Category Archives: Veterans News

VA New Veterans Retraining Program for Unemployed Veterans 35-60

Posted on by vfwlady

Unemployed veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 years old can now obtain 12 months of government training assistance, thanks to the Vow to Hire Heroes Act of 2011.

The Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans Affairs will begin accepting applications on May 15, 2012 for veterans interested in going back to school!

Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Labor (DoL) are working together to roll out this new program on July 1, 2012.

The VRAP offers 12 months of training assistance to Veterans who:

  • Are at least 35 but no more than 60 years old
  • Are unemployed
  • Received an other than dishonorable discharge
  • Are not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program (e.g.: the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Assistance)
  • Are not in receipt of VA compensation due to “unemployability”
  • Are not enrolled in a federal or state job training program

The program is limited to 45,000 participants during fiscal year 2012, and to 54,000 participants from October 1, 2012, through March 31, 2014. Participants will receive a monthly payment equal to the full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill–Active Duty program (currently $1,473 per month). DoL will offer employment assistance to every Veteran who participates or applies to the VRAP program.

Participants must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school. The program must lead to an Associate Degree, Non-College Degree, or a Certificate, and train the Veteran for a high demand occupation.

VRAP will provide training for programs of education that lead to a high demand occupation, as determined by the Department of Labor. Click here to see a listing of high demand occupations.

The Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans Affairs will begin accepting applications on May 15, 2012. To complete the application, you will need to know your direct deposit information (bank routing number and account number), the name and location of your school, the program you wish to pursue, and the applicable high demand occupation.

Hey Veterans! Eat Some Buffalo Wild Wings and Help a Vet

Posted on by vfwlady

May is Military Appreciation Month, so…Eat Some Wings and Help a Vet!

For the second straight year, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants across America will partner with the VFW to conduct a fundraising event for U.S. troops and their families. During the entire month of May (Military Appreciation Month), participating Buffalo Wild Wings locations will donate 10% of a guest’s total food purchase to the VFW Foundation when that customer shows their military ID, VFW membership id card or a “Return the Favor” card here:


The Buffalo Wild Wings event is aptly entitled “Salute the Troops” and it seeks to also thank restaurant patrons, as participants will receive a complimentary yellow wristband. Wearing the wristband into a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant anytime in May will facilitate another 10% donation to the VFW Foundation. Wearing the wristband in June entitles guests to 10% off their own food and non-alcoholic beverage purchases. The wristband offer is limited to one per check, while supplies last (500 wristbands at each participating restaurant).

For more information and participating locations, visit troops.buffalowildwings.com.

The National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo 2012

Posted on by vfwlady

2012 Information:

The Cobo Center in the heart of Detroit will host the National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo June 26-29, 2012. Its elegant banquet rooms and over 70 meeting rooms totaling 178,446 square feet equip Cobo Center to accommodate capacities from up to 10,000.

Join nearly 6,000 participants in Detroit for the opportunity to:

  • Connect with procurement decision makers from other businesses and federal agencies
  • Expand knowledge through over 200 training and business requirement sessions
  • Engage with other attendees and gain visibility in the Expo Hall of nearly 500 booths
  • Use VetGovPartner to facilitate online and onsite networking including face-to-face sessions with senior procurement decision makers.

What Unemployed Veterans, Wal-Mart and Arizona Have in Common

Posted on by vfwlady

300,000 Unemployed Veterans

The United States Department of Labor recently released the 2012 first quarter national unemployment rate for veterans.

Currently 10.3 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans, those who have served since 2001, remain unemployed.   That is 2.1% higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.2%.

Thanks to a recent surge in Veterans Job Fairs, and the passage of the VOW to Hire Vets legislation in late 2011, the current number of unemployed veterans has decreased substantially.  Especially when compared to the ghastly 12% annual veteran unemployment rate that was reported by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2011.

Another contributing factor to the 1.7% decrease, is the large number of returning troops smart enough to realize their bleak employment future, and make prompt use of their GI Bill instead.  That still leaves an estimated 300,000 Gulf War-era II veterans actively seeking employment in the U.S today.

Arizona: 360,000 Illegal Immigrants

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Arizona had 360,000 unauthorized immigrants enter their state in 2011. Arizona recently passed a law that would authorize officers to arrest anyone they have “probable cause” to believe is eligible to be deported. The law also would bar aliens without proper papers from seeking or performing work.

