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Soldier’s Wish Meets Military/Veterans’ Needs

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By Debbie Gregory.

It all began when ordinary citizens gathered together to create an event to raise funds to help honor and support our veterans and active-duty military. The initial effort raised somewhere around $50,000, which was donated to the American Legion. Having experienced such success in their freshman endeavor, those responsible decided to keep the effort going, and the non-profit “Soldier’s Wish” was born.

It is the mission of Soldier’s Wish to identify unmet needs of veterans of military service regardless of branch or rank and identify or provide resources to meet those needs by providing needed support directly to the veteran service members and/or their families in order that such service members can lead normal and productive lives.

The relationship with the American Legion continues. The American Legion’s mission and core values meet those of Soldier’s Wish, resulting in a relationship that was approved and adopted during the 2013 Spring National Executive meetings. The relationship gives The American Legion an opportunity to promote its programs and services while granting wishes for those who have served and their families.

Dedicated men and women who want to make a difference and help meet the unmet needs of those who have served are the lifeblood of Soldier’s Wish. But no non-profit can exist without funding.

The Soldier’s Wish gift store sells a variety of items, including hats, T-shirts, bandanas, mugs, dog tags and flags. All proceeds from merchandise go to help them in their mission.

The non-profit also offers corporate sponsorships, and hosts fund raising events, such as October’s Night of Honor Steak and Cigar dinner to be held in Tulsa, OK.

If you would like to learn more about this great non-profit or see some of their success stories, please visit them on the web at http://www.soldierswish.org/

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.

U.S. Troops Infected With Zika

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By Debbie Gregory.

More than 40 members of the U.S. military have contracted the Zika virus this year in countries where it is present, government officials said; among them a pregnant woman, for whom Zika can be particularly dangerous.

The cases, which include active duty, National Guard and reserve personnel, were acquired outside of the continental United States.

Nonetheless, the Defense Department is continuing to monitor U.S. military installations at risk for mosquito-borne diseases, according to Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Benjamin Sakrisson.

DoD did not provide details on the status of the expectant mother or her unborn baby. Zika has been linked to birth defects such as microcephaly; one study released in May by the Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health estimated that fetuses of mothers infected with Zika in their first trimester face up to a 13 percent chance of being born with severe brain abnormalities.

As of July 27, 1,658 cases of Zika infection have been reported in the continental U.S. and 4,750 in U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, according to the CDC. The cases include 433 pregnant women in the U.S., and 422 in the territories..

U.S. military installation managers began aggressively monitoring for the species of mosquitoes that can carry Zika and other diseases in March. There are almost  200 military installations in areas where mosquitoes capable of carrying Zika are also found.

Zika is primarily transmitted through Aedes mosquitoes, the same insects that spread the dengue and Chikungunya viruses.

Those infected with the virus who will get sick will experience flu-like symptoms, fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes that last up to a week. But for pregnant women, the virus carries far worse outcomes: Zika can cause microcephaly in babies born to infected mothers, a condition that stunts the growth of babies’ heads and can result in serious cognitive, neurological, and motor disabilities.

In addition to the troops diagnosed with Zika, seven military family members also have tested positive, also contracting the disease outside the continental U.S.

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.

Calling All Veterans for Employment Study

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By Debbie Gregory.

In the past several years, quite a bit of effort has gone into helping veterans successfully transition from service to civilian employment. Hiring commitments from the public sector, the private sector and nonprofits have resulted in improved training and support and have helped reduce the veteran unemployment rate.

Despite this success, a great deal remains unknown about veterans employment. Questions remain, such as: what does a veteran career path look like after the first post-service job? How does veteran retention compare to that of civilians? How do employers view veterans in the workforce? Can we estimate the contributions of veterans to the economy, to make a case for hiring veterans?

It was recently announced that the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) has been commissioned to conduct a study and produce a report on veteran employment, retention and economic performance.

CNAS needs volunteers to take part in this study.  Participants will be asked to take three anonymous, online surveys. Contributors will help illuminate how veterans and firms perceive employment and retention issues. If you would like to volunteer for this study, click on the link that pertains to you. Your participation is needed if you are:

  • A Veteran (including anyone who has served in the military, including those who may fall into the other groups)
  • In Human resources (including anyone who works primarily on recruiting, talent acquisition, human resources or related issues)
  • A Business manager/business leader (including anyone who manages personnel, business functions or business units, from first-line supervisors to executives)

Participants may skip questions they do not want to answer. Results from this study will be published in November 2016. Further information and the survey can be found on the CNAS website.

