november 2011 thanking our troopsdoc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/9046.pdf · just as the original...
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An Independent supplement by medIAplAnet to usA todAy
America gives backCorporate and volunteer support
the power of education post-secondary programs help veterans get ahead
Hiring initiativesCreating career opportunities
Wounded Warrior Project gives hope and empowers our country’s heroes
Braving a new frontier
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Thanking our TroopsNovember 2011
Thanking our
2 · november 2011 An Independent supplement by medIAplAnet to usA todAy
ChaLLEngEsthis Veteran’s Day, please join us in honoring our active duty troops, veterans and their families.
recognizing those who serve
only one per-cent of all U.S. citizens are in the military. Even when you count their spouses,
children, parents and grandpar-ents, it’s still a very small percent-age of Americans who have a direct experience with the military life-style.
That’s why the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) invites all Americans to honor our military members and their fami-lies on Veteran’s Day today. These families face extraordinary chal-lenges and demands throughout their military career: multiple extended deployments, family separations and frequent moves that disrupt spousal careers and
children’s education. For these sacrifices, they deserve America’s full support not only today, but throughout the year.
Our military members forfeit personal freedoms that many Americans take for granted. Some suffer serious injury, or make the ultimate sacrifice. When MOAA members talk to our wounded war-riors, they find many are planning new life goals before they are even out of the hospital. Some may go on to civilian careers, but a large number are most concerned about getting back to their units to do the work they know so well: saving lives of their fellow service mem-bers and protecting the American way of life.
What you can do We ask all Americans who enjoy the
freedoms and safety provided by our troops to consider the demands and sacrifices placed on our mili-tary members and their families. The past decade of war highlights these enormous demands that have no counterpart in civilian employ-ment.
MOAA is One Powerful Voice® for our military personnel and their families. We support a strong national defense by ensuring mili-tary personnel and compensation programs are maintained at levels necessary to attract and retain a top-quality, all-volunteer force.
Today we honor our active duty troops, veterans and their families for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacri-fice for the common good.
VAdm Norb ryAN
Wounded Warriorsthe mission of Wounded Warrior project is to honor and empower wounded warriors.
we recommend
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thanking our trooPs, third edition, november 2011
Publisher: jourdan [email protected] Developer: Paul [email protected] Designer: ariela [email protected] Director: eric [email protected] Manager: Luciana colapinto [email protected]
contributors: kris Farmer,thomas F. Farrell ii, max Friend, roy L. gibson, rachel griffith, terry howell, retired, admiral t. mccreary, dr. randy Plunkett, judy reed, nathan smith, jill coody smits, Larry Zimpleman
Distributed within: usa today, november 2011this section was created by mediaplanet and did not involve usa today or its editorial departments.
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support from the ground up and the top downIn 1995, while American troops were engaging in Operation Des-ert Storm, a Disneyland Resort Cast Member came across a letter in the newspaper from a service-man sharing how meaningful it felt to receive mail overseas from back home, though this did not seem to happen all that frequently. The Disney Cast Member decided to take action and do something about it personally, writing let-ters to troops to thank them for their service while encouraging fellow Disney Cast Members and employees to join in this effort of
support. This singular individual inspired the Disney Operation Uplift postcard program, which has now mailed out over one hundred thousand postcards to troops around the world, offering words of warmth and gratitude to American military personnel all over the globe.
corporate supportWhile exceptional employees can galvanize their corporate teams to provide such powerful examples of tangible support, companies at the executive level are also enacting programs to empower veterans themselves
once they return home. In col-laboration with Keep America Beautiful and Waste Manage-ment, PepsiCo is introducing thousands of public recycling kiosks and bins across North America to collect plastic bottles and aluminum cans, which will help fund training and educa-tion programs for U.S. veterans with disabilities who are aiming to start their own businesses.
Veterans helping veteransEven active servicemen them-selves are inspiring movements to reinforce one another. After serving in eastern Afghani-
stan with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, and later as the officer recruiter for Manhattan, Mike Abrams recently founded Four Block, a company that aims to ensure that returning veterans have the tools and resources they need to begin new careers by cul-tivating mentor-based intern-ships with top companies like NBC and Bloomberg. Whether an employee, executive, or entre-preneur, every one of us can take professional action to extend personal support for our service-men and women.
