Daily training and routines have been altered to save money. Airmen and pilots have fewer flights. Soldiers and Marines have fewer exercises until deployment nears. The budget cuts are a result of the troop drawdown in Afghanistan and the military shrinking its size. The Army has focused its training on soldiers that will deploy to hostile areas sooner.
Barriers remain for women seeking military combat roles
The first three women to complete Marine infantry training graduated Nov. 21 after a 59-day demanding course. However, they will not be given infantry assignments. The women will be assigned to support positions while the Pentagon studies combat jobs for women. This decision could take up to two years despite the ban being lifted this past January.
US veterans offer hands-on help in Philippines relief effort
Active-duty military helps in the Philippines with the relief effort but American veterans also help too. Team Rubicon, a group of veterans who still serve to conduct disaster relief efforts, has been there for a week. Most of their efforts are used in the United States but on occasion, they do deploy. The group conducted search-and-rescues and now has fanned out to find more local citizens in need.
Chris Shupert attends class full-time and works a full-time job. He looks like your typical college student except a little older. He’s not typical, though. Shupert is a 28-year-old combat veteran of the United States Army.
According to the Veterans Affairs website, over 660,000 undergraduate students are veterans and another 215,000 are service members or active duty reserves. 85 percent of those veterans are 24 or older, according to the Student Veterans of America.
Most veterans go back to school because they are eligible for the Government Issued Bill (GI Bill). The post 9/11 GI Bill is being used by most veterans today. It provides educational and housing support for anyone serving 90 collective days after Sept. 10, 2001. It provides up to 36 months of educational benefits. Over 300,000 are using the educational benefits of the post 9/11 GI Bill.
Shupert served eight years in the Army as a staff sergeant and deployed to Iraq three times and Afghanistan once. He is now a business major but is currently taking the semester off. Shupert is enjoying the benefits of the GI Bill because he doesn’t have to pay for any part of his schooling.
“I enjoy going to school and I’m going to get as much out of this as possible,” Shupert said. “I earned my schooling. That’s why I don’t have to pay.”
As of the 2011-2012 school year, the University of Kansas has 396 military related students and was rated ninth best school in the nation for veterans by The Military Times. KU also has a 61 percent veteran graduation rate. U.S. News and World Report rated KU as 15th best for veterans.
An organization called Student Veterans of America helps veterans get through college and also helps them after graduation. SVA unites student veterans groups across the globe on college campuses, helps reintegrate them into college life, and creates a peer network for veterans at that school.
KU has a group of military veterans called the KU Collegiate Veterans Association or CVA. This group is affiliated with the SVA and is intended to help ensure success for veterans and their families at KU and in Lawrence. They hold several events for veterans every year on campus.
The CVA also has a veterans lounge in room 306 at the Burge Union. It was opened on Veterans Day in 2009 and houses a table and chairs, a TV, workstations, and a couch. It is a place for veterans to hang out or study between classes and helps build a peer support group for veterans.
Shupert hasn’t been to the veterans lounge at KU and said he sometimes feels out of place being older than most students.
“I feel like I’m older and I am but it seems like a big difference,” Shupert said. “I’ve been through so much and seen a lot of things and these kids haven’t even got to experience life yet.”
Shupert has almost completed his business degree and still has three semesters left on his GI Bill. He plans to use every single one. Shupert thinks his next degree will be in education.
“I want to do business while I’m young and earn some money,” Shupert said. “But I want an education degree because I’ve always wanted to be a high school math teacher. I plan to do that when I’m older and I’m more patient,” he adds with a chuckle.
Click the picture for a graphic on student veterans in the US.
Malfunctioning drone hits Navy ship while training
The USS Chancellorsville was struck by a malfunctioning aerial target drone on the afternoon of Nov. 16 in Southern California. The drone was used for testing the ship’s radar. Two sailors were treated for minor burns. Damage has not been assessed yet. The ship is sailing to Naval Base San Diego for the assessment.
Aid missions boost US troops’ image readiness
In light of the recent Haiyan typhoon in the Philippines, US troops were sent in to help with humanitarian efforts. They can be a huge publicity piece for US troops whose presence isn’t always welcome, according to a story done by the Associated Press. From the military point of view, these are to help with training and building alliances.
US military eyes cut to pay, benefits
Because of the shrinking Pentagon budget, the military’s top commanders have agreed to a plan to cut pay and benefits. Housing, education and health would all experience a cutback plan. The decision has yet to be approved by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and President Barack Obama.