Arizona (whose law is being challenged by the current White House administration) says its 370-mile border with Mexico is the crossing point for half the U.S.’s illegal immigrants, giving it the right to tackle a problem the national government has failed to address.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said, “It seems to me that the federal government just doesn’t want to know who is here illegally or not.” Read more…

Walmart: 365 New Stores in Mexico

One of every five Walmart stores is now south of the border, and the company reported total sales of  US $29 billion in Mexico during 2011.   That may explain why Walmart also opened 365 new stores in Mexico in 2011.

Walmart also pays miserable wages, employs an army of unpaid “baggers” at its checkout lines, and has been accused of widespread violation of labor laws.  This is difficult to morally digest, when it has been proven that they could obviously afford the $24 million it took to bribe Mexican officials.  Read more…

Resolution: Making Everyone Happy

My 3-step proposal to rectify, correct, and resolve all of this insanity is very simple:

  1. Allow Arizona to re-capture and deport those 360,000 illegals now working in the U.S.
  2. Send those Arizona deports, once back in Mexico, immediately to work for Walmart.    (Walmart can cover the U.S. deportation cost as penalty for their criminal activity.  After spending $24 million to bribe officials, that averages out to around $67,000 per deportee….which is more than enough!)
  3. Put those 300,000 Veterans to work for the Border Patrol….Homeland Security….or anywhere else they can continue to serve and protect, and definitely send a few thousand to oversee (as store managers) those 360,000 new Walmart workers in Mexico!

Easy enough?

USMC Finally Lets the Ladies into Officer Infantry School

Posted on by vfwlady

infantry officer course Marine Corps to open officer infantry school to women

By Jennifer Hlad, Stars and Stripes
Published: April 19, 2012

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps will soon allow women to attend its school for infantry officers, as part of a larger effort to determine how to expand the role of women in the Corps.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told the Marine Corps Times on Wednesday that the service is in the process of soliciting volunteers to attend the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Va.

All Marine infantry officers attend the 10-week course after completing The Basic School. Dunford and other Marine officials have not said what the next steps will be for women who volunteer to attend the school.

The Marine Corps is expected to release a service-wide message soon about expanding career and training opportunities for women. The message will include information about women attending IOC.

The Corps earlier this year requested that Congress approve an exception to policy that would allow female company-grade officers and female staff noncommissioned officers who already hold certain military occupational specialties, such as communications, to be assigned to about 400 corresponding jobs with ground combat element units at the battalion level. The units include artillery, tanks, amphibious assault, low-altitude air defense, combat assault and combat engineers, but not infantry units.

Women will be considered for those positions starting in May.

Dunford also told the Marine Corps Times there is a plan to evaluate male and female Marines against new physical fitness standards that are being developed. The information from all the new initiatives will be incorporated into a report later this year from the Corps to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Related

National Veterans Golden Age Games 2012 in St. Louis, MO

Posted on by vfwlady

May 31st -June 5, 2012 in St. Louis, MO

Athletes at the Arch

The 26th National Veterans Golden Age Games will be held in St. Louis, MO! The Games will be held May 31 – June 5 offering exciting competition for Veterans age 55 and older who receive care at the VA.

More than 700 Veterans have registered to compete in this national event, which is one of the premier senior adaptive rehabilitation programs in the United States. It is the only national multi-event sports and recreational seniors’ competition program designed to improve the quality of life for all older Veterans, including those with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.

The National Veterans Golden Age Games is also one of the most progressive and adaptive rehabilitative senior sports programs in the world, offering 14 different sports and recreational activities including:

Air Rifle, Bowling, Cycling, 9-Ball, Checkers, Croquet, Dominos,  Golf, Horseshoes, Table Tennis, Shot Put, Discus, Shuffleboard,  and Swimming….Learn More >

Contacts

Special Events

Interested in creative arts or attending a sports clinic? Check out these VA sponsored special events that are coming up soon.

The Million Veteran March on the VA

Posted on by vfwlady

What began as a great idea is slowly becoming the latest rave for Veterans across the United States.  Many veterans who have dutifully served their country are tired of long waits, long lines, slow response, and poor facility conditions of the Veterans Administration Hospitals nationwide.

America’s weary soldiers are so tired of less-than-adequate treatment, that a few have decided to band together and do what they do best…MARCH!  Where are they marching?  Well, on Washington of course.  There is already a group on Facebook, and the response has been so overwhelming that a website is under construction.

All they need now is 1,000,000 marching veterans.

Based on the huge number of veterans using the VA system as their sole source of healthcare, getting a million to march shouldn’t be a problem.  Here is what the organizers have to say,

“The march on the VA has been created by and for all honorably discharged Veterans and their family’s. This organization represents Veterans from all branches and all wars.

According to the VA there are currently 2.9 million disabled veterans. It is time they hear us loud and clear, we will no longer be pushed aside and ignored. It is time we stand up for ourselves and sound off. We are 1st class citizens and we will no longer be treated like trash.

The VA counts on us to give up and for the most part many of us have. Well that is over with, it is time we start making some demands and letting the VA know we are not going to give up, we will not quit, we will not surrender, This is a fight for ourselves and our family’s.

We will no longer be complacent in this we have a voice and we will use it. This a grass root effort, so please do all you can in the way of spreading the word. The tentative date for the march is October 4, 2012.” Ask to “Join the group” and support Veterans for better VA healthcare! 

Related Article: Veterans Step Forward to Report Retaliation for Whistleblowing and Lack of Support Services

VFW Calls 2013 VA Budget Proposal a Good Start

Posted on by vfwlady

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WASHINGTON — The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is appreciative of the fiscal year 2013 budget President Obama proposed Monday, February 13th 2012 for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The VFW appreciates the proposed increase because it recognizes that the proper care and treatment of wounded, ill and injured veterans are ongoing costs of war,” said Richard L. DeNoyer, who leads the 2 million-member VFW and its Auxiliaries. “We remain concerned, however, that the amount* is not enough for the VA to maintain much less improve all the programs and services on their watch, especially knowing the Defense Department plans to shrink the size of the military, which will directly increase the number of veterans seeking VA care and services.”

The proposed VA budget for FY 2013 is $140.3 billion, of which $76.3 billion is for mandatory benefits such as disability compensation and pension. The remaining $64 billion is in discretionary funding, primarily for the Veterans Health Administration, which represents a 4.5-percent increase over FY 2012 funding, but falls more than $4 billion short of the amount recommended by The Independent Budget, which the VFW co-authors with AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

The VFW national commander said there are budget highlights that continue to elevate the importance of healthcare, mental health programs, women veterans, reducing the VA claims backlog and ending veterans’ homelessness. But he will still ask both House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs to substantially plus-up the miniscule $1.6 million increase in medical and prosthetic research, and return major construction funding to an amount that is forward focused instead of an afterthought.

“A record 240 troops lost one limb or more in Afghanistan last year,” said DeNoyer, a retired Marine and Vietnam combat veteran from Middleton, Mass. “They will require a lifetime of care, and it shouldn’t be in VA medical facilities that average more than 60 years old,” he said.

“A nation that creates veterans has a sacred responsibility to care for them when they return home wounded, ill and injured. The VFW looks forward to working with the Administration and Congress in the coming days and months to ensure that America keeps that promise.”

*The total amount includes mandatory funding for programs such as disability compensation and pension, as well as discretionary funding for VA medical care, to include advanced appropriations. The amount represents a 4.5-percent increase over FY 2012 funding, but falls more than $4 billion short of what is recommended by The Independent Budget, which the VFW co-authors with AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America. The VA budget request includes:

·         $6.2 billion to expand inpatient, residential and outpatient mental health programs.
·         $3.3 billion for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans’ programs.
·         $2.1 billion to improve the benefits claims process.
·         $1.3 billion for veterans’ homelessness programs.
·         $403 million for women veteran programs.
·         $258 million for national cemeteries.
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VFW has concerns about the low recommendation for major construction and the slight increase for medical and prosthetic research. VFW asked Congress to increase funding so VA can complete numerous projects under way, as well as those being planned.
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National Veterans Hotline “Swamped” with Calls Supporting Marines in Afghanistan

Posted on by vfwlady

National Veterans Hotline, staffed by volunteers in over 30 states and accepting upwards of 3500 calls per day from Veterans and their families, has seen a 300% increase in calls of support for the Marines caught on video urinating on dead Taliban.

Americans are outraged that these four Marines might face a court martial.

“These sentiments are echoed throughout the US by thousands of our callers,” said executive Director of the hotline Ken Smith. ” If these Marines are brought to punishment there will be a national outcry.  The true story has yet to be told said Smith.  What happened moments before this incident is critical to the outcome.  To help with the hotline, to support these Marines or to find more information, call us today  202.695.8049.”

Ken Smith: National Veterans Hotline (http://www.Veterans911.com)