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Military Times
President Donald Trump's "taxpayer focused" budget for fiscal 2018 includes smaller cost-of-living adjustments for veterans benefits payouts and eliminating those adjustments for some federal civilian retirees altogether. The controversial suggestions are likely to be met with opposition from outside advocates and some lawmakers.
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May 16 and 23 survey results: As a veteran, do you think current VA policies have helped or hurt your opportunity to receive the care you've envisioned?
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Veterans Association of America wants to know...
Has the new administration helped veterans locate new employment & housing opportunities?
- Yes, they have by advising those agencies to give veterans "first preference" in each.
- No, I haven't seen much of a change in either area of assistance.
- I'm not quite sure, the jury is still out regarding the assistance to veterans under the Trump Administration.
- It's developing a little slower than anticipated but I'm confident of the opportunities to come.
- I think it's all a smokescreen for a much bigger agenda President Trump has.
Please provide your unique response as we take each them very seriously..
As a reminder, we assess all answers with the utmost of care and consideration. Survey results revealed in next week's VAA Dispatch.
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Military Times
Recently, veterans and supporters are making their voices heard at Operation Stand Together, a one-day rally in Washington, D.C., led by veterans, military families and others from around the country to urge action on the issue of toxic exposure and water contamination.
The event will urge leaders in Washington to finally take comprehensive action to aid the hundreds of thousands (and likely millions) of veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals and become ill due to their service to the nation.
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AllGov
An important way the U.S. shows its gratitude to veterans who have fought America's wars is by giving them a leg up in getting a job with the federal government.
The policy, known as "veterans' preference," became law after the Civil War, was strengthened following World War I and grew even more entrenched after World War II and in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While it's good that the nation thanks its troops, the strong preference for veterans has had some negative effects as well, particularly in terms of lessening the civil service's diversity, as my research into this policy shows.
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The Conversation
On Memorial Day, Americans remember those who died while in service to the country. In the past five years, a large proportion of these deaths have been suicides. Popular media often link military suicide with post-traumatic stress disorder. However, clinicians who work with veterans have identified an additional cluster of symptoms called "moral injury," which can occur when a personal moral code — one's understanding of "what's right" — is violated.
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The Daily Caller
States that voted Republican in the last presidential election are more friendly to military veterans than states that went for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, a new study reveals.
WalletHub analysts ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia in three categories related to veterans: economic environment, quality of life and healthcare.
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Four month average turn around with the VA’s Pension with Aid and Attendance
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Education Week
Efforts to combat teacher turnover rates in high-poverty and high-needs schools could tap into a growing pool of military veterans entering the classroom. But veterans who are interested in becoming teachers need more encouragement, and states with large military and veteran populations are offering increased support through programs like Troops to Teachers.
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Albuquerque Journal
Clinton Smith hires veterans because he knows military service has helped them become dedicated and hard-working staffers.
"When you say, 'I need you to do this right now,' they get it done and get it done well," says Smith, a former Marine who is CEO of Government & Civil Employee Services, a financial planning company in the western Pennsylvania borough of Indiana.
Smith also finds that veterans are ideal for his company, whose clients are mostly federal workers; anyone who’s been in the service has spent years understanding and navigating government-supplied benefits.
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Marketplace
Tommy Diaz was looking to make a career move after graduating community college in 2008, so he joined the U.S. Army. In 2010, he was deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan, where he worked in military intelligence.
"I talked with high-level Taliban members," Diaz said. "I did over 400 debriefings. The euphemism is debriefings. They're really interrogations."
The job was high pressure, but Diaz knew it mattered. He picked up important skills, but he struggled to put those skills to work when he came home to Southern California. He got his first full-time job tracking inventory for an aircraft parts supplier.
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The Associated Press via Education Week
After 22 years of taking on the monumental task of connecting hundreds of students with military veterans twice a year, Steve Quesinberry's enthusiasm might understandably lessen — if it weren't for students like Rachel Woods. "We're getting to see a piece of history, and holy cow, that's amazing!" Woods said as she checked out displays and spoke to veterans about their experiences at the Newnan Armory.
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