Transitionnews for Friday, January 3 2014:

Good news story of the day

Civilian, veterans group aids local family  (The Ada News)  This is a story about a soldier, his wife and their 9-year-old son. It is also about a soldier who returned from Iraq, was thanked for his service and badly needed a job and a place to stay.

Transition

CES 2014 announces the first tech program for Vets to connect with employers  (Examiner.com)  The CES 2014 convention to be held Jan.7-10 in Las Vegas at the Convention Center will launch the first ever online community to facilitate the hiring and career development of military veterans throughout the technology community.

Veterans Welcome Home and Resource Center to open new reintegration home  (CarolinaLive.com)  Veterans gave up their freedom to protect ours and now the ‘Veterans Welcome Home and Resource Center’ in Little River is in the process of creating a reintegration home to help homeless veterans get back on their feet.

Future veterans training center lands AT&T partnership  (The Telegraph)  A future Warner Robins institution, which will provide training and job assistance for veterans and active military members, will partner with AT&T, officials recently announced.

Employment Help for Military Veterans  (Buckeye Country)  Help is available for military veterans seeking employment through your local Ohio Job One-Stop Office.

Young veterans are fighting for work  (Orange County Register)  Jeffrey Wortham’s intent is clear: You’d better do as you’re told.

Enlisted retention board to convene in June  (Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs)  An enlisted retention board will convene here in June to consider eligible senior airmen through senior master sergeants for retention, Air Force Personnel Center officials said.

Veterans

Hawaii hosting wounded warrior athletic competition  (Stars and Stripes)  More than 150 people will participate in a series of athletic events at the inaugural Wounded Warrior Pacific Invitational, Jan. 8-10 in Hawaii, according to event sponsors.

Fayette court program allows veterans to get physical, psychological help instead of jail time  (Kentucky.com)  Lexington veterans who run afoul of the law as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, drug abuse or other issues stemming from their military service are getting a new chance under a recently launched court program.

Resource center in Wayne to offer aid to female veterans  (Philly.com)  A regional women’s resource center is launching an outreach program in Chester County that will provide educational, housing, and emotional support to female veterans and military members.

Veterans honored with a day of ceremonies  (Louisburg Herald)  A simple gesture brought a smile to dozens of faces at the Louisburg Veterans Memorial on Monday morning — a tiny child sheepishly placing an American flag into the hand of one of the thousands of men and women who defended it honorably.

WWII ace who flew through Eiffel Tower dies in Va.  (USA Today)  World War II fighter pilot William Overstreet Jr., who gained fame for flying beneath the Eiffel Tower’s arches in pursuit of a German aircraft, has died.

Riders salute the fallen on two wheels  (Air Force Times)  On a chilly, clear November morning, retired Air Force Maj. Robbie Smart and 14 other veterans gathered outside the gates of Quantico National Cemetery

Veterans Affairs

Dedicated driver puts veterans first  (SFGate.com)  When a veteran speaks, Duffy Jenniges listens.

VA Hit on Planned Disability Rules Changes  (Military.com)  Some of the country’s leading veterans service organizations have rejected changes proposed by the Department of Veterans Affairs that might create disparities between veterans filing for a disability on paper and those filing electronically.

Central Nebraska Veterans Home Included in National Priority List  (KHASTV.com)  Today, Nebraska’s Department of Health of Human Services’ Director of Veterans Homes John Hilgert received notification from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of the 2014 priority list providing a ranking and funding process for awarding state veteran home construction grants.

VA Ignores Congress’ Questions on Eye Center  (Military.com)  Six months after his office asked a senior Department of Veterans Affairs official why the agency had not, after four years, provided staff for the congressionally established Vision Center of Excellence, Rep. Dan Banishek, R-Mich., is still waiting for an answer.

Benefits

Compensation commission in San Antonio next week  (Military Times)   Military troops, families and retirees in the San Antonio area will have an opportunity to offer feedback next week about potential changes to the military pay and benefits system.

It’s Time to Cut Military Health and Pension Benefits  (DefenseOne.com)  The time has come: Military health and pension benefits, which have more than doubled in the past decade, should be reduced as the defense budget comes down, said a whopping 90 percent majority of National Journal’s National Security Insiders.

Lawmakers Scramble to Undo Military Pension Cuts  (USGovInfo.about.com)  A bipartisan herd of lawmakers are now hurrying to repeal the cuts to military retirement benefits that were so clearly included in the compromise budget bill Congress just uncharacteristically hurried to pass.

Gains in Military Pay and Benefits Stalled in 2013  (Military.com)  As it came to a close, 2013 seemed to leave a kind of high water mark on the wall of more than a decade of steady, impressive gains to military and veterans’ pay and benefits.

Congress Throws Veterans Under the Bus for Illegal Immigrants  (Breitbart.com)  The bill was ferociously opposed by conservative groups in the House because it raises taxes, increases spending, and guts the sequestration cuts that have helped keep spending in check over the last couple of years.

Issa backs repeal of military pension cuts  (The Hill)  House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is the latest lawmaker to introduce legislation that would repeal cuts to military pensions.

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Have a great day!