It can be easy to lose sight of the important things when politics get involved, but Sgt. First Class Cory Remsburg's presence at the State of the Union address reminded the nation what true sacrifice and courage look like.
Injury and triumph
Near the end of his hour-long speech, President Barack Obama took a moment to draw attention to the 30-year-old Army Ranger as he sat in the gallery alongside the first lady and other dignitaries.
"On every issue," Obama said in a transcript of the address provided by CBS News, "the world turns to us, not simply because of the size of our economy or our military might – but because of the ideals we stand for, and the burdens we bear to advance them."
Those ideals are perseverance, determination and optimism – qualities which Remsburg needed in spades after he suffered a catastrophic injury in Oct. 2009, NBC News reports. Remsburg was on his 10th tour of duty, this time in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when a roadside bomb threw him into a nearby canal and peppered him with shrapnel.
Doctors watched as Remsburg remained in a coma for three months, but after years of surgeries and grueling rehabilitation, Remsburg was able to attend the State of the Union as an honored guest of the President, epitomizing the ideals that Obama mentioned when he first introduced the wounded veteran.
Stars and Stripes reported that Remsburg and the President had met once before as the soldier was in recovery, relearning how to walk, talk and eat without assistance after his injury.
"He wanted to show me something," Obama said. "And he leaned out of his chair. And he reached out and grabbed his walker. And with the help of his parents, he pulled himself forward and he stood up. And he looked at me, and he gave me a sharp salute."
"He said, 'Rangers lead the way.'"
Benefits for veterans still a sticking point
Remsburg wasn't the only mention of the military during the much watched speech. With the legislative fate of recent proposed cuts to cost-of-living-adjustments included in veterans benefits still uncertain, Obama took a moment to weigh in on the issue. While some lawmakers have proposed recouping some federal revenue from the cuts, Obama disagreed.
"We'll keep slashing [the deficit] so our veterans receive the benefits they've earned," Obama said, "and our wounded warriors receive the health care — including the mental health care — that they need."
Since their announcement, the COLA cuts have been criticized by legislators, active duty servicemembers and a cadre of the top enlisted retirees from around the country.
Life in the military can be difficult enough without having to worry about employment opportunities for a soldier's life after service. Thankfully, several recent statistics point to the beginning of the end for the alarming trend of high unemployment rate among recent and long-time veterans alike.
A helping hand from the private sector
In 2011, a group of 11 companies that included JPMorgan Chase, AT&T, Verizon and EMC announced that they would be partnering to form the 100,000 Jobs Mission in order to hire 100,000 military veterans by the year 2020. According to a press release from the group, the unemployment rate for the U.S. sat at 8.9 percent at the time of the announcement, with the smaller and disproportionately affected sample size of veterans at 9.2 percent.
Just shy of three years since the group's formation, it has met – and surpassed – its goal. The Military Times reported that not only has the group's number of member companies skyrocketed from the original 11 to the current 131, but that they have hired 117,439 veterans in a variety of industries across the country. The wild success the program has experienced in reaching its goal seven years ahead of schedule prompted the companies to double down on their original pledge.
They now promise to hire an additional 100,000 veterans before the decade is out.
Decreasing numbers, increasing hope
The success of the 100,000 Jobs Mission is indicative of a larger trend within the community of unemployed veterans, both young and old – they are finding jobs.
The unemployment rate for veterans who served after 9/11 hit its high-water mark in January 2012 when the number spiked to 12 percent, according to the Washington Post. A year and a half later in November 2013, the number for overall unemployment had fallen to 6.7 percent and the most recent numbers show a continued decrease to 5.5 for December.
The post-9/11 veteran unemployment numbers may seem more drastic – they fell from 9.9 percent to 7.3 percent from November to December – but with a smaller sample size, the month-to-month statistics of the group will change more rapidly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recommends looking at the annual figures for the group instead, but even there the news is good: from December 2012 to 2013, the rate dropped 3.5 percentage points.
Where are the jobs coming from?
It can be easy to chalk job growth up to the improving economy, but several key factors have led to more and more veterans finding employment for life after the military. While many companies have been happy to hire combat veterans for their experience and skills, employers and prospective employees alike have found it somewhat difficult to transfer their abilities directly to the civilian workforce.
