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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. proudly presented a $100,000 donation today to the World War I Centennial Commission in support of the upcoming “Centennial Commemoration of the U.S. Entry into World War I” event on April 6. The donation represents the VFW’s long-standing dedication to ensuring the service and sacrifice of America’s service men and women are never forgotten.  “Since our founding in 1899, the VFW has proudly supported and welcomed home every generation of servicemen and women who served overseas, to include tens of thousands of Great War veterans who played an integral part in shaping and leading our great organization for decades to come,” said VFW National Commander Brian Duffy. “We are proud to be a presenting sponsor of this commemoration ceremony, which fittingly takes place at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in the heart of Kansas City, just blocks from the VFW’s national headquarters.” Today’s presentation, led by Debra Anderson, VFW quartermaster general and commissioner with the World War I Centennial Commission, also served to reinforce the collective support the VFW has pledged for the World War I Centennial Commemoration.  “For nearly 118 years, the VFW has worked to ensure all who protect our country receive the recognition they deserve,” said Anderson. “As a World War I Commemorative Partner, the VFW and its network of 1.7 million VFW and Auxiliary members are dedicated to preserving the history and importance of the Great War.” The April 6 event will tell the compelling story surrounding America’s entry into World War I a century ago, and is being held at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. More information on WWI centennial events can be found at ww1cc.org/events.  Photo caption: VFW Quartermaster General Debra Anderson (center) presents a $100,000 check to President and CEO of the National WWI Museum and Memorial Dr. Matt Naylor (left), and WWI Centennial Commissioner Dr. Monique Seefried (right) during today’s press event. 

It’s that time of the year again. Online registration for the 2017 American Legion Legacy Run went live March 21. To register or for more information, click here. This year’s ride will leave Fort Dodge, Kan., Aug. 12 and travel west to Reno, Nev. – site for the 2017 American Legion National Convention. The cross-country motorcycle ride raises money for The American Legion Legacy Fund, which provides college money for the children of U.S. military personnel killed on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the children of post-9/11 veterans with a combined VA disability rating of 50-percent or higher. Last year's Legacy Run raised more than $1 million for the second straight year; in 11 years, the ride has raised more than $7 million. Those registering online will be provided with a copy of their registration and release form, as well as a confirmation email. Those preferring to print out and mail a registration form with a check or money can send do so via email. A downloadable registration form will be available soon. Registration packets and commemorative patches are expected to be mailed out in early August. To pre-order Legacy Run T-shirts, click here. These orders will be shipped directly from Emblem Sales. Registration is open to passengers and riders, as well as to non-riding supporters. Non-riding supporters who register for $25 or more will receive the full registration package with map books and patches. Because of the distance needing to be covered and the geography of the area along this year’s Legacy Run, mid-day stops cannot be planned for Legion posts or other large venues that provide food for purchase on-site. Participants are encouraged to purchase lunches during registration; those who do not pre-purchase the lunches will be expected to bring their own food each day and safely transport it. Meals must be ordered in advance of departure. There will be no food available for purchase on stops, and there will be neither time nor available food outlets for riders to leave the group to find and eat lunch on their own each day. Those who do not sign up for lunches during registration but later decide to add them can do so via email. Check back at www.legion.org/riders for updated route information and hotel suggestions within the next few weeks.

