By Debbie Gregory.

Veteran students are flooding college campuses across the country as military members leave the uniform behind and head back to the classroom to secure a new career.

Administrators, however, are finding that veteran students are choosing less traditional schools and more veteran friendly colleges where they can earn their degrees in a shorter time, with less distraction. Veteran students arrive on campus with the motivation they learned in the military.

Dan Torres, an official with the Veterans Service Office at Butte College, said veteran students are serious. “When you join the military, you learn things,” Torres said. “Just like they did in the service, veteran students have a mission.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that in 2009-10, the first full academic year education benefits were available under the revised G.I. Bill, enrollment among veterans at for-profit private universities was significantly higher than at four-year public institutions. In 2012, one for profit school alone had more than 21,000 veteran students on its rolls. Veteran students have also widely chosen community colleges.

The swell of veteran students across college campuses is due, in part, to the generous educational benefits of the  Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, which was rewritten after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Now, veteran students receive benefits not just for tuition, but also for the cost of books, fees and  housing. Qualifying veterans can also transfer their benefits to their spouse or children.

In recent years, many local colleges have transformed to become veteran friendly schools. Some have instituted offices of veterans’ affairs, while some schools offer additional financial assistance to veteran students.

Derek Evans, a student at Chico State who is also an official with the campus Veterans Affairs Office, said veterans come to his office to receive their veteran education benefits. Money for veteran education, he said, is one of the easiest VA programs for veterans to access.

Veteran students may also be hitting the books because there are so few options in the job market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2011, unemployment among veterans ages 18 to 24 was at 30 percent, versus 18 percent for that age group in the general population.

According to Evans, as troops previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan return home, the school is prepared to handle far larger enrollment numbers.

“I believe we’re expecting a higher number of new veteran students next semester than ever before,” he said.

By Debbie Gregory.

Nearly 1 million service members are expected to leave the military and enter the workplace over the next five years. But translating that military experience into civilian lingo is proving to be tough, and may be part of the cause of a drop in veteran employment.

“The vast majority of people in this country didn’t serve,” said Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “Civilians just don’t get what vets did in the military. It can seem like vets were beamed down from Mars.”

On the battlefield, a veteran may have commanded dozens of soldiers, made split-second, life or death decisions and shown textbook leadership qualities. However, that doesn’t fit neatly onto a civilian resume. And even if it did, more veterans making the transition from military life to the civilian workforce wouldn’t know how to phrase it.

“That person might have led 12 men in Afghanistan,” said Kevin Schmiegel, executive director of Hiring Our Heroes. “He built schools, negotiated with tribal warlords, oversaw millions of dollars in equipment. The world should be his oyster. But we can’t look at that title and think that the only job he’s well-suited for is as a security guard. And if we do have that mentality, what does that say about our country?”

The job market is already a tough place for nonveterans to find work. Veteran jobs are even tougher to find as veterans struggle to sell themselves to employers and overcome the stigma of PTSD. Officials say younger veterans are having the hardest time finding work.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report for 2012 states that the unemployment rate for veterans ages 25 to 34 is 10.6 percent, and a whopping 20.4 percent for the 18-to-24 age group. Those numbers were much higher than the civilian figures of 8.2 percent for those 25 to 34, and 15 percent for the 18-to-24 group..

Hiring Our Heroes, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce program, has staged 490 job fairs since March 2011, resulting in more than 18,400 veterans and military spouses finding work. Schmiegel, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, said that while their goal is to introduce employers to the talent pool, veterans must close the deal.

“This isn’t charity,” he said. “We can help show veterans where the jobs are and how to broaden themselves. But once they have the tools, then it’s up to them.”

By Debbie Gregory.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is frustrated with the military’s inability to end sexual abuse within their ranks, and even more so with service members trusted with the task of preventing such abuses. Sexual assaults are a criminal offense. The fact that Military Training Instructors are accused of victimizing trainees makes it even more egregious.

Yesterday, Hagel was informed that sexual assault allegations have been made against a sergeant first class who is a sexual assault prevention and response coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas. This is the second time this month that a service member in a sexual assault prevention program is being investigated for a sexual crime.

All branches of the military are under intense scrutiny for sexual assaults within its ranks. Anonymous sexual assault reports have grown by more than 30% in the past two years.

The news of the Fort Hood case comes as the military prepares for a historic move: opening combat roles to women for the first time. It’s unclear how that might affect the apparently increasing problem of sexual assault.

Army and Air Force assault cases highlight a problem that is drawing increased scrutiny in Congress, and expressions of frustration from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Secretary Hagel has ordered the armed services military recruiters and sexual assault prevention officers to be re-trained, re-credentialed and re-screened. Last week, he warned that the military’s ability to recruit and perform its missions was becoming endangered by deepening public perceptions that the armed forces are unable to or unwilling to cope with a sexual-assault crisis in the ranks.

