Military transition and veterans affairs news of the day for 1/29/14

Good news story of the day

Man running from Maine to Super Bowl to benefit Wounded Warriors  (Boston.com)  Gary Allen grew up on Great Cranberry, a small island off the coast of Maine.

Military transition

Board targets colonels for early retirement  (Navy Times)  Colonels who are pilots, combat systems officers, special tactics officers, intelligence officers, among other career fields, could be retired under a broadened selective early retirement board the Air Force will convene between June 16 and July 4.

An aggressive voice for the newest vets  (The Hill)  Ten months after leaving the Army, Tom Tarantino could not find a job.

RIF-eligible captains, majors can apply for voluntary exit Feb. 6  (Air Force Times)  Some captains and majors who are eligible for a reduction-in-force board can apply for voluntary separation between Feb. 6 and May 1.

Career Resource Center hosts job expo for EASing Marines  (Camp Lejeune Globe)  Marines and Sailors serving on active duty get a paycheck every two weeks to pay their bills, buy groceries and shop for personal items.

Life Wireless To Participate In “Hiring Our Heroes” Job Fairs  (The Street)  Life Wireless, a cellular provider offering free phone service to income-eligible customers through the federal Lifeline program, is seeking to hire military veterans, military spouses, active duty military members, and guard and reserve members as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s “Hiring Our Heroes” initiative.

Veterans

Man fined $1K for not removing Wounded Warrior flag  (News4Jax.com)  Controversy is brewing between a Palm Coast man and his homeowners association after he said they told him to remove a flag from his own backyard or else pay a hefty fine. The flag is for the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization designed to help the nation’s heroes.

Retired Air Force, Army vet worked with Jonas Salk  (TribLive)  Terry Goldner’s parents made her wait until she was 21 before enlisting in the Army.

Meet a Marine Vietnam veteran who creates busts of fallen warriors  (Marine Corps Times)  A former lance corporal who served in Vietnam is using his artistic skills to honor Marines and Navy corpsmen who’ve been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

President Obama concludes State of the Union with powerful story of wounded warrior  (Washington Examiner) President Obama concluded his State of the Union address Tuesday evening by sharing a story of wounded Army Ranger Cory Remsburg, who was present for the speech.

Fleet and Family Support Center and Other Services  (DCMilitary.com)  The Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC), located in Building 11, offers helpful programs and professional services to assist you in meeting the unique challenges of military life

Veterans Museum is a jewel in Germantown  (Dayton Daily News)  A jewel of Germantown is the Veterans Memorial Museum Foundation (VMMF).

Veterans in the SOTU: Ending the Mindset That Got Us Into War  (Huffington Post)  In a debate with Hillary Clinton in January 2008, now-President Barack Obama said about ending the war in Iraq:

Veterans affairs

Margie Risseeuw works to provide veterans with benefits they deserve  (CapeGazette.com)  To meet Margie Risseeuw, you’d never guess that, in addition to enjoying beach life, she’s one of two highly qualified, accredited claims agents in Delaware for the office of the U.S. General Counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Survey to Help Veterans Find Better Jobs  (Military.com)  Veterans often find it difficult to find a stable first job right out of the military.

Military affairs beat: Needs of women veterans surveyed  (Star Tribune)  A national survey of women veterans points to a greater need for access to community-based medical care and a need to integrate traditional veterans services with primary care, reproductive care and mental health care.

House Veterans Affairs chairman: We’ll be forced to take legislative action if Obama won’t fix veteran issues  (The Daily Caller)

The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee slammed President Obama’s record on veteran issues ahead of Obama’s sixth State of the Union address Tuesday, declaring that Congress “will be forced to take legislative action” to hold the administration accountable.

Benefits

Democrats’ Plan to Pay for Veterans Benefits? Do It Later.  (National Journal)  Democrats and Republicans have agreed: They made a horrible mistake when they jointly agreed to slash $6 billion in veterans’ benefits as part of December’s bipartisan budget deal.

Fox Says DOD Must Slow Growth of Military Compensation  (American Forces Press Service)  The Defense Department must slow the rate of growth in military pay and compensation or the organization will not be able to fight and win the nation’s wars, Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Christine H. Fox said here today.

Ayotte tweaks proposal to repeal military pension cuts  (The Hill)  Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is trying to win over Democrats to back her proposal repealing $6 billion in military pension cuts.

Grandfather current troops, retirees on COLA cuts, DoD urges  (Military Times)  The Pentagon opposes the pending reductions in annual retirement pay increases and believes changes in the military retirement system should come not from Congress but from a commission convened to study benefits modernization, senior officials told lawmakers Tuesday.

Budget Cuts Are Sending the Wrong Message to Veterans  (Defense One)  Troops, veterans, and military families are used to being roughed up – by deployments, frequent moves, visible and invisible injuries, combat deaths, and so on.

Begich Pushing To Restore Veteran Benefits  (Alaska Public Media)  Veterans and military members in Alaska and around the country have been outraged at Congress since December, when lawmakers passed a budget that would trim their retirement benefits, starting in 2015.

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Have a great day!