We’ve come a long way since a few brave women abandoned traditional roles as seamstresses or cooks and instead served in combat – disguised as men – alongside their husbands during the American Revolution. Women have a larger presence in our military today than ever before. With more than 200,000 women serving in the active-duty military, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) predicted that by 2020 women veterans will comprise nearly 11 percent of the total veteran population. Every day, our servicewomen and our military take giant leaps forward that pave the path for our next generation of heroes. Here are some of the major milestones for women in the military: From 1917 to 1918, women were officially permitted to join the military. In the last two years of WWI, 33,000 joined as nurses and support staff. From 1941 to 1945, 400,000 women served at home and abroad in non-combat roles during WWII. In 1948, Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, which entitled women to veteran benefits and granted them permanent, regular, and reserve status in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-106, permitting women to enter U.S. military academies as students for the first time. And in 1976, 119 women entered West Point, 81 entered the U.S. Naval Academy, and 157 entered the U.S. Air Force Academy. In 1994, Defense Secretary Les Aspin announced the new policy regarding women in combat that rescinded the 1988 “risk rule.” It was replaced with a less restrictive ground combat policy, which resulted in 80 percent of all military positions being open to men and women. In 2009, the first all-female U.S. Marine Corps team conducted its first mission in Southern Afghanistan. In 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that all military positions would be opened to women by 2016. In 2015, 1st Lt. Shaye Haver and Capt. Kristen Griest earned their Ranger tabs, becoming the first two women to successfully complete the U.S. Army’s Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter reaffirmed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s commitment and permitted all women to apply for combat positions beginning January 1, 2016. This shift opened the opportunity for women to fill 220,000 military combat positions. When I served in the military, all roles were not open to women, but I always felt I was evaluated based on my performance and abilities. I learned many lessons during my time at West Point and in the Army that have guided me throughout my career and life. Now – in 2017 – our military is comprised of men and women who serve in all roles – combat and non-combat. I am proud to say that all branches of the military are creating opportunities for women – from occupational specialists to officers – to succeed within the system based on ability, not gender. According to the most recent U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings, there are 996 women enrolled at the United States Air Force Academy, 826 women enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and 1,135 women enrolled at the United States Naval Academy. In 2015, I attended the Ranger School graduation that included the first two female Ranger School graduates, which made me reflect on how far we’ve come as a military and as a country. I’m amazed by the many women who have bravely pushed boundaries to allow women to serve to their fullest capacity. And today’s servicewomen and veterans – who continue to thrive and push for female-oriented benefits through VA – give me hope for our future.   Jennifer Silva, Contributor Veterans Advocate

Over the past several years, American Legion Riders from Chapter 374 in Omaha, Neb., have raised thousands of dollars during their annual poker run for the Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors (OCW) program. In preparation for this year’s event, the Riders wanted to highlight a Nebraska veteran who has benefited from an OCW grant. However, when Department of Nebraska Adjutant and Legion Rider Dave Salak called National Headquarters, he learned an OCW grant has never been requested from the department. This prompted Salak to contact the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System in Omaha and ask if “there was something that The American Legion could do to help them and (Brett Stidfole and I) put together a wish list,” Salak said. “I was overwhelmed when National approved everything on that list and still bought some extra comfort items. (OCW is) a truly generous program!” An $8,000 grant was presented to the Omaha VA on March 14, which included health and hygiene items, kayaks, fishing poles, ping pong table, dart boards and a Bowflex machine. “What this donation will do is help the veterans connect back into the community, with nature and with their families. It will not only help in behavior change with the veterans, but increase their social, cognitive and motor skills as well,” said Brett Stidfole, a recreational therapist in the hospital’s residential unit. Stidfole has surveyed the veterans in the past about what equipment they wanted to have on hand to aid in their recovery, so the items OCW donated were an answer to their needs. The OCW donation “is their voice as well,” Stidfole said. “We are all very appreciative of this grant because we know how much it means to our veterans and to our staff because we know how much it’s going to help the veterans with their recovery. All these items are proven to decrease depression and anxiety, and increase well-being.” During the presentation of the comfort items to Omaha VA staff, National Vice Commander Douglas Boldt spoke about the mission of OCW and the impact it’s had on wounded servicemembers, veterans and their families. “This donation was special to me because I have spoken at several fundraisers for OCW but have never been involved with delivering the goods,” Boldt said. Other Legion family members involved with the donation delivery included Department of Nebraska Commander Beth Linn, and Legion Riders from Chapter 374 helped purchase, pack and deliver the items as well. The donation “was way more than we ever imagined that we would get from the program. It’s incredible,” Salak said. “You could just see the looks on (hospital staff’s) faces during the delivery about how incredible the program is. OCW is based on what our organization is all about, which is helping veterans who need that extra support.”

