Monthly Archives: July 2013

Veterans Benefits

Verizon Wireless Hiring Veterans

Leave a comment

I do believe their advancement is a bit more lucrative than Walmart. According to the folks at the local stores, their benefits are better. But then some shops are Franchises and they do not adhere to the same guidelines, or pricing.

 

Verizon Wireless is continuing its push to hire veterans into its offices nationwide through its special military hiring website and a concentration on sponsoring and attending military hiring fairs around the country. The company has partnered with organizations like The American Legion to actively recruit and engage veteran job candidates in a grassroots manner. Veterans are a perfect fit for positions within the company’s information technology, electronic engineering, communications, project management, and automotive and mechanics departments. For more information, visit the Verizon Wireless Careers for Transitioning Military website at www22.verizon.com/jobs/workinghere_transitioningmilitary.html.

For more veteran jobs news and tips, and to connect with more companies looking to hire veterans, visit the Military.com Veteran Jobs Center.

compliments of Military.com

Veterans Benefits

VA To Host Mental Health Summits

Leave a comment

I hope they invite graduates of the vast array of treatment programs to showcase with solid testimonials that programs like the Purple Mountain Institute in Tucson, the Merritt Center in Payson, the EBTU program at the VA and the Vet Centers, are actually doing a good job of caring for veterans. The journalistic cliche, “that if it bleeds in leads,” is apt for the way the VA is viewed by the media. I think they are dancing as fast as they can. Who planned for 14 years of war? How could any rational legislator plan that far ahead to meet the needs of the returning veterans?
The Armed Forces grew by about 8% since 2000 to supply the global conflicts. The private sector contractors grew by approximately 25%. Now tell me, is that a Military Industrial Complex or what?  So lets sequester some of the war profiteering and give it to the VA. Is that not what our soldiers earned. They are not profiting.

Mental Health Summits

Meeting the mental health care needs of Veterans and their families is among one of the highest priorities for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). While VA continues to expand mental health resources to meet the needs of Veterans, truly Veteran-centric, recovery-oriented care requires active collaboration and coordination with partners in the community. Through collaboration, VA can promote awareness and utilization of VA mental health resources, help Veterans gain access to community services, and build healthy communities for Veterans and their families. In the interest of promoting community collaboration, each facility is hosting a Mental Health Summit. These Mental Health Summits are expected to help build or sustain collaborative efforts with community providers to enhance mental health and well-being for Veterans and their families. To learn about Mental Health Summits in your area, please use the map below. Click on your state for a list of summits in your area.

Please Note: Selecting a state will open a Word document containing Summit information for that state.

 

United State 50 State Map
Vermont Maine New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Washington, D.C. Puerto Rico New York Pennsylvania West Virginia Virginia Maryland North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Alabama Mississippi Tennessee Kentucky Ohio Michigan Indiana Illinois Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Texas Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska North Dakota South Dakota Montana Wyoming Colorado New Mexico Idaho Washington Oregon Nevada Utah Arizona California target="_blank" />
Alaska Hawaii

Alabama Illinois Montana Rhode Island American Samoa
Alaska Indiana Nebraska South Carolina Guam
Arizona Iowa Nevada South Dakota Philippines Islands
Arkansas Kansas New Hampshire Tennessee Puerto Rico
California Kentucky New Jersey Texas Virgin Islands
Colorado Louisiana New Mexico Utah
Connecticut Maine New York Vermont
Delaware Maryland North Carolina Virginia
Washington DC Massachusetts North Dakota Washington
Florida Michigan Ohio West Virginia
Georgia Minnesota Oklahoma Wisconsin
Hawaii Mississippi Oregon Wyoming
Idaho Missouri Pennsylvania
Veterans Benefits

The Passing Of A Good Marine/ Richard Vandemark

4 Comments

Richard Vandemark, co-founder of the Mindful Veterans Project, USMC 1964-67, First Battalion, First Marine Regiment, Republic of Viet Nam 1965-66, has passed away due to ALS, a condition presumptively linked to exposure to Agent Orange.

Letter from Dr. Teri Davis, founder of Purple Mountain Institute:

14 years ago, I told Richard I wanted to start a nonprofit organization and he provided seed money. Purple Mountain Institute was born.

5 years ago, I told Richard I wanted to start a program for veterans through Purple Mountain Institute. He suggested I teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction because it was the only thing that had helped him with his own debilitating PTSD. He then made a donation that covered all expenses for me to begin instruction towards becoming an MBSR instructor. The Mindful Veterans Project began with that conversation.

He continued to support my training and the program, both financially and physically. He jokingly referred to himself as the thug in the corner, taking every class and continually encouraging the participants to do their homework. He embodied the practice and the benefits of the practice.

He spoke often about the manure of your own experiences. He found peace through that teaching and shared it. His combat experiences were the manure for the flowering of awareness and his demons were slowly transformed into his sweeties. Like a bell of mindfulness, his memories called him back to this breath every time they surfaced.

