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Health Survey To Measure Water Safety

Posted: 12/21/2011

The U.S. Marine Corps urges everyone who gets a public health agency survey about living or working at certain bases to fill it out and send it in

(NAPSI)—It can be easier to cope with a situation if you talk to someone who shares your unique point of view—and that’s especially important for blinded veterans. To reach out to other blinded veterans and their families, six U.S. Armed Forces veterans without sight recently traveled to the United Kingdom.

Project Gemini, a joint effort of the Blinded Veterans Association and St Dunstan’s, took the veterans, four of them blinded in recent combat operations, across the Atlantic Ocean for six days of educational exchange and the sharing of friendship, knowledge and insights with their British comrades.

The project obtained its name from the transatlantic telecommunications cable that stretches from England to the United States. Project Gemini created an opportunity for blinded veterans to meet in a relaxed environment and, formally and informally, exchange ideas and views regarding the best ways to support veterans who have lost their sight.

Subjects of discussion were rehabilitation and readjustment training, vision research and adaptive technology for the blind.

“During the week, we shared helpful hints about coping with blindness and the ‘war stories’ that are part of the adjustment process,” said Tom Zampieri, director of government relations at BVA. “We compared the British veterans’ health care system with the American system operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs and its dozens of component medical centers, outpatient clinics and veterans homes throughout the country.”

Project Gemini is an outgrowth of Operation Peer Support, a BVA program begun in 2006 that brings together veterans of recent conflicts with those who have lost their sight in Vietnam, Korea or during World War II. The program’s objective is to provide Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families with examples of and opportunities to interact with men and women who have led happy and prosperous lives despite their blindness.

Chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1958, BVA links veterans with the services they’ve earned. Membership is open to all legally blinded veterans who have served in the U.S. military. Membership is not required for veterans to receive assistance, which is free of charge. For more information, call BVA at (800) 669-7079 or visit www.bva.org.

CalVet Connect Outreach - Fact Sheet - California Action Plan for Reintegration

Posted: 12/8/2011

The reintegration project was developed to assist returning service members during their adjustment period from their time in the Armed Forces and return back to their civilian lifestyles. The objectives of the reintegration project are for the Veterans Services Division to develop an outreach process to begin an open forum with veterans and to link veterans with the proper resources. Our goal is that we determine where and how to make contact with veterans, and mainly to provide veterans and their families with the necessary resources and the information they need and request. Today, California houses the largest population of military, veterans and dependents in the United States thus the need for the California Action Plan for Reintegration.

This project has been running effectively since it began in January of 2009 and has resulted in thousands of contacts with veterans returning back into California’s society. Our efforts of establishing the means to assess and set in place an open forum of communication with the 3 million plus military, veterans and dependents, and to develop and distribute the reintegration questionnaires have been completed. The questionnaires have assisted us in connecting the veteran population to all of the available resources and information on their benefits. Through an automation process and the development of the online entry, the Reintegration Project's future goal is to have the capability of collecting the veterans’ information which will in turn allow CDVA the ability to connect the California’s veteran population to an extensive list of resources available to them at the federal, state, and local levels of government, and non-governmental organizations.

Furthermore, this process will assist the California Department of Veterans Affairs disseminate information statewide, inform veterans of their entitlements and benefits that may be available to them for their military service, of any new legislation or other veteran related topics, changes in VA regulations and/or policy, and any new resources that become available to the veteran population. The Reintegration Project will help service members’ transition, reintegrate and receive the assistance that is well deserved throughout life. We are avid about providing the necessary assistance and feel strongly that the Reintegration Project will meet the needs of veterans in their journey back to normal daily activities and with the improvement of the quality of life within the veteran population.

If you are a veteran, please visit https://cvcs.calvet.ca.gov/Pages/Intake/ReintegrationForm.aspx to get connected!

Supporting the Children of Military Heroes

Posted: 11/25/2011

Toys for the Troops' Kids Christmas Toy Drive

Toys for the Troops’ Kids Still Giving Strong.

SACRAMENTO – In November of 2003, a group of veterans in Sacramento, California, sought a way to acknowledge the dedication and service of parents serving in uniform and those killed since 9/11. Many of these military personnel sacrifice everything while being separated from their families during the Holidays. The beneficiaries of the first annual toy drive were the families at Travis Air Force Base and the California National Guard. The goal was to provide two toys per child of every military parent deployed overseas. The first effort in 2003 was a booming success; all requests from both Travis AFB and the California National Guard were fulfilled.

Based on the overwhelming response and the volume of toys collected in 2003, Toys for the Troops’ Kids was born, expanding the scope for Christmas 2004 and added the families of Beale AFB to the list of beneficiaries. Each successive year, this Christmas Toy drive has exceeded expectations, due to the support of local vendors sponsoring major donations sites, and from the community at large who each year opens their hearts and their wallets to make sure that the children of our deployed troops have presents at Christmas.

Come join us for some fun, music and food as we kick off our annual Christmas Toy Drive this year on Saturday, December 10th from 12pm to 2pm. This event will be held at McClellan Air Museum 3200 Freedom Park Drive, North Highlands, CA 65652.

The Christmas Toy Drive will be in full swing this season at two major donation sites in the Sacramento area, which will operate daily from 11:00am to 7:00pm from Saturday, December 10th, to Friday, December 23rd. Bring your toys to:

Citrus Town Center (Formerly Sunrise Festival Shopping Center)

Sunrise Blvd and Greenback Lane
Citrus Heights, CA
(Next to Panera Bread®–main donation site)

Fountains at Roseville
Roseville Parkway and Galleria Blvd
(Next to the fountain)

Bring your unwrapped, new toys to one of these two donation sites, or visit the website and donate today – http://www.toysforthetroopskids.org. Any amount you can give is sincerely appreciated.

Project Gemini Opens New Doors

Posted: 12/8/2011

Blinded U.S. veterans shared friendship and insights with British comrades during weeklong visit in the U.K.

Subjects of discussion were rehabilitation and readjustment training, vision research and adaptive technology for the blind.

Making Veterans Day Even More Meaningful

Posted: 12/8/2011

Established by the U.S. Congress, the Veterans History Project collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of America’s war veterans.

(NAPSI)—The Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) is calling on all Americans to make Veterans Day more meaningful for the veterans in their lives by recording their memories of military service.

Preserving History

Established by the U.S. Congress in 2000, VHP’s mandate is to collect, preserve and make accessible the firsthand recollections of America’s war veterans. Through a network of volunteers from across the country, VHP has collected more than 75,000 stories, of which more than 10,000 have been digitized and made accessible via VHP’s website, www.loc.gov/vets.

“Our goal is to help make Veterans Day more meaningful and personal for veterans and their loved ones,” said VHP Director Bob Patrick. “What better way to do that than by recording their war stories and submitting them to the Library of Congress, where they will be preserved for generations to come,” he added.

A Free Guide Is Available

Straightforward guidelines in VHP’s Field Kit (a how-to-record-a-story booklet) show volunteers how to interview a veteran for 30 minutes or longer while recording the conversation using their own audio- or video-recording equipment. Next, volunteers may send the original recording, along with VHP’s required forms, to the Library of Congress, where they are added to the Library’s permanent collections.

A profile page for each veteran who shares a story with VHP appears on www.loc.gov/vets four to six months from the date VHP receives the collection, and the profile is accessible to researchers, teachers, authors and the general public through VHP’s searchable online database.

The project also accepts original photographs, letters, military documents, diaries, journals, two-dimensional artwork and unpublished memoirs.

A Meaningful Project

National organizations, local groups and individuals, including students in grades 10 and higher, are encouraged to mark the day with this meaningful volunteer project by interviewing veterans within their own families or communities or by collaborating with local veterans service organizations to collect stories.

For more information or to request a VHP Field Kit, contact VHP at (888) 371-5848, e-mail vohp@loc.gov or visit www.loc.gov/vets.

Vets Get Free Canes

Posted: 12/8/2011

A program that provides free canes to Veterans can mean freedom, mobility and the confidence to stay active and go anywhere, anytime and may be available to more American Veterans.

(NAPSI)—Every year, in an effort to honor U.S. Military Veterans, a national program gives free folding canes to Veterans who need them.

What They Receive

The cane is sturdy, functional and stylish. It has an ergonomic soft-grip handle, adjusts for people 5’ to 6’3”, supports up to 250 pounds and automatically unfolds and locks into position for use.

Why They Receive It

The program’s aim is to help Veterans stay connected to family, friends and the community.

Where To Get It

The AMG Medical Inc. canes are available, while supplies last, November 9, 10 and 11, 2011, at all 600 Sam’s Clubs locations nationwide. Club membership is not required, though proof of U.S. military service may be.

How To Learn More

For additional information about the Hugo Salutes Our Veterans program, visit www.HugoSalutes.com

Help With Pensions

Posted: 12/8/2011

Older veterans may have more resources than they realize.

(NAPSI)—Many of America’s veterans are eligible for a tax-free monthly income—and don’t even know it.

Through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Aid and Attendance benefits, qualifying veterans can receive up to $1,644, a surviving spouse of a wartime veteran up to $1,056 and a married couple up to $1,949.

“Our veterans and their spouses have sacrificed greatly for our country and they rightly deserve a safe, comfortable and rewarding retirement,” said Gen. Hugh Shelton, retired U.S. Army general, who was the 14th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1997 through September 2001.

To help veterans get the benefits they deserve, the independent living communities of Holiday Retirement hold regular educational seminars on Aid and Attendance and provide access to veteran service providers.

At the residences, veterans and others can benefit from true independent retirement living, all for one monthly fee. Holiday Retirement living includes around-the-clock live-in community managers, three chef-prepared meals daily, an exclusive travel program, complimentary shuttle service and safe and secure communities throughout North America.

Blinded Veterans Find Strength Through Wounded Warrior Program

Posted: 11/16/2011

The Wounded Warrior Program helps blind veterans transition to civilian life.

(NewsUSA) - A lethal roadside bomb wounded Master Sergeant Jeffrey Mittman on July 7, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Though within 30 minutes of the attack Mittman was airlifted to a hospital in Baghdad, he sustained permanent bodily damage. When he awoke one month later at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he was blinded in his left eye, his right arm was badly damaged, and he had lost his nose, lips, and most of his teeth.

After the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, tales like Mittman's have become increasingly more common. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq created more injuries resulting in blindness than any conflict since the Civil War. Advanced medical technologies have enabled more service personnel to survive serious injuries, which in prior wars would have resulted in fatalities.

Back at home, Mittman faced many roadblocks to rehabilitation. Today, as it was back then, 70 percent of working-age people who are blind cannot find jobs.

Mittman chose to become involved in a training program with National Industries for the Blind (NIB) through the Warrior in Transition Program; in this role he supports a critical mission of employment for people with disabilities. He recently received the prestigious "Oz Day" award, presented to a federal employee or member of the military who demonstrates exceptional service in promoting employment opportunities for people who are blind or severely disabled.

"I decided long ago -- I can either own [my experiences] and learn from these experiences or I can let them own me. I chose the former," said Mittman. "I am humbled and proud to receive this honor, and I am eager to continue to be an example to our wounded warriors and other individuals with disabilities, showing them what is possible."

