Good news story of the day
Marine on Medal of Honor: ‘Surreal and kind of weird’ (USA Today) A Marine who threw himself on a grenade during a Taliban attack in Afghanistan to save a comrade’s life received the Medal of Honor Thursday from President Obama.
Military Transition and Jobs News
Army drawdown continues: 1,100 Captains to be cut (Stars and Stripes) The Army drawdown continues this week, when about 1,100 Army captains will receive word that their military careers are about to end. Another 500 majors will get the same news in early July.
Operation Warfighter offers veterans career opportunities (The Augusta Chronicle) After four military tours in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan, Sgt. Dirck Moize traded gunfire for a government office cubicle.
Fighting for a Job: Returning Vets Have Mixed Results Finding Employment (The Ledger) On first impression, Jordan Imig seems older than his 24 years.
Programs offer guidance to newly returned vets (The Brownsville Herald) As far as Bartolome “Bart” Naciancenov is concerned, asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Veterans News
North Adams looks to state for more reimbursement as veterans budget grows (The Berkshire Eagle News) During last winter’s harsh cold, a local veteran who had fallen on hard times resorted to filling his heating oil tank, gallon by gallon, with the diesel fuel he bought at a gas station.
Audit from 2012 found VA clinics had been warned ‘not to game the system’ (Fox News) A 2012 audit accused Department of Veterans Affairs clinical offices in Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas of routinely canceling appointments in blocks to manipulate wait times despite a nationwide directive from top VA officials “not to game the system.”
Military considers shopping perk for most veterans (CNBC) The U.S. military is looking into allowing all of the nation’s veterans who served honorably to shop online at exchanges that sell discounted, name-brand goods—a perk that is currently available only to a small minority.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Launches Hometown Heroes Service Learning Project (Street Insider) The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) today announced the launch of the Hometown Heroes Service Learning Project.
Benefits News
Obama: Post-9/11 GI Bill keeps promise to newest vets (Military Times) You pick the school, and we’ll help pick up the bill.
Service members can now register on burn-pit list (Military Times) The Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry is now live.
VA health care crisis hits home for veterans in Fayetteville (FayObserver) Mike Schultz holds his glasses away from his face and squints.
Government’s PTSD treatment for veterans lacking, report finds (LA Times) Despite spending billions of dollars a year to treat military service members and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, the government has little evidence that its efforts are working, according to a new report commissioned by Congress.
AP IMPACT: VA FALLS SHORT ON FEMALE MEDICAL ISSUES (AP) Already pilloried for long wait times for medical appointments, the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs has fallen short of another commitment: to attend to the needs of the rising ranks of female veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them of child-bearing age.
Op/Eds
Hero worship of the military is getting in the way of good policy (The Washington Post) I have worn an Army uniform for the past eight years and deployed twice to Afghanistan. This doesn’t make me a hero.
OpEd: Stop saying vets sacrificed ‘for nothing’ in Iraq (Marine Corps Times) I hate talking about it, but I will because people are doing a terrible job interpreting Iraq’s collapse.
Orders to Nowhere... 