Category: Politics / News

For nearly 70 years, the VA Home Loan program has provided service members and veterans with the opportunity of affordable home financing. And with the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, the last zero-down program has thrived more than ever.

The VA home loan program offers veterans and service members one of the best lending options available, complete with benefits unmatched by conventional programs.

So what are the Benefits?

The VA Loan has been designed to cater directly to service members, veterans and their families through offering perks, such as lenient eligibility requirements, no mortgage insurance premiums and the option of putting any money.

Other benefits of the program include:

• High loan limits of $417,000 in most parts of the United
  States, with some high cost counties offering limits over $1 million
• No prepayment penalties
• Competitive interest rates

Basic Eligibility Requirements

The good news for applicants is that the majority of service members and veterans meet the basic eligibility requirements that include serving on active duty for 90 consecutive days during wartime or 181 days during peacetime respectively, or by serving in the National Guard or Reserves for a minimum of six years.

In The Book on VA Loans: An Essential Guide to Maximizing Your Home Loan Benefits, we will take you on an insider’s trip through the world of VA Loans, from credit scores and interest rates to the opportunities and challenges of this great program. The book provides overall education for this complicated market that can confuse even the most seasoned real estate veterans.

Get a free copy today and learn how you can use your benefits to obtain the home of your dreams.

Chris Birk is the Director of Content and Communications for Veterans United Home Loans, the featured writer for VA Loans Insider and author of The Book on VA Loans: An Essential Guide to Maximizing Your Home Loan Benefits. Connect with Chris on Facebook at VA Loans Insider or on Google+.

The following is an interview with Nathan S. Webster.  Nathan is an Army veteran and served in the first Iraq war.  He was a journalist during the second Iraq war and was embedded with the 1st/505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 82nd Airborne Division.  He’s got an amazing story to tell and chapters from his war memoir are available on amazon.com:  Can’t Give This War Away

Q: When I think about the difference between the soldiers and journalists in Iraq, I think of it as the difference between an eagle and an ant.  The ants live in the dirt, eat it, and sleep in it, and although the eagles don’t know what it’s like to eat in or sleep in
dirt, they see it from an entirely different perspective and they see all the dirt for miles.

Alright, stupid analogy, but you get the point, and in Iraq since you were a former soldier, veteran of Gulf War I and a journalist, you pretty much got both perspectives.  So the first question that comes to mind is: how do you think being a veteran made you different from the other journalists over there? Good/bad?

A: Definitely different in a good way. Not, it’s important to note, in how the soldiers responded to me. They didn’t care that I was in Desert Storm anymore than I would have cared if somebody had told me they were in Vietnam. But, from perspective, I didn’t have to spend a lot of time getting familiar with the language they were speaking. I knew what was going on, what they were trying to accomplish, and if I didn’t always understand an acronym or nomenclature, I usually understood the context, and from that I could figure it out. Basically, I could relate to the situation a lot better, I think, than an average civilian journalist could have. Obviously, there are defense reporters with years of experience, and I don’t mean better than them. But, to be basically dropped off at a Joint Security Station in the middle of a city with little/no warmup or explanation, yeah, it helped to have a base of knowledge to draw from, whether it was 17 years before or not. I remembered pretty quick. But like one of the guys told me, “Be careful. It isn’t 1991 anymore.”

Q: Since you served during Desert Storm, how do think the press covered the lead up and aftermath of that war, compared to its coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom?  Did you have any personal experiences with journalists during your deployment?

A: They kept a tight leash on journalists during Desert Storm, and that led to people not having any clue about what actually went on. Nobody knows anything about the “Right Hook” or whatever the VII Corps offensive was called. And that’s the military’s fault – they kept most reporters in the rear, and the ground war ended so quickly there was no chance to actually report on any of it. So it’s a lot of stories lost to history. So the embedded system of this war has its critics, and there’s legit criticism that can be made, but it’s still a better system than what we had, which were paranoid PAOs keeping reporters on tight leashes with mandatory escorts, a bunch of glad-handing briefings, etc.

