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Veteran Education Benefits Lost as For-profits Schools Close

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By Debbie Gregory.

More than $1 billion in Post 9/11 GI Bill veteran education benefits were lost by veterans when for-profit Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institutes closed their doors.

Since fiscal year 2013, veteran education benefits were being used by some 9,000 veterans pursuing their education at a school that has since shut down, according to a report released by the staff of Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.).

Carper and other members of Congress are urging for changes in the law so that veterans affected by the closure of a college can restore the GI eligibility they used up at a school that closed.

“It is unfathomable to me that these brave men and women, who volunteered to serve their country in a time of war, are now being left in the lurch by some of the largest recipients of Post-9/11 GI Bill taxpayer dollars,” said Carper, a 23-year veteran of the Navy and Naval Reserves. “This is shameful.”

Enacted in 2009, the post-9/11 GI Bill has provided more than $65 billion for tuition, books and housing to 1.6 million veterans and their families. Recipients can only use the benefits for 36 months of vocational or college education. If a veteran used GI Bill benefits to cover tuition at ITT Tech for two years, she would not have enough benefits left to finish up a bachelor’s degree.

For-profit colleges can only receive 90% of their funding from federal student aid programs to stay in compliance with regulations, but GI Bill benefits don’t count toward that 90%.

For-profit colleges aggressively recruit veterans because their benefits served as a stable source of revenue.

“The VA and Congress need to do more on the front end to hold bad actors accountable and ensure that we’re not continuing to send our veterans to schools delivering poor outcomes and destined for financial collapse,” Carper said.

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.

Protecting CA National Guard Members from Unfair Bonus Paybacks

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By Debbie Gregory.

From 2005-2010, when the U.S. military was trying to recruit and retain enough troops to fight two wars simultaneously, a number of generous bonus programs were implemented. But apparently due diligence was not done through the proper channels.  This, coupled with the extreme pressure put on recruiters to meet high enlistment and reenlistment quotas resulted in thousands of servicemembers receiving bonuses that they were not entitled to.

In 2011, a whistleblower from within the California Guard exposed fraud within the California National Guard bonus program.

As a result, the Army and the National Guard Bureau directed the California National Guard to audit more than 30,000 bonus and student loan repayment records. Of the 14,000 Soldiers whose records were audited, 9,700 were found to have improperly received bonuses or student loan repayments (or both).

The Soldier Incentive and Assistance Center (SIAC) serves as an advocate for affected soldiers who received these benefits in good faith. The SAIC offers legal and administrative support that has allowed some 4,000 Soldiers to apply to the Army and have their debt forgiven.

The California National Guard, a state agency, cannot waive the debts, as that authority rests at the federal level. Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the Pentagon to suspend efforts to recover enlistment bonuses. The demand would have affected some 9,700 California Guard members.

Soldiers argued that it was unfair to require them to repay the money — often $15,000 or more per soldier — when their only mistake was to take financial incentives that recruiters offered. Many served multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some were badly wounded.

“Ultimately, we will provide for a process that puts as little burden as possible on any soldier who received an improper payment through no fault of his or her own,” Carter said. “At the same time, it will respect our important obligation to the taxpayer.”

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.

 

Mil Families Await Action on Tricare Autism Coverage

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By Debbie Gregory.

Now that the 2016 presidential election is in the books, Congress needs to finish work on a fiscal 2017 defense authorization bill that is already overdue.

This unfinished business is of the utmost importance for military families who have children with autism.

Language in both the House and Senate versions of the defense bill orders the Department of Defense to restore TRICARE reimbursement rates for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder to the higher levels paid until last April.

Rate cuts to the benefit have spurred many ABA providers to discontinue their care for some 13,000 military children. The low fees make it impossible for these providers to run their businesses.

ABA therapists work with children, often in their homes, to increase or decrease targeted behaviors and to help them acquire language, daily living or play skills. It also can involve intensive behavioral interventions.

The managers of TRICARE autism care recently held their third “roundtable discussion” this year with ABA providers and regional contractors to discuss current operations and changes ahead.

TRICARE fees typically are set to match those paid by Medicare.  Because Medicare has no rates for ABA therapy, TRICARE decided to use local Medicaid rates plus 28 percent, which is the average difference between Medicaid and Medicare rates for other common mental health therapies.

