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180 W. Idaho Ave, Ontario, Oregon 97914
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The Chairman of Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida, Ronald Verini, writes two articles every month for publication in a Regional Newspaper, this "R & R (MILITARY)" will be published JANUARY 29, 2023. Here is a part of Mr. Verini's article, and you can read the full article by clicking the red bar below.
…. R & R (MILITARY) …
Jan 29th, 2023 Veterans Column by Ronald Verini
Yep!!! They called it ‘Rest & Relaxation’ and some remember it as the time we were hungover, scored big (some of us), some even a little late getting back and busted for our extra time away and a few of us sought the sanctuary of a church to pray and catch-up on our spiritual needs. Whatever a troop called it, it was a special time away from war and a chance to let off steam, write letters home, fall in love and do things that we would do knowing some of us might not make it back alive this next time in the field or we knew by then our bodies might be broken or our minds changed.
Funny that most of us remembering the times we served in a war zone when we came home when talking to other troops that were there the stories were down and dirty regarding the war and the times we spent on R&R. Then in the family setting or community the stories were cleaned up and always sounded like a different place than where we actually served! No wonder we have problems. Why can’t the general public understand that what we did and how we did it in a war zone and around our comrades was the reality. That reality should not be cleaned up when reporting war or even the voices of war.
I was shocked the other day when a report came across the TV and they bleeped the language and smudged out portions of the battlefield. How will the public or our legislatures make decisions about war, the atrocities of conflict and the realities of battle and what some of us go through, or be able to vote on or make decisions if folks don’t know the real story. Don’t know about you but I am absolutely against war. Even so I know war is necessary in some situations.
Yesterday a documentary of ancient statues that is part of the national treasures of Rome also had some of the figures blurred out!!!! Am I the only one that doesn’t understand this prudish clean-up here in our Nation. I have not noticed much of this before but I would think we are certainly on the wrong track of reality and life if we think the human body is that disgusting. Now I know why 70% of our young adults are not fit for duty and why the military is cleaning up their language so as not to offend. Do we really think that a drill instructor not being able to lay a hand on a troop makes that troop more prepared for battle? I certainly understand that excesses are not the way to go but the pendulum has swung a little too far. … . TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE PLEASE CLICK THE RED BAR BELOW
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Print this Page Share by EmailWashington, January 10, 2023 | Kathleen McCarthySubcommittees: Full CommitteeToday, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), the 117th Congress Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, released the following statement after he was confirmed by the Republican conference to serve as the 15th Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs for the 118th Congress.
“It is a deep honor to be selected by my colleagues to lead the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs for the 118th Congress. We’ve made great progress for veterans and their families over the past few years to put them first and renew trust in the Department. As Chairman, I plan to build on the bipartisan successes of those who came before me. In order to do that, we need to hold the Biden administration accountable and restore regular order. This will help us bring VA into the 21st century with commonsense legislation and oversight for the next generation of warfighters, without leaving behind today’s veterans,” said Chairman Bost. “Growing up in a military family and then enlisting in the Marine Corps myself, the mission of our Committee has always been personal for me. Serving as Chairman is a responsibility I do not take lightly, and I promise I will not let my veteran community down. Let’s get to work.”
Chairman Bost’s first action is requesting key oversight documents from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), read the letter he sent to VA Secretary McDonough this morning here...
January 2023 by Caitlyn Burchett, The Virginia Pilot
(Tribune News Service) — An Iraq War veteran scarred by invisible wounds has found a unique way to cope with his anxiety and post-traumatic stress: writing children’s books that feature his beloved dogs.
Larry Wexler, a Virginia Beach native and former Army colonel, recently published “Forest of Dreams,” a children’s book inspired by his desire to escape the anxieties of deployment he still carries with him. The book tells the story of a young boy who is led on journey through a magical forest by his two cockapoos, Max and Maggie, who are based on Wexler’s real life pups.
“It was about escapism. … Some people do horseback riding. For me, it is Max and Maggie and writing children’s books,” Wexler said as Max, one of his 3-year-old red cockapoos leapt into his lap.
While Wexler had not written a book before, he said he always enjoyed writing when he was growing up, even recalling winning an eighth grade writing competition. Before starting “Forest of Dreams,” he considered penning an autobiography or a memoir of his time in the Army, but he said he was most drawn to literature meant for children.