I met one journalist in Desert Storm – an English photographer who took some shots of me while I was doing laundry in a bucket. We were in Saudi at the time waiting to push north. He asked me something like “looking forward to getting this started?” and I was a typical snotty 22-year-old, and I said something like “I don’t know what you mean. Go where? Start what?” I don’t even remember, but he just rolled his eyes and said, “okay, if you say so.”

Which is almost exactly what I said in 2007 to a few guys who played the tough guy/fake ignorant act with me. I was thinking, “Whatever dude. I’m just making small talk. These aren’t the D-Day plans.” And I’m sure that’s what the photographer was thinking talking to me…

Q: I read your book “Can’t Give This War Away,” (Great book) and you tell a lot of stories about the soldiers that you were with over there and it seemed like you got pretty friendly with some of them, so I’m going to ask you the question that my mother always asks me, “Do you still talk to the friends you made while in Iraq?”

A: Plenty of them. I think they appreciated that I said I was planning to write soldier-centered stories that I would try to get published in their hometown newspaper – and when I got back, I wrote a bunch of soldier-centered stories that got published in their hometown newspapers. So I did what I said I would, and didn’t use their words against them, or go in with an agenda of my own. If I saw it or heard it, it was fair game…but I didn’t write about rumors or the usual bellyaching – of which there was plenty. But if I had no first-hand knowledge of it, I wasn’t going to go down the rumor road.

A lot of the guys have bought copies of the book, and for that reason alone I’m glad I put it together. Both commanders liked it – and while part of me thinks maybe that means it’s too sugarcoated, I know that’s not the case. It’s honest, and straightforward. I could have juiced it up if I’d wanted, with rumor and heresay and melodrama – and the first draft did that quite a bit, but that would not have been honest.

It’s not a surprise that the soldiers in 2007 and 2008 were more connected to my work…stakes were lot higher in those years. 2009 was quiet, in a good way, but it was not the same dynamic.

But, I was with the same unit in 2007 and 2009 – and those soldiers I met twice were excited/amused to see me again. So on Facebook I keep in touch with some. But, it’s a limited friendship. I’m twice their age, after all.

If you read the book, I think you can figure out who I got along the best with. There were some guys who were unimpressed with me in 2007, but they warmed up in 2009, once I’d earned some credibility.

Q: A lot of journalist go to Iraq and they embed themselves deep within some of the military units and they experience a lot of the same stresses that the soldiers do—being away from home, being in a warzone, coming close to death, seeing people dying, etc.  But there seems to be no coverage, or reports, about journalists getting PTSD.  Do you think it’s because journalists don’t get PTSD or is there something else going on?  How was it for you when you first returned home from the war?

A: I don’t have PTSD, but I do know that late into that first year (07) whenever a door would slam in the hallway below my office, there was an instant where I didn’t think it sounded like a mortar, but that it actually was a mortar. The feeling was less than a second, barely a register in my mind, but it was there and it was involuntary. So if you extrapolate that, and magnify it by guys who were there 15 months and who were attacked every other day, like in Bayji, then it’s a wonder anybody doesn’t have PTSD. So while I don’t think I have any PTSD myself, it’s not hard for me to see how it could become that.

So, I’m sure journalists absolutely get PTSD. But, since they’re the ones doing the reporting, they’re probably not going to report on themselves. Ashley Gilbertson wrote about in “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” and Dexter Filkins touched on it in “The Forever War.” Basically, when you read about hard-drinking war correspondents, you’re reading about guys dealing with PTSD. Just like soldiers are conditioned to pretend it doesn’t exist, I’m sure journalists are the same.

Q: From personal experiences we both know that war can change people, whether it’s mentally, emotionally, or just politically.  How do you think experiencing the war has changed you?

