to the responses. A US Navy Veteran posted strong research and support for President Obama and what he has done for the US military. I have cut & pasted it here. Please back him up.
This is only part of what this vet has posted.
WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS DONE FOR THE MILITARY AND VETERANS
Sworn into office 2009
• Ordered the Pentagon to cover expenses of families of fallen soldiers if the wish to be on site when the body arrives back in the US (2009)
• Ended the Bush-Era “blackout” imposed on media coverage of the return of fallen US soldiers with the approval of the soldiers family (2009)
• Ordered better body armor to be procured for the US troops (2009)
• Funding new Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicles to decrease an alarming percentage of our soldiers lost in Iraq on account of IED’s (2009)
• Working to increase pay and benefits for military personnel (2009)
• Worked to improve housing for military personnel (2009)
• Initiated a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses (2009)
• Ordered that conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other neglected military hospitals be improved (2009)
• Began the process of reforming and restructuring the military to a post-Cold war, modern fighting force which included new procurement polices, increasing the size of Special ops units, deploying new technologies, creating new cyber security units, etc. (2009)
• Ended the Bush-era practice awarding “no-bid” defense contracts (this is how Halliburton-Cheney’s company was awarded the huge government contract) (2009)
• Authorized construction of additional health care centers to care for veterans (2009)
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) enabled the VA with more than $1.4 billion to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, provided grants to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities, and to modify or alter existing facilities to care for Veterans. (2009)
• VA dedicated ARRA funds to hire and train 1,500 temporary claims processors to speed benefits delivery to Veterans and pursue needed information technology initiatives for improved benefits and services. Funds were also used to oversee and audit programs, grants, and projects funded under ARRA. (2009)
• As part of the President’s Recovery plan, VA made one-time payments of $250 to eligible Veterans and survivors to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn. (2009)
Part Three
• The President announced the Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Initiative. The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have worked together to define and build a system that will ultimately contain administrative and medical information from the day an individual enters military service throughout their military career, and into the Veteran phase of life. (2009)
• Suspended Bush-era decision to buy Marine One helicopters from suppliers in favor of American made helicopters (2009)
• New GI bill for returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan (2009)
• Suspended “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays in the military (they have always served, and died for our country, and if you want just straight men to die in war, right on, but that leaves fewer men for us women to choose from (2010)
• Signed bill providing assistance for caregivers of veterans wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq (2010)
• Eliminated co-payments for veterans who are catastrophically disabled (2010)
• Fulfilled campaign promise to have combat troops (90,000) out of Iraq by August 31, 2010 (2010)
• Established a new interagency task force to assist veterans owning small businesses (2010)
• Signed “The Families of Fallen Heroes Act” which covers the moving cost of immediate family members of those lost in service (2010)
• Signed the “Vow to Hire Heroes Act” Tax credit for any business that hires a veteran who’s been unemployed for at least four weeks. A bigger tax break if a business hires a veteran who’s been unemployed for at least six months (up to $5,600). And if a business hires an unemployed veteran Wounded Warriors Tax Credit offers businesses that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran. (2011)
• Introduced new resources to help veterans translate military skills for jobs in the civilian workforce (2011)
• Veteran Gold Card Post-9/11 veterans can download the Veteran Gold Card, which entitles them to enhanced services including six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling, at the roughly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers located across the country. This could help serve the more than 200,000 unemployed Post-9/11 veterans. (2011)
• Created an easier way for veterans to search for jobs through a more unified Job bank (2011)
• Signed an Executive Order to help better meet the current and future demand for mental health and substance abuse treatment services for our troops and veterans and their families (2012)
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