News

Yesterday, President Obama signed an Executive Order that will automatically apply a 6% interest rate cap to eligible federal student loan borrowers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act without the need for additional paperwork.

May 1, 2014
By  C. Todd Lopez 

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 1, 2014) -- The Army's "Soldier for Life" website, launched today, is designed to be a new online home for retired Soldiers.

The Army's web portal "Army Knowledge Online" -- better known as "AKO" -- has been available to retirees and family members for many years now. However, the Army is transitioning to a more secure enterprise network for business users -- Soldiers, Army civilians and contractors.

By Patricia Kime
Staff writer, Military Times
Apr. 9, 2014 - 01:07PM

George Siders remembers his first enemy kill like it happened yesterday.

While rounding a curve on patrol in Vietnam, the 18-year-old Marine came upon a North Vietnamese soldier on the trail. Siders instinctively raised his rifle and fired, hitting his target in the forehead.

The blast, Siders said, blew the soldier’s “brain and about 2 or 3 feet of spinal cord” out his backside.

March 14, 2014

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has introduced two bills to help veterans look for jobs and start small businesses.

The Veterans Hiring Act would cut payroll taxes for businesses that hire veterans.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is collaborating with Kaiser Permanente, a leading member of the health care industry, to pool resources and ideas to solve some of the largest and most complex challenges in VA health care. "VA is always on the lookout for opportunities for partnerships with the private sector and other federal agencies to enhance care for Veterans,"said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

The VA is warning everyone of potential pension poaching scams. Be cautious if someone offers to move your assets around in order for you to qualify for VA pension. This type of scam is often directed toward veterans and family members who “do not” actually qualify for VA pensions. Other examples:

WASHINGTON -- First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden are scheduled to travel to New Orleans Monday April 20) to recognizes the city's efforts to combat veterans' homelessness, the White House announced Tuesday.

Obama and Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, are scheduled to appear with Mayor Mitch Landrieu to discuss the city's efforts to find housing for veterans and how other cities might learn from New Orleans progress, according to White House officials.

Thanks to a new bill veterans won’t have to worry about paying out-of-state tuition at any public university. Provisions in the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 will require all public universities to offer in-state tuition to veterans making use of their GI Bill.

By Leo Shane III, Military Times Staff Writer | 12:10 p.m. EST December 31, 2014

The Veterans Affairs Department boasted another dramatic drop in its backlog of benefits claims in 2014, but will need an extra boost in coming months to meet its goal of zeroing out the payout delays by the end of 2015.

The backlog — the number of first-time VA benefits claims unresolved for more than four months — sits at around 245,000 cases, according to departmental data. That's down more than 160,000 cases in 2014 and more than 250,000 cases since the start of 2013.

By Kellie Lunney
November 6, 2014
Government Executive

VA Secretary Bob McDonald on Thursday defended his commitment to holding employees accountable and firing them when necessary and according to the law.