American Legion Colorado Springs Post 209

• El Paso County Veterans Services - El Paso County, CO Veterans Assistance Office. Contact Mr. Jim Tackett at 520-7756.

• The Crawford House - The Crawford House provides a structured living environment for veterans enrolled in a VA treatment program, helping them step back into the community. 56% of Colorado Springs homeless vets admit having a substance use disorder. 76% of homeless vets would be willing to enter treatment if residence exists.

• Department of Military and Veterans Affairs - The State of Colorado Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• Boys State - The American Legion, Department of Colorado Boys State

• Girls State - The American Legion, Department of Colorado Girls State

• Colorado American Legion Adventures (CALA) - CALA is an adventure sports program, developed by the Colorado American Legion. It is designed to offer outdoor programs to Legionnaires and their families. Activities include skydiving, mountain/ice climbing, rappelling, spelunking, and paraskiing.

• Oratorical Contest - This Nation-wide contest is designed to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the Constitution of the United States on the part of high school students. Other objectives of the contest include the development of leadership qualities, the ability to think and speak clearly and intelligently, and the preparation for acceptance of the duties and responsibilities, the rights and privileges of American citizenship. Winners each year receive college scholarship money.

• Department of Colorado American Legion Baseball - DID YOU KNOW? Since 1925 The American Legion has sponsored American Legion Baseball. American Legion Baseball is the oldest and largest nationwide teenage baseball program in America. More than 10 Million teenagers have played American Legion Baseball since 1925. The success of American Legion Baseball belongs to the Legionnaires and volunteers who donate hundreds of hours each summer to ensure players have an opportunity to play the game of baseball. Players learn the importance of leadership, teamwork and team loyalty while sharpening their skills on the baseball diamond. Nearly 60 percent of professional baseball players played American Legion Baseball, including 46 Hall of Fame members. Over eleven million dollars is raised each year by Legionnaires to assist these American Legion Baseball teams. Hundreds of thousands of players have earned college scholarships.

• 24/7 Veterans Assistance - Tom McCabe (720-874-1022) is the supervisor at the Veterans Affairs Combat Call Center at 14142 Denver West Parkway SUITE 335 Lakewood, CO 80401. They are a 24/7, 365 day a year referral source for Veterans, their families and other concerned citizens. They also routinely take calls from Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard personnel and their families seeking assistance and information on mental health counseling, veteran benefits, bereavement and various other issues. They liaison with the National Suicide Prevention Hotline when they receive a call from a Veteran crisis. They can be contacted at 877-WAR-VETS. They have a short commercial available at www.vetcenters.va.gov concerning their services. If you have any questions regarding this referral service, feel free to contact him or one of the other combat Veterans at the toll free number. Please share this information with all your Veteran friends and family members.

• The American Legion, Department of Colorado - Headquarters of The American Legion for the State of Colorado

• Department of Veterans Affairs - National Office of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

• The Retired Enlisted Association - National Chapter of TREA.

• Social Security Office - You qualify for a higher social security payment because of your Military service, for active duty any time from 1957 through 2001 (the program was done away with 1 January 2002). Up to $1200 per year of earnings credit credited at time of application - which can make a substantial difference in social security monthly payments upon your retirement. You must bring your DD-214 to the Social Security Office and you must ask for this benefit to receive it! Check the site for details.

• Order Your DD214 and Other Military Records On-Line - This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files. Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time. I tried it, and it only took about 5 minutes to order my DD214. It will be sent straight to my house at no charge!

• ~ NEWS RELEASE ~POW/MIA Investigation Teams Search For Missing Americans. - JPAC teams search for missing in action (MIA) Americans from World War II, Korean War. JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (Sept. 10, 2010) Two investigation teams from the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) deployed to Canada and the Republic of Korea to search for MIA’s missing from World War II and the Korean War. An investigation team departed Hawaii recently for a mission in Canada searching for evidence of Americans lost during World War II. The team will search a site where two missing aircrew members may have perished. An investigation team will authenticate leads from eye witnesses and conduct field research throughout multiple provinces throughout the Republic of Korea. The team will investigate 11 cases located in Kangwon and Kyonggi provinces, investigating leads by means of witness interviews, case visits, and light test digging. Additionally, an anthropologist is conducting a federal training class on recovery techniques for the Department of Justice in Columbia. JPAC regularly conducts humanitarian and training missions to assist other countries in recovery techniques, which may hopefully lead to the recovery and identification of other missing persons. Falling directly under the U.S. Pacific Command, the jointly-manned organization of more than 400 military and civilian specialists has investigated and recovered missing Americans since the 1970’s. To date there are approximately 74,190 unaccounted-for Americans from World War II and 8,008 the Korean War. The ultimate goal of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, and of the agencies involved in returning America’s heroes home, is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of Americans lost during the nation’s past conflicts. "Until They Are Home"

• VA Homeless Veterans Initiative - The American Legion Centennial Post 209 is very interested in homelessness prevention and support. To that end, we invite you to click on the link and learn about the VA’s initiative to end Veteran homelessness by 2015. I highly encourage you to learn more about this initiative, which contains information about resources for homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families such as: •Housing assistance •Employment programs •Health care •Mental health services Let's join the battle to end homelessness for our Nation's heroes.

• The American Legion - The Official Website of The American Legion

• The American Legion Auxiliary - The Official Website of The American Legion Auxiliary

• Sons of The American Legion - The Official Website of The Sons of The American Legion