NEW YORK (AP) -- IBM plans to hire 2,000 U.S. veterans over the next four years as part of a broader expansion plan. The company said in December that it hopes to hire 25,000 people over the next four years, partly for what it calls "new collar jobs" where a four-year degree isn't necessarily required. IBM, based in Armonk, New York, has also expanded a program to train vets in software used in the defense and law enforcement industries.

The American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors (OCW) program donated $4,800 worth of comfort items and necessities to the U.S. VETS homeless center Feb. 28 in conjunction with the Legion’s 57th annual Washington Conference in Washington, D.C. The grant was delivered by the American Legion Department of D.C. during the Veteran Employment and Education Commission’s tour of the facility. The donation included clothing, grooming/hygiene items, eyewear, 30 sets of bed linens and blankets, pillows, laundry detergent pods, as well as $1,000 worth of bus passes and gas cards to help veterans find new employment. OCW has delivered more than $500,000 in grants to veterans across the nation in the last three years. The program provides various items, depending on need – clothing and toiletries for homeless shelters like U.S. VETS, sports equipment for sports adaptive therapy programs and kitchen supplies for long-term warrior transition facilities. As the only veterans service organization (VSO) in D.C. that offers a variety of in-house programs and services, U.S. VETS Executive Director Clifton Lewis said the center gets referrals from all other VSOs in the area because it can serve any and all veterans. “This is a unique situation for us,” he said. “Not only do we service Washington, D.C., (but we also) service Montgomery County (and) Prince George’s County (in Maryland, plus) Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax (in Virginia).” With 21 residential sites and nine service centers in 14 cities across six states, D.C. and the territory of Guam, U.S. VETS personnel go into local communities to find homeless veterans and guide them to crucial services. The range of services includes housing and employment assistance, as well as access to veterans benefits and treatment for mental and physical health problems and substance abuse. “I definitely feel like I needed a change in my life,” said veteran Alexander Smith III who lives and volunteers at the D.C. facility. “It’s therapeutic for me to volunteer and do things … just being motivated and doing whatever I can do, it helps me.” Outreach specialist Sheila Scarborough, an Army veteran who was homeless in 2013, said helping other veterans is her passion because she knows what it’s like to go through challenges. “I know what it feels like to lose your place or lose your job and to lose everything that you acquired,” Scarborough said. “There are homeless vets out here. People didn’t ask to be in this situation. It happens and it can happen to anyone.” By getting involved with the efforts of U.S. VETS, Scarborough said the Legion will get a firsthand view of what “transitional” looks like and be able to spread the message about homelessness among veterans. “It should go worldwide, statewide so that (others) will know that it’s time we help our soldiers, our vets,” she said. “I think it’s a good thing because it gives (the Legion) an idea of what’s going on.” Assisting veterans was at the core of the Legion’s formation nearly a century ago. “The American Legion has always been about helping veterans so it’s just a pleasure to be able to do that, particularly for the most vulnerable demographic,” said Mark Walker, deputy director of the Legion’s Veterans Employment and Education Division. “It’s satisfying and meaningful that the Legion has prioritized assisting our homeless veterans. It’s a joy to be able to work with folks who have that same passion to help them.” OCW coordinator Bruce Drake said donations come from across the entire American Legion Family and the general population. The OCW program represents the Legion’s expression of gratitude to those who sacrificed to protect the freedoms of others. “The grants are designed to provide the items that often are overlooked in the care of a veteran and can be resourced to help them from having to buy it themselves,” said Drake, assistant director of troop and family support for the Legion’s Americanism Division. “This grant will help homeless veterans in providing them a means of staying healthy and clean with the use of hygiene items while the linens will also help them in settling into the facility and their new living arrangement.”   By Johnathon Clinkscales