He was my teacher and my friend and his fierce devotion to veterans will continue to inform and guide the Mindful Veterans Project.

From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, he was once and always a Marine.

with a very deep bow,

Teri

Richard was a friend, mentor and Marine to the calcium in his bones.  Richard embodied a level of honesty that was penetrating and draped with compassion. His linguistic twists would twirl me through the dark nights of the soul back to a better place.

Every encounter with Richard was like having your very own combat Sufi!

He simply knew every  psychic sidebar of war.

Sweet Jesus, you will be missed Richard.

“If the Army and the Navy ever look on heavens scenes/ they will see the streets are guarded by United State Marines”

Thanks for walking “point” for us. The Supreme Commandant has promoted you to Heavens Counselor.

Semper Fidelis Richard

Veterans Benefits

Veterans Administration Digital Claims Technology Underway

3 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Technology in Place for Electronic Submission of Veterans’ Disability Claims

Capability Marks Major Milestone in VA Transformation to Digital Claims Process

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2013)- A new online application from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) enables disability compensation claims to be processed faster in a more end-to-end electronic environment, and VA is urging Veterans and their Veterans Service Organization  (VSO) representatives to make full use of its capabilities to receive speedier decisions and reduce the backlog of claims.

The availability of the joint VA-Department of Defense Web portal eBenefits, which now integrates with the new internal Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) electronic claims processing system, marks a major milestone in VA’s transformation from paper claims records to a fully digital operating environment, one of the keys to VA’s goal to eliminate the disability claims backlog by the end of 2015. VBMS has now been fielded at all 56 Regional Offices across the country, ahead of schedule.  VA will continue to upgrade and improve VBMS based on user feedback, and add features and tools that make it faster and easier to process claims. Instead of filling out and mailing paper forms to VA, Veterans can now use eBenefits to enter claim information online using a step-by-step, interview-style application, with pre-populated data fields and drop-down menus similar to popular tax preparation software.

“There are so many advantages to making this move from paper to digital – for both Veterans and VA” said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. “Veterans can now file their claims online through eBenefits like they might do their taxes online.”

By filing electronically, any compensation benefits that are awarded will be effective back to the date the Veteran started entering their claim information in eBenefits.  From that initial claim establishment date, each Veteran has up to a year to gather all necessary records and hit “submit” to preserve their original date of claim.

eBenefits allows Veterans to upload digital images of records and evidence to support their claims, bypassing the need to physically mail in personal records and wait for confirmation of receipt. VA is advising Veterans to gather and submit all relevant medical records and file a Fully Developed Claim (FDC) in eBenefits, which entails entering all available evidence at the time the claim is submitted and verifying to VA that they have no more evidence to submit. Veterans filing an FDC will receive priority processing over the traditional claims process.   VA can typically process FDCs in half the time it takes for a traditionally filed claim, and there is no risk to Veterans in filing an FDC.  If VA finds that there is a piece of relevant evidence that was not submitted by the Veteran, but is needed for a rating decision (like private medical records), claims processors will work to obtain that evidence on the Veteran’s behalf and process the claim in the traditional way.

Once logged into eBenefits, Veterans can also choose to have an accredited VSO representative assist with their claim submission by filing an electronic power of attorney form.  Using this new system, the chosen VSO representative, with proper authorization, will be able to see the contents of a Veteran’s claim, track its status, and add additional information when needed. A Veteran and his or her representative can even work a claim simultaneously while both are logged into the system, enabling VSOs to assist more Veterans in their homes or even remotely.

VA will still accept claims in paper form, though processing may take longer than for an electronically-submitted claim.  As of this summer, VA scans all new paper claims and uploads them into VBMS so they too can be processed electronically, though without many of the benefits provided when Veterans initiate the process in eBenefits such as guided questions that help ensure complete and accurate information and the immediate receipt of information without having to wait for the scanning and processing of paper documents. In addition to filing claims online, registered eBenefits users can track their claim status and access information on a variety of other benefits, like pension, education, health care, home loan eligibility, and vocational rehabilitation and employment programs.

A free Premium eBenefits account is required to file claims electronically. The quickest and most convenient method of establishing a free premium eBenefits account is to complete the remote verification process through the eBenefits home page, or use DoD’s common access card (CAC) to register for and/or upgrade to a free premium account.  Veterans can also establish an account by telephone at 1-800-827-1000, option 7, if they are in receipt of VA benefits via direct deposit, or by visiting a VA regional office or TRICARE Service Center (if they are a military retiree). For the location of the nearest VA regional office, visit www.va.gov <http://www.va.gov/>   and search the VA regional benefits office locator.

While compensation claims are pending, eligible Veterans are able to receive healthcare and other benefits from VA.  Veterans who have served in recent conflicts are eligible for 5 years of free healthcare from VA. Currently, over 55% of returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans are using VA healthcare, a rate of utilization greater than previous generations of Veterans.