Through the Wounded Warrior Program at NIB, wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts can become informed about training, job placement and career opportunities within NIB and 90 associated nonprofit agencies across the country. NIB's mission is to enhance the opportunities for economic and personal independence of persons who are blind, primarily through creating, sustaining, and improving employment.

For more information about the Wounded Warrior Program, visit www.nib.org.

Governor and First Lady Honor Chief Warrant Officer James B. Wilke

Posted: 10/19/2011

Sacramento – On behalf of all Californians, Governor Brown and First Lady Anne Gust Brown honor Chief Warrant Officer James B. Wilke who bravely gave his life in service to our state and nation. The Governor and First Lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.

In memorial, Governor Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol on October 13th. Chief Warrant Officer Wilke’s family will receive a letter of condolence from the Governor.

Chief Warrant Officer James B. Wilke, 38, of Ione, CA, died October 10, in Doha, Qatar. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Fort Bliss, TX. Wilke was supporting Operation New Dawn.

American Legion to Hold Veterans Day Service

Posted: 10/19/2011

The Citrus Heights post of The American Legion #637 and The Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold a Veterans Day service on Friday, November 11, 2011, at the Veterans Memorial and gazebo located at the Sylvan Cemetary at 7401 Auburn Blvd., Citrus Heights. This Service will honor those who served our community, state and nation.

This event is hosted by The American Legion, Citrus Heights Post #637, Cdr. Ken Hicks (916) 965-4773 and The Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Invited speakers are Supervisor 4th District Roberta MacGlashan, Citrus Heights Mayor Jeannie Bruins, Citrus Heights Police Chief Christopher W. Boyd and the Citrus Heights City Council members.

Others present will be Citrus Heights Boy Scout Troop #228, the Folsom Harmony Express and Kelly Gorton playing “Taps.”

The order of activities as follows:

10:30 a.m.

Veterans assemble at south end of cemetery. (Spanish-American War section) The Procession along the “Avenue of Flags," Concluding at the Veterans Memorial.

11:00 a.m.

Memorial service in the cemetery’s gazebo 3 with local leaders and performers.

“Swords into Plowshares and Spears into Pruning Hooks...”

Grant Award helps Veterans return Home to Farm and Ranch
Posted: 10/19/2011

Lyons, NE - While some veterans returning home have jobs waiting for them, many do not and are returning to rural areas where jobs can be scarce. The USDA Risk Management Agency has awarded the Center for Rural Affairs, Farmer-Veteran Coalition, Swords to Plowshares, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and seven additional partner organizations with funding intended to introduce new veteran farmers and ranchers to various areas of agriculture, and thereby find solutions to the employment and economic challenges facing so many rural veterans.

“The long-term goal for this project is to help new veteran farmers and ranchers successfully establish farms and ranches in the Midwest, central Great Plains and Intermountain West... especially in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico where we have the most capacity to help,” said Kathie Starkweather with the Center for Rural Affairs.

“Farmers Union is thrilled to be able to offer assistance to returning veterans. No one is more deserving of spending a rewarding life on the land than those who have willingly helped to defend the United States of America,” said Richard Oswald, President of Missouri Farmers Union. “We will do our best to repay them.”

According to Starkweather, the project will allow veterans to learn strategies and implement plans for farm/ranch start-up, including financing, land access, and business development. Veterans will also learn to access the resources available to them for technical assistance, production and marketing information, and mentoring.

For more information on beginning farmer and rancher programs and for future developments of this project, see [http://www.cfra.org/renewrural/farm]. The organizations partnering in this project are the Center for Rural Affairs, Farmer-Veteran Coalition, Swords to Plowshares, Kansas Farmers Union, Missouri Farmers Union, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Kansas AgrAbility Project, Nebraska AgrAbility Project, and Missouri AgrAbility Project.

Rural America has experienced a chronic exodus of family farmers and ranchers out of agriculture. That fact, coupled with a lack of young families going into agriculture has changed the landscape of much of rural America, physically and demographically. The 2007 Census of Agriculture revealed that the average American farmer is 57 years old and climbing, with 35% of all farmers over age 65.

Rural America’s small cities and towns are, however, less prepared to absorb returning veterans than many urban centers. The Iraq and Afghan Veterans of America have noted that veterans returning to rural communities were having the hardest time reintegrating into civilian life as these communities lacked both viable employment opportunities and access to needed veteran services. The Carsey Institute noted that only 24 percent of employed young adults, ages 18 to 24, hold full-time jobs in rural communities.

Starkweather believes that several of these economic and demographic challenges may also be opportunities. Farmers who are at or approaching retirement age control half of all farm and ranch land in rural America, meaning that most of those farmers and ranchers will be looking for ways to transition their operation into younger hands in the not-too-distant future. Traditional rural employment in farming, logging, mining, fishing and small manufacturing have been declining for decades. Nonetheless, the smallest of farms have increased in the past decade, coincident with the great consumer interest in locally grown, organic and specialty foods. This demand creates unique and exciting opportunities for beginning farmers – and the veterans who would become farmers.

“The participation rate of young rural Americans in the military is and has been far above the national average for at least two decades. When veterans receive training and secure agricultural employment in rural communities, rural America is strengthened, all of America is strengthened,” said Starkweather.

According to the grant application, veterans can build on their discipline and sense of service and use farming or ranching to reintegrate into society gracefully and fruitfully. They can also repopulate and re-energize rural communities. Some assistance to launch a new generation of veteran farmers and ranchers can help ensure their successful entry into farming and ranching and a successful return to their country.

The Center for Rural Affairs and its partner organizations will hold educational workshops in Nebraska and Kansas to provide information and introduce resources on specialty crops, livestock, land access, financing, crop insurance, production & marketing high value crops, and resources for beginners, veterans and the disabled.

The project will also include farm tours of sustainable grain, vegetable and livestock operations, as well as presentations on organic certification, production techniques and marketing.

________

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, non-profit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

World War II Survivor Writes New Memoir

Millie Nielsen tells inspirational story about growing up in war-torn England
Posted: 10/19/2011

MINNETONKA, Minn. – There are a number of memoirs written by survivors of World War II, from The Diary of Anne Frank to The Pianist. Millie Nielsen now steps forward with her inspirational life story in Born With His DNA: Always and Forever a Jew (published by AuthorHouse), co-authored by CoCo Banken.

Nielsen is a Jewish woman born in Liverpool, England in 1915, raised in an Orthodox family by a devout mother and a gambling-addicted father. She grew up a very insecure child, but blossomed into a confident young woman.

In Born With His DNA, Nielsen tells about her experiences during World War II. As a survivor of the Nazi Blitzkrieg on England, her experiences were bittersweet, writing of her triumphs in dance to her tragedies in loss, and of the onslaught of slurs and hatred from anti-Semitics.

Because the city of Liverpool is a seaport, it was continually under siege. The Nazis continued to bomb as soon as darkness fell. We lived nightly with blackouts and bombings.

One evening, a portion of our home was hit by a bomb. Gratefully, our entire family was safe inside the shelter, but still it was too dangerous to stay in Liverpool. We decided to move farther north, temporarily, to Blackpool, to avoid being under constant attack.

Nielsen also writes about her life after the war, telling her stories of young love and heartache, her love for music and dance, and the love and forgiveness she received from God.

For more information, visit authorhouse.com

_________

Millie Nielsen was born during World War I in Liverpool, England, whose parents emigrated from Eastern European countries to a nation more favorable to Jews. Nielsen lived through World War II and the Nazi Blitzkrieg in England. At age 84, when she thought she had life all figured out, Nielsen’s finances were lost and she had to begin again.

CoCo Banken is the President of CoCoCommunications in Minnetonka, Minnesota. She is a mother, grandmother, writer and interior designer.

Caring For Those Who Served Their Country

Posted: 10/18/2011

The VA Travel Nurse Corps helps maintain the high standards of patient care and quality that veterans deserve.

(NAPSI)—A program designed to provide the best possible care for veterans also offers rewarding job alternatives for experienced nurses.

The VA Travel Nurse Corps Program is a VA-operated internal pool of registered nurses who are available for temporary short-term assignments at VA centers throughout the country.

While taking part in the program, VA Travel Nurses are compensated for their time and travel and receive per diem allowances that include lodging, meals and incidentals plus the opportunity to see the country. RNs are compensated for hours worked but do not earn sick or vacation time or retirement programs.

“The program offers nurses an opportunity to maintain high standards of patient care, helps decrease turnover of newly recruited nurses and offers alternatives for experienced nurses considering leaving the VA system,” says Program Director Jacqueline Jackson.

It is hoped that the program will reduce the use of outside supplemental staffing, improve recruitment of new nurses into the VA system and deliver VA health care in rural or underserved areas. The program also hopes to establish a potential pool of registered nurses for national emergency preparedness efforts.

RNs are selected from the VA and the private sector. Nurses new to the VA receive training on the special needs of veterans, the system’s procedures and policies, as well as medication administration and the VA’s computer system.

Nursing can be both challenging and rewarding wherever you work but the VA program offers special rewards.

“As I start the IV on an 85-year-old hero, his eyes grow soft as he mentions his tour of service in India and Burma,” said RN Brenda Joyce Gupton. “This veteran carried our colors to another continent for freedom’s sake. It was my privilege to be his nurse.”

The program was launched as a joint effort between the VA’s Integrated Service Networks, the VA’s Management Support Office and the VA Office of Nursing Services.

“We are committed to making this program a win-win for all involved and to keep VA on the cutting edge of providing the best care possible to our nation’s veterans,” said Jackson.

For more information, visit www.travelnurse.va.gov or call (866) 664-1030.

Pancake Breakfast to Benefit Free Mental Health Program for Soldiers

Posted: 10/5/2011

Placer County – Because nothing is more red, white and blue than pancakes, volunteers from St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church will salute the military with an all-American pancake breakfast on Saturday, October 8.

The Pancake Breakfast for Veterans, set for 8-11 a.m., will benefit The Soldiers Project-Sacramento, a private, non-profit organization which provides free, confidential psychological treatment for active-duty military and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as their family members and loved ones.

Thirty minutes before breakfast starts, the church will dedicate its new flagpole and hoist an American flag that flew Sept. 1 over the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., according to the Rev. Dr. Christopher Flesoras, pastor of St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church.

Chaplain James Collins, who serves with the California National Guard’s 115th Regional Support Group in Roseville, will offer a prayer. Flesoras, a chaplain with the California State Military Reserve who is assigned to assist Collins at the 115th, said the unit will also provide a color guard for the event. Both Flesoras and Collins have served in Iraq.

“We are just so grateful to Father Chris and Mike Dindio for organizing this event to benefit The Soldiers Project,” said Carolyn Fink, clinical director and outreach coordinator for TSP-Sacramento. “To have the support of St. Anna’s church and family members is overwhelming. We really appreciate how hard the volunteers worked to put this breakfast on.”

Besides pancakes, the Oct. 8 menu will include link sausage, juice, milk and regular or decaffeinated Starbucks coffee. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $2.50 for children under 10 years of age. St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church is located at 1001 Stone Canyon Drive (at the corner of East Roseville Parkway) in Roseville.

