Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 10/14/2002

Dear Sgt Shaft
Where do these so-called experts (Ira Carnaham, Forbes Magazine) get off telling me that as a 50% disabled retiree, I am not entitled to the same type benefits that every other federal retiree receives? I find it appalling that if I were to receive VA benefits from my disabilities along with my Coast Guard retired pay; I should be classified as a double dipper. I have TEN ratable disabilities and wake up in pain every morning. I served almost 25 years on active duty.... my military retired pay is offset, dollar for dollar for every dollar I receive from the VA for my service connected disabilities. Thereby making me compensate myself for the disabilities I incurred while serving my country. Who is this guy Carnaham? 

Did he serve? Did he get injured? Has he EVER spent one day in his life in harm's way for the benefit of others?

Jim B, Virginia

Dear Jim
Ira Carnaham, the procurer of DoD propaganda, did not serve and these poignant words of fellow combat vet, George Skypeck in his poem “Soldier” should ring loud and clear in his ears.

I was that which others did not want to be.
I went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do.
I asked nothing from those who gave nothing, and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness ... should I fail.
I have seen the face of terror, felt the stinging cold of fear, and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment's love.
I have cried, pained, and hoped ... but most of all, I have lived times others would say were best forgotten.
At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was ... a soldier.

In a stinging rebuke to the Pentagon and Charles Abell, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy), Michael Bilirakis (R) Florida, the leading proponent of concurrent receipt legislation for the House of Representatives concluded:

Your argument that funding for concurrent receipt will hurt current service members is also misleading. Members of Congress are cognizant of the sacrifices military service entails. Neither I or any of my colleagues would suggest that other personnel funding be cut to pay for concurrent receipt, and the enactment of a concurrent receipt provision won't negatively impact military readiness. If there were any question that my legislation to eliminate the current offset between military retired pay and VA disability compensation would have such a negative impact, I sincerely doubt that it would have garnered the support of more than 90 percent of the House of Representatives and 80 percent of the Senate. 

I would remind you of a quote by our first Commander-in-Chief George Washington: "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."  

And once again I and other veterans are reminded of these famous words of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “Tommy,”:

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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