Tricare had been reimbursing for ABA therapy at $125 an hour for providers with doctorate or master’s degrees, $75 for those with bachelor’s degrees and $50 for technicians with high school diplomas and ABA training.

The reduced reimbursement rate was cut to $114 for doctorates, $107 for master’s degrees, $67 for bachelor degrees and $40 per hour for technicians.

Let’s hope that this issue receives top priority.

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.

 

Military Wives at Increased Risk for Binge Drinking, Mental Health Issues

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By Debbie Gregory.

We often talk about the sacrifices that military spouses make, especially during deployments. Besides shouldering all of the family responsibilities, military spouses face long periods of separation from their spouses, and have the constant fear of those loved ones becoming injured or dying.

Now a report from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has revealed that military wives are more likely than their civilian peers to abuse prescription medications meant to treat anxiety, attention deficit disorder and other psychological problems. They are also more likely than civilian wives to suffer from mental illness, consume liquor and binge drink.

The relatively younger population of military wives partly explains the high levels of drinking, but the higher rates of mental illness might stem from the unusual hardships these women face — long periods of separation from husbands on deployment and the constant fear of those loved ones becoming injured or dying.

Researchers estimated that more than 29 percent of the nation’s 910,000 military wives ages 18 to 49 suffered mental illness within the past year and that about 23 percent received treatment for their problems.

Nearly 20 percent of women married to civilians suffered from mental illness last year and 17 percent got help for it, the survey indicated.

Substance abuse and mental health challenges among the nation’s estimated 242,000 military husbands was not examined due to the relatively small number of them.

The analysis of data on military families will provide potentially useful data that should enable policymakers, researchers, and health care providers to answer and respond to several critical questions about military families. Understanding these topics could inform policies and practices to improve the lives of military families and benefit the personnel who serve.

The report was authored by Rachel N. Lipari, Barbara Forsyth, and Jonaki Bose.

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.

Don’t Miss Tonight’s Benefit Concert America Salutes You

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By Debbie Gregory.

This morning, I am checking in from Chicago, where I am anxiously awaiting tonight’s America Salutes You benefit concert. This evening’s live event is the fruition of many, many months of hard work. But the team I have been privileged to work with is second to none.

The goal has always been to raise funds and awareness for some of the extraordinary non-profits that assist our military and veterans. We are all especially grateful to pop legend Cyndi Lauper for headlining the concert.

In addition to be a talented and successful performer, Cyndi is a great humanitarian, lending her celebrity to causes such as LGBT rights, human rights, childhood cancer, Save the Music and military and veterans.

We are all also grateful to all of the other performers, including Gavin DeGraw, Wanda Jackson, Hoodie Allen, Andra Day, CeCe Winans, Anthony Kearns, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder,  Tegan Marie, Savannah Maddison, Jeff Kazee and the House Band,  and many others.

The national anthem will be performed by the Chicago Blackhawk’s Jim Cornelison. Comedian Tom Dreesen will emcee the concert and celebrity presenters include actor David Eigenberg (“Chicago Fire”) and more to be announced.

You can listen to the live stream on Livestream, Military.com and TV Worldwide.

I also hope you will tune in over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to watch the concert when it airs nationally on Tribune Broadcasting, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Graham Media Group stations. (click for local listings).

“America Salutes You” will be offered to radio stations nationally by Westwood One.

Text and online fundraising will take place during the concert’s multi-platform broadcast, with 100 percent of all funds raised being granted to non-profit organizations helping veterans, service members and their families across the country such as: Give an Hour, ThanksUSA, Easter Seals Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, TAPS, Snowball Express, Illinois Joining Forces and Honor Flights. The concert is entirely paid for by sponsorships; no donation money will be used for concert expenses.

Text FREEDOM to 80077 to donate $10.   Message and data rates may apply.

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.

Court Rules Against Navy Reservist in USERRA Case

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By Debbie Gregory.

A high-level federal court delivered a blow to the rights of military reservists.

Kevin Ziober was a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve in 2012 when he received deployment orders to Afghanistan. After co-workers gathered to give Ziober a proper sendoff, he was summoned to the human resources office.

And then he was fired.