“I chose children’s stories because children are innocent. They don’t have the baggage of adults,” Wexler said. “The entire world is open to them. They can dream about anything and in many cases make it come true.”
Wexler joined the Army in 1978, serving as active duty until 1989 before he left active duty for the Army Reserves. But it wasn’t until his deployment to Balad, Iraq, in 2009 that he began experiencing severe anxiety. His first night in the unfamiliar Middle Eastern combat zone was spent alone in his housing unit with no ammunition as “incoming, incoming” warnings blared.
According to Wexler, the high-stress job was worsened by a lack of camaraderie. He was quartered alone, ate alone and provided with a private office, which he said was “totally different” from his first deployment to Iraq in 2005. When he was promoted to deputy program director for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program for Iraq, he was further isolated, he said.
December 2022
The Food Pantry at Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida has really expanded and grown over the last few years. There has been such an increase of our Veteran and Military Families needing help to handle the increasing problems of 'food insecurity'. We do have a 'modest' pantry open every Monday and Thursday from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Give a call to 541-889-1978 to let us know you are coming to pick up Food Box. Please let us know how many in your family and about when your coming.
Also, if you are interested in volunteering to help our veterans and the Food Pantry please give us a call or come on in and see what we are doing...
January 2023 by Jim Absher Military.com
Everyone knows about the federal benefits available to veterans, but did you know many states also offer great benefits to their veterans? State benefits range from free college and employment resources to free hunting and fishing licenses. Most states also offer tax breaks for their veterans and specialized license plates, and some states even provide their veterans with cash bonuses just for serving in the military.
We have compiled a handy summary of the benefits each state and territory offers. Each summary page also has a link directly to the specific State Department of Veterans Affairs, so be sure to check it out. There may be a benefit available to you or your family that you didn't know about!. To choose your State click on the Red Bar below
AUGUST 2022, By Jim Absher, Military.com
There are potentially hundreds of VA benefits and military benefits available to active duty members, veterans, and their dependents. We know it can be confusing to know exactly what you may be eligible for.
You may have heard from a friend of a friend that her cousin got a free car from the VA, or you may be fed up with trying to navigate all the confusing websites trying to figure out what is real, or you may just be looking for information to help out a family member.
Whatever your situation is, we have compiled an extensive list of all the real and true benefits available for veterans and their families. These benefits can include free medical care, discounted hotel rooms, free hunting and fishing licenses, medical care, job training and more. Check our list of benefits available to you below:
Benefits for the spouse of a veteran
Benefits for the spouse of a disabled veteran
Benefits for the spouse of a retiree
Medically retired veteran benefits
Military benefits are always changing. Keep up with everything from pay to health care by subscribing to Military.com, and get access to up-to-date pay charts and more with all latest benefits delivered straight to your inbox.
Related Topics: Veteran Benefits Family and Spouse Military Retirement
Janurary 2023, Norah O'Donnell & Alacia Hastey, CBS News
Andrew Myatt was willing to give his life for his country serving in the Army. After 9/11 he was deployed to Iraq, where he performed dangerous missions like searching for improvised explosive devices to disarm and destroy.
But the 24-year Army veteran never thought the greatest risk to his health would show up years later.
Myatt has a rare form of leukemia, which doctors say was most likely caused by exposure to toxins during his deployments. The toxins were from burn pits, which were the main way troops disposed of garbage, often using jet fuel to ignite flames.
"The last thing you're thinking about is, you know that the smoke I walk by or the solvents I put in my vehicle is going to kill me," Myatt said.
He applied for health coverage three times through the Department of Veterans Affairs and was denied each time. For years, that's been the reality of veterans who couldn't prove to the VA that their health conditions were linked to burn pit exposure.
In August, President Biden signed the PACT Act, expanding VA healthcare eligibility for veterans who had toxic exposures during the Vietnam War, Gulf War and post-9/11 wars. The PACT Act takes the burden of proof off veterans, automatically linking asthma, some cancers and other illnesses to burn pit exposure.
An estimated four million veterans who were deployed in the last 30 years were exposed to burn pits, according to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, who is urging veterans who may have been affected to file claims with the department.
Nearly 260,000 claims have been filed and 66,000 benefits issued since the legislation was signed into law, the VA told CBS News. At least 1.4 million veterans have been screened for toxic exposure.
