President Launches Major Veterans Employment Initiative

The White House announced the launch of an initiative that is designed to transform the federal government into the model employer of America’s veterans.  The Executive Order creates an interagency Council on Veterans Employment that will advise the President and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management on the veterans’ employment initiative.  The Order also establishes a Veterans Employment Program office within most federal agencies.  These offices will be responsible for helping veterans identify employment opportunities within those federal agencies, providing feedback to veterans about their employment application status, and helping veterans recently employed by these agencies adjust to civilian life and a workplace culture often different than military service.  To read the entire White House Press Release regarding this Veterans Employment Initiative, please go to: http://www.mmsend57.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=8051111&m=876447&u=AUSA&s=http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-launches-major-veterans-employment-initiative

The Wounded Artist Project

The Wounded Artist Project is a Michigan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  The Project creates and provides, free-of-charge, a progressive series of art kits (beginner, intermediate and advanced) for war wounded.  The mission of the organization is to keep recipients involved and encouraged them to heal and develop art skills that could be useful elsewhere.  To learn more about this organization or to donate, please go to: http://thewoundedartistproject.org/

 House Bill Could Expand Agent Orange Claims

Legislation granting Air Force and Navy veterans a better shot at receiving disability benefits for Agent Orange related illness now has 204 co-sponsors in the House, 14 short of the number needed to guarantee passage.  Bill HR 2254 would grant people who served in the waters off Vietnam and the airspace above it the same presumption as people who served on the ground: that certain diseases are the result of exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, widely used to defoliate jungle around U.S. bases and outposts.  To read this article in full, please go to: http://militarytimes.com/news/2009/11/military_agentorange_112009w/

 HealthCare Bill Will Not Hurt Vets, Dems Say

A House-passed national healthcare reform bill will not reduce healthcare choices or increase costs for veterans, the military, and military retirees and their families.  Democrats defending the bill said people enrolled in the veterans’ healthcare system or in the military’s TRICARE health insurance program are treated the same as medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, who also are permitted to buy additional coverage in addition to their government-provided care.  The bill specifically permits veterans, to keep their current coverage and to buy additional coverage if that is their choice, according to a statement prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. To read this article in full, please go to: http://www.mmsend57.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=8051107&m=876447&u=AUSA&s=http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/military_healthcare_reformveterans_111709w/

WWII Women Pilots to Receive Medals

The first women to fly U.S. military aircraft will be given gold medals to honor their service to the country.  About 300 of the 1,000 women who were members of the World War II era are still alive to receive their Congressional Gold Medals.  The rest will go to the pilots’ families.  For further information, please visit:  http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/world-war-ii-women-pilots-to-receive-medals/

 Tomb of the Unknowns to be Repaired

The Army Corps of Engineers and Arlington National Cemetery will repair the Tomb of the Unknowns, rather than build a replacement. Unknown war dead from the nation’s 20th century wars are interred in the Tomb, which honors all U.S. troops who do not return from battle. To learn more, click here: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/military_tomb_unknown_repair_062609w/

COLA Bill Protects Vets from Inflation

The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is designed to offset inflation and other factors that alter the cost-of-living over time. This year's rate has not been determined. The Senate unanimously approved legislation to protect the value of compensation for veterans and their survivors from potential inflation. In the event that the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an increase in inflation based on the Consumer Price Index, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living-Adjustment Act of 2009, as amended, would increase veteran and survivor compensation by that rate. To find out more information, follow the link: http://www.magnet101.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=6929562&m=771430&u=AUSA&s=http://www.military.com/veterans-report/cola-bill-protects-vets-from-inflation

 Transferring Your GI Bill: Quirks and Process

Users of the Post-9/11 GI Bill will find a quirk in how Congress designed one of its most popular features: the option to transfer benefits to family members.  For example, spouses of active duty members who hope to use transferred benefits to attend private colleges will be delighted at the value of the benefit for them.  It will cover full tuition and fees, with no ceiling, and therefore will be worth far more than benefits transferable to college-bound children or even benefits available to veterans using the full plan themselves. On the other hand, active duty spouses who use transferred benefits to attend public colleges or universities will have a more modest education package than other GI Bill users including eligible children because active duty spouses will not qualify the GI Bill's monthly living allowance or the annual stipend for books and supplies.  To read the full article by Tom Philpot go to: http://www.magnet101.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=6929564&m=771430&u=AUSA&s=http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,193477,00.html?wh=news All applications to transfer benefits will be made through the Transferability of Educational Benefit (TEB) website.  For more information on eligibility and application procedures,
see the Department of Veterans’ Affairs web site at http://www.magnet101.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=6929565&m=771430&u=AUSA&s=http://www.gibill.va.gov/

