The country had already abandoned the Veterans of the previous decades and our wars since WWII and the many issues ignored, PTS, Agent Orange, Desert Storms Gulf War Syndrome and so many more while under funding the VA and really so in the past decade plus. Many many of the brothers and sisters of have passed on because of and now many of these recent Vets have also. These brothers and sisters shouldn't have to continue the same battles on their home turf.
No longer 'weekend warriors,' an estimated 20% of returning Guard members in the U.S. are jobless. Some employers are reluctant to hire them because, unlike other veterans, they can be called up again.
November 23, 2012 - For 1st Lt. Ernest Rodriguez, weekly chats with his young daughter via phone or Skype are the highlight of duty in Afghanistan.
The father from Sacramento desperately wants to come home to 7-year-old Samantha. But instead, he has signed up for another year in the war zone. He needs the money and he knows that returning National Guard troops face high unemployment.
More than half of those in his unit had no work when they got back to California in August. Across the country, an estimated 20% of returning National Guard soldiers and airmen are without jobs, former National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Craig R. McKinley told Congress earlier this year. That is twice the rate for all military veterans who have served since September 2001.
The Obama administration has helped reduce the unemployment rate for all recent veterans, from 15% nearly two years ago to 10% last month, by developing online tools to help returning troops find jobs, working with employers to increase recruitment and retention, and signing into law tax credits for hiring veterans.
But the rate remains stubbornly high for National Guard members and military reservists. Some employers are reluctant to hire them because, unlike other veterans joining the civilian workforce, they can be called up again. read more>>>
This Executive Branch their Cabinet and this Veterans Administration have combined to do what they can under their limited government abilities, some in Congress, where the abilities as representatives of the people are held, have helped others not so same in the States. Way past time the Country stood up, way past!
November 2012 - Empowering Veterans through Entrepreneurship
NORFOLK, Va. -- November 29, 2012 -- On Saturday, a legendary naval veteran will retire after a half-century of service. The USS Enterprise was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and traveled the world in war and in peace.
The exhaust from a service vehicle overheated the fuse on one of those rockets, touching off what one sailor called "the vortex of hell" -- and all of it was recorded in silent horror by a deck camera.
November 16, 2012 - Alberta is seeking to recruit an army of oilsands workers — literally.
November 28, 2012 - Bruce Bradford spent 12 years in the Army, fixing vehicles and rebuilding communities in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was discharged in 2010 and has been out of work ever since.
Nov. 28, 2012 – The education center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial “Wall” will be a place to join the past to the future, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said at the center's groundbreaking ceremony today.
Nov 27, 2012 - Companies soon will be required to submit payments to the Veterans Affairs Department in electronic form. It will be mandatory as officials work to boost VA's productivity and garner more savings from even the smallest corners.
Nov 27, 2012 - An Iraq war contractor that lost an $85 million verdict to a group of sickened Oregon soldiers has filed a lawsuit seeking to force the federal government to pay the soldiers' damages.
From the DoL Newsletter 15 November 2012 - In the next five years, 1.5 million military personnel will be transitioning from active duty to civilian life. Helping our military heroes find good jobs is a challenge — and a sacred obligation — that has been embraced by the department. In its efforts, the department has adopted a P3 campaign — to Prepare transitioning service members for civilian employment; to Provide resources and priority case management to veterans through the American Job Centers network; and to Protect their employment rights. The department is also part of the president's newly created Veterans Employment Initiative Task Force, designed to develop proposals to maximize the career readiness of all service members. This effort aims to give separating service members a clear path to; civilian employment; success in an academic or technical training program; or successful start-up of an independent business entity or nonprofit organization. The Task Force includes the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Labor, Education, Small Business Administration, and the Office of Personnel Management. The department's commitments to veterans are being led and coordinated by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service.
I just streamed the Maddow show segment:
Nov. 26, 2012 - It’s well documented that unemployment for our military veterans is disproportionately high.
Nov 24, 2012 - WASHINGTON (AP) - As Tammy Duckworth sees it, her path to Congress began when she awoke in the fall of 2004 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She was missing both of her legs and faced the prospect of losing her right arm.
25 November 2012 - Like many veterans who return from combat, David Kurttila of Hot Springs described himself as just "blowing in the wind" after he came home from serving with the National Guard in Iraq.
In honor of Veterans Day, VA launched an ongoing portrait project entitled Strong at the Broken Places.