So, yesterday was Veteran’s Day and this was the first one I’ve spent with an actual veteran which happens to be my boyfriend. Despite us moving to Lawrence and having things scattered all around the apartment, we decided to go out and do things for Veteran’s Day.
My steak and potatoes at Texas Roadhouse.
We started by going to Texas Roadhouse in Olathe for a free lunch for him. The restaurant was busy and we had to wait about 20 minutes but it was worth it. We noticed that we were probably the youngest couple in there and he was probably the youngest veteran being 28 years old. We even made a Vine video about it. Both of us got a steak with two sides and really enjoyed it and were both almost uncomfortably full.
After our stomachs were full, we decided to go to the Veterans of Foreign Wars post #7397 off of 95th and Pflumm. I had never been to a VFW and he had never been to this post. We walked in and sat at the bar where my boyfriend was promptly bought two beers by other veterans.
We sat there for an hour or so just watching a game show and enjoying a nice VFW post. Most are ran down because of a lack of funding but this one was nice and big. As the afternoon got later, more veterans came in and started questioning my boyfriend on his experiences and giving him crap about being an Army veteran instead of a Marine like they were.
Then the best part of the day happened. Two old WWII veterans walked in and we could tell they were great buddies. They were giving each other crap and joking around. Both of us thought about how there aren’t many WWII veterans left and we wanted to speak with these guys. My boyfriend was pushing me to go ask them for a picture and to tell them about my blog but I was too nervous so he went and asked.
Two WWII veterans at VFW post 7397 posing with my boyfriend.
They didn’t want a picture but as soon as I told them about the blog about veterans, they agreed. The tall Marine in the middle was covering the shorter Army veteran’s face on the left with the flag and saying he was ugly. They were laughing and joking still. The shorter one talked about how he is now a pacifist and thinks some of these wars shouldn’t have happened.
This was by far my favorite part of the day. To hear them talk about anything was so cool. The tall Marine veteran in the middle is the oldest member of the VFW post 7397. My boyfriend is one of the youngest.
After this, we stopped at Great Clips and got my boyfriend a coupon for a free haircut and then at the grocery store, Price Chopper, which was offering $.25 off per gallon of gas at Quiktrip for veterans.
Tired and with our bellies still somewhat full, we drove back to Lawrence and decided to stop at Applebee’s for their free Veteran’s Day menu. At Applebee’s, we had to wait about 15 minutes and again, my boyfriend was one of the youngest veterans. We noticed Applebee’s had set a table for all the fallen people that have served our country. I hadn’t ever seen that anywhere. We got seated and they took our order and then the waitress came by again. She told us that the entire restaurant was going to be doing the Pledge of Allegiance.
About 10 minutes later, the manager got everyone’s attention and the entire restaurant recited the Pledge of Allegiance. It was something I wouldn’t think to do on Veteran’s Day and my boyfriend and I were talking about how we hadn’t recited it since high school. We had our dinner and of course, his was free.
My boyfriend, an Army combat veteran, and I at VFW post 7397 on Veteran’s Day.
We tried to go to the VFW in Lawrence but they were closing so we ran some errands. I kept telling my boyfriend the entire day how cool it was to spend Veteran’s Day with an actual veteran. The experience was enlightening and exciting all at the same time. It won’t be my last Veteran’s Day with my veteran but it’s a first to definitely remember.
Report: Petraeus called for downgrading Swenson’s MOH
According to a report by the Pentagon, retired Gen. David Petraeus recommended against awarding William Swenson the Medal of Honor. Petraeus wanted it downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross. The paperwork before had disappeard which caused the inquiry.
Texas and 5 other states resist processing benefits for gay couples
Six states are not complying with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s order that military gay spouses receive the same marriage benefits as heterosexual couples. Along with Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia are not recognizing gay couples and their benefits in the military.
Ottawa, Kan. had its annual Veterans Day parade on Nov. 9. The parade took place on Main Street and stretched a couple of miles.
Hundreds of veterans and civilians lined the streets to watch the parade with a special recognition of veterans at the beginning of the parade. There were also special events afterwards such as reenactments and other activities in a nearby park.
The American Legion Riders and various VFW posts, along with other organizations took place in the parade.
Chris Shupert, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, stood in attendance at the parade. Shupert grew up in Ottawa and always went to the annual parade every year. This is the first time he went since he got out of the military.
“The parade had a lot of different organizations taking place,” Shupert said. “It was well organized and was a good event for Veterans Day.”
