By Debbie Gregory.

On May 20, 2017, President Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a series of letters of intent for Saudi Arabia to purchase arms from the United States totaling $110 billion immediately, and $350 billion over 10 years. That deal may have hit a snag.

In the wake of the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, President Trump’s support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has lawmakers from both parties concerned and speaking out. Khashoggi was a US resident and worked for the Washington Post.

While Saudi Arabia has maintained that neither the Crown Prince nor his father knew of the killing. Intelligence officials, lawmakers and analysts familiar with the country have said that this situation could not have taken place without, at minimum, the awareness of the Crown Prince, who controls all the country’s security services.

Of that $110 billion in arms agreed to, Lockheed Martin’s $28 billion share of the pie would be a result of furnishing warships, missile defense, tactical aircraft and helicopters for the Saudi government over the next decade.

Boeing has an agreement to develop a new joint venture aiming to localize more than 55 percent of the maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for military aircraft in Saudi Arabia.

And Raytheon had announced that it would stand up a Saudi-based division to oversee its weapon programs for the kingdom and the creation of indigenous jobs there.

But one lobbyist for a weapons company has said that worries about a potential across-the-board blockage of arms sales by Congress has surfaced.

But Khashoggi’s murder has drawn attention to the President’s business ties to Saudi Arabia, as well as the relationship between the Crown Prince and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The Trump administration’s push to sell civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia is emerging as the next battleground in the struggle between the White House and Congress over U.S. policy toward Riyadh.

By Debbie Gregory.

In a small business, everyone who works there is valuable. So when a worker who serves in the National Guard or the Reserves gets called up, it can be a hardship for the business, whether it’s the owner, the CEO or an essential employee.

In an effort to help small businesses when this happens, Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL) has introduced bipartisan legislation to improve existing Small Business Administration (SBA) programs offering loans and deferrals, which are currently underutilized due to a lack of awareness and because their eligibility restrictions do not fully reflect current deployment practices.

H.R. 7199, the National Guard and Reserve Entrepreneurship Act, would restructure these programs so that companies are eligible whenever a Guardsman is performing active services for more than 30 days, in contrast to current law which requires the Guardsman to be deployed “during a period of military conflict.”

The bill would also direct SBA to work with the National Guard and State Adjutant Generals to raise awareness of other SBA programs that would be helpful to Guardsmen or affected businesses, and to develop more targeted outreach.

The programs include:

• Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL), a direct loan program that provides emergency working capital to small businesses to meet their obligations until operations return to normal after the essential employee is released from active duty military

• Repayment Deferral for Active Duty Reservists (Repayment Deferral), which authorizes the SBA to work with private lenders to defer interest or loan repayment for small businesses facing similar situations.

“National Guard members and military reservists are an integral part of our armed forces and national defense,” said Schneider. “We should do everything we can to support their service. This bill makes current support programs at the SBA more accessible and efficient so more small businesses have support while members of their team fulfill their military service obligations.”

By Debbie Gregory.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of these 15 U.S. servicemembers who died during their military service in Afghanistan in 2018. It is our honor to recognize them.

• January 1, 2018 – Army Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Mihail Golin, 34, and a Green Beret who had been assigned to the Fort Carson, Colorado based B Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group. His awards include two Purple Hearts, three Army Commendation Medals and three Army Achievement Medals.

• April 30, 2018 – Army Spec. Gabriel D. Conde, 22 who was an airborne-qualified infantryman with the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Conde received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with valor awarded posthumously.

• July 7, 2018 – Army Cpl. Joseph Maciel, 20 was assigned to the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade. His decorations include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

• July 12, 2018 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Andrew Celiz, 32 was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and a Meritorious Service Medal.

• August 8, 2018 – Army Staff Sgt. Reymund Rarogal Transfiguracion, 36 was with 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne).He was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class and awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.

• September 3, 2018 – Army Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Bolyard, 42 was a senior noncommissioned officer in 3rd Squadron, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade. Bolyard was shot by an Afghan police officer in Logar province. He later died of his wounds. Bobyard received six Bronze Star medals, including two with valor, during a 24-year career and seven deployments.

• September 4, 2018 – Army Staff Sgt. Diobanjo S. Sanagustin, 32 – The was assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Sanagustin died from a noncombat injury. His awards include two Army Commendation Medals, seven Army Achievement Medals, two Iraq Campaign Medals with campaign star and the Expert Infantryman’s Badge.

• October 4, 2018 – Army National Guard Spc. James A. Slape, 23 was assigned to the 430th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 60th Troop Command, North Carolina Army National Guard, based in Washington, N.C. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

• November 3, 2018 – National Guard Major Brent Taylor, 39 and a former mayor of North Ogden was with the Utah National Guard. Taylor served twice in Iraq as a convoy security commander and then as an adviser to the Iraqi intelligence agency. He had previously deployed to Afghanistan as a combat advisor to the Afghan Border Police.

• November 24, 2018 – Army Sgt. Leandro A.S. Jasso, 25 was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Ranger tab.

• November 27, 2018 – An IED claimed the lives of three servicemembers, with a fourth servicemember later dying of his wounds:

1. Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, 39, was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces group (Airborne). He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal.

2. Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin, 25, who assigned to the 26th Special Tactics Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal with Valor, Air Force Commendation Medal and Air Force Combat Action Medal.

3. Army Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, 29, was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C. His honors and decorations include two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

4. On December 2, 2018- Army Sgt. Jason Mitchell McClary, 24, succumbed to the injuries he received in the November 27th IED attack that had previously claimed three of his brothers-in-arms. McClary was assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. His awards and decorations include two Purple Heart medals, three Army Commendation Medals, including one with valor and one for combat.

• December 13, 2018 – Army Pfc. Joshua Mikeasky, 19 was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team and the 10th Mountain Division. He had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with a Campaign Star, the NATO Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. Mikeasky died in a non-combat related incident.

May all of these fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice rest in peace.

By Debbie Gregory.

We want to share a few more famous Veterans who passed in 2018.

• Alene Duerk, who passed away in July at age 98, became the first female admiral in the U.S. Navy. She was also the director of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps from 1970 to 1975.

• Arthur Andrew Kelm, better known as 50’s heartthrob Tab Hunter, enlisted in the Coast Guard at age 15, lying about his real age in order to get in. When his real age was discovered, Hunter was discharged by the Coast Guard. Shortly afterwards, he began his acting career. His breakthrough came in 1955 when he was cast as Marine Corps service member Danny in the World War II drama Battle Cry. He died in July just days before his 87th birthday.

• Neil Simon was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer. Simon signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve from 1945 to 1946 and studied at NYU and eventually at the University of Denver, where he was stationed as a corporal at Lowry Air Force base. He passed away in August at the age of 91.

• Senator John Sidney McCain III was an American hero, a statesman and military officer who served as a United States Senator from Arizona from January 1987 until his death in September at the age of 81. The Navy veteran survived five years as a prisoner in Vietnam and went on to become the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 2008. The Arizona state senator was also chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

• Actor Bill Daily was best known for his work on legendary sitcoms such as ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ and ‘The Bob Newhart Show’. He served in the Army during the Korean War, eventually ending up in an entertainment unit. Daily passed away from natural causes in September at the age of 91.

• Gary Kurtz was an American filmmaker whose list of credits includes ‘American Graffiti’, ‘Star Wars’, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘The Dark Crystal’ and ‘Return to Oz’. A Marine Corps veteran, Kurtz was reportedly a conscientious objector who refused to carry a loaded weapon in Vietnam. He died in September at the age of 78.

• Al Matthews, a Vietnam War Marine Corps veteran, made his mark in many movies, but is probably best remembered for his performance as the cigar-chewing Gunnery Sergeant Apone in the movie ‘Aliens’. Matthews died in September at age 75.

• Lithuanian-born Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow was a legendary Special Forces officer, revered by Green Berets everywhere. Shachnow passed away in September at the age of 83. He was imprisoned in a German concentration camp that was liberated by the Soviet Army. In 1950, he immigrated to the U.S. and enlisted as an Army infantry soldier. He served more than 30 years as a Green Beret.

• Stan Lee, the legendary writer, editor and publisher of Marvel Comics, died in November at the age of 95. Lee enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps shortly after hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was a lineman for the Signal Corps before the Army realized his writing skills and moved him into technical writing and doing posters.

By Debbie Gregory.

I thought it might be nice to recognize the passing on some famous Veterans that Passed Away in 2018. They served our nation and we need to remember all those who we have lost.

• Anna Mae Hays, who died in January at age 97, was a career officer in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Her breakthrough ascent to become America’s first female general officer began when Hays served as an Army nurse in malaria-infested jungles during World War II.

• Keith Max Jackson was an American sports commentator, journalist, author and radio personality, known for his career with ABC Sports. He served as a mechanic in the Marine Corps. Using his GI Bill, he attended Washington State University, starting as a political science major but soon moving over to broadcasting and graduating in 1954 with a degree in speech communications. He died in January at the age of 89.

• John Mahoney, a British-born actor who emigrated to the United States and enlisted in the U.S. Army in order to become a U.S. citizen, died in February at the age of 77. Mahoney was best known for his role as Martin Crane in the sitcom Frasier. The show ran for 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004.

• Floyd Carter Sr., one of the last of the Tuskegee Airmen, dedicated his life to service. The decorated veteran of three wars and 27 years with the NYPD died in March at age 95, leaving a long legacy as a groundbreaking hero pilot and a city police detective. In 2007, Carter was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bush for breaking the color barrier in Tuskegee.

• Roy Hawthorne Sr., one of the most recognizable Navajo Code Talkers, died in April at the age of 92. He was one of the most active members the Navajo Code Talkers Association. Like others who served as Code Talkers, Hawthorne took the vow of silence seriously and never told anyone what he did in the war until 1968, when the use of the Navajo language as a code was declassified. “I never even told my family about it until we were told it was all right,” Hawthorne said in a 2010 interview.

• R. Lee Ermey was an American actor, voice actor and Marine Corps drill instructor. He achieved fame when he played Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ermey passed away in April at age 74.

• Art Paul, the man responsible for Playboy’s famous logo, served during World War II with the Army Air Corps. Upon leaving the military, Paul became a freelance illustrator and Playboy magazine’s first employee in the 1950s. He said he crafted the bunny logo in about an hour. Pail died in April at the age of 93.