I do like Popeye’s chicken, but my favorite fast food? Nope, maybe third. Micky D’s gets my vote! What is your favorite?

Oh, speaking of some of the best fast food, feed the brain with some Midrats.

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

Today I received my answer via snail mail. It states, “This certifies that you are entitled to benefits for an approved program of education or training under the Post-9/11 GI Bill beginning August 1, 2009.”

Well, I’ll be danged. I never thought this day would come. As I discussed before, I joined under the VEAP program which I opted out of. I did not think an opportunity for college benefits after retirement from the Navy would ever present itself.

My Certificate of Eligibility continues, “You must take this letter to your school. Your school must certify your enrollment before you can get paid.”

No problem!

“You have 36 months and 0 days of full time benefits. Your remaining entitlement may be adjusted based on your entitlement used after your election date. You have until January 1, 2022 to use your benefits under this program which is fifteen years from the date of your last separation from active duty.”

If it takes me until 2022 to finish… well, procrastination can kill a sky diver – I am pulling my ripcord on this long before I hit the ground

The Yellow Ribbon Program

Because you are eligible at the 100% benefit rate, you may also be eligible to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program. The Yellow Ribbon Program allows schools to enter into an agreement with the VA to provide additional financial assistance to individuals who are charged tuition and fees that exceed the in-State maximum amount payable under the Post-9/11 GI Bill program. This benefit is only payable if the Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fee payment does not cover the full cost of your school’s tuition and fees.

Note: Individuals on active duty are not eligible for this program.

The letter goes on but those were the highlights.

I planned on blogging about my adventure the 911GIBill affords me via another domain 911gibill.com but then came to my senses, two blogs can be a pain in the butt – I will stick with one blog portal, Navy Cyberspace.

Next step? I will be going to the University on Memphis next week to acquaint myself with the surroundings and see what sport I want to tryout for, I hear Memphis may need a quarterback

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

FREE GOLF at Disney World!! I am not talking about a buy one get one free thingy, no no – FREE as in show up and play because you’ve already earned it FREE.

Walt Disney World, amongst its PGA golf courses, has a little known 9 hole executive course available for play. What most people don’t know, even those currently staying here at the Shades of Green, if you have your Disney’s Armed Forces Salute complementary ticket one of the additional benefits is FREE GOLF on the 9 hole course. You do not have to be staying at the Shades of Green or any of Disney’s resorts to participate – the ticket is all you need.

Wild Turkey at Disney

Today was the first day of the discounted tee times for the PGA courses here at Disney World as I mentioned in a previous post about the military discounts. Our tee time was 1009 – I learned you want to show up at least an hour before. The rate includes a bucket of balls to use on the driving range and there is also a lot of space set aside for practicing your short game and putting before hitting the course. Just be careful of all the turkeys running around, they seem to be everywhere.

I have played many courses over the years from Keflavik, Iceland to Scottsdale, Arizona and today was the first time I have had the benefit of a GPS equipped golf cart. The screen is mounted between the driver and passenger above the console. It not only showed the holes layout with distances to the hole and all its dangers and traps. It also allowed you to input your scores and displayed how far out the group in front of you is! The use of a golf cart is included in the fee, there is no additional cost.

GPS Golf Cart Display

Back quite a few years ago, just before graduating high school, I had to make a decision about what I was going to do for a living. One of the choices I had was to play golf professionally but, I had absolutely no skill or talent for the game – nothing has changed. My score today, as usual, was higher than the temperature of someone’s body with the worst case of swine flu and just short of a NASCARs speed in the far turn. I guess you can say I got my monies worth?

My Dad, however, was up to the challenge. The Magnolia course was his music and his clubs his instrument, he played like a man possessed! Here is a video of him driving with his 3 wood for about 240 yards down the center of the fairway;

We had a great time and as I usually do when I play my father in golf I say, “I’ll get you next time” and he responds with no words and what can only be described as a devilish grin, that grin scares me…

Thank you Disney for the years of support to our Military!

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

The leadership and chefs across all branches of service work hard to bring as much of the tradition of Thanksgiving as possible, they have done it for generations. Here is a menu from the USS Kentucky from all the way back in 1907.

Thanksgiving menu for the USS Kentucky circa 1907 courtesy history.navy.mil

A menu today would be very similar minus the cigars. Ahh, maybe on Thanksgiving in the Navy we should bring back cigars and the rum ration, I know a few in the Goat Locker that would enjoy that!

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

Veteran’s Day was legislated with the idea of a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Soldier’s Angels is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring our country’s veterans 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Project Valour-IT is one of the many programs of Soldier’s Angels I very find intriguing. The funds they collect are tax deductible and go directly to our wounded troops; 100% of your donation to Project Valour-IT will be used to purchase laptops and other technology that will support recovery and provide independence and freedom to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.  Your gift will leverage technology to help those who sacrificed so much, assisting them in living a better life.

Update!

Read the comments of Galrahn over at Information Dissemination and get involved in this worthy cause!

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

Should not each person seeking a political office which could be exposed to sensitive, potentially classified material have to answer and affirm the same questions? Should the answers to these questions be made available to the general public?