No one, female or male should have to tolerate sexual assault in the armed forces.  This must not be a concern or fear.  It is a very positive move for this problem not to be ignored and to be addressed by Secretary of Defense Hagel.

By Debbie Gregory.

John “Jack” Potter, a 91-year-old WWII Veteran, was served with an eviction notice on February 03, 2013. His daughter, Janice Cottrill, ordered the eviction from the house that Jack built 56 years ago in Zaleski, Ohio.

In 2004, Potter, and his now deceased wife, signed over power of attorney to their only daughter to provide security in health situations, and continue the care of their severely disabled 64-year-old autistic son. Potter discovered that his daughter intended to have declared legally incompetent, but he had the charge reversed.

The Veteran, who previously fought in the Aleutian Islands during WWII, also served as former sheriff of Vinton County. He had also been elected mayor of Zaleski, Ohio, and had been employed as a chief train dispatcher by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Potter is now retired and living on his pension.

Upon discovering the deed switch in 2010, Potter immediately transferred power of attorney to Jaclyn Fraley, his 35-year-old granddaughter from San Diego. Fraley, a nurse, moved to Columbus, Ohio, to live near her grandfather.

Power of Attorney does not permit the assigned person to transfer assets from the estate to their domain. Potter sued Cottrill for fraud in Vinton County Court to reclaim his home, and he won his case. However, the daughter appealed in the Fourth Appellate District Court, and since the four-year statute of limitations had run its course, Potter lost the final court decision.

ABC news reported Fraley’s comments concerning the case, explaining that Cottrill and her husband Dean, served Fraley’s 91-year-old grandfather with an eviction notice, terminating his current lease.

The eviction hearing is scheduled for June 12, 2013.

Potter is dismayed that his daughter and his son-in-law would evict him. Janice Cottrill has declined to speak on the issue. But her attorney, Lorene Johnston, said, “The case is pending in the Vinton County Court, and we will let the court decide the issues.”

Fraley has been estranged from her mother and stepfather for two or more years, upon discovering their intent to force her grandfather into a nursing home facility.

Trying to cease an eviction and save her grandfather from losing the home he built, Fraley established a crowdfunding drive on gofundme.com, and initially raised $42,134 from 1,781 contributors. As word spread of Potters plight, almost $100,000 was raised within a 24-hour timeframe. As of the posting of this article, a total of $136,203 has been donated by over 5,000 kind contributors.

Potter’s attorney, Timothy Gleeson, stated that his client isn’t in a position to make an offer on his home until the money arrives. Cottrill is willing to negotiate a purchase price, as she says she needs the money, or the old Veteran must go. Fraley wants her grandfather’s remaining years to be lived out in the home he built and has lived in most of his life.

Potter is grateful for the display of generosity from strangers donating to his cause, and he is wonderfully overwhelmed, and says he is “slightly embarrassed that he has to ask his fellow man for help.”

His fellow man has responded with kindness, even during an economic crunch. Now, he may purchase back his home thanks to his granddaughter’s swift actions, trusting in the “kindness of strangers” and the heartfelt donations of those moved by this crisis.

If you would like to join “Team Jack”, go to:  http://www.gofundme.com/GrandpaJohnJPotter.
If you prefer to send your donation, the mailing address is:
P.O. Box 558, McArthur, Ohio 45651.

By Debbie Gregory.

Sexual assaults have risen over 35 percent in the last two years, according to a Department of Defense report. The annual report states that an estimated 26,000 sexual assaults in the military in 2012 were unreported. In 2012, only 3,374 were actually reported.

The report came just days after the arrest and removal of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, the chief of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention program.  Krusinski allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in Arlington, VA.

Sexual assault within the military has been the subject of scandals, studies and congressional hearings. Of the victims who reported their assault, 62 percent said that they suffered personal and professional persecution because they spoke up.  According to a DOD survey, two-thirds of female victims do not report their assaults for fear of reprisals. Reprisal against the victim is the opposite of justice – the opposite of what should happen when a crime is reported. Many victims have two little faith in the military’s justice system to come forward. The survey backs up the retribution thesis for at least some of the non-reporting.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced new plans to combat sexual assault within the DOD report on Tuesday. Secretary Hagel believes strongly that changes must be made within the command structure. He feels that taking the ultimate authority from the military would weaken the system.

The Air Force officer responsible for, of all things, sexual-assault prevention, was arrested and charged with sexual battery. In the past year, two Air Force generals, against the recommendations of their legal advisers, overruled military jury findings and granted clemency to convicted sex offenders.

So what should be done? Secretary Chuck Hagel suggested stripping commanders of their clemency powers. Secretary Hagel has promised to conduct a review of officer accountability.

A bill in the House of Representatives sponsored by Jackie Speier of California would address sexual assault in the military more realistically, by creating an autonomous unit within the Department of Defense. This unit would handle accusations independent of the military chain of command.

Military sexual assaults are appalling. Ending sexual violence against women and men in the military must start now!