35 cents
VOL. 3/ISSUE 50
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015
Hard-charging committee tackles veterans’ issues
Airman’s best friend
Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER
mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com
The Veterans Resource Committee of the Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce held a breakfast meeting Oct. 8 attended by a packed crowd. Some 300 people listened to various members tackle issues from veteran employment to assisting homeless veterans. The keynote speaker was retired Army Maj. Gen. John Cleland, 93, who served in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. His first remark — “We’ve got to get politics out of the VA” — garnered lengthy applause. Cleland spoke on the VA — “there have been problems with mismanagement, but it’s good overall — it has to be, because I use it” — and told a humorous anecdote about his wife of 63 years, a former Army nurse in a MASH unit in Korea. “I was wounded, and taken in on a stretcher,” he said. “She looked out over all these guys in there, and said, ‘I’ll take that one.’ She gets a bit upset with me when I tell this story.” Other speakers included Rob Medina, of U.S. Rep. Bill Posey’s office, and committee chairman John Moser. Panel discussions followed, headed by Donn Weaver, chairman of the Brevard Veterans Council, Ellamay “Annie” Artis, veteran community employment coordinator for the state VA, and Emily Cail, veterans outreach specialist for the VA. Weaver said Florida has “led the way in creating veterans’ councils — Brevard is no. 2 in the state in number of veterans, which is up to 70,000.
See COMMITTEE page 3
Photo by Airman 1st Class Jordyn Fetter U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Alyssa Stamps, 35th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, plays with her dog, Elvis, at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Sept. 23.
Airman 1st Class Jordyn Fetter FOR VETERAN VOICE
Face-to-face with Elvis, an energetic German shepherd dog, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Alyssa Stamps, a military working dog handler with the 35th Security Forces Squadron, makes a grab for the ball. Now holding the cherished reward, Stamps chucks the ball across the yard and the dog stampedes after it. However, instead of returning to her with an accomplished strut, he sits with his back to her in the corner of the yard and refuses to cooperate. Stamps describes this as “battling a streak of stubbornness.” She and Elvis are still in the two-week rapport stage destined to nurture their new relationship. Although frustrating, these visits are just the beginning of her dream becoming a reality. From living beside dogs as a child to joining the Air Force as a security forces airman, Stamps has knowingly and unknowingly
prepared for the duty of a military working dog handler. “Having a K-9 is handling a completely new means of force on top of doing a normal security forces job,” Stamps said. Growing up among first responders inspired Stamps to become a security forces airman and military working dog handler. She’s had many police officer and firefighter friends, as well as a father and grandfather who served in the military. “I believe you’re supposed to cherish, protect and fight for your loved ones at all costs,” Stamps said. Along with a protective mindset, her father taught her the defensive tools needed to survive dangerous situations. “He taught me how to get out of holds, run away and where weak points are in the body,” Stamps said. She realized her true calling to join the military and become a security forces airman
See AIRMAN page 3