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O PINION C OMMENTARY
Letters to the Editor
Letters may be edited for accuracy, space, clarity, and civility. No personal attacks please. Please keep letters related to articles or letters from previous Bulletin issues. Occasionally, letters will be printed if the subject material relates to either the Academy or Alumni affairs. The Alumni Association reserves the right to publish or omit submissions at its discretion. To provide a range of views and voices, we encourage letter writers to limit themselves to 700 words or fewer.
Separating? Reach out to the Veterans Administration Re: “The Brass Tacks of Military Retirement” (October/November 2020, p. 48) and “Financial Planning for Your Coast Guard Transition” (October/November 2020, p. 52)
It is absolutely vital that every living, separating Coast Guard member, whether discharged or retired, file for a disability evaluation by the Veterans Administration (VA). As part of its “people” initiatives, the Coast Guard should require - not just recommend - this filing by all hands leaving the service. Each person should go through their service and civilian health records and note every possible medical event, treatment and condition. The VA will evaluate each item and, assuming you are generally healthy, grant/not grant service connection, with most or all evaluated at 0% disabling (no payment). The goal at this point is establishing service connection that will follow you for life in the VA system (for any existing or later appearing condition -including any secondary conditions) that might result in compensation later on from the VA. This can be a major undertaking for those with long terms of service – trust me, make the effort. VA compensation is tax free, lasts for your lifetime, and sometimes for your relatives’ lifetimes after you are gone. It is also inflation protected (annual cost of living increases equal to Social Security COLAs). No, I didn’t do this. I did it the hard way, establishing service connection after retirement – sometimes long after retirement. I voluntarily retired in 1998, fit for full duty and apparently healthy. By way of example, many years after retirement, based on service health records documenting allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and sinus infections, the VA granted service connection and a 50% rating for sleep apnea. For this and other ratings, 22 years later in 2020, the VA direct deposits $3,760,
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every month, for life and inflation protected. Again, make the effort.
CAPT Paul J. Prokop, USCG (ret), ’69 On the Importance of Definitions Re: “On a Journey of Change” (August/ September 2020, p. 14) and “Letters to the Editor” (October/November 2020, p.8)
The coverage of efforts to improve and support diversity as well as correct problems at the Academy raises concerns about the limited use of language and definitions. When I was a Swab(!) we had many more words to describe relationships than just “racism.” We started with ignorance. Given the divided nature of America, I suspect it is still possible for whites not to have BAME (common British reference for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) friends and acquaintances. Understanding thus becomes difficult as there are not common references and experiences. Humans rely on stereotypes to fill in the gaps. While some may find this offensive, I must admit, much to my chagrin, I have found that stereotypes frequently have a grain of truth in them. After 30 years of living in Britain, I have come to appreciate how stereotypes can help provide a common language or reference system to allow a relationship to progress. I no longer take offence or become frustrated when a stereotype pops up at a first meeting. I use it as an opening to do a bit of educating and take pleasure seeing others move beyond stereotypes. Ignorance allows bias to flourish. This is because humans build systems, processes and organizations based on their references and experiences. Being unaware of another’s references and experiences means the systems, processes and organizations created do not account for the requirements of others and
do not make them feel welcome. My experience of this occurred in my first job on a construction site. The Christmas Lunch was duly arranged at the American Steak House restaurant in central London. They thought they were making an effort to include me in this British Tradition. Lots of embarrassment followed when I explained I was a vegetarian (for what felt like the 100th time) and was not a great lover of “American food” compared to the wonderful foods on offer in London. However, they did learn this time and we had a great Thai dinner. I am pleased to report that in my experience most people want to learn and correct any bias that results. Gentle words on my part usually speeded up the process and made it enjoyable for all. Failure to address bias leads to prejudice. People take a disliking to others for a variety of very good reasons. Skin color, religion, origin and sexual preference are not among them. Prejudice usually manifests itself by omission, such as not including someone in events or opportunities, allowing a process to remain even when shown that it disadvantages a group or holding derogatory opinions of others. Any manifestation is low key and is usually most successfully dealt with by rules, laws and organizational polices. My experience of this was getting notes through my door about talking too loudly in our back garden and about “being a guest in this country so we should behave accordingly.” As an aside, we thought our neighbor was antiSemitic. But when a German/Swiss couple moved in a couple of houses down, he was as unpleasant to them as to us. It was an odd relief to realize that he was merely xenophobic and not anti-Semitic. The issue was addressed through the housing trust that provides his residence. I am sure he still dislikes us and is vehemently prejudice against foreigners. But the important thing for us is that he no longer manifests his prejudice. What
December 2020/January 2021