Ziober believed the dismissal was the direct result of the inconvenience his military service caused his employer. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) exists to protect military reservists against such discrimination.

Ziober lost his case before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, one step below the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that his pre-employment arbitration agreement prohibited him from suing his former employer.

Six months into Ziober’s tenure at real estate management firm BLB Resources, he stated that the company asked him and other employees to sign an arbitration agreement in order to remain employed. The agreement was presented to them on a take it or leave it basis. Ziober, like other employees who needed their jobs to support themselves and their families, felt that he had to sign it.

BLB Resources disputed Ziober’s version of the events, saying that his firing became necessary when the federal contract to which he was assigned was not renewed.

Protecting service members from employment discrimination is directly linked to military readiness and the Defense Department’s ability to recruit and retain more than 800,000 part-time troops every year.

Although the court ruled against Ziober, the judge appeared to urge Congress to consider changing or strengthening USERRA.

In 1994, when Congress enacted USERRA, it stated explicitly that veterans and service members cannot waive any of their rights under USERRA, that they have a right to enforce their rights in federal court, and that they cannot be required to arbitrate their USERRA claims.

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.

Why the Military Produces Great Leaders

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By Debbie Gregory.

Bravery in the face of opposition, stalwart leadership, and unyielding ingenuity. While these traits are often used to describe Medal of Honor recipients, they have also been proven to be invaluable traits to succeed in the economic realm.

The American military produces the most innovative and entrepreneurial leaders. Few institutions teach discipline, management, logistics, and efficiency like the U.S. Armed Forces.

Military officers learn to remain calm and think quickly under intense pressure. They are comfortable making command decisions, working in teams, and motivating people. Twenty-six of our 44 presidents were veterans.

These skills translate powerfully to the private sector, particularly business: male military officers are almost three times as likely as other American men to become CEOs.

Examples of senior executives who attribute their leadership skills to their time in uniform include: Johnson & Johnson’s Alex Gorsky, Proctor and Gamble’s Robert A. McDonald, Walgreens’ James A. Skinner,  Viacom’s Sumner Redstone and FedEx’s Frederick W. Smith, to name a few.

Founded by Marine Corps Officer Fred Smith, FedEx benefited from Smith’s application of his military logistics know-how to the realm of company.

“Lessons learned during Vietnam played over and over in my mind when we developed the business plan,” Smith said. “If you take care of the folks, treat them right, put good leaders in front of them, communicate with them, set the example, make sure they understand what’s in this for them, make sure they understand the importance of what they’re doing, they’ll provide that service.”

The best leadership—whether in peacetime or war—is borne as a conscientious obligation to serve. Tie selflessness with the adaptive capacity, innovation, and flexibility demanded by dangerous contexts, and one can see the value of military leadership as a model for leaders in the private sector.

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.

First Robotic Surgery Training Course for Military

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By Debbie Gregory.

At Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, military medical professionals are forging a new path in medicine. The military physicians there are the first ones in the Air Force to use one of the most advanced robotic surgery systems available today.

Keesler Medical Center has acquired two of the newest robotic surgical systems, the da Vinci Xi.

One of the systems will be used for surgeries, and the other one will be used to train military healthcare professionals.

Keesler’s Clinical Research Laboratory has set up a training facility called the Institute for Defense Robotic Surgical Education, where military surgeons can get their official robotic surgery credentials.

While robotic surgeries require systems that are expensive and require surgeons to undergo additional training, there are a number of positive benefits to using robotic surgical techniques, including improved outcomes.

“Robotics is the standard of care for several surgical procedures, and the market in the private sector is exploding,” said Maj. (Dr.) Joshua Tyler, the 81st Surgical Operations Squadron robotic surgery director. “If you’re not doing robotics, you’re not going to be competitive.”

Tyler added, “Smaller incisions, lower risk of hernia, and a lower risk of infection means getting out of the hospital sooner.

Up until now, if an Air Force surgeon wanted to perform a robotic surgery, he or she would have needed to go to  a private hospital to be trained on the system.

To address this problem, InDoRSE established a training facility on base for surgeons to earn their official robotic surgery credentials. InDoRSE’s focus has always been on training, graduate medical education, and research and development. For Lt. Col. (Dr.) Thomas Shaak, the 81st Medical Support Squadron’s director of InDoRSE, creating a program for robotic surgery falls in line with their mission.

“With this research robot, our residents will graduate with fully recognized robot credentials,” Shaak said. “Our surgeons should already be trained in surgeries, and with this credential, we’re giving them another tool in their toolkit to properly select good candidates for robotic procedures.”

Shaak said the manufacturers of the da Vinci Xi surgical systems, and the usual providers of robotic credentials, have agreed to a unique partnership where they will recognize the training coming from the InDoRSE site. The site also allows for surgeons from other locations to obtain their credentials in addition to those assigned to Keesler AFB.
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 Forces Offers Up to $175K in Retention Bonuses for Drone Pilots

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The "Reaper" has been chosen as the name for the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle. (Courtesy photo)

By Debbie Gregory.

As the Air Force tries to retain drone pilots, the service branch is offering critical skills retention bonuses worth a total of $175,000 if the pilots agree to serve five more years, or $35,000 for an additional year of commitment if they’re already receiving a similar CSRB or aviation retention pay bonus.

To be eligible, drone pilots must be in the 18X RPA pilots, 11U pilots who started on manned aircraft and permanently transitioned to RPAs, 11X pilot, 12U RPA combat systems officers, or 13U RPA air battle manager career fields, and their undergraduate RPA or flying training commitments must be expiring in fiscal 2016 or 2017.

Previously, the Air Force had floated a plan to offer $15,000 retention bonuses for commitments of either five years — for a total of $75,000 — or nine years, for a total of $135,000. At that time, due to the shortage, drone pilots were flying up to 900 hours a year, compared with fighter pilots, who were in the cockpit an average of 250 hours a year, according to Air Force officials.

The Air Force said the program will be retroactive for airmen whose commitment expired in 2016, and that applications for them must be submitted to the Air Force Personnel Center by Jan. 31, 2017.

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.

Top Ten Tips for Vets to Achieve Successful Civilian Careers

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By Debbie Gregory.

Transitioning from the military is an exciting time in your life, but it can also be a little intimidating. In order to help you achieve success, here are some tips to help you navigate your way into your new civilian career:

  1. Deal with issues

You need to demonstrate that you are a team player and are engaged with the company’s needs. Learn the company’s issues and priorities, and how you can contribute to dealing with both.

  1. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover

Unlike the military, there are no uniforms with rank that reveal someone’s position within the organization. Until you’ve been with an organization for a while and have figured out who is who, treat everyone as if they are the boss.

  1. Don’t rely on military terms

While addressing those at work as “sir” and “ma’am” will set you apart in a good way, it’s important to remember that you need to civilian-ize your speech in order to be understood.

  1. Loosen up a bit

Military customs and courtesies don’t often translate well in the civilian world. Gauge your behavior to your company’s social culture. If it is a bit laid back, your behavior should fit in with that. Rely on your coworkers to educate you.

  1. “Praise in public and punish in private” is still important

In the military, you learned that the best leaders heap praise on their teams in public and choose to go behind closed doors to make corrections. Stay with that, even though sometimes you may see the opposite.

  1. Don’t overshare PTSD or TBI

While your civilian counterparts at your new job may be curious and ask questions about your experiences in the military, a measured response will serve you better than too much detail. This is especially true of the invisible wounds, such as PTSD and TBI. Private information should be shared on a need-to-know basis, or in with those with whom you truly feel comfortable with. Which brings us to the next tip:

  1. Be prepared for off-the-wall questions

There is a large disconnect between veterans and civilians. Most civilians would never intentionally ask rude questions, but should a question come off as rude or ignorant, try to roll with it.

  1. Learn the company’s corporate culture

Corporate culture is comprised of the values, beliefs and attitudes that characterize the company and guide its practices. To some extent, a company’s internal culture may be articulated in its mission statement or vision statement. Learn it. Know it.

  1. Find out how to advance

Build a diversity of relationships and rely on those individuals for honest feedback, advice, insight, and information. Include peers inside and outside the company, higher-ups in your chain of command and in other divisions, someone in your company’s human resources department

  1. Join your company’s veteran affinity group

Take advantage of the camaraderie, assistance and support of your co-workers who have traveled a path similar to yours. If there isn’t one, start one. Your employer will only benefit from the support provided to their veteran employees.

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.


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