JERSEY CITY, NJ – GumRunners LLC is proud to support our troops and their families by donating a portion of its proceeds to organizations that support them.

“We really believe everyone should understand and appreciate the sacrifices made by the individuals of the armed forces and their families. Over the years we’ve gotten a lot of emails and actual letters from servicemen and women and their families.  Since we’re a gum maker, the letters are usually about gum – and to tell us how Jolt Energy Gum helped them or how much they enjoy it,” said Kevin Gass, co-founder of GumRunners, LLC.  “With every letter, it humbles us to realize what they achieve and endure in support of our nation.  As a small thank you, we are donating 7% of all sales from ‘Support our Troops’ Jolt Energy Gum packs to charities that assist wounded or fallen members of the military or their families, including the Wounded Warrior Project, The Intrepid Fund for Fallen Heroes and  The Fisher House.

“It’s wonderful that GumRunners is donating part of their sales to those who have served their country so honorably,” said Jose Dee, event director of several benefits for the Wounded Warrior Project. “Now even people who can’t write a large check can contribute even by buying a pack of Jolt Gum.”

“The tagline for Jolt Gum is Chew More. Do More,” said Kevin Gass, co-founder of GumRunners, LLC.  “And who does more for our country then the members of the armed forces?”

“Support our Troops” Jolt Energy Gum will be sold online at www.joltgum.com and in many of the supermarkets, drugstores, convenience stores and specialty retailers across the country that carry Jolt gum, including CVS, ampm, Sheetz, CircleK and 7-Eleven. Two pieces Jolt Energy Gum contain enough caffeine, ginseng and guarana to give the energy boost of a coffee or energy drink. The gum is available in sweet spearmint and exhilarating IcyMint flavors and has a suggested retail price of $1.59.

Yesterday, Iraq regained complete control of its cities under a policy instituted in the final months last year of the Bush administration. The Iraqi government declared it “National Sovereignty Day” and held a parade to mark the holiday.

This is good news for us that should have resulted in large banner, headlines, and news stories about VICTORY being plastered all over the country. We should be having parades in every major city at most, but our nation’s capital at LEAST. Unfortunately, our leaders in D.C. are planning no such thing that I’m aware of.

Instead of tasking the VP with overseeing the honorable return of our troops from Iraq or hailing the ones responsible for making “National Sovereignty Day” a possibility, President Obama instead tapped Vice President Biden with the task of overseeing overseeing the US departure from Iraq and Washington’s effort to promote internal political reconciliation there. Yes, the same man who so foolishly thought it would be a brilliant idea to split Iraq into three autonomous nations or zones.

The President yesterday recognized this event and praised the troops responsible for the security situation in Iraq that made this possible.

“[T]he very fact that Iraqis are celebrating this day is a testament to the courage, the capability, and commitment of every single American who has served in Iraq. (Applause.) That’s worth applause. Through tour after tour of duty, our troops have overcome every obstacle to extend this precious opportunity to the Iraqi people. These women and men are not always in the headlines, but they’re in our hearts and prayers, and we will forever honor their selfless service and sacrifice, as well as the service and sacrifice of their families. There is more work to be done, but we’ve made important progress in supporting a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq. And everyone who has served there, both in uniform as well as our civilians, deserves our thanks.”

Of course, he didn’t mention that his campaign and rhetoric in the past two years was one of the “obstacles” our troops had to overcome, but the sentiment of this statement is welcome and needed. I extend a challenge to the President to take these words and put them into action. When our troops came home in 2001, Washington, D.C. held a HUGE parade celebrating the successes of our troops in Desert Storm. Our troops deserve another victory parade and the Command in Chief who made it all possible should be invited to attend as grand marshal!

The Desert Storm Victory Parade in Washington, D.C. on June 8, 1991, included the above battalion-size formation of 3AD troops representing various units from throughout the Division. At the lead is Maj. Gen. Jerry R. Rutherford (third from right), followed by his staff. Rutherford had taken command of the 3AD from Maj. Gen. Paul E. Funk in Kuwait following Desert Storm. The above Spearhead troops had flown from Germany for the event and are shown after crossing D.C.’s Memorial Bridge (with the Lincoln Memorial in distant background). About 9,000 U.S. troops took part in the parade, which included Constitution Ave. and ended at the Pentagon.

