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Thoughts from a soldiers wife
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Staff
Updated: Jun 27, 2007, 9:08 AM
Published: Jun 12, 2007, 9:27 PM

Editor

 

A stop loss is the retention of some troops to remain in service beyond their expected term. My husband currently serves as a proud soldier for the United States Army. He has been serving our country for over three years and his expected term is scheduled to be completed on July 9, 2007. He has already served one tour of duty in Iraq. My husband was told in May that the stop policy would not affect him and he would be able to continue the steps of processing out of the army. Now the case is not so. We are now being told that he will in fact be stop lossed and will be sent back to Iraq for another tour of duty. This presents a problem. The problem is that there have been no official stop loss orders placed on my husband’s unit. I feel like my husband is being singled out for trying to fight against being a victim of the stop loss policy. There are other soldiers in his unit that have scheduled exit dates after my husband’s and the stop loss is not being enforced on them. My husband has been threatened by his superiors with Uniform Code of Military Justice actions if he continues his fight. Why should a soldier be threatened with things like dishonorable discharge and no VA benefits just because he is ready to be done with serving his enlisted time? I don’t see how what is happening to him is morally or ethically right. I do realize that I sound like the complaining wife but in all honesty I’m just ready for my family to be stable. We made plans for our future and although everything doesn’t always go as planned, we would at least like some idea of when our plans will actually begin. The pulling both ways of whether or not he is going is unfair to us. If he is going to be subjected to the stop loss I know we have to accept that because he signed the contract that stated it was a possibility, but with us not having a definitive answer and less than a month to go until his ETS date, we need answers. If they are going to destroy our hopes and dreams for another few years then tell us! Give us a chance to be a family for a few more months before you force him back to the land of the unknown.

 

Sincerely,

Leslie Beard

Army wife

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Showing gratitude for service
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Staff
Updated: Dec 8, 2010, 3:56 PM
Published: Dec 8, 2010, 3:57 PM

Dear editor: Another election cycle is finally over and the voters of Bryan County have spoken. We will have three new county commissioners in January 2011.
My congratulations go out to Jimmy Henderson of District 5, Carter Infinger of District 4 and Wade Price of District 2. I look forward to working with them as we continue to take care of the business of the county.
All three races were contested, which gave the voters a choice of who they wanted as their commissioner. Those who did not prevail in this election are to be applauded for offering themselves as candidates.
Our county owes a debt of gratitude to retiring commissioners Rick Gardner with eight years of service, Blondean Newman with eight years of service as a commissioner and 30 years as tax commissioner, and Toby Roberts with 18 years on the county commission.
These three spent many hours establishing policies and procedures for our county government and many meetings with state and local officials to achieve the best possible outcomes regarding our county on numerous issues. Their many years of experience will be sorely missed.
I well remember the first time I ran for public office and lost. Sometimes those who are not elected are the winners because they don’t have to go to all the meetings – that is said with tongue in cheek, of course.
After my loss, someone sent me the following quotation from President Theodore Roosevelt, which I keep on the wall in my office:
“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
And my wish for all the citizens of Bryan County is to have a truly blessed Christmas and a prosperous and happy New Year’s.

Jimmy Burnsed
Chairman
Board of commissioners

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