CIB Badge

Of all the Medals Upon our Chest From the Battles and War we knew, The one admired as THE VERY BEST
Is the one of Infantry Blue. It is only a rifle upon a wreath,
So why should it mean so much?
It is WHAT IT TOOK TO EARN IT
That gives it that Magic Touch. To earn this special accolade
You faced the enemy's fire
Whether you survived or not
God dialed that one desired.
For those of us who served the cause
It is the
COMBAT INFANTRYMAN'S BADGE...
THAT REALLY TELLS THE STORY

CIB Badge

«
»

08- Interview with Olie Pope- Veterans Service Director- Part One

 
icon for podpress  Interview with Olie Pope - part one [16:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode of the H21-Southern Branch-Austin, Texas, Chapter of the Combat Infantrymen’s Association, we deliver the first of two parts of the interview we had with Olie Pope, the Director of the Travis County Veterans Service Office in downtown Austin, Texas.

CIB patch

This interview took place after the re-dedication ceremony of the Austin Vietnam Veterans Monument in downtown, Austin, on 2 June 2008 (for more details about that event, please see episode number 6 of this web site–as the CIB Association was represented there).

In this interview, Bobby Briscoe and Fred Castaneda discuss with Olie Pope the mission of the CIB Association in Austin, Texas. The outreach programs, the welcome-home programs and the delivery of free membership to the CIB Association to the returning OEF/OIF CIB veterans are mentioned in detail.

In addition, Bobby also mentions his concern for assisting the families of the CIB-awarded returning infantrymen–especially the children. He gives his perspectives of the overloaded VA system and how the CIB Association can bring the personal experiences of one CIB infantryman veteran as a non-judgmental “bond” to allow the returning veterans to communicate and begin their path for a better life by seeking the treatment and the benefits that they have earned.

Also, Bobby describes the qualifications and requirements for being awarded the CIB. And, as in all conversations that begin with this theme, the plight of the returning combat infantryman is portrayed by the words of those who have already been in that situation in another earlier campaign.

Our thanks to Olie Pope, who also gave us the advice, counsel, direction and contacts to us to help the CIB Association of Austin, Texas, become more effective in reaching its goals.

Note: The interview did take a lot longer than anticipated. Hence, we have created two sections for delivery. Part two of this interview will be coming in a very near future episode on this web site.

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 3:28 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.