VETERANS NEEDS

Charitable video raffle funds benefit veterans in need Hundreds of veterans across Ohio receive assistance to prepare for winter months Columbus, Ohio (October 22, 2014)  - Hundreds of central Ohio military veterans in need received a hand up on Tuesday at the 17th annual Central Ohio Stand Down, a yearly event sponsored by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs with help from organizations like VFW of Ohio Charities and the Ohio Veterans and Fraternal Charitable Coalition (OVFCC). Services provided at the event include medical treatment, help with local agencies, legal assistance, clothing, personal grooming, and a hot meal. Both organizations have participated in a substantial way in stand down events throughout Ohio in 2014, including Columbus, Akron, Chillicothe and one upcoming in Dayton in November.  VFW of Ohio Charities and the OVFCC have given out over 300 sleeping bags, 500 pairs of boots, 150 coats, and 300 sweatshirts, countless pair of socks, t-shirts, and hygiene items as veterans prepare for the winter months ahead. A majority of the funding to provide these critical items came from the OVFCC charitable video raffle program, which has raised nearly $11 million for veterans & fraternal groups and their charities at no expense to taxpayers.  The video raffle program is currently operating under a temporary restraining order issued by the courts after the Attorney General threatened to shut the program down when the state legislature declined to pass HB 325.  The bill would have clarified Ohio’s charitable video gaming laws. Veterans and fraternal groups are hopeful they will win their court case and will be able to continue raising funds to support their posts and charities through the video raffle program. “Our assistance is vital to veterans in need throughout the state’” said VFW of Ohio Charities’ director Bill Seagraves.  “We help vets with housing, medical bills, burials, and countless other ways.  Who will provide these services if we are not able?  It’s disappointing that veterans groups are forced to sue their state government in order to protect their ability to help their own.” The OVFCC is an unincorporated association that was established in 2003 to achieve consensus and develop policy on various issues affecting veterans and fraternal organizations in the State of Ohio. Member organizations have input regarding charitable gaming as well as legislation, rules and regulations that impact veterans and fraternal organizations.  The OVFCC is the voice of more than 2.1 million members and their families who are active in more than 1,700 posts and clubs throughout the Ohio.  OVFCC President Bill Seagraves can be reached for further comment at (614) 222-1611 For more information about the OVFCC, please visit http://www.ovfcc.org

Destroy ISIL

WASHINGTON (September 11, 2014) — The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States supports President Obama’s new strategy to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and is demanding that Congress support the troops by providing them the necessary funding to execute the new mission, and to put an end to sequestration, which is set to restart in fiscal year 2016.

In a nationwide speech last evening, the president said “ISIL is not ‘Islamic.’ No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It is recognized by no government, nor the people it subjugates.”
But ISIL is brutal, the president explained, and “in a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. And in acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists — Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.”
The president’s four-part strategy relies heavily on American airpower, better training and coordination with Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces, counterterrorism coordination with regional partners, and humanitarian assistance to those noncombatants affected the most. All strong suits of America’s military, according to VFW National Commander John W. Stroud, but the greatest unknown isn’t so much an enemy that hides its face but the uncertainty of a divided Congress that can’t put aside their politics for the good of the troops they profess to support.
“Congress has essentially one work week left before the end of the current fiscal year, and the nation is still without any FY 2015 defense bills,” said Stroud, a retired Air Force first sergeant from Hawthorne, Nev. “All this unpredictability plays into our enemy’s strategy to exploit America’s political system as a weakness. Our enemies saw the damage to military readiness and morale that just six months of sequestration created last year, and what the three-week government shutdown did to the entire system just last October.
“The VFW demands that Congress put their political differences aside and support the troops that we have in harm’s way around the globe, and their families back at home,” he said. “America must have a defense budget and an end to sequestration. Yes, it’s the political season, and yes, there’s posturing for the next presidential election, but right now we are in a fight against a new evil that only cares about destroying everything and everyone in its path,” said Stroud. “That’s the evil our world faces, and today, just as it was exactly 13 years ago, only a properly organized, trained and equipped American military can lead the world in that fight.”

 Read the president’s new strategy at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/10/statement-president-isil-1.

 

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CONGRESS PASSES EMERGENCY VA FUNDING BILL

WASHINGTON (August 1, 2014) — The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is relieved that Congress finally did what they were elected to do and passed an emergency funding bill at the last minute to help the Department of Veterans Affairs overcome a nationwide crisis in care and confidence. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed H.R. 3230, the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, by a vote of 420-5, and on Thursday, the Senate did likewise, by a vote of 91-3. The bill now heads to the president for his signature.

 “This legislation will help new VA Secretary Robert McDonald to fix what's broken, hold people accountable, and restore the faith that veterans must have in their VA,” said VFW National Commander John W. Stroud, of Hawthorne, Nev. “The VFW salutes House VA Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), Senate VA Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), their staffs and supporters for making this happen.”

The $15 billion emergency funding bill expands access to non-VA health care facilities for veterans experiencing excessive appointment waiting times, or who reside 40 miles or more away from a VA medical facility; hires more doctors, nurses and other health care practitioners; adds 27 new or expanded VA outpatient clinics; enhances care for victims of Military Sexual Trauma and those suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries; and provides instate tuition rates for all Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients, regardless of residency requirements. The legislation also gives the VA secretary far more latitude in firing senior executives who fail in their primary mission of taking care of America’s veterans.

