Arizona State Council VVA Blog

The Veterans Job Bank powered by NRD.gov provides Veterans with a central source for identifying Veteran-committed employment opportunities and assists America’s employers in identifying qualified Veterans. A key part of the White House’s ongoing commitment to improve access to employment opportunities for transitioning Service Members and Veterans, it facilitates access to hundreds of thousands of private-sector job openings specifically targeted at Veterans.

The Veterans Job Bank returns job opportunities based on search criteria entered by the user. Powered by a Google search, jobs are drawn from various job boards that have posted or specifically tagged jobs for Veterans.

Begin your job search by visiting the Veterans Job Bank powered by the NRD.

via Veterans Job Bank: National Resource Directory.

Associated Press | Posted: Friday, February 3, 2012 10:11 am | Comments

The St. Louis parade welcoming home Iraq War and other post-Sept. 11 veterans is spurring talk of similar parades in at least 10 other cities.

Organizers of the parade that drew an estimated 100,000 observers and 20,000 participants in St. Louis on Jan. 28 say they have been approached by officials in Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Seattle, Tucson, Ariz., Nashville, Tenn., Greensboro, N.C., and Clinton, Iowa.

via More cities consider parades for Iraq War vets.

Military health care carrier hit with $10M fine

By Kelly Kennedy – USA Today

Posted : Tuesday Jan 31, 2012 21:59:44 EST

WASHINGTON — One of the Pentagon’s major health care contractors, which is fighting to keep its multibillion-dollar contract, recently paid a $10 million fine to the federal government to settle a Justice Department suit over claims the company failed to pass on savings to the military.

TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a consortium of non-profit groups in the West, is one of three main contractors for Tricare, the Pentagon’s health care program. It paid the government in September to settle a case in which four employees claimed the company defrauded the government by keeping savings it generated while working on the contract.

via Military health care carrier hit with $10M fine – Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq – Army Times.

Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society 4980 South Alma School Road, A2-619 Chandler, AZ, 85248

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 30, 2012

ARIZONA VETERANS HALL OF FAME TO HONOR COPPER SWORD/ COPPER SHIELD AWARD WINNERS

Phoenix, AZ…The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society has named the winners of the Copper Sword and Copper Shield Awards for 2012 and will honor them at the awards ceremony and dinner held on February 9, 2012 at the Fiesta Inn, 2100 S. Priest Dr (at Broadway) in Tempe, AZ.

Barbara Hatch, founder of the Veterans Heritage Project, is being presented with the Copper Sword Award for her patriotism, humanitarianism, and support of veteran initiatives.

The Honorable Jerry Weiers, Arizona State Representative, is being presented with the Copper Shield Award recognizing his leadership in the Arizona Legislature for his support for veterans.

Additionally, student scholarships will be announced and Arizona State Historian and a member of the Veterans Hall of Fame, Marshall Trimble, will perform live music and recount Arizona history in a comedic, folklore way.

The Arizona State University Barrett Honor Choir will perform, “100 voices for 100 years” in a salute to the great State of Arizona!

“Sitting is limited at the awards dinner and due to high demand, immediate registration is encouraged”, said Chuck Schluter, President of the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society.

The doors open for a no host bar at 5:30PM at the Fiesta Inn; 2100 S. Priest Dr (at Broadway) in Tempe, AZ. Dinner will be served at approximately 6:30PM.

Tickets for the dinner are $49.00 per person and registration form can be found at: http://avhof.org/content.aspx?page_id=87&club_id=501042&item_id=164344 or contact Jesse Gersten at 480-802-0007 or email at Treasurer@avhof.org #### For more information contact: David Lucier 480-703-4008 davidflucier@cox.net

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement new statutory amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act that would expand military family leave provisions and incorporate a special eligibility provision for airline flight crew employees. The FMLA, enacted in 1993, entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. The proposed language would extend the entitlement of military caregiver leave to family members of Veterans for up to five years after leaving the military. At this time, the law only covers family members of "currently serving" service members.

Visit the National Resource Directory for more information about this law, as well as other resources that support military families and caregivers.