For years, public officials and organizations have warned veterans not to waste their education benefits at bad schools. But those warnings have almost always neglected to detail which schools are “bad.”
“On every base, there’s a list of not-recommended businesses for active duty,” said D. Wayne Robinson, president and chief executive officer of Student Veterans of America. “There should be the same for schools.”
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As you sing the Star Spangled Banner, there is a line that goes
“O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?”
Did you ever wonder what ramparts are?
Ramparts are defensive walls as seen in this photo of Fort McHenry.
Francis Scott Key wrote our national anthem looking for the American flag after the watching the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry. This bombardment was during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13–14, 1814.
Taken from a Twitter feed from the National Museum of American History, one of the Smithsonian museums in Washington DC. http://t.co/LmeyCuoRAh
This is the 200th anniversary of the bombardment of Fort McHenry and origin of our national anthem.
Read more of the activities at Fort McHenry this weekend. http://www.nps.gov/fomc/planyourvisit/200-anniversary.htmWhen a quick fast-food run is your only choice, reach for one of these options to escape the restaurant with your diet unscathed.
Lt Col Dennis Matsuura is retiring and there will be a retirement party in his honor. The following information is from an email from MSgt Ei Jung Yiu.
Please come and celebrate Lt Col Dennis Matsuura retirement party. Lt Col Matsuura has dedicated 35 years of service as an enlisted and officer with 154th Resource Management Squadron, 169th Air Defense Squadron and 154th Operations Support Squadron. Lt Col Matsuura also actively served in various positions with the Hawai‘i National Guard Association.
Date: Friday, November 10, 2014 Time: 1730 Pupus/drinks 1830 Dinner & program Place: Natsunoya Tea House 1935 Makanani Drive Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96817Cost: $40.00 per person
Informational flyer: Matsuura Retirement Flyer
Please sign up with Lt Col Gaye Araki gaye.araki.2@us.af.mil, 448-8146 ext 444-6325), Lt Col Dana Fisher dana.fisher@us.af.mil, 655-7211 SMSgt Ted Pablo ted.pablo@us.af.mil, 655-7211
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) — The U.S. Air Force is bringing back its “Aim High” advertising slogan after a 15-year hiatus with the launch of the “I am an American Airman” recruiting campaign Sept. 8.
The integrated campaign, created by the Air Force’s advertising agency, GSD&M, includes three commercial spots as well as new video content titled, “Barrier Breakers,” on www.airforce.com.
The campaign employs inspirational language and imagery to showcase the vast accomplishments Airmen have made throughout history; and the wide range of opportunities and career fields available in the Air Force. It also ties the Air Force’s motto “Aim High … Fly, Fight, Win” with the “Aim High” advertising slogan to appeal to not only potential recruits and influencers, but current active duty Airmen.
A first for the Air Force, the “New Frontiers” spot features the Air Force’s Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, and showcases how the Air Force has broken barriers and pioneered new paths. The “America’s Future” spot features excerpts from the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement speeches delivered by former Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In this spot, the former commanders in chief extol the Air Force’s dedication to innovation and advancement. The third commercial, “I knew one day” features current active duty Airmen from Eglin, Hurlburt and Nellis Air Force Bases.
Other creative elements include the “Barrier Breakers” video content on www.airforce.com that shares stories of Airmen who have made significant contributions in their fields, surpassed expectations and accomplished feats once considered impossible. The site will also offer opportunities for visitors to learn more about the careers available in the Air Force.
All three Air Force commercials will be broadcasted on major cable television and prime-time channels, to include airing during the NFL season.
The National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) periodically sends out NGAUS Legislative Alerts. The alerts are requests for support of certain issues that impact the National Guard.
Use the “CLICK HERE” at the bottom of this post. It will link you to a page on the NGAUS website. The page includes a short summary of the issue and a prepared text to send to Hawaii’s senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and your district’s representative, Colleen Hanabusa (District 1) or Tulsi Gabbard (District 2). You can edit the text and after providing some contact information – members of Congress will acknowledge your email – you press send and you’re done.
The Issue: Ensure that the ANG C-130H fleet remains operational beyond 2020.
Immediate Action Required: Ask your senators and representatives to cosponsor S.2758 and H.R. 5119, the C-130 Modernization Act.
More Information: The Air National Guard (ANG) currently operates around 40 percent of the Air Force’s C-130 fleet and airlift capability with some of the most experienced pilots and maintainers in the force. However, the ANG possesses some of the oldest models of the aircraft, the C-130H model.
The Air Force is projected to have approximately 250 C-130H models in its inventory (assuming fleet size remains at current levels) until fiscal 2018. And over 90 percent of the aging fleet resides in the reserve component. These aircraft will soon be impacted by changing avionics regulations which will result in limited access to certain airspace. The Air Force needs flexibility to upgrade C-130Hs to meet avionics mandates by 2020.
Without modernization, the C-130H fleet will lose the ability to operate in many portions of the world. This would make Guard aircraft incapable of global operations, ultimately restricting airlift capability and diminishing the Guard’s role as an operational reserve of the active component.
The Air Force should work with the ANG to provide a distinct and coherent modernization and recapitalization plan. This is the only way the Air Force can maintain robust Total Force airlift capability moving into the future.
NGAUS Point of Contact: Pete Duffy Legislative Director 202-454-5307Take action now! CLICK HERE
The United States annually observes September 11th as Patriot Day. It is a day to remember all those who were injured or died during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
click on photographs to enlarge
On that faithful day, terrorists hijacked four large commercial airliners. These hijackers flew two of the planes in to the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and another into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers apparently tried to retake control of the aircraft. Many speculate the terrorists planned to crash this plane into the White House or the Capitol Building. Almost 3000 people died that day in those attacks.
