| WHY should I SERVE?
I did not serve in this country military to become a commodity. I gave up my rights as a citizen and put my life on the line so that others and I can enjoy the right to pursue happiness.
In this country there was a time when serving in the military was a duty, and an Honor.
But has the years go on the modern day serviceman has to look at what has taken place in his or her life from the prospective of short range and long range goals for there lives. If you are surviving in times of war you must put your mind on the task at hand. Doing the dirty job of fighting and serving the war.
Now if you served in the war or served your time in the military, you still have another war you will have to face. The war that is not mention but dose exists, the War on the home front. You will have to face the people who did not serve. They are the ones who stayed back when to college got there education, then went and got the employment/job that you were not in completion for and most of them moved up the ladder and became the people who are the corporate ladder while you were serving.
Now lets take the government one organization out of the many, the organization that is to help you get readjusted, the Veterans Administration. These are people that is suppose to help you, find employment, help you get back into school, but what I have found out these people have employment because of you and your service. The chances of you working for that origination are slim to none and if you do they will make your job their hell. Why do I say that well I will let you the reader figure that out for your self with these facts:
1. The veterans when applying for the position are giving 5 to 10 points on the rating. 5 points if he or she served and was Honorably discharged from the service.
2. The veterans when applying for the position is giving 10 points if he or she served
and was Honorably discharged, and has a service connected disability, from the
service.
3. Now when awarded the 10 points it will have to be adjudicated which means that the disability awarded to the ex-service member will have to be proving which is not hard to do the VA will send you a letter or form stating you rating which you can incorporated in you application.
4. Now if you are under VA Rehabilitation program better known in the Office of personnel circle schedule A which means you are under what they call non-completive an is suppose to be looked at first now get this if the hiring agency wants to.
5. If you are hired you will have your time in the service added for leave and sick time. Which some of the other employee just might be upset with and if you are a disable ex-service member you are receiving non-taxable money and you make more than them. Which dose not concerns them at all? But that information can be obtained just by looking up there service record in that agency and you telling them that you were in the service.
So not to bore you with all the details all of the above means nothing just words to say they gave the ex-service member a means to grain employment, because it is up to the hiring agency to make the decision. So all you are doing is giving the human recourse personnel employment by going through all of the paperwork. Which bring me to this; we have laws in this country to protect the citizens from discrimination.
Now with the method of seeking employment ON-Line application can the average person who feels he has been discriminated for whatever reason cannot prove it. In this country it is justice for those who can afford it not for all. Hell, to get your Social Security you need an attorney to plead your case.
You can not see the other(s) applicants paperwork, you can not see their race, their sex, their age, if they are a disable person, can you see how much money they are receiving from the government for a service connected injury. The government can.
Let explain that last statement (the government can). If you are an ex-service member and was injured while in the service and went through the VA Rehabilitation Program and if you are receiving compensation they know how much and when it is deposited in your account. Now the question arises can they put that in consideration for employment. With human nature you bet this person is getting this so why should he get the job this person needs employment more them he dose and he be making more money then me and it tax free. Not that the service member ask for it. They just had that happen to them, but if you asked the service member what you consider the money or the arms, legs, sight, mental capability back the way you came in to service or the money, They would say the use of my arms, the use of my legs, to see again, to hear again to be in the right frame of mind.
In the federal government the series determines the rate of pay that the employee will receive for his or her work and skills. Now if they have equipment that is just indigoes to there station they will put this in there qualification you might have read or heard of it but had not had the chance to work with it. For example you might have heard of working with film and chemicals with should not be used if they are a government agency, which all such type equipment should be up graded to digital. They will still put down the use of film and negatives in the qualification because the person they want to promote might not have the education to work with digital and another person who has might beat him or her out. You have to be two grades lower before you can put for that position if higher. Example: if the position were for a GS 11 before you can put in for that position you must have held a position in the government of GS-9 no matter how much education you have obtained a master degree would not help you. So there goes your chance to improve yourself. Now I ask you the reader is that a form of discrimination? They will tailor the qualifications to meet the person they want to promote instead of putting it out to the personnel in the same area have a chance to be promoted.
Now the VA have an answer for that we can put you in this program which will give a reason so that they can be employed bottom line. They have a program for the programs which is just eye wash so they can say they are trying to help the ex-service member but realistically looking at it first rule of business you don’t hire the clientele. But others would tell you to play the game. This is not a game to me or anyone else who has served we put our lives on the line. Dose human life mean anything anymore or just money? If you write your senator or congressman there aids will answer you with the VA has a program. It has become an universal answer why you might ask is to give there continuants employment so they can get there votes nothing more or less. In some area of this country they have generations that worked for the VA. In this area they have ex- service member in the rehabilitation program going back to college and the only employment they offer them is house keeping. These are men and women who had million of dollars they were responsible for and not to mention the most expensive thing in this country the men and women lives. They are now reducing to just sweeping the floors. At one VA facility they have the Human recourses building right across from the rehabilitation building. I guess someone forgot to tell them they are not dealing with the service member of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. You are dealing with people who are a lot more educated than their precursors. Those men were drafted into service these are volunteers with a high school education and most of them with some college.
