Wheels up to San Antonio

Tomorrow morning, the VFW National Legislative Service will be heading off to San Antonio for the 112th VFW National Convention.

The convention will take place from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, and business sessions will be streamed live on the VFW National website, www.vfw.org.

Throughout the week, NLS will be manning a booth at the convention, offering information about critical veterans’ issues like “10 for 10,” the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, and pending veterans’ jobs bills, answering questions, and discussing news ways in which the NLS hopes to reach VFW members and supporters in the coming months.

During the week’s training sessions, NLS will unveil several new products through which members can interact with the VFW’s Washington office and reach out to their representatives on Capitol Hill. NLS wants to know what you think of these new concepts and offer feedback. To learn more, please stop by the NLS training session on Wednesday afternoon from 1-3 p.m. in room 202AB.

Once these new products are up and running, details will be available here on the Capitol Hill blog.

As always, the VFW delegates on hand for the convention will vote on resolutions to guide the work of the NLS in the coming year. In the months after convention, NLS plans to bring you a rundown of each new resolution and a roadmap to VFW’s legislative priorities for the new fiscal year.

NLS will be updating the blog throughout the week, so please check back for updates.

(Image: American and international paratroopers load onto C-17s at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., for a joint exercise in 2009. Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey, released.) 

VFW Looks for Accountability in G.I. Bill Funds - Share Your Stories

This week the VFW called into question certain institutions of higher learning for reaping the benefits of the robust Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, while failing to deliver quality educational outcomes for student-veterans.

Since the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill rolled out in August of 2009, the VFW has heard anecdotally from veterans that certain schools have spent considerable time and effort recruiting students eligible for military and veterans' educational benefits, only for these students to become victims of predatory institutions with no intention of delivering on the promises of a quality education once enrolled.

Over the last few months, the VFW has joined in on meetings and roundtables with leaders in Congress and veterans' advocates to better understand the situation facing affected student-veterans. The gravity of the situation has left many in the veterans' community with a bitter taste in their mouths, ready to take action against those responsible.

This week, the VFW sent letters to leaders in both the Senate and House, asking for accountability in how not only G.I. Bill, but also Department of Defense Tuition Assistance, or TA, dollars are used.

In his letters to Congress, VFW National Legislative Service Director Ray Kelley pointed out that the departments of Education, Defense and Veterans Affairs need to strengthen fractured and relaxed policies on usage of G.I. Bill and TA funds to ensure that disingenuous institutions are deterred from exploiting student-veterans, and held accountable should they continue to do so.

"A fractured American education system has offered more lenience to institutions that wish to collect federal tax dollars, yet consistently fail to deliver quality outcomes," said Kelley. "Reports of impropriety in education, coupled with daunting unemployment number for our veterans make this a national priority."

The VFW has decided to champion this issue because both G.I. Bill and TA funds are paid for by the American taxpayer as an earned benefit to help members of the military and veterans receive the job skills they need to compete in the civilian workforce.

"G.I. Bill and TA funds are not part of a free market, available to line someone's pockets," said Kelley. "These are funds specifically set aside to train a new generation of Americans with proven leadership capabilities to drive our economic growth."

The VFW played a key role in passing the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, and VFW leaders say they have a vested interest in ensuring the funds are used properly; particularly during lean economic times.

"If these funds are going to waste, then the VFW is concerned they will quickly go away," said Kelley. "That would be a tremendous disservice to our veterans, which is why the VFW will do everything in our power to ensure that these benefits are used effectively."

In the coming weeks, the VFW will work with partners within the veterans' advocacy community in an effort to raise awareness of this issue among student-veterans and among leaders in Washington.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a disingenuous institution of higher learning, the VFW wants to hear your story. Please feel free to share your experiences with us through the comments section on this blog.

Please note that if you do not have a Google or Blogger account, you can still comment as "Anonymous" in the field provided below. If you would like the VFW to reach out to you about your personal experience, please include a valid email address or phone number. You can also share your story with the VFW through the "Contact Us" page on the VFW national website by Clicking Here.

The VFW will continue to advocate on behalf of student-veterans affected by predatory and disingenuous schools. This issue will be heating up once Congress returns from its summer recess in September, so please check back regularly for updates.

(Images: Top: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hosted a roundtable on accountability in veterans' education with leaders from the military, veterans, and education communities in July. Photo by Ryan Gallucci. Bottom: VFW's full letter to Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash.)

Social Media and VA: What I Learned This Summer

Earlier this month, the VA invited me to participate in a roundtable discussion of social media with VA public affairs officers from across the country at the VA’s annual training conference in Boston, Mass.

