Veterans Benefits Info

[River_Rat_459]

Anyone who suffered from involuntary "stop loss" between 11 SEP 2001 and 30 SEP 2008 can claim a retroactive special pay of $500 for each month they served past their end-of-service date. This includes Reserve and National Guard Soldiers on active duty during this period.

You can read about this at Military.com http://www.military.com/news/article...ecial-pay.html or go directly to the Retroactive Stop Loss site at https://www.stoplosspay.army.mil.

If anyone needs help with personnel matters regarding this, PM me and I'll get with you to see if I can do anything to help you.

[ASignorelli]

Anyone who suffered from involuntary "stop loss" between 11 SEP 2001 and 30 SEP 2008 can claim a retroactive special pay of $500 for each month they served past their end-of-service date. This includes Reserve and National Guard Soldiers on active duty during this period.

You can read about this at Military.com http://www.military.com/news/article...ecial-pay.html or go directly to the Retroactive Stop Loss site at https://www.stoplosspay.army.mil.

If anyone needs help with personnel matters regarding this, PM me and I'll get with you to see if I can do anything to help you.

I'm pissed about this actuality. It was going to be 1500 a month, then they dropped it to 500. I got the pay from being stop-lossed 12 months. they taxed me 60%! WTF?! starting I was gonna get 18000 tax free, and now when all is said and done I ended up with about 2700... this is the kind of crap that makes me want to get out more and more.

[saviger]

Anyone who suffered from involuntary "stop loss" between 11 SEP 2001 and 30 SEP 2008 can claim a retroactive special pay of $500 for each month they served past their end-of-service date. This includes Reserve and National Guard Soldiers on active duty during this period.

You can read about this at Military.com http://www.military.com/news/article...ecial-pay.html or go directly to the Retroactive Stop Loss site at https://www.stoplosspay.army.mil.

If anyone needs help with personnel matters regarding this, PM me and I'll get with you to see if I can do anything to help you.

I'm pissed about this actuality. It was going to be 1500 a month, then they dropped it to 500. I got the pay from being stop-lossed 12 months. they taxed me 60%! WTF?! starting I was gonna get 18000 tax free, and now when all is said and done I ended up with about 2700... this is the kind of crap that makes me want to get out more and more.

thats messed up, anything you get deployment-pay-wise, should be TAX FREE like our pay was.

[saviger]

if they remove the tax, this could be you:

[River_Rat_459]

We'll be starting a new topic specifically covering benefits for veterans and those still serving.

For starters:
If you've found the Veteran's Administration website a little tough to navigate or understand when it comes to the new GI Bill, you may want to check out this site - http://www.newgibill.org/

[River_Rat_459]

http://www.tricare.mil/tricaresmartf...l_FS_10_Lo.pdf

[River_Rat_459]

Senator Proposes 6 Major GI Bill Fixes

June 2, 2010

By Terry Howell

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) introduced S. 3447, a bill to improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits program. The bill includes six major changes that will be welcomed by veteran students, school officials, and veterans service organizations.

“With ten months of experience under the new program, I believe it is time to look at what improvements and modifications need to be made in order for the program to reach its potential,” said Akaka.

Akaka’s proposed Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 is designed to make a number of modifications to the new program of educational assistance which became effective on August 1, 2009.

The following are the six provisions that will likely have the greatest impact on current and future student veterans, many of which are considered long overdue:

1. Members of the National Guard and Reserve who were inadvertently omitted from inclusion would be fully eligible for benefits.
2. Include all vocational programs, OJT and apprenticeship training, flight, all types of non-college degree training and more. Effectively eliminating the need to make an irreversible decision as to whether or not to receive benefits under the old Montgomery GI Bill or under the new program.
3. Eliminate the complicated, confusing and, in some cases, inequitable calculation of State-by-State tuition and fee caps to determine benefits for individuals enrolled in degree programs. Effectively ensuring that individuals enrolled in degree granting programs of study at public colleges and universities in the U.S. would pay little, if any, out of pocket. Those enrolled in private colleges and universities would receive the national average cost of education.
4. Provide a modified living stipend to students who are enrolled in distance learning (online education) programs.
5. Make active duty and their spouses eligible for the $1,000 annual book allowance.
6. Eliminate the need for veterans to choose between Voc-Rehab and the Post-9/11 GI Bill enabling service-connected disabled OEF/OIF veterans to elect the program from which to receive their subsistence allowance. Ensuring that veterans would not be forced to pass on valuable counseling and support services to access the more generous Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.



