Recapturing Our Sense of National Unity

This is a cross-post from http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,249768,00.html.

Last year was the ten year anniversary of the September 11th attacks that killed thousands of us and left a permanent scar on our collective national psyche. It was a wake-up call, and one that unified America in ways that were seemingly impossible. At that point nearly every American felt connected to the struggle and to the cause of freedom.

So what can we do on the 11th Anniversary of 9-11 to recapture that sense of unity?

Although Al Qaeda has been severely degraded, and yes, Osama Bin Laden is dead, this Nation is still combating the extremist elements that plotted and executed this attack, and our men and women are still dying in the hills of Afghanistan. In addition, although only 1 percent of Americans have borne this burden, the long tail costs of their care will be borne by all American tax-payers for decades to come.

But does the average American still feel the sense of connectedness to a national cause? Are the war wounds of our men and women in combat and their families – both visible and hidden – felt in any way by the rest of America?

According to a 2011 Pew Research study, the answer to that question is no.

“The nation’s post-9/11 wars have been fought by an all-volunteer active-duty military made up at any given time of just one half of one percent of the U.S. population. More than eight-in-ten (84 percent) of these modern-era veterans say the American public has little or no understanding of the problems that those in the military face. Most of the public (71 percent) agrees.”

Although I sometimes agree with Mark Twain who frequently quoted that there were three kinds of lies — “lies, dammed lies, and statistics” — in this case, I think the numbers are right, but that’s not the whole story.

You can’t measure collective patriotism with a study, and you cannot measure the tensile strength of the thread of compassion that runs through the fabric of America with quantitative research.

Americans are better than that, and I think we know it. Many of us are just looking for the right way to make the connection and to show a fundamental truth about being an American – we take care of our own.

So here the good news: there are many ways that Americans can both reflect and also reach back out to the community that responded in defense to the atrocity of the 9/11 attacks, and to honor the victims and heroic actions of everyday Americans. One way that every American can reach back and re-connect is by taking time to volunteer during the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance.

When President Obama declared 9-11 National Day of Service and Remembrance in 2009, he created a way for all Americans to pay homage to those who lost their lives on September 11th, to thank those who fought and bled to vindicate America’s way of life on foreign soil, and gave every American a way to personify our resoluteness to unity in times of tragedy. It’s honor through service — service to our communities and to our fellow Americans in need.

The National Day of Service is the culmination of an effort originally launched in 2002 by 9/11 family members and support groups, who worked to establish the service day as a forward-looking way to honor 9/11 victims, survivors, and others who rose up in service in response to the attacks.

Congress charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with supporting this effort across the country and the Corporation on National and Community Service is working with numerous organizations to implement one of the largest days of charitable service in U.S. history.

If last year is a bench mark of the high tide of public interest in serving on the ten-year Anniversary of 9-11, this year, hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals empowered by CNCS’ two signature programs, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps will give tens of thousands of hours of their time in service to and remembrance of the victims of 9-11, the first responders, members of the military, veterans, and their families in honor of the day.

One of the grantees from CNCS’ National Day of Service Award project, The Mission Continues is with MyGoodDeed is taking this opportunity to a new level – serving by and with military veterans who have come home from serving their country in uniform and then serve again on the home front . These military Veterans come home and then dedicate hundreds of hours to serve their communities and in the process they motivate hundreds of thousands of every-day citizens to join with them.

There are hundreds of Mission Continues fellows doing this work, and they join the national service fight with another 27,000 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members who are also Veterans and who dedicate a year or more of their lives to serving in their communities.

According to CNCS’ service day partner MyGoodDeed, last year more than 33 million individuals around the country engaged in acts of “charitable service” and good deeds in honor of this day. This year, there are opportunities to serve on 9-11 in nearly every corner of our great nation.

When we look back at the unity of effort that once was, and see the possible, we can embrace today a vision of unity of effort and patriotism that does not need to diminish.

If even for just one day.

The opportunity to serve with and remember the sacrifices of our patriots is here, it is now, and every American is called to serve, and you simply cannot measure that. What we can measure is the dedication of the 99 percent who never wore a uniform to serve with their fellow man and woman on 9-11 and by doing so, honor the 1 percent who did.

Good deeds can unite us.

Learn more at http://www.serve.gov/sept11.asp.

