A Couple of Very Important Items ~
First, it’s Project Valour-IT fundraiser time again!!
(formerly Voice-Activated Laptops for OUR Injured Troops)
In memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss
Every cent raised for Project Valour-IT goes directly to the purchase and shipment of laptops and other technology for severely wounded service members. As of November 2008, Valour-IT has distributed over 2700 laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines across the country, and is now expanding its mission to include other technology that supports physical and psychological recovery.
Valour-IT accepts donations in any amount to support our mission, but also offers a sponsorship option for laptops. An individual or organization may sponsor a wounded soldier by completely funding the cost of a laptop and continuing to provide that soldier with personal support and encouragement throughout recovery. This has proved to be an excellent project for churches, groups of coworkers or friends, and members of community organizations such Boy Scouts.
Originally Valour-IT provided the voice-controlled software that accompanies the laptops, but now works closely with the Department of Defense Computer/electronic Accommodations Program (CAP): CAP supplies the adaptive software and Valour-IT provides the laptop. In addition, DoD caseworkers serve as Valour-IT’s “eyes and ears” at several medical centers, identifying patients in need of laptops and other technological support for their recovery. Wounded military personnel can also directly request a laptop through the sign-up form or through the Valour-IT/Soldiers’ Angels representatives at the following medical centers:
* Balboa Naval Hospital
* Brooke Army Medical Center
* Madigan Regional Medical Center
* National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda Naval Hospital)
* Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton
* Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital (29 Palms)
* Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Thanks to the efforts of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Valour-IT is also able to reach patients in VA hospitals who would benefit from a Valour-IT laptop or other technology to support their recovery and independence.
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Welcome to the 2009 Soldiers’ Angels Project Valour-IT fundraising competition, October 26 to November 11 (Veterans Day)! This friendly, spirited game raises money for technology that reconnects wounded warriors with the wider world and supports their recovery.
To participate in the competition as a blogger or webmaster, scroll down and click on a team* graphic. After you register, you will be added to the team blogroll and receive the code to post a widget on your blog that will credit donations to your team’s totals.
Thank you for helping us support the wounded who have sacrificed so much!
Team Leaders
Air Force - Mudville Gazette
Army - Blackfive
Marines - Villainous Company
Navy - USNI Blog
GO ARMY!!!!
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Also, Vets For Freedom are again going to the Hill to speak with our Elected:
Join VFF on Capitol Hill to support War in Afghanistan
Veterans in Washington, DC on November 5th to ensure that commanders and troops on the ground in Afghanistan get the resources they need to win!
This is our mission. This is our moment. If not you, then who? Who else will take the time to petition Congress and President Obama to give General McChrystal, and our comrades, the resources they need to win the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban? It has come to this. It must be us.
CLICK HERE to sign up and join us!
Also, sign the petition here.
To President Obama:
We, the undersigned U.S. war veterans and patriotic Americans, petition you with one simple request:
Listen to the commander on the ground in Afghanistan—General Stanley A. McChrystal—and provide him with the troops he says he needs to win the war in Afghanistan.
By accepting the troop recommendations of General McChrystal—and his boss General David Petraeus—we have a chance to turn the war in Afghanistan around. This is a moment in history we must not miss.
Like General Petraeus in Iraq, General McChrystal is an outside-the-box thinker who thrives in the ambiguity of asymmetrical battlefields. Like General Petraeus in Iraq, General McChrystal has the right strategy—a comprehensive counterinsurgency plan.
In 2007, General Petraeus was given the troops he needed (the “Surge”) to win, and Iraq has turned around—resulting in dramatically lower U.S. casualties, a more stable Iraq, and a drawdown of American forces.
General McChrystal—and all our brave Soldiers and Marines on the ground—deserve the same chance to win in Afghanistan. They deserve the additional troops needed to turn a winning strategy into a winning result.
We fully acknowledge that the war in Afghanistan has been tough, and is currently headed in the wrong direction. And as you have said, it has been under-resourced, under-funded, and under-manned for years. You have also said that it is a war we must win. We agree on all fronts.
Unlike Iraq, there was consensus at the beginning of the war in Afghanistan that America must be successful in toppling the Taliban and dismantling Al Qaeda, for the safety of our country. Eight years later, the consensus on the war in Afghanistan is fractured; however we believe—as do you—that the need for victory has not changed.
During this time of domestic uncertainty and global threats, winning the war will require steadfast Presidential leadership; a Commander-in-Chief who is unwilling to be swayed by lagging poll numbers or party leaders who want to block troop increases.
Now is the time for your leadership. If you listen to commanders on the ground, give them what they need, and stand behind our warriors in Afghanistan—we will stand with you. If you don’t, and would rather fight the “war of necessity” with one hand tied behind our back, then we will loudly object.
Many—in fact a majority—said the war in Iraq was “unwinnable,” yet our troops persevered and turned the tide. Despite the drumbeat of detractors—on both sides of the aisle—this is another war we can win. But we must act now.
We owe it to the Marines and Soldiers slogging it out with insurgents every day to get this right. If we do, they’ll fight, they’ll persevere, and they’ll win. If we don’t, we are setting them up for failure. No less than America’s greatness—and the legacy of America’s finest warriors—is at stake.
Please ~ Spread the word!!
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