Letters to the Editor

Mr. Jordan: Why don't you peddle your drivel to the New York Times? You have no place among the honorable veterans and service members of the United States. Your liberal-elite ideology is apparent in everything you write; it's unfortunate that the editorial staff at military related publications are too stupid to realize that for which you stand.

I am the daughter of a WWII Vet and the sister of a Vietnam Vet. My Father was a grunt in WWII and saw his first day of combat at the age of 16. I was born and raised on military bases, watched my brother march off to Vietnam at the ripe ole age of 19 and became an ace pilot in his own right by earning the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, (3) Bronze Stars, and (40) Air Medals. I experienced first hand the devastation of post traumatic stress syndrome in both my Father and my brother and watched them suffer immensely for the death and carnage they witnessed as soldiers in some foreign land where we were not wanted in the first place.

I'm sick and tired of old men (politicians) sending young men to war to do their bidding for them and their dirty work just to protect our oil interests for greed & power. Our Constitution specifically states for us to "stay out of foreign affairs," but we keep going back in as the politicians continue to shackle the military. The politicians jumped on the bandwagon after 9/11, only to capitalize on the misery and emotions of the American people, and went in to attack Iraq under the guise of "Weapons of Mass Destruction.”

I wanted to comment about the Appeals Court setting a record pace for deciding claims. It is not enough for them to just make a faster decision on cases. No one is saying how many of the cases are being awarded a favorable or higher rating. Speed isn't going to matter if the answers are still wrong. VA does not provide mandatory training for the service organizations that file disability claims. Each one has it's own way of filing and the VA only accepts claims that are filed according to strict guidelines. Until they address this problem, they are not going to be maximizing the case load to a favorable decision.

My son and eleven other young people were recently turned down for admission to the Naval Academy because of color vision deficiency. My son and these other eleven young men wanted to serve in the Navy. I can't believe that the Marine Corps and the Army will take them, but the Navy can't find away to get them in? I understand that there are a limited number of restricted line positions, but to tell seven young men who want to serve, we can't use you even as Procurement Officers or Civil Engineers, or in Naval Intelligence?

In an age where most young kids eyes glaze over when you mention joining the military, the Navy see fit to turn these very intelligent kids away. My son was just given a full Army ROTC scholarship to Wake Forest University. It is a shame that he could not get into the Navy. He is not totally colorblind I do not understand how the service determine degrees of color blindness?

I do not understand that if a kid want to serve in the Navy, even if its in the mess hall he should be given the opportunity. The Army issue waivers and retain people who are already in the service who are missing limbs. One day this color vision problem will be like being rejected in the past for having flat feet, a thing of the past. Color vision is not necessary for every single job in the Navy.

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