[Blindtlk] FW: Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer

Thu Sep 23 20:44:56 UTC 2010

I hope all of you got the August-September issue of the Monitor and read the
comments of Colonel Gagliano about the intent of the military to use the
talents of blind folks. Also be on the lookout for October where we carry
another article about people remaining in the armed services.

Gary

P.S. If you know of people who have fallen off the Monitor list as a result
of last January's attempt to update and prune our list, please have them go
to www.nfb.org and get subscribed.

Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mari Hunziker
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 12:15 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] FW: Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer

Well, I appreciate you sending this. I posted it on my Facebook page. I sent
it to my relatives, friends who are currently in or were in the military. I
think it give a ray of hope that one is able to continue to live their
goals. I enjoyed the story despite the very ignorant reporter.

Mari Hunziker

On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 11:38 AM, Hyde, David W. (ESC) <
david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us> wrote:

> I saw the depression and the other problems in the story too. We all 
> know people who went blind and found that stage. We all know people 
> who never got past it. I sent this for a couple of reasons. First, it 
> does represent a change in what the military generally does. Some of 
> us would have liked to serve, and have always been told that it just 
> couldn't be done. This is in spite of the fact that we know of jobs 
> that could be done with ease by a blind man or women. A clerk is a 
> clerk, a programmer a programmer, and a contract specialist a contract
specialist, whether he or she can see or not.
>
> I also sent it because I hope it gives some hope to those who are 
> recovering military personnel who may not want to leave the service. 
> If this guy can do it, they may be able to do it too. While I would 
> have written the story differently, I believe that it has value in 
> itself. Remember, He is the one who wanted to do something. If his 
> belief in god, or  anything else helps, that's a good thing.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf Of Robert J Smith
> Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 11:27 AM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] FW: Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer
>
> Hi all.  I feel that the negative elements of Captain Smiley's 
> psychological adjustment should be brought to light, because that's 
> what he went through.  I have always been blind so I didn't have any 
> of that. I know that there are those who will key off on all the 
> negative elements (or a more appropriate word would be difficult) but 
> they need to be told because they are part of his story and he 
> strengthened and re-developed his character because of them.
>
> Bob Smith
>
> This is a PRIVATE message. If you are not the intended recipient, 
> please delete without copying and kindly advise us by e-mail of the 
> mistake in delivery.
> NOTE: Regardless of content, this e-mail shall not operate to bind CSC 
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>
>
>
> From:
> "Jewel S." <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
> To:
> Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Date:
> 09/23/2010 12:04 PM
> Subject:
> Re: [Blindtlk] FW: Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer
>
>
>
> A small step forward for the military, but a big step back for the 
> image of blind people in my opinion. They talk about how devastating 
> losing his sight was, how he wanted to die, that his life was black 
> literally and figuratively, and how he broke down crying because his 
> life was so horribly changed.
>
> Captain Smiley tries to push that his life is normal. He makes light 
> of his wanting to have fun (surfing, mountain climbing, parachuting), 
> but the Fox announcer seems so shocked and awed that a blind person 
> could do such things.
>
> Good for Captain Smiley. I'm sure he'll go far and represent people 
> with visual impairment well, but this video certaionly doesn't.
>
> My two cents,
>
> On 9/23/10, Hyde, David W. (ESC) <david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us> wrote:
> >  I think this represents a small step forward by the military. They 
> > at
> least
> > didn't give him a discharge and a thank you..
> >
> >
> > http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/21915181
> >
> >
> >
> >
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>
> >
>
>
> --
> ~Jewel
> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>
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