Tag Archive for: Military Connection

You are here: / Military Connection

Posts

Reserve Component Forces Deserve Greater Job Protections

/in , ,

Soldiers from the Wisconsin and Utah Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve sing the Army song after donning the historic "Old Abe" patch ceremony at 101st Division Headquarters, at Fort Campbell, Ky., June 16, 2015. The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) became the first division headquarters to convert to a multi-component unit division headquarters. The purpose of multi-component unit division headquarters is to fully integrate Reserve and National Guard Soldiers into the modification table of organization and equipment.

By Debbie Gregory.

Since the founding of our Republic, the citizen soldier has been ready, on-call to leave home and protect our nation. Although the United States has the greatest standing military force in the world today, that force cannot accomplish its mission of protecting liberty without the support and augmentation of our Reserve Component (RC) whether from the Army or Air National Guard or from the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, or Coast Guard Reserve.

These Guard and Reserve troops comprise about half of our fighting forces. When citizen soldiers leave their families and civilian employment to protect our liberty, we have an obligation to them to protect their legal rights.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, also known as USERRA, is a Federal law that establishes rights and responsibilities for uniformed servicemembers and their civilian employers. It ensures that the RC are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service; (2) are promptly reemployed in their civilian jobs upon their return from duty; and (3) are not discriminated against in employment based on past, present, or future military service.

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) informs and educates servicemembers and their civilian employers regarding their rights and responsibilities governed by USERRA. ESGR does not enforce USERRA, but serves as a neutral, free resource for employers and servicemembers.

It is up to Congress to update USERRA to reflect the increased training commitments of today’s force, and consider additional tax benefits such as deductions for hiring reservists and tax exemptions for “differential pay.”

Although USERRA compliance is the law, these efforts to reward employers who go above and beyond current requirements would be of great benefit to our RC. If you are an employer and would like to sign a statement of support, please contact  Debbie Gregory at info@localhost , and in my capacity as Director of Employer Engagement, for California ESGR, I will be happy to arrange a signing ceremony.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Army Surgeon General Nadja West Featured in CNN Badass Web Series

/in , ,

Nadja West Hero SOCIAL

By Debbie Gregory.

Army Surgeon General Nadja West has recently been featured in a new web series by CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash.

West and the other “Badass Women of Washington”  have broken glass ceilings across our nation’s capital. West has distinguished herself by collecting an impressive array of “firsts.”

In 2013, West was the first black female major general of the Army’s active component, and was Army Medicine’s first African-American female two-star general. In 2015, she became the first black surgeon general. And in 2016, West became the first African-American female lieutenant general and the highest-ranking woman to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

At the age of two, West was adopted by a military family, her father having served as a logistics warrant officer. He and his journalist-activist wife had already adopted 11 children, with West becoming the youngest of their 12.

According to West, an early, positive influence on her life was seeing the black, female character Lt. Nyota Uhura on the bridge of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise. Uhura was one of the first characters of African descent to be featured in a non-menial role on an American television series.

West has always felt gratitude towards her biological mother for making a decision that although tough, was in her child’s best interest.

“My mom decided that she couldn’t take care of me or didn’t want to take care of me,” West said. “I’m just very thankful that she decided to give me a chance at life because you could have had other options.”

Besides West, nine of her siblings went on to serve in the U.S. Army.  In 1978, West applied to the U.S. Military Academy at the encouragement of one of her brothers; she was one of the 126 women accepted into the Academy’s third class that allowed women.

Breaking barriers at the Academy certainly came with its own set of challenges. When she arrived, there was just one all-male class left, but she said for some, the goal was to “run all the women out before they graduated.” And although she had some reservations about her decision to attend, being pushed to drop out only served to strengthen her resolve to succeed.

After West graduated from West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, she attended medical school at George Washington University.

Her Army medical service included deployments in the first Gulf War, Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

West is a role model, especially to her own daughter and her son, who is now following in his mother’s footsteps as a plebe at West Point.

To see the feature on West and the other “Badass Women of Washington” visit http://www.cnn.com/specials/politics/badass-women-of-washington .

