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Iraq Vet Offers Insights on New Post-9/11 GI Bill

Posted At : August 21, 2009 4:19 PM | Posted By : vetadmin
Related Categories: demob,yellow ribbon,,GI Bill

 Guest blogger MAJ Mike Dunne (left) is with the 425th Civil Affairs BN out of Encino, CA. He is an Iraq/Afghanistan Vet starting his redeployment at Fort Dix, NJ, after his fifth overseas combat tour.
 Guest blogger MAJ Mike Dunne (left) is with the 425th Civil Affairs BN out of Encino, CA. He is an Iraq/Afghanistan Vet starting his redeployment at Fort Dix, NJ, after his fifth overseas combat tour.
By: MAJ Michael Dunne
 
When I first heard of this program, I was unsure on how it could help me. Once I found out about being able to transfer it to my spouse or child, I needed to find out more info. 
 
My daughter is starting her freshman year at a NY State Public School, so anything that would help pay for it, I would try. 
 
In late April, I found out that an online application would be available through the VA starting in May. On May 2 I went to the VA website and filled out the app. http://www.gibill.va.gov/

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Finishing Up Demob

Posted At : August 11, 2009 11:41 AM | Posted By : Web Solutions
Related Categories: demob,yellow ribbon,

 Social Worker Linda Gillespie-Gateley explains VA benefits to a soldier recently returned from Iraq during the Fort McCoy demobilization effort.
 Social Worker Linda Gillespie-Gateley explains VA benefits to a soldier recently returned from Iraq during the Fort McCoy demobilization effort.

Today is finishing up. the last few soldiers are getting claims processed and finishing their out processing so they can receive their plane ticket home.

Today was especially rewarding as I took more time to talk with the soldiers, explain the benefits they've earned and see the light bulb go off as they realize they aren't returning to civilian life alone. There are hundreds of organizations in Washington and around the country who exist only to help Veterans.

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Demob: "Do you have a job when you get back?"

Posted At : August 5, 2009 4:20 PM | Posted By : Web Solutions
Related Categories: demob,yellow ribbon,

Employment. Unlike active duty service members who return home and are still being paid by the military, Reservists and National Guard Soldiers often come home to unemployment and/or underemployment. While there are laws protecting service members with jobs who deploy on active duty orders, Soldiers pass tables with counselors seatednot every service member comes back to a job with benefits. This sudden loss of a paycheck and benefits can have wide-ranging implications.

To lessen the impact of this loss on the soldier, their family, their unit and their community, the Washington State WorkSource agency, Employment Security Department and many unions and job placement agencies are working with the National Guard to ensure that soldiers return to a job or have the skills to find a job.

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Demob: A Simpler Process through 'One-Stop-Shopping'

Posted At : August 4, 2009 4:47 PM | Posted By : Web Solutions
Related Categories: demob,yellow ribbon,

A new program is now in action to take VA resources to returning service members. The Washington National Guard deployed in 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and began returning home in July. Instead of the old model of waiting for them to return to Washington State and sending small teams of people around the state to brief them on Veterans benefits, VA, Tom Riggs meets with a returning soldierWashington Department of Veterans Affairs, and many other Veterans-oriented agencies have sent a team to meet the unit as they process out of active duty at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

One of the driving forces behind this effort to meet the needs of these Veterans where they are is Tom Riggs, chief of transition services for the Washington State National Guard. He was part of the team that provided outreach the last time the National Guard was deployed in 2004 and helped take the lessons learned from that effort. He has helped turn them into what many hope will be the future of providing benefits and information to our returning heroes.
 
“The inspiration to do this came from our experience in 2004 when the Washington State National Guard deployed last time,” said Riggs. “It was realized then that our soldiers were now Veterans in every sense of the word. We also realized that they would now be eligible for all the benefits that Veterans are entitled to and that we would have to find a way to educate them on how to access these benefits.”

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Demob: Hello from Fort McCoy!

Posted At : August 3, 2009 6:22 PM | Posted By : vetadmin
Related Categories: demob,yellow ribbon,

Walking into an already humming operation, I can only say I am impressed with what has already been accomplished in the last week since soldiers from the Washington National Guard began returning home from Iraq. With a goal of making sure our Veterans’ health is taken care of and that they are financially sound when they return home, a number of federal, state and community organizations are on hand working hard to make sure this happens.

Today is a light day for the team, which is allowing everyone to get ready for the 300-plus soldiers they will process everyday from here on out.
 
I will be interviewing key team members and soldiers throughout the week, so check back often for photos and stories of our Washington State heroes.
 
Also, be sure to follow our twitter account at http://twitter.com/vapugetsound.  
 
Shane Suzuki
Public Affairs Specialist
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
 
 
Author's bio: 
Former Marine and current VA Puget Sound Public Affairs Specialist Shane Suzuki served in Iraq as a combat correspondent embedded with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. While his active-duty Marine days are behind him, he is still telling the stories of our service men and women while working for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Pacific Northwest. You can contact him at shane.suzuki@va.gov .
 

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