Since our charter in , our American Legion Post has been welcoming VETERANS from all branches of our Armed Forces. Today, we continue to welcome all military personnel serving our country. Joining our Post enables you to continue serving your God, Country and Community Our mission is to implement the goals, aspirations, dreams, peace and blessings for our country, friends and families embodied in our preamble below.
To the wonderful patriotic citizens of the Stafford community. Join our Post as a Booster or sponsor. (click Sponsor or Booster Button for details). 100% of the monies raised are given back to the community. Help us to continue sponsoring Scholarships for our children; give aid and assistance to our local needy Veterans and their families. Help us to continue to support financially worthy community programs and projects.
Special Announcement: Upcoming Veteran Opportunity Expo in Washington, D.C.
RecruitMilitary is producing this Expo in cooperation with the American Legion to benefit veterans, transitioning military personnel, members of the Guard and Reserve, and military family members.
Veteran-friendly employers, franchisors, and educational institutions will be in attendance offering a variety of opportunities. Its not often that you get an exclusive opportunity to meet face-to-face with veteran-friendly recruiters and to network with other veterans about career opportunities.
EVENT DETAILS:
Thursday, February 23, 2012 • 11 AM – 3 PM
Washington Hilton
1919 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
I invite you to download the poster for this free event. You can print, post, and/or forward it to anyone who may benefit:
https://events.recruitmilitary.com/uploads/event/attendee_poster/410/2-23-12_Washington_Printable_Flyer_1-23-12_lo-res.pdf
Or you can direct anyone who would like to register for the event to our candidate information page:
https://events.recruitmilitary.com/events/washington-opportunity-expo-february-23-2012
HELP WANTED: Marksmanship Instructors for the Junior Shooters Program: Unfortunately, Captain Roberge will be deploying soon and will be unable to continue as our Primary Marksmanship Instructor. If you are interested in assisting with our program, please contact Sharon Moser at 540-204-0700.
Thank you to the Marines of Weapons Training Battalion for volunteering your time to assist our Jr. Shooters Program!
Additional information on the Jr. Shooters Program can be found at: http://www.americanlegionpost290juniorshooterssportsclub.webs.com/
Upcoming events at Post 290:
Jan 28th: District 16 Oratorical Contest at Post 10, 1000
Jan 29th: Venture Crew Breakfast, 0800-1100
Feb 4th: Regional Oratorical Contest at Post 290, 1100-1400
Feb 5th: Four Chaplains and Post Everlasting Ceremony at Post 290, 1400
Feb 7th: Jr Law Cadet Interviews, 1900
Feb 14th: General Membership Meeting, 1930
Feb 20th: Adult Softball Organizational Meeting at Post 290, 1900
Feb 27th: Executive Board Meeting, 1930
Feb 29th: Boys/Girls State Applications Due; See Boys/Girls State Tabs for applications!
Mar 10th: Legion Birthday Celebration, 1800
BINGO: Every Wednesday and Friday! $1,000 Jackpot
Club Room: Our Post Club Room is opened from 5pm until 10 pm every Wed and Friday night. On Sat nights ,we are open from 5pm until 10 pm. You should take this opportunity to stop by and check out what’s happening in the Club Room. On Saturday nights we have game night and Wii Bowling. Come on out and have some fun and do a bit of socializing.
American Legion Oratorical Contest
The Post competition was held on Saturday, Jan 7, 2012, at Post 290 at 11am and included 5 competitors. Congratulations to our winners, who will all be advancing to the District 16 competition in Manassas on Jan 28th:
1st Place ($500): Amy Wood, Stafford HS
2nd Place ($300): Kaili Moss, North Stafford HS
3rd Place ($100): Victoria Giordano, North Stafford HS
The District competition is scheduled for Saturday, Jan 28, 2012, at Post 10 in Manassas. Note date change!
Post 290 is hosting the Regional competition on Saturday, Feb 4, 2012, at 11am.
The State Competition will be held on March 17, 2012, in conjunction with the Spring Conference.
For more information, click on the Oratorical tab on the main menu.
