Category Archives: Military Transition

Military Transition

Transitionnews for 1/17/14

Posted by Mike Grice on

Transitionnews for Friday, January 17th 2014:

Good news story of the day

Gary Allen’s Maine to Super Bowl Run Begins January 24  (The Free Press)  Gary Allen, founder and race director of the Mount Desert Island Marathon, has run over 100,000 lifetime miles

Transition

U.S. Chamber Foundation and Goodwill Industries® Partner to Provide Career Services to Veterans and Military Spouses  (Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel)  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program and Goodwill Industries announced today a collaborative effort to offer comprehensive vocational services to veterans and military spouses who participate in Hiring Our Heroes job fairs and programs.

ACAP sponsors workshop highlighting higher education  (Belvoir Eagle)  Servicemembers learned about different methods for researching colleges during a two-day Army Career and Alumni Program workshop at Barden Education Center, Jan. 7 and 8.

Young veterans transition to civilian life  (KVIA.com)  The 1st Armored Division Army Band rocked the UTEP Union Plaza Monday afternoon in honor of Veterans Day.

ACAP: Think outside the box  (Army.mil)  Do you have tunnel vision when it comes to thinking about what jobs you could do when you transition out of the military?

Fort Bliss a winner in warrior transition program restructuring  (El Paso Times)  With the war in Afghanistan drawing down, the Army is restructuring its warrior transition units which care for wounded, injured and ill soldiers.

Free career counseling for vets  (News4Jax.com)  If you or someone you know is a veteran looking for that next career move, there’s an event Thursday that can help.

Job fair for veterans hosted in City of Milwaukee  (Fox6News.com)  There are nearly a half million veterans living in our state and many of them are unemployed. To change that, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Goodwill hosted a job fair for vets and their spouses on Thursday, January 16th.

Job Expo for Veterans in Bay Minette  (Local15TV.com)  Dozens of local veterans came out Thursday looking for work. The city of Bay Minette, the Alabama Career Center System and the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce put together a job fair Thursday at the John F. Rhodes Civic Center.

Veterans

Up to 48,000 Afghan, Iraq vets homeless  (USA Today) Nearly 50,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were either homeless or in a federal program aimed at keeping them off the streets during 2013, almost triple the number in 2011, according to numbers released Thursday by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Help for homeless Alabama veterans: Nonprofit Family Endeavors working to get soldiers off the street   (AL.com) For the past three months, the staff members of the San Antonio-based nonprofit Family Endeavors have been conducting what they call a “recon mission,” searching for homeless veterans under Birmingham bridges, trying to connect them with government services that could get them off the streets.

Veterans, dog trainers in Hampton Roads are pushing to recognize service dogs for PTSD  (The Los Angeles Times) Marine Sgt. Matthew Miller paid a high price for three combat tours in Afghanistan.

Korean War veterans joining World War II veterans in Senior Bowl program  (AL.com)  Veterans of World War II and the Korean War will be honored on the field before the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Jan. 25 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Program teaches veterans how to maximize remaining sight, maintain independence  (The News Tribune)  At 101, Carl Paul still likes to do things for himself.

Slidell veterans cemetery slated to open in April  (The Times Picayune)  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 the final stages.

Auto auction drives to benefit veterans  (Cinicinnati.com)  The 43rd Barrett-Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., will feature film and television stars, famous singers, celebrities, race car drivers and retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Sam Deeds.

Veterans Affairs

5 More Ways VA Is Helping Out Vets   (The Huffington Post)  The Department of Veteran Affairs doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

Vets get look at new VA clinic  (Mansfield News Journal)  Veterans who toured the new $14 million Veterans Affairs clinic Thursday night during a private reception marveled at the building’s design and, in particular, the massive skylight above the spacious central waiting area.

VA benefits briefings part of revamped transition program  (MyGuidon.com)  The Department of Veterans Affairs  new VA Benefits I and II briefings are  now available at Fort Leonard Wood as part of the revamped Transition Assistance  Program.

Keeping veterans healthy  (Mining Gazette)  Local and regional Veterans Affairs officials and about two dozen of the veterans they serve gathered for a town hall meeting at the National Guard Readiness Center in Calumet Township Wednesday for a town hall meeting aimed at helping veterans understand the services available to them.

