No Oversight of Military Charities, Vets Struggle with Transition to ...

Front & Center: Military Talk Radio w/Rick Rogers

Show No. 75, Aug. 19, 2012

Listen to show here.?

Guests:

Bill Rider: Co-founder of the American Combat Veterans of War. He will talk about the proliferation of non-profits and the seeming lack of oversight of them.

Chad Storlie: A veteran employment specialist and a former Special Forces Army troop. He will talk about vets transitioning to civilian life and a recent report that tells of their struggles.

SEGMENT I:

Hello and welcome to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio.

So glad to have you here on this glorious morning in Southern California.

So much to get to this morning. Including swimming pools, movie stars. Or at least B-listers in a reality TV that?s drawing attention for all the wrong reasons.

But then what is bad publicity for a reality TV? I?m not sure its exist.

Learn why Archbishop Desmond Tutu and eight other Nobel Peace Prize winners are clucking their tongues over a TV show of all things.

Talking about clucking tongues, did you hear about the video that?s stirring the political pot? It?s ?this election?s Swift Boat moment.

The piece is named ?Dishonorable Disclosures? and in it intelligence types ? including those purporting to be former SEALs ? complain about alleged national security leaks by the White House and their belief that President Obama is taking too much credit for the Bin Laden assassination.

This is either a documentary chronicling the Obama administration leaking military information for political gain or a political hit piece so appalling that rises to the level of parody?

I stay out of politics, but take a look and draw your own conclusions.

I will say if this is a straight documentary then its timing is rather curious to say the least.

Also on the show some grave news. The latest suicide numbers are out and they are not good.

In the same somber vein, it?s been another tough week for our troops in Afghanistan.

In the last week, a helicopter went down killing seven U.S. service members and there has been yet another attack by Afghanistan forces on U.S. troops murdered two more.

Learn the lethal response that U.S. troops are now taking just to survive working with our alleged allies.

Also on today?s show, two huge topics that are important to every military community across the nation.

One concerns combat vets directly and the other military communities from San Diego to San Antonio to Hampton Roads and Washington state.

Bill Rider from ACVOW is here to talk about something I?ve been beating the drum on for a few years now:

The utter lack of oversight of organizations collecting donations each and every day for programs in San Diego. This is also a nationwide. Organizations are supposedly collecting money to benefit our veterans, troops and military families.

I say supposed to because no one really knows if they do or not.

Bill Rider, co-founder of the American Combat Veterans of War, a non-profit started before the 9/11 attack, will share his thoughts on the explosion of these so-called charities.

It is a huge issue that no one seems to be doing much about. I mean there is no vetting of any of these organizations let alone any standards being set, let alone any guide that allows the public to parse out the legit organizations from the scammers.

So a very important topic, especially in light of some cases of organizations that have come under fire for squandering millions of dollars and in one case possibly $100 million.

Then a segment on how well former troops are doing transitioning to civilian life.

A new survey by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America shows vets are having a tougher time of than many of us who follow this kind of thing thought.

Weighing in on the subject and offering ideas on how to turn this around will be Chad Storlie, author, professor and Special Forces officer who served in Iraq.

Chad Storlie has written extensively on how vets can best make that all-important transition for the second half of their lives.

So a great show is headed your way. Hope you can stay for the fastest hour in radio.

But if you can?t, Front & Center episodes are at: www.defensetracker.com.

Today?s show is episode is No. 75 in my quest to deliver the best news and information on issues important to veterans, troops and military families.

The Society of Professional Journalists has named www.defensetracker.com the best military site in Southern California.

So check out and see what they are talking about. And don?t be show to drop me a line and tell me what you think.

Front & Center: Military Talk Radio shows are available on iTunes. Subscription is free.

Pause

Before getting to my guests today, let?s take a look at 10 stories making headlines on the Morning Report.

The Morning Report is brought to by the law offices Haytham Farj, a nationally recognized attorney specializing in military and veterans? law.

To learn more, call 619-752-3950.

Pause

I don?t know if it?s the hot weather or just the political season, but there are sure a lot of people getting cranky lately about military issues.

