Military & Veterans News

Military & Veterans News Vet News: WWII POW Receives Purple Heart at Bataan Memorial Death March NEW MEXICO, March 28, 2006 -- Almost 62 miles and 64 years later, Clifford “Smokey” Martinez received the Purple Heart March 26 at the 2006 Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range for wounds he received as a prisoner of war during World War II.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Purple Heart Stamp Daily Reminder of Valor WASHINGTON – In continuing recognition of the sacrifices of combat-wounded Veterans, the Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, joined with top officials from the U.S. Postal Service today to unveil a new Purple Heart stamp.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Forms Committee to Advise on Genomic Medicine WASHINGTON – Continuing the leadership role of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in medical research benefiting all Americans, the Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, today announced formation of a committee of internationally recognized scientists and Veterans’ advocates to advise the Department on emerging issues in genomic medicine.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: New Program Aimed at Creating Warrant Officers within the States ARLINGTON, Va., February 28, 2006 -- The Army National Guard is running a pilot program designed to evaluate, train and graduate technical warrant officers in order to fill a large number of vacancies within the 54 states and territories.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Teams with National Guard to Train New State Benefits Advisors WASHINGTON - - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Guard Bureau have teamed up to improve the coordination of Veterans benefits at the state level by training newly created State Benefits Advisors (SBAs) to help ensure a smooth and seamless transition for Guard members returning from active-duty deployments.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: DoD Helps to Launch Military Financial Education Program WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2006 – A general lack of financial knowledge makes servicemembers an ideal target for predatory money lenders, so the Defense Department is helping to do something about it, officials said here today.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Most Reserve, Guard Members Earn More, Not Less, in Uniform WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2006 – Despite general perceptions that National Guard and Reserve troops lose income when called to active duty, most actually earn more in uniform than as civilians, a new Rand Corp. study reveals.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: DoD Plans to Boost Access to Military Child Care WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2006 – The Defense Department will use a multifaceted approach to boost the availability of child care services for military families, a senior official said here yesterday.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Partnership Rebuilds Paralyzed Veterans House WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2006 – Since his last mission, during Operation Just Cause in Panama, the tiny hallways and rooms in Tom Caldwell’s North Carolina house have made simple tasks, like going to the bathroom, a multiperson affair.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: 2006 Defense Budget Increases Military Pay, Benefits WASHINGTON, January 9, 2006 -- President Bush ushered in an across-the-board 3.1 percent military pay raise, effective Jan. 1, and a variety of other new or enhanced benefits for servicemembers and their families when he signed the 2006 National Defense Authorization Bill into law Jan. 6.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Medal of Honor Recipient Salutes, Thanks Servicemembers CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Jan. 3, 2006 – A Medal of Honor recipient saluted the work servicemembers are doing around the world as part of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s tour of the U.S. Central Command area.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Higher Limits Extended in VA Home Loan Program WASHINGTON – America’s Veterans and their families now have a greater chance to make their dreams of home ownership a reality, thanks to an increase in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan guaranty limit.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Wounded Veterans Get Holiday Boost WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2005 – The Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes has made the holidays brighter for 1,000 global war on terrorism Veterans.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Payments for Traumatic Injuries Begin Under New VA Insurance Program WASHINGTON – American troops and their families now have more financial security, thanks to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) new Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) program. Prudential Financial Inc., the insurer under the program, began making payments under this new program.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Statement by Secretary R. James Nicholson on Pearl Harbor Day WASHINGTON – "Few days in American history are burned into our national consciousness like December 7. On this date 64 years ago, the American fleet at Pearl Harbor suffered a crippling blow. More than 2,300 soldiers, sailors and Marines were lost, and the nation was thrust headlong into the largest global conflict in human history.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Marine Officer Posthumously Receives Silver Star MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Dec. 2, 2005) -- " He led from the front," said 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment Bn. commander Lt. Col. Craig S. Kaczynski during Capt. Patrick M. Rapicault's Silver Star ceremony Dec. 2.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Hire Veterans Committee Reaching Out to Employers, Veterans "Hiring a veteran is not good will, it’s just good business," the chairman of the President’s National Hire Veterans Committee said here Nov. 17.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: The Veterans Administration Commits New Funding for Increased Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Research WASHINGTON – In an effort to further answer medical questions involving Veterans who served in the Gulf War, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has approved funding for 12 new research projects to better understand illnesses affecting some Gulf War Veterans.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: D-Day Veteran Recalls Historic Day More Than 61 Years Later NORMANDY, France, Nov. 8, 2005 – The terrain at Omaha Beach remains as imposing today as it was on June 6, 1944, when the D-Day invasion gave the Allies the momentum necessary to march to victory.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: DeCA Announces 2006 Scholarships for Military Children Program Washington, November 6, 2005 -- Money for college is "what’s cooking" at 268 military commissaries worldwide as the Scholarships for Military Children program begins its sixth year of rewarding academic excellence. Since its inception in 2000, the SFMC program has awarded $1,500 college scholarships to nearly 2,500 military children.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Remember U.S. Troops Overseas as Holidays and Mailing Deadline Approach According to guidelines issued by the Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA), Americans who want to send support to troops spending the holidays in Operations Iraqi or Enduring Freedom are running out of time.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Little Progress Seen on Processing Time of Veterans' Disability Claims WASHINGTON - Months after the Department of Veterans Affairs told Congress it expected its processing time for Veterans’ disability claims to drop, agency internal reports show little or no progress.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Former VA Secretary Joins AMVETS in Planning Young Veterans Symposium Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Anthony J. Principi has agreed to co-chair the National Symposium for the Needs of Young Veterans, a landmark project that AMVETS, one of the nation’s foremost Veterans organizations, will host next year in Chicago, Ill. The Symposium, scheduled for October 18 to October 21, 2006 is expected to draw upwards of 1,500 Veterans from across the country.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: America Supports You: Fisher House Distributes Airline Tickets WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2005 – The Fisher House organization uses more than a million frequent flyer miles per week in distributing free round-trip airline tickets to families of war-wounded servicemembers being treated in military and Veterans Affairs medical facilities across the country.