If you do not play the game they will make your life a living hell. In my case I was injured on the job, which was a government job. They did not offer me any rehabilitation has stated in the Office workman Compensation regulation. I was told they did not have any position open at the time. So I had to retire with a disability retirement from 38,000.00 to 13,000.00 or nothing. But with that I got to keep my medical insurance. Oh now if you are in the homeless program and receiving money for a disability you will have the money taken out for your treatment or stay in the VA the ex-service member the new commodity.
I became homeless, and enrolled into the VA homeless program. There I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and I was a diabetic. Now I was also put into their inpatient work therapy program. The service knew me and knew of my background in electronic. There I worked for two years at 90.00 every two weeks. There I was repairing VCR, replacing Televisions in patient’s room and setting the audio visual for viewing by medical staff sometimes when the employees; that worked there were not present. I have even drove down to the main headquarters to pick up equipment and supplies in my own vehicle you needed a vehicle to go to school or you could not attend under the rehabilitation program. You had to have your own transportation.
Now I have found out about the Veterans Rehabilitation Program. I met all the requirements and after talking to the service chief of the service I was working for he informed that the Photographer was due to retire in Two to three years and I should into photography. I did that and he moved me from the repair part of the service to the Photography section. There I would learn from the photographer and college. I did well in college my Grade point average was 3.51 for my last semester to my surprise.
I can’t return to school because the IRS states that I owe back taxes on my schooling at first now it something else. I had to go into the whole to find out why no one will give me a direct answer to my questions and now the state that I owe them money to after they had gave the IRS my return from the state. The IRS could not get the money legal because of the disability annuity without a court order which means their would have to be a court hearing and I think there is something they are not telling me. So they contacted the state to come after me. The case is still being investigated.
I just think they would like for me to stop my disability annuity and this way they would not have to pay my Medical insurance, which is now not being used because I not sick. I mention that I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and a diabetic. You the reader could be the judge of this. I have been living in my vehicle for four years even while going to college. Dose that sound like, a person with bipolar disorder? I am supposed to be a diabetic but I do not display any of the symptoms even while not eating for two or three days? I will not go to the VA for any medical treatment not even if I was dieing. See while under the rehabilitation program the deal for the ex-Service member is that all there medical expenses are paid for but you must go to all your appointment which is at the local VA you have no choice but to go there. I do not know if they were charging my medical insurance company they will not send me a print out of all my transactions and I keep taking off the family rate to the single rate but they keep putting me on the family rate.
Now after I had shown them my skills in the position, which all they had to do, is put me into they chose to hire someone else. They wanted to excise their right not to follow what is right. I have work my tail off. I covered events when know one was available while in the inpatient therapy on the weekends no overtime for the regular employee because they knew I could handle it. Most people that worked there came to me for help because they knew that I would get the job done. The photographer that trained me for the position had confidents in me to send me out by myself to events and state that I did a good job. But never the less what I did to show them they still picked the other person. Who I m’ told dose not know the first thing about Photography, taking photographs with the lens cap on or out of focus at a major event dose not know anything about making a movie. Dose not know how to use the computer to process photographs dose not know the elements of a photograph. Do not know anything about the computer programs for digital imaging. Now I have some consolation the ones I feel sorry for is the ex-service men and women that don’t have the service they deserve just because someone had the power over someone life. All I hear is you should not put all your eggs in one basket but what happen when you only have one basket. If I get employment I will have to give up my disability annuity and medical insurance but can I live off what I get yes I just can’t enjoy what life has to offer. That is not for me no matter how much schooling I get. When this all happen to me I was just 50 years old now I’m 57 going on 58. I have put in for over three hundred positions through USAJOBS to save my time with the Federal Government. I think it's no more then anyone else would do. But there are people who do not want to see you get that and I will have to accept that. When you have employees that you worked with tell you I would help you but I children to think about I should have heard that before enlisting in the military, why put my life on the line when most people there are worried about there jobs. Someone told me one time asked me what is the difference between ignorance and abstinence? I replied, “I don’t know and I don’t care” and he replied, “you are correct”
To sum it all up all I want is to pay off all my bills, collect what left of my social security, and leave this country and they would not hear from me ever. I have had enough time to make a new home far away from the people who just use you like a tool them throw you away like a paper plate.
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