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Virginia Military Institute
- Thread starter Dargo
- Start date
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After folding, my wife sent the extortion payment to VMI over a month ago so my son could finish his education before going active duty. I figured that I'd continue the fight later in an attempt to recover the money they stole from me. Now they are proving to be the worst scum of any college in our entire country! After extorting just over $8000 from us, they are dragging their feet in releasing my son's transcripts and plan to force him to miss all deadlines for enrolling at IU for next year. This will cause him to forfeit his college money and report to active duty with all achieved rank stripped from him.
I'm sorry, but besides being nothing but thieves wired up with all of the political scene in Virginia, they are low down dirty cock suckers who are the most evil vindictive bastards I've ever met. They are doing this will all 4 of the guys in my son's position. It's just a little additional game they are playing which, unfortunately, has extreme ramifications on their lives. Lt. Col. Sandra Manuel there bluntly expressed the ordeal as "Oh well, that's the way we do things". Then I get a 'click' as she disconnects from me.
Now I've fought them for a year, as have the other parents, paid them their extortion money, as the other parents, yet VMI insists on destroying these young men's lives and education. I'm surprised I don't have a restraining order to keep away from their campus. Even after stealing from our young soldiers and their families, VMI isn't finished with destroying these young men and their families. How much worse can they get?? I'm searching for answers because, if I do go there, I'll likely end up in jail. One other parent wants to accompany me and video the entire meeting but assumes that any video evidence will just be forcibly taken from him by VMI. Are we in Russia now???
I'm sorry, but besides being nothing but thieves wired up with all of the political scene in Virginia, they are low down dirty cock suckers who are the most evil vindictive bastards I've ever met. They are doing this will all 4 of the guys in my son's position. It's just a little additional game they are playing which, unfortunately, has extreme ramifications on their lives. Lt. Col. Sandra Manuel there bluntly expressed the ordeal as "Oh well, that's the way we do things". Then I get a 'click' as she disconnects from me.
Now I've fought them for a year, as have the other parents, paid them their extortion money, as the other parents, yet VMI insists on destroying these young men's lives and education. I'm surprised I don't have a restraining order to keep away from their campus. Even after stealing from our young soldiers and their families, VMI isn't finished with destroying these young men and their families. How much worse can they get?? I'm searching for answers because, if I do go there, I'll likely end up in jail. One other parent wants to accompany me and video the entire meeting but assumes that any video evidence will just be forcibly taken from him by VMI. Are we in Russia now???
Crap Dargo , that just plain sucks . Is there any way to get the state attorney involved or even the media ? Damn sure make an interesting topic on one of the morning or evening news programs I would think . I Sure wish Ya,ll the best of luck & hope its gets straightened out soon . 
You would think 60 minutes or one of those type of shows/magazines would love to do a piece on this.
I even have several families calling me to give their story of being robbed by VMI but so far no major network has responded.
Hmmmm . . . the domain name: "http://www.screwedbyvmi.com/" is available.
I agree ! Thats bullshit what they are doing and it sounds like its more than just your son they have been doing it to .
Anybody got any connections to get this out in the open ??? Seems like the Washington Post or New York Times would love to get there hands on this . JMHO . Hang in there !!!
Hmmmm . . . the domain name: "http://www.screwedbyvmi.com/" is available.
What can I do with that? I have all the documentation, audio recordings and several other students and parents who would immediately add to what I have. I would have to think that if I got word out and a place for people to upload their stories with evidence this would grow rather quickly. VMI is just waaaaay too arrogant in laughing that they own the VA Attorney General, Governor and all the judges as well as senators and congressmen from that state. I doubted that and was shocked to discover that they do own all those people; lock, stock and barrel.
I've never made a web page. As long as there is no libel or slander in linked audio, how easily can they shut such a site down? They own Virginia, they've made that clear, but I wouldn't be hosting out of Virginia. I have parents offering hundreds and some even thousands to help me pursue this dirty little secret of VMI.
What about you and all the other parents who is going through this (and whoever else you can take with you) have a protest around the college campus? Make sure you invite the media
Demonstrations are forbidden. Both on campus and, since VMI owns the local police, off campus as well. I'm beginning to get the idea of what it's like to live in a country that is a dictatorship. I would have never believed that VMI can, and has, gotten by with the, literally, crimes they commit with the approval of Virginia with impunity and apparent immunity.
I would try to get as many families that are in the same boat as you to form a group. Get everyone on board as to what you and they need to do if you want to accomplish anything from this. If you do get a group formed, then go to 60 minutes or Dateline, etc. I think the more people you have that had this happen to them the more likely they will want to listen. Same with lawyers. If it is only one person they don't want to listen. If there is a group, they may be more interested. There's power in numbers. BTW, this really terrible. I hope and pray everything works out for you and your family and all others involved. Good luck.
dzalphakilo
Banned
First, sincere apologies on everything you had to endure.
This may be a dumb question, but how much "rank" has he received so far? Wouldn't that rank be in the NG anyway?
Sincere advice would be to tell your son that if he wants to be a career military officer, punt from college and the VMI fiasco and outright enlist.
I have no doubt he's smart. He'll see if the military is really where he wants to be. First term he saves and banks into their college tutition assistance plan (is it still VEAP?) then looks at his options when it's time to re up.
Perhaps he'll go to the sandbox, and perhaps he won't come back. You want a life in the military, that's what you accept. Even if he went to college and graduated, the way it's going, he could still end up going after he graduates. So the war can't be a factor on how you want to make decisions.
Tell your son enlisted people tend to make the best officers anyway, they tend to appreciate things others can't.
This may be a dumb question, but how much "rank" has he received so far? Wouldn't that rank be in the NG anyway?
Sincere advice would be to tell your son that if he wants to be a career military officer, punt from college and the VMI fiasco and outright enlist.
I have no doubt he's smart. He'll see if the military is really where he wants to be. First term he saves and banks into their college tutition assistance plan (is it still VEAP?) then looks at his options when it's time to re up.
Perhaps he'll go to the sandbox, and perhaps he won't come back. You want a life in the military, that's what you accept. Even if he went to college and graduated, the way it's going, he could still end up going after he graduates. So the war can't be a factor on how you want to make decisions.
Tell your son enlisted people tend to make the best officers anyway, they tend to appreciate things others can't.
I couldn't tell you for sure, but he's been in the JROTC for 4 years, ROTC for 2 years and has drilled with the Army on weekends as well as completed, basic, jump school and RIP school. He would have entered as a commissioned officer with some rank.
Based on the flat out lies he's experienced from both VMI as well as the military, his lifelong dream of being a career military officer is completely shattered. With pressure on the military to keep enlistments up, almost everyone passes basic no problem. From there, it's as corrupt and political as it's ever been in the history of our military. Every congressman, senator, county council member, dog catcher (any elected office) who has aspirations of being elected to a higher post has contacts to get their children in the military with rank. If you have to earn your way up, which you can, if you so much as sign in late from a weekend off of campus, it's over. Apparently it's very much en vogue to campaign for office declaring that your son or daughter is serving.
Bluntly, the military that actually exists vs. what is advertised and portrayed is very different. Unlike the military, he will honor his commitment and serve his time. After that, he will need his college degree to pursue a different career. VMI along with the military want to punish our young soldiers and their families and, I'm not kidding one bit, steal money from them. It's so pathetic that I would not believe how bad they are except for the fact that I've lived it and I have hundreds of pages of documentation of flat out lies, deception and outright extortion.
Perhaps it's due to our commander in chief and more so the congress that has historic low job satisfaction ratings. They have no morals. They do not care about ethics. They do not care about stealing from the very people putting their sons and daughters in harm's way. They only care about getting reelected and keeping in power. It's really sick and I see no way our country can remain a superpower unless there is a major housecleaning in the house, senate and presidency. At the rate we are going with the current people in power, Iran or North Korea could very possibly give us a run for our money in 5 years. It's that bad.
For what it's worth, he's so disgusted with our system and it's lack of morals and the way the government steals from military families, he's ready to ship out now. Contrary to what you may think, he's the type who would be the first to volunteer for dangerous missions if he thinks it is good for our country. He didn't sign up for a country club tour. He also didn't sign up to be lied to, cheated, stolen from and have thousands extorted from his family. He's a perfect example of what our military needs as far as attitude in their soldiers. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands just like him are finding out what a cesspool of incompetence and flat out bad people are in charge right now. As I said, another 5 years and all that will be turning out are the people given the chance to go in the military or go in prison. What a wonderful military that will be when those type of people are in positions of authority.
Host it offshore and it will be a little harder for them to take it down. They will threaten the ISP but you may be able to find an ISP with balls in another country.
You can google "offshore web hosting" and find several companies to do it. If you want to take it a step further then post the content to several servers and change the DNS records as needed. I guess VMI could sue you for slander but then you have your lawsuit and I think they have to prove you are wrong and are also subject to full-disclosure requests by the defense.
If you post the information as a matter of record with no name calling then they have no grounds for a slander suit. You may need to be careful to see if they have made you sign any form of non-disclosure agreements or if you try to use any of their materials they may be covered under some form of copyright law.
I could probably come up with more nefarious schemes but they would all cost money and time. If you seriously want to pursue it let me know and we can discuss it privately.
I've only read the first page of this thread so far, and it has fired up a lot of old rancor about VMI. This institution has a long history of skirting the outer bounds of ethical behavior, and your story makes it clear they have not gotten any better since my last go round with them.
The first thing I would recommend is that you contact the Army Times* publishing company; they have run stories about problems with VMI previously and I'm sure they would be interested in hearing your saga. They are not a part of DOD or any government agency and I have seen them take on every imaginable part of DOD when problems have existed. Their papers are well read by Congress and the Pentagon and quite often their stories do lead to positive action. It certainly could not hurt to have them on your side.
As far as legal representation is concerned, my only thought would be to contact some of the veterans service organizations (such as Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion). They have attorneys that are quite used to taking on the Department of Defense ... and winning.
I wish you the best of luck with VMI. You and your son have been royally and completely screwed by the system, and you both deserve better.
*Managing Editor, Army Times: rsandza@militarytimes.com
The first thing I would recommend is that you contact the Army Times* publishing company; they have run stories about problems with VMI previously and I'm sure they would be interested in hearing your saga. They are not a part of DOD or any government agency and I have seen them take on every imaginable part of DOD when problems have existed. Their papers are well read by Congress and the Pentagon and quite often their stories do lead to positive action. It certainly could not hurt to have them on your side.
As far as legal representation is concerned, my only thought would be to contact some of the veterans service organizations (such as Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion). They have attorneys that are quite used to taking on the Department of Defense ... and winning.
I wish you the best of luck with VMI. You and your son have been royally and completely screwed by the system, and you both deserve better.
*Managing Editor, Army Times: rsandza@militarytimes.com
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Thank you Popeye!
Good advice and very nice on your part.
Good advice and very nice on your part.
PG -- Thanks! This is another "hot button" issue with me. After nearly 40 years of total government service I hate to see the system fail this badly.
Dargo -- Hang in there guy, and don't take some these negative comments too much to heart. From what I can tell most of them have been posted by people who have not actually experienced military life
or have their own axe to grind.
Remember: "Noncarborundum illegitimai" ... which translates to "Don't let the bastards wear you down!"
Dargo -- Hang in there guy, and don't take some these negative comments too much to heart. From what I can tell most of them have been posted by people who have not actually experienced military life
or have their own axe to grind.Remember: "Noncarborundum illegitimai" ... which translates to "Don't let the bastards wear you down!"
PG -- Thanks! This is another "hot button" issue with me. After nearly 40 years of total government service I hate to see the system fail this badly.
Dargo -- Hang in there guy, and don't take some these negative comments too much to heart. From what I can tell most of them have been posted by people who have not actually experienced military life
Remember: "Noncarborundum illegitimai" ... which translates to "Don't let the bastards wear you down!"
He would have graduated as a 2LT, the lowest of the officer ranks. That is the same rank that a West Point graduate or any other cadet from any ROTC program. With his JROTC time, he probably enlisted into the Guard at Private E2 or Private First Class E3.
I know you are pissed and you should be, but it is a little more complicated than that. It's not about just being in a certain amount of time and sticking it out to get promotions. With the exception of doctors, lawyers, and chaplains, you can't just join up with some rank under your belt. There are schools that are mandatory for rank, enlisted and officer. Maybe a politician can pull some strings to get a duty station or maybe a waiver because of a low score that would prevent a soldier from a certain MOS, but I seriously doubt that there are many if any politicians that have been able to pull off getting their kid in the military above the rank of 2LT and without ROTC, that's not gonna happen.
Dang it! I had one radio station reporter who also has an editorial column ask me to send her the facts; no comments, just the actual documents. She was floored and asked me if I'd take an oath that the documents were not doctored, so to speak. Not only would I do that, but at least 4 other parents would as well.
Early this morning her station GM told her she cannot run with the story. No reason, but he went from 'great story' to 'drop it'.
I can only imagine what made him change his mind. Obviously they are baiting me to sue in VA. They know the outcome. Even after paid their extortion money they are not releasing any of the student's transcripts. I have a feeling they know exactly what they are doing and are well practiced. Through other contacts, I'm beginning to relay information to the attorney who forced them to become co-ed. Maybe something will come from that. Dunno.
I'm very certain that what you say is correct. I'll worry about getting my money back over time via whatever methods I can legally employ. Right now I'm firing off letters to all senators about VMI refusing to release his transcripts after charging roughly 10 grand for them. Maybe I'm wrong, but surely they can't own every politician. I doubt VMI will want to explain to a national reporter or some Supreme Court why they charged 10 grand for a transcript and then refused to provide it.
Brent, you probably already tried this but just throwing out ideas.
Have you tried calling all of the local news channels? If it is aired locally maybe a bigger city will pick it up.
Also, I know this is real expensive but if the other parents are in place one page ads in the Virgina papers, as well as even bumper stickers for attention. If your traveling wear a t shirt with something about VMI. The point is you are wanting to draw attention so people will ask questions.
You are probably on face book and am sure you have lots of friends, send out some kind of notice as to what is going on to all the friends. The more people that learn the truth can back you
Like I suggested before. You tube is a great way to get the word out. You are not bashing VMI just telling the truth.
Try calling Rush Limbaugh. Everyone knows he has a real thing for all the political BS that goes on.
Have you tried calling all of the local news channels? If it is aired locally maybe a bigger city will pick it up.
Also, I know this is real expensive but if the other parents are in place one page ads in the Virgina papers, as well as even bumper stickers for attention. If your traveling wear a t shirt with something about VMI. The point is you are wanting to draw attention so people will ask questions.
You are probably on face book and am sure you have lots of friends, send out some kind of notice as to what is going on to all the friends. The more people that learn the truth can back you
Like I suggested before. You tube is a great way to get the word out. You are not bashing VMI just telling the truth.
Try calling Rush Limbaugh. Everyone knows he has a real thing for all the political BS that goes on.
Thanks Judy. Our local Fox channel, don't know what channel it is on your cable, but you know the one, seemed interested until they called VMI and got the big threat. Reporter was really ticked but station manager apparently said they didn't need that fight on their hands right now.
They suggested calling ACLU. I did, but no reply. Heck, I even wrote the White House, twice, but no response of any sort there either. VMI knows they can bankrupt any individual or even small group of individuals especially when they control what goes on in VA courts. I was literally shocked when the Virginia Attorney General told me that he would not look into anything concerning VMI.
It's our local FOX station who backed off after they called and was threatened by VMI, not FOX nationally. They haven't gotten back with me. They broadcast what sells. I would think a long history of stealing from our young military members and really hitting their families hard would get their attention. My brief conversation with the local person said that it sounds like a story they would be interested in when there isn't larger news stories that "sell" more. He suggested that I send info packages off to Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck to see if they'd pick it up for a story. Since widespread dissemination of VMI's dirty little secret would be severely damaging to them, I've been told by every attorney to be prepared for them to pull out all the stops to stifle me.
My congressman said that it's "out of his area" and to contact the congressman over that district of Virginia. He basically told me to pound sand up my ass. I thought that Senator Mark Warner of Virginia would help because he proudly advertises that he helped improve services to "800,000 military veterans and their families". Unfortunately, he's been in Virginia politics for many years and is their ex-Governor. His office told me that he does not get involved in affairs concerning VMI.
I have to think that since the corruption and blatant extortion is well documented and has been going on so long at VMI that it's only a matter of time before someone breaks their dirty little secret open to the public. I honestly don't care at all if it's me or someone else. I am not looking for any credit in exposing them. I just want my freaking money back and to stop this criminal act from happening to other military families and young soldiers. It's really pretty low when you steal from young soldiers and their families. In my book, it doesn't get much lower than that. Believe me, when it does break, it's going to be really ugly and will bring VMI to it's knees if it doesn't destroy it. It would severely damage their reputation (which would be well deserved) and make it very difficult to attract students.
I thought I'd share this little tidbit of interesting info concerning this matter with VMI. As I said, I'm writing everyone I can think of to expose this corruption, including the White House. I was going to scan the letter and post it here, but I've been advised not to do that. Still, the gist of the letter is that the White House and Obama claim that they have no jurisdiction over VMI. WTF?! I had to read it 4 or 5 times to believe what I was reading. It literally said that unless the matter concerned government money paid to VMI, they have no jurisdiction to look into any misdeeds by VMI.
This is shocking on two levels. The first is obvious; the president of the United States has been told "hands off" when it comes to a military school?! The 2nd, the United States Army has paid thousands to VMI as well as part of my son enlisting. In brief, the Army was going to pay for his education and then he would serve a specific number of years in the service in return. At the time, he planned his career to be in the military; no problem. I know I've paid VMI tens of thousands of dollars and supposedly the Army has paid much more. If the Army has paid all this money, how does the White House deem that the government hasn't paid any money to VMI and, therefore, will not look into the matter?!
This continues to get more troublesome and really scary at the level of corruption and how far it reaches with each turn. My pledge is simple; I won't go away. For lack of better terms, this state sponsored organized crime needs to be exposed. I don't know how many generations it's gone on, but it's time it is exposed. There seems to be a possibility that this story may be gaining some traction thanks to this website. Sorry for being a little vague, but I've spoken to so many lawyers, I'm tentative to mention too much in public at this point.
This is shocking on two levels. The first is obvious; the president of the United States has been told "hands off" when it comes to a military school?! The 2nd, the United States Army has paid thousands to VMI as well as part of my son enlisting. In brief, the Army was going to pay for his education and then he would serve a specific number of years in the service in return. At the time, he planned his career to be in the military; no problem. I know I've paid VMI tens of thousands of dollars and supposedly the Army has paid much more. If the Army has paid all this money, how does the White House deem that the government hasn't paid any money to VMI and, therefore, will not look into the matter?!
This continues to get more troublesome and really scary at the level of corruption and how far it reaches with each turn. My pledge is simple; I won't go away. For lack of better terms, this state sponsored organized crime needs to be exposed. I don't know how many generations it's gone on, but it's time it is exposed. There seems to be a possibility that this story may be gaining some traction thanks to this website. Sorry for being a little vague, but I've spoken to so many lawyers, I'm tentative to mention too much in public at this point.
Dargo,
Welcome to the wonderful world of polit-spiel, otherwise known as government double-talk or evasive BS. From what you have said the White House did not lie to you, they simply used one of the classic ways to deceive; in this case by telling the truth, but not necessarily all of the truth. They can't intervene if federal dollars are not involved; that is the truth part. However, since there are federal $$$ involved, OPOTUS can intervene; that's the don't-tell-everything part. Mislead the public with a partial truth, and they'll probably go away: Politics 101.
On the other hand if you have quoted your local Congressman accurately, he DID lie to you, outrageously so. ANY Congressman can intervene on behalf of ANY constituent, no matter whether the problem itself originates in his District or not.
The system is screwing with you, and apparently those you have contacted so far are lacking in the requisite testicular fortitude to take any action. Believe me, VMI can be beaten! As I suggested before, you should try The Navy Times and one or more of the veterans organizations; these folks are not afraid of VMI and could be your best allies in this fight.
Noncarborundum illegitimai!!
Thanks for the reply and explanation. I've been extremely careful to quote very specifically what I've been told; including every comma, period or other mark just in case this thread is ever printed out and used. I want absolutely everything to be 100% undeniably accurate.
I hope the radio station guy is for real, but I think you can see why I'm asking for some credentials before I turn over my small mountain of evidence. I think VMI is finally realizing that I'm that one asshole parent who simply just will not go away after they stole from me. It's a corrupt system and it's so ironic that they espouse that they are the most honorable and ethical college in the country yet they are the exact opposite; likely the most dishonorable and unethical college in the country. They've tried to stifle me without any success. Any letter they've sent me telling me to shut up was passed to my attorneys who wrote them back asking if they had a janitor write the empty threat.
If they fear for the life of their college and send a hit squad out after me, at least this will be a record of what likely happened to me. I've been warned many times that such a huge and widespread scandal could bring them down and that they may do anything for self preservation. As you can see, I'm not backing down. Again, I appreciate the information and I will write the group you suggested. My problem is condensing it into a small enough version that will be read.
I realize this thread hasn't been active in 9 years but I would like to throw something on here.
At VMI, there is something called a form 24.
If you commit any kind of honor offense, you have 48 hours from when you realize you committed the offense to form 24 yourself. You turn yourself in, receive some kind of penalty, but are not prosecuted by the honor court for said honor offense.
The fact of the matter is, your son committed a blatant honor offense. Not only that, he tried to get away with it. Made a self-conscious decision to not turn himself in and face the penalty.
Yes, it sucks that you got stuck with that bill. But it's due to your son's lack of honor, and decision to try to cheat the system.
Just my two cents.
At VMI, there is something called a form 24.
If you commit any kind of honor offense, you have 48 hours from when you realize you committed the offense to form 24 yourself. You turn yourself in, receive some kind of penalty, but are not prosecuted by the honor court for said honor offense.
The fact of the matter is, your son committed a blatant honor offense. Not only that, he tried to get away with it. Made a self-conscious decision to not turn himself in and face the penalty.
Yes, it sucks that you got stuck with that bill. But it's due to your son's lack of honor, and decision to try to cheat the system.
Just my two cents.