For more information about the breakfast, contact coordinator Mike Dindio at 916-337-6331 or e-mail him at mdindio@me.com. The Soldiers Project-Sacramento may be reached at 877-557-5888 or via e-mail at Sacramento@TheSoldiersProject.org

Yurok Tribe Receives $3.3 Million for Veterans Cemetery Grant

One of USDVA’s First Tribal Cemetery Grants Goes to California Tribe
Posted: 10/4/2011

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) has awarded the Yurok Tribe a grant of $3,318,990 to establish the Yurok Veterans Cemetery in Humboldt County.

“We are pleased that Yurok Tribe veterans have received this grant for building a cemetery where Native American veterans can be laid to rest using cultural ceremonies integral to burying one of our own,” said Pete Molina, CalVet Assistant Secretary for Native American Veterans Affairs.

Public Law 109-461, signed into law Dec. 22, 2006, authorized the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make veterans cemetery grants available to tribal governments in the same manner as they are awarded to U.S. states and territories.

"This is one of the first Veterans Cemetery grants awarded to a Native American tribal government," said Secretary Shinseki. "We are proud of our continuing work with sovereign tribes to provide additional burial benefits where Veterans live.

"This grant will fund the construction of a main entrance, roads, assembly area, committal shelter, casket gravesites, cremation gravesites, landscaping, memorial walkway and supporting infrastructure. Plans include environmental initiatives such as photovoltaic panels, composting toilets and rain water collection.

The cemetery will be approximately 11 miles west of Weitchpec, Calif., on approximately 20 acres of trust land adjacent to Bald Hills Road. The first phase of the project will develop approximately four acres. Construction will include 171 standard burial gravesites and 161 cremation gravesites.

The new cemetery will serve approximately 2,589 Yurok Tribe Veterans and their families. The closest national cemetery with available burial space is VA’s Eagle Point National Cemetery in Eagle Point, Ore., 175 miles away. The closest state Veterans Cemetery is Northern California Veterans Cemetery at Igo, approximately 125 miles away.

VA's Veterans Cemetery Grants Program is designed to complement VA’s 131 national cemeteries across the country. Since 1980, the program has awarded grants totaling more than $438 million to establish, expand or improve 81 Veterans cemeteries in 41 states or territories, including Guam and Saipan. These cemeteries provided nearly 28,000 burials in 2010.

Tribe members who are military Veterans with a qualifying discharge and have completed a period of active duty service as required by law, along with their spouses and eligible dependent children, may be buried in the Veterans cemetery. For more information, contact Sophia Lay at 707-482-1366.

Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 800-827-1000 or from the Internet at http://www.cem.va.gov.

CalVet Gets $141 Million for Construction of Veterans Homes

Fresno Veterans Homes Gets $92 Million from the USDVA
Posted: 10/4/2011

The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) has received $142 million from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) for construction of the Fresno and Redding Veterans Homes. CalVet will receive $92 million for construction of the 300-bed Veterans Home of California in Fresno and $50 million for construction of the Veterans Home of California in Redding. California will provide approximately $49 million for construction of the Fresno Veterans Home and $27 million for the Redding Veterans Home.

“We are all grateful that the USDVA has agreed to release the funding for our continued construction and procurement for completion of our Redding and Fresno State Veteran Homes,” said Robin Umberg, CalVet Undersecretary for Veterans Homes.

The Fresno Veterans Home’s design veers from a traditional shared-room floor plan to private rooms for veterans, which include special features designed to promote an intimate, residential ambiance. This veterans home will bring more than 400 jobs to the Fresno area.

“I know the opening of both of these homes is something the Governor’s office, CalVet, both sides of the political aisle, the USDVA, veterans service organizations, and these local communities all want to see happen,” stated Umberg. “We are all working together to do all that we can to open these two homes as soon as possible.”

CalVet reminds veterans in need and their families that they have the option of using one of the other California Veterans Homes located in Barstow, Chula Vista, Lancaster, Ventura, West Los Angeles, and Yountville until our Redding and Fresno Homes are up and running. Please go to www.calvet.ca.gov/VetHomes/Default.aspx for more information.

The Veterans Home of California – Fresno will be located at 2811 West California Avenue, Fresno, CA 93706.

CalVet Gets $141 Million for Construction of Veterans Homes

Redding Veterans Home Gets $50 Million From USDVA
Posted: 10/4/2011

The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) has received $142 million from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) for construction of the Fresno and Redding Veterans Homes. CalVet will receive $92 million for construction of the 300-bed Veterans Home of California in Fresno and $50 million for construction of the 150-bed Veterans Home of California in Redding. California will provide approximately $49 million for construction of the Fresno Veterans Home and $27 million for the Redding Veterans Home.

When completed, the Redding Veterans Home’s design will create a more residential, rather than institutional feel, by offering private rooms and communal living and dining areas. This veterans home will bring more than 200 jobs to the Redding area. This project will forever mark the City of Redding’s history pages, as one of the single-largest construction projects in the City’s history.

The Veterans Home of California – Redding will be located at 3400 Knighton Road, Redding, CA 96002.

Governor Brown Signs Important Legislation for Veterans

Posted: 10/4/2011

SACRAMENTO – Secretary Peter J. Gravett, California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), today praised Governor Brown for acknowledging the contributions and special needs of veterans who make California their home, when he signed legislation that will expand housing options for veterans and extend the priority registration for veterans going to state colleges and universities.

“Governor Brown has once more demonstrated his commitment to the veterans of our nation,” said Gravett. “I applaud the Governor for signing legislation that is unprecedented for the CalVet Farm and Home Loan Program. This legislation will be a major step forward by offering veterans dynamic housing options and maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency our CalVet programs.”

CalVet thanks Assemblymember V. Manuel Pérez (D-Coachella); Assemblymember Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles); and the Committee on Veterans Affairs for carrying these pieces of legislation.

AB 697 by Assemblymember Pérez gives specific authority for CalVet to provide refinancing opportunities under the CalVet Home Loan Program to eligible veterans who are not current contract holders. The mortgage crisis has impacted veterans who have mortgages at financial institutions outside of the CalVet Home Loan Program, and who are subject to rising interest rates as a result of adjustable rate mortgages. This bill will allow those veterans to refinance their loan, as long as the loan is in good standing, not upside down on the value of the house and would make good financial sense for both the CalVet Home Loan Program and the veteran.

AB 1084 by Assemblymember Davis will expand the definition of “home” as defined in the CalVet Farm and Home Loan Program to include “cooperative housing corporation.” This bill will allow CalVet to engage in a greatly needed service utilizing proven housing finance options for low and middle income people and is a pragmatic and beneficial method for housing veterans and their families, reducing homelessness among veterans and improving the economy.

SB 813 by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs will increase the time veterans attending California’s public institutions receive priority enrollment from two to four years to facilitate the maximum and efficient use of veterans federal education benefits. This change in statute will help alleviate the difficulties veterans face when they attempt to coordinate their federal education benefits, such as the Post 9/11 GI Bill, with registration for enrollment in classes at one of California’s public colleges or universities. By extending the priority enrollment time frame, not only will veterans maximize their Post 9/11 GI Bill funding, but California will receive more federal veteran education money in a time when the State’s colleges and universities are in need of additional resources.

2011 CalVet Women Veterans Conference

Posted: 9/20/2011

Ontario – The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) and the Inland Empire Veterans Collaborative are partnering to host the 2011 CalVet Women Veterans Conference: Enhancing Inner Beauty, Inner Strength to create a networking forum for women veterans of all eras. The conference will also educate women veterans about the benefits available to them and provide assistance with employment opportunities.

The two-day conference will feature dynamic keynote and motivational speakers, a Military Women Veterans Panel: Telling Their Stories, an open forum with California Legislators, and the 2011 California Woman Veteran of the Year Award presentation. Attendees will also have the opportunity to choose from eight break-out workshops to learn about financial management, stress management, federal VA benefits and more.

Friday & Saturday, October 7 & 8, 2011
Friday – 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Saturday – 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

DoubleTree Hotel Ontario Airport
222 North Vineyard Avenue
Ontario, CA 91764

CalVet Undersecretary Lawrence Gonzales
CalVet Deputy Secretary for Women & Minority Veterans Barbara Ward

This is the fourth year that CalVet has hosted the CalVet Women Veterans Conference, which has helped to connect hundreds of women veterans with medical benefits, transitional housing, education benefits and job opportunities. California is home to 166,700 women veterans, the highest population of any state. With California’s women leading the nation in military service, this conference is instrumental in creating awareness and meeting the needs of a growing women-veteran population. http://www.calvet.ca.gov/WomenMinority/Conference.aspx.

Governor Brown Appoints Norman Andrews as Lancaster Veterans Home Administrator

Posted: 8/13/2011

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of Norman Andrews as Administrator of the William J. "Pete" Knight Veterans Home of California-Lancaster.

“We are delighted to welcome Norman as the new Administrator of the William J. "Pete" Knight Veterans Home of California in Lancaster,” said Robin Umberg, Undersecretary for Veterans Homes, California Department of Veterans Affairs. “Norman brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in hospital administration. He will be a great addition to our CalVet Veterans Homes team.

”Andrews has been a consultant at Andrews and Associates since 2010. He was the administrator and chief executive officer at Kindred Hospital Westminster from 2007 to 2010 and also at Kindred Hospital San Gabriel Valley from 2005 to 2007. He served in multiple positions at Antelope Valley Medical Center from 1999 to 2005, including hospital supervisor and senior vice president of operations.

Andrews was chief executive officer of Oak Valley District Hospital from 1998 to 1999, chief executive officer for Econo Health Group from 1997 to 1998, and the administrator of Priority Health Services from 1994 to 1997.

“Bikers Helping Veterans”

9/11 West Coast Motorcyle Ride To Benefit The Veterans Home Of California – West Los Angeles
Held on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 to honor all victims and heroes
Posted: 8/16/2011

Los Angeles – A “Bikers Helping Veterans” 9/11 West Coast Motorcycle Charity Ride to benefit the new Veterans Home of California in West Los Angeles, will be held on September 11, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Veterans Home located at 11500 Nimitz Avenue in Los Angeles.

The benefit ride is sponsored by Barger and Bartels Harley-Davidson dealerships, the Westside HOG Chapter and participating dealerships – and is the first fundraiser for the Veterans Home of California—West Los Angeles, the largest Veterans Home in Los Angeles County. The event is being held on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Victims and heroes of 9/11 will be honored and remembered.

“This will be a wonderful way to remember those men and women in the U.S. Military who sacrifice so much for us every day and to honor those men and women who died on that fateful September day 10 years ago,” said Peter J. Gravett, Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs.

A patriotic program, flag ceremony, vendors, music, lots of food, raffles and celebrities are all part of the day’s event. Commemorative t-shirts, caps and pins will also be for sale. All proceeds will go to the Veterans Home residents’ welfare and recreation fund, and used for such items as electronic and board games; movie, theater or sporting events tickets; arts and crafts; recreational equipment; computers; trips and more -- anything that might improve the quality of life for Veterans Home residents. For an entry form, information on group rides from dealerships, time, route map and directions, please log on to www.bargerharley-davidson.com or email calvetcharity@gmail.com

“This benefit ride on Patriot Day is not only a motorcycle ride, but is open to the public for anyone who wishes to honor and help our Veterans and the new Veterans Home of California in West Los Angeles,” said Loretta Hanson, owner of Barger Harley-Davidson co-sponsor of the event. “A $25 entry fee (for rider pre-registrations or ride-ins or walk-ins) is a donation to the Veterans Home. All donations are appreciated and all raffle proceeds are donated to the Home. Please join us and help our Veterans and honor 9/11.”

