WASHINGTON – Enlisted troops aren’t happy with talk of changes to the military retirement system, according to Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond Chandler III.

Officer killed at Va. Tech was Army veteran

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Virginia Tech police officer who was gunned down in a campus attack joined the force six months after the university was the scene of the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

Pentagon defends handling of remains after landfill scandal

Washington — The Pentagon defended steps it has taken to more respectfully handle the remains of fallen troops after a report detailed the extent of dumping cremated body parts at a Virginia landfill.

Pakistan Mulls Deploying Air Defenses to Border

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan may deploy air defense weapons to the Afghan border to prevent future NATO airstrikes such as the ones last month that the Pakistani military claims were pre-planned and that killed 24 of the country’s soldiers, a senior lawmaker said Friday.

Report: GI Tried to Escape From Taliban Captors

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl made a bold escape from his Taliban captors while imprisoned in Pakistan, avoiding them for three days before they recaptured him, according to a report published by The Daily Beast.

Study: Transition to Civilian Life Harder for Married Troops

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of the veterans who served since 9/11 have struggled with the transition back to civilian life — and being married is likely to make it harder, according to a survey released Thursday.

Ensuring that homeless veterans find housing is one of the key goals of the Obama administration who has set a ambitious goal to end homelessness in 10 years and end veteran homelessness within 5 years.  To that end, the administration developed Opening Doors:  The Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness.

Veterans are homeless at a higher rate than the general population.  According to the Alliance to End Homelessness, says, “the political will is there, the know-how is there, and the resources are there for the asking – and yet the problem of veterans homelessness hasn’t been solved because everyone has had other priorities.”

This new push will add 1,000 more units in 25 locations across the country.  The units will be available to homeless, senior, disabled, at-risk veterans and their families.  The facilities will include three mixed-use  residences.  The new housing units will be developed on repurposed unused VA land and buildings through the BURR program.  Third-party private companies will provide the financing, design, development, maintenance and support services.  The VA plans to expand the number of affordable and supportive housing units to 5,400.

The units will be developed in Georgia, Wyoming, Ohio, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Maryland,  Virginia, Kansas and Washington.

According to the Deloitte Junior Military Officer Recruitment Program webpage, “Military leadership means producing exceptional results, often navigating under the most demanding conditions.”

I agree! However, I would add that leadership in the military is not defined by the rank on a soldier’s collar or sleeve. I did not find a program on Deloitte’s website targeted towards prior enlisted or NCOs.

Moving up the list to higher ranked companies, I came across Booz Allen Hamilton, or BAH. BAH is a leading consulting firm working in the defense and government industry and ranked as a top 20 military friendly employer, according to Gijobs.com. Once again, a junior military officer program stands out as the premier initiative to get your veteran foot in the door. There is a catch though, and it is explicitly stated on their website.

The website firmly states that “JMO [Junior Military Officer] candidates must meet the following: Three or more years of experience as an active duty, commissioned officer.”

There is no need to go down the list any further, especially for you prior service enlisted folks.

I am not disputing Booz Allen Hamilton’s commitment to recruiting veterans, but they clearly have a program dedicated to officers, and there is no program established for prior service enlisted members. If so, its not clearly listed on the website.

Lastly, I looked at USAA’s website, ranked in the top tier by GIjobs.com as military friendly. USAA is located worldwide on and near military bases as a premier banking corporation catering to our service members. While I have no doubt they recruit enlisted, officers, and dependents alike, can you guess what recruitment program they clearly advertise on their website? Yes, the trend of junior military officer programs continues.

According to the USAA careers section of their website, “This unique program helps top-performing junior officers transition from the military into corporate life at USAA.”

I had a chance to speak with the media relations office at USAA . Their public relations officer did clarify that their program is not limited to officers, as is the case with Booz Allen Hamilton. However, the program language on the website does not clearly state that. For those of us who have served in the military, junior officer does not equate to enlisted soldier. Therefore, the language does not adequately reflect who is eligible for the program.

It is evident that officers are far better welcomed based on program initiatives and website descriptions in leading companies in different industries. The primary issue here is not whether corporate America realizes the value of a veteran, but do they distinguish between perceived leadership abilities based on rank?