"We've got a long way to go and we won't rest here in this building until we've reached every one of those vets, made sure they know what they qualify for, we get them signed up and we get that process going," McDonough said...
Janurary 2023 by Jonathan Lehrfeld, MARINETIMES
For his 108th birthday, an original member of the Montford Point Marines ― the group of the first Black troops to enlist in the Marine Corps ― was recognized for his years of dedicated service across three military conflicts.
Cosmas D. Eaglin Sr. of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was presented earlier in January with a certificate of appreciation and a challenge coin from the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, according to a statement from the department.
“When I learned of Mr. Eaglin and his service to our country, I found it truly admirable and an inspiration,” retired Lt. General Walter E. Gaskin, the secretary of the state military department, said in the news release.
“As an original Montford Point Marine, he endured unimaginable obstacles in the segregated Marine Corps,” he said. “Because he was a Marine, I am able to be a Marine. His contributions to the nation and the Marine Corps will be remembered and his legacy will live on for generations to come.”
Eaglin was one of the first Black Marine recruits to train at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina — nearby Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina — after President Franklin Roosevelt issued a 1941 executive order that took a step toward ending racial segregation in the military.
During the 1940s, approximately 20,000 Black Marines trained at Montford Point, now named Camp Gilbert H. Johnson after one of the first Black recruits there.
In 2022, for the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the initial Black recruits at Montford Point, many of the surviving veterans met back at their old training base for a ceremony celebrating the historic legacy of the Black service members who helped pave the way for integration in the Marine Corps and throughout the services...
Edward Hernandez sat on a bench in a Lower Manhattan courthouse, waiting for his case to be called.
It was the end of September, and he had been charged with identity theft and stealing a credit card. For months, Mr. Hernandez, who had served in the U.S. Army, had been trying get into Veterans Treatment Court — a little known program that helps former military personnel who struggle with mental illness, addiction or both.
Mr. Hernandez, 59, used heroin for most of the past 35 years. He had been clean since he overdosed in the spring of 2021, when he had stents and a pacemaker put in to keep his heart beating.
He had already appeared before the judge in August, two weeks after his father died. On that day, he had arrived five hours early because he did not want to miss the proceeding. He had worried that the stress of his father’s death would test his ability to stay clean.
He had managed it, so far. Now, back in the courtroom, he made the sign of the cross.
New York State has 34 Veterans Treatment Courts, including the one in Manhattan. For defendants like Mr. Hernandez, admittance can mean tailored care in lieu of prison time. They can receive counseling and help finding a job and a place to live. Some are able to mend relationships that had long been broken.
But even at a time when veterans are in real need of support, the cost and effectiveness of such courts are difficult to determine. The court in Manhattan faces challenges similar to those of the roughly 600 veterans courts nationwide: Caseloads are usually small, getting in can take months and data on how many veterans are readily identified and referred to these programs and how many succeed in staying employed and out of trouble is woefully incomplete, according to an August report from the Council on Criminal Justice.
Veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks may be especially vulnerable to offending because they are twice as likely to have seen combat and have higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder. But it is unclear how many of the roughly 19 million veterans in the United States have entered the criminal justice system, the report said. And data on the youngest veterans is insufficient.
January 2023 by John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune
(Tribune News Service) — For more than 50 years, Navy pilot Royce Williams couldn’t talk about his epic Korean War dogfight with seven Soviet fighter jets. He’d been sworn to secrecy because of Cold War sensitivities, and all mention of the battle was scrubbed from the official records.
Now the 97-year-old California resident is going to receive the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat valor. He said Friday afternoon that he’s pleased to get the recognition.
“My friends have been trying to get this for me for a long time,” he said.
The ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 20 at noon at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park.
“The heroism and valor he demonstrated for 35 harrowing minutes 70 years ago in the skies over the North Pacific and the coast of North Korea saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew,” U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa said in a statement Friday announcing the ceremony. “His story is one for the ages, but is now being fully told.”
Issa and the other members of San Diego’s congressional delegation have been part of an effort, launched almost a decade ago, to get the Pentagon to acknowledge Williams’ exploits and to upgrade his Silver Star to something more appropriate.
