The only reason that any Veteran is homeless, is because he or she chooses to be so.
On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 12:41 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected] > wrote: > so they're capable of attacking other nations anywhere on the planet but > they can't take care of themselves? > > > On Thursday, January 16, 2014 6:45:10 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: >> >> >> >> >> Dr. Eowyn posted: " There is an epidemic of homelessness and >> joblessness among our military veterans. Shameful! The Philadelphia >> Inquirer reports (via military.com), Jan. 6, 2014, that as of January >> 2012, more than 60,000 veterans were homeless, according to the Depar" >> Respond >> to this post by replying above this line >> >> New post on *Fellowship of the Minds* >> <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/> 60,000 U.S. military >> veterans are >> homeless<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2014/01/15/60000-u-s-military-veterans-are-homeless/> >> by >> Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/> >> >> [image: homeless >> veterans]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/homeless-veterans.jpg> >> >> There is an epidemic of homelessness and joblessness among our military >> veterans. Shameful! >> >> The Philadelphia Inquirer reports (via >> military.com<http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/01/06/air-force-colonel-goes-from-pentagon-to-homelessness.html?ESRC=dod.nl>), >> Jan. 6, 2014, that* as of January 2012, more than 60,000 veterans were >> homeless, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.* Reducing >> that number supposedly is a priority for the Obama administration. Although >> the number of homeless veterans dropped 24% nationwide from 2009 to 2013, >> Pennsylvania is an exception where the number actually increased 46%, to >> more than 1,400. >> >> Our veterans' homelessness is partly because of joblessness. A monthly >> lunch in Washington, D.C. attracts about 200 veterans. After they eat, the >> men and women who are unemployed stand up one by one to recite their >> service records, hoping someone else in the room will hire them. Many are >> highly accomplished. >> [image: Retired Air Force Col. Robert Freniere] >> >> One of the homeless and jobless veterans is 59-year-old *Robert Freniere*, >> a former colonel in the U.S. Air Force who retired in 2006 after braving >> multiple combat zones. (pic left) >> >> After a 30-year military career in which he earned three graduate >> degrees, rose to the rank of colonel, and served as an aide to Pentagon >> brass, Freniere is unemployed and lives out of his blue minivan crammed >> with all his possessions and held together with duct tape. >> >> He'd even tried getting a job as a janitor. But his plea for help to a >> janitor he once had praised when the man was mopping the floors of his >> Washington office, went unfulfilled. So have dozens of job applications >> that he'd filled out six hours a day, day after day, on public library >> computers. >> >> How does he cope? >> >> Freniere told the Philadelpia Inquirer, "You stay calm. That's what we >> were trained for when I went through survival training." >> >> Last month, Freniere teared up as he asked for advice on finding a >> paycheck from Adm. James Hogg, who had officiated at Freniere's >> retirement ceremony in 2006 and hailed him as "a leading light." >> >> In an interview, Hogg described Freniere as "very smart" with "the gift >> of gab" and thought it "crazy" that the vet is jobless. "With all his >> experience, especially in intelligence, there's got to be a spot for him." >> >> But jobs are hard to come by. Freniere, like many of his fellow >> down-on-their-luck veterans, does not match any hat-in-hand Hollywood image >> of homelessness. He receives an annual pension from the military of more >> than $40,000. >> >> His struggle to find a job after retiring from the Air Force collided >> with the end of his marriage nearly two years ago. Unable to return to the >> home he shared with his estranged wife, and faced with expenses including >> bills for two sons in college and debts that mounted in his former a nicer >> lifestyle, he took up a nomadic existence. Between spells on the couches of >> friends in multiple states, he sleeps occasionally in motels and other >> times in the dented blue van. >> >> [image: homeless vets by >> states]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/homeless-vets-by-states.jpg> >> >> The Philadelphia Inquirer veried the bulk of Freniere's story, which is >> confirmed by military records. His is a story of service. >> >> Born in 1954, Freniere was an Eagle Scout and joined the Army in 1976, >> and later the Air Force as an intelligence officer. As he moved through the >> ranks, he served in combat zones in Somalia, Panama, Haiti, and Kuwait, >> earned master's degrees in political science and criminal justice at the >> University of Cincinnati and a master's in national security and strategic >> studies from the Naval War College. >> >> Freniere moved to the Pentagon in 2000 and was there when it was hit by >> terrorists Sept. 11, 2001. Two years later, he became special assistant to >> Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then the vice director of operations of the Joint >> Staff. >> >> In 2005, Freniere volunteered to go to Iraq. But as he was preparing to >> deploy, his legs went numb one day, followed by back surgery. Instead of >> flying to Iraq, he spent a year and a half convalescing. In 2006, he >> retired from the Air Force. >> >> After his retirement, it took him a year to find work. Like many retired >> servicemen, he turned to jobs with defense contractors which took him twice >> to Afghanistan. When he came home, he had nowhere to go after separating >> from his second wife. >> >> Freniere said he had not been able to find a contracting job since August >> 2012 and blames the federal sequestration for squeezing contractors of >> money and of the confidence to hire people. >> >> Freniere's dyslexia makes focusing on a computer screen difficult. Online >> applications are so hard for him that tears well in his eyes as he >> describes his days at public libraries. >> >> But Freniere said that he had not lost hope: "I'm a military guy. I'm >> mission-oriented. You don't give up. I've got a lot of good experience. >> I've got two beautiful sons. I've got a van. I don't know how long it's >> going to hold up, but I've got it. I've got a lot of things to be thankful >> for." >> >> See also "Democrats cut military pensions in favor of tax credits >> for >> illegals<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2014/01/14/democrats-cut-military-pensions-tax-credits-for-illegals/>," >> Jan. 14, 2014. >> >> *~Eowyn* >> *Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/>* | January >> 15, 2014 at 2:46 pm | Tags: Adm. James >> Hogg<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=adm-james-hogg>, >> military pensions<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=military-pensions>, >> Robert Freniere <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=robert-freniere> | >> Categories: Congress <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=4308>, >> Economy<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=17656840>, >> illegal immigration <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=34958091>, >> Liberals/Democrats/Left <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=115894710>, >> Military <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=33806753>, Obama's >> America<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=12285619>, >> Republican Party <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=56189> | URL: >> http://wp.me/pKuKY-oY7 >> >> >> Comment<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2014/01/15/60000-u-s-military-veterans-are-homeless/#respond> >> See all >> comments<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2014/01/15/60000-u-s-military-veterans-are-homeless/#comments> >> >> >> Unsubscribe<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com&b=LSgW%3Dpoe%2CaTP.nYm-ld9%7E4%2CJaHLX%2C17oMpiy8asc6NiW%2Bmr.YpI>to >> no longer receive posts from Fellowship of the Minds. >> Change your email settings at Manage >> Subscriptions<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com>. >> >> >> *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: >> http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2014/01/15/60000-u-s- >> military-veterans-are-homeless/ >> >> Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com> >> >> >> -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. 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