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Military Times
The White House named Peter O'Rourke as acting Veterans Affairs secretary after Robert Wilkie stepped down from the post to begin his formal confirmation process for the department's permanent top job. The move had been expected since President Donald Trump announced on May 18 that he was nominating Wilkie, the Pentagon's top personnel and readiness official, for the vacant VA secretary job.
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ABC News
Memorial Day is typically left untarnished by politics but the president's tweet Monday morning, which suggested that fallen U.S. troops would be "very happy" with his administration's performance, quickly brought Washington into the mix. Twitter backlash aside, and in some cases because of it, this Memorial Day brought more service members seeking office in the nation's capital than in years past.
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Four month average turn around with the VA’s Pension with Aid and Attendance
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The Associated Press via Military.com
The National Park Service has reached agreement with a nonprofit veterans' organization allowing it take cremated remains left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and bury them will full military honors.
A park service statement says the Missing in America Project will take possession of dozens of sets of cremains left at the memorial through the years and any future cremains left. They will be inurned in an in-ground vault at a cemetery in Manassas, Virginia, a capital suburb.
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NPR
Sexual assault is still a major issue for the military. Reports rose by 10 percent last year, though there is some discussion about whether that is an increase in the number of assaults or an increased willingness of troops to come forward and report them. That would be an improvement because victims of rape in the military often face retaliation, sometimes even a less than honorable discharge from the military. Among those veterans there is another number that is going up: the people getting their records corrected to show they served honorably.
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Military Times
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson says he is concerned by the nationwide rise in homeless veterans last year, but not pessimistic.
"We're not happy about it, but we recognize what is going on," he said in an interview with Military Times.
"I don't want to lose sight that numbers continue to go down in the rest of the country. In places where I have visited, they are begging for (veterans). There are jobs, there is housing. But it's hard to get people to move. So we need to come up with local solutions."
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By Catherine Iste
 A title does not make someone a leader. In fact, leaders can be found within all levels of the organization. There is no one path for becoming a leader. And there are also different types of leaders. Yet, just as there are a few common characteristics of all leaders, there are also common ways leaders approach their work. Whether transitioning into a leadership role or looking for ways to refresh your leadership approach, here a few ways to think more like a leader.
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Military.com
The VA will not run out of money for the Veterans Choice program before President Donald Trump signs a bill to extend and reform it, a VA spokesman said.
"The Choice Program has sufficient funding to continue normal operations uninterrupted until the Mission Act is signed into law," the spokesman said. Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs earlier had said that funding for Choice, which serves an average of 30,000 veterans daily with appointments for private and community health care, could expire as early as May 31.
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San Antonio Express-News
Navy veterans who served offshore during the Vietnam War appear close to winning a final battle as Congress prepares to force the Veterans Affairs Department to restore benefits to thousands of sailors who claim exposure to Agent Orange.
The $1 billion-plus price tag — to be borne by veterans themselves — is another of the unanticipated costs of war measured both in dollars and toxic wounds.
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Commercial Carrier Journal
Nearly 250,000 service members leave the military every year. That's a potential labor pool five times larger than the estimated number of vacancies in the for-hire trucking industry.
Add to that veterans' reputation for a strong work ethic and adaptability, and it's easy to see why they have long been a prime target for carriers looking for a source of dependable drivers.
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Ft. Leavenworth Lamp
Military Times ranked the Army and Air Force Exchange Service as the 14th best employer for veterans in its 2018 Best for Vets: Employers list, a double-digit leap for the nearly 123-year-old Department of Defense organization.
"Veterans' military skills and experience are transferable to many of the careers we offer — that's why we want them on our team," said Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull. "The Exchange is honored to be recognized for its efforts to recruit and retain those who have served our nation."
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Task & Purpose
The average person may think there are several, drastic differences between military life and corporate America. Yes, there are aspects of both lives that are drastically different, but the common thread of leadership bridges them both. Upon day one of military boot camp, the basic tenets of military life such as loyalty, duty, respect, service, honor, integrity and courage, are drilled into a recruit or officer candidate's psyche. Many of those qualities are eagerly sought after in corporate America.
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| | THIS WEEK'S POLL QUESTION |
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Veterans Association of America wants to know ...
Has anyone attempted to assist you navigate the murky waters of suicide prevention?
- No, I haven't received any assistance of what I've been searching for
- Yes, there are several program that help veterans sustain themselves
- I'm still looking for answers, and finding it frustrating
- The programs that are available require too much information even as a veteran
- My city and state haven't given me much in the way of hope and inclusion as a veteran.
Click here to provide Veterans Association of America your answer.
We assess all answers with the utmost of care and consideration. Survey results revealed in next week's VAA Dispatch.
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'Housing / Employment' Results
In the previous issues of VAA Dispatch, we asked, "What opportunities have been provided you for housing and or employment since leaving the military?"
Here's how our readers responded:
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| | VAA RESOURCES — JOB SEARCH, GRANTS, RESEARCH |
 Get what you need with these resources available to veterans and family members.
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7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
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