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.

From Media Scandal to Medal Of Honor?

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By Debbie Gregory.

The Medal of Honor could be the final vindication in the battle to clear the name and reputation of a Green Beret soldier who served in Vietnam 47 years ago.

In September, 1970, Green Beret Gary Michael Rose was the lone medic for a company of Special Forces soldiers and indigenous Vietnamese fighters, called Montagnards,  in Laos. Rose, who himself was badly injured, helped bring all the soldiers back alive. He received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest military honor, during a ceremony at the time in Vietnam.

But in 1998, Rose and the other men of Operation Tailwind were wrongly accused of taking part in war crimes.

Stunning claims were alleged that the Green Berets were sent to Laos to kill American defectors and that the military used sarin gas during the mission. The charges were fully discredited.

The story, which was co-written and presented by famed journalist Peter Arnett, was retracted by CNN and Time. But you can’t un-ring a bell. The retraction never erased the allegations in the view of soldiers who conducted Operation Tailwind.

The highest recognition of heroism is close for Rose. In Congress’s final version of its annual defense policy bill is legislation that clears the way for Rose to receive the Medal of Honor. While lawmakers remain deeply divided on many defense and veteran issues, there is agreement that the Green Beret medic should have his Distinguished Service Cross upgraded.

In September 1970, Rose, 15 Green Berets and their company of Montagnards were on a classified mission to take pressure off the CIA, which was running operations in the Laotian highlands, by drawing the attention of at least two North Vietnamese Army regiments in the area, according to retired Maj. John Plaster, a former Special Forces sniper and military historian who served with Rose in the Studies and Observations Group.

Rose and his unit, backed by U.S. air power, almost never stopped moving for the next four days while taking small arms, mortar and rocket fire.  By the second day, about half of the Green Berets were wounded. Many more of the Montagnards had injuries. By the fourth day, all of the American had been wounded.

Plaster said, “Gary kept them moving, it was emergency medicine on the go. Think of how many people could have put up with that much stress and stay organized and cool and treat all of those people.”

Rose was wounded multiple times and had treated about 60 injured troops. The Marines had lost three Sea Stallions. But all of the soldiers had survived.

Rose’s lifesaving actions on the battlefield will become the new face of Operation Tailwind and turn a national media spotlight on the missionl.

 

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.

What Are The Top 10 Paying Jobs?

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By Debbie Gregory.

Would it surprise you to learn that attorneys are only in 10th place when it comes to the highest paying jobs in the U.S.?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, based on median annual salaries, the top paying jobs are in the medical field.

After attorneys come the friendly skies. In 9th place, you will find airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers, and 8th place is claimed by air traffic controllers.

While most pilots fly commercially transporting passengers and cargo, 34 percent of pilots work in other areas, including crop dusting, seed distribution, testing aircraft, firefighting and rescuing and evacuating injured persons. Air traffic controllers coordinate the movement of air traffic to make certain that planes stay a safe distance apart. Their immediate concern is safety, but controllers also must direct planes efficiently to minimize delays. Some regulate airport traffic through designated airspaces; others regulate airport arrivals and departures.

Next come those on the information super-highway, in 7th place, computer and information systems managers, who implement, plan, coordinate, and direct research on the computer-related activities of their companies.

Most people are familiar with the already mentioned careers, but coming in at number six is one I wasn’t familiar with…natural sciences manager. Those in this position direct research and development projects and oversee the work of life and physical scientists, including agricultural scientists, chemists, biologists, geologists, medical scientists, and physicists.

In 5th place are podiatrists, who work from under the knee to the tip of the toes. Podiatrists treat corns, calluses, ingrown toenails, bunions, heel spurs, and arch problems; ankle and foot injuries, deformities, and infections; and foot complaints associated with diabetes and other diseases.

Engineering managers come in fourth, and work with engineers who design and develop machinery, products, systems, and processes.

The chief executive officer (CEO) is the top executive of a company. It’s where the buck stops.  Of course, the CEO of a major corporation probably makes more than the CEO of a small business, but according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CEOs are in third place.