“Holding people appropriately accountable is critical to mission accomplishment in both the public and private sector, which is why that same rule must also apply to the three senators and five congressmen who voted against H.R. 3230,” said Stroud.

 

Voting against the legislation were Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and Reps. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), and Steve Stockman (R-Texas). The hypocrisy of their “no” votes, according to the VFW national commander, is virtually all of them voted for hundreds of billions in supplemental war funding with little concern about corresponding offsets or oversight about how or where the money would be spent; and one was even the governor of a state that experienced tremendous active, Guard and Reserve deployments, as well as combat casualties.

“Our nation is still at war and those eight members failed to stand with wounded, ill and injured veterans,” said Stroud. “Failing to support America’s veterans is as reprehensible as it is disgusting, and I hope all veterans, service members, their families, and every voting constituent in every home district and state remembers that. I guarantee that the VFW will do our best to remind them.”

 

NEW COMMANDER IN CHIEF

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 24, 2014) — The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States concluded its 115^th national convention yesterday with the election of the new VFW National Commander, John W. Stroud.

 Stroud served in the U.S. Air Force from 1976-1997, including a tour in Korea in 1992-1993 with the 51^st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base as a Flight Operations Superintendent. His decorations include four Meritorious Service Medals, three Air Force Commendation Medals, three Air Force Achievement Medals, the Korea Defense Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

He is a resident of Hawthorne, Nev., and a Gold Legacy Life Member of Post 2313, and has served the VFW in a number of leadership positions including Nevada Department Commander and Chairman of the National Veterans Service Committee.
During his acceptance speech, Stroud addressed the recent VA crisis stating, “the VA is a health care system worth saving that right now must identify and fix what’s broken … that needs to hold people appropriately accountable to the fullest extent of the law … and a system that must restore the faith of veterans in their VA. He added that he is confident Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson and nominee Bob McDonald—if confirmed—will not make the same mistake as the previous VA Secretary who simply trusted his employees to the point of his demise.
Stroud recounted his first experience with the VFW, stopping in Post 10047 in Las Vegas, Nev., after seeing a sign that read ‘Active Duty Military Welcome.’ Dressed in fatigues, he entered the Post and was immediately welcomed. Surrounded by his comrades, he learned of the organization’s many programs and services, and he knew he wanted in. 
“Comrades, I share my story to encourage you to tell your own stories to others.  A great part of the VFW story involves the relevance between different generations, and the ability to educate others about who we are, what we do, and who we do it for,” he said.
Stroud had high praise for members’ work and VFW programs, citing several outstanding instances of disaster relief, troop support and veterans resource efforts. He commended those who worked with the U.S. European Command to operate a Visitor’s Center for hundreds of American D-Day veterans and thousands of visitors who were in Normandy for the 70th anniversary of the landing, and praised the Ladies Auxiliary for its donations to cancer research which now total $30 million.
“One of the best things about being a National Officer is I get to brag about the VFW wherever I go … to the troops, to veterans, their families, nonveterans and politicians, too,” he said.
Stroud stressed the importance of reaching out to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and educating them on what the VFW is all about. The camaraderie the VFW offers, as well as its services help ease their transition to civilian life. Further, the VFW fights to ensure Congress and the Administration keep America’s promise to care for them, long after their successful transition.
“To this very day they don’t know that it was the VFW who led the charge to create a new GI Bill … a Family Caregiver Act … Traumatic Injury Insurance … a bullet-proof Stolen Valor Act … concurrent receipt … a lower Guard and Reserve retirement age … and advance appropriations for VA health care,” he explained.
Stroud is the second Nevadan to be elected as VFW National Commander. He graduated with honors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics. He worked as the Mineral County Building Official and is now retired. He is also a member of the American Legion, the Elks, and is a Life member of the Disabled American Veterans, the Military Order of the Cootie and the VFW National Home for Children.
 Stroud will log thousands of miles within the U.S. and internationally to promote the VFW, veterans’ issues and quality of life initiatives for active-duty, Reserve and Guard members.
 Also elected were Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief John A. Biedrzycki, Jr. of Robinson Township, Pa., and Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief Brian J. Duffy of Louisville, Ky.

D-DAY 70TH ANNIVERSARY

D-Day 70th Anniversary Planning: According to the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the Government of France is offering to provide D-Day veterans and a guest with roundtrip transportation from Paris to Normandy, and lodging, meals and transportation while in Normandy for the 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord this June 6. Travel to/from Paris from the United States or elsewhere is an individual responsibility. Paris-based VFW Benjamin Franklin Post 605 is assisting by collecting the names of VFW and other D-Day veterans planning to attend. Please e-mail the following information as soon as possible to Chuck Steiner at VFW Post 605 at cjsteiner@aol.com.

·       Full name, age and home address of veteran (include home/cell phone and e-mail, too).

·       Indicate if a D-Day veteran, Normandy campaign, or WWII veteran.

·       Escort or guest’s name (if more than one, so indicate).

·       Special needs (e.g., wheelchair).

·       Dates of planned attendance (arrival to and departure from France).

If unable to send by e-mail, address regular mail to: Chuck Steiner, VFW Benjamin Franklin Post 605, 4 rue du General Leclere, 92130, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. Other WWII veterans who plan to attend should forward this information, too, as the French Government may also extend similar support to them. Be advised, however, that the in-country support is subject to revision.

 

INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS

There is a typographic error on the Warrant request. After reviewing the By Laws, Section 217, Installation Officers shall be installed prior to the convening of the Department Convention.

There should have been no dates on the warrant request.

EMPLOYMENT