The Veterans Home of California—West Los Angeles is a newly constructed, stunning 396-bed, long-term care facility located adjacent to the VA Hospital in West Los Angeles. The Veterans Home provides California veterans with a living environment that protects their dignity and contributes to their feeling of self-reliance and self-worth.

The Veterans Home offers two levels of care that provide continuity in the lives of residents in a homelike atmosphere of dignity and respect: an Assisted Living Unit, now open; and a Skilled Nursing Unit with memory care is estimated to open in 2012. Amenities include: room and board – three meals plus snacks; medical care and medications; optical care, dental care and podiatry services; transportation services to all medical appointments and off-campus activities; a beauty/barber shop, multi-purpose room; limited banking services; opportunities for worship for all denominations; a modern fitness room and exercise classes; restorative therapy center; libraries; cable television; housekeeping and laundry services; a caring and compassionate staff; a variety of community outings; and an enhanced activity program.

For information on the Veterans Home of California—West Los Angeles, please call toll-free at 877-605-1332 or log on to the CalVet website at www.calvet.ca.gov. For more information on the 9/11 West Coast Charity Ride “BIKERS HELPING VETERANS,” please log on to www.bargerharley-davidson.com or email calvetcharity@gmail.com.

Senator LaMalfa Coauthors Measure to Fund Veterans’ Homes

Posted: 8/13/2011

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Doug LaMalfa, (R-Richvale), today announced the introduction of Assembly Bill X1 38, which transfers $8.1 million in unused state funds to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the operation of veterans homes in Redding and Fresno. Though these homes have been planned for years and construction is mostly complete, their opening was delayed by cuts in the current state budget.

“California’s commitment to veterans is one that we must keep, especially in the rural communities that are home to so many who have served our nation. With just one veterans home north of Bakersfield, the North State is clearly in need of these facilities,” said LaMalfa. “This funding will allow these homes to open on schedule, giving veterans access to the facilities they’ve been promised and giving our region an economic boost.”

LaMalfa coauthored the measure, Assembly Bill X1 38, with Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, M.D., a Fresno-area lawmaker who has been an outspoken supporter of veterans. Redding Assemblyman Jim Nielsen is also a coauthor of the bill. Though allocated from the General Fund years ago, the funds the bill appropriates have not been used for their intended purpose and were identified in a review of the state’s numerous accounts. While the veterans homes are nearly complete, the state budget currently provides no funding to open and staff them, leaving the facilities unusable. This measure will allow the hiring of staff to open and operate the facilities by 2012.

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Senator Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing the fourth Senate District including Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Siskiyou, Sutter, Del Norte, Placer, Trinity, Yuba and Nevada counties.

Governor Brown Issues Proclamation Declaring Purple Heart Veterans' Month

Posted: 8/3/2011

SACRAMENTO - Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today issued a proclamation declaring August, 2011, as Purple Heart Veterans' Month in the State of California.

The text of the proclamation is below:

PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

As a military decoration, the Purple Heart traces its origins to the very first military award of the United States Armed Forces. In his General Orders to the Continental Army on August 7, 1782, General George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit, directing that “whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear … over the left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth.” In the spirit of our Revolution, the Badge of Military Merit could be awarded to soldiers of any rank, breaking with the European tradition of military awards being reserved for high-ranking officers. In Washington’s own words, “The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all.”

The Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, and the purple heart shape would not be revived until 1932, when the United States War Department authorized a new medal to be awarded to any member of the Armed Services who has been wounded or killed in action. The first recipients of the new Purple Heart received it retroactively for their service during the First World War. Since then, we have awarded nearly two million Purple Hearts to our combat veterans, including at least 42,000 in our current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. These figures represent a staggering amount of human suffering in the service of our country, and the unparalleled selflessness of our troops in performing their duties. This month, I urge all Californians to join me in saluting our Purple Heart recipients for their valor and sacrifice.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim August 2011, as “California Purple Heart Veterans Month.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 1st day of August 2011.

___________________________________
EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor of California

ATTEST:

___________________________________
DEBRA BOWEN
Secretary of State

Tribute to Staff Sergeant Russell Jeremiah ProctorHouse Chamber, Washington, D.C.July 21, 2011

Source: Congressman Tom McClintock
Posted: 7/24/2011

Mr. Speaker:

On June 26th, a roadside bomb in Jalula, Iraq claimed the life of a young man from Oroville, California. He was Army Staff Sergeant Russell Jeremiah Proctor, age 25, on his third tour of combat duty.

He was laid to rest last week in solemn ceremonies in California. Sgt. Proctor leaves behind a grieving widow, a devastated family, and a nine-month old son who will know his father only by reputation.

And it is reputation that I want to speak of today. I never met Sgt. Proctor. I, too, know him only by reputation.

It is a reputation commemorated by – among other decorations – two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, two Overseas Service Ribbons, a Combat Action Badge, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

It is a reputation memorialized by those who knew him best: the men he served with. “He was a leader among leaders” said one, “His drive to be the best motivated all of us to reach our potential.” Another said, “He led from the front. He inspired everyone around him to better themselves.”

Perhaps the most poignant was this simple post: “My son was killed with (Sergeant) Proctor. (Private First Class) Dylan Johnson and the rest of the soldiers in the unit all looked up to Russell for leadership and guidance. They are both heroes to me as well.” It is signed, “A grieving Dad.”

I had the honor to speak last week with Sgt. Proctor’s widow, Soila. She’s also active duty Army; they met while serving at Fort Hood. She was deployed in the same Forward Operating Base as Russell – they were billeted together and she was nearby when he was killed. I cannot begin to imagine the hell that she has been through. And yet, having endured all this, she plans to continue her service to our Country in the U.S. Army.

Mr. Speaker, James Michener’s question thunders down on us at such moments: where do we get such people? I don’t have an answer to that question. As I talked with Soila last Monday, I was struck by the transcendent nobility that accompanies her grief.

Perhaps a more pertinent question is what would our country do without such people as Sgt. Proctor – or the nine generations of Americans who have preceded him in the defense of our nation. General Patton was right when he observed that “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”

And so, Mr. Speaker, I rise today for exactly that purpose – to thank God that Russell Proctor lived. And to pray that his infant son, Ezekiel, grows up in a nation made safer by his sacrifice – and a nation that will never forget not only what we owe to those who Lincoln once called “the loved and lost,” but what we owe to the families who so personally bear that loss.

A chaplain who brought the dread news to the family wrote a commentary over the fourth of July weekend – a weekend filled with barbecues, picnics and fireworks -- in which he noted the grief of that family amidst all the frivolity around them. And he noted that at age 25, Russell Proctor will never again celebrate a birthday, take his son fishing or hug his wife.

Sgt. Russell Proctor and all those who preceded him since the first shots on Lexington Green believed enough in our country and what it stands for to sacrifice all those precious years of love and life and joy so that we -- their fellow Americans -- could enjoy those same blessings of liberty in safety and security – including a baby boy named Ezekiel whose Dad won’t be there to take him fishing or hug him or celebrate birthdays with him.

Ezekiel, if you should someday stumble upon these words, I hope you will know that, like you, many of us knew your Dad only by reputation.

And we stood in awe of him.

Joe Morris, Sr., Navajo Code Talker Passes Away

Posted: 7/21/2011

It is with great sadness that the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) joins the family of Joe Morris, Sr., Dine (Navajo), in mourning his passing. Morris was 85 years old.

“On behalf of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, I offer my sincere condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Joe Morris, Sr., Navajo Code Talker, who passed away July 17th,” said Peter J. Gravett, Secretary, California Department of Veterans Affairs. “Morris was one of the few remaining World War II Navajo Code Talkers who played a pivotal role in helping the U.S. win that war. He served in the United States Marine Corp. as a Navajo Code Talker from 1944-46 in Guadalcanal, Guam, Saipan, Okinawa, and Tinstao, China. We are saddened by his passing, but are thankful for his service to our Nation. May he forever rest in peace.”

VIEWING & SERVICE

Monday, July 25, 2011
10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Viewing
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Service
East Hills Community Church
20660 Orange Terrace Parkway
Riverside, CA 92508

BURIAL
Riverside National Cemetery
22495 Van Buren Boulevard
Riverside, CA 92518

In lieu of sending flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the following Bank Of America account #2454773221 in care of Christopher Morris.

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BACKGROUND: The Navajo code talkers took part in every assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They served in all six Marine divisions, Marine Raider battalions and Marine parachute units, transmitting messages by telephone and radio in their native language — a code that the Japanese never broke. http://www.californiaindianeducation.org/native_american_veterans/navajo_code_talkers.html

BOXER PRAISES $10.5 MILLION IN HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESS VETERANS IN CALIFORNIA

New Grants Will Help Veterans Access Affordable Housing, Job Training, Education and Other Services
Posted: 7/20/2011

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today praised U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan’s announcement that the agency has awarded more than $10.5 million in federal grants to provide housing for homeless veterans in California. Grants will be distributed as 1,125 housing assistance vouchers by local housing agencies that have partnered with VA medical centers to benefit veterans all across the state.

“The brave men and women who serve our country deserve the best,” Senator Boxer said. “This critical assistance will help keep homeless veterans across California off the streets while also providing access to services like job training and education.”

The HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program – a joint initiative of the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs – provides housing assistance to help homeless veterans get into private rental housing. Veterans who participate in the program also benefit from VA supportive services, including job training, education and counseling. The grants announced today were made available through funding included in the Fiscal Year 2011 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

California has the nation’s largest population of homeless veterans – more than 19,000 at any point in time as of 2009. Over the last three years, the state has received 4,555 housing vouchers through the HUD-VASH program.

Senator Boxer has been a longtime advocate for the HUD-VASH program and fought to protect funding for new grants for fiscal year 2011. In March, she spoke out against severe cuts to the program proposed in the House Republicans’ budget.

The California HUD-VASH grant recipients are:

HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Fresno Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $146,127 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Long Beach Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $457,788 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Los Angeles Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $1,851,912 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Pittsburg Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $238,881 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of San Buenaventura Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $198,591 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of San Luis Obispo Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $196,200 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Santa RosaGrant Amount: $206,565 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Monterey Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $190,161 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Orange Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $927,747 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Riverside Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $204,507 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Sacramento Housing Authority Grant Amount: $176,844 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of San Bernardino Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $168,903 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of San DiegoGrant Amount: $361,104 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of San Mateo Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $1,002,870 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Santa Barbara Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $478,194 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Santa Clara Housing Authority Grant Amount: $1,159,500 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: Los Angeles County Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $867,996 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Kern Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $129,879 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: Humboldt County Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $142,572 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: Oakland Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $498,696 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: San Diego Housing CommissionGrant Amount: $639,468 *** HUD-VASH Recipient: City of Santa Cruz Housing AuthorityGrant Amount: $280,395

Check Off On DMV Application Gives Veterans Choice

Posted: 7/13/2011

Sacramento— A new program initiated by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) will help connect veterans in California with the services and benefits they have earned through their prior or current service in the U.S. Military.

When a Californian applies for a new driver’s license or renewal, or if they apply for an identification card, they will notice on the new application forms a check-off box that will permit the DMV to share the applicants contact information with CalVet. The veterans will then be sent information that gives a brief outline of services and benefits and includes a postage-paid reply card that the veteran fills out and returns to CalVet. Once the card is received the veteran will automatically begin receiving information about services like education benefits, employment assistance, disability and compensation payments, health care benefits and much more.

“The most challenging thing we have to do in this department is to ensure that veterans in California are educated about the benefits and services that they have earned through their honorable service in the military,” said CalVet Secretary Peter J. Gravett. “This partnership has the potential to help our department connect with nearly every one of the nearly 2 million veterans living in this state.”Under the program initiated on July 1, U.S. veterans residing in California can simply check a box on the form to approve having benefit information sent to them by CalVet. Once the customer affirms their military service on the driver license application, the DMV will send the mailing address of the customer to CalVet for distribution of information relative to important services and benefits available to all veterans who served honorably in the military.

CalVet Services, through its “CalVet Connect” initiative has as its guiding philosophy that programs of benefits to veterans fulfill necessary, proper, and valid public purposes by promoting patriotism, by recognizing and rewarding sacrifice and service to country and by providing needed readjustment assistance to returning veterans and their families, whose lives were interrupted when they responded to their country’s call to military service.

The CalVet Services initiative has as its goal to help returning service members and their families with the sometimes difficult task of reentering civilian life. By utilizing online tools like its Reintegration form, the Department links returning veterans with service providers and resources. This program offers CalVet the opportunity to inform veterans and their dependents about veterans benefits and how to obtain these benefits through the process of application and representations of claims. CalVet’s partnership with DMV augments this program by allowing many military and service members who may not have been reached before, with the opportunity to share their contact information with CalVet so that appropriate benefits information can be provided to them.

Veterans wishing to contact CalVet’s reintegration program directly can do so by going to the following link: https://my.calvet.ca.gov/Pages/Intake/ReintegrationForm.aspx

Mr. Appliance Makes 2011 Military Friendly Franchises List

Survey-driven list provides veterans a clear path to owning their own business
Posted: 6/19/2011

Based on the recently published Census Bureau figures showing over 2.4 million veteran-owned businesses, G.I. Jobs is pleased to announce the release of the 2011 Military Friendly Franchises® list. The list honors the top 7 percent of franchises doing the most to recruit America's veterans as franchisees and Mr. Appliance® Corp. is honored to be on this list.

The list satisfies veterans' need to know which franchise they should pursue, which ones give them the best financial incentives and training, and which franchises have the highest number of veteran franchisees.

Franchises on the list range from restaurants to tax services and home-based opportunities. The common bond is their shared priority of recruiting owner-operators with military experience."Those of us who have lived and worked in a military environment are used to 'following a system,' so we put a great emphasis on introducing veterans to franchising," said Jon Rucker, director of Snap-on's Military Veteran Program. "A veteran-owned franchise business is a good fit for the long-term success of both the veteran and the franchise."

"It's an honor to be included on the Military Friendly Franchises list," said Doug Rogers, president of Mr. Appliance Corp. "Our success depends on the hard work of our franchise owners. This achievement is a direct reflection of their dedication to being leaders in the service industry."

"The list was created three years ago out of demand from military veterans, many of whom want to start or own their own business but are unclear where to begin," said Sean Collins, General Manager for G.I. Jobs. "Military veterans can execute a plan, lead employees, and are trained to overcome adversity. Combine this background and work ethic with an established franchise system and you have greatly increased the odds of the business succeeding."

The 2011 list was compiled through exhaustive research by G.I. Jobs in which thousands of franchises nationwide were polled. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of a Franchise Advisory Board consisting of Mail Boxes Etc. founder Jim Amos, Spring-Green President James Young, Mr. Rooter Plumbing President Mary Kennedy-Thompson, and Mark Daly, National Media Director for Anytime Fitness. All four board members are military veterans or come from veteran families.

The full list of Military Friendly Franchises® will be published in the June issue of G.I. Jobs Magazine, and on Military Franchising, a web tool that helps veterans decide which franchise to choose. Additional resources are Posted: on the Military Friendly Franchises® Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MilitaryFranchising

G.I. Jobs is published 12 times per year by Victory Media, a veteran-owned business. The company also publishes The Guide to Military Friendly Schools®.

For recipes, appliance and energy tips, follow Mr. Appliance Corp. on Twitter at @MrApplianceCorp and on Facebook.

You can follow GI Jobs on Facebook or on Twitter @gijobsmagazine.

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About Mr. Appliance®:

Mr. Appliance is North America's leading appliance repair franchise system. Established in 1996, its franchises provide full-service residential and light commercial appliance repair. Mr. Appliance has more than 150 locations throughout the United States and Canada and is consistently ranked among the top home service franchises by Entrepreneur magazine and other industry experts. Mr. Appliance is a subsidiary of The Dwyer Group, Inc. For more information, visit www.mrappliance.com.

Talk Radio Legend Roger Hedgecock to Co-Host Fundraiser for the Troops

Veteran Radio Host Martha Zoller Signs on to Help Care Package Effort
Posted: 6/2/2011

Sacramento, Calif. - San Diego talk radio legend Roger Hedgecock, a household name in a region with a huge military community, has signed on to co-host the 4th Annual TROOPATHON, a fundraiser to send huge numbers of care packages to troops serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hedgecock is a former Mayor of San Diego and has a 22 year career as a conservative talk radio host in the city he has had an immeasurable impact on.

Move America Forward is thrilled that Roger has agreed to co-host the Troopathon this year along with returning host Melanie Morgan, who has hosted every Troopathon since the first, in 2008. In addition to co-hosting major portions of the 8-hour show, the 4th annual Troopathon “Remember Their Sacrifice” will also be part of Hedgecock’s 3 hour regular radio broadcast on KOGO Radio in San Diego.

Also joining Hedgecock as a part of the 2011 Troopathon is Georgia talk radio veteran Martha Zoller. An accomplished journalist before, Martha jumped into the radio game in 1994 and has been hosting The Martha Zoller Show ever since.

In 2005 she made huge waves in the pro-troop movement as part of Move America Forward’s groundbreaking “Voices of our Soldiers” project, which took a small group of talk radio hosts from all around the country into the heart of the Iraq war to interview the troops directly. Over the course of a week in Iraq, Martha interviewed troops serving in Baghdad’s largest Forward Operating Base, to address wild claims made by the mainstream media that our troops in Iraq had low morale, doubted their mission and were unhappy to be serving overseas.

On the contrary, Zoller and the rest of the Move America Forward team found the troops they interviewed to be highly motivated, professional, and positive about their mission, and sure that what they were doing was important to America’s security, freedom, and future. The “Voices of our Soldiers” project which Martha took part in won several radio industry awards for innovation.

With radio personalities like Roger Hedgecock and Martha Zoller, the Troopathon becomes a truly nationwide effort to send support, gratitude, and love to our troops serving overseas. Many troops serving on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq will benefit from the thousands of care packages filled with coffee, cookies, Gatorade, beef jerky and lots of other goodies, produced by this event.

The Troopathon blends pro-troop celebrities and personalities from television, radio, Hollywood movies, musicians and performers, prominent journalists, bloggers and politicians. The wide range of pro-troop celebrities come together to encourage viewers and listeners to take part in the effort by sponsoring care packages for troops serving overseas to help them during their long deployments while America is at war.

The 8 hour Troopathon will take place live on June 23rd, 2011, from the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California. The show will also be broadcast across the internet on Troopathon.com as well as dozens of terrestrial and internet radio stations that have signed up to help this effort to support our troops.

New Phone Number to Send Urgent Messages to Military Members

Posted: 5/26/2011

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As part of the Service to the Armed Forces program, the American Red Cross provides military members and their families with 24-hour access to a global emergency communications network designed to keep families connected in a crisis, provide case management services and assist with emergency financial assistance.

In an effort to streamline and ensure continued quality service, the Red Cross is consolidating call intake, emergency verification and message delivery functions, as well as financial assistance, into four Red Cross locations - Ft. Sill, OK; Louisville, KY; San Diego, CA; and Springfield, MA.

Effective June 13, 2011, there will be a single telephone number, 877-272-7337 (U.S. toll free), to call and send an urgent message to a service member.

This is the same telephone number currently available worldwide. However, before this change only military families living on U.S. military installations were able to use it. Those families who did not live on an installation were asked to call their local Red Cross chapter.

Procedures for overseas calling will remain the same, with the option to call 877-272-7337 direct, access the number through a military operator, or call the local Red Cross station.

This change allows local Red Cross chapters to provide vital services with a personal touch, including hospital programs and outreach to reserve and National Guard families, by freeing up resources from call intake functions. The improvements we are making today are the foundation for continued quality service delivery to our men and women in uniform and their families.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters; provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization – not a government agency – and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its humanitarian mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at www.redcrosschat.org.

MESSAGE FROM PETER J. GRAVETT, Secretary of the California Department of Veterans AFFAIRS

MEMORIAL DAY 2011
Posted: 5/26/2011

Memorial Day this year is on Monday, May 30th. Memorial Day is a day to pay our respect to those who lie where honor rests in our state and national cemeteries and in myriad other places across the world in both marked and unmarked graves.

It is a day to honor the living symbols of the American spirit: our veterans and their families, members of our armed services and their families, wherever they are and however they serve.

It is also a day to pause for a moment of silence during the "National Moment of Remembrance" at 3:00 p.m. local time, wherever we happen to be. The three o’clock hour was chosen because it is a time on this very important national holiday when most Americans are out and about enjoying the freedoms paid for by the current and former members of our Armed Forces.

California is home to the largest population of military, veterans and dependents in the United States, totaling more than 3 million people. An additional 30,000 veterans of the United States Military return yearly to make California their home. Veterans have potential entitlement to many benefits including disability, vocational rehabilitation, education, medical and burial benefits based on their military service. CalVet’s aim is to help facilitate their return to civilian life by helping them to take advantage of the benefits they have earned. Veterans and/or their families are encouraged to call CalVet’s Veterans Services Division at (916) 653-2573 to get assistance in requesting their benefits.

Sacramento Valley National Cemetery Memorial Day Program

Honoring All Military Members Who Have Served Or Are Currently Serving Our Nation
Posted: 5/24/2011

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War, it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

The preferred name for the holiday gradually changed from "Decoration Day" to "Memorial Day", which was first used in 1882. It did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by federal law until 1967.

Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time. Another tradition is to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff from dawn until noon local time.

Main Speaker:
J. P. Tremblay, Deputy Secretary, Communications and Legislation
California Department of Veterans Affairs

Guest Speaker:
Lt. Col., Barry Bridger, USA, Retired
Prisoner of War, Vietnam Era

Sacramento Valley National Cemetery
5810 Midway Road
Dixon, California
Flag Assembly Area (Parking and Shuttles available for handicapped)

Cynthia DF Nuñez, Cemetery Director
Office: 707-693-2460

Events (Volunteers Welcome!):

Saturday, May 28th at 8:00am – Flag placement on gravesites
Monday, May 30th at 9:00am – Memorial Day Program featuring the 59th
Army Band ‘The Governor’s Own’, California Army National Guard
Tuesday, May 31st at 4:30pm – Flag removal and storage

Unsung Heroes of a Response

by Petty Officer 3rd Class Levi Read
Posted: 5/19/2011

There are only seconds to make a decision when an emergency knocks on your doorstep and threatens you, your community and your livelihood. Most people would like to claim that when an emergency happens they would be thinking of others instead of themselves. But how many people would actually do just that?