Called “Operation Just Reward,” the campaign has been aimed at bringing Williams the Medal of Honor, the military’s top award. But the Navy Cross is a big step in the right direction, according to Steve Lewandowski, a Navy veteran and former commander of a local American Legion post.
“For the first time, Royce is being officially recognized for that incredible air battle,” Lewandowski said. “That makes him happy. And it doesn’t preclude him from getting the Medal of Honor later.”
The upgrade was approved last month by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro...
November 2022 By Patricia Kime & Rebecca Kheel, Military.com
Warning: This story includes discussion of suicidal ideation and suicides.
He had endured many tough days with a fog descending on his brain -- fumbling for words, forgetting the reason he left his house, hellish nightmares.
But this was different.
Army Spc. Daniel Williams had barricaded himself inside a bathroom of his home with a loaded .45. Less than a year after seeing combat in Iraq. Williams, who had been trained by the service to detect and destroy weapons of mass destruction, sat in the cramped space, his broad shoulders slumped forward in defeat.
Fury had given way to despair. The anger over the loss of a friend to a roadside bomb, frustration at the growing blanks in his memory, and rage at an Army that couldn't get him a psych appointment for six months all collapsed into a burning desire to just make the pain stop.
As Williams' wife pounded on the door, visions of his future faded from view. The physical pain from his injuries -- a torn shoulder, busted back and relentless migraines -- was omnipresent, but the mental fallout from the blast was what moved Williams to put the pistol in his mouth and pull the trigger.
Click.
No bang, just his wife's continued begging and the door splintering open as police officers busted through and grabbed the gun.
They thrust the burly, 6-foot-3-inch soldier into the tub and handcuffed him. After the chaos subsided, one of the officers took the weapon from the house. When he attempted to clear the gun of ammunition, it went off.
"The same round that refused to kill me went off perfectly for him," Williams testified before Congress nearly a decade later...
"People who are food insecure are making choices on how to spend their last $20 or $50. Usually food is the flexible component, so they apply it to rent."
Photo-elicitation is a research method that combines detailed interviews with photographs taken by study participants. Researchers use it to gain a better understanding of complex topics. Often, the act of taking photographs—in response to questions from the researcher—can summon emotional responses in study participants. It can also help both participants and researchers gain insight into participants’ behaviors.
Dr. Nipa Kamdar is a researcher at the VA Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (iQUeSt) in Houston. Her focus is food insecurity in Veterans. In October 2021, Kamdar published a commentary, in Public Health Nursing, on her use of photo-elicitation to study food insecurity in low-income, post 9/11 Veterans.
![[This is a picture of what was] in my fridge when I first started the project. You see [there's] hardly anything in there? And see how small the fridge is?](https://www.research.va.gov/images/research-currents/feb22/mini-fridge-sm.jpg)
"[This is a picture of what was] in my fridge when I first started the project. You see [there's] hardly anything in there? And see how small the fridge is?" (Photo taken by Veteran study participant.)
The article discussed the results of an earlier study by Kamdar and colleagues that used photo-elicitation to better understand food insecurity in a group of post 9/11 Veterans with children. The researchers found that food insecurity in Veterans is highly intertwined with physical and mental health, military culture, and lack of basic resources like housing or transportation.
![We have the G.I. Bill, the Hazelwood Act, and the 'Voca Rehab' [Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment], but right now, I'm just using the G.I. Bill. It's the money from the G.I. Bill that helps us pay bills and stuff.](https://www.research.va.gov/images/research-currents/feb22/GI-bill-sm.jpg)
"We have the G.I. Bill, the Hazelwood Act, and the 'Voca Rehab' [Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment], but right now, I'm just using the G.I. Bill. It's the money from the G.I. Bill that helps us pay bills and stuff." (Photo taken by Veteran study participant.)
Food insecurity is defined as a limited ability to access food, largely due to financial considerations. In the U.S. population, about 10% of adults experience food insecurity, according to a 2020 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Veterans have about the same rate of food insecurity as the general population, but differ in their level of food insecurity, according to a 2021 study that looked at working-age Veterans with children. Veterans often experience a greater severity of food insecurity, Kamdar notes. "That severe level means they are cutting down on what they eat, or they are skipping meals."
