Who are the WE in this posting? As a voter, a flyer was received in the mail outlining a web site. It did not say who the WE people were behind it.

However, with that said, it now appears that Degnan and his supporters have crossed a very troubling line here. You cannot criticize Ball if his story turns out to be true. If the military told him to go into reserves and leave active duty and that his reserve time would fufill his 5 year commitment, then what choice did he have. It was like he was ordered to leave by militaty and military personnel must follow lawful orders.

My message to Degnam, when the election started, I would have voted for him if I lived in district, but now, after this troubling attack, I would have to vote for Ball (reluctently). At least to this voter, the Degnam attack has back-fired.

As you concede, you have never served in the military and are denigrating a guy who went through basic training, a rigorous military and academic training at the academy, and then served for three and half years in the military while many men his age were partying three or four nights a week and chasing girls. In return, those who went to state or private colleges had the luxury of a more laid-back experience (I know I did) and as such, had to pay full tuition. Ball, got free tuition in return for a lot of hard work.

Does that mean that Ball is a good assemblyman? I have no idea. Until I started on this blog, I knew nothing about him.

However, I do know that his military record should be celebrated and not torn down. People on this blog who are doing such really have no conception of how hard it is to be in the military regardless of whether one is fighting or not. Regardless of Degnan’s record, I cannot see how anyone would vote for him based on his campaign’s primary tactic of attacking a military veteran’s military record.

“Separation information (type of separation, character of service, authority and reason for separation, separation and reenlistment eligibility codes)”

Under Ball’s “reason for seperation” it does say “Miscellaneous”. What it does not say is “FORCE REDUCTION”.

I honor anyone’s military service, but I also reserve the right to examine that record, if that person stands for public office and wraps themselves in their military record, ala John Kerry. I found John Kerry wanting as I do Greg Ball. Below please find what is easily available through a search engine on the topic of a DD-214.

DD Form 214, Discharge Papers and Separation Documents

A Report of Separation is generally issued when a service member performs active duty or at least 90 consecutive days of active duty training. The Report of Separation contains information normally needed to verify military service for benefits, retirement, employment, and membership in veterans’ organizations. Information shown on the Report of Separation may include the service member’s:
•Date and place of entry into active duty
•Home address at time of entry
•Date and place of release from active duty
•Home address after separation
•Last duty assignment and rank
•Military job specialty
•Military education
•Decorations, medals, badges, citations, and campaign awards
•Total creditable service
•Foreign service credited
•Separation information (type of separation, character of service, authority and reason for separation, separation and reenlistment eligibility codes)

This race shouldn’t turn on military experience but if it does, there is only candidate who has it, Ball. Under Degnan’s supporter’s logic perhaps McCain is the next target since he only flew a plane and served his time in a “Hilton” during the Vietnam War, while others were on the ground fighting. In case, you are wondering that is sarcasm.

This guy has to go.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo.—Over the next seven years, Air Force Space Command will trim 1,125 manpower positions. That is our share of the more than 13,200 reductions the Air Force must make before the end of the decade. Seven hundred and fifty-six of those cuts will come in the next year, so we are exploring proposals to implement the reductions. We will focus on outsourcing, reprogramming or delaying some manpower positions and eliminating lower-priority workload.

With all the rumors out there, I want to assure everyone in Air Force Space Command that this force reshaping is central to the needs of the Air Force, especially in strengthening sorely stressed career fields such as security forces and intelligence.

The command is taking a mission-oriented approach to the cuts it has been directed to make, rather than arbitrarily assigning reduction numbers to bases. We believe a “fair share” spread of the reduction to the field is counterproductive, so we will take a hard look at each mission area rather than taking a percentage of slots from each unit.

We still have not completely resolved what bases, or career fields, this reduction will come from in AFSPC. Those decisions should be finalized in the next month.

Increased operations tempo, workload and security requirements created by the war on terrorism, as well as budget constraints, have prompted the Air Force to review its authorizations to create a workforce better prepared to meet future challenges and missions.

Today’s challenges have forced the Air Force to make tough decisions. Shaping the workforce to meet the future steady state of the Air Force that has evolved since Sept. 11 is our top priority. We must do this by making sure manpower authorizations do not exceed the funding Congress has given us.

We will work this issue extremely hard to get answers as soon as possible. We are fully committed to keeping the number of people affected as low as possible without negatively

Air Force vet here, coming via Facebook. Look at the first four states that were restructured when Captain Ball left the military. As you can plainly see, 500 job losses.