How Did the NSA & FBI Track Down Vet who Leaked Top Secret Report?

/in , ,

reality winner

By Debbie Gregory.

On June 3, 2017, Air Force veteran and federal contractor Reality Leigh Winner was arrested on charges of leaking top-secret intelligence about an NSA report on Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election to The Intercept.

The document is the strongest public indication that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election. It states that Russian military intelligence launched an attack on at least one U.S. voting-software supplier and sent “spear-phishing” emails to at least 100 local election officials shortly before the election.

But how did the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation trace the leaked report back to Winner, who held a top security clearance?

When the NSA started investigating the leak on May 30th after a journalist from The Intercept asked the agency to comment on the printed report, they knew that six people had printed out the document, thanks to an internal audit. Winner was among them. As a contractor for the NSA with Pluribus International Corporation, Winner had access.

After examining the document, it was determined the pages of the intelligence reporting appeared to be folded or creased, “suggesting they had been printed and hand-carried out of a secured space,” according to the criminal complaint.

After a search of her work computer, investigators for the NSA and FBI found that Winner had emailed the document to The Intercept from her private email and also printed out the classified document in the office.

“Because the NSA logs all printing jobs on its printers, it can use this to match up precisely who printed the document,” according to security expert Rob Graham. He explained that printed documents have small yellow dots that help track where they are printed.

WikiLeaks accused the journalists at The Intercept of helping the NSA track Winner down so fast, because they handed over the printed documents.

Winner has admitted to mailing the document and is in jail awaiting trial

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Vietnam Veteran to Receive Medal of Honor

/in , ,

James C. McCloughan

By Debbie Gregory.

In July, 2017, a retired West Michigan high school teacher and coach who is credited with saving the lives of 10 members of his platoon in Vietnam will receive the Medal of Honor.

James C. McCloughan was a 23-year-old medic when in May, 1969, his platoon was engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. PFC McCloughan returned to the combat zone multiple times to retrieve wounded soldiers, despite the fact that he had been shot in the arm and had shrapnel injuries.

McCloughan, now 71 years old, received numerous awards for his actions, including the Combat Medical Badge, two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. But he was not eligible for the Medal of Honor until a recent change did away with the previous time limit.

Prior to leaving office, President Obama signed the waiver into law that did away with the five year time limit from the time of the action as part of a defense authorization act.

McCloughan’s old platoon leader, Randy Clark, was the driving force behind the push to award McCloughan the Medal of Honor.

McCloughan vividly remembered the battle, when 89 soldiers were flown in by helicopter in an effort to block a North Vietnamese advance, only to find that they were greatly outnumbered.

According to the White House, in order to receive the award, “the meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life.”

James C. McCloughan certainly displayed these qualities, and for that, he has earned the nation’s highest military honor.

We congratulate him and thank him for his service and sacrifice.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Shulkin Backs Off Plan to Cut Benefits of Elderly Veterans

/in , , , ,

tdiu

By Debbie Gregory.

It’s good to know that Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has announced that he wants to avoid any policy changes that will hurt the most vulnerable veterans, those who are part of the Individual Unemployability (IU) program.

“The budget is a process, and it became clear this (plan) would hurt some veterans,” he said. “I’m really concerned about that … I’m not going to support policies that hurt veterans.”

President Donald Trump’s $186.5 billion VA budget for fiscal 2018 has provisions that would dramatically change eligibility rules for the IU program, affecting some 210,000 veterans over the age of 60, at least 7,000 of whom are over 80.

Under current rules, the IU program awards payouts at the 100 percent disabled rate to veterans who cannot find work due to service-connected injuries, even if their actual rating decision is less than that. The change would make them ineligible once they reach Social Security’s retirement age

Although the move would save $3.2 billion just in its first year, the cost to the veterans currently qualified for UI would be enormous. IU payouts can total almost $20,000 a year.

American Legion officials praised the administration “for coming to their senses and committing to protect the Individual Unemployability program that provides for our most vulnerable veterans and their families.”

Shulkin is still committed to looking for ways to be more efficient with taxpayer funds, but not at the expense of veterans’ financial health.

