Veterans granted free lifetime passes to National Parks

[peterb]

...the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced U.S. military veterans and Gold Star families will be granted a lifetime of free access to national parks, wildlife refuges and other federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior.

"With the utmost respect and gratitude, we are granting Veterans and Gold Star Families free access to the iconic and treasured lands they fought to protect starting this Veterans Day and every single day thereafter," said Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt.

The access passes, called America the Beautiful, currently cost $80 per year and grant entry to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites spread out across more than 400 million acres of public lands, including Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Arches, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

To get the free pass, veterans must provide some form of identification showing they were enlisted in the armed forces or the U.S.National Guard and Reserves. Gold Star families are those who have lost an enlisted family member while serving in a war, a military operation outside of the U.S. or in an international terrorist attack.

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/09/933277526/veterans-and-gold-star-families-granted-lifetime-passes-to-national-parks

[JTQ]

Thanks for the heads up.

[okie john]

Nice.

Trump appointee throws veterans a minor bone. The optics of revoking it will cost President Biden dearly.


Okie John

[Balisong]

Nice.

Trump appointee throws veterans a minor bone. The optics of revoking it will cost President Biden dearly.


Okie John

All the revoking of military stuff that Obama did didn't seem to hurt him.

[Suvorov]

That's awesome!

Only of my fatherly goals is to visit one National Park with my boys every year. So much beauty to behold in this land.

[ranger]

I got this pass earlier this year with VA disability. I plan to visit a lot of National Parks in coming retirement

[Erick Gelhaus]

I've had this access for a while. Once I thought about it I realized it was because of a VA disability rating, not just service. Glad to see this was pushed out to more vets.

[deputyG23]

My wife received a similar access after her disabling stroke in 1999.
We have used it in several areas in VA and hopefully one day in more places as ‘Rona has shut our travel down for the time being.
Glad to see vets get this.
Well deserved.

[VT1032]

Wasn't this already the case? Maybe it was a yearly pass but I got something like this with my mil id maybe 5 years ago.

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[pyrotechnic]

Wasn't this already the case? Maybe it was a yearly pass but I got something like this with my mil id maybe 5 years ago.

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AD military have been able to get in for free for a while. I do not know when that came about however.

[TGS]

My wife received a similar access after her disabling stroke in 1999.
We have used it in several areas in VA and hopefully one day in more places as ‘Rona has shut our travel down for the time being.
Glad to see vets get this.
Well deserved.

This would apply to Skyline drive, right?

If so.......

.........sweet.

[deputyG23]

This would apply to Skyline drive, right?

If so.......

.........sweet.

Yes. Drove up to Loft Mountain two weeks ago.

[GyroF-16]

All the revoking of military stuff that Obama did didn't seem to hurt him.

I was AD during Obama’s first term, and newly retired in his second. I don’t remember him revoking any privileges for AD or retirees. What actions do you remember?

[Tensaw]

This is a good start. How about lifetime exemption of federal income tax for combat-deployed vets?

[JRB]

This is a good start. How about lifetime exemption of federal income tax for combat-deployed vets?

I think the place to start would be a tax exemption for those who are currently enlisted. Combat deployed veterans would be a easy step forward from there.

Then all the crying over what's a combat deployment and what isn't can reach a real fever pitch.

[pyrotechnic]

This is a good start. How about lifetime exemption of federal income tax for combat-deployed vets?

This might sound a little bitchy, but I don't think we need to be romoving veteran skin from the societal game.
We signed up to do a job willingly, were compensated, and given "free" schooling in return. It's one thing to hold some VA feet to the fire and have a cool perk here and there, but essentially saying "You did your 4 years, now we don't expect anything further from you, and you'll also be isolated from the financial consequences of political and societal change"?

Maybe I'm just jaded with respect to the "thank me for my service" attitudes I've seen. But I'm over it. Thanks for serving....what the fuck are you doing for your country and community today?

ETA: that wasn't directed at anyone on this forum, just a general statement.

[kjr_29]

This might sound a little bitchy, but I don't think we need to be romoving veteran skin from the societal game.
We signed up to do a job willingly, were compensated, and given "free" schooling in return. It's one thing to hold some VA feet to the fire and have a cool perk here and there, but essentially saying "You did your 4 years, now we don't expect anything further from you, and you'll also be isolated from the financial consequences of political and societal change"?

Maybe I'm just jaded with respect to the "thank me for my service" attitudes I've seen. But I'm over it. Thanks for serving....what the fuck are you doing for your country and community today?

ETA: that wasn't directed at anyone on this forum, just a general statement.

100% agreed, coming from the perspective of a retired vet.


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[VT1032]

Maybe I'm just jaded with respect to the "thank me for my service" attitudes I've seen. But I'm over it. Thanks for serving....what the fuck are you doing for your country and community today?

In my limited experience, most people with this attitude didn't do shit. The ones that did don't advertise it and don't ask for anything.

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