1/31-2/4/10
VPCC in Washington DC

The trip to the Madison airport was routine-it was an afternoon flight that was dependent on the weather in DC. The Delta flight took off close to on-time and made up time in the air. Skip picked us up at Reagan and took us to the Capitol Hilton, right around the corner from our DC office. I’m in the Truman Room. Dinner at Burger King.

Monday was catch up day at the office as I’m so rarely there. On the road, there isn’t much access to a printer, so I probably printed out a ream of paper in these couple of days. Went over the Washington Conference schedule with Wanda, as well as signed off on some letters that were hanging around. Went over the schedule for the VPCC with the staff. Ate lunch at McCormick and Schmick’s and had the seafood chili in a taco shell. They are now following me on Twitter, which is cool. Went from there to the VA for the budget rollout to all the VSOs with Gaytan, Robertson and Searle. It’s a $125 billion budget, up by $11 billion over last year, and answers some of our priorities. It still had the $48 billion that was in the 2010 budget as the advance appropriation, and has about $50.5 billion as the advance appropriation for the 2012 budget. The staff will now look at it in detail and be ready for the Washington Conference. Dinner was at Morton’s and I had the salmon.

The Veterans Planning and Coordinating Committee Meeting was Tuesday and Wednesday. I will briefly give the agenda and who presented the topic, but far too much transpired to try to record it here. The Committee members present were the VA & R Chairman Mike Helm, Legislative Chairman Jim Koutz, Economics Chairman Randy Fisher and NEC Liaison to VA & R Bob Owen. Consultants present were PNCs Rehbein, Morin, Conley and Spanogle. I served as the Chairman, and National Adjutant Wheeler and Leading Candidate Jimmie Foster were also present. The morning session started with Barry Searle providing an update on VA & R staffing and responsibilities, Joe Wilson with a System Worth Saving update, Jacob Gadd with a Medicare Reimbursement update, and an update on VA construction was provided. After a short break, we had Deputy Staff Director Kim Lipsky of the Senate VA Committee and Chief Counsel David Tucker of the House VA Committee provide priorities of their committees. The final presentation before lunch was from Jerry Reed on all the services he has been providing to the Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed. He has been so successful, we need to find a way to put someone at other centers for all branches.

Lunch was a working lunch, as we were slightly behind. The afternoon session had Director Brad Mayes of VA Compensation & Pension Service discuss VA Claims Processing, Senior Policy Advisor for Health Affairs Dr. Stephen Ondra of the Office of the Secretary, Dept of VA, and an update on VA billing private insurance for treatment of service-connected conditions by Jacob Gadd.

Wednesday morning began with PNC Conley’s presentation on the Changing Needs of the Veteran Population. Next Dr. Trowell-Harris, Director of the VA Center for Women Veterans talked about Women Veterans Issues/Challenges. Col Ritchie, MD, Director of the Behavioral Health Proponency Office in the Office of the Surgeon General of the Dept of the Army spoke on Improving Mental Health Care Treatment including PTSD, TBI and Suicides. The morning ended with Steve Robertson giving us a VA Budget update. We took a brief break for lunch, then heard from Patricia Vandenberg, Asst Under Secretary of Health for Policy and Planning, Veterans Health Administration, on the Challenges Facing Rural Health Care. The final presentations were on the VA’s Long Term Health Care presented by Rick Greene of the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care and Lisa Pape of the VA Office of Mental Health Services Domiciliary. Each member of the Committee gave wrap-up comments and I adjourned the meeting. There was a lot to digest, a lot that requires staff follow-up and research, and a lot to report at the DC Conference. A lot of these areas have been the subject of reports or studies from the past that have deadlines that I’m sure were long missed. Once this report comes out, we need to start paying more attention to this on a routine basis, rather than wait for meetings. Some of us then went to Greenbelt 136 for a ham dinner.

Thursday morning, I taped the 4th Sitrep of the year in a little different format. Marty Callaghan sat in and conducted a mini-interview. After a seafood stir fry lunch at McCormick and Schmick’s and an afternoon in the office, we were ready for the next trip. The weather report doesn’t look good, and we hope to be able to get to West Virginia from Dulles.