As the Washington Post explains, "The 10,000 military healthcare workers or 10,000 military truck drivers who left the armed services last year often have to pass new tests and go through a fresh set of licensing hurdles in order to get a job as a civilian EMT or truck driver – even if they already have the required skills."
The licensing requirements are largely bureaucratic but a costly and time-consuming hurdle for many veterans who have already been living off unemployment checks for months. As a result, the White House released a report entitled, "The Fast Track to Civilian Employment," which outlined several measures in which they would streamline the process for veterans to receive workable credentials for skills gained in the military.
In addition, several Congressman have initiated programs such as the Veterans Conservation Corps, which seeks to employ retired military men and women in "wildfire protection, recreation enhancement, and habitat restoration."
With programs along those lines and another 100,000 jobs on the way from successful corporations, expect the unemployment rate among all veterans to decrease well into the future.
Members of the Indiana Senate are currently pushing a measure that would extend education benefits to military veterans who are trying to transition to life after service.
A senate committee has approved an amendment that would allow veterans to use courses and equivalency exams they took in the military as credit toward their degrees at state colleges and universities, The Associated Press reported. The measure will also encourage veterans to pursue teaching careers, and mandate that higher education institutions provide financial aid to all veterans admitted.
Amendment author state Sen. Jim Banks stated that the proposed legislation will help veterans by letting them apply what they learned in the military to their educational and occupational goals.
Indiana is just one of many states that's determined to provide support for veterans pursuing college degrees – a population that continues to grow as more servicemembers return from war in large numbers. According to NPR, the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill has helped around 860,000 veterans in its first three years. Sarah Yaw, who works with veterans at Cayuga Community College in upstate New York, told the news source that the college saw a 400 percent increase in enrolled veterans between 2009 and 2012.
Officials from the Pentagon addressed the Senate Armed Services Committee this week, asking lawmakers to consider "grandfathering" the reductions that were recently made to the annual cost-of-living adjustments for military retirees under the age of 62.
Military Times reported that Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. James Winnefeld encouraged the committee to exempt current military retirees, as well as servicemembers who are about to leave the military, from the reductions.
"Because of the complex nature of military retirement benefits, we recommend that the Congress not make any additional changes in this area until the commission provides its report," Fox said during the hearing, as quoted by the news source.
In December 2013, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, which outlines defense spending for the year. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law shortly before the start of the new year.
A provision of the NDAA reduces the annual cost-of-living adjustments by 1 percent for military retirees under 62 years of age. By doing so, the Defense Department is expecting to save $6 billion over the next 10 years. However, the COLA reduction will not be enacted until 2015.
The news outlet noted that while Congress approved the bill, no member on the Senate committee stated their support of the COLA cuts during the recent hearing.
For the military, the Super Bowl is not just about football. Fighter jets from the Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region will be at next Sunday's game to protect the skies above the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
According to Pentagon officials, air defense practices are expected to begin in the greater East Rutherford area this week. The exercises, which are closely controlled and planned, will consist of a series of training flights in coordination with various other national and regional agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, Customs and Border Protection, Civil Air Patrol, the FBI and CONR's Eastern Air Defense Sector.
"There are a lot of interagency partners involved in the air defense of this year's Super Bowl," said CONR commander and Air Force Lt. Gen. William H. Etter. "With multiple agencies involved, coordination between all air-defense partners is crucial. This exercise allows all of the interagency partners to come together before the game to hone their air defense skills and ensure communications are working properly."
CONR fighters have responded to more than 5,000 possible air threats in the U.S. since 9/11. Etter stated that Super Bowl Sunday is just another day that CONR personnel are "making sure our skies are safe."
Five servicemen will trade their combat uniforms for tight-fitting spandex bobsled suits as they prepare for the Sochi Olympics.
The Army announced that Capt. Chris Fogt, Sgt. Justin Olsen, Sgt. Nick Cunningham, Sgt. Dallas Robinson and 1st Lt. Michael Kohn will compete across two of the three US teams in the event in February. All five Olympians come from the World Class Athlete Program, a national training program that supports soldier-athletes through training regimens at facilities across the country.
Cunningham will drive Team USA's second sled in the four-man event as well as one in the two-man event. Conventional wisdom says being either a soldier or an elite athlete is enough a time-consuming and stressful commitment, but Cunningham knows the key to success at the highest level is to remember the people that got you there.
