By Debbie Gregory. It has been four years since the kickoff of the Post-9/11 GI Bill program, and in that time, the VA has issued more than $30 billion in Veteran education benefit payments to service members, veterans and their families – more than 1 million people in all. The program doesn’t just pay the […]
By Debbie Gregory. Marine Corps Sgt. Richard Skates is a soldier from O’Fallon, MO. He is stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Skates is no stranger to heroism. The amphibious assault vehicle crewman, his wife Jacqueline, and their child were driving on July 9th, when they noticed an overturned vehicle in a ditch. It was standing […]
By Debbie Gregory. To cut or not to cut, that is the question. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned that if across-the-board budget cuts were not lifted, the United States would have to reduce its global security objectives by trading away the size of its armed forces, or its edge in technology, as the Pentagon seeks […]
By Debbie Gregory. The good news for jobless veterans is that Veteran unemployment rate is lower than that for the civilian population. Historically, veterans have enjoyed higher rates of employment than the general public. Military service is such an advantage that, since 2006, the veteran unemployment rate has averaged a full percentage point below the […]
By Debbie Gregory. While there has been a heavy emphasis placed on bringing down the unemployment rate and increasing post-9/11 veteran jobs, less attention has been paid to military spouse jobs. Military spouses often have trouble finding jobs due to frequent moves. In many cases, military spouses move from one community to another when their spouses […]
By Debbie Gregory. The new Fully Developed Claims (FDC) program is an optional initiative that offers Veterans, Servicemembers and survivors faster decisions from the VA on compensation, pension, and survivor benefit claims. First-time claimants are being offered retroactive benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration. The VA is offering this carrot to soften the […]
By Debbie Gregory. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) continues to haunt returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq. Army Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter, a Medal of Honor recipient, wants to help others with PTSD. Carter is scheduled to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroism in Afghanistan on August 26, 2013 at the White […]
By Debbie Gregory. Suicide is becoming an epidemic among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year, more active-duty soldiers killed themselves than died in combat. And after a decade of deployments to war zones, the Pentagon is bracing for things to get much worse. Even as the war in Afghanistan winds down, the greatest source […]
By Debbie Gregory. Because IED explosions in Iraq and Afghanistan have maimed our soldiers’ bodies and faces, military medicine has made great advances in prosthetic development. Now, military healthcare professionals at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center are working on rebuilding a wounded warrior’s face, using high-tech scanning and 3D visualization tools. Rapid prototyping has […]
By Debbie Gregory. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gabriel Guest refuses to be a casualty of war. He deployed four times, three times to combat zones, before he was wounded. After the USS Cole was attacked, Guest served in Yemen, Iraq, and in Afghanistan. Five months into his deployment, Guest, a native of Spokane, Wash., was on […]
