Braley-authored bill extends & expands disabled vets housing program for 10 years

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) announced that the Andrew Connolly Veterans' Housing Act was passed overwhelmingly by the US House today.  The legislation, authored by Braley last year, will extend for ten years a Veterans' Administration adaptive housing grant program that helps injured and disabled veterans retrofit their homes to make them more disability-accessible.

Without this legislation, included as part of the Honoring American Veterans Act of 2011, the adaptive housing project would have expired at the end of 2012.

"Meeting Andrew, Jenny and Brody Connolly will always be one of the highlights of my life," Braley said.  "They inspired me, the people of Dubuque and members of both parties in Congress to do more to help one another.  Andrew would have turned 29 this week and I can think of no more fitting tribute to his memory than this bill being signed into law."

The Andrew Connolly Veterans' Housing Act is named after the late Andrew Connolly of Dubuque - an Iowa Army National Guardsman who returned from a tour of duty in Iraq with a tumor in his spine. With Braley's help, Connolly was able to get a grant that allowed him to move into a wheelchair-accessible home until his untimely death in August 2011.  Connolly became an advocate for expanding the program, despite his failing health.

The bill will extend the adaptive housing grant program for disabled veterans for ten years, through Dec. 31^st, 2022.  The legislation also increases the adaptive housing grant limit for temporary housing to $28,000, and increases the total adaptive housing grant limit from $63,780 to $91,780, revising current law to exclude the temporary residence adaptation grant from counting towards the total grant amount.

CAMP RIPLEY, MINN. (07/31/2012)(readMedia)-- As the Illinois National Guard's 2012 eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) came to a close July 28 at Camp Ripley Minn., drawdown operations were in full swing July 24 to 30 as transportation units hauled cargo back to Illinois.

Since early July more than 3,000 Illinois National Guardsmen trained in Camp Ripley as part of XCTC.

The 108th Sustainment Brigade in Chicago, took the lead with the redeployment of troops to home station.

The 1144th Transportation Battalion (Motor Transport) conducted line-haul missions taking cargo back to Illinois. The 1244th Transportation Company in North Riverside and 1744th Transportation Company in Crestwood, made the 1,000-mile round trip moving containers, vehicles and equipment between to the two states. The 1144th conducted more than 130 missions traveling roughly 364,000 miles and moving nearly 1.52 million pounds of cargo.

"In every stage of this mission, our sustainment operations have played a critical role," said Lt. Col. Tracey Collins of Naperville, 108th deputy commanding officer. "Now at the end of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team's training, the 108th is still providing support as we get our Soldiers and our equipment home."

Collins said the transportation units in the 1144th have been the key players behind the scenes moving both the 108th and 33rd cargo.

"Whatever needs to be hauled, we'll have it on the road and back to the unit's home station," said Collins.

The 1144th and its subordinate units moved equipment to Camp Ripley before the arrival of the 33rd at Camp Ripley and moved it back to Illinois while the 33rd travelled home.

"There's a lot of moving pieces out there. Almost every day we've had Soldiers from the 1244th and our sister company, the 1744th, on the road between Illinois and Minnesota," said Sgt. 1st Class Scott Drabek with the 1244th. "They're out on the road, driving for hours to make sure this equipment gets home quickly and safely."

Drabek said this mission has allowed the drivers to gain experience behind the wheel in a real world setting.

"Our Soldiers are always mission first," said Drabek. "These guys are always ready for anything that may come down the road and they're always willing to help their fellow Soldiers."

U.S Army photo by Sgt. Michael Camacho, 108th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs/ Spc. Edgardo Serrano of Chicago with the 1244th Transportation Company in North Riverside, chains down a Howitzer cannon July 24 at Camp Ripley, Minn. The 1244th and 1744th Transportation Companies made the 1,000-mile round trip moving containers, vehicles and equipment between Minnesota and Illinois.

U.S Army photo by Sgt. Michael Camacho, 108th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs/ Sgt. Sonia Rivas of Garden Prairie and Pfc. Alexis Millan of Hanover Park both with the 1244th Transportation Company in North Riverside, chain down a Howitzer cannon July 24 at Camp Ripley, Minn. The 1244th and 1744th Transportation Companies made the 1,000-mile round trip moving containers, vehicles and equipment between Minnesota and Illinois.

U.S Army photo by Sgt. Michael Camacho, 108th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs/ Soldiers with the 1244th Transportation Company in North Riverside, chain down a Howitzer cannon July 24 at Camp Ripley, Minn. The 1244th and 1744th Transportation Companies made the 1,000-mile round trip moving containers, vehicles and equipment between Minnesota and Illinois.

Permalink: http://readme.readmedia.com/Transportation-Units-Make-Long-Haul-to-Bring-Equipment-Back-to-Illinois/4754595

Related Media

• Spc. Edgardo Serrano of Chicago with the 1244th Transportation Company in North Riverside, chains down a Howitzer cannon July 24 at Camp Ripley, Minn. : http://app.readmedia.com/news/attachment/42451/DSC_0274_4059_0.JPG
• Sgt. Sonia Rivas of Garden Prairie and Pfc. Alexis Millan of Hanover Park both with the 1244th Transportation Company in North Riverside, chain down a Howitzer cannon July 24 at Camp Ripley, Minn.: http://app.readmedia.com/news/attachment/42452/DSC_0283_4059_0.JPG
• Soldiers with the 1244th Transportation Company in North Riverside, chain down a Howitzer cannon July 24 at Camp Ripley, Minn.: http://app.readmedia.com/news/attachment/42453/DSC_0288_4059_0.JPG

While media and collegiate officials debated how best to handle the Penn State child-rape scandal, including the systemic cover-up by university leaders, others want the public to know just how such abuse ruins lives.

"I've heard commentators say things like, 'What's done is done,' or 'There's no one left to go after,' or 'Why punish the students and the athletes? - It's time to heal,' " says child advocate Linda O'Dochartaigh, whose novel Peregrine (www.lavanderkatbooks.com), details the stark aftermath of child sex abuse. "If they were the victims, or their children were, I don't think those sports analysts would be so quick to forgive and forget."

To hear supporters of the university's football program is surprisingly reminiscent of those who defend abusers, she says.

Penn State's board could do the noble thing and make it easy on themselves by self imposing the "death penalty" option - temporarily shutting down the embattled football program, she says.

"As terrible as the initial abuse is for children, the volume of lifelong negative consequences is usually worse," O'Dochartaigh says. "Children who suffer sexual abuse often hear the voice of their abuser in their minds for the rest of their lives, telling them they're bad, they're ugly, they're worthless. These children are often sentenced to a lifetime of relationships in which they are victims."

O'Dochartaigh reviews the lasting scars of child sexual abuse:

• Trouble handling emotions: One of the surest signs of well-being is the ability to handle adversity in stride; to keep emotions in check. "For victims of sexual abuse, a lasting legacy is the opposite of well-being," she says. Victims may have trouble expressing emotions, which are then bottled up, often leading to sporadic bouts of depression, anger and anxiety. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain.

• A core sense of worthlessness or being damaged: The physical side of sexual abuse is just one aspect; what haunts victims is the voice of the abuser, constantly reinforcing a lack of personal value. As time passes and children mature into adults, victims often do not invest in themselves. With a deep sense of being damaged, they often feel incapable or unworthy of higher-paying jobs, for example.

• Difficulty in relationships and lack of trust: Most child abuse comes from authority figures who are close to the victim - family members, family friends, church leaders, teachers, etc. Children who cannot feel secure within their own family, the most fundamental of relationships, may develop deep-seeded trust issues. Relationships are frequently doomed because victims trash good relationships, fearing their partner will ultimately try to control or hurt them, or they'll bond with an abusive person because they do not know what a good relationship entails.

"When I hear the 'yeah, but' argument from people defending those who allow sexual abuse to continue, whether its' at Penn State or in the Catholic Church, I realize we have to do more to raise awareness about how sexual abuse can ruin lives," says O'Dochartaigh.

About Linda O'Dochartaigh

Linda O'Dochartaigh has worked in health care is an advocate for victims of child abuse and domestic violence.  She wants survivors to know that an enriched, stable and happy life is available to them. O'Dochartaigh is the mother of three grown children and is raising four adopted grandchildren.