ARMing Heroes

ARMing Heroes - Home Since September 11, 2001, more than 1.5 million Americans have put on a uniform and served their country. Millions more went before them. In contemporary times, veterans serve in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Previous generations have served around the World, too—from faraway places like Europe and Asia to battlefields closer to home in places like Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Bunker Hill, Massachusetts, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

What is a veteran? Simply put, a veteran is a person who at one point in his or her life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of "up to and including my life." Those who have made good on this promise in full will be forever memorialized. For the rest, times are tough. Some physical and emotional wounds may heal slowly, or never at all. Others not wounded on the field of battle will face difficulties of their own as they return home. Some will be confronted by financial woes that have accumulated in part because of their attention to their mission. Others will experience professional challenges as they try to pick up where they left off in careers put on hold in some cases for years. In today’s economy, never before have so many veterans needed so much.

ARMing Heroes is here to make sure veterans get the help they have earned through programs oriented to the unique ways in which the accounts receivable management industry can help. So if you are a veteran, click here to get help now. If not, we need you. Read on to learn more.

Help me, a UCMC Vet. I am in debt for about $40,000 in student loans.
With the economy going up and my pay going down. It is hard to support my family and pay for student loans.
As a US Marine, my family comes first.

Collection Industry Donors Pay Off Veteran's Federal Student Loan through ARMing Heroes

With U.S. military action ongoing in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Maurice Shuff joined the military in May of 2004 as member of the Pennsylvania National Guard Reserve. After years of honoring his commitment to America by serving as needed here at home, he was eventually called to active duty and was deployed to Iraq for most of 2009. While serving in Iraq, Maurice was injured.

He was discharged from the military in 2010, returned home, and was then granted partial disability status by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department. By 2011, although he was able to find employment at an electronics retail store, he did not make enough money to both pay for the cost of living and pay for his outstanding federal student loan and other student loans that had accrued over the years.  He needed just a little help to improve his chances of digging himself out of the hole that had been created in his efforts to obtain a college degree.  That’s when he reached out to ARMing Heroes.

At that time, ARMing Heroes had just completed its Second Annual Veterans Day Charity Fundraising Drive (“the Drive”). As a result of the drive, the credit and collection industry raised more than $27,000 in only a ten-week period starting on September 11th and concluding on Veterans Day, November 11th.  Donations from the drive more than doubled the previous year’s total, thanks to these donors.

The single largest donor in 2011 by far was Southwest Credit, which instituted an Employee Contribution Program (ECP).  The Southwest Credit ECP empowers workers to have the company make donations, through payroll deductions, to ARMing Heroes to help America’s veterans.  Employees can choose to do this either on a one-time basis or over the course of an entire year.  ARMing Heroes estimates that, if only half of its other corporate donors would implement an ECP, the organization could easily raise $400,000 or more this year.  ARMing Heroes will hold a teleseminaron June 14, 2012 at 11:30AM (EST) to provide more information on how to set up an ECP.  Click here to sign up for the teleseminar.

In December of last year, Maurice got the help he needed.  He received not only a grant that helped him pay off his federal student loan, but also a few pointers on how to deal with his creditors that enabled him to have leftover grant monies that were then used to pay other bills. Maurice recently took the time to tell ARMing Heroes how this small grant made a difference in his life.


Help me, a USMC Vet pay off my student loans.
What Can I Do Right Now to Help?

• Join our seminar on June 14, 2012 to see how you can help us get to $400K in donations this year. Click here to sign up.
• Visit www.armingheroes.org and join our One for a Warrior Program, sign up to help in other ways, or donate now.
• Friend us and post this article to your page on Facebook.
• Tweet about this article on Twitter.
• Join our group on LinkedIn, the ARMing Heroes Veterans Charity Supporter / Assistance Center.
• Comment on this article online and ask us to contact you.
• Forward this article via email to your key contacts.
• Print this article and fax it to your local congressional office and ask them to post our website on theirs as a resource for vets.

Nuclear Sub May Have to Be Scrapped After Fire

KITTERY, Maine -- Even before the Navy completed its first damage assessment, the severity of a fire that swept through a nuclear-powered submarine in dry dock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard triggered questions about whether the USS Miami can be salvaged.

The USS Miami's nuclear propulsion was spared from the intense blaze but some forward compartments including living quarters, command and control, and torpedo room suffered extensive damage, officials said Thursday.

The Navy was unable to complete a formal assessment Thursday but the damage was severe enough to raise questions about whether costly repairs would make sense for the 22-year-old Los Angeles-class attack submarine.

"The duration of the fire suggests extensive damage that could render the vessel useless. These submarines were designed decades ago. So they're no longer state of the art," said Loren Thompson, defense analyst at the Arlington, Va.-based Lexington Institute. "If this vessel returns to service, I will be amazed."

Working in the submarine's favor is the fact that workers had removed some equipment and gutted part of the vessel during the retrofit, said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine after meeting with the shipyard commander.

Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, commander of Submarine Group Two in Groton, Conn., where the USS Miami is based, told reporters on Thursday that it was premature to say whether the submarine could be salvaged.

If it's scrapped, it would mean the loss of a ship that cost about $900 million at the time to build. The U.S. Navy's newest attack submarines, the Virginia-class, are even more expensive at about $2.6 billion apiece.

Nonetheless, the blaze was stubborn.

The fire broke out Wednesday evening while the Miami was on a 20-month stay at the shipyard for an overhaul, and it took firefighters from more than a dozen departments until Thursday morning to douse the fire, described as intense and smoky.

Pingree described it as a "hot scary mess."

"It takes a lot of guts to into a burning building. But the idea of going into a submarine full of hot toxic smoke -- that's real courage," she said.

Two crew members, three shipyard firefighters and two civilian firefighters were hurt, but their injuries were minor, officials said.

Officials were waiting Thursday to begin venting smoke and noxious fumes so workers go inside the submarine to assess damage.

Workers had to let fire-damaged compartments cool enough for fresh air to be safely introduced without risk of another fire.

There were no details on the cause of the fire, but Breckenridge promised that there will be a thorough investigation.

Firefighters isolated the flames so they would not spread to nuclear propulsion spaces at the rear of the submarine. There was nuclear fuel on board the sub, but the reactor has been shut down for two months and was unaffected.

The rear compartments including the nuclear propulsion unit remained habitable, and crew members never left that part of the sub during the fire, Breckenridge said.

"The fire spread to spaces within the submarine that were difficult to access, presenting a challenging situation for initial responders. But they persevered in incredible heat and smoke conditions, demonstrating exceptional courage," the admiral said.

Residents reported hearing sirens from fire trucks and ambulances throughout the night, and the smoke spread over the area.

"It smelled like plastic burning," said Janet Howe of Kittery, who lives three-quarters-of-a-mile from the shipyard.

Reporters were not allowed onto the base to see the submarine Thursday. But Pingree and others who viewed the vessel said there were no outward signs of damage, because the fire was contained inside the 360-foot-long hull.

It was unclear how many people were aboard the vessel or what type of work was being done when the fire started. The submarine, commissioned in 1990, has a crew of 13 and 120 enlisted personnel. It arrived at the shipyard March 1. 

Supply Route Talks With Pakistan Break Down

WASHINGTON - The U.S. team that tried for more than a month to negotiate a reopening of blocked Pakistani supply routes into Afghanistan is coming home without an agreement, Pentagon press secretary George Little said Monday.

The U.S. recalled the team after the top Pakistani general refused to meet with a top Defense Department official, Little said.

"We remain ready to conclude this agreement as soon as Pakistan is ready," said U.S. Embassy spokesman Robert Raines in Islamabad. Officials in Washington and Islamabad would not detail what led to the break in the talks.

Pakistan closed the key supply routes last November in retaliation for a U.S. air assault that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The border crossings had been an important means of getting U.S. war materiel into Afghanistan. Since then, NATO and the U.S. have been using a circuitous northern route to bring supplies into troops fighting there.

Part of the U.S. team left Islamabad over the weekend, Little said. Raines, said the remainder left Monday.

Little said they were prepared to return on short notice if circumstances change.

But Scaparrotti said the U.S. has built alternative supply routes and has been able to get what it needs for the war despite the border closing. NATO last week finalized those agreements to move supplies through other countries.

"We're a fair ways from that right now," he said.

A senior Defense Department official, Peter Lavoy, talked to senior Pakistani officials over the weekend but was not allowed to meet with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, chief of the Pakistani army.

The Pakistani foreign ministry declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the No. 2 commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, acknowledged the troubled Washington-Islamabad relationship, but said the closed border has not affected his operations.

Scaparrotti said commanders are "working very hard" to improve the military-to-military relationship between the two countries and get it back to where it was before the November killings.

"It's not really affected us," he told Pentagon reporters via a videoconference from Afghanistan.

The U.S. team that had been negotiating with Pakistanis had been there for about six weeks, Little said, but he declined to say what progress it made in that time.

"A decision was reached that it was time to bring the team home for a short period of time," he said. "Again, we're ready to send them back at any moment."

There have been a number of sticking points in the talks to reopen the border. Pakistan has demanded an apology for the November deaths, while Washington will only go so far as to express regret for the deaths. There have also been tough negotiations over the fee that Pakistan would charge for each truck to cross its territory. Before the November attack, the cost had been $250 per truck. As of late May, Pakistan was demanding $5,000 per truck and the U.S. had countered with $500. It's unclear where that issue stood as of Monday.