American Legion service officers today are helping more than 700,000 veterans and their families, free of charge, file disability claims, benefits applications and other forms of assistance. Meanwhile, military and veteran families with minor children at home, when struck with unexpected costs that leave them unable to pay for basic household needs, receive more than $500,000 in emergency funding a year from The American Legion’s Temporary Financial Assistance program. Both programs depend on charitable contributions to offer the free assistance. That’s why American Legion National Commander Charles E. Schmidt has made service officer training and Temporary Financial Assistance for needy families with children at home the focus of his fundraising project this year. To make a tax-deductible contribution to help National Commander Schmidt reach his goal of $1 million for service officer training and $1 million for Temporary Financial Assistance before the 99th American Legion National Convention in Reno in August, checks can be made payable to American Legion Charities (write “Commander’s Charity Fund” on the memo line) and mailed to: The American Legion National Headquarters 5745 Lee Road Indianapolis, IN 46216 Safe and convenient online giving is also available for those who would like to help the commander reach his goal of assisting needy children and service officers. To make an online donation, visit www.legion.org/donate and send your gift using a credit or debit card. It is also possible to make an online donation a recurring donation. Those who have questions, or would like to make a contribution by phone, can call 1-800-433-3318. All donations to the Commander’s Charity Fund are processed through American Legion Charities, which has tax-deductible 501(c)(3) status. One-hundred percent of all gifts to the Commander’s Charity Fund goes directly to help service officers and needy families. "Our post motto is veterans first, so we believe in Commander Schmidt’s project of supporting TFA and service officers,” Newport Beach, Calif., American Post 291 Commander Douglas Nye said recently after his post presented the commander with a check for $5,000 to help. “And we believe in what The American Legion does. His fundraising project hits home because we have a lot of vets … that need our help."

The U.S. military’s once-unrivaled technology edge is disappearing. The warning signs are everywhere. From the military: Before leaving his post as Air Force chief of staff last year, Gen. Mark Welsh reported that China will soon field an air force “at least as big – if not bigger – than our air force” and that China is matching quantity with next-generation quality. China is developing and deploying “a number of new aircraft ... completely new variants,” Welsh noted. “We are not keeping up with that kind of technology development.” From policymakers: “Our technological superiority is slipping,” warns Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, who has served under both President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump. “We see it every day.” From our adversaries: Russia’s new electronic warfare capabilities can jam, scramble and blind U.S. assets. China’s cyber-siege of the United States is decimating industry, holding hostage the U.S. government and weakening U.S. defenses. Both Russia and China are catching up with the United States in stealth capabilities, networked warfare, power projection and precision missilery. And from the frontlines, where U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are being forced to make the most of aging equipment: The Navy has been ordered to stretch the build time of new aircraft carriers from five to seven years. Short on ships, Marines are hitching a ride on allied vessels. The Lexington Institute’s Loren Thompson warns, “To say the Army isn’t ready for what lies ahead is an understatement: if it got in a fight with Russian troops in Ukraine, Poland or the Baltic states, the Army could quickly see all of its key targeting and communications systems shut down by enemy jammers.” The Lexington Institute adds, “When the Cold War ended, the Defense Department terminated production of the B-2 and ceased development of new bombers for the first time since the 1920s.” Thanks to this bomber-building holiday, America’s bomber force comprises just 76 B-52s (the “newest” of which was built in 1961), 63 B-1s (brought into service in 1986) and 20 B-2s (the first rolled off assembly lines in 1988). Initial operational capability of the yet-to-be-built B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber will not come until 2025. Winning or losing Why is this happening? It’s not because the United States suddenly became less technologically capable than China and Russia. The reason the military-technology gap is closing is threefold. First, since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. military has been focused on dismantling terrorist networks and clearing the spawning grounds of terrorism – and understandably so. But this has expended resources that otherwise would have been allocated toward new technologies and new weapons systems. China and Russia have not been standing still. Instead, they “have gone to school on us,” in Work’s words, and invested their resources into fielding 21st-century militaries. Second, while Washington has been cutting defense spending, China and Russia have been increasing defense spending. Between 2011 and 2015, Beijing increased military spending 55.7 percent. Last year, Beijing increased military spending another 7 percent. Between 2010 and 2020, it’s expected that Beijing will double its military outlays. Moscow