Let your elected officials know how you feel about this bill. Send a letter to today!

In his statement on the Senate floor, Akaka noted that “this will not be a simple process. Nor will it be quickly and easily accomplished. There are issues that we can readily see need to be addressed.” He added, “There are others, however, that are only just now coming to our attention as the program is implemented and veterans, servicemembers, and their families begin to receive benefits under the program.”

According to Senator Akaka, the measure is intended to serve as a starting point to move and that he believes the actions taken to improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill need to be “full and deliberative.”

Read more: http://military-education.military.com/ ... z0qsJvR5gj

SOURCE: http://military-education.military.c...C=education.nl

[River_Rat_459]

More information can be found here: http://houseinthewoods.org

When our country needed them, generations of brave
men and women answered the call of duty to serve
in our nation’s military. They sacrificed their family
time, health, safety, and even their lives to protect
ours. But with the return home, these soldiers bring
with them life altering wounds and heartache which
only their fellow brothers-in-arms can ever begin to
understand. America can never restore what was
lost, but at House in the Woods Military and Family
Retreat, we offer an outdoor retreat program that
honors their sacrifice and assists our veterans in the
journey towards healing the mental and physical pain
of loss.

House in the Woods Military and Family Retreat is a free, outdoor self-help program which remains flexible to the needs of those whom we serve. The only expense to participants is their transportation to Lee, Maine. Using the recreational, therapeutic, and educational properties of Maine’s great wilderness and outdoor heritage, we form short-term retreats for participants to meet others with common military-related challenges and experiences. Activities are led by licensed Maine guides and staffed with caring volunteers and assistance from the local VA Center and health professionals from the community upon request. Maine is a four season climate, so activities will be dependent on weather and availability.

[River_Rat_459]

Army Guard continues search for those eligible for earned pay

May 10, 2010

By Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill and Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy

ARLINGTON, Va. (May 7, 2010) -- Thousands of Army National Guard Soldiers, including those who have retired or separated, have till Oct. 28 to apply for Post Deployment Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA) compensation for serving long, overseas deployments.

"We've got about 14, 000 eligible Soldiers," said Col. Dennis Chapman, chief of Personnel and Policy for the Army National Guard. "About two-thirds of those are still in service, and we've got packets submitted for about 87 percent of the Soldiers that are still in service."

There are about 5,000 former Guard Soldiers that are eligible for the benefit, said Chapman, adding that packets have been received for about 20 percent of those no longer serving.

"So, the real challenge is reaching those out of service," he said.

The Department of Defense developed PDMRA for servicemembers who were deployed longer than established dwell ratios. For reserve component servicemembers that dwell ratio is one year deployed for every five years at home station.

"If you have a tour ending today, you look back 72 months and if you were (mobilized) for more than 12 months out of that 72 months, you may be eligible for PDMRA days," said Chapman.

Initially, PDMRA allowed Soldiers to earn additional administrative leave days for the additional time spent deployed. However, Soldiers must be in a Title 10 status to use those leave days. That meant that once Army Guard Soldiers returned to Title 32 status, they were ineligible to use those days, said Chapman.

As a stop gap measure the policy was revised and allowed eligible Soldiers to apply those leave days to their next deployment. But for those who left the service or don't deploy again, that effectively meant they couldn't take advantage of the benefit, said Chapman.

"Congress passed a law in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, authorizing the services to pay Soldiers at a rate of up to $200 a day for any PDMRA days they earned ... but were not able to take," said Chapman.

Primarily, those who may have earned days under the program, but were not able to use them, are those Guard Soldiers serving on active duty between the signing of the initial policy on Jan. 19, 2007, and when implementation guidelines were published by the Army on Aug. 18, 2007, said Chapman.

However, other laws and policies may affect a Soldier's eligibility.

Typically, a Guard Soldier who serves longer than 12 months during the most recent 72 months gets one PDMRA day for each additional month or fraction of a month. The number of PDMRA days awarded increases after 18 months and again after 24 months served.

On average, those who are eligible receive credit for about 28 days, which translates to more than $5,000, said Chapman. And those who feel they may be eligible are urged to contact their unit leadership or their state military pay officer.

