Camp Lejeune Claims Center

Jamie Faria

Advocacy Support Team

1330 Boylston Street, Suite 400

Chestnut Hill, MA 02467

(877) 466-9268
Camp Lejeune Veteran Support

Veterans Day Car Cruise

 

New York Military Discounts

Iraq War Veterans health issues

Iraq War Veterans health issues

https://www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/health-issues-related-to-service-era/iraq-war

If you served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation New Dawn (OND)—anytime between March 19, 2003, and December 15, 2011—you may be at risk of certain health conditions. Learn about these conditions and what to do to take care of your health.

What health risks should I know about related to my service in the Iraq War?

You may be at risk of:

• Health problems caused by toxic chemicals or other hazardous materials in the environment, like:
• Sand, dust, and particulates: Tiny matter found in the air
• Burn pit smoke: Smoke from open-air pits often used to get rid of waste (like chemicals, paints, munitions, and other substances) at military sites in Iraq
• Depleted uranium: Uranium used in military tank armor and some bullets
• Sulfur fire (Al Mishraq, Iraq): A fire at a sulfur plant that burned for almost a month in June 2003 and released large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the air
• Chemical warfare agents (OIF): Exposure to mustard or nerve agents from demolishing or handling explosive ordnance in Iraq
• Chromium (Qarmat Ali, Basrah, Iraq): Hexavalent chromium (a chemical known to cause cancer) found in contaminated sodium dichromate dust at the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Facility in 2003
• Injuries caused by:
• Extreme heat: Health problems (like heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and sunburn) that can be caused by serving in hot desert climates
• Toxic embedded fragments: Shrapnel and other metals (some containing chemicals) that stay in your body after an injury and can cause injury at the site of the fragment or in other parts of your body
• Explosions: Explosions that can cause concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI), an injury to the head that affects the way your brain works
• Noise: Harmful sounds from guns, explosives, rockets, heavy weapons, jets and aircraft, and machinery that can cause or contribute to hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Illnesses caused by:
• Infectious diseases: There are 9 infectious diseases related to Southwest Asia and Afghanistan military service. These are malaria, brucellosis, campylobacter jejuni, coxiella burnetii (Q Fever), mycobacterium tuberculosis, nontyphoid salmonella, shigella, visceral leishmaniasis, and West Nile Virus.
• Rabies: A disease that you get from a bite or contact with saliva from an infected animal
• Illnesses or injuries caused by occupational (job-related) hazards: Chemicals, paints, radiation, and other hazards you may have come in contact with through your military job
• Side effects of Mefloquine (brand name: Lariam®): A drug given to military personnel to help protect against malaria (an infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes)

What should I do now?

Take these steps to make sure you’re taking care of your health:

1. Talk to your primary health care provider or your local VA environmental health coordinator about any health concerns related to your military service.
   Find your local VA environmental health coordinator
• If you have embedded fragments, ask about getting an exam through the Toxic Embedded Fragment Surveillance Center.
  Download our Toxic Embedded Fragments fact sheet (PDF)
• If you think you had contact with depleted uranium, ask about getting screened through the Depleted Uranium Follow-up Program.
  Learn more about the Depleted Uranium Follow-up Program
2. Ask about joining these registries to document your exposures and health concerns:
   The Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry
   The Gulf War Registry
3. Find out if you can get disability compensation (monthly payments) and other benefits if you have an illness or injury caused—or made worse—by your active-duty service.

See if you qualify for disability benefits due to:
Gulf War Illness
Contact with hazardous materials

More information about your benefits

• About VA health care coverage

Learn more about your VA health care benefits, your health care team, and where you’ll go for care.

Military-Civilian: 5 secrets to help you transition to a civilian job

 


Military-Civilian: 5 secrets to help you transition to a civilian job

U.S. Marine Major Nick Swaggert offers some advice to make your shift into the workforce easier.

