Austin, Texas Chapter

The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin-December 2006

Commander's Comments   What a treat we had at our November meeting. Colonel Ladd Pattillo gave us an outstanding PowerPoint presentation on his recent tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq. His detailed explanation of the lengths that the U.S. Army has gone to provide security for the Baghdad International Airport was both professional and highly entertaining. Our First Vice-Commander, Companion Stanley Bullard, has arranged for "TAKE FIVE", a group of five singers and a pianist, to perform for our Holiday entertainment at our next meeting, which will be at the Austin Club on Thursday, 14 December. Please review the enclosed menus, and return your meal choices and check to our treasurer. Companion Jim Burrill. What a way to help launch your end-of-the year festivities! The 2007 Youth Leadership Conference schedule coordination is almost completed. Our first YLC will be aboard the USS Lexington at Corpus Christi, 10 - 14 June, then at the University of Texas at San Antonio, 17-21 June, CTC at Killeen, 8-12 July and finally at Texas A&M, 15-19 July, where I will be the Director for my fifth year. Again this year, a student scholarship will be $200.00 which is a tax deductible donation to the 501 (c) 3, TX MOWW PEF, Inc. We will not incur any transportation requirements to or from a YLC. If you are interested in participating in a YLC, please talk to me.  Don't forget, January starts our Junior and Senior RQTC awards program that culminates in

the awarding of 26 MOWW Certificates and Medals during the months of April, May and early June.  All awards should be presented by a member of our Chapter to be effective. All that is required is a military uniform or a business suit. Several of the high school ceremonies have on site complementary meals. Each ceremony is a mark of our support for the ever critical Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Each award certificate with its folder and the MOWW medal cost the Chapter approximately $10.00. Our companions normally defray the expense of this program by purchasing one or more award sets through contributions to the Chapter Treasurer. We should all be sensitive to the needs of our members that require assistance to facilitate their attendance at our meetings. Please do not hesitate to call me at 261-6272, to arrange for this service. We look forward to socializing with you all at the Austin Club. Meeting, 14 December 2006 The Austin Club (110 East Ninth Street). Please fill out the enclosed menu form and return it to Jim Burrill, 104 Peterson Court, Austin, TX 78734 to arrive not later than 9 December. Note: The low cost per person requires a minimum of 30 in attendance. Bring a friend and enjoy the festivities

Schedule: 1830-1930 - Social 1930-1935 - Invocation & Salutes 1935-2045 - Dinner 2045-2100 - Break 2100-2115 - Awards & Festivities 2115-2130 - Adjourn Chaplain's Selection "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."-John 8.12 Chapter Officers Commander - COL McVeigh Senior Vice Cmdr. - MAJ Bullard Junior Vice Cmdr. - COL Holland Adjutant - COL Szendrey Treasurer - CAPT Burrill Chaplain - CDR Cochran Surgeon - MG Bernstein Judge Advocate - COL Philips ROTC Awards Please contribute to the purchase of medals ($10.00 per) at the December meeting or mail to Jim Burrill, 104 Peterson Court, Austin, TX 78734

Legislation * An amendment to the 2007 Defense Autho- rization Act would cap the interest rate on "payday" loans to service members at 36%. It is designed to protect GIs from predatory lenders who sometimes charge nearly 800% interest on two-week loans that come due on military paydays. Lenders typically charge $15 to $30 for each $ 100 borrowed. A Pentagon report on the subject stated that 13%- 19% of it military force—some 175,000 GIs—received such loans last year. The report noted that the average loan is $350 with an annual interest rate of 390% to 780%, and the average borrower pays $834 for a $339 loan. Besides capping the annual interest rate. Sec. 208 of the Defense bill (S. 2766) would fine lenders who violate the law and could also sentence them to up to one year in prison.  Items of Interest *From an outdated system a little more than a decade ago, VA's 154 hospitals and 875 clinics now annually outperform those in the private sector. For the sixth consecutive year, the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index rated VA hospitals higher than private facilities. Using patient surveys, it scored VA care at 83 out of 100. Private care scored 71.

* In the last two fiscal years, VA has budgeted $300 million for veteran's mental health services, but more than $50 million has not been used for that purpose, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. In part, the money was to help combat vets with post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2005, VA spent only $53 million of the $100 million budgeted. VA redirected $35 million into a general fund, with $12 million unspent. GAO said it was "likely" the money was not used as intended. GAO found some of the funds were used for routine mental health programs. In 2006, $200 million was budgeted with $42 million not spent on the tended program. Cross-Border Consequences of Civil Strife in Iraq Unless the United States and the new government of Iraq take dramatic action to reverse the current trends, the internecine conflict in Iraq could easily spiral into a full- scale civil war, threatening not only Iraq itself but also, even more vitally, its neighbors throughout the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Spillover from an Iraqi civil war could prove the greatest threat to peace in this strategically and economically crucial region.

Spillover refers to the tendency of civil wars to impose burdens, create instability, and even trigger civil wars in other, usually neighboring, countries. This tendency to inflame the passions of neighboring populations is, at the most basic level, simply a matter of proximity. It is far easier for people to identify and empathize with those they live near, even if they are on the other side of an imaginary boundary. Invariably, the problem is exacerbated whenever ethnic, religious, racial, or other groupings spill across those borders. The members of a group have a powerful tendency to take the side of, support, and even fight on behalf of the members of their group in the neighboring country. This sense of cross-border affinity, indeed kinship, is particularly strong in the Middle East. Unfortunately, Iraq appears to have many of the conditions most conducive to this kind of spillover because of the high degree of foreign "interest" in the country. Ethnic, tribal, and religious groups within Iraq are prevalent in neighboring countries, and they share many of the same grievances. Iraq's history of violence with its neighbors has fostered desires for vengeance and fomented constant clashes. Its neighbors also covet Iraqi resources, such as oil and important religious shrines.

 

Commerce and communication between Iraq and its neighbors is high, and its borders are porous, which suggests that spillover from an Iraqi civil war would tend toward the more dangerous end of the spillover spectrum. — Excerpts - Brookings Institute Quote to Ponder I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind. - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Austin Chapter Website  If you have items for the website contact LTC Howard  255-2206 or e-mail: jr99howard@austin.rr.com . Staff Meeting The next staff meeting will be at the call of the Commander.