This is the latest effort in support of the Secretary’s plan to eliminate the backlog. On May 15, VA announced that it is mandating overtime for claims processors in its 56 regional benefits offices through the end of fiscal year 2013 to help eliminate the backlog, with continued emphasis on high-priority claims for homeless Veterans, those claiming financial hardship, the terminally ill, former Prisoners of War, Medal of Honor recipients, and Veterans filing Fully Developed Claims.

In April, VA announced an initiative to expedite compensation claims decisions for Veterans who have waited one year or longer.   On April 19, VA began prioritizing claims decisions for Veterans who have been waiting the longest by providing decisions based on evidence currently in hand that allow eligible Veterans to begin collecting compensation benefits quickly while waiting for their final eligibility decision.  For more information about VA benefits, go to http://www.benefits.va.gov <http://www.benefits.va.gov/> .  For more information on VA’s Transformation, go to http://benefits.va.gov/transformation.

Veterans Benefits

Okay Okay, I Know It Is Soccer But The Stadium Was Built As Veterans Memorial Stadium

Leave a comment
FC Tucson marketing team would do well to add a veterans section to the seating arrangement. It would most likely sell out, create an incredible aura at the games, and allow me to post all your cool material!
O 

 

Fans:

 

FC Tucson jumps back into PDL action with a big showdown against the Los Angeles Misioneros. The last time these two clubs met, the result was lot like kissing your cousin (ie. a tie) so both teams want to walk out of the match with bragging rights for the year.

 

Tucson days may be hot, but the evenings have been fantastic  and we want you to join us for another big summer block party as the sun goes down, the monsoon breeze cools you off and the action heats up on the pitch. 

 

As you know, our home field advantage through the Cactus Pricks and full grand stands are the fixture of why we love our town.  With your help, FC Tucson will control the game, the team will stomp out the Misioneros and Randy Newman will have to re-write his 1983 classic “I Love L.A.” to say “I Love Tucson” to avoid embarrassment.

 

So come out to the match this Saturday, July 13, at 7:30 p.m., to watch your hometown team. We know you love it!

To purchase your tickets click here!

But wait! There’s more…

Celebrating Arizona Soccer Pride isn’t the only great thing going on on Saturday . Fans can expect the following at Saturday’s match:

  • Chapman Tucson Champions League Co-ed Final–TASL v. TWSL at 5:15 p.m.
  • Rightsure Frisbee giveaway
  • Fort Lowell Soccer Club night
  • Team Poster (first 250)
  • Hero Appreciation–Military, First Responders only $10
  

 


Join FC Tucson at Sir Veza’s!


When the final whistle blows, don’t end your night early. Head out to  Sir Veza’s at 4699 E Speedway Blvd. and mingle with FC Tucson players and coaches for a post-match celebration of soccer. The party runs from 10-11:30 p.m. and Sir Veza’s is offering its amazing half-off happy hour specials on select food and drinks.

 

The party never has to stop at the field. Keep it going with FC Tucson and Sir Veza’s!

To stay up to date on everything related to FC Tucson, check out our website at www.fctucson.com. And Don’t forget to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
Veterans Benefits

Event To Honor Arizona Vietnam Veterans/ 50th Anniversary of Vietnam War

Leave a comment

1Courier Front Page                                                                                                                            To Arizona Vietnam Veterans, families & friends:

The Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services and the Arizona Military Museum as Official Partners of the 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War are pleased to co-host the 3rd Annual Event Honoring Arizona’s Vietnam Veterans. 

The 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War activities first stated objective is:

To thank and honor veterans who served in the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action, for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.

Our special guest speaker will be General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret).

 

DATE/TIME:  October 5, 2013   Sign in 5:30 pm for table seating. No-host bar 5:30 to 6:30     PROGRAM:  Seating at 6:30.   Program begins at 7:00pm 

LOCATION:  Scottsdale Plaza Resort, 7200 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85253

SEATING: Seating will be assigned to those who respond first

ATTIRE: Business/casual or Army Class A or service equivalent, military decorations

COST:  $45.00/person      Make Checks payable to Arizona Military Museum

 

The affair will be a special experience including a Vietnamese Color Guard, a wonderful

dinner, good music, short speeches, videos, TAPS, and a special presentation to Vietnam Veterans including Vietnamese Vietnam veterans. It is open to those who desire to honor all Vietnam Veterans. We look forward to seeing many Vietnam veterans, their families and friends.

 

Tickets are not issued, so we need your RSVP registration and check to confirm your attendance at this wonderful event.  Scottsdale Plaza Resort rooms are set aside for your convenience at only $125.00 per night to stay at this beautiful resort, particularly if you’re travelling from outside the Phoenix area. Just call the hotel for room reservations at (480) 948-5000 or 1-800-832-2025. For other questions call 520-868-6777.

 

                            

Colonel Joseph E. Abodeely, USA (Ret.)

                        Director, Arizona Military Museum