Golden Hammer: VA hit for waste, lack of oversight on medical implants  (The Washington Times)  The Veterans Affairs Department wasted more than $3 billion over 10 years on medical implant purchases — and is now losing track of those implants once they’ve been put into patients, potentially putting veterans’ health at risk, according to a new watchdog report that’s drawing attention from members of Congress.

Gates skewers Congress, VA backlog on ‘The Daily Show’  (Military Times)  Congress has made it virtually impossible to cut the time it takes for veterans to get the services they need from the Veterans Affairs Department, said former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Benefits

Veterans Advocate: Budget Bill a ‘Total Betrayal’  (NewsMax.com)  The House’s $1.1 trillion spending bill, passed Wednesday, cuts most veterans’ retirement benefits and is a “total betrayal” of those who served in the military, says the founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Senate Sends Omnibus, Pentagon-Funding Measure to Obama’s Desk  (Defense News)  The US Senate on Thursday evening passed a government-wide spending measure that would give the Pentagon nearly $600 billion to buy new weapons, address readiness problems and fight America’s wars. The final vote tally was 72-26.

VA bill offers chance to repeal military pension cut after passage of spending bill  (The Washington Post)  Congress on Thursday gave final approval to a massive spending bill that will trim pensions for younger military retirees, but lawmakers still have a chance to end the controversial provision before it takes full effect in 2015.

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Transitionnews for 1/16/14

Posted by Mike Grice on

Transitionnews for Thursday, January 16th  2014:

Good news story of the day

Military veterans aim to save marine environment  (The Miami Herald)  Retired Army Sgt. Chris Maddeford is in pain nearly all the time after being hit by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan about a decade ago.

Transition

Fighting the Battle to End Veteran Unemployment  (Yahoo finance)  Veteran Recruiting, the recognized leader of virtual career fairs for the military community, and dozens of America’s best companies rally together to help veterans find meaningful employment in the January 21 virtual career fair.

Troop Cafe offers hearty meals, and restaurant training for veterans  (Sioux City Journal)  | If the restaurant’s name isn’t a tip-off, the menu of sandwiches reveals that this dining establishment is unusual: B-52 Meatball Bomber, Cuban Pickle Crisis, Buffalo Soldier Chicken Wrap.

Military Matters: HOT Goodwill Helps Vets Get Back to Work  (KCENTV.com)  It can be tough for veterans to transition from military back to civilian life. And unfortunately, that leaves far too many of our nation’s heroes unemployed.

Virtual career fair brings employers to job seekers  (Army.mil)  The Army Career and Alumni Program will host the first ever European Virtual Career Fair, Feb. 25.

100k Jobs Mission Employer Profile: Accenture  (Military.com)  As a global management consulting, outsourcing and technology services company with approximately 266,000 people working around the world, Accenture is constantly seeking the world’s best talent.

Altria Group Awards Hire Heroes USA $550,000 Grant  (Benzinga.com)  In their continued dedication to support programs that enrich communities,  Altria Group has awarded Hire Heroes USA a three year $550,000 grant to fund its  veteran career transition  programs and services.

Fighting the Battle to End Veteran Unemployment  (Financial Content)  Veteran Recruiting, the recognized leader of virtual career fairs for the military community, and dozens of America’s best companies rally together to help veterans find meaningful employment in the January 21 virtual career fair.

Veterans

Program to End Homelessness Among Veterans Hits Milestone in Arizona  (The New York Times)  Their descent into homelessness began almost as soon as they had closed a dignified chapter in their lives: their military service.

Marine finds new career after combat  (ABCLocal.go.com)  A non-profit founded in Philadelphia has helped a local Marine wounded in Iraq find a new career back home.

Wounded Iraq veteran sentenced to 5 years  (Daily Press)  An Army veteran wounded in Iraq during two combat tours was sentenced Tuesday in Gloucester County Circuit Court to serve almost five years in prison for nine daytime burglaries.

Veterans Affairs

Operation Reaching All Veterans Kicked Off Tuesday by Department of Veterans Affairs  (DRGNews.com)   South Dakota’s Department of Veterans Affairs will be working in the coming months to reach out to all 75,000 veterans in the state-as part of an outreach project called “Operation Reaching All Veterans” (RAV).

VA riles veterans with push to change disability claims process  (Fox News)  The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to change the decades-old way in which veterans file for disability claims — and it has veterans advocacy groups outraged.