Feb. 11, 2010
Mississippi

After our interesting escape from West Virginia and subsequent limo trip to Pittsburgh, the Delta flight to Memphis was anticlimactic. We were picked up at the airport by Department Commander Don Cabrol, Department Adjutant Johnny Bracy and ANEC Bob Gosa. We spent the night in the Memphis airport Radisson. We got checked in and to their sports bar with about 11 minutes left in the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl. I thought the second half commercials weren’t that good – guess we missed all the good ones. While I had no preference as to who won, I thought the Colts deserved to lose as they rolled over for the Jets to keep the Steelers out. My opinion and I’m sticking to it.

Monday morning was a surprise: about 4 inches of snow fell overnight. This is the same storm that will hit D.C. on Tuesday. We left early to eat breakfast at Horn Lake 134, and it was a good thing. The roads weren’t that good, and lots of people had left the road or spun out or were involved in an accident. They must not be used to driving in snow here, as we saw more of this in the short trip to Horn Lake than we saw the entire trip to Pittsburgh. Post Commander Ken Morgan and Riders Director Mike Fronabarger were cooking in the kitchen when we arrived. Department President Angela Kilcrease and Department Secretary/NEC Nancy Sanders joined us for breakfast and remained with us for the rest of the visit. I kept my remarks to the social network aspect. The post presented gifts that were handmade by members. First was a plate with the Navy Seal on it that was made by George Arata, and second was a wood plaque made by Tommy Workman that has a coin from most of the military commands in Jacksonville. Commander said he pulled a lot of strings to get the coins. Mike gave me a T-shirt. Mayor Nat Baker, in his working clothes as he was helping clear roads, and Alderman John Jones presented a framed certificate of accomplishment. It is always a good sign to see city leaders participate, and I thanked the mayor for taking time out of his day to be there. Even though he asked John to be dressed to make the presentation, he still stopped by for 5 minutes in his work clothes to witness it. There were 20 people present.

We proceeded to New Albany 72 for a coffee and cake break. Larry took my picture with two longtime members: George Sloan, a 64-year member, and J. R. Owen, a 66-year member and two-time past post commander, past district commander and past department vice commander. They had some great pastries, all homemade. Post Commander Robert Coltharp had 29 members in attendance, so again I talked about social networking and opened it to questions.

On the way to lunch at Tupelo 49, the snow disappeared and rain took over. The post has two rooms that have history in them. One has uniforms, rifles, and equipment from various wars, and the other has 200 hours of taped interviews with veterans, posters and other memorabilia. Post Commander John Blanchard ran the program and I sat next to post adjutant and Past National Vice Commander Fred Ingellis, another member of more than 60 years. Fried chicken and roast beef were the main course. As soon as I finished eating, I was interviewed by Susan Parker of WTVA News. She said the piece would be on NBCTV.com. Also present were Thomas Wells of the Daily Journal and Scott Morris of the North East Mississippi Dispatch. Retired MG Robert Chestnut was on his 1st tour as Post Chaplain. I also met 89-year-old Talmadge Stoablefield who served on the USS MISSISSIPPI when she fought the last major battleship engagement ever at Surgai Straits. I gave my remarks, and a lot of head shaking was again apparent. I think most people agree with my message, but agreement needs to turn to action. Pontotoc Post 16 Commander Branlett and Mr. Wicker gave me a beautiful afghan that has the history of the city and county on it. The Chippewas originally lived there. He also gave me a first aid kit and a copy of the 1973 baseball program cover. The inside picture featured the Legion department championship team, which had Brett Favre and his brother, Scott, on it. They were coached by their father. Representing Mayor Jack Reed, Fred Pitts gave me a key to the city. Post Commander Blanchard then gave me a set of marble horse head book ends. There were 9 members present wearing the round I met T.H.E. Job Challenge pin, the most at any meeting yet. There were 74 in attendance, including representatives from Pontotoc 16 and Bonneville 123.

We then headed for Cleveland 165, the department commander’s home post, which is about a 3-hour drive. His wife, Jimmie, has spent most of the day helping get the post ready. There were 63 present – a very large contingency – for the BBQ pulled pork dinner, including representatives of Grenda 35, Greenwood 29, Clarkdale 28, Greenville 32, Indianola 206, Wesson 79 and Mount Bayou 220. Again, there were many questions after my presentation. I also met Meredith Cole, Little Miss Poppy for the unit. Michael Simmons of the Cleveland Current and Matthew Breazeale of the Bolivar Commercial conducted separate interviews. Commander Cabrol presented a clay bowl and serving platter in the shape of Mississippi. We then drove another 3 hours to Jackson to spend the next couple of nights at the Old Capitol Inn. My room is called the Mississippi Delta room and is the first room I’ve been in that you have to go down 19 steps to get to the bedroom. Since the computer desk is in the upstairs section, these steps represent the most exercise I’ve had as national commander.