I wanted to add a quick update. Concrete Bob, a true and patriotic American, tried hard to have a victory in Iraq day. Unfortunately, he only met with friction from EVERYONE! Trying to drum up support was impossible, even among conservatives. A lot of people should really be ashamed of themselves for crapping on this man’s efforts to recognize our troops. The excuses and naysayings were just astounding.

Expanded Homeowners Assistance Program could help with BRAC hardships

Excerpt

Jun 29, 2009

By Rob McIlvaine, FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Army News Service, June 29, 2009) — While the Base Realignment and Closure decisions of 2005 are causing upheaval for some families, help is available through the Department of Defense National Relocation Program, the Homeowners Assistance Program, and soon, the Expanded HAP, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Besides standard Permanent Change of Station or PCS entitlements, the Department of Defense National Relocation Program provides relocation services, including a guaranteed home buyout process, to eligible DoD civilian employees so they can sell their homes at the prior-duty station and locate housing at the new duty station.

Its primary benefit, known as Guaranteed Home Sale, offers an alternative to the PCS reimbursement process. It also offers other valuable services such as the Home Marketing Incentive Payment, a financial-incentive-bonus payment that may be authorized for employees who successfully market their homes.

Since its inception in 1987, the relocation program has helped thousands of employees sell their homes through the Guaranteed Home Sale Program, rent their homes through the Property Management Program, and purchase or rent in a new town through Destination Services. The complete DoD National Relocation Program Handbook, revised December 2008, explains in detail the services available and the process required to obtain these services.

The traditional HAP program provides benefits for transferring Soldiers and civilian employees only when an economic impact study determines that the depreciation of home values is specifically linked to the closure of a nearby military installation, according to David Gage, chief of the National Relocation Program Office for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, “In that case,” Gage said, “HAP guarantees all or a portion of the difference between the price a property sells for and the estimated value of the property prior to the base closure announcement.”

Expanded HAP will help even more.

On May 14, Vice President Joe Biden announced DoD’s plan to add $555 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand the HAP to help offset the effects of the country’s struggling housing market.

“The recently passed economic stimulus program that expanded the HAP eligibility guidelines to provide some financial benefits for BRAC-affected servicemembers and civilian employees who sell their homes at prices less than their purchase price or less than the mortgage balance owed, without requiring any economic impact study,” Gage said.

This temporary expansion, which includes the payment of closing costs to transferring servicemembers and civilian employees affected by BRAC 2005, was possible through the efforts of the Army Family Action Plan committee members who played a positive role in reviving the PCS issue.

**SNIP**

“When the implementing guidance (from DoD) is issued, employees who are eligible for HAP benefits who have already sold their homes can still file for HAP benefits after the fact,” Gage said.

Employees who are or will be moving due to BRAC can use the DNRP for the home sale at current market value, and file for HAP benefits to provide any additional benefit (e.g., loss-on-sale or negative equity payments) for which they may be entitled.

The DNRP Web site, http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/dnrp.htm, includes info and a link to the HAP Web page.

The guidelines for eligibility for expanded HAP benefits are already established, and can be found at the HAP Web site: http://hap.usace.army.mil/

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Formerly, a recruit who fails a drug test merited a 30-day postponement to allow the recruit to pass a new drug test. No longer. Fail a drug test now and the Corps isn’t interested.

The Marine Corps has zero tolerance for Marines who use illegal drugs. Now we’re expending that zero tolerance to our potential recruits. We don’t need those that have drug problems serving in the Marine Corps and possibly spread their addictions to those around them.

The Corps is also taking a harder line on tattoos. Too much ink, especially on a recruit’s forearms, could keep a potential Marine out of boot camp.

In short, if you’re serious about wearing the eagle, globe and anchor don’t even think about hitting that joint at the after-prom party and save the tattoos for well after your first combat deployment.