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insPiring trooPs
“When a service member is severely injured in battle, that day is thereafter referred to as their “Alive day.” It’s the day when life changed irrevocably. the day when life might have ended, but didn’t.”
“our military members forfeit many personal freedoms that many Americans take for granted.”
Vadm Norb RyanvAdm norbert r. ryan, Jr., usn-ret moAA president
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nEws
the total number of unem-ployed veterans in the United states is now over 1 million. according to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the unemployment rate among Gulf War II era vets (those serving since sept. 2011) is 11.5 percent, roughly 1 percent higher than the non-veteran population.But veterans do have several programs and opportunities that can give them a leg up when competing for work. The most widely known of these are the civil-service Preference
Point system and the Veteran’s Recruitment Appointment rule.
Preference points apply to federal civil service examina-tions, and can add either five points for eligible veterans or 10 points for eligible disabled veter-ans depending on the nature of their service. Many state govern-ments offer a similar preference point system for veterans.
a special ruleUnder the Veteran’s Recruitment Appointment rule, a veteran can be appointed to a white-collar position through GS 11 without having to
compete with other applicants.The VRA is open to disabled
veterans who served on active duty during a war or major campaign and have left the service under honorable condi-tions within three years.
training, education, and counselingIn addition, veterans have sup-port services and programs to help them get the train-ing, education, and counsel-ing needed to improve their employability. One such pro-gram is offered by the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs’ Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program known as VetSuccess.
Several organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Non-Commissioned Officer Association (NCOA) sponsor local career fairs throughout the country. These veteran job expos are specifi-cally designed to help veteran-friendly employers find veter-ans looking for work.
Terry Howell is the Managing Editor of Military.com.
Using yoUr Benefits to get ahead
VA loans have helped over 18 mil-lion veterans become homeown-ers, but still less than 15 percent have capitalized on their home loan entitlement.
A tighter credit market has helped spur a surge in VA loan vol-ume, as service members and fami-lies are drawn to the financial ben-efits. Of those benefits, one rises above the others: Qualified veter-ans can purchase a home worth up to $417,000 with no money down. Additional benefits include:
■■ No private mortgage insurance■■ Consistently lower rates
than conventional loans■■ Sellers can pay up to 6 per-
cent of the loan amount in clos-ing costs and concessions
■■ No prepayment penaltiesKris FArmer
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products with manageable payments over just 12 months.
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We Salute You With humble gratitude, Excelsior College’s staff and faculty would like to take a moment to pay tribute to our country’s veterans who have dedicated themselves to protecting our country and the ideals of democracy.
Excelsior College is honored to serve our country’s military and veterans by helping them to reach their career goals and providing access to an affordable education. We are the college of choice for over 60,000 military personnel and veterans around theworld.
Learn more by calling 888-647-2388 ext. 1352, emailing [email protected],
or visit us online at www.excelsior.edu/military
what yoU need to know aBoUt the post 9/11 gi BillRonald Reagan once said, “the closest we will get to everlasting life on earth is a government program.”
While the majority of govern-ment programs have received very mixed reviews, the pro-vision for veterans to obtain an education under the GI Bill of 1944 has always received glowing support. Lawmakers, employers, and veterans all agree the GI Bill made getting an education possible, and has launched millions into reward-ing careers.
The Post 9/11 GI Bill continues
the tradition of providing a means for veterans to get the training or education needed to be com-petitive in today’s job market, and veterans are taking advantage of this new entitlement by the thousands. While unemployment for veterans is twice the national average, those who use their edu-cational benefits fare much better than those who do not.
the elements of the bill are as follows:■ The new GI Bill pays a maxi-mum of $17,500 annually, and even more for those who attend institutions who agree to the
Yellow Ribbon program, which provides additional funding for more costly tuition rates.
■■ A monthly housing allow-ance that varies by location and includes those who attend
classes online.■■ An annual books and sup-
plies stipend of up to $1,000 depending on enrollment.
Looking aheadJust as the original GI Bill was heralded as “the law that changed our country,” so the Post 9/11 GI Bill will be the leg up folks need to change their futures. Well over 300,000 are currently enrolled using the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and with the drawdown of the mili-tary on the horizon, thousands more will be marching to admis-sions offices around the country in the very near future.
