The DOD focused only on Operation Homefront to show ASY preferential treatment
This raises a very basic question, why out of what over 300 plus home “front” patriotic groups did the DOD/IG only single out ONE, Operation Homefront, to make an example of preferential treatment.
First, it makes Pentagon claims of preferential treatment to any ASY affiliated (or so they wanted to give the appearance of government approval) weak using only one example.
Secondly, this weak charge of preferential treatment most likely is more widespread than the IG report leads one to believe. No one can convince me that the DOD/IG was not at least able to find one other ASY linked group to compare in detail to Operation Homefront in getting preferential treatment.
What really surprises me is how come Operation Homefront isn’t asking the Pentagon the same questions, why did the DOD/IG single us out BY-NAME to make an example of .
Robert L. Hanafin
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired
The Military Family Network Community Connections Program (MFNCCP) is a part of the America Supports You Program and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award Program. How come the DOD/IG failed to dig into MFNCCP’s record keeping and relationship with both ASY and the White House? That most like is the answer why, with The Military Family Network 
being an OFFICIAL certification apparatus for OUR Commander-In-Chief, G.W. Bush, there’s no way the DOD/IG was going to touch them.
Instead, the IG focused on ONE, just ONE, Homefront group out of over 300, including MFNCCP, as an example of preferential treatment. That is a very weak argument. I’m not defending Operation Homefront, but making the case for example that investigation one Pro-Peace group per se out of 300 PEACE groups does not provide an accurate assessment or view of the over all movement or cause. Same applies to other home front patriotic groups.
A closer look at least a quarter of the what 300 plus groups associated with ASY needs to be done and only can be done as part of the CHANGE promised by the Obama Administration, and Congress could take more of a proactive role in regulation war profiteering than being part of the problem or collaborating with these homegrown, self-styled patriotic groups that look down on the rest of US, and I mean U.S. What seriously disturbs our military family about using U.S. tax dollars to grant preferrential treatment as noted in the DOD/IG report is how come selective Peace groups do not have a Pentagon stamp of approval meaning ASY logo on their websites?
Could it be groups that have "for Peace," or "Against War," or "Speak Out," do not want tax payers to fund their views nor have any government stamp of approval regardless what their cause is. Keep in mind that most Peace groups also have initiatives and efforts that support Our Troops and Military families and yet are discriminated against based solely on political views. The photo above is a great example as to reasons why Troop and Military Family support groups like Veterans for Peace, and Military Families Speak Out are not listed on the ASY website, linked to it or have the Pentagon stamp of approval. Point: why should members of groups opposed to the war but passionately support their troops and families have to pay taxes to subsidize ASY in promoting other patriotic groups that exclude them based on political views 
just as the American Legion bars recognition of any Veterans or Miltiary Family group that does not hold the same partisan political views as the Legion. Just like most other homefront organizations with the Pentagon ASY stamp of approval, how can or should the American Legion, a Nationalist organization, get away with this? Here WE have local law enforcement taking what amounts to a partisan side in banning Veterans from expressing their First Amendment rights despite the fact that Veteran for Peace has operations that also support our troops when they become Veterans same as the American Legion does. What’s wrong with this picture when such discrimination is elevated to the Pentagon and White House?
That is what angers our military family most about PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT is that WE strongly believe the Pentagon got it right, but failed to expose all the aspect of it. Is it time for a CHANGE at the Pentagon and for ASY to become a distant memory YES WE CAN!
What is the relationship between ASY, Your Military Family Network, and Susan Davis International, if any?
Register your organization today and have your volunteers recognized by the Commander-in-Chief. [THAT is the damning line that should concern the DOD/IG and also bother any Federal Tax payer come April 2009. Because despite its non-DOD affiliation caveat and disclaimer, what the links appearing on the Your Military Family Network website plus the wording gives the impression that they are a clearing house and set criteria screening front for the Bush White House. That’s great as long as they have no access to tax payer funding. I would also question why they also have no management efficiency rating from any Charity Watchdog organization, not even the CFC? To the point – is this preferential status going to be afforded this homegrown group under Commander-In-Chief Obama? Let’s us who voted for Obama ensure this crap ends NOW. Major Hanafin]
Please check out the wording that appears on their websites and decide for yourself if it jives with their non-DOD or U.S. government affiliation disclaimer? This organization decides who get the Presidents Volunteer Service Award by-God.