You’re leaving the military and you’ve got your marching orders: Find a job in the civilian workforce.

Get ready for a tough mission. While the employment situation for vets has improved over recent years, it’s still harder out there for you than it is for your non-military peers. According to the Monster/Military.com Veteran’s Talent Index, post 9-11 veterans had an unemployment rate of 6.9% in April 2015 vs the non-veteran rate of 4.9%.

After years of being in a clear chain of command, a uniform and a closed culture with very specific working practices, the civilian working world comes as a culture shock to many vets, explains U.S. Marine Major Nick Swaggert, a veteran who assists other servicemen and women transition into the public workforce via the New York-based staffing firm Genesis10’s Veterans program. Creating a resume? Interviewing? Networking? Most veterans “really haven't been coached to do these things,” says Swaggert.

He offers you these tips to help you conduct a job search process that will result in a quick victory.

1. Get ready for battle

Many vets are surprised at how hard the job hunt is, Swaggert notes. And no wonder: In the military, the career path was clearly laid out for you. But in the civilian world, it’s up to you to take the initiative.

“Finding a job will be the hardest job you’ll ever have,” Swaggert says. “You have to realize how much you need to learn.” And, he says, you’re going to have to get used to facing rejection.

You’ll get through it easiest if you apply the kind of strategy-setting you learned in the military.  “You have to set short-term goals and long-term goals and hold yourself accountable to those,” Swaggert says. Start by organizing your educational and training documents: The Department of Veteran Affairs suggests you have copies of your Report of Separation and Verification of Military Experience and Training to verify your military service, training, and experience. It may also be helpful to provide transcripts of any military training and coursework you completed. In any case, these are useful to help build your resume.

2. Establish your battalion

Networking in the military world is considered taboo, since "it means going outside your chain of command—which is a huge no-no,” Swaggert says. As a result veterans don’t often know how to do it, or feel comfortable trying.

But Swaggert says veterans need to break from that mold if they want a successful job search. Just as in the military you needed the support of those in your unit or division to get things done, in the working world you need people to help you guide your search, push your resume into the right hands, and serve as references. He suggests veterans seek out other veterans and ask them what they do and how they got there. “Additionally, find veteran sympathizers—like parents and spouses, of veterans,” he says. “They would love to help coach, guide and mentor.”

Social media tools like Twitter and LinkedIn can help you find people to reach out to.

3. Draft your pitch

While attending a reserve event over the summer in the Netherlands, Swaggert explains how one active service member gave a 5-minute monologue in a monotone voice.

In the military world, that’s common. But if you want to impress a hiring manager, you won’t get far. “That’s not how you give your elevator pitch in the civilian world,” he says. “You need to rehearse and practice telling people who you are.”

Coming from a culture where team comes before individual, this may feel uncomfortable at first. But this is your chance to explain your experiences and skills and how they would translate to the job you are seeking. Check out Monster’s “How to write your professional elevator pitch” for help.

4. “Demilitarize” yourself

One of the things Swaggert consistently cringes about is when he sees someone wearing a military uniform to an interview. “What is the message you are sending?” he says. “You are telling an employer you know how to wear a uniform and that you still don’t know how to wear civilian clothes. That’s not who they want to hire.”

You need to show the hiring manager that you can adapt to the civilian workforce. And that’s not just in dress.

It’s also in language: “Each company has its own corporate language,” he notes. “If you walk into an interview speaking military language and not their corporate language, you will not get the job.”

Also make sure you avoid addressing the hiring manager by first name and using civilian time rather than military time, and make sure you’ve translated your military skills into civilian terms before the interview.

5. Get intel on companies

“Finding a job is about matching both the candidate with the role,” Swaggert says. “Too many veterans believe it's about whether the candidate is worthy of the job, but it's also about if the company is right for the candidate.”

This is where your network can come in handy: “Who you know will help you, maybe, make an introduction,” says Swaggert. But even more importantly  “what they can do is provide you with a lot of intelligence on what that company is like.”