We at Military Connection applaud these actions! Our veterans deserve all of the benefits they receive.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Air Force Submits Wish List to Congress

/in , ,

(Lockheed Martin) Biz10-LMT-020816

By Debbie Gregory.

Congress asks for unfunded lists from each service on an annual basis. The documents help guide lawmakers as they work through the budget requests and form policy and spending bills. The Air Force’s $10.7 billion unfunded priorities “wish list” submitted to Capitol Hill last month is heavy on research and development, but it also includes buying more aircraft , specifically F-35s and KC-46s.

Some $70 million would be earmarked to develop a “high power microwave weapon capable of multi-shot, multi-target ability to knock out digital electronic systems with low or no collateral damage and within anti-access area-denial environments.” A hypersonic prototype “to accelerate a Time Sensitive Target Engagement” also made the list.

The service has also planned $8 million for a light attack aircraft. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, as well as other top officials have endorsed the flight demo as a way to test whether a buy of inexpensive aircraft can help the force better meet readiness challenges.

The Air Force included 14  F-35A joint strike, three KC-46As, 12 MC-130Js, as well as one additional HC-130.

The EC-130H Compass Call program is based on an electronic attack aircraft, the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules. The aircraft is heavily modified to disrupt enemy command and control communications, perform offensive counter-information operations, and do other kinds of electronic attack. To keep the Compass Call program on track, the Air Force would need an additional $284.6 million for a number of initiatives. About $30 million would go to extend the life of the current EC-130H aircraft because the replacement program lags behind schedule.

The wish list also includes $131.6 million for various modifications for fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets.

The wish list included $360 million for nuclear deterrence operations, with nuclear command, control and communications emerging as a priority, and $563 million for cyberspace needs.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Navy Veteran Seeking to Reclaim Pullup Title

/in ,

hahn

By Debbie Gregory.

Rodney Hahn is a Navy veteran and fitness trainer who smashed two Guinness World Records for pullups.

In 2015, Hahn did 6,737 pullups in 24 hours.  In 2016, a Virginia teen took the title by doing 7,300 pullups. Hahn tried to win the title back, but fell short  when he completed 6,844 pull-ups. But it wasn’t all for nothing as Hahn was able to raise $8,000 for the Navy Seal Fund.

Hahn, who is 56 years old, wants his title back. His goal is to do 8,000 pullups in a single day.

Hahn, who has been a fitness trainer for 20 years, understands what it takes.  He works out six days a week to build endurance.   He believes the most challenging part of the challenge to regain his title is sleep deprivation.

The Virginia Beach native understands that to achieve his goals, he needs to train in increments.

Hahn is not content to just break the pullups record again.  He also wants to break two other world records, including doing more than 30 chin-ups in a minute with a 20 pound weight onboard, and doing more than 57 pushups in a minute with a 60 pound weight onboard.  He wants to achieve this before his next birthday when he will be turning 57.

Hahn believes that the 8,000 push-ups in a single 24 hours is the easier of the goals to achieve.

We at MilitaryConnection.com commend Rodney Hahn and wish him success in achieving all of his goals.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Air Force Veteran Convicted of Terrorism Sentenced to 35 Years

/in , ,

pugh

By Debbie Gregory.

Tairod Pugh, a U.S Air Force veteran found guilty of terrorism for trying to join ISIS two years ago, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The 49-year-old Pugh, a convert to Islam, was convicted of trying to join the Islamic State (ISIS) and die a martyr.

Acting United States Attorney Bridget Rohde said, “The defendant turned his back on his country, and the military he once served, to attempt to join a brutally violent terrorist organization committed to the slaughter of innocent people throughout the world.,”

Several days before his arrest on January 16, 2015, Pugh had flown from Egypt to Turkey, after spending about a year working in the Middle East. Turkey is a common entry point for would-be jihadists entering Syria.

The FBI had been closely monitoring Pugh, and Turkish authorities detained him as soon as he landed in Istanbul. He was immediately deported and sent to JFK International Airport in New York, where he was arrested.

