15 provisions enhance benefits for Veterans

WASHINGTON — Effective Aug. 1, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented 15 more provisions of the Harry W. Colmery Educational Assistance Act of 2017, also referred to as the Forever GI Bill.

These provisions, in addition to the 13 implemented since the law was signed less than a year ago, will have an immediate and positive impact on Veterans and their families using VA benefits to pursue their educational goals.

By Claudette Roulo
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2018 The Defense Department will establish a sixth branch of the armed forces, the U.S. Department of the Space Force, by 2020, Vice President Mike Pence announced today.

In a speech at the Pentagon, the vice president also announced plans to establish a new combatant command -- U.S. Space Command -- as well as a Space Operations Force and a new joint organization called the Space Development Agency.

By Abigail Kelly
August 9, 2018

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Social media plays a significant role in everyday life, especially for military families. It helps them learn information about their next duty station and stay connected to the family and friends they leave. At the same time, the tool is also used by terrorists to seek out individuals and information.

Therefore, it is essential to follow Army regulations on social media use and protect operational security because if members of the military community put too much information online, and violate operational security, the safety of service members and their families can be at risk.

By Joe Versen on July 31, 2017

The Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service works daily to make sure that those who serve have the employment support they need when they transition back into civilian life. Here are three ways we’re getting veterans back to work:

1. Transition Training

As a component of the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, the Labor Department provides a mandatory three-day employment workshop, as well as an optional two-day Career Technical Training Track curriculum focused on licensing, credentialing and apprenticeship programs that lead to well-paying civilian jobs and meaningful careers. During the 2016 fiscal year, the department hosted over 6,300 employment workshops worldwide for over 184,000 participants.

By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON August 28, 2015 -

America sends its sons and daughters to war, and a new play titled "I Will Wait" looks at the effect of these deployments across the generations.

The brainchild of Amy Uptgraft, the play connects the experiences of spouses from World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq. Uptgraft wrote the play with Gregory Stieber, who also directed the play. It premiered July 31 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

From a Department of Defense Education Activity News Release

ALEXANDRIA, Va. August 26, 2015 —

Nearly 75,000 students are beginning the 2015-2016 School Year in Department of Defense Education Activity schools around the world. 

DoDEA schools educate children of service members and the civilians who support them in 12 nations, seven states and two territories. Through its Educational Partnership Branch, DoDEA provides support to more than a million military-connected students who attend public schools throughout the United States.

By Amaani Lyle
DoD News Features, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON August 26, 2015 -

Today, Women's Equality Day not only commemorates the ratification of the 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment -- which solidified women's voting rights -- but it also coincides with current milestones for women in service, a Pentagon official said in an Aug. 24 DoD News interview.

Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management Director Juliet Beyler, who oversees department-wide policies that include promotions, assignments, separations, force management, and awards and decorations, said casting a wider net for talent and diversity across the force is critical.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all Americans including all military members (active duty, retired, Selected Reserve, or Retired Reserve) and their eligible family members must have health care coverage that meets a minimum standard called minimum essential coverage or pay a fee. Your TRICARE coverage meets the minimum essential coverage requirement under the ACA.

"The term "active duty" means full-time duty in the active service of a uniformed service for more than 30 consecutive days".

By Terri Moon Cronk
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON August 21, 2015 

TRICARE beneficiaries who take certain brand-name medications on a regular basis will be required to fill prescriptions at a military treatment facility or through a mail-in program beginning Oct. 1, a Defense Health Agency official said yesterday.

George Jones, DHA’s pharmacy operations division chief, said the new policy does not apply to active-duty troops, overseas beneficiaries, nursing-home residents and those with other health insurance that has a prescription-drug program. In certain circumstances, he added, some beneficiaries might be waived from the program on an individual basis.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. NR--
August 21, 2015

The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be buried with full military honors.

Army Maj. Dale W. Richardson of Mount Sterling, Illinois, will be buried Aug. 29, in Mountain View, Ark. Richardson was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, and was the passenger aboard an UH-1H Iroquois (Huey) helicopter that was en route to Fire Support Base Katum, South Vietnam, when it was diverted due to bad weather. After flying into Cambodian airspace, the aircraft came under heavy enemy ground fire, causing the pilot to make an emergency landing in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. The Huey's four crewmen and its four passengers survived the landing. One crewman was able to evade being captured by enemy forces and later returned to friendly lines. The other three crewmen and one passenger were captured. Two of the captured crewmen were released by the Vietnamese in 1973, and the remains of the other two captured men were returned to U.S. control in the 1980s and identified. Richardson died at the site of the crash during a fire fight with enemy forces. His remains were not recovered after the fire fight.