In the early morning hours of Friday, March 11, 2011 the residents of Crescent City Calif. woke to a tsunami warning in the wake of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Japan, which is nearly 4,500 miles away from this sleepy little town in Northern California. Oceanographers and geologists have made the claim that because of the topography underneath the massive Pacific Ocean, the most likely city on the West Coast of the United States most likely to be hit by a tsunami would be Crescent City. Tsunamis have been observed in Crescent City 31 times since 1933 including the tsunami of 1964, which remains the largest and most destructive recorded tsunami to ever strike the U.S. Pacific Coast.

Residents of the small fishing community near the border of Oregon had approximately eight hours to get out of the way of the powerful, fast-moving wall of water. However, many didn’t hear of the incoming tsunami until it was too late, because they were blissfully sleeping in their beds or boats as the tsunami surged toward its favorite landing spot. The Japanese earthquake that caused the tsunami struck at 11:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

The people of Crescent City, the busiest fishing port in California, were awakened by phone calls from concerned family or friends. Emergency personnel awoke others by giving evacuation orders via bullhorn and still others awoke from hearing the tsunami warning sirens. No matter how they heard about the forthcoming tsunami, most only had a short period of time to react and protect themselves, their family and their property.

Bill Barlow, vice Commander of Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 8-11, had a 27-foot sailboat moored inside the inner boat basin of Crescent City Harbor. He woke early Friday morning and placed extra mooring lines on his personal sailing vessel and hoped for a good outcome for his sailboat. Why would he not do more to save his boat? Well, there is a simple answer, and that answer was there was no more time because he spent most of the night securing the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s search and rescue boat by removing it from the water and placing it on a trailer and parking it on Whaler’s Island.

“It wasn’t a rocket science decision to make; anyone with common sense would make the same decision,” said Barlow. “It will always be the right decision, and I would make the same decision every time.”

“It was an emotional decision for him to let his sailboat ride out the tsunami, but he had already made the decision,” said Rick Postal, Flotilla 8-11 member and long-time friend of Bill.

The actions of the auxiliary in Crescent City are critical because there is only one Coast Guard unit, which calls Crescent City home, and that unit is the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Dorado. The Dorado serves as a patrol boat and like other multi-mission cutters with only one set of crewmen, they can’t always assist with all short-range search and rescue cases located near their homeport.

“We are only on-call for SAR within our area of responsibility – California/Oregon border south to the mouth of the Guala River – 25 percent of the year,” said Lt. j.g. Thomas Faulkenberry, commanding officer Coast Guard Cutter Dorado. “The rest of our time is spent on patrol within our AOR or even as far south as Baja, Mexico.”

In fact, the Dorado and its crew were dockside in San Pedro, Calif. en route to patrol the Baja when the tsunami hit their homeport. Instead of continuing that patrol, they raced home in just under 48 hours, through 20-foot seas to provide whatever help they could to their community.

“The crew of the Dorado has been playing an important role in this community’s recovery process,” said Barlow. “They steamed into port and went to work immediately. I was so impressed by that crew because they were so compassionate to the fisherman and that started with instruction given to them by their commanding officer Lt. Faulkenberry, ‘Remember these people have a loss … treat this experience accordingly.’”

The Coast Guard understands that the volunteer auxiliarists in Crescent City play an important role within this fishing and logging community, so the Coast Guard assigned a 25-foot Response Boat – Small to the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The auxiliarists know they are often the only available Coast Guard resource in port due to the remote location of Crescent City and the response missions of the Coast Guard. For this reason, Barlow’s decision to save the RB-S and not his own sailboat is all that more important. Luckily the RB-S was not needed, but in the future it may be there for a rescue operation because of Barlow’s selfless decision.

This was the first of many things accomplished by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the unsung heroes of the Crescent City Tsunami Response. The auxiliarists spent more than two hundred hours responding to tsunami-related incidents.

Other selfless actions they did include allowing representatives from the Coast Guard, California Department of Fish & Game, National Response Corporation, other contractors, and local government officials from various parts of Northern California to have a dry, warm place to meet every morning. Each day, the Unified Command and various other responders were able to escape the torrential down pour of rain and wind to meet and plan operations in a safe location.

On another occasion, they went out of their way to supply a potluck dinner for the responders.

Numerous auxiliarists acted as escorts for the local community and fisherman who were trying to salvage whatever they could from their damaged vessels. Several times daily, they walked around the harbor parking lots and docks to distribute the latest fact sheets to community members looking for answers and information. This helped environmental cleanup responders perform their jobs without interruption.

“The Unified Command’s decision to place auxiliarists and the Dorado crew as escorts for these fisherman was one of the most important and impactful decisions they could have made,” said Barlow. “These people are our neighbors, and I know their boats and they know mine. We knew they were just venting their frustrations, which is important in the healing process.”

In an effort to build good working relationships, the auxiliary introduced the out-of-town agency responders to all the community leaders and decision makers, which helped make the response as fluid as possible. One auxiliarist in particular, Rick Postal, worked as a buffer between the Coast Guard’s vessel liaisons and the local boat owners. He relayed local and firsthand knowledge of boat owners and their boats to the Unified Command. Postal, is also a photographer for the local newspaper – The Daily Triplicate. If there was a message or a photo that needed to get out, Postal and his fellow volunteers were the ones that made it happen.

“The auxiliary was a tremendous force multiplier with their rapid availability, local area knowledge and ties to the community,” said Cmdr. Tom Stuhlreyer, Sector San Francisco chief of response. “They helped the Unified Command make key contacts with fishermen and community leaders that established very positive and open communications between the responders and local residents.”

“The relationships built within the community by the hard work of the local Coast Guardsmen and Coast Guard Auxiliary were instrumental in the success of the month-long operation in Crescent City,” said Stuhlreyer.

In all, the Crescent City Harbor sustained $24 million worth of damage to the port. Fifteen boats sank, 47 more were damaged and one boat ran aground near the mouth of the Elk River. The mooring docks within the Inner Boat Basin were completely destroyed.Most of the operating fishing vessels homeported in Crescent City made it out of the harbor before the tsunami came ashore. However, these fishermen are experiencing economic hardships of their own. Unable to return to Crescent City, they have had to operate out of Eureka, Calif. and Brookings, Ore. Having been temporarily displaced has resulted in added expenses and overhead to their day-to-day business operations.

The response is considered a success because the environmental impact was minimal to both shore and marine life. California Department of Fish & Game reported no animals were affected by spilt oil. Responders removed nearly 2,000 gallons of liquid petroleum products from the sunken vessels, approximately 150 gallons of solid waste and 2,260 cubic yards of oiled debris from the Crescent City Inner Boat Basin.

Both Barlow and Postal feel like the community of Crescent was very pleased with the initial response and environmental cleanup. “The community felt great about the response and in particular the local newspaper reporters and radio personalities were impressed with the expertise and knowledge that the responders presented,” said Postal.

“We felt like this was a good training experience for the community through a real-life situation,” said Postal. “Luckily we were at low tide when the tsunami hit and that kept the damage to a small area instead of making our community live up to its reputation like the local bowling alley’s name – Tsunami Lanes.

Aerospace Museum of California Celebrates Armed Forces Day

Posted: 5/18/2011

Active Duty Military Personnel and Their Families Can Explore the Museum at No Charge and Discounted Admission Offered to the General Public. Photo provided by Aerospace Museum of California.

Sacramento Region – The Aerospace Museum of California (AMC) (www.aerospaceca.org) announced today a celebration of Armed Forces Day on May 21, 2011, from 9:00am to 5:00pm with a brief ceremony honoring our troops at 11:00 a.m. followed by a United States Coast Guard C-130 flyby. The AMC is a non-profit foundation dedicated to inspirational and educational programs, honoring the rich military and aviation history of the greater Sacramento region, and highlighting the impact and innovation of the Museum’s many community partners.

In honor of Armed Forces Day, the Museum will also be hosting an Open Cockpit Day where children of all ages can explore, climb into, or imagine what it would be like to soar through the skies in several of the many aircraft on the ramp. Guests will experience historic planes and displays representing over eight decades of aviation history, as well as a chance to view thrilling jets like a US Navy Blue Angels’ fighter, A-10 Thunderbolt, or a famous ‘Top Gun’ F-14 Tomcat just like the movie.

Guests at Armed Forces Day will learn about aircraft they may never have heard of before like a Voodoo, Warthog, Albatross, Boxcar, Dagger or Grasshopper. Who knew aircraft with names such as this carried the heroes that helped to secure the freedoms we enjoy today?

Activities are planned through-out the day, including an inter-active remote control aircraft display by Mather Aerospace Modelers, entertainment by Band of the Golden West from Travis Air Force Base at 11:00am, Support 4 Soldiers, where attendees can color pictures, sign cards and flags for troops overseas, and so much more.

“We want to acknowledge and honor Americans currently serving in the Armed Forces,” said Roxanne Yonn, executive director of the Aerospace Museum of California. “Offering free admission is just a small way of saying ‘thank you’ for their service and commitment. We encourage visitors to enjoy a day at the Museum, be inspired and give thanks to the men and women (both past and present) who serve and sacrifice for our great nation.”

The special no-cost admission rate applies to active duty military service members and their immediate family members. To receive free admittance visitors must present a military ID. Admission for the general public is $5.

The Museum pavilion and air park opened in February 2007, and since then over 250,000 guests have enjoyed the Museum’s unique collection of over 40 military and civilian aircraft, 15 restored engines on display, participated in numerous educational programs, and viewed the Coast Guard art collection. For additional information please visit www.aerospaceca.com.

DEDICATION OF AMERICANS TROOPS, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, BRINGS OSAMA BIN LADEN TO JUSTICE

Posted: 5/4/2011

Sacramento, Calif. – The nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization, Move America Forward, says that US Servicemen and intelligence officers are to be praised for their dedication and credited with the killing of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

“President Obama spoke to the nation tonight, bringing us the good news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by Navy SEALs in a CIA planned operation. Americans have been waiting for justice for over nine years now, and finally justice has been served.” said Debbie Lee, spokesman for the group.

Debbie’s son Marc A. Lee was a US Navy Seal and was killed in Iraq in 2006. “I’m so proud that it was a Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden, and I just wish Marc could be here with his fellow SEALs to share this with the country he died protecting. Marc graduated from his SEAL training shortly before 9/11 and when that heinous attack was carried out by Al Qaeda, Marc wanted more than anything to see justice done. I know he’s watching with satisfaction from Heaven today.”

“We want to thank all of our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the intelligence community who have been hunting bin Laden for years. This is yet another victory for Americans and for justice for all the victims of radical Islamic terrorists around the world. Where would we be without our troops? They have proven that they have the dedication and patience to complete any mission, to deal with any threat and we want to thank our troops for that.

“It’s also important to thank all of those American patriots who have supported and stood by our troops through all the years. They have been patient as well, for they have continued to send support to our troops even when the media and some politicians were NOT there for the troops. At Move America Forward we will be continuing our mission of supporting our troops, as they are still deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and until all of our troops come home we will continue sending our support and our care packages to our brave troops on the front lines. We invite all Americans to joins us.” concluded Lee.