1. Have you heard about NBC?s program ?Stars Earn Stripes??

* The series pairs eight celebrities including singer Nick Lachey, actor Dean Cain and Olympic gold medalist Picabo Street with former members of the Marines, Green Berets and other armed forces to compete for a cash prize (going to the charity of the winners choosing). The contestants then go through military-style training including firing weapons and jumping out of helicopters. And the master of ceremonies of this thing is former Gen. Wesley Clark.

It sounds kind of goofy but mostly innocuous to me. Not something I would watch ? even if I had a TV ? unless South Park decided to spoof it. I would like to see that.

Well, nine Nobel Peace Prize winners complained that the show treats military maneuvers like athletic events.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the other Nobel laureates protested in an open letter that the show glorifies war and armed violence.

?Preparing for war is neither amusing nor entertaining,? they gravely wrote.

NBC said the show, which was to premiere Monday night, isn?t ?a glorification of war, but a glorification of service.?

Nice turn of phrase there.

Early reviews are not terribly kind. One critic wrote that ?while the reverence and deference towards the soldiers may be well earned and deserved, it does not make for interesting television.?

If you want to watch it, it?s on 8 p.m. Mondays.

2. Seven American troops and four Afghans were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed Thursday in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed it shot down the aircraft.

3. The Navy is turning to actors to spread its anti-sexual assault message. Just a few days ago in San Diego, 600 sailors and Marines were among the first to see a skit-based put on by students from Central Michigan University.

The program is called ?No Zebras? because it teaches troops not to stand by and allow a member of the ?herd? ? a ?zebra? ? to be picked off by a predator.

Hope it works. Military Sexual Trauma is a huge problem in the military and it is growing.

4. The first commander of the U.S. Africa Command is being investigated for allegedly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lavish travel, hotels and other items.

Gen. William Ward is facing numerous allegations including that he allowed unauthorized people, including family members, to fly on government planes, and spent excessively on hotel rooms, transportation and other expenses.

Sec. Def. Leon Panetta is expected to make a decision on Ward by the end of the month. It certainly looks as though Gen. Ward will be retired as Maj. Gen. Ward and forfeit lots of money in pension. However, if he were a enlisted man, you can bet that he would be in jail and facing court martial. I?m just saying.

5. The trial of the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting has been put on hold while an appeals court considers his objections to being forcibly shaved.

Yes, you heard that right: Forcibly shaved

Maj. Nidal Hasan was had scheduled to enter a plea to charges in the attack at the Texas Army post, but all court proceedings were put on hold.

The court martial was stopped and Hassan was fined $1,000 for remaining bearded, which violates Army regulations. The military judge in the case, U.S. Army Col. Gregory Gross, had previously held that Hassan?s beard disrupts the court proceedings and held him in contempt of court five times, the Army said in a news release.

6. Here is a fascinating case involving international law and the 1983 bombing of U.S. Marines in Lebanon.

Families of bombing victims have filed a lawsuit damages from the Standard Chartered Bank and its New York branch.

They claim the bank conspired with Iran to hide assets. They?re seeking to enforce a $2.6 billion judgment against Iran.

A federal court in Washington, D.C., issued the award in 2007 after Iran failed to contest claims it was involved in the bombing, which killed 241 servicemen at a Marines facility in Beirut.

I don?t see this case moving very fast, but I will keep an eye out for updates.

7. Eight Marines took their lives in July, raising the number of troop suicides so far this year to 32 ?- the same number recorded in the Corps in all of 2011.

The suicides show that outreach and monitoring efforts are not working.

Army numbers were much worse.

Soldiers killed themselves in greater numbers in July than ever recorded.

The Army counted 38 confirmed or suspected suicides last month between both the active and non-active duty components.

Listen to these number: The Army has confirmed 120 suicides in 2012 with another 67 suspected? suicides under investigation.

Twenty-five were soldiers never deployed. The Army reported 242 suicides in 2009, 305 in 2010 and 283 in 2011.

So, what is the response by the Army?

?Suicide is the toughest enemy I have faced in my 37 years in the Army. And it?s an enemy that?s killing not just Soldiers, but tens of thousands of Americans every year,? Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army said in a written statement.