However that is not where I’m going with this. The MFNCCP appears to have a competitive edge with Operation Homefront, and even appears to compete with ASY despite being an, and I quote, a PROUD member of ASY. They also claim to be the official certifying organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award Program. You must be registered as a volunteer or organization with MFN’s Community Connection Program to track and certify volunteer hours with the MFN network.
All hours spent supporting the Community Connections program or in support of a registered Community Connections Organization will count toward the Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Achievement Award. Serve Proud! Get Involved! Register Now. The President’s Volunteer Service Award is an initiative of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service and the USA Freedom Corps and is administered by the Points of Light Foundation Volunteer Center National Network
Point: Given all these links and CONNECTIONS (no pun intended) raises too many question about just how much undue influence this home “front” organization had or has within ASY, did it have any official endorsement from the Pentagon in the form of an MOU, and so forth. The basic question is WHY did the DOD/IG focus only on Operation Homefront? This also leaves the impression that someone at the Pentagon had it out for OH (wink).
How Community Connections Works! Military Family Network Community Connections Program claims to be a certified troops support screening apparatus for our, and I repeat our, Commander-In-Chief? More to the point, will they be able to claim the same preferential status under Commander-In-Chief Barrack Obama?
The answer to that is up to U.S. Tax Payers and charity donors who care how our dollars are spent or even those of us on active duty, and military family members who question any umbrella group having the arrogance to speak for and certify all of us.
The ASY logo on the book MFNCCP is hacking shows that despite ineffective legal disclaimers to the contrary, the ASY stamp of approval is still being used as such.
Connect the dots with any homefront group claiming to be an OFFICIAL certifying group for the White House, and WE got more than ethical, moral, and legal issues. Is it any wonder that competing and redundant groups born of 911 and the War on Terror are in cut throat competition for top dog that it gave the DOD/IG the courage and incentive it needed to start asking QUESTIONS? Where those question selectively asked when the IG focuses on only one patriotic support group?
We dare Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) or Gold Star Families for Peace to click on the links to the right [of the MFNCCP website here] to learn how you or your organization can join and make a difference in the lives of our servicemen and their families. By becoming an active member of the Community Connections Program, your organization is a part of a network website ranked on the first page of all major search engines.
I don’t think so, I did in-depth major search engine research and finding the Your Military Family Network, it’s logo nor even selective mention on ASY. I must assume that it is frankly taking over the propaganda role set by ASY due to potential cut off of U.S. tax payer funding under an Obama administration.
You will increase visibility for your programs and activities with MFN’s free publicity . All Community Connection members receive free interactive forums with MFN. The Military Family Network takes information posted in the forums about new and ongoing programs and activities benefiting military families for its E-Zine distributed to thousands of military families and partners across the nation. This E-Zine is also sent through our news service picked up by media locally, regionally and nationally. MFN is one of only 4500 news providers to Google globally- so your organization is covered and has the opportunity of reaching millions each month.
You will increase your visibility with Military Installation and Program Managers
Since MFN is the only centralized community resource for military families on the Internet, many military and government programs link to the MFN website, subscribe to our E-Zine and distribute bookmarks and other printed material referencing our network as a resource for the community. Becoming an active Community Connection helps you begin to build your reputation with these important community leaders.
MOST IMPORTANTLY!
By participating in the Military Family Network Community Connections Program, you are giving the key to community to military service members, veterans and their families. You are helping to build a community network these families can depend on for their health, well-being and support. By providing this network of support, our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen will perform their duties with increased comfort knowing that their families have support available to them. It is our duty as Americans, as caring neighbors, as faithful individuals to ensure that we reach out and communicate what we do in support of these families.
