Post 9/11 GI Bill Changes – Online Tuition and Living Stipend makes it easier for Wounded Warriors in Transition

Posted on May 9, 2011 by kobylangley

Service members planning to use the Post 9/11 GI Bill will need to understand some recent changes to the program that may affect how they plan for their Summer break. BLUF – you may need to get a Summer job!

The Pentagon Channel posted this report.



Although the new Post 9-11 GI Bill fixes do not allow for payments of your living stipend during breaks in semesters, you can get partial payment if you are enrolled in online courses.

In their open letter to students, VA states:

“Break or interval pay is no longer payable under any VA education benefit program unless under an Executive Order of the President or due to an emergency situation such as a natural disaster or strike (effective August 1,2011)”

However, “monthly housing allowance benefits ARE payable to students (other than those on active duty) enrolled solely in distance learning, at one-half the national average BAH for an E-5 with dependents (effective October 1,2011)”

So, you may not be recieving a living stipend during the Summer break unless you are also taking online courses during this period – plan accordingly!

 



Posted in GI Bill, Transition Assistance, Warrior Transition Unit, Wounded Warrior, Wounded Warrior Employment, Wounded Warriors, WWCTP | Leave a comment

Wounded Warrior Project Rides from Steps of White House and Finishes First in our Hearts

Posted on May 4, 2011 by kobylangley

I recently had the pleasure and honor of meeting one of the Wounded Warrior Projects’ greatest heroes, Mr. Jim Mayer.  Jim provided training at one of our recovery care coordination training seminars for new Recovery Care Coordinators. A former career civil servant at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and wounded warrior himself, Jim retired from the VA to work at the Wounded Warrior Project.

DASD John R. Campbell, Office of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy; Mr. Jim Mayer, Wounded Warrior Project; Mrs. Sarah Wade, Caregiver and Advocate at the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride - White House

Jim was teaching our recovery care coordinators about peer mentoring. Jim stated that one of the greatest benefits to any wounded warrior is gaining confidence from and working with each other. He also said that real peer mentoring occured outside of the classroom.  Today, I got a first hand lesson on what he was talking about.

Today, we met again at the White House with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy, Mr. John R. Campbell as President Obama, Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth, and General James Cartwright highlighted one of the greatest examples of wounded warriors helping one another through inspiration and camaraderie at the annual  Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride from the White House. 

The President reiterated this point — that we do better together, when we recover together.  He spoke about Sarah Wade, and her Husband, Ted Wade:
“Now, Sarah once said of Ted, “Just like he needed a team in the military to accomplish the mission, he needs a team at home for the longer war.” And so I say to all of you today, we’re going to keep building that team that you need for recovery. We’re determined to take care of you as well as you’ve taken care of us.”

And then the President announced that caregivers like Sarah Wade could apply for a new caregiver benefit, as VA announced it would begin accepting appplications for this new benefit on May 9th.  Potential caregivers can vist the new VA site, and download the new VA Caregiver application form at www.caregiver.va.gov.

So today was about teamwork and out-of-the-classroom wounded warrior peer mentoring.  But it was also about seeing the power of public and private organizations working together to help wounded warriors, veterans,  and their families connect to each other and to the resources they need to continue to win races … together.

You can learn more about programs like the Wounded Warrior Project, and 14,000 other resources for wounded warriors, Veterans, and their families, by visiting www.nrd.gov.

The National Resource Directory is a directory of resources for wounded warriors, veterans, their families and caregivers. The site is sponsored by the Office of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy at the Department of Defense, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Labor.

Posted in Caregiver Support, Community Support, Military Families, National Resource Directory, Recovery Care Coordinator, Recovery Coordination Program, Warrior Transition Unit, Wounded Warrior, Wounded Warrior Employment | Leave a comment

Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness: Perspectives from in-Country

Posted on May 4, 2011 by chad.holmes

Undersecretary of Defense Clifford StanleyUndersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) Dr. Clifford Stanley recently visited the troops in the Middle East with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, and came home with a renewed sense of drive.  Read about his perspectives in his blog post on DoDLive.

Posted in Personnel and Readiness | Leave a comment

Relentless in the Pursuit of Justice and Caring for the Military Family

Posted on May 2, 2011 by kobylangley

After nearly ten years of conflict, President Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. Forces in our continuing efforts to degrade and defeat al Qaeda. This is a time of great relief and celebration — we did not rest, and we did not falter. 

Perhaps this can also be a time of reflection and renewal of our comitment to the military family.

It is a time to reflect upon those who have sacrificed for these past ten years in defense of liberty. Make no mistake, today is a great day; however, these nearly past ten years of conflict have come at a great cost.  According to the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, 43,184 Service men and women and DoD Civilians have been wounded or killed since October 7th, 2001 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn.

As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense John R. Campbell recently stated “Many came home forever changed, all came home heroes.”

We just finished celebrating the month of the military child, and I cannot help but to pause for a moment and ask what a decade of conflict, injury, and loss has meant for the children of our nations heroes.

Ten years of conflict has placed a unique burden on our men and women in uniform, their families, and children.  As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Military Community and Family Policy, Mr. Robert L. Gordon stated, “kids serve too.”

Since the tragic and horrific acts of terrorism that blackened the skies of our collective freedom-loving conscious, six month away from home became twelve.  Shortly after, twelve months in harms way became eighteen, and then enlistment terms became stop-lossed. 

We saw repeat deployments become the norm, and listened intently as senior military official state that if we did not fix dwell time at home in between deployments, our military faced the breaking point.

For the children of the next greatest generation, some saw two and three deployments for Mom or Dad.  Now, a new generation of combat Veterans knows that reverberations of four and five deployments can crack the foundation of even the most stable of homesteads.

Yet, I take comfort in knowing that our national leadership is committed to ensuring that we face this obligation – restoring the military family – with the same vigor and relentlessness as we pursued Bin Laden.

The announcement of the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces campaign to energize the American public to stand behind our military families and caregivers gives me this comfort; as does knowing that this new front is well led and well championed by the American people.

We know what has been sacrificed and we know what must be repaid — we must not rest, we must not falter.

Posted in Bin Laden, Caregiver Support, Community Support, Military Families, National Resource Directory, Wounded Warrior, Wounded Warriors, WWCTP | Leave a comment

Wounded Warrior Pilot – a Win-Win for New Employer and Air force

Posted on April 28, 2011 by chad.holmes
Gunar Moschner, a former senior airman who was severely injured while deployed to Southwest Asia, now works with the 325th Mission Support Group at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Using the Air Force's Wounded Warrior Employment Program, Mr. Moschner was able to obtain a job as an Air Force civilian, after he medically separated from the service. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jonathan Gibson)

Gunar Moschner, a former senior airman who was severely injured while deployed to Southwest Asia, now works with the 325th Mission Support Group at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Using the Air Force's Wounded Warrior Employment Program, Mr. Moschner was able to obtain a job as an Air Force civilian, after he medically separated from the service. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jonathan Gibson)

As Gunar Moschner was off-loading cargo from an aircraft in Southwest Asia, his foot was caught between the wheel and the rail system of a mechanized roller, twisting his leg from the knee down. 

“I pretty much lost all of my meniscus, and it severely affected my muscles and ligaments,” he said.

He was being medically separated from the Air Force and was going through the Airman and Family Readiness Center’s Transition Assistance Program when he learned of the Air Force’s program for wounded warriors.

That’s when things started to turn around for the senior airman.

Read Tammy Cournoyer’s story about Gunar Moschner on AF.mil.

Posted in Disability Evaluation System, Wounded Warrior, Wounded Warrior Employment | Leave a comment