If you'd like to help out with a donation , please freep mail me for the address. I think she will need to raise more than $600 to set them up in an apartment in San Diego, but anything you can send to help out would be awesome.

Please provide me with information so that I may help.

Ditto here, I will do what I can, but if I can’t give money, I will offer my thoughts and prayers for them...

Call me suspicious but with the following statement and he is camping at the airport.

Chris has been in the Navy, as a nuclear weapons technician, for 15 years ending in May 2005 when his active duty service ended and he completed his Bachelors degree in Science and Engineering (through the Navy) and a Jurist Doctorate (on his own).

I do not know Chris nor can I vouch for his story. I got the email through Soliers Angels. I trust this group & the members. If you would like to email or call one of the women to verify the story, I can send you the phone number or email address.

Thanks

I was able to help out a little. Plus, post the request here and email friends/family.

Sure. Send it private mail.

Ditto me...we weren’t in Iraq in 2002, and I think it’d also be unusual for a nuclear weapons tech to be awarded two Bronze Stars.

that may have been a typo on the emailers part....i will find out more.

Is there anything that the VFW might be able to do for him?

The email stated he was not working as a nuke tech at the time, he was on the ship and on the ground as an ammunition accountant....I have emailed the women involved for more info. I will post it as soon as I get it.

I am not 100% sure, but I don’t think Navy has been “on the ground in Iraq” other than as medics with USMC. Would be interesting to know his rank, unit, etc., the details of the bronze stars..... ? Thanks.

Just googled “Chris, Navy, Bronze Star”... comes up with practically nothing. ??

Ditto me...we weren’t in Iraq in 2002, and I think it’d also be unusual for a nuclear weapons tech to be awarded two Bronze Stars.

That was my thought, too. The nukes didn't leave the ships and you don't get bronze stars for counting bombs on a ship.

VA offers a wide array of special programs and initiatives specifically designed to help homeless veterans live as self-sufficiently and independently as possible. In fact,VA is the only Federal agency that provides substantial hands-on assistance directly to homeless persons. Although limited to veterans and their dependents, VA’s major homeless-specific programs constitute the largest integrated network of homeless treatment and assistance services in the country.
VA’s specialized homeless veterans treatment programs have grown and developed since they were first authorized in 1987. The programs strive to offer a continuum of services that include:

aggressive outreach to those veterans living on streets and in shelters who otherwise would not seek assistance;
clinical assessment and referral to needed medical treatment for physical and psychiatric disorders, including substance abuse;
long-term sheltered transitional assistance, case management, and rehabilitation;
employment assistance and linkage with available income supports; and
supported permanent housing.

http://www1.va.gov/homeless/

“Is there anything that the VFW might be able to do for him?”

Yes, we can. But his first contact should be the Veterans Administration that has a department specifically for Homeless Vets which I linked in an earlier post.

OK, I heard back from the woman in San Diego Helping Chris. She said

“I found out from some other military guy that he received two “service medals” called “Southwest Asia Service Medal w/Bronze Star.” Because it had the Bronze Star in it, I thought it was a bronze star as well but I was wrong. I hope that clears that up.”

She made a simple mistake. Chris did not tell her that he was a Bronze Star recipient. She will ask him about the service dates. It is very possible she got that date wrong or he did the 2002 tour in Afghanistan and 2003 in Iraq.

I sent all that info to the woman helping them in SD.

Thanks so much.

You’re welcome.
And as a Marine Corps Viet Nam war combat veteran,
I want to thank you for all you do and for your support.
I only wish there were folks like you and support from the VA when I returned from Nam in 1970.

In the future, just to be on the safe side, I would suggest that if you have any Vets who have similar problems give them the contact numbers for the VA from their website.

Semper Fi,
Kelly

I was only 2 in 1970..... but here is a belated

Where’d he get his JD? Does he have a bar card?

This one might be true, but on the whole, it doesn’t smell right.

Oh, puhleese. With that education, training, credentials and he can't get a decent paying job? I'm not buying it. Either he is lying or wants to be a no-load.

I'm 11 years Aviation Navy and have worked hard for our Vets for many years, so don't even start.

No extra money in my household right now, but I would like to offer some advice: Get the hell out of California. Find a more affordable region to live in. Engineering jobs are not that hard to come by, and $600/mo. will get you a house, and not an apartment...JFK

I am not 100% sure, but I don’t think Navy has been “on the ground in Iraq” other than as medics with USMC. Would be interesting to know his rank, unit, etc., the details of the bronze stars..... ? Thanks.

We definitely have lots of Navy here on the ground in many different capacities.