Those Veterans and Families in the Ontario, Oregon area can reach out to our Food Pantry every Monday & Thursday from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
call 541-889-1978 to come pick up a FOOD BOX
Here are some Pics from All Branches of the Military Service
April 2022
For all too many veterans, returning from military service means coping with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. But there are things you can do to start feeling better today.
Are you having a hard time readjusting to life out of the military? Are you always on edge, always on the verge of panicking or exploding, or, on the flip side, do you feel emotionally numb and disconnected from your loved ones? Do you believe that you’ll never feel normal again?
For all too many veterans, these are common experiences—lingering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It’s hard living with untreated PTSD and, with long V.A. wait times, it’s easy to get discouraged. But you can feel better, and you can start today, even while you’re waiting for professional treatment. There are many things you can do to help yourself overcome PTSD and come out the other side even stronger than before.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sometimes known as shell shock or combat stress, occurs after you experience severe trauma or a life-threatening event. It’s normal for your mind and body to be in shock after such an event, but this normal response becomes PTSD when your nervous system gets “stuck.”
Your nervous system has two automatic or reflexive ways of responding to stressful events:
Mobilization, or fight-or-flight, occurs when you need to defend yourself or survive the danger of a combat situation. Your heart pounds faster, your blood pressure rises, and your muscles tighten, increasing your strength and reaction speed. Once the danger has passed, your nervous system calms your body, lowering your heart rate and blood pressure, and winding back down to its normal balance.
Immobilization occurs when you’ve experienced too much stress in a situation and even though the danger has passed, you find yourself “stuck.” Your nervous system is unable to return to its normal state of balance and you’re unable to move on from the event. This is PTSD.
Recovering from PTSD involves transitioning out of the mental and emotional war zone you’re still living in and helping your nervous system become “unstuck.”
April 2022
This is a National Directory for resources that you as a Veteran, Military, Family member, Caregiver might need to assist you and help you with your needs.
https://nrd.gov/Homeless-Assistance
https://nrd.gov/Education-Training
https://nrd.gov/Family-Caregiver-Support
August 2022, by Sarah Sicard, Observation Post
One of the best pieces of advice, for people in careers both in and out of service, is to learn to deal with things or take the bad in stride.
But the military, famed for its ability to turn a phrase or ruin anything with an absurd acronym, came up with its own colloquialism for making the best of any situation: “Embrace the suck.”
Though it’s impossible to trace back the phrase definitively to its first user, it became popularized in 2003 by Marines in Iraq.
Retired U.S. Army Reserve Col. Austin Bay authored a book in the mid-2000s called “Embrace the Suck,” in which he explains the meaning of the phrase.
“The Operation Iraqi Freedom phrase ‘embrace the suck’ is both an implied order and wise advice couched as a vulgar quip,” Bay wrote.
He likens the slang phrase back to legendary military strategist Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz and his views on “friction.”
“Clausewitz went to war when he was 12 years old,” Bay wrote. “Over the last few decades, critics have argued that his treatise ‘On War’ is a bit dated in terms of theory. However, everyone with military experience agrees that Clausewitz understood ‘the suck.’ He called it ‘friction.’”
For Clausewitz, it’s this “friction, or what is so termed here, which makes that which appears easy in war difficult in reality.”
Troops, in their resilience, in effect, mitigate the chasm of difference between training or planning and the often harsh realities they face on the ground. And they do it with aplomb, because they must.
February 2022 by Sarah Sicard, Observation Post
One of my most unpopular opinions is that IPA beers taste a whole lot like pine needles. But when troops fought in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, a piney beer was the only thing standing between the Army and a slow painful death by scurvy.
Spruce Beer, made from plentiful spruce trees found in North America, was the only solution to solving soldiers’ scurvy woes.
The disease, most commonly associated with rum-soaked pirates who don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, is caused by vitamin C deficiency and can lead to anemia, oozing sores, tooth loss, and delayed healing processes for injuries — which, if you were a soldier during America’s early conflicts, could most certainly kill you.
An early version of the ale, which doesn’t contain alcohol, was drunk by Vikings, who brewed their beer from Norway spruce shoots, according to the second edition of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
Later versions can be traced to New France, now Canada, in the 1700s. Explorer Jacques Cartier and his men reportedly fell victim to scurvy until the Huron taught them to use tree bark to brew teas and concoctions that would keep them healthy. In that same century, Swedish-Finnish botanist Pehr Kalm observed how locals there avoided the scurvy that so affected early settlers, and found that they had employed a beer brewed from spruce branches, a military heritage research site found.