Veterans Got Medical Care From Salesman at U.S. Hospital  (Bloomberg News)  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has allowed product vendors to participate in medical procedures for veterans in at least one hospital system, a federal auditor told lawmakers today.

VA Denies Vendors Assisted in OR Procedures  (Military.com)  A Department of Veterans Affairs official on Wednesday denied claims made by  government investigators that representatives for companies doing business with  the VA assisted in medical procedures at a VA medical facility.

VA purchase, tracking of surgical implants is flawed, report says  (Military Times)  Veterans are facing a deadly new threat that is coming not from faraway battlefields, but from stateside hospital rooms, according to the results of a Government Accountability Office investigation released Wednesday.

Benefits

Military Pension Fight Rages On  (Government Executive) Some military retirees scored a small victory this week.

House Passes Mammoth Omnibus With $572B for Pentagon  (Defense News)  The US House on Wednesday approved a mammoth spending bill that funds the Pentagon and America’s overseas conflicts through Sept. 30. The vote tally was 359-67.

Vets Hit Retired Generals Supporting Pay Cuts  (Military.com)  Veterans groups are taking aim at a group of retired generals and admirals who support the budget deal passed last month that cuts military retirement payments.

Veterans retirement benefits an issue in jobless bill  (Winnipeg Free Press)  Republicans and Democrats are both pledging to renew efforts at resurrecting jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, even though immediate compromise prospects are dim one day after the Senate deadlocked on the issue.

Veterans Service Organizations Concerned About Omnibus Appropriations Bill  (Business Wire)  Today, the co-authors of The Independent Budget—AMVETS, DAV, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Veterans of Foreign Wars—expressed concern with the funding provided for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the FY 2014 Omnibus Appropriations bill being considered in the House and Senate.

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Transitionnews for 1/15/14

Posted by Mike Grice on

Transitionnews for Wednesday, January 15th 2014:

Good news story of the day

Returned letters, Purple Heart open book on deceased WWII vet’s life  (Air Force Times)  Nancy Cederman knew this much about her uncle’s life: Kendall Morrow was born in 1915 in Canada, the first of five children and the only son of Edwin and Mable Morrow.

Transition

Hire a Hero begins staffing effort to create path to construction, trade jobs for veterans  (Equipment World)  Hire a Hero, a program designed to transition former U.S. soldiers to the civilian workforce, has not been enough to get veterans into jobs such as those in construction, says the Armed Forces Support Foundation. which runs the program.

Transition GPS helps Airmen navigate civilian life  (28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs)  Many Airmen who are preparing to separate or retire from the Air Force struggle as they transition back into civilian life. As a way of making sure they are ready for any challenges they may face, the Air Force offers a workshop designed to set them up for success.

Paying Veterans To Give Back  (The National Journal)  Tristan Williamson didn’t cut his hair for three years after being discharged from the Navy.

RIF board to convene June 16; will consider captains, majors  (Air Force Times)  The Air Force will convene a reduction- in- force board June 16 to consider separating some captains and majors in overmanned career fields, according to an internal memo obtained by Air Force Times.

Changes to come for Army warrior transition units  (Fort Hood Herald)  The Army is restructuring the specialized units designed to assist ill and wounded soldiers through the process of assimilating back into the Army or transitioning out of service.

Transition program navigates military to civilian move  (50th Space Wing Public Affairs)  Transitioning back to the civilian world may be daunting to many Airmen, especially those who have grown accustomed to military life.

Veterans

New battles for student veterans require fresh strategies from colleges  (The Hechinger Report)  In 2008, the 9­11 G.I. Bill was signed into law, giving college­bound veterans the most comprehensive education benefit ever. As a result, veterans are choosing a collegiate path in record numbers.

Wright State selected as a top military-friendly school  (Fairborn Daily Herald)  Military Advanced Education (MAE) has awarded Wright State University the designation of a Top Military-Friendly University in its 2014 Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities.

Veterans Job Retention Survey  (Examiner.com)  Yesterday, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University launched a nationwide Veterans Job Retention Survey.

Can Legal Services Lead To Better Health Outcomes For Veterans?  (The Hartford Courant)  In 2009, Edward La Pointe’s life hit bottom as he endured divorce, eviction, and homelessness. His earnings as a cab driver didn’t pay the bills and mental illness overwhelmed him. La Pointe, a Marine Corps veteran, was informed that he was no longer eligible for Social Security disability benefits.