There was a time in the Marine Corps when it didn’t matter how many tattoos were decorating your body, but that time has passed. Marines have an image in the American mind that we must uphold. Would you be receptive to your son or daughter speaking to a Marine about possibly joining while he has ink up and down his arm? Not having tattoos on the forearms presents a much more professional appearance.

The most popular job in the Corps remains combat infantry – military occupational specialty 0311 – and that job has a lengthy wait, Salinas said.

“In the past, anywhere from 30 to 90 days was the average wait once you enlisted, if you are physically able,” Salinas said. “Now, if a high school graduate walks in the door right now, many [recruiters] don’t have a place for him until November or December.”

Another lie from the antimilitary camp is that young men are being forced into ground combat jobs. That is simply not true! I can’t tell you how many Marines I’ve talked to that WANTED to join the infantry, but couldn’t because all of their slots were full when the young man enlisted.

Recruiting Command is doing such a great job that a young man or woman that enlists today may have to wait until the end of the year to actually attend recruit training. If you’ve seen the size of a graduating company aboard MCRDs Parris Island and San Diego, you know that this much of a backlog is amazing. Even more amazing is Recruiting Command was able to complete mission for the month of June during the first week of the month!

I would love to see IVAW come out and attempt to refute how well Marine Corps Recruiting Command does their job in getting the best, brightest, and most highly qualified young men and woman to begin the journey to earn their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. Their arguments are based on misinformation, twisting of facts, and all around illogical thought.

Great job, Marine recruiters. Keep it up!

DOD should gradually phase in a ban on tobacco use in the military, starting at military academies and officer training programs and among new recruits, the report says. DOD should also stop selling tobacco products in Army and Air Force commissaries — Navy and Marine Corps commissaries already do not sell them — and should stop selling them at a discount in military exchanges and other stores. In addition, Congress should allow VA to establish tobacco-free medical centers.

The report was requested by DOD and VA, who asked the Institute of Medicine to identify policies and practices that could lower rates of smoking and help soldiers and veterans quit.

The DoD and the VA asked for polices and practices to lower rates, not complete eliminate tobacco use from the military. In typical nanny-state fashion, the Institute said let’s just force them to quit and completely ignore the actual request from DoD! Those men and women in the military that are able to make life and death decisions on the battlefield are unable to make decisions regarding their own health. Let’s just force them to do what we want!

It gets worse. As if the military doesn’t have enough bureaucracy, we’ll add several more layers. Emphasis once again mine.

The Defense Department should set a date by which the military will be tobacco-free and require each of the four services to develop and enforce a timeline for achieving this goal, the report says. Recognizing that immediately banning tobacco use in deployed personnel is not realistic, the committee urged an incremental strategy, starting with closing the pipeline of new tobacco users entering the military. Smoking should be banned at military academies, and the current ban on tobacco use during basic training should be extended to include subseqent technical training. That ban could eventually be extended to all new enlistees, who would be informed during recruitment that they would be expected to remain tobacco-free during their entire military careers.

I really can’t imagine each service having the time, manpower, and funds to develop a timeline on banning the use of tobacco. Additionally, what makes anyone believe it is realistic to ban use in the states if it isn’t realistic to ban use in deployed areas? What effect would a ban on those who smoke from enlisting have on recruiting commands?

Even more worrisome is enforcement of this new ban. Do they plan to now test for cotinine during unit urinalysis? What would result from a positive test? I can’t see asking a Marine why he was subject to NJP and having him respond, “I smoked a cigarette.” It is complete absurd.

The issue that weighs the heaviest on my mind is free will. If I want to smoke or use dip as an adult, why can’t I? Tobacco is not an illegal substance as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Yet, we are going to put cigarettes in the same class as these illegal drugs, ban them from the military, and punish service members for breaking the ban?

In the defense of the DoD and the VA, encouraging service members to quit is the right thing to do. It is bad for your health, costs a ton of money for both the smoker and the military health system, and is an incredibly nasty habit. I support the military’s current methods of cessation and do not support any type of ban or limiting the ability to purchase tobacco on base. In the end, service members are more than able to make their own decisions concerning their health. The military is welcome to encourage them to make better decisions, but not require it.