Tuesday began with breakfast at the hotel. Department headquarters was the next stop. HQ is in the war memorial building next to the old capitol which is now a museum. Also headquartered here are the ALA, DAV, VFW, 40 & 8 and a couple of others. The department commander has a huge office complete with a conference table that seats 10. The PDC pictures are all in his office. The department adjutant has a much smaller office. Legion Riders Allen Smith of Chapter 112 and Tommy Thames of Chapter 213 escorted us the entire day. We drove to Vicksburg 213 for a chicken and beef lunch with spaghetti for the side. Mayor Paul Winfield joined us for lunch, made welcoming remarks and had to leave for another engagement. Other city dignitaries included Port Gibson Mayor Fred Reed; 4 of 5 Warren County Supervisors Richard George, William Banks, Charles Salmen and Bill Landerdale; and Port Gibson Sheriff Frank Davis. I presented a reissued charter for Post 216 to Commander James Jackson who revitalized the post. Post 3 Commander James Bryant gave me a $200 check for the NEF and Post 213 Commander Douglas Watts also presented a $200 check for the NEF. The Army JROTC from Vicksburg High School presented the colors. I was interviewed by Trish Butts of the Vicksburg Post prior to my speech, and she had no post-speech questions. My speech was well received by the 49 present, and many questions were asked after the presentation. I thanked all the local support for attending and making such excellent remarks about the posts in this area and their participation.

Proceeded back to Jackson 112 for all the fried catfish you could eat for dinner. Post Commander RV Martin was last year’s national recruiter of the year, having recruited 503 members. I was pleased to be able to crown the unit’s Little Miss Poppy Sarah Mitchell and Miss Poppy Jessica Patterson. Department Miss Poppy Sara Jo Housley joined us for the picture. NEC Charles Langley was present and did my introduction – this was the only time we saw him. Eagle Scout of the Year and last year’s Department Oratorical Contest winner, Tony Martinez, presented me a picture. He hopes to repeat his Oratorical championship this year. RV told me I deserved a Cadillac and gave me a picture of one and a remote control Cadillac SUV. Post 112, Unit 112, Squadron 112 and the Juniors of Unit 112 all presented checks for the NEF. The Juniors also gave me a clay plate in the shape of Mississippi. The Riders gave me a pin and a key chain, and the Assistant Mississippi VA Director Henry Funchess gave me a ball cap and day timer. I presented Post 125 Commander Roy Pete with is 100% Membership Award. There was a large crowd of 180 on hand, with representatives from DeKalb 5, Crystal Springs 41, Wesson 79, Newton 89, Jackson 91, Jackson 117, Meridian 125 and Martin 135. They were also very enthusiastic about my social network remarks.

Wednesday began with breakfast at Hattiesburg 24. Post Commander Ted Tibbett handled the MC role and was really good, but he has worked in broadcasting for a long time. Charles Herrington of WDAM TV (NBC) videotaped my speech, then conducted a separate interview in a side room. I was also interviewed by Terry Johns of the Hattiesburg American News. Deputy Mayor John Brown presented me with a history book on Hattiesburg for Mayor Johnny Bupper. The post commander presented me with a $1,000 check for the NEF and a $1,000 check for the Child Welfare Foundation. He also gave me a “Who Dat” Championship T-shirt, recognizing the Saints’ Super Bowl win, and Mardi Gras beads. There were 31 present, including from Pascagoula 160.

Tylertown 56 served an interesting lunch: pulled chicken in a fruit salad, which was really good. Past Post Commander Max Luter handled the introductions – he’s USNA, class of 94. He served for 7 years after graduating, then joined the family plumbing and electrical business which has been in the family for 3 generations. Walthall County Alderman CC Furbush presented a proclamation from Mayor Ed Hughes with 2 other Aldermen, Ken Kraft and Clifton Carr, present. Clifton is also Tylertown 120 Commander. Congressman Gregg Harper’s Vets Rep Larry Wert was also present. Department chaplain Buddy Day gave the invocation and benediction. Post Commander Jerry Beard gave me a porcelain milk pitcher and a Tylertownopoly game. I was also interviewed by Doug Walker of the Tylertown Times. Auxiliary member Paula McGinnis made a clay pottery plate for me. She is very talented – everything they served was on plates she made. There were 55 people present in this little post – it really looked packed – with representatives from Tylertown 120, Liberty 76 and Ocean Springs 42. This is Department President Angela Kilcreasy’s home post, and her husband Jack, called Ranger Jack, is the 7th District Commander and a mainstay of the post.