A: It changed everything. I went from being just one more clown bellyaching on the sidelines, to somebody with a legitimate personal investment. Granted, I was a veteran, but of Desert Storm? Come on. Comparing Desert Storm (my version, anyway) to Iraq in 2007 is like comparing the moon landing to camping in your backyard. So all the things that were academic, and reported through the media’s news filter, all of sudden became real in a way that doesn’t ever go away. My book’s last paragraph makes note of an airplane’s vapor trail – that’s a true story. Iraq’s the first thing I think of when I see that, and it doesn’t go away. It won’t ever go away. So you could say it woke me up.

On the other hand, you want something like that to have an automatic and change everything…but it doesn’t. Yeah, I almost got killed one time – but I don’t live my life any different. You might think you will, but you won’t. In the end, you’ll be who you are, and the events just give your life some color, but they don’t really change you. And, it’s been three years since I’ve been there – so part of me thinks it’s time to move on…but I wrote this book, and I want to do my best to see it published in some form. The title of the book is inspired by a song’s lyric, and while I won’t reveal the song title, one of the other lyrics is “It’s been half a month, and the media’s gone. An entertaining scandal broke, but I can’t move on.” And I guess that’s pretty true. So the title of my book answers your question.

For more great information from Nathan check out his website: Here.

My name is Jan C Scruggs, Founder and President of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial. 30 years ago, I helped build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This
monument healed millions with the engravings on a black granite wall.  Now, I am taking those names and putting a story and picture behind it in a new museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC; the Education Center at The Wall.

The Education Center of The Wall will change the people who visit it. For the
nearly 40 percent, of visitors who weren’t even born when The Wall was completed, it will transform the long list of names cut in the smooth black
granite. Instead of simply names visitors will see the faces and know the stories of the 58,000 heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War.

Through interactive exhibits and primary source materials, visitors will be able to better understand the profound impact the Vietnam War had on their family members, their home towns, their communities and the nation. Visitors will understand the importance of The Wall and the role it continues to play in healing the deep physical, emotional and societal wounds left by the war.

One of those interactive exhibits is called the Call for Photos. VVMF is trying to collect every single photograph of each person on The Wall. People are sending us photographs daily, along with personal remembrances. Here is one we received yesterday. It was written for Charles Perkins from Barbara:

“He was shot on Hill 861 on March 28, 1968 while patrolling the perimeter. He was dusted (taken by helicopter) to the U.S.S. Repose where he was operated on some 34 times, given too many blood transfusions to count and he died on May 17, 1968. Chuck was a wonderful man and always a Marine first. He was respected by his peers and his troops as well. He loved everything about life, loved boating, fishing and long walks on the beach. I have heard from so many people over the years and all so nice. A Dr. who cared for Chuck on the U.S.S. Repose called me and told me how hard he fought to come home but it was not to be. He was the love of my life and I will always miss him.”

Barbara and Charles were engaged just before Charles left for Vietnam.

It’s my goal to share Barbara’s submission in the Education Center, so generations to come can know the legacy of this great patriot. It’s also my goal to break ground on the Education Center this Veterans Day.

In order to raise the rest of the needed funds so we can break ground, from now until Veterans Day, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is issuing a Service Branch Challenge. The challenges each of us to support the Education Center and show pride in one of the branches of the service.

General Barry McCaffrey, USA (Ret) has agreed to lead the charge for the US Army, in their efforts. “The Education Center at The Wall will be a place where our fallen comrades and their stories will live on forever,” said McCaffrey. “I’m proud to lend my support and encourage those who love the US Army to get involved. Supporters of the Army are already leading the way, and have donated more than $21,000. I challenge leaders of the other branches to step up to try and catch us.”

Join Gen. McCaffrey and me in some good natured competiveness and help us remember the legacy of service made by all 9,000,000 million men and women who served with the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard during the Vietnam War Era.

Jan C. Scruggs,

President and Founder of VVMF

www.vvmf.org