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Letters

KEEP SUMMER WHITES

I am disappointed in the new prototypes for the service dress khaki uniforms [“New dress khaki prototypes unveiled,” June 29]. Originally, the uniforms were meant to be an iconic return to a uniform that gave chief petty officers and officers a smart-looking jacket alternative to the summer whites.

In the second wear-test, the iconic design has disappeared. The sad-looking compromise includes an unsightly collar without a notch of detail, which is not found on any U.S. uniform.

The handsome uniform that my father wore in World War II deserves to be revived and preserved in its classic form. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

-- Ensign Michael A. Zampella, Virginia Beach, Va.

IS GI BILL REALLY ON PACE?

In response to Veterans Affairs Department official Keith Wilson’s remarks that VA is on pace to launch the new GI Bill on time and without delay: Is this statement for real [“VA says GI Bill on pace for launch,” July 6]?

I have used almost half of my [Montgomery GI Bill] benefits, and, for the most part, my experience has been pretty smooth.

As a Californian and distance learner, I have my misgivings about the Post-9/11 GI Bill, but I wholeheartedly believe that the worst is yet to come. On June 30, I logged into the automated GI Bill system — Web Automated Verification of Enrollment — to verify my monthly enrollment. I usually would be presented a breakdown of my attendance with a list of credit hours as well as the monthly benefit I would receive. For the month of June, WAVE claimed that I wasn’t even attending school.

A quick call to my college VA office reassured me that my enrollment had been certified to the VA five weeks earlier. The college representative mentioned that she believed VA was severely backlogged and perhaps that could be the reason that it hadn’t been processed.

I immediately phoned the VA educational benefits office and was indeed informed that they were at least six weeks behind in processing certifications. Six weeks is a very long time, considering that the system operates on a monthly basis.

Can I expect two payments at the same time next month, or will they be behind then, as well? To make matters worse, VA doesn’t inform you when your certification is available for verification, so it could be in the WAVE system for weeks if you don’t obsessively check it. Once verified, one has to wait an additional four to 10 days to receive the check.

Something tells me that if the Post-9/11 GI Bill makes it out on time, it will be because current MGIB recipients and their benefits were neglected.

-- Former YN2 (SW) Tiffany Davidson, Huntington Beach, Calif.

FROCK ON

In regards to Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Jason Fachorn [“Nonstop frocking debate,” Letters, July 6], there is a reason the pay does not come right away: money.

Members of the other services pin on their new rank and are paid almost immediately, and they are doing this as billets open up for the new paygrade. The Navy frocks when the results come out, and pay could come anywhere from two weeks to six months later.

There is no way you waited nine months to get paid; if you did, then some personnel specialist made a mistake, and you need to look into it.

You said you really did not have a choice but to put on [the new rank] because of expectations. You work with Marines, but you cave under peer pressure? I have an airman right now who has decided not to be frocked until he is paid. Nobody here has said a word against his decision.

The member gets the pride of his success and the envy of his juniors.

That is what is wrong with today’s youth. They all want to know what’s in it for me. Show me the money. If you make HM1, stand up as a man and say no to frocking.

-- PSC (AW) Brian J. Tomlinson, Worcester Mass.

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I’ve read the ongoing frocking versus immediate pay debate. What a lot of sailors don’t understand is that the Navy system is perhaps the fairest of all the service systems. As I served at U.S. European Command and heard stories of the Army and Air Force systems, I realized just how good it is.

Often promotion authorities in the other services are moved down to various commands, instead of the servicewide system the Navy uses. The impact? If you are in a command competing against a bunch of hot shots, you may not score high enough to be promoted. If you’re with a bunch of slackers, you’ve got it made. Do you want your promotion dependent on the quality of your shipmates? In the other services, local promotion boards carry a lot of weight, and I’d be willing to bet some sailors interview better than others.

The Navy system rewards sailors who work hard, study and pass their tests. The hard-chargers, who do well on tests, promote early. Those who don’t do as well will receive points [for passing] and generally will get promoted a little later. There’s relatively little subjective input, except evals, and these are reviewed for fairness.

-- Rev. (Cmdr.) Chris Miller (ret), Camarillo, Calif.

DIFFERENT, BUT WRONG

Ronald Sheinson said that we should take other cultures’ values into consideration so we can build relationships [“Take differences seriously,” Letters, June 15].

While I am in agreement with that sentiment, I cannot help but think he chose poorly in the example he used to illustrate his point. He used a Taliban spokesperson and the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as examples of how we have offended people and caused strife.

Seriously? Sheinson wants me to worry about the sensibilities of individuals who regularly beat women who don’t conform, who make women totally cover themselves so as not to seduce other men, who feel rape is justifiable?

Sometimes cultural differences should be respected. Sometimes cultural differences should be exposed for what they are — an excuse to consider one set of humans inferior to another. Sometimes cultural considerations should not be respected. We did not respect South Africa’s culture of apartheid.

When you visit another country, you should respect its laws. You should not give up the values that make us Americans.

-- Lt. Kimberly Rieck, Port Hueneme, Calif.