Brandon Friedman, VA’s director of online communications, proctored the discussion, which included a traditional print journalist, the Boston Globe’s Chelsea Conaboy, a military journalist, Stars & Stripes’ Bill Murphy Jr.; milblogger and VA public affairs staffer Alex Horton; and a representative of the veterans’ service organization community—me.

First off, in no way would any of us assembled for the panel consider ourselves social media “experts.” In fact, we openly decried this notion during the discussion, considering the constant evolution of social networking and the tools through which the phenomenon occurs. We were merely a group of stakeholders who have at one point or another leveraged these tools in our day-to-day professional lives. After all, social networking tools are still relatively new, and we’ve each had our own struggles – individually and organizationally – with how to effectively utilize such powerful resources.

What’s interesting about emerging social networking and social media technologies is that they allow just about anyone with a clear, relevant message to reach a mass audience in nearly no time. In my own work, I’ve been able to reach reporters quickly to share a story and gain a quick baseline of public support for hot-button issues.

On the surface, this sounds inherently positive, which is why VA and organizations like the VFW stand to benefit from this capability. (Read VA’s announcement of its new social media policy here.) However, these tools also have the inherent downfall of allowing misinformation to travel much faster than it ever has before; and, sometimes, faster than the truth. In our discussion, we did our best to acknowledge these short comings, and I think we left the audience with a good sense of some ways to move forward with cautious optimism.

The often-precipitous flow of information – factual or not – seemed to be one of VA’s chief concerns during the panel. After all, many times VA is the biggest target on the block. It’s responsible for the nation’s largest integrated health care system; it’s charged with caring for a class of Americans revered for their selflessness and sacrifice; it’s funded through taxpayer dollars; and it’s subject to strict scrutiny from Congress, the media, and a well-organized community of veterans.

During the panel, Deputy Assistant VA Secretary for Public Affairs Nathan Naylor asked each of us how we think VA’s public affairs professionals should view their responsibilities for outreach in a socially-connected world and who they should consider when disseminating information.

Given just how many people have a voice, it’s critical to know the powerful voices in your community beyond traditional, credible media outlets. Today’s blogs, newsletters, Facebook feeds and similar products from community organizations like the VFW can play just as critical a role in informing the public – particularly veterans – as traditional news sources.

Unfortunately, unlike credible media outlets, community organizations and bloggers don’t necessarily play by the same rules. We don’t have to be objective. In fact, many times it serves VFW’s interest to be biased, as we are charged to look out for veterans first and foremost.

To me, VA public affairs officers need to be aware of this and make a concerted effort to keep local veterans’ advocates, such as VFW post and district leaders, informed of important news just as they would traditional media contacts. After all, these men and women hold considerable sway among the veterans community and they now have the tools to effectively reach their constituents with simply a mouse click or a smart phone app.

Granted, not all stories will be positive, but I’ve learned time and again that transparency can at least build credibility – even among your harshest critics – helping to cut off misinformation before it spreads.

Here in the Washington, D.C., our office is becoming more proactive in sharing our work publicly, leveraging the voice of the VFW, and opening a dialogue with our members and stake-holders.

As you can see, we recently retooled the VFW’s national blog to help put out timely information focusing on our work on Capitol Hill; however, we chose to launch the blog during the Congressional recess to learn what our capabilities are before the fall legislative season heats up.

Sure, we have some grandiose ideas about what we would like to offer on the blog, but, naturally, we have limitations that will only be learned over time through trial and error. We’ll poll readers on major issues; we’ll share photos; and we’d like to put together some short video packages, but it may take time to learn how to streamline these often labor-intensive processes.

This pragmatic approach is an important step to properly utilizing emerging social media tools. During the panel, we all acknowledged that simply having a Facebook account, a blog, or a Twitter feed is not enough. These are just new ways to share information.

It can also take time to determine what is most useful to your organization, large or small. When have you shared too much? Is your message just becoming noise? Do your readers/friends/followers care about what you’re saying?

We’re taking the new blog and some other new concepts with us to the VFW National Convention in San Antonio next week, where we’ll be actively seeking this kind of feedback from our members. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to stop by our booth, learn a bit about our work, and tell us how you think we can improve our outreach.

I want to thank VA for the opportunity to join the discussion on social media, and I want to particularly applaud Friedman for unknowingly selecting three “Rhode Islanduhs” – Conaboy, Murphy and me – to sit on the panel. I can only imagine what poor Alex was thinking the whole time as he was outnumbered by us Chowdaheads.

