Transitionnews for Tuesday, January 21st 2014:

Good news story of the day

Fort Bragg projects set to break ground  (FayObserver.com)  Two national nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping troops and their families will break ground on Fort Bragg projects this week.

Transition

Study: Marine vets from non-combat jobs more likely to draw unemployment  (Marine Corps Times)  A new study offers surprising insights about Marines’ use of unemployment compensation and education benefits once they leave the Corps, and has inspired creation of a calculator that can help determine who may need greater assistance transitioning to civilian life.

Michigan Values Veterans Conference  (Crain’s Detroit Business)  The conference is for employers who would like to learn more about hiring veterans can help build a strong workforce.

No end in sight for Marines’ Wounded Warrior Regiment as war winds down  (Marine Corps Times)  The war in Afghanistan may be ending, but the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment isn’t going anywhere.

AlliedBarton Security Services Hires 5,000 Veterans in 2013  (Market Watch)  AlliedBarton Security Services, the industry’s premier provider of highly trained security personnel, hired more than 5,000 military veterans and reservists in 2013, fully supporting their Hire Our Heroes(SM) initiatives.

Student veterans one step closer to in-state tuition  (Tallahassee.com)  The transition to college could get a little bit easier for student veterans in Florida.

Aegis hires over 600 Military Veterans and their spouses in USA  (IIFL)  Aegis Limited, a global outsourcing and technology services company, announced today that it has hired more than 600 US military veterans and spouses during 2013.

US Army Studying Replacing Thousands of Grunts with Robots   (DefenseNews.com)   The postwar, sequestration-era US Army is working on becoming “a smaller, more lethal, deployable and agile force,” according to Gen. Robert Cone, head of the service’s Training and Doctrine Command.

Defense Industry Ponders Where It Goes From Here  (National Defense)  The Pentagon was declared the big winner of the massive federal budget bill that Congress passed for fiscal year 2014.

Veterans

Disabled veterans would be given preference for state contracts under bill proposed by Sen. Ritchie of Heuvelton  (North Country Now)  Disabled veterans would be given preference for state contracts under a measure supported by Sen. Patricia Ritchie of Heuvelton, who represents western St. Lawrence County.

New York law gives preference to vets for state temp jobs  (StaffingIndustry.com)   A new New York State law gives military veterans preference for state temporary jobs normally filled by employees from for-profit temporary staffing firms, New York State Sen. Greg Ball’s office announced.

Veterans can earn a reduction in their property tax through new new Veteran’s Work-off Program  (WickedLocal.com)  Veterans who have served their country honorably can apply for a reduction in taxes if they are willing to work for it.

Foreclosed-on Veteran Sues Bank Over ‘Dual Tracking’  (SCVNews.com)  Sixteen months after Habitat for Humanity volunteers rehabbed his Stevenson Ranch home, a military veteran is suing JP Morgan Chase over what he claims was an illegal foreclosure.

Veterans cemetery nears completion  (SFGate.com)  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 its final stages.

Fighting for each other; veterans band together  (The Chippewa Herald)  Garth Johnson of Stanley has lots of experience fighting with the Veterans Administration to get medical benefits.

Veterans Affairs

Kognitio CEO Steve Millard Named to Executive Board of Xavier University’s Center for Veterans Affairs  (Financial Content)  Steve Millard, president and chief executive officer of Kognitio, has been named to the board of the Center for Veterans Affairs at Cincinnati’s Xavier University.

Next Leader of Pittsburgh VA Must Implement Significant Reforms Following Deadly Legionnaires’  (Politicalnews.me)  U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that he has sent a letter to Robert A. Petzel, M.D. Under Secretary for Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, calling for a fresh vision as the VA seeks a new director of the VA Health Care VISN4, which includes the VA Pittsburgh Health System.

SD kicks off Reaching All Veterans, aims to locate 75,000 vets in state  (The Daily Republic)  The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs has kicked off one of the most aggressive outreach campaigns in the history of the department: Operation RAV (Reaching All Veterans).

Benefits

What Will Congress Cut to ‘Support Our Troops’?  (National Journal)  Congress undid some of its planned cuts to veterans’ benefits in the latest spending bill, but it also left the vast majority of the reductions in place.

Senate to hold hearing on pending COLA cuts  (Military Times)  Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., has scheduled a hearing to examine the impact of the pending cost-of-living adjustment cuts for military retirees.

N.D. vets eye Pentagon’s pension cuts; Congress trying to undo change  (Grand Forks Herald)  North Dakota veterans are watching, but not yet pounding on doors, over recent cuts to military pensions for some veterans.

Lawmaker’s plan would offer tax credits for hiring vets  (AZDailySun.com)  A Lake Havasu City lawmaker wants to add some teeth to the concept that it pays to hire a vet.

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Have a great day!