Army Involves Families In Wounded Warriors’ Recovery Goals

Posted: 1/7/2011

The Army recognizes the pivotal role families play in the recovery of wounded warriors, and the Army integrates them in the soldier’s treatment and transition plan.

(NAPSI)-Army Staff Sgt. Gabriel Garcia realized how much he needed his family when he lost his right arm in combat. Now, as Garcia learns to use a prosthetic, his entire family participates in his recovery at the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Soldiers requiring at least six months of complex medical care are assigned to one of the 29 WTUs throughout the United States and Europe. At these facilities, more than 9,000 soldiers like Garcia have one mission: to heal and transition, either back to the force or to veteran status. Garcia spends his days attending appointments for medical care, physical therapy and occupational therapy, and working toward his transition goals.

With the support of his medical providers and professional multidisciplinary team, Garcia articulated his goals through his Comprehensive Transition Plan (CTP), developed by the Army Warrior Transition Command (WTC). The CTP is a six-part process that includes a personalized plan for each wounded soldier.

“The Comprehensive Transition Plan isn’t the Army’s plan for the soldier,” said Col. Darryl Williams, commander of the Warrior Transition Command. “It’s a process that includes a personal plan created for the soldier by the soldier. They provide the vision-the Army provides the tools.”

Families have a formal role in the CTP process that includes attending medical appointments and regular progress meetings, called scrimmages, and supporting the soldier in accomplishing his/her goals.

“It’s everybody coming together,” said Christina Garcia, Staff Sgt. Garcia’s wife, after one of these scrimmages. “His nurse case manager, his primary care doctor, the social worker and his squad leader—everybody together in the same room—discussing just him.”

The Garcia family works together to support Garcia’s recovery goals. Christina keeps careful watch over his schedule and the care of his prosthetics. Garcia’s son plays video games with him to support his hand dexterity and throws the football with him to increase his arm strength.

“This is my new life. I am missing an arm but I’m just lucky to still be alive,” said Garcia. “It doesn’t mean I can’t do anything a normal person can do. It is just a little tougher for me, and I have to be smart and figure out a way around it.”

WTC is a new command under the U.S. Army Medical Command. For more information, visit www.WTC.army.mil.

Hiring Military Veterans is Good Business

By Bill Whitmore
Posted: 11/11/2010

If your company’s diversity recruiting strategy fails to include military veterans, you are missing out on working with some of our country’s most outstanding men and women. Organizations that fail to recognize the extraordinary leadership qualities that veterans bring to the workplace pass up the opportunity to work with results-oriented employees that have a strong sense of accountability and responsibility. It is time for our country’s corporate leaders to awaken to the reality that combat leadership and military discipline translate into dynamic employees who can enhance an organization’s productivity.

While the national unemployment rate hovers around 9.7% for civilians, the unemployment rate for young male veterans, including those returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, is more than double the national average at 21.6% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Isn’t it time to shine the employment spotlight on the brave men and women who serve our country?

What essential set of life skills do military veterans bring to corporate America that makes them an indispensable pairing? The military trains our men and women to lead by example as well as understand the nuances of delegation and motivation. As General Douglas McArthur once said, “a true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.” Military veterans understand the value of teamwork, which they can apply in our country’s offices and boardrooms. Veterans understand their role within an organizational framework and serve as exemplary role models to subordinates while demonstrating accountability and leadership to supervisors.

Veterans generally enter the workforce with identifiable skills that can be transferred to the business world and are often skilled in technical trends pertinent to business and industry. And what they don’t know, they are eager to learn - making them receptive and ready hires in work environments that value ongoing learning and training. Veterans represent diversity and collaborative teamwork in action having served with people from diverse economic, ethnic and geographic backgrounds as well as race, religion and gender. Even under dire stress, veterans complete tasks and assignments in a timely manner as they have labored under restrictive schedules and resources on the battlefields and military installations that they’ve served.

Employers can find qualified veterans from a variety of sources including the Employer Partnership of the Armed Forces, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Military.com, HireVeterans.com, and the Wounded Warriors Project. Employers can become true partners with selected veterans’ organizations and work with them proactively to ensure you are maximizing your ability to recruit from this extremely qualified talent pool. Lest we forget, the men and women who have chosen to serve our country are patriots who have made enormous sacrifices to ensure our safety and freedom. By employing military veterans, we are saying, “thank you for your service” and for protecting us from terrorism and other threats.

About the author: Bill Whitmore is Chairman, President & CEO of AlliedBarton Security Services, www.alliedbarton.com, the industry’s premier provider of highly trained security personnel to many industries including commercial real estate, higher education, healthcare, residential communities, chemical/petrochemical, government, manufacturing and distribution, financial institutions, and shopping centers.

Maj. Jeff Hall — pictured here with his family — learned firsthand the value of having a resource to help him rejoin his family after a deployment.

Helping Military Families Cope With Change

Posted: 6/9/2010

(NAPSA)—There’s good news for our nation’s service members and military families that are transitioning home. Resources to support recovery and reintegration exist to help our nation’s warriors and their families cope with the injuries, stress and psychological health concerns that can be experienced during the deployment cycle.

When servicemen and servicewomen return home, it’s important to remember that the transition from deployment to base or civilian life can impact not only service members but also their entire families — spouses, children, parents, siblings and other loved ones.

The person who left is often not the same person who will come back, and the same is true for service members’ families. Feeling anxiety about changing relationships in a family can be a natural reaction to deployment.

Fortunately, military families don’t have to experience this kind of stress on their own. Resources like the Real Warriors Campaign (www.realwarriors.net) offer support for those on the battlefield and the home front. The campaign, sponsored by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), promotes the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration for returning service members, veterans and their families.

The program offers practical articles and advice, including tips for spouses of returning service members and useful information for those who are dealing with deployment, as well as additional resources available through partners such as the National Military Family Association.

Real Warriors Campaign volunteers Maj. Jeff Hall and his wife, Sheri, experienced the challenges of reintegration firsthand when Hall returned from his second deployment to Iraq. “I could tell when he walked in the door of the hangar, he wasn’t the same man,” Sheri said. “He would say things, and his eyes would become black, and that wasn’t Jeff at all.”

With the support of his commanding officer and his family, Hall and his wife attended a treatment program at the Deployment Heal th Cl ini cal Center, where they interacted with service members experiencing similar psychological health concerns.

“I thought getting mental health help would be the end of my career. It wasn’t. I’m a better soldier today because I know that resources are available, and they work,” Hall said.

If you or a loved one is experiencing a psychological health concern, there are resources available, and they work.

To learn more, visit the Real Warriors Campaign Web site at www.realwarriors.net.

Aanestad’s SB 469 Passes Off Senate Floor -- Heads to Governor’s Desk

SACRAMENTO: SB 469 – authored by Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) -- passed its final legislative test on the Senate Floor today as session resumed in the State Capitol, and will be sent to the Governor for his signature. The Aanestad legislation gives the Administrator of the Northern California Veterans Cemetery (NCVC) the authority to waive the $500 burial fee for interment of spouses or children of veterans eligible for burial in that cemetery if they do not have the financial means to pay the fee.

The language contained in SB 469, which also applies to other state-run veteran’s cemeteries currently in the planning stages, would not place any additional financial burdens on state taxpayers. Private donations would cover the cost of the burial.

“I’d like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in both the Assembly and the Senate for their unwavering support for all veterans,” said Senator Aanestad. “Legislative action is the only way to obtain the authority to waive burial fees for indigent spouses or children of veterans, when it is necessary and proper to do so. I’m hopeful SB 469 will receive similar support from the Governor.”

SB 469 amends the State Constitution to enable the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA) to waive burial fees for eligible veterans’ dependents in special circumstances where there are no available family resources to pay the fees. Without the proposed change under SB 469, the CDVA has no authority to waive burial fees, regardless of the circumstances. The NCVC has already turned away some family members because of the inability to pay the fee.

“California has, for more than a century, required all counties to provide veterans with a proper burial based upon the premise that those who fought and sacrificed to protect our freedoms deserved better than a common mass grave,” said Senator Aanestad. “The creation of the NCVC in my Northern California district is a commitment to that promise. This respect should also be extended to family members of all veterans.”

The State of California owns and operates two veterans’ cemeteries, one at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville and one at the NCVC in Shasta County. The Veterans Home Cemetery receives no federal grant money and is open for the burial of the cremated remains of Veterans Home members only. The NCVC is operated under the guidelines of the United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs (USDVA) State Cemetery Grant Program. A third state-run veterans’ cemetery is also planned for the Ford Ord area in Monterey County.

SB 469 has the support of the Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council, California Department of the American Legion, California Detachment of the Sons of the American Legion, the Shasta County Veterans Affiliated Council plus the Missing in America Veterans Recovery Project.

Assemblyman Niello Recognizes WWII Veteran Al Cooper During Veterans Recognition Event

SACRAMENTO - Assemblyman Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) recognized World War II Veteran Al Cooper during a Legislative Veterans' Recognition held this week at the Sacramento Convention Center.

Members of the Legislature were invited to nominate a veteran from their Legislative districts to honor during this recognition luncheon, and Mr. Cooper was selected by Assemblyman Niello to represent the 5th Assembly District.

Al Cooper was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was assigned to combat duty with the 15th Air Force that flew B-24 bombing missions from southern Italy to southern Germany and Poland, Northern Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Romania.

On October 1, 1944, Al and his B-24 crew were hit by enemy fire and had to parachute from their plane over southern Hungary, where they lived with guerilla armies for four months until being turned over to the Russian Army in 1945, and subsequently sent back the United States.

After returning home after the war, Al joined the California Highway Patrol as a traffic officer in 1948, serving 30 years with the CHP and retiring as the Deputy Commissioner of the CHP. Al has served as a legislative advocate in Sacramento for many years, representing the California Peace Officers and the California State Sheriff's Association and currently serves as the legislative representative for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. Al and his wife Barbara have been married for 57 years and have two children and a grandchild.

"Like all of the veterans around the country and those being recognized here today, Al Cooper is a great American hero and I am honored to be able to recognize him for his service to our country," said Assemblyman Niello.

U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings: "The military voter is a moving target"

Time, Distance, and Mobility proves to be a challenge in the military voting process

Annapolis, MD- Thousands of service members deployed overseas will probably be unable to cast ballots this election year, breaking a pledge that dates back a half century, according to Chas Henry writing in the July issue of Proceedings, the U.S. Naval Institute's award-winning flagship publication.

Henry, a retired Marine captain and well-credentialed journalist, states in the article, "Lots of Bullets, Not Enough Ballots," that we have not come very far since 1952 when President Harry S. Truman urged Congress to ensure that the men and women in uniform were able to vote while fighting a war

"When it comes to having their vote counted, indications are that in November 2008 many thousands of service members who try to vote will do so in vain," says Henry.

There is no conspiracy to deny military men and women the opportunity to have their votes counted. The problem, says the author, is a complicated system that varies from state to state for handling the absentee ballots of service personnel.

Absentee voting from overseas involves "registering, requesting a ballot, receiving the ballot, correctly completing the ballot, and returning the ballot to the appropriate election official," Brenda Farrell of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office tells Henry.

There is also the matter of mobility since service members relocate far more frequently than their civilian counterparts.