increased military spending 108 percent between 2004 and 2013; Moscow’s 2015 military outlays were 26 percent larger than in 2014. All the while, U.S. defense spending has been falling. The U.S defense budget – in a time of war and growing international instability – has fallen 15 percent since 2010. The U.S. defense budget has shrunk from 4.6 percent of GDP in 2009, to around 3 percent of GDP today. Looked at another way, national security spending made up 20.1 percent of the federal budget in 2010, but in 2015 it was 15.9 percent, as Politifact details. Not surprisingly, defense R&D spending has plummeted accordingly – down 22.6 percent since 2009. Defense R&D spending has fallen from nearly 0.9 percent of GDP in 1988 to barely 0.4 percent of GDP today. There would be nothing wrong or worrisome about these numbers if peace were breaking out around the world. But with ISIS and al-Qaida waging war and sowing terror, with China building up its arsenal and claiming the territories of its neighbors, with Russia annexing Crimea and projecting military power into the Middle East, with Iran testing missiles and North Korea detonating nukes, we know the very opposite is true. Diminished defense spending has led to a third factor that’s blunting America’s military-technology edge: America’s defense industrial base is draining away. Even before the bipartisan gamble known as sequestration began to take its toll, then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen warned in 2011, “I think the likelihood that if you make a decision which ends a certain part of our industrial base, it doesn’t come back ... People go away, skills go away.” Take, as an example, the plight of the F-22 Raptor, the most sophisticated warplane in America’s arsenal. The F-22 is so advanced that Air Force planners say it takes eight of the newer F-35s to do what two F-22s can do. The Pentagon’s original goal was 749 Raptors, but scaled that back to 381 aircraft, before shutting down the F-22 program at just 187 aircraft in 2009. Congress now wants the Air Force to explore restarting the F-22 assembly line and building 194 more Raptors. As Defense News reports, congressional officials cite “growing threats to U.S. air superiority as a result of adversaries closing the technology gap.” However, building just 75 more Raptors would cost $17 billion, owing largely to the fact that the personnel, tooling and facilities needed to resurrect the Raptor are gone. For numerous reasons – cost, efficiency, the trend toward outsourcing – today’s defense industrial base “relies on supply chains that are increasingly complex and globalized,” retired Army Gen. John Adams explains. “Too often, these supply chains create vulnerabilities and are subject to manipulation by strategic competitors.” As an example, he notes that the United States relies on a Chinese company to manufacture a key chemical used in the propellant for Hellfire missiles. In fact, Reuters reports that the Pentagon “repeatedly waived laws banning Chinese-built components on U.S. weapons in order to keep the $392-billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013.” With sequestration hacking away at the amount the nation is investing in defense, the five largest U.S. defense firms have cut 14 percent of their workforce since 2008, according to a Politico analysis. However, the U.S. defense industrial base was disappearing long before sequestration. “From 1990 to 2000, both the number of major surface combatant shipbuilders and the number of fixed-wing aircraft developers fell from eight to three; the number of tactical missile producers fell from 13 to three; and the number of tracked-combat vehicle developers fell from three to two,” a Heritage Foundation report explains. Reviving the defense industrial base isn’t primarily about saving U.S. jobs or even protecting U.S. military assets from foreign mischief – important as those priorities are. Ultimately, it’s about winning or losing wars. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments concludes, “The United States’ ability to mobilize key parts of its own defense industrial base, particularly those concerned with volume production of long-range precision-guided munitions, will likely be a critical factor in its success or failure in the conflict.” Changing the game Even so, all the news on the military-technology front is not bad. America’s unmanned systems, missile defenses and cyberwar capabilities are on the cutting edge. For instance, Ralph Langner, an expert in industrial computer systems, has likened the Stuxnet computer worm, which the United States deployed to target Iran’s nuclear program, to “the arrival of an F-35 into a World War I battlefield.” The Navy is fine-tuning an otherworldly electromagnetic rail gun that can hit targets 100 miles downrange at speeds exceeding 5,000 mph. Air Force leaders predict laser weapons will be grafted onto AC-130s, MQ-1 drones, F-22s and F-35s by 2020, Military Times reports. “This is a reality,” Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, says. The technology is coming “very soon,” according to Carlisle, who predicts the addition of laser weapons will “change