Spruce beer was used during the French and Indian War to give the British an edge. During the war, British Gen. James Murray wrote in a general order that spruce beer be made a ration requirement.
This practice continued into the American Revolution, where the Continental Army was ordered to drink up to a quart of its own funky spruce beer each day.
Ah, super glue — the greatest-of-all-time fast-acting adhesive for all of your stuck-together needs.
Chances are, you have a tube of this in that kitchen drawer, you know, the one with all the takeout menus, rubber bands and random keys to who knows what doors (you should probably clean that out by the way), because it’s an undeniable necessity.
But before it occupied space in our junk drawers, and our hearts, it was accidentally developed for the U.S. military.
Too sticky for Army weapons
In 1942, companies across the country were looking to support the war effort, including the Eastman Kodak Company. One if its inventors, Dr. Harry Wesley Coover, accidentally created a new compound while attempting to make clear plastic gun sights for Allied soldiers.
The compound, cyanoacrylate, was incredibly durable but way too sticky to use. (Imagine getting Krazy Glue anywhere near your eye. No thanks!) So Coover and his team abandoned the substance, not wanting to get stuck, literally or figuratively, on it.
Over a decade later, Coover, who would become known as “Mr. Super Glue,” rediscovered the adhesive compound while researching heat-resistant polymers for jet canopies. Cyanoacrylate adhesives required no heat or pressure to stick items together and hold them permanently. Thus, in 1956, the patent for “Alcohol-Catalyzed Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Compositions/Superglue” was born. How’s that for a name?
National Veterans & Military Family MonthMonth of NovemberWarrior Care MonthMonth of NovemberNational Family Caregivers MonthMonth of NovemberDaylight Savings Time EndsNov. 6, 2022Election DayNov. 8, 2022National Veterans Small Business WeekNov. 1-5, 2022Marine Corps Day/BirthdayNov. 10Veterans DayNov. 11Armistice/Remembrance DayNov. 11Thanksgiving DayFourth Thursday in NovemberDecemberCivil Air Patrol (USAF Auxiliary) BirthdayDec. 1#GivingTuesdayTuesday after ThanksgivingNational Pearl Harbor Remembrance DayDec. 7
U.S. National Guard BirthdayDec. 13National Wreaths Across AmericaDec. 18Hanukkah BeginsDec. 18 – Dec. 26, 2022Christmas DayDec. 25KwanzaaDec. 26 – Jan. 1New Year’s EveDec. 31
April 2021 by Blake Stilwell, Military.com
These days, service members need to be wary of the multitude of online for-profit schools out to get a piece of their coveted Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Depending on which “academic institution” is looking to sign them up, the term “Results May Vary” doesn’t come close to describing some of the “schools” out there.
But there are better choices for service members with non-traditional schedules who are looking for a good distance education to prepare them for life after the military. National University was founded by a veteran with similar issues and is today the second-largest nonprofit online school in America.
David Chigos’ transition to civilian life had been rough. As a retiring naval officer in 1967, he tried to enroll in night classes at San Diego State University. The only problem, he said, was that San Diego State didn’t offer night classes, so he was faced with the choice of going to school or working during the day. He knew there were veterans and civilians like him trying to balance both tasks.
In 1971, Chigos was working as a management development specialist for the General Dynamics corporation. The academic system in the U.S. kept many executives from pursuing higher education. So he did what any veteran might consider doing: fixing the problem by creating a college for the “real world” at a fraction of the cost.
“From the trunk of my car,” he founded National University, completely upending the idea of how academic programs were formed, he said. Chigos created academic programs with a no-frills look at the world. National University would offer classes that would lead to education and employment. His first class numbered 27 students....
January 2021 By Harm Venhuizen. MilitaryTimes
When separating from the military, it’s not uncommon for servicemembers to discover gaps between their resume and the civilian job they want.
Worries about putting food on the table can make going back to school, getting on-the-job training, or taking an internship seem like costly ways of filling that gap. Luckily, there’s a way servicemembers can gain the experience required by civilian jobs while still on the military’s payroll.