Millions of WWII, Korean, and Vietnam vets acknowledge that the GI Bill changed their lives forever, and there is no doubt our newest veterans will enthusias-tically credit the Post 9/11 GI Bill with changing their lives in the future.
Veterans are encouraged to check the GI Bill website provided by the Veterans Administration by going to gibill.va.gov.
Dr. Randy Plunkett is the Direc-tor of Community and Government Outreach at Military.com
nEws
“those who use their educational benefits fare much better than those who do not.””
300,000 VEts cURRENtLy
UsE thE Post 9/11 GI BILL
300,000 VEts
2fact
november 2011 · 7An Independent supplement by medIAplAnet to usA todAy
nEwsbeyond service: education oPPortunities
■ what are the best benefits of online education for military and/or veteran students?
The benefits of online education include ease of access and asyn-chronous accredited classes. Ease of access to the internet allows course interaction to occur at the student’s convenience; students can be in almost any part of the world and receive their education. Often in different time zones, stu-dents find asynchronous classes work best because they do not need to be online at any specific time, but do need to meet dead-lines for assignments, projects and discussions.
■ what types of programs should schools utilize to
help ensure the success of their military and/or veteran students?
Schools should have degree pro-grams for military and veteran students which utilize their military experience toward a civilian career goal relevant in today’s job market. Students require the resources to be a successful student such as 24/7 tutoring services, career ser-vices, student online success guide, and military/veteran social communities.
Judy Reed, M.Ed. is the Director of Veteran Services and Outreach at Excelsior College
[email protected]@mediaplanet.comPhoto: istock
an advantage above the restan education is essential in remaining competitive in today’s job market.
Photo: istockPhoto.com
8 · november 2011 An Independent supplement by medIAplAnet to usA todAy
for deployed members, it’s coping with family separation and daily high stress environments. In the aftermath, there may be physical and/or psychological injuries that require rehabilitation. These circum-stances have potential to strain relation-ships. Young veterans can face challenges when looking to transfer their skills for work.
Question 1:What are some of the biggest challenges you believe are facing veterans and/or military personnel right now?
Roy L. Gibsonsmsgt, usaF (ret.), President, military benefit association
thomas f. farrell IIchairman, President & ceo, dominion and chairman, edison electric institute
Larry Zimplemanchairman, President & ceo, the Principal Financial group
insighT
Question 2:What benefits has your company seen in regards to hiring initiatives, or supporting veterans and/or military personnel?
Question 3:How can Americans show their support for veterans and/or military personnel?
MBa has sponsored benefits to the mili-tary for 55 years. During current conflicts, we’ve sent care packages to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and sponsored the Drum-hike.com campaign that provides funds to financially distressed military families. The MBA Facebook page distributes daily infor-mation relevant to the military community.
We can show our respect and grati-tude for those who wear or have worn the uniform and acknowledge the sacrifices they’ve made. We live in a country where decisions about support to the military community are made by elected represen-tatives. Vote for the candidates that favor those issues.
the biggest challenge facing veter-ans is their transition from the service into civilian jobs. Troops to Energy Jobs utility pilot program can help provide information on available jobs in the civilian sector and can give examples of the training opportunities required for those jobs.
through hiring veterans, our company has brought on employees who have expe-rienced a similar culture where safety is paramount, where logistical skills are vital, and where teamwork is prized and critical to performance. Our national security and our economy rely on efficient and reliable opera-tions of our power stations and the power grid.
Every day we ask our armed forces to stand in the line of fire to defend us and the U.S. We can help service members’ families by making sure they are taken care of while their loved ones are away. We can send care packages to troops in harm’s way. And we can help those leaving the military find jobs that utilize their skills.
the transition to the civilian workforce and returning to a very competitive job market can be overwhelming. Training provided by employers is critical to help veterans address gaps in current skills. It is also important to help translate their mili-tary experience into to demonstrate how those experiences will benefit them on the job.
