For thousands of disabled vets, this job training program may be better than the GI Bill

Leo Shane III www.militarytimes.com
Image by Sgt. Alexander Snyder

The Veteran Readiness and Employment program may be a better option than the GI Bill for thousands of veterans, according to the Government Accountability Office.  Hundreds of thousands of veterans use their GI Bill benefits annually to earn a college degree, but thousands may be better served bypassing the well-known education program in favor of another Veterans Affairs program aimed at employment help for disabled veterans, according to a new report released this week.

Officials from the Government Accountability Office said the Veteran Readiness and Employment program (VR&E) was used by about 123,000 veterans last year but has the potential to benefit even more, if VA leaders step up efforts to promote it.

“Most school and [veterans service organization] officials we interviewed said veterans with disabilities often choose the GI Bill for education benefits because they are unaware that the VR&E program exists,” the report states.  “The officials attributed this lack of awareness to VA’s relatively limited promotion of VR&E and because of the prominence of the GI Bill as an education benefit program.”

A change to Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs could mean more education money for thousands of veterans.
Change allows extra GI Bill benefits for some disabled vets.  Under the move, Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits won't count against GI Bill payouts later on.

Read more: Veterans Readiness and Employment Program

Iraqi Forces Invade Kuwait -- August 2nd, 1990
On August 2, 1990, at about 2 a.m. local time, Iraqi forces invade Kuwait, Iraq’s tiny, oil-rich neighbor. Kuwait’s defense forces were rapidly overwhelmed, and those that were not destroyed retreated to Saudi Arabia. The emir of Kuwait, his family, and other government leaders fled to Saudi Arabia, and within hours Kuwait City had been captured and the Iraqis had established a provincial government. By annexing Kuwait, Iraq gained control of 20 percent of the world’s oil reserves and, for the first time, a substantial coastline on the Persian Gulf. The same day, the United Nations Security Council unanimously denounced the invasion and demanded Iraq’s immediate withdrawal from Kuwait. On August 6, the Security Council imposed a worldwide ban on trade with Iraq.

On August 9, Operation Desert Shield, the American defense of Saudi Arabia, began as U.S. forces raced to the Persian Gulf. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, meanwhile, built up his occupying army in Kuwait to about 300,000 troops. On November 29, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq if it failed to withdraw by January 15, 1991. Hussein refused to withdraw his forces from Kuwait, which he had established as a province of Iraq, and some 700,000 allied troops, primarily American, gathered in the Middle East to enforce the deadline.

At 4:30 p.m. EST on January 16, 1991, Operation Desert Storm, the massive U.S.-led offensive against Iraq, began as the first fighter aircraft were launched from Saudi Arabia and off U.S. and British aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. All evening, aircraft from the U.S.-led military coalition pounded targets in and around Baghdad as the world watched the events transpire on television footage transmitted live via satellite from Iraq. Operation Desert Storm was conducted by an international coalition under the supreme command of U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf and featured forces from 32 nations, including Britain, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Read more:  Iraq Invades Kuwait - August 2nd, 1990

From Veterans Administration:

For Gulf War Veterans, VA presumes that unexplained symptoms are related to Gulf War service if a Veteran has experienced them for six months or more.

The "presumptive" illness(es) must have first appeared during active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations or by December 31, 2021, and be at least 10 percent disabling.

If you are a Gulf War Veteran who may experience a cluster of medically unexplained chronic symptoms that can include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders, and memory problems, VA presumes that some health conditions were caused by military service. In practical terms, Gulf War Veterans who meet certain criteria don’t have to prove an association between their illness and military service. By assuming a link between symptoms and military service, it can simplify and speed up the application process for benefits.