Armed Forces Day, Mission Accomplished, and the New Dawn

The greatest military victories of my generation were achieved though the empowerment of freedom loving people. On this, Armed Forces Day we have our leadership and our military to thank for this and for the real mission accomplishment and New Dawn in Iraq.

CPT Koby J. Langley on road to Fallujah, one month before declaration of "Mission Accomplished"

It was also eight years ago this month that the former Commander-In-Chief made a victorious proclamation.  I was sleeping in a make shift tent from a poncho in the middle of Iraq, and I knew that he was wrong. It would not be us to declare victory, but the Iraqi people.  Victory would not come that day, or that year — we would be lucky if it occurred that decade.

Most importantly, it was not up to us alone to declare victory inIraq– in situations like the ones we found ourselves in May of 2003, it rarely ever is.  Often times the best we can do is sow the seeds of victory, and then dodge the flying shoes while freedom takes root.

As a brief example, in 2008, the World listened as a nation at war within fought for free and fair elections inIran.  The Iranian people laid the foundation for leveraging the power of free speech and the internet in ways that the world had not seen before.  An enemy who vowed the destruction of another free nation was brought to its knees from within by the unchained power of youth in revolt, armed only with cell phones, computers and a Facebook page – empowered from within.

Fast forward three years, and Lybia is harvesting those lithium seeds of freedom, andSyriais looking across the Gulf to her sister inAfrica and asking what about me? Democracy by the people cannot be denied.

And as Syria looks across the Gulf at her sister inAfrica, we  are reminded that this is  a continent to continue it’s fight for new energy victory and natural resource independence.  We saw Nigera reap the rewards of their own investments in natural resources, leveraging the entire continent to do so with the Organization of African Unity that was supported and championed by President Carter so many years ago.   He sowed those seeds over thirty years ago.

I imagine that no one can dictate the future of Iran, nor the future of Egypt or of Lybia orSyria… butAmericahas always supported the struggles for freedom loving people … whether the chains echo in long and dark hallways of oppression, or in the dimly lit streets of dictatorship.

It was, ultimately this approach that allowed over 100,000 troops to return from the belly of Babel in Iraq and into the arms of their waiting loved ones here at home.  It was the relentless dedication to the mission of empowering the Iraqi people that allowed the Iraqi people to hold free and fair elections.  When all seemed lost, it was General Petraeus who reminded us all that we needed only meet the Iraqi people at their doorsteps, and they would take their own countrymen across the threshold.

So on Armed Force Day, and seven years from a fateful speech on victory,  we must say thank you to the securers of the real victory – the one that has brought us this far. Thank you to Secretary Gates — he was, by many measures, the greatest Secretary of Defense of our generation.  Thank you to General Petraeus, we are lucky to have him.  Thank you to our Commander in Chief, President Obama and Mrs. Obama, who have brought renewed focus to those whom have given the most – our military families.  Above all, thank you to the men and women who brought Iraqto her New Dawn – mission accomplished.

Wounded Warriors Get 14,000 Resources Direct to Smartphones

This week Wounded Warriors, Veterans, and their Family members now have nealry 14,000 resources at their fingertips and on their iPhones — and by coincidence (or maybe not) Craig Newmark is connecting the world for the common good.

Do you believe in Karma?

About two years ago, I met up with Craig Newmark in a small café across from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and a little frazzled at the idea of meeting the man, and forgot my wallet.

Luckily, Craig understood, and we just sat and sipped coffee while discussing the two different sides of the planet we were from. I was a combat Veteran of Iraq, and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki. Craig was, well … Craig. A bonefide genius. During our chat, Craig mentioned that he was interested in helping our Wounded Warriors and Veterans and was inspired by the way that the President and Secretary Shinseki were putting their money where their mouth was in supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He said that it had occurred to him that there many resources out there that could help the Wounded Warrior community, but that there just did not seem to be a way to do it, or do it well. Fast forward about two years, and Craig has lent his genius to several advisory groups on Veterans issues, and then launches a website called www.Craigconnects.org.

This is man who fights for what he believes in. That I can relate to. More importantly, he is fighting on the side of angels. The mission of his new site — “Connecting the World for the Common Good” says it all.

That I can not only relate to, but find inspiration in. Today, I have the honor of working on a project to connect wounded warriors, veterans and their families to resources for free and brought to you by the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Labor.

