Military transition and veterans affairs news of the day for 3/12/14

Good news story of the day

US Paralympic Team Includes 8 Army Veterans  (Military.com)   An active-duty soldier and seven Army veterans are competing this week in the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Military Transition

80 employers to recruit veterans in ‘Hiring our Heroes’ Grand Rapids job fair  (MLive)  A job fair targeted at U.S. military veterans is returning to Grand Rapids.

Minnesota Veterans Art Experience To Offer Vets Creative Outlet, Ease Transition  (KCENTV)  The Red Wing Arts Association has teamed up with Paul Riedner to create the Minnesota Veterans Art Experience (MVAE), a series of free art events for vets across the state.

Re-up, retention bonuses for select few, budget documents show  (Air Force Times)  Competition for bigger, but fewer, re-enlistment bonuses will be much tighter this year and next.

N.C. congressmen question DoD’s plans for 440th Airlift Wing at Fort Bragg  (FayObserver)  Four congressmen from North Carolina have sent a letter to the Department of Defense raising concerns over the possible shuttering of a Fort Bragg unit.

Veterans

SDSU’s College of Business Ranked Among Top 20 Schools for Military Veterans  (The Business Journal)  The College of Business Administration at San Diego State University (SDSU) announced today that the college was ranked as the 18th best business school in the nation for M.B.A. programs available to military veterans by Military Times magazine.

One of Vietnam’s fiercest battles recalled in film  (Union-Tribune)  They were days of survival, just south of the Demilitarized Zone in Vietnam during the winter of 1968.

THE UNCOUNTED  (CNN)  More than a dozen medals lined a shelf in Liz Snell’s home.

Veterans Affairs

More veterans suffer from ALS, but VA moves to help  (Sacramento Bee)  Thomas Corbett may never know what – if anything – from his five years as a heavy-equipment mechanic in the Marine Corps brought on the disease that likely will steal from him the use of nearly every one of his muscles and, sometime in the next several years, his very breath.

Joint hearing to focus on future Veterans Affairs budget  (Washington Post)  The House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees are scheduled to hold a joint hearing on Wednesday to discuss funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, roughly one week after President Obama proposed boosting the organization’s budget by 3 percent.

Vets battle VA on post-Vietnam Agent Orange claims  (Military Times)  Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Bailey never fought in Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia, where many U.S. troops were exposed to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange.

OSHA investigates propane explosion and fire at Veterans Affairs construction site in Aurora  (The Denver Channel)  An explosion sparked a fire at the Veterans Affairs construction site at E. 17th Ave. and Fitzsimons Pkwy in Aurora overnight. That’s just a few blocks northwest of E. Colfax Ave. and Interstate 225.

Casey, Heller Unveil VA Backlog Report, Legislation  (PoliticalNews.me)  Chairs of the VA Backlog Working Group, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Dean Heller (R-NV), along with Senators David Vitter (R-LA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), released the 21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act, comprehensive legislation designed to reduce the backlog of veterans’ disability claims.

Leidos Awarded Contracts by Department of Veterans Affairs  (The Wall Street Journal)  Leidos, a national security, health and engineering solutions company, today announced three contract wins from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to help the agency maximize operational efficiencies, reduce healthcare costs, and improve veteran care.

Congress Must Step Up for Veterans   (The Huffington Post)  Watch TV these days, look around online, or go to a live sporting event, and it’s nearly impossible to miss the growing appreciation of the sacrifices made by America’s veterans.

Benefits

Helping veterans with education, benefits (WTNH)  What’s essentially a one-stop shop for veterans is being set up today to help them sign up for some programs and to help them move forward in life after the military.

VA seeking to educate vets on unclaimed benefits  (KTAR)  Calling all veterans in need of health care, education assistance, even home loans.

Using Cultural Guides to Bridge the Veterans’ Employment Gap  (The Huffington Post)  Veterans’ employment is a national topic; look no further than the constant media and White House attention it receives.

‘No rationale’ for Tricare’s refusal to cover genetic tests  (Military Times)  A change in medical classifications last year has left clinical laboratories across the U.S. carrying a $10 million tab for Tricare.

Commissary fruit, vegetable prices may soar in some Pacific stores  (Military Times)  Commissary officials are floating a proposal that could cause the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables to skyrocket in stores in Guam, Japan and South Korea.

Inhofe Wants More Info on Confusing DoD Budget ‘Now’  (Defense News)  The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Pentagon to clear up lingering confusion about its 2015 spending blueprint. And he wants it to do so “now.”

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Have a great day!