From Uniformed Services to No Uniform?

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EL PASO — I constantly find myself going over and over the decision I made more than a year ago. After serving in the U.S. Navy for seven years, I decided to put away my flight deck boots and step into some new shoes. It’s these “new shoes” that throw me off my equilibrium and make me question myself. Up until three months ago, I started off my week knowing exactly what I was going to wear, how I’d do my hair and the extent to which my makeup would be done. I never painted my fingernails a funky shade, never highlighted my hair or had one too many drinks on a casual Sunday night.

New VA Education Program Causes Backlog

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EL PASO — The Post 9/11 Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 33), is a new education program from the Department of Veterans Affairs that provides education and housing assistance to individuals with at least 90 days of active duty service on or after Sept. 11, 2001. But with so many applicants, it caused a backlog that stalled education benefits to active duty members, veterans and dependents. The bill provides full tuition to an institution of higher learning, a housing allowance and a books and supplies stipend, not just to those with 90 days of service but also to those discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. When the Post 9/11 GI Bill became effective on Aug.

Mexicanos, Viva Mexico

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El PASO — The aroma of churros filled the air at San Jacinto Plaza along with the mariachis blasting away at their tunes and then el grito, “Mexicanos, viva Mexico!” rang out. Hundreds of El Paso citizens gathered at the downtown plaza, September 15, for “Viva Mexico!” the 199th Anniversary to celebrate the anniversary of independence of Mexico from Spain in 1810. “Just being here reminds me of how far we’ve come since that day and the struggle they must’ve gone through for us, it makes me extremely humble yet full of pride,” said Alejandra Acosta, an El Paso resident who attended the celebration. Mexican Independence Day celebrates the events leading up to the day in which after centuries of oppression, Mexico or New Spain as it was then called, won its freedom from Spain.