Veterans may even point you toward companies that make a point of recruiting veterans and which offer assistance in developing your skills for the civilian workforce.

Ultimately, Swaggert says the most important thing you can do for yourself is to choose a job you want to do.

“I’ve seen so many veterans focus on what their salary is going to be instead of what they want to do. They end up with a job they just hate,” he says. “Take a job you think you’ll be good at and the money will come later.”

You’re leaving the military and you’ve got your marching orders: Find a job in the civilian workforce.

Get ready for a tough mission. While the employment situation for vets has improved over recent years, it’s still harder out there for you than it is for your non-military peers. According to the Monster/Military.com Veteran’s Talent Index, post 9-11 veterans had an unemployment rate of 6.9% in April 2015 vs the non-veteran rate of 4.9%.

After years of being in a clear chain of command, a uniform and a closed culture with very specific working practices, the civilian working world comes as a culture shock to many vets, explains U.S. Marine Major Nick Swaggert, a veteran who assists other servicemen and women transition into the public workforce via the New York-based staffing firm Genesis10’s Veterans program. Creating a resume? Interviewing? Networking? Most veterans “really haven't been coached to do these things,” says Swaggert.

He offers you these tips to help you conduct a job search process that will result in a quick victory.

1. Get ready for battle

Many vets are surprised at how hard the job hunt is, Swaggert notes. And no wonder: In the military, the career path was clearly laid out for you. But in the civilian world, it’s up to you to take the initiative.

“Finding a job will be the hardest job you’ll ever have,” Swaggert says. “You have to realize how much you need to learn.” And, he says, you’re going to have to get used to facing rejection.

You’ll get through it easiest if you apply the kind of strategy-setting you learned in the military.  “You have to set short-term goals and long-term goals and hold yourself accountable to those,” Swaggert says. Start by organizing your educational and training documents: The Department of Veteran Affairs suggests you have copies of your Report of Separation and Verification of Military Experience and Training to verify your military service, training, and experience. It may also be helpful to provide transcripts of any military training and coursework you completed. In any case, these are useful to help build your resume.

2. Establish your battalion

Networking in the military world is considered taboo, since "it means going outside your chain of command—which is a huge no-no,” Swaggert says. As a result veterans don’t often know how to do it, or feel comfortable trying.

But Swaggert says veterans need to break from that mold if they want a successful job search. Just as in the military you needed the support of those in your unit or division to get things done, in the working world you need people to help you guide your search, push your resume into the right hands, and serve as references. He suggests veterans seek out other veterans and ask them what they do and how they got there. “Additionally, find veteran sympathizers—like parents and spouses, of veterans,” he says. “They would love to help coach, guide and mentor.”

Social media tools like Twitter and LinkedIn can help you find people to reach out to.

3. Draft your pitch

While attending a reserve event over the summer in the Netherlands, Swaggert explains how one active service member gave a 5-minute monologue in a monotone voice.

In the military world, that’s common. But if you want to impress a hiring manager, you won’t get far. “That’s not how you give your elevator pitch in the civilian world,” he says. “You need to rehearse and practice telling people who you are.”

Coming from a culture where team comes before individual, this may feel uncomfortable at first. But this is your chance to explain your experiences and skills and how they would translate to the job you are seeking. Check out Monster’s “How to write your professional elevator pitch” for help.

4. “Demilitarize” yourself

One of the things Swaggert consistently cringes about is when he sees someone wearing a military uniform to an interview. “What is the message you are sending?” he says. “You are telling an employer you know how to wear a uniform and that you still don’t know how to wear civilian clothes. That’s not who they want to hire.”

You need to show the hiring manager that you can adapt to the civilian workforce. And that’s not just in dress.

It’s also in language: “Each company has its own corporate language,” he notes. “If you walk into an interview speaking military language and not their corporate language, you will not get the job.”

