. Soldiers’ Angels remains committed to its mission to support members of the armed forces and their families.

For those volunteers who are concerned by the attacks, rest assured that the Board is fighting them and we will prevail. There is no need to doubt the viability of the organization.  Our viability is strengthened by committed volunteers who always put the needs of our armed forces and their families first.  THESE HEROES ARE RELYING ON YOU TO COME THROUGH FOR THEM. What we are facing is nothing compared to what they are facing now, and we owe them our unconditional support.  As a general by the name of George Smith Patton, Jr. once said, “Do Not Take Counsel of Your Fears.”

Respectfully,

Richard P. Lowe, CFA®, CFP®
Soldiers’ Angels
Board of Trustees, Member at Large
Chairman of the Audit Committee

 

 

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Justice Sotomayor Regional – Round Two

July 25th, 2012 Posted in Military | No Comments »

They have the Justice Sotomayor Regional is up over at This Ain’t Hell... so go vote and fast before it closes.

1 Gregory John “Trident and trim” Schaffer v.
8 Mike “Goth Special Forces” Wilson

SCHAFFER: You might remember Schaffer from the classic “I contracted for sex with Bar Rafaeli and ended up with Betty White” debacle. Not that I’m in any way implying that dirty dirty Betty isn’t a monster in the sack, but probably less so than Schaffer’s current cellmate in prison. Which is good, because this dirtbag deserves every pounding the Queens can give him at Shawshank.

WILSON: I have to admit, I like this guy’s power move. He’s sort of saying “sure, I listen to cutter music (Morrissey, The Smiths) and wear eyeliner, but that doesn’t mean I can’t throw on an Army uniform with the tape on the wrong side.” Just a power move. Like taking a ham sandwich to a pig roast, or a date to the Playboy mansion. Dare I say it, I like the cut of this man’s jib! And his eyeliner by Mabeline.

5 Brian Leonard “T-Shirts and Tattoos make you a SEAL” Creekmur v.
4 Jackie Lee “What’s a forged DD214 between friends” Climer

CREEKMUR: I still find this guy’s look a bit unsettling, largely because I can’t decide if he looks like he just came out of a bottle and is here to grant me three wishes, or if his angry visage should emblazon a plastic bottle for some cleaning product. He started his SEAL thing to pick up a chick, and ended using it for other fraud, which is just another form of free speech, right?

CLIMER: Still an A-hole.

14 Daron “burned my 3 year olds butt” Soard v.
11 Robert “72 medals and a dump truck to carry them” Vaughn

SOARD: This guy is clearly a crowd favorite, but I don’t really get his story. POW Network links to his Facebook, which is still up. He still has some of the crap up there, like some dopey quote he attributes to his time at RTB. Which RTB says he was never at. He also apparently is not with his wife anymore, but is instead with some other chick who had pictures on Facebook with her with a black eye. I have no clue what is going on with this dude, but he seems like bad news.

VAUGHN: Soup Sandwich’s Great Uncle, Vaughn cracks me up every time I look at him. There’s so much going on in this picture I feel like I am having an epileptic seizure. I know it is a small detail, but I think what I like most is the green epaulette things that show he is in command. Apparently he’s not in command of any shaving implements. Then again, if I dressed like him, I’d hope I slipped and cut my throat with a Bic disposable.

7 Carl John “Hero of Every Pacific Battle of WWII” Pequignot v.
2 Jake “I rethunk whether I was in Astan” Diliberto

PEQUIGNOT: I actually called Pequignot last week to get his side of the story, and it was rather sad. “Grew up together, Two kids in the park, Carved our initials, Deep in the bark, Me and Alice. Now she walks through the door, With her head held high, Just for a moment, I caught her eye, As a big limousine pulled slowly Out of Alice’s drive. Oh, I don’t know why she’s leaving, Or where she’s gonna go, I guess she’s got her reasons, But I just don’t want to know, ‘Cos for twenty-four years I’ve been living next door to Alice.”

DILIBERTO: Who the F*** is Alice?

You and me ain’t nuthin but Mammals, so let’s vote like they do on the History Channel….

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Marine Corps Drawdown plan

July 22nd, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | 1 Comment »

Hey guys,

The Corps will be going from 202K to 182K  This PowerPoint will explain alot of stuff.  Manpower Drawdown Brief

Standby for the same crap that happened after Vietnam where the Military operated on bare bones budget after years  in South East Asia.

S/F

Taco

Tito Rodriguez and his fake Johnson…

July 19th, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | 22 Comments »

There are some sick people out there.  In the last 9 months, over 98 posers have been exposed via sites like mine and my all time favorite “This Ain’t Hell” and of course “Stolen Valor” on Facebook.  It’s the cowards that I hate the most who use real photos of fallen hero’s for their sick and twisted pleasure.

Right now there is some guy going by the name of “Tito Rodriguez” on Facebook with a Silver Star on his homepage.  The guys over at Guardian of Valor posted this on him.  He has about 60 friends including a “Richard Johnson” (real original) who carries on conversations with Tito about Ops going FUBAR in Somalia.  To me, this is the same person carrying on these conversations to bolster his creds of being a secret Special Ops guy.  Yes, it’s the same sick guy.

What has me very upset is this guy “Richard Johnson” is truly a real hero named Sergeant Robert Daniel Sanchez, who died on Oct 1st 2009.  His page is here http://www.1stbn75thrgrregtmemorial.com/RangerMemorialMemorySanchez.htm

From his page

Sergeant Robert Daniel Sanchez of Satellite Beach, Florida graduated from Satellite Senior High School and enlisted in the United States Army in July of 2004.  He began his Army Ranger career when he was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment where he served as an automatic rifleman and team leader.  He was currently serving his fifth deployment in support of the War on Terror with three previous deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan.  His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger Indoctrination Program, US Army Ranger Course, Emergency Medic Technician Basic Course and Jumpmaster Course.  His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Parachutist Badge, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal,  National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Service Medal, and Army Service Ribbon.  Robert is survived by his parents 1SG Will and Wendy Holland and brothers Jacob Goldberg and Logan Holland and Maternal Grandparents, James and Mary Wilson.  Robert was killed at age 24 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan during a combat operation involving multiple enemy contacts, killing nine enemy combatants and destroying a large weapons cache.

So, with that being said, here is a real Hero being used by some sick bastard who should be sent to the Taliban gift wrapped with a rusty sword.  Please feel free to send both of these profiles a love letter letting him know how you feel about him and his fake pages…

Semper Fi, Taco

 

https://www.facebook.com/snakeeater1985

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002419320951

 

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The Justice Sotomayor Regional – Round One

July 18th, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | 1 Comment »

The Justice Sotomayor Regional – Round One

Mark over at “This Ain’t Hell” has the Justice Sotomayor Regional round up now.  Go check out this round of posers (link above) and cast your vote.  Once again, you are looking at the results of countless hours of review as a group of us picked our favorites out of the 98 posers exposed in the last 8 months.  Since these were exposed, I have three in the wings and I bet Mark and Jonn have 30 since they do this daily and have more tips sent to them.   H/T to Mark  for this great photo below!!

So, if you have a minute, boss isn’t around, sitting in the cockpit of your JetBlue airbus flying to San Juan, go vote for today’s latest round of posers…

Semper Fi,

Taco

 

http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=30861