For further information:  https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/publications/gulf-war/gulf-war-winter-2016/gulf-war-presumptives.asp

THE ROCKLAND COUNTY PFC JOSEPH P. DWYER VETERAN PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM INVITES YOU TO MEDICARE 101:  WHAT VETERANS & CAREGIVERS NEED TO KNOW
Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 12:00 Noon


For further information or to register, contact Veteran Outreach Coordinator Ismael (Izzy) Quintana at iquintana@vettovetrc.org or phone:  (845) 587-6497

Representatives from the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System, White Plains Vet Center and Mark Brownstein, CSA and Director of Medicare-Emerald Medicare will present and be available for follow up questions.

August 4th (Wednesday) at 12:00 noon. This will be an in-person and a virtual event.
Location is at BRIDGES conference room located on the 2nd Floor of the Palisades Center, in West Nyack NY.  Lunch will be hosted by Emerald Medicare. * RSVP is required if attending in person.*

Virtually via Zoom at Meeting ID: 869 5914 3958; Passcode: 750609 or click on: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86959143958?pwd=UjhQeVJDL0ZUeW5QNU5rRXRpYXBMZz09

For further questions or to RSVP for in person attendance please contact Izzy Quintana at email: iquintana@vettovetrc.org or (c)845-587-6497.

Hopefully, September will see the return of students to school.  Find out what veterans' benefits are available for you or your family members through the Federal GI Bill and also through New York State.

MilitaryTimes.com article By Leo Shane III
Dozens of reforms mandated by Congress in legislation last year are scheduled to be in place by August 1st, 2021 ahead of the fall semester

Veterans Affairs officials expect to have 27 congressionally mandated reforms to GI Bill benefits in place by August 1st, 2021, but many of those changes may not be immediately visible to all students.  That’s because the bulk of the changes, included in the Johnny Isakson and Phil Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, deal with specific programs and eligibility requirements that individually don’t affect a large number of veterans.  When combined, however, these small changes amount to significant updates across the breadth of the benefit.

Several provisions have been in place since the start of the summer, including the extension of protections for beneficiaries attending colleges whose schedules were upended by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  Students forced out of classes due to changes to class meetings or availability can retain their GI Bill eligibility under the measure, on-campus jobs and apprenticeship stipends were extended through the end of the pandemic, and payouts for hybrid classes will be adjusted under language approved last fall.

To read more:  Military Times -- Education
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New York State Veterans Benefits:
Do you know of veterans' benefits New York has to offer? For further information, view this link: https://veterans.ny.gov

New York also has a few opportunities for you or your children to get a higher education at reduced or no cost:

• Veterans Tuition Awards: If you meet service criteria — generally extending to New York State Veterans who served in hostilities after 1961 and who were discharged under honorable conditions — you can receive tuition awards for study at a New York degree-granting institution or vocational training program. Details: https://rly.pt/2TdHk21.

• Military Enhanced Recognition Incentive and Tribute (MERIT) Scholarship: Tuition assistance is available to children, spouses or financial dependents of New York residents who died or became severely and permanently disabled in military service. Details: https://rly.pt/3j5LD9K.

• Regents Awards for Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans: New York also provides $450 annually to students whose parents served in times of war or national emergency and, as a result, died or received a VA service-connected disability rating of 40% or greater.
Details: https://rly.pt/3jbJnhC. 

Coconut Shell Message from  John F. Kennedy
On August 2nd, 1943, while serving as Commander of the PT-109 torpedo boat during World War II, future U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his crew were rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri. Kennedy’s boat was instantly halved by the impact and two crew members were killed.

Six days later, stranded in the Solomon Islands with his fellow survivors, Kennedy carved a desperate message into a coconut shell and handed it to Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, two natives tasked with delivering it to the nearest Allied base 35 nautical miles away, by canoe. Amazingly, they succeeded, and as a result Kennedy and his men were soon rescued.  Kennedy later had the shell encased in plastic; it was then used as a paperweight in the Oval Office during his presidency.    
Transcript:  NAURO ISL COMMANDER
NATIVE KNOWS POS’IT
HE CAN PILOT
11 ALIVE
NEED SMALL BOAT

KENNEDY