Military talent brings leadership and a variety of other well-developed skills; disci-pline and timeliness are transferrable to the workplace. There is a great sense of pride and patriotism when hiring active mili-tary or veteran employees, which in turn impacts employee retention and fosters a supportive culture among our employees.
the great men and women who serve our country cannot serve without the sup-port of their employers and communities. It is important to build a support network for the family a soldier leaves behind, to help with the responsibilities a loved one incurs while a soldier is deployed.
panEL oF EXpErTs
there is a national spotlight on finding our veterans jobs. Many efforts to hire veterans are motivated by a pure sense of appreciation for their service during 11 years of armed conflict and that is admirable. however, veterans are not in need of being “given” a job. they are skilled professionals who simply need the oppor-tunity to compete for a job in the civilian job market.
Honor them for their service, but hire them because they bring valuable skill sets and great work ethic to any business.
More importantly, we need to dis-mantle the roadblocks on the path to employment for veterans.
Skills translation seems to be the biggest impediment in a job search. Military job codes do not provide enough information about skill sets to civilian employers. Tools like Military.com’s skills translator can help decode the military jargon into plain English and reveal what jobs may be a good fit for transitioning personnel.
a veteran’s skill setLess than one percent of our popu-lation serves and that means there is a knowledge gap. For example
most employers envision the aver-age veteran as a trigger puller on the battlefield. Yet that individual probably had other duties such as maintenance, logistics, counseling or administration skills as well as management or supervisory skills. We need to realize that many, many different jobs exist within the service.
The military can also better prepare our men and women to compete in the private sector. We superbly train our service members for many missions. Let’s treat get-ting out and getting a job as another mission and teach our military personnel to compete in the job market.
Finally, companies who hire veterans must provide a different orientation than they give their civilian hires. Transitioning per-sonnel need proper introductions to a company’s policies, culture, organization and rules. Conversely, military personnel need to embrace their transition and not expect their civilian employer to be just like the military.
By putting our efforts into better com-munication and a true com-m i t m e n t to under-stand-
ing from both job seekers and employers, we can ensure our veter-ans are competitive in the civilian job market.
T. McCreary is the President of Mil-itary.com and Retired Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.
opportUnity knocks for skilled veterans
The members of Edison Electric Institute are proud to support Troops to Energy Jobs. Jobs in the energy industries offer promising opportunities to our
veterans who are returning to civilian life. The Troops to Energy Jobs
initiative will accelerate the training and placement of veterans to help
fill roughly 200,000 highly skilled jobs over the next 10 years. With their
extensive military training and experience, many veterans already have
the skills and knowledge required for careers in energy. And we are proud
to provide opportunities for those who have served our nation so bravely.
Troops to Energy Jobs is managed by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD), a non-profit consortium of electric, natural gas, and nuclear utilities; their associations—the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), American Gas Association (AGA), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA); and their unions—the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (UWUA).
Connecting Veterans to Rewarding Energy Careers
EnErgyTroopsTo
Jobs
Sponsor Companies
PilotCompanies
www.CEWD.org
10 · november 2011 An Independent supplement by medIAplAnet to usA todAy
nEws
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hIRE hERoEs hELPs VEts
fIND joBs at a RatE of oNE
PER Day
hIRE hERoEs
3fact
hire heroes Usa is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organiza-tion that offers transition assistance and job search services to Us veterans that have honorably served, regardless of geographic location, while prioritizing those statistically most likely to be unemployed: young veterans of Iraq and afghanistan, and the wounded or disabled.
Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, Hire Heroes USA has built a national reputation of excellence for its success at helping unemployed veterans find jobs—
currently at the rate of one per business day.
“It’s not magic,” says Hire Heroes USA Executive Director Nathan Smith. “Our team is comprised of military veterans—many with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan—and business veter-ans. That mix of military and civil-ian experience has proven essential to gaining rapport with the veter-ans and businesses with whom we work. Effectively training veterans in the skills of self-marketing, then networking them into family-wage jobs with great companies, takes a program staffed by smart and tal-ented people doing the right thing for the right reason.”
a personal touchThe hallmark of the program is a personal approach where each vet-eran receives dedicated assistance from a highly-trained Hire Heroes USA staff member in order to help them overcome barriers to employ-ment. The three most common bar-riers are:
■■ Physical and cognitive disabili-ties as a result of military service
■■ Lack of knowledge about self-marketing
■■ Lack of employment opportunitiesNothing can change the histori-
cal antecedents that have contrib-uted to a generation of combat-wounded or disabled service mem-bers and a job market struggling in
the worst economic environment since the Great Depression. But the two other main causes of high veteran unemployment —lack of knowledge and lack of opportu-nity—are addressed through War-rior Transition Workshops, online job search assistance, and Career Opportunity Days.