"Representing my country is my main goal in life and I will put most of my effort into that," Cunningham writes on his personal blog at TeamUSA.org. "However, I will not shut out my friends and family to achieve that goal. They have all supported me and will be by my side on this journey."
This isn't the first time Cunningham has had Olympic dreams for life after service. He also tried out to be a sprinter for the 2008 summer games, according to The Associated Press.
A recently launched online program provides aid to military spouses who are in need of career and education guidance. Called My Individual Career Plan, or MyICP, the new interactive resource lets military spouses build digital career roadmaps based on their own goals and objectives.
The web resource debuted Jan. 10 on the Military OneSource website with the help of the Department of Defense's Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program. It's available to all active-duty Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps spouses, as well as National Guard and Reserve spouses. Surviving spouses are also eligible to use the program. However, all military spouses have to first register at the SECO website before accessing MyICP.
"SECO provides expert career and education guidance to military spouses worldwide, supporting them in four career lifecycle stages: career exploration, education, training and licensing, employment readiness, and career connections," said SECO program analyst Lee McMahon in a statement.
McMahon added that MyICP allows military spouses access to the 200 companies and organizations that compose SECO's Military Spouse Employment Partnership, so that military spouses can more easily find job openings.
A recent study from the RAND Corporation found that while a majority of military spouses are employed, they are more likely to be seeking work and earn less on average than civilian spouses.
A Department of Veterans Affairs website recently experienced a data breach that affected thousands of veterans and their families. Now, the House Veterans Affairs Committee is looking into the incident, adding it to the recent investigations it has been conducting on the veterans agency.
According to Federal News Radio, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki sent a letter to the committee last week, requesting answers to 18 questions regarding the security breach. Shinseki expects the responses by Jan. 31.
"The agency's information systems, including the eBenefits portal, continue to be afflicted by persistent information security weaknesses," Shinseki wrote. "Recognizing the importance of securing Veterans' personal information, and minimalizing the risk of serious consequences such as identity theft or other fraudulent activity, the Committee expects VA to take all steps necessary to strengthen the security and privacy of the eBenefits portal."
Shinseki is expecting the VA to outline how it identified the number of users affected by the security breach, how these users were notified and if veterans are requesting evidence of their personal information being stolen.
The eBenefits Web portal, which is also partially operated by the Department of Defense, provides information on various military benefits, including health care and education assistance. According to the VA, approximately 10,000 users logged into the portal the day the cyber breach occurred.
At a recent White House Council on Girls and Women event, President Barack Obama addressed the growing concern over the high rate of sexual assault in the military and reaffirmed his administration's commitment to tackling the issue.
"When a member of our military is assaulted by the very people he or she trusted and serves with, or when they leave the military, voluntarily or involuntarily, because they were raped, that's a profound injustice that no one who volunteers to defend America should ever have to endure," Obama said.
The president added that the he and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are currently working toward strengthening the military's prevention and response to sexual abuse crimes.
Obama's recent statements build upon the continuing work of the Department of Defense, which began in August 2013 when Hagel introduced seven new anti-sexual assault initiatives. According to the DOD, these directives called for the increase of legal services for sexual assault victims and more follow-up reports on sexual abuse cases. Hagel provided an update on the military's progress last December, stating that these measures have already begun strengthening victim advocacy and safety, as well as DOD oversight and investigations.
A software glitch on a Department of Veterans Affairs website resulted in a data breach last week, revealing the personal information of thousands of veterans.
According to The Washington Post, the glitch occurred on eBenefits, a joint VA and Department of Defense Web portal. The site lets veterans and their dependents access private information, such as medical and bank records along with educational benefits. Because of the recent glitch, visitors to the site were able to view this information once they logged into the system.
VA officials told the news source that an estimated 5,300 users were affected by the security breach.
Reports of the software glitch first surfaced Jan. 15, according to The American Legion blog. The website was taken down for a few days before returning last Sunday.
"[The] VA took immediate action upon discovering the software defect and shut the e-Benefits system down in order to limit any problems," the VA said. "We offer our sincere apologies to any servicemember, veteran or family member impacted by the software defect and the downtime."
The department's Data Breach Core Team is currently investigating the incident. Once the DBCT determines the approximate number of users the breach affected, the VA may provide credit monitoring services to the victims.