Veterans Memorial in downtown Ottawa, Kan.
Another attendee, Emma, said she enjoyed the event as well. Emma went when she was a little kid because her dad participated in the WWII reenactments and was in the parade. This is the first time Emma has been in over five years.
“It’s a lot different than I remember from coming as a little kid,” Emma said. “I still enjoyed it just as much seeing veterans respected like that.”
Veterans Day events will continue Nov. 10 and on Monday Nov. 11 for the actual holiday. The city of Ottawa will hold the parade again next year.
Veterans Joe Herbert, Don Watters, and Jeff Barber talk about the hardest part of getting out of the military and becoming a civilian.
Veterans Readjust to Civilian Life
By Kate Shelton
Roger Sanders had a big challenge to face in July of 2012. He had to buy a house and take care of it. Sanders had lived in six different states and always had military housing provided for him.
Sanders is a 20 year veteran of the United States Marines Corps. He was in the infantry and then later administration. While Sanders never deployed, he still had a difficult task to overcome: becoming a civilian.
One of the most difficult parts of leaving active duty is coming home and adjusting back to civilian life.
According to a report done by the Veteran’s Administration, there are over 10 different challenges veterans and returning service members face such as relating to people and re-establishing family roles.
The VA report says veterans and service members are often used to having very little choice in basic necessities such as food, clothing and housing. When they return home, these choices that were made for them can become overwhelming.
Sanders said the biggest challenge of adjusting to civilian life was buying a house and taking care of it.
“It took me over a year plus to get a house and I wasn’t really planning on that,” Sanders said.
Another problem for returning veterans and service members is preparing to enter the work force. They have to learn how to create a résumé and translate their military duties into civilian terms.
Sanders went from September to December with no job. He said he did a little part-time work but it was never enough to support himself and his family. In December, he finally found a job with a security company.
“A job didn’t come real fast either. I had to do a lot of background checks and things like that…so we were struggling with money,” Sanders said. “Then, my retirement took a couple of months to kick in so I got my retirement coming in monthly but I didn’t have a full-time job yet.”
Sanders had more adjusting to do. In the Marine Corps as administration, he was working a Monday through Friday job with day hours. Now in his current job, he works from 5:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Other challenges that veterans or returning service members have to face are creating a structure, establishing a community, adjusting to a different pace, and a more individualistic society.
For Joe Herbert, the hardest part of getting out of the military was not having a job and the difficulty of finding one. Herbert was a United States Army paratrooper stationed at Fort Bragg for five years.
“…When I got out and there were no jobs and I had no skills that transferred over in the civilian world, especially with the infantry,” Herbert said. “You just were taught infantry stuff. You were never taught what to do outside in the real world.”
Herbert also said some other difficult parts of getting out of the military were building up credit because he didn’t have established credit and also, finding a place to go because he didn’t have anywhere to go.
One example is on active duty, one must control emotions. A person experiences horrible situations and they are taught to overcome their reactions and emotions quickly. When returning home, those emotions are supposed to be expressed and this causes conflict.
Another common example is talking about their experiences. It’s difficult for a veteran to explain their decisions and what came of those decisions and what happened while they were away. A veteran may often feel that talking about it may cause upset and rejection by their family or peers.
Sanders said that he doesn’t really talk about his military experiences unless he has to. He said he doesn’t have trouble talking to people but he has no reason to talk about the military because he doesn’t have any military friends anymore.
“Not very often I talk about military stuff, I’m pretty much done with that,” Sanders said. “So I don’t really talk about it anymore.”
Training and Doctrine Command is asking infantrymen on their opinions of women being allowed in combat arms military occupational specialties. These positions are currently closed to women. The Army sent out the 120-question survey in October asking infantrymen if they think women are capable. The first of some combat arms positions are scheduled for July 2014.
2 years after US military departure, Iraq asking for new help to battle al-Qaida
Iraq is asking for American help in the form of weapons, manpower and training in the fight against a recent al-Qaida resurgence. The Iraqi Prime Minister and US President Barack Obama will discuss the request at the White House. In 2011, the US withdrew almost all of its troops after Baghdad refused a security renewal.
Navy christens new attack submarine North Dakota
The U.S. Navy christened its newest attack submarine, North Dakota, on Nov. 2 in Connecticut. The christening was on the same day as North Dakota’s 124th statehood anniversary. The submarine can carry out surveillance over sea and land, launch cruise missiles, and carry special forces.
Kate Shelton 