-Ryan

Ryan Gallucci
Deputy Director, NLS

To learn more about Chelsea's work before the Globe, Click Here.

To learn more about Alex's work before VA, Click Here.

To learn more about Bill's work before Stripes, Click Here.

(Images: Top: Wide shot of the social media panel in the Imperial Ballroom at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers on Aug. 4, 2011. Left to right, VA's Brandon Friedman, the Boston Globe's Chelsea Conaboy, VFW's Ryan Gallucci, VA's Alex Horton, and Stars & Stripes' Bill Murphy Jr. Middle: Gallucci and Murphy trade ideas during the social media panel. Bottom: Friedman show statistics on social media usage during the panel discussion. All photos by Robert Turtil, courtesy of VA.)

VFW Calls on Service Members to Fight for Retirement Benefits

This afternoon, Stars & Stripes reported on the calls from veterans’ groups, including the VFW, to preserve military personnel programs—particularly the current 20-year military retirement system.

The VFW has been at the forefront of fighting Pentagon proposals to replace the current retirement system with a 401(k)-style retirement plan, which the VFW believes would gut the all-volunteer force of its most critical leaders.

As part of the ongoing “10 for 10” program, where the VFW identified proposals across the federal government and Congress to cut 10 specific military personnel programs and veterans’ benefits to pay for 10 years of war, the VFW formulated its argument as to why the retirement system must remain intact.

Now, I know we’ve hit on “10 for 10” a great deal in the last week alone, but these stories keep cropping up, and we must continue to focus on them. You can read up fully on the threat, situation, and VFW’s position here, but here are the basics:

• The VFW opposes changing the retirement system to reflect civilian models.
  
  
• Changing models will greatly reduce the military's ability to retain highly qualified senior leaders because there would no longer be an incentive to stay past 10 -15 years, when highly-skilled, highly-trained service members are in their prime recruitment zone for civilian occupations.

• Basing retirement payouts on what type of military occupation one has builds in a disincentive to retain quality, long-term service members in lower skilled, state-side jobs which are needed to support operations.

• Those who choose to stay for a full military career would see a drastic reduction in benefits for serving 20 years or more. This significant reduction in retirement benefits demonstrates a lack of investment in the human capital necessary to sustain the all-volunteer force.

Last night, Military Times reported that the Office of Management and Budget, acting on behalf of the White House, notified federal agencies, including Department of Defense, that they must submit budget proposals reflecting mandated cuts for the 2013 fiscal year.

The Pentagon is under a tight timeline to cut its budget, so the time to act is now, which is why we're looking to try something a little different.

To the VFW, grassroots mobilization of the veterans’ community will not be enough to fight the proposed changes to military personnel programs – particularly the threat to overhaul military retirement.

Through this blog and through VFW social media outlets, the VFW National Legislative Service is now encouraging current service members to send their own correspondence to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, explaining why you feel the 20-year retirement system is important.

Secretary Panetta’s correspondence address, which is also available on the Pentagon’s website, is included below (Unfortunately, the online "Contact us" form is temporarily unavailable):

The Honorable Leon E. Panetta
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000

The key here is that we must be respectful in expressing our concerns to the secretary, acknowledging the difficult tasks ahead for the Pentagon, which has been targeted for deep cuts. We must explain to the secretary that the current retirement benefit is the military’s top retention tool, ensuring that competent leaders can make a career out of military service, rather than jumping ship to more lucrative and less dangerous private sector careers.

Our uniformed military men and women are the ones with skin in this game. Current retirees would not be affected by an overhaul in the current system. Your earned entitlements will still come in every month. However, those who have borne the brunt of the battle for nearly a decade in the Global War on Terrorism stand to lose big, should these cuts take effect.

Think about this for a moment: Many mid-level leaders with anywhere between 10-19 years in the military have made a conscious decision to stick out military service with the understanding that their country would fulfill its promise to provide for them in their twilight years. The overhaul proposals that are floating around Washington do not mention a grandfather clauses for such service members. This leaves them with two options: Leave the military now and hope for the best in the civilian sector or stay in, pay into the new program, and leave at retirement age with a meager benefit.

UPDATE 8/22/2011: Late Friday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reported current service members would not be affected by changes to the retirement system. Read more here.

We discussed the retirement overhaul issue in detail on the VFW's radio program, "The National Defense," on Wednesday.

Proponents of the overhaul say that it will allow younger veterans to walk away from the military with some semblance of a retirement benefit, free to pursue other careers, much like their civilian peers. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous proposal for military culture, which thrives on good order and discipline. At this point, service members would be more concerned about vesting their retirement and honing skills relevant to a post-military career, rather than focusing on the mission.

