Gables woman makes plea for veterans

By Ret. Col. LETTIE J. BIEN

U.S. Army Reserves

PATRICK FARRELL / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

In this Nov. 21, 2004 file photo, Army Reserve Col. Lettie Bien, center, is greeted by her niece Vanessa MacCormack 23 yrs., and her sister Lisa MacCormack outside the Coral Gables City Hall. Bien, then the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce CEO/President, returned from a year in Baghdad, to a welcoming party at City Hall.

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• More about Fisher House

Editor's note: Last week, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved a $1 million contribution to the local effort to establish guest quarters on the grounds of the Veterans Affairs Hospital. This essay was written as part of the effort to raise a total of $2 million in Miami-Dade public and private donations.

For nearly a year in Iraq, I wore body armor from head to toe. I carried no fewer than two weapons -- and lots of ammunition. As a Reserves colonel mobilized for the U.S. Army, it was my job soon after liberation to work with the Iraqis at hundreds of factories through the Ministry of Industry -- for better or worse. It was dangerous territory. Military intelligence told me, at one point, that I was named as a target of the insurgents.

But I was lucky. I came home without injury, retired from a 30-year Army career and have seen -- up close and personal -- that many U.S. forces have not been so fortunate.

I have seen the devastation of war and injury, what it does to soldiers who come home. And what it does to the families that try to comfort them. Right here, in our community.

And that is why I have embarked on a campaign to help alleviate some of the hardships for families struggling with patient-care issues here in South Florida -- where our neighbors, our friends, our families include injured and battered war veterans of the Army Reserves and Florida National Guard. Veterans who, like me, responded to the call of their country -- but came home not so lucky.

That campaign is for Fisher House -- a plan to build a 21-suite, motel-style lodging, a home away from home in downtown Miami -- on the grounds of our top-rated Veterans Affairs hospital. Total tab? About $8 million. Our share? A fraction: $2 million. The national organization that sponsors these family havens around military and veterans hospitals will put up the rest -- if the people of South Florida donate the first $2 million.

On paper, the Fisher House Foundation (FHF) is a nonprofit, tax-deductible charity, meaning a donation gets you a tax deduction. For me, it's our social responsibility. This war came upon us suddenly -- and frankly, it cost many of us as individuals very little, no war taxes, no rationing, no mandatory anything. We still live in a nation of people who volunteered for service and, here I am, vouching for a national charity.

Families of wounded and recovering U.S. forces receiving care at the adjacent Veterans Affairs hospital get to stay there -- free of charge -- and spend as much time as they can with their wounded warriors. During rehabilitation, hopefully, they can all spend time there together, cooking, sharing and hanging out -- just like a family should.

HOME BENEFITS MANY

Not only does it save families on hotel costs in their times of need, but it is key to helping our veterans in need get reacquainted with civilian society.

Aside from helping unite veterans with loved ones, the most important aspect, to me, is the support, information and encouragement that families get from others in similar circumstances. Remember, sometimes these are young spouses of injured soldiers or members of other U.S. forces -- Marines, airmen, sailors.

They can learn together how to navigate the complex military and veterans systems -- the bureaucracies and hurdles for all kinds of things, like getting timely prescriptions and disability checks, collaborating on rehab or finding the right prosthetic maker.

SOUNDEST INVESTMENT

As an institution, Fisher House Foundation is exceptionally financially sound. It is efficient and competently run, has a proven track record of delivering on its mission, and it fills a significant shortcoming in the medical and rehabilitative services we provide to our community's wounded veterans.

Under its proposal to establish a Fisher House in Miami, the foundation is asking us to raise the first $2 million to demonstrate our commitment to this public-private partnership. It then provides the additional $4 million to $6 million for design, construction, furnishings and the operating expenses that come with establishing it.

The way I see it, they are asking for $2 million from a community of over 2 million citizens to show our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that we support them all the way -- no matter what happens -- when they serve our nation.

To me, they're American patriots. But so are we if we take care of them.

The horse manure salesman, the Club 18-30 rep and the dyslexic 'African princess' battling it out on The Apprentice

First picture of 2008 apprentices hoping to impress the boss

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Lindi Mngaza, 22, from Birmingham, says her friends' nickname for her is African Princess - because she says she is of a royal bloodline.

The business liaison manager idolises Richard Branson - because he is dyslexic like her.

Meanwhile a former soldier who fought a drug problem is also one of the budding entrepreneurs.

Simon Smith, 35, from Harlow, wants to help other ex-soldiers rehabilitate into the community after fighting drug addiction following his return from Bosnia.

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Another contestant, Adam Wotherspoon, of Bolton, counts selling horse manure as one of his first paid jobs.

The accident prone 24-year-old counts a punctured lung, broken ribs and a dislocated jaw among just some of his injuries and claims: "I give 100 per cent all the way."

And champion show jumper Jennifer Maguire is also promising to be a force to be reckoned with. The 27-year-old Dubliner said: "I can sell pieces of paper for £50 ... I rate myself as the best salesperson in Europe."

The four are among the sixteen contestants who will take part in the fourth series of The Apprentice after being whittled down from a record 20,000 entrants.

Mosaic artist Shazia Wahab is another. The 35-year-old considers herself a hidden talent and a "stubborn cow - who always has to have the last word".

After being rejected as an applicant for the third series she tried again.

Meanwhile, Sir Alan, 60, wants his sweeter side to come across rather then just be known for his blunt catchphrase "You're fired".

He told Radio Times: "The BBC has categorised me as Mr Nasty, so all the humour ends up on the cutting-room floor. It's a continual argument I have with the production people.

But like it or not, and I don't like it that much, there's a perception of me just banging the table and shouting."

However, he adds: "This is a business boot camp. Mary Poppins I am not."

• The Apprentice begins on BBC1 on Wednesday 26 March at 9pm.

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