Dear MSgt Rocky Dunlap, I fully support your letter to our state's senator and will also vote against him in his next election. My father, myself, my brother-in-law and several friends have served in the military. The enlistment and readiness problems the military has today are, in part, a result of the low pay offered military personnel. The pay for enlisted persons is especially low and unfair. Thank you for writing such a moving and eloquent letter. Bette Hill (former U.S. Army Nurse Corps) Ohio HILL-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > Subject: > > HILL-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 292 > > Today's Topics: > #1 [HILL-L] Vet day [Jeremy L Beller <jbeller1@juno.com] > > Administrivia: > To unsubscribe from HILL-D, send a message to > > HILL-D-request@rootsweb.com > > that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > > and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software > requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: [HILL-L] Vet day > Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 02:52:20 -0500 > From: Jeremy L Beller <jbeller1@juno.com> > To: HILL-L@rootsweb.com > > Hi, as this is vets day, hope this has meaning, although it is off topic. > I hope this makes you as mad as it did me. These are the same people > that not so very long ago voted themselves a 50% pay raise. > > 4.8% for a 1,000 base pay is just 48.00. > > Who voted against the 4.8% Military Pay raise? I understand that these > are the guys who voted against a military payraise of 4.8%. Also below, > a Master Sergeant's letter. It is quite impressive. The source is pretty > good. > > ---NAYs 11--- > Bayh (IN) > Graham (FL) > Robb (VA) > Boxer (CA) > Harkin (IA) > Voinovich (OH) > Feingold (WI) > Kohl (WI) > Wellstone (MN) > Fitzgerald (IL) > McCain (AZ) (Hard to believe from a guy who spent 6 years in the > Hanoi > Hilton!) > > MSGT's Letter to his Senator > > Dear Senator Voinovich, Unless you are planning on this being > your last term in the Senate, I cannot for the life of me figure out why > you would attempt to undermine a much deserved although paltry 4.8 > percent pay raise to military men and women that make sacrifices that > you cannot even comprehend! > > As a registered Republican voter, born and reared in > the Buckeye state, I have a few questions I would like to ask you. > > 1) When was the last time you spent months on end in some > God-forsaken country, separated from family and friends? > > 2) Has your service to the nation ever required you to go beyond > 100 days without a real shower? > > 3) Has any of your Senate duties required you to lie awake at > night in a tent with a dozen other sweating Senators, gagging at the > wretched smell of oil well fires, and listening to desert winds beat > your tent into submission? > > 4) Have you ever been denied the basic freedoms most Americans > take for granted? > > 5) Have you ever forgotten what a real cheeseburger tastes like? > > You are so quick to try and squash a pay raise that would still > leave a large portion of military families below the poverty level in > our > nation. > > Please remind me again of the last time you voted and lobbied > against a pay raise for yourself and fellow Senators? > > Have you ever refused a pay increase to help balance the budget? > > I dare you to compare the percentage of pay raises voted by > Senators for Senators since my career began in 1981! > > The AP article stated that between 8,000 and 16,000 military > families are on food stamps. Even though I believe this to be a very > conservative estimate, it is not a shame for hard working Americans > to get much needed assistance. > The real shame is that thousands and thousands of military > families are even eligible for food stamps, but are too proud to accept > a handout! > > The majority of our military families require both parents to work, > while the military member works an additional part-time job just to > make ends meet. > > I anxiously await the reunification with my family in mid March. > The operations tempo and family separations are something I don't > expect you to understand without experiencing it first hand. However, > with your political pull I'm sure you could arrange to return to Saudi > with me this November. > > The rotation in November will make the third time in two years > I've left my family to proudly support the country that I love. > > Yes, Mr. Voinovich, we could spend Thanksgiving and Christmas > together enjoying meals hard to identify by the appearance and taste. > You could help me write a letter to my wife on our 19th anniversary in > January. Possibly you could bring one of your speechwriters and assist > me with a letter to my twins explaining why dad had to miss yet another > birthday, explaining it's for the good of our country. Before we go home > Valentine's Day will roll around and by now, maybe even you will be > missing your family. > > I could help you make that handmade card expressing your longing > to be with them again. After all, I've had plenty of practice and I'm > sure > we could come up with something appropriate. > > Should I reserve you a cot? Tent space can be a real premium > during the holidays so you may want to make your reservations early. I'm > sure I can round up an extra flak vest and helmet for you. > Even better yet, you can borrow my friend Billy Marshall's gear. > He won't be needing it; however, he would sure like to have his left > hand > and leg back that he lost in an explosion while deployed over here. > > Look on the bright side, you will get an extra $3.50 per day, > while it may not be what you're used to, it adds up after 120 days! > I have a feeling that you would re-think your vote after our > vacation together. As I near the 20 year mark and become eligible for > retirement, I could speak awhile on the minimum of 20 years required to > receive 40-50 percent of BASE pay for retirement. But then again with a > Senator's eligibility and retirement plan you wouldn't know where I was > coming from. > > It's political decisions like your recent voting record that drive > me toward retirement and the pursuit of other areas of interest. With > the thought of returning to Ohio as a civilian, there is one thing that > I > will not throw the towel in on. My family and I will continue to vote > our > beliefs and convictions for the direction of our country. > > Mr. Voinovich, you obviously have lost touch with your > constituents and have decided to throw in the political towel yourself. > I have stood on the simple leadership philosophy, "A LEADER KNOWS > THE WAY, GOES THE WAY, AND SHOWS THE WAY!" > > You obviously do not know the way since you've never been there > yourself. I do not see you volunteering to go any time soon, and you > will > never show the way to deficit reduction when voting down a deserving > military raise and heaping bountiful blessings upon yourself. > > Proud to Serve, > > MSgt Rocky Dunlap Chief, > EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight) > Eskan Village, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia > > In closing I invite those of you with family and friends serving > in the military to remember the eight Senators voting NO. Remember > them when our brave men and women celebrate holidays away from > their loved ones. Remember our Senators when you hear of the growing > peacekeeping missions springing up around the world. But above all > else, remember our Senators when you go to the polls and vote! > > ___________________________________________________________________ > Get the Internet just the way you want it. > Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! > Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.