Before leaving Tylertown, we stopped at the Holmes Water Park to visit their monument erected to all veterans in 2005 by Tylertown 56 when Max was commander. His likeness in a salute is engraved on the monument. It is a very nice little monument on a concrete slab in the shape of the county. They sold and are still selling 4-x-8 bricks for $25 and 8-x-8 bricks for $50.

It was then off to a roast beef dinner at Bay St. Louis 139. There was a large contingency of AFJROTC from Bay High School there. They presented colors and served the meal. Post Commander Bill Moran presented me with a desk stand with a pen on one end and a globe on the other end. Past Department President Lou Wilkinson presented a beautiful magnolia she painted and framed herself. The Auxiliary unit president gave Liz and I an elaborate set of Mardi Gras beads. The 86 members present included representatives from Waveland 77, Calhoun City 50 and Gulfport 119. Waveland 77 was ground zero for Hurricane Katrina and has been totally rebuilt. The post commander related a number of stories about the problems they had with FEMA and then the many rules changes that occurred when they were building, which affected their permits. He also gave me the post pin that has a hurricane symbol over a 5-pointed star representing the post, Katrina’s classification as a category-5 storm and the post being ground zero. A wreath symbolizes how they rebuilt the post and reestablished themselves in their community.

We ended our 23rd department visit in Gulfport for our American Airlines flights to Springfield via Dallas and Chicago for the Lincoln Pilgrimage for the president’s 201st birthday.

Feb 12-13, 2010
South Dakota (weather cancelled)

We have a routine flight to Chicago, which pulls into gate F11. Our flight to South Dakota is also due to leave from F11. But 5 minutes before they are to call the flight, they announced a gate change to F1, which is a decent walk away. When we arrive at the gate, they have given last call and are calling us by name. Boarding the plane, it is just about full. The stewardess then announced that they took on extra fuel and had informed the gate to only let 48 of the 50 passengers on board. The gate agent is coming to remove 2 people, volunteers first, then those who boarded last. However, when the gate agent arrives, she announces the flight has been canceled, as conditions in Sioux Falls are too dangerous to land. We get in line to rebook and the line is huge. It takes 2 hours to get to the front. In talking to the local folks, we discover that Sunday might not be a good day to get out of South Dakota and might not be a good day to get into Minneapolis. The earliest they can rebook us is 1250, which doesn’t get us to Sioux Falls until about 1430 – too late for any real event. So we decide to cancel this flight and try to swap our Delta flight out of South Dakota to be from Chicago to Minneapolis. I get the United flight canceled and a refund of about $529 for the unused part. The agent told me we had to go to baggage claim to figure out our luggage situation. Larry had been trying to reach Delta, but they don’t answer their phone. He was on hold for about 1 ½ hours, until his battery dies.

At baggage claim, the real fun began. The lady told us our luggage would be on the 0840 flight to Sioux Falls even though we weren’t scheduled to go until 1250. I asked if we could not terminate in Chicago and have the bags pulled, and she said they couldn’t do that. She also told us that, as we had no more flights on United, we would have to go to Sioux Falls if we ever wanted to see our luggage again. I asked if she could send them a message on the computer to pull our bags, and she said she could, but when they get here in the morning they throw away any messages from the night and start over. I said that was incredible: they don’t read them to see if there’s action required that hasn’t been completed yet. She told us we could try at the ticket counter, but would have to be there at least an hour before the 0840 flight to give them time to process it. As it was already about 0100, we slept for the 2nd night in a row at the airport.