At Pugh’s trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that his laptop contained ISIS propaganda and execution videos. The prosecution also demonstrated that Pugh had voiced his support for ISIS to coworkers and on Facebook, encouraging his followers to “support [ISIS] with your bodies.”

Additional evidence included the draft of a letter from Pugh to his wife which read:

I am a Mujahid. I am a sword against the oppressor and a shield for the oppressed. I will use the talents and skills given to me by Allah to establish and defend the Islamic State. There is only 2 possible outcomes for me [sic]. Victory or Martyr.

Pugh served in the Air Force from 1986 to 1990 and was trained in installing and maintaining aircraft engines and navigation and weapons systems.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

China is Closing the Military Gap

/in , ,

china weapons

By Debbie Gregory.

China’s deployment of missiles, able to deliver nuclear warheads to U.S. bases on Guam, is among the military advancements closing the gap with Western military power, according to the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on China’s military, released on June 6th.

The report came just days after U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis warned China against actions that “impinge on the interests of the international community, undermining the rules-based order that has benefited all countries” at a security forum in Singapore.

After two decades of budget increases, including last year’s 7 percent increase in military spending to $144.3 billion, China claimed its position as the second largest military spender, after the U.S

China’s expertise in building both commercial and military aircraft has improved with work on the C919 commercial airliner and Xian Y-20 military transport.

Their Dongfeng-26 intermediate-range rockets could also be used for conventional strikes against ships in the Western Pacific. The DF-26 joins an arsenal that includes DF-21 “carrier killer” missiles. Boosting its sea power, China’s Jin-class submarines are now equipped with JL-2 submarine launched ballistic missiles.

At a regularly schedule press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the Pentagon report had made “irresponsible remarks about China’s defense and development which disregard the facts.” She said China was a force for stability in Asia and elsewhere in the world.

From 2011 to 2015, China ranked as the world’s fourth largest arms exporter, with more than $20 billion in sales. This included $9 billion in sales to Pakistan and other Asian countries. China also sold armed drones to several countries in the Middle East, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Veteran’s Campaign to Make Stanford More Veteran Friendly

/in , , , , ,

stanford university

By Debbie Gregory.

Adam Behrendt is on a mission. The former U.S. Navy corpsman who enrolled as a transfer student at Stanford University is trying to persuade the university to change some of their policies to make the school more veteran friendly.

Behrendt enlisted in the Navy in 2007, after several years at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, was medically retired from the Navy in March 2015. He applied to Stanford, with the game plan of attending medical school.

Unfortunately, the way Stanford applied the education benefits available through Behrendt’s Post 9/11 GI Bill did not make it financially feasible for his wife to give up her job in Wisconsin and move to California.

Fortunately for Behrendt, he was able to get assistance from Service to School, an organization that helps military veterans apply to and succeed in college. Through his relationship with the non-profit, Behrendt began mentoring other veterans to help them navigate Stanford’s financial aid policies.

Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) provides both tuition assistance and a housing and living allowance to veterans in order for them to pursue postsecondary education.

Stanford charged roughly $72,000 for an undergraduate — $47,000 in tuition, $18,000 in room and board, and about $7,000 for supplies and fees.

Under VA policy at the time, the typical undergraduate veteran at Stanford would be eligible for more than $50,000 — roughly $25,000 in tuition and fees support and another $28,000 toward housing and living expenses.

For veterans who also earned need-based funds from Stanford, the university would apply the entire $53,000 from the VA, and reduce its own financial contributions as a result. Stanford was counting the housing allowance as a resource that the student veteran was bringing to the table in calculating financial aid.

Behrend thought it was not fair for the university to take $28,000 in VA funds to cover $18,000 in room and board.

Behrendt had become an accidental advocate, and because of his efforts,  Stanford’s general counsel noted in a letter to Behrendt that the university would no longer take more than the amount of the housing costs out of the VA’s living allowance, and that the university would not use an outside donor’s funds to meet a federal requirement that institutions match VA contributions under the Yellow Ribbon program.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.


© 2006-2020 Military Connection, Owned by BL, LLC. All rights reserved

Military Connection