The Military Family Network is an official certifying organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award Program. You must be registered as a volunteer or organization with MFN’s Community Connection Program to track and certify volunteer hours with the MFN network.
IMPORTANT: Provide MFN’s Record of Service Key to register your organization or yourself so that we can certify your hours for these awards.[This key can be found on their website, I did not feel it appropriate to make it public. Major Hanafin]
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE MILITARY FAMILY NETWORK AND [National or State VSO, Non-Profit or Govt] http://www.emilitary.org/genmou.doc
Military Installation Memorandum of Understanding Template MSWORD
NOW COMES THE PUNCH LINE AND TAX PAYERS IT IS NOT FUNNY!!!
Disclaimer: eMilitary [the parent company of Your Military Family Network] is not affiliated with the Department of Defense (DoD) or any branch of the Armed Services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine or Coast Guard) and inclusion on this site [LINKS] does not reflect endorsement by the DoD, any local government or their agencies.
The goal of my article is not to critique or pass judgement on any home front troop support organization that’s the DOD/IGs job, and in the case of MFN which may not come under Pentagon’s wing, the Congress must take a closer look at them, and the Obama administration must distance itself from them.
An Operation Homefront representative said that the organization’s growth is “a reflection of the growing need in the military community for our services across the country and the product of several other factors that have enhanced our reputation apart from any connection to ASY. For example, more than $10 million of our revenue increase was due to two donors unrelated to ASY.”
When readers check out and really THINK about what the MFNCCP claims it can do, compared to Operation Homefront, well frankly everything WE read points to REDUNDANCY, that does more to hurt than help or support our troops and military families. Frankly, MFNCCP though claiming membership in ASY appears to be doing everything that ASY hired a Pentagon PR Firm (Susan Davis International) to do? DAH!
However, this also does not jive with the long time existence of in-service troop and family support organizations like Army Relief, Air Force Aid Society, Marine and Navy Relief (separate entities), Coast Guard related services, and even the Red Cross, and USO that’s been providing such services to our troops and military families from WWII, the Vietnam War, until now, and will continue to do so throughout the 21st century. I can understand a growing need for outside services born of 911 and the Bush administration’s War on Terror given the unprecedented use and exploitation of the National Guard and Reserves, because Guard troops and families are far removed from active duty or even reserve and guard base support. That is unless the operations of any homegrown front organization focus on active duty base support then they are creating a repetition of and putting into question the All Service Moto of the Armed Forces takes care of its own.
Robert L. Hanafin
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired
Readers are more than welcome to use the articles I’ve posted on Veterans Today, I’ve had to take a break from VT as Veterans Issues and Peace Activism Editor and staff writer due to personal medical reasons in our military family that take away too much time needed to properly express future stories or respond to readers in a timely manner.
My association with VT since its founding in 2004 has been a very rewarding experience for me.
Retired from both the Air Force and Civil Service. Went in the regular Army at 17 during Vietnam (1968), stayed in the Army Reserve to complete my eight year commitment in 1976. Served in Air Defense Artillery, and a Mechanized Infantry Division (4MID) at Fort Carson, Co. Used the GI Bill to go to college, worked full time at the VA, and non-scholarship Air Force 2-Year ROTC program for prior service military. Commissioned in the Air Force in 1977. Served as a Military Intelligence Officer from 1977 to 1994. Upon retirement I entered retail drugstore management training with Safeway Drugs Stores in California. Retail Sales Management was not my cup of tea, so I applied my former U.S. Civil Service status with the VA to get my foot in the door at the Justice Department, and later Department of the Navy retiring with disability from the Civil Service in 2000.
I’ve been with Veterans Today since the site originated. I’m now on the Editorial Board. I was also on the Editorial Board of Our Troops News Ladder another progressive leaning Veterans and Military Family news clearing house.
I remain married for over 45 years. I am both a Vietnam Era and Gulf War Veteran. I served on Okinawa and Fort Carson, Colorado during Vietnam and in the Office of the Air Force Inspector General at Norton AFB, CA during Desert Storm. I retired from the Air Force in 1994 having worked on the Air Staff and Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon.
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