Henry quotes Samuel Wright, a retired Navy Reserve captain and longtime champion of military voting rights as saying, "The military voter is frequently,...a moving target."

The problem is complicated because much of the process must by law be conducted by U.S. mail, an inordinately time-consuming method.

"Billions of dollars travel on digital networks every day," Henry writes. "Classified documents do, too. So why are military voters still required to send ballots through the mail?"

Robert Timberg, editor-in-chief of Proceedings, said publishing articles like Henry's is part of the Institute's mission to bring to light issues that have a critical impact on Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen.

"This is what we do here," said Timberg. "We cover the Sea Services and the broader national security community and sometimes that means poking the powers-that-be in the eye." Chas Henry's piece is a fine example of Proceedings at its best."

Read "Lots of Bullets, Not Enough Ballets" on www.usni.org.

ABOUT THE U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE –
Founded in 1873, the U.S. Naval Institute (www.usni.org) is a non-profit, non-partisan, professional membership organization whose mission is to preserve and promote Naval Heritage and provide an independent forum to address issues critical to national security. USNI hosts conferences, including the upcoming Defense Forum Washington (www.defenseforumwashington.com), which will address healthcare issues, both physical and mental, pertaining to wounded soldiers. USNI also publishes Proceedings and Naval History magazines, and the Naval Institute Press publishes more than 75 professional and mission-related books a year.

Painter Meets 'Candy Bomber' After 60 Years

By: Lisa West

Horst Bendzulla was just a 10-year old boy in 1948 when following the defeat of Nazi Germany, a new enemy laid siege to the war-torn country. The Soviet grip on Berlin and the blockade of all highways was further crippling those who had managed to live through the bombings by cutting off food, medicine, heat and electricity. But Berlin’s Templehof Airport remained open to both British and American aircraft, which began bringing in life-saving humanitarian supplies. For more than 14 months coal, food and other immediate necessities where airlifted into the city until the Soviets finally gave up.

Col. Gail S. Halvorsen, USAF (Ret) was one of hundreds of U.S. pilots involved in the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift which eventually earned him the title of “The Berlin Candy Bomber”. After meeting some Berlin children and seeing how much they enjoyed the two sticks of gum he shared with them, he began making ‘candy drops’ just before landing at Templehof. By night the Utah native would tie candy and gum to tiny parachutes made out of mens handkerchiefs. By day, he would drop them to the children below. Since planes were landing every three minutes, just before the drop Halvorsen would wiggle the wings of his C54 so the children would know it was him. That earned him the adoration of the children and yet another nickname -- “Uncle Wiggly Wings”.

Bendzulla was one of those lucky children that caught a candy parachute. The news had spread quickly and he remembered he had to hike several kilometers to the place where the children would eagerly wait for treats from the sky. While many of the Berlin children were able to meet their ‘chocolate hero’, Bendzulla never did. And very few people knew that he was a Mormon, including Bendzulla.

Yet Bendzulla joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany just five years after the Berlin Airlift – and in 1960 he and his wife, Marcella, immigrated to America. By trade, he had been trained as an artist and worked throughout Europe restoring paintings, antiquing and specializing in gold-leafing and marbleizing. He continued his craft in Southern California and eventually moved to Northern California before retiring to the Auburn area in 1997.

“Painting is still my hobby”, noted Bendzulla who loves to paint landscapes and the ocean. After visiting Pearl Harbor, he was inspired to paint the USS Arizona several times and since then has painted many other military ships. “About three months ago I came across an old black and white photo of the Candy Bomber’s plane dropping candy parachutes to Berlin children. I felt an overwhelming desire to paint it. I started the painting and didn’t like it and started over again. I didn’t know at that time that Col. Halvorsen and I would have a chance to meet. I planned to cherish the painting for myself and hang it in my home, but when I heard he was coming, I immediately knew I had to give the painting to him,” stated Bendzulla.

With the help of donations from Hershey’s and other state-side candy companies and American schoolchildren who made thousands of tiny parachutes, Halvorsen and other pilots dropped over 20 tons of candy to Berlin children. Following his military career and subsequent retirement, Halvorsen became an educator and from 1976 to 1984 was the Assistant Dean of Student Life at Brigham Young University. He and his wife of 49 years, Alta, spent a year serving a mission for the LDS Church in England and later served a second mission in St. Petersburg, Russia from 1995 to 1997.

Over the years Halvorsen has participated in several food re-supply operations including a C-130 night-drop over Bosnia in 1994, and a supply run to Albania in 1999, where he visited Camp Hope, a Kosovo refugee camp to deliver candy, toys, and school supplies to the children there. In 1998 he was a pilot on the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation C-54, the “Spirit of Freedom,” across the North Atlantic for 69 days and 27 air shows in four European countries. In November 1999 he was inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Hall of Fame and into the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame two years later. In June 2001 a new generation aircraft loader (25,000 pound capacity) was named the “Halvorsen Loader” in his honor. There are now more than 300 deployed world-wide. And every year Halvorsen continues to give inspirational speeches and drop candy parachutes to elementary schools, air shows, church and other groups throughout the world.

Deanne Ellsworth of Fair Oaks organized a conference for LDS Church members at the Mormon Center facility in Rancho Cordova and invited Col. Halvorsen to be the keynote speaker and to re-enact the candy drop. He graciously accepted the invitation and with the help of 40 children and several adults from Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks LDS congregations who assembled 250 candy parachutes – the re-enactment was a huge success. “It took three passes over Mormon Center for Col. Halvorsen to get all the candy dropped to conference attendees and children picnicking below,” stated Ellsworth. After landing at Mather Airfield, Halvorsen drove back up to the drop site and there he met Horst Bendzulla for first time. The two exchanged a hearty handshake, hug and many memories.

Following Col. Halvorsen’s keynote address, Bendzulla presented the ‘Candy Bomber’ painting to his hero and the 87-year old retired Colonel was overwhelmed by the gesture. “This is something I will treasure forever,” exclaimed Halvorsen.

Bendzulla, his wife, daughter, son-in-law and several of his grandchildren were part of the crowd scrambling to grab the falling candy parachutes – and he caught one again 60 years after catching the first one in Berlin. Bendzulla reminisced, “It brought back many memories and tears to my eyes to see the parachutes coming down again. It was a very special day.”

MAF Exposes New York Times

New York Times ‘Killer Vet’ Story Exposed as Erroneous by Pro-Troop Group
By Ryan Gill, Move America Forward

SACRAMENTO- Move America Forward the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization, today announced that after vetting the numbers cited by The New York Times in their Sunday, January 13, 2008 story, “Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles,” it became clear that the Times had engaged in demonstrably erroneous and false reporting.

It took seven New York Times researchers to find 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in the United States, or were charged with one, upon returning home to this country.

The Times made the false conclusion that: “Taken together, they paint the patchwork of a quiet phenomenon, tracing a cross-country trail of death and heartbreak.”

The Times documentation of 121 potential killings out of more than 1.5 million veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), divided by 6 years of conflict results in a murder rate of just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 veterans per year.***

That murder rate is far lower than the murder rate for the general population, demonstrating that the experiences of military service – including having served in Iraq and Afghanistan – actually made it less likely for returning veterans to commit murder once they returned home, than the general population.

Given a census-estimated population of the United States of 300,000,000 persons in this country as of October 2006, and FBI-compiled statistics of 17,399 homicide offenders for 2006, the murder rate of the general population was 5.80 offenders per 100,000 on average – and a rate of approximately 7.67 per 100,000 for men.

Since all but one of the veterans cited by the Times who committed a killing in the U.S. was male, the comparable rate is approximately 7.67 incidents of murder per 100,000 people among the general male population, compared to just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (of both genders).

“It’s obvious that the New York Times has an agenda of undermining the missions of our troops in the War on Terror, so much so that they are willing to resort to demonstrably false statistics to support their anti-troop bias,” said Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward.

“The slander of our troops and veterans by the New York Times is unfortunately all too familiar. We heard this kind of nonsense about our returning veterans from Vietnam. It’s the same insult, different war.

“Perhaps the shameful staff of The New York Times has run out of war-time secrets to publish for America’s enemies to read, because now they’ve resorted to an all-out smear campaign of America’s finest men and women, who have served this country bravely and with distinction,” Morgan said.

In place of hard data to support their premise, The New York Times was instead forced to devote almost the entire portion of 6,321 word hit-piece to anecdotes of wrongdoing by individual veterans.

The New York Times even went so far as to trace back the phenomenon of murderous veterans to Greek mythology to back up their assertions of their report. “The real mythology is the reporting by The New York Times,” Move America Forward’s Melanie Morgan concluded.

Note that the central statistical measure is how many instances of alleged killings take place per 100,000 Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans who returned home. The New York Times might argue that our statistics are incorrect since the 1.5+ million Iraq/Afghanistan veterans have not been home during the entire 6 years of the war (especially since in the early onset of Operation Enduring Freedom troops were just arriving into the war zone).

However, Salon.com reports that as of January 31, 2005 there were 1,048,884 Americans who had fought in Iraq or Afghanistan. One can then calculate statistics from that point onward. Let’s give the New York Times the leeway of saying their alleged 121 incidents of killings by veterans occurred during just the three years that elapsed since that time to the present. The murder rate per 100,000 people would still be approximately 3.5 incidents of murder per 100,000 returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.

U.S. Naval Institute, 28 Navy Chiefs, ONE Question

Twenty-eight of the world's naval leaders respond to the same question posed by Proceedings Magazine

Annapolis, MD- "How do you explain to your government and fellow citizens why your navy is necessary and worth what it costs?

That is the question editors at the U.S. Naval Institute's award-winning magazine Proceedings posed to the senior naval officer of each of the world's navies.

A total of 28 responded, ranging from the First Sea Lord of Britain's Royal Navy to the Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan and Chief of Staff of the Japanese Maritime Defense Force. All 28 responses are featured in the magazine's annual International Navies issue in March.

The answers reflect the diverse issues affecting navies which range in size from coastal guardian groups to deep-water fleets. Several took the question and modified it, answering in terms that served their individual situation.

"Rear Admiral David Ledson, Chief of Navy of the Royal New Zealand Navy, said our question got him to thinking about another question," noted James M. Caiella, Proceedings' associate editor. "He answered his own question, which was spot on to the spirit of ours and should provide his peers-and the rest of the sea service community-with much to consider."

"We believe that the responses from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are not only interesting, but also significant," Caiella added. "To have responses from all three nations in one of the world focal points with such different navies and needs is meaningful."

Proceedings published its first International Navies issue 27 years ago. The survey of foreign Navy chiefs became part of the editorial package in 1992, reflecting changes spawned by the end of the Cold War.

"International Navies traditionally has been one of our most popular issues, but we also consider it one of our most important," said Robert Timberg, Editor-in-Chief of Proceedings. "No one is more aware of the impact of globalization than the men and women who sail the seas and we like to think this special issue contributes to mutual understanding." Read the full article at www.usni.org

ABOUT THE U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE
Founded in 1873, the U.S. Naval Institute is a professional membership organization whose mission is to preserve and promote Naval Heritage and to provide an independent forum to address issues critical to national security. USNI hosts conferences, publishes Proceedings and Naval History magazines, and the Naval Institute Press publishes more than 75 professional and Mission-related books a year.

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