Transitionnews for Friday, January 17th 2014:

Good news story of the day

Gary Allen’s Maine to Super Bowl Run Begins January 24  (The Free Press)  Gary Allen, founder and race director of the Mount Desert Island Marathon, has run over 100,000 lifetime miles

Transition

U.S. Chamber Foundation and Goodwill Industries® Partner to Provide Career Services to Veterans and Military Spouses  (Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel)  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program and Goodwill Industries announced today a collaborative effort to offer comprehensive vocational services to veterans and military spouses who participate in Hiring Our Heroes job fairs and programs.

ACAP sponsors workshop highlighting higher education  (Belvoir Eagle)  Servicemembers learned about different methods for researching colleges during a two-day Army Career and Alumni Program workshop at Barden Education Center, Jan. 7 and 8.

Young veterans transition to civilian life  (KVIA.com)  The 1st Armored Division Army Band rocked the UTEP Union Plaza Monday afternoon in honor of Veterans Day.

ACAP: Think outside the box  (Army.mil)  Do you have tunnel vision when it comes to thinking about what jobs you could do when you transition out of the military?

Fort Bliss a winner in warrior transition program restructuring  (El Paso Times)  With the war in Afghanistan drawing down, the Army is restructuring its warrior transition units which care for wounded, injured and ill soldiers.

Free career counseling for vets  (News4Jax.com)  If you or someone you know is a veteran looking for that next career move, there’s an event Thursday that can help.

Job fair for veterans hosted in City of Milwaukee  (Fox6News.com)  There are nearly a half million veterans living in our state and many of them are unemployed. To change that, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Goodwill hosted a job fair for vets and their spouses on Thursday, January 16th.

Job Expo for Veterans in Bay Minette  (Local15TV.com)  Dozens of local veterans came out Thursday looking for work. The city of Bay Minette, the Alabama Career Center System and the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce put together a job fair Thursday at the John F. Rhodes Civic Center.

Veterans

Up to 48,000 Afghan, Iraq vets homeless  (USA Today) Nearly 50,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were either homeless or in a federal program aimed at keeping them off the streets during 2013, almost triple the number in 2011, according to numbers released Thursday by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Help for homeless Alabama veterans: Nonprofit Family Endeavors working to get soldiers off the street   (AL.com) For the past three months, the staff members of the San Antonio-based nonprofit Family Endeavors have been conducting what they call a “recon mission,” searching for homeless veterans under Birmingham bridges, trying to connect them with government services that could get them off the streets.

Veterans, dog trainers in Hampton Roads are pushing to recognize service dogs for PTSD  (The Los Angeles Times) Marine Sgt. Matthew Miller paid a high price for three combat tours in Afghanistan.

Korean War veterans joining World War II veterans in Senior Bowl program  (AL.com)  Veterans of World War II and the Korean War will be honored on the field before the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Jan. 25 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Program teaches veterans how to maximize remaining sight, maintain independence  (The News Tribune)  At 101, Carl Paul still likes to do things for himself.

Slidell veterans cemetery slated to open in April  (The Times Picayune)  Muddy roads will soon give way to asphalt and bare ground transformed with sod and landscaping as construction of the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery near Slidell enters the final stages.

Auto auction drives to benefit veterans  (Cinicinnati.com)  The 43rd Barrett-Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., will feature film and television stars, famous singers, celebrities, race car drivers and retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Sam Deeds.

Veterans Affairs

5 More Ways VA Is Helping Out Vets   (The Huffington Post)  The Department of Veteran Affairs doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

Vets get look at new VA clinic  (Mansfield News Journal)  Veterans who toured the new $14 million Veterans Affairs clinic Thursday night during a private reception marveled at the building’s design and, in particular, the massive skylight above the spacious central waiting area.

VA benefits briefings part of revamped transition program  (MyGuidon.com)  The Department of Veterans Affairs  new VA Benefits I and II briefings are  now available at Fort Leonard Wood as part of the revamped Transition Assistance  Program.

Keeping veterans healthy  (Mining Gazette)  Local and regional Veterans Affairs officials and about two dozen of the veterans they serve gathered for a town hall meeting at the National Guard Readiness Center in Calumet Township Wednesday for a town hall meeting aimed at helping veterans understand the services available to them.

Golden Hammer: VA hit for waste, lack of oversight on medical implants  (The Washington Times)  The Veterans Affairs Department wasted more than $3 billion over 10 years on medical implant purchases — and is now losing track of those implants once they’ve been put into patients, potentially putting veterans’ health at risk, according to a new watchdog report that’s drawing attention from members of Congress.

Gates skewers Congress, VA backlog on ‘The Daily Show’  (Military Times)  Congress has made it virtually impossible to cut the time it takes for veterans to get the services they need from the Veterans Affairs Department, said former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Benefits

Veterans Advocate: Budget Bill a ‘Total Betrayal’  (NewsMax.com)  The House’s $1.1 trillion spending bill, passed Wednesday, cuts most veterans’ retirement benefits and is a “total betrayal” of those who served in the military, says the founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Senate Sends Omnibus, Pentagon-Funding Measure to Obama’s Desk  (Defense News)  The US Senate on Thursday evening passed a government-wide spending measure that would give the Pentagon nearly $600 billion to buy new weapons, address readiness problems and fight America’s wars. The final vote tally was 72-26.

VA bill offers chance to repeal military pension cut after passage of spending bill  (The Washington Post)  Congress on Thursday gave final approval to a massive spending bill that will trim pensions for younger military retirees, but lawmakers still have a chance to end the controversial provision before it takes full effect in 2015.

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Have a great day!