8. A man wearing an Afghan police uniform opened fire on U.S. troops in southwestern Afghanistan on Friday, killing two service members, military and Afghan officials said.

The killings are the latest in a series of ?green-on-blue? attacks carried out by Afghans clad in security uniforms.

Insider attacks by Afghan troops have doubled compared to last year.

There have been about 30 so-called green-on-blue attacks this year compared to 12 last year.

In response to these incidents, the military has ordered U.S. and NATO service members should always carry a loaded magazine in their weapons.

Another move is a program named ?Guardian Angel? that calls for one or two soldiers to watch Afghans during every mission or meeting.

The ?angels,? must be prepared to kill anyone who tries to shot a coalition service member.

Here is some problematic information: Only a handful of the 31 attacks this year were clearly the result of Taliban infiltrators.

9. San Diego Veterans For Peace is planning weekly demonstrations at General Atomics in Poway to protest the use of drones over ? not over Afghanistan, but U.S. skies.

?We have to raise public awareness about the lack of oversight,? Dave Patterson, a Ramona resident and member of the group.

Demonstrations are planned between 4 and 6 p.m. starting next Thursday and continuing each Thursday thereafter at General Atomics site at Scripps Poway Parkway and General Atomics Way.

General Atomics makes drones but has no authority over their use by law enforcement or military authorities.

In a statement announcing the demonstrations San Diego Veterans for Peace said: ?Law abiding citizens, meeting to conduct business or political affairs, are being recorded and documented by the U.S. government and local officials for unknown purposes.?

10. U.S. forces could end up in ? Syria. The United States and its allies are discussing a worst-case scenario that could require tens of thousands of troops to go into Syria to secure chemical and biological weapons sites there if and when President Bashar al-Assad?s government falls.

U.S. forces and others could act if Syria?s military collapsed, leaving the sites unguarded and potentially allowing terrorist groups access to the country?s unconventional weapons.

Anonymous diplomatic sources told Reuters securing the weapons could require 50,000 to 60,000 troops.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CNN in July that ?it would be a disaster to have those chemical weapons fall into the wrong hands.?

That does it for the Morning Report sponsored by the law offices of Haytham Farj. For more information, give him a call at 619-752-3950.

Time for a quick break, but stay tuned. You are listening to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio.

1^st Commercial Break

Segment II

Welcome back. You are listening to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio with Rick Rogers.

The first and only military talk show for troops, veterans and military family members of its kind in the land.

Pause

Chartable groups collecting funds for veterans and service members has grown to epic numbers in recent years.

Though I have no firm numbers ? unfortunately no one else does either ? I would guess that the number of charities within San Diego alone has grown at least 10 fold since about 2008.

Most are honest organizations. But it?s unlikely that all are on the up and up if recent stories are any indication.

In Ohio a man going by the name of Bobby Thompson is in jail. He is alleged to have collected between $30 million and $100 million nationwide since 2002 through his scam charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association.

Charges against him include identity fraud, engaging in corrupt activity, complicity to aggravated theft, money-laundering and tampering with records.

Then there was ?Disabled Veterans National Foundation? based in Washington, D.C. It was graded an ?F? rating by a charity watchdog for failing to spend much of the $56 million its raised since 2007 on actual veteran services.

Then there is the charity ?Help Hospitalized Veterans.? California Attorney General Kamala Harris recently accused it of paying officers ?excessive? salaries and making ?imprudent? loans.

The state wants the board and president to pay more than $4 million in penalties for alleged ??misrepresentations.?

Here to talk about charities is Bill Rider. He is the co-founder the American Combat Veterans of War. ACVOW is a non-profit that started in San Diego more than 10 years ago. From its locations in San Diego it mentors young combat troops dealing with the aftermath of their combat actions.

ACVOW has been a sponsor of this show.

Bill Rider welcome back to the show.

* So, you heard a brief summary of the some of the more notorious allegations concerning so-called military charities. Is there enough oversight of these charities?

* You?ve been around the charities scene here in San Diego for a decade. What do you make of the proliferation of non-profits and for-profits that are all trying to make a go of it?

