Army Prepares to Sell Up to 10,000 Surplus 1911 Pistols ... Here’s How You Get One
By: Todd South, Army Times, 4 December 2017
Marine Cpl. Justin Morrall fires a 1911 M45A1 pistol at Susong Ri live fire range, Republic of Korea. The Army will soon transfer up to 10,000 surplus 1911s to the Civilian Marksmanship Program for sale to qualified civilians. (Lance Cpl. Bernadette Wildes/Marine Corps)
With the stroke of a pen, as many as 10,000 Army surplus 1911A1 pistols could be available for sale to the public early next year.
A provision in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act explicitly orders the sale of between 8,000 and 10,000 of the venerable .45 caliber pistols. The 1911 has a storied history, and it influenced handgun design for more than a century.
Having seen service in every war since World War I, the gun is a favorite among collectors and civilian shooters, many of whom modify variants of the 1911 for competitive shooting.
The iconic sidearm has been featured in films ranging from 1930s detective dramas — “Bullets or Ballots” starring Humphrey Bogart is one example — to a nickel-plated version with pearl grips carried by John Travolta’s character in the 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction.”
In military movies, Sam Elliot carried the 1911 handgun while portraying famed Army Command Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley in “We Were Soldiers,” a film depicting the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang and the soldiers of the 7th Cavalry Regiment during the Vietnam War.
Once the approved, the surplus 1911s will be sold through the Civilian Marksmanship Program http://thecmp.org/
The CMP is a nonprofit organization that educates people on responsible firearms use and conducts marksmanship competitions nationwide. It is a recipient of military surplus firearms for sales to support its mission.
The NDAA awaits President Donald Trump’s approval before the transfer can take place. The rollout wouldn’t take place all at once, with the weapons set to transfer to the CMP from 2018 through 2020.
The CMP sells another piece of U.S. military history, the M1 Garand, a .30 caliber rifle that was used in World War II, Korea and initially in Vietnam before being replaced by the M16 service rifle.
The 1911A1 was replaced as the Army’s official sidearm in 1986, when the service fielded the M9 Beretta 9 mm pistol.
That handgun is now in the process of being replaced by the Modular Handgun System, which includes the M17 and a compact M18, which are military versions of the Sig Sauer P320 9 mm handgun.
VA & CFPB Warning on Refinancing Offers
Colleagues and Fellow Veterans,
The VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) lowers your interest rate by refinancing your existing VA home loan. During FY17, VA guaranteed over 190,000 home loans under this program. In FY 2017, there were nearly 1,500 lenders that participate in the VA Home Loan program.
Regrettably, some lenders have taken advantage of Servicemembers and Veterans with VA home loans in the past. They have sent unsolicited offers to refinance VA mortgages with misleading advertising. If you have a VA home loan, there is a good chance you have already come into contact with unsolicited offers which appear official and may sound too good to be true.
The VA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have issued their first Warning Order to Servicemembers and Veterans who currently have a VA home loan, as we have found that some of you are being targeted with misleading advertising.
Understand that certain advertised benefits, such as no out-of-pocket closing costs, skipped mortgage payments, and escrow refunds, are costs that are generally added to your loan and increase the overall principal balance. These are all red flags that may indicate that the loan is less likely to benefit you. Before you proceed with a VA mortgage refinance, be sure to consider the long-term and short-term benefits and consequences of refinancing your loan.
If you are contacted to refinance your VA mortgage, carefully consider your options and ask questions:
•Does a lower interest rate extend the term (i.e., 30-year fixed rate to another 30-year fixed rate)?
•What are the financial implications when choosing between a fixed term and an adjustable rate mortgage loan?
•What is your total payback for the new loan vs. the original loan?
•Do offers of skipped payments or cash back ultimately get added to my loan amount?
If you have a problem with a VA mortgage refinance or other mortgage issues, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372). Please also see VA/CFPB’s blog on this topic at: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/cfpb-and-va-warno-va-refinancing-offers-sound-too-good-be-true/.
We are working hard, along with other government agencies, to identify, stop, and prevent illegal and misleading advertising related to VA mortgages and refinancing. If you have questions that aren’t being answered by your lender, please get a second opinion from another lender, or call a VA loan specialist who is available to assist you from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday at (877) 827-3702.
As always, thank you for your service.
Regards,
Curtis L. Coy
Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity
Veterans Benefits Administration
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington, DC 20420
VA Announces Rollout and Application Process for New Veterans ID Card
November 29, 2017, 04:00:00 PM
WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that the application process for the national Veterans Identification Card (VIC) is now available for Veterans — yet another action honoring their service.
This has been mandated through legislation since 2015 to honor Veterans, and today’s rollout of the ID card fulfills that overdue promise.
Only those Veterans with honorable service will be able to apply for the ID card, which will provide proof of military service, and may be accepted by retailers in lieu of the standard DD-214 form to obtain promotional discounts and other services where offered to Veterans.
“The new Veterans Identification Card provides a safer and more convenient and efficient way for most Veterans to show proof of service,” said VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin. “With the card, Veterans with honorable service to our nation will no longer need to carry around their paper DD-214s to obtain Veteran discounts and other services.”
The VIC provides a more portable and secure alternative for those who served the minimum obligated time in service, but did not meet the retirement or medical discharge threshold. Veterans who served in the armed forces, including the reserve components, and who have a discharge of honorable or general (under honorable conditions) can request a VIC.