Items of Interest:
K9TAL IS ON THE AIR! After some six months of planning, preparation, clearing, cleaning and gathering materials and equipment together for The American Legion Amateur Radio Club’s shack, we finally “threw the switch” on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at approximately 1930Z. Our first QSO was with a New Jersey station. Marconi could not have been more proud or pleased with his first transmission than we were with ours. Early on, the headquarters staff set a target date of Veterans Day, November 11, to be up and operating. We came close. All in all, we did well considering that we started with nothing but great enthusiasm, big ideas, and no equipment. The membership of The American Legion Amateur Radio Club continued to grow through the time of formulating and formalizing things. It is interesting, if not somewhat amazing, that we had several hundred members before we had the first transceiver in place. And it is because of a handful of those members, and their “dedication to mutual helpfulness,” that we got the donations of equipment, new and used. The shack itself, once a 1950’s-style photographic darkroom, is slowly coming to be a new millennium communications room complete with computers, printers, telephones and of course various radio components, not all of which are yet integrated into the system. But we will get there. Working 20 meters, we got our first QSO with Ron, WU2B, in East Orange, NJ. He gave us a barefoot “5-7” report that was real pleasing to us since, without a tuner we were running only about 20 watts; it delighted our folks at HQ who rigged the antennas and ran the cable down five stories. Things are coming together, but we have a little ways to go. The shack, when empty, looked very accommodating. It’s slowly filling up. But I suppose it’s no different than what we all experience at our own stations. Things just seem to spread exponentially in the available space. If you haven’t seen the articles either in QST magazine or on FOX News about the interest and growth in ham radio of recent, take time to seek them out. It is very encouraging news, especially in light of the Legion Club and the opportunity it provides to bring those Legion Family members with an interest into our hobby. We hope you are directing those interested, to the Club website at http://legion.org/hamradio. The site is a bit sparse right now, but in the next couple of months it will be well populated with amateur radio information, links, FAQs, and maybe just a bit of the Legion’s history of formal involvement with amateur radio that goes back near to the beginning of the Legion itself. Keep in mind, too, the Club forum at http://legion.org/forums/ham-radio. Stop off there when you can and share what you and your group – as members of The American Legion Amateur Radio Club – are doing to promote amateur radio and benefit the community in which you operate. In the meantime, staff here has more gearing up to do by reading manuals, programming equipment, and adjusting to equipment we’re not yet thoroughly familiar with. Keep an ear out. We’ll be talking with you soon! /--…/…--// Marty Justis, W9WMJPresident Here is the news everyone has been waiting for: the first American Legion Amateur Radio Club net is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 2100 Hrs Eastern. Craig Roberts, Vice President of TALARC, W3CRR, will serve as net control for the Club and you’ll find him on 40 meters, at or about 7.230MHz. Additional email notification will go to members this week. Joe March - KJ9MThe American Legion National Hqs.700 North Pennsylvania StreetIndianapolis, IN 46204Office (317) 630-1253 Fax (317) 630-1368 Cell (317) 748-1926
Current Information Regarding DD-214's
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HELP WANTED: Post 290 is looking for volunteers to serve as members of the Honor Guard. Uniform shirts and trousers are provided. If interested, contact Fred Miller for more information.
More HELP WANTED: Ron Alstaetter has announced that he will be stepping down as the BINGO manager at the end of this year. If anyone is interested in taking over this critical billet within our Post, please contact the Post Commander, Don Shiffert, or 2nd Vice Commander, Ken White, as soon as possible.
S.E.R.V.E. was awarded a $10,000 grantto assist local citizens with obtaining prescription drugs. If you need help in this area, please contact the S.E.R.V.E. office Monday thru Friday for more information by calling 540-288-9603 or emailing us at info@serve-helps.org
Services & Resources Update
Families of the Wounded Fund
Wed, 01 Dec 2010 08:49:00 -0600
http://www.familiesofthewoundedfund.org/default.asp
Benefits & Compensation Update
Board of Veteran AppealsTue, 30 Nov 2010 11:14:00 -0600
Reviews benefit claims determinations made by local VA offices and issue decision on appeals. These Law Judges, attorneys experienced in veterans law and in reviewing benefit claims, are the only ones who can issue Board decisions. Staff attorneys, also trained in veterans law, review the facts of each appeal and assist the Board members. Find contact information and general information through this site.
Please give wide distribution -- Warning to All Veterans
| WARNING TO ALL VETERANS | More Info |
| WARNING TO VETERANS Forwarded by Kevin Secor, VSO Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. An organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS) is providing benefit and general information on VA and gathering personal information on veterans. This organization is not affiliated with VA in any way. http://www.vaservices.org/us/index.html VAS may be gaining access to military personnel through their close resemblance to the VA name and seal. Our Legal Counsel has requested that we coordinate with DoD to inform military installations, particularly mobilization sites, of this group and their lack of affiliation or endorsement by VA to provide any services. In addition, GC requests that if you have any examples of VAS acts that violate chapter 59 of Title 38 United States Code, such as VAS employees assisting veterans in the preparation and presentation of claims for benefits, please pass any additional information to Mr.Daugherty at the address below. Michael G. Daugherty Staff Attorney Department of Veterans Affairs Office of General Counsel (022G2) 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420 | |
Also, be wary of television advertisements that offer to "assist" you with your dealings with the Veteran's Administration. Most, if not all, are for-profit organizations that want to stick their hand into your wallet!