Last week, Pakistani-U.S. relations hit a new low. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited India, Pakistan's archrival, and Afghanistan and in each locale openly expressed frustration with the Pakistani's government willingness to help the U.S. in the war on terror, and acknowledged aloud that "the whole idea" was to leave Pakistan in the dark about the secret raid that killed Osama bin Laden in an Army garrison town in Pakistan last year.

----

Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek in Washington and Chris Brummitt in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Priority Group 8 Vets, New Law Opens VA Health Care

A recent change in the laws governing VA health care provides VA additional funding to allow expanded enrollment opportunity for certain Priority 8 Veterans who may have been previously denied enrollment in VA's health care system because their income exceeded VA's national and geographically-adjusted means test thresholds.

The new regulations took effect on June 15, 2009 and enable the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to relax income restrictions on enrollment for health benefits. While this new provision does not remove consideration of income, it does increase income thresholds. You may be eligible for enrollment under this new provision, even if you have been denied coverage in the past.

A Veteran applying for enrollment on or after June 15, 2009, who does not qualify for a higher priority group and whose income exceeds VA's national and geographically-adjusted means test threshold by 10% of less will be placed in Priority Group 8b (if the Veteran is non-compensable 0% service-connected) or 8d (if the Veteran is nonservice-connected) and enrolled in the VA health care system. This new financial threshold is referred to as the "Enrollment threshold."

Your Next Step:
If you applied after Jan. 1, 2009 simply wait for the VA to contact you after their re-evaluation period.

If you originally applied for VA health care prior to Jan. 1, 2009 you should visit the VA Health Care Calculator to determine if you are eligible under the new Priority Group 8 guidelines.

Complete and submit VA Form 10-10EZR, Health Benefits Renewal form to have your eligibility for health care enrollment reassessed against the new "Enrollment threshold."

If you need assistance contact VA's Health Resource Center at 1-877-222 VETS (8387); or visit the VA health eligibility website atwww.va.gov/healtheligibility/.

Hough-Rough and RIP. MIKE MONSOOR

MIKE MONSOOR"

April 5th, 1981 ~ September 29th, 2009

INSTEAD OF THE NEWS MEDIA CARRYING CRAP ABOUT CASEY ANTHONY AND CHARLIE SHEEN....WE NEED TO HEAR ABOUT THIS TYPE OF REAL HUMAN EVENT!

Mike Monsoor,

Was Awarded "The Congressional Medal Of Honor" Last Week,

For Giving His Life In Iraq , As He Jumped On, And Covered With His Body, A Live Hand Grenade,

Saving The Lives Of A Large Group Of Navy SealsThat Was Passing By!

~

During Mike Monsoor's Funeral,

At Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery , In San Diego , California ..

The Six Pallbearers Removed The Rosewood Casket From The Hearse,

And Lined Up On Each Side Of Mike Monsoor's Casket,

Were His Family Members, Friends, Fellow Sailors, And Well-wishers.

The Column Of People Continued From The Hearse, All The Way To The Grave Site.

What The Group Didn't Know At The Time Was,

Every Navy Seal

(45 To Be Exact)

That Mike Monsoor Saved That Day Was Scattered Through-Out The Column!

~

As The Pallbearers Carried The Rosewood Casket

Down The Column Of People To The Grave Side.

The Column Would Collapse..

Which Formed A Group Of People That Followed Behind.

~

Every Time The Rosewood Casket Passed A Navy Seal,

He Would Remove His Gold Trident Pin From His Uniform,

And Slap It Down Hard,

Causing The Gold Trident Pin To Embed Itself

Into The Top Of The Wooden Casket!

Then The Navy Seal Would Step Back From The Column, And Salute!

~

Now For Those,

Who Don't Know What A Trident Pin Is,

Here Is The Definition!

~

After One Completes The Basic Navy Seals Program Which Lasts For Three Weeks,

And Is Followed By Seal Qualification Training,

Which Is 15 More Weeks Of Training,

Necessary To Continue Improving Basic Skills And To Learn New Tactics And Techniques,

Required For An Assignment To A Navy Seal Platoon.

After successful completion,

Trainees Are Given Their Naval Enlisted Code,

And Are Awarded The Navy Seal Trident Pin..

With This Gold Pin They Are Now Officially Navy Seals!

It Was Said,

That You Could Hear Each Of The 45 Slaps From Across The Cemetery!

By The Time The Rosewood Casket Reached The Grave Site,

It Looked As Though It Had A Gold Inlay From The 45 Trident Pins That Lined The Top!

This Was A Fitting End To An Eternal Send-Off For A Warrior Hero!

This Should Be Front-Page News!

Instead Of The Garbage We Listen To And See Every Day.

~

Here's A Good Idea!

Since The Main Stream Media Won't Make This News.

Then We Choose To Make It News By Forwarding It.

~ I Am Proud Of All The Branches Of Our Military..

If You Are Proud Too, Please Pass This  On.