To request a VIC, Veterans must visit https://www.vets.gov/, click on “Apply for Printed Veteran ID Card” https://www.vets.gov/?next=%2Fveteran-id-card%2F on the bottom left of the page and sign in or create an account.
Veterans who apply for a card should receive it within 60 days and can check delivery status of their cards at vets.gov. A digital version of the VIC will be available online by mid-December.
SOURCE: US Department of Veterans Affairs article, 29 November, at https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=3979
12 Dec 2017 UPDATE: The Department of Veterans Affairs has suspended applications for its new veteran identification card program due to a large number of applicants, according to a notice on its website. Individuals accessing the site with their own VA logins and military service credentials encountered repeated errors and are instead told they need to come back later.
US Air Force Chief Helps Young Airman Locate Family In Puerto Rico
By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One, 23 October, 2017
Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, speaks with airmen at Malmstrom Air Force Base. Photo by Airman 1st Class Daniel Brosam
After going a month without hearing from his hurricane-stricken family, Sr. Airman Malcom Soto-Gonzalez got a hand from an unexpected source.
LAUNCH CONTROL CENTER CHARLIE, Montana — About 60 miles southeast of Great Falls, just off a two-lane highway, Sr. Airman Malcom Soto-Gonzalez keeps watch over this small building tucked behind a hill on the treeless countryside.
Armed with an M4 carbine, Soto-Gonzalez and other “Defenders” in his Air Force security-forces squadron guard nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles in their underground silos, along with the airmen who — if given the order — would enter codes and turn switches to launch them.
On Friday evening, just before dinner, Gen. David Goldfein paid a visit to the single-story control center as part of a six-day tour of nuclear-related facilities across the country. As instructed, Soto-Gonzalez described his job to the Air Force chief of staff. But it was a piece of information at the beginning of the young airman’s briefing that caught the general’s attention: Soto is from Puerto Rico, the American island recently devastated by Hurricane Maria.
Goldfein asked Soto-Gonzalez how his family made out. “I don’t know, sir,” the airman responded.
That silenced the other 10 or so people in the room. Soto-Gonzalez explained that he had last talked to his family exactly one month ago — the night before Maria struck — and had been unable to reach them since.
When Goldfein asked if the airman was worried about his mother, father, and brother, Soto-Gonzalez said, yes, but “service before self.”
Goldfein pledged to find Soto-Gonzalez’s family.
“You think about this young airman out there guarding the nation’s nuclear enterprise and pulling 12-hour shifts in a Montana winter wondering if his family is okay in Puerto Rico,” Goldfein said the next morning. The general was flying back to Washington after spending the night at the launch control center. “On the one hand, it’s an incredible testament to the dedication of this next greatest generation serving. On the other, it’s a reemphasizing [of] the responsibilities of leaders to take care of those great airmen.
“He needs to know if his family is okay, and we’re working on that right now,” he said.
Later that night, Soto-Gonzalez received a call from a friend in the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. “The first thing he said was that he had orders to be at my house to get me in contact with my family,” Soto-Gonzalez said Monday, recounting the phone call. Then, he spoke to his mother for the first time in a month.
His family is okay, but like most of the island’s population, they still have no power.
Goldfein’s opportunity to help Soto-Gonzalez find his family came totally by chance. The general was not scheduled to stop at this particular launch center. But bad weather rolled in earlier that afternoon, preventing helicopters from flying him from Malmstrom Air Force Base to a different, more distant launch control center. Soto-Gonzalez’s launch center, about an hour away, was the backup plan.
“I am more than grateful for what [Gen. Goldfein] did, and I will never forget it,” Soto-Gonzalez said.
SOC, a trusted global provider of integrated security and critical infrastructure solutions with a history of assuring safe and effective operations for U.S. Government and commercial customers, has several Protective Force positions that will be imminently available in the Nevada area with work expected to begin in the January 2018 timeframe. These positions are tailor-made for former and separating Security Forces personnel, and they are well-compensated with lots of overtime opportunities. There is also tremendous opportunity for career advancement at the Nevada complex as well as other worldwide SOC locations.
Interested parties should contact the below listed lead recruiter. Additional information is available through the below links and at the SOC website on “Guidance for Veterans.” It is recommended you contact the recruiter directly before doing an on-line application.
http://www.soc-usa.com/careers/guidance-for-veterans
Security Police Officer I - Basic Readiness
https://jobs-soc-usa.icims.com/jobs/3141/security-police-officer-i---basic-readiness/job
Security Police Officer I - Basic Readiness – CAS (Sergeant)
https://jobs-soc-usa.icims.com/jobs/3142/security-police-officer-i---basic-readiness-cas-%28sergeant%29/job
Security Police Officer III - Advanced Readiness
https://jobs-soc-usa.icims.com/jobs/3145/security-police-officer-iii---advanced-readiness/job
Security Police Officer III – (SRT) Lieutenant - Advanced Readiness
https://jobs-soc-usa.icims.com/jobs/3146/security-police-officer-iii-%28srt%29-lieutenant---advanced-readiness/job
Armorer
https://jobs-soc-usa.icims.com/jobs/3165/armorer/job
Instructor
https://jobs-soc-usa.icims.com/jobs/3149/instructor/job
Curriculum Development Specialist
https://jobs-soc-usa.icims.com/jobs/3164/curriculum-development-specialist/job
Jeff Windham
Recruiter II | Government Services |Mason & Hanger | SOC
Day & Zimmermann
Office 703.955.5767 | Mobile 571.612.0830
3975 Virginia Mallory Drive, Suite 200 | Chantilly, VA 20151
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