The DoD SkillBridge Program lets active-duty personnel from all four branches spend the last 180 days of their military service interning at a civilian job with one of more than 500 industry partners.
Participants continue to receive military pay and benefits, whether they’re getting certified by Microsoft in cloud development, learning to weld, or taking advantage of any one of the hundreds of other opportunities available.
As part of the DoD’s requirements, all training programs offer a “high probability of post-service employment with the provider or other employers in a field related to the opportunity,” according to the SkillBridge website.
In his internship with the Global SOF Foundation, retired Navy commander Chuck Neu says he not only tripled the size of his professional network, but also discovered a talent for sales.
“Without that exposure to cold-call sales from doing SkillBridge with the Global SOF Foundation, I likely would have ended up on-base as a contractor or a government civilian, which is really not what I wanted to do,” Neu told Military Times....
For more on this story click the 'Red Bar' below.
August 2021 by Blake Stilwell, Military.com
SkillBridge is one of the most groundbreaking programs the U.S. military ever introduced to help transition service members into civilian life. It allows veterans looking to separate from the military to work in training opportunities, internships and apprenticeships during the last 180 days of their enlistment while still receiving full pay and benefits.
The only problem is that navigating SkillBridge to browse those opportunities is a notoriously difficult task. 50Strong was founded to help bridge the gap between the way the military works and the way the civilian world works, and it starts with an internship tool. Simply click here and scroll down to the middle of the page to start browsing.
0Strong was founded by Kandi Tillman, a former corporate executive whose resume boasts some pretty impressive names, like Oracle, Proctor & Gamble and Standard & Poor. It’s safe to say she knows something about getting a job in the civilian world. When she met her now-husband, Kevin Tillman, he was a veteran struggling to get what he calls "a regular job."
Kandi helped her husband with every aspect of his job search, from resume writing to employer referrals. Eventually, he landed a job at Lockheed Martin. The pair eventually founded 50Strong with the mission of smoothing out the process for any and all veterans.
Their idea is that military norms to which veterans are accustomed often do not make the jump into the ways civilian companies look for and hire talent. 50Strong has developed a twofold approach to facilitating the process of helping veterans understand the way their new world works.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released in January an updated Department of Defense (DOD) list of locations outside of Vietnam where tactical herbicides were used, tested or stored by the United States military.
“This update was necessary to improve accuracy and communication of information,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “VA depends on DOD to provide information regarding in-service environmental exposure for disability claims based on exposure to herbicides outside of Vietnam."
DOD conducted a thorough review of research, reports and government publications in response to a November 2018 Government Accountability Office report.
“DOD will continue to be responsive to the needs of our interagency partners in all matters related to taking care of both current and former service members,” said Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper. “The updated list includes Agents Orange, Pink, Green, Purple, Blue and White and other chemicals and will be updated as verifiable information becomes available.”
Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during service may be eligible for a variety of VA benefits, including an Agent Orange Registry health exam, health care and disability compensation for diseases associated with exposure. Their dependents and survivors also may be eligible for benefits.
June 2022 by Sarah Sicard, Observation Post
Is there anything sweeter — literally or figuratively — than biting into the plastic-wrapped chemical compound of luxuriously spongey cake with vanilla cream that is a Twinkie?
Perhaps not. But the original Hostess delicacy was once something else entirely. The preservative-filled dessert that many once believed could withstand nuclear war got its start as a banana cream shortcake, until World War II changed everything.
In 1930, a baker named James Dewar began experimenting while serving as manager of Continental Baking Company’s Chicago area plant in River Forest, according to the Chicago Tribune. He wanted to prove that shortbread could serve a purpose outside strawberry shortcake.
“The economy was getting tight, and the company needed to come out with another low-priced item,” he told the paper. “We were already selling these little finger cakes during the strawberry season for shortcake, but the pans we baked them in sat idle except for that six-week season.”
While in St. Louis on a work trip, Dewar saw a billboard for “Twinkle Toe Shoes,” and thus found the name for his compact confections.
NEED HELP!!!! PLEASE!!! The Covid-19 pandemic has left many local Veterans and their families in need. If you are fortunate to not need your stimulus money or part of it, please think about donating it to Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida. As a non-profit your donation would be tax deductible. Please call me, Thank You.....
Ron Verini - Chairman 541-709-8373
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