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Blue Water ships of Vietnam. My name is Jeff Davis, and I am the author of the VNVets blog. You may be aware that Blue Water Navy Veterans of the Vietnam War are fighting to regain benefits under the Agent Orange Act that the VA took away in 2002. We figure that there are likely quite a few Coast Guard Veterans who served offshore at the same time that are in the same situation. We have always had our blog open to Coast Guard and Merchant Marine, as well as US Marine Corps veterans of the Fleet Marine Force. In general, any Veteran of Vietnam who did not set foot on land, or enter into port in Vietnam, or operate in estuarine waters, is considered a Blue Water Veteran. The bulk of our Veterans are Navy, but I can remember tying up next to a cutter in Subic Bay when we first arrived in March of 1966. I think it was the Campbell or the Eastwind, but cannot be sure.

I'd appreciate it if you could give an all hands to your members that they can keep track of the Haas vs. Peake Case on my blog. We are currently advising Veterans on how to comment on the VA's proposed rule change re-defining Service in Vietnam, which would totally rule us all out of benefits. Haas vs. Peake is the case where the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled against the VA's policy to deny Blue Water Veterans Agent Orange presumption. The VA appealed and it was argued on November 7th, 2007 at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in D. C. I attended those arguments, and came away feeling confident the court would side with us. However, the six month mark will arrive on Wednesday and no decision has been issued yet.

Further, I am gathering a list of Blue Water ships of Vietnam: those that never touched shore nor went up rivers. I have recently added the Barataria at the request of Fred Gersh, a Veterans Advocate for a former Barataria crewmember awaiting the Haas decision.

LAMS: One of the Most Powerful Leadership Development Tools in the Coast Guard To reach optimal performance, an array of tools exists to help arm Coasties with professional leadership skills. One of the most popular is the five-day Leadership and Management School (LAMS). Intended primarily for E-5s, classes are sometimes a blend of junior officers, civilians, auxiliarists and occasional senior enlisted and senior officers. FAQs (Word doc) regarding LAMS. Upcoming class schedule (xls format).

U.S. Naval Institute Offers Free Membership to all Military Personnel Complimentary online access to complete issues of Proceedings and Naval History Magazines now available worldwide More...

[CG-Retired] Concurrent Receipt and Special Compensation Updates. In response to the numerous telephone calls to RAS in reference to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) legislative changes for Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP) and Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) the following information is provided: More ...

CGC White Alder Memorial. Marine Safety Unit Baton Rouge maintains a memorial flag pole dedicated to all crew members who served on the CGC WHITE ALDER when she was tragically lost in the Mississippi River on December 7, 1968, killing 17 of her 21 crew. On December 7, 2008, the 40th anniversary of this tragic loss, MSU Baton Rouge would like to host a memorial service commemorating the lives of all 21 crew members. We must locate the remaining four crew members, or their families, and the families of the 17 crew members who lost their lives. More ...