From AKO...
4 Mar 2009 08:50 GMT
I am glad they are making mistakes.
I spent about 40 hours researching Coppa & her group.
I have found at least 5 things she can be charged with.
I turned over a packet almost 1 inch thick to the garrison command, Her old 1SGT, a Special Agent from M.I. here in Wiesbaden. I reported it to the USAEUR CSM Beam, A friend that works C.I. for the FBI, CSM Paul U.S. Army Intelligence & Security Command Ft Belvoir, VA & Home land security.
The traitors in the IVAW disgust me.
Steve Slauson
Commander VFW Post 27
Wiesbaden, Germany
Hey dude! News flash. I've been pretty busy dealing with my shit, too busy to attend VFW meetings. However, I will now make it a point to attend the next one. In an IVAW T-shirt- I wouldn't want you to think that I didn't care. Also, thanks for spending 40 hours of your time investigating me. I'm sure that's not 40 hours that could have been spent actually taking care of soldiers. Contrary to your opinion, there are a LOT of IVAW members who are also VFW members. I'm sorry if that makes you sad, but it's true. Also, your commentary about how "I will never be one [VFW member] for the rest of my life" is pretty interesting. I think National VFW would be pretty interested to hear how you are attempting to speak for their membership requirements, none of which include having pro-war views.
By the way, if anyone wants to talk to Mr. Slouson about his views, here is his contact information. As he is not in the Army, no OPSEC is violated by posting this.
Email: steve.slauson@us.army.mil
PCO@vfwpost27.org
His phone number, as publicly available from the VFW Post 27 Website:
0611-2059394
11 comments:
You might be disappointed by the national organization's stance...
From an old post I did back in 07
"My husband used to be a member of the VFW. His service qualified, mine didn't, but I was the one who made sure the checks got written every year. After the VFW came out with a strong stance that you could not support this war and still support the servicepeople, I stopped writing those checks. I told my husband up front how I felt, and that he was free to write them, but I wasn't going to any longer. It was a moot point, since after reading the article in the VFW magazine he agreed with me. We still give money sometimes if we know it is going to our local people, but not to the organization. There are other places it can go."
The type of attitude of the guy who is gunning for you is its own punishment. The membership is shrinking across the board with the exception of Germany, probably because they have such a captive audience to draw from there.
Its a shame really, our local guys are a great bunch. They deserve better representation, but will likely have to go to the newer veterans organizations that are forming to get their needs met.
None of this does you much good at the moment, I know.
VFW's membership criteria is governed by their federal charter, and not whatever an individual post commander might want it to be. If I were you, I would report such to VFW headquarters.
And again, I still don't agree with anything IVAW stands for, but VFW is a resolution based organization, ergo positions are dictated by the majority of their members. Is the litmus test for the VFW exclusively on the GWOT or if a member of the VFW doesn't agree on other issues, is it left to the discretion of post commanders to decide?
I dropped my VFW membership a while back due to their totally jacked up endorsements via VFW-PAC.
Each department of the VFW has a judge advocate. I am not sure who Germany falls under, but you might want to think about contacting them as refusing membership to a qualified individual might cost them their tax exempt status nationally.
And again, for the cheap seats, I don't agree with anything IVAW says.
BTW- In an irony alert, I wonder if I wrote any of the stuff in that packet.
Thanks, both of you, those are really good points. I've also thought of calling my actual post, the post that's on my membership card, and seeing what they have to say about someone attempting to deny membership to one of their people.
TSO: If you wrote anything in the packet, I'm totally calling you as a witness at my court martial, hatred of the IVAW and all. Did I mention there's delicious beer in Germany?
Perhaps the Commander should have a position similiar to the one taken by his National Commander 2 years ago:
“We all know that people give up some individual rights when they join the military,” said Kurpius, a Vietnam veteran from Anchorage, Alaska, “but these Marines went to war, did their duty, and were honorably discharged from the active roles. I may disagree with their message, but I will always defend their right to say it,” he said.
“Trying to hush up and punish fellow Americans for exercising the same democratic right we’re trying to instill in Iraq is not what we’re all about,” he said. “Someone in the Marine Corps needs to exercise a little common sense and put an end to this matter before it turns into a circus.”
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4075
Now, no doubt he will argue it is different since you are active duty, but that would still be the responsibility of the military, and not a post commander, no?
It seems kinda ironic the choice of words Sgt Patriot (using her word loosely here) in the title of this blog post.
Loyalty, one of the seven Army values...appears to be one trait lacking in her quest to quest for glory.
Dan:
Can you provide examples of how Sgt. Active Duty has been disloyal?
As Washington said, "When we assumed the soldier we did not set aside the citizen."
As far as I know, she comes to work does her job and follows lawful orders. She disagrees with a war of which she is a veteran and has chozen to express those views. That is not disloyalty, in fact, I believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism.
Charlie, your point might be valid, if she had ever actually been to Iraq.
Regardless, being in the service and seeing the effects of a war of choice on comrades, budgets and the effectiveness of the fighting force is grounds enough for having an opinion.
It is not treason to differentiate yourself from a paperweight.
I think General Eisenhower said it best:
"Here in America we are descended both in spirit and in blood from revolutionists and rebels, men and women who dared to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, let us never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion."
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