The President of the United States directs all American flags flown at half-mast. There is a moment of silence observed at 8:46 am (Eastern Daylight Savings Time – 2:46 am in Hawai‘i). This was the time when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center tower.
Patriot Day should not be confused with Patriot’s Day, also known as Patriots Day, which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, which were two of the earliest battles in the American Revolutionary War. It is a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts, celebrated in April with reenactments of these two battles.
Photographs from Wiki Commons
Taken from the September 8, 2014 issue of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) Washington Report
Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, is seeking support among his colleagues for a section of the fiscal 2015 Senate Armed Services Committee defense bill that would provide National Guardsmen with an easier path toward an earlier retirement. He is requesting that his colleagues sign a letter to Rep. Buck McKeon, R-California, and Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, asking them to support the Senate bill’s language when the chambers come together for the conference process. McKeon and Smith are the chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.
At issue is the current law reducing the retirement age for Guardsmen by three months for every 90 days they spend in an overseas contingency or national emergency. However, to qualify, those 90 days must take place in one fiscal year.
If the 90-day period of service falls in two fiscal years, it does not count toward an earlier retirement.
A section of the Senate Armed Services Committee version of the fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act would authorize the early retirement if those 90 days fall across two fiscal years.
“This would allow a narrowly targeted reduction in the reserve retirement age at a fraction of the long term costs associated with other retirement reform proposals,” reads the letter Latham is asking his colleagues to sign.
NGAUS wants its members to tell their representatives to sign Latham’s letter.
Hawai‘i’s representatives to contact: Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa (District 1) http://hanabusa.house.gov/Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (District 2) http://gabbard.house.gov/
Pete Duffy, the NGAUS legislative director, said, “The current law is wrong. It means some Guardsmen do not benefit from the law’s intent despite their service overseas or in a national emergency. We support Mr. Latham’s effort to ensure this important change becomes law.”
Experts say there’s no big secret to losing 10 pounds — but we’ve got a simple, four-step plan to help you get started.
The National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) periodically sends out NGAUS Legislative Alerts. The alerts are requests for support of certain issues that impact the National Guard.
Use the “CLICK HERE” at the bottom of this post. It will link you to a page on the NGAUS website. The page includes a short summary of the issue and a prepared text to send to Hawaii’s senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and your district’s representative, Colleen Hanabusa (District 1) or Tulsi Gabbard (District 2). You can edit the text and after providing some contact information – members of Congress will acknowledge your email – you press send and you’re done.
The Issue: Modernize the Guard’s Black Hawk fleet
Immediate Action Required: Ask your senators and representatives support the House version of the fiscal 2015 defense appropriations bill which includes funding for Army Guard Black Hawk helicopters
More Information: The Army National Guard’s No. 1 priority for fiscal 2015 is the continuation of the UH-60 Black Hawk modernization program. The Army National Guard operates 849 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and more than 400 of those are older UH-60A models. The A-model helicopters are an average of 24-years-old. Many in the National Guard’s fleet are nearing the end of their useful life.
The current procurement schedule of new Army National Guard UH-60M helicopters to replace the older UH-60A models is not sufficient. These older UH-60As need to be modernized and replaced as quickly as possible for the Guard’s Black Hawk fleet to remain viable and mission capable. The UH-60 Black Hawk is the Army National Guard’s primary rotary aviation platform supporting its dual overseas and homeland defense missions.
The House of Representative’s fiscal 2015 defense appropriations bill included $103 million for the Army National Guard to buy 7 additional UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. Senate defense appropriators did not include similar funding.
NGAUS urges you to contact your senators and representatives and ask them to support the House version of the fiscal 2015 defense appropriations bill. The funding it includes will allow the Army Guard to continue to modernize its Black Hawk fleet.
NGAUS Point of Contact:
Mike Waite
Legislative Deputy Director
202-408-5881
mike.waite@ngaus.org
To take action, CLICK HERE
Photographs from Brig Gen Ryan Okahara‘s pinning ceremony are posted on the Adjutant General’s Facebook page. Go to http://fb.me/4hTWK2Wr2
Photographs by Andrew Jackson
More photographs by Tyler Kruse of the Governor’s staff http://ow.ly/BjcEc
The state of Hawaii provides several veteran benefits. This section offers a brief description of each of the following benefits.
– Housing Benefits – Financial Assistance Benefits – Employment Benefits– Other State Veteran Benefits
Read more http://ow.ly/AI93L
These favorites are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, plus they’re low in carbohydrates.
Have you ever thought about how you will communicate with and locate your loved ones in the event of a disaster? You never know where you will be or with whom you will be when a disaster strikes.
A major focus for National Preparedness Month is, “How to Reconnect with Family After a Disaster.” Use this time to build a family communications plan. Your priority will be to get to a safe place, contact your loved ones and reunite with them as soon as possible. The best course of action is to have a plan for each of the common locations where you spend most of your time – home, work, gym, or place of worship.
Below are some tips on how to get in contact with your loved ones in an emergency.
* Complete a contact card for each member of your family and have them placed in purses, wallets and book bags;
* Have a contact that does not live in your area that each family member can notify when they are safe if unable to contact family in the affected area. An out-of-area contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members;
* Remember you can use text messaging when calling does not work because phone lines commonly have network disruptions after disasters; and
* In addition to text messaging, use social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, to alert family members that you are safe. You can also use the American Red Cross’s Safe and Well program.
Check out America’s PrepareAthon! to participate in other drills and exercises with your family, and practice the communications plan you just developed as part of National Preparedness Month.