The VFW understands that many do not choose to make military life a career. Personally, I’m one of those people who did one enlistment and rolled the dice on the civilian sector. After an in-depth tour of the Fertile Crescent, I came to the conclusion that Army life was not my style. However, even I’ve felt the itch every once in a while to once again raise my right hand, pick up an M-4 and chase down terrorists in the Korangal Valley. But why would I do that now? With all of these proposed cuts in a time of war, it’s clear that someone doesn’t believe that I’m a good investment.

-Ryan

(Image: A U.S. Marine Corps gunnery sergeant receives a shadow box as a gift during his retirement ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., in February 2011, after 20 years of service in the Corps. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ashley E. Santy, released.)

VFW Calls on Super Congress to Preserve Vets' Benefits

Last week, VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace sent letters to each member of the new Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction, also known as the 12-member "Super Congress," tasked with developing a bipartisan road map to reduce the national debt within the next few months, asking each member to preserve military personnel programs and veterans' benefits and offering the VFW's input in the process.

In the lead-up to the debt ceiling deal earlier this month, which created the Super Congress, the VFW began to hear of proposals across the federal government and in Congress to cut or eliminate 10 specific military personnel programs and veterans' benefits to pay for the last 10 years of war, which is now known as the "10 for 10" plan.

At several points in the process, the VFW had to mobilize its robust grassroots effort, the VFW Action Corps, to prevent measures from passing, like the toxic proposal to eliminate presumptive service-connected conditions.

Now that the Super Congress has been tasked to make difficult fiscal decisions for the nation, the VFW believes that many of the "10 for 10" items will once again surface for discussion, which is why the National Legislative Service in Washington is working to ensure that veterans and military families remain at the "bottom of the list" for any potential cuts within the federal government.

"Less than one percent of Americans and their families have sacrificed an extraordinary amount defending our country," said Wallace in his letter to the Super Congress, "and the VFW believes these noble few have already paid for many of the programs and benefits up for discussion through their selfless service."

Wallace also called on the Super Congress to do the hard work of finding systemic problems and program inefficiencies within the federal government, where true cost savings could be found, rather than looking to the quick fix of cutting programs American veterans rely on in the wake of their selfless service.

Over the next few weeks, the VFW in Washington will keep a watchful eye on the Super Congress to see if these ideas or others surface in their deliberations prior to the due date of the committee's recommendations on Nov. 23. The VFW will also be ready to mobilize its membership and its grassroots supporters to fight any unfair cuts to programs promised to American military families and veterans.

As the Super Congress convenes, the VFW encourages constituents from each member's district to offer the same words of concern to their representatives, urging preservation in military personnel programs and veterans' benefits, while also offering support in accomplishing such a daunting mission. To learn how, visit the VFW's CapWiz page by Clicking Here.

The 12 members selected to serve on the Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction are:

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Co-Chair




Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Co-Chair




Senate:
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.)
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)

House of Representatives:
Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.)
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

The VFW has a long, proud history of battling for the rights and benefits of military families and veterans. This blog will continue to follow the Super Congress, as they look to make difficult fiscal decisions for the nation. We will also continue to discuss the "10 for 10" proposals as they surface in the news, so please check back regularly for updates and feel free to leave your comments below.

(Images: Top: Letter from VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), explaining the VFW's concerns on preserving benefits for the new Super Congress. Middle: Official photo of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), co-chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction. Bottom: Official photo of Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), co-chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction.)

Bipartisan Support to Save Military Commissaries

This morning, Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Susan Davis (D-Calif.) published a joint op-ed in the Washington Times explaining why maintaining the military's commissary system is critical to supporting military families. To read the op-ed, Click Here.

Wilson and Davis also recently coauthored a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta imploring the secretary to maintain the integrity of the commissary system, which garnered the bipartisan support of 67 members of Congress. The full text of the letter is included below:

The VFW has been at the forefront of advocating to preserve military commissaries as part of our ongoing "10 for 10" campaign, explaining how proposals in Washington to cut 10 specific military and veterans' benefits to pay for 10 years of war would be a disservice to America's veterans and also threaten the viability of the all-volunteer force.

In building the VFW's argument on this issue, we focused on the raw cost savings and the business model behind benefit, but only scratched the surface into why the benefit was so critical to military families.

Wilson and Davis pointed out that commissaries and military exchanges provide critical job opportunities to military family members who many times have difficulty finding work as a result of the mandatory duty station changes that come with military life.