"The email stated he was not working as a nuke tech at the time, he was on the ship and on the ground as an ammunition accountant....I have emailed the women involved for more info. I will post it as soon as I get it."

The organization may be real, but the e-mail is BS. You don't get Bronze Stars unless you are in the military and rarely as a Squid. If he's claiming the Bronze Stars as an Army "ammunition accountant", that also sounds like BS. However, I appreciate your concern for our military, but be careful...there are a lot of scammers our there.

"I am not 100% sure, but I don’t think Navy has been “on the ground in Iraq” other than as medics with USMC."

Pretty much the case, except for some SEALS. This is bogus.

Pretty much the case, except for some SEALS. This is bogus.

I work with some Navy guys on transition teams. There are lots of them here participating in a variety of missions.

"Where’d he get his JD? Does he have a bar card? This one might be true, but on the whole, it doesn’t smell right."

Total BS.

"Chris has been in the Navy, as a nuclear weapons technician, for 15 years ending in May 2005 when his active duty service ended and he completed his Bachelors degree in Science and Engineering (through the Navy) and a Jurist Doctorate (on his own)."

He did all that education while being a "nuke tech" in the Navy? Wow. And again, with a BS and JD he can't get a decent job?

"He thought he could make a go of it in civilian life, but changed his mind and tried to get back into the Navy, but they no longer needed him because his job was obsolete.

Er, if he left the Navy recently after 15 years with the NF rating, they would take him back in a heartbeat. Ask him if he held the rating of Machinist Mate, Electricians Mate, Electronics Technician, or other.

In turn he joined the Army in 2006 but his symptoms of being Bipolar got progressively worse. Due to his illness the Army would not take him."

That doesn't make sense. He says he joined the Army in 2006, but due to illness the Army wouldn't take him? Are you seeing a pattern here?

"He has served two tours in Iraq (2002 and 2003) both on the ship and on the ground as an ammunition accountant (after his job as a nuclear weapons technician was phased out and eliminated)."

No such thing as the Navy rating of NF being phased out. See ratings above.

This is all just nonsense from a wannabe wanting a free ride. It happens all the time, but bless you for wanting to help. He is also a recipient of two bronze stars.

"I work with some Navy guys on transition teams. There are lots of them here participating in a variety of missions."

That's why I said, "pretty much the case...".

But c'mon, 15 years as a nuke tech with a BS in engineering and JD and the Navy wouldn't take him back? Why not? That is a major bonus rating (MOS to the Army guys). Also, after 15 years in the nuke field he would most likely (not always) be a Chief Petty Officer (E-7). They are the most desired for re-enlistment, even after being out for awhile. Why do I know that? Because I was a Navy Counselor after I converted from Aviation status and know their value to the Navy. It was my job to encourage sailors to re-enlist. I worked on it every night and day in 3 of my 11 years. It is EXTREMELY rare that Navy personnel get out after 15 years.

So he wanted to try something different from the Navy - okay. But they would have taken him back in a NY minute with his specialty, providing his DD214 reflected a positive re-enlistment code. If it didn't, why not? But the Army did?

This guy needs a handout without mentioning he is disabled or some other catastrophe has occurred? Plus, if he really did serve 15 years Navy and whatever years Army, he would know where to turn to for assistance instead of sending an e-mail to this nice lady's organization. And how many years was he Army? Sounds like he was close to 20 years for retirement. Why didn't he?

This is total BS from a con-artist.

Oh, I wasn’t supporting this guy. I was just pointing out that we have lots of Navy guys here - both officers and enlisted.

Forgot to thank you for being there. Are you Army, Marine or civilian? Either way, thanks again for doing the hard work.

Cool tagline.
Now warning lights are flashing down at quality control,
Somebody threw a spanner, they threw it in the hole.
There's rumours in the loading bay and anger in the town...
Somebody blew the whistle and the walls comes came down
There's leak in the boardroom trying to trace the smell
There's a leak in the washroom there's a sneak in personnel...
Somewhere in the corridor someone was heard to sneesze, goodness me, goodness me...Industrial Diesease.

Caretatker was cruficied for sleeping at his post
Refusing to be pacified that him they blame the most
Watch dog with rabies a formon got a malaise everyone concern about Industrial Disease.

There's panick on the switchboard ton is enough, some count in sympathy, some count in spots.
Some blame the management some blame employees...
Everyone know its an Idustrial Disease.

More to come...

Forgot to thank you for being there. Are you Army, Marine or civilian? Either way, thanks again for doing the hard work.

My pleasure. I'm a civilian working directly with the military and am honored to be able to do so.

Thank you very much for your service as well. I grew up as a Navy-brat in Navy towns all over the place. :)