46 years on, Vietnamese helmet returned (AP)  In 1968, young American soldier John Wast was scouring a battlefield in central Vietnam for weapons and intelligence when an enemy helmet with an image of a dove scratched onto it caught his eye.

Lawmakers push for veterans’ incentives  (Courier-Journal)  State lawmakers Tuesday pushed the Legislature to pass a bill that would give state contract preference to service-disabled veterans who own businesses.
Center for female veterans opens in Old City  (Philly.com)  Citing the growing number of women in the military, officials on Tuesday opened Philadelphia’s first center to provide services specifically for women veterans.

Agent Orange townhall meeting held to help veterans (WCYB.com)  The Tennessee State Council, Vietnam Veterans of America, along with co-sponsors Kingsport VVA Chapter 979, Johnson City Chapter 824 with support from Tri-Cities Military Affairs Council hosted the Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting.

Veterans Affairs

VA Extends Homeless Veterans Program  (The Wall Street Journal)  The Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday it is extending a grant program designed to help reduce homelessness among veterans, making $600 million available over the next two years for community-based programs and nonprofits providing services to very low-income veteran families.

Veterans Affairs committee orders review on Christmas carols ban  (Atlanta Business Chronicle)  The House Committee on Veterans Affairs has ordered a review of all VA policy prohibiting guests from wishing patients a “Merry Christmas” after four VA hospitals – including Augusta’s Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center – prevented letters, gifts and carols that contained religious phrases from being sung or delivered, reports The Augusta Chronicle.

Smartphone users access veteran’s Social Security numbers  (Examiner.com)  Early last month it was brought to the attention of many U.S. military veterans that their Social Security numbers are embedded in a bar code on their VIC, or Veteran’s Identification Cards, and can be clearly seen by scanning the card with a smartphone.

American Legion: Obama administration pushes false numbers on veteran benefit  claims  (The Daily Caller)  The American Legion disputed the veracity of numbers promoted by the Obama administration touting its success in judging benefit claim applications from  veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma  and other complex disabilities.

VA still dragging feet in answering congressional inquiries  (FCW)  The Department of Veterans Affairs’ pattern of selective responsiveness – and sometimes total unresponsiveness – to oversight inquiries from the House Veterans Affairs Committee has continued into 2014.

Delayed care has one Augusta VA patient fearing for his life  (Augusta Chronicle)  Michael Newton had an appointment at the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center last week to have as many as 12 small tumors removed from his bladder.

Veterans initiative is ‘centerpiece’ of agenda  (Des Moines Register)  Gov. Terry Branstad is calling an initiative aimed at attracting military veterans to Iowa and matching them with jobs the “centerpiece” of his 2014 legislative agenda.

Benefits

VA Loans Reached a Record High in 2013  (US Finance Post)  In 2013, the number of home loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans  Affairs reached a record high as the loans gained popularity after the housing  bubble burst.

Disabled veterans get back pension raises  (CNN)  Disabled veterans will get a pass from military pension cuts in a bipartisan budget deal expected to pass Congress later this week.

Advocates: COLA fixes miss the mark  (Miliary Times)  The massive omnibus spending bill unveiled by congressional appropriators Monday night includes restoration of the full annual cost of living adjustment for medically retired service members and eligible survivors.

Most Military Pensions Would Still be Cut Under Omnibus Bill  (Newsmax.com)  Veterans and their friends on Capitol Hill say that the $1.1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill leaves in place most of the $6 billion in military pension cuts.

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Transitionnews 12/13/13

Posted by Mike Grice on

Transitionnews for Friday, December 13th 2013:

Good news story of the day

SERVPRO OF PLYMOUTH/WAREHAM: Give-back program donates thousands to area veterans  (WickedLocal.com)  When he decided last fall to give back to veterans, Kenneth Matejek estimated he would donate at least $10,000 to help fellow servicemen and women through hard times.

Transition

Air Force to cut 900 civilian jobs, thousands of service members  (Federal News Radio)  Although the proposed budget deal restores some spending to the Defense Department, it still won’t be enough for forces to maintain their current programs and workforce.

Syracuse Career Transition Program Now Includes Spouses  (Defense.gov)  The Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University in New York has expanded eligibility to enroll in its Veterans Career Transition Program to spouses of eligible veterans and active duty service members.

Workshop to Help Veterans Find Work Comes to Bridgeport   (WDTV.com)  Right now, members from the armed forces are coming back from overseas, young and old. That means they’re going to be looking for jobs, or if you’re a veteran out there who already has a job, you’re probably trying to find a better one.

TAP inspires a new beginning  (Offut Airbase News)  In response to rising unemployment rates, especially among veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act on Nov. 21, 2011.

TEMECULA: Pechanga reaching out to hire veterans  (The Press-Enterprise)  Dozens of unemployed military veterans were given one-on-one interviews Wednesday during a unique job fair/open house hosted by the Pechanga Resort & Casino, one of the county’s largest employers

Rules clarified on health exams for other-than-honorable discharges  (Military Times)  The fiscal 2014 compromise defense authorization bill would change part of a law that has allowed the services to skirt a requirement to provide mental health and medical exams to all combat troops facing an other-than-honorable discharge.

Resources For Student Vets  (KeloLand.com)  If you find yourself in the basement of South Dakota State University’s Student Union, you’ll find the new Veterans Resource Center lined with veterans and current service members.

Veterans

Veteran’s actions should be inspiring  (The Advertiser-Tribune)  The story of a good Samaritan who helped pull motorists out of a ditch Sunday night after they slid off an icy road is more than uplifting.

Arizona jail housing veterans together  (USA Today)  Veterans in the custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office are now being housed under one roof.

Marines who suffered brain injuries doubled risk of PTSD, study finds  (Los Angeles Times)  Up to a fifth of U.S. service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have come home with a blast-related concussion or post-traumatic stress disorder — or both.

Shari Duval Pairs Dogs with Veterans Suffering From PTSD  (People)  After two wartime tours of Iraq, Alex Brown couldn’t shut off his alert switch.

Treatment courts take root with vets mentoring vets  (Marine Corps Times)  Richard Sandoval joined the Marine Corps in 2003 to flee a childhood on the Miracle Mile in Tucson, Ariz., a violent strip of seedy motels, topless bars and dingy street corners where his father pedaled drugs for a cartel.

Combat veterans included for Tribute At Sea  (Lehigh Acres Citizen)  A boat club based in Cape Coral came up with a new twist to help celebrate Wreaths Across America to honor military veterans as it participates in the ceremony for the third year Saturday, Dec. 14, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Iraq war vet-turned-congressman gets show on MSNBC  (Stars and Stripes)  Patrick Murphy was the first Iraq war veteran in Congress. Now, he’s the first to get his own news network show.

Group offers support for homeless veterans  (The Tuscaloosa News)  Family Endeavors, a nonprofit organization based in Texas, has moved into Alabama with a goal of helping more than 1,000 veterans in this state with housing needs within the next year.

Army veteran gets mortgage-free house in Goddard  (The Wichita Eagle)  Wells Fargo on Thursday donated a foreclosed house in Goddard to an Army veteran.

Veterans Affairs

VA on pace to clear benefits backlog by 2015, official tells Senate panel  (Fierce Government)  The Veterans Affairs Department disability backlog of about 400,000 benefits claims will continue to decline in 2014 and should be eliminated in 2015, a VA official told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Wednesday.

Dept. of Veterans Affairs: South Korea offers gift to Korean War veterans  (WisPolitics.com)  South Korea Offers Gift to Korean War Veterans Free commemorative book now available

VA official talks challenges, successes  (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)  A high-level official in the Department of Veterans Affairs paid a visit to the VA Medical Center here on Tuesday as part of a whistle-stop tour of facilities around the country.

Senator Questions Stats on Accuracy of VA Claims  (Military.com) Since pressure was applied by veteran service organizations last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs has claimed that it is not only shrinking the backlog numbers but has raised the accuracy rate of the compensation claims it has completed, to where it’s now at 97 percent.

Benefits

Military retirees: You betrayed us, Congress  (CNN Money)  Military retirees are outraged that Congress will start voting Thursday on a budget deal that trims military pensions, calling the move “an egregious breach of faith.”

Report: Budget Plan Could Cost Service Members $124,000 in Retirement Pay  (The Washington Free Beacon)  Military retirees could face as much as $124,000 in lost retirement income if the bipartisan budget agreement is enacted, according to the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).

Female veterans battle for benefits at home  (Florida Courier)  When Xatavia Hughes, the granddaughter of a military man, went to serve in Iraq, she was prepared to prove herself to the male soldiers.

Tricare users soon must fill long-term prescriptions via mail  (Military Times)  Military retirees and family members who use Tricare For Life will be required to start filling long-term prescriptions by mail starting Feb. 14, 2014.

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Transitionnews 12/9/13

Posted by Mike Grice on

Transitionnews for Monday, December 9th 2013:

Good news of the day

Veterans honored, remembered in wreath-laying ceremony  (Asbury Park Press)  A military aircraft streaked over west Cumberland County Saturday morning just in time for its pilot to witness an extraordinary sight.

Transition

Institute for Veterans and Military Families and JPMorgan Chase Expand Veterans Career Transition Program to Include Military Spouses  (Globe Newswire)  The Institute for Veterans and Military Families has expanded eligibility to enroll in its Veterans Career Transition Program to spouses of eligible veterans and active duty servicemembers.

Special hunt helps veterans transition  (JournalGazette.net)  Cecil Stroud grew up hunting deer. But for the last 10 years, he couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t do it. War will do that to you, he’d say.

Discharge upheld for airman who reported sexual assault  (Air Force Times)  A medical board has upheld the discharge of a security forces airman who claims he was improperly diagnosed with a personality disorder after he reported being sexually assaulted by a superior.

Veterans

Veterans First works to house homeless female vets  (SFGate.com)  Two decades ago, Dana Oviatt started her career in the Army as a combat photographer.

Unclaimed S.C. veterans to be buried in Beaufort National Cemetery Friday  (The State)  The remains of 10 military veterans from South Carolina will be interred Friday at a ceremony in Beaufort National Cemetery by an organization that aims to give military funerals to unclaimed veterans, an organization spokesman said.

Veterans Writing Project comes to William & Mary  (Los Angeles Times)  After Ron Capps saw five wars in 10 years, the horrific images began to collide.

Map: Where the World War II veterans are  (The Washington Post)  More than 2,300 Americans died in the attack at Pearl Harbor exactly 72 years ago on Saturday.

VETERANS’ AFFAIRS: American Legion donates $4,000 to cognitive impairment program at Walled Lake Schools  (The Oakland Press)  Sons of the American Legion Post 224 recently donated $4,000 to the Moderate Cognitive Impairment Transitions Program at Walled Lake Schools.

Veterans Affairs

VA pushes online health info for vets, servicemembers  (WeatherfordDemocrat.com)  The Department of Veterans Affairs is urging all veterans and service members to join the millions already accessing VA health care information and service online.

Backlog of claims to VA shrinking  (FloridaToday.com)  David Scheimreif waited for more than a year while his disability claim sat in limbo, along with hundreds of thousands of others, at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

VA Home Loan Benefits Now Available Through Blue Loan Services  (PR Newswire) Blue Loan Services is a full service mortgage company that has been helping residents of California to find the best loan products and home loan rates for many years.

Roy Exum: Woeful Care Of Veterans  (Chattanoogan.com)   The United States spends $150 billion each year to fund the badly-maligned Department of Veterans Affairs.

Benefits

TRICARE Tools: Worldwide Online Access to Worldwide Coverage  (Tricare.mil)  TRICARE is the worldwide health care program serving active duty service members, Guard and Reserve members, retirees, family members, survivors, certain former spouses and others entitled to TRICARE benefits.

Hawke: Share cost for vets’ benefits  (Sentinel & Enterprise)  Massachusetts has some of the most generous veterans benefits in the country, but Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke said the cost of supplying many of those benefits is falling disproportionately on communities like his.

Help Is Hard To Get For Veterans After A Bad Discharge  (NPR)  More than 100,000 troops left the service with other-than-honorable discharges in the last 10 years.

Military Benefits For Same-Sex Couples Blocked At State Level  (USC Annenberg)  The Supreme Court’s recent ruling to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has paved the way for military members and their same-sex spouses to receive the same military benefits as married heterosexual couples.

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A pretty interesting product to help disabled vets

Posted by Mike Grice on

I recently became aware of a very interesting tool that can greatly help people with disabilities use their computers.  It is a “keyless keyboard” that provides those who can’t use conventional interface devices a tool that enables them to use the technology that we often take for granted.