Alabama
Maxwell AFB loses 177 enlisted, 20 officers.
Ft. Rucker loses 4 enlisted.
Air Force Logistics loses 5 enlisted, Air Force Doctrine Center loses 10 enlisted, Air Force Research Agency loses 9 enlisted.

Alaska
Clear AFS loses 39 military positions (transferred to the IRR)
Eielson AFB (354th Figther Wing) loses 38 military positions due to resizing, 13 pilots due to realignment, and 10 officers due to reduction in manpower. Other minor actions result in a loss of 7 military position.
Elmendorf AFB loses 77 military positions in the 3d Wing due to resizing. The 3d Engineers convert 28 enlisted positions to civilians. The 381st Intel loses five military authorizations.

Arizona
David-Monthan AFB loses 15 military positions to reshaping.
Luke AFB loses 75 military positions in the 56th Fighter Wing due to reshaping. The 56th Logistics loses 12.

Arkansas
Little Rock AFB – The 314th Airlift Wing loses 60 military positions due to reshaping, the 314th Logistics loses five.

I guess these veterans shirked their duties too, right? When you criticize Mr. Ball, you criticize the rest of us for “breaking promises and not fulfilling their contracts”, regardless of whether or not its your intent.

If Degnan had any brains or military service, he would be criticizing the Pentagon for eliminating soldiers they spent a ton of money to train, and not the soldiers themselves.

“Three years, seven months” is still better then zero, you pathetic coward.

I guess John Degnan thinks they “their promises too”. Way to insult the entire Air Force, you moron. It’s even worse that you’re a draft dodger yourself to boot.

Six officers and thirty-three people were given early retirements at Bolling AFB (Ball’s post).

Every other base lost jobs as well, military and civilian. Trying to single out Greg Ball for something that happened to people at every single Air Force base (in a DoD effort to save taxpayer dollars when they increased the size of the Army, mind you) as an election strategy is pure stupidity.

To be expected from the Mayor who wanted a taxpayer funded social services and hiring center for illegals, I guess.

I’ll try and clue you in on something. DD 214’s don’t say “Separated for miscellaneous reasons”, anywhere, EVER.

When I came home from basic training, I was issued a DD-214. Type of Seperation: Release from Active Duty. Character of Service: Honorable.

When I came home from AIT, I was issued a DD-214. Type of Seperation: Release from Active Duty. Character of Service: Honorable.

When I came home from OIF I (that’s Operation Iraqi Freedom), I was issued a DD-214. Type of Seperation: Release from Active Duty. Character of Service: Honorable.

When I came home from OIF IV/V, I was issued a DD-214. Type of Seperation: Release from Active Duty. Character of Service: Honorable.

Everyone who gets a DD-214 under honorable conditions would have be the same information in the “Special Additional Information” area. The only thing that might change is in block 26 “SEPARATION CODE” which is one of about 150 3-letter codes.

As you already knew, Greg Ball’s DD-214 does not say “honorably discharged for miscellaneous reasons” anywhere. You’re as big a liar as John Degnan.

Ball uses issues to define himself and his opponent. He is pro life, pro gun, tough on crime, a fiscal conservative, and opposed to illegal immigration, as we all know by now.

Ball constantly hits on Degnan’s mismanagement of Brewster via issues: the failed taxpayer funded day laborer hiring site, the failed privately funded day laborer hiring site, the ID cards for illegal aliens, the spike in crime, refusing to arm village police officers, doubling his salary, tripling water/sewage taxes, and getting the village sued (where he is a co-defendant) in an expensive Federal Civil Rights lawsuit.

Degnan on the other hand, will not say a word about issues. Probably because his candidacy is being managed by handlers from boths ides of the aisle (Leibell’s senate team as part of some non-compete agreement, and No. Westchester/Putnam Democrats). Instead, he chooses to focus on character.

However, Degnan’s outright lying and insulting the character of a veteran, using false information, when he never served, reading from a letter that he claims he never sent, tells more about the Mayor’s character then anything else. Ironic.

It takes more character to raise your right hand and serve this country like Ball then Degnan will ever have. He is ill-suited to public office, and Ball’s use of the issues to define the candidates will be the deciding factor in this race, no matter how much money Senator Leibell pours in to keep Mike Kaplowitz from running again.