the game.” The Air Force plans to turn old B-52s into unmanned “arsenal planes” that, when networked with new F-22s, F-35s and B-21s, will serve as “airborne magazines,” thus greatly expanding the striking power of smaller airframes. The Pentagon is testing “micro-drones that can be launched from the flare dispensers of moving F-16s and F/A-18 fighter jets,” The Washington Post reports. Once dispersed, the micro-drones can attack independent targets, swarm a target or even lie in wait for a target. U.S. industry is developing the Prompt Global Strike missile system capable of delivering a hypersonic kill vehicle “anywhere on Earth in as little as an hour,” the Congressional Research Service reports. Perhaps Washington is ready to make the investments necessary to develop and deploy these and other next-generation military technologies, in order to defend America deep into the 21st century. For example, there is bipartisan support in Congress to end sequestration. Noting that “it takes 22 years on average to field a major new weapons system,” the president pledges to build a military that can “deter, avoid and prevent conflict through our unquestioned military strength” and wants to make the United States “the world’s dominant technological powerhouse of the 21st century.” Toward that end, Trump issued an executive order directing the Pentagon “to rebuild the U.S. Armed Forces,” determine funding levels “necessary to improve readiness conditions and address risks to national security,” and identify any issues with “insufficient maintenance, delays in acquiring parts, access to training ranges, combatant command operational demands, funding needed for consumables ... manpower shortfalls, depot maintenance capacity, and time needed to plan, coordinate, and execute readiness and training activities.” Timeless It’s well known that President George Washington advocated military preparedness to deter America’s enemies and preserve America’s independence. “There is nothing so likely to produce peace,” he counseled, “as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.” Less well known is something Washington said about maintaining a strong defense industry: “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined,” he declared. “Their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent on others for essential, particularly for military, supplies.” It’s time, again, to heed Washington’s timeless counsel.   By Alan W. Dowd

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) -- After manning a machine gun on a combat helicopter as a U.S. Marine during the liberation of Kuwait, Antonio Romo came back to the United States traumatized by the death and carnage he saw. He says he turned to alcohol and narcotics to try to quiet the nightmares, and made multiple suicide attempts. With addiction, he fell into dealing, and was arrested for selling cocaine. And after getting out of prison, Romo was deported in 2008 to Mexico, from where he had migrated to Lynwood, California, illegally at age 12. Today he's part of a group of dozens of U.S. military veterans, most of them former legal residents but noncitizens, who were deported after criminal convictions and who for years have tried to convince multiple administrations to let them return. They acknowledge committing serious crimes such as felony drug dealing, but argue that they did their time and being kicked out of the country amounts to being punished twice. Now these veterans are pinning their hopes on the new administration of Donald Trump, and their cause presents a sharp conflict for two of the new president's stated priorities: Trump has promised to support the military and veterans; at the same time, he has also moved to ramp up deportations of immigrants in the United States illegally - particularly those convicted of crimes. "President Donald Trump has said that he supports veterans, but ..." the 48-year-old Romo said, his voice trailing off. "We are Mexicans. ... I don't know." Either congressional legislation or a presidential executive order could open the door for Romo and the others. A White House official declined a request for an official administration comment on the issue. The person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "The current policy is reflective of those that have transcended administrations from both parties. I do not have any information regarding any changes to that." In September, then-candidate Trump suggested he would be open to letting immigrants who serve stay in the U.S. even if they came illegally. "I think that when you serve in the armed forces, that's a special situation, and I could see myself working that out," Trump said at NBC's Commander-in-Chief Forum. "Absolutely." The United States has recruited foreign-born soldiers since the mid-19th century, and between 1999 and 2008, more than 70,000 of them enlisted, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union. Service has provided an expedited path to citizenship, with more than 109,000 veterans becoming naturalized Americans between 2001 and 2015, according to U.S. government statistics. But that doesn't happen automatically; it's up to the veterans to