Battle Won, War Not Over

Congratulations to all those organizations and individuals who worked so hard in gaining the recent concurrent receipt “victory.” This victory was gained in large part through the solidarity, work, and support of all disabled veterans through the constant solicitation of our representatives to pass this legislation. 

Unfortunately, with the positive comes the negative. What about disabled veterans with a disability rating of less than 50 percent? We feel betrayed, left behind on the political battlefield by the very ones we counted on to represent us all. I just hope we are not forgotten. 

Lt. Col. G.B. Griffith, USA-Ret.
Reno, Nev.

MOAA does not owe any of us an apology. We all owe MOAA a debt of gratitude for the legislative deal struck on concurrent receipt. This was a very good settlement. No, it was not complete. However, it is leaps and bounds better than anything we have had to date. It provides more than hope. It provides “assurance” of a phase-in of benefits over the course of 10 years for the most disabled military retirees among us, and it starts in January 2004. It also opens the door for a better settlement in the next round for those who were left out this time. 

Thank you, MOAA.

Maj. Ed Coet, USA-Ret.
Killeen, Texas

Praise for JROTC

I enjoyed your article on the high school ROTC (JROTC) program [“The Next Generation,” October 2003]. On retiring from the Army in 1977, I took the position of senior Army instructor at Wingate High School, Fort Wingate, N.M. The school is a Navajo boarding school operated by the Eastern Navajo Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Agreeing to go to Fort Wingate turned out to be for me a turning point in my life. The two years I was there with the Navajo youth opened an entirely new view of the people of the Southwest.

I had graduated from New Mexico State University many years earlier and was aware of the cultures of New Mexico, but living and working among the Navajo people was a joy nothing could have prepared me to experience. The people of the Navajo Nation treated me and my family with great respect, and I found the students to be willing learners eager to participate in our JROTC program. 

Our battalion was called the Shush Battalion. The word shush is Navajo for bear. The school mascot was the bear, and the school campus was in the precincts of the Shushbyto Chapter. We took full advantage of the Navajo culture to teach principles of leadership, loyalty, and personal self-esteem.

The cadets at Wingate High School were considered the best students in the school. They were natural leaders outside of the JROTC classroom and were good examples of personal behavior to their fellow students. The cadets did many innovative things. They built their own confidence course and challenged their schoolmates to build physical skills and agilities on their course. 

The cadets invited JROTC units from Albuquerque and Santa Fe to join them in orienteering events and other field events. In every way, the young Navajos excelled. The sense of pride in being Navajo, being from Wingate High School, and being in the JROTC was built up every time they encountered students from the large cities.

From the great experience I had with JROTC, I would hope the program continues and finds its way into every high school in the country.

Maj. William F. Bellais, USA-Ret.
via e-mail

Semper Female

I was so pleased to read the article concerning the women Marines of World War II [“Marching Into the Corps,” November 2003]. 

As a member, I entered the service in August of 1943. I took my boot training at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Upon graduating, I was sent to Arlington, Va., where I worked at Navy headquarters. Upon inquiring what schools were open, I was informed of only one, aviation mechanics in Norman, Okla. Upon passing an aptitude test, I was sent to school. When I graduated from the school, I was sent to a Navy base at North Island, Calif. I finished my career at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in 1945. 

It was the highlight of my life, and I tell everyone “I was an aviation mechanic and a U.S. Marine!” I, too, regret that I was not allowed to re-up.

June Graham
Indian Harbor Beach, Fla. 

Thank you for [“Marching Into the Corps”]. I was in the first class (February 1943) and still wonder how I had the courage to leave Boone, Iowa. 

Such memories—climbing five flights of stairs many times a day, the “GI DIs from PI” and their orders “not to cuss or touch,” our first uniforms, the first parade down Wall Street, marching in President [Franklin D.] Roosevelt’s funeral procession. … Thanks again.

Juanita B. Semsky
Deland, Fla.

Name, Rank, and SSN?

“Social Insecurity” [October 2003] provides a lot of useful information, but for most of us, it does no good. The government makes it easy for people to steal our identities. 

A recent break-in to a health care computer database is one example of how someone can steal our identities. Another example is in our wallets. Almost [all readers have] their Social Security number (SSN) in their wallet or purse on their military identification card. In addition, those of us over 65 have our Medicare cards (with SSN) with us. The TRICARE explanation of benefits form and Medicare summary notices and other documents have our SSN on them. 

What needs to be done is to get rid of the SSN on as many of these documents as possible. Until the mid-1950s, service people had a service number that had no other use except within the military. We should return to that practice. The SSN was not intended to be used for identification. It is so stated on the card. Why does the government allow its continued use for identification? This is the major factor in stolen identities.

Lt. Col. Al Kessler, USAF-Ret.
Atwater, Calif. 

I recently had the privilege of hearing a presentation by the two U.S. Army Apache pilots captured in the war with Iraq. One of the most interesting comments made by the former POWs was that both the Geneva Convention and the Code of Conduct require POWs to provide their name, rank, service number, and date of birth. 

After the U.S. military conversion from service number to SSN about 30 years ago, the result is that [POWs now are required] to provide the enemy with their SSNs. Giving your SSN to an enemy associated with a terrorist group could raise the consequences of identity theft to a new level.

Cmdr. Bert Polk, USN-Ret.
Annapolis, Md.

Corrections: A designated scholarship with The Scholarship Fund of MOAA supported by Col. Beatrice E. Thompson, USA-Ret., in the name of Helen Lee Thompson and awarded to Rebecca Stewart was inadvertently omitted from the October 2003 coverwrap. 

In addition, the name of Adm. Thomas Moorer, USN-Ret., was misspelled in “News Notes,” page 30, October 2003. We sincerely apologize for both errors.