DoD

Honor the Contract

The

Warriors voice

"Of

the Veteran

by the veteran

for

the veteran"

Mr.

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 state 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.

I

INVITE ALL PARTIES RECEIVING A COPY OF THIS LETTER TO MR. VOINOVICH

TO GIVE IT THE WIDEST DISSEMINATION POSSIBLE. SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS

AND FAMILY, EVEN NEWSPAPERS. IN ALL FAIRNESS TO SENATOR VOINOVICH AND

HIS FELLOW SENATORS, I WILL FORWARD ANY RESPONSE I RECEIVE IN THEIR DEFENSE.

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!

Proud

to Serve,

MSgt

Rocky Dunlap Chief, EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight) Eskan

Village, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

To

View Other Letters

Footnote:

I

am also a Buckeye, born and reared. I also have been in touch with

this state government since 1993 with this organization. I have

written numerous letters and made many phone calls to Senator

Voinovich when he was the governor. Not once has he made an effort to

acknowledge my queries, except for one time when he did pass

information on to his aide for military affairs.

It

is interesting to note that during the height of the media hype of

the Gulf War, newspapers across this state put out the press release

from Columbus informing it's state citizens that these newest war

veterans would receive a state bonus as did every other war veteran

in the past. There was no fanfare or hype to let the citizens of the

state of Ohio know that this money would not be received as the the

vote failed making Gulf War veterans the first war veterans in this

state to not receive a state bonus.

Senator

Voinovich needs to we are angry with his lack of concern for our

military. Below are links for his email address and his website. Also

listed is address and telephone numbers. Take a stand and speak out!

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