You are here today because you either enlisted with a guaranteed skills job or are being considered for one because of your qualifications. Since these jobs involve matters of national security, it is imperative that you answer the questions on this questionnaire honestly. Your answers to these questions will determine how extensive your interview will be when you are called.

1. Are you, any of your family members and/or anyone you have lived with, not a citizen of the U.S.?
2. Were any of your family members born outside the U.S.? Does not include births abroad of U.S. parents.
3. Do you have any friends or relatives who are U.S. citizens that live outside of the U.S.?
4. Do you or any family members maintain or claim dual citizenship with a country other than the U.S.?
5. Have you ever traveled outside of the U.S., including Canada or Mexico, for purposes other than pleasure?
6. Have you ever traveled outside of the U.S., excluding Canada or Mexico, for any purpose?
7. Do you have any friends or relatives that are involved in any criminal misdemeanor and felony activities?
8. Do you have any friends or relatives that are presently in jail, prison, parole or probation?
9. Have you ever been rejected by any branch of the armed forces for enlistment or affiliation due to any reason other than medical?
10. Have you ever been charged or punished under the UCMJ, received non-judicial punishment, been convicted by a military court, investigated by a military agency, relieved of duties or had adverse entries in your service record or on your evaluations or recruit hard card?
11. Have you ever been fired from a job?
12. During high school or college, were you ever suspended or expelled for any reason?
13. Have you ever had any bills turned over to a collection agency?
14. Have you ever paid a bill more than 30 days late or not at all?
15. Have you ever bounced a check, overdrawn your debit card, had a credit card recalled, had anything repossessed or voluntarily surrendered to a creditor?
16. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?
17. Do you owe any individual or persons money, for any reason?
18. Does your monthly payment debt (i.e. credit cards, car payments, insurance, medical bills, record/health/book clubs, etc.) exceed 50 percent of your monthly income?
19. Have you ever shoplifted or stolen anything, whether charged or not?
20. Have you ever bought, sold, grown, manufactured or possessed marijuana?
21. Have you ever used, possessed or experimented with any type of controlled substance, narcotic or drug, other than marijuana?
22. Have you ever been convicted of an alcohol related offense?
23. Have you ever been told to enter, or have you ever been in an alcohol or drug program?
24. Have you ever been seen by or consulted with a mental health professional, counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist for any reason?
25. Have you ever had serious thoughts about suicide or have you attempted suicide?
26. Have you ever been treated for anxiety, depression or stress?
27. Have you ever been involved in any deviant sexual behavior?
28. Have you ever destroyed or vandalized any property or possessions of others?
29. Have you ever done anything in your lifetime someone might blackmail you with, such as engaged in extra-marital affairs, undetected theft, fraud, embezzlement, etc.?
30. Has anyone at anytime told you or suggested that you withhold or not reveal any information about yourself?
31. Is there anything that we have not asked you or that you have not told us that could possibly come up during an investigation that could cause you a problem?

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

The Navy will be reducing the end-strength in 2009 requiring the overall billets available for Senior and Master Chiefs to decrease due to the caps dictated by Title 10. The Flag Officer number will increase in the face of these reductions.

When are we going to raise or eliminate the 1% cap on E-9 and the 2.5% cap for E-8?! If high year tenure restrictions were in place across all services why is this be a problem?

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

While the new host did most of the work, like 99.8% of it I took the time to create some more content for Navy CyberSpace. Overall was the most difficult web page I have built. I made, using Photoshop, each of the 26 International Code of Signal alphabet flags Alfa thru Zulu – pain in the butt – I hope they prove useful to those sharing Cyberspace.

Let me also recognize our new Chief Petty Officers!

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

Army Research Grant to Explore Communication Through Brain Waves
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2008 – The 1982 Clint Eastwood thriller “Firefox” seemed like the ultimate military science fiction story: A former Vietnam War pilot steals a state-of-the-art Soviet fighter plane armed with weapons controlled solely by thought.
More than 25 years later, the Army is funding research to explore the futuristic concept of using brain waves to communicate. (read the rest of the article here)

In other news the President today has threatened to veto the Senates version of the 09 defense bill. The veto threat has nothing to do with military pay but could most certainly slow down the entire process. I just hope they can get it done and signed in time to be paid on time!

The White House, in a statement of administration policy, threatened a veto if the bill retains one provision that would severely restrict the use of contractors as security guards in combat zones, or a second barring use of contractors to interrogate detainees, or a third that would ban under certain circumstances public-private competitions for Defense Department work. All three provisions exist in identical or similar form in the House-passed version as well.

I love democracy but dang, I hate election years…

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

I will be adding more information as my research continues – amazing how many parallels and sharp contrasts exist – you can join the Royal Navy while your 15 years old, how about that!

So far I have added basic pay charts and policy on leave. Leave policy is very generous as compared to the US military in my humble opinion. It has been very interesting doing the research, can’t wait to read more instructions and publications so I can get a much better grasp.

What country’s military information should I add next?

2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart