Two months ago, prosecutors appealed a military court's ruling that prevented them from using potentially incriminating statements made by the accused, Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez of Troy, when he was first arrested in Tikrit, Iraq, on suspicion of murder. The statements were reportedly made by Martinez to an officer while he was being advised of his rights, but were not recorded.

Prosecutors are yet to hear back from the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, a spokeswoman at Fort Bragg told me. An answer was expected this week, she said, but it hasn't come. Maybe next week, she said.

Once the court's ruling comes, more pre-trial hearings will be scheduled. The final trial will still be months away. If we are lucky, that is.

Gov. David Paterson said the increased award was a way of showing appreciation for the services of veterans. The awards will be available to veterans whoserved in Indochina in the Vietnam War, or who served in hostilities in the Persian Gulf or Afghanistan, and were discharged under honorable conditions are eligible for the tuition award.

Those who served in the armed forces in fighting that ocurred after Feb. 28 1961 — those with Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal, or Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal — and were honorably discharged, will also be eligible.

More details about the increased awards can be found at the state's Veterans Affairs Web site at http://www.veterans.state.ny.us or at the Web site of the New York State Higher Education Services Corp (HESC) at http://www.hesc.com/content.nsf/SFC/Military_Corner.

The special expanded edition, hosted by Bob Marrone, will air from approximately 8 to 9 a.m. with studio participation from U.S. Army veteran John Dunleavy, chairman of New York City's St. Patrick's Day parade.

The special program comes about with help from Sons of the American Legion from Post 50 in Pelham, which has been working with the state National Guard to arrange the interviews.

The radio station's Veterans Segment normally airs every Friday at 8:30 a.m. A number of past shows are available at Post 50s website.

WVOX is located at 1460 on your AM radio dial.

The report notes that "Veterans had sought a court order to compel the VA to improve services. U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti agreed that some veterans experienced "significant" delays in trying to untangle problems with their benefits but said he could find no "systemic violations" that compelled court intervention."

The judge wrote that "Congress, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the adjudication system within the VA and the Federal Circuit" are responsible for fixing problems within the VA.

They certainly have their work cut out for them.

In what could be considered the first major battle of the Cold War, allied planes flew almost 300,000 missions into Berlin, delivering nearly 2.3 million tons of supplies that kept residents of the American, British and French zones of the city alive and free.

Crashes during the 15-month effort cost 65 civillian and military lives, but created a feeling of goodwill toward the U.S. that has never been forgotten.

My mom, a German native, was 13 years old at the time and although she didn't live in Berlin she used to tell me about how the whole country was astonished and grateful that the allies stepped up to save the city. When I was stationed in Germany I met a few people who were kids in Berlin during the airlift, and they talked about how exciting it was and how sometimes planes would drop candy for them.

A few years ago PBS broadcast a great documentary on the airlift. Hopefully they'll show it again sometime soon.

If any of you were involved, either as pilots, crew members or ground support, I'd love to hear from you.

On July 4th weekend and Sept. 11, all major league teams will wear special "Stars & Stripe" caps and and major league ball parks will be adorned with ceremonial "Welcome Back Veterans" logos on the bases and home plate. The caps and bases, along with other items, will be auctioned off to raise money to benefit the organization, which works to raise awareness about veterans issues and raises money for programs that help vets and their families with mental health issues, jobs and other needs.

Click here to read the official press release on the initiative.

 The initiative is the brainchild of New York Mets chairman Fred Wilpon, which proves that while my favorite team is kind of clumsy when it comes to personnel decisions, they're a class act when it comes to supporting the troops.

The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery hosts its annual War Dog Memorial Celebration on Sunday, remembering the service and sacrifices made by thousands of four-legged veterans.

Ceremonies start at 1 p.m., when a wreath will be laid at the 1923 War Dog Memorial, which pays tribute to the 7,000 canine heroes that served in World War I.

Representatives from The Tower of Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs to combat wounded veterans will be on hand as will folks from the Shelter Pet Alliance, to tell visitors about dogs and cats available for adoption.

The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery is located 75 Central Park Avenue. The public is invited to the memorial event.

Dogs, not to be confused with "dog faces,'' have been part of the U.S. military from the beginning. It's nice to see them recognized.

In a press release today, the IAVA, which has lobbied for the bill originally introduced by Senators Jim Webb (D- Va.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) notes that the bill "will fully fund the cost of a public college education and allow service members who stay in the military to transfer their education benefits to their spouses and children."

The Webb-Hagel bill was passed by the House and Senate earlier this year, but faced a veto from President Bush, who expressed concern that it could make it difficult to retain service members after their first enlistment.

Click here for more information on the compromise and on the benefits under the new version of the bill.

Now comes word that our "friends'' at the VA have been recruiting returning war vets with PTSD to participate as guinea pigs in the testing of a new anti-smoking drug. Of course they forgot to mention for three months that the drug, Chantix, has been linked to 40 suicides and more than 400 incidents of suicidal behavior, according to California Rep. Bob Filner, chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Filner today called for an immediate suspension of the tests on veterans "until a comprehensive review of the safety of the protocol is conducted,'' according to this "report" from ABC News, which broke the story with the Washington Times.

Indeed.

I would imagine that a lot of men and women come home from combat smoking like chimneys, and that the percentage is even higher among those with PTSD. So the VA, which of course, is always looking out for the health and welfare of veterans, decides that potentially suicidal patients should be recruited to take a drug that has potentially suicidal side affects.

Makes you think that Pogo, the cartoon character, was probably right when he said, "I have seen the enemy and it is us."

The study, announced in a press release today, also found that male veterans also earned more than their non-veteran counterparts, but noted that the gap can be deceiving.

Click here to see the entire press release and find links to other census data on veterans.