Known as the orbiTouch, it is being offered free to veterans who could use it.  Giovanni Ferrara, from the company that produces the devices, contacted me to help spread the word.  Here is an extract from his email:

I am writing to you today in the hopes that you will help us spread the word about our new program to help veterans gain or regain computer access. 

We are a company based in Orlando, FL that’s offering free orbiTouch ergonomic keyboards to any disabled veteran who needs one. This program is possible through the foundations with whom we work. The keyboard is very unique in that it requires no finger or wrist motion and works great for people who have the following conditions: 

 +  Arm or hand prostheses  +  Limited hand and finger use due to injury 

+  Arthritis  +  Carpal tunnel syndrome  +  Spinal injury  +  Burns + Stroke 

+  Cerebral palsy  +  Visually impaired  + Blind  +  Autism +  Traumatic brain injury

+  Diabetic Neuropathy 

 In general, if you have a hand issue, this keyboard will keep you connected to your computer. It’s also a keyboard that will help you:

 + Read books and news on your computer

+ Shop on-line (like eBay and Amazon)

+ Get weather

+ Access the VA information for your benefits and prescriptions

 

I looked at the website, and I really think that it is a neat product.  If you are a disabled veteran who could use one, or if you know someone who is, follow this link to their website.

It is always great to hear that there are great people like Giovanni and great companies like orbiTouch that are stepping up to help our disabled veterans lead a better life!

Low Hanging Fruit

Posted by Mike Grice on

The inevitability of a smaller military is beginning to settle in across the Department of Defense.  With the impending end of the second counterinsurgent war and fiscal cuts that accompany it, the services must live within the means of their dwindling budgets and the quickest way to do so is to reduce the number of people who are drawing pay and benefits.  In the system that is our military industrial complex the variable cost of personnel is the management tool of choice to reduce costs because of the fixed nature of weapon, infrastructure, and systems contracts.  It is far easier to trim the number of people in uniform than it is to break a contract for a weapon system or a construction project.

As I have written previously the reduction of personnel is completely understandable and necessary. When there are no wars to actively fight the necessity for a military big enough to fight one becomes an untenable and costly argument that will always lose to other domestic priorities.  With the end of war comes the need for the DOD to shrink.

The services are all wrestling with how to reduce their respective endstrengths.  Natural attrition through discharges and retirements, coupled with reductions in recruiting are one way to get smaller, but that is not enough.  People who are currently serving need to go.

But who, exactly, gets the boot?  The armed forces obviously want to keep their best people, so those who are not in that category become the low hanging fruit to be plucked from the manpower tree.  The army has announced that it is going to be discharging convicted sex offenders (which is really a pretty good idea) and the services are cutting those who are overweight and cannot get into standards (which has resulted in a spike in liposuction for those who want to stay in but can’t meet standards).

So the word is out.  If you are one of the apples hanging from the bottom branch of the tree you may want to take a hard look at your future in the service.  You may be “picked” before you are ready if you don’t move up a few branches…

Good news for Guard and reserve members about retirement

Posted by Mike Grice on

Here is a good news story about Guard and reserve retirement from the Army Times:

Senators take new crack at expanding reserve retirement credit

Good stuff.  Not all the news about military pay and benefits is bad!

It’s here! Orders to Nowhere is now a book!

Posted by Mike Grice on

It’s finally here!  The first edition of Orders to Nowhere is available in print.  It will be six to eight weeks before it shows up in bookstores, and a week or so before it hits Amazon.com.  If you want to avoid the wait, you can order it straight from the printer by clicking the cover:

Orders to Nowhere

Since you are a loyal reader and follower of the blog that got it all started, you can use the discount code ZVGYFQ28 and save 10% off the cover price.

Thank each and every one of you for reading and following my journey through transition!

Here it comes: the big drawdown

Posted by Mike Grice on

It seems that every day brings news about the future of the military, and today was certainly no exception.  The Army, according to a Thomas Ricks’ post in Foreign Policy, is about to start separating officers from the service.  (Click here to read it)

There has been a lot of howling about how sequestration is causing the downfall of the military, and that the danger of a hollow force is only a manpower cuts away, but in all practical reality the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan make a smaller military inevitable.  It happens after every major conflict; the US Army numbered under 400,000 active and national guard troops in 1939, but by the end of the Second World War it had swollen to over 8,000,000. At the start of the Korean War some five years later the army was down to 630,000.

One of the principal reasons that the drawdown in the near future is different from those from prior wars is the composition of the force.  There are no draftees in today’s military.  Each and every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Marine volunteered to serve his or her country, and as a result more of them are likely to want to stay in the military than their predecessors.  At the end of the First and Second World Wars the armed forces (which were filled with draftees and wartime volunteers) shrunk naturally as people headed back to the lives they interrupted to go to war.  The same can be said for Korea and Vietnam to certain extent, as draftees were critical to expanding the armed forces to the size needed to fight those wars.

Today, though, we have no draftees.  Instead, we have a highly trained force of military professionals who have dedicated themselves to a career in the military.  Sure, the majority of first term enlistees serve one hitch and get out, but a significantly larger percentage want to stay.

Therein lies the rub.  As the military inevitably shrinks, the number of job slots that military folks can fill will decrease.  For the enlisted component of the armed forces, the length and terms of the enlistment contract can be used to decrease the size of the force; the military branches can make it more restrictive and difficult to reenlist. It is an effective manpower shaping tool.

For officers, however, the rules are very different.  Generally speaking, junior officers (ensigns and lieutenants) serve an initial contracted period (during which they are considered “reserve” officers), which is very similar to the enlisted side.  If they want to stay in, however, instead of reenlisting they compete for transition to from “reserve” to “regular” status.  Once an officer becomes a regular, his contract disappears and his term of service becomes “indefinite”.  This means that they are in until they 1) retire 2) quit 3) fail to get promoted or 4) die.  There is no enlistment contract to use as a force shaping tool.

During stable periods this is no big deal.  The services have staffing models that pretty accurately predict the size that the force needs to be, and they can manage the number of officers based on the number they are allowed to have by law, natural attrition, and accession of new officers.  During unstable times, though, like right now as we finish up a couple of wars, the models come apart like a trailer in a tornado.

The military had to significantly change its shape and size to fight the protracted counterinsurgent wars.  Many more boots on the ground were needed, which means that privates and second lieutenants were getting hired at the rapid rate (meaning much were donning the uniform than usual), and as time went on they got promoted to become sergeants and captains.  Enough time, in fact, that many of the officers became regulars.

Now that becomes a problem.

The enlisted side can be shaped using enlistment contracts, but the regular officers are immune from that shaping tool.  Instead, to reduce the number of officers (which is necessary to retain the proper shape of the force) the branches must figure out a way to get them to leave.  There are a lot of programs that are used to entice officers to leave (early retirement, “getting out” bonuses, etc), but when those do not get enough officers to leave the axe comes out.

In the Marine Corps the axe is the Selected Early Retirement Board (SERB).  Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels who fit a particular set of conditions are considered for retention or retirement.  Even though they can, by law, serve until their service limitations of 30 and 28 years respectively, the Marine Corps does not need them around for that long.  If they are selected for early retirement by the SERB, then they have about seven months to transition out to retirement.  The reason that such senior officers are targeted in the Marine Corps is that by lopping off people at the top it frees those below them to move up.

The Army is apparently about to do the same thing, except for a much junior set of folks: captains and majors. From Ricks’ blog post (a portion of letter sent from a senior officer to his or her juniors):

“You may already know, but there are going to be Officer Separation Boards (OSB) and Enhanced Selective Early Retirement Boards (E-SERBs) for Army Competitive Category Captains in Year Groups 2006-2008 and Majors in Year Groups 1999-2003 beginning in March 2014.

Initial word is that the OSBs and E-SERBs will select less than 10% of the considered majors and captains in year group 2008 and less than 20% of the captains considered in year groups 2006 and 2007.

I am meeting with the officers in the battalion affected that are physically at Ft. [DELETED] to discuss their Professional Development and future officer actions and will provide them an assessment of their potential for future service and potential risk of being selected for involuntary separation, and will help prepare their files for the boards. Additionally they are contacting their HRC Branch Representatives for an assessment. I recommend you find a trusted senior officer to do the same.”

The writing is on the wall.  Despite the promise of an exciting career in uniform, many officers are going to get the axe.  Is it good?  Is it bad?  I dunno.  In the mafia, they say that “it’s just business”.  The military needs to shrink, and it is not sequestration’s fault.  How the shrinking is done, however, says a lot about the moral contract between the institution of the military and those who serve within it.

Food for thought.