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Prosthetics advances made for war hold hope for Boston victims
NBC News
Boston Marathon spectators who lost limbs in the bombings stand to benefit from years of advances in prosthetic medicine made at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The traumatic battlefield injuries sustained by troops on the frontlines have helped change the future for all amputees, doctors at Walter Reed said.
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Military veterans to get training for civilian tech jobs
Mashable
First lady Michelle Obama will unveil a public-private program to help military veterans with information technology experience to get the certifications and additional training they need to succeed in the civilian IT world.
The IT Training and Certification Partnership will help up to 161,000 returning early-to-mid-career military veterans qualify for a dozen civilian technology positions, including computer programming, quality assurance and information security, according to the White House.
Top 10 employers for veterans
Forbes
For a second consecutive year, Booz Allen Hamilton is the top employer for veterans, according to new market data collected by Payscale.com. That means the Virginia-based defense and civil contractor employs the greatest number of former military service members in skilled labor positions. Booz Allen Hamilton provides consulting services to the U.S. government in defense, intelligence and civil markets, and to major corporations, institutions and not-for-profit organizations. Nearly one third of the company's 25,000 employees have military backgrounds.
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
Panel OKs bill to let retired reservists be called 'veterans'
Military Times
A House subcommittee voted to allow retired National Guard and Reserve members to legally be called "veterans."
The move confers no benefits or awards to retired reservists, but it could be symbolically important to those who served a full military career but never had the extended mobilization time needed under current law to fit the definition of "veteran."
Chained CPI: Unfair and inaccurate
The Hill
AARP President Robert G. Romasco writes: "The president's attempt to cut Social Security and veterans' benefits through what is known as 'chained CPI' breaks the promise he made to seniors when he was campaigning for the Presidency. His plan is inequitable and ignores the economic realities of the typical Social Security beneficiary. It is inaccurate even by its own lights, failing to deliver on its promise of a better gauge of the cost-of-living."
Should cyber warfare be elevated to highest command structure?
Stars and Stripes
To former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the threat of cyberattack was a potential Pearl Harbor and 9/11 rolled into one, an event terrorists or foreign adversaries could create, he said, to "paralyze the nation." Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's rhetoric is cooler, but still he calls the threat of computer network attacks nothing less than "the greatest threat to our security."
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VA's new hotline dedicated to serving women veterans
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Blog
Over the past decade, the number of women using VA health care has more than doubled, from nearly 160,000 to more than 360,000 in 2012. Women now make up 15 percent of active duty and 18 percent of Guard/Reserves service members. Based on the upward trend of women in all branches of service, the number of women Veterans and female VA users is expected to double again in the next decade.
Should gun restrictions be placed on veterans with PTSD?
The New York Times
After the Newtown, Conn., massacre in December, and the killing of the former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle at a Texas shooting range in February, the media, President Barack Obama, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and even David Keene, president of the National Rifle Association, have suggested that people with mental illnesses, which could include veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, be subject to stricter gun restrictions. Many states already have laws saying that people who have mental illnesses or have been committed to mental institutions cannot purchase or own firearms.
But the issue deeply is contentious for many reasons, and not just because it involves gun control and the civil rights of veterans.
Disfigured Marine veteran faces disrespect at home
Military Times
Six years have passed since a roadside bomb set Ronny "Tony" Porta on fire in Iraq when he was 20, and he's still trying to find his way home.
Each reflection in the mirror bears witness to why that is not easy.
Every stranger who points or stares, every teenager who mocks with the word "monster" or couple that whisper behind his back that the disfigurement is the price for invading a country, tells Porta he hasn't quite left the battlefield behind.
Foreign service veterans seek to dispel the myths
Government Executive
Veteran diplomats who have braved war zones, terrorism, bureaucracy and personal family crises appeared on Capitol Hill to offer personal insight into the nature and value of life in the U.S. Foreign Service. The purpose of the event, the president of the American Foreign Service Association was to "dispel the idea that we're an elitist group of people from seven or eight universities" and show that we're achieving the diversity required by the 1980 Foreign Service Act.
Donate to VAA
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