Military transition and veterans affairs news of the day for 2/26/14

Good news story of the day

Fundraiser to benefit Texas Military Honors Team  (The Record)  Texas Military Honors Team Fund-raiser event 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, 700 Jefferson St. in Beaumont.

Military Transition

Workshop Focuses on Military to Civil Transition  (Aviation Today)  Among one of first workshops to open at Heli-Expo 2014 on Monday, Feb. 24, was a military-to-civilian transition seminar.

Hagel details Pentagon budget cuts: US Army to shrink to pre-WWII level to face new era  (Global Security)  The Pentagon said on Monday it would shrink the US Army to pre-World War Two levels, eliminate the popular A-10 aircraft and reduce military benefits in order to meet 2015 spending caps, setting up an election-year fight with the Congress over national defense priorities.

A look at Air Force FY14 Force Management: Programs II  (17th Training Wing Public Affairs)  Force Management programs continue to affect Airmen Air Force-wide as new programs and changes to existing programs are implemented.

Experienced Airmen wanted: continue to serve with the Reserve  (Air Force Reserve Command Recruiting Service Public Affairs)  Force management programs will push many Airmen out of their full-time active-duty positions, but that doesn’t mean they have to give up the retirement plan or the other hard-earned benefits they had come to expect.

Veterans

USC leaders advise mayor on veterans issues  (USC News)  USC has a history of supporting the United States military — from its days as a training school during World War I to the formation of programs and centers aimed at helping veterans make their transition at home. – See more at: http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/59184/usc-leaders-advise-mayor-on-veterans-issues/

Get real, Hagel tells nation in proposing military cuts  (CNN)  Get real, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told America on Monday in proposing a scaled back, modern military that would cut the Army to its lowest troop level since before World War II, retire the A-10 “Warthog” attack jet and reduce some benefits for fighting forces.

Military cuts could increase cost of living for troops, veterans and families  (Fox News)  Military groups and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are vowing to fight proposed cuts to the Pentagon budget set to be unveiled next week that could increase the cost of living for American troops, veterans and their families.

Bordentown City veterans committee misinterpreted flag code, deputy mayor says  (NJ.com)  Deputy Major James Lynch says the veterans committee’s refusal to fly a flag presented to it by the family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan is based on misinterpretation of the U.S. flag code, and he is hopeful the issue will be on the committee agenda next week.

Battle over slots at veterans’ halls continues to pinch Attorney General Mike DeWine: Mark Naymik  (Cleveland.com)  Veterans have Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in a tight spot.

ABC NEWS LAUNCHES VETERANS SERIES “COMING HOME: AMERICA’S PROMISE”  (ABC News) ABC News will produce and present a series of reports, “Coming Home: America’s Promise,” that will investigate the most important issues facing veterans returning from battle.

Veterans Affairs

Disabled veterans group rallies for full VA advance funding  (Navy Times)  Despite a budget detente on Capitol Hill, veterans advocates are worried about what another government shutdown could do to Veterans Affairs Department benefits checks and assistance programs.

Veterans Affairs Initiative Shows Early Promise in Reducing Use of Opioids for Chronic Pain  (SurfKY.com)  The Department of Veterans Affairs has initiated a multi-faceted approach to reduce the use of opioids among America’s Veterans using VA health care.

Former VA Doctor Says She Was Forced Out After Limiting Opiate Prescriptions  (ABC News)  On the eve of a congressional hearing about the Department of Veterans Affairs’ skyrocketing use of narcotic painkillers, a former VA doctor has stepped forward with new allegations about the agency’s prescription practices.

Concerned Veterans for America starts Veterans Affairs accountability project  (The Augusta Chronicle) Support is growing for a new law that would ease the process of firing and demoting senior executives within the Department of Veterans Affairs, including the directors of VA medical centers.

Veterans Affairs purged thousands of medical tests to ‘game’ its backlog stats  (Washington Examiner) Thousands of orders for diagnostic medical tests have been purged en masse by the Department of Veterans Affairs to make it appear its decade-long backlog is being eliminated, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Benefits

Military commissary budget slashed $1B  (The Washington Times)  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans to decrease the size of U.S. military commissaries, which will take a $1 billion hit over the next three years.

Military veterans benefits bill should win initial Senate vote  (ABC Local)  A sprawling Democratic bill expanding health, education and other benefits for veterans seems ready to clear an initial hurdle in the Senate.

Cuts to Military Commissaries Could Undermine Morale  (The Fiscal Times)  Few issues rouse anger like commissaries.

NH Veterans Join Ayotte as She Discusses Successful Efforts to Restore Military Retirement Benefits  (Political News) New Hampshire’s veterans and military service organizations at VFW Post 8641in Merrimack to discuss successful efforts she led in Washington to restore military retirees’ pension benefits.

A Military Budget to Fit the Times  (The New York Times)  The Pentagon’s proposals to reduce the Army to pre-World War II levels and modify some benefits for troops and retirees may seem unsettling to a nation that prides itself on having the world’s most capable military.

Montana delegation leery of proposal to scale back military benefits  (Independent Record)  Members of Montana’s congressional delegation said Tuesday they’re willing to look at possible cuts to military budgets — but not benefits and salaries for U.S. troops and veterans.

Broad veterans’ benefits debated in U.S. Senate  (Portland Press Herald)  The Senate on Tuesday began debating a broad veterans’ benefits bill that would expand health care and education services for former military personnel but that some Republicans warned could overburden programs already struggling to meet demand.

If you would like to receive Transitionnews daily via email, just enter your preferred email address in the “Email Subscription” box on the sidebar.

Have a great day!