The VFW agrees that this benefit of the commissary and exchange system must not be ignored--particularly at a time when even the White House has acknowledged that military spouses face bleak employment prospects as part of both the Joining Forces campaign and the administration's fledgling veterans' jobs initiative.

Proponents of cutting subsidies to the military commissary system have championed the notion that military families would not lose out if they chose to purchase groceries on the economy because cost-of-living allowances could be increased to close the gap between retail food prices and the near-wholesale cost of commissary groceries.

However, such cost-of-living increases would simply be a shell game, whereby funds previously used to subsidize the efficient commissary system would now be shifted to pay service members directly.

So, if cost savings to the federal government are a wash, what service members and their families truly stand to lose are the secondary benefits of the system; meaning jobs and partnerships with morale, welfare and readiness programs for military families.

The letter to Panetta also points to another critical issue--wartime logistical capacity. Commissaries offer American goods to service members serving overseas in a safe and familiar environment, and shipping costs for such goods are paid for through government subsidies.

Ending these subsidies would decimate the commissary system, threatening the security of military families living overseas.

Defense Commissary Agency, or DeCA, is responsible for managing the commissary system and has a proven track record as one of the most effective management agencies within the federal government. Plus, commissary benefits are among the military's most effective recruitment and retention tools.

Cutting commissary benefits would be a short-sighted decision for Congress. Though the nation's leaders must make difficult decisions to address the national debt, the VFW believes that cutting out commissaries will only harm American military families.

We applaud Wilson and Davis for spearheading the effort to preserve this benefit, along with their 65 colleagues who signed on in support of the letter.

To learn how you can become involved in fighting for the VFW's "10 for 10" military benefits, Click Here.

(Images: Top: Children attending the Los Angeles Air Force Base Child Development Center, play outside during a day at the base commissary in June 2010. The children are taught about nutritious fruits and vegetables selection, good eating habits and exercise to promote a healthy lifestyle. U.S. Air Force photo by Lou Hernandez, released. Bottom: Text of the letter from Reps. Joe Wilson, R- S.C., and Susan Davis, D-Calif., to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta explaining why commissary benefits must be protected, with 57 signatures redacted. Letter courtesy of the office of Congressman Joe Wilson.)

Welcome to VFW's Voice on Capitol Hill

Welcome to the VFW’s Voice on Capitol Hill. I’m excited to get things rolling on this blog, and I think you’ll enjoy what we have to offer from the National Legislative Service in the coming months.

Since coming on board at the VFW only a few short months ago, I’ve noticed the depth of the great work our staff does here in the Washington office. We’re constantly meeting with Congressional leaders, staffers and power-brokers, helping to mold the national discourse on veterans’ issues; we’re constantly engaged with fellow leaders in the veterans’ community, VA, and the Pentagon; and we work with members of the media to share the story and opinions of the VFW.

However, amid all of this hard work, many times our message still does not reach the right people. Our goal with this new blog is to improve this dialogue not only with our members and our advocates, but with the general public and also with our veterans who may not know what the VFW – and specifically our office here in Washington – has to offer.

This blog will serve as another tool to ensure that we can get timely information to those who want it and need it. As you can see from the archive to the right, this blog is not new, but the mission has clearly changed. VFW’s communications staff members in Kansas City have spent the last few weeks revamping the look and feel of the blog, transforming it into a product specifically geared toward Capitol Hill issues.

In the coming weeks and months, our goal is to bring you news as it unfolds from our office, plus a series of features highlighting persistent national issues for veterans and the leaders spearheading efforts to better serve our community.

Plus, though the VFW’s Action Corps, we have seen that our legislative committee and our members are incredibly active in states across the country, advocating for national veterans’ issues. Our goal is to share their stories on this blog as well. After all, the voice of the VFW is the voice of more than 2 million veterans and their loved ones in communities from coast to coast.

Next week, we’ll look to bring you the latest developments in VFW’s campaign against the “10 for 10” proposed cuts to military benefits in Congress, highlight the recent appointment of Sen. Patty Murray, a staunch veterans’ advocate, to the 12-member Super Congress tasked with developing the national debt reduction plan, and discuss several recent veterans’ events in which the VFW was asked to participate.

Our goal is to ensure that this blog lives up to your expectations as it grows, so please share your thoughts and comments with us along the way. Thank you for reading and enjoy!

- Ryan Gallucci
Deputy Director
VFW National Legislative Service

(Photo: Entrance to VFW's Washington, D.C., office behind the Hart Senate Office building on Capitol Hill. Photo by Ryan Gallucci.)