* Something I didn?t mention earlier is that this issue of who is legit and who isn?t is getting quite heated. At a recent meeting of veteran advocates got quite heated when one organization was asked some pretty pointed questions about who they are and what exactly they do.

* A move in the San Diego veteran community seeks to vet organizations that want to belong to the San Diego Veterans Coalition or those seeking money government money. Do you have any thoughts on this?

* What kind of vetting process needs to be done to give the public confidence on what is being done with the money they donate?

* Let?s turn to other matters. You were quoted recently in a story about the seemingly intractable suicide epidemic in the military. Why does this number keep rising when combat has stopped?

* It his a mental health issue or a leadership issue?

* You are not a mental health expert. But what do you believe it will take to turn this around?

Segment III

Welcome back to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio.

Podcasts of the show at www.DefenseTracker.com.

Pause

Last Wednesday at a veterans? career fair in San Diego I talked to a number of veterans. All had two things in common: They were all looking for work and each was stunned by the difficulty they were having finding one and thus gaining root again in civilian society.

Officer, enlisted, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, black, white, brown it made no difference.

From the paperwork nightmare of applying for VA benefits to the grinding of finding a job, any job, the stories were depressingly similar.

A former Army officer name Joe who thought he?d have no problem getting a job might have summed it up best. He thought he?d have no problem landing a job with his technical background, but was instead shocked by continued unemployment.

That shock is echoed and amplified in a new study sponsored by Prudential Financial and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Joining me now to talk about the issues of transitioning veterans is Chad Storlie. Chad is a veteran employment specialist and a former Special Forces Army troop.

He as an excellent website: combattocorporate.com that is filled with helpful information.

Chad Storlie, welcome back to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio.

Since the last time we talked about a year ago, it doe not appear that things are much better for transitioning vets.

* Vets seemed shocked that they are having such a hard time landing civilian employment. But to my eye these vets are often those who seem affected by their combat rotations. It seems as if they cannot see in themselves what others can clearly see in them.

* A few vets complained about disability rating issues. In one case, an Army officer talked of his frustration over being medically retired by his service, but the VA being unwilling to provide him with a letter that would give him10 points toward government hiring preference.

* How to confront possible bias of TBI and PTS for those who are both ?clean? and those who ?really are going through one or both of these.

* Apparently many vets are not doing well in college. I need to read more about this. But this is apparently an issue that is being substantiated after much speculation.

From Survey: Nearly two-thirds of new veterans say they faced a difficult transition to civilian life, partly because of the bleak economic environment but also because they seem to be speaking a different language than the business leaders who might hire them.

Servicemembers leave with unrealistic visions, said Tom Tarantino, chief policy officer for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Eighty percent of respondents said they were looking for ?the right job,? not just any job, but nearly half said they were unprepared for the move to the civilian workforce, according to the survey conducted by Prudential Financial and IAVA.

?Expectations of people leaving the military are higher than reality. Not just in terms of, ?I?m going to get this $100,000 job,? but in terms of work and life balance, work environment, types of employee services are available,? Tarantino said.

?That tells me we don?t do a good job of training people leaving the military to look for work. We need to do a better job to set them up for success.?

The Obama administration in July announced an overhaul of the military?s Transition Assistance Program. The effort involves the creation of a ?reverse boot camp,? a mandatory five- to seven-day program to educate departing troops on job skills, veterans benefits and personal finances. The administration has launched several other veterans jobs initiatives in recent months, including offering tax credits to businesses that hire veterans.

* Transition assistance. Many vets said want more information on this. Read about the recent upgrade in transition assistance here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/23/fact-sheet-president-obama-s-work-honor-our-military-families-and-vetera

Will this matter? What will it take to fix this expectation gap

Close

Well that wraps up another edition of Front & Center: Military Talk Radio with Rick Rogers.

Want to thank my guests Bill Rider and Chad Storlie.

Please join me next Sunday 11 to noon right here as we chat about military and veterans? issues that matter right here, right now in Southern California and across the country.

See you on the beach.

?

Source: http://defensetracker.com/web/?p=2704&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2704

James Eagan Holmes anne hathaway klimt bastille day breaking bad breaking bad food network star