Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 09/22/2003

Dear Sgt. Shaft
 Aloha, My name is Cheryl and I live in McGrew military housing in Hawaii and we could really use Chairman Stump's assistance again. As of October 1, 2003, we will no longer have a watchstander at our gate. I have lived in McGrew housing for 2 1/2 years (before and after the watchstander). Before the watchstander I was hard pressed to find someone that I knew that lived in McGrew that did not have some incident (from car thefts, to burglaries, to strangers trying to come into our home when we answered our door) After the watchstander, with proper ID check of people entering McGrew, the crime halted. I felt comfortable enough to leave my house and not worry about walking in on someone burglarizing it.

I am very concerned that the crimes will resume when the watchstanding ends. We have several crack houses along the bike path across from McGrew. Not far from the gate is a halfway house for pedophiles. Since the start of the watchstander, the property crime rate has risen on Oahu, Crystal meth is an epidemic, and burglars have turned to shooting the residents if they walk in on the crime. I lived in fear of my property being stolen, now I am fearful for my family being harmed if we lose our watchstander.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Very respectfully submitted,
Cheryl H

Dear Cheryl
Unfortunately good friend and veteran’s advocate Bob Stump recently passed away. As you know, Bob, in his role as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, intervened on behalf of a concerned submariner after reading about his plight in one of my columns. In his letter to Admiral Clark, Chief of Naval Operations, Chairman Stump pointed out the following concerns and suggestions: “

The McGrew Point housing area is an unsafe place to live, and is an especially unsafe place to live with small children. There is a pervasive crime problem in the area that has not been adequately addressed by those responsible for housing and security. Property crime appears to be approaching epidemic proportions. Suggestions for improving security in the area include: 1) improving the fence on the border of the adjacent jogging trail so that it provides an effective visual and physical screen; 2) installing some method of video surveillance; 3) making housing area crime statistics available to prospective tenants prior to move-in, resulting in fewer surprises and providing an update to people living in the housing areas; 4) setting up a sting operation because data, even though anecdotal, suggests that there is some correlation between people moving out and incidents of theft; 5) building a card-access security gate to make access more difficult for criminals; 6) improving the physical security of individual houses; and 7) encouraging more effective patrols of the jogging trail and the adjacent Aiea Bay State Recreation Area by the Honolulu Police Department.

Chairman Stump concluded his letter to Admiral Clark by writing, "I request that you review this situation and take all necessary steps to provide the minimum level of security that military families deserve, without delay. Military families must be provided secure housing, especially during times when the services are operating under increased threats around the world."

After Chairman Stump’s letter, the following steps were taken; camera surveillance, guard, improving the integrity and privacy of the border fence. The result was that crime statistics dropped dramatically.

There is no doubt that these improvements were because of Chairman Stump’s intercession.

I have referred your recent safety concern to another great veteran’s advocate, Michael Bilarakis (R) FL who I know will be as outraged as I am at the Navy’s insensitive stupidity.

Shaft Kudos
The Sarge is looking forward to joining other members of the National Press Club (NPC) and their guests on September 24 as they dedicate an NPC room to the late legendary journalist Sarah McClendon.

The Spirit of Sarah McClendon still lives and will be an integral part of the Club with the dedication of the McClendon Room, stated John Cosgrove, Senior Past president of the NPC.

The celebration will begin with a reception at 6:30 PM in the NPC Ballroom immediately followed by a brief ceremony at 7:00 PM

NPC President Tammy Lytle will head the program of notables honoring McClendon, well remembered for her relentless style of questioning U.S. Presidents at White House News conferences.

Also participating in the celebration will be media consultants Lyle Gregory and Jules Minion who have highlighted Sara’s illustrious career.

Jim Mayer, a senior official with the Department of veteran’s affairs, who lost both legs in Viet Nam, will speak of Sarah’s dedication to our nation’s veterans including her service on active duty in World War II.

The program will begin with a joint military color guard and patriotic melodies presented by the U. S. Marine Corps brass Quintet.

Also honoring McClendon with songs will be the Message of Hope, a choir whose members are all veterans guided through the power of Gods’ grace in the process of recovery. These veterans have been given another chance at life and their exciting testimonials, music and songs of praise convey a message of hope to any audience.

The choir has performed for members of Congress, and many Government Agencies. They have sung the National Anthem at Camden Yards, and performed their unique version of the “service medley” at Washington D.C.’s National Theater. The Message of Hope Choir is an especially poignant recognition of Sara’s dedication to the plight of homeless veterans

Following the formal dedication of the room and the cutting of the “red tape”, Carole Fischl, Washington area piano teacher and accompanist will pay a musical tribute to Sara on the President Truman Piano. There is no charge for the event, however reservations for the program, and no host dinner at the club can be made by calling 202-662-7500.

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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