"A Soldier cannot figure this out themselves," he said. "All they can figure out is that they might be due. So, if you fall under the parameters, it may be good to check with the military pay officer in your state."

[River_Rat_459]

Reservists and Guard members serve again with funding for certification.

http://www.proudtoserveagain.com/

Troops to Teachers is a U.S. Department of Education and Department of Defense program that helps eligible military personnel begin a new career as teachers in public schools where their skills, knowledge and experience are most needed.

You will find the current qualifications for this program listed on this site. Of note, there is a bill that has been approved by the House of Representatives and currently before the Senate that would reduce some of these requirements.

The Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act (introduced by Senators Courtney (D-CT), Petri (R-WI), McCain (R-AZ), and Bennet (D-CO) would reduce the length of military service requirements to include any service member who has served 90 days of continuous active duty since September 11th, 2001. For those who have not served 90 days since 9/11, the bill reduces the active duty requirement from six years down to four. It would also expand the number of school districts for which service members may receive a stipend to teach in to any school that is in a district that receives Title 1 funds. Additionally, the act creates a board of advisers to help direct the program and authorizes $50 million annually for the next five years instead of the currently approved $30 million per year.

(Source: AmeriForce magazine)

[River_Rat_459]

Supports Service Members, their family members, and communities during and after deployment by providing behavioural health resources.
http://www.samhsa.gov/MilitaryFamilies/

[River_Rat_459]

Provides female caregivers of wounded, ill and injured Service Members with resources, relationships and sources of respite through private online forums.
http://www.operationhomefront.net/www/

[River_Rat_459]

Find valuable information about combating 'compassion fatigue', how to recognize it and how to prevent it.
http://www.giftfromwithin.org/html/pcfvet.html

[River_Rat_459]

Provides programs and services to help student Veterans make the transition from the military to the classroom. Includes National and Regional Conferences that support SVA's mission of developing student Veteran groups to create a network of resources, ideas and support.

http://www.studentveterans.org/programs/

EDIT: Related material - information from the American Council on Education on the review of military training and experiences for the award of equivalent college credits for members of the Armed Forces.
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cf...465570$03$7F$E

[River_Rat_459]

Provides service/assistance dogs to Veterans who have a mobility problem or hearing loss resulting from combat injuries to help them lead a more independent life. Air Compassion for Veterans will provide round trip airfare free of charge for any financially stressed, wounded Veteran, so they can fly to Xenia, Ohio to work with and become accustomed to their service dog.

[River_Rat_459]

Access free mental health counseling services for Veterans, Service Members
and their families.

http://www.thesoldiersproject.org/

[River_Rat_459]

Provides information and access to services where and when the surviving family members desire. Go to this link to find all the benefits available through the Army for survivors.

http://www.myarmyonesource.com/Famil...hServices.aspx

[River_Rat_459]

Providing the comforts of home and lifting the moral and spirits of the nation's wounded Service Members during the recovery process.

http://www.strikeoutsfortroops.org/

[River_Rat_459]

There are chapters for this organization in North Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Iowa.

The Outdoor Adventure Foundation, Inc. provides hunting and fishing adventures for children under the age of 18 and young adults under the age of 25 with cancer or other life threatening illness.


We also provide hunting and fishing adventures for disabled veterans under the age of 40 that are wheelchair bound caused by injury during active service or who have lost a limb during active service.


The hunts will include big game hunts such as deer, elk, moose, bear and also small game including duck, goose, pheasant and quail. The fishing trips are fresh and salt water species of many kinds including bass, walleye, northern pike, muskie, salmon, halibut trout and others.

[River_Rat_459]

Big news. Pass this along if you know someone it applies to.

http://www.military.com/news/article...tml?ESRC=eb.nl

[jxspyder]

Big news. Pass this along if you know someone it applies to.

http://www.military.com/news/article...tml?ESRC=eb.nl

I need to follow up on this. Thanks River.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[River_Rat_459]

Adding these two links for job searchers.

http://veterans2work.org/

http://www.vetjobs.com/

I keep this thread locked so it doesn't get spammed. If there is something you think would be worth passing on to our fellow members, PM me and I will research it.

[River_Rat_459]

Thanks to BigFreeze99 for this link:

Veteran's Resources - http://www.veteransresources.org/

[River_Rat_459]

www.projecthealingwaters.org

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings.

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing offers its services and programs to injured military service personnel and disabled veterans throughout the country.