While you may be surprised to learn that physicians are not in the number one position, they are as close as they can be, coming in at number two. It’s a long road to get there, requiring four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school, and three to eight years of internship and residency.

So who is in first? The cousin-profession to physicians: dentists and oral surgeons.

We all know what dentists do, but may not be as familiar with oral surgeons. They’re the ones who operate on the mouth, jaws, teeth, gums, neck, and head.

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.

Spies and U.S. Special Ops Protecting Olympics

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By Debbie Gregory.

U.S. intelligence has assigned more than 1,000 spies to protect the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Hundreds of law enforcement agents, analysts and special operations personnel are in Rio, along with over a dozen highly trained Navy and Marine Corps commandos from the U.S. Special Operations Command, who are working with the country’s police and navy. The U.S. military has also placed larger military units on call, should a rescue or counterterrorism operation be needed, according to officials.

According to a highly classified report on U.S. intelligence efforts, an operation that includes all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies are at the games and working with Brazil to vet more than 10,000 athletes and 35,000 security and police personnel, watch over terrorists’ social media accounts and cooperate in securing computer networks.

“U.S. intelligence agencies are working closely with Brazilian intelligence officials to support their efforts to identify and disrupt potential threats to the Olympic Games in Rio,” Richard Kolko, a spokesman for National Intelligence Director James Clapper, told NBC News.

Brazilian police recently arrested 10 people suspected of planning an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack; however, Brazil’s justice minister dismissed them as “absolutely amateur.” Thus far, there is no sign of a credible plot to attack the Olympic Games, which start with Friday’s opening ceremonies.

While the Unites States is one of 51 countries supplying intelligence to the Brazilian counter terrorism effort, the effort is second only to the Brazilians’ operation.

According to senior U.S. intelligence officials, 800 intelligence professionals, mostly analysts operating in the U.S., have been assigned and another 350 are on the ground supporting U.S., Brazilian and International Olympic Committee efforts.

Each branch of the U.S. military services has athletes participating in the games in events such as shooting, boxing, and wrestling.

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.

Moving in the Right Direction to Reduce Veteran Homelessness

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By Debbie Gregory.

Veterans are homeless for different reasons and have different needs, but one thing that every homeless veteran needs is a home. Because of veterans’ military service, this population is at higher risk of experiencing traumatic brain injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), both of which have been found to be among the most substantial risk factors for homelessness

No veteran should be without a place to call home. Those who have risked their lives for our freedom should not come home and be forced to sleep on the streets.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) the number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States has been cut nearly in half since 2010. Much of the success can be attributed in part to the effectiveness of the HUD-VASH Program.

Although that is a great statistic, as of January of this year, there were still approximately 13,000 homeless veterans living on the streets, with about 50% of those living in just two states: California and Florida.

Homeless veterans  or veterans at imminent risk of becoming homeless can call or visit their local VA Medical Center or Community Resource and Referral Center where VA staff are ready to help.

Veterans and their families may also call 1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838) to access VA services.

Explore va.gov/homeless to learn about VA programs for veterans who are homeless and share that information with others.

Additionally, CalVet is addressing California’s veteran homelessness by working with various government and non-government agencies and organizations, throughout the state, to provide advocacy and services needed by veterans who are homeless or at risk. To find housing assistance programs available in the area, call (800) 952-5626 or (800) 221-8998 (outside California).

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.

Voting 101 for Military Members

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By Debbie Gregory.

November may seem like it’s a ways off, but election day will be here before you know it. The freedom to choose our leaders is an integral part of our democracy, the American way of life, and something those who wear our country’s uniform have always fought to defend.

If you are a new voter, have recently moved, or are deployed overseas, there are steps you can take to make sure your vote is counted.

One of the easiest ways to vote is by absentee ballot. Every installation or unit has a voting assistance officer (VAO), responsible for providing information and helping service members and their families get any materials they need in order to file an absentee ballot in state and federal elections. You can find out who your VAO is from your personnel administration office.

Voters must establish state residency. Each state has different requirements for establishing residency, and some states have no time requirement for residency. For states that do have a residency requirement, thirty days is the maximum length of time that a state can require you to live there before you can register to vote.

Establishing residency means that you have taken steps to indicate your intent to live in that state. If you’ve paid local taxes, registered a car, received a driver’s license, or voted in a state, you’ve probably proved that you’ve been physically present in that state and that you intend to return.