follow through on the process. Some, like Romo - who was awarded a medal for the liberation of Kuwait, according to a copy of his discharge order he provided to The Associated Press - fall through the cracks. And those who commit felonies, which psychologists say are often linked to post-traumatic stress from battle, risk being kicked out of the country. In 1996, U.S. immigration law was toughened to include around 30 deportable offenses for such cases, including robbery or drug crimes. The Tijuana-based Deported Veterans Support House says it has documented at least 301 cases of veterans being deported to some 30 countries. More than 60 of them are Mexican. Hector Barajas, a former paratrooper who was born in Zacatecas state, crossed illegally into the United States at age 7 and served in the Army from 1995 to 2001. He recalled the first time he was deported in 2004, after spending a year-and-a-half in prison for shooting at a vehicle, to Nogales, across the border from Arizona. "I remember they took me to the border, opened a door and that was it," Barajas said. "You feel lost." Unaccustomed to speaking Spanish and with no idea of how to make a living, Barajas crossed back into the States six months later. He was deported again in 2010, moved to Tijuana and founded the Support House, nicknamed "the bunker." Many deported vets gravitate to Tijuana to be closer to relatives in Southern California, some of whom are U.S. citizens and can cross the border to visit. Often the first door they knock on is "the bunker," a stone-facade shop decorated with American flags. Barajas puts the veterans in touch with lawyers who help them receive pensions when possible, with psychologists who help them overcome trauma and addiction, and with job counseling programs. Above all the house is something of a support community. Like many deported Mexicans who spent decades in the United States, some veterans struggle to find work in an unfamiliar country. Others are hired by Mexico-based call centers, prized for their fluent English. Deported veterans have died in Mexico, or been forced to watch from afar as loved ones die on the other side of the border. Still many say they wouldn't hesitate to serve again if given the chance. "I would enlist all over again," Romo said. "Where do I sign up?" said Barajas. The ACLU and some lawmakers have tried to build bipartisan support for stopping or reducing veteran deportations in the past. But others say they like the current laws just fine. "We owe all the men and women who have fought for our nation an enormous debt of gratitude and respect. Prior military service alone, however, cannot create a blanket exemption from the laws of our country," said John Shimkus, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Republican congressman from Illinois. "The current policy, which requires senior immigration officials to review each situation in which a green-card-holding veteran faces deportation, allows for the unique circumstances of each case to be considered." California state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat married to a Marine vet who served in Iraq, has proposed a legal fund to help deported vets apply for readmission. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it does not have figures on how many deported veterans have requested naturalization and that it considers each petition individually. Regardless of what happens, Barajas hopes to open another "bunker" to serve vets in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, and to lobby both Congress and the executive branch on the issue. Romo had become a legal resident before enlisting in the military and was living in San Diego when his legal troubles began. He was sent to federal prison in Big Spring, Texas, in 2001, convicted of conspiracy to distribute and sell cocaine. He said prison made him feel human again because it was there that he first got psychological help. When he got out, a judge broke the news that he had not automatically become a citizen through his military service, but said he could apply to become one. He began working with a lawyer. But Romo was deported five days before an appointment to settle his immigration status and deposited across the Rio Grande before dawn one day in July 2008 into Tamaulipas, a key smuggling corridor for drug cartels and one of Mexico's most violent states. "I was scared," Romo said. Today, from his Tijuana apartment decorated with replicas of guns, Romo can see the wall that separates him from family on the other side including his 22-year-old daughter. Darkly, he mused that ultimately he may only go home in a coffin: The U.S. awards posthumous citizenship to combat veterans who have not been convicted of crimes that carry a possible death penalty or life sentence. "We offered our lives, in exchange for nothing," Romo said. With their hopes on Washington, some still talk of respect for the chain of command. "Donald Trump is the commander in chief, and we have to work with that," Barajas said. "We are soldiers." --- BY MARIA VERZAASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego and Luis Alonso Lugo in Washington contributed to this report.