This week, over 14,000 connections to resources for benefits and services became available for recovering service members, their families and Veterans – on their smartphones via a national resource directory for Wounded Warriors, Veterans and family members at www.nrd.gov.

The connections run deep – from National, or State, to local resources. You can find any number of benefits to help – from benefits and compensation, to family and caregiver support, homelessness assistance, to job resources, to local counseling services to help with the re-adjustment coming home after combat. 

All free connections, and all navigable by your zipcode.

In addition, the information and services on the website are screened by the Department of Defense in collaboration with the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor who built the site. Since October, use of the site has grown from around 40,000 each month to 90,000.

Craig Newmark is making a run at connecting people to resources himself, and it is great that these two ventures are highlighting Veterans.  Now I am not saying that Craig invented the idea, he didn‘t. What I am saying is that when smart people from different corners of the world get together and connect in ways that seem unlikely … good things can happen.

So, if you are a Wounded Warrior, Veteran, or Military Family Member and want to connect, fire up the ipod or droid and navigate to www.nrd.gov.   While you are on, make sure to tweet up @craignewmark in between clicks – tell him I said thanks for coffee.

Stop Lossed? Don’t Get KeyserSözed! Get paid!

One of my favorite films is “The Usual Suspects”.  The film is about a group of criminals who are led by a mysterious puppeteer that no one has ever actually met by the name of Keyser Söze.  Because no one actually ever sees him, people start believing that he is not real, and he conducts his criminal schemes under an impregnable veil of secrecy.

One problem — he was real, and in their hesitation and debate about whether he existed or not, the good guys let him get away — right under their noses.

 One of the best lines in the film was delivered by a “witness” during an interview.  They believed that their “witness” had information about the mysterious figure.  At one point, the witness starts telling them about the great feats of Keyser Soze and the Cops get irate.  The cops shout down the witness – these are myths, they say, criminal fairy tales!    Keyser Söze does not exist.

The “witness” chastises them along by saying that “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist… and like that, he’s gone.”  Unconvinced, eventually, the cops fall victim to the myth that he does not really exist and Keyser Söze walks free and disappears with his ill-gotten gains, never to be seen again.

Before the end of the year, one of the greatest benefits  offered to Service members who served after 9-11 will vanish.  Some still beleive it is a myth, and some have still not applied.  This is a benefit that may pay up to $500 a month for every month that the Service member’s contract was extended, also known as “stop-lossed”.

 The application deadline is now October 21st, 2011, and there is still money on the table. Some suspect that folks are not applying because they don’t believe it’s real, or that it is a trick to get them to re-enlist or somehow extend their service.  That is a myth.  

 Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay compensates members, who, at any time during the period beginning on September 11, 2001 and ending on September 30, 2009, served on active duty while the member’s enlistment or period of obligated service was involuntarily extended due to the provision of law commonly referred to as “Stop Loss Authority”, or similarly, whose eligibility for retirement/transfer to the Fleet Reserve was suspended due to application of “Stop Loss  Authority.”

There is still money in the bank, and many of the eligible Service members, Veterans, and eligible beneficiaries are not taking up Uncle Sam on the offer for fear of somehow being pulled back into service, or some other urban legend.  It is like Söze has mounted a counter-information campaign, and Veterans are being snookered.  

 The myth may/may not be playing a role in folks not filling out the easy application to get paid for the time that they got extended, but myths have a way of becoming reality if enough people are willing to silently let the Devil whisper in their ear that he does not exist.

 President Obama himself has weighed in on the benefit he signed into law last year by issuing a Public Service Announcement stating that:  “As your commander in chief, I’m here to tell you that this is no gimmick or trick. You worked hard. You earned this money. It doesn’t matter whether you were Active or Reserve, whether you’re a veteran who experienced “stop loss” or the survivor of a Service member who did — if your service was extended, you’re eligible.”

 Although many Service members may not want to apply, or simply do not know about it, the real loss is to the survivors of those would have been eligible – these spouses or children may be eligible to receive the benefit directly themselves.

 Even if you are not sure about your eligibility, the average benefit is $3,700.  I know some families could really use that kind of money, and taking a few minutes to fill in the online application would be worth it. 

Don’t get KeyserSözed, get paid.

Army?  Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE.

Navy? Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE.

Airforce?  Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE

Marines?  Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE.

 #stoplossedgetcash

 – Movie Spoiler-