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Military Times
Military service members and veterans were among thousands in Arizona to gather to pay their respects to Sen. John McCain, who died at age 81.
People stood in line for hours in the Phoenix heat, carrying umbrellas and sipping cold water, to watch the motorcade transporting McCain's body and to file past his casket at the public viewing at the Arizona Capitol building during the state's two days of official mourning.
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Defense News
U.S. Sen. John McCain, the political maverick and war hero who chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee since 2015, was one of the Pentagon's best friends and toughest critics.
The Arizona Republican helped shepherd historic defense spending increases for 2018 and 2019 and the most sweeping reform of the Pentagon since Goldwater-Nichols in 1986. McCain was also unrelenting when it came to cost overruns and schedule delays on military weapons programs.
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KPBS
Dozens of military veterans — many of them with recent service in Afghanistan and Iraq — are offering themselves as an antidote to Washington's partisan rancor.
They're running for Congress, often as political newcomers challenging longtime incumbents. Their campaign ads and websites play up their military experience and their service to the country.
"We're at a record low number of veteran representatives in Congress, and it's no coincidence that we're at a record level of toxic, hyper-partisanship," said Texas congressional candidate MJ Hegar, an Air Force veteran who is running as a Democrat in a historically Republican district that includes Fort Hood.
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Military.com
Army Gen. David Petraeus, who was instrumental in guiding U.S. troops during the Iraq War, says that America's service members should be receiving assistance for the mounting medical issues that they fear have come as a result of being exposed to burn pits while stationed at military bases.
Petraeus, the former commander of U.S. Central Command and Multi-National Force-Iraq, said it's time for the service members exposed to the dangers of burn pits - and who say they have been abandoned by the Veterans Affairs Department and Washington - to be provided with proper care.
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Four month average turn around with the VA’s Pension with Aid and Attendance
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The Day via Military.com
It wasn't until years after she got out of the Navy that Elizabeth Bietts went to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Bietts, who worked as an airplane mechanic, said she was raped 12 times during her almost seven years in the Navy, and didn't talk about it until she went to file a claim for benefits with the VA years later.
"All these emotions had been suppressed, buried deep inside. I hadn't thought about it or talked about it," Bietts, 36, of Vernon, said during a recent phone interview. "I'd learned to live with it. Thinking about it again, it was a lot."
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CNBC
Google has rolled out a series of search tools to help military veterans find better jobs after returning to civilian life, the company said in a blog post.
Former members of the military can now search "jobs for veterans," enter the military branch they served in and see results for job openings that match their skills. Google will also allow businesses to identify as "veteran-owned" or "veteran-led" in Google Maps and mobile search results.
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Military.com
Veterans who apply for ID cards through the Department of Veteran Affairs program rolled out last year should start to see a faster turnaround time in October, officials said Aug. 31.
"VA is establishing a data-sharing partnership with the Department of Defense that will essentially automate much of the VIC eligibility determination process starting in October, thus substantially expediting card deliveries to Veterans," Curtis Cashour, a VA spokesman told Military.com.
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Stars and Stripes
Military commissaries started selling wine and beer in the summer.
Now, the Defense Department is charged with studying whether whiskey, vodka and other distilled spirits could join the lineup at discounted stores used by servicemembers, their dependents and veterans.
The distilled spirits study, which was triggered by a measure adopted by the House Armed Services Committee, could be completed by next month.
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The Sampson Independent
Andrew Clatt and his son, Michael, woke up well before sunrise Saturday morning to take part in a dove hunt sponsored by Kitty Fork Outdoors — Hunting with Heroes.
The first annual dove hunt was for military veterans and their kids and started by Jeff Jones and Brandon Holland as a way to give back. Kitty Fork Outdoors is a place both Jones and Holland use as a way to do the things they love. They wanted to share those experiences with the veterans.
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Fast Company
Getting out of bed in the morning is an act full of hope. Anything is possible. You could be on the road to a great day. And sometimes, the dream of an engaging and completely productive day is realized. But, some days the wheels come off the cart quickly. You get to work to find a fire that needs to be put out. A colleague has not finished a key part of a project, and you're stuck in a holding pattern. You get dragged into a meeting you didn't really need to attend.
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| THIS WEEK'S POLL QUESTION |
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Veterans Association of America wants to know ...
Do you see any changes in assistance being provided under the Trump Administration?
- I have been provided more assistance than before for employment.
- No, I think the system is the same with a lot of talk.
- I'm not really sure what's changed other than the transfer of Administrations.
- I'm on the fence when it comes to assistance being provided.
- I think it's tough to say as it depends on what services are being provided.
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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| VAA RESOURCES — JOB SEARCH, GRANTS, RESEARCH |
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