 New GI Benefits Vary Widely By State

An Associated Press review shows huge discrepancies in the state-by-state benefits veterans will receive under the new Post-9/11 GI Bill. Depending on where Servicemembers and veterans decide to attend college, they could receive a full ride, or very little. Congress made the amendments to the new GI Bill to provide Servicemembers the opportunity to attend private schools which often cost more. The new bill offers Servicemembers and veterans an amount equal to the tuition at the most expensive public college in the same state; however, that change penalizes veterans going to private colleges in states that have kept their public university tuition low. As a result, the new GI Bill offers a great assistance for vets in states such as New Hampshire, New York and Texas; and hardly any assistance at all in Massachusetts and especially California, where the state constitution prohibits public universities from charging tuition. To learn more and to read this article in its entirety, follow the link: http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/news_tab3/local_story_188000750.html

 Leaders of Veterans Discuss Issues Facing Soldiers

The Army’s fourth annual leadership conference for veterans’ and military-service organizations was held June 26, 2009 at the Pentagon.  Although a number of issues were discussed, one echoed throughout the day: suicide prevention. The conference informed Army leaders of 14 service organizations that assist with Soldier transition, and other problems Servicemembers are facing. The Army to date has had 87 suicides in the active component alone and as a preventative measure, Soldiers will be required to begin mandatory resiliency training as a part of basic combat training. The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is the Army’s preventative measure for suicide and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which many Soldiers are facing due to high repeated deployments. To find out more information, click the link: http://www.magnet101.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=6929574&m=771430&u=AUSA&s=http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/07/02/23855-leaders-of-veterans-discuss-issues-facing-soldiers/?ref=news-home-title1.

Partnership Opens Door for Army Reserve, Guard Construction Jobs

Helmets to Hardhats, a national program that connects National Guard, Reserve and transitioning active duty members with career training and employment within 15 building and construction trades unions and nine leading construction and contractor associations, officially joined the Army Reserves’s Employer Partnership Initiaive during a Pentagon signing ceremony on July 2, 2009. The arrangement will open the door for the Army Guard and Reserve to share the same talent pool with about 80,000 civilian employers in the construction industry. To read this article in full, please go to the following link: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55001

VA Relaxes Eligibility Rules for Veterans

The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs has relaxed eligibility rules for enrollment in VA health care. As of June 15, 2009 veterans who have applied for VA health care but were rejected due to income, will have their applications reconsidered under the new legislation.  This change in eligibility will now allow approximately 266,000 more veterans to enroll in VA health care. For more information, and to see the new rules for qualifying for VA health care visit: http://www.magnet101.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=6929577&m=771430&u=AUSA&s=http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility  or call
(877) 222-VETS (8387). To read the article, visit the following link:
http://www.magnet101.com/ls.cfm?r=180191835&sid=6929578&m=771430&u=AUSA&s=http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/819972.html?story_link=email_msg

 http://www.virtualwall.org/

The Virtual Wall provides a web site for memorials to those 58,249 women and men who are named on "The Wall", the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, USA; those military persons who gave the "ultimate sacrifice" for their country. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington was built from private donations collected by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The Wall was dedicated in 1982, and completed in 1984 with the addition of the "Three Servicemen Statue." Since its completion, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington has belonged to the people of the United States of America and has been maintained by the U. S. National Park Service. This web site is not affiliated with the US NPS.

On The Virtual Wall, visitors may leave tributes, letters, poems, photos, and other memorials to someone named on The Wall for other visitors to view. The goal is to provide an environment like The Wall itself, with the dignity and respect those named on The Wall have earned. There are no flashy or noisy distractions, no commercials, and no fee to publish a memorial.

The Virtual Wall is not a complete listing of all Vietnam casualties; there are several sites which already provide that service, including www.no-quarter.org. Each name on our index pages leads to a memorial for that person, a memorial written by someone who had a personal connection to the man or woman being remembered

Homes for Our Troops

Homes for Our Troops is a non-profit, non-partisan, 501 (c)(3) organization founded in 2004. This organization is strongly committed to helping those who have selflessly given to their country and have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries. We assist severely injured Servicemen and Women and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and then coordinating the process of building a new home or adapting an existing home for handicapped accessibility. The finished home is then given to the veteran. http://www.homesforourtroops.org/

*All services provided by Homes for Our Troops are at no cost to the veterans we serve. 

VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars)

National Military Services (VFW Support)
The VFW provides numerous services to military servicemembers and their families.
The three main efforts of the VFW Military Services department are: