Transitionnews for Monday, January 13th 2014:

Good news story of the day

‘Night of Champions’ to benefit homeless veterans  (Times-Georgian)  A Carrollton business will host a fundraiser next month to support a program that helps veterans “off the streets” and into safe housing.

Transition

AT&T Investment Leads To 116 Jobs Available In Kentucky; Military Veterans Sought   (The Wall Street Journal) AT&T* today announced that the company will hire workers for 116 jobs in Kentucky, including 34 new jobs. The positions to be filled are technicians, retail support and call center representatives and are a result of AT&T’s continued investment in Kentucky.

State approves firms for construction of veterans training center in Warner Robins  (The Telegraph)  The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has approved companies to build a veterans training center.

RecruitMilitary hosts job fairs in San Antonio, Dallas  (Dallas News)  More than 800 military veterans and their spouses attended a job fair in San Antonio yesterday, according to organizer RecruitMilitary, a military-to-civilian recruiting firm.

Career fair for veterans at National College in Stow on Jan. 16  (Record Courier)  National College will host a career fair for veterans on its campus at 3855 Fishcreek Road in Stow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday.

Recently returned Soldiers transition into civilian life through Veterans Opportunity to Work  (readMedia) Many National Guard Soldiers face the difficult task of finding a job and transitioning into the civilian world after a deployment. Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 238th General Support Aviation Battalion in Peoria, returned in December after nearly one year in Afghanistan and many face challenges finding and applying for civilian jobs.

VETERANS’ CORNER: 10 tips to help ease the transition into civilian life (Weatherford Democrat) Recently discharged veterans can ease their transition from active duty into civilian life in 2014 by following 10 simple tips.

Coffman: Helping veterans land jobs  (The Denver Post)  With the Iraq War over and our involvement in Afghanistan winding down, the military is getting ready to downsize.

IMCOM helps Soldiers, Families transition into civilian employment   (United States Army)  The U.S. Army Installation Management Command is committed to helping Soldiers and Families transition smoothly into civilian employment and America’s communities.

Veterans

Young Veteran Suicides Rise in San Diego  (NBC San Diego)  On Friday, the Department of Veteran Affairs released data showing the number of suicides by veterans ages 18-24 receiving some form of VA health care nearly doubled between 2009 and 2011.

More young veterans committing suicide, data show  (Los Angeles Times)The rate among 18- to 29-year-old men climbed 44% over 3 years, a new analysis shows, although it declined among older male veterans.

U.S. veterans despondent over al-Qaeda’s resurgence in Iraq  (The Washington Post)  The towering former three-star general keeps a wooden box on his desk with the photos of 257 service members who died in Iraq under his command, sorted by date.

Task force asks for improved health care access for South Jersey’s veterans  (NJ.com)  The state senate approved a measure Thursday that urges federal officials to expand health care access for veterans living in South Jersey.

Veterans targets of scams  (McPherson Sentinel)  Veterans and employees of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have been targeted by scammers recently.

Helping war veterans deal with PTSD  (San Jose Mercury News)  Countless military veterans return from the battlefields traumatized by their experiences.

‘Lone Survivor’ Helping Fundraise for Veterans Charities  (The Hollywood Reporter)  When the credits role on Lone Survivor, real photographs are shown of the men who died in the Navy SEAL mission depicted in the film.

Out-of-work colonel grateful for outpouring  (Philly.com)  Retired Air Force Col. Robert Freniere says he is considering dozens of offers for housing and jobs after an outpouring of responses from Inquirer readers who learned of his story of unemployment and homelessness last Sunday.

Former Fort Carson soldier follows acting dream  (The Gazette)  A former Fort Carson soldier who used his GI Bill to attend acting school is hoping to catch a lucky break this year.

Bureaucracy, communication stall memorial to Tampa veteran  (The Tampa Tribune)  Hillsborough Commissioner Mark Sharpe didn’t expect any problems when he proposed a memorial on Bayshore Boulevard dedicated to Paul R. Smith, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

Veterans Affairs

VA Under Fire for Proposed Disability Filing Rule  (ABC News)  For veterans seeking disability compensation, the application process is supposed to be so easy that a handwritten note on a napkin will initiate a claim or an appeal. A proposed rule from the Obama administration would change that, and veterans groups are sounding the alarm.

VA administration use of implants target of federal probe, report says  (CNBC)  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will be the focus of a congressional hearing, which will address how the VA purchases and administers its surgical implants, CNBC has learned.

Veterans Slam Obama Administration’s Proposed VA Disability Rule  (Fox News)  For veterans seeking disability compensation, the application process is supposed to be so easy that a handwritten note on a napkin will initiate a claim or an appeal. A proposed rule from the Obama administration would change that, and veterans groups are sounding the alarm.

Obama administration’s backlog of veteran benefit claims increased over holidays  (Daily Caller)  The Obama administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) saw its backlog of unprocessed veteran benefit claims increase at the end of the year, according to documents obtained by The Daily Caller.

State makes final push for Ohio Veterans bonus  (Dayton Daily News)  Thousands of Ohio’s veterans rushed to make a final deadline last month to sign up for an Ohio bonus program that rewards service members for their active duty in war.

Benefits

Senate Democrats Block Amendment to Restore Military Pensions  (The Washington Free Beacon)  Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican attempt to restore military pensions cut in last month’s budget deal, denying a vote that would save up to $20 billion by closing a loophole that allows tax refunds to go to illegal aliens.

‘A Promise Broken’: Budget Deal Hits Military Retirees’ Pensions  (Fox Business)  Last month’s congressional budget deal delivered a particularly hard hit to military retirees with at least 20 years of service, cutting their cost-of-living (COLA) adjustments by 1 percent a year until age 62.

Lawmaker eyes high military pensions  (The Tennesseean)  Pensions for three- and four-star generals and admirals should be rolled back to pre-2007 levels, before Congress approved increases of as much as 63 percent to those retirement packages, according to a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Military officers group helps veterans in filing for benefits  (Stars and Stripes)  For the first time in four years, a new national advocacy group has stepped up to help veterans prepare their benefits paperwork and reduce the VA’s still problematic claims backlog.

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Have a great day!