BOSTON (AP) -- Organizers of the city's St. Patrick's Day parade reversed course on Friday and said they would allow a group of gay veterans to march in this year's parade. The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council announced on the parade's Twitter account that it had signed an "acceptance letter" that would clear the way for OutVets to participate. A lawyer for OutVets said late Friday that the group looked forward to "marching proudly" and representing LGBTQ veterans. "We are honored and humbled by all the outpouring of support that has been displayed for our LGBTQ veterans - who are one of the most unrepresented demographics in our veterans community," said lawyer said Dee Dee Edmondson. An earlier vote by the council to bar OutVets from marching drew immediate condemnation from high-profile politicians, some of whom said they would not march if the gay veterans were excluded. It caused some sponsors to back out and stirred up a furor on social media. South Boston Allied War Veterans Council member Edward Flynn said Friday night he was proud the group invited OutVets to be part of the parade. "South Boston is an inclusive community, and with this development, we are one step closer to a parade that reflects that spirit," he said. It was unclear if the reversal of the decision was a result of a second vote by the council. "I decided this is a wrong that has to be corrected," the parade's lead organizer, Tim Duross, told WHDH-TV. Earlier Friday, OutVets executive director Bryan Bishop said the vets had been told the original decision to bar them was because of their rainbow symbols. Bishop said the council offered to allow the group to march if its members did not display the rainbow flag, a symbol of gay pride, which is on their banner and their jackets. The group said no. "I almost fell out of the chair at that point, said, 'You gotta be kidding me,'" Bishop said. He said OutVets has displayed the rainbow at the parade the last two years. "It infuriates me to look at the veterans that I know, gay and straight, who have served this country with valor and honor and distinction, and just because you're a veteran who happens to be gay your service is somehow less than someone who is not of the LGBT community or someone who's not gay," he said. Edmondson, the OutVets lawyer, earlier Friday described the acceptance letter as "generic" and said it did not make fully clear whether the gay group would be allowed to display its banner. Another veterans group, Veterans for Peace, said it also had been denied permission to participate. That group has been trying unsuccessfully for several years to march. OutVets was first allowed to participate in the parade in 2015, in what was seen as a groundbreaking decision after parade organizers had, for decades, resisted the inclusion of gay groups. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1995 upheld the council's right to bar gay groups on free speech grounds. The council said in a statement Thursday its decision had been misinterpreted. "The council is accepting of all people and organizations, but it will not permit messages that conflict with the overall theme of the parade," the statement said. That decision resulted in backlash from other veterans' organizations. The council is made up of representatives from several South Boston American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts. The Michael J. Perkins American Legion Post said it had withdrawn from the council. The Perkins post in a statement on its Facebook page didn't mention the OutVets decision but said it decided to withdraw because "recent efforts by several non-veteran parade volunteers to guide decision making has resulted in the subversion of the council as an organization being led by veterans." Another former member of the council, the Thomas J. Fitzgerald VFW Post, assailed the council's decision to bar OutVets. The Fitzgerald post withdrew from the council last year over the decision to bar Veterans for Peace. --- BY MARK PRATTASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press writers Rodrique Ngowi and Bob Salsberg contributed to this report.