Saturday morning, we got up at about 0415 as United workers were setting up the lines. We have now decided we need a United ticket to have a chance to see our luggage. This means we are actually glad Delta never answered the phone, and we wish we hadn’t cancelled the United flight, just rearranged it to this morning. The agent tells us we can’t use the credit as it has gone to the payee which isn’t us, so we have to pay for the tickets, but they eventually book us to Minneapolis and send a message to divert our luggage from Sioux Falls to Minneapolis. The first flight is at 0640, which is fine with us as long as we get luggage. We are still not able to get Delta to answer the phone. This agent says she can’t believe the agent last night told us all that she did, as there is no reason to throw messages away until they have been completed. Once we booked the flight, South Dakota was officially canceled. I don’t know if there is enough time or events to try to book them later or not, but this is the first department we’ve missed, and it’s all due to weather.

Feb. 11-13
Lincoln Pilgrimage, Springfield, Ill.

Celebrating Lincoln’s Birthday by attending the Pilgrimage to his Tomb has been one of the events I have been looking forward to for a long time. However, this became the worst travel experience we have had to date, which carried over to the South Dakota trip. It started before midnight on the 10th when we got an alert saying the 0630 American flight to Dallas had been cancelled. We were rebooked for the same route starting at 1030, which would now get us to Springfield at about 2000, too late for the open house at Springfield 32, the host for all the events. They have total control, and this is the 76th Pilgrimage they have coordinated. We would still be able to stop by for the dance which would last until 0100. Department Commander Leo dropped us off at the airport and we left on time to Dallas.

Then the fun began. Our 1300 flight to Chicago had already been cancelled before we arrived. It had been snowing hard, big heavy wet flakes, since 0400, and Dallas would eventually set a record for snowfall with over a foot. We were number 3 and 4 on the standby list for the 1445 flight, and got on the plane. This flight would arrive in Chicago at 1700, in plenty of time to make our 1900 flight to Springfield. However, we sat at the gate for 2 ½ hours, with the pilot telling us we were in the que for de-icing. Then they ran out of fluid. We then left the gate and took another 1½ hours to get to the head of the de-icing line. Took about 20 minutes to de-ice the plane, so it was about 1930 when we left Dallas. We arrived in Chicago at about 2130, 15 minutes after the last flight to Springfield left. They told us we were re-booked for a 0824 flight Friday morning out of Terminal 1.

We went to Terminal 1 and spent some time online. At 0100, they posted the flights for the 12th, and we were actually out of F-11 in terminal 2. So we walked all the way over there and slept for about three hours at the gate. We were awakened at 0500 by the many people who would be taking flights starting at 0600. There are four gates here – A, B, C and D – and it seems there are flights from each of them about every half hour. I put my suit on to travel, and we arrived in Springfield at about 0910, having missed the breakfast at the Hilton. NEC Gene Thompson and ANEC Luis Gonzalez picked us up at the airport. Our luggage didn’t arrive, but when we checked, it had beaten us here and was in storage, so we checked in for our evening flight and checked our bags.

From the terminal, we went straight to Lincoln’s Tomb to meet the rest of the party there. Standing guard and providing honors were re-enactors for the 114th Infantry Regiment, III Volunteers. Music throughout was provided by the Sound Celebration Chorus. The wreath laying was led off by MG William Enyary, Congressman John Shimkus (a Legionnaire) and Congressman Aaron Schock laying the wreath for the President. I was next, followed by National President Rita. Among the 20 or more wreaths, National SAL Commander Mark, Illinois Department Commander Flanagan/Department President Moore, LeChapeau National of the 8 & 40 Christiansen and many more laid wreaths. My remarks lasted about five minutes. At the conclusion, I was interviewed by Emily Ford of the Illinois Radio Network, and Kevin Wallace of WANDTV (NBC).

The Lincoln Commemorative Luncheon was held at the Hilton. There were four PNCs in attendance: PNC Geiger, PNC Conatser, PNC Cadmus and PNC Frank; and six Department Commanders: Bill Flanagan-Illinois, Terry Rice-Kentucky, Dave Thomas-Kansas, Leo Endres-Wisconsin, Carnie Jackson-Michigan and Bob Newman-Indiana. My remarks lasted about 11 minutes. Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of VA Dan Grant presented a certificate of accomplishments, and Assistant to the Secretary of State Gregory Curran presented a framed license plate to me. Department Commander Flanagen gave me a jacket, and the committee had a brick from the tomb for each of us. There were about 250 people at the luncheon, and some 12 states were represented.

NEC Gene Thompson took us back to the airport for our 1815 United flight to Sioux Falls via Chicago.