Also make sure you avoid addressing the hiring manager by first name and using civilian time rather than military time, and make sure you’ve translated your military skills into civilian terms before the interview.

5. Get intel on companies

“Finding a job is about matching both the candidate with the role,” Swaggert says. “Too many veterans believe it's about whether the candidate is worthy of the job, but it's also about if the company is right for the candidate.”

This is where your network can come in handy: “Who you know will help you, maybe, make an introduction,” says Swaggert. But even more importantly  “what they can do is provide you with a lot of intelligence on what that company is like.”

Veterans may even point you toward companies that make a point of recruiting veterans and which offer assistance in developing your skills for the civilian workforce.

Ultimately, Swaggert says the most important thing you can do for yourself is to choose a job you want to do.

“I’ve seen so many veterans focus on what their salary is going to be instead of what they want to do. They end up with a job they just hate,” he says. “Take a job you think you’ll be good at and the money will come later.”

How to Become a U.S. Defense Contractor

Updated: March 28, 2019

The United States Government employs thousands of individual and corporate defense contractors every year. The Department of Defense, the various branches of the military, and the companies these agencies contract with employ thousands of people as security personnel, IT specialists, analysts, administrators, scientists, doctors, accountants, etc. The government also contracts with both large and small businesses to provide services and supplies that are used in every facet of maintaining the country’s defense. Breaking into defense contracting requires going through a lot of red tape, and can be difficult at first, but if you are motivated and able to obtain a security clearance, there are many opportunities to be had in the defense industry.

1

Become a U.S. Citizen. Almost all U.S. defense contractor positions require applicants to be United States citizens. If you are not a native citizen, you can go through the naturalization process to obtain your citizenship, which involves taking an extensive test on English and Civics.[1]

2

Be able to acquire security clearance. You cannot actually obtain a security clearance until you are employed in a government job, or have been sponsored by a company or agency who wishes to hire you. However, you should try to determine if you are eligible for clearance before you begin. If you have previously had a security clearance in the past, this is a good indicator that you will be able to obtain one again. The following are some of the factors that generally prevent a person from obtaining a security clearance:

    Past criminal convictions that lead to jail time of 1 year or more.

    Current use of illegal or controlled substances.

    A determination of mental incompetence by a DoD-approved mental health professional.

    A dishonorable discharge from the Armed Forces.

    Unwillingness to surrender a foreign passport.

    Severe, repeated financial problems.

    Intentional false statements made in the application process.

    Repeated alcohol abuse.

    A pattern of criminal or conduct or rule violation.

For more information click this link

https://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-U.S.-Defense-Contractor

To find new military contractor jobs click this link http://www.military-civilian.com

7 Secrets of Post-Military Success by Combat Veteran and Entrepreneur

7 Secrets of Post-Military Success by Combat Veteran and Entrepreneur:
 Security expert and combat veteran Spencer Coursen doles out top tips for military transitioning to the civilian workforce.

"The Unknowns," Movie Trailer ....

Now we can confidently say the film will be completed and released by Memorial Day, 2016.

This is the trailer for an upcoming movie on the Tomb of the Unknown guards. 

The trailer is 5 minutes and worth a  watch, and we all should see the documentary movie when it comes out.

  http://www.theunknownsmovie.com/

Please join Military-Civilian resume data base.

Log-in here

http://www.military-civilian.com/pages/post-resume/

Please do not attach any qualifications/certificates/SS# or DD214 papers until requested by a company recruiter.

Please use the keyword field to highlight your work experience!

All resumes will be approved before publishing in the Military-Civilian resume data base

Posting a resume in the Military-Civilian data base does not guarantee employment.

All resumes must be current to remain posted in the resume data base. All resumes that have not be updated and re-uploaded after 90 days will be removed.

You will receive an automatic renewal notice via email on the 85th day of posting and a 5 day window to do this as we do not want out of date/old resumes in the Military-Civilian data base.