Making the connectionCareer Opportunity Days are non-traditional job fairs that connect transitioning service members with companies eager to hire employees that have demonstrated leadership, selflessness, and matu-rity beyond many of their peers. Held with the support of the USO
and US Chamber of Commerce, Career Opportunity Days can serve as a model for businesses that rec-ognize the value of today’s veter-ans and are committed to helping reduce veteran unemployment. With over one million service members returning to civilian life in the next four years, there has never been a better time for compa-nies to evaluate their veteran hir-ing initiatives.
Nathan Smith is the Executive Director of Hire Heroes USA.
help beyond the call of duty
november 2011 · 11An Independent supplement by medIAplAnet to usA todAy
When a service member is severely injured in battle, that day is thereafter referred to as their “alive Day.” It’s the day when life changed irrevocably. the day when life might have ended, but didn’t.
For Staff Sergeant Chad Brump-ton, that day is May 8, 2005. After his platoon assisted another team in securing a bridge near Al Qaim, Iraq, an improvised explo-sive device (IED) blew a hole through his tank, shattering his legs from the knee down. Chad endured 19 surgeries in two years, then made the difficult decision to have his legs amputated below the knee in January 2008.
He says, “I had a lot of pain, and didn’t want to take so much medi-cation, but was concerned about what my new normal would be.”
I’ll carry you Because of advances in medi-cal technology, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are more likely to survive cata-strophic injuries than in the past, and must learn to live with debil-itating physical as well as mental health issues.
Following his surgery, Chad was determined to rebuild a pro-ductive life. He sought help from a post-traumatic stress disorder psychologist and got involved with the Wounded Warrior Proj-ect (WWP), an initiative started by veterans to provide injured-service members with programs developed to help them thrive.
“I thought WWP would give me a way to network with other war-riors, but it turned into a vehicle to help others,” says Chad. “It was very therapeutic, because I started
out as the one who was carried off the battlefield and became the one doing the carrying.”
you can do anythingPrivate First Class Ben Maenza’s Alive Day is Oct. 21, 2010. Just three weeks into his first tour in Afghanistan, he was patrol-ling for IEDs when one exploded under his foot, severing his legs above the knees. He says WWP has been an important part of his recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
“WWP taught me that even though I don’t have legs, I can still do many things. I’ve gone swimming, kayak-ing and snowboard-ing; and I’m about to hand cycle the Marine Corps Marathon.”
Ben says his reha-
bilitation is going very well, and he has his eye on a February return home to Memphis.
“My goal is to get a bachelor’s degree and go around the world hiking and doing things people wouldn’t think I could do. I want to motivate people to under-stand they can do anything they want.”
inspiraTioninspiraTinspiraTinspira ion
Embracing a new normal
don’t miss
fatigues to fabulous™ (f2f) is an ongoing national campaign estab-lished to honor and sup-port female veterans as they transition home.
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) is joining forces with various Veterans Service Organizations and the Fashion Industry to raise awareness of the unique physi-cal, emotional, and psychologi-cal challenges female veterans face, and to harness resources to support them.
SWHR, a national non-profit based in Washington, DC is widely recognized as the thought leader in research on sex differences and is dedicated to improving women’s health through advocacy, education, and research. Just as disease affects women differently than men, military women experi-ence different health concerns than their male counterparts. SWHR believes these sex dif-ferences must be researched in order to adequately improve the health of women returning from combat zones. For more information or to make a dona-tion, please visit swhr.org.
rAchel GriFFith
fatigues to fabulousraising awareness for female veterans
“WWP taught me that even though I don’t have legs, I can
Jill coody smits
Wounded Warrior ProjectBen Maenza participated in his first soldier Ride in May in Washington, D.c. and in september went home to Nashville to participate in soldier Ride in his hometown. he was presented a hand-cycle bike by U-haul to aid in his rehabilitation.
Photo: wounded warrior Project