To assist active duty military members with the voting process, the Federal Voting Assistance Program further explains residency requirements, voting instructions, and deadlines for each state, whether you are voting within the U.S. or from another country.

Most states will only accept ballots by mail only. That means that overseas voters must get their ballots in the mail weeks before an election. Make sure you know the date of the election. You can visit the FVAP web site to learn the dates of your state’s primaries. The federal election occurs on the Tuesday immediately after the first Monday in November (this does not necessarily mean the “first Tuesday” in a month because the first day of a month can be a Tuesday). The earliest possible date is November 2, and the latest possible date is November 8, as it will be for the 2016 election.

In most cases, one application will register you to vote as well as to apply to receive a ballot. You can fill out the SF 76 Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) that you receive from your VAO, or the online version (OFPCA) that you download from the FVAP website.

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.

Tinnitus Tops the List of Veteran Disabilities

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By Debbie Gregory.

When it comes to veteran disabilities, tinnitus comes in at number one. Over 150,000 veterans were diagnosed with tinnitus in 2015, and nearly 1.5 million veterans are currently receiving disability benefits for it.

While the ringing, hissing, or other sound in the ears or head associated with tinnitus present affects at least one in every 10 American adults, veterans have higher rates. This is more than likely a result of the noise levels veterans encountered while in the military, given the close proximity to gunfire, machinery, aircraft, etc.

Subjective tinnitus is a condition whereby only the sufferer can hear the noise produced within their head, and objective tinnitus is a condition whereby others are able to hear sounds like clicks or crackling inside the middle ear. Tinnitus is just a nuisance for some, but for others, it can be a life altering condition, leading to debilitating mental health problems such as depression and anxiety

While there is no specific cure for tinnitus, identifying the specific cause through testing (lab work, X-rays and balance tests) can result in eliminating it. But unfortunately, many causes cannot be identified.

Treatment options may include medication, concentration and relaxation exercises, white noise and hearing aids.

The majority of people with tinnitus, about 80 percent, are not bothered by it; it doesn’t affect their sleep or their ability to concentrate. The small percentage of people who struggle with the noise in their head can be more prone to other. It is not yet understood why tinnitus affects people so differently.

For veterans who may have the symptoms of tinnitus, it is important to apply for disability benefits from the VA. Then, the VA will schedule an exam for you with an auditory specialist. If the doctor determines you have tinnitus or any related conditions, you will receive a disability rating that can lead to disability benefits.

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.

When Job Hunting, Work Smarter, not Harder

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By Debbie Gregory.

Whether you are transitioning out of the military and looking for veteran friendly jobs, graduating from school, or simply looking for a new job, there a few steps that you can take that will help you work smarter, not harder.

First of all, you need to do your homework on any prospective employers. One of the best places to begin is on social media. Reach out and ask current and past employees about their experiences with the company. And don’t forget that prospective employers may be doing the same, so be careful what you post on your personal social media pages.

If you have been working with a recruiter, you can ask questions. But exercise caution so that you don’t jeopardize the interview if you say the wrong thing or make them feel like you aren’t serious about the job.

If you’re at the interview stage, you will learn a lot by actually going to the job interview. Remember as much as they are interviewing you, you are also interviewing them to see if they are a good fit for you. Ask the questions you have to ask to know whether it’s where you really want to work. Asking good questions also shows that you are interested in any veteran friendly jobs they have, and that you’re prepared. The answers to those questions should also help you decide whether or not you want to work for the employer.

Try not to ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. You want more information, and people will usually provide that if you ask “open-ended” questions

Important questions to ask include: What can you tell me about this job that isn’t in the description? What’s the day-to-day of the job actually like? What will I be doing, and how many hours are in a typical work week? What is the key to success in this job? Who will I be interacting with and in what capacity? How are performance reviews conducted, and how often? What is the turnover rate?

It’s best not to ask a question that could be answered by a quick visit to the employer’s website or a Google search.

Don’t forget to ask your interviewer questions about themselves, such as how long have you worked here, what do you enjoy most about working here, and to what they attribute their success at the company to.

Finally, make sure you know the final questions to ask: What happens next in your process? When will you be back in touch with me, and how (email, phone call?) When do you expect to make a decision? When do you anticipate the person in this job will start work? Who should I stay in touch with (get name, job title, and contact information)?


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