When you get employed, reach back and help a fellow Service men and women over the wall. What goes around, comes around. Help when and where you can. You, a family member or friend could be next to need a job.

Please feel free to contact me.

Lucy

Human Resources Consulting Inc. (HRCI)

Nationwide Job Fair Info: VA, TX, FL, DC, CO, NY, CA, and HI

Hiring event in Orange, CA tomorrow for Dock Workers & Drivers.

18 September Hiring Event

Military Legal Assistance

SAVE THE DATE: 9-11-15 @10-12, WELCOME HOME VETERANS JOB FAIR

SemperMax - FW: SBA Appoints Zacchea on Advisory Committee for Veterans Business Affairs

All-

One of our members, a wounded veteran, is being recognized! Congrats, Mike!

------------------------------

CONNECTICUT – U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Maria-Contreras Sweet recently appointed Michael Zacchea as a member of the Advisory Committee on Veteran’s Business Affairs (ACVBA). This appointment is effective for a three-year term beginning June 1, 2015.

Michael Zacchea is currently Director for the UConn Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities. The ACVBA serves as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to SBA’s Administrator, as well as Deputy Administrator, SBA’s Associate Administrator for Veteran’s Business Development, Congress, the President, and other U.S. policymakers on programs affecting veteran-owned small business. All members appointed serve in a representational capacity.

“With your valuable advice and support, SBA can continue to enhance the growth of veteran-owned small businesses and private enterprises,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. Connecticut’s District Director Bernard M. Sweeney says “Zacchea is the perfect person to represent the ACVBA for the state of Connecticut because he has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving those who have served,” added Sweeney.  Zacchea was named SBA’s Connecticut District Office Veteran Advocate Champion in 2012 during Small Business Week.

Mike Zacchea was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1990. He served as a forward observer and platoon commander, deploying to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope and to Haiti for Operation Support Democracy. In March 2004, as a major, he deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom II. His team's mission was to build, train, and lead in combat the first Iraqi army battalion trained by the US military. During this time, the battalion participated in Operation Phantom Fury, the 2nd Battle of Fallujah. During the battle, Mike was wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade, but declined to be medically evacuated.

Mike's military awards include the Bronze Star Medal for Valor (with gold star in lieu of 2nd award), the Purple Heart Medal, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, a Combat Action Ribbon, and numerous unit and campaign awards. Mike was also the first and at the time only American recognized by the Iraqi government by the Order of the Lion of Babylon. As a result of his wounds, Mike was medically retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He is currently the Program Director of the University of Connecticut Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, Mike has helped start 25 businesses get started since 2010. He is also involved in the creation of ConnectVets, Inc., a non-profit organization of veteran-owned businesses in the state of CT. He recently joined a multi-agency cross-disciplinary working group chaired by the Commissioner of the CT Department of Veterans Affairs to align veteran education, job-training, and workforce re-entry issues.

For more information about SBA programs, visit the SBA website at www.sba.gov/ct, or contact the local SBA Veterans Affairs Officer, Frank Alvarado at (203) 335-0427. 

Female Security Specialist FSS Ex Military Jobs

Female Security Specialist FSS Ex Military Jobs

ICS Protective Services seeks Female Security Specialist to Protect High Level Delegates for s short term assignment.

Needed to provide VIP protection to Protect High Level Delegates

Assignment will be based in the Washington, DC, Baltimore, Virginia Metro Area. No relocation, we need to recruit local candidates from the east coast only.

This is a 7 days a week assignment. Training will be provided. Starts at $1,200/week.

ICS will provide housing and meals.

Candidate must have strong communication skills, in excellent physical condition, be able to pass a criminal background check and have a clean driving record.

Recent military or law enforcement experience is required.

Available July 1^st 2015 for a 2 month assignment.