Given the success of the New GI Bill, and the increased college enrollment of enlisted veterans nationwide, it would be in the best interest of corporate America to target this untapped demographic with unique hiring programs. Imagine if leading corporations created veteran internship initiatives, or college level recruitment programs, targeted towards prior service junior enlisted service members, and NCOs. These programs, and the organization, would undoubtedly succeed.

Separation can be a very scary thing to deal with, and no matter what others say, it does not get easier each separation. The scariest part is just about to start, and we spend months preparing for a moment that really there is no preparing for. How can you prepare yourself mentally and emotionally? During this time trying to maintain a normal relationship with your spouse can be very difficult and sometimes impossible, but with the right attitude you will be able to make the transition easier for both.

Think Positive: Try and find the positive side of your spouse being away. When your spouse is gone, the moment they return can feel like the first time you met all over again. Take this time to truly start over, go on a date and reconnect. This can make your relationship stronger, and it gives you a moment to think about all the things you love about them. You slowly realize that there bad habits and things that annoy you, really don’t matter so much anymore. Here are some fun ideas to rekindle your romance, once your sweetheart has returned.

Let the Fights Begin: From the moment you hear the dreadful news of another separation to the moment your loved one is ready to leave, you may find yourself fighting over the silliest things. I call this “The Burnt Lasagna of Marriage”. When my husband was about to leave, we found ourselves arguing 3 days about lasagna that I had accidently burnt. We look back at this and laugh, but at the time it was extremely hard to get passed it. Although this is completely normal, you should try to remember that there isn’t much time left together. Spend the time you have left talking, laughing and loving each other, not arguing about how you will manage will they are away. Communication is very important at this point, and ensuring you both know how you feel about the upcoming separation will help to clear the air.

It Will be Over Soon: Just when it feels as if everything in our lives is falling apart and we cannot take it anymore, separation is over. Separations are tough and they do feel like the world is coming to an end, but most separations do not last any longer than 15 months, depending on the branch of service your spouse is enlisted in. So remember that this can be the hardest time in your life and believe me your relationship will be tested. Most important is to ensure you have a sturdy support system. A great support system to have in this time is other military spouses.  Trust me; the best person to complain about separation is a fellow military spouse.

For more on Angela Caban, visit her website at www.angelacaban.com.

Join me and other military spouses on my Facebook, Twitter or MySpace fan page. 

I may be somewhat of an organization fanatic, perhaps even a borderline crazed nut. Since childhood I have always had the need to plan ahead and make a list of things that needed to get done, organization has always been a huge part of my life. Little did I know that this “gift” would be a blessing living this military lifestyle.

If you are not an organized person, the tips below have helped me take better control as well as keep things where they belong. Keeping organized is also a great way to make that PCS (Permanent Change of Station) go much smoother. Take control of your life again and get organized!

Tis the Season to De-clutter…..

Take advantage of the change in season to get rid of anything that you may not need or you know won’t fit. There simply is no use holding onto something that simply will take up valuable space. Separate all items into three piles; keep, trash and donate. One you have separated your clothing and belongings you will notice that nice large space in your closet. 

Use your Space Wisely…..

In order to get the most out of your space, separate clothing by type and use. This will not only help you know where your things are, but will also reduce the amount of mess you create by looking for something. This is also a good time saver, when looking for something. So if you know that there are dresses you will most likely use less often, place these items to the back and your more frequent clothing in the front.

Don’t be afraid to label…..

My obsession in this life is handbags, every time I see one I buy one. So needless to say my closet started looking like the handbag department at Macy’s. So to better organize my bags, I started a very handy and clever system. I purchased large clear plastic containers that I filled with my bags by category. I marked each container with a label; large bags, small bags, clutches, beach bags and so on. This helped me to keep a very good inventory on what I had, and it was also easy to search for a bag when I needed it. This system can be used for practically anything from bags to toys!

For more on Angela Caban, visit her website at www.angelacaban.com.

Join me and other military spouses on my Facebook, Twitter or MySpace fan page.