VA News Release: For downloadable copy, click here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2010
VA Begins Paying Benefits for New Agent Orange Claims
VA Encourages Affected Vietnam Veterans to File Claims
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has begun distributing disability benefits to Vietnam Veterans who qualify for compensation under recently liberalized rules for Agent Orange exposure.“The joint efforts of Congress and VA demonstrate a commitment to provide Vietnam Veterans with treatment and compensation for the long-term health effects of herbicide exposure,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.Up to 200,000 Vietnam Veterans are potentially eligible to receive VA disability compensation for medical conditions recently associated with Agent Orange. The expansion of coverage involves B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease.Shinseki said VA has launched a variety of initiatives – both technological and involving better business practices – to tackle an anticipated upsurge in Agent Orange-related claims.
“These initiatives show VA’s ongoing resolve to modernize its processes for handling claims through automation and improvements in doing business, providing Veterans with faster and more accurate decisions on their applications for benefits,” Shinseki said.Providing initial payments – or increases to existing payments – to the 200,000 Veterans who now qualify for disability compensation for these three conditions is expected to take several months, but VA officials encourage all Vietnam Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and suffer from one of the three diseases to make sure their applications have been submitted.
VA has offered Veterans exposed to Agent Orange special access to health care since 1978, and priority medical care since 1981. VA has been providing disability compensation to Veterans with medical problems related to Agent Orange since 1985.In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a “presumed” illness do not have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This “presumption” simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.The three new illnesses – B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease – are added to the list of presumed illnesses previously recognized by VA.
Other recognized illnesses under VA’s “presumption” rule for Agent Orange are:
· Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
· Chloracne
· Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
· Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
· Hodgkin’s Disease
· Multiple Myeloma
· Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
· Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
· Prostate Cancer
· Respiratory Cancers
· Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
· AL Amyloidosis
Veterans interested in applying for disability compensation under one of the three new Agent Orange presumptives should go to www.fasttrack.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000.
From Bob Brady, District 16 Adjutant: RAO Bulletin of 15 Sep 2010; House Veteran Legislation 11-09-12; Senate Veteran Legislation 10-09-12; Veteran State Benefits - CT
VA Improving Veterans' Access to Health and Benefits Information 21st Century Technology Will Improve Service
WASHINGTON (September 21, 2010)- The Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a multi-year initiative called Veterans Relationship Management (VRM) that will greatly improve Veterans' access to health care and benefits information.
"VRM will transform Veterans' interactions with VA by using innovative 21st century technologies," said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.
"Veterans will have a better experience when they contact VA for assistance, and our employees will be able to quickly convey accurate, up-to-date information through call centers and the Internet."
Ultimately, Veterans will find enhanced self-service capabilities, and VA employees will have the best tools to serve Veterans, their families and survivors better.
By the end of 2010, VRM will deliver improved telephone services to enable Veterans to reach a call center agent faster. Recording and review of calls will ensure the quality of services provided to Veterans. To help guarantee success, VRM enhancements will be rolled out in six-month increments.
An important component of VRM is the Internet site, which puts the Veteran in the driver's seat for information. VA collaborated with the Department of Defense to provide a single sign-on capability for both Servicemembers and Veterans. Single sign-on will quickly establish an individual's identity and allow that person to complete transactions without having to re-enter information.
Self-service access through the Internet site (www.ebenefits.va.gov) is already available in some benefit areas, including military personnel records, VA home loan eligibility certificates, and status information on compensation and pension claims.
VRM is just one of the many initiatives VA is launching to help Veterans get timely access to health care and benefits.
VA provides tax-free compensation, pension, education, loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation, employment and insurance benefits to eligible Veterans, their families and survivors through 57 VA regional offices.
Disability compensation is paid to a Veteran for disabilities that are a result of -- or made worse by -- injuries or diseases that happened while on active duty, active military, naval or air service. Pension is a benefit paid to wartime Veterans with limited income, and who are permanently and totally disabled or age 65 or older.
For additional information, go to www.va.gov or call VA's toll free benefits number at 1-800-827-1000.
Click on the Events Calendar tab for additional information