Mandatory Requirements for Female Security Specialist FSS Ex Military Jobs:

Flexible Working Schedule

No Criminal Background

Interested candidates please email your resume with head-shot to cbwilliams4ics@aol.com.

To be considered you must include a recent head-shot.

www.icsprotects.biz

Who We Are

ICS is located in Washington D.C., and has established itself as an acknowledged leader in the field of security, executive protection, and high level special event services with federal and private organizations. Our staff ranges from ex-law enforcement officers to communication specialist and former military personnel from around the country. Representative clients include five-star hotels, financial institutions, residential services, government agencies, international organizations, celebrities and entertainers

Home Town Heroes BBQ - Elk Grove, CA

Hello All,

Please read note below and contact Julie Baumgartner directly with any and all questions.

Julie writes:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Good Morning,

Attached is a flier for our upcoming Hometown Heroes Event on May 30^th.  This is one of the largest events for our Service Members, Veterans and their families.  Last year we had approx.. 250 attendees due to inclement weather but the last couple years prior we averaged between 400 – 500 attendees.  If you are interested in attending please use the link provided on the flyer and register. If you know of other organizations/employers who support our military & veterans, please forward this to them.

Hope to see you registered, <<...>>

Julie Baumgartner

Job Developer

VOA Veteran Services

10618 Schirra Ave

Mather, CA

(916) 661-5162 office

(916) 582-9801 cell

jbaumgartner@voa-ncnn.org 

Memorial Day 2015, Lest we forget

Honor, Courage and Commitment to God, Country and Corps; and, always to one another.

Semper Fidelis, Max

http://editor.legionemail.com/vo/?FileID=8305b481-0400-4197-bb90-236fbc55d24a&m=8491ba29-1cb4-42c1-926a-f86b573c4bde&MailID=29954763&listid=84772

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JKqT0-3JV5E

Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 3:05 PM
Subject: Memorial Day 2015, Lest we forget

For the dead of Delta 1/7, Vietnam - Whitehead, Cashman, Pinky, Roy, Saldana - and all the others who wrote, and cashed, a check made out to the "US Government" for an amount up to and including their lives.....

There are only two words appropriate for Memorial Day:

Thank you ........

Semper Fi,

Lt Peters USMC

Vietnam '69-'70

News Release - CalVet

News Release

CONTACT: Carolyn Ballou
916-653-1355
May 15, 2015
CalVet 15-055

CalVet Suspends GI Bill Approval for ITT Technical Institute

SACRAMENTO – In order to protect the hard-earned GI Bill Education benefits for more than 1,400 California Veterans, the California State Approving Agency for Veteran Education (CSAAVE), a division of the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), sent a "Notice of Suspension" to all California colleges owned and operated by ITT Educational Services, Inc. (ITT).  

 “CalVet takes very seriously our duty to ensure our California Veterans receive the education and training they are paying for with their earned GI Bill benefits,” said Keith Boylan, CalVet Deputy Secretary of Veteran Services. “CSAAVE suspended ITT because ITT does not meet the required accreditation standards for approval.” 

 The notice of Suspension precludes ITT from future enrollment or reenrollment of Veterans or their dependents utilizing GI Bill education benefits provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA). ITT, doing business in California as ITT Technical Institute, operates 15 campuses in California.

The Suspension was initiated by CSAAVE as a result of ITT’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) evidencing the company’s inability to produce audited financial statements required by the SEC and the U.S. Department of Education. USDVA regulations authorize CSAAVE to suspend non-compliant institutions.

 ITT has until July 13, 2015, to correct the discrepancies, or CSAAVE will withdraw approval. CalVet staff continue working closely with Veterans and ITT to minimize the impact of the Suspension on the Veterans.

 For additional information, Veterans using the GI Bill at ITT should visit CalVet’s website:

www.calvet.ca.gov/VetServices/Pages/